Occurrence and distribution of antibiotic resistance genes in the sediments of the East China Sea bays

The coastal area of the East China Sea has experienced rapid urbanization and industrialization in China since 1980 s, resulting in severe pollution of its environments.Antibiotic resistance genes(ARGs) are regarded as a kind of emerging pollutant with potential high risk. The sediment samples were collected from Hangzhou Bay(HB),Xiangshan Bay(XB), and Taizhou Bay(TB) to investigate the spatial occurrence and distribution of 27 ARGs and class I integron–integrase gene(intI1) in the coastal area of the East China Sea. The PCR results showed the frequent presence of 11 ARGs and intI1 in the sediments of the three bays. The qPCR results further showed that sulfonamide resistance was the most prevalent ARG type and antibiotic target replacement and protection were the most important resistance mechanisms in the sediments. Regarding the subtype of ARGs, sulI, tetW, and dfrA13 were the most abundant ARGs, in which sulI was higher in TB(based on both the absolute and relative abundances) and dfrA13 was higher in HB(based on the relative abundances). The network analysis revealed that intI1 had significant correlations with tetC, sulI, sulII, and blaPSE-1. Oil was the key connected factor, which had positive connections with sulI, sulII, and blaPSE-1. In addition, the joint effect of heavy metals and nutrients organic pollutants might be crucial for the fate of ARGs in the coastal sediments.     

Highly selective catalytic reduction of NOxby MnOx–CeO2–Al2O3 catalysts prepared by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis

We first present preparation of MnOx–CeO_2–Al_2O_3 catalysts with varying Mn contents through a self-propagating high-temperature synthesis(SHS) method, and studied the application of these catalysts to the selective catalytic reduction of NOxwith NH3(NH_3-SCR).Using the catalyst with 18 wt.% Mn(18 MnCe1Al2), 100% NO conversion was achieved at 200°C and a gas hourly space velocity of 15384 hr-1, and the high-efficiency SCR temperature window, where NO conversion is greater than 90%, was widened to a temperature range of 150–300°C. 18 MnCe1Al2 showed great resistance to SO_2(100 ppm)and H_2O(5%) at 200°C. The catalysts were characterized using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller(BET) analysis, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and H_2 temperature programmed reduction. The characterization results showed that the surface atomic concentration of Mn increased with increasing Mn content, which led to synergism between Mn and Ce and improved the activity in the SCR reaction. 18 MnCe1Al2 has an extensive pore structure,with a BET surface area of approximately 135.4 m~2/g, a pore volume of approximately 0.16 cm~3/g, and an average pore diameter of approximately 4.6 nm. The SCR reaction on 18 MnCe1Al2 mainly followed the Eley-Rideal mechanism. The performances of the MnOx–CeO_2–Al_2O_3 catalysts were good, and because of the simplicity of the preparation process,the SHS method is applicable to their industrial-scale manufacture.     

Molten hydroxide for detoxification of chlorine-containing waste: Unraveling chlorine retention efficiency and chlorine salt enrichment

Hazardous waste dechlorination reduces the potential of creating dioxins during the incineration process. To investigate the salt effect on waste dechlorination, molten hydroxides with a low melting temperature were utilized for the pre-dechlorination and decomposition of chlorine-containing organic wastes(COWs) including trichlorobenzene(TCB),perchloroethylene, hexachlorobenzene and chlordane. The results showed that a eutectic mixture of caustic sodium and potassium hydroxides(41 wt.% NaOH and 59 wt.% KOH) led to a low melting point below 300°C and a relatively high chlorine retention efficiency(CRE) with TCB as a representative COWs. The amounts of hydroxides, reaction time, and temperature all had notable influence on CRE. When the mass ratio of hydroxides to TCB reached 30:1,approximately 98.1% of the TCB was destroyed within 2.5 hr at 300°C with CRE of 71.6%.According to the residue analysis, the shapes of reaction residues were irregular with particles becoming swollen and porous. The benzene ring and C–Cl bonds disappeared, while carboxyl groups formed in the residues. The stripped chlorine was retained and condensed to form chloride salts, and the relative abundance of the chloride ions associated with the mass of TCB in residues increased from 0 to 75.0% within the 2.5 hr reaction time. The observed concentration of dioxins in residues was 5.6 ngTEQ/kg. A reaction pathway and possible additional reactions that occur in this dechlorination system were proposed. Oxidizing agents may attack TCB and facilitate hydrogenation/dechlorination reactions, making this process a promising and environmentally friendly approach for chlorine-containing organic waste treatment.     

烟花爆竹燃放对北京大气污染物和水溶性无机离子的影响

为了解春节期间烟花爆竹燃放对北京大气污染物和PM_2.5中水溶性无机离子贡献的影响,采用浓度特征对比、相关性分析等方法,对2011年2月1日-3月1日期间的PM₁₀、气态污染物、PM_2.5中水溶性无机离子浓度等在线数据进行了分析.结果表明:烟花爆竹的燃放会在短时间内加重PM₁₀颗粒物污染,集中燃放期（含除夕、春节、正月初五、元宵节）ρ（PM₁₀）和φ（SO₂）（分别为232μg/m3和40.2×10-9）是非集中燃放期（63μg/m3和16.0×10-9）的3.7和2.5倍,燃放烟花爆竹对ρ（PM₁₀）和φ（SO₂）的小时贡献率分别达到56.8%和35.6%;但对φ（CO）、φ（NO）、φ（NO₂）无显著影响.而观测期间由其他因素导致的污染期ρ（PM₁₀）和各气态污染物小时体积分数有所增加,分别是非集中燃放期的3.0~8.3倍.燃放烟花爆竹对PM_2.5中ρ（Mg2+）、ρ（K+）、ρ（Cl-）的影响最大,分别为非集中燃放期的65.0、31.6、6.9倍,贡献率分别为88.6%、87.2%、65.8%. ρ（Mg2+）、ρ（K+）与ρ（Cl-）在集中燃放期表现出较高的相关性（R>0.9）.污染期ρ（SO₄2-）、ρ（NO₃-）、ρ（NH₄+）明显升高,分别为非集中燃放期的3.8、16.4、8.3倍,同时高于集中燃放期（分别为2.7、2.5、2.1倍）.集中燃放期PM_2.5中主要以NH₄HSO₄、NH₄NO₃、KNO₃、KCl、NH₄Cl、MgCl₂等形式存在.集中燃放期硫氧化物转化率（SOR）高于非集中燃放期和污染期,而氮氧化物转化率（NOR）则是污染期最高.研究显示,燃放烟花爆竹对ρ（PM₁₀）及PM_2.5中ρ（Mg2+）、ρ（K+）、ρ（Cl-）影响最大,污染期各离子浓度均有大幅升高,NOR在污染期的高值是导致ρ（NO₃-）升高的重要原因.      

Impacts of land use,restoration, and climate change on tropical peat carbon stocks in the twenty-first century: implications for climate mitigation

The climate mitigation potential of tropical peatlands has gained increased attention as Southeast Asian peatlands are being deforested, drained and burned at very high rates, causing globally significant carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions to the atmosphere. We used a process-based dynamic tropical peatland model to explore peat carbon (C) dynamics of several management scenarios within the context of simulated twenty-first century climate change. Simulations of all scenarios with land use, including restoration, indicated net C losses over the twenty-first century ranging from 10 to 100 % of pre-disturbance values. Fire can be the dominant C-loss pathway, particularly in the drier climate scenario we tested. Simulated 100 years of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) cultivation with an initial prescribed burn resulted in 2400–3000 Mg CO₂?ha^?1 total emissions. Simulated restoration following one 25-year oil palm rotation reduced total emissions to 440–1200 Mg CO₂?ha^?1, depending on climate. These results suggest that even under a very optimistic scenario of hydrological and forest restoration and the wettest climate regime, only about one third of the peat C lost to the atmosphere from 25 years of oil palm cultivation can be recovered in the following 75 years if the site is restored. Emissions from a simulated land degradation scenario were most sensitive to climate, with total emissions ranging from 230 to 10,600 Mg CO₂?ha^?1 over 100 years for the wettest and driest dry season scenarios, respectively. The large difference was driven by increased fire probability. Therefore, peat fire suppression is an effective management tool to maintain tropical peatland C stocks in the near term and should be a high priority for climate mitigation efforts. In total, we estimate emissions from current cleared peatlands and peatlands converted to oil palm in Southeast Asia to be 8.7 Gt CO₂ over 100 years with a moderate twenty-first century climate. These emissions could be minimized by effective fire suppression and hydrological restoration.     

北天山东段阜康断裂吉木萨尔段古地震事件研究

阜康断裂带是北天山东段博格达弧形推覆构造一条重要的地质地貌构造分界线,吉木萨尔段位于阜康断裂带最东部,晚第四纪以来断裂活动性明显,地表形成一系列的地质地貌现象。通过在吉木萨尔段开展详细的地质地貌调查、断裂陡坎测量以及探槽剖面分析等工作,从探槽发现8次古地震事件,由老到新发生年代分别为:E1(257±24~376±22)ka B.P.;E2(2271±193~257±24)ka B.P.;E3(155±04~227±09)ka B.P.;E4(133±04~1359±116)ka B.P.;E5(87±05~133±04)ka B.P.;E6(65±15~675±057)ka B.P.;E7(20±10~35±08)ka B.P.;E8(?~20±10)ka B.P.。最新一次古地震为距今约(20±10)ka,古地震事件复发周期为(24-745)ka。吉木萨尔东南探槽有两条平行断层陡坎F1-7-1及F1-7-2。根据测年结果显示:最新活动时代分别为(87±05)ka和(20±10)ka,F_(1-7-1)早于F_(1-7-2)形成。     

Evaluation of carbon dioxide storage potential for the Bohai Basin,north-east China

The storage potential of selected sites within the Bohai Basin was assessed for the COACH project. The Gangdong oilfield is considered to have a small potential storage capacity (23 Mt) and to be possibly suitable for an enhanced oil recovery or small-scale storage pilot rather than large-scale storage. The Shengli oilfield province is considered to have a great potential storage capacity (472 Mt in eight selected fields), however, these fields, like those of the Gangdong oilfield province, are compartmentalised by faulting and stratigraphy and likely to be quite challenging for injection. Unmineable coal seams in the Kailuan mining area were also considered for storage, the estimated capacity is 504 Gt adsorbed onto the coal and 38,100 Mt void storage capacity. However, the coals have low porosity and permeability, so they would be expected to have poor injectivity. This is also an active mining area and so any storage site would have to be chosen carefully to avoid affecting future energy resources. The Huimin sub-basin within the Jiyang Depression was identified for consideration as an aquifer storage site; the Guantao Formation has good porosity and permeability in this region, and the regional-level storage capacity of these areas was estimated to be 0.7 Gt. The aquifers in the Huimin sub-basin appear promising for storage, however, less data are available than for the oilfields and the sealing formations are not directly proven to trap buoyant fluids, though in adjacent oilfield in the Shengli oilfield province, the Minghuazhen Formation forms a regional seal for the Guantao Formation.     

Analysis of the trade-off between economic growth and the reduction of nitrogen and phosphorus emissions in the Poyang Lake Watershed, China

Lake eutrophication leading to water pollution is a major global concern. In recent years, rapid economic growth and the increase in the intensity of resource exploitation in China have caused the influx of nitrogen and phosphorus into lakes. This in turn has led to more severe lake eutrophication, more frequent outbreaks of algal blooms, and the degradation of lake ecosystems. An effective plan balancing economic growth with the reduction of nitrogen and phosphorus emissions is greatly needed. The design and implementation of such a plan requires the collection and analysis of pertinent data. In this paper, we use the environmental computable general equilibrium (ECGE) model to identify the most effective way to balance economic growth with the reduction of nitrogen and phosphorus emissions. For the multiregional analysis, we use social accounting matrices (SAMs) and a provincial trade matrix based on the assumptions of the gravity model. We consider the Poyang Lake Watershed as a case study to illustrate the utility of the model. Based on present conditions in the Poyang Lake Watershed, restricting nitrogen and phosphorus emissions from sectors with the highest emissions is more effective for balancing economic growth and the reduction of nitrogen and phosphorus emissions than restricting nitrogen and phosphorus emissions from all sectors.     

秦皇岛雷暴天气的时空尺度分布与雷电灾害分析

利用2003-2012年3～10月秦皇岛地区5个气象站雷暴监测和雷电灾害资料,采用数理统计、天气综合分析方法,得出秦皇岛地区雷暴天气的时空尺度分布特征为：全区年雷暴发生频次总体上呈递减趋势,其中,2005年35次,2008年33次,2012年20次;6月份为全年雷暴发生的峰值时段,7月、8月次之,且与秦皇岛本地主汛期相吻合;在海岸带地区由于受海洋条件影响,个别年份雷暴最早出现在2月份,最晚出现在11月中旬;雷暴天气的日时段主要出现在下午至傍晚,占70%,夜间占20%,其他时段为10%;北部山区的雷电频次大于沿海地区,对应电力、化工等行业雷电灾害呈下降趋势,但是通讯、计算机、家电等弱电系统雷击事件呈递增趋势。