Winter atmospheric circulation signature for the timing of the spring bloom of diatoms in the North Sea

Analysing long-term diatom data from the German Bight and observational climate data for the period 1962–2005, we found a close connection of the inter-annual variation of the timing of the spring bloom with the boreal winter atmospheric circulation. We examined the fact that high diatom counts of the spring bloom tended to occur later when the atmospheric circulation was characterized by winter blocking over Scandinavia. The associated pattern in the sea level pressure showed a pressure dipole with two centres located over the Azores and Norway and was tilted compared to the North Atlantic Oscillation. The bloom was earlier when the cyclonic circulation over Scandinavia allowed an increased inflow of Atlantic water into the North Sea which is associated with clearer, more marine water, and warmer conditions. The bloom was later when a more continental atmospheric flow from the east was detected. At Helgoland Roads, it seems that under turbid water conditions (=?low light) zooplankton grazing can affect the timing of the phytoplankton bloom negatively. Warmer water temperatures will facilitate this. Under clear water conditions, light will be the main governing factor with regard to the timing of the spring bloom. These different water conditions are shown here to be mainly related to large-scale weather patterns. We found that the mean diatom bloom could be predicted from the sea level pressure one to three months in advance. Using historical pressure data, we derived a proxy for the timing of the spring bloom over the last centuries, showing an increased number of late (proxy-) blooms during the eighteenth century when the climate was considerably colder than today. We argue that these variations are important for the interpretation of inter-annual to centennial variations of biological processes. This is of particular interest when considering future scenarios, as well to considerations on past and future effects on the primary production and food webs.     

GDCh-Fachgruppe Umweltchemie und ?kotoxikologie Jahrestagung 2006 Quo vadis Umweltforschung? Von der ‘end of pipe’-Strategie zur Nachhaltigkeit 4. bis 6. Oktober 2006 in Halle (Saale)

Tagungsankündigungen

GDCh-Fachgruppe Umweltchemie und ?kotoxikologie Jahrestagung 2006 Quo vadis Umweltforschung? Von der ‘end of pipe’-Strategie zur Nachhaltigkeit 4. bis 6. Oktober 2006 in Halle (Saale)     

Polychlorinated naphthalenes in sediments from the industrial region of Bitterfeld

Bitterfeld (Germany) was a major site of chemical production in the former German Democratic Republic with chloralkali electrolysis as the basic process. Effluents were dumped via the creek Spittelwasser into the rivers Mulde and Elbe. Despite the fact that the chloralkali industry is known as a possible source of polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), to date no data about PCN pollution in the region of Bitterfeld and downstream regions are available. Therefore, sediments of the creek Spittelwasser were isomer-specifically analysed for penta-, hexa- and heptachlorinated naphthalenes using GC/MS. Concentrations of 880, 543 and 1120 ng/g dry weight were found, respectively. The isomer pattern suggests chloralkali industry as the major source of PCN contamination. Because of their toxicological relevance we suggest to include PCNs into monitoring and risk assessment programs of the rivers Mulde and Elbe downstream of Bitterfeld.     

Use of semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs)

Triolein-containing semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) were employed as passive samplers to provide data on the bioavailable fraction of organic, waterborne, organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in streams flowing through a highly polluted industrial area of Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The contamination of the region with organic pollutants originates in wastewater effluents from the chemical industry, from over one-hundred years of lignite exploitation, and from chemical waste dumps. The main objective was to characterise time-integrated levels of dissolved contaminants, to use them for identification of spatial trends of contamination, and their relationship to potential pollution sources. SPMDs were deployed for 43 days in the summer of 1998 at four sampling sites. The total concentration of pollutants at sampling sites was found to range from a low of 0.8 microgram/SPMD to 25 micrograms/SPMD for PAHs, and from 0.4 microgram/SPMD to 22 micrograms/SPMD for OCPs, respectively. None of the selected PCB congeners was present at quantifiable levels at any sampling site. A point source of water pollution with OCPs and PAHs was identified in the river system considering the total contaminant concentrations and the distribution of individual compounds accumulated by SPMDs at different sampling sites. SPMD-data was also used to estimate average ambient water concentrations of the contaminants at each field site and compared with concentrations measured in bulk water extracts. The truly dissolved or bioavailable portion of contaminants at different sampling sites ranged from 4% to 86% for the PAHs, and from 8% to 18% for the OCPs included in the estimation. The fraction of individual compounds found in the freely dissolved form can be attributed to the range of their hydrophobicity. In comparison with liquid/liquid extraction of water samples, the SPMD method is more suitable for an assessment of the background concentrations of hydrophobic organic contaminants because of substantially lower method quantification limits. Moreover, contaminant residues sequestered by the SPMDs represent an estimation of the dissolved or readily bioavailable concentration of hydrophobic contaminants in water, which is not provided by most analytical approaches.     

III. Ökotoxikologische Charakterisierung der Schwermetall-Immissionsmuster

The spatial variation of the immission patterns of Cr, Fe, Pb and V in the region Leipzig-Halle is dicussed in terms of similarities as well as dissimilarities. The representation by isopleths enables the identification of areas with high and low air pollution. The immission patterns can be used as criteria to select areas suitable for in-field testing so that possible effects on fauna und flora and xenobiotic fluxes can be studied at representative sites. The comparison with literature data yields a first characterization of the ecotoxic potential of the heavy-metal immission for the region. By the principal component analysis a comparative evaluation of the spatial structure of all element contents is performed, which leads to conclusions about emission sources and the physicochemical behaviour of the elements.     

Chemisch-biologische Teststrategien und Bewertungskonzepte

Ohne Zusammenfassung DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/uwsf2000.05.021     

Weak defence in a tritrophic system: olfactory response to salicylaldehyde reflects prey specialization of potter wasps

Predatory arthropods are attracted to infochemicals emitted by their herbivore prey or by the prey’s host plants. We studied such a tritrophic system measuring the olfactory responses of three potter wasp species (Symmorphus murarius, Symmorphus gracilis, Discoelius zonalis, Hymenoptera: Eumeninae) to salicylaldehyde, sequestered as a defence compound by Chrysomela leaf beetle larvae when feeding on Salicaceae, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by aspen (Populus tremula, Salicaceae). In electroantennographic recordings (EAG), the highly specialized S. murarius that almost exclusively feeds on larvae of Salicaceae-feeding Chrysomela species was more sensitive to salicylaldehyde than the less specialized S. gracilis, feeding on such Chrysomela species but also weevil larvae. In contrast the related D. zonalis, foraging for microlepidoptera caterpillars on various host plants, did not respond at all. Furthermore, the three wasp species responded differently to aspen VOCs in GC–MS/EAD measurements. These results indicate that the sense of smell of predatory potter wasps differs for prey and plant volatiles among related wasp species according to their degree of host specialization. The considerable differences in salicylaldehyde perception suggest that its originally defensive function has backfired as it is used by specialist potter wasps for prey location. This is an important clue on adaptive mechanisms of the highest trophic level of the well-studied evolutionary arms race among Chrysomela leaf beetles, their host plants and their enemies.     

Parameterizing soil and weather inputs for crop simulation models using the VEMAP database

Soil and weather data are critical for the operation of crop simulation models. However, in many cases they are not readily available, especially applications at a regional or larger spatial scale. The Vegetation/Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis Project (VEMAP) provides massive quantities of geo-referenced soil and weather data variables on a half-degree latitude–longitude grid covering the conterminous USA. The VEMAP data were derived from a range of products and analyses, including ground observations, cluster analyses, kriging interpolation, and data assimilation. The objective of this study was to convert the soil and daily weather data of VEMAP into a format that can be used in the popular modeling software Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT). Users can select appropriate soil or daily weather information for the area of interest. The conversion of the VEMAP data resulted in 5927 unique soil profiles and 3261 unique weather station files that encompass daily data from 1895 to 1993. To demonstrate the utility of this database in DSSAT, one representative county of the state of Georgia, USA was selected and a soybean simulation model was employed to simulate final yield using the extracted soil and daily weather data for the normal year (1961–1990). Meanwhile, the extracted daily weather data were compared with ground station observations from the National Weather Service Cooperative Observer Program (COOP). The paired t-test showed that no significant differences were found between the daily weather data and between simulated yields based on VEMAP and COOP weather data for the selected location. The outcome of this research showed that the VEMAP data can be used for crop model applications. However, further research is needed to assess the accuracy of the datasets for a variety of crops at a regional or national scale.