北京大气颗粒物和重金属铅干沉降通量及季节变化

为了解大气颗粒物和重金属铅(Pb)干沉降通量的变化规律,采用聚氨酯泡沫膜片为代用面联合干湿沉降自动观测设备,于2013年12月~2014年11月在北京城区采集了颗粒物干沉降,利用微波消解和电感耦合等离子体质谱仪对样品中全量Pb和水溶性Pb进行了测试分析.结果表明,北京大气颗粒物和Pb干沉降通量分别为0.84 t·(hm~2·a)~(-1)和7.56mg·(m~2·a)~(-1),呈现出春季冬季秋季~夏季的特征.大气颗粒物中水溶性Pb干沉降通量为3.14 mg·(m~2·a)~(-1),占Pb干沉降总量的43%,这一比例呈现出冬春季高于夏秋季的特征.人为源排放不仅增加了大气颗粒物和Pb的干沉降通量,也改变了水溶性Pb干沉降通量的季节分布.研究结果对科学评估重金属沉降的生态影响和健康效应提供了科学基础,同时凸显了消减人为源重金属排放的重要性.     

太湖湖滨带春季悬浮物沉降特征与水体营养盐响应

为研究湖滨带悬浮物沉降过程中水体营养盐时空分布状况,在太湖西岸湖滨带典型区域进行原位沉降实验,计算了沉降量和沉降通量,并对沉降过程中TP、TN、NH+4-N、NO-3-N测定分析.结果表明,太湖西岸湖滨带沉降通量表现为人工芦苇区近岸无植被区自然芦苇区远岸无植被区,平均沉降通量分别为(1 383.40±925.60)、(1 208.67±743.50)、(278.72±142.53)、(245.58±154.25)g·(m2·d)-1,沉降第6 d以后沉降量稳定上升,沉降速率大于分解速率;经过持续15 d野外沉降实验观测,沉降过程中近岸带的TP含量是远岸带的2~3倍,且沉积物捕获器内NH+4-N和NO-3-N含量出现显著的差异(P0.01);沉降量与水体TN和NH+4-N含量呈显著相关(P0.01,n=42),表明沉降量的增加会导致上覆水体TN与NH+4-N含量增加;TN与NH+4-N相关系数为0.84,显示沉降量的增加可能加速氮素不同形态间相互转化,这一现象在当前太湖湖泛治理中应当予以重视.     

微生物燃料电池处理含S2-/NH4+废水的研究

以除硫硝化微生物燃料电池(Microbial Fuel Cell,MFC)处理含S~(2-)/NH_4~+的模拟无机废水,研究了不同进水S~(2-)浓度下MFC的产电性能、污染物去除效果和阳极室硫累积情况.结果表明,除硫硝化MFC可实现同步阳极除硫和阴极硝化,并通过非生物电化学作用和生物电化学作用共同产电.进水S~(2-)浓度为(60.8±2.9)、(131.7±2.4)、(161.7±4.5)和(198.1±3.1)mg·L~(-1)时,最佳阳极碳刷清洗周期分别为3、3、3、4个换水周期,前3个进水浓度下的换水周期可分别缩短为6、8和8 h.MFC阴极硝化完全,不受进水S~(2-)浓度影响,但氧从阴极向阳极的渗漏导致阳极库仑效率较低(40%).适当增加进水S~(2-)浓度可增强MFC的产电性能并提高S~(2-)去除负荷和颗粒硫累积比.除硫硝化MFC适宜的进水S~(2-)浓度为(161.7±4.5)mg·L~(-1),相应的最大功率密度为5.77 W·m~(-3),周期产电量为(141.0±5.2)C,S~(2-)去除负荷为(0.31±0.00)g·L~(-1)·d~(-1),颗粒硫累积比达58%.阳极碳纤维丝上沉积有粒径约100 nm的颗粒硫.阳极悬浮物与沉积物相比,悬浮物中S0含量比例较高,而S6+含量比例较低.     

Low cost measurements of nitrogen and sulphur dry deposition velocities at a semi-alpine site: gradient measurements and a comparison with deposition model estimates

The conditional time averaged gradient method was used to measure air-surface exchange of nitrogen and sulphur compounds at a semi-alpine site in Southern Norway. Dry deposition velocities were then obtained from the bi-weekly concentration gradient measurements. Annual deposition velocities were found to be 1.4, 11.8 and 4.0 mm s(-1) for NH3, HNO3 and SO2, respectively, if all data were included, and to be 10.8, 11.8 and 13.0 mm s(-1), respectively, if only positive values were included. Measured deposition velocities were compared to two sets of values estimated from a big-leaf dry deposition module applying to two different land types (short grass and forbs, and tundra), driven by measured micrometeorological parameters. The deposition module gives reasonable values for this site throughout the year, but does not reproduce the large variability as shown in the measured data. No apparent seasonal variations were found from either measurements or module estimates due to the very low productivity of the studied area.     

Spatial and temporal variations of mercury levels in Okefenokee invertebrates: southeast Georgia

Accumulation of mercury in wetland ecosystems has raised concerns about impacts on wetland food webs. This study measured concentrations of mercury in invertebrates of the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia, focusing on levels in amphipods, odonates, and crayfish. We collected and analyzed total mercury levels in these invertebrates from 32 sampling stations across commonly occurring sub-habitats. Sampling was conducted in December, May, and August over a two-year period. The highest levels of mercury were detected in amphipods, with total mercury levels often in excess of 20 ppm. Bioaccumulation pathways of mercury in invertebrates of the Okefenokee are probably complex; despite being larger and higher in the food chain, levels in odonates and crayfish were much lower than in amphipods. Mercury levels in invertebrates varied temporally with the highest levels detected in May. There was a lack of spatial variation in mercury levels which is consistent with aerial deposition of mercury.     

Mercury concentrations in wild mink (Mustela vison) and river otters (Lontra canadensis) collected from eastern and Atlantic Canada: relationship to age and parasitism

Total mercury (Hg) concentrations were measured in the fur, brain and liver of wild mink (Mustela vison) and river otters (Lontra canadensis) collected from eastern and Atlantic Canada. Total Hg concentrations in fur were strongly correlated with levels in the brain and liver. There was no difference in tissue concentrations between male and female mink; however, female otters had significantly higher fur, brain and liver Hg levels than males. Similarly, there was not a significant relationship between Hg concentration and age of mink, whereas in otters, Hg concentrations in all three tissues decreased significantly with age. In both species, only a very small percentage of the variability in Hg concentration was explained by age. After adjusting the data for site-to-site differences in Hg levels, Hg concentrations in the fur of mink infected by the parasite, Dioctophyma renale, were found to be significantly higher than Hg levels in uninfected mink.     

Empirical and simulated critical loads for nitrogen deposition in California mixed conifer forests

Empirical critical loads (CL) for N deposition were determined from changes in epiphytic lichen communities, elevated NO(3)(-) leaching in streamwater, and reduced fine root biomass in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) at sites with varying N deposition. The CL for lichen community impacts of 3.1kg ha(-1) year(-1) is expected to protect all components of the forest ecosystem from the adverse effects of N deposition. Much of the western Sierra Nevada is above the lichen-based CL, showing significant changes in lichen indicator groups. The empirical N deposition threshold and that simulated by the DayCent model for enhanced NO(3)(-)leaching were 17kg N ha(-1) year(-1). DayCent estimated that elevated NO(3)(-) leaching in the San Bernardino Mountains began in the late 1950s. Critical values for litter C:N (34.1), ponderosa pine foliar N (1.1%), and N concentrations (1.0%) in the lichen Letharia vulpina ((L.) Hue) are indicative of CL exceedance.     

Differences in the growth response of three bryophyte species to nitrogen

The effect of nitrogen on biomass production, shoot elongation and relative density of the mosses Pleurozium schreberi, Hylocomium splendens and Dicranum polysetum was studied in a chamber experiment. Monocultures were exposed to 10 N levels ranging from 0.02 to 7.35 g N m⁻² during a 90-day period. All the growth responses were unimodal, but the species showed differences in the shape parameters of the curves. Hylocomium and Pleurozium achieved optimum biomass production at a lower N level than Dicranum. Pleurozium had the highest biomass production per tissue N concentration. Tolerance to N was the widest in Dicranum, whereas Hylocomium had the narrowest tolerance. Dicranum retained N less efficiently from precipitation than the other two species, which explained its deviating response. All species translocated some N from parent to new shoots. The results emphasize that the individual responses of bryophytes to N should be known when species are used as bioindicators.     

Mercury biomethylation assessment in the estuary of Bilbao (North of Spain)

The relationship between the microbial methylation of mercury and the microbial activities in sediments and water collected from the estuary of Bilbao (North of Spain) was studied in three different sampling points and in two different seasons. Three different cultures were prepared with a sediment slurry to distinguish between biotic and abiotic methylation pathways and the variations of the methylmercury concentration and the variations of the population of total number of bacteria (TDC), anaerobic heterotrophic bacteria (AHB), sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and Desulfovibrio were measured. From this work, it can be concluded that the variation of MeHg concentrations is a result of the methylation/demethylation processes in the sediments, and that the abiotic processes have a negligible contribution to those processes. According to the statistical analysis of the results (partial least squares analysis) a significant statistical correlation was established between methylmercury and the SRB counts.     

Trends in snowpack chemistry and comparison to National Atmospheric Deposition Program results for the Rocky Mountains, US, 1993–2004

Seasonal snowpack chemistry data from the Rocky Mountain region of the US was examined to identify long-term trends in concentration and chemical deposition in snow and in snow-water equivalent. For the period 1993–2004, comparisons of trends were made between 54 Rocky Mountain Snowpack sites and 16 National Atmospheric Deposition Program wetfall sites located nearby in the region. The region was divided into three subregions: Northern, Central, and Southern. A non-parametric correlation method known as the Regional Kendall Test was used. This technique collectively computed the slope, direction, and probability of trend for several sites at once in each of the Northern, Central, and Southern Rockies subregions. Seasonal Kendall tests were used to evaluate trends at individual sites.Significant trends occurred during the period in wetfall and snowpack concentrations and deposition, and in precipitation. For the comparison, trends in concentrations of ammonium, nitrate, and sulfate for the two networks were in fair agreement. In several cases, increases in ammonium and nitrate concentrations, and decreases in sulfate concentrations for both wetfall and snowpack were consistent in the three subregions. However, deposition patterns between wetfall and snowpack more often were opposite, particularly for ammonium and nitrate. Decreases in ammonium and nitrate deposition in wetfall in the central and southern rockies subregions mostly were moderately significant (p<0.11) in constrast to highly significant increases in snowpack (p<0.02). These opposite trends likely are explained by different rates of declining precipitation during the recent drought (1999–2004) and increasing concentration. Furthermore, dry deposition was an important factor in total deposition of nitrogen in the region. Sulfate deposition decreased with moderate to high significance in all three subregions in both wetfall and snowpack. Precipitation trends consistently were downward and significant for wetfall, snowpack, and snow-telemetry data for the central and southern rockies subregions (p<0.03), while no trends were noted for the Northern Rockies subregion.