Glacial isostatic stress shadowing by the Antarctic ice sheet

Science.gov (United States)

Ivins, E. R.; James, T. S.; Klemann, V.

2005-01-01

Numerous examples of fault slip that offset late Quaternary glacial deposits and bedrock polish support the idea that the glacial loading cycle causes earthquakes in the upper crust. A semianalytical scheme is presented for quantifying glacial and postglacial lithospheric fault reactivation using contemporary rock fracture prediction methods. It extends previous studies by considering differential Mogi-von Mises stresses, in addition to those resulting from a Coulomb analysis. The approach utilizes gravitational viscoelastodynamic theory and explores the relationships between ice mass history and regional seismicity and faulting in a segment of East Antarctica containing the great Antarctic Plate (Balleny Island) earthquake of 25 March 1998 (Mw 8.1). Predictions of the failure stress fields within the seismogenic crust are generated for differing assumptions about background stress orientation, mantle viscosity, lithospheric thickness, and possible late Holocene deglaciation for the D91 Antarctic ice sheet history. Similar stress fracture fields are predicted by Mogi-von Mises and Coulomb theory, thus validating previous rebound Coulomb analysis. A thick lithosphere, of the order of 150-240 km, augments stress shadowing by a late melting (middle-late Holocene) coastal East Antarctic ice complex and could cause present-day earthquakes many hundreds of kilometers seaward of the former Last Glacial Maximum grounding line.

Cod monitoring; results 2015, quarter 3

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reijden, van der K.J.; Machiels, M.A.M.; Trapman, B.K.; Kraan, M.L.

2015-01-01

The Cod monitoring program is part of the Dutch cod avoidance plan developed by the Dutch Government together with the Dutch fishing sector. The aim of this cod monitoring program is to provide information on the Catch per Unit Effort (CpUE) in the TR fleet (bottom trawls and seines). This is needed

Cod monitoring : results 2015, quarter 2

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Teal, L.R.; Reijden, van der K.J.; Machiels, M.A.M.; Kraan, M.L.

2015-01-01

The Cod monitoring program is part of the Dutch cod avoidance plan developed by the Dutch Government together with the Dutch fishing sector. The aim of this cod monitoring program is to provide information on the Catch per Unit Effort (CpUE) in the TR fleet (bottom trawls and seines). This is needed

AFSC/REFM: Pacific cod Localized Depletion Study

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Data from Localized Depletion study for Pacific cod 2001-2005. Study was conducted using cod pot gear to measure localized abundance of Pacific cod inside and...

Explaining the catch efficiency of different cod pots using underwater video to observe cod entry and exit behaviour

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hedgärde, Maria; Berg, Casper Willestofte; Kindt-Larsen, Lotte

2016-01-01

Cod pots are considered seal-safe fishing gear and are proposed as a solution to mitigate the ongoing seal-fisheries conflict in the Baltic Sea. This study examined various factors which could affect the entry and exit behaviour of cod in relation to cod pots. Statistical modelling was used...

The eastern Baltic cod fishery: a fleet-based management strategy evaluation framework to assess the cod recovery plan of 2008

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bastardie, Francois; Nielsen, J. Rasmus; Kraus, Gerd

2010-01-01

The eastern Baltic cod fishery: a fleet-based management strategy evaluation framework to assess the cod recovery plan of 2008. - ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 71-86.......The eastern Baltic cod fishery: a fleet-based management strategy evaluation framework to assess the cod recovery plan of 2008. - ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 71-86....

Geologic history of Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Science.gov (United States)

,

1976-01-01

Cape Cod, a sandy peninsula built mostly during the Ice Age, juts into the Atlantic Ocean like a crooked arm. Because of its exposed location, Cape Cod was visited by many early explorers. Although clear-cut evidence is lacking, the Vikings may have sighted this land about 1,000 years ago. It was visited by Samuel de Champlain in 1605, and his detailed descriptions and charts have helped present-day scientists to determine the rate of growth of Nauset Beach marsh and Nauset spit. Bartholomew Gosnold, a lesser known explorer, settled for a short time on the Elizabeth Islands to the southwest and gave Cape Cod its name in 1602. The Pilgrims first landed in America on the tip of Lower Cape Cod after they were turned back from their more southerly destination by shoals between Cape Cod and Nantucket Island. On Cape Cod they found potable water and food and had their first fight with the natives. The Pilgrims, however, decided that this land was too isolated, too exposed, and too sandy to support them, and they sailed across Cape Cod Bay to establish Plymouth. These features remain today. Small villages are separated by large areas of forest, dune, beach, and marsh. This unspoiled natural beauty makes Cape Cod one of the most favored vacation areas for the people living in the thickly settled Northeastern States. Cape Cod is of particular interest to geologists because it was formed by glaciers very recently in terms of geologic time. During the Great Ice Age, (the Pleistocene Epoch which began 2 to 3 million years ago), glaciers advanced from the north into the temperate regions of the Earth. Glacial ice covered the land at least four times. Each advance was accompanied by a worldwide lowering of sea level because the source of the ice was water from the seas. When the glaciers melted, the climate and sea level were probably much like they are today. In fact, some scientists believe that the Earth is presently between glacial episodes and that ice once again will

Occurrence of anisakid nematodes in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and Greenland cod (Gadus ogac), West Greenland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mouritsen, Kim N.; Hedeholm, Rasmus; Schack, Henriette B.

2010-01-01

Anisakid nematodes commonly infect gadids, and are of economic and aesthetic importance to the commercial fishing industry in Greenland as some species are pathogenic to humans. However, very little is known about the occurrence of these parasites and their impact on the hosts in Greenland waters....... During a survey in 2005, stomach sample of 227 Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and 64 Greenland cod (Gadus ogac) was collected in Godthaab and Sisimiut fiord systems in West Greenland waters. All cod were dissected for stomach contents and anisakid nematodes were removed from the visceral cavity. Third stage...... nematode species regarding prevalence of infection and mean infection intensity was evident, and there was no relationship between fish condition and the intensity of nematode infections. Standardised for size, capelin-eating cod were in better condition and more heavily infected than fish subsisting...

Nitrogen and COD Removal from Septic Tank Wastewater in Subsurface Flow Constructed Wetlands: Plants Effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Collison, R S; Grismer, M E

2015-11-01

We evaluated subsurface flow (SSF) constructed wetland treatment performance with respect to organics (COD) and nitrogen (ammonium and nitrate) removal from domestic (septic tank) wastewater as affected by the presence of plants, substrate "rock" cation exchange capacity (CEC), laboratory versus field conditions and use of synthetic as compared to actual domestic wastewater. This article considers the effects of plants on constructed wetland treatment in the field. Each constructed wetland system was comprised of two beds (2.6 m long by 0.28 m wide and deep filled with ~18 mm crushed lava rock) separated by an aeration tank connected in series. The lava rock had a porosity of ~47% and a CEC of 4 meq/100 gm. One pair of constructed wetland systems was planted with cattails in May 2008, while an adjacent pair of systems remained un-planted. Collected septic tank or synthesized wastewater was allowed to gravity feed each constructed wetland system and effluent samples were regularly collected and tested for COD and nitrogen species during four time periods spanning November 2008 through June 2009. These effluent concentrations were tested for statistical differences at the 95% level for individual time periods as well as the overall 6-month period. Organics removal from domestic wastewater was 78.8% and 76.1% in the planted and un-planted constructed wetland systems, respectively, while ammonium removal was 94.5% and 90.2%, respectively. Similarly, organics removal from the synthetic wastewater of equivalent strength was 88.8% and 90.1% for planted and un-planted constructed wetland systems, respectively, while ammonium removal was 96.9% and 97.3%, respectively.

Walking the cod: an investigation into the relative robustness of cod, Gadus morhua, skeletal elements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew K.G. Jones

1999-12-01

Full Text Available A simple experiment is described which details what happens to the bones of cod when they are walked on by a man. The pattern of fragmentation for various elements is illustrated and an index of robustness proposed for those elements in a cod skeleton most frequently recovered from archaeological sites.

CodY-Dependent Regulation of Sporulation in Clostridium difficile.

Science.gov (United States)

Nawrocki, Kathryn L; Edwards, Adrianne N; Daou, Nadine; Bouillaut, Laurent; McBride, Shonna M

2016-08-01

Clostridium difficile must form a spore to survive outside the gastrointestinal tract. The factors that trigger sporulation in C. difficile remain poorly understood. Previous studies have suggested that a link exists between nutritional status and sporulation initiation in C. difficile In this study, we investigated the impact of the global nutritional regulator CodY on sporulation in C. difficile strains from the historical 012 ribotype and the current epidemic 027 ribotype. Sporulation frequencies were increased in both backgrounds, demonstrating that CodY represses sporulation in C. difficile The 027 codY mutant exhibited a greater increase in spore formation than the 012 codY mutant. To determine the role of CodY in the observed sporulation phenotypes, we examined several factors that are known to influence sporulation in C. difficile Using transcriptional reporter fusions and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis, we found that two loci associated with the initiation of sporulation, opp and sinR, are regulated by CodY. The data demonstrate that CodY is a repressor of sporulation in C. difficile and that the impact of CodY on sporulation and expression of specific genes is significantly influenced by the strain background. These results suggest that the variability of CodY-dependent regulation is an important contributor to virulence and sporulation in current epidemic isolates. This report provides further evidence that nutritional state, virulence, and sporulation are linked in C. difficile This study sought to examine the relationship between nutrition and sporulation in C. difficile by examining the global nutritional regulator CodY. CodY is a known virulence and nutritional regulator of C. difficile, but its role in sporulation was unknown. Here, we demonstrate that CodY is a negative regulator of sporulation in two different ribotypes of C. difficile We also demonstrate that CodY regulates known effectors of sporulation, Opp and Sin

The Antarctic Master Directory -- the Electronic Card Catalog of Antarctic Data

Science.gov (United States)

Scharfen, G.; Bauer, R.

2003-12-01

The Antarctic Master Directory (AMD) is a Web-based, searchable record of thousands of Antarctic data descriptions. These data descriptions contain information about what data were collected, where they were collected, when they were collected, who the scientists are, who the point of contact is, how to get the data, and information about the format of the data and what documentation and bibliographic information exists. With this basic descriptive information about content and access for thousands of Antarctic scientific data sets, the AMD is a resource for scientists to advertise the data they have collected and to search for data they need. The AMD has been created by more than twenty nations which conduct research in the Antarctic under the auspices of the Antarctic Treaty. It is a part of the International Directory Network/Global Change Master Directory (IDN/GCMD). Using the AMD is easy. Users can search on subject matter key words, data types, geographic place-names, temporal or spatial ranges, or conduct free-text searches. To search the AMD go to: http://gcmd.nasa.gov/Data/portals/amd/. Contributing your own data descriptions for Antarctic data that you have collected is also easy. Scientists can start by submitting a short data description first (as a placeholder in the AMD, and to satisfy National Science Foundation (NSF) reporting requirements), and then add to, modify or update their record whenever it is appropriate. An easy to use on-line tool and a simple tutorial are available at: http://nsidc.org/usadcc. With NSF Office of Polar Programs (OPP) funding, the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) operates the U.S. Antarctic Data Coordination Center (USADCC), partly to assist scientists in using and contributing to the AMD. The USADCC website is at http://nsidc.org/usadcc.

Antarctic station life: The first 15 years of mixed expeditions to the Antarctic

Science.gov (United States)

Sarris, Aspa

2017-02-01

This study examined the experiences of women who lived and worked on remote and isolated Antarctic stations for up to 15 months at a time. The study employed purposeful sampling and a longitudinal - processual approach to study women's experiences over the first 15 years of mixed gender Antarctic expeditions. The retrospective analysis was based on a semi-structured interview administered to 14 women upon their return to Australia. The results showed that women referred to the natural physical Antarctic environment as one of the best aspects of their experience and the reason they would recommend the Antarctic to their friends as a good place to work. In describing the worst aspect of their experience, women referred to aspects of Antarctic station life, including: (i) the male dominated nature of station culture; (ii) the impact of interpersonal conflict, including gender based conflict and friction between scientists and trades workers; and (iii) the lack of anonymity associated with living and working with the same group of individuals, mainly men, for up to 12 months or more. The results are discussed within the context of the evolution of Antarctic station culture and recommendations are made in terms of the demography of expeditions, expeditioner selection and recruitment and the ongoing monitoring of Antarctic station culture. The study presents a framework that can be applied to groups and teams living and working in analogous isolated, confined and extreme work environments, including outer space missions.

Particulate COD balance of particulate cod in eletrocuagulation/flotation reactor treating tannery effluent

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo Babora Borri

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Mass balance or particulate organic matter was studied in terms of COD, by means of electrocoagulation/flotation (ECF reactor treating tannery effluent. Reactor was operated in fill and draw (batch mode. Operating in hydraulic residence time of 65 minutes, ECF reactor reached 55 % COD removal. Although volatile solids were also removed from liquid phase (removal of 40%, fixed solids concentration, and hence total solids concentration, showed to be higher in withdrawn effluent than in ECF’s influent. This was assigned to NaCl added in order to enhance conductivity in wastewater.

Antarctic Epilithic Lichens as Niches for Black Meristematic Fungi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Zucconi

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Sixteen epilithic lichen samples (13 species, collected from seven locations in Northern and Southern Victoria Land in Antarctica, were investigated for the presence of black fungi. Thirteen fungal strains isolated were studied by both morphological and molecular methods. Nuclear ribosomal 18S gene sequences were used together with the most similar published and unpublished sequences of fungi from other sources, to reconstruct an ML tree. Most of the studied fungi could be grouped together with described or still unnamed rock-inhabiting species in lichen dominated Antarctic cryptoendolithic communities. At the edge of life, epilithic lichens withdraw inside the airspaces of rocks to find conditions still compatible with life; this study provides evidence, for the first time, that the same microbes associated to epilithic thalli also have the same fate and chose endolithic life. These results support the concept of lichens being complex symbiotic systems, which offer attractive and sheltered habitats for other microbes.

The Polar Rock Repository: Rescuing Polar Collections for New Research

Science.gov (United States)

Grunow, A.

2016-12-01

Geological field expeditions in polar regions are logistically difficult, financially expensive and can have a significant environmental impact on pristine regions. The scarcity of outcrop in Antarctica (98% ice-covered) makes previously collected rock samples very valuable to the science community. NSF recognized the need for preserving rock, dredge, and terrestrial core samples from polar areas and created the Polar Rock Repository (PRR). The PRR collection allows for full and open access to both samples and metadata via the PRR website. In addition to the physical samples and their basic metadata, the PRR archives supporting materials from the collector, field notebooks, images of the samples, field maps, air photos, thin sections and any associated bibliography/DOI's. Many of these supporting materials are unique. More than 40,000 samples are available from the PRR for scientific analysis to researchers around the globe. Most of the samples cataloged at the PRR were collected more than 30 years ago, some more than 100 years ago. The rock samples and metadata are made available online through an advanced search engine for the PRR website. This allows scientists to "drill down" into search results using categories and look-up object fields similar to websites like Amazon. Results can be viewed in a table, downloaded as a spreadsheet, or plotted on an interactive map that supports display of satellite imagery and bathymetry layers. Samples can be requested by placing them in the `shopping cart'. These old sample collections have been repeatedly used by scientists from around the world. One data request involved locating coal deposits in Antarctica for a global compilation and another for looking at the redox state of batholithic rocks from the Antarctic Peninsula using magnetic susceptibilities of PRR rocks. Sample usage has also included non-traditional geologic studies, such as a search for monopoles in Cenozoic volcanic samples, and remote sensing

Between Localization and Delocalization: Ru(cod)2+ Units in the Zintl Clusters [Bi9 {Ru(cod)}2 ]3- and [Tl2 Bi6 {Ru(cod)}]2.

Science.gov (United States)

Lichtenberger, Niels; Spang, Nils; Eichhöfer, Andreas; Dehnen, Stefanie

2017-10-16

Reactions of [K(crypt-222)] 2 (TlBi 3 )⋅0.5 en (1 b) with [Ru(cod)(H 2 CC(Me)CH 2 ) 2 ] (A) in 1,2-diaminoethane (en) led to the formation of two compounds with new bismuth-rich cluster anions, [K(crypt-222)] 3 [Bi 9 {Ru(cod)} 2 ]⋅1.5 en (2) and [K(crypt-222)] 2 [Tl 2 Bi 6 {Ru(cod)}]⋅2 tol (3), alongside the salt of a binary nido cluster, [K(crypt-222)] 3 (Tl 4 Bi 5 )⋅2 en (4). The anions in 2 and 3 are two further examples of rare heterometallic clusters containing Ru atoms. As one cod ligand is retained on each Ru atom in both clusters, the anions may be viewed as intermediates on the way towards larger, ligand-free intermetalloid clusters. Quantum-chemical studies provided insight into the bonding situation in these clusters. According to these studies, the anion of 2 features both electron-precise and electron-deficient parts. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry analysis indicated that the clusters undergo stepwise fragmentation. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

COD and colour removal from molasses spent wash using activated ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The removal of COD and colour from a melanoidin solution with this activated carbon was carried out using an experimental design taking 4 factors into account. These were adsorbent dose, contact time, pH and initial COD concentration, with removal of COD and colour as response variables. COD reduction was ...

Selective haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) trawling: Avoiding cod (Gadus morhua) bycatch

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krag, Ludvig Ahm; Holst, René; Madsen, Niels

2010-01-01

The critical condition of the North Sea cod stocks has resulted in restrictions on not only cod, but also haddock and other species that are caught together with cod. Thus full exploitation of the haddock stock is unachievable unless cod can be excluded from the haddock catch. We designed a selec...... dependent: smaller cod escaped the trawl in greater numbers than did larger individuals. Whiting, saithe. lemon sole, and plaice were included in the analysis. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved....

Sensory characteristics of different cod products

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sveinsdottir, K.; Martinsdottir, E.; Hyldig, Grethe

2010-01-01

atmosphere) were evaluated with quantitative descriptive analysis by a trained sensory panel. Signal-to-noise analysis, p*MSE (discrimination and repeatability) and line plots proved to be very useful in studying panelists' performance. Most sensory attributes described significant differences between...... the products, and principal component analysis provided an overview of the differences and similarities between the products with regard to sensory characteristics. Farmed cod had different sensory characteristics compared with wild cod, such as more meat flavor, and rubbery and meaty texture. Different...... storage methods had minor influence on sensory characteristics of cod fillets after short storage time, but after extended storage, the groups were different with regard to most attributes. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS This paper presents different ways of analyzing sensory data. The process of analysis...

Pakistan and Antarctic research - an overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rizvi, S.H.

1993-01-01

The paper describes the significance of Antarctica and the necessity of conducting scientific research for the understanding of the global environment and through various environmental processes operative in Antarctica. The paper presents a review of the Pakistan's activities and research interests in Antarctica focussing on the salient features of the Pakistan's Antarctic Research Programme and objectives. It summarises the significance of Antarctica, Antarctic Research and the interests of the world in Antarctica and international co-operation for Antarctic Research. The paper also highlights the philosophy of Antarctic Science and provides some guidelines for the development of Antarctic Research programmes for Pakistan and for the newcomers in Antarctica particularly for the developing countries. (author)

COD correction for laser cooling at S-LSR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Souda, Hikaru; Fujimoto, Shinji; Tongu, Hiromu; Shirai, Toshiyuki; Tanabe, Mikio; Ishikawa, Takehiro; Nakao, Masao; Ikegami, Masahiro; Wakita, Akihisa; Iwata, Soma; Fujimoto, Tetsuya; Takeuchi, Takeshi; Noda, Koji; Noda, Akira

2008-01-01

A closed orbit is corrected for single-turn injection to perform laser cooling experiments of 40 keV 24 Mg + beam at the small laser-equipped storage ring (S-LSR). Closed orbit distortion (COD) corrections have been carried out using a downhill simplex method, and CODs of less than ±0.5mm have been achieved throughout the whole circumference. The injection orbit and the CODs are optimized to pass through the two aperture holes in the alignment targets located in the laser cooling section with an algorithm to maximize beam lifetime. The CODs at the aperture holes are reduced to be less than ±0.2mm, assuring an overlap between the laser and the 24 Mg + ion beam.

Antarctic crabs: invasion or endurance?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huw J Griffiths

Full Text Available Recent scientific interest following the "discovery" of lithodid crabs around Antarctica has centred on a hypothesis that these crabs might be poised to invade the Antarctic shelf if the recent warming trend continues, potentially decimating its native fauna. This "invasion hypothesis" suggests that decapod crabs were driven out of Antarctica 40-15 million years ago and are only now returning as "warm" enough habitats become available. The hypothesis is based on a geographically and spatially poor fossil record of a different group of crabs (Brachyura, and examination of relatively few Recent lithodid samples from the Antarctic slope. In this paper, we examine the existing lithodid fossil record and present the distribution and biogeographic patterns derived from over 16,000 records of Recent Southern Hemisphere crabs and lobsters. Globally, the lithodid fossil record consists of only two known specimens, neither of which comes from the Antarctic. Recent records show that 22 species of crabs and lobsters have been reported from the Southern Ocean, with 12 species found south of 60 °S. All are restricted to waters warmer than 0 °C, with their Antarctic distribution limited to the areas of seafloor dominated by Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW. Currently, CDW extends further and shallower onto the West Antarctic shelf than the known distribution ranges of most lithodid species examined. Geological evidence suggests that West Antarctic shelf could have been available for colonisation during the last 9,000 years. Distribution patterns, species richness, and levels of endemism all suggest that, rather than becoming extinct and recently re-invading from outside Antarctica, the lithodid crabs have likely persisted, and even radiated, on or near to Antarctic slope. We conclude there is no evidence for a modern-day "crab invasion". We recommend a repeated targeted lithodid sampling program along the West Antarctic shelf to fully test the validity of the

Mechanisms controlling rock coast evolution in paraglacial landscapes - examples from Arctic, Antarctic and Scandinavian regions

Science.gov (United States)

Strzelecki, M. C.; Lim, M.; Kasprzek, M.; Swirad, Z. M.; Rachlewicz, G.; Migoń, P.; Pawlowski, L.; Jaskolski, M.

2017-12-01

This paper presents the results of an investigation into the processes controlling development of paraglacial rock coast systems in Hornsund, Svalbard, Admiralty Bay, South Shetland Islands and Gotland Island, Scandinavia. A suite of nested geomorphological and geophysical methods have been applied to characterize the functioning of rock cliffs, shore platforms and stacks influenced by lithological control and geomorphic processes driven by paraglacial coast environments - both in glaciated and deglaciated study sites. Rock hardness, quantified by Schmidt hammer rebound tests, demonstrate strong spatial control on the degree of rock weathering (rock strength) along studied rock coasts. Elevation controlled geomorphic zones are identified and linked to distinct processes and mechanisms, transitioning from peak hardness values at the icefoot/sea-ice through the wave and storm dominated scour zones to the lowest values on the cliff tops, where the effects of periglacial weathering dominate. Observations of rock surface change using a traversing micro-erosion meter (TMEM) indicate that significant changes in erosion rates occur at the junction between shore platform and the cliff toe, where rock erosion is facilitated by frequent wetting and drying and operation of nivation and sea ice processes (formation and melting of snow patches and icefoot complexes). Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys have been used to investigate frozen ground control on rock coast dynamics and reveal the strong interaction with marine processes in polar coastal settings. In Gotland, Scandinavia the morphology of rocky coastal landforms (rauks) bear traces of numerous environmental changes that occurred in Baltic region over the Holocene including salinity, temperature, ice-cover/storminess and relative sea-level. The results are synthesised to propose a new conceptual model of paraglacial rock coast systems, with the aim of contributing towards a unifying concept of cold region

Bacterial diversity of autotrophic enriched cultures from remote, glacial Antarctic, Alpine and Andean aerosol, snow and soil samples

Science.gov (United States)

González-Toril, E.; Amils, R.; Delmas, R. J.; Petit, J.-R.; Komárek, J.; Elster, J.

2009-01-01

Four different communities and one culture of autotrophic microbial assemblages were obtained by incubation of samples collected from high elevation snow in the Alps (Mt. Blanc area) and the Andes (Nevado Illimani summit, Bolivia), from Antarctic aerosol (French station Dumont d'Urville) and a maritime Antarctic soil (King George Island, South Shetlands, Uruguay Station Artigas), in a minimal mineral (oligotrophic) media. Molecular analysis of more than 200 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that all cultured cells belong to the Bacteria domain. Phylogenetic comparison with the currently available rDNA database allowed sequences belonging to Proteobacteria Alpha-, Beta- and Gamma-proteobacteria), Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes phyla to be identified. The Andes snow culture was the richest in bacterial diversity (eight microorganisms identified) and the marine Antarctic soil the poorest (only one). Snow samples from Col du Midi (Alps) and the Andes shared the highest number of identified microorganisms (Agrobacterium, Limnobacter, Aquiflexus and two uncultured Alphaproteobacteria clones). These two sampling sites also shared four sequences with the Antarctic aerosol sample (Limnobacter, Pseudonocardia and an uncultured Alphaproteobacteriaclone). The only microorganism identified in the Antarctica soil (Brevundimonas sp.) was also detected in the Antarctic aerosol. Most of the identified microorganisms had been detected previously in cold environments, marine sediments soils and rocks. Air current dispersal is the best model to explain the presence of very specific microorganisms, like those identified in this work, in environments very distant and very different from each other.

CodY-mediated regulation of Streptococcus pyogenes exoproteins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

McDowell Emily J

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The production of Streptococcus pyogenes exoproteins, many of which contribute to virulence, is regulated in response to nutrient availability. CodY is a transcriptional regulator that controls gene expression in response to amino acid availability. The purpose of this study was to identify differences in the expression of streptococcal exoproteins associated with deletion of the codY gene. Results We compared the secreted proteins produced by wild-type S. pyogenes to a codY mutant in the post-exponential phase of growth. We used both one and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis to separate exoproteins. Proteins that were significantly different in abundance upon repeated analysis were identified with tandem mass spectrometry. The production of the secreted cysteine protease SpeB, a secreted chromosomally encoded nuclease (SdaB, and a putative adhesion factor (Spy49_0549 were more abundant in supernatant fluids obtained from the codY mutant. In addition, hyaluronidase (HylA, CAMP factor (Cfa, a prophage encoded nuclease (Spd-3, and an uncharacterized extracellular protein (Spy49_0015 were less abundant in supernatant fluids obtained from the codY mutant strain. Enzymatic assays showed greater DNase activity in culture supernatants isolated in the post-exponential phase of growth from the codY mutant strain compared to the wild-type strain. Because extracellular nucleases and proteases can influence biofilm formation, we also measured the ability of the strains to form biofilms during growth with both rich medium (Todd Hewitt yeast extract; THY and chemically defined media (CDM. No difference was observed with rich media but with CDM the biofilms formed by the codY mutant strain had less biomass compared to the wild-type strain. Conclusions Overall, the results indicate that CodY alters the abundance of a select group of S. pyogenes exoproteins, including DNases, a protease, and hylauronidase, which together may alleviate

Evolutionary adaptation of muscle power output to environmental temperature: force-velocity characteristics of skinned fibres isolated from antarctic, temperate and tropical marine fish.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, I A; Altringham, J D

1985-09-01

Single fast fibres were isolated from the myotomal muscles of icefish (Chaenocephalus aceratus Lönnberg, Antarctica), North Sea Cod (Gadus morhua L.) and Pacific Blue Marlin (Makaira nigricans Wakiya, Hawaii). Fibres were chemically skinned with the non-ionic detergent Brij-58. Maximum tensions (Po, kN m-2) developed at the characteristic body temperature of each species are 231 for icefish (-1 degree C), 187 for cod (8 degrees C) and 156 for marlin (20 degrees C). At 0 degree C Po is 7 times higher for fibres from the icefish than from the marlin. Fibres from icefish and cod failed to relax completely following activations at temperatures above approximately 12 degrees C. The resultant post-contraction force is associated with a proportional increase in stiffness, suggesting the formation of a population of Ca-insensitive cross bridges. At 10 degrees C there is little interspecific variation in unloaded contraction velocity (Vmax) among the three species. Vmax (muscle lengths s-1) at normal body temperatures are 0.9 for icefish (-1 degree C), 1.0 for cod (8 degrees C) and 3.4 for marlin (20 degrees C). The force-velocity (P-V) relationship becomes progressively more curved with increasing temperature for all three species. Maximum power output for the fast muscle fibres from the Antarctic species at -1 degree C is around 60% of that of the tropical fish at 20 degrees C. Evolutionary temperature compensation of muscle power output appears largely to involve differences in the ability of cross bridges to generate force.

[Microbiological analysis of terrestrial biotopes of the Antarctic region].

Science.gov (United States)

Tashirev, A B; Romanovskaia, V A; Rokitko, P V; Shilin, S O; Chernaia, N A; Tashireva, A A

2010-01-01

Microbiological analysis has been made of 120 samples from biotopes of the western coast of the Antarctic peninsula (Rasmussen cope, Tuxen cope, Waugh mountain), Argentine archipelago islands (Galindez, Skua, Corner, Barchans, Irizar, Uruguay, Cluls, Three Little Pigs, King-George), as well as neighbouring islands (Petermann--on the north, a group of Jalour islands--on the east, Berthelot--on the south-east); and more remote islands (Darboux, Lippmann, Booth). It was found out that the total number of chemoorganotrophic aerobic microorganisms was 10(6) - 10(8) cells/g of soil, that was by 2-3 orders lower than in the regions with temperate climate. One can observe a tendency of decreasing the quantity of chemoorganotrophic microorganisms in the Antartic biotopes (cells/g of a sample) in the following order: soil (1 x 10(7) - 8 x 10(8)), underground part of moss (1 x 10(6) - 5 x 10(7)), grass Deschampsia antarctica (10(6) - 10(8), slit of fresh-water reservoir (10(5) - 10(7)), ground part of moss (10(3) - 10(6)), lichens (10(3) - 10(6)). Representatives of several phylogenetic lines: Proteobacteria (genera Pseudomonas, Methylobacterium, Enterobacter), Firmicutes (genera Bacillus, Staphylococcus), Actinobacteria (genera Brevibacterium, Actinomyces, Streptomyces) have been found in the Antarctic samples. As a rule, genera of bacteria found in the Antarctic Region are widely distributed in different regions of the Earth with temperate climate. Microorganisms similar to the species Exophiala nigra (Issatsch.) Haats et de Hoog 1999, which was first detected 100 years ago by Academician B.L. Isachenko in the Arctic region water, were also isolated from biofilms on vertical rocks of the Galindez Island as well as from the soil of the Irizar Island.

Feeding opportunities of larval and juvenile cod (Gadus morhua) in a Greenlandic fjord: temporal and spatial linkages between cod and their preferred prey

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Swalethorp, Rasmus; Kjellerup, Sanne; Malanski, Evandro

2014-01-01

preferences of the early-life stages of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) to quantify the availability of prey during a spring-summer season in a West Greenlandic fjord. We hypothesized that abundances of larval and juvenile cod at size were synchronized to optimal availability of preferred prey in space and time....... These findings stress the importance of focusing on abundance of preferred prey when assessing the actual prey availability to young fish. We found a spatio-temporal overlap between cod and their preferred prey, and observations suggest that advection of both zooplankton and cod contributed to this overlap...

The aeromagnetic method as a tool to identify Cenozoic magmatism in the West Antarctic Rift System beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet: a review; Thiel subglacial volcano as possible source of the ash layer in the WAISCOR

Science.gov (United States)

Behrendt, John C.

2013-01-01

The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) flows through the volcanically active West Antarctic Rift System (WARS). The aeromagnetic method has been the most useful geophysical tool for identification of subglacial volcanic rocks, since 1959–64 surveys, particularly combined with 1978 radar ice-sounding. The unique 1991–97 Central West Antarctica (CWA) aerogeophysical survey covering 354,000 km2 over the WAIS, (5-km line-spaced, orthogonal lines of aeromagnetic, radar ice-sounding, and aerogravity measurements), still provides invaluable information on subglacial volcanic rocks, particularly combined with the older aeromagnetic profiles. These data indicate numerous 100–>1000 nT, 5–50-km width, shallow-source, magnetic anomalies over an area greater than 1.2 × 106 km2, mostly from subglacial volcanic sources. I interpreted the CWA anomalies as defining about 1000 “volcanic centers” requiring high remanent normal magnetizations in the present field direction. About 400 anomaly sources correlate with bed topography. At least 80% of these sources have less than 200 m relief at the WAIS bed. They appear modified by moving ice, requiring a younger age than the WAIS (about 25 Ma). Exposed volcanoes in the WARS are The present rapid changes resulting from global warming, could be accelerated by subglacial volcanism.

Using Clumped Isotopes to Understand Early Diagenetic Processes in Carbonate Microbialites of Mid-Cretaceous Codó Formation, NE Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Bahniuk, A. M.; Vasconcelos, C.; McKenzie, J. A.; Franca, A. B.; Matsuda, N.; Eiler, J.

2010-12-01

Recent studies of the sedimentological, stratigraphic and geochemical aspects of carbonate microbialites have been carried out to characterize the paleoenvironmental and hydrological conditions of deposition for the Aptian Codó Formation (Parnaíba Basin) and the time-equivalent Santana Formation (Araripe Basin). This environmental interpretation is of interest because these sediments record the early stages of the opening of the Equatorial Atlantic Ocean, as well as being potentially important reservoir rock. Specifically, clumped isotope thermometry has been applied to evaluate the growth temperatures of carbonate components in selected samples from both outcrop and drill core. Preliminary results of clumped isotope measurements provide paleotemperatures derived for dense stromatolitic fabrics drilled from outcrop samples of the Codó Formation which vary between 29 and 33°C. In contrast, the micritic matrix of the drill core samples of the Codó Formation indicates a temperature range from 30 to 48°C. The lower values for the outcrop samples may represent a primary or early diagenetic temperature signal preserved in the rock. Moreover, the micritic matrix from the Santana Formation drill core samples indicates paleotemperatures ranging from 40 to 68°C, which are slightly higher than those for all measured samples of the Codó Formation. We propose that the higher paleotemperatures for all drill core samples denote a diagenetic effect that occurred with sediment lithification processes during burial; that is, isotopic reequilibration at depth is reflected in the higher measured paleotemperatures. Increased paleotemperatures are probably present in some carbonate fabrics of the outcrop samples of the Codo Formation, which also underwent lithification, but this signal was missed by our inability to micro-sample primary or early diagenetic stromatolitic fabrics. Assuming that the outcrop samples of the Codó Formation preserve an original stable isotope signal

A recent case of Antarctic bioprospecting from Japan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akiho Shibata

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Antarctic bioprospecting, namely the search for valuable genetic or chemical compounds in Antarctic nature, has been the subject of intense discussion within Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings. In this discussion, based on the so-called "end-users view point," utilizing the patent database to see how much Antarctic biological material has been used in patents, Antarctic bioprospecting has been depicted as a lucrative commercial activity operated by big multinational companies. This paper, instead, proposes an "access view point" for Antarctic bioprospecting, by examining a recent Japanese case in which scientists participating in the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition in 2007 collected some sediment from Antarctic lakes near Syowa Station, isolated and cultured a particular fungus, and found the first evidence of the presence of antifreezing activity in oomycetes. In 2009, the scientists' affiliate institutions, including the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, applied for a patent on Antarctomyces psychrotrophicus Syw-1 and the antifreeze protein obtained from it. A detailed examination of this case demonstrates that the dichotomy of Antarctic bioprospecting into "commercial" and "scientific" does not reflect the reality of bioprospecting activities and, therefore, does not provide an appropriate ground for legal and policy discussion on Antarctic bioprospecting.

Interpretation of ground and aeromagnetic surveys of Palmer Land, Antarctic Peninsula

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. N. Masolov

2000-06-01

Full Text Available Aeromagnetic data for Palmer Land provide new information on crustal structures of the Antarctic Peninsula. Features shown on the compilation of the Lassiter Coast and Orville Coast are characterized by systems of subparallel regional anomaly zones and lineaments. The magnetic data reveal the widespread presence of an orthogonal pattern of crosscutting linear discontinuities that can be interpreted as a Late Cretaceous/Early Tertiary fracture pattern. The main displacements in the anomaly pattern between the two units are recognized in Wetmore-Irvine glaciers area where the structure of the Antarctic Peninsula changes orientation from SW-NE to S-N. The NW-SE trending transitional zone is probably a transfer zone associated with north-westerly movement of the Lassiter Coast crustal segment relative to the Orville Coast segment. Within the Lassiter Coast a fragment of Pacific Margin Anomaly (PMA, Central Plateau Magnetic Anomaly and East Coast Magnetic Anomaly (ECMA are mapped. Two-dimensional modelling suggests that PMA is caused by a limited depth body (8 km consisting of numerous plutons, probably, of different ages, composition and magnetization. The Central Plateau Magnetic Anomaly and the Merrick-Sweeney-Latady zone of the Orville Coast are represented by strong positive anomaly bands that are associated with gabbro-diorite rocks and accompanying plutons intruded near by the border of Mount Poster Formation and Latady Formation. The ECMA are alignments of high-amplitude magnetic anomalies caused by gabbro-diorite bodies, which are located within the framework of the Cretaceous granite-granodiorite plutons. Granite-granodiorite plutons of Lassiter Coast Intrusive Suite are mostly reflected by positive anomalies (100-500 nT. Modelling studies and the character of distribution of the magnetic anomalies suggest that the plutons of Lassiter Coast Intrusive Suite are prominently reflected in magnetic anomalies of regional extent. The plutonic

Cod reproductive ecology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Røjbek, Maria

In recent decades, Baltic cod has experienced a period of low recruitment. In the same period the pelagic Baltic Sea ecosystem experienced a regime shift, due to hydrographic changes, affecting all trophic levels. The rationale for the thesis is built on the hypothesis that the regime shift has r...

A Roadmap for Antarctic and Southern Ocean Science for the Next Two Decades and Beyond

Science.gov (United States)

Kennicutt, M. C., II

2015-12-01

Abstract: Antarctic and Southern Ocean science is vital to understanding natural variability, the processes that govern global change and the role of humans in the Earth and climate system. The potential for new knowledge to be gained from future Antarctic science is substantial. Therefore, the international Antarctic community came together to 'scan the horizon' to identify the highest priority scientific questions that researchers should aspire to answer in the next two decades and beyond. Wide consultation was a fundamental principle for the development of a collective, international view of the most important future directions in Antarctic science. From the many possibilities, the horizon scan identified 80 key scientific questions through structured debate, discussion, revision and voting. Questions were clustered into seven topics: i) Antarctic atmosphere and global connections, ii) Southern Ocean and sea ice in a warming world, iii) ice sheet and sea level, iv) the dynamic Earth, v) life on the precipice, vi) near-Earth space and beyond, and vii) human presence in Antarctica. Answering the questions identified by the horizon scan will require innovative experimental designs, novel applications of technology, invention of next-generation field and laboratory approaches, and expanded observing systems and networks. Unbiased, non-contaminating procedures will be required to retrieve the requisite air, biota, sediment, rock, ice and water samples. Sustained year-round access to Antarctica and the Southern Ocean will be essential to increase winter-time measurements. Improved models are needed that represent Antarctica and the Southern Ocean in the Earth System, and provide predictions at spatial and temporal resolutions useful for decision making. A co-ordinated portfolio of cross-disciplinary science, based on new models of international collaboration, will be essential as no scientist, programme or nation can realize these aspirations alone.

Hydrogeological characteristics of aquifer near Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station on King George Island (South Shetland Islands), Antarctica

Science.gov (United States)

Krogulec, Ewa; Krogulec, Tomasz; Małecki, Jerzy; Pietrzykowski, Paweł; Dobak, Paweł

2018-06-01

During the Antarctic summer season of 2015/2016, the groundwater studies were performed in the area of Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station on King George Island (South Shetland Islands) in Admiralty Bay of Antarctica. Rock and groundwater samples were collected from 14 research excavations down to a depth of 0.8-2.5 m b.g.l. Analyses of surface waters were performed on water samples from streams, mossland, and a drinking water reservoir. The scope of hydrochemical studies comprised analyses of temperature, pH, mineralization, phosphates, nitrates, macroelements and selected microelements. Using empirical formulas, granulometric analysis of rock samples from various depths, measurements of sample moisture, and calculations of the hydraulic conductivity were performed. The groundwater is poorly mineralized, representing chloride-sulfate-bicarbonate-sodium and chloride-bicarbonate-sodium-calcium types. Studies on hydrochemical indicators show a small range of the effect of animal ecosystems on the waters; no effects of organic matter have been identified in the study area. Results of hydrogeochemical studies of waters and observations of groundwater levels in the summer season indicate groundwater recharge in a shallow groundwater circulation system, lateral inflow direction from land toward the seashore, and a low rate of rainwater infiltration. Groundwater drainage occurs through evapotranspiration and water runoff to the sea.

Environmental contamination in Antarctic ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Bargagli, R

2008-08-01

Although the remote continent of Antarctica is perceived as the symbol of the last great wilderness, the human presence in the Southern Ocean and the continent began in the early 1900s for hunting, fishing and exploration, and many invasive plant and animal species have been deliberately introduced in several sub-Antarctic islands. Over the last 50 years, the development of research and tourism have locally affected terrestrial and marine coastal ecosystems through fuel combustion (for transportation and energy production), accidental oil spills, waste incineration and sewage. Although natural "barriers" such as oceanic and atmospheric circulation protect Antarctica from lower latitude water and air masses, available data on concentrations of metals, pesticides and other persistent pollutants in air, snow, mosses, lichens and marine organisms show that most persistent contaminants in the Antarctic environment are transported from other continents in the Southern Hemisphere. At present, levels of most contaminants in Antarctic organisms are lower than those in related species from other remote regions, except for the natural accumulation of Cd and Hg in several marine organisms and especially in albatrosses and petrels. The concentrations of organic pollutants in the eggs of an opportunistic top predator such as the south polar skua are close to those that may cause adverse health effects. Population growth and industrial development in several countries of the Southern Hemisphere are changing the global pattern of persistent anthropogenic contaminants and new classes of chemicals have already been detected in the Antarctic environment. Although the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty provides strict guidelines for the protection of the Antarctic environment and establishes obligations for all human activity in the continent and the Southern Ocean, global warming, population growth and industrial development in countries of the Southern

Rationale for restocking the Eastern Baltic cod stock

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Støttrup, Josianne; Overton, Julia Lynne; Paulsen, Helge

2008-01-01

The Danish Institute for Fisheries Research and Bornholm's Salmon Hatchery examined the potential for restocking Baltic cod (Gadus morhua callarias L.) in the eastern Baltic Sea. This cod population has adapted to the unique brackish water conditions where successful spawning depends on regular i...

Distribution and abundance of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) along the Antarctic Peninsula

Science.gov (United States)

Siegel, Volker; Reiss, Christian S.; Dietrich, Kimberly S.; Haraldsson, Matilda; Rohardt, Gerhard

2013-07-01

Net-based data on the abundance, distribution, and demographic patterns of Antarctic krill are quantified from a contemporaneous two ship survey of the Antarctic Peninsula during austral summer 2011. Two survey areas were sampled focussed on Marguerite Bay in the south, and the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula in the north. Data from 177 stations showed that the highest concentrations of krill were found in the southern sampling area. Differences between areas were associated with a few large catches of one year old krill found in anomalously warm and productive waters in Marguerite Bay, and small krill catches in the less-productive, offshore waters in the north. Estimated krill density across the survey area was 3.4 krill m-2, and was low compared to the long-term average of 45 krill m-2 for the Elephant Island area. Overall recruitment between the two survey regions was similar, but per capita recruitment was about 60% lower than historical mean recruitment levels measured at Elephant Island since the late 1970s. Demographic patterns showed small krill concentrated near the coast, and large krill concentrated offshore on the shelf and slope all along the survey area. The offshore distribution of adult krill was delineated by the warm (˜1 °C), low salinity (33.8) water at 30 m, suggesting that most krill were present shoreward of the southern boundary of Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front. Distributions of larvae indicated that three hotspot areas were important for the production of krill: slope areas outside Marguerite Bay and north of the South Shetland Islands, and near the coast around Antarctic Sound. Successful spawning, as inferred from larval abundance, was roughly coincident with the shelf break and not with inshore waters. Given the rapid changes in climate along the Antarctic Peninsula and the lower per capita recruitment observed in recent years, studies comparing and contrasting production, growth, and recruitment across the Peninsula will be

Development of a Regional Glycerol Dialkyl Glycerol Tetraether (GDGT) - Temperature Calibration for Antarctic and sub-Antarctic Lakes

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, S. J.; Foster, L. C.; Pearson, E. J.; Steve, J.; Hodgson, D.; Saunders, K. M.; Verleyen, E.

2016-12-01

Temperature calibration models based on the relative abundances of sedimentary glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) have been used to reconstruct past temperatures in both marine and terrestrial environments, but have not been widely applied in high latitude environments. This is mainly because the performance of GDGT-temperature calibrations at lower temperatures and GDGT provenance in many lacustrine settings remains uncertain. To address these issues, we examined surface sediments from 32 Antarctic, sub-Antarctic and Southern Chilean lakes. First, we quantified GDGT compositions present and then investigated modern-day environmental controls on GDGT composition. GDGTs were found in all 32 lakes studied. Branched GDGTs (brGDGTs) were dominant in 31 lakes and statistical analyses showed that their composition was strongly correlated with mean summer air temperature (MSAT) rather than pH, conductivity or water depth. Second, we developed the first regional brGDGT-temperature calibration for Antarctic and sub-Antarctic lakes based on four brGDGT compounds (GDGT-Ib, GDGT-II, GDGT-III and GDGT-IIIb). Of these, GDGT-IIIb proved particularly important in cold lacustrine environments. Our brGDGT-Antarctic temperature calibration dataset has an improved statistical performance at low temperatures compared to previous global calibrations (r2=0.83, RMSE=1.45°C, RMSEP-LOO=1.68°C, n=36 samples), highlighting the importance of basing palaeotemperature reconstructions on regional GDGT-temperature calibrations, especially if specific compounds lead to improved model performance. Finally, we applied the new Antarctic brGDGT-temperature calibration to two key lake records from the Antarctic Peninsula and South Georgia. In both, downcore temperature reconstructions show similarities to known Holocene warm periods, providing proof of concept for the new Antarctic calibration model.

Regulating Antarctic Tourism and the Precautionary Principle

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bastmeijer, C.J.; Roura, R.

2004-01-01

On the basis of an overview of the developments in Antarctic tourism since 1956, this current development note examines the issue of international regulation of Antarctic tourism. After discussing one of the main management issues in respect of Antarctic tourism ¿ the assessment and prevention of

Antarctic news clips, 1991

Science.gov (United States)

1991-08-01

Published stories are presented that sample a year's news coverage of Antarctica. The intent is to provide the U.S. Antarctic Program participants with a digest of current issues as presented by a variety of writers and popular publications. The subject areas covered include the following: earth science; ice studies; stratospheric ozone; astrophysics; life science; operations; education; antarctic treaty issues; and tourism

Tephra compositions from Late Quaternary volcanoes around the Antarctic Peninsula

Science.gov (United States)

Kraus, S.

2009-12-01

Crustal extension and rifting processes opened the Bransfield Strait between the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula during the last 4 Ma. Similar processes on the Peninsula's eastern side are responsible for volcanism along Larsen Rift. There are at least 11 volcanic centers with known or suspected Late Pleistocene / Holocene explosive activity (Fig. 1). Fieldwork was carried out on the islands Deception, Penguin, Bridgeman and Paulet, moreover at Melville Peak (King George Is.) and Rezen Peak (Livingston Is.). Of special importance is the second ever reported visit and sampling at Sail Rock, and the work on never before visited outcrops on the northern slopes and at the summit of Cape Purvis volcano (Fig. 1). The new bulk tephra ICP-MS geochemical data provide a reliable framework to distinguish the individual volcanic centers from each other. According to their Mg-number, Melville Peak and Penguin Island represent the most primitive magma source. Nb/Y ratios higher than 0.67 in combination with elevated Th/Yb and Ta/Yb ratios and strongly enriched LREE seem to be diagnostic to distinguish the volcanoes located along the Larsen Rift from those associated with Bransfield Rift. Sr/Y ratios discriminate between the individual Larsen Rift volcanoes, Paulet Island showing considerably higher values than Cape Purvis volcano. Along Bransfield Rift, Bridgeman Island and Melville Peak have notably lower Nb/Y and much higher Th/Nb than Deception Island, Penguin Island and Sail Rock. The latter displays almost double the Th/Yb ratio as compared to Deception Island, and also much higher LREE enrichment but extraordinarily low Ba/Th, discriminating it from Penguin Island. Such extremely low Ba/Th ratios are also typical for Melville Peak, but for none of the other volcanoes. Penguin Island has almost double the Ba/Th and Sr/Y ratios higher than any other investigated volcano. Whereas the volcanoes located in the northern part of Bransfield Strait have Zr

Petrography and geochemistry of rocks from the sor-rondane mountains, droning Maude land, eastern Antarctica

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rehman, S.S.; Shah, M.T.; Jan, M.Q.; Majid, M.

1999-01-01

Mamyu rock specimens, were collected from the sor-rondane mountains and Breid Bay area of Drojnning Maud land, eastern Antarctica, during the 2nd Pakistan Antarctic Expedition, 1992-93. Petrography and geochemical studies suggest that the rocks are essentially of igneous origin. The samples dredged from ocean bottom include olivine basalt, amygdaloidal volcanics, dacites and rhyodacites. A majority of these rocks are calc-alkaline and formed by the fraction of olivine, clinopyroxene and plagioclase +- titanomagnetite. Most of these rocks apparently formed in an island arc or continental margin set up. However, volcanics showing ocean floor basalt character are also present. A metamorphosed and deformed basement consisting of amphibolites, calc-silicate rocks and gneisses is intrude by under formed or only slightly deformed granites with a minor arkosic sandstone cover. The granites are chemically distinguished as I-type, originate at deeper crystal level by collisional/subduction related processes during organic environments. (author)

Regional genetic diversity patterns in Antarctic hairgrass (Deschampsia antartica Desv.)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van de Wouw, M.J.; Van Dijk, P.J.; Huiskes, A.H.L.

2008-01-01

Aim To determine patterns in diversity of a major Antarctic plant species, including relationships of Antarctic populations with those outside the Antarctic zone. Location Antarctic Peninsula, Maritime Antarctica, sub-Antarctic islands, Falkland Islands and South America. Methods Amplified fragment

Quantifying predation on Baltic cod early life stages

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Neumann, Viola; Schaber, Matthias; Eero, Margit

2017-01-01

Predation on cod (Gadus morhua) eggs by sprat (Sprattus sprattus) and herring (Clupea harengus) is known to be one of the processes influencing reproductive success of the eastern Baltic cod and has been reported to have contributed to lack of recovery of the stock in the 1990s. This study quanti...

Draft genome of the Antarctic dragonfish, Parachaenichthys charcoti.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahn, Do-Hwan; Shin, Seung Chul; Kim, Bo-Mi; Kang, Seunghyun; Kim, Jin-Hyoung; Ahn, Inhye; Park, Joonho; Park, Hyun

2017-08-01

The Antarctic bathydraconid dragonfish, Parachaenichthys charcoti, is an Antarctic notothenioid teleost endemic to the Southern Ocean. The Southern Ocean has cooled to -1.8ºC over the past 30 million years, and the seawater had retained this cold temperature and isolated oceanic environment because of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Notothenioids dominate Antarctic fish, making up 90% of the biomass, and all notothenioids have undergone molecular and ecological diversification to survive in this cold environment. Therefore, they are considered an attractive Antarctic fish model for evolutionary and ancestral genomic studies. Bathydraconidae is a speciose family of the Notothenioidei, the dominant taxonomic component of Antarctic teleosts. To understand the process of evolution of Antarctic fish, we select a typical Antarctic bathydraconid dragonfish, P. charcoti. Here, we have sequenced, de novo assembled, and annotated a comprehensive genome from P. charcoti. The draft genome of P. charcoti is 709 Mb in size. The N50 contig length is 6145 bp, and its N50 scaffold length 178 362 kb. The genome of P. charcoti is predicted to contain 32 712 genes, 18 455 of which have been assigned preliminary functions. A total of 8951 orthologous groups common to 7 species of fish were identified, while 333 genes were identified in P. charcoti only; 2519 orthologous groups were also identified in both P. charcoti and N. coriiceps, another Antarctic fish. Four gene ontology terms were statistically overrepresented among the 333 genes unique to P. charcoti, according to gene ontology enrichment analysis. The draft P. charcoti genome will broaden our understanding of the evolution of Antarctic fish in their extreme environment. It will provide a basis for further investigating the unusual characteristics of Antarctic fishes. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

Functional ecology of an Antarctic Dry Valley

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Yuki; Van Nostrand, Joy D.; Zhou, Jizhong; Pointing, Stephen B.

2013-01-01

The McMurdo Dry Valleys are the largest ice-free region in Antarctica and are critically at risk from climate change. The terrestrial landscape is dominated by oligotrophic mineral soils and extensive exposed rocky surfaces where biota are largely restricted to microbial communities, although their ability to perform the majority of geobiological processes has remained largely uncharacterized. Here, we identified functional traits that drive microbial survival and community assembly, using a metagenomic approach with GeoChip-based functional gene arrays to establish metabolic capabilities in communities inhabiting soil and rock surface niches in McKelvey Valley. Major pathways in primary metabolism were identified, indicating significant plasticity in autotrophic, heterotrophic, and diazotrophic strategies supporting microbial communities. This represents a major advance beyond biodiversity surveys in that we have now identified how putative functional ecology drives microbial community assembly. Significant differences were apparent between open soil, hypolithic, chasmoendolithic, and cryptoendolithic communities. A suite of previously unappreciated Antarctic microbial stress response pathways, thermal, osmotic, and nutrient limitation responses were identified and related to environmental stressors, offering tangible clues to the mechanisms behind the enduring success of microorganisms in this seemingly inhospitable terrain. Rocky substrates exposed to larger fluctuations in environmental stress supported greater functional diversity in stress-response pathways than soils. Soils comprised a unique reservoir of genes involved in transformation of organic hydrocarbons and lignin-like degradative pathways. This has major implications for the evolutionary origin of the organisms, turnover of recalcitrant substrates in Antarctic soils, and predicting future responses to anthropogenic pollution. PMID:23671121

Air-sea interaction regimes in the sub-Antarctic Southern Ocean and Antarctic marginal ice zone revealed by icebreaker measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Lisan; Jin, Xiangze; Schulz, Eric W.; Josey, Simon A.

2017-08-01

This study analyzed shipboard air-sea measurements acquired by the icebreaker Aurora Australis during its off-winter operation in December 2010 to May 2012. Mean conditions over 7 months (October-April) were compiled from a total of 22 ship tracks. The icebreaker traversed the water between Hobart, Tasmania, and the Antarctic continent, providing valuable in situ insight into two dynamically important, yet poorly sampled, regimes: the sub-Antarctic Southern Ocean and the Antarctic marginal ice zone (MIZ) in the Indian Ocean sector. The transition from the open water to the ice-covered surface creates sharp changes in albedo, surface roughness, and air temperature, leading to consequential effects on air-sea variables and fluxes. Major effort was made to estimate the air-sea fluxes in the MIZ using the bulk flux algorithms that are tuned specifically for the sea-ice effects, while computing the fluxes over the sub-Antarctic section using the COARE3.0 algorithm. The study evidenced strong sea-ice modulations on winds, with the southerly airflow showing deceleration (convergence) in the MIZ and acceleration (divergence) when moving away from the MIZ. Marked seasonal variations in heat exchanges between the atmosphere and the ice margin were noted. The monotonic increase in turbulent latent and sensible heat fluxes after summer turned the MIZ quickly into a heat loss regime, while at the same time the sub-Antarctic surface water continued to receive heat from the atmosphere. The drastic increase in turbulent heat loss in the MIZ contrasted sharply to the nonsignificant and seasonally invariant turbulent heat loss over the sub-Antarctic open water.Plain Language SummaryThe icebreaker Aurora Australis is a research and supply vessel that is regularly chartered by the Australian Antarctic Division during the southern summer to operate in waters between Hobart, Tasmania, and Antarctica. The vessel serves as the main lifeline to three permanent research stations on the

Lichen flora around the Korean Antarctic Scientific Station, King George Island, Antarctic.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Ji Hee; Ahn, In-Young; Hong, Soon Gyu; Andreev, Mikhail; Lim, Kwang-Mi; Oh, Mi Jin; Koh, Young Jin; Hur, Jae-Seoun

2006-10-01

As part of the long-term monitoring projects on Antarctic terrestrial vegetation in relation to global climate change, a lichen floristical survey was conducted around the Korean Antarctic Station (King Sejong Station), which is located on Barton Peninsula, King George Island, in January and February of 2006. Two hundred and twenty-five lichen specimens were collected and sixty-two lichen species in 38 genera were identified by morphological characteristics, chemical constituents, TLC analysis and ITS nucleotide sequence analysis.

RADARSAT: The Antarctic Mapping Project

Science.gov (United States)

Jezek, Kenneth C.; Lindstrom, E. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The first Antarctic Imaging Campaign (AIC) occurred during the period September 9, 1997 through October 20, 1997. The AIC utilized the unique attributes of the Canadian RADARSAT-1 to acquire the first, high-resolution, synthetic aperture imagery covering the entire Antarctic Continent. Although the primary goal of the mission was the acquisition of image data, the nearly flawless execution of the mission enabled additional collections of exact repeat orbit data. These data, covering an extensive portion of the interior Antarctic, potentially are suitable for interferometric analysis of topography and surface velocity. This document summarizes the Project through completion with delivery of products to the NASA DAACs.

Bacterial diversity of autotrophic enriched cultures from remote, glacial Antarctic, Alpine and Andean aerosol, snow and soil samples

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. González-Toril

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Four different communities and one culture of autotrophic microbial assemblages were obtained by incubation of samples collected from high elevation snow in the Alps (Mt. Blanc area and the Andes (Nevado Illimani summit, Bolivia, from Antarctic aerosol (French station Dumont d'Urville and a maritime Antarctic soil (King George Island, South Shetlands, Uruguay Station Artigas, in a minimal mineral (oligotrophic media. Molecular analysis of more than 200 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that all cultured cells belong to the Bacteria domain. Phylogenetic comparison with the currently available rDNA database allowed sequences belonging to Proteobacteria Alpha-, Beta- and Gamma-proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes phyla to be identified. The Andes snow culture was the richest in bacterial diversity (eight microorganisms identified and the marine Antarctic soil the poorest (only one. Snow samples from Col du Midi (Alps and the Andes shared the highest number of identified microorganisms (Agrobacterium, Limnobacter, Aquiflexus and two uncultured Alphaproteobacteria clones. These two sampling sites also shared four sequences with the Antarctic aerosol sample (Limnobacter, Pseudonocardia and an uncultured Alphaproteobacteriaclone. The only microorganism identified in the Antarctica soil (Brevundimonas sp. was also detected in the Antarctic aerosol. Most of the identified microorganisms had been detected previously in cold environments, marine sediments soils and rocks. Air current dispersal is the best model to explain the presence of very specific microorganisms, like those identified in this work, in environments very distant and very different from each other.

Aerosols in King George Island (Antarctic peninsula) using PIXE and alpha spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dias da Cunha, K.; Medeiros, G.; Leal, M.A.; Lima, C.; Dalia, K.C.

2009-01-01

The aim of this study was to characterize the airborne particles and particles deposited in the recent snow samples collected at King George Island (Admiralty Bay) in order to evaluate the possible local sources of airborne particles and the aerosol transport from South America to Antarctic at sea level. Airborne particles samples were collected using a cascade impactor and cyclones at several sampling points at Admiralty Bay. Airborne particles were also collected during the ship travel from Rio de Janeiro to Antarctica. The recent snow samples and aerosols collected at several sampling points at Admiralty Bay were analyzed by PIXE for the determination of the elemental mass concentration. Snow samples were analyzed by alpha spectrometry to determine the 232Th, 228Th, 238U and 234U concentrations in snow. The Mass Median Aerodynamic Diameter of airborne particles was determined. The results suggest that there is a correlation between the aerosol samples and the particles deposited in the snow, but the elemental mass distributions are not equal. The snow elemental concentration can be used as an indicator of the elements present in the aerosols. The local aerosol sources (natural and anthropogenic) have been considered to characterize the aerosol transport to Antarctic, mainly King George Island. The main aerosol sources are the marine spray, weathering of local rocks and anthropogenic sources, as the diesel burning in the island. Besides the local aerosol sources the transport of airborne particles from south Atlantic to Antarctic is an important source of airborne particles at King George Island. (author)

Environmental constraints on West Antarctic ice-sheet formation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lindstrom, D R; MacAyeal, D R

1987-01-01

Small perturbations in Antarctic environmental conditions can culminate in the demise of the Antarctic ice sheet's western sector. This may have happened during the last interglacial period, and could recur within the next millennium due to atmospheric warming from trace gas and CO/sub 2/ increases. In this study, we investigate the importance of sea-level, accumulation rate, and ice influx from the East Antarctic ice sheet in the re-establishment of the West Antarctic ice sheet from a thin cover using a time-dependent numerical ice-shelf model. Our results show that a precursor to the West Antarctic ice sheet can form within 3000 years. Sea-level lowering caused by ice-sheet development in the Northern Hemisphere has the greatest environmental influence. Under favorable conditions, ice grounding occurs over all parts of the West Antarctic ice sheet except up-stream of Thwaites Glacier and in the Ross Sea region.

Northeast Regional Cod Tagging Program

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Scientific justification: Canadian and US stock assessments for Atlantic cod indicate considerable fluctuation in stock abundance and recruitment over the last 20...

Airspace: Antarctic Sound Transmission

OpenAIRE

Polli, Andrea

2009-01-01

This paper investigates how sound transmission can contribute to the public understanding of climate change within the context of the Poles. How have such transmission-based projects developed specifically in the Arctic and Antarctic, and how do these works create alternative pathways in order to help audiences better understand climate change? The author has created the media project Sonic Antarctica from a personal experience of the Antarctic. The work combines soundscape recordings and son...

Simulation-based investigation of the paired-gear method in cod-end selectivity studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herrmann, Bent; Frandsen, Rikke; Holst, René

2007-01-01

In this paper, the paired-gear and covered cod-end methods for estimating the selectivity of trawl cod-ends are compared. A modified version of the cod-end selectivity simulator PRESEMO is used to simulate the data that would be collected from a paired-gear experiment where the test cod-end also ...

Links between Patagonian Ice Sheet fluctuations and Antarctic dust variability during the last glacial period (MIS 4-2)

Science.gov (United States)

Kaiser, Jérôme; Lamy, Frank

2010-06-01

Antarctic and Greenland ice-core records reveal large fluctuations of dust input on both orbital and millennial time-scales with potential global climate implications. At least during glacial periods, the Antarctic dust fluctuations appear to be largely controlled by environmental changes in southern South America. We compare dust flux records from two Antarctic ice-cores to variations in the composition of the terrigenous supply at ODP Site 1233 located off southern Chile and known to record fluctuations in the extent of the northern part of the Patagonian ice-sheet (NPIS) during the last glacial period (Marine Isotope Stage, MIS, 4 to 2). Within age uncertainties, millennial-scale glacial advances (retreats) of the NPIS correlate to Antarctic dust maxima (minima). In turn, NPIS fluctuations were closely related to offshore sea surface temperature (SST) changes. This pattern suggests a causal link involving changes in temperature, in rock flour availability, in latitudinal extensions of the westerly winds and in foehn winds in the southern Pampas and Patagonia. We further suggest that the long-term trend of dust accumulation is partly linked to the sea-level related changes in the size if the Patagonian source area due to the particular morphology of the Argentine shelf. We suggest that sea-level drops at the beginning of MIS 4 and MIS 2 were important for long-term dust increases, while changes in the Patagonian dust source regions primarily control the early dust decrease during the MIS 4/3 transition and Termination 1.

Thermal niche of Atlantic cod Gadus morhua: limits, tolerance and optima

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Righton, David A.; Andersen, Ken Haste; Neat, Francis

2010-01-01

Recent studies in the marine environment have suggested that the limited phenotypic plasticity of cold-adapted species such as Atlantic cod Gadus morhua L. will cause distributions to shift toward the poles in response to rising sea temperatures. Some cod stocks are predicted to collapse, but thi......Recent studies in the marine environment have suggested that the limited phenotypic plasticity of cold-adapted species such as Atlantic cod Gadus morhua L. will cause distributions to shift toward the poles in response to rising sea temperatures. Some cod stocks are predicted to collapse...... niche of approximately 12°C, but latitudinal differences in water temperature meant that cod in the warmer, southern regions experienced 3 times the degree days (DD; ~4000 DD yr–1) than individuals from northern regions (~1200 DD yr–1). Growth rates increased with temperature, reaching a maximum...

Diet of Norwegian coastal cod (Gadus morhua) studied by using citizen science

Science.gov (United States)

Enoksen, Siri Elise; Reiss, Henning

2018-04-01

The Norwegian coastal cod (Gadus morhua) is a keystone species in the food web of northern Norwegian fjords. Their relatively stationary populations might specifically depend on local food resources, but the diet of cod has rarely been studied in fjord systems. Using a citizen science approach, where recreational anglers and tourists participated in the sampling, we studied small-scale differences in the diet composition of cod in a fjord system in northern Norway. We compared the cod diet from the MPA Saltstraumen, characterised by strong tidal currents and a highly diverse and abundant fauna, with the inner fjord area of Skjerstadfjord. The diet composition of cod significantly differed between both areas within the fjord. Although fish was the dominant prey in both areas, cod consumed > 40% invertebrates in terms of weight, even in the cod size class of 70-99 cm. The invertebrate prey also caused the observed spatial differences. In Saltstraumen, brittle stars (Ophiuroidea), crabs (Brachyura) and sea cucumbers (Holothuroidea) were important food sources for cod, while sea urchins (Echinoidea), clams (Bivalvia), shrimps (Caridea) and krill (Euphausiacea) dominated the diet in the inner Skjerstadfjord. The high densities of sessile fauna in the dynamic environment of Saltstraumen, was only partly reflected in the diet of cod, with only Holothuroidea found in 17% of the stomachs. High rates of empty stomachs (24%), cannibalism as well as a higher proportion of low-energy prey in the diet of large cod, may indicate a shortage of high quality food in Skjerstadfjord. The samples for this study were collected through a citizen science campaign. This approach might provide opportunities to be used for coastal ecological monitoring with potential applications in local ecosystem management strategies through public involvement.

Antarctic climate change and the environment

Science.gov (United States)

2009-11-01

This volume provides a comprehensive, up-to-date account of how the physical and biological : environment of the Antarctic continent and Southern Ocean has changed from Deep Time until : the present day. It also considers how the Antarctic environmen...

Parasites of the Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni Norman, 1937 (Perciformes, Nototheniidae in the Pacific sector of the Antarctic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilya I. Gordeev

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni Norman, 1937 is one of the main target species of commercial fisheries in the Antarctic. It is an endemic and is found along the shelf of Antarctica, as well as on the slopes of seamounts, underwater elevations and islands in the sub-Antarctic. It feeds on a variety of fish and cephalopods and can be an intermediate/paratenic host of some helminthes, whose final hosts are whales, seals, large rays and sharks. This article presents new data on toothfish infection in the Pacific sector of the Antarctic. Specimens were examined during commercial longline fishing in the Ross Sea and the Amundsen Sea in January–February 2013. Fourteen species of parasites were found using standard parasitological methods and genetic analysis.

South African antarctic biological research programme

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

SASCAR

1981-07-01

Full Text Available This document provides a description of the past, current and planned South African biological research activities in the sub-Antarctic and Antarctic regions. Future activities will fall under one of the five components of the research programme...

Bay-scale population structure in coastal Atlantic cod in Labrador and Newfoundland, Canada

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ruzzante, D.E.; Wroblewski, J.S.; Taggart, C.T.

2000-01-01

Polymorphisms at five microsatellite DNA loci provide evidence that Atlantic cod Gadus morhua inhabiting Gilbert Bay, Labrador are genetically distinguishable from offshore cod on the north- east Newfoundland shelf and from inshore cod in Trinity Bay, Newfoundland. Antifreeze activity in the blood...... of population structure suggest that important barriers to gene flow exist among five components that include two inshore (Gilbert and Trinity Bay) and three offshore cod aggregations on the north-east Newfoundland Shelf and the Grand Bank. D-A and D-SW estimates of genetic distance that involve Gilbert Bay cod...

Industry Based Survey (IBS) Cod

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The "Gulf of Maine Atlantic Cod Industry-Based Survey" was a collaboration of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and the fishing industry, with support...

Northeast arctic cod stock and fishery dynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oleg Bulatov

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Northeast arctic cod stock is one of a most valuable target of fisheries in the Barents Sea. The catches of cod for the period 1960-2014 are widely changed. The minimum level of catches is marked in 1990 (212 thousands ton, and the maximum values of catches were observed in 1969 – 1.2 mill. ton. In the recent years international catch of cod exceeded 1 mill. ton. Fishable and spawning stock biomass (SSB also widely changed in this period. According to ICES data, SSB had a minimum in 1965 (102 thousand tons, and extremely high level in 2013 – 2 150 thousand tons. Fishable biomass changed also widely. The maximum level is registered in 2013 – 3 636 thousand tons, and minimum value was 5 times less, 739 thousand tons (1983. The ratio between historical high level of SSB and catch in 2013 was 2.2:1.0, due to low value of fishing mortality. Possibility to increase catch will be discussed.

Structure of chymotrypsin variant B from Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leth-Larsen, Rikke; Asgeirsson, B; Thórólfsson, M

1996-01-01

The amino-acid sequence of chymotrypsin variant B isolated from the pyloric caeca of Atlantic cod has been elucidated. The characterization of the primary structure is based on N-terminal Edman degradation and mass spectrometry of the native protein and enzymatically derived peptides. Chymotrypsi...... autolysis sites, cod variant B only contains a single autolysis site. The three-dimensional structures of the A- and B-variants of cod has been modelled on the known crystal structure of bovine alpha-chymotrypsin showing almost superimposable structures....

"XANSONS for COD": a new small BOINC project in crystallography

Science.gov (United States)

Neverov, Vladislav S.; Khrapov, Nikolay P.

2018-04-01

"XANSONS for COD" (http://xansons4cod.com) is a new BOINC project aimed at creating the open-access database of simulated x-ray and neutron powder diffraction patterns for nanocrystalline phase of materials from the collection of the Crystallography Open Database (COD). The project uses original open-source software XaNSoNS to simulate diffraction patterns on CPU and GPU. This paper describes the scientific problem this project solves, the project's internal structure, its operation principles and organization of the final database.

Association between nematode Hysterothylacium aduncum invasion of cod larvae and growth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mehrdana, Foojan; Bahlool, Qusay Z. M.; Kuhn, Jesper

, lapillus otoliths were removed, polished and the number of growth zones in each otolith counted by light microscopy. Each growth zone indicates one day of the fish life span. Covariance analysis demonstrated highly significant differences (p≤ 0.001) between the growth rate of infected and uninfected cod...... invertebrates and fish species and for some species also higher vertebrate hosts. We have recently demonstrated that fry of North Sea cod has a high prevalence of infection with regard to the nematode Hysterothylacium aduncum and it was indicated that these infections could affect survival of cod and thereby...... affect the cod stock in the North Sea. The objective of the present study was to elucidate if infections are associated with a decrease or an increase of fish size when examining fish of the same age. We investigated effects of H. aduncum infections on the growth rate of cod larvae by using the otolith...

Improved management based on stock identification of eastern and western Baltic cod

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hüssy, Karin; Bastardie, Francois; Eero, Margit

The objective of this project was to establish an empirically founded knowledge base for the sustainable exploitation of the western Baltic cod stock by including the complex stock structure and migration patterns. Stock mapping: Extensive immigration of “Eastern” cod into the Arkona Basin (SD 24......) within the “Western” cod’s management unit was documented using high-powered genetic tools. The majority (91%) of all spawning fish caught in SD 24 in 2011 were “Eastern” cod and only 9% were from the “Western” stock. The results suggest that the stock structure in the Arkona Basin is highly influenced...... by mixing of genetically separate stocks. Trends in mixing: Since the 1980’s where cod in SD 24 consisted primarily of “Western” type, the proportion of “Eastern” cod has increased, particularly since 2005. Throughout that period, the immigration of “Eastern” cod into SD 24 consisted primarily of adult...

137CS in cod from Barents sea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kellermann, H.-J.; Kanisch, G.; Krueger, A.

2003-01-01

After publication of the Yablovkov report about dumping of radioactive waste by the former Soviet Union the Institute for Fishery Ecology has analysed fish from Barents Sea for radioactivity. In all studies 137 Cs concentrations in cod fillet showed a clear dependance from fish length. Results from an analysis of covariance for cod of 70 cm length have minor changes within Barents Sea and indicate a rapid decay to a value as is expected for marine fish which is only influenced by global fallout. (orig.)

Persistent organohalogen contaminant burdens in Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) from the eastern Antarctic sector: A baseline study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bengtson Nash, S.M.; Poulsen, A.H.; Kawaguchi, S.; Vetter, W.; Schlabach, M.

2008-01-01

A baseline for persistent organohalogen compound (POC) accumulation in the Antarctic keystone species, Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) has been established for a 50 deg. longitudinal range of the eastern Antarctic sector. Samples of adult krill, caught from 12 sites distributed between 30 deg. and 80 deg. E (60-70 deg. S), were analysed for > 100 organohalogen compounds including chlorinated pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated organic compounds and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs). Organochlorine pesticides dominated measured krill contaminant burdens with hexachlorobenzene (HCB) as the single most abundant compound quantified. Krill HCB concentrations were comparable to those detected at this trophic level in both the Arctic and temperate northwest Atlantic, lending support for the hypothesis that HCB will approach global equilibrium at a faster rate than other POCs. Para, para'-dichlorodiphenylethene (p,p'-DDE) was detected at notable concentrations. Measurements of DDT and its degradation products provide an important baseline for monitoring the temporal and geographical influence of renewed, DDT usage for malaria-control in affected southern hemisphere countries. In contrast to the Arctic, PCBs did not feature prominently in contaminant burdens of Antarctic krill. The major commercial polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners -99 and -47 were quantified at low background levels with clear concentration spikes observed at around 70 deg. E , in the vicinity of modern, active research stations. The likelihood that local anthropogenic activities are supplementing low PBDE levels, delivered otherwise primarily via long range environmental transport, is discussed. The suspected naturally occurring brominated organic compound, 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (TBA), was a ubiquitous contaminant in all samples whereas the only PCDD/Fs quantifiable were trace levels of octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (OCDD) and 1

The changing form of Antarctic biodiversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Chown, Steven L; Clarke, Andrew; Fraser, Ceridwen I; Cary, S Craig; Moon, Katherine L; McGeoch, Melodie A

2015-06-25

Antarctic biodiversity is much more extensive, ecologically diverse and biogeographically structured than previously thought. Understanding of how this diversity is distributed in marine and terrestrial systems, the mechanisms underlying its spatial variation, and the significance of the microbiota is growing rapidly. Broadly recognizable drivers of diversity variation include energy availability and historical refugia. The impacts of local human activities and global environmental change nonetheless pose challenges to the current and future understanding of Antarctic biodiversity. Life in the Antarctic and the Southern Ocean is surprisingly rich, and as much at risk from environmental change as it is elsewhere.

Modelling axisymmetric cod-ends made of different mesh types

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Priour, D.; Herrmann, Bent; O'Neill, F.G.

2009-01-01

the selectivity process has become more important. This paper presents a model of the deformation of an axisymmetric cod-end. The twine tension and the catch pressure acting on the knots of each mesh along the cod-end profile are calculated, and a Newton-Raphson scheme is used to estimate the equilibrium position...

Glacial removal of late Cenozoic subglacially emplaced volcanic edifices by the West Antarctic ice sheet

Science.gov (United States)

Behrendt, John C.; Blankenship, D.D.; Damaske, D.; Cooper, A. K.

1995-01-01

Local maxima of the horizontal gradient of pseudogravity from closely spaced aeromagnetic surveys over the Ross Sea, northwestern Ross Ice Shelf, and the West Antarctic ice sheet, reveal a linear magnetic rift fabric and numerous subcircular, high-amplitude anomalies. Geophysical data indicate two or three youthful volcanic edifices at widely separated areas beneath the sea and ice cover in the West Antarctic rift system. In contrast, we suggest glacial removal of edifices of volcanic sources of many more anomalies. Magnetic models, controlled by marine seismic reflection and radar ice-sounding data, allow us to infer that glacial removal of the associated late Cenozoic volcanic edifices (probably debris, comprising pillow breccias, and hyaloclastites) has occurred essentially concomitantly with their subglacial eruption. "Removal' of unconsolidated volcanic debris erupted beneath the ice is probably a more appropriate term than "erosion', given its fragmented, ice-contact origin. The exposed volcanoes may have been protected from erosion by the surrounding ice sheet because of more competent rock or high elevation above the ice sheet. -from Authors

Implications of stock recovery for a neighbouring management unit: experience from the Baltic cod

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eero, Margit; Hansen, Jakob Hemmer; Hüssy, Karin

2014-01-01

Cod in the Baltic Sea is assessed and managed as two separate stocks, i.e. eastern and western Baltic cod. The eastern Baltic cod has recently started to recover after several decades of severe depletion. In the present study, we suggest that the recovery of the eastern Baltic cod population has ...

Estimation of bacterial quality of cod fillets with the disc flotation method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boismenu, D.; Lepine, F.; Thibault, C.; Gagnon, M.; Charbonneau, R.; Dugas, H.

1991-01-01

Spoilage bacteria of cod fillets were desorbed off the fillet surface by ultrasonication. Catalase activity of these bacteria was determined using the disc flotation method after selective heat inactivation of the endogenous cod catalase and then correlated with the colony forming units. The method was applied to cod fillets from ten retail sources with satisfactory results

Carbon dioxide emissions of Antarctic tourism

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Farreny, R.; Oliver-Solà, J.; Lamers, M.A.J.; Amelung, B.; Gabarrell, X.; Rieradevall, J.; Boada, M.; Benayas, J.

2011-01-01

The increase of tourism to the Antarctic continent may entail not only local but also global environmental impacts. These latter impacts, which are mainly caused by transport, have been generally ignored. As a result, there is a lack of data on the global impacts of Antarctic tourism in terms of

Bay-scale population structure in coastal Atlantic cod in Labrador and Newfoundland, Canada

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ruzzante, D.E.; Wroblewski, J.S.; Taggart, C.T.

2000-01-01

Polymorphisms at five microsatellite DNA loci provide evidence that Atlantic cod Gadus morhua inhabiting Gilbert Bay, Labrador are genetically distinguishable from offshore cod on the north- east Newfoundland shelf and from inshore cod in Trinity Bay, Newfoundland. Antifreeze activity in the bloo...

Revision of Eocene Antarctic carpet sharks (Elasmobranchii, Orectolobiformes) from Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula.

Science.gov (United States)

Engelbrecht, Andrea; Mörs, Thomas; Reguero, Marcelo A; Kriwet, Jürgen

2017-01-01

Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula, was once called the 'Rosetta Stone' of Southern Hemisphere palaeobiology, because this small island provides the most complete and richly fossiliferous Palaeogene sequence in Antarctica. Among fossil marine vertebrate remains, chondrichthyans seemingly were dominant elements in the Eocene Antarctic fish fauna. The fossiliferous sediments on Seymour Island are from the La Meseta Formation, which was originally divided into seven stratigraphical levels, TELMs 1-7 (acronym for Tertiary Eocene La Meseta) ranging from the upper Ypresian (early Eocene) to the late Priabonian (late Eocene). Bulk sampling of unconsolidated sediments from TELMs 5 and 6, which are Ypresian (early Eocene) and Lutetian (middle Eocene) in age, respectively, yielded very rich and diverse chondrichthyan assemblages including over 40 teeth of carpet sharks representing two new taxa, Notoramphoscyllium woodwardi gen. et sp. nov. and Ceolometlaouia pannucae gen. et sp. nov. Two additional teeth from TELM 5 represent two different taxa that cannot be assigned to any specific taxon and thus are left in open nomenclature. The new material not only increases the diversity of Eocene Antarctic selachian faunas but also allows two previous orectolobiform records to be re-evaluated. Accordingly, Stegostoma cf. faciatum is synonymized with Notoramphoscyllium woodwardi gen. et sp. nov., whereas Pseudoginglymostoma cf. brevicaudatum represents a nomen dubium . The two new taxa, and probably the additional two unidentified taxa, are interpreted as permanent residents, which most likely were endemic to Antarctic waters during the Eocene and adapted to shallow and estuarine environments.

Increased West Antarctic and unchanged East Antarctic ice discharge over the last 7 years

Science.gov (United States)

Gardner, Alex S.; Moholdt, Geir; Scambos, Ted; Fahnstock, Mark; Ligtenberg, Stefan; van den Broeke, Michiel; Nilsson, Johan

2018-02-01

Ice discharge from large ice sheets plays a direct role in determining rates of sea-level rise. We map present-day Antarctic-wide surface velocities using Landsat 7 and 8 imagery spanning 2013-2015 and compare to earlier estimates derived from synthetic aperture radar, revealing heterogeneous changes in ice flow since ˜ 2008. The new mapping provides complete coastal and inland coverage of ice velocity north of 82.4° S with a mean error of image pairs acquired during the daylight period. Using an optimized flux gate, ice discharge from Antarctica is 1929 ± 40 Gigatons per year (Gt yr-1) in 2015, an increase of 36 ± 15 Gt yr-1 from the time of the radar mapping. Flow accelerations across the grounding lines of West Antarctica's Amundsen Sea Embayment, Getz Ice Shelf and Marguerite Bay on the western Antarctic Peninsula, account for 88 % of this increase. In contrast, glaciers draining the East Antarctic Ice Sheet have been remarkably constant over the period of observation. Including modeled rates of snow accumulation and basal melt, the Antarctic ice sheet lost ice at an average rate of 183 ± 94 Gt yr-1 between 2008 and 2015. The modest increase in ice discharge over the past 7 years is contrasted by high rates of ice sheet mass loss and distinct spatial patters of elevation lowering. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is experiencing high rates of mass loss and displays distinct patterns of elevation lowering that point to a dynamic imbalance. We find modest increase in ice discharge over the past 7 years, which suggests that the recent pattern of mass loss in Antarctica is part of a longer-term phase of enhanced glacier flow initiated in the decades leading up to the first continent-wide radar mapping of ice flow.

Chilean Antarctic Stations on King George Island

OpenAIRE

Katsutada Kaminuma

2000-01-01

The purpose of my visit to Chilean Antarctic Stations was to assess the present status of geophysical observations and research, as the South Shetland Island, West Antarctica, where the stations are located, are one of the most active tectonic regions on the Antarctic plate. The Instituto Antartico Chileno (INACH) kindly gave me a chance to stay in Frei/Escudero Bases as an exchange scientist under the Antarctic Treaty for two weeks in January 2000. I stayed in Frei Base as a member of a geol...

Intercomparison of Antarctic ice-shelf, ocean, and sea-ice interactions simulated by MetROMS-iceshelf and FESOM 1.4

Science.gov (United States)

Naughten, Kaitlin A.; Meissner, Katrin J.; Galton-Fenzi, Benjamin K.; England, Matthew H.; Timmermann, Ralph; Hellmer, Hartmut H.; Hattermann, Tore; Debernard, Jens B.

2018-04-01

An increasing number of Southern Ocean models now include Antarctic ice-shelf cavities, and simulate thermodynamics at the ice-shelf/ocean interface. This adds another level of complexity to Southern Ocean simulations, as ice shelves interact directly with the ocean and indirectly with sea ice. Here, we present the first model intercomparison and evaluation of present-day ocean/sea-ice/ice-shelf interactions, as simulated by two models: a circumpolar Antarctic configuration of MetROMS (ROMS: Regional Ocean Modelling System coupled to CICE: Community Ice CodE) and the global model FESOM (Finite Element Sea-ice Ocean Model), where the latter is run at two different levels of horizontal resolution. From a circumpolar Antarctic perspective, we compare and evaluate simulated ice-shelf basal melting and sub-ice-shelf circulation, as well as sea-ice properties and Southern Ocean water mass characteristics as they influence the sub-ice-shelf processes. Despite their differing numerical methods, the two models produce broadly similar results and share similar biases in many cases. Both models reproduce many key features of observations but struggle to reproduce others, such as the high melt rates observed in the small warm-cavity ice shelves of the Amundsen and Bellingshausen seas. Several differences in model design show a particular influence on the simulations. For example, FESOM's greater topographic smoothing can alter the geometry of some ice-shelf cavities enough to affect their melt rates; this improves at higher resolution, since less smoothing is required. In the interior Southern Ocean, the vertical coordinate system affects the degree of water mass erosion due to spurious diapycnal mixing, with MetROMS' terrain-following coordinate leading to more erosion than FESOM's z coordinate. Finally, increased horizontal resolution in FESOM leads to higher basal melt rates for small ice shelves, through a combination of stronger circulation and small-scale intrusions of

Palaeomagnetism and K-Ar age of Mesozoic and Cenozoic igneous rocks from Antarctica

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valencio, D.A.; Mendia, J.E.; Vilas, J.F.

1979-01-01

A new analysis of palaeomagnetic data for igneous rocks from Deception Island, 25 de Mayo Island (King George Island) and Cape Spring, are given. K-Ar age determinations indicate that most of the igneous samples from 25 de Mayo Island included in the palaeomagnetic study are of Late Mesozoic/Early Tertiary age. The significance of these palaeomagnetic-radiometric data on the hypothesis of oroclinal bending of the Antarctic Peninsula and on the apparent polar movement of Antarctica is discussed. The positions of palaeomagnetic poles for the Andean igneous complex indicate that there has not been any apparent post-Late Cretaceous/Early Tertiary oroclinal bending in the Antarctic Peninsula from 74 0 S to 62 0 S. A comparison of the positions of palaeomagnetic poles for Antarctica and Australia suggests that the direction of apparent polar movement relative to Antarctica reversed after the Miocene. (Auth.)

Reconsidering connectivity in the sub-Antarctic.

Science.gov (United States)

Moon, Katherine L; Chown, Steven L; Fraser, Ceridwen I

2017-11-01

Extreme and remote environments provide useful settings to test ideas about the ecological and evolutionary drivers of biological diversity. In the sub-Antarctic, isolation by geographic, geological and glaciological processes has long been thought to underpin patterns in the region's terrestrial and marine diversity. Molecular studies using increasingly high-resolution data are, however, challenging this perspective, demonstrating that many taxa disperse among distant sub-Antarctic landmasses. Here, we reconsider connectivity in the sub-Antarctic region, identifying which taxa are relatively isolated, which are well connected, and the scales across which this connectivity occurs in both terrestrial and marine systems. Although many organisms show evidence of occasional long-distance, trans-oceanic dispersal, these events are often insufficient to maintain gene flow across the region. Species that do show evidence of connectivity across large distances include both active dispersers and more sedentary species. Overall, connectivity patterns in the sub-Antarctic at intra- and inter-island scales are highly complex, influenced by life-history traits and local dynamics such as relative dispersal capacity and propagule pressure, natal philopatry, feeding associations, the extent of human exploitation, past climate cycles, contemporary climate, and physical barriers to movement. An increasing use of molecular data - particularly genomic data sets that can reveal fine-scale patterns - and more effective international collaboration and communication that facilitates integration of data from across the sub-Antarctic, are providing fresh insights into the processes driving patterns of diversity in the region. These insights offer a platform for assessing the ways in which changing dispersal mechanisms, such as through increasing human activity and changes to wind and ocean circulation, may alter sub-Antarctic biodiversity patterns in the future. © 2017 Cambridge

Hydrolysis of Marine Cod (Gadus Morhua) Head - Utilization of rest raw material from cod for production of ingredients for human consumption

OpenAIRE

Meldstad, Fataneh

2015-01-01

The main objective of this study was to determine the possibility of utilizing frozen marine cod head for further processing into high-quality and high-yield fish protein hydrolysates. The project included determination of the effect of mincing versus whole head, frozen storage and thawing methods on the composition and yield of FPH. The results show that freezing and thawing of cod head lead to small changes in the composition of raw material and consequently the resulting ...

Environmental radioactivity in the antarctic station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez, S.; Osores, J.; Martinez, J.; Lopez, E.; Jara, R.

1998-01-01

Study about environmental radioactivity in the Peruvian antarctic station Machu Pichu they were carried out during the last three periods to the southern summer. The objective of the project it is to evaluate environmental component in order to elaborate a study it base on the levels background radioactivity and artificial in the antarctic region

Eastern Baltic cod recruitment revisited—dynamics and impacting factors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Köster, Fritz; Huwer, Bastian; Hinrichsen, Hans-Harald

2017-01-01

The Eastern Baltic cod abundance started rapidly to increase in the mid-2000s as evidenced by analytical stock assessments, due to increased recruitment and declining fishing mortality. Since 2014, the analytical stock assessment is not available, leaving the present stock status unclear and cast......The Eastern Baltic cod abundance started rapidly to increase in the mid-2000s as evidenced by analytical stock assessments, due to increased recruitment and declining fishing mortality. Since 2014, the analytical stock assessment is not available, leaving the present stock status unclear...... and casting doubts about the magnitude of the recent increase in recruitment. Earlier studies identified main factors impacting on cod reproductive success to be related to the loss of two out of three spawning areas in the 1980s caused by lack of major Baltic inflows with a concurrent reduction in salinity...... decade, as the period was characterized by an absence of large-scale Baltic inflows since 2003 and persistent anoxic conditions in the bottom water of the deep Baltic basins. This questions the perception of the increased recruitment in later years and challenges our present understanding of cod...

Mars weathering analogs - Secondary mineralization in Antarctic basalts

Science.gov (United States)

Berkley, J. L.

1982-01-01

Alkalic basalt samples from Ross Island, Antarctica, are evaluated as terrestrial analogs to weathered surface materials on Mars. Secondary alteration in the rocks is limited to pneumatolytic oxidation of igneous minerals and glass, rare groundmass clay and zeolite mineralization, and hydrothermal minerals coating fractures and vesicle surfaces. Hydrothermal mineral assemblages consist mainly of K-feldspar, zeolites (phillipsite and chabazite), calcite, and anhydrite. Low alteration rates are attributed to cold and dry environmental factors common to both Antarctica and Mars. It is noted that mechanical weathering (aeolian abrasion) of Martian equivalents to present Antarctic basalts would yield minor hydrothermal minerals and local surface fines composed of primary igneous minerals and glass but would produce few hydrous products, such as palagonite, clay or micas. It is thought that leaching of hydrothermal vein minerals by migrating fluids and redeposition in duricrust deposits may represent an alternate process for incorporating secondary minerals of volcanic origin into Martian surface fines.

Monitoring cod catches of the Dutch demersal fleet in 2016

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hal, van R.; Machiels, M.A.M.

2017-01-01

This report presents the results of the cod monitoring program 2016. The research was commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs within the EZ-program Beleidsondersteunend Onderzoek. Cod catches of the vessels in the fleet segments BT2 (beam trawl and pulse trawl) and TR (otter trawls

Developing Baltic cod recruitment models I : Resolving spatial and temporal dynamics of spawning stock and recruitment for cod, herring, and sprat

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Köster, Fritz; Möllmann, C.; Neuenfeldt, Stefan

2001-01-01

The Baltic Sea comprises a heterogeneous oceanographic environment influencing the spatial and temporal potential for reproductive success of cod (Gadus morhua) and sprat (Sprattus sprattus) in the different spawning basins. Hence, to quantify stock and recruitment dynamics, it is necessary......-disaggregated multispecies virtual population analyses (MSVPA) were performed for interacting species cod, herring (Clupea harengus), and sprat in the different subdivisions of the Central Baltic. The MSVPA runs revealed distinct spatial trends in population abundance, spawning biomass, recruitment, and predation...

Effect of influent COD/SO4(2-) ratios on UASB treatment of a synthetic sulfate-containing wastewater.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Yong; Jing, Zhaoqian; Sudo, Yuta; Niu, Qigui; Du, Jingru; Wu, Jiang; Li, Yu-You

2015-07-01

The effect of the chemical oxygen demand/sulfate (COD/SO4(2-)) ratio on the anaerobic treatment of synthetic chemical wastewater containing acetate, ethanol, and sulfate, was investigated using a UASB reactor. The experimental results show that at a COD/SO4(2-) ratio of 20 and a COD loading rate of 25.2gCODL(-1)d(-1), a COD removal of as high as 87.8% was maintained. At a COD/SO4(2-) ratio of 0.5 (sulfate concentration 6000mgL(-1)), however, the COD removal was 79.2% and the methane yield was 0.20LCH4gCOD(-1). The conversion of influent COD to methane dropped from 80.5% to 54.4% as the COD/SO4(2-) ratio decreased from 20 to 0.5. At all the COD/SO4(2-) ratios applied, over 79.4% of the total electron flow was utilized by methane-producing archaea (MPA), indicating that methane fermentation was the predominant reaction. The majority of the methane was produced by acetoclastic MPA at high COD/SO4(2-) ratios and both acetoclastic and hydrogenthrophic MPA at low COD/SO4(2-) ratios. Only at low COD/SO4(2-) ratios were SRB species such as Desulfovibrio found to play a key role in ethanol degradation, whereas all the SRB species were found to be incomplete oxidizers at both high and low COD/SO4(2-) ratios. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rapid Access Ice Drill: A New Tool for Exploration of the Deep Antarctic Ice Sheets and Subglacial Geology

Science.gov (United States)

Goodge, J. W.; Severinghaus, J. P.

2014-12-01

The Rapid Access Ice Drill (RAID) will penetrate the Antarctic ice sheets in order to core through deep ice, the glacial bed, and into bedrock below. This new technology will provide a critical first look at the interface between major ice caps and their subglacial geology. Currently in construction, RAID is a mobile drilling system capable of making several long boreholes in a single field season in Antarctica. RAID is interdisciplinary and will allow access to polar paleoclimate records in ice >1 Ma, direct observation at the base of the ice sheets, and recovery of rock cores from the ice-covered East Antarctic craton. RAID uses a diamond rock-coring system as in mineral exploration. Threaded drill-pipe with hardened metal bits will cut through ice using reverse circulation of Estisol for pressure-compensation, maintenance of temperature, and removal of ice cuttings. Near the bottom of the ice sheet, a wireline bottom-hole assembly will enable diamond coring of ice, the glacial bed, and bedrock below. Once complete, boreholes will be kept open with fluid, capped, and made available for future down-hole measurement of thermal gradient, heat flow, ice chronology, and ice deformation. RAID will also sample for extremophile microorganisms. RAID is designed to penetrate up to 3,300 meters of ice and take sample cores in less than 200 hours. This rapid performance will allow completion of a borehole in about 10 days before moving to the next drilling site. RAID is unique because it can provide fast borehole access through thick ice; take short ice cores for paleoclimate study; sample the glacial bed to determine ice-flow conditions; take cores of subglacial bedrock for age dating and crustal history; and create boreholes for use as an observatory in the ice sheets. Together, the rapid drilling capability and mobility of the drilling system, along with ice-penetrating imaging methods, will provide a unique 3D picture of the interior Antarctic ice sheets.

Inversion of CDOM and COD in water using HJ-1/CCD data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Miaofen; Xing, Xufeng; Zhao, Zulong; Li, Zhanqiang; Wang, Xinxing

2014-01-01

With the in-situ measurement data including the absorption coefficient of the CDOM, apparent optical properties and the COD, a regression model was established for retrieving ag(440) based on the remote sensing reflectance of the first and the third band of the environment satellite HJ-1/CCD. The measurement data were obtained at the regions of Panjin, Liaoning province in May 2008 and August 2009. Secondly, the remote sensing regression model was created based on the correlation of the CDOM optical properties and the COD. Finally, using the HJ-1/CCD data from 2009 to 2011 in Liaodong bay, the thematic snapshots of water environmental parameters in coastal waters, such as the CDOM and the COD, were calculated and analyzed. The results showed that: (1) the distribution of the CDOM tends to decrease from offshore areas to distant sea with some zonated character; (2) Most of the retrieved CDOM values vary between 0.2–1.7m-1, which is consistent with the measured value in 2009 and 2010 years; (3) the spatial distribution of the COD has good consistency with the CDOM, also shows a certain zonated distribution in coastal-offshore areas; (4) in September 2009 and September 2011, the values of the COD was basically below 40 mg/L while the values of the COD in September 2010 are relatively higher, mostly above 55 mg/L; (5) in June 2011 and May 2010, the COD values are nearly all larger than 55 mg/L

A millennium of north-east Atlantic cod juvenile growth trajectories inferred from archaeological otoliths.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guðbjörg Ásta Ólafsdóttir

Full Text Available Archaeological excavations of historical fishing sites across the North Atlantic have recovered high quantities of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua bones. In the current study we use Atlantic cod otoliths from archaeological excavations of a historical fishing sites in north-west Iceland, dated to AD 970 -AD 1910 to examine historical growth trajectories of cod. No large scale growth variations or shifts in growth patterns were observed in the current chronologies, supporting the stability of historical Atlantic cod growth trajectories. The most significant variation in growth patterns was consistent with those that have been observed in recent times, for example, reduced early juvenile growth during periods of colder ocean temperature. The current results represent a high resolution chronological record of north-east Atlantic cod growth, greatly increasing the prior temporal range of such data, thereby providing a valuable baseline for a broad range of studies on Atlantic cod growth.

Increased West Antarctic and unchanged East Antarctic ice discharge over the last 7 years

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. S. Gardner

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Ice discharge from large ice sheets plays a direct role in determining rates of sea-level rise. We map present-day Antarctic-wide surface velocities using Landsat 7 and 8 imagery spanning 2013–2015 and compare to earlier estimates derived from synthetic aperture radar, revealing heterogeneous changes in ice flow since ∼ 2008. The new mapping provides complete coastal and inland coverage of ice velocity north of 82.4° S with a mean error of < 10 m yr−1, resulting from multiple overlapping image pairs acquired during the daylight period. Using an optimized flux gate, ice discharge from Antarctica is 1929 ± 40 Gigatons per year (Gt yr−1 in 2015, an increase of 36 ± 15 Gt yr−1 from the time of the radar mapping. Flow accelerations across the grounding lines of West Antarctica's Amundsen Sea Embayment, Getz Ice Shelf and Marguerite Bay on the western Antarctic Peninsula, account for 88 % of this increase. In contrast, glaciers draining the East Antarctic Ice Sheet have been remarkably constant over the period of observation. Including modeled rates of snow accumulation and basal melt, the Antarctic ice sheet lost ice at an average rate of 183 ± 94 Gt yr−1 between 2008 and 2015. The modest increase in ice discharge over the past 7 years is contrasted by high rates of ice sheet mass loss and distinct spatial patters of elevation lowering. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is experiencing high rates of mass loss and displays distinct patterns of elevation lowering that point to a dynamic imbalance. We find modest increase in ice discharge over the past 7 years, which suggests that the recent pattern of mass loss in Antarctica is part of a longer-term phase of enhanced glacier flow initiated in the decades leading up to the first continent-wide radar mapping of ice flow.

Trace-element analysis of Antarctic H chondrites: Chemical weathering and comparisons with their non-Antarctic counterparts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwok, J.E.

1986-01-01

Large numbers of meteorites have been discovered in Antarctica over the last decade (7000 fragments probably representing over 1200 separate events). They are important for their numbers and for their complement of unique or rare specimens; they also have long terrestrial ages (up to 1,000,000 years) compared to non-Antarctic falls (usually < 200 years). We report compositional data for mobile/volatile trace elements Ag, Au, Bi, Cd, Co, Cs, In, Rb, Sb, Se, Te, Ti, U, and Zn in a suite of Antarctic H chondrites. Our data show that heavily oxidized H chondrites are leached of a portion of their trace elements and, therefore, have been chemically compromised by their stay in Antarctica. The less oxidized specimens seem to have retained their chemical integrity. We suggest possibilities for using chemical data to measure the degree of a chondrite's chemical weathering. We compare our data to that obtained previously for non-Antarctic H chondrites (Linger et al., 1986), by petrologic type (H4, H5, H6, H4-6) and shock-loading (moderately shocked facies a-c, heavily shocked facies d-f). Many statistically significant differences are found between non-Antarctic and Victoria Land, Antarctica H chondrites of each petrologic type and of shock facies d-f

COD fractions of leachate from aerobic and anaerobic pilot scale landfill reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bilgili, M. Sinan; Demir, Ahmet; Akkaya, Ebru; Ozkaya, Bestamin

2008-01-01

One of the most important problems with designing and maintaining a landfill is managing leachate that generated when water passes through the waste. In this study, leachate samples taken from aerobic and anaerobic landfill reactors operated with and without leachate recirculation are investigated in terms of biodegradable and non-biodegradable fractions of COD. The operation time is 600 days for anaerobic reactors and 250 days for aerobic reactors. Results of this study show that while the values of soluble inert COD to total COD in the leachate of aerobic landfill with leachate recirculation and aerobic dry reactors are determined around 40%, this rate was found around 30% in the leachate of anaerobic landfill with leachate recirculation and traditional landfill reactors. The reason for this difference is that the aerobic reactors generated much more microbial products. Because of this condition, it can be concluded that total inert COD/total COD ratios of the aerobic reactors were 60%, whereas those of anaerobic reactors were 50%. This study is important for modeling, design, and operation of landfill leachate treatment systems and determination of discharge limits

Meteorological observatory for Antarctic data collection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grigioni, P.; De Silvestri, L.

1996-01-01

In the last years, a great number of automatic weather stations was installed in Antarctica, with the aim to examine closely the weather and climate of this region and to improve the coverage of measuring points on the Antarctic surface. In 1987 the Italian Antarctic Project started to set up a meteorological network, in an area not completely covered by other countries. Some of the activities performed by the meteorological observatory, concerning technical functions such as maintenance of the AWS's and the execution of radio soundings, or relating to scientific purposes such as validation and elaboration of collected data, are exposed. Finally, some climatological considerations on the thermal behaviour of the Antarctic troposphere such as 'coreless winter', and on the wind field, including katabatic flows in North Victoria Land are described

Antarctic snow and global climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Granberg, H.B.

2001-01-01

Global circulation models (GCM) indicate that global warming will be most pronounced at polar regions and high latitudes, causing concern about the stability of the Antarctic ice cap. A project entitled the Seasonal Snow in Antarctica examined the properties of the near surface snow to determine the current conditions that influence snow cover development. The goal was to assess the response of the snow cover in Queen Maud Land (QML) to an increased atmospheric carbon dioxide content. The Antarctic snow cover in QML was examined as part of the FINNARP expeditions in 1999 and 2000 which examined the processes that influence the snow cover. Its energy and mass balance were also assessed by examining the near surface snow strata in shallow (1-2 m) pits and by taking measurements of environmental variables. This made it possible to determine if the glacier is in danger of melting at this northerly location in the Antarctic. The study also made it possible to determine which variables need to change and by how much, for significant melting to occur. It was shown that the Antarctic anticyclone creates particular conditions that protect the snow cover from melting. The anticyclone brings dry air from the stratosphere during most of the year and is exempt from the water vapour feedback. It was concluded that even a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide will not produce major snow melt runoff. 8 refs

Reaching for the Horizon: Enabling 21st Century Antarctic Science

Science.gov (United States)

Rogan-Finnemore, M.; Kennicutt, M. C., II; Kim, Y.

2015-12-01

The Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs' (COMNAP) Antarctic Roadmap Challenges(ARC) project translated the 80 highest priority Antarctic and Southern Ocean scientific questionsidentified by the community via the SCAR Antarctic Science Horizon Scan into the highest prioritytechnological, access, infrastructure and logistics needs to enable the necessary research to answer thequestions. A workshop assembled expert and experienced Antarctic scientists and National AntarcticProgram operators from around the globe to discern the highest priority technological needs includingthe current status of development and availability, where the technologies will be utilized in the Antarctic area, at what temporal scales and frequencies the technologies will be employed,and how broadly applicable the technologies are for answering the highest priority scientific questions.Secondly the logistics, access, and infrastructure requirements were defined that are necessary todeliver the science in terms of feasibility including cost and benefit as determined by expected scientific return on investment. Finally, based on consideration of the science objectives and the mix oftechnologies implications for configuring National Antarctic Program logistics capabilities andinfrastructure architecture over the next 20 years were determined. In particular those elements thatwere either of a complexity, requiring long term investments to achieve and/or having an associated cost that realistically can only (or best) be achieved by international coordination, planning and partnerships were identified. Major trends (changes) in logistics, access, and infrastructure requirements were identified that allow for long-term strategic alignment of international capabilities, resources and capacity. The outcomes of this project will be reported.

Psychrotrophic metal tolerant bacteria for mobilisation of metals in Antarctic waters

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Gonsalves, M.J.B.D.

Cold tolerant psychrotrophic bacteria abound in the Antarctic waters. While Antarctic krills are known to concentrate heavy metals at ppm levels, psychrotrophic bacteria from Antarctic fresh and marine waters have been reported to tolerate them...

Spatio-temporal dynamics of cod nursery areas in the Baltic Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Hinrichsen, H.-H.; von Dewitz, B.; Lehmann, A.; Bergström, U.; Hüssy, K.

2017-06-01

In this study the drift of eastern Baltic cod larvae and juveniles spawned within the historical eastern Baltic cod spawning grounds was investigated by detailed drift model simulations for the years 1971-2010, to examine the spatio-temporal dynamics of environmental suitability in the nursery areas of juvenile cod settlement. The results of the long-term model scenario runs, where juvenile cod were treated as simulated passively drifting particles, enabled us to find strong indications for long-term variations of settlement and potentially the reproduction success of the historically important eastern Baltic cod nursery grounds. Only low proportions of juveniles hatched in the Arkona Basin and in the Gotland Basin were able to settle in their respective spawning ground. Ocean currents were either unfavorable for the juveniles to reach suitable habitats or transported the juveniles to nursery grounds of neighboring subdivisions. Juveniles which hatched in the Bornholm Basin were most widely dispersed and showed the highest settlement probability, while the second highest settlement probability and horizontal dispersal was observed for juveniles originating from the Gdansk Deep. In a long-term perspective, wind-driven transport of larvae/juveniles positively affected the settlement success predominately in the Bornholm Basin and in the Bay of Gdansk. The Bornholm Basin has the potential to contribute on average 54% and the Bay of Gdansk 11% to the production of juveniles in the Baltic Sea. Furthermore, transport of juveniles surviving to the age of settlement with origin in the Bornholm Basin contributed on average 13 and 11% to the total settlement in the Arkona Basin and in the Gdansk Deep, respectively. The time-series of the simulated occupied juvenile cod habitat in the Bornholm Basin and in the Gdansk Deep showed a similar declining trend as the Fulton's K condition factor of demersal 1-group cod, which may confirm the importance of oxygen-dependent habitat

How cod shapes its world

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Leeuwen, A.; de Roos, A.M.; Persson, L.

2008-01-01

Cod stocks in the North West Atlantic and the Baltic Sea have shown similar dynamics in recent decades with a rapid decline in abundance and a lack of stock recovery following a period of large biomass. We explore whether the lack of recovery can be ascribed to an emergent Allee effect, which is a

Biological studies in the Antarctic waters: A review

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Dhargalkar, V.K.

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Exophiala angulospora causes systemic inflammation in atlantic cod Gadus morhua.

Science.gov (United States)

Gjessing, Mona Cecilie; Davey, Marie; Kvellestad, Agnar; Vrålstad, Trude

2011-10-06

Species of Exophiala are opportunistic fungal pathogens that may infect a broad range of warm- and cold-blooded animals, including salmonids and Atlantic cod. In the present study, we observed abnormal swimming behaviour and skin pigmentation and increased mortality in cod kept in an indoor tank. Necropsy revealed foci of different sizes with a greyish to brownish colour in internal organs of diseased fish. The foci consisted of ramifying darkly pigmented fungal hyphae surrounded by distinct layers of inflammatory cells, including macrophage-like cells. In the inner layer with many hyphae, the macrophage-like cells were dead. We observed no apparent restriction of fungal growth by the inflammatory response. A darkly pigmented fungus was repeatedly isolated in pure culture from foci of diseased fish and identified as Exophiala angulospora using morphological and molecular characters. This species has not been previously reported to cause disease in cod, but has been reported as an opportunistic pathogen of both marine and freshwater fish. Based on the morphology and sequence analysis presented here, we conclude that E. angulospora caused the observed chronic multifocal inflammation in internal organs of cod, leading to severe disease and mortality.

Sensory characteristics of different cod products related to consumer preferences and attitudes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sveinsdottir, K.; Martinsdottir, E.; Green-Petersen, Ditte

2009-01-01

countries tasted and scored the cod products on a 9-point hedonic scale. In addition information on the consumers attitudes, motives/barriers and fish purchase behaviour was collected. The aim was to investigate how sensory quality corresponded to consumers liking of different cod products and to study...... to fish consumption, attitudes and preferences of the eight cod products. However, it was demonstrated that within each country, different segments of consumers existed with different preferences, motives/barriers and demographic background. The results indicated various potential to increase fish...

Chilean Antarctic Stations on King George Island

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katsutada Kaminuma

2000-07-01

Full Text Available The purpose of my visit to Chilean Antarctic Stations was to assess the present status of geophysical observations and research, as the South Shetland Island, West Antarctica, where the stations are located, are one of the most active tectonic regions on the Antarctic plate. The Instituto Antartico Chileno (INACH kindly gave me a chance to stay in Frei/Escudero Bases as an exchange scientist under the Antarctic Treaty for two weeks in January 2000. I stayed in Frei Base as a member of a geological survey group named "Tectonic Evolution of the Antarctic Peninsula" which was organized by Prof. F. Herve, University of Chile, from January 05 to 19,2000. All my activity in the Antarctic was organized by INACH. During my stay in Frei Base, I also visited Bellingshausen (Russian, Great Wall (China and Artigas (Uruguay stations. All these stations are located within walking distance of Frei Base. King Sejong Station (Korea, located 10km east from Frei Base, and Jubany Base (Argentine, another 6km south-east from King Sejong Station, were also visited with the aid of a zodiac boat that was kindly operated for us by King Sejong Station. All stations except Escudero Base carry out meteorological observations. The seismological observations in Frei Base are operated by Washington State University of the U. S. monitoring of earthquake activity and three-component geomagnetic observations are done at King Sejong and Great Wall stations. Earth tide is monitored at Artigas Base. Continuous monitoring of GPS and gravity change are planned at King Sejong Station in the near future. Scientific research activities of each country in the area in the 1999/2000 Antarctic summer season were studied and the logistic ability of all stations was also assessed for our future international cooperation.

Tolerance of Antarctic soil fungi to hydrocarbons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hughes, Kevin A.; Bridge, Paul; Clark, Melody S. [British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET (United Kingdom)

2007-01-01

Little is known about the effects of hydrocarbons and fuel oil on Antarctic filamentous fungi in the terrestrial Antarctic environment. Growth of fungi and bacteria from soils around Rothera Research Station (Adelaide Island, Antarctic Peninsula) was assessed in the presence of ten separate aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons [marine gas oil (MGO), dodecane, hexadecane, benzoic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, toluene, phenol, biphenyl, naphthalene and m- and p-xylenes with ethylbenzene]. Aromatic hydrocarbons inhibited soil microbial growth more than aliphatic hydrocarbons. Soil microorganisms from a moss patch, where little previous impact or hydrocarbon contamination had occurred, were less tolerant of hydrocarbons than those from high impact sites. Fungal growth rates of Mollisia sp., Penicillium commune, Mortierella sp., Trichoderma koningii, Trichoderma sp. and Phoma herbarum were assessed in the presence of hydrocarbons. Generally, aromatic hydrocarbons inhibited or stopped hyphal extension, though growth rates increased with some aliphatic hydrocarbons. Hyphal dry weight measurements suggested that Mortierella sp. may be able to use dodecane as sole carbon and energy source. Hydrocarbon-degrading Antarctic fungi may have use in future hydrocarbon spill bioremediation. (author)

The genome of the Antarctic-endemic copepod, Tigriopus kingsejongensis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Seunghyun; Ahn, Do-Hwan; Lee, Jun Hyuck; Lee, Sung Gu; Shin, Seung Chul; Lee, Jungeun; Min, Gi-Sik; Lee, Hyoungseok; Kim, Hyun-Woo; Kim, Sanghee; Park, Hyun

2017-01-01

The Antarctic intertidal zone is continuously subjected to extremely fluctuating biotic and abiotic stressors. The West Antarctic Peninsula is the most rapidly warming region on Earth. Organisms living in Antarctic intertidal pools are therefore interesting for research into evolutionary adaptation to extreme environments and the effects of climate change. We report the whole genome sequence of the Antarctic-endemic harpacticoid copepod Tigriopus kingsejongensi . The 37 Gb raw DNA sequence was generated using the Illumina Miseq platform. Libraries were prepared with 65-fold coverage and a total length of 295 Mb. The final assembly consists of 48 368 contigs with an N50 contig length of 17.5 kb, and 27 823 scaffolds with an N50 contig length of 159.2 kb. A total of 12 772 coding genes were inferred using the MAKER annotation pipeline. Comparative genome analysis revealed that T. kingsejongensis -specific genes are enriched in transport and metabolism processes. Furthermore, rapidly evolving genes related to energy metabolism showed positive selection signatures. The T. kingsejongensis genome provides an interesting example of an evolutionary strategy for Antarctic cold adaptation, and offers new genetic insights into Antarctic intertidal biota. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

Impact of influent COD/N ratio on disintegration of aerobic granular sludge.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Jinghai; Hao, Tianwei; Wei, Li; Mackey, Hamish R; Lin, Ziqiao; Chen, Guang-Hao

2014-10-01

Disintegration of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) is a challenging issue in the long-term operation of an AGS system. Chemical oxygen demand (COD)-to-nitrogen (N) ratio (COD/N), often variable in industrial wastewaters, could be a destabilizing factor causing granule disintegration. This study investigates the impact of this ratio on AGS disintegration and identifies the key causes, through close monitoring of AGS changes in its physical and chemical characteristics, microbial community and treatment performance. For specific comparison, two lab-scale air-lift type sequencing batch reactors, one for aerobic granular and the other for flocculent sludge, were operated in parallel with three COD/N ratios (4, 2, 1) applied in the influent of each reactor. The decreased COD/N ratios of 2 and 1 strongly influenced the stability of AGS with regard to physical properties and nitrification efficiency, leading to AGS disintegration when the ratio was decreased to 1. Comparatively the flocculent sludge maintained relatively stable structure and nitrification efficiency under all tested COD/N ratios. The lowest COD/N ratio resulted in a large microbial community shift and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) reduction in both flocculent and granular sludges. The disintegration of AGS was associated with two possible causes: 1) reduction in net tyrosine production in the EPS and 2) a major microbial community shift including reduction in filamentous bacteria leading to the collapse of granule structure. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

COD removal characteristics in air-cathode microbial fuel cells

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Xiaoyuan

2015-01-01

© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. Exoelectrogenic microorganisms in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) compete with other microorganisms for substrate. In order to understand how this affects removal rates, current generation, and coulombic efficiencies (CEs), substrate removal rates were compared in MFCs fed a single, readily biodegradable compound (acetate) or domestic wastewater (WW). Removal rates based on initial test conditions fit first-order kinetics, but rate constants varied with circuit resistance. With filtered WW (100Ω), the rate constant was 0.18h- 1, which was higher than acetate or filtered WW with an open circuit (0.10h- 1), but CEs were much lower (15-24%) than acetate. With raw WW (100Ω), COD removal proceeded in two stages: a fast removal stage with high current production, followed by a slower removal with little current. While using MFCs increased COD removal rate due to current generation, secondary processes will be needed to reduce COD to levels suitable for discharge.

Removal of COD from laundry wastewater by electrocoagulation/electroflotation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, C.-T.; Chou, W.-L.; Kuo, Y.-M.

2009-01-01

The removal efficiency of COD in the treatment of simulated laundry wastewater using electrocoagulation/electroflotation technology is described. The experimental results showed that the removal efficiency was better, reaching to about 62%, when applying ultrasound to the electrocoagulation cell. The solution pH approached neutrality in all experimental runs. The optimal removal efficiency of COD was obtained by using the applied voltage of 5 V when considering the energy efficiency and the acceptable removal efficiency simultaneously. The Cl - concentration of less than 2500 ppm had a positive effect on the removal efficiency. The performance of the monopolar connection of electrodes was better than that of the bipolar connection in this work. In addition, the removal efficiency of using Al electrodes was higher in comparison with using Fe electrodes in the study. The highest COD removal amount per joule was found to be 999 mg dm -3 kW h -1 while using two Al electrodes, although the removal efficiency increased with the number of Al plates

Basin-scale heterogeneity in Antarctic precipitation and its impact on surface mass variability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Fyke

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Annually averaged precipitation in the form of snow, the dominant term of the Antarctic Ice Sheet surface mass balance, displays large spatial and temporal variability. Here we present an analysis of spatial patterns of regional Antarctic precipitation variability and their impact on integrated Antarctic surface mass balance variability simulated as part of a preindustrial 1800-year global, fully coupled Community Earth System Model simulation. Correlation and composite analyses based on this output allow for a robust exploration of Antarctic precipitation variability. We identify statistically significant relationships between precipitation patterns across Antarctica that are corroborated by climate reanalyses, regional modeling and ice core records. These patterns are driven by variability in large-scale atmospheric moisture transport, which itself is characterized by decadal- to centennial-scale oscillations around the long-term mean. We suggest that this heterogeneity in Antarctic precipitation variability has a dampening effect on overall Antarctic surface mass balance variability, with implications for regulation of Antarctic-sourced sea level variability, detection of an emergent anthropogenic signal in Antarctic mass trends and identification of Antarctic mass loss accelerations.

Emerging spatial patterns in Antarctic prokaryotes.

Science.gov (United States)

Chong, Chun-Wie; Pearce, David A; Convey, Peter

2015-01-01

Recent advances in knowledge of patterns of biogeography in terrestrial eukaryotic organisms have led to a fundamental paradigm shift in understanding of the controls and history of life on land in Antarctica, and its interactions over the long term with the glaciological and geological processes that have shaped the continent. However, while it has long been recognized that the terrestrial ecosystems of Antarctica are dominated by microbes and their processes, knowledge of microbial diversity and distributions has lagged far behind that of the macroscopic eukaryote organisms. Increasing human contact with and activity in the continent is leading to risks of biological contamination and change in a region whose isolation has protected it for millions of years at least; these risks may be particularly acute for microbial communities which have, as yet, received scant recognition and attention. Even a matter apparently as straightforward as Protected Area designation in Antarctica requires robust biodiversity data which, in most parts of the continent, remain almost completely unavailable. A range of important contributing factors mean that it is now timely to reconsider the state of knowledge of Antarctic terrestrial prokaryotes. Rapid advances in molecular biological approaches are increasingly demonstrating that bacterial diversity in Antarctica may be far greater than previously thought, and that there is overlap in the environmental controls affecting both Antarctic prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities. Bacterial dispersal mechanisms and colonization patterns remain largely unaddressed, although evidence for regional evolutionary differentiation is rapidly accruing and, with this, there is increasing appreciation of patterns in regional bacterial biogeography in this large part of the globe. In this review, we set out to describe the state of knowledge of Antarctic prokaryote diversity patterns, drawing analogy with those of eukaryote groups where appropriate

Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua benefits from the availability of seagrass (Zostera marina nursery habitat

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard J. Lilley

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua is a species of significant economic and historic importance but infamous for its decline. Apart from overfishing, the causes of this decline and its subsequent lack of recovery remain largely unresolved. Indeed, the degree to which specific habitats are important for this species remains unquantified at the scale of North Atlantic. Here, the literature on the role of eelgrass meadows (Zostera marina as valuable nursery habitat for the Atlantic cod is reviewed and synthesized. Evidence is presented on relative densities of Atlantic cod in shallow water environments and in eelgrass meadows in comparison to alternative habitats. In addition, evidence pertaining to the ’viability gains’ attributed to the use of eelgrass meadows as nursery habitat (growth and survival by juvenile Atlantic cod is analyzed. Although juvenile Atlantic cod use of Z. marina is found to be facultative, when possible, available literatures indicates that they may select Z. marina as a nursery habitat where they are found in high density (average of at least 246 ha−1. From their use of Z. marina habitat the juvenile Atlantic cod receives viability benefits from it, improving their chances of reaching maturation. This paper provides strong evidence that eelgrass meadows are of significant importance to contributing to Atlantic cod stocks. Keywords: Zostera marina, Eelgrass, Gadus morhua, Fisheries, Juveniles, Nursery habitat

Contrasting Arctic and Antarctic atmospheric responses to future sea-ice loss

Science.gov (United States)

England, M.; Polvani, L. M.; Sun, L.

2017-12-01

By the end of this century, the annual mean Antarctic sea ice area is projected to decline by over a third, an amount similar to that in the Arctic, but the effect of Antarctic sea ice loss on the atmosphere remains largely unexplored. Using the Community Earth Systems Model (CESM) Whole Atmosphere Coupled Climate Model (WACCM), we investigate the effect of future Antarctic sea ice loss, and contrast it with its Arctic counterpart. This is accomplished by analyzing integrations of the model with historic and future sea ice levels, using the RCP8.5 scenario. This allows us to disentangle the effect of future sea ice loss on the atmosphere from other aspects of the coupled system. We find that both Antarctic and Arctic sea ice loss act to shift the tropospheric jet equatorwards, counteracting the poleward shift due to increases in greenhouse gases. Although the total forcing to the atmosphere is similar in both hemispheres, the response to Arctic sea ice loss is larger in amplitude and but more seasonally varying, while the response in the Antarctic persists throughout the year but with a smaller amplitude. Furthermore, the atmospheric temperature response over the Antarctic is trapped closer to the surface than in the Arctic, and perhaps surprisingly, we find that the surface temperature response to Antarctic sea ice loss is unable to penetrate the Antarctic continent.

Externally driven mortality of cod early life stages in the central Baltic: hydrography vs. predation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Neumann, Viola; Köster, Fritz; Schaber, Matthias

pressure by clupeids on the early life stages of cod could have enhanced cod recruitment in recent years. The analyses are based on a large dataset of stomach content of clupeids, cod egg abundances from ichthyoplankton surveys, and hydrographic measurements. We investigate temporal and spatial variability...

Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctic Ice and Clouds

Science.gov (United States)

1991-01-01

In this view of Antarctic ice and clouds, (56.5S, 152.0W), the Ross Ice Shelf of Antarctica is almost totally clear, showing stress cracks in the ice surface caused by wind and tidal drift. Clouds on the eastern edge of the picture are associated with an Antarctic cyclone. Winds stirred up these storms have been known to reach hurricane force.

Transcriptomics and comparative analysis of three antarctic notothenioid fishes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seung Chul Shin

Full Text Available For the past 10 to 13 million years, Antarctic notothenioid fish have undergone extraordinary periods of evolution and have adapted to a cold and highly oxygenated Antarctic marine environment. While these species are considered an attractive model with which to study physiology and evolutionary adaptation, they are poorly characterized at the molecular level, and sequence information is lacking. The transcriptomes of the Antarctic fishes Notothenia coriiceps, Chaenocephalus aceratus, and Pleuragramma antarcticum were obtained by 454 FLX Titanium sequencing of a normalized cDNA library. More than 1,900,000 reads were assembled in a total of 71,539 contigs. Overall, 40% of the contigs were annotated based on similarity to known protein or nucleotide sequences, and more than 50% of the predicted transcripts were validated as full-length or putative full-length cDNAs. These three Antarctic fishes shared 663 genes expressed in the brain and 1,557 genes expressed in the liver. In addition, these cold-adapted fish expressed more Ub-conjugated proteins compared to temperate fish; Ub-conjugated proteins are involved in maintaining proteins in their native state in the cold and thermally stable Antarctic environments. Our transcriptome analysis of Antarctic notothenioid fish provides an archive for future studies in molecular mechanisms of fundamental genetic questions, and can be used in evolution studies comparing other fish.

DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNOLOGY FOR FISH CANNED PATE'S COD-FISH SPECIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. A. Efremova

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Summary. Fish and seafood play an important role in a balanced diet. The most reliable method of preservation is the production of canned fish. Cod fishery considered traditional objects of the North Basin, which catches in recent years stored at a consistently high level. They are represented, mainly cod, haddock, pollack, whiting. Lately there has been a tendency to increase yield loaves (polar bib. The aim of this work - the development of technology - canned pate's cod fish species with the addition of plant materials. We used the adopted research microbiological, chemical and physical methods. The weight proportion of water, lipids, protein, mineral raw determined according to State standard 7636-85. Developed a technology - canned pate's cod fish species with the addition of plant materials. Optimized formulation is set to sterilization. Experimentally determined parameters of quality canned and given comprehensive assessment nutritional value of new products, organoleptic, physico-chemical, biochemical and microbiological tests showed that canned pates of Gadidae species of fish with vegetables, meet all safety requirements and are characterized, along with excellent consumer properties, high nutritional value. Based on the results of the research complex developed technical documentation for production of canned vegetables, pates of Gadidae species.

Microbial ecology and biogeochemistry of continental Antarctic soils.

Science.gov (United States)

Cowan, Don A; Makhalanyane, Thulani P; Dennis, Paul G; Hopkins, David W

2014-01-01

The Antarctica Dry Valleys are regarded as the coldest hyperarid desert system on Earth. While a wide variety of environmental stressors including very low minimum temperatures, frequent freeze-thaw cycles and low water availability impose severe limitations to life, suitable niches for abundant microbial colonization exist. Antarctic desert soils contain much higher levels of microbial diversity than previously thought. Edaphic niches, including cryptic and refuge habitats, microbial mats and permafrost soils all harbor microbial communities which drive key biogeochemical cycling processes. For example, lithobionts (hypoliths and endoliths) possess a genetic capacity for nitrogen and carbon cycling, polymer degradation, and other system processes. Nitrogen fixation rates of hypoliths, as assessed through acetylene reduction assays, suggest that these communities are a significant input source for nitrogen into these oligotrophic soils. Here we review aspects of microbial diversity in Antarctic soils with an emphasis on functionality and capacity. We assess current knowledge regarding adaptations to Antarctic soil environments and highlight the current threats to Antarctic desert soil communities.

Preferred temperature of juvenile Atlantic cod Gadus morhua with different haemoglobin genotypes at normoxia and moderate hypoxia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, M.F.; Steffensen, J.F.

2003-01-01

.2+/-1.5 degrees C while HbI-1 cod preferred 15.4+/-1.1 degrees C, and this preference was significant. The effect of hypoxia (35% oxygen saturation) on the preferred temperature was also measured. Previous studies showed that the preferred temperature of fish decreases during hypoxia, and this was the case for Hb......I-1 cod, which preferred 9.8+/-1.8 degrees C during hypoxia, whereas HbI-2 cod did not show this effect. The results indicate that environmental temperature changes will lead to a distributional change in the different haemoglobin types of Atlantic cod, global warming providing an advantage for HbI-1...... cod. However, since HbI-1 cod prefer a low temperature under hypoxic conditions, a combination of increased water temperature and hypoxia could be unfavourable for Atlantic cod stocks....

Research progress of on-line automatic monitoring of chemical oxygen demand (COD) of water

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Youfa; Fu, Xing; Gao, Xiaolu; Li, Lianyin

2018-02-01

With the increasingly stricter control of pollutant emission in China, the on-line automatic monitoring of water quality is particularly urgent. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) is a comprehensive index to measure the contamination caused by organic matters, and thus it is taken as one important index of energy-saving and emission reduction in China’s “Twelve-Five” program. So far, the COD on-line automatic monitoring instrument has played an important role in the field of sewage monitoring. This paper reviews the existing methods to achieve on-line automatic monitoring of COD, and on the basis, points out the future trend of the COD on-line automatic monitoring instruments.

Summer diet of the Salvin's prion at sub-Antarctic Marion Island

African Journals Online (AJOL)

1988-02-14

Feb 14, 1988 ... Thirty-nine food samples were collected from Salvin's prions Pachyptila salvini at sub-Antarctic Marion Island,. Prince Edward Islands. ..... guide to foraging methods used by marine birds in. Antarctic and sub-Antarctic seas. BIOMASS Handbook. 24: 1-22. GRINDLEY, J.R. & LANE, S.B. 1979. Zooplankton.

CcpA and CodY Coordinate Acetate Metabolism in Streptococcus mutans.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jeong Nam; Burne, Robert A

2017-04-01

In the dental caries pathogen Streptococcus mutans , phosphotransacetylase (Pta) and acetate kinase (Ack) convert pyruvate into acetate with the concomitant generation of ATP. The genes for this pathway are tightly regulated by multiple environmental and intracellular inputs, but the basis for differential expression of the genes for Pta and Ack in S. mutans had not been investigated. Here, we show that inactivation in S. mutans of ccpA or codY reduced the activity of the ackA promoter, whereas a ccpA mutant displayed elevated pta promoter activity. The interactions of CcpA with the promoter regions of both genes were observed using electrophoretic mobility shift and DNase protection assays. CodY bound to the ackA promoter region but only in the presence of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). DNase footprinting revealed that the upstream region of both genes contains two catabolite-responsive elements ( cre1 and cre2 ) that can be bound by CcpA. Notably, the cre2 site of ackA overlaps with a CodY-binding site. The CcpA- and CodY-binding sites in the promoter region of both genes were further defined by site-directed mutagenesis. Some differences between the reported consensus CodY binding site and the region protected by S. mutans CodY were noted. Transcription of the pta and ackA genes in the ccpA mutant strain was markedly different at low pH relative to transcription at neutral pH. Thus, CcpA and CodY are direct regulators of transcription of ackA and pta in S. mutans that optimize acetate metabolism in response to carbohydrate, amino acid availability, and environmental pH. IMPORTANCE The human dental caries pathogen Streptococcus mutans is remarkably adept at coping with extended periods of carbohydrate limitation during fasting periods. The phosphotransacetylase-acetate kinase (Pta-Ack) pathway in S. mutans modulates carbohydrate flux and fine-tunes the ability of the organisms to cope with stressors that are commonly encountered in the oral cavity. Here, we

Plastic ingestion by juvenile polar cod (Boreogadus saida) in the Arctic Ocean

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kühn, Susanne; Schaafsma, Fokje L.; Werven, van Bernike; Flores, Hauke; Bergmann, Melanie; Egelkraut-Holtus, Marion; Tekman, Mine B.; Franeker, van Jan A.

2018-01-01

One of the recently recognised stressors in Arctic ecosystems concerns plastic litter. In this study, juvenile polar cod (Boreogadus saida) were investigated for the presence of plastics in their stomachs. Polar cod is considered a key species in the Arctic ecosystem. The fish were collected both

Time matters: post-surgical recovery of gastric evacuation rate in Atlantic cod

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Behrens, Jane; Gräns, Albin; Andersen, Niels Gerner

GER was affected after surgically introducing dummies of a blood-flow biotelemetry system into the abdominal cavity of Atlantic cod. Two days post surgery the cod with implants were, together with a control group, force-fed a standardized meal and the stomach contents recovered 24h later...

Assessing impacts of simulated oil spills on the Northeast Arctic cod fishery.

Science.gov (United States)

Carroll, JoLynn; Vikebø, Frode; Howell, Daniel; Broch, Ole Jacob; Nepstad, Raymond; Augustine, Starrlight; Skeie, Geir Morten; Bast, Radovan; Juselius, Jonas

2018-01-01

We simulate oil spills of 1500 and 4500m 3 /day lasting 14, 45, and 90days in the spawning grounds of the commercial fish species, Northeast Arctic cod. Modeling the life history of individual fish eggs and larvae, we predict deviations from the historical pattern of recruitment to the adult population due to toxic oil exposures. Reductions in survival for pelagic stages of cod were 0-10%, up to a maximum of 43%. These reductions resulted in a decrease in adult cod biomass of <3% for most scenarios, up to a maximum of 12%. In all simulations, the adult population remained at full reproductive potential with a sufficient number of juveniles surviving to replenish the population. The diverse age distribution helps protect the adult cod population from reductions in a single year's recruitment after a major oil spill. These results provide insights to assist in managing oil spill impacts on fisheries. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Ingestion of bacteria by cod (Gadus morhua L.) larvae. In: The propagation of cod Gadus morhua L.: an international symposium, Arendal, 14 - 17 June 1983

OpenAIRE

Olafsen, Jan A.

1984-01-01

The uptake of Rhodamine-labelled bacteria by cod larvae was demonstrated using a fluorescent microscopy technique, which allowed a quick estimate of bacterial uptake and gut clearance. Live or heat-killed bacteria, isolated from cod-eggs, were rapidly ingested by larvae at yolk-sac and older stages. A substantial uptake could be seen after 15 min exposure, and eventually the bacteria became densely packed in the digestive tract. Some morphological details in the develo...

Effect of the two-stage thermal disintegration and anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge on the COD fractions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ciaciuch Anna

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The research presents the changes in chemical oxygen demand (COD fractions during the two-stage thermal disintegration and anaerobic digestion (AD of sewage sludge in municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP. Four COD fractions have been separated taking into account the solubility of substrates and their susceptibility to biodegradation: inert soluble organic matter SI, readily biodegradable substrate SS, slowly biodegradable substrates XS and inert particulate organic material XI. The results showed that readily biodegradable substrates SS (46.8% of total COD and slowly biodegradable substrates XS (36.1% of total COD were dominant in the raw sludge effluents. In sewage effluents after two-stage thermal disintegration, the percentage of SS fraction increased to 90% of total COD and percentage of XS fraction decreased to 8% of total COD. After AD, percentage of SS fraction in total COD decreased to 64%, whereas the percentage of other fractions in effluents increased.

Educational and Community Outreach Efforts by the United States Polar Rock Repository during the International Polar Year

Science.gov (United States)

Grunow, A.; Codispoti, J. E.

2010-12-01

The US Polar Rock Repository (USPRR) houses more than 19,000 rock samples from polar regions and these samples are made available to the scientific, educational and museum community. The USPRR has been active in promoting polar earth science to educational and community groups. During the past year, outreach efforts reached over 12,000 people. The USPRR outreach involve tours of the facility, school presentations, online laboratory exercises, working with the Columbus Metro Parks, teaching at summer camps, teaching special geology field assignments at the middle school level, as well as offering an ‘Antarctic Rock Box’ that contains representative samples of the three types of rocks, minerals, fossils, and books and activities about geology and Antarctica. The rock box activities have been designed and reviewed by educators and scientists to use as an educational supplement to the Earth Science course of study. The activities have been designed around the Academic Content Standards: k-12 Science manual published by the Ohio Department of Education to ensure that the activities and topics are focused on those mandated by the state of Ohio. The USPRR website has a Virtual Web Antarctic Expedition with many activities for Middle to High School age students. The students learn about how to plan a field season, safety techniques, how to make a remote field camp, identify what equipment is needed, learn about the different transportation choices, weather issues, understanding GPS, etc. Educational and community networks have been built in part, by directly contacting individuals at an institution and partnering with them on educational outreach. The institutions have been very interested in doing this because it brings scientists to the classroom and to the public. This type of outreach has also served as an opening for children to consider possible career choices in science that they may not have considered before. In many of the presentations, a female geologist

Eocene and miocene rocks off the northeastern coast of the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Gibson, T.G.

1965-01-01

A grab sample from a depth of 1675 m at a point south of Cape Cod contains early Eocene planktonic Foraminifera and is correlated with the Globorotalia rex zone of Trinidad. The assemblage indicates a depth comparable to that existing today. Regional relations suggest that the Cretaceous and Eocene deposits deepen to the west toward New Jersey. Two mollusk-bearing blocks dredged from the northern side of Georges Bank are correlative with the Miocene Yorktown Formation. Rocks from two other stations are probably Miocene. Benthonic Foraminifera in one sample indicate deposition in cool temperate waters of less than 60 m depth. ?? 1965.

[Spatial distribution of COD and the correlations with other parameters in the northern region of Lake Taihu].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yun-lin; Yang, Long-yuan; Qin, Bo-qiang; Gao, Guang; Luo, Lian-cong; Zhu, Guang-wei; Liu, Ming-liang

2008-06-01

Spatial variation of chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration was documented and significant correlations between COD concentration and chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorption, fluorescence, DOC concentration were found based on a cruise sampling in the northern region of Lake Taihu in summer including 42 samplings. The possible source of COD was also discussed using every two cruise samplings in summer and winter, respectively. The COD concentration ranged from 3.77 to 7.96 mg x L(-1) with a mean value of (5.90 +/- 1.54) mg x L(-1). The mean COD concentrations in Meiliang Bay and the central lake basin were (6.93 +/- 0.89) mg x L(-1) and (4.21 +/- 0.49) mg x L(-1) respectively. A significant spatial difference was found between Meiliang Bay and the central lake basin in COD concentration, CDOM absorption coefficient, fluorescence, DOC and phytoplankton pigment concentrations, decreasing from the river mouth to inner bay, outer bay and the central lake basin. Significant correlations between COD concentration and CDOM absorption, fluorescence, DOC concentration, suggested that COD concentration could be estimated and organic pollution could be assessed using CDOM absorption retrieved from remote sensing images. Significant and positive correlation was found between COD concentration and chlorophyll a concentration in summer. However, the correlation was weak or no correlation was found in winter. Furthermore, a significant higher COD concentration was found in summer than in winter (p summer, except for river terrestrial input.

Biodegradation of COD in Household Wastewater with Aerobic Biofilm Technology by Adding Sediment Drainage Sewerage

Science.gov (United States)

Sumiyati, Sri; Purwanto; Sutrisno, Endro; Sudarno; Arthawidya, Jalu; Izzudin, Humam

2018-02-01

Household wastewater contains contaminants that harm the environment. One of the pollutants found COD. If being discharged into the environment directly, COD concentrations exceeding the existing quality standard will disrupt the ecosystem in the receiving water body. One of the technologies that can degrade COD is biofilm technology with honeycomb tube media. This research aims to analyze the decrease of COD concentration present in wastewater household with biofilm technology of honeycomb media. The reactor used in was made of glass with a thickness of 4 mm, a volume of 18 litres and operated continuously. The media used is made of a PVC pipe, cut to 3 cm in size and then glued to one another, forming a honey comb. The results showed that there has been a decrease in COD concentration of household wastewater.

Removal of COD from laundry wastewater by electrocoagulation/electroflotation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, C.-T. [Department of Safety Health and Environmental Engineering, Chung Hwa University of Medical Technology, Tainan County, Hsien 717, Taiwan (China)], E-mail: ctwwang@mail.hwai.edu.tw; Chou, W.-L. [Department of Safety Health and Environmental Engineering and Institute of Occupational Safety and Hazard Prevention, HungKuang University, Sha-Lu, Taichung 433, Taiwan (China); Kuo, Y.-M. [Department of Safety Health and Environmental Engineering, Chung Hwa University of Medical Technology, Tainan County, Hsien 717, Taiwan (China)

2009-05-15

The removal efficiency of COD in the treatment of simulated laundry wastewater using electrocoagulation/electroflotation technology is described. The experimental results showed that the removal efficiency was better, reaching to about 62%, when applying ultrasound to the electrocoagulation cell. The solution pH approached neutrality in all experimental runs. The optimal removal efficiency of COD was obtained by using the applied voltage of 5 V when considering the energy efficiency and the acceptable removal efficiency simultaneously. The Cl{sup -} concentration of less than 2500 ppm had a positive effect on the removal efficiency. The performance of the monopolar connection of electrodes was better than that of the bipolar connection in this work. In addition, the removal efficiency of using Al electrodes was higher in comparison with using Fe electrodes in the study. The highest COD removal amount per joule was found to be 999 mg dm{sup -3} kW h{sup -1} while using two Al electrodes, although the removal efficiency increased with the number of Al plates.

Modelling the Antarctic Ice Sheet

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Jens Olaf Pepke; Holm, A.

2015-01-01

to sea level high stands during past interglacial periods. A number of AIS models have been developed and applied to try to understand the workings of the AIS and to form a robust basis for future projections of the AIS contribution to sea level change. The recent DCESS (Danish Center for Earth System......The Antarctic ice sheet is a major player in the Earth’s climate system and is by far the largest depository of fresh water on the planet. Ice stored in the Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) contains enough water to raise sea level by about 58 m, and ice loss from Antarctica contributed significantly...

Antarctic aerosols - A review

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Glenn E.

1988-02-01

Tropospheric aerosols with the diameter range of half a micron reside in the atmosphere for tens of days and teleconnect Antarctica with other regions by transport that reaches planetary scales of distances; thus, the aerosol on the Antarctic ice represents 'memory modules' of events that took place at regions separated from Antarctica by tens of thousands of kilometers. In terms of aerosol mass, the aerosol species include insoluble crustal products (less than 5 percent), transported sea-salt residues (highly variable but averaging about 10 percent), Ni-rich meteoric material, and anomalously enriched material with an unknown origin. Most (70-90 percent by mass) of the aerosol over the Antarctic ice shield, however, is the 'natural acid sulfate aerosol', apparently deriving from biological processes taking place in the surrounding oceans.

Staphylococcus aureus hyaluronidase is a CodY-regulated virulence factor.

Science.gov (United States)

Ibberson, Carolyn B; Jones, Crystal L; Singh, Shweta; Wise, Matthew C; Hart, Mark E; Zurawski, Daniel V; Horswill, Alexander R

2014-10-01

Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram-positive pathogen that causes a diverse range of bacterial infections. Invasive S. aureus strains secrete an extensive arsenal of hemolysins, immunomodulators, and exoenzymes to cause disease. Our studies have focused on the secreted enzyme hyaluronidase (HysA), which cleaves the hyaluronic acid polymer at the β-1,4 glycosidic bond. In the study described in this report, we have investigated the regulation and contribution of this enzyme to S. aureus pathogenesis. Using the Nebraska Transposon Mutant Library (NTML), we identified eight insertions that modulate extracellular levels of HysA activity. Insertions in the sigB operon, as well as in genes encoding the global regulators SarA and CodY, significantly increased HysA protein levels and activity. By altering the availability of branched-chain amino acids, we further demonstrated CodY-dependent repression of HysA activity. Additionally, through mutation of the CodY binding box upstream of hysA, the repression of HysA production was lost, suggesting that CodY is a direct repressor of hysA expression. To determine whether HysA is a virulence factor, a ΔhysA mutant of a community-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus (CA-MRSA) USA300 strain was constructed and found to be attenuated in a neutropenic, murine model of pulmonary infection. Mice infected with this mutant strain exhibited a 4-log-unit reduction in bacterial burden in their lungs, as well as reduced lung pathology and increased levels of pulmonary hyaluronic acid, compared to mice infected with the wild-type, parent strain. Taken together, these results indicate that S. aureus hyaluronidase is a CodY-regulated virulence factor. Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Long term operation of continuous-flow system with enhanced biological phosphorus removal granules at different COD loading.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Dong; Lv, Yufeng; Zeng, Huiping; Zhang, Jie

2016-09-01

In this study, a continuous-flow system with enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) granules was operated at different COD concentrations (200, 300 and 400mgL(-)(1)) to investigate the effect of COD loading on this system. The results showed that when the COD concentration in influent was increased to 400mgL(-)(1), the anaerobic COD removal efficiency and total phosphorus removal efficiency reduced obviously and the settling ability of granules deteriorated due to the proliferation of filamentous bacteria. Moreover, high COD loading inhibited the EPS secretion and destroyed the stability of granules. Results of high-through pyrosequencing indicated that filamentous bacteria had a competitive advantage over polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) at high COD loading. The performance of system, settling ability of granules and proportion of PAOs gradually recovered to the initial level after the COD concentration was reduced to 200mgL(-)(1) on day 81. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Restricted fish feeding reduces cod otolith opacity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Høie, H.; Folkvord, A.; Mosegaard, Henrik

2008-01-01

The purpose of this work was to examine the effect of reduced feeding and constant temperature on cod otolith opacity. Three groups of juvenile cod were given restricted food rations at different times for 4 months, resulting in depressed somatic growth. Otolith opacity was measured on pictures...... in otolith opacity were found between individual fish both within groups and between groups. In two of the three groups significantly more translucent otolith material was deposited in response to reduced feeding. Our results show that variations in feeding and hence fish growth resulted in variation...... in otolith opacity, but the effect was minor compared to that of variations in ambient temperature. The combined influence of these effects, which both act on fish metabolism, are most likely controlling the seasonal opacity changes observed in wild fish. Our results help explain the variations seen in fish...

MECHANISMS FOR THE SEASONAL CYCLE IN THE ANTARCTIC COASTAL OCEANS

OpenAIRE

オオシマ; Kay I., OHSHIMA

1996-01-01

Seasonal variations of the Antarctic coastal oceans has not been well understood owing to logistical difficulties in observations, especially during the ice-covered season. Recently, 'Weddell Gyre Study' and 'Japanese Antarctic Climate Research program' have revealed the following seasonal variations in the Antarctic coastal ocean. First, the thickness of the Winter Water (WW) layer, characterized by cold, fresh, oxygen-rich water, exhibits its maximum in the austral fall and its minimum in t...

Microbial ecology and biogeochemistry of continental Antarctic soils

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Don A Cowan

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The Antarctica Dry Valleys are regarded as the coldest hyperarid desert system on Earth. While a wide variety of environmental stressors including very low minimum temperatures, frequent freeze-thaw cycles and low water availability impose severe limitations to life, suitable niches for abundant microbial colonization exist. Antarctic desert soils contain much higher levels of microbial diversity than previously thought. Edaphic niches, including cryptic and refuge habitats, microbial mats and permafrost soils all harbour microbial communities which drive key biogeochemical cycling processes. For example, lithobionts (hypoliths and endoliths possess a genetic capacity for nitrogen and carbon cycling, polymer degradation and other system processes. Nitrogen fixation rates of hypoliths, as assessed through acetylene reduction assays, suggest that these communities are a significant input source for nitrogen into these oligotrophic soils. Here we review aspects of microbial diversity in Antarctic soils with an emphasis on functionality and capacity. We assess current knowledge regarding adaptations to Antarctic soil environments and highlight the current threats to Antarctic desert soil communities.

Mysterious iodine-overabundance in Antarctic meteorites

Science.gov (United States)

Dreibus, G.; Waenke, H.; Schultz, L.

1986-01-01

Halogen as well as other trace element concentrations in meteorite finds can be influenced by alteration processes on the Earth's surface. The discovery of Antarctic meteorites offered the opportunity to study meteorites which were kept in one of the most sterile environment of the Earth. Halogen determination in Antartic meteorites was compared with non-Antarctic meteorites. No correlation was found between iodine concentration and the weathering index, or terrestrial age. The halogen measurements indicate a contaminating phase rich in iodine and also containing chlorine. Possible sources for this contamination are discussed.

Mysterious iodine-overabundance in Antarctic meteorites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dreibus, G.; Waenke, H.; Schultz, L.

1986-01-01

Halogen as well as other trace element concentrations in meteorite finds can be influenced by alteration processes on the Earth's surface. The discovery of Antarctic meteorites offered the opportunity to study meteorites which were kept in one of the most sterile environment of the Earth. Halogen determination in Antartic meteorites was compared with non-Antarctic meteorites. No correlation was found between iodine concentration and the weathering index, or terrestrial age. The halogen measurements indicate a contaminating phase rich in iodine and also containing chlorine. Possible sources for this contamination are discussed

77 FR 5403 - Conservation of Antarctic Animals and Plants

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-03

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 45 CFR Part 670 Conservation of Antarctic Animals and Plants AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, The National Science Foundation (NSF) is amending its regulations to reflect newly designated...

In vitro immunobiological activity of an Antarctic streptomyces polysaccharide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toshkova, R.; Yossifova, L.; Gardeva, E.; Zvetkova, E.; Ivanova, V.

2010-01-01

Antarctic Streptomyces sp. 1010, were obtained from sea water samples (Livingston Island, Antarctica), during the Third Bulgarian Antarctic Scientific Expedition (1994-1995). The ecophysiological methods for isolation and characterization of these active, cold-adapted, Gram-positive microorganisms (psychrophiles) in morphological, phenotypic, genetic and taxonomic aspects, have been earlier reported. In this study, a new extracellular polysaccharide (heteropolysaccharide) has been isolated and purified from cultured broth of the Antarctic Streptomyces sp. 1010. The monosaccharide content of the Antarctic streptomyces heteropolysaccharide has been examined by TLC and GC/MS. The mitogenic and immuno potential properties of the purified Antarctic Streptomyces polysaccharide (ASMP) have been studied in vitro - in the short-term cultures of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMCs - lymphocytes and monocytes) and mouse spleen lymphocytes (mouse splenocytes - mSps). The results obtained show that ASMP has a double lectin-like effect on the proliferative activity of hPBMCs: similar to this of Con A on the lymphoid cells (preliminary T-lymphocytes) and to the effect of LPS on the mononuclear from monocyte-macrophage lineage. Expressed as proliferative index (PI), the mitogenic response of mSps to the in vitro influence of ASMP was also higher than PI in the negative, as well as in the positive controls (mSps, cultured in the presence of PHA, Con A and LPS). The new Antarctic Streptomyces' heteropolysaccharide examined could be useful in the future as an immunomodulative biologically active substance and its extracellular production may contribute to the development of thermobiochemistry, immunomodulative drug therapy and immunopharmaceutical industry. (authors)

AGU honored for Antarctic book

Science.gov (United States)

AGU has won an honorable mention award at the Fifteenth Annual Awards Program for Excellence in Professional and Scholarly Publishing sponsored by the Association of American Publishers for the book Volcanoes of the Antarctic Plate and Southern Oceans. The book is part of AGU's Antarctic Research Series, an outgrowth of research done during the International Geophysical Year that was begun in 1963 with a grant from the National Science Foundation. The award was presented at the AAP Annual Awards Dinner on February 6 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, D.C. The award consists of a medallion and a plate on which the names of the publisher, title, and authors are engraved.

Practical application of COD measurement in welded assemblies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beghe, S.

1975-01-01

Measurement of the COD makes it possible to evaluate sensitivity to brittle fracture initiation. This technique is ideal for welded structures, owing to the types of defect likely to affect them, and the magnitude of the residual stresses introduced. Moreover, the COD concept, based on thickness and temperature experiments on materials, enables evaluation of the critical defect size in these structures. However, its application to welded joints encounters certain problems. The presence of fatigue cracks in the molten zone of a welded joint is frequently disturbed by the residual stresses caused by welding. An additional difficulty is created by the problem of stable growth of the crack during the bending test. This discussion covers all these matters and suggests some solutions [fr

Introduction. Antarctic ecology: from genes to ecosystems. Part 2. Evolution, diversity and functional ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, Alex D; Murphy, Eugene J; Johnston, Nadine M; Clarke, Andrew

2007-12-29

The Antarctic biota has evolved over the last 100 million years in increasingly isolated and cold conditions. As a result, Antarctic species, from micro-organisms to vertebrates, have adapted to life at extremely low temperatures, including changes in the genome, physiology and ecological traits such as life history. Coupled with cycles of glaciation that have promoted speciation in the Antarctic, this has led to a unique biota in terms of biogeography, patterns of species distribution and endemism. Specialization in the Antarctic biota has led to trade-offs in many ecologically important functions and Antarctic species may have a limited capacity to adapt to present climate change. These include the direct effects of changes in environmental parameters and indirect effects of increased competition and predation resulting from altered life histories of Antarctic species and the impacts of invasive species. Ultimately, climate change may alter the responses of Antarctic ecosystems to harvesting from humans. The unique adaptations of Antarctic species mean that they provide unique models of molecular evolution in natural populations. The simplicity of Antarctic communities, especially from terrestrial systems, makes them ideal to investigate the ecological implications of climate change, which are difficult to identify in more complex systems.

Antarctic isolation: immune and viral studies

Science.gov (United States)

Tingate, T. R.; Lugg, D. J.; Muller, H. K.; Stowe, R. P.; Pierson, D. L.

1997-01-01

Stressful environmental conditions are a major determinant of immune reactivity. This effect is pronounced in Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition populations exposed to prolonged periods of isolation in the Antarctic. Alterations of T cell function, including depression of cutaneous delayed-type hypersensitivity responses and a peak 48.9% reduction of T cell proliferation to the mitogen phytohaemagglutinin, were documented during a 9-month period of isolation. T cell dysfunction was mediated by changes within the peripheral blood mononuclear cell compartment, including a paradoxical atypical monocytosis associated with altered production of inflammatory cytokines. There was a striking reduction in the production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells of the predominant pro-inflammatory monokine TNF-alpha and changes were also detected in the production of IL-1, IL-2, IL-6, IL-1ra and IL-10. Prolonged Antarctic isolation is also associated with altered latent herpesvirus homeostasis, including increased herpesvirus shedding and expansion of the polyclonal latent Epstein-Barr virus-infected B cell population. These findings have important long-term health implications.

Submarine glacial landforms and interactions with volcanism around Sub-Antarctic Heard and McDonald Islands

Science.gov (United States)

Picard, K.; Watson, S. J.; Fox, J. M.; Post, A.; Whittaker, J. M.; Lucieer, V.; Carey, R.; Coffin, M. F.; Hodgson, D.; Hogan, K.; Graham, A. G. C.

2017-12-01

Unravelling the glacial history of Sub-Antarctic islands can provide clues to past climate and Antarctic ice sheet stability. The glacial history of many sub-Antarctic islands is poorly understood, including the Heard and McDonald Islands (HIMI) located on the Kerguelen Plateau in the southern Indian Ocean. The geomorphologic development of HIMI has involved a combination of construction via hotspot volcanism and mechanical erosion caused by waves, weather, and glaciers. Today, the 2.5 km2 McDonald Islands are not glacierised; in contrast, the 368 km2 Heard Island has 12 major glaciers, some extending from the summit of 2813 m to sea level. Historical accounts from Heard Island suggest that the glaciers were more extensive in the 1850s to 1870s, and have retreated at least 12% (33.89 km2) since 1997. However, surrounding bathymetry suggests a much more extensive previous glaciation of the HIMI region that encompassed 9,585 km2, likely dating back at least to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ca. 26.5 -19 ka. We present analyses of multibeam bathymetry and backscatter data, acquired aboard RV Investigator in early 2016, that support the previous existence of an extensive icecap. These data reveal widespread ice-marginal and subglacial features including moraines, over-deepened troughs, drumlins and crag-and-tails. Glacial landforms suggest paleo-ice flow directions and a glacial extent that are consistent with previously documented broad scale morphological features. We identify >660 iceberg keel scours in water depths ranging from 150 - 530 m. The orientations of the iceberg keel scours reflect the predominantly east-flowing Antarctic Circumpolar Current and westerly winds in the region. 40Ar/39Ar dating of volcanic rocks from submarine volcanoes around McDonald Islands suggests that volcanism and glaciation coincided. The flat-topped morphology of these volcanoes may result from lava-ice interaction or erosion by glaciers post eruption during a time of extensive ice

CodY Promotes Sporulation and Enterotoxin Production by Clostridium perfringens Type A Strain SM101.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jihong; Freedman, John C; Evans, Daniel R; McClane, Bruce A

2017-03-01

Clostridium perfringens type D strains cause enterotoxemia and enteritis in livestock via epsilon toxin production. In type D strain CN3718, CodY was previously shown to increase the level of epsilon toxin production and repress sporulation. C. perfringens type A strains producing C. perfringens enterotoxin (CPE) cause human food poisoning and antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Sporulation is critical for C. perfringens type A food poisoning since spores contribute to transmission and resistance in the harsh food environment and sporulation is essential for CPE production. Therefore, the current study asked whether CodY also regulates sporulation and CPE production in SM101, a derivative of C. perfringens type A food-poisoning strain NCTC8798. An isogenic codY -null mutant of SM101 showed decreased levels of spore formation, along with lower levels of CPE production. A complemented strain recovered wild-type levels of both sporulation and CPE production. When this result was coupled with the earlier results obtained with CN3718, it became apparent that CodY regulation of sporulation varies among different C. perfringens strains. Results from quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR analysis clearly demonstrated that, during sporulation, codY transcript levels remained high in SM101 but rapidly declined in CN3718. In addition, abrB gene expression patterns varied significantly between codY -null mutants of SM101 and CN3718. Compared to the levels in their wild-type parents, the level of abrB gene expression decreased in the CN3718 codY -null mutant strain but significantly increased in the SM101 codY -null mutant strain, demonstrating CodY-dependent regulation differences in abrB expression between these two strains. This difference appears to be important since overexpression of the abrB gene in SM101 reduced the levels of sporulation and enterotoxin production, supporting the involvement of AbrB repression in regulating C. perfringens sporulation. Copyright © 2017

Antarctic skuas recognize individual humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Won Young; Han, Yeong-Deok; Lee, Sang-Im; Jablonski, Piotr G; Jung, Jin-Woo; Kim, Jeong-Hoon

2016-07-01

Recent findings report that wild animals can recognize individual humans. To explain how the animals distinguish humans, two hypotheses are proposed. The high cognitive abilities hypothesis implies that pre-existing high intelligence enabled animals to acquire such abilities. The pre-exposure to stimuli hypothesis suggests that frequent encounters with humans promote the acquisition of discriminatory abilities in these species. Here, we examine individual human recognition abilities in a wild Antarctic species, the brown skua (Stercorarius antarcticus), which lives away from typical human settlements and was only recently exposed to humans due to activities at Antarctic stations. We found that, as nest visits were repeated, the skua parents responded at further distances and were more likely to attack the nest intruder. Also, we demonstrated that seven out of seven breeding pairs of skuas selectively responded to a human nest intruder with aggression and ignored a neutral human who had not previously approached the nest. The results indicate that Antarctic skuas, a species that typically inhabited in human-free areas, are able to recognize individual humans who disturbed their nests. Our findings generally support the high cognitive abilities hypothesis, but this ability can be acquired during a relatively short period in the life of an individual as a result of interactions between individual birds and humans.

Developing Baltic cod recruitment models II : Incorporation of environmental variability and species interaction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Köster, Fritz; Hinrichsen, H.H.; St. John, Michael

2001-01-01

We investigate whether a process-oriented approach based on the results of field, laboratory, and modelling studies can be used to develop a stock-environment-recruitment model for Central Baltic cod (Gadus morhua). Based on exploratory statistical analysis, significant variables influencing...... cod in these areas, suggesting that key biotic and abiotic processes can be successfully incorporated into recruitment models....... survival of early life stages and varying systematically among spawning sites were incorporated into stock-recruitment models, first for major cod spawning sites and then combined for the entire Central Baltic. Variables identified included potential egg production by the spawning stock, abiotic conditions...

Biological invasions in the Antarctic: extent, impacts and implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Frenot, Yves; Chown, Steven L; Whinam, Jennie; Selkirk, Patricia M; Convey, Peter; Skotnicki, Mary; Bergstrom, Dana M

2005-02-01

Alien microbes, fungi, plants and animals occur on most of the sub-Antarctic islands and some parts of the Antarctic continent. These have arrived over approximately the last two centuries, coincident with human activity in the region. Introduction routes have varied, but are largely associated with movement of people and cargo in connection with industrial, national scientific program and tourist operations. The large majority of aliens are European in origin. They have both direct and indirect impacts on the functioning of species-poor Antarctic ecosystems, in particular including substantial loss of local biodiversity and changes to ecosystem processes. With rapid climate change occurring in some parts of Antarctica, elevated numbers of introductions and enhanced success of colonization by aliens are likely, with consequent increases in impacts on ecosystems. Mitigation measures that will substantially reduce the risk of introductions to Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic must focus on reducing propagule loads on humans, and their food, cargo, and transport vessels.

Ecuadorian antarctic act

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-02-01

To develop research in this continent involves to take communion with earth where the cold pole of the planet is located, the stormiest sea of the world surround it and where the capricious continental and geographical distribution permits the pass of meteorological violent and continuous systems. The Ecuador, in execution of the acquired commitments like Full Member of the System of the Antarctic Treaty, carried out the VII Expedition to the White Continent with an extensive program of scientific investigation in the field of: Sciences of Life, Sciences of the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, so much in the environment of the Pacific Southeast, the Drake Pass, Bransfield Strait and the nearby ecosystems antarctic to Point Fort William in the Greenwich Island, site where the Ecuadorian station Pedro Vicente Maldonado is located. The scientific articles, result of the fruitful work of national investigator is consigned in this fourth edition. This publication constitutes our contribution to the world in the knowledge, understanding and handling of the marvelous White Continent from the middle of our planet, Ecuador

Spatial pattern in Antarctica: what can we learn from Antarctic bacterial isolates?

Science.gov (United States)

Chong, Chun Wie; Goh, Yuh Shan; Convey, Peter; Pearce, David; Tan, Irene Kit Ping

2013-09-01

A range of small- to moderate-scale studies of patterns in bacterial biodiversity have been conducted in Antarctica over the last two decades, most suggesting strong correlations between the described bacterial communities and elements of local environmental heterogeneity. However, very few of these studies have advanced interpretations in terms of spatially associated patterns, despite increasing evidence of patterns in bacterial biogeography globally. This is likely to be a consequence of restricted sampling coverage, with most studies to date focusing only on a few localities within a specific Antarctic region. Clearly, there is now a need for synthesis over a much larger spatial to consolidate the available data. In this study, we collated Antarctic bacterial culture identities based on the 16S rRNA gene information available in the literature and the GenBank database (n > 2,000 sequences). In contrast to some recent evidence for a distinct Antarctic microbiome, our phylogenetic comparisons show that a majority (~75 %) of Antarctic bacterial isolates were highly similar (≥99 % sequence similarity) to those retrieved from tropical and temperate regions, suggesting widespread distribution of eurythermal mesophiles in Antarctic environments. However, across different Antarctic regions, the dominant bacterial genera exhibit some spatially distinct diversity patterns analogous to those recently proposed for Antarctic terrestrial macroorganisms. Taken together, our results highlight the threat of cross-regional homogenisation in Antarctic biodiversity, and the imperative to include microbiota within the framework of biosecurity measures for Antarctica.

Association between nematode Hysterothylacium aduncum invasion of cod larvae and growth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mehrdana, Foojan; Bahlool, Qusay Z. M.; Kuhn, Jesper

Parasitic nematodes of the superfamily Ascaridoidea are distributed worldwide also with numerous representatives in fish. They have an important role to play in the aquatic environment and may affect survivability of fish. The life cycle of many of these fish infecting roundworm species includes...... invertebrates and fish species and for some species also higher vertebrate hosts. We have recently demonstrated that fry of North Sea cod has a high prevalence of infection with regard to the nematode Hysterothylacium aduncum and it was indicated that these infections could affect survival of cod and thereby......, lapillus otoliths were removed, polished and the number of growth zones in each otolith counted by light microscopy. Each growth zone indicates one day of the fish life span. Covariance analysis demonstrated highly significant differences (p≤ 0.001) between the growth rate of infected and uninfected cod...

Antarctic glaciation caused ocean circulation changes at the Eocene-Oligocene transition.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldner, A; Herold, N; Huber, M

2014-07-31

Two main hypotheses compete to explain global cooling and the abrupt growth of the Antarctic ice sheet across the Eocene-Oligocene transition about 34 million years ago: thermal isolation of Antarctica due to southern ocean gateway opening, and declining atmospheric CO2 (refs 5, 6). Increases in ocean thermal stratification and circulation in proxies across the Eocene-Oligocene transition have been interpreted as a unique signature of gateway opening, but at present both mechanisms remain possible. Here, using a coupled ocean-atmosphere model, we show that the rise of Antarctic glaciation, rather than altered palaeogeography, is best able to explain the observed oceanographic changes. We find that growth of the Antarctic ice sheet caused enhanced northward transport of Antarctic intermediate water and invigorated the formation of Antarctic bottom water, fundamentally reorganizing ocean circulation. Conversely, gateway openings had much less impact on ocean thermal stratification and circulation. Our results support available evidence that CO2 drawdown--not gateway opening--caused Antarctic ice sheet growth, and further show that these feedbacks in turn altered ocean circulation. The precise timing and rate of glaciation, and thus its impacts on ocean circulation, reflect the balance between potentially positive feedbacks (increases in sea ice extent and enhanced primary productivity) and negative feedbacks (stronger southward heat transport and localized high-latitude warming). The Antarctic ice sheet had a complex, dynamic role in ocean circulation and heat fluxes during its initiation, and these processes are likely to operate in the future.

Host size-dependent anisakid infection in Baltic cod Gadus morhua associated with differential food preferences

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zuo, Shaozhi; Huwer, Bastian; Bahlool, Qusay

2016-01-01

A significant increase in the infection level of Baltic cod Gadus morhua with the anisakid nematode larvae Contracaecum osculatum and Pseudoterranova decipiens has been recorded during recent years due to the expanding local population of grey seals Halichoerus grypus, which act as final hosts...... for these parasites. Here, we report from an investigation of 368 cod (total length [TL] 6-49 cm; caught in ICES Subdivision 25) that the infection level of juvenile cod (TL 6-30 cm) with larvae of C. osculatum and P. decipiens is absent or very low, whereas it increases drastically in larger cod (TL 31-48 cm...... suggest that the C. osculatum life cycle in the Baltic Sea includes grey seals as final hosts, sprat as the first transport host and cod as second transport host. It may be speculated that sprat obtain infection by feeding on copepods and/or cladocerans, which could serve as the first intermediate hosts...

Dose of Biocoagulant-Mixing Rate Combinations for Optimum Reduction of COD in Wastewater

Science.gov (United States)

Patricia, Maria Faustina; Purwono; Budihardjo, Mochamad Arief

2018-02-01

Chemical oxygen demand (COD) in domestic wastewater can be treated using flocculation-coagulation process with addition of Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) in powder form as biocoagulant. The fungal cell wall of Oyster mushroom comprises of chitin that is high polyelectrolyte and can be function as an absorbent of heavy metals in wastewater. The effectiveness of flocculation-coagulation process in treating wastewater depends on dose of coagulant and mixing rate. Therefore, this study aims to determine the best combination of three variation of dose of biocoagulant which are 600 mg/l, 1000 mg/l, and 2000 mg/l and mixing rate which are 100 rpm, 125 rpm, and 150 rpm that give the most reduction of COD in the wastewater. The result indicates that the combination of 1000 mg/l of biocoagulant and 100 rpm of mixing rate were found to be the most optimum combination to treat COD in the wastewater with COD reduction of 47.7%.

Dose of Biocoagulant-Mixing Rate Combinations for Optimum Reduction of COD in Wastewater

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Faustina Patricia Maria

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Chemical oxygen demand (COD in domestic wastewater can be treated using flocculation-coagulation process with addition of Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus in powder form as biocoagulant. The fungal cell wall of Oyster mushroom comprises of chitin that is high polyelectrolyte and can be function as an absorbent of heavy metals in wastewater. The effectiveness of flocculation-coagulation process in treating wastewater depends on dose of coagulant and mixing rate. Therefore, this study aims to determine the best combination of three variation of dose of biocoagulant which are 600 mg/l, 1000 mg/l, and 2000 mg/l and mixing rate which are 100 rpm, 125 rpm, and 150 rpm that give the most reduction of COD in the wastewater. The result indicates that the combination of 1000 mg/l of biocoagulant and 100 rpm of mixing rate were found to be the most optimum combination to treat COD in the wastewater with COD reduction of 47.7%.

Are Antarctic minke whales unusually abundant because of 20th century whaling?

Science.gov (United States)

Ruegg, Kristen C; Anderson, Eric C; Scott Baker, C; Vant, Murdoch; Jackson, Jennifer A; Palumbi, Stephen R

2010-01-01

Severe declines in megafauna worldwide illuminate the role of top predators in ecosystem structure. In the Antarctic, the Krill Surplus Hypothesis posits that the killing of more than 2 million large whales led to competitive release for smaller krill-eating species like the Antarctic minke whale. If true, the current size of the Antarctic minke whale population may be unusually high as an indirect result of whaling. Here, we estimate the long-term population size of the Antarctic minke whale prior to whaling by sequencing 11 nuclear genetic markers from 52 modern samples purchased in Japanese meat markets. We use coalescent simulations to explore the potential influence of population substructure and find that even though our samples are drawn from a limited geographic area, our estimate reflects ocean-wide genetic diversity. Using Bayesian estimates of the mutation rate and coalescent-based analyses of genetic diversity across loci, we calculate the long-term population size of the Antarctic minke whale to be 670,000 individuals (95% confidence interval: 374,000-1,150,000). Our estimate of long-term abundance is similar to, or greater than, contemporary abundance estimates, suggesting that managing Antarctic ecosystems under the assumption that Antarctic minke whales are unusually abundant is not warranted.

Historic changes in length distributions of three Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) stocks: Evidence of growth retardation.

Science.gov (United States)

Svedäng, Henrik; Hornborg, Sara

2017-08-01

Understanding how combinations of fishing effort and selectivity affect productivity is central to fisheries research. We investigate the roles of fishing regulation in comparison with ecosystem status for Baltic Sea cod stock productivity, growth performance, and population stability. This case study is interesting because three cod populations with different exploitation patterns and stock status are located in three adjacent but partially, ecologically different areas. In assessing stock status, growth, and productivity, we use survey information and rather basic stock parameters without relying on age readings. Because there is an urgent interest of better understanding of the current development of the Eastern Baltic cod stock, we argue that our approach represents partly a novel way of interpreting monitoring information together with catch data in a simplified yet more informative way. Our study reports how the Eastern and Western Baltic cod have gone toward more truncated size structures between 1991 and 2016, in particular for the Eastern Baltic cod, whereas the Öresund cod show no trend. We suggest that selective fishing may disrupt fish population dynamic stability and that lower natural productivity might amplify the effects of selective fishing. In support of earlier findings on a density-dependent growth of Eastern Baltic cod, management is advised to acknowledge that sustainable exploitation levels for Eastern Baltic cod are much more limited than perceived in regular assessments. Of more general importance, our results emphasize the need to embrace a more realistic view on what ecosystems can produce regarding tractable fish biomass to facilitate a more ecosystem-based fisheries management.

Feasibility of Using Alternate Fuels in the U.S. Antarctic Program: Initial Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

2017-09-01

Polar Programs. Morris, A. 2015a. Email communication. 21 April. Centennial , CO: Antarctic Support Contractor. ———. 2015b. Personal...communication. 19 May. Centennial , CO: Antarctic Support Contractor. ———. 2014. Email communication. 24 November. Centennial , CO: Antarctic Support

Measurements and experiments on Geomorphic processes in Antarctic ice-free mountains: A review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norikazu Matsuoka

1996-07-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to review dynamic approaches to geomorphic processes in the Antarctic ice-free areas, most of which lie in the cold desert zone, and to propose for future research. A variety of methodologies have been used to measure rock weathering, wind erosion, frost heave, slope processes and patterned ground formation. Whereas a number of attempts have been made to quantify rates of erosion or mass movements, difficulties in long-term, continuous monitoring have long militated against understanding of the physical processes that control the rates. Recent progress in automated data logging techniques enables us to acquire data on the timing and cause of geomorphic changes. These data, combined with cosmogenic exposure ages, can be applied to the reconstruction of Late Cenozoic landscape evolution. Experimental techniques should be standardized to promote intersite comparisons of morphogenetic environments.

Recovery in eastern Baltic cod: is increased recruitment caused by decreased predation on early life stages?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Neumann, Viola; Köster, Fritz; Schaber, M.

2014-01-01

Cod (Gadus morhua) recruitment in the eastern Baltic Sea is influenced by predation on early life stages by sprat (Sprattus sprattus) and herring (Clupea harengus), which is considered as one of the mechanisms preventing cod recovery in the 1990s. In the light of improved cod recruitment...... in the second half of the 2000s, new analyses of stomach content of sprat and herring were conducted, to elucidate the contribution of changes in predation pressure on cod recruitment. Comparison of stomach contents of sprat and herring in 2004–2008 with data from the 1990s showed a similar diet composition...

The use of drilling by the U.S. Antarctic program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wade, M.C.; Webb, J.W.; Hedberg, W.H.

1994-08-01

This report on drilling in the Antarctic has been prepared by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to assist principal investigators and others in complying with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Antarctic Treaty of 1961. Implementing regulations for NEPA are spelled out in 40 CFR 1500-1508. Environmental protection under the Antarctic Treaty is addressed in the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (hereafter referred to as the Protocol), which was adopted by 26 countries in 1991. In the United States, responsibility for compliance with these requirements rests with the NSF Office of Polar Programs (OPP), which manages the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP). The USAP recognizes the potentially profound impacts that its presence and activities can have on the antarctic environment. In its extensive support of operations and research in Antarctica, the USAP uses all practical means to foster and maintain natural conditions while supporting scientific endeavors in a safe and healthful manner. Reducing human impacts on the antarctic environment is a major goal of the USAP. The USAP`s operating philosophy is based on broad yet reasonable and practical assumptions concerning environmental protection. The USAP maintains three year-round stations on the continent to support scientific research. Research and associated support operations at these stations and camps sometimes involve drilling into ice, soil, or ocean sediments. In order to comply with NEPA and the Protocol, it is necessary for principal investigators and others to assess the environmental effects of drilling. This report has been prepared to assist in this process by describing various drilling technologies currently available for use in Antarctica, generally characterizing the potential environmental impacts associated with these drilling techniques, and identifying possible mitigation measures to reduce impacts.

Isolation of putative probionts from cod rearing environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauzon, H.L.; Gudmundsdottir, S.; Pedersen, M.H.

2008-01-01

, metabolite production and adhesion to fish cell lines. Our study demonstrated that 14% of screened bacteria (n = 188) had antagonistic properties towards fish pathogens. The majority of these isolates were Gram-positive (81%), belonging to Firmicutes (69.2%) and Actinobacteria (11.5%) phyla based on 16S r...... was designed to search for new probiotics to target this critical period in cod rearing. Potential probionts were selected from the naturalmicrobiota of cod aquacultural environment. The selection was based on several criteria: pathogen inhibition potential, growth characteristics, strain identification......RNA gene sequencing. Only 6 (3.2%) of 188 isolates could inhibit all three pathogens tested: Vibrio anguillarum, Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. achromogenes and Vibrio salmonicida. Differences observed in activity intensity and spectrum among inhibitory isolates emphasise the need to develop probiotic...

Alteration of immature sedimentary rocks on Earth and Mars. Recording Aqueous and Surface-atmosphere Processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cannon, Kenneth M. [Brown Univ., Providence, RI (United States); Mustard, John F. [Brown Univ., Providence, RI (United States); Salvatore, Mark R. [Arizona State Univ., Mesa, AZ (United States)

2015-03-05

The rock alteration and rind formation in analog environments like Antarctica may provide clues to rock alteration and therefore paleoclimates on Mars. Clastic sedimentary rocks derived from basaltic sources have been studied in situ by martian rovers and are likely abundant on the surface of Mars. Moreover, how such rock types undergo alteration when exposed to different environmental conditions is poorly understood compared with alteration of intact basaltic flows. Here we characterize alteration in the chemically immature Carapace Sandstone from Antarctica, a terrestrial analog for martian sedimentary rocks. We employ a variety of measurements similar to those used on previous and current Mars missions. Laboratory techniques included bulk chemistry, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), hyperspectral imaging and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Through these methods we find that primary basaltic material in the Carapace Sandstone is pervasively altered to hydrated clay minerals and palagonite as a result of water–rock interaction. A thick orange rind is forming in current Antarctic conditions, superimposing this previous aqueous alteration signature. The rind exhibits a higher reflectance at visible-near infrared wavelengths than the rock interior, with an enhanced ferric absorption edge likely due to an increase in Fe³⁺ of existing phases or the formation of minor iron (oxy)hydroxides. This alteration sequence in the Carapace Sandstone results from decreased water–rock interaction over time, and weathering in a cold, dry environment, mimicking a similar transition early in martian history. This transition may be recorded in sedimentary rocks on Mars through a similar superimposition mechanism, capturing past climate changes at the hand sample scale. These results also suggest that basalt-derived sediments could have sourced significant volumes of hydrated minerals on early Mars due to their greater permeability compared with intact igneous rocks.

Significance of Charpy and COD tests in the determination of fracture toughness of welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caminha Junior, H.M.; Bastian, F.L.

1983-01-01

A comparison is made between the Charpy and crack opening displacement (COD) tests used to acess the fracture toughness of metallic materials. The main problems inherent in these tests are discussed, such as scatter of results and their advantages and limitations. The chief experimental difficulties when they are applied to welds are indicated and the various methods available for calculating the COD from a test graph are described. Comments are made on the use of the Charpy test and the methods of calculating the COD in determing critical defect sizes in welded structures. (Author) [pt

The effect of pH and operation mode for COD removal of slaughterhouse wastewater with Anaerobic Batch Reactor (ABR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Octoviane Dyan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Disposal of industrial wastes in large quantities was not in accordance with today's standards of waste into environmental issues that must be overcome with proper treatment. Similarly, the abattoir wastewater that contains too high organic compounds and suspended solids. The amount of liquid waste disposal Slaughterhouse (SW with high volume also causes pollution. The research aim to resolve this problem by lowering the levels of BOD-COD to comply with effluent quality standard. Anaerobic process is the right process for slaughterhouse wastewater treatment because of high content of organic compounds that can be utilized by anaerobic bacteria as a growth medium. Some research has been conducted among abattoir wastewater treatment using anaerobic reactors such as ABR, UASB and ASBR. Our research focuses on the search for the optimum results decline effluent COD levels to match the quality standards limbah and cow rumen fluid with biodigester ABR (Anaerobic Batch Reactor. The variables used were PH of 6, 7, and 8, as well as the concentration ratio of COD: N is 400:7; 450:7, and 500:7. COD value is set by the addition of N derived from urea [CO(NH2 2]. COD levels will be measured daily by water displacement technique. The research’s result for 20 days seen that optimum PH for biogas production was PH 7,719 ml. The optimum PH for COD removal is PH 6, 72.39 %. The operation mode COD:N for biogas production and COD removal is 500:7, with the production value is 601 ml and COD removal value is 63.85 %. The research’s conclusion, the PH optimum for biogas production was PH 7, then the optimum PH for COD removal is PH 6. The optimum operation mode COD:N for biogas production and COD removal was 500:7

Characterization of Atlantic cod spawning habitat and behavior in Icelandic coastal waters.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Timothy B Grabowski

Full Text Available The physical habitat used during spawning may potentially be an important factor affecting reproductive output of broadcast spawning marine fishes, particularly for species with complex, substrate-oriented mating systems and behaviors, such as Atlantic cod Gadus morhua. We characterized the habitat use and behavior of spawning Atlantic cod at two locations off the coast of southwestern Iceland during a 2-d research cruise (15-16 April 2009. We simultaneously operated two different active hydroacoustic gear types, a split beam echosounder and a dual frequency imaging sonar (DIDSON, as well as a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV. A total of five fish species were identified through ROV surveys: including cusk Brosme brosme, Atlantic cod, haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus, lemon sole Microstomus kitt, and Atlantic redfish Sebastes spp. Of the three habitats identified in the acoustic surveys, the transitional habitat between boulder/lava field and sand habitats was characterized by greater fish density and acoustic target strength compared to that of sand or boulder/lava field habitats independently. Atlantic cod were observed behaving in a manner consistent with published descriptions of spawning. Individuals were observed ascending 1-5 m into the water column from the bottom at an average vertical swimming speed of 0.20-0.25 m s(-1 and maintained an average spacing of 1.0-1.4 m between individuals. Our results suggest that cod do not choose spawning locations indiscriminately despite the fact that it is a broadcast spawning fish with planktonic eggs that are released well above the seafloor.

Characterization of Atlantic cod spawning habitat and behavior in Icelandic coastal waters

Science.gov (United States)

Grabowski, Timothy B.; Boswell, Kevin M.; McAdam, Bruce J.; Wells, R. J. David; Marteinsdóttir, Gudrún

2012-01-01

The physical habitat used during spawning may potentially be an important factor affecting reproductive output of broadcast spawning marine fishes, particularly for species with complex, substrate-oriented mating systems and behaviors, such as Atlantic cod Gadus morhua. We characterized the habitat use and behavior of spawning Atlantic cod at two locations off the coast of southwestern Iceland during a 2-d research cruise (15–16 April 2009). We simultaneously operated two different active hydroacoustic gear types, a split beam echosounder and a dual frequency imaging sonar (DIDSON), as well as a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV). A total of five fish species were identified through ROV surveys: including cusk Brosme brosme, Atlantic cod, haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus, lemon sole Microstomus kitt, and Atlantic redfish Sebastes spp. Of the three habitats identified in the acoustic surveys, the transitional habitat between boulder/lava field and sand habitats was characterized by greater fish density and acoustic target strength compared to that of sand or boulder/lava field habitats independently. Atlantic cod were observed behaving in a manner consistent with published descriptions of spawning. Individuals were observed ascending 1–5 m into the water column from the bottom at an average vertical swimming speed of 0.20–0.25 m s−1 and maintained an average spacing of 1.0–1.4 m between individuals. Our results suggest that cod do not choose spawning locations indiscriminately despite the fact that it is a broadcast spawning fish with planktonic eggs that are released well above the seafloor.

Thawed cod fillets spoil less rapidly than unfrozen fillets when stored under modified atmosphere at 2 degrees C.

Science.gov (United States)

Guldager, H S; Bøknaes, N; Osterberg, C; Nielsen, J; Dalgaard, P

1998-09-01

The effect of two months of frozen storage at -20 degrees C on the spoilage characteristics and shelf life of thawed and modified atmosphere packed (MAP) cod fillets stored at 2 degrees C was studied. Thawed MAP cod fillets were compared with fresh cod fillets stored in CO2-containing modified atmospheres with and without added oxygen. The shelf life of 11 to 12 days in the fresh MAP cod was extended to more than 20 days in the thawed MAP cod at 2 degrees C. This shelf life extension was most likely due to the inactivation of the spoilage bacterium Photobacterium phosphoreum during frozen storage as reflected both in chemical analyses and sensory evaluation. In contrast to fresh MAP cod fillets no significant production of trimethylamine occurred and almost no amine odor and taste were detected during 20 days of chill storage of thawed MAP cod fillets. The use of frozen fillets as raw material not only provides a more stable product in MAP but also allows much greater flexibility for production and distribution. However, a slightly increased concentration of dimethylamine, a larger drip loss, and detection of weak frozen storage flavor were observed in the thawed MAP cod fillets.

The United States Antarctic Program Data Center (USAP-DC): Recent Developments

Science.gov (United States)

Nitsche, F. O.; Bauer, R.; Arko, R. A.; Shane, N.; Carbotte, S. M.; Scambos, T.

2017-12-01

Antarctic earth and environmental science data are highly valuable, often unique research assets. They are acquired with substantial and expensive logistical effort, frequently in areas that will not be re-visited for many years. The data acquired in support of Antarctic research span a wide range of disciplines. Historically, data management for the US Antarctic Program (USAP) has made use of existing disciplinary data centers, and the international Antarctic Master Directory (AMD) has served as a central metadata catalog linking to data files hosted in these external repositories. However, disciplinary repositories do not exist for all USAP-generated data types and often it is unclear what repositories are appropriate, leading to many datasets being served locally from scientist's websites or not available at all. The USAP Data Center (USAP-DC; www.usap-dc.org), operated as part of the Interdisciplinary Earth Data Alliance (IEDA), contributes to the broader preservation of research data acquired with funding from NSF's Office of Polar Programs by providing a repository for diverse data from the Antarctic region. USAP-DC hosts data that spans the range of Antarctic research from snow radar to volcano observatory imagery to penguin counts to meteorological model outputs. Data services include data documentation, long-term preservation, and web publication, as well as scientist support for registration of data descriptions into the AMD in fulfillment of US obligations under the International Antarctic Treaty. In Spring 2016, USAP-DC and the NSIDC began a new collaboration to consolidate data services for Antarctic investigators and to integrate the NSF-funded glaciology collection at NSIDC with the collection hosted by USAP-DC. Investigator submissions for NSF's Glaciology program now make use of USAP-DC's web submission tools, providing a uniform interface for Antarctic investigators. The tools have been redesigned to collect a broader range of metadata. Each data

Spatial and Temporal Patterns in the Cod Fisheries of the North Atlantic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne Hayden

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Atlantic Cod Gadus morhua has been subject to commercial exploitation since the thirteenth century. An analysis of cod fisheries over space and time reveals a pattern of serial depletion that reflects the cross-scale interaction of fish population structure, economic incentives, developments in fishing technology, and government efforts to limit access to fishing areas. Three case studies from Newfoundland and Labrador, the larger Northwest Atlantic, and the Gulf of Maine illustrate a pattern of fish population depletion followed by expansion of fishing activity that repeats at a range of scales. The meta-population structure of cod populations allows overharvesting, even when strict but broadscale controls are in place. The results argue for the reform of fisheries management to incorporate governance that more closely reflects the scale of the local components of metapopulations.

Slave to the rhythm: seasonal signals in otolith microchemistry reveal age of eastern Baltic cod (Gadus morhua)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hüssy, Karin; Gröger, J.; Heidemann, F.

2016-01-01

Annual growth zones in cod otoliths from the eastern Baltic stock are less discrete than in other cod stocks leading to biased age reading, which recently led to a failure of age-based assessment in the eastern Baltic cod stock. In this study, we explored the applicability of minor and trace elem...

Thawed cod fillets spoil less rapidly than unfrozen fillets when stored under modified atmosphere at 2 C

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guldager, H.S.; Bøknæs, Niels; Østerberg, Carsten

1998-01-01

The effect of two months of frozen storage at -20 degrees C on the spoilage characteristics and shelf life of thawed and modified atmosphere packed (MAP) cod fillets stored at 2 degrees C was studied. Thawed MAP cod fillets were compared with fresh cod fillets stored in CO2-containing modified at...

Antarctic science

Science.gov (United States)

Summerhayes, Colin

Once upon a time, dinosaurs roamed Antarctica and swam in its seas. Since then, life evolved as the climate cooled into the ice ages. Life will no doubt continue to evolve there as the globe now warms. But nowadays, humans are having a profound and direct effect on life in Antarctica, the sub-Antarctic islands, and the surrounding Southern Ocean, which are being invaded by a wide range of alien species including microbes, algae, fungi, bryophytes, land plants, invertebrates, fish, birds, and mammals.

The multi-millennial Antarctic commitment to future sea-level rise.

Science.gov (United States)

Golledge, N R; Kowalewski, D E; Naish, T R; Levy, R H; Fogwill, C J; Gasson, E G W

2015-10-15

Atmospheric warming is projected to increase global mean surface temperatures by 0.3 to 4.8 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial values by the end of this century. If anthropogenic emissions continue unchecked, the warming increase may reach 8-10 degrees Celsius by 2300 (ref. 2). The contribution that large ice sheets will make to sea-level rise under such warming scenarios is difficult to quantify because the equilibrium-response timescale of ice sheets is longer than those of the atmosphere or ocean. Here we use a coupled ice-sheet/ice-shelf model to show that if atmospheric warming exceeds 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius above present, collapse of the major Antarctic ice shelves triggers a centennial- to millennial-scale response of the Antarctic ice sheet in which enhanced viscous flow produces a long-term commitment (an unstoppable contribution) to sea-level rise. Our simulations represent the response of the present-day Antarctic ice-sheet system to the oceanic and climatic changes of four representative concentration pathways (RCPs) from the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We find that substantial Antarctic ice loss can be prevented only by limiting greenhouse gas emissions to RCP 2.6 levels. Higher-emissions scenarios lead to ice loss from Antarctic that will raise sea level by 0.6-3 metres by the year 2300. Our results imply that greenhouse gas emissions in the next few decades will strongly influence the long-term contribution of the Antarctic ice sheet to global sea level.

Transcriptome of the Antarctic brooding gastropod mollusc Margarella antarctica.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Melody S; Thorne, Michael A S

2015-12-01

454 RNA-Seq transcriptome data were generated from foot tissue of the Antarctic brooding gastropod mollusc Margarella antarctica. A total of 6195 contigs were assembled de novo, providing a useful resource for researchers with an interest in Antarctic marine species, phylogenetics and mollusc biology, especially shell production. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optimizing TOC and COD removal for the biodiesel wastewater by electrocoagulation

Science.gov (United States)

Tanattı, N. Pınar; Şengil, İ. Ayhan; Özdemir, Abdil

2018-05-01

In this study, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and the total organic carbon content (TOC) in biodiesel wastewater iron and aluminum electrodes arranged in a bipolar position. In the EC of the biodiesel wastewater, the effects of the supporting electrolyte, initial pH, electrolysis time and current density were examined. The results showed that the majority of the pollutants in the biodiesel wastewater were effectively removed when the iron or aluminum electrodes were used as a sacrificial anode. The highest COD and TOC removal efficiencies were successfully obtained with the iron electrode. COD removal efficiencies are 91.74 and 90.94% for iron and aluminum electrode, respectively. In the same way, TOC removal efficiencies were obtained as 91.79 and 91.98% for the iron and aluminum electrodes, respectively, at initial pH of 6, the current density of 0.3226 mA/cm2, NaCl concentration 1 g/L and 1 min of operating time.

Hierarchical modelling of temperature and habitat size effects on population dynamics of North Atlantic cod

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mantzouni, Irene; Sørensen, Helle; O'Hara, Robert B.

2010-01-01

and Beverton and Holt stock–recruitment (SR) models were extended by applying hierarchical methods, mixed-effects models, and Bayesian inference to incorporate the influence of these ecosystem factors on model parameters representing cod maximum reproductive rate and carrying capacity. We identified......Understanding how temperature affects cod (Gadus morhua) ecology is important for forecasting how populations will develop as climate changes in future. The effects of spawning-season temperature and habitat size on cod recruitment dynamics have been investigated across the North Atlantic. Ricker...

Bioactivity of Cod and Chicken Protein Hydrolysates before and after in vitro Gastrointestinal Digestion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jamnik, Polona; Istenič, Katja; Wulff, Tune

2017-01-01

, where values of cod and chicken were (95.5±1.2) and (90.5±0.7) %, respectively. Neither species nor digestion had any effect on cellular metabolic energy. At proteome level, digested hydrolysates gave again significantly stronger responses than undigested counterparts; cod peptides here also gave...... somewhat stronger response than chicken peptides. The knowledge of the action of food protein hydrolysates and their digests within live cells, also at proteome level, is important for further validation of their activity in higher eukaryotes to develop new products, such as in this case chicken and cod...... muscle-derived peptides as functional ingredients....

Quantarctica: A Unique, Open, Standalone GIS Package for Antarctic Research and Education

Science.gov (United States)

Roth, George; Matsuoka, Kenichi; Skoglund, Anders; Melvær, Yngve; Tronstad, Stein

2017-04-01

The Norwegian Polar Institute has developed Quantarctica (http://quantarctica.npolar.no), an open GIS package for use by the international Antarctic community. Quantarctica includes a wide range of cartographic basemap layers, geophysical and glaciological datasets, and satellite imagery in standardized open file formats with a consistent Antarctic map projection and customized layer and labeling styles for quick, effective cartography. Quantarctica's strengths as an open science platform lie in 1) The complete, ready-to-use data package which includes full-resolution, original-quality vector and raster data, 2) A policy for freely-redistributable and modifiable data including all metadata and citations, and 3) QGIS, a free, full-featured, modular, offline-capable open-source GIS suite with a rapid and active development and support community. The Quantarctica team is actively incorporating more up-to-date, peer-reviewed, freely distributable pan-Antarctic geospatial datasets for the next version release in 2017. As part of this ongoing development, we are investigating the best approaches for quickly and seamlessly distributing new and updated data to users, storing datasets in efficient, open file formats while maintaining full data integrity, and coexisting with numerous online data portals in a way that most actively benefits the Antarctic community. A recent survey of Quantarctica users showed broad geographical adoption among Antarctic Treaty countries, including those outside the large US and UK Antarctic programs. Maps and figures produced by Quantarctica have also appeared in open-access journals and outside of the formal scientific community on popular science and GIS blogs. Our experience with the Quantarctica project has shown the tremendous value of education and outreach, not only in promoting open software, data formats, and practices, but in empowering Antarctic science groups to more effectively use GIS and geospatial data. Open practices are

[Pollution load and the first flush effect of BOD5 and COD in urban runoff of Wenzhou City].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jun; Bi, Chun-juan; Chen, Zhen-lou; Zhou, Dong

2013-05-01

Four typical rainfalls were monitored in two different research areas of Wenzhou Municipality. Concentrations of BOD5 and COD in six different urban runoffs were measured. In addition the event mean concentration (EMC), M (V) curve and BOD5/COD of pollutant were calculated. The results showed that concentrations of BOD5 and COD in different urban runoffs of Wenzhou ranged from ND to 69.21 mg x L(-1) and ND to 636 mg x L(-1). Concentrations of BOD5 and COD in different urban runoffs were decreasing over time, so it is greatly significant to manage the initial runoff for reducing organic pollution. Judged by EMC of BOD5 and COD in these five rainfalls, concentrations of pollutant in some urban runoffs were out of the integrated wastewater discharge standard. If these runoffs flowed into river, it would cause environmental pressure to the next level receiving water bodies. According to the M (V) curve, the first flush effect of COD in most urban runoffs was common; while the first flush effect of BOD5 was same as that of COD. The result also showed that organic pollution was serious at the beginning of runoff. The underlying surface type could affect the concentration of BOD5 and COD in urban runoff. While the results of BOD5/COD also suggested that biodegradation was considered as one of the effective ways to decrease the pollution load of organics in urban runoff, and the best management plans (BMPs) should be selected for various urban runoff types for the treatment of organic pollution.

Stable isotopes and Antarctic moss banks: Plants and soil microbes respond to recent warming on the Antarctic Peninsula

Science.gov (United States)

Royles, Jessica; Amesbury, Matthew; Ogée, Jérôme; Wingate, Lisa; Convey, Peter; Hodgson, Dominic; Griffiths, Howard; Leng, Melanie; Charman, Dan

2014-05-01

The Antarctic Peninsula is one of the most rapidly warming regions on Earth, with air temperature increases of as much as 3°C recorded since the 1950s. However, the longer-term context of this change is limited and existing records, largely relying on ice core data, are not suitably located to be able to trace the spatial signature of change over time. We are working on a project exploiting stable isotope records preserved in moss peat banks spanning 10 degrees of latitude along the Antarctic Peninsula as an archive of late Holocene climate variability. Here we present a unique time series of past moss growth and soil microbial activity that has been produced from a 150 year old moss bank at Lazarev Bay, Alexander Island (69°S), a site at the southern limit of significant plant growth in the Antarctic Peninsula region. These moss banks are ideal archives for palaeoclimate research as they are well-preserved by freezing, generally monospecific, easily dated by radiocarbon techniques, and have sufficiently high accumulation rates to permit decadal resolution. We use accumulation rates, cellulose δ13C and fossil testate amoebae to show that growth rates, assimilation and microbial productivity rose rapidly in the 1960s, consistent with temperature change, although recently may have stalled, concurrent with other evidence. The increase in biological activity is unprecedented in the last 150 years. Along with work completed on Signy Island (60°S), in the South Orkney Islands, in which we used carbon isotope evidence to show recent climate-related enhancement of CO2 assimilation and peat accumulation rates in Antarctica, the observed relationships between moss growth, microbial activity and climate suggests that moss bank records have the potential to test the regional expression of temperature variability shown by instrumental data on the Antarctic Peninsula over centennial to millennial timescales, by providing long-term records of summer growth conditions

Potential of hydrolysis of particulate COD in extended anaerobic conditions to enhance biological phosphorous removal.

Science.gov (United States)

Jabari, P; Yuan, Q; Oleszkiewicz, J A

2016-11-01

The effect of anaerobic hydrolysis of particulate COD (pCOD) on biological phosphorous removal in extended anaerobic condition was investigated through (i) sequencing batch reactors (SBR)s with anaerobic hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 0.8, 2, and 4 h; (ii) batch tests using biomass from a full scale biological nutrient removal (BNR) plant; and (iii) activated sludge modeling (BioWin 4.1 simulation). The results from long-term SBRs operation showed that phosphorus removal was correlated to the ratio of filtered COD (FCOD) to total phosphorus (TP) in the influent. Under conditions with low FCOD/TP ratio (average of 20) in the influent, extending anaerobic HRT to 4 h in the presence of pCOD did not significantly improve overall phosphorous removal. During the period with high FCOD/TP ratio (average of 37) in the influent, all SBRs removed phosphorous completely, and the long anaerobic HRT did not have negative effect on overall phosphorous removal. The batch tests also showed that pCOD at different concentration during 4 h test did not affect the rate of anaerobic phosphorus release. The rate of anaerobic hydrolysis of pCOD was significantly low and extending the anaerobic HRT was ineffective. The simulation (BioWin 4.1) of SBRs with low influent FCOD/TP ratio showed that the default kinetics of anaerobic hydrolysis in ASM2d overestimated phosphorous removal in the SBRs (high anaerobic hydrolysis of pCOD). The default anaerobic hydrolysis rate in BioWin 4.1 (ten times lower) could produce similar phosphorous removal to that in the experiment. Results showed that the current kinetics of anaerobic hydrolysis in ASM2d could lead to considerable error in predicting phosphorus removal in processes with extended anaerobic HRT. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 2377-2385. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Fishing gear-induced skin ulcerations in Baltic cod, Gadus morhua L

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mellergaard, Stig; Bagge, O.

1998-01-01

In 1982 a high prevalence of skin ulcerations was observed in Baltic cod in the vicinity of the Danish island of Bornholm. In March the prevalence varied from G to 13%, and in May it had increased to between 26 and 48%. The ulcerations had a sequential development. The initial stage appeared...... from the nets, combined with bilateral occurrence of the ulcers, strongly indicates that the skin ulcers were induced by the fishing gear. Features of the pathology could be linked to the temporary retention of cod in trawl meshes....

Threshold-dependent climate effects and high mortality limit recruitment and recovery of the Kattegat cod

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindegren, Martin; Eero, Margit

2013-01-01

Cod in the Kattegat is one of the most dramatic examples of stock collapse, where despite large management efforts, almost no signs of recovery have been observed. We investigate how multiple physical and biological factors could potentially influence recruitment and recovery of Kattegat cod, using...... non-additive threshold models. In contrast to previous studies on recruitment dynamics of Kattegat cod Gadus morhua, we found that recruitment variability may be explained by a combination of the size of the spawning stock and external conditions (i.e. sea surface temperature and oxygen concentrations...

Metal and antibiotic-resistance in psychrotrophic bacteria from Antarctic marine waters

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

De; Nair, S.; LokaBharathi, P.A.; Chandramohan, D.

In the wake of the findings that Antarctic krills concentrate heavy metals at ppm level, (Yamamoto et al., 1987), the Antarctic waters from the Indian side were examined for the incidence of metal and antibiotic-resistant bacteria during...

Antarctic Meteorite Newsletter

Science.gov (United States)

Lindstrom, Marilyn

2000-01-01

This newsletter contains something for everyone! It lists classifications of about 440 meteorites mostly from the 1997 and 1998 ANSMET (Antarctic Search for Meteorites) seasons. It also gives descriptions of about 45 meteorites of special petrologic type. These include 1 iron, 17 chondrites (7 CC, 1 EC, 9 OC) and 27 achondrites (25 HED, UR). Most notable are an acapoloite (GRA98028) and an olivine diogenite (GRA98108).

Preliminary Compositional Comparisons of H-Chondrite Falls to Antarctic H-Chondrite Populations

Science.gov (United States)

Kallemeyn, G. W.; Krot, A. N.; Rubin, A. E.

1993-07-01

In a series of papers [e.g., 1,2], Lipschutz and co-workers compared trace- element RNAA data from Antarctic and non-Antarctic H4-6 chondrites and concluded that the two populations have significantly different concentrations of several trace elements including Co, Se, and Sb. They interpreted their data as indicating that these Antarctic H chondrites form different populations than observed H falls and may have originated in separate parent bodies. Recent work by Sears and co-workers [e.g., 3] has shown that there seem to be distinct populations of Antarctic H chondrites, distinguishable on the bases of induced thermoluminescence (TL) peak temperature, metallographic cooling rate, and cosmic ray exposure age. They showed that a group of Antarctic H chondrites having abnormally high induced TL peak temperatures (>=190 degrees C) also has cosmic ray exposure ages Ma (mostly ~8 Ma) and fast metallographic cooling rates (~100 K/Ma). Another group having induced TL peak temperatures 20 Ma and slower cooling rates (~10-20 K/Ma). We studied 24 H4-6 chondrites from Victoria Land (including 12 previously analyzed by the Lipschutz group) by optical microscopy and electron microprobe. Many of the Antarctic H chondrites studied by Lipschutz and co- workers are unsuitable for proper compositional comparisons with H chondrite falls: Four are very weathered, five are extensively shocked, and two are extensively brecciated. Furthermore, at least five of the samples contain solar-wind gas (and hence are regolith breccias) [4]. These samples were rejected because of possible compositional modification by secondary processes. For our INAA study we chose a suite of relatively unweathered and unbrecciated Antarctic H chondrites (including nine from the Lipschutz set): ALHA 77294 (H5, S3); ALHA 79026 (H5, S3); ALHA 79039 (H5, S3); ALHA 80131 (H5, S3); ALHA 80132 (H5, S4); ALHA 81037 (H6, S3); EETA 79007 (H5, S4); LEW 85320 (H6, S4); LEW 85329 (H6, S3); RKPA 78002 (H5, S2); and RKPA

Removal of COD and turbidity to improve wastewater quality using electrocoagulation technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohd Faiqun Niam; Fadil Othman; Johan Sohaili; Zulfa Fauzia

2007-01-01

Electrocoagulation (EC) is becoming a popular process to be used for wastewater treatment. The removal of COD and turbidity from wastewater by EC using iron (Fe) electrode material was investigated in this paper. Several working parameters, such as pH, current density, and operating time were studied in an attempt to achieve a higher removal capacity. Wastewater sample was made from milk powder with initial COD of 1140 mgL -1 and turbidity of 491 NTU. Current density was varied from 3.51 to 5.62 mA cm -2 , and operating time of between 30 and 50 minutes. The results show that the effluent wastewater was very clear and its quality exceeded the direct discharge standard. The removal efficiencies of COD and turbidity were high, being more than 65 % and 95 %. In addition, the experimental results also show that the electrocoagulation can neutralize pH of wastewater. (author)

Improvement of COD and color removal from UASB treated poultry manure wastewater using Fenton's oxidation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yetilmezsoy, Kaan; Sakar, Suleyman

2008-01-01

The applicability of Fenton's oxidation as an advanced treatment for chemical oxygen demand (COD) and color removal from anaerobically treated poultry manure wastewater was investigated. The raw poultry manure wastewater, having a pH of 7.30 (±0.2) and a total COD of 12,100 (±910) mg/L was first treated in a 15.7 L of pilot-scale up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor. The UASB reactor was operated for 72 days at mesophilic conditions (32 ± 2 deg. C) in a temperature-controlled environment with three different hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 15.7, 12 and 8.0 days, and with organic loading rates (OLR) between 0.650 and 1.783 kg COD/(m 3 day). Under 8.0 days of HRT, the UASB process showed a remarkable performance on total COD removal with a treatment efficiency of 90.7% at the day of 63. The anaerobically treated poultry manure wastewater was further treated by Fenton's oxidation process using Fe 2+ and H 2 O 2 solutions. Batch tests were conducted on the UASB effluent samples to determine the optimum operating conditions including initial pH, effects of H 2 O 2 and Fe 2+ dosages, and the ratio of H 2 O 2 /Fe 2+ . Preliminary tests conducted with the dosages of 100 mg Fe 2+ /L and 200 mg H 2 O 2 /L showed that optimal initial pH was 3.0 for both COD and color removal from the UASB effluent. On the basis of preliminary test results, effects of increasing dosages of Fe 2+ and H 2 O 2 were investigated. Under the condition of 400 mg Fe 2+ /L and 200 mg H 2 O 2 /L, removal efficiencies of residual COD and color were 88.7% and 80.9%, respectively. Under the subsequent condition of 100 mg Fe 2+ /L and 1200 mg H 2 O 2 /L, 95% of residual COD and 95.7% of residual color were removed from the UASB effluent. Results of this experimental study obviously indicated that nearly 99.3% of COD of raw poultry manure wastewater could be effectively removed by a UASB process followed by Fenton's oxidation technology used as a post-treatment unit

Improvement of COD and color removal from UASB treated poultry manure wastewater using Fenton's oxidation.

Science.gov (United States)

Yetilmezsoy, Kaan; Sakar, Suleyman

2008-03-01

The applicability of Fenton's oxidation as an advanced treatment for chemical oxygen demand (COD) and color removal from anaerobically treated poultry manure wastewater was investigated. The raw poultry manure wastewater, having a pH of 7.30 (+/-0.2) and a total COD of 12,100 (+/-910) mg/L was first treated in a 15.7 L of pilot-scale up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor. The UASB reactor was operated for 72 days at mesophilic conditions (32+/-2 degrees C) in a temperature-controlled environment with three different hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 15.7, 12 and 8.0 days, and with organic loading rates (OLR) between 0.650 and 1.783 kg COD/(m3day). Under 8.0 days of HRT, the UASB process showed a remarkable performance on total COD removal with a treatment efficiency of 90.7% at the day of 63. The anaerobically treated poultry manure wastewater was further treated by Fenton's oxidation process using Fe2+ and H2O2 solutions. Batch tests were conducted on the UASB effluent samples to determine the optimum operating conditions including initial pH, effects of H2O2 and Fe2+ dosages, and the ratio of H2O2/Fe2+. Preliminary tests conducted with the dosages of 100 mg Fe2+/L and 200 mg H2O2/L showed that optimal initial pH was 3.0 for both COD and color removal from the UASB effluent. On the basis of preliminary test results, effects of increasing dosages of Fe2+ and H2O2 were investigated. Under the condition of 400 mg Fe2+/L and 200 mg H2O2/L, removal efficiencies of residual COD and color were 88.7% and 80.9%, respectively. Under the subsequent condition of 100 mg Fe2+/L and 1200 mg H2O2/L, 95% of residual COD and 95.7% of residual color were removed from the UASB effluent. Results of this experimental study obviously indicated that nearly 99.3% of COD of raw poultry manure wastewater could be effectively removed by a UASB process followed by Fenton's oxidation technology used as a post-treatment unit.

Spatio-temporal dynamics of a fish predator: Density-dependent and hydrographic effects on Baltic Sea cod population.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valerio Bartolino

Full Text Available Understanding the mechanisms of spatial population dynamics is crucial for the successful management of exploited species and ecosystems. However, the underlying mechanisms of spatial distribution are generally complex due to the concurrent forcing of both density-dependent species interactions and density-independent environmental factors. Despite the high economic value and central ecological importance of cod in the Baltic Sea, the drivers of its spatio-temporal population dynamics have not been analytically investigated so far. In this paper, we used an extensive trawl survey dataset in combination with environmental data to investigate the spatial dynamics of the distribution of the Eastern Baltic cod during the past three decades using Generalized Additive Models. The results showed that adult cod distribution was mainly affected by cod population size, and to a minor degree by small-scale hydrological factors and the extent of suitable reproductive areas. As population size decreases, the cod population concentrates to the southern part of the Baltic Sea, where the preferred more marine environment conditions are encountered. Using the fitted models, we predicted the Baltic cod distribution back to the 1970s and a temporal index of cod spatial occupation was developed. Our study will contribute to the management and conservation of this important resource and of the ecosystem where it occurs, by showing the forces shaping its spatial distribution and therefore the potential response of the population to future exploitation and environmental changes.

Location of and post-mortem changes in some cytoskeletal proteins in pork and cod muscle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Morrison, E.H.; Bremner, Allan; Purslow, P.P.

2000-01-01

The cytoskeletal proteins actin, nebulin, spectrin, desmin, vinculin and talin were labelled immunohistochemically in sections of muscle from commercially available pigs and cod (Gadus morhua) taken pre-rigor and from samples stored for several days. Actin, nebulin and spectrin gave similar...... labelling patterns in both pork and cod muscle which remained the same in stored samples. Desmin was intensely labelled at the cell boundaries and within the body of the cells in both pork and cod in the initial and the stored samples. Vinculin was readily labelled in pork muscle but showed only diffuse...... labelling in fish. Labelling for talin in pork muscle was intense at the sarcolemma but was not present in samples stored for 4 days. In contrast, the label for talin was concentrated at the myotendinous junction of the cod muscle throughout the storage period. These are the first reports of the detection...

Host size-dependent anisakid infection in Baltic cod Gadus morhua associated with differential food preferences

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zuo, Shaozhi; Huwer, Bastian; Bahlool, Qusay

2016-01-01

A significant increase in the infection level of Baltic cod Gadus morhua with the anisakid nematode larvae Contracaecum osculatum and Pseudoterranova decipiens has been recorded during recent years due to the expanding local population of grey seals Halichoerus grypus, which act as final hosts......). A third nematode Hysterothylacium aduncum was rarely found. The study indicates that the prey animals for large cod act as transport hosts for the parasite larvae. Analyses of stomach contents of cod caught in the same area (2007-2014) showed that small benthic organisms (including polychaetes Harmothoë...... suggest that the C. osculatum life cycle in the Baltic Sea includes grey seals as final hosts, sprat as the first transport host and cod as second transport host. It may be speculated that sprat obtain infection by feeding on copepods and/or cladocerans, which could serve as the first intermediate hosts...

Contracaecum osculatum and other anisakid nematodes in grey seals and cod in the Baltic Sea

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zuo, S; Kania, P W; Mehrdana, F

2018-01-01

Populations of grey seals (Halichoerus grypus), sprats (Sprattus sprattus) and cod (Gadus morhua) in the Baltic Sea are relatively stationary. The present work, applying classical and molecular helminthological techniques, documents that seals and cod also share a common parasite, the anisakid...... nematode Contracaecum osculatum, which uses seals as the final host and fish as transport hosts. Sequencing mitochondrial genes (COX1 and COX2) in adult worms from seals and third-stage larvae from livers of Baltic fish (sprats and cod), showed that all gene variants occur in both seals and fish. Other...... anisakid nematodes Pseudoterranova decipiens and Anisakis simplex are also found in both seals and cod in the Baltic Sea, but at much lower rates. The Baltic grey seal population was left at a critically low level (comprising a few hundred individuals) during the latter part of the 20th century, but since...

Stable isotope evidence for late medieval (14th-15th C origins of the eastern Baltic cod (Gadus morhua fishery.

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David C Orton

Full Text Available Although recent historical ecology studies have extended quantitative knowledge of eastern Baltic cod (Gadus morhua exploitation back as far as the 16th century, the historical origin of the modern fishery remains obscure. Widespread archaeological evidence for cod consumption around the eastern Baltic littoral emerges around the 13th century, three centuries before systematic documentation, but it is not clear whether this represents (1 development of a substantial eastern Baltic cod fishery, or (2 large-scale importation of preserved cod from elsewhere. To distinguish between these hypotheses we use stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis to determine likely catch regions of 74 cod vertebrae and cleithra from 19 Baltic archaeological sites dated from the 8th to the 16th centuries. δ(13C and δ(15N signatures for six possible catch regions were established using a larger sample of archaeological cod cranial bones (n = 249. The data strongly support the second hypothesis, revealing widespread importation of cod during the 13th to 14th centuries, most of it probably from Arctic Norway. By the 15th century, however, eastern Baltic cod dominate within our sample, indicating the development of a substantial late medieval fishery. Potential human impact on cod stocks in the eastern Baltic must thus be taken into account for at least the last 600 years.

Stability of compounded trilostane suspension in cod liver oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Crosby, Jesse; Brown, Stacy

2017-10-01

Trilostane is a synthetic steroid analog used to treat canine hyperadrenocorticism. For small dogs, the dose found in commercially available dosage forms of trilostane is sometimes too high. Compounding trilostane in a liquid diluent provides an option for more precise dosing and adjustments, and can be easier to administer, versus a tablet or capsule. Trilostane suspends well in cod liver oil, which is generally palatable to dogs. The stability of a compounded trilostane suspension in cod liver oil stored at room temperature was investigated for 90 days. Compounded trilostane retained stability, defined as maintaining 90-105% labeled value, for 60 days when stored in amber glass bottles. However, drug potency fell >10% below the labeled value when stored in amber plastic bottles after 7 days. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spatial and temporal variability across life's hierarchies in the terrestrial Antarctic.

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Chown, Steven L; Convey, Peter

2007-12-29

Antarctica and its surrounding islands lie at one extreme of global variation in diversity. Typically, these regions are characterized as being species poor and having simple food webs. Here, we show that terrestrial systems in the region are nonetheless characterized by substantial spatial and temporal variations at virtually all of the levels of the genealogical and ecological hierarchies which have been thoroughly investigated. Spatial variation at the individual and population levels has been documented in a variety of genetic studies, and in mosses it appears that UV-B radiation might be responsible for within-clump mutagenesis. At the species level, modern molecular methods have revealed considerable endemism of the Antarctic biota, questioning ideas that small organisms are likely to be ubiquitous and the taxa to which they belong species poor. At the biogeographic level, much of the relatively small ice-free area of Antarctica remains unsurveyed making analyses difficult. Nonetheless, it is clear that a major biogeographic discontinuity separates the Antarctic Peninsula and continental Antarctica, here named the 'Gressitt Line'. Across the Southern Ocean islands, patterns are clearer, and energy availability is an important correlate of indigenous and exotic species richness, while human visitor numbers explain much of the variation in the latter too. Temporal variation at the individual level has much to do with phenotypic plasticity, and considerable life-history and physiological plasticity seems to be a characteristic of Antarctic terrestrial species. Environmental unpredictability is an important driver of this trait and has significantly influenced life histories across the region and probably throughout much of the temperate Southern Hemisphere. Rapid climate change-related alterations in the range and abundance of several Antarctic and sub-Antarctic populations have taken place over the past several decades. In many sub-Antarctic locations, these

Food choice of Antarctic soil arthropods clarified by stable isotope signatures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bokhorst, S.F.; Ronfort, C.; Huiskes, A.H.L.; Convey, P.; Aerts, R.A.M.

2007-01-01

Antarctic soil ecosystems are amongst the most simplified on Earth and include only few soil arthropod species, generally believed to be opportunistic omnivorous feeders. Using stable isotopic analyses, we investigated the food choice of two common and widely distributed Antarctic soil arthropod

Unexpectedly high ultrafine aerosol concentrations above East Antarctic sea ice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. S. Humphries

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Better characterisation of aerosol processes in pristine, natural environments, such as Antarctica, have recently been shown to lead to the largest reduction in uncertainties in our understanding of radiative forcing. Our understanding of aerosols in the Antarctic region is currently based on measurements that are often limited to boundary layer air masses at spatially sparse coastal and continental research stations, with only a handful of studies in the vast sea-ice region. In this paper, the first observational study of sub-micron aerosols in the East Antarctic sea ice region is presented. Measurements were conducted aboard the icebreaker Aurora Australis in spring 2012 and found that boundary layer condensation nuclei (CN3 concentrations exhibited a five-fold increase moving across the polar front, with mean polar cell concentrations of 1130 cm−3 – higher than any observed elsewhere in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean region. The absence of evidence for aerosol growth suggested that nucleation was unlikely to be local. Air parcel trajectories indicated significant influence from the free troposphere above the Antarctic continent, implicating this as the likely nucleation region for surface aerosol, a similar conclusion to previous Antarctic aerosol studies. The highest aerosol concentrations were found to correlate with low-pressure systems, suggesting that the passage of cyclones provided an accelerated pathway, delivering air masses quickly from the free troposphere to the surface. After descent from the Antarctic free troposphere, trajectories suggest that sea-ice boundary layer air masses travelled equatorward into the low-albedo Southern Ocean region, transporting with them emissions and these aerosol nuclei which, after growth, may potentially impact on the region's radiative balance. The high aerosol concentrations and their transport pathways described here, could help reduce the discrepancy currently present between

Unexpectedly high ultrafine aerosol concentrations above East Antarctic sea ice

Science.gov (United States)

Humphries, R. S.; Klekociuk, A. R.; Schofield, R.; Keywood, M.; Ward, J.; Wilson, S. R.

2016-02-01

Better characterisation of aerosol processes in pristine, natural environments, such as Antarctica, have recently been shown to lead to the largest reduction in uncertainties in our understanding of radiative forcing. Our understanding of aerosols in the Antarctic region is currently based on measurements that are often limited to boundary layer air masses at spatially sparse coastal and continental research stations, with only a handful of studies in the vast sea-ice region. In this paper, the first observational study of sub-micron aerosols in the East Antarctic sea ice region is presented. Measurements were conducted aboard the icebreaker Aurora Australis in spring 2012 and found that boundary layer condensation nuclei (CN3) concentrations exhibited a five-fold increase moving across the polar front, with mean polar cell concentrations of 1130 cm-3 - higher than any observed elsewhere in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean region. The absence of evidence for aerosol growth suggested that nucleation was unlikely to be local. Air parcel trajectories indicated significant influence from the free troposphere above the Antarctic continent, implicating this as the likely nucleation region for surface aerosol, a similar conclusion to previous Antarctic aerosol studies. The highest aerosol concentrations were found to correlate with low-pressure systems, suggesting that the passage of cyclones provided an accelerated pathway, delivering air masses quickly from the free troposphere to the surface. After descent from the Antarctic free troposphere, trajectories suggest that sea-ice boundary layer air masses travelled equatorward into the low-albedo Southern Ocean region, transporting with them emissions and these aerosol nuclei which, after growth, may potentially impact on the region's radiative balance. The high aerosol concentrations and their transport pathways described here, could help reduce the discrepancy currently present between simulations and observations of

Increased West Antarctic and unchanged East Antarctic ice discharge over the last 7 years

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gardner, Alex S.; Moholdt, Geir; Scambos, Ted; Fahnstock, Mark; Ligtenberg, Stefan; van den Broeke, Michiel; Nilsson, Johan

2018-01-01

Ice discharge from large ice sheets plays a direct role in determining rates of sea-level rise. We map present-day Antarctic-wide surface velocities using Landsat 7 and 8 imagery spanning 2013–2015 and compare to earlier estimates derived from synthetic aperture radar, revealing heterogeneous

Monitoring trace elements in Antarctic penguin chicks from South Shetland Islands, Antarctica.

Science.gov (United States)

Jerez, Silvia; Motas, Miguel; Benzal, Jesús; Diaz, Julia; Barbosa, Andrés

2013-04-15

The concentration of human activities in the near-shore ecosystems from the northern Antarctic Peninsula area can cause an increasing bioavailability of pollutants for the vulnerable Antarctic biota. Penguin chicks can reflect this potential impact in the rookeries during the breeding season. They also can reflect biomagnification phenomena since they are on the top of the Antarctic food chain. The concentrations of Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Cd and Pb were measured by ICP-MS in samples of liver, kidney, muscle, bone, feather and stomach content of gentoo, chinstrap and Adélie penguin chicks (n=15 individuals) collected opportunistically in the Islands of King George and Deception (South Shetland Islands, Antarctica). The detected levels of some trace elements were not as low as it could be expected in the isolated Antarctic region. Penguin chicks can be useful indicators of trace elements abundance in the study areas. Carcasses of Antarctic penguin chicks were used to evaluate the bioavailability of trace elements in the Islands of King George and Deception. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of hypoxia on consumption of Baltic cod in a multispecies stock assessment context

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Teschner, E.C.; Kraus, G.; Neuenfeldt, Stefan

2010-01-01

The Baltic Sea is characterised by a heterogeneous oceanographic environment. The deep water layers forming the habitat of Baltic cod (Gadus morhua callarias L.) are subjected to frequently occurring pronounced anoxic conditions. Adverse oxygen conditions result in physiological stress for organi......The Baltic Sea is characterised by a heterogeneous oceanographic environment. The deep water layers forming the habitat of Baltic cod (Gadus morhua callarias L.) are subjected to frequently occurring pronounced anoxic conditions. Adverse oxygen conditions result in physiological stress...... for organisms living under these conditions. For cod e.g. a direct relationship between oxygen availability and food intake with a decreasing ingestion rate at hypoxia could be revealed. In the present study, the effects of oxygen deficiency on consumption rates were investigated and how these translate...... to stock size estimates in multi-species models. Based on results from laboratory experiments, a model was fitted to evacuation rates at different oxygen levels and integrated into the existing consumption model for Baltic cod. Individual mean oxygen corrected consumption rates were 0.1–10.9% lower than...

Simultaneous removal of AOX and COD from real recycled paper wastewater using GAC-SBBR.

Science.gov (United States)

Osman, Wan Hasnidah Wan; Abdullah, Siti Rozaimah Sheikh; Mohamad, Abu Bakar; Kadhum, Abdul Amir H; Rahman, Rakmi Abd

2013-05-30

A lab-scale granular activated carbon sequencing batch biofilm reactor (GAC-SBBR), a combined adsorption and biological process, was developed to treat real wastewater from a recycled paper mill. In this study, one-consortia of mixed culture (4000-5000 mg/L) originating from recycled paper mill activated sludge from Kajang, Malaysia was acclimatized. The GAC-SBBR was fed with real wastewater taken from the same recycled paper mill, which had a high concentration of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and adsorbable organic halides (AOX). The operational duration of the GAC-SBBR was adjusted from 48 h to 24, 12 and finally 8 h to evaluate the effect of the hydraulic retention time (HRT) on the simultaneous removal of COD and AOX. The COD and AOX removals were in the range of 53-92% and 26-99%, respectively. From this study, it was observed that the longest HRT (48 h) yielded a high removal of COD and AOX, at 92% and 99%, respectively. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effect of COD loading on the granule-based enhanced biological phosphorus removal system and the recoverability.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Shenjing; Sun, Peide; Zheng, Wei; Chen, Lujun; Zheng, Xiongliu; Han, Jingyi; Yan, Tao

2014-11-01

In this study, the effect of varied COD loading (200, 400, 500, 600 and 800 mg L(-1)) on stability and recoverability of granule-based enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) system was investigated during continuously 53-d operation. Results showed that COD loading higher than 500 mg L(-1) could obviously deteriorate the granular EBPR system and result in sludge bulking with filamentous bacteria. High COD loading also changed the transformation patterns of poly-β-hydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and glycogen in metabolism process of polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) and inhibited the EPS secretion, which completely destroyed the stability and integrality of granules. Results of FISH indicated that glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAOs) and other microorganisms had a competitive advantage over PAOs with higher COD loading. The community composition and EBPR performance were recovered irreversibly in long time operation when COD loading was higher than 500 mg L(-1). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Antarctic Circumpolar Current Dynamics and Their Relation to Antarctic Ice Sheet and Perennial Sea-Ice Variability in the Central Drake Passage During the Last Climate Cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhn, G.; Wu, S.; Hass, H. C.; Klages, J. P.; Zheng, X.; Arz, H. W.; Esper, O.; Hillenbrand, C. D.; Lange, C.; Lamy, F.; Lohmann, G.; Müller, J.; McCave, I. N. N.; Nürnberg, D.; Roberts, J.; Tiedemann, R.; Timmermann, A.; Titschack, J.; Zhang, X.

2017-12-01

The evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet during the last climate cycle and the interrelation to global atmospheric and ocean circulation remains controversial and plays an important role for our understanding of ice sheet response to modern global warming. The timing and sequence of deglacial warming is relevant for understanding the variability and sensitivity of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to climatic changes, and the continuing rise of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. The Antarctic Ice Sheet is a pivotal component of the global water budget. Freshwater fluxes from the ice sheet may affect the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), which is strongly impacted by the westerly wind belt in the Southern Hemisphere (SHWW) and constricted to its narrowest extent in the Drake Passage. The flow of ACC water masses through Drake Passage is, therefore, crucial for advancing our understanding of the Southern Ocean's role in global meridional overturning circulation and global climate change. In order to address orbital and millennial-scale variability of the Antarctic ice sheet and the ACC, we applied a multi-proxy approach on a sediment core from the central Drake Passage including grain size, iceberg-rafted debris, mineral dust, bulk chemical and mineralogical composition, and physical properties. In combination with already published and new sediment records from the Drake Passage and Scotia Sea, as well as high-resolution data from Antarctic ice cores (WDC, EDML), we now have evidence that during glacial times a more northerly extent of the perennial sea-ice zone decreased ACC current velocities in the central Drake Passage. During deglaciation the SHWW shifted southwards due to a decreasing temperature gradient between subtropical and polar latitudes caused by sea ice and ice sheet decline. This in turn caused Southern Hemisphere warming, a more vigorous ACC, stronger Southern Ocean ventilation, and warm Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) upwelling on Antarctic shelves

Water masses, ocean fronts, and the structure of Antarctic seabird communities: putting the eastern Bellingshausen Sea in perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Ribic, Christine A.; Ainley, David G.; Ford, R. Glenn; Fraser, William R.; Tynan, Cynthia T.; Woehler, Eric J.

2015-01-01

Waters off the western Antarctic Peninsula (i.e., the eastern Bellingshausen Sea) are unusually complex owing to the convergence of several major fronts. Determining the relative influence of fronts on occurrence patterns of top-trophic species in that area, therefore, has been challenging. In one of the few ocean-wide seabird data syntheses, in this case for the Southern Ocean, we analyzed ample, previously collected cruise data, Antarctic-wide, to determine seabird species assemblages and quantitative relationships to fronts as a way to provide context to the long-term Palmer LTER and the winter Southern Ocean GLOBEC studies in the eastern Bellingshausen Sea. Fronts investigated during both winter (April–September) and summer (October–March) were the southern boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), which separates the High Antarctic from the Low Antarctic water mass, and within which are embedded the marginal ice zone and Antarctic Shelf Break Front; and the Antarctic Polar Front, which separates the Low Antarctic and the Subantarctic water masses. We used clustering to determine species' groupings with water masses, and generalized additive models to relate species' densities, biomass and diversity to distance to respective fronts. Antarctic-wide, in both periods, highest seabird densities and lowest species diversity were found in the High Antarctic water mass. In the eastern Bellingshausen, seabird density in the High Antarctic water mass was lower (as low as half that of winter) than found in other Antarctic regions. During winter, Antarctic-wide, two significant species groups were evident: one dominated by Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) (High Antarctic water mass) and the other by petrels and prions (no differentiation among water masses); in eastern Bellingshausen waters during winter, the one significant species group was composed of species from both Antarctic-wide groups. In summer, Antarctic-wide, a High Antarctic group

On the origin and evolution of Antarctic Peracarida (Crustacea, Malacostraca

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angelika Brandt

1999-12-01

Full Text Available The early separation of Gondwana and the subsequent isolation of Antarctica caused a long evolutionary history of its fauna. Both, long environmental stability over millions of years and habitat heterogeneity, due to an abundance of sessile suspension feeders on the continental shelf, favoured evolutionary processes of preadapted taxa, like for example the Peracarida. This taxon performs brood protection and this might be one of the most important reasons why it is very successful (i.e. abundant and diverse in most terrestrial and aquatic environments, with some species even occupying deserts. The extinction of many decapod crustaceans in the Cenozoic might have allowed the Peracarida to find and use free ecological niches. Therefore the palaeogeographic, palaeoclimatologic, and palaeo-hydrographic changes since the Palaeocene (at least since about 60 Ma ago and the evolutionary success of some peracarid taxa (e.g. Amphipoda, Isopoda led to the evolution of many endemic species in the Antarctic. Based on a phylogenetic analysis of the Antarctic Tanaidacea, Sieg (1988 demonstrated that the tanaid fauna of the Antarctic is mainly represented by phylogenetically younger taxa, and data from other crustacean taxa led Sieg (1988 to conclude that the recent Antarctic crustacean fauna must be comparatively young. His arguments are scrutinized on the basis of more recent data on the phylogeny and biodiversity of crustacean taxa, namely the Ostracoda, Decapoda, Mysidacea, Cumacea, Amphipoda, and Isopoda. This analysis demonstrates that the origin of the Antarctic fauna probably has different roots: an adaptive radiation of descendants from old Gondwanian ancestors was hypothesized for the isopod families Serolidae and Arcturidae, an evolution and radiation of phylogenetically old taxa in Antarctica could also be shown for the Ostracoda and the amphipod family Iphimediidae. A recolonization via the Scotia Arc appears possible for some species, though it is

Mercury accumulation in sediments and seabird feathers from the Antarctic Peninsula

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calle, Paola; Alvarado, Omar; Monserrate, Lorena; Cevallos, Juan Manuel; Calle, Nastenka; Alava, Juan José

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We assessed mercury bioaccumulation in seabirds in the Antarctic Peninsula. • Levels of Hg were higher in gentoo penguins & brown skuas than chinstrap penguins. • Mercury BMF in the brown skua/penguins relationship was higher than 1. • Long-range environmental transport is the likely mercury route in Antarctic. - Abstract: In an effort to assess the impact of mercury in the Antarctic Peninsula, we conducted ecotoxicological research in this region during the summer of 2012 and 2013. The objectives were to assess: (a) mercury levels in sediment samples; (b) mercury accumulation in Antarctic seabird feathers: Catharacta lonnbergi (brown skua), Pygoscelis papua (gentoo penguin) and Pygoscelis antarctica (chinstrap penguin); and (c) biomagnification (BMF predator/prey) and biota sediment accumulation (BSAF skuas/sediment) factors. Mercury concentrations in sediment were relatively low. Mercury concentrations were significantly higher in brown skuas and gentoo penguins than in chinstrap penguins (2012), and significantly higher in brown skuas than in both penguins (2013). BMF indicated 2–7.5 times greater mercury levels in brown skuas than in penguins. BSAF values suggested an apparent temporal decrease of 18.2% of this ratio from 2012 to 2013. Long-range environmental transport is the likely route of entry of mercury into the Antarctic Peninsula

COD fractions changes in the SBR-type reactor treating municipal wastewater with controlled percentage of dairy sewage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Struk-Sokołowska Joanna

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of study was to investigate the influence of percentage of dairy wastewater in the municipal wastewater on the changes of COD fractions during the cycle of SBR-type reactor. The scope of the research included physicochemical analyses of municipal wastewater without dairy wastewater, dairy wastewater, mixture of municipal and dairy wastewater as well as treated sewage. Both the concentrations and the proportions between COD fractions changed in the SBR cycle. In raw municipal and dairy wastewater - XS, insoluble hardly bio-degradable fraction of COD dominated (49.6 and 64.5% respectively. In treated wastewater SI, COD for dissolved compounds that are not biologically decomposed (inert (from 62.1 to 74.6% dominated, while XS fraction was from 19.1 to 24.4%. The consumption rate of organic compounds depended on the type of COD fraction, SBR cycle phase and the percentage of dairy wastewater. The highest rates of organic compounds consumption were noted in the phase of mixing. In the case of fraction SI, no differences in concentration in the SBR cycle time, were found. Concentration of COD in treated wastewater was from 34.8 to 58.9 mgO2·L-1 (efficiency wastewater treatment from 96.0 to 98.6%.

Detection of Fish Bones in Cod Fillets by UV Illumination.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Sheng; Nian, Rui; Cao, Limin; Sui, Jianxin; Lin, Hong

2015-07-01

The presence of fish bones is now regarded as an important hazard in fishery products, and there is increasing demand for new analytical techniques to control it more effectively. Here, the fluorescent properties of cod bones under UV illumination were investigated, and the maximal wavelengths for excitation and emission were determined to be 320 nm and 515 nm, respectively, demonstrating significantly different fluorescence characteristics and much higher fluorescence intensity compared to those of fillet muscles. Based on the results, UV fluorescence-assisted candling for the detection of bones in fishery products was developed for the first time. Using cod fillets as samples, the detection ratio of this technique was calculated as 90.86%, significantly higher than that of traditional candling under daylight (76.78%). Moreover, the working efficiency of the new technique was about 26% higher than that of the traditional method. A UV fluorescence imaging framework was also developed, and a method for automatic identification of the fish bones in the cod fillets based on the linear discriminant analysis proposed by Fisher was preliminarily realized, but the detection ratio was demonstrated to be relatively poor compared to those of candling techniques. These results allow us to suggest UV-based methods as new and promising approaches for routine monitoring of bones in fishery products.

[History of Polish botanical and mycological researches on sheets of land of Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic in the years 1977-2009].

Science.gov (United States)

Köhler, Piotr; Olech, Maria

2011-01-01

The work includes a description of the period from the moment of setting up Polish Polar Station on King George Island (1977) to the end of International Polar Year IV in 2009. Researches on flower plants focused, among others, on plants' morphology, morphological composition of the pollen and anatomical ultra-structure of the leaves. There were also carried out biochemical and other searches for the internal mutability. Within physiological studies one concentrated on the problem of reaction to temperature stress. Biological researches focused mainly on solving taxonomic and bio-geographic problems. Finally, were published several monographs and, among others, the first in history complete description of moss' flora of the whole of Antarctic (2008). Research works over algae included also such issues as floristics, bio-geography, taxonomy and ecology (for instance, the rookery's impact on distribution of algae, or the influence of inanimate factors on dynamics of condensing the Diatoma in different water and soil-bound tanks). Up till now, within mycological investigations has been identified a variety of lichen fungi that for the most part of Antarctic are a novelty. There were scientifically described new for science genera and species of Western Antarctic. Lichenological studies were made in the field of taxonomy, geography, lichenometry, biochemistry of lichens, lichenoindication, ecophysiology and from the point of analysis of base metals' content. There were also described new for science species. Since 1991, were published the results of searches for the base metals' content and vestigial chemical elements in lichens' thallus. Ecophysiological researches concerned both micro-climatic conditions' impact on primary production and lichens' adaptation to a very cold climate. One discovered a mechanism of two-phase hydratization/dehydratization of lichens' thallus. On the ground of palaeobotanical analyzes was reconstructed a development of flora in Western

Cycle length and COD/N ratio determine properties of aerobic granules treating high-nitrogen wastewater.

Science.gov (United States)

Cydzik-Kwiatkowska, Agnieszka; Bernat, Katarzyna; Zielińska, Magdalena; Wojnowska-Baryła, Irena

2014-07-01

Aerobic granule characteristic in sequencing batch reactors treating high-nitrogen digester supernatant was investigated at cycle lengths (t) of 6, 8 and 12 h with the COD/N ratios in the influent of 4.5 and 2.3. The biomass production (Y obs) correlated with the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in grams per COD removed. Denitrification efficiency significantly decreased as the amount of EPS in biomass increased, suggesting that organic assimilation in EPS hampers nitrogen removal. Granule hydrophobicity was highest at t of 8 h; the t has to be long enough to remove pollutants, but not so long that excessive biomass starvation causes extracellular protein consumption that decreases hydrophobicity. At a given t, reducing the COD/N ratio improved hydrophobicity that stimulates cell aggregation. At t of 6 h and the COD/N ratio of 2.3, the dominance of 0.5-1.0 mm granules favored simultaneous nitrification and denitrification and resulted in the highest nitrogen removal.

The invasive ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi poses no direct threat to Baltic cod eggs and larvae

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jaspers, Cornelia; Titelman, Josefin; Hansson, Lars Johan

2011-01-01

conducted laboratory incubation experimentsand video observations to quantify feeding rates on Baltic cod eggs and larvae. Ingestion rates increased with codlarvae concentrations up to 8 prey L21, beyond which ingestion remained constant. Neither Mnemiopsis size noregg concentration (1–16 prey L21) affected...... feeding rates on cod eggs. Observed feeding rates pooled from allexperiments conducted at nonsaturating prey concentrations were low, with the highest volume-specific clearanceon , 4.5-d-old yolk-sac larvae (0.05 6 0.02 L (mL Mnemiopsis)21 h21), and lower rates on 4.5–8-d-old larvae(0.02 6 0.02 L (m......L Mnemiopsis)21 h21) and eggs (0.02 6 0.03 L (mL Mnemiopsis)21 h21). When offered Artemiasalina and cod eggs simultaneously, Mnemiopsis passively selected against cod eggs. Video recordings showed thateggs did not trigger the capture response that Mnemiopsis shows toward motile prey, and ingested eggs were...

Linking lipid dynamics with the reproductive cycle in Baltic cod Gadus morhua

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Røjbek, Maria; Jacobsen, Charlotte; Tomkiewicz, Jonna

2012-01-01

ovaries and decreased in late maturing and spawning fish, most likely due to their antioxidant protection activity. The fatty acid composition of cod liver reflected its clupeid prey. The ratio of 18:1n-9 to DHA was almost twice as high in sprat as in herring and indicated the ratio of sprat and herring...... with cod ovarian development in the central Baltic Sea, and may be associated with the delay in spawning and affect egg and larval survival; however, this needs further verification in experimental studies....

Comparison of COD removal from pharmaceutical wastewater by electrocoagulation, photoelectrocoagulation, peroxi-electrocoagulation and peroxi-photoelectrocoagulation processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Farhadi, Sajjad; Aminzadeh, Behnoush; Torabian, Ali; Khatibikamal, Vahid; Alizadeh Fard, Mohammad

2012-06-15

This work makes a comparison between electrocoagulation (EC), photoelectrocoagulation, peroxi-electrocoagulation and peroxi-photoelectrocoagulation processes to investigate the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) from pharmaceutical wastewater. The effects of operational parameters such as initial pH, current density, applied voltage, amount of hydrogen peroxide and electrolysis time on COD removal efficiency were investigated and the optimum operating range for each of these operating variables was experimentally determined. In electrocoagulation process, the optimum values of pH and voltage were determined to be 7 and 40 V, respectively. Desired pH and hydrogen peroxide concentration in the Fenton-based processes were found to be 3 and 300 mg/L, respectively. The amounts of COD, pH, electrical conductivity, temperature and total dissolved solids (TDS) were on-line monitored. Results indicated that under the optimum operating range for each process, the COD removal efficiency was in order of peroxi-electrocoagulation > peroxi-photoelectrocoagulation > photoelectrocoagulation>electrocoagulation. Finally, a kinetic study was carried out using the linear pseudo-second-order model and results showed that the pseudo-second-order equation provided the best correlation for the COD removal rate. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prediction of selectivity from morphological conditions: Methodology and a case study on cod (Gadus morhua)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herrmann, Bent; Krag, Ludvig Ahm; Frandsen, Rikke

2009-01-01

The FISHSELECT methodology. tools, and software were developed and used to measure the morphological parameters that determine the ability of cod to penetrate different mesh types, sizes, and openings. The shape of one cross-section at the cod's head was found to explain 97.6% of the mesh...

Spatio-temporal variability of the North Sea cod recruitment in relation to temperature and zooplankton.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Delphine Nicolas

Full Text Available The North Sea cod (Gadus morhua, L. stock has continuously declined over the past four decades linked with overfishing and climate change. Changes in stock structure due to overfishing have made the stock largely dependent on its recruitment success, which greatly relies on environmental conditions. Here we focus on the spatio-temporal variability of cod recruitment in an effort to detect changes during the critical early life stages. Using International Bottom Trawl Survey (IBTS data from 1974 to 2011, a major spatio-temporal change in the distribution of cod recruits was identified in the late 1990s, characterized by a pronounced decrease in the central and southeastern North Sea stock. Other minor spatial changes were also recorded in the mid-1980s and early 1990s. We tested whether the observed changes in recruits distribution could be related with direct (i.e. temperature and/or indirect (i.e. changes in the quantity and quality of zooplankton prey effects of climate variability. The analyses were based on spatially-resolved time series, i.e. sea surface temperature (SST from the Hadley Center and zooplankton records from the Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey. We showed that spring SST increase was the main driver for the most recent decrease in cod recruitment. The late 1990s were also characterized by relatively low total zooplankton biomass, particularly of energy-rich zooplankton such as the copepod Calanus finmarchicus, which have further contributed to the decline of North Sea cod recruitment. Long-term spatially-resolved observations were used to produce regional distribution models that could further be used to predict the abundance of North Sea cod recruits based on temperature and zooplankton food availability.

Harvesting Atlantic Cod under Climate Variability

Science.gov (United States)

Oremus, K. L.

2016-12-01

Previous literature links the growth of a fishery to climate variability. This study uses an age-structured bioeconomic model to compare optimal harvest in the Gulf of Maine Atlantic cod fishery under a variable climate versus a static climate. The optimal harvest path depends on the relationship between fishery growth and the interest rate, with higher interest rates dictating greater harvests now at the cost of long-term stock sustainability. Given the time horizon of a single generation of fishermen under assumptions of a static climate, the model finds that the economically optimal management strategy is to harvest the entire stock in the short term and allow the fishery to collapse. However, if the biological growth of the fishery is assumed to vary with climate conditions, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation, there will always be pulses of high growth in the stock. During some of these high-growth years, the growth of the stock and its economic yield can exceed the growth rate of the economy even under high interest rates. This implies that it is not economically optimal to exhaust the New England cod fishery if NAO is included in the biological growth function. This finding may have theoretical implications for the management of other renewable yet exhaustible resources whose growth rates are subject to climate variability.

Specific inhibition of Photobacterium phosphoreum extends the shelf life of modified-atmosphere-packed cod fillets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalgaard, Paw; Munoz, L.G.; Mejlholm, Ole

1998-01-01

rather than the development of a new product. In naturally contaminated modified-atmosphere-packed cod fillets, 500 ppm Na(2)CaEDTA reduced the growth rate of P. phosphoreum by 40% and shelf life was increased proportionally by 40%, from 15 to 17 days to 21 to 23 days at 0 degrees C. In aerobically...... stored cod fillets other microorganisms were responsible for spoilage and Na2CaEDTA had no effect on shelf Life. The extension of the shelf life of modified-atmosphere-packed cod therefore was a result of the reduced growth of P. phosphoreum and no other microbial or nonmicrobial spoilage reactions...

Climate Change Impacts in the sub-Antarctic Islands Technical Report N.2 of ONERC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

Difficult to apprehend as a whole, the polar regions constitute the Arctic to the North, an ocean surrounded by emerged lands, and the Antarctic to the South, a continent bordered by the Austral Ocean where a belt of sub Antarctic islands lies. Climate change impacts on sub Antarctic islands are varied, direct and indirect: glacier retreat, more favourable conditions for introduced species, marine biodiversity modification, etc. This report discusses the French, British, Australian, South African and New Zealand sub Antarctic islands, the climatic evolutions and the resulting impacts, focused especially on biodiversity. The Observatoire National sur les Effets du Rechauffement Climatique and the International Polar Foundation have been joined in this endeavour by the French polar institute Paul-Emile Victor, the administration of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF in French) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. (authors)

Freshness assessment of thawed and chilled cod fillets packed in modified atmosphere using near-infrared spectroscopy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bøknæs, Niels; Jensen, K.N.; Andersen, Charlotte Møller

2002-01-01

Near-infrared reflectance (NIR) spectra was recorded of 105 samples of cod mince prepared from chill stored thawed cod fillets of varying quality in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). Traditional chemical, physical, microbiological and sensory quality methods developed for assessing fresh fish...

Hazard Analysis and identification of Critical Control Points of collagen extraction from cod by-products

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aalberts, C.H.J.

2004-01-01

The aim of the European research project “UTILISATION AND STABILISATION OF BY-PRODUCTS FROM COD SPECIES” (QLK1-CT-2000-01017 QLRT-2001-02829) is to investigate whether collagen from fish by-products could serve as an important raw material in high quality food. Since Atlantic cod is a major

Persistent Organic Pollutants in Biotic and Abiotic Components of Antarctic Pristine Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Bhardwaj, Laxmikant; Chauhan, Abhishek; Ranjan, Anuj; Jindal, Tanu

2018-05-01

Over the past decades, research in Antarctica has built a new understanding of Antarctica, its past, present and future. Human activities and long-range pollutants are increasing on the Antarctic continent. Research on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) has been carried out internationally by several countries having their permanent research stations to explain the impact of an ever increasing range of POPs in Antarctic ecosystem. POPs have been detected in Antarctica despite its geographical isolation and almost complete absence of human settlements. The presence of POPs in different abiotic (atmosphere, water bodies, sediments, soil, sea ice) and biotic components (mosses, lichens, krill, penguins, skua, etc.) in Antarctica has been studied and documented around for decades and has either been banned or strictly regulated but is still found in the environment. This review focuses on recent research pertaining to sources and occurrence of POPs in Antarctic lake water, soil, sediment, lichen, mosses and other Antarctic marine community. This review also proposes to summarize the current state of research on POPs in Antarctica environment and draw the earliest conclusions on possible significance of POPs in Antarctica based on presently available information from related Antarctic environment.

A 25-year Record of Antarctic Ice Sheet Elevation and Mass Change

Science.gov (United States)

Shepherd, A.; Muir, A. S.; Sundal, A.; McMillan, M.; Briggs, K.; Hogg, A.; Engdahl, M.; Gilbert, L.

2017-12-01

Since 1992, the European Remote-Sensing (ERS-1 and ERS-2), ENVISAT, and CryoSat-2 satellite radar altimeters have measured the Antarctic ice sheet surface elevation, repeatedly, at approximately monthly intervals. These data constitute the longest continuous record of ice sheet wide change. In this paper, we use these observations to determine changes in the elevation, volume and mass of the East Antarctic and West Antarctic ice sheets, and of parts of the Antarctic Peninsula ice sheet, over a 25-year period. The root mean square difference between elevation rates computed from our survey and 257,296 estimates determined from airborne laser measurements is 54 cm/yr. The longevity of the satellite altimeter data record allows to identify and chart the evolution of changes associated with meteorology and ice flow, and we estimate that 3.6 % of the continental ice sheet, and 21.7 % of West Antarctica, is in a state of dynamical imbalance. Based on this partitioning, we estimate the mass balance of the East and West Antarctic ice sheet drainage basins and the root mean square difference between these and independent estimates derived from satellite gravimetry is less than 5 Gt yr-1.

Genetic signature of Last Glacial Maximum regional refugia in a circum-Antarctic sea spider

Science.gov (United States)

Soler-Membrives, Anna; Linse, Katrin; Miller, Karen J.; Arango, Claudia P.

2017-10-01

The evolutionary history of Antarctic organisms is becoming increasingly important to understand and manage population trajectories under rapid environmental change. The Antarctic sea spider Nymphon australe, with an apparently large population size compared with other sea spider species, is an ideal target to look for molecular signatures of past climatic events. We analysed mitochondrial DNA of specimens collected from the Antarctic continent and two Antarctic islands (AI) to infer past population processes and understand current genetic structure. Demographic history analyses suggest populations survived in refugia during the Last Glacial Maximum. The high genetic diversity found in the Antarctic Peninsula and East Antarctic (EA) seems related to multiple demographic contraction-expansion events associated with deep-sea refugia, while the low genetic diversity in the Weddell Sea points to a more recent expansion from a shelf refugium. We suggest the genetic structure of N. australe from AI reflects recent colonization from the continent. At a local level, EA populations reveal generally low genetic differentiation, geographically and bathymetrically, suggesting limited restrictions to dispersal. Results highlight regional differences in demographic histories and how these relate to the variation in intensity of glaciation-deglaciation events around Antarctica, critical for the study of local evolutionary processes. These are valuable data for understanding the remarkable success of Antarctic pycnogonids, and how environmental changes have shaped the evolution and diversification of Southern Ocean benthic biodiversity.

Arctic and Antarctic Sea Ice Changes and Impacts (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Nghiem, S. V.

2013-12-01

The extent of springtime Arctic perennial sea ice, important to preconditioning summer melt and to polar sunrise photochemistry, continues its precipitous reduction in the last decade marked by a record low in 2012, as the Bromine, Ozone, and Mercury Experiment (BROMEX) was conducted around Barrow, Alaska, to investigate impacts of sea ice reduction on photochemical processes, transport, and distribution in the polar environment. In spring 2013, there was further loss of perennial sea ice, as it was not observed in the ocean region adjacent to the Alaskan north coast, where there was a stretch of perennial sea ice in 2012 in the Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea. In contrast to the rapid and extensive loss of sea ice in the Arctic, Antarctic sea ice has a trend of a slight increase in the past three decades. Given the significant variability in time and in space together with uncertainties in satellite observations, the increasing trend of Antarctic sea ice may arguably be considered as having a low confidence level; however, there was no overall reduction of Antarctic sea ice extent anywhere close to the decreasing rate of Arctic sea ice. There exist publications presenting various factors driving changes in Arctic and Antarctic sea ice. After a short review of these published factors, new observations and atmospheric, oceanic, hydrological, and geological mechanisms contributed to different behaviors of sea ice changes in the Arctic and Antarctic are presented. The contribution from of hydrologic factors may provide a linkage to and enhance thermal impacts from lower latitudes. While geological factors may affect the sensitivity of sea ice response to climate change, these factors can serve as the long-term memory in the system that should be exploited to improve future projections or predictions of sea ice changes. Furthermore, similarities and differences in chemical impacts of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice changes are discussed. Understanding sea ice changes and

Microbial populations in Antarctic permafrost: biodiversity, state, age, and implication for astrobiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilichinsky, D A; Wilson, G S; Friedmann, E I; McKay, C P; Sletten, R S; Rivkina, E M; Vishnivetskaya, T A; Erokhina, L G; Ivanushkina, N E; Kochkina, G A; Shcherbakova, V A; Soina, V S; Spirina, E V; Vorobyova, E A; Fyodorov-Davydov, D G; Hallet, B; Ozerskaya, S M; Sorokovikov, V A; Laurinavichyus, K S; Shatilovich, A V; Chanton, J P; Ostroumov, V E; Tiedje, J M

2007-04-01

Antarctic permafrost soils have not received as much geocryological and biological study as has been devoted to the ice sheet, though the permafrost is more stable and older and inhabited by more microbes. This makes these soils potentially more informative and a more significant microbial repository than ice sheets. Due to the stability of the subsurface physicochemical regime, Antarctic permafrost is not an extreme environment but a balanced natural one. Up to 10(4) viable cells/g, whose age presumably corresponds to the longevity of the permanently frozen state of the sediments, have been isolated from Antarctic permafrost. Along with the microbes, metabolic by-products are preserved. This presumed natural cryopreservation makes it possible to observe what may be the oldest microbial communities on Earth. Here, we describe the Antarctic permafrost habitat and biodiversity and provide a model for martian ecosystems.

Relationships between water quality parameters in rivers and lakes: BOD5, COD, NBOPs, and TOC.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jaewoong; Lee, Seunghyun; Yu, Soonju; Rhew, Doughee

2016-04-01

Biological oxygen demand (BOD5) or chemical oxygen demand (COD) analysis is widely used to evaluate organic pollutants in water systems as well as the efficiency of wastewater treatment plants. However, both analysis methods have restrictions such as being insensitive, imprecise, time-consuming, and the production of chemical waste. Therefore, total organic carbon (TOC) analysis for organic pollutants has been considered for an alternative analysis instead of BOD5 or COD. Several studies have investigated the replacement of BOD5 or COD with TOC in wastewater samples; however, few studies have investigated the relationships between water quality parameters in rivers and lakes. Therefore, this study evaluated the relationships between BOD5, COD, or NBOPs and TOC by the analysis of national water quality monitoring data of rivers and lakes for 5 years. High correlation coefficients (r) of 0.87 and 0.66 between BOD5 and TOC (p TOC (p TOC was 0.93 for rivers and 0.72 for lakes. The coefficients of determination (R 2) were 0.75 and 0.44 between BOD5 and TOC for rivers and lakes as well as were 0.87 and 0.57 between COD and TOC for rivers and lakes, respectively. The coefficient of determination (R 2) between NBOPs and TOC was 0.73 for rivers and 0.52 for lakes.

Mapping the spawning grounds of North Sea cod (Gadus morhua) by direct and indirect means.

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, Clive J; Taylor, Martin; Dickey-Collas, Mark; Fossum, Petter; Kraus, Gerd; Rohlf, Norbert; Munk, Peter; van Damme, Cindy J G; Bolle, Loes J; Maxwell, David L; Wright, Peter J

2008-07-07

Despite recent evidence for sub-stock structuring, North Sea cod are assessed as a single unit. As a consequence, knowledge of sub-stock trends is poor. In particular, there are no recent evaluations of which spawning grounds are active. Here we report results from the first ichthyoplankton survey to cover the whole North Sea. Also, this survey, conducted in 2004, was the first to make extensive use of DNA-based molecular methods to unambiguously identify early developmental stage cod eggs. We compare the findings from the plankton survey with estimated egg production inferred from the distribution of mature cod in contemporaneous trawl surveys. Results from both approaches were in general agreement and showed hot spots of egg production around the southern and eastern edges of the Dogger Bank, in the German Bight, the Moray Firth and to the east of the Shetlands. These areas broadly coincide with known spawning locations from the period 1940 to 1970. We were, however, unable to directly detect significant numbers of cod eggs at the historic spawning ground off Flamborough (northeast coast of England). The results demonstrate that most of the major spawning grounds of cod in the North Sea are still active but that some localized populations may have been reduced to the point where it is now difficult to detect the presence of eggs in the plankton.

IPAB Antarctic Drifting Buoy Data, Version 1

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) International Programme for Antarctic Buoys (IPAB), through participating research organizations in various countries,...

Eastern Baltic cod in distress: biological changes and challenges for stock assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eero, Margit; Hjelm, Joakim; Behrens, Jane

2015-01-01

The eastern Baltic (EB) cod (Gadus morhua) stock was depleted and overexploited for decades until the mid-2000s, when fishing mortality rapidly declined and biomass started to increase, as shown by stock assessments. These positive developments were partly assigned to effective management measures...... that the stock is in distress. In this study, we (i) summarize the knowledge of recent changes in cod biology and ecosystem conditions, (ii) describe the subsequent challenges for stock assessment, and (iii) highlight the key questions where answers are urgently needed to understand the present stock status...

Wind profile radar for study of Antarctic air circulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ragaini, E.; Sarango, M.F.; Vasquez, E.H.

1992-01-01

After a brief discussion of meteorological methods used in the Antarctic, the paper gives an outline of a coordinated international research project whose objective is to set up a wind profiler radar station that would give meteorologists information regarding Antarctic atmospheric dynamics useful in their investigation of the causes and effects of the hole in the ozone layer. The radar instrumentation is to provide continuous readings of wind velocity at varying altitudes above the polar continent

Evaluating Wind Power Potential in the Spanish Antarctic Base (BAE)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arribas, L.M.; Garcia Barquero, C; Navarro, J.; Cuerva, A.; Cruz, I.; Roque, V.; Marti, I.

2000-01-01

The objective of the work is to model wind field in the surroundings of the Spanish Antarctic Base (BAE in the following). The need of such a work comes from the necessity of an energy source able to supply the energy demand in the BAE during the Antarctic winter. When the BAE is in operation (in the Antarctic summer) the energy supply comes from a diesel engine. In the Antarctic winter the base is closed, but the demand of energy supply is growing up every year because of the increase in the number of technical and scientific machines that remain in the BAE taking different measurements. For this purpose the top of a closed hill called Pico Radio, not perturbed by close obstacles, has been chosen as the better site for the measurements. The measurement station is made up with a sonic anemometer and a small wind generator to supply the energy needed by the sensors head heating of the anemometer. This way, it will be also used as a proof for the suitability of a wind generator in the new chosen site, under those special climatic conditions.(Author) 3 refs

77 FR 41809 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-16

..., Lockheed Martin IS&GS, Antarctic Support Contract, 7400 S. Tucson Way, Centennial, CO 80112-3938. Activity..., Antarctic Support Contract, 7400 S. Tucson Way, Centennial, CO 80112-3938. Activity for Which Permit Is.... Applicant: Celia Lang, Lockheed Martin IS&GS, Antarctic Support Contract, 7400 S. Tucson Way, Centennial, CO...

Biodiversity of Antarctic echinoids: a comprehensive and interactive database

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno David

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Eighty-one echinoid species are present south of the Antarctic Convergence, and they represent an important component of the benthic fauna. “Antarctic echinoids” is an interactive database synthesising the results of more than 100 years of Antarctic expeditions, and comprising information about all echinoid species. It includes illustrated keys for determination of the species, and information about their morphology and ecology (text, illustrations and glossary and their distribution (maps and histograms of bathymetrical distribution; the sources of the information (bibliography, collections and expeditions are also provided. All these data (taxonomic, morphologic, geographic, bathymetric… can be interactively queried in two main ways: (1 display of listings that can be browsed, sorted according to various criteria, or printed; and (2 interactive requests crossing the different kinds of data. Many other possibilities are offered, and an on-line help file is also available.

Regional Antarctic snow accumulation over the past 1000 years

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. R. Thomas

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Here we present Antarctic snow accumulation variability at the regional scale over the past 1000 years. A total of 79 ice core snow accumulation records were gathered and assigned to seven geographical regions, separating the high-accumulation coastal zones below 2000 m of elevation from the dry central Antarctic Plateau. The regional composites of annual snow accumulation were evaluated against modelled surface mass balance (SMB from RACMO2.3p2 and precipitation from ERA-Interim reanalysis. With the exception of the Weddell Sea coast, the low-elevation composites capture the regional precipitation and SMB variability as defined by the models. The central Antarctic sites lack coherency and either do not represent regional precipitation or indicate the model inability to capture relevant precipitation processes in the cold, dry central plateau. Our results show that SMB for the total Antarctic Ice Sheet (including ice shelves has increased at a rate of 7 ± 0.13 Gt decade−1 since 1800 AD, representing a net reduction in sea level of ∼ 0.02 mm decade−1 since 1800 and ∼ 0.04 mm decade−1 since 1900 AD. The largest contribution is from the Antarctic Peninsula (∼ 75 % where the annual average SMB during the most recent decade (2001–2010 is 123 ± 44 Gt yr−1 higher than the annual average during the first decade of the 19th century. Only four ice core records cover the full 1000 years, and they suggest a decrease in snow accumulation during this period. However, our study emphasizes the importance of low-elevation coastal zones, which have been under-represented in previous investigations of temporal snow accumulation.

Replacement of chemical oxygen demand (COD) with total organic carbon (TOC) for monitoring wastewater treatment performance to minimize disposal of toxic analytical waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Dubber, Donata; Gray, Nicholas F

2010-10-01

Chemical oxygen demand (COD) is widely used for wastewater monitoring, design, modeling and plant operational analysis. However this method results in the production of hazardous wastes including mercury and hexavalent chromium. The study examined the replacement of COD with total organic carbon (TOC) for general performance monitoring by comparing their relationship with influent and effluent samples from 11 wastewater treatment plants. Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) was also included in the comparison as a control. The results show significant linear relationships between TOC, COD and BOD5 in settled (influent) domestic and municipal wastewaters, but only between COD and TOC in treated effluents. The study concludes that TOC can be reliably used for the generic replacement of both COD (COD=49.2+3.00*TOC) and BOD5 (BOD5=23.7+1.68*TOC) in influent wastewaters but only for COD (COD=7.25+2.99*TOC) in final effluents.

Antarctic ice sheet thickness estimation based on P-receiver function and waveform inversion

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, P.; Li, F.; LI, Z.; Li, J.; Yang, Y.; Hao, W.

2016-12-01

Antarctic ice sheet thickness is key parameter and boundary condition for ice sheet model construction, which has great significance for glacial isostatic adjustment, ice sheet mass balance and global change study. Ice thickness acquired utilizing seismological receiver function method can complement and verify with results obtained by radar echo sounding method. In this paper, P-receiver functions(PRFs) are extracted for stations deployed on Antarctic ice sheet, then Vp/Vs ratio and ice thickness are obtained using H-Kappa stacking. Comparisons are made between Bedmap2 dataset and the ice thickness from PRFs, most of the absolute value of the differences are less than 200 meters, only a few reach 600 meters. Taking into account of the intensity of Bedmap2 dataset survey lines and the uncertainty of radio echo sounding, as well as the inherit complexity of the internal ice structure beneath some stations, the ice thickness obtained from receiver function method is reliable. However limitation exists when using H-Kappa stacking method for stations where sediment squeezed between the ice and the bed rock layer. For better verifying the PRF result, a global optimizing method-Neighbourhood algotithm(NA) and spline interpolation are used to modeling PRFs assuming an isotropic layered ice sheet with depth varied densities and velocities beneath the stations. Then the velocity structure and ice sheet thickness are obtained through nonlinear searching by optimally fitting the real and the theoretical PRFs. The obtained ice sheet thickness beneath the stations agree well with the former H-Kappa method, but further detailed study are needed to constrain the inner ice velocity structure.

Personality Testing in Antarctic Expeditioners: Cross Cultural Comparisons and Evidence for Generalizability

Science.gov (United States)

Musson, D. M.; Sandal, G. M.; Harper, M. L.; Helmreich, R. L.

Antarctica provides an ideal environment in which to study human behaviour under conditions of isolation and confinement. Such research is currently being conducted through several national Antarctic research programs, with the subject pool for these investigations necessarily consisting of individuals from multiple nationalities. Cross-cultural research has shown, however, that psychological traits and individual values may vary significantly between national and ethnic groups. Until now, there has been an implicit assumption that Antarctic personnel are essentially similar from one national program to another and that therefore findings from any one nation's Antarctic program should generalize to another, as well as to other domains such as spaceflight. We believe that it is necessary to validate this assumption through empirical research. This objective of this analysis was to determine the degree of similarity between the psychological testing profiles of Antarctic research personnel from different national Antarctic programs, and to determine the degrees of similarity or difference of these personnel to a normative population. METHODS In separate studies, Antarctic personnel from Australia (n=57), Norway (=37), and Great Britain (n=145) were administered the Personal Characteristics Inventory (PCI) before departing to Antarctica. The PCI is a battery consisting of 11 psychological scales designed to assess specific traits related to achievement and interpersonal competence that have been shown to be particularly salient to human performance under stressful and complex conditions. For comparative normative data, a group of 441 U.S. undergraduate students were also administered the PCI. Due to historical reasons, researchers in this study used 2 versions of the PCI, and only 9 of the 11 scales were directly equivalent. RESULTS For the three national Antarctic groups (Australia, Norway, and Great Britain), no significant variation was found between group mean

Daily rhythmicity of clock gene transcripts in atlantic cod fast skeletal muscle.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlo C Lazado

Full Text Available The classical notion of a centralized clock that governs circadian rhythmicity has been challenged with the discovery of peripheral oscillators that enable organisms to cope with daily changes in their environment. The present study aimed to identify the molecular clock components in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua and to investigate their daily gene expression in fast skeletal muscle. Atlantic cod clock genes were closely related to their orthologs in teleosts and tetrapods. Synteny was conserved to varying degrees in the majority of the 18 clock genes examined. In particular, aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator-like 2 (arntl2, RAR-related orphan receptor A (rora and timeless (tim displayed high degrees of conservation. Expression profiling during the early ontogenesis revealed that some transcripts were maternally transferred, namely arntl2, cryptochrome 1b and 2 (cry1b and cry2, and period 2a and 2b (per2a and per2b. Most clock genes were ubiquitously expressed in various tissues, suggesting the possible existence of multiple peripheral clock systems in Atlantic cod. In particular, they were all detected in fast skeletal muscle, with the exception of neuronal PAS (Per-Arnt-Single-minded domain-containing protein (npas1 and rora. Rhythmicity analysis revealed 8 clock genes with daily rhythmic expression, namely arntl2, circadian locomotor output cycles kaput (clock, npas2, cry2, cry3 per2a, nuclear receptor subfamily 1, group D, member 1 (nr1d1, and nr1d2a. Transcript levels of the myogenic genes myogenic factor 5 (myf5 and muscleblind-like 1 (mbnl1 strongly correlated with clock gene expression. This is the first study to unravel the molecular components of peripheral clocks in Atlantic cod. Taken together, our data suggest that the putative clock system in fast skeletal muscle of Atlantic cod has regulatory implications on muscle physiology, particularly in the expression of genes related to myogenesis.

Improving the size- and species selectivity of cod (Gadus morhua) in demersal mixed-species trawl fisheries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krag, Ludvig Ahm

have been published in scientific journals and Paper 3 has been submitted to Fisheries Research. This review will take a broader perspective and will examine the capturing process, which is the basis for the selection process. Moreover, it discusses the existing methods and knowledge in the fields...... different species, including cod, are caught together. Demersal trawling is the predominant fishing method in Denmark, as measured by both catch value and volume. Demersal trawls also account for the highest discard rates of juvenile fish, including cod. The focus of this work was on improving......, and openings. The results show that the morphology-based simulations of size selectivity of cod can be used to explain a large part of both the within-haul and the between-haul variations previously reported from sea trials. The method can further predict the selection parameters (L50 and SR) for cod...

75 FR 19561 - Fisheries of the Economic Exclusive Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod in the Bering Sea and Aleutian...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-15

... is opening directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels less than 60 feet (18.3 meters) length... meters) length overall using hook-and-line or pot gear in the BSAI under Sec. 679.20(d)(1)(iii) on March... 400 metric tons of Pacific cod remain in the 2010 Pacific cod apportionment for catcher vessels less...

78 FR 41959 - Notice of Permit Modification Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-12

... Areas (ASPA) or involving Antarctic Flora and Fauna. Starting in 2013, all new permits issued for ASPA entry or involving Antarctic Flora and Flora require the permittee to submit an annual report to the... Specially Protected Areas (ASPA) or involving Antarctic Flora and Fauna issued prior to 2013 that require...

Treatment and prevention of infection following bites of the Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kouliev T

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Timur Kouliev,1 Victoria Cui2 1Beijing United Family Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China; 2Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA Abstract: In recent decades, an increasing number of people have traveled to sub-Antarctic and Antarctic regions each year for research, tourism, and resource exploitation. Hunting of Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella almost pushed the species to extinction in the early 1900s, but populations have since shown rapid and substantial recovery. The species' range has re-expanded to include several islands south of the Antarctic Convergence, most notably South Georgia, and now overlaps with many popular Antarctic travel destinations. Both male and female fur seals can become extremely aggressive when provoked, and their bites, if not properly treated, pose a significant risk of infection by microorganisms not usually encountered in cases of animal bites. In this report, we present the case of a patient treated for a fur seal bite during an Antarctic expedition cruise, review the literature concerning seal bites, and suggest the use of antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent complications. Keywords: zoonotic, polar tourism, prophylaxis, seal finger, expedition medicine

Comparison of COD removal from pharmaceutical wastewater by electrocoagulation, photoelectrocoagulation, peroxi-electrocoagulation and peroxi-photoelectrocoagulation processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farhadi, Sajjad; Aminzadeh, Behnoush; Torabian, Ali; Khatibikamal, Vahid; Alizadeh Fard, Mohammad

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Hydrogen peroxide improves the performance of electrocoagulation process. ► UV light can be effective on the performance on peroxi-electrocoagulation and electrocoagulation processes. ► The optimal amount of hydrogen peroxide for peroxi-electrocoagulation process for COD removal from pharmaceutical wastewater is 300 mg/L. ► The optimal values of pH for electrocoagulation and peroxi-electrocoagulation are 7 and 3, respectively. - Abstract: This work makes a comparison between electrocoagulation (EC), photoelectrocoagulation, peroxi-electrocoagulation and peroxi-photoelectrocoagulation processes to investigate the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) from pharmaceutical wastewater. The effects of operational parameters such as initial pH, current density, applied voltage, amount of hydrogen peroxide and electrolysis time on COD removal efficiency were investigated and the optimum operating range for each of these operating variables was experimentally determined. In electrocoagulation process, the optimum values of pH and voltage were determined to be 7 and 40 V, respectively. Desired pH and hydrogen peroxide concentration in the Fenton-based processes were found to be 3 and 300 mg/L, respectively. The amounts of COD, pH, electrical conductivity, temperature and total dissolved solids (TDS) were on-line monitored. Results indicated that under the optimum operating range for each process, the COD removal efficiency was in order of peroxi-electrocoagulation > peroxi-photoelectrocoagulation > photoelectrocoagulation > electrocoagulation. Finally, a kinetic study was carried out using the linear pseudo-second-order model and results showed that the pseudo-second-order equation provided the best correlation for the COD removal rate.

Comparison of COD removal from pharmaceutical wastewater by electrocoagulation, photoelectrocoagulation, peroxi-electrocoagulation and peroxi-photoelectrocoagulation processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Farhadi, Sajjad, E-mail: sajjadfarhadi@ut.ac.ir [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Aminzadeh, Behnoush, E-mail: bamin@ut.ac.ir [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Torabian, Ali, E-mail: atorabi@ut.ac.ir [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Khatibikamal, Vahid, E-mail: vahidkhatibi@ut.ac.ir [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Alizadeh Fard, Mohammad, E-mail: malizadeh1987@ut.ac.ir [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2012-06-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Hydrogen peroxide improves the performance of electrocoagulation process. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer UV light can be effective on the performance on peroxi-electrocoagulation and electrocoagulation processes. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The optimal amount of hydrogen peroxide for peroxi-electrocoagulation process for COD removal from pharmaceutical wastewater is 300 mg/L. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The optimal values of pH for electrocoagulation and peroxi-electrocoagulation are 7 and 3, respectively. - Abstract: This work makes a comparison between electrocoagulation (EC), photoelectrocoagulation, peroxi-electrocoagulation and peroxi-photoelectrocoagulation processes to investigate the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) from pharmaceutical wastewater. The effects of operational parameters such as initial pH, current density, applied voltage, amount of hydrogen peroxide and electrolysis time on COD removal efficiency were investigated and the optimum operating range for each of these operating variables was experimentally determined. In electrocoagulation process, the optimum values of pH and voltage were determined to be 7 and 40 V, respectively. Desired pH and hydrogen peroxide concentration in the Fenton-based processes were found to be 3 and 300 mg/L, respectively. The amounts of COD, pH, electrical conductivity, temperature and total dissolved solids (TDS) were on-line monitored. Results indicated that under the optimum operating range for each process, the COD removal efficiency was in order of peroxi-electrocoagulation > peroxi-photoelectrocoagulation > photoelectrocoagulation > electrocoagulation. Finally, a kinetic study was carried out using the linear pseudo-second-order model and results showed that the pseudo-second-order equation provided the best correlation for the COD removal rate.

A multivariate analysis of Antarctic sea ice since 1979

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Magalhaes Neto, Newton de; Evangelista, Heitor [Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Uerj), LARAMG - Laboratorio de Radioecologia e Mudancas Globais, Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Tanizaki-Fonseca, Kenny [Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Uerj), LARAMG - Laboratorio de Radioecologia e Mudancas Globais, Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Dept. Analise Geoambiental, Inst. de Geociencias, Niteroi, RJ (Brazil); Penello Meirelles, Margareth Simoes [Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ)/Geomatica, Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Garcia, Carlos Eiras [Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Laboratorio de Oceanografia Fisica, Rio Grande, RS (Brazil)

2012-03-15

Recent satellite observations have shown an increase in the total extent of Antarctic sea ice, during periods when the atmosphere and oceans tend to be warmer surrounding a significant part of the continent. Despite an increase in total sea ice, regional analyses depict negative trends in the Bellingshausen-Amundsen Sea and positive trends in the Ross Sea. Although several climate parameters are believed to drive the formation of Antarctic sea ice and the local atmosphere, a descriptive mechanism that could trigger such differences in trends are still unknown. In this study we employed a multivariate analysis in order to identify the response of the Antarctic sea ice with respect to commonly utilized climate forcings/parameters, as follows: (1) The global air surface temperature, (2) The global sea surface temperature, (3) The atmospheric CO{sub 2} concentration, (4) The South Annular Mode, (5) The Nino 3, (6) The Nino (3 + 4, 7) The Nino 4, (8) The Southern Oscillation Index, (9) The Multivariate ENSO Index, (10) the Total Solar Irradiance, (11) The maximum O{sub 3} depletion area, and (12) The minimum O{sub 3} concentration over Antarctica. Our results indicate that western Antarctic sea ice is simultaneously impacted by several parameters; and that the minimum, mean, and maximum sea ice extent may respond to a separate set of climatic/geochemical parameters. (orig.)

PEMANFAATAN SPUIT BEKAS SEBAGAI MEDIA BIOFILTRASI DALAM MENURUNKAN KADAR BOD DAN COD AIR LIMBAH LAUNDRY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susilawati Susilawati

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract: Utilization Spuit Used As Media biofilters on Reducing levels of BOD and COD Wastewater Laundry. The aim of this study was to test the ability of the media syringe biofiltration method used in lowering levels of BOD and COD in waste water laundry Hospital Dr. Soedarso Pontianak. This research is a quasi-experimental research design with one group pretest-posttest. Laboratory results mean BOD levels before processing is 103.63 mg/L and the average after processing into 46.41 mg/ L, with a value of 55.21 % effectiveness. While the average COD level before processing is 413.70 mg / L and the average after processing into a 195.88 mg/L with a value of 45.92% effectiveness. Expected to other researchers to control the pH and blowers before treatment and during treatment, as it will affect the final result. Abstrak : Pemanfaatan Spuit Bekas Sebagai Media Biofiltrasi Dalam Menurunkan Kadar BOD dan COD Air Limbah Laundry. Tujuan dari penelitian ini untuk menguji kemampuan metode biofiltrasi dengan media spuit bekas pakai dalam menurunkan kadar BOD dan COD pada air limbah laundry RSUD Dr. Soedarso Pontianak. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian eksperimen semu dengan rancangan penelitian one group pre test post test. Hasil laboratorium rata-rata kadar BOD sebelum pengolahan yaitu 103.63 mg/L dan rata-rata setelah pengolahan menjadi 46.41 mg/L, dengan nilai efektivitas 55,21 %. Sedangkan rata-rata kadar COD sebelum pengolahan yaitu 413.70 mg/L dan rata-rata setelah pengolahan menjadi 195.88 mg/L dengan nilai efektivitas 45,92 %. Diharapkan kepada peneliti lain untuk mengontrol pH dan blower sebelum perlakuan dan pada saat perlakuan, jika melakukan penelitian sejenis karena akan mempengaruhi hasil akhir.

Antarctic climate variability on regional and continental scales over the last 2000 years

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Stenni

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Climate trends in the Antarctic region remain poorly characterized, owing to the brevity and scarcity of direct climate observations and the large magnitude of interannual to decadal-scale climate variability. Here, within the framework of the PAGES Antarctica2k working group, we build an enlarged database of ice core water stable isotope records from Antarctica, consisting of 112 records. We produce both unweighted and weighted isotopic (δ18O composites and temperature reconstructions since 0 CE, binned at 5- and 10-year resolution, for seven climatically distinct regions covering the Antarctic continent. Following earlier work of the Antarctica2k working group, we also produce composites and reconstructions for the broader regions of East Antarctica, West Antarctica and the whole continent. We use three methods for our temperature reconstructions: (i a temperature scaling based on the δ18O–temperature relationship output from an ECHAM5-wiso model simulation nudged to ERA-Interim atmospheric reanalyses from 1979 to 2013, and adjusted for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet region to borehole temperature data, (ii a temperature scaling of the isotopic normalized anomalies to the variance of the regional reanalysis temperature and (iii a composite-plus-scaling approach used in a previous continent-scale reconstruction of Antarctic temperature since 1 CE but applied to the new Antarctic ice core database. Our new reconstructions confirm a significant cooling trend from 0 to 1900 CE across all Antarctic regions where records extend back into the 1st millennium, with the exception of the Wilkes Land coast and Weddell Sea coast regions. Within this long-term cooling trend from 0 to 1900 CE, we find that the warmest period occurs between 300 and 1000 CE, and the coldest interval occurs from 1200 to 1900 CE. Since 1900 CE, significant warming trends are identified for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, the Dronning Maud Land coast and the

Ribosomal RNA gene sequences confirm that protistan endoparasite of larval cod Gadus morhua is Ichthyodinium sp

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skovgaard, Alf; Meyer, Stefan; Overton, Julia Lynne

2010-01-01

An enigmatic protistan endoparasite found in eggs and larvae of cod Gadus morhua and turbot Psetta maxima was isolated from Baltic cod larvae, and DNA was extracted for sequencing of the parasite's small Subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene. The endoparasite has previously been suggested...... to be related to Ichthyodinium chabelardi, a dinoflagellate-like protist that parasitizes yolk sacs of embryos and larvae of a variety of fish species. Comparison of a 1535 bp long fragment of the SSU rRNA gene of the cod endoparasite showed absolute identify with I. chabelardi, demonstrating that the 2...

Evaluation of chemical markers for age validation of western Baltic cod (Gadus morhua otoliths

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sven Stötera

2015-11-01

Baltic cod were intraperitoneally injected with the different chemicals and kept for 47 days in netpens. The lowest mortality and best ring formation was observed at 100mg/kg cod wet weight compared to 50 and 25mg/kg wet weight (TET only. Preliminary analysis suggests that the simultaneous injection of TET and STR decreases the visibility of TET-rings. This is probably due to a binding interaction between both markers in the body of the fish, so that less TET is bound in the otolith. The use of tetracycline hydrochloride in the concentrations of 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg fish were considered the most appropriate to mark Baltic cod for age validation in large-scale mark-recapture experiments. TET and STR should not be injected together.

The impact of CodY on virulence determinant production in community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Science.gov (United States)

Rivera, Frances E; Miller, Halie K; Kolar, Stacey L; Stevens, Stanley M; Shaw, Lindsey N

2012-01-01

Staphylococcus aureus is a leading human pathogen of both hospital and community-associated diseases worldwide. This organism causes a wealth of infections within the human host as a result of the vast arsenal of toxins encoded within its genome. Previous transcriptomic studies have shown that toxin production in S. aureus can be strongly impacted by the negative regulator CodY. CodY acts by directly, and indirectly (via Agr), repressing toxin production during times of plentiful nutrition. In this study, we use iTRAQ-based proteomics for the first time to study virulence determinant production in S. aureus, so as to correlate transcriptional observations with actual changes in protein synthesis. Using a codY mutant in the epidemic CA-MRSA clone USA300 we demonstrate that deletion of this transcription factor results in a major upregulation of toxin synthesis in both post-exponential and stationary growth. Specifically, we observe hyper-production of secreted proteases, leukocidins and hemolysins in both growth phases in the USA300 codY mutant. Our findings demonstrate the power of mass spectrometry-based quantitative proteomics for studying toxin production in S. aureus, and the importance of CodY to this central process in disease causation and infection. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Lichenysin production is improved in codY null Bacillus licheniformis by addition of precursor amino acids.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Chengjun; Xiao, Fang; Qiu, Yimin; Wang, Qin; He, Zhili; Chen, Shouwen

2017-08-01

Lichenysin is categorized into the family of lipopeptide biosurfactants and has a variety of applications in the petroleum industry, bioremediation, pharmaceuticals, and the food industry. Currently, large-scale production is limited due to the low yield. This study found that lichenysin production was repressed by supplementation of extracellular amino acids. The global transcriptional factor CodY was hypothesized to prevent lichenysin biosynthesis under an amino acid-rich condition in Bacillus licheniformis. Thus, the codY null strain was constructed, and lichenysin production was increased by 31.0% to 2356 mg/L with the addition of precursor amino acids, and the lichenysin production efficiency was improved by 42.8% to 98.2 mg/L• h. Correspondingly, the transcription levels of the lichenysin synthetase gene lchAA, and its corresponding regulator genes comA, degQ, and degU, were upregulated. Also, the codY deletion enhanced biosynthesis of lichenysin precursor amino acids (Gln, Ile, Leu, and Val) and reduced the formation of byproducts, acetate, acetoin, and 2,3-butanediol. This study firstly reported that lichenysin biosynthesis was negatively regulated by CodY and lichenysin production could be further improved with the precursor amino acid amendment in the codY null strain.

Leadership in politics and science within the Antarctic Treaty

OpenAIRE

John R. Dudeney; David W.H. Walton

2012-01-01

For over 50 years the Antarctic has been governed through the Antarctic Treaty, an international agreement now between 49 nations of whom 28 Consultative Parties (CPs) undertake the management role. Ostensibly, these Parties have qualified for their position on scientific grounds, though diplomacy also plays a major role. This paper uses counts of policy papers and science publications to assess the political and scientific outputs of all CPs over the last 18 years. We show that a subset of t...

North Atlantic ecosystem shifts revealed by cod otolith δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C chronologies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Jens Brøgger; Nielsen, Jens Munk; Steingrund, Petur

. To study the link between environmental changes and ecosystem trophic structure we developed δ15N and δ13C chronologies by analyzing the organic matrix of cod otoliths from the Faroe Shelf cod population (1950-2010) and the Nuuk Fjord cod population (1927-2009). Significant correlations between δ15N & δ13C...... of organic matrix of otolith core material (Nuuk Fjord) and annual growth increments in Ocean Quahog (A. Islandica) shells will be included.......Changes in climate and exploitation have caused large fluctuations in the productivity of many North Atlantic cod populations and the collapse of many cod fisheries. These fluctuations are most likely due to a combined effect of physical processes and changes in ecosystem trophic structure...

Use of existing hydrographic infrastructure to forecast the environmental spawning conditions for Eastern Baltic cod.

Science.gov (United States)

von Dewitz, Burkhard; Tamm, Susanne; Höflich, Katharina; Voss, Rüdiger; Hinrichsen, Hans-Harald

2018-01-01

The semi-enclosed nature and estuarine characteristics, together with its strongly alternating bathymetry, make the Baltic Sea prone to much stronger interannual variations in the abiotic environment, than other spawning habitats of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Processes determining salinity and oxygen conditions in the basins are influenced both by long term gradual climate change, e.g. global warming, but also by short-term meteorological variations and events. Specifically one main factor influencing cod spawning conditions, the advection of highly saline and well-oxygenated water masses from the North Sea, is observed in irregular frequencies and causes strong interannual variations in stock productivity. This study investigates the possibility to use the available hydrographic process knowledge to predict the annual spawning conditions for Eastern Baltic cod in its most important spawning ground, the Bornholm Basin, only by salinity measurements from a specific location in the western Baltic. Such a prediction could serve as an environmental early warning indicator to inform stock assessment and management. Here we used a hydrodynamic model to hindcast hydrographic property fields for the last 40+ years. High and significant correlations were found for months early in the year between the 33m salinity level in the Arkona Basin and the oxygen-dependent cod spawning environment in the Bornholm Basin. Direct prediction of the Eastern Baltic cod egg survival in the Bornholm Basin based on salinity values in the Arkona Basin at the 33 m depth level is shown to be possible for eggs spawned by mid-age and young females, which currently predominate the stock structure. We recommend to routinely perform short-term predictions of the Eastern Baltic cod spawning environment, in order to generate environmental information highly relevant for stock dynamics. Our statistical approach offers the opportunity to make best use of permanently existing infrastructure in the

Antarctic Meteorite Classification and Petrographic Database

Science.gov (United States)

Todd, Nancy S.; Satterwhite, C. E.; Righter, Kevin

2011-01-01

The Antarctic Meteorite collection, which is comprised of over 18,700 meteorites, is one of the largest collections of meteorites in the world. These meteorites have been collected since the late 1970's as part of a three-agency agreement between NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the Smithsonian Institution [1]. Samples collected each season are analyzed at NASA s Meteorite Lab and the Smithsonian Institution and results are published twice a year in the Antarctic Meteorite Newsletter, which has been in publication since 1978. Each newsletter lists the samples collected and processed and provides more in-depth details on selected samples of importance to the scientific community. Data about these meteorites is also published on the NASA Curation website [2] and made available through the Meteorite Classification Database allowing scientists to search by a variety of parameters

COD removal from pulp and paper effluents by Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOP); COD:n vaehentaeminen aop-menetelmaellae metsaeteollisuuden jaetevesistae - EKY 04

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jansson, K.; Wikberg, H. [Kemira Chemicals Oy, Vaasa (Finland)

1998-12-31

The aim of this project is to develop a process where COD from pulp and paper industry can be removed by an AOP process. AOP is a process utilizing the oxidation power of the hydroxyl radical, which can be produced in many different ways. Compared to evaporation and membrane techniques, the benefits of this process are lack of condense, concentrate and sludge. It is a very simple process, based on adjusting the COD removal by means of hydrogen peroxide dosage. The study focuses on using heterogeneous catalyst together with hydrogen peroxide to produce hydroxyl radicals in order to remove COD at low temperatures (< 100 deg C) and normal pressures. The project started by screening catalysts able to perform this task in laboratory scale. Later on pilot scale equipment will be constructed for use in pulp and paper mill trials. The project will be carried out during 1997-1999. The study started by screening the possibilities of different catalysts together with hydrogen peroxide to remove phenols from a model water. Sofar, about hundred catalysts have been screened. These tests show that many of the heterogeneous catalysts are working, but most of them have actually dissolved in the water and `translated` to homogenous catalysts. This means that they cannot be used in this project. A few catalysts have been found to meet the targets for synthetic phenol waters. Next step will be to test these catalysts on actual water samples from pulp and paper mills, and after that a pilot and full-scale trial will be planned. In these trials we will find out which mill streams are possible to treat, and the cost/performances of a system totally based on the catalyst in use. Also, measurements of catalyst leaching and clogging will be made during these tests. The last test series is planned to be a full-scale trial. (orig.)

COD removal from pulp and paper effluents by Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOP); COD:n vaehentaeminen aop-menetelmaellae metsaeteollisuuden jaetevesistae - EKY 04

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jansson, K; Wikberg, H [Kemira Chemicals Oy, Vaasa (Finland)

1999-12-31

The aim of this project is to develop a process where COD from pulp and paper industry can be removed by an AOP process. AOP is a process utilizing the oxidation power of the hydroxyl radical, which can be produced in many different ways. Compared to evaporation and membrane techniques, the benefits of this process are lack of condense, concentrate and sludge. It is a very simple process, based on adjusting the COD removal by means of hydrogen peroxide dosage. The study focuses on using heterogeneous catalyst together with hydrogen peroxide to produce hydroxyl radicals in order to remove COD at low temperatures (< 100 deg C) and normal pressures. The project started by screening catalysts able to perform this task in laboratory scale. Later on pilot scale equipment will be constructed for use in pulp and paper mill trials. The project will be carried out during 1997-1999. The study started by screening the possibilities of different catalysts together with hydrogen peroxide to remove phenols from a model water. Sofar, about hundred catalysts have been screened. These tests show that many of the heterogeneous catalysts are working, but most of them have actually dissolved in the water and `translated` to homogenous catalysts. This means that they cannot be used in this project. A few catalysts have been found to meet the targets for synthetic phenol waters. Next step will be to test these catalysts on actual water samples from pulp and paper mills, and after that a pilot and full-scale trial will be planned. In these trials we will find out which mill streams are possible to treat, and the cost/performances of a system totally based on the catalyst in use. Also, measurements of catalyst leaching and clogging will be made during these tests. The last test series is planned to be a full-scale trial. (orig.)

Regime shifts, resilience and recovery of a cod stock

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindegren, Martin; Diekmann, Rabea; Möllmann, Christian

2010-01-01

In the North and Baltic seas Atlantic cod Gadus morhua stocks collapsed as part or one of the major factors inducing large-scale ecosystem regime shifts. Determining the relative contribution of overfishing and climate variability in causing these shifts has proven difficult. While facing similar...

Arctic Climate Change: A Tale of Two Cod Species

Science.gov (United States)

Arctic cod play an important role in the Arctic trophic hierarchy as the consumer of primary productivity and a food source for many marine fish and mammals. Shifts in their distribution and abundance could have cascading affects in the marine environment. This paper investigates...

Review of western Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) recruitment dynamics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hüssy, Karin

2011-01-01

Important processes in the recruitment dynamics of western Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) are identified. Spawning areas are in the deep, saline waters below 20–40 m, depending on area topography. Spatial distribution remains relatively stable over time. Peak spawning shows an area-specific pattern...

Ecological forecasting under climate change: the case of Baltic cod

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindegren, Martin; Möllmann, Christian; Nielsen, Anders

2010-01-01

Good decision making for fisheries and marine ecosystems requires a capacity to anticipate the consequences of management under different scenarios of climate change. The necessary ecological forecasting calls for ecosystem-based models capable of integrating multiple drivers across trophic levels...... and properly including uncertainty. The methodology presented here assesses the combined impacts of climate and fishing on marine food-web dynamics and provides estimates of the confidence envelope of the forecasts. It is applied to cod (Gadus morhua) in the Baltic Sea, which is vulnerable to climate......-related decline in salinity owing to both direct and indirect effects (i.e. through species interactions) on early-life survival. A stochastic food web-model driven by regional climate scenarios is used to produce quantitative forecasts of cod dynamics in the twenty-first century. The forecasts show how...

Reducing COD level on oily effluent by utilizing biosurfactant-producing bacteria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela Franco Carvalho Jacobucci

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Two bacteria isolated from crude oil contaminated soil, Pantoea agglomerans and Planococcus citreus, produced biosurfactants utilizing 1.5% of kerosene and olive oil as the sole carbon sources, respectively. The bacteria and the biosurfactants produced were introduced to oily effluent, arising from margarine and soap industry. Emulsification activities were determined by increases in the absorbance of the oil-in-water emulsions at 610 nm, whereas the water-in-oil emulsions were expressed as the height (cm of the emulsion layers formed. The 72 h incubation experiment resulted in a COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand reduction of 76% with Planococcus citreus strain and 70% with Pantoea agglomerans.The COD reduction with bacterial biosurfactants was over 50% in 24 h of incubation. The COD reduction showed that these strains and the surfactants produced could be used in bioremediation processes.Duas bactérias isoladas de solo contaminado com derivados de petróleo, Pantoea agglomerans e Planococcus citreus, produzem biosurfactantes utilizando respectivamente 1.5% de querosene e óleo de oliva como únicas fontes de carbono. As bactérias e os biosurfactantes produzidos foram adicionados a um efluente oleoso obtido de uma indústria nacional de sabão e margarina. As atividades de emulsificação foram determinadas pelo aumento da absorbância das emulsões óleo em água a 610 nm, enquanto que as emulsões do tipo água em óleo foram expressas em centímetros, pela altura do halo de espumas formado. A redução da demanda química de oxigênio (COD mostra que as linhagens e os biosurfactantes produzidos podem ser utilizados em processos de biorremediação.

Escape windows to improve the size selectivity in the Baltic cod trawl fishery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Niels; Holst, René; Foldager, L.

2002-01-01

A rapid decrease of the stock of Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) has provided the incentive to improve the size selectivity in the trawl fishery. Use of escape windows is permitted in the legislation to give means of improving the size selectivity of cod as an alternative to a traditional standard codend....... The history of the use of escape windows in the Baltic Sea cod fishery is reviewed. The present escape windows do not function optimally. The objective of this new experiment was to compare an improved design of escape window, which is placed in the upper panel, with that of standard codend. Three standard...... of the codend selectivity was formulated to analyse the results and determine the effects of codend type, mesh size and other recorded variables. L50 and SR increased significantly with the mesh size. L50 was significantly increased and SR significantly reduced for a window codend with the same window mesh size...

The responses of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) to ultrasound-emitting predators: stress, behavioural changes or debilitation?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schack, H.B.; Malte, H.; Madsen, Peter Teglberg

2008-01-01

A previous study has reported that Atlantic cod can be conditioned to detect ultrasonic sound pulses of high intensity. This capability has been proposed as a mean for detection and avoidance of echolocating toothed whales that emit intense ultrasonic clicks. In this study, we use acoustic...... exposed to ultrasonic clicks and echosounder pulses with received levels of more than 204 dB re. 1 µPa (pp) did not elicit flight responses as seen in ultrasound detecting Alosinae. Furthermore, we tested the debilitating effects of high intensity ultrasound on swimming cod with no detected changes...... playbacks to test the hypotheses that unconditioned cod can detect and respond to intense ultrasound from toothed whales and from echosounders. Intense ultrasound exposure of 210 dB re. 1µPa (pp) did not cause a short-term stress response in the form of bradycardia in unconditioned cod. Free-swimming cod...

Relationships between chemical oxygen demand (COD) components and toxicity in a sequential anaerobic baffled reactor/aerobic completely stirred reactor system treating Kemicetine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sponza, Delia Teresa, E-mail: delya.sponza@deu.edu.tr [Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Dokuz Eyluel University, Buca Kaynaklar Campus, Tinaztepe, 35160 Izmir (Turkey); Demirden, Pinar, E-mail: pinar.demirden@kozagold.com [Environmental Engineer, Koza Gold Company, Environmental Department, Ovacik, Bergama Izmir (Turkey)

2010-04-15

In this study the interactions between toxicity removals and Kemicetine, COD removals, intermediate products of Kemicetine and COD components (CODs originating from slowly degradable organics, readily degradable organics, inert microbial products and from the inert compounds) were investigated in a sequential anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR)/aerobic completely stirred tank reactor (CSTR) system with a real pharmaceutical wastewater. The total COD and Kemicetine removal efficiencies were 98% and 100%, respectively, in the sequential ABR/CSTR systems. 2-Amino-1 (p-nitrophenil)-1,3 propanediol, l-p-amino phenyl, p-amino phenol and phenol were detected in the ABR as the main readily degradable inter-metabolites. In the anaerobic ABR reactor, the Kemicetin was converted to corresponding inter-metabolites and a substantial part of the COD was removed. In the aerobic CSTR reactor the inter-metabolites produced in the anaerobic reactor were completely removed and the COD remaining from the anerobic reactor was biodegraded. It was found that the COD originating from the readily degradable organics did not limit the anaerobic degradation process, while the CODs originating from the slowly degradable organics and from the inert microbial products significantly decreased the anaerobic ABR reactor performance. The acute toxicity test results indicated that the toxicity decreased from the influent to the effluent of the aerobic CSTR reactor. The ANOVA test statistics showed that there was a strong linear correlation between acute toxicity, CODs originating from the slowly degradable organics and inert microbial products. A weak correlation between acute toxicity and CODs originating from the inert compounds was detected.

Relationships between chemical oxygen demand (COD) components and toxicity in a sequential anaerobic baffled reactor/aerobic completely stirred reactor system treating Kemicetine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sponza, Delia Teresa; Demirden, Pinar

2010-01-01

In this study the interactions between toxicity removals and Kemicetine, COD removals, intermediate products of Kemicetine and COD components (CODs originating from slowly degradable organics, readily degradable organics, inert microbial products and from the inert compounds) were investigated in a sequential anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR)/aerobic completely stirred tank reactor (CSTR) system with a real pharmaceutical wastewater. The total COD and Kemicetine removal efficiencies were 98% and 100%, respectively, in the sequential ABR/CSTR systems. 2-Amino-1 (p-nitrophenil)-1,3 propanediol, l-p-amino phenyl, p-amino phenol and phenol were detected in the ABR as the main readily degradable inter-metabolites. In the anaerobic ABR reactor, the Kemicetin was converted to corresponding inter-metabolites and a substantial part of the COD was removed. In the aerobic CSTR reactor the inter-metabolites produced in the anaerobic reactor were completely removed and the COD remaining from the anerobic reactor was biodegraded. It was found that the COD originating from the readily degradable organics did not limit the anaerobic degradation process, while the CODs originating from the slowly degradable organics and from the inert microbial products significantly decreased the anaerobic ABR reactor performance. The acute toxicity test results indicated that the toxicity decreased from the influent to the effluent of the aerobic CSTR reactor. The ANOVA test statistics showed that there was a strong linear correlation between acute toxicity, CODs originating from the slowly degradable organics and inert microbial products. A weak correlation between acute toxicity and CODs originating from the inert compounds was detected.

The Effect of COD Concentration Containing Leaves Litter, Canteen and Composite Waste to the Performance of Solid Phase Microbial Fuel Cell (SMFC)

Science.gov (United States)

Samudro, Ganjar; Syafrudin; Nugraha, Winardi Dwi; Sutrisno, Endro; Priyambada, Ika Bagus; Muthi'ah, Hilma; Sinaga, Glory Natalia; Hakiem, Rahmat Tubagus

2018-02-01

This research is conducted to analyze and determine the optimum of COD concentration containing leaves litter, canteen and composite waste to power density and COD removal efficiency as the indicator of SMFC performance. COD as the one of organic matter parameters perform as substrate, nutrient and dominating the whole process of SMFC. Leaves litter and canteen based food waste were obtained from TPST UNDIP in Semarang and treated in SMFC reactor. Its reactor was designed 2 liter volume and equipped by homemade graphene electrodes that were utilized at the surface of organic waste as cathode and in a half of reactor height as anode. COD concentration was initially characterized and became variations of initial COD concentration. Waste volume was maintained 2/3 of volume of reactor. Bacteria sources as the important process factor in SMFC were obtained from river sediment which contain bacteroides and exoelectrogenic bacteria. Temperature and pH were not maintained while power density and COD concentration were periodically observed and measured during 44 days. The results showed that power density up to 4 mW/m2 and COD removal efficiency performance up to 70% were reached by leaves litter, canteen and composite waste at days 11 up to days 44 days. Leaves litter contain 16,567 mg COD/l providing higher COD removal efficiency reached approximately 87.67%, more stable power density reached approximately 4.71 mW/m2, and faster optimum time in the third day than canteen based food waste and composite waste. High COD removal efficiency has not yet resulted in high power density.

Degradation of ATP and glycogen in cod ( Gadus morhua ) muscle during freezing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cappeln, Gertrud; Jessen, Flemming

2001-01-01

Changes in ATP, IMP, lactate and glycogen contents in the muscle of cod were followed during freezing at temperatures of -20C and -45C. ATP degradation was accompanied by a corresponding increase in IMP content. Simultaneous measurement of temperature showed that at both freezing rates......, the greatest decrease in ATP content was observed when the temperature reached -0.8C. Glycolysis occurred during freezing of cod as indicated by an increase in lactate content. The changes found in all measured metabolites were more pronounced when freezing was performed at a slow rate compared to a fast rate...

Modelling and simulation of size selectivity in diamond mesh trawl cod-ends

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herrmann, Bent

of the fishing gear. The cod-end is the rearmost part of a trawl where catch accumulates and in which most of the size selection is known to take place. To date, the main method used to assess the selectivity of trawl cod-ends has been to run sea trials followed by statistical analysis of the obtained......Within many fisheries there is a widespread discard of fish. Furthermore, there are several fisheries where fish are caught before reaching the optimal size, leading to an adverse exploitation of the resources. One way to achieve a more optimal exploitation is to improve the size selectivity...

77 FR 59970 - Notice of November 14, 2012, Meeting for Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-01

... change Herring Cove Beach/revetment Climate Friendly Parks 6. Old Business National Seashore Law Enforcement Policies 7. New Business 8. Date and agenda for next meeting 9. Public comment and 10. Adjournment... Meeting of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission. DATES: The public meeting of the Cape Cod...

The Research on Elevation Change of Antarctic Ice Sheet Based on CRYOSAT-2 Alimeter

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Q.; Wan, J.; Liu, S.; Li, Y.

2018-04-01

In this paper, the Cryosat-2 altimeter data distributed by the ESA, and these data are processed to extract the information of the elevation change of the Antarctic ice sheet from 2010 to 2017. Firstly, the main pretreatment preprocessing for Cryosat-2 altimetry data is crossover adjustment and elimination of rough difference. Then the grid DEM of the Antarctic ice sheet was constructed by using the kriging interpolation method,and analyzed the spatial characteristic time characteristics of the Antarctic ice sheet. The latitude-weighted elevation can be obtained by using the elevation data of each cycle, and then the general trend of the Antarctic ice sheet elevation variation can be seen roughly.

Multi-decadal responses of a cod (Gadus morhua) population to human-induced trophic changes, fishing, and climate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eero, Margit; MacKenzie, Brian; Köster, Fritz

2011-01-01

to changes in fish populations can be analyzed with empirical data. In this study we investigate how climate variability and multiple human impacts (fishing, marine mammal hunting, eutrophication) have affected multi-decadal scale dynamics of cod in the Baltic Sea during the 20th century.We document...... significant climate-driven variations in cod recruitment production at multi-annual timescales, which had major impacts on population dynamics and the yields to commercial fisheries. We also quantify the roles of marine mammal predation, eutrophication, and exploitation on the development of the cod...

Effects of Technological Parameters and Fishing Ground on Quality Attributes of Thawed, Chilled Cod Fillets Stored in Modified Atmosphere Packaging

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bøknæs, Niels; Østerberg, Carsten; Sørensen, Rie

2001-01-01

. The parameters investigated were: (1) packaging in modified atmosphere during frozen storage, (2)frozen storage period and temperature, (3),fishing ground and chill storage temperature, together with (4) the addition of trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) and sodium chloride (NaCl) to cod fillets before freezing......Effects were studied of various technological parameters and fishing ground on quality attributes of thawed, chilled cod fillets stored in modified atmosphere packaging Frozen fillets of Baltic Sea and Barents Sea cod, representing two commercial fishing grounds, were used as raw material...... of Baltic Sea cod. Therefore, addition of trimethylamine oxide and NaCl to Baltic Sea cod fillets was evaluated and shown to protect P, phosphoreum against fro::en storage inactivation and this explained the observed differences in growth of the spoilage bacteria and trimethylamine production between thawed...

Dating Antarctic ice sheet collapse: Proposing a molecular genetic approach

Science.gov (United States)

Strugnell, Jan M.; Pedro, Joel B.; Wilson, Nerida G.

2018-01-01

Sea levels at the end of this century are projected to be 0.26-0.98 m higher than today. The upper end of this range, and even higher estimates, cannot be ruled out because of major uncertainties in the dynamic response of polar ice sheets to a warming climate. Here, we propose an ecological genetics approach that can provide insight into the past stability and configuration of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). We propose independent testing of the hypothesis that a trans-Antarctic seaway occurred at the last interglacial. Examination of the genomic signatures of bottom-dwelling marine species using the latest methods can provide an independent window into the integrity of the WAIS more than 100,000 years ago. Periods of connectivity facilitated by trans-Antarctic seaways could be revealed by dating coalescent events recorded in DNA. These methods allow alternative scenarios to be tested against a fit to genomic data. Ideal candidate taxa for this work would need to possess a circumpolar distribution, a benthic habitat, and some level of genetic structure indicated by phylogeographical investigation. The purpose of this perspective piece is to set out an ecological genetics method to help resolve when the West Antarctic Ice Shelf last collapsed.

A long term strategy for Antarctic tourism : The key to decision making within the Antarctic Treaty System?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bastmeijer, C.J.; Maher, P.; Stewart, E.; Lück, M.

2011-01-01

The fast increase of Antarctic tourism raises various management questions. Questions relating to the safety of tourists, questions regarding the interaction between science and tourism and questions relating to direct, indirect or cumulative affects on Antarctica's environment and wilderness

Historical Arctic and Antarctic Surface Observational Data

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This product consists of meteorological data from 105 Arctic weather stations and 137 Antarctic stations, extracted from the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)'s...

Compounds of parasitic roundworm absorbing in the visible region: target molecules for detection of roundworm in Atlantic cod.

Science.gov (United States)

Stormo, Svein K; Ernstsen, Arild; Nilsen, Heidi; Heia, Karsten; Sivertsen, Agnar H; Elvevoll, Edel

2004-07-01

The objective of this study was to contribute to the development of technology that will be able to replace manual operations in processing of fish fillets. Removal of parasites, black lining, remnants of skin, and bloodstains are costly and time-consuming operations to the fish processing industry. The presence of parasites in fish products tends to spoil consumers' appetites. Recent reports questioning the safety of eating cod infected with parasites might lower consumer acceptance of seafood. Presently, parasites are detected and removed manually. An average efficiency of about 75% under commercial conditions has been reported. In this study, we focused on biochemical differences between cod muscle and the prevalent anisakine nematode species (Anisakis simplex and Pseudoterranova decipiens) infecting Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Using reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography equipped with a photodiode array detector, substances absorbing in the range 300 to 600 nm were identified in extracts from parasite material. These substances were not detected in extracts from cod tissue. Significant biochemical differences between cod muscle and parasite material have thus been demonstrated.

Theoretical study of the influence of twine thickness on haddock selectivity in diamond mesh cod-ends

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herrmann, Bent; O'Neill, F.G.

2006-01-01

Using the cod-end simulation model PRESEMO, the influence of twine thickness on cod-end selectivity is investigated. The reduction of lateral mesh opening that arises as a result of both twine bending stiffness and the physical presence of the twine is considered. While it is shown that this lead...

First record of Babesia sp. in Antarctic penguins.

Science.gov (United States)

Montero, Estrella; González, Luis Miguel; Chaparro, Alberto; Benzal, Jesús; Bertellotti, Marcelo; Masero, José A; Colominas-Ciuró, Roger; Vidal, Virginia; Barbosa, Andrés

2016-04-01

This is the first reported case of Babesia sp. in Antarctic penguins, specifically a population of Chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica) in the Vapour Col penguin rookery in Deception Island, South Shetlands, Antarctica. We collected peripheral blood from 50 adult and 30 chick Chinstrap penguins. Examination of the samples by microscopy showed intraerythrocytic forms morphologically similar to other avian Babesia species in 12 Chinstrap penguin adults and seven chicks. The estimated parasitaemias ranged from 0.25×10(-2)% to 0.75×10(-2)%. Despite the low number of parasites found in blood smears, semi-nested PCR assays yielded a 274 bp fragment in 12 of the 19 positive blood samples found by microscopy. Sequencing revealed that the fragment was 97% similar to Babesia sp. 18S rRNA from Australian Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor) confirming presence of the parasite. Parasite prevalence estimated by microscopy in adults and chicks was higher (24% vs. 23.3%, respectively) than found by semi-nested PCR (16% vs. 13.3% respectively). Although sampled penguins were apparently healthy, the effect of Babesia infection in these penguins is unknown. The identification of Babesia sp. in Antarctic penguins is an important finding. Ixodes uriae, as the only tick species present in the Antarctic Peninsula, is the key to understanding the natural history of this parasite. Future work should address the transmission dynamics and pathogenicity of Babesia sp. in Chinstrap penguin as well as in other penguin species, such as Gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) and Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae), present within the tick distribution range in the Antarctic Peninsula. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Spatial structures in the heat budget of the Antarctic Atmospheric Boundary Layer

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Berg, W.J.; van den Broeke, M.R.; van Meijgaard, E.

2008-01-01

Output from the regional climate model RACMO2/ANT is used to calculate the heat budget of the Antarctic atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). The main feature of the wintertime Antarctic ABL is a persistent temperature deficit compared to the free atmosphere. The magnitude of this deficit is controlled

Testing oils in antarctic soils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leufkens, D.

2001-01-01

The resident seals, whales and penguins in Antarctica's Ross Sea region have only environmentally friendly ways of getting around. In contrast, wherever humans go in the Antarctic and whatever they do, be it research, tourism or fishing, they need fuel for their planes, icebreaker ships, land vehicles and generators. Because of this, petroleum hydrocarbons are the most likely source of pollution in the Antarctic. Accidental oil spills often occur near scientific stations, where storage and refuelling of aircraft and vehicles can result in spills. Spills also occur as a consequence of drilling activities. Dr Jackie Aislabie, a microbiologist from the New Zealand government's research company Landcare Research, is leading a program aimed at understanding how oil spills impact on Antarctic soils. The properties of pristine soils were compared with oil-contaminated soil at three locations: Scott Base, Marble Point and in the Wright Valley at Bull Pass. Soils in the Scott Base area are impacted by the establishment and continuous habitation of the base over 40 years, and a hydrocarbon-contaminated site was sampled near a former storage area for drums of mixed oils. Soil sampled from Marble Point was taken from near the old Marble Point camp, which was inhabited from 1957 to about 1963. Oil stains were visible on the soil surface, and are assumed to have been there for more than 30 years. The samples selected for analysis from the Wright Valley came from a spill site near Bull Pass that occurred during seismic bore-hole drilling activities in 1985. The contamination levels ranged from below detection to just over 29,000 μg/g of soil. Descriptions and analyse results are included into a Geographic Information System and associated soils database

Vigorous lateral export of the meltwater outflow from beneath an Antarctic ice shelf.

Science.gov (United States)

Garabato, Alberto C Naveira; Forryan, Alexander; Dutrieux, Pierre; Brannigan, Liam; Biddle, Louise C; Heywood, Karen J; Jenkins, Adrian; Firing, Yvonne L; Kimura, Satoshi

2017-02-09

The instability and accelerated melting of the Antarctic Ice Sheet are among the foremost elements of contemporary global climate change. The increased freshwater output from Antarctica is important in determining sea level rise, the fate of Antarctic sea ice and its effect on the Earth's albedo, ongoing changes in global deep-ocean ventilation, and the evolution of Southern Ocean ecosystems and carbon cycling. A key uncertainty in assessing and predicting the impacts of Antarctic Ice Sheet melting concerns the vertical distribution of the exported meltwater. This is usually represented by climate-scale models as a near-surface freshwater input to the ocean, yet measurements around Antarctica reveal the meltwater to be concentrated at deeper levels. Here we use observations of the turbulent properties of the meltwater outflows from beneath a rapidly melting Antarctic ice shelf to identify the mechanism responsible for the depth of the meltwater. We show that the initial ascent of the meltwater outflow from the ice shelf cavity triggers a centrifugal overturning instability that grows by extracting kinetic energy from the lateral shear of the background oceanic flow. The instability promotes vigorous lateral export, rapid dilution by turbulent mixing, and finally settling of meltwater at depth. We use an idealized ocean circulation model to show that this mechanism is relevant to a broad spectrum of Antarctic ice shelves. Our findings demonstrate that the mechanism producing meltwater at depth is a dynamically robust feature of Antarctic melting that should be incorporated into climate-scale models.

Effect of sludge retention time on continuous-flow system with enhanced biological phosphorus removal granules at different COD loading.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Dong; Lv, Yufeng; Zeng, Huiping; Zhang, Jie

2016-11-01

The effect of sludge retention time (SRT) on the continuous-flow system with enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) granules at different COD loading was investigated during the operation of more than 220days. And the results showed that when the system operated at long SRT (30days) and low COD loading (200mg·L(-1)), it could maintain excellent performance. However, long SRT and high COD loading (300mg·L(-1)) deteriorated the settling ability of granules and the performance of system and resulted in the overgrowth of filamentous bacteria. Meanwhile, the transformation of poly-β-hydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and glycogen in metabolism process was inhibited. Moreover, the results of pyrosequencing indicated that filamentous bacteria had a competitive advantage over polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) at high COD loading and long SRT. The PAOs specious of Candidatus_Accumlibater and system performance increased obviously when the SRT was reduced to 20days at high COD loading. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

222Rn in the Antarctic Peninsula during 1986

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pereira, E.B.; Setzer, A.W.; Cavalcanti, I.F.A.

1988-01-01

222 Rn was continuously measured at the Brazilian Antarctic Station (62 0 S, 58 0 W) during the year of 1986. Baseline radon concentration averaged 0.02 Bq.m -3 with surges peaking 0.4 Bq.m -3 . The data exhibited a characteristic periodicity of about 25 days and a strong positive association with short term fluctuations of atmospheric temperature. No seasonal variations of radon were observed. Interpretation of the radon surges with reference to synoptic charts and weather satellite pictures showed that the continental influence of radon at the Antarctic Peninsula is very small and comes only from the tip of the South American cone. (author)

Standing crop and growth rates of net phytoplankton and nanoplankton in Antarctic waters

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Goes, J.I.; Fondekar, S.P.; Parulekar, A.H.

stream_size 16 stream_content_type text/plain stream_name Proc_Workshop_Antarct_Stud_1990_419.pdf.txt stream_source_info Proc_Workshop_Antarct_Stud_1990_419.pdf.txt Content-Encoding ISO-8859-1 Content-Type text/plain; charset...

Living resources of Antarctic India's contribution to exploration and future plans for exploration

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Parulekar, A.H.

stream_size 7 stream_content_type text/plain stream_name Proc_Workshop_Antarct_Stud_1990_459.pdf.txt stream_source_info Proc_Workshop_Antarct_Stud_1990_459.pdf.txt Content-Encoding ISO-8859-1 Content-Type text/plain; charset...

Increasing intake of soybean protein or casein, but not cod meal, reduces nephrocalcinosis in female rats.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhang, X.; Beynen, A.C.

1992-01-01

Female weanling rats were fed diets with soybean protein, casein or cod meal at 171, 342 or 513 mmol nitrogen/100 g for 3 wk. The diets were isonitrogenous and balanced for fat, cholesterol, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. Cod meal feeding at 171 and 342 mmol nitrogen/100 g diet produced lower

APPLICATION OF ELECTROCHEMICAL METHODS FOR DECREASING OF CHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (COD AND TOTAL SUSPENDED SOLID (TSS OF TOFU INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suyata

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Tofu industrial wastewater has high COD and TSS level, which it cause an environmental pollution. Therefore, it is necessary to decrease the value of COD and TSS of tofu industrial wastewater before discharge into the water body. Decreasing of COD and TSS values can be carried out using an electrochemical method. The purpose of this research was to determine the effect of potential, electrode distance, pH, and time to decrease of COD and TSS value of the tofu industrial wastewater. The experiment has been performed by electrolysis tofu industrial wastewater using PbO2 as anode and Pb as cathode. The result of the research showed that under the optimum conditions of 12 V voltage, 1 cm electrode distance, pH 1, and electrolysis time of 120 minutes, decreasing COD and TSS of 96.33% and 87.87% respectively

Oceanographic influences on the distribution of Baltic cod, Gadus morhua , during spawning in the Bornholm Basin of the Baltic Sea

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tomkiewicz, Jonna; Lehmann, K.M.; St. John, Michael

1998-01-01

proportion of males to females. On the basin slopes, aggregations of cod were found near the bottom. These individuals were mainly immature and maturing stages with an increasing proportion of females to males with size. Salinity and oxygen conditions were found to be the major factors influencing...... the vertical and horizontal distribution of adult cod. Abundance of immature cod was also positively related to decreasing bottom depths. The effect of temperature was minor. The observed size- and sex-dependent spawning aggregation patterns, in association with habitat volume and stock size, may influence cod......The Baltic Sea is a stratified, semi-enclosed sea typified by a low-salinity surface layer and a deep saline layer of varying volume, salinity, temperature and oxygen concentration. The relationships between these oceanographic factors and the distribution of Baltic cod are presented, utilizing...

Balance of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet

Science.gov (United States)

2002-01-01

For several decades, measurements of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet showed it to be retreating rapidly. But new data derived from satellite-borne radar sensors show the ice sheet to be growing. Changing Antarctic ice sheets remains an area of high scientific interest, particularly in light of recent global warming concerns. These new findings are significant because scientists estimate that sea level would rise 5-6 meters (16-20 feet) if the ice sheet collapsed into the sea. Do these new measurements signal the end of the ice sheet's 10,000-year retreat? Or, are these new satellite data simply much more accurate than the sparse ice core and surface measurements that produced the previous estimates? Another possibility is that the ice accumulation may simply indicate that the ice sheet naturally expands and retreats in regular cycles. Cryologists will grapple with these questions, and many others, as they examine the new data. The image above depicts the region of West Antarctica where scientists measured ice speed. The fast-moving central ice streams are shown in red. Slower tributaries feeding the ice streams are shown in blue. Green areas depict slow-moving, stable areas. Thick black lines depict the areas that collect snowfall to feed their respective ice streams. Reference: Ian Joughin and Slawek Tulaczyk Science Jan 18 2002: 476-480. Image courtesy RADARSAT Antarctic Mapping Project

Isolation and characterization of Campylobacter spp. from Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) at Deception Island, Antarctica.

Science.gov (United States)

García-Peña, F J; Pérez-Boto, D; Jiménez, C; San Miguel, E; Echeita, A; Rengifo-Herrera, C; García-Párraga, D; Ortega-Mora, L M; Pedraza-Díaz, S

2010-09-01

The presence of Campylobacter spp. was investigated in 41 Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) and 9 Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) at Deception Island, Antarctica. Infections were encountered in six Antarctic fur seals. The isolates, the first reported from marine mammals in the Antarctic region, were identified as Campylobacter insulaenigrae and Campylobacter lari.

LIFE experiment: isolation of cryptoendolithic organisms from Antarctic colonized sandstone exposed to space and simulated Mars conditions on the international space station.

Science.gov (United States)

Scalzi, Giuliano; Selbmann, Laura; Zucconi, Laura; Rabbow, Elke; Horneck, Gerda; Albertano, Patrizia; Onofri, Silvano

2012-06-01

Desiccated Antarctic rocks colonized by cryptoendolithic communities were exposed on the International Space Station (ISS) to space and simulated Mars conditions (LiFE-Lichens and Fungi Experiment). After 1.5 years in space samples were retrieved, rehydrated and spread on different culture media. Colonies of a green alga and a pink-coloured fungus developed on Malt-Agar medium; they were isolated from a sample exposed to simulated Mars conditions beneath a 0.1 % T Suprasil neutral density filter and from a sample exposed to space vacuum without solar radiation exposure, respectively. None of the other flight samples showed any growth after incubation. The two organisms able to grow were identified at genus level by Small SubUnit (SSU) and Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) rDNA sequencing as Stichococcus sp. (green alga) and Acarospora sp. (lichenized fungal genus) respectively. The data in the present study provide experimental information on the possibility of eukaryotic life transfer from one planet to another by means of rocks and of survival in Mars environment.

The Evaluation of Removal Efficiency of COD Due to Water Contaminated by Gasoline by Granular Active Carbon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MH Salmani

2014-11-01

Conclusion: We can conclude from this study that the activated carbon is an appropriate adsorbent for decreasing of COD due to gasoline contamination in water. The use of this adsorbent can well decrease COD of water contamination due to gasoline at times of 30 min.

Glacial morphology and depositional sequences of the Antarctic Continental Shelf

Science.gov (United States)

ten Brink, Uri S.; Schneider, Christopher

1995-01-01

Proposes a simple model for the unusual depositional sequences and morphology of the Antarctic continental shelf. It considers the regional stratal geometry and the reversed morphology to be principally the results of time-integrated effects of glacial erosion and sedimentation related to the location of the ice grounding line. The model offers several guidelines for stratigraphic interpretation of the Antarctic shelf and a Northern Hemisphere shelf, both of which were subject to many glacial advances and retreats. -Authors

Satellite monitoring temperature conditions spawning area of the Northeast Arctic cod in the Norwegian Sea and assessment its abundance

Science.gov (United States)

Vanyushin, George; Bulatova, Tatiana; Klochkov, Dmitriy; Troshkov, Anatoliy; Kruzhalov, Michail

2013-04-01

In this study, the attempt to consider the relationship between sea surface anomalies of temperature (SST anomalies °C) in spawning area of the Norwegian Arctic cod off the Lofoten islands in coastal zone of the Norwegian Sea and modern cod total stock biomass including forecasting assessment of future cod generation success. Continuous long-term database of the sea surface temperature (SST) was created on the NOAA satellites data. Mean monthly SST and SST anomalies are computed for the selected area on the basis of the weekly SST maps for the period of 1998-2012. These maps were plotted with the satellite SST data, as well as information of vessels, byoies and coastal stations. All data were classified by spawning seasons (March-April) and years. The results indicate that poor and low middle generations of cod (2001, 2006, 2007) occurred in years with negative or extremely high positive anomalies in the spawning area. The SST anomalies in years which were close to normal or some more normal significances provide conditions for appearance strong or very strong generations of cod (1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009). Temperature conditions in concrete years influence on different indexes of cod directly. So, the mean temperature in spawning seasons in years 1999-2005 was ≈5,0°C and SST anomaly - +0,35°C, by the way average year significances indexes of cod were: total stock biomass - 1425,0 th.t., total spawning biomass - 460,0 th.t., recruitment (age 3+) - 535,0 mln. units and landings - 530,0 th.t. In spawning seasons 2006-2012 years the average data were following: mean SST ≈6,0°C, SST anomaly - +1,29°C, total stock biomass - 2185,0 th.t., total spawning biomass - 1211,0 th.t., recruitment (age 3+) - 821,0 mln. units and landings - 600,0 th.t. The SST and SST anomalies (the NOAA satellite data) characterize increase of decrease in input of warm Atlantic waters which form numerous eddies along the flows of the main warm currents thus creating

Correlation of COD and BOD of domestic wastewater with the power output of bioreactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khan, A M; Ataullah,; Shaheen, A; Ahmad, I; Malik, F; Shahid, H A [Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology, Gulshan-e-Iqbal Campus, University Road, Karachi-75300 (Pakistan). Research Laboratory of Bioenergy, Department of Chemistry

2011-04-15

This research article deals with the studies on the development of the correlation of COD, BOD, and BOD/sub 5/ of domestic wastewater (DWW), and fermented domestic wastewater (FDWW) with the power output of the microbial fuel cell (MFC). The fermentation of DWW was carried out with yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), and yogurt bacteria (Streptococcus lactis) to produce biohydrogen which was converted to the electrical energy through the development of microbial fuel cell (MFC). The values of COD, BOD, and BOD/sub 5/ for yogurt fermented domestic wastewater (Yogurt-FDWW) were found to be greater than the values of yeast fermented domestic wastewater (Yeast-FDWW). The power output of DWW and FDWW was increased with the increase in COD, BOD and BOD/sub 5/ values. The main objective of this article is to develop the renewable alternative of fossil fuels which are the major cause of global warming and global pollution. (author)

Correlation of COD and BOD of domestic wastewater with the power output of bioreactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, A.M.; Ataullah; Shaheen, A.; Ahmad, I.; Malik, F.; Shahid, H.A.

2011-01-01

This research article deals with the studies on the development of the correlation of COD, BOD, and BOD/sub 5/ of domestic wastewater (DWW), and fermented domestic wastewater (FDWW) with the power output of the microbial fuel cell (MFC). The fermentation of DWW was carried out with yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), and yogurt bacteria (Streptococcus lactis) to produce biohydrogen which was converted to the electrical energy through the development of microbial fuel cell (MFC). The values of COD, BOD, and BOD/sub 5/ for yogurt fermented domestic wastewater (Yogurt-FDWW) were found to be greater than the values of yeast fermented domestic wastewater (Yeast-FDWW). The power output of DWW and FDWW was increased with the increase in COD, BOD and BOD/sub 5/ values. The main objective of this article is to develop the renewable alternative of fossil fuels which are the major cause of global warming and global pollution. (author)

Report on field research of the Spanish Antarctic Campaign 2014/15: a cooperative international research project with the 56th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sakae Kudoh

2015-07-01

Full Text Available A study on the limnological and ecological characteristics of maritime Antarctic lakes on Byers Peninsula, Livingstone Island, South Shetland Islands, West Antarctica, was conducted by the Spanish Antarctic Research Campaign during the 2014/15 season, in cooperation with the research program of the 56th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition. Limnological surveys of three hillside lakes and three lagoons near beaches were conducted under conditions of heavy snow cover. Soils and biological samples in the catchment areas of the lakes and lagoons were also collected and analyzed. The hillside lakes were covered by thick ice and snow, which maintained winter water conditions in the lakes, such as irreversible stratification, oxygen depletion of bottom water, very weak underwater light conditions, etc., even in mid-January, although swimming zooplankton were abundant. Water samples were also collected in coastal lagoons and streams, an environment in which birds and marine mammals transport materials through the aquatic system.

Genome architecture enables local adaptation of Atlantic cod despite high connectivity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barth, Julia M I; Berg, Paul R; Jonsson, Per R.

2017-01-01

Adaptation to local conditions is a fundamental process in evolution; however, mechanisms maintaining local adaptation despite high gene flow are still poorly understood. Marine ecosystems provide a wide array of diverse habitats that frequently promote ecological adaptation even in species...... characterized by strong levels of gene flow. As one example, populations of the marine fish Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) are highly connected due to immense dispersal capabilities but nevertheless show local adaptation in several key traits. By combining population genomic analyses based on 12K single......-nucleotide polymorphisms with larval dispersal patterns inferred using a biophysical ocean model, we show that Atlantic cod individuals residing in sheltered estuarine habitats of Scandinavian fjords mainly belong to offshore oceanic populations with considerable connectivity between these diverse ecosystems. Nevertheless...

Structural Uncertainty in Antarctic sea ice simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, D. P.

2016-12-01

The inability of the vast majority of historical climate model simulations to reproduce the observed increase in Antarctic sea ice has motivated many studies about the quality of the observational record, the role of natural variability versus forced changes, and the possibility of missing or inadequate forcings in the models (such as freshwater discharge from thinning ice shelves or an inadequate magnitude of stratospheric ozone depletion). In this presentation I will highlight another source of uncertainty that has received comparatively little attention: Structural uncertainty, that is, the systematic uncertainty in simulated sea ice trends that arises from model physics and mean-state biases. Using two large ensembles of experiments from the Community Earth System Model (CESM), I will show that the model is predisposed towards producing negative Antarctic sea ice trends during 1979-present, and that this outcome is not simply because the model's decadal variability is out-of-synch with that in nature. In the "Tropical Pacific Pacemaker" ensemble, in which observed tropical Pacific SST anomalies are prescribed, the model produces very realistic atmospheric circulation trends over the Southern Ocean, yet the sea ice trend is negative in every ensemble member. However, if the ensemble-mean trend (commonly interpreted as the forced response) is removed, some ensemble members show a sea ice increase that is very similar to the observed. While this results does confirm the important role of natural variability, it also suggests a strong bias in the forced response. I will discuss the reasons for this systematic bias and explore possible remedies. This an important problem to solve because projections of 21st -Century changes in the Antarctic climate system (including ice sheet surface mass balance changes and related changes in the sea level budget) have a strong dependence on the mean state of and changes in the Antarctic sea ice cover. This problem is not unique to

Satellite magnetic anomalies of the Antarctic crust

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. E. Alsdorf

2000-06-01

Full Text Available Spatially and temporally static crustal magnetic anomalies are contaminated by static core field effects above spherical harmonic degree 12 and dynamic, large-amplitude external fields. To extract crustal magnetic anomalies from the measurements of NASA's Magsat mission, we separate crustal signals from both core and external field effects. In particular, we define Magsat anomalies relative to the degree 11 field and use spectral correlation theory to reduce them for external field effects. We obtain a model of Antarctic crustal thickness by comparing the region's terrain gravity effects to free-air gravity anomalies derived from the Earth Gravity Model 1996 (EGM96. To separate core and crustal magnetic effects, we obtain the pseudo-magnetic effect of the crustal thickness variations from their gravity effect via Poisson's theorem for correlative potentials. We compare the pseudo-magnetic effect of the crustal thickness variations to field differences between degrees 11 and 13 by spectral correlation analysis. We thus identify and remove possible residual core field effects in the Magsat anomalies relative to the degree 11 core field. The resultant anomalies reflect possible Antarctic contrasts due both to crustal thickness and intracrustal variations of magnetization. In addition, they provide important constraints on the geologic interpretation of aeromagnetic survey data, such as are available for the Weddell Province. These crustal anomalies also may be used to correct for long wavelength errors in regional compilations of near-surface magnetic survey data. However, the validity of these applications is limited by the poor quality of the Antarctic Magsat data that were obtained during austral Summer and Fall when south polar external field activity was maximum. Hence an important test and supplement for the Antarctic crustal Magsat anomaly map will be provided by the data from the recently launched Ørsted mission, which will yield coverage

Extreme late chronotypes and social jetlag challenged by Antarctic conditions in a population of university students from Uruguay.

Science.gov (United States)

Tassino, Bettina; Horta, Stefany; Santana, Noelia; Levandovski, Rosa; Silva, Ana

2016-01-01

In humans, a person's chronotype depends on environmental cues and on individual characteristics, with late chronotypes prevailing in youth. Social jetlag (SJL), the misalignment between an individual׳s biological clock and social time, is higher in late chronotypes. Strong SJL is expected in Uruguayan university students with morning class schedules and very late entertainment activities. Sleep disorders have been reported in Antarctic inhabitants, that might be a response to the extreme environment or to the strictness of Antarctic life. We evaluated, for the first time in Uruguay, the chronotypes and SJL of 17 undergraduate students of the First Uruguayan Summer School on Antarctic Research, using Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MCTQ) and sleep logs (SL) recorded during 3 phases: pre-Antarctic, Antarctic, and post-Antarctic. The midsleep point of free days corrected for sleep debt on work days (MSFsc,) was used as proxy of individuals' chronotype, whose values (around 6 a.m.) are the latest ever reported. We found a SJL of around 2 h in average, which correlated positively with MSFsc, confirming that late chronotypes generate a higher sleep debt during weekdays. Midsleep point and sleep duration significantly decreased between pre-Antarctic and Antarctic phases, and sleep duration rebounded to significant higher values in the post-Antarctic phase. Waking time, but not sleep onset time, significantly varied among phases. This evidence suggests that sleep schedules more likely depended on the social agenda than on the environmental light-dark shifts. High motivation of students towards Antarctic activities likely induced a subjective perception of welfare non-dependent on sleep duration.

Impact of water-accommodated fractions of crude oil on Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua following chronic exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, R.

2010-01-01

This study examined the long-term effects of hydrocarbon exposure on the gonadal development of fish. Mature Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) were exposed to low concentrations of water accommodated fractions (WAFs) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in an ambient flowthrough seawater system. Some PAH-exposed cod groups were depurated afterwards for 38 to 287 days. Mortality was rare, and external lesions occurred only in the PAH-exposed groups. The gonado-somatic index revealed that gonadal development was disrupted in both sexes and spawning and spermiation was delayed in the 33 depurated PAH-groups. The findings indicate that chronic exposure to WAFs in the water column may have an adverse effect on reproduction in Atlantic cod.

[Assessment of production of eggs of Eastern Baltic cod (Gadus morhua callarias L.) on the basis of long-term ichthyoplankton data].

Science.gov (United States)

Karaseva, E M

2011-01-01

Proceeding from long-term data on the numbers of eggs of cod in ichthyoplankton, the total annual production of cod eggs at four main spawning grounds of the Baltic Sea was calculated. It was shown that the long-term fluctuations of cod egg production were positively related to the dynamics of the volume of waters coming to the Baltic Sea in years of the North Sea advections. It is suggested that this dependence was determined by a set of adaptations providing the extension of cod reproduction upon the improvement of the environment.

Optimizing removal of cod from water by catalytic ozonation of cephalexin using response surface methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akhtar, J.; Amin, N.S.; Zahoor, M.K.

2013-01-01

Response surface methodology (RSM) has been used to optimize the effect of circulation rates, ozone supply, cephalexin (CEX) concentration, and granular activated carbon (GAC) dose on removal of COD from solution. According to statistical analysis, all of the input variables exerted significant influence on COD removal, however, the effect of interaction variables was not found to be significant on comparative basis. Further, the developed quadratic regression model based on obtained results emphasized the significance of individual terms and little of interaction terms. The values of r/sup 2/ (0.959), adjusted r/sup 2/ (0.902) obtained by analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicates the significance of quadratic model in predicting desired response. The maximum of 70% of COD was removed in these experiments and optimized value according to main effect of variables was 60%. (author)

Soils of Sub-Antarctic tundras: diversity and basic chemical characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Abakumov, Evgeny; Vlasov, Dmitry; Mukhametova, Nadezhda

2014-05-01

Antarctic peninsula is known as specific part of Antarctica, which is characterizes by humid and relatively warm climate of so-called sub Antarctic (maritime) zone. Annual precipitation and long above zero period provides the possibility of sustainable tundra's ecosystem formation. Therefore, the soil diversity of these tundra landscapes is maximal in the whole Antarctic. Moreover, the thickness of parent material debris's is also highest and achieves a 1 or 2 meters as highest. The presence of higher vascular plants Deshampsia antarctica which is considered as one of the main edificators provides the development of humus accumulation in upper solum. Penguins activity provides an intensive soil fertilization and development of plant communities with increased density. All these factors leads to formation of specific and quite diverse soil cover in sub Antarctic tundra's. These ecosystems are presented by following permafrost affected soils: Leptosols, Lithoosols, Crysols, Gleysols, Peats and Ornhitosols. Also the post Ornhitosols are widely spreaded in subantarcic ecosystems, they forms on the penguin rockeries during the plant succession development, leaching of nutrients and organic matter mineralization. "Amphibious" soils are specific for seasonal lakes, which evaporates in the end if Australian summer. These soils have specific features of bio sediments and soils as well. Soil chemical characteristic as well as organic matter features discussed in comparison with Antacrtic continental soil in presentation.

Modeling the Thermal Interactions of Meteorites Below the Antarctic Ice

Science.gov (United States)

Oldroyd, William Jared; Radebaugh, Jani; Stephens, Denise C.; Lorenz, Ralph; Harvey, Ralph; Karner, James

2017-10-01

Meteorites with high specific gravities, such as irons, appear to be underrepresented in Antarctic collections over the last 40 years. This underrepresentation is in comparison with observed meteorite falls, which are believed to represent the actual population of meteorites striking Earth. Meteorites on the Antarctic ice sheet absorb solar flux, possibly leading to downward tunneling into the ice, though observations of this in action are very limited. This descent is counteracted by ice sheet flow supporting the meteorites coupled with ablation near mountain margins, which helps to force meteorites towards the surface. Meteorites that both absorb adequate thermal energy and are sufficiently dense may instead reach a shallow equilibrium depth as downward melting overcomes upward forces during the Antarctic summer. Using a pyronometer, we have measured the incoming solar flux at multiple depths in two deep field sites in Antarctica, the Miller Range and Elephant Moraine. We compare these data with laboratory analogues and model the thermal and physical interactions between a variety of meteorites and their surroundings. Our Matlab code model will account for a wide range of parameters used to characterize meteorites in an Antarctic environment. We will present the results of our model along with depth estimates for several types of meteorites. The recovery of an additional population of heavy meteorites would increase our knowledge of the formation and composition of the solar system.

Daily Intake of Protein from Cod Residual Material Lowers Serum Concentrations of Nonesterified Fatty Acids in Overweight Healthy Adults: A Randomized Double-Blind Pilot Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iselin Vildmyren

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Improved process technologies have allowed fishing vessels to utilize residuals from cod fillet production (head, backbone, skin, cuttings, and entrails and convert this to high-quality protein powders for human consumption. In this double-blind pilot study, 42 healthy overweight or obese adults were randomized to three experimental groups consuming tablets corresponding to 6 g/day of proteins from cod residuals as presscake meal (Cod-PC, presscake and stickwater meal (Cod-PCW, or placebo tablets (control for eight weeks. The primary outcome of this study was changes in metabolites related to glucose regulation in overweight or obese healthy adults after intake of proteins from cod residuals. Cod-PC supplementation decreased postprandial serum nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA concentration and increased gene expressions of diglyceride acyltransferase 1 and 2 in subcutaneous adipose tissue compared with controls. Fasting insulin increased while fasting NEFA and 120-min postprandial glucose decreased within the Cod-PC group, but these changes did not differ from the other groups. In conclusion, supplementation with Cod-PC beneficially affected postprandial serum NEFA concentration compared with the other groups in overweight or obese adults. Supplementation with Cod-PCW, which contains a higher fraction of water-soluble protein compared to Cod-PC, did not affect serum markers of glucose regulation.

Low genetic diversity in Antarctic populations of the lichen-forming ascomycete Cetraria aculeata and its photobiont

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephanie Domaschke

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Lichens, symbiotic associations of fungi (mycobionts and green algae or cyanobacteria (photobionts, are poikilohydric organisms that are particularly well adapted to withstand adverse environmental conditions. Terrestrial ecosystems of the Antarctic are therefore largely dominated by lichens. The effects of global climate change are especially pronounced in the maritime Antarctic and it may be assumed that the lichen vegetation will profoundly change in the future. The genetic diversity of populations is closely correlated to their ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions and to their future evolutionary potential. In this study, we present evidence for low genetic diversity in Antarctic mycobiont and photobiont populations of the widespread lichen Cetraria aculeata. We compared between 110 and 219 DNA sequences from each of three gene loci for each symbiont. A total of 222 individuals from three Antarctic and nine antiboreal, temperate and Arctic populations were investigated. The mycobiont diversity is highest in Arctic populations, while the photobionts are most diverse in temperate regions. Photobiont diversity decreases significantly towards the Antarctic but less markedly towards the Arctic, indicating that ecological factors play a minor role in determining the diversity of Antarctic photobiont populations. Richness estimators calculated for the four geographical regions suggest that the low genetic diversity of Antarctic populations is not a sampling artefact. Cetraria aculeata appears to have diversified in the Arctic and subsequently expanded its range into the Southern Hemisphere. The reduced genetic diversity in the Antarctic is most likely due to founder effects during long-distance colonization.

Antarctic Glaciological Data at NSIDC: field data, temperature, and ice velocity

Science.gov (United States)

Bauer, R.; Bohlander, J.; Scambos, T.; Berthier, E.; Raup, B.; Scharfen, G.

2003-12-01

An extensive collection of many Antarctic glaciological parameters is available for the polar science community upon request. The National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs funds the Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC) at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) to archive and distribute Antarctic glaciological and cryospheric system data collected by the U.S. Antarctic Program. AGDC facilitates data exchange among Principal Investigators, preserves recently collected data useful to future research, gathers data sets from past research, and compiles continent-wide information useful for modeling and field work planning. Data sets are available via our web site, http://nsidc.org/agdc/. From here, users can access extensive documentation, citation information, locator maps, derived images and references, and the numerical data. More than 50 Antarctic scientists have contributed data to the archive. Among the compiled products distributed by AGDC are VELMAP and THERMAP. THERMAP is a compilation of over 600 shallow firn temperature measurements ('10-meter temperatures') collected since 1950. These data provide a record of mean annual temperature, and potentially hold a record of climate change on the continent. The data are represented with maps showing the traverse route, and include data sources, measurement technique, and additional measurements made at each site, i.e., snow density and accumulation. VELMAP is an archive of surface ice velocity measurements for the Antarctic Ice Sheet. The primary objective of VELMAP is to assemble a historic record of outlet glaciers and ice shelf ice motion over the Antarctic. The collection includes both PI-contributed measurements and data generated at NSIDC using Landsat and SPOT satellite imagery. Tabular data contain position, speed, bearing, and data quality information, and related references. Two new VELMAP data sets are highlighted: the Mertz Glacier and the Institute Ice Stream. Mertz Glacier ice

Hydroacoustic resolution of small-scale vertical distribution in Baltic cod Gadus morhua - habitat choise and limits during spawning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schaber, Matthias; Hinrichsen, Hans-Harald; Neuenfeldt, Stefan

2009-01-01

to cod. The results showed a clear influence of ambient salinity and oxygen concentration on the distribution pattern and distributional limitation of cod during spawning time, and also consistency of data storage tag-derived distribution patterns with those based on individual echotracking. We therefore...... and hence the spatial structure of the ecosystem. Our aim here is to present a method to resolve small-scale distribution on an individual level, as needed for the behaviorally-based prediction of habitat choice and limits. We focused on the small-scale vertical distribution of cod Gadus morhua L....... in the Bornholm Basin, central Baltic Sea, during spawning time in 2 years with different vertical thermohaline and oxygen stratifications. Individual cod were identified by echotracking of real-time in situ hydroacoustic distribution data. In order to resolve and identify hydrographic preferences and limits...

Can Antarctic lichens acclimatize to changes in temperature?

Science.gov (United States)

Colesie, Claudia; Büdel, Burkhard; Hurry, Vaughan; Green, Thomas George Allan

2018-03-01

The Antarctic Peninsula, a tundra biome dominated by lichens and bryophytes, is an ecozone undergoing rapid temperature shifts. Such changes may demand a high physiological plasticity of the local lichen species to maintain their role as key drivers in this pristine habitat. This study examines the response of net photosynthesis and respiration to increasing temperatures for three Antarctic lichen species with different ecological response amplitudes. We hypothesize that negative effects caused by increased temperatures can be mitigated by thermal acclimation of respiration and/or photosynthesis. The fully controlled growth chamber experiment simulated intermediate and extreme temperature increases over the time course of 6 weeks. Results showed that, in contrast to our hypothesis, none of the species was able to down-regulate temperature-driven respiratory losses through thermal acclimation of respiration. Instead, severe effects on photobiont vitality demonstrated that temperatures around 15°C mark the upper limit for the two species restricted to the Antarctic, and when mycobiont demands exceeded the photobiont capacity they could not survive within the lichen thallus. In contrast, the widespread lichen species was able to recover its homoeostasis by rapidly increasing net photosynthesis. We conclude that to understand the complete lichen response, acclimation processes of both symbionts, the photo- and the mycobiont, have to be evaluated separately. As a result, we postulate that any acclimation processes in lichen are species-specific. This, together with the high degree of response variability and sensitivity to temperature in different species that co-occur spatially close, complicates any predictions regarding future community composition in the Antarctic. Nevertheless, our results suggest that species with a broad ecological amplitude may be favoured with on-going changes in temperature. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Historical ecology provides new insights for ecosystem management: Eastern Baltic cod case study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

MacKenzie, Brian; Ojaveer, Henn; Eero, Margit

2011-01-01

A recent historical marine ecological case study (cod in the eastern Baltic Sea) is used to show how long-term data and knowledge of fluctuations can contribute to revisions of fishery management policy. The case study first developed new longer analytical time series of spawner biomass and recru......A recent historical marine ecological case study (cod in the eastern Baltic Sea) is used to show how long-term data and knowledge of fluctuations can contribute to revisions of fishery management policy. The case study first developed new longer analytical time series of spawner biomass...... catch data from the late 1500s to early 1600s also contributed new perspectives to cod population dynamics under alternative ecosystem forcings. These new perspectives have contributed, and will likely continue to contribute to new management policies (e.g., revision of fishery management reference...... points), which should lead to higher sustainability of the population and fishery yields, and improved overall ecosystem health. These perspectives will likely continue to provide baseline information as ICES and the EU develop new policies based on maximum sustainable yield concepts....

Could seals prevent cod recovery in the Baltic Sea?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

MacKenzie, Brian; Eero, Margit; Ojaveer, Henn

2011-01-01

Fish populations are increasingly affected by multiple human and natural impacts including exploitation, eutrophication, habitat alteration and climate change. As a result many collapsed populations may have to recover in ecosystems whose structure and functioning differ from those in which...... these goals will also depend on how climate change affects cod recruitment....

Vitamin D, cod-liver oil, sunlight, and rickets: a historical perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajakumar, Kumaravel

2003-08-01

Rickets, a disease of vitamin D deficiency, is rarely confronted by the practicing pediatrician in the United States today. At the turn of the 20th century, rickets was rampant among the poor children living in the industrialized and polluted northern cities of the United States. With the discovery of vitamin D and the delineation of the anti-rachitic properties of cod-liver oil by the 1930s, it became possible to not only treat but also eradicate rickets in the United States. Rickets was a common disease in 17th century England. Frances Glisson's treatise on rickets published in 1650, a glorious contribution to English medicine, described the clinical and anatomic features of rickets in great detail. The exact etiology of rickets had been elusive until the 1920s. During the Glissonian era, rickets was a mysterious disease. By the late 19th and early 20th century, faulty diet or faulty environment (poor hygiene, lack of fresh air and sunshine) or lack of exercise was implicated in its etiology. Animal experiments, appreciation of folklore advocating the benefits of cod-liver oil, and the geographical association of rickets to lack of sunshine were all relevant factors in the advancement of knowledge in the conquest of this malady. In this article, the history of rickets pertaining to the discovery of vitamin D, cod-liver oil, and sunlight is reviewed.

Chemical oxygen demand (cod) attenuation of methyl red in water ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Chemical oxygen demand (cod) attenuation of methyl red in water using biocarbons obtained from Nipa palm leaves. ... eco-friendly and locally accessible biocarbon for mitigation of organic contaminants in water. Keywords: Chemical oxygen demand, biocarbon, methyl red, biodegradation, bioremediation, Nipa palm ...

Treatment of coal gasification wastewater by a two-continuous UASB system with step-feed for COD and phenols removal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, W.; Han, H.J.; Yuan, M.; Li, H.Q.; Fang, F.; Wang, K. [Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin (China)

2011-05-15

A two-continuous mesophilic (37 {+-} 2{sup o}C) UASB system with step-feed was investigated as an attractive optimization strategy for enhancing COD and total phenols removal of the system and improving aerobic biodegradability of real coal gasification wastewater. Through the step-feed period, the maximum removal efficiencies of COD and total phenols reached 55-60% and 58-63% respectively in the system, at an influent flow distribution ratio of 0.2 and influent COD concentration of 2500 mg/L; the corresponding efficiencies were at low levels of 45-50% and 43-50% respectively at total HRT of 48 h during the single-feed period. The maximum specific methanogenic activity and substrate utilization rate were 592 {+-} 16 mg COD-CH{sub 4}/(gVSS d) and 89 {+-} 12 mg phenol/(gVSS d) during the step-feed operation. After the anaerobic digestion with step-feed, the aerobic effluent COD concentration decreased from 270 {+-} 9 to 215 {+-} 10 mg/L. The results suggested that step-feed enhanced the degradation of refractory organics in the second reactor.

Removal of colour and COD from wastewater containing acid blue 22 by electrochemical oxidation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Panizza, Marco [Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica e di Processo ' G.B. Bonino' , Universita degli Studi di Genova, p.le J.F. Kennedy 1, 16129 Genova (Italy)], E-mail: marco.panizza@unige.it; Cerisola, Giacomo [Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica e di Processo ' G.B. Bonino' , Universita degli Studi di Genova, p.le J.F. Kennedy 1, 16129 Genova (Italy)

2008-05-01

Electrochemical oxidation of synthetic wastewater containing acid blue 22 on a boron-doped diamond electrode (BDD) was studied, using cyclic voltammetry and bulk electrolysis. The influence of current density, dye concentration, flow rate, and temperature was investigated, in order to find the best conditions for COD and colour removal. It was found that, during oxidation, a polymeric film, causing BDD deactivation, was formed in the potential region of water stability, and that it was removed by anodic polarisation at high potentials in the region of O{sub 2} evolution. Bulk electrolysis results showed that the electrochemical process was suitable for completely removing COD and effectively decolourising wastewaters, due to the production of hydroxyl radicals on the diamond surface. In particular, under optimal experimental conditions of flow rates (i.e. 300 dm{sup 3} h{sup -1}) and current density (i.e. 20 mA cm{sup -2}), 97% of COD was removed in 12 h electrolysis, with 70 kWh m{sup -3}energy consumption.

Removal of colour and COD from wastewater containing acid blue 22 by electrochemical oxidation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Panizza, Marco; Cerisola, Giacomo

2008-01-01

Electrochemical oxidation of synthetic wastewater containing acid blue 22 on a boron-doped diamond electrode (BDD) was studied, using cyclic voltammetry and bulk electrolysis. The influence of current density, dye concentration, flow rate, and temperature was investigated, in order to find the best conditions for COD and colour removal. It was found that, during oxidation, a polymeric film, causing BDD deactivation, was formed in the potential region of water stability, and that it was removed by anodic polarisation at high potentials in the region of O 2 evolution. Bulk electrolysis results showed that the electrochemical process was suitable for completely removing COD and effectively decolourising wastewaters, due to the production of hydroxyl radicals on the diamond surface. In particular, under optimal experimental conditions of flow rates (i.e. 300 dm 3 h -1 ) and current density (i.e. 20 mA cm -2 ), 97% of COD was removed in 12 h electrolysis, with 70 kWh m -3 energy consumption

Improvement of COD and color removal from UASB treated poultry manure wastewater using Fenton's oxidation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yetilmezsoy, Kaan [Department of Environmental Engineering, Yildiz Technical University, 34349 Yildiz, Besiktas, Istanbul (Turkey)], E-mail: yetilmez@yildiz.edu.tr; Sakar, Suleyman [Department of Environmental Engineering, Yildiz Technical University, 34349 Yildiz, Besiktas, Istanbul (Turkey)

2008-03-01

The applicability of Fenton's oxidation as an advanced treatment for chemical oxygen demand (COD) and color removal from anaerobically treated poultry manure wastewater was investigated. The raw poultry manure wastewater, having a pH of 7.30 ({+-}0.2) and a total COD of 12,100 ({+-}910) mg/L was first treated in a 15.7 L of pilot-scale up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor. The UASB reactor was operated for 72 days at mesophilic conditions (32 {+-} 2 deg. C) in a temperature-controlled environment with three different hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 15.7, 12 and 8.0 days, and with organic loading rates (OLR) between 0.650 and 1.783 kg COD/(m{sup 3} day). Under 8.0 days of HRT, the UASB process showed a remarkable performance on total COD removal with a treatment efficiency of 90.7% at the day of 63. The anaerobically treated poultry manure wastewater was further treated by Fenton's oxidation process using Fe{sup 2+} and H{sub 2}O{sub 2} solutions. Batch tests were conducted on the UASB effluent samples to determine the optimum operating conditions including initial pH, effects of H{sub 2}O{sub 2} and Fe{sup 2+} dosages, and the ratio of H{sub 2}O{sub 2}/Fe{sup 2+}. Preliminary tests conducted with the dosages of 100 mg Fe{sup 2+}/L and 200 mg H{sub 2}O{sub 2}/L showed that optimal initial pH was 3.0 for both COD and color removal from the UASB effluent. On the basis of preliminary test results, effects of increasing dosages of Fe{sup 2+} and H{sub 2}O{sub 2} were investigated. Under the condition of 400 mg Fe{sup 2+}/L and 200 mg H{sub 2}O{sub 2}/L, removal efficiencies of residual COD and color were 88.7% and 80.9%, respectively. Under the subsequent condition of 100 mg Fe{sup 2+}/L and 1200 mg H{sub 2}O{sub 2}/L, 95% of residual COD and 95.7% of residual color were removed from the UASB effluent. Results of this experimental study obviously indicated that nearly 99.3% of COD of raw poultry manure wastewater could be effectively removed by a

Water - rock interaction in different rock environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamminen, S.

1995-01-01

The study assesses the groundwater geochemistry and geological environment of 44 study sites for radioactive waste disposal. Initially, the study sites were divided by rock type into 5 groups: (1) acid - intermediate rocks, (2) mafic - ultramafic rocks, (3) gabbros, amphibolites and gneisses that contain calc-silicate (skarn) rocks, (4) carbonates and (5) sandstones. Separate assessments are made of acid - intermediate plutonic rocks and of a subgroup that comprises migmatites, granite and mica gneiss. These all belong to the group of acid - intermediate rocks. Within the mafic -ultramafic rock group, a subgroup that comprises mafic - ultramafic plutonic rocks, serpentinites, mafic - ultramafic volcanic rocks and volcanic - sedimentary schists is also evaluated separately. Bedrock groundwaters are classified by their concentration of total dissolved solids as fresh, brackish, saline, strongly saline and brine-class groundwaters. (75 refs., 24 figs., 3 tabs.)

Antarctic Ice Sheet Slope and Aspect Based on Icesat's Repeat Orbit Measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, L.; Li, F.; Zhang, S.; Xie, S.; Xiao, F.; Zhu, T.; Zhang, Y.

2017-09-01

Accurate information of ice sheet surface slope is essential for estimating elevation change by satellite altimetry measurement. A study is carried out to recover surface slope of Antarctic ice sheet from Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) elevation measurements based on repeat orbits. ICESat provides repeat ground tracks within 200 meters in cross-track direction and 170 meters in along-track direction for most areas of Antarctic ice sheet. Both cross-track and along-track surface slopes could be obtained by adjacent repeat ground tracks. Combining those measurements yields a surface slope model with resolution of approximately 200 meters. An algorithm considering elevation change is developed to estimate the surface slope of Antarctic ice sheet. Three Antarctic Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) were used to calculate surface slopes. The surface slopes from DEMs are compared with estimates by using in situ GPS data in Dome A, the summit of Antarctic ice sheet. Our results reveal an average surface slope difference of 0.02 degree in Dome A. High resolution remote sensing images are also used in comparing the results derived from other DEMs and this paper. The comparison implies that our results have a slightly better coherence with GPS observation than results from DEMs, but our results provide more details and perform higher accuracy in coastal areas because of the higher resolution for ICESat measurements. Ice divides are estimated based on the aspect, and are weakly consistent with ice divides from other method in coastal regions.

Fuel oil and dispersant toxicity to the Antarctic sea urchin (Sterechinus neumayeri).

Science.gov (United States)

Alexander, Frances J; King, Catherine K; Reichelt-Brushett, Amanda J; Harrison, Peter L

2017-06-01

The risk of a major marine fuel spill in Antarctic waters is increasing, yet there are currently no standard or suitable response methods under extreme Antarctic conditions. Fuel dispersants may present a possible solution; however, little data exist on the toxicity of dispersants or fuels to Antarctic species, thereby preventing informed management decisions. Larval development toxicity tests using 3 life history stages of the Antarctic sea urchin (Sterechinus neumayeri) were completed to assess the toxicity of physically dispersed, chemically dispersed, and dispersant-only water-accommodated fractions (WAFs) of an intermediate fuel oil (IFO 180, BP) and the chemical dispersant Slickgone NS (Dasic International). Despite much lower total petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations, physically dispersed fuels contained higher proportions of low-to-intermediate weight carbon compounds and were generally at least an order of magnitude more toxic than chemically dispersed fuels. Based on concentrations that caused 50% abnormality (EC50) values, the embryonic unhatched blastula life stage was the least affected by fuels and dispersants, whereas the larval 4-armed pluteus stage was the most sensitive. The present study is the first to investigate the possible implications of the use of fuel dispersants for fuel spill response in Antarctica. The results indicate that the use of a fuel dispersant did not increase the hydrocarbon toxicity of IFO 180 to the early life stages of Antarctic sea urchins, relative to physical dispersal. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:1563-1571. © 2016 SETAC. © 2016 SETAC.

South African Antarctic earth science research programme

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

SASCAR

1984-02-01

Full Text Available This document describes the past, current and planned future South African earth science research programme in the Antarctic, Southern Ocean and subantarctic regions. The scientific programme comprises five components into which present and future...

Effect of produced water on cod (Gadus morhua) immune responses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamoutene, D.; Mabrouk, G.; Samuelson, S.; Mansour, A.; Lee, K. [Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, NS (Canada). Maritimes Region, Ocean Sciences Division; Volkoff, H.; Parrish, C. [Memorial Univ. of Newfoundland, St. John' s, NL (Canada); Mathieu, A. [Oceans Ltd., St. John' s, NL (Canada)

2007-07-01

Studies have shown that produced water (PW) discharged from North Sea offshore platforms affects the biota at greater distances from operational platforms than originally presumed. According to PW dispersion simulations, dilution by at least 240 times occurs within 50-100 m, and up to 9000 times by 20 km from the discharge. In this study, the effect of PW on cod immunity was investigated by exposing fish to 0, 100 ppm (x 10,000 dilution) or 200 ppm (x 500) of PW for 76 days. Immune responses were evaluated at the end of the exposure. Fish from the 3 groups were injected with Aeromonas salmonicida lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Blood cell observation and flow cytometry were used to investigate the serum cortisol levels and gill histology along with ratios and respiratory burst (RB) responses of both circulating and head-kidney white blood cells (WBCs). The study revealed that baseline immunity and stress response were not affected by PW, other than an irritant-induced change in gill cells found in treated cod. In all groups, LPS injection resulted in a pronounced decrease in RB of head-kidney cells and an increase in serum cortisol and protein levels. However, the group exposed to 200 ppm of PW exhibited the most significant changes. LPS injection was also shown to influence WBC ratios, but further studies are needed to determine if this impact is stronger in fish exposed to PW. This study suggested an effect of PW on cod immunity after immune challenge with LPS.

On the Antarctic Slope Front and Current crossing of the South Scotia Ridge

Science.gov (United States)

Orsi, A. H.; Palmer, M.; Gomis, D.; Flexas, M. M.; Kim, Y.-S.; Jordà, G.; Wiederwohl, C.; Álvarez, M.

2012-04-01

To unveil the contorted path followed by the Antarctic Slope Current connecting the Weddell and Scotia Seas, hydrographic stations with unprecedented spatial resolution were occupied on a series of sections across the slope and multiple channels in the double-pronged western portion of the South Scotia Ridge. Fieldwork consisted of two cruises from the ESASSI (January 2008) and ACROSS (February 2009) programs, the Spanish and USA/Argentina components of the International Polar Year core project SASSI (Synoptic Antarctic Shelf-Slope Interaction study). In this region the Antarctic Slope Current can be located by the pronounced in-shore deepening of isopycnals over the continental slope, rendering the strong subsurface temperature and salinity gradients characteristic of the Antarctic Slope Front. Before reaching the gaps in the southern Ridge near 51°W and 50°W, the ASC carries about 3 Sv of upper layer waters, but it splits into shallow and deep branches upon turning north through these two gaps. The shallower branch enters the Hesperides Trough at 51°W, then shows a tight cyclonic loop back to that longitude roughly following the slope's 700-m isobath, and turns again westward through a similar gap in the northern Ridge. In the Scotia Sea the westward-flowing Antarctic Slope Current is found as far west as the Elephant Island along slightly deeper levels of slope (1100 m) before it is blocked by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current south of the Shackleton Fracture Zone (56°W). The deeper branch of the ASC in the Powell Basin crosses the southern Ridge near 50°W and roughly follows the 1600-m isobath before entering the Scotia Sea through the Hesperides Gap farther to the east (49°W). Thereafter the deeper waters carried westward by this branch become undistinguishable from those circulating farther offshore. Repeat cross-slope sections at both southern and northern flanks of the South Scotia Ridge showed significant temporal variability in the characteristics

AFSC/REFM: Pacific cod genetics in the Aleutian Islands 2004-2007

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Landscape genetics of Pacific cod Gadus macrocephalus within the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) management area of Alaska was examined in samples from nine...

Effects of COD/N ratio on soluble microbial products in effluent from sequencing batch reactors and subsequent membrane fouling.

Science.gov (United States)

Ly, Quang Viet; Nghiem, Long D; Sibag, Mark; Maqbool, Tahir; Hur, Jin

2018-05-01

The relative ratios of chemical oxygen demand (COD) to nitrogen (N) in wastewater are known to have profound effects on the characteristics of soluble microbial products (SMP) from activated sludge. In this study, the changes in the SMP characteristics upon different COD/N ratios and the subsequent effects on ultrafiltration (UF) membrane fouling potentials were examined in sequencing batch reactors (SBR) using excitation emission matrix-parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC). Three unique fluorescent components were identified from the SMP samples in the bioreactors operated at the COD/N ratios of 100/10 (N rich), 100/5 (N medium), and 100/2 (N deficient). The tryptophan-like component (C1) was the most depleted at the N medium condition. Fulvic-like (C2) and humic-like (C3) components were more abundant with N rich wastewater. Greater abundances of large size biopolymer (BP) and low molecular weight neutrals (LMWN) were found under the N deficient and N rich conditions, respectively. SMPs from various COD/N exhibited a greater degree on membrane fouling following the order of 100/2 > 100/10 > 100/5. C1 and C2 had close associations with reversible and irreversible fouling, respectively, while the reversible fouling potential of C3 depended on the COD/N ratios. No significant impact of COD/N ratio was observed on the relative contributions of SMP size fractions to either reversible or irreversible fouling potential. However, the COD/N ratios likely altered the BP foulants' composition with greater contribution of proteinaceous substances to reversible fouling under the N deficient condition than at other N richer conditions. The opposite trend was observed for irreversible fouling. Our results provided further insight into changes in different SMP constitutes and their membrane fouling in response to microbial activities under different COD/N ratios. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Changes in glacier dynamics in the northern Antarctic Peninsula since 1985

Science.gov (United States)

Seehaus, Thorsten; Cook, Alison J.; Silva, Aline B.; Braun, Matthias

2018-02-01

The climatic conditions along the northern Antarctic Peninsula have shown significant changes within the last 50 years. Here we present a comprehensive analysis of temporally and spatially detailed observations of the changes in ice dynamics along both the east and west coastlines of the northern Antarctic Peninsula. Temporal evolutions of glacier area (1985-2015) and ice surface velocity (1992-2014) are derived from a broad multi-mission remote sensing database for 74 glacier basins on the northern Antarctic Peninsula ( disintegration showed the largest retreat by 208.59 km2. Glaciers on the east coast north of the former Prince Gustav Ice Shelf extent in 1986 receded by only 21.07 km2 (1985-2015) and decelerated by about 58 % on average (1992-2014). A dramatic acceleration after ice shelf disintegration with a subsequent deceleration is observed at most former ice shelf tributaries on the east coast, combined with a significant frontal retreat. In 2014, the flow speed of the former ice shelf tributaries was 26 % higher than before 1996. Along the west coast the average flow speeds of the glaciers increased by 41 %. However, the glaciers on the western Antarctic Peninsula revealed a strong spatial variability of the changes in ice dynamics. By applying a hierarchical cluster analysis, we show that this is associated with the geometric parameters of the individual glacier basins (hypsometric indexes, maximum surface elevation of the basin, flux gate to catchment size ratio). The heterogeneous spatial pattern of ice dynamic evolutions at the northern Antarctic Peninsula shows that temporally and spatially detailed observations as well as further monitoring are necessary to fully understand glacier change in regions with such strong topographic and climatic variances.

Male reproductive competition in spawning aggregations of cod ( Gadus morhua , L.)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bekkevold, Dorte; Hansen, Michael Møller; Loeschcke, V.

2002-01-01

Reproductive competition may lead to a large skew in reproductive success among individuals. Very few studies have analysed the paternity contribution of individual males in spawning aggregations of fish species with huge census population sizes. We quantified the variance in male reproductive...... success in spawning aggregations of cod under experimental conditions over an entire spawning season. Male reproductive success was estimated by microsatellite-based parentage analysis of offspring produced in six separate groups of spawning cod. In total, 1340 offspring and 102 spawnings distributed...... across a spawning season were analysed. Our results show that multiple males contributed sperm to most spawnings but that paternity frequencies were highly skewed among males, with larger males on average siring higher proportions of offspring. It was further indicated that male reproductive success...

Is there a distinct continental slope fauna in the Antarctic?

Science.gov (United States)

Kaiser, Stefanie; Griffiths, Huw J.; Barnes, David K. A.; Brandão, Simone N.; Brandt, Angelika; O'Brien, Philip E.

2011-02-01

The Antarctic continental slope spans the depths from the shelf break (usually between 500 and 1000 m) to ˜3000 m, is very steep, overlain by 'warm' (2-2.5 °C) Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW), and life there is poorly studied. This study investigates whether life on Antarctica's continental slope is essentially an extension of the shelf or the abyssal fauna, a transition zone between these or clearly distinct in its own right. Using data from several cruises to the Weddell Sea and Scotia Sea, including the ANDEEP (ANtarctic benthic DEEP-sea biodiversity, colonisation history and recent community patterns) I-III, BIOPEARL (BIOdiversity, Phylogeny, Evolution and Adaptive Radiation of Life in Antarctica) 1 and EASIZ (Ecology of the Antarctic Sea Ice Zone) II cruises as well as current databases (SOMBASE, SCAR-MarBIN), four different taxa were selected (i.e. cheilostome bryozoans, isopod and ostracod crustaceans and echinoid echinoderms) and two areas, the Weddell Sea and the Scotia Sea, to examine faunal composition, richness and affinities. The answer has important ramifications to the link between physical oceanography and ecology, and the potential of the slope to act as a refuge and resupply zone to the shelf during glaciations. Benthic samples were collected using Agassiz trawl, epibenthic sledge and Rauschert sled. By bathymetric definition, these data suggest that despite eurybathy in some of the groups examined and apparent similarity of physical conditions in the Antarctic, the shelf, slope and abyssal faunas were clearly separated in the Weddell Sea. However, no such separation of faunas was apparent in the Scotia Sea (except in echinoids). Using a geomorphological definition of the slope, shelf-slope-abyss similarity only changed significantly in the bryozoans. Our results did not support the presence of a homogenous and unique Antarctic slope fauna despite a high number of species being restricted to the slope. However, it remains the case that there may be

EVA: Evryscopes for the Arctic and Antarctic

Science.gov (United States)

Richichi, A.; Law, N.; Tasuya, O.; Fors, O.; Dennihy, E.; Carlberg, R.; Tuthill, P.; Ashley, M.; Soonthornthum, B.

2017-06-01

We are planning to build Evryscopes for the Arctic and Antarctic (EVA), which will enable the first ultra-wide-field, high-cadence sky survey to be conducted from both Poles. The system is based on the successful Evryscope concept, already installed and operating since 2015 at Cerro Tololo in Chile with the following characteristics: robotic operation, 8,000 square degrees simultaneous sky coverage, 2-minute cadence, milli-mag level photometric accuracy, pipelined data processing for real-time analysis and full data storage for off-line analysis. The initial location proposed for EVA is the PEARL station on Ellesmere island; later also an antarctic location shall be selected. The science goals enabled by this unique combination of almost full-sky coverage and high temporal cadence are numerous, and include among others ground-breaking forays in the fields of exoplanets, stellar variability, asteroseismology, supernovae and other transient events. The EVA polar locations will enable uninterrupted observations lasting in principle over weeks and months. EVA will be fully robotic. We discuss the EVA science drivers and expected results, and present the logistics and the outline of the project which is expected to have first light in the winter of 2018. The cost envelope can be kept very competitive thanks to R&D already employed for the CTIO Evryscope, to our experience with both Arctic and Antarctic locations, and to the use of off-the-shelf components.

The impact of tourists on Antarctic tardigrades: an ordination-based model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra J. McInnes

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Tardigrades are important members of the Antarctic biota yet little is known about their role in the soil fauna or whether they are affected by anthropogenic factors. The German Federal Environment Agency commissioned research to assess the impact of human activities on soil meiofauna at 14 localities along the Antarctic peninsula during the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 austral summers. We used ordination techniques to re-assess the block-sampling design used to compare areas of high and low human impact, to identify which of the sampled variables were biologically relevant and/or demonstrated an anthropogenic significance. We found the most significant differences between locations, reflecting local habitat and vegetation factor, rather than within-location anthropogenic impact. We noted no evidence of exotic imports but report on new maritime Antarctic sample sites and habitats.

Revisiting Antarctic Ozone Depletion

Science.gov (United States)

Grooß, Jens-Uwe; Tritscher, Ines; Müller, Rolf

2015-04-01

Antarctic ozone depletion is known for almost three decades and it has been well settled that it is caused by chlorine catalysed ozone depletion inside the polar vortex. However, there are still some details, which need to be clarified. In particular, there is a current debate on the relative importance of liquid aerosol and crystalline NAT and ice particles for chlorine activation. Particles have a threefold impact on polar chlorine chemistry, temporary removal of HNO3 from the gas-phase (uptake), permanent removal of HNO3 from the atmosphere (denitrification), and chlorine activation through heterogeneous reactions. We have performed simulations with the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS) employing a recently developed algorithm for saturation-dependent NAT nucleation for the Antarctic winters 2011 and 2012. The simulation results are compared with different satellite observations. With the help of these simulations, we investigate the role of the different processes responsible for chlorine activation and ozone depletion. Especially the sensitivity with respect to the particle type has been investigated. If temperatures are artificially forced to only allow cold binary liquid aerosol, the simulation still shows significant chlorine activation and ozone depletion. The results of the 3-D Chemical Transport Model CLaMS simulations differ from purely Lagrangian longtime trajectory box model simulations which indicates the importance of mixing processes.

A roadmap for Antarctic and Southern Ocean science for the next two decades and beyond

OpenAIRE

Kennicutt, M.C.; Chown, S.L.; Cassano, J.J.; Liggett, D.; Peck, L.S.; Massom, R.; Rintoul, S.R.; Storey, J.; Vaughan, D.G.; Wilson, T.J.; Allison, I.; Ayton, J.; Badhe, R.; Baeseman, J.; Barrett, P.J.

2015-01-01

Antarctic and Southern Ocean science is vital to understanding natural variability, the processes that govern global change and the role of humans in the Earth and climate system. The potential for new knowledge to be gained from future Antarctic science is substantial. Therefore, the international Antarctic community came together to ‘scan the horizon’ to identify the highest priority scientific questions that researchers should aspire to answer in the next two decades and beyond. Wide consu...

Origin of spherule samples recovered from antarctic ice sheet-Terrestrial or extraterrestrial?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sekimoto, Shun; Takamiya, Koichi; Shibata, Seiichi [Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University, Osaka (Japan); Kobayashi, Takayuki [College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University, Tokyo (Japan); Ebihara, Mitsuru [Dept. of Chemistry, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo (Japan)

2016-04-15

Thirty-eight spherules from the Antarctic ice sheet were analyzed using neutron activation analysis under two different conditions to investigate their origin. In almost all of these spherules, the contents of iron, cobalt, and manganese were determined to be 31% to 88%, 17 mg/kg to 810 mg/kg, and 0.017% to 7%, respectively. A detectable iridium content of 0.84 mg/kg was found in only one spherule, which was judged to be extraterrestrial in origin. A comparison of elemental compositions of the Antarctic spherules analyzed in this study with those of deep-sea sediment spherules and those of terrestrial materials revealed that most of the Antarctic spherules except for the sample in which iridium was detected could not be identified as extraterrestrial in origin.

Subsurface imaging reveals a confined aquifer beneath an ice-sealed Antarctic lake

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dugan, H. A.; Doran, P. T.; Tulaczyk, S.

2015-01-01

Liquid water oases are rare under extreme cold desert conditions found in the Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys. Here we report geophysical results that indicate that Lake Vida, one of the largest lakes in the region, is nearly frozen and underlain by widespread cryoconcentrated brine. A ground...... this zone to be a confined aquifer situated in sediments with a porosity of 23-42%. Discovery of this aquifer suggests that subsurface liquid water may be more pervasive in regions of continuous permafrost than previously thought and may represent an extensive habitat for microbial populations. Key Points...... Geophysical survey finds low resistivities beneath a lake in Antarctic Dry Valleys Liquid brine abundant beneath Antarctic lake Aquifer provides microbial refugium in cold desert environment...

German Antarctic Receiving Station (GARS) O'Higgins

Science.gov (United States)

Neidhardt, Alexander; Ploetz, Christian; Kluegel, Thomas

2013-01-01

In 2012, the German Antarctic Receiving Station (GARS) O'Higgins contributed to the IVS observing program with four observation sessions. Maintenance and upgrades were made, and a new replacement dewar is under construction in the observatory at Yebes, Spain.

Abundance, viability and culturability of Antarctic bacteria

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

LokaBharathi, P.A.; DeSouza, M.J.B.D.; Nair, S.; Chandramohan, D.

The viability of total number of bacteria decide the mineralisation rate in any ecosystem and ultimately the fertility of the region. This study aims at establishing the extent of viability in the standing stock of the Antarctic bacterial population...

Larval and small juvenile cod Gadus morhua concentrated in the highly productive areas of a shelf break front

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Munk, Peter; Larsson, P.O.; Danielsen, D.

1995-01-01

describe the identified nursery areas of larvae/juveniles and analyse the connection between the distribution of cod and hydrographical (frontal) characteristics of the areas. A total area of 67000 km(2) was covered by stations in a 10 x 10 nautical mile grid. Salinity, temperature, NO3+NO2 and chlorophyll...... part of the investigation area, and within the zone of the front we observed enhanced primary production and abundance of both phyto- and zooplankton. The distribution of larval and juvenile cod was also related to the hydrography, the abundance of cod peaked within a restricted zone...

Meltwater produced by wind–albedo interaction stored in an East Antarctic ice shelf

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lenaerts, JTM; Lhermitte, S.L.M.; Drews, R.; Ligtenberg, SRM; Berger, S.; Helm, V.; Smeets, C.J.P.P.; van den Broeke, MR; van de Berg, W.J.; van Meijgaard, E; Eijkelboom, M.; Eisen, O.; Pattyn, F.

2017-01-01

Surface melt and subsequent firn air depletion can ultimately lead to disintegration of Antarctic ice shelves1, 2 causing grounded glaciers to accelerate3 and sea level to rise. In the Antarctic Peninsula, foehn winds enhance melting near the grounding line4, which in the recent past has led to the

Nitrogen and COD removal from domestic and synthetic wastewater in subsurface-flow constructed wetlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Collison, R S; Grismer, M E

2013-09-01

Comparisons of the performance of constructed-wetland systems (CWs) for treating domestic wastewater in the laboratory and field may use pathogen-free synthetic wastewater to avoid regulatory health concerns. However, little to no data are available describing the relative treatment efficiencies of CWs to both actual and synthetic domestic wastewaters so as to enable such comparison. To fill this gap, treatment performances with respect to organics (chemical organic demand; COD) and nitrogen (ammonium and nitrate) removal from domestic (septic tank) and a similar-strength synthetic wastewater under planted and non-planted subsurface-flow CWs are determined. One pair of CWs was planted with cattails in May 2008, whereas the adjacent system was non-planted. Collected septic tank or synthesized wastewater was allowed to gravity feed each CWs, and effluent samples were collected and tested for COD and nitrogen species regularly during four different periods over six months. Overall, statistically significant greater removal of COD (-12%) and nitrogen (-5%) occurred from the synthetic as compared with the domestic wastewater from the planted and non-planted CWs. Effluent BOD5/COD ratios from the synthetic wastewater CWs averaged nearly twice that from the domestic wastewater CWs (0.17 vs 0.10), reflecting greater concentrations of readily degraded compounds. That removal fractions were consistent across the mid-range loading rates to the CWs suggests that the synthetic wastewater can be used in testing laboratory CWs with reasonable success in application of their results to the field.

Allometric relationships to liver tissue concentrations of cyclic volatile methyl siloxanes in Atlantic cod

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warner, Nicholas A.; Nøst, Therese H.; Andrade, Hector; Christensen, Guttorm

2014-01-01

Spatial distribution and relationship of allometric measurements (length, weight and age) to liver concentrations of cyclic volatile methyl siloxanes (cVMS) including octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4), decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) and dodecamethylcyclosiloxane (D6) in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) collected near the community of Tromsø in Northern Norway were assessed. These congeners were benchmarked against known persistent polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs 153 and 180) to assess accumulation behavior of cVMS. D5 was the dominate cVMS detected in all fish livers with lipid normalized concentrations up to 10 times or greater than those observed for PCB 153 and 180. D4 and D6 concentration were negatively correlated with fish length and weight, indicating a greater elimination capacity compared to uptake processes with increasing fish size for these chemicals. These results indicate relationships between allometric measurements and cVMS concentrations may account for concentration variations observed within fish and should be assessed in future studies evaluating cVMS bioaccumulation potential. - Highlights: • cVMS spatial distribution investigated within cod surrounding an Arctic community. • Highest cVMS concentrations detected in biota collected near human settlements. • Cod liver concentrations of D5 were higher compared to PCBs. • D4 and D6 liver concentrations were negatively correlated with fish length/weight. - Liver concentrations of cVMS congeners decreased with increasing fish length and weight in Atlantic cod collected near emission sources of cVMS

Antarctic macrobenthic communities: A compilation of circumpolar information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julian Gutt

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Comprehensive information on Antarctic macrobenthic community structure has been publicly available since the 1960s. It stems from trawl, dredge, grab, and corer samples as well as from direct and camera observations (Table 1–2. The quality of this information varies considerably; it consists of pure descriptions, figures for presence (absence and abundance of some key taxa or proxies for such parameters, e.g. sea-floor cover. Some data sets even cover a defined and complete proportion of the macrobenthos with further analyses on diversity and zoogeography. As a consequence the acquisition of data from approximately 90 different campaigns assembled here was not standardised. Nevertheless, it was possible to classify this broad variety of known macrobenthic assemblages to the best of expert knowledge (Gutt 2007; Fig. 1. This overview does not replace statistically sound community and diversity analyses. However, it shows from where which kind of information is available and it acts as an example of the feasibility and power of such data collections. The data set provides unique georeferenced biological basic information for the planning of future coordinated research activities, e.g. under the umbrella of the biology program “Antarctic Thresholds - Ecosystem Resilience and Adaptation” (AnT-ERA of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR and especially for actual conservation issues, e.g. the planning of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR.

Optimizing COD removal from greywater by photoelectro-persulfate process using Box-Behnken design: assessment of effluent quality and electrical energy consumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmadi, Mehdi; Ghanbari, Farshid

2016-10-01

Greywater (GW) is a potential source for water reuse in various applications. However, GW treatment is still a vital issue in water reuse in cases of environmental standards and risk to public health. This study investigates optimization and modeling of a hybrid process for COD removal from GW. Persulfate (PS) was simultaneously activated by electrogenerated ferrous ion (EC) and UV to generate sulfate radical. Photoelectro-persulfate (PEPS) was optimized by Box-Behnken design and the effects of four variables (pH, PS dosage, current density, and electrolysis time) were evaluated on COD removal. The results and several coefficients showed that the obtained model was acceptable for predicting the COD removal. Moreover, under optimum conditions (pH = 6.9, PS = 8.8 mM, current density = 2.0 mA/cm(2), and 49.3 min electrolysis time), BOD5, turbidity, TSS, phosphate, and UV254 were effectively removed and COD and BOD5 values reached to discharge standards. Different configurations of the processes were assessed for COD removal. The order of COD removal efficiency followed: PS electrical energy consumption was far less than that of photolysis process in hybrid PEPS process.

Co-distribution of seabirds and their polar cod prey near the ice edge in southern Baffin Bay

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

LeBlanc, Mathieu; Gauthier, S; Mosbech, Anders

species, and age-1 polar cod found in bird stomachs were likely individuals associated to ice. At a large scale of hundreds of kilometers, seabirds and age-0 polar cod were more abundant in ice-covered habitats (30 to 100% ice concentration). At medium and small scale of 12.5 and 1 km respectively...

78 FR 28000 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-13

... 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541), as amended by the Antarctic Science, Tourism and Conservation Act of 1996, has... facilities and equipment. Location Antarctic Peninsula region, ASPA 117-Avian Island, ASPA 128 Cape...

Fluorescence of muscle and connective tissue from cod and salmon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Charlotte Møller; Wold, J.P.

2003-01-01

Autofluorescence of salmon and cod muscle was measured and compared with autofluorescence of collagen type I and type V. Similarities between fluorescence of fish muscle and collagen were found in that the same peaks were obtained around 390, 430, and 480 nm, These similarities are supported...

Feasibility of Ocean Acoustic Waveguide Remote Sensing (OAWRS of Atlantic Cod with Seafloor Scattering Limitations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ankita D. Jain

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Recently reported declines in the population of Atlantic cod have led to calls for additional survey methods for stock assessments. In combination with conventional line-transect methods that may have ambiguities in sampling fish populations, Ocean Acoustic Waveguide Remote Sensing (OAWRS has been shown to have a potential for providing accurate stock assessments (Makris N.C., et al. Science 2009, 323, 1,734–1,737; 54th Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Workshop (54th SAW US Department of Commerce, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, 2012. The use of OAWRS technology enables instantaneous wide-area sensing of fish aggregations over thousands of square kilometers. The ratio of the intensity of scattered returns from fish versus the seafloor in any resolution cell typically determines the maximum fish detection range of OAWRS, which then is a function of fish population density, scattering amplitude and depth distribution, as well as the level of seafloor scattering. With the knowledge of oceanographic parameters, such as bathymetry, sound speed structure and attenuation, we find that a Rayleigh–Born volume scattering approach can be used to efficiently and accurately estimate seafloor scattering over wide areas. From hundreds of OAWRS measurements of seafloor scattering, we determine the Rayleigh–Born scattering amplitude of the seafloor, which we find has a ƒ2,4 frequency dependence below roughly 2 kHz in typical continental shelf environments along the US northeast coast. We then find that it is possible to robustly detect cod aggregations across frequencies at and near swim bladder resonance for observed spawningconfigurations along the U.S. northeast coast, roughly the two octave range 150–600 Hzfor water depths up to roughly 100 m. This frequency range is also optimal for long-rangeocean acoustic waveguide propagation, because it enables multimodal acoustic waveguidepropagation with minimal acoustic absorption and forward

Cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris JSC-6 with swine wastewater for simultaneous nutrient/COD removal and carbohydrate production.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yue; Guo, Wanqian; Yen, Hong-Wei; Ho, Shih-Hsin; Lo, Yung-Chung; Cheng, Chieh-Lun; Ren, Nanqi; Chang, Jo-Shu

2015-12-01

Swine wastewater, containing a high concentration of COD and ammonia nitrogen, is suitable for the growth of microalgae, leading to simultaneous COD/nutrients removal from the wastewater. In this study, an isolated carbohydrate-rich microalga Chlorella vulgaris JSC-6 was adopted to perform swine wastewater treatment. Nearly 60-70% COD removal and 40-90% NH3-N removal was achieved in the mixotrophic and heterotrophic culture, depending on the dilution ratio of the wastewater, while the highest removal percentage was obtained with 20-fold diluted wastewater. Mixotrophic cultivation by using fivefold diluted wastewater resulted in the highest biomass concentration of 3.96 g/L. The carbohydrate content of the microalga grown on the wastewater can reach up to 58% (per dry weight). The results indicated that the microalgae-based wastewater treatment can efficiently reduce the nutrients and COD level, and the resulting microalgal biomass had high carbohydrate content, thereby having potential applications for the fermentative production of biofuels or chemicals. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Performance of denitrifying microbial fuel cell subjected to variation in pH, COD concentration and external resistance.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jin-Tao; Zhang, Shao-Hui; Hua, Yu-Mei

2013-01-01

The effects of pH, chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration and external resistance on denitrifying microbial fuel cell were evaluated in terms of electricity generation characteristics and pollutant removal performance. The results showed that anodic influent with weakly alkaline or neutral pH and cathodic influent with weakly acidic pH favored pollutant removal and electricity generation. The suitable influent pH of the anode and cathode were found to be 7.5-8.0 and 6.0-6.5, respectively. In the presence of sufficient nitrate in the cathode, higher influent COD concentration led to more electricity generation and greater pollutant removal rates. With an anodic influent pH of 8.0 and a cathodic influent pH of 6.0, an influent COD concentration of 400 mg/L was deemed to be appropriate. Low external resistance favored nitrate and COD removal. The results suggest that operation of denitrifying microbial fuel cell at a lower external resistance would be desirable for pollutant removal but not electricity generation.

South African Antarctic research programme 1978-1982

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

SASCAR

1978-12-01

Full Text Available This document provides a comprehensive review of the planned South African scientific activities in Antarctica and on the sub-Antarctic islands in the five year period starting in 1978. The scientific programmes are classified under five headings...

On the Atmospheric Correction of Antarctic Airborne Hyperspectral Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Black

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The first airborne hyperspectral campaign in the Antarctic Peninsula region was carried out by the British Antarctic Survey and partners in February 2011. This paper presents an insight into the applicability of currently available radiative transfer modelling and atmospheric correction techniques for processing airborne hyperspectral data in this unique coastal Antarctic environment. Results from the Atmospheric and Topographic Correction version 4 (ATCOR-4 package reveal absolute reflectance values somewhat in line with laboratory measured spectra, with Root Mean Square Error (RMSE values of 5% in the visible near infrared (0.4–1 µm and 8% in the shortwave infrared (1–2.5 µm. Residual noise remains present due to the absorption by atmospheric gases and aerosols, but certain parts of the spectrum match laboratory measured features very well. This study demonstrates that commercially available packages for carrying out atmospheric correction are capable of correcting airborne hyperspectral data in the challenging environment present in Antarctica. However, it is anticipated that future results from atmospheric correction could be improved by measuring in situ atmospheric data to generate atmospheric profiles and aerosol models, or with the use of multiple ground targets for calibration and validation.

Submarine geology and geomorphology of active Sub-Antarctic volcanoes: Heard and McDonald Islands

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, S. J.; Coffin, M. F.; Whittaker, J. M.; Lucieer, V.; Fox, J. M.; Carey, R.; Arculus, R. J.; Bowie, A. R.; Chase, Z.; Robertson, R.; Martin, T.; Cooke, F.

2016-12-01

Heard and McDonald Islands (HIMI) are World Heritage listed sub-Antarctic active volcanic islands in the Southern Indian Ocean. Built atop the Kerguelen Plateau by Neogene-Quaternary volcanism, HIMI represent subaerial exposures of the second largest submarine Large Igneous Province globally. Onshore, processes influencing island evolution include glaciers, weathering, volcanism, vertical tectonics and mass-wasting (Duncan et al. 2016). Waters surrounding HIMI are largely uncharted, due to their remote location. Hence, the extent to which these same processes shape the submarine environment around HIMI has not been investigated. In early 2016, we conducted marine geophysical and geologic surveys around HIMI aboard RV Investigator (IN2016_V01). Results show that volcanic and sedimentary features prominently trend east-west, likely a result of erosion by the eastward flowing Antarctic Circumpolar Current and tidal currents. However, spatial patterns of submarine volcanism and sediment distribution differ substantially between the islands. >70 sea knolls surround McDonald Island suggesting substantial submarine volcanism. Geophysical data reveals hard volcanic seafloor around McDonald Island, whereas Heard Island is characterised by sedimentary sequences tens of meters or more thick and iceberg scours - indicative of glacial processes. Differences in submarine geomorphology are likely due to the active glaciation of Heard Island and differing rock types (Heard: alkali basalt, McDonald: phonolite), and dominant products (clastics vs. lava). Variations may also reflect different magmatic plumbing systems beneath the two active volcanoes (Heard produces larger volumes of more focused lava, whilst McDonald extrudes smaller volumes of more evolved lavas from multiple vents across the edifice). Using geophysical data, corroborated with new and existing geologic data, we present the first geomorphic map revealing the processes that shape the submarine environment around HIMI.

Effects of mixtures of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) derived from cod liver oil on H295R steroidogenesis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Montano, M.; Zimmer, K.E.; Dahl, E.; Berge, V.; Olsaker, I.; Skaare, J.U.; Murk, A.J.; Ropstad, E.; Verhaegen, S.

2011-01-01

Crude cod liver oil and liver oil supplements are consumed as a source of vitamin A, D and polyunsaturated fatty acids; during winter and early pregnancy. Crude cod liver oil however constitutes a considerable source of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). This paper aimed at characterizing and

Contracaecum osculatum and other anisakid nematodes in grey seals and cod in the Baltic Sea: molecular and ecological links.

Science.gov (United States)

Zuo, S; Kania, P W; Mehrdana, F; Marana, M H; Buchmann, K

2018-01-01

Populations of grey seals (Halichoerus grypus), sprats (Sprattus sprattus) and cod (Gadus morhua) in the Baltic Sea are relatively stationary. The present work, applying classical and molecular helminthological techniques, documents that seals and cod also share a common parasite, the anisakid nematode Contracaecum osculatum, which uses seals as the final host and fish as transport hosts. Sequencing mitochondrial genes (COX1 and COX2) in adult worms from seals and third-stage larvae from livers of Baltic fish (sprats and cod), showed that all gene variants occur in both seals and fish. Other anisakid nematodes Pseudoterranova decipiens and Anisakis simplex are also found in both seals and cod in the Baltic Sea, but at much lower rates. The Baltic grey seal population was left at a critically low level (comprising a few hundred individuals) during the latter part of the 20th century, but since the year 2000 a marked increase in the population has been observed, reaching more than 40,000 individuals at present. Ecological consequences of the increased seal abundance may result from increased predation on fish stocks, but recent evidence also points to the influence of elevated parasitism on fish performance. Contracaecum osculatum larvae preferentially infect the liver of Baltic cod, considered a vital organ of the host. Whereas low prevalences and intensities in cod were reported during the 1980s and 1990s, the present study documents 100% prevalence and a mean intensity of above 80 worms per fish. Recent studies have also indicated the zoonotic potential of C. osculatum larvae in fish, following the consumption of raw or under-cooked fish. Therefore the present work discusses the impact of parasitism on the cod stock and the increasing risk for consumer health, and lists possible solutions for control.

Evaluation of feed COD/sulfate ratio as a control criterion for the biological hydrogen sulfide production and lead precipitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Velasco, Antonio; Ramirez, Martha; Volke-Sepulveda, Tania; Gonzalez-Sanchez, Armando; Revah, Sergio

2008-01-01

The ability of sulfate-reducing bacteria to produce hydrogen sulfide and the high affinity of sulfide to react with divalent metallic cations represent an excellent option to remove heavy metals from wastewater. Different parameters have been proposed to control the hydrogen sulfide production by anaerobic bacteria, such as the organic and sulfate loading rates and the feed COD/SO 4 2- ratio. This work relates the feed COD/SO 4 2- ratio with the hydrogen sulfide production and dissolved lead precipitation, using ethanol as carbon and energy source in an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor. A maximum dissolved sulfide concentration of 470 ± 7 mg S/L was obtained at a feed COD/SO 4 2- ratio of 2.5, with sulfate and ethanol conversions of approximately 94 and 87%, respectively. The lowest dissolved sulfide concentration (145 ± 10 mg S/L) was observed with a feed COD/SO 4 2- ratio of 0.67. Substantial amounts of acetate (510-1730 mg/L) were produced and accumulated in the bioreactor from ethanol oxidation. Although only incomplete oxidation of ethanol to acetate was observed, the consortium was able to remove 99% of the dissolved lead (200 mg/L) with a feed COD/SO 4 2- ratio of 1.5. It was found that the feed COD/SO 4 2- ratio could be an adequate parameter to control the hydrogen sulfide production and the consequent precipitation of dissolved lead

The importance of predator–prey overlap: predicting North Sea cod recovery with a multispecies assessment model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kempf, Alexander; Dingsør, Gjert Endre; Huse, Geir

2010-01-01

The overlap between predator and prey is known as a sensitive parameter in multispecies assessment models for fish, and its parameterization is notoriously difficult. Overlap indices were derived from trawl surveys and used to parametrize the North Sea stochastic multispecies model. The effect...... of time-invariant and year- and quarter-specific overlap estimates on the historical (1991–2007) and predicted trophic interactions, as well as the development of predator and prey stocks, was investigated. The focus was set on a general comparison between single-species and multispecies forecasts...... and the sensitivity of the predicted development of North Sea cod for the two types of overlap implementation. The spatial–temporal overlap between cod and its predators increased with increasing temperature, indicating that foodweb processes might reduce the recovery potential of cod during warm periods...

Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Daily Antarctic Oscillation Index

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Antarctic Oscillation (AAO) is a leading teleconnection pattern in the Southern Hemisphere circulation. It is calculated as the first Empirical Orthogonal...

Climate Prediction Center(CPC)Monthly Antarctic Oscillation Index

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Antarctic Oscillation (AAO) is a leading teleconnection pattern in the Southern Hemisphere circulation. It is calculated as the first Empirical Orthogonal...

Lipid biomarkers : Linking the utilization of frontal plankton biomass to enhanced condition of juvenile North Sea cod

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

St. John, Michael; Lund, T.

1996-01-01

, hatched and the N1 nauplii from these different feeding regimes fed to post yolk-sac larval North Sea cod. Post yolk-sac larval cod required 8 d on either a Heterocapsa- or Skeletonema-based food chain before tracer Lipid signals (the ratio of the lipids 16:1 omega 7 to 16:0) in the larvae began to change...

Unexpectedly high ultrafine aerosol concentrations above East Antarctic sea-ice

Science.gov (United States)

Humphries, R. S.; Klekociuk, A. R.; Schofield, R.; Keywood, M.; Ward, J.; Wilson, S. R.

2015-10-01

The effect of aerosols on clouds and their radiative properties is one of the largest uncertainties in our understanding of radiative forcing. A recent study has concluded that better characterisation of pristine, natural aerosol processes leads to the largest reduction in these uncertainties. Antarctica, being far from anthropogenic activities, is an ideal location for the study of natural aerosol processes. Aerosol measurements in Antarctica are often limited to boundary layer air-masses at spatially sparse coastal and continental research stations, with only a handful of studies in the sea ice region. In this paper, the first observational study of sub-micron aerosols in the East Antarctic sea ice region is presented. Measurements were conducted aboard the ice-breaker Aurora Australis in spring 2012 and found that boundary layer condensation nuclei (CN3) concentrations exhibited a five-fold increase moving across the Polar Front, with mean Polar Cell concentrations of 1130 cm-3 - higher than any observed elsewhere in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean region. The absence of evidence for aerosol growth suggested that nucleation was unlikely to be local. Air parcel trajectories indicated significant influence from the free troposphere above the Antarctic continent, implicating this as the likely nucleation region for surface aerosol, a similar conclusion to previous Antarctic aerosol studies. The highest aerosol concentrations were found to correlate with low pressure systems, suggesting that the passage of cyclones provided an accelerated pathway, delivering air-masses quickly from the free-troposphere to the surface. After descent from the Antarctic free troposphere, trajectories suggest that sea ice boundary layer air-masses travelled equator-ward into the low albedo Southern Ocean region, transporting with them emissions and these aerosol nuclei where, after growth, may potentially impact on the region's radiative balance. The high aerosol concentrations and

78 FR 54686 - Notice of Permit Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-05

... the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541), as amended by the Antarctic Science, Tourism... of the ongoing effort to monitor the spatial scale of human impacts in Antarctica. Samples taken near...

Antarctic Lithosphere Studies: Progress, Problems and Promise

Science.gov (United States)

Dalziel, I. W. D.; Wilson, T. J.

2017-12-01

In the sixty years since the International Geophysical Year, studies of the Antarctic lithosphere have progressed from basic geological observations and sparse geophysical measurements to continental-scale datasets of radiometric dates, ice thickness, bedrock topography and characteristics, seismic imaging and potential fields. These have been augmented by data from increasingly dense broadband seismic and geodetic networks. The Antarctic lithosphere is known to have been an integral part, indeed a "keystone" of the Pangea ( 250-185Ma) and Gondwanaland ( 540-180 Ma) supercontinents. It is widely believed to have been part of hypothetical earlier supercontinents Rodinia ( 1.0-0.75 Ga) and Columbia (Nuna) ( 2.0-1.5 Ga). Despite the paucity of exposure in East Antarctica, the new potential field datasets have emboldened workers to extrapolate Precambrian geological provinces and structures from neighboring continents into Antarctica. Hence models of the configuration of Columbia and its evolution into Rodinia and Gondwana have been proposed, and rift-flank uplift superimposed on a Proterozoic orogenic root has been hypothesized to explain the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains. Mesozoic-Cenozoic rifting has imparted a strong imprint on the West Antarctic lithosphere. Seismic tomographic evidence reveals lateral variation in lithospheric thickness, with the thinnest zones within the West Antarctic rift system and underlying the Amundsen Sea Embayment. Upper mantle low velocity zones are extensive, with a deeper mantle velocity anomaly underlying Marie Byrd Land marking a possible mantle plume. Misfits between crustal motions measured by GPS and GIA model predictions can, in part, be linked with the changes in lithosphere thickness and mantle rheology. Unusually high uplift rates measured by GPS in the Amundsen region can be interpreted as the response of regions with thin lithosphere and weak mantle to late Holocene ice mass loss. Horizontal displacements across the TAM

Antarctic Ice-Sheet Mass Balance from Satellite Altimetry 1992 to 2001

Science.gov (United States)

Zwally, H. Jay; Brenner, Anita C.; Cornejo, Helen; Giovinetto, Mario; Saba, Jack L.; Yi, Donghui

2003-01-01

A major uncertainty in understanding the causes of the current rate of sea level rise is the potential contributions from mass imbalances of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Estimates of the current mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet are derived from surface- elevation changes obtained from 9 years of ERS - 1 & 2 radar altimeter data. Elevation time-series are created from altimeter crossovers among 90-day data periods on a 50 km grid to 81.5 S. The time series are fit with a multivariate linear/sinusoidal function to give the average rate of elevation change (dH/dt). On the major Rome-Filchner, Ross, and Amery ice shelves, the W d t are small or near zero. In contrast, the ice shelves of the Antarctic Peninsula and along the West Antarctic coast appear to be thinning significantly, with a 23 +/- 3 cm per year surface elevation decrease on the Larsen ice shelf and a 65 +/- 4 cm per year decrease on the Dotson ice shelf. On the grounded ice, significant elevation decreases are obtained over most of the drainage basins of the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers in West Antarctica and inland of Law Dome in East Antarctica. Significant elevation increases are observed within about 200 km of the coast around much of the rest of the ice sheet. Farther inland, the changes are a mixed pattern of increases and decreases with increases of a few centimeters per year at the highest elevations of the East Antarctic plateau. The derived elevation changes are combined with estimates of the bedrock uplift from several models to provide maps of ice thickness change. The ice thickness changes enable estimates of the ice mass balances for the major drainage basins, the overall mass balance, and the current contribution of the ice sheet to global sea level change.

75 FR 52478 - Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Reallocation of Pacific Cod in the Bering...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-26

... a timely fashion and would delay the reallocation of Pacific cod specified from trawl catcher... catcher vessel Pacific cod fishery is currently open, it is important to immediately inform the industry... and efficient operation of this fishery, to allow the industry to plan for the fishing season, and to...

76 FR 37763 - Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod Allocations in the Gulf of...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-28

...-AY53 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod Allocations in the Gulf of Alaska... the uncertainty regarding the distribution of Pacific cod catch, enhance stability among the sectors... available for public review and comment. The groundfish fisheries in the exclusive economic zone of the Gulf...

Performance of Anaerobic Baffled Reactor with Three Compartments in Removal of COD of Wastewater of Chilly Sauce

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sumantri Indro

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The objective in this study is to examine the performance of each compartment of the number of compartments of anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR to the COD removal of the chilly sauce wastewater. Three-compartments of ABR were conducted in this experiment with the total volume of 60 l. ABR is very suitable for processing waste water with high content of COD. Wastewater conducted in this research is a degradable chilly sauce synthetic and high content of organic compounds. While the COD parameter is the main parameter to indicate the achievement of wastewater treatment plant. Stepwise in the research starting with the preparation of raw materials such as sample preparation of synthetic wastewater and preparation of activated sludge. Variable used is the time digestion in the ABR, sludge volume (50% and 70%, and initial COD concentrations (6000 – 14000 mg/L. The response is observed up to 7 days process. For a load of organic compounds, the first compartment has high degree of decomposition of organic compounds than 2nd and 3rd, it is shown that the COD removal the second and third compartment increase insignificantly compare the first compartment. As for the different height of the activated sludge indicated that for organic load of of 6170 mg/L up to 14265 mg/L, the first compartment has removal efficiency 79-73%, in the second compartment is 81-75%, 81-77% and third compartment.

77 FR 50720 - Notice of Permit Modification Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-22

... Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541), as amended by the Antarctic Science, Tourism and..., bill and flipper dimensions taken, 3-5 feathers removed to confirm gender of the penguin, and have GPS...

78 FR 56743 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-13

... by the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541), as amended by the Antarctic Science... measure ablation and GPS units to monitor the motion of the glacier. The GPR system will be moved...

Regional Changes in the Sea Ice Cover and Ice Production in the Antarctic

Science.gov (United States)

Comiso, Josefino C.

2011-01-01

Coastal polynyas around the Antarctic continent have been regarded as sea ice factories because of high ice production rates in these regions. The observation of a positive trend in the extent of Antarctic sea ice during the satellite era has been intriguing in light of the observed rapid decline of the ice extent in the Arctic. The results of analysis of the time series of passive microwave data indicate large regional variability with the trends being strongly positive in the Ross Sea, strongly negative in the Bellingshausen/Amundsen Seas and close to zero in the other regions. The atmospheric circulation in the Antarctic is controlled mainly by the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and the marginal ice zone around the continent shows an alternating pattern of advance and retreat suggesting the presence of a propagating wave (called Antarctic Circumpolar Wave) around the circumpolar region. The results of analysis of the passive microwave data suggest that the positive trend in the Antarctic sea ice cover could be caused primarily by enhanced ice production in the Ross Sea that may be associated with more persistent and larger coastal polynyas in the region. Over the Ross Sea shelf, analysis of sea ice drift data from 1992 to 2008 yields a positive rate-of-increase in the net ice export of about 30,000 km2 per year. For a characteristic ice thickness of 0.6 m, this yields a volume transport of about 20 km3/year, which is almost identical, within error bars, to our estimate of the trend in ice production. In addition to the possibility of changes in SAM, modeling studies have also indicated that the ozone hole may have a role in that it causes the deepening of the lows in the western Antarctic region thereby causing strong winds to occur offthe Ross-ice shelf.

Degradation and COD removal of catechol in wastewater using the catalytic ozonation process combined with the cyclic rotating-bed biological reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Aghapour, Ali Ahmad; Moussavi, Gholamreza; Yaghmaeian, Kamyar

2015-07-01

The effect of ozonation catalyzed with MgO/granular activated carbon (MgO/GAC) composite as a pretreatment process on the performance of cyclic rotating-bed biological reactor (CRBR) for the catechol removal from wastewater has been investigated. CRBR with acclimated biomasses could efficiently remove catechol and its related COD from wastewater at organic loading rate (OLR) of 7.82 kg COD/m(3).d (HRT of 9 h). Then, OLR increased to 15.64 kg COD/m(3).d (HRT of 4.5 h) and CRBR failed. Catalytic ozonation process (COP) used as a pre-treatment and could improve the performance of the failed CRBR. The overall removal efficiency of the combined process attained respective steady states of 91% and 79% for degradation and COD removal of catechol. Therefore, the combined process is more effective in degradation and COD removal of catechol; it is also a viable alternative for upgrading industrial wastewater treatment plant. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Emerging spatial patterns in Antarctic prokaryotes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chun Wie eChong

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Recent advances in knowledge of patterns of biogeography in terrestrial eukaryotic organisms have led to a fundamental paradigm shift in understanding of the controls and history of life on land in Antarctica, and its interactions over the long term with the glaciological and geological processes that have shaped the continent. However, while it has long been recognized that the terrestrial ecosystems of Antarctica are dominated by microbes and their processes, knowledge of microbial diversity and distributions has lagged far behind that of the macroscopic eukaryote organisms. Increasing human contact with and activity in the continent is leading to risks of biological contamination and change in a region whose isolation has protected it for millions of years at least; these risks may be particularly acute for microbial communities which have, as yet, received scant recognition and attention. Even a matter apparently as straightforward as Protected Area designation in Antarctica requires robust biodiversity data which, in most parts of the continent, remain almost completely unavailable. A range of important contributing factors mean that it is now timely to reconsider the state of knowledge of Antarctic terrestrial prokaryotes. Rapid advances in molecular biological approaches are increasingly demonstrating that bacterial diversity in Antarctica may be far greater than previously thought, and that there is overlap in the environmental controls affecting both Antarctic prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities. Bacterial dispersal mechanisms and colonization patterns remain largely unaddressed, although evidence for regional evolutionary differentiation is rapidly accruing and, with this, there is increasing appreciation of patterns in regional bacterial biogeography in this large part of the globe. In this review, we set out to describe the state of knowledge of Antarctic prokaryote diversity patterns, drawing analogy with those of eukaryote

Expanding Antarctic Sea Ice: Anthropogenic or Natural Variability?

Science.gov (United States)

Bitz, C. M.

2016-12-01

Antarctic sea ice extent has increased over the last 36 years according to the satellite record. Concurrent with Antarctic sea-ice expansion has been broad cooling of the Southern Ocean sea-surface temperature. Not only are Southern Ocean sea ice and SST trends at odds with expectations from greenhouse gas-induced warming, the trend patterns are not reproduced in historical simulations with comprehensive global climate models. While a variety of different factors may have contributed to the observed trends in recent decades, we propose that it is atmospheric circulation changes - and the changes in ocean circulation they induce - that have emerged as the most likely cause of the observed Southern Ocean sea ice and SST trends. I will discuss deficiencies in models that could explain their incorrect response. In addition, I will present results from a series of experiments where the Antarctic sea ice and ocean are forced by atmospheric perturbations imposed within a coupled climate model. Figure caption: Linear trends of annual-mean SST (left) and annual-mean sea-ice concentration (right) over 1980-2014. SST is from NOAA's Optimum Interpolation SST dataset (version 2; Reynolds et al. 2002). Sea-ice concentration is from passive microwave observations using the NASA Team algorithm. Only the annual means are shown here for brevity and because the signal to noise is greater than in the seasonal means. Figure from Armour and Bitz (2015).

75 FR 62891 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-13

... requiring special protection. The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic... Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National...

76 FR 52354 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-22

... requiring special protection. The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic... Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National...

77 FR 56237 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-12

... protection. The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic Specially Protected Areas... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic... Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National...

75 FR 61520 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-05

... protection. The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic Specially Protected Areas... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic... Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National...

75 FR 60830 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... protection. The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic Specially Protected Areas... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic... Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National...

76 FR 58049 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-19

... protection. The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic Specially Protected Areas... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic... Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National...

75 FR 75501 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-03

... requiring special protection. The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic... applications received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National...

75 FR 25300 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-07

... protection. The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic Specially Protected Areas... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic... Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National...

77 FR 31044 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-24

... protection. The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic Specially Protected Areas... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic... Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National...

75 FR 6222 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-08

... protection. The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic Specially Protected Areas... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic... Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National...

76 FR 58843 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-22

... requiring special protection. The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic... Applications Received under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, Public Law 95-541. SUMMARY: The National...

The effect of external dummy transmitters on oxygen consumption and performance of swimming Atlantic cod

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Steinhausen, M.F.; Andersen, Niels Gerner; Steffensen, J.F.

2006-01-01

Decreased critical swimming speed and increased oxygen consumption (Mo-2) was found for externally tagged Atlantic cod Gadus morhua swimming at a high speed of 0 center dot 9 body length (total length, L-Gamma) s(-1). No difference was found in the standard metabolic rate, indicating...... that the higher Mo-2 for tagged cod was due to drag force rather than increased costs to keep buoyancy. (c) 2006 The Authors Journal compilation (c) 2006 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles....

76 FR 44699 - Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod Allocations in the Gulf of...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-26

... Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Parts 679 and 680 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska... 0648-AY53 Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod Allocations in the Gulf of... competition among sectors and support stability in the Pacific cod fishery. This rule would also limit access...

CodY Regulates Thiol Peroxidase Expression as Part of the Pneumococcal Defense Mechanism against H2O2 Stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Hajaj, Barak; Yesilkaya, Hasan; Shafeeq, Sulman; Zhi, Xiangyun; Benisty, Rachel; Tchalah, Shiran; Kuipers, Oscar P; Porat, Nurith

2017-01-01

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a facultative anaerobic pathogen. Although it maintains fermentative metabolism, during aerobic growth pneumococci produce high levels of H 2 O 2 , which can have adverse effects on cell viability and DNA, and influence pneumococcal interaction with its host. The pneumococcus is unusual in its dealing with toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) in that it neither has catalase nor the global regulators of peroxide stress resistance. Previously, we identified pneumococcal thiol peroxidase (TpxD) as the key enzyme for enzymatic removal of H 2 O 2 , and showed that TpxD synthesis is up-regulated upon exposure to H 2 O 2 . This study aimed to reveal the mechanism controlling TpxD expression under H 2 O 2 stress. We hypothesize that H 2 O 2 activates a transcription factor which in turn up-regulates tpxD expression. Microarray analysis revealed a pneumococcal global transcriptional response to H 2 O 2 . Mutation of tpxD abolished H 2 O 2 -mediated response to high H 2 O 2 levels, signifying the need for an active TpxD under oxidative stress conditions. Bioinformatic tools, applied to search for a transcription factor modulating tpxD expression, pointed toward CodY as a potential candidate. Indeed, a putative 15-bp consensus CodY binding site was found in the proximal region of tpxD- coding sequence. Binding of CodY to this site was confirmed by EMSA, and genetic engineering techniques demonstrated that this site is essential for TpxD up-regulation under H 2 O 2 stress. Furthermore, tpxD expression was reduced in a Δ codY mutant. These data indicate that CodY is an activator of tpxD expression, triggering its up-regulation under H 2 O 2 stress. In addition we show that H 2 O 2 specifically oxidizes the 2 CodY cysteines. This oxidation may trigger a conformational change in CodY, resulting in enhanced binding to DNA. A schematic model illustrating the contribution of TpxD and CodY to pneumococcal global transcriptional response to H 2 O 2 is

Thermal Inertia of Rocks and Rock Populations

Science.gov (United States)

Golombek, M. P.; Jakosky, B. M.; Mellon, M. T.

2001-01-01

The effective thermal inertia of rock populations on Mars and Earth is derived from a model of effective inertia versus rock diameter. Results allow a parameterization of the effective rock inertia versus rock abundance and bulk and fine component inertia. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Removal of hard COD, nitrogenous compounds and phenols from a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The objective of this study was to identify the factors affecting the suspended and fixed biomass in the removal of hard COD, nitrogenous compounds and phenols from a coal gasification wastewater (CGWW) stream using a hybrid fixed-film bioreactor (H-FFBR) process under real-time plant operational conditions and ...

Using interview-based recall surveys to estimate cod Gadus morhua and eel Anguilla anguilla harvest in Danish recreational fishing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sparrevohn, Claus Reedtz; Storr-Paulsen, Marie

2012-01-01

Using interview-based recall surveys to estimate cod Gadus morhua and eel Anguilla anguilla harvest in Danish recreational fishing. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: 323–330.Marine recreational fishing is a popular outdoor activity in Denmark, practised by both anglers and passive gear fishers....... However, the impact on the targeted stocks is unknown, so to estimate the 2009 harvest of cod Gadus morhua and eel Anguilla anguilla, two separate interview-based surveys were initiated and carried out in 2009/2010. The first recall survey exclusively targeted fishers who had been issued......, in certain areas, the recreational harvest of cod accounted for more than 30% of the total yield. The majority (81%) of the recreational cod harvest was taken by anglers. Eels, however, are almost exclusively caught with passive gear (fykenets) and a total of 104 t year−1 was harvested, which corresponds...

Acoustically Induced Streaming Flows near a Model Cod Otolith and their Potential Implications for Fish Hearing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kotas, Charlotte W [ORNL; Rogers, Peter [Georgia Institute of Technology; Yoda, Minami [Georgia Institute of Technology

2011-01-01

The ears of fishes are remarkable sensors for the small acoustic disturbances associated with underwater sound. For example, each ear of the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) has three dense bony bodies (otoliths) surrounded by fluid and tissue, and detects sounds at frequencies from 30 to 500 Hz. Atlantic cod have also been shown to localize sounds. However, how their ears perform these functions is not fully understood. Steady streaming, or time-independent, flows near a 350% scale model Atlantic cod otolith immersed in a viscous fluid were studied to determine if these fluid flows contain acoustically relevant information that could be detected by the ear s sensory hair cells. The otolith was oscillated sinusoidally at various orientations at frequencies of 8 24 Hz, corresponding to an actual frequency range of 280 830 Hz. Phaselocked particle pathline visualizations of the resulting flows give velocity, vorticity, and rate of strain fields over a single plane of this mainly two-dimensional flow. Although the streaming flows contain acoustically relevant information, the displacements due to these flows are likely too small to explain Atlantic cod hearing abilities near threshold. The results, however, may suggest a possible mechanism for detection of ultrasound in some fish species.

78 FR 56744 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-13

... requiring special protection. The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of Permit Applications Received...

77 FR 38834 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-29

... requiring special protection. The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice of permit applications received...

Removal of COD and color loads in bleached kraft pulp effluents by bottom ashes from boilers.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Tran, A

2008-07-01

The effectiveness of the bottom ashes from biomass and coal-fired boilers in removing chemical oxygen demand (COD) and colorloads in effluents of a kraft pulp bleachery plant is investigated. The effluents tested are those of the sulfuric acid treatment (A stage) of a hardwood kraft pulp, and of the first acidic (chlorine or chlorine dioxide) and second alkaline (extraction) stages in the chlorine and elemental chlorine-free (ECF) bleaching lines of hardwood and softwood kraft pulps. The coal-fired boiler's bottom ashes are unable to remove either COD or color load in the bleached kraft pulp effluents. However, the bottom ashes of the biomass boiler are effective in removing COD and color loads of the acidic and alkaline effluents irrespective of the bleaching process or wood species. In particular, these ashes increase the pH of all the effluents examined.

Dynamic Antarctic ice sheet during the early to mid-Miocene

Science.gov (United States)

Gasson, Edward; DeConto, Robert M.; Pollard, David; Levy, Richard H.

2016-03-01

Geological data indicate that there were major variations in Antarctic ice sheet volume and extent during the early to mid-Miocene. Simulating such large-scale changes is problematic because of a strong hysteresis effect, which results in stability once the ice sheets have reached continental size. A relatively narrow range of atmospheric CO2 concentrations indicated by proxy records exacerbates this problem. Here, we are able to simulate large-scale variability of the early to mid-Miocene Antarctic ice sheet because of three developments in our modeling approach. (i) We use a climate-ice sheet coupling method utilizing a high-resolution atmospheric component to account for ice sheet-climate feedbacks. (ii) The ice sheet model includes recently proposed mechanisms for retreat into deep subglacial basins caused by ice-cliff failure and ice-shelf hydrofracture. (iii) We account for changes in the oxygen isotopic composition of the ice sheet by using isotope-enabled climate and ice sheet models. We compare our modeling results with ice-proximal records emerging from a sedimentological drill core from the Ross Sea (Andrill-2A) that is presented in a companion article. The variability in Antarctic ice volume that we simulate is equivalent to a seawater oxygen isotope signal of 0.52-0.66‰, or a sea level equivalent change of 30-36 m, for a range of atmospheric CO2 between 280 and 500 ppm and a changing astronomical configuration. This result represents a substantial advance in resolving the long-standing model data conflict of Miocene Antarctic ice sheet and sea level variability.

Atmospheric Influences on the Anomalous 2016 Antarctic Sea Ice Decay

Science.gov (United States)

Raphael, M. N.; Schlosser, E.; Haumann, A.

2017-12-01

Over the past three decades, a small but significant increase in sea ice extent (SIE) has been observed in the Antarctic. However, in 2016 there was a surprisingly early onset of the melt season. The maximum Antarctic SIE was reached in August rather than end of September, and was followed by a rapid decrease. The decline of the sea ice area (SIA) started even earlier, in July. The retreat of the ice was particularly large in November where Antarctic SIE exhibited a negative anomaly (compared to the 1981-2010 average) of almost 2 Mio. km2, which, combined with reduced Arctic SIE, led to a distinct minimum in global SIE. And, satellite observations show that from November 2016 to February 2017, the daily Antarctic SIE has been at record low levels. We use sea level pressure and geopotential height data from the ECMWF- Interim reanalysis, in conjunction with sea ice data obtained from the National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC), to investigate possible atmospheric influences on the observed phenomena. Indications are that both the onset of the melt in July and the rapid decrease in SIA and SIE in November were triggered by atmospheric flow patterns related to a positive Zonal Wave 3 index, i.e. synoptic situations leading to strong meridional flow. Additionally the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) index reached its second lowest November value since the beginning of the satellite observations. It is likely that the SIE decrease was preconditioned by SIA decrease. Positive feedback effects led to accelerated melt and consequently to the extraordinary low November SIE.

Evaluation of feed COD/sulfate ratio as a control criterion for the biological hydrogen sulfide production and lead precipitation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Velasco, Antonio [Direccion General del Centro Nacional de Investigacion y Capacitacion Ambiental-Instituto Nacional de Ecologia, Av. San Rafael Atlixco 186, Col. Vicentina. Iztapalapa, Mexico 09340, D.F. (Mexico)], E-mail: jvelasco@ine.gob.mx; Ramirez, Martha [Direccion General del Centro Nacional de Investigacion y Capacitacion Ambiental-Instituto Nacional de Ecologia, Av. San Rafael Atlixco 186, Col. Vicentina. Iztapalapa, Mexico 09340, D.F. (Mexico); Volke-Sepulveda, Tania [Departamento de Biotecnologia, UAM-Cuajimalpa, San Rafael Atlixco 186, Col. Vicentina. Iztapalapa, Mexico 09340, D.F. (Mexico); Gonzalez-Sanchez, Armando [Departamento de Ingenieria de Procesos, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, UAM-Cuajimalpa, San Rafael Atlixco 186, Col. Vicentina. Iztapalapa, Mexico 09340, D.F. (Mexico); Revah, Sergio [Departamento de Procesos y Tecnologia, UAM-Cuajimalpa, San Rafael Atlixco 186, Col. Vicentina. Iztapalapa, Mexico 09340, D.F. (Mexico)

2008-03-01

The ability of sulfate-reducing bacteria to produce hydrogen sulfide and the high affinity of sulfide to react with divalent metallic cations represent an excellent option to remove heavy metals from wastewater. Different parameters have been proposed to control the hydrogen sulfide production by anaerobic bacteria, such as the organic and sulfate loading rates and the feed COD/SO{sub 4}{sup 2-} ratio. This work relates the feed COD/SO{sub 4}{sup 2-} ratio with the hydrogen sulfide production and dissolved lead precipitation, using ethanol as carbon and energy source in an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor. A maximum dissolved sulfide concentration of 470 {+-} 7 mg S/L was obtained at a feed COD/SO{sub 4}{sup 2-} ratio of 2.5, with sulfate and ethanol conversions of approximately 94 and 87%, respectively. The lowest dissolved sulfide concentration (145 {+-} 10 mg S/L) was observed with a feed COD/SO{sub 4}{sup 2-} ratio of 0.67. Substantial amounts of acetate (510-1730 mg/L) were produced and accumulated in the bioreactor from ethanol oxidation. Although only incomplete oxidation of ethanol to acetate was observed, the consortium was able to remove 99% of the dissolved lead (200 mg/L) with a feed COD/SO{sub 4}{sup 2-} ratio of 1.5. It was found that the feed COD/SO{sub 4}{sup 2-} ratio could be an adequate parameter to control the hydrogen sulfide production and the consequent precipitation of dissolved lead.

76 FR 73513 - Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Revisions to Pacific Cod Fishing in the...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-29

... term of the permit. Third, it requires an operator of any Federally permitted pot or hook-and-line C/P... catching a greater amount of Pacific cod in the parallel fishery than has been allocated to their sector from the BSAI total allowable catch. Maintaining Pacific cod catch amounts within BSAI sector...

[Effect of Different Purple Parent Rock on Removal Rates of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Organics in Landscape Water].

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Xue-jiao; Liu, Xiao-chen; Li, Zhen-lun; Shi, Wen-hao; Yang, Shan

2015-05-01

In order to understand the impacts of physicochemical properties of purple parent rock on the removal rates of nitrogen, phosphorus and organics in landscape water systems, four types of purple parent rocks including Peng-lai-zhen Formation (S1) , Sha-xi-miao Formation (S2) , Fei-xian-guan Formation (S3) and Sui-ning Formation (S4) , which distribute widely in Chongqing, were selected and autoclaved, and added to unsterile landscape water collected from Chong-de Lake in Southwest University, and the landscape water only was used as control. And several indicators such as total nitrogen and phosphorus and so on of every disposal were investigated periodically. The results indicated that: (1) The highest removal rates of total nitrogen, total phosphorus and Ammonia nitrogen were observed in Sl, which were 45.1%, 62.3% and 90%, respectively; the highest removal rate of COD was 94.5% in S4; the ammonia nitrogen content in the purple parent rocks was not obviously changed before and after the experiments, which indicated that the adsorption of ammonia nitrogen on purple parent rock surface was not the main reason for the decrease of ammonia nitrogen in water. (2) Arsenate had inhibitory effect on the sulfate-reducing bacteria, while copper and magnesium had promoting effect on gram-negative bacteria. (3) The microbial diversity was positively correlated to total nitrogen in water. (4) Based on the PCA analyses of microbial community structure and environmental factors, the mineral elements released from parent rock affected the structure and composition of microbial community in the test water, and then influenced the removal rates of nitrogen, phosphorus and organics in water systems.

Beneficial effects of cod protein on inflammatory cell accumulation in rat skeletal muscle after injury are driven by its high levels of arginine, glycine, taurine and lysine.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junio Dort

Full Text Available We have shown that feeding cod protein, which is rich in anti-inflammatory arginine, glycine, and taurine, may beneficially modulate the inflammatory response during recovery following skeletal muscle injury; however it is unknown if these amino acids are responsible for this effect. This study was designed to assess whether supplementing casein with an amino acid mixture composed of arginine, glycine, taurine and lysine, matching their respective levels in cod protein, may account for the anti-inflammatory effect of cod protein. Male Wistar rats were fed isoenergetic diets containing either casein, cod protein, or casein supplemented with L-arginine (0.45%, glycine (0.43%, L-taurine (0.17% and L-lysine (0.44% (casein+. After 21 days of ad libitum feeding, one tibialis anterior muscle was injured with 200 µl bupivacaine while the saline-injected contra-lateral tibialis anterior was served as sham. Cod protein and casein+ similarly modulated the inflammation as they decreased COX-2 level at day 2 post-injury (cod protein, p=0.014; casein+, p=0.029 and ED1(+ macrophage density at days 2 (cod protein, p=0.012; casein+, p<0.0001, 5 (cod protein, p=0.001; casein+, p<0.0001 and 14 (cod protein, p<0.0001; casein+, p<0.0001 post-injury, and increased ED2(+ macrophage density at days 5 (cod protein, p<0.0001; casein+, p=0.006, 14 (cod protein, p=0.001; casein+, p<0.002 and 28 (cod protein, p<0.009; casein+, p<0.005 post-injury compared with casein. Furthermore, cod protein up-regulated (p=0.037 whereas casein+ tended to up-regulate (p=0.062 myogenin expression at day 5 post-injury compared with casein. In the cod protein-fed group, these changes resulted in greater muscle mass at days 14 (p=0.002, and 28 (p=0.001 post-injury and larger myofiber cross-sectional area at day 28 post-injury compared with casein (p=0.012. No such effects were observed with casein+. These data indicate that anti-inflammatory actions of cod protein, contrary to its effect on

The Signature of Southern Hemisphere Atmospheric Circulation Patterns in Antarctic Precipitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, Gareth J; Thompson, David W J; van den Broeke, Michiel R

2017-11-28

We provide the first comprehensive analysis of the relationships between large-scale patterns of Southern Hemisphere climate variability and the detailed structure of Antarctic precipitation. We examine linkages between the high spatial resolution precipitation from a regional atmospheric model and four patterns of large-scale Southern Hemisphere climate variability: the southern baroclinic annular mode, the southern annular mode, and the two Pacific-South American teleconnection patterns. Variations in all four patterns influence the spatial configuration of precipitation over Antarctica, consistent with their signatures in high-latitude meridional moisture fluxes. They impact not only the mean but also the incidence of extreme precipitation events. Current coupled-climate models are able to reproduce all four patterns of atmospheric variability but struggle to correctly replicate their regional impacts on Antarctic climate. Thus, linking these patterns directly to Antarctic precipitation variability may allow a better estimate of future changes in precipitation than using model output alone.

Mercury accumulation in sediments and seabird feathers from the Antarctic Peninsula.

Science.gov (United States)

Calle, Paola; Alvarado, Omar; Monserrate, Lorena; Cevallos, Juan Manuel; Calle, Nastenka; Alava, Juan José

2015-02-28

In an effort to assess the impact of mercury in the Antarctic Peninsula, we conducted ecotoxicological research in this region during the summer of 2012 and 2013. The objectives were to assess: (a) mercury levels in sediment samples; (b) mercury accumulation in Antarctic seabird feathers: Catharacta lonnbergi (brown skua), Pygoscelis papua (gentoo penguin) and Pygoscelis antarctica (chinstrap penguin); and (c) biomagnification (BMF predator/prey) and biota sediment accumulation (BSAF skuas/sediment) factors. Mercury concentrations in sediment were relatively low. Mercury concentrations were significantly higher in brown skuas and gentoo penguins than in chinstrap penguins (2012), and significantly higher in brown skuas than in both penguins (2013). BMF indicated 2-7.5 times greater mercury levels in brown skuas than in penguins. BSAF values suggested an apparent temporal decrease of 18.2% of this ratio from 2012 to 2013. Long-range environmental transport is the likely route of entry of mercury into the Antarctic Peninsula. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

77 FR 67407 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-09

... designation of certain animals and certain geographic areas a requiring special protection. The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic Specially Protected Areas. The applications received... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic...

78 FR 59728 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-27

... requiring special protection. The regulations establish such a permit system to designate Antarctic... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic... Foundation (NSF) is required to publish a notice of permit applications received to conduct activities...

Effect of influent COD/SO4(2-) ratios on biodegradation behaviors of starch wastewater in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Xueqin; Zhen, Guangyin; Ni, Jialing; Hojo, Toshimasa; Kubota, Kengo; Li, Yu-You

2016-08-01

A lab-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) has been run for 250days to investigate the influence of influent COD/SO4(2-) ratios on the biodegradation behavior of starch wastewater and process performance. Stepwise decreasing COD/SO4(2-) ratio enhanced sulfidogenesis, complicating starch degradation routes and improving process stability. The reactor exhibited satisfactory performance at a wide COD/SO4(2-) range ⩾2, attaining stable biogas production of 1.15-1.17LL(-1)d(-1) with efficient simultaneous removal of total COD (73.5-80.3%) and sulfate (82.6±6.4%). Adding sulfate favored sulfidogenesis process and diversified microbial community, invoking hydrolysis-acidification of starch and propionate degradation and subsequent acetoclastic methanogenesis; whereas excessively enhanced sulfidogenesis (COD/SO4(2-) ratios UASB technology in water industry from basic science. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fish stories: cod, oil and gas turn about to be hard to mix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reid, W.

2000-01-01

In 1992 the Government of Canada gave the green light for the start of construction of the Hibernia oil platform; in the same year moratorium on cod fishing was declared. Hibernia ushered in a new era of growth in Atlantic Canada, the moratorium put an end to cod exports for a period of seven years. Environmental activist believe that the two events are not unrelated; after-effects of the Hibernia development played a role in reducing fish stocks and likely to inhibit their recovery. The environmental group 'Save our Seas and Shores' (SOSS) claims that seismic work and drilling are likely to interfere with the migration patterns of young cod, forcing them to spawn in areas that are not safe for egg maturity. According to SOSS, the future of cod fishing is in danger of destruction by further exploration and development in spawning nursery and migratory areas. The group is claiming support from a Nova Scotia government review of two marine ecosystems both of which were declared too delicate to withstand the effects of oil and gas activity. SOSS, supported by a coalition of fishery, native, environmental and tourism groups is determined to halt petroleum exploration along the western coast of Cape Breton Island. In the meantime, the Atlantic Petroleum Institute, first opened in Nova Scotia, and now in the process of expanding into Newfoundland, supported by industry and the Canada Atlantic Opportunities Council, has been assured of funding for a period of five years to develop education and training programs, organize forums for discussion, debate and problem solving, and coordinate research and development. The Institute hopes that SOSS will want to participate in finding solutions to the problems of fisheries that are acceptable to both petroleum and fishing industry interests

On the use of high-throughput sequencing for the study of cyanobacterial diversity in Antarctic aquatic mats.

Science.gov (United States)

Pessi, Igor Stelmach; Maalouf, Pedro De Carvalho; Laughinghouse, Haywood Dail; Baurain, Denis; Wilmotte, Annick

2016-06-01

The study of Antarctic cyanobacterial diversity has been mostly limited to morphological identification and traditional molecular techniques. High-throughput sequencing (HTS) allows a much better understanding of microbial distribution in the environment, but its application is hampered by several methodological and analytical challenges. In this work, we explored the use of HTS as a tool for the study of cyanobacterial diversity in Antarctic aquatic mats. Our results highlight the importance of using artificial communities to validate the parameters of the bioinformatics procedure used to analyze natural communities, since pipeline-dependent biases had a strong effect on the observed community structures. Analysis of microbial mats from five Antarctic lakes and an aquatic biofilm from the Sub-Antarctic showed that HTS is a valuable tool for the assessment of cyanobacterial diversity. The majority of the operational taxonomic units retrieved were related to filamentous taxa such as Leptolyngbya and Phormidium, which are common genera in Antarctic lacustrine microbial mats. However, other phylotypes related to different taxa such as Geitlerinema, Pseudanabaena, Synechococcus, Chamaesiphon, Calothrix, and Coleodesmium were also found. Results revealed a much higher diversity than what had been reported using traditional methods and also highlighted remarkable differences between the cyanobacterial communities of the studied lakes. The aquatic biofilm from the Sub-Antarctic had a distinct cyanobacterial community from the Antarctic lakes, which in turn displayed a salinity-dependent community structure at the phylotype level. © 2016 Phycological Society of America.

The third serine proteinase with chymotrypsin specificity isolated from Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is a type-II elastase

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Asgeirsson, B; Leth-Larsen, Rikke; Thórólfsson, M

1998-01-01

-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-p-nitroanilide, but inactive against the typical elastase substrates succinyl-Ala-Ala-Ala-p-nitroanilide and orcein-elastin. Comparison of the kinetic properties of the cod elastase C with bovine chymotrypsin and cod chymotrypsin variants A and B, using succinyl-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-p-nitroanilide, showed a lower catalytic...

76 FR 39905 - Notice of Permit Applications Received Under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541)

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-07

... Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-541), as amended by the Antarctic Science, Tourism and... ASPA 134--Cierva Point and Offshore islands, Danco Coast, Antarctica, to install boreholes and a soil... occurrence and properties, and soil properties along a latitudinal gradient on the western Antarctic...

Task-dependent cold stress during expeditions in Antarctic environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, Drew M; Pilcher, June J; Powell, Robert B

2017-01-01

This study seeks to understand the degree of body cooling, cold perception and physical discomfort during Antarctic tour excursions. Eight experienced expedition leaders across three Antarctic cruise voyages were monitored during occupational tasks: kayaking, snorkelling and zodiac outings. Subjective cold perception and discomfort were recorded using a thermal comfort assessment and skin temperature was recorded using a portable data logger. Indoor cabin temperature and outdoor temperature with wind velocity were used as measures of environmental stress. Physical activity level and clothing insulation were estimated using previous literature. Tour leaders experienced a 6°C (2°C wind chill) environment for an average of 6 hours each day. Leaders involved in kayaking reported feeling colder and more uncomfortable than other leaders, but zodiac leaders showed greater skin temperature cooling. Occupational experience did not predict body cooling or cold stress perception. These findings indicate that occupational cold stress varies by activity and measurement methodology. The current study effectively used objective and subjective measures of cold-stress to identify factors which can contribute to risk in the Antarctic tourism industry. Results suggest that the type of activity may moderate risk of hypothermia, but not discomfort, potentially putting individuals at risk for cognitive related mistakes and cold injuries.

Twenty-five years of Antarctic upper atmosphere research at Rhodes University

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gledhill, J.A.

1987-01-01

South Africa, as one of the twelve signatories of the Antarctic Treaty is required to establish presence in Antarctica. In this article the past 25 years of upper atmosphere research in Antarctica, and the ionosphere programme at SANAE (South African National Antarctic Expedition) are described. The use of ionograms, Barry ionosondes, airglow photometers, oblique incidence ionograms and the digitized FM ionosonde are discussed as well as anomalous daily variations, the ionospheric effects of particle precipitation, Atmosphere Explorer-C and project ISAAC (International South Atlantic Anomaly Campaign)

Mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet.

Science.gov (United States)

Wingham, D J; Shepherd, A; Muir, A; Marshall, G J

2006-07-15

The Antarctic contribution to sea-level rise has long been uncertain. While regional variability in ice dynamics has been revealed, a picture of mass changes throughout the continental ice sheet is lacking. Here, we use satellite radar altimetry to measure the elevation change of 72% of the grounded ice sheet during the period 1992-2003. Depending on the density of the snow giving rise to the observed elevation fluctuations, the ice sheet mass trend falls in the range -5-+85Gtyr-1. We find that data from climate model reanalyses are not able to characterise the contemporary snowfall fluctuation with useful accuracy and our best estimate of the overall mass trend-growth of 27+/-29Gtyr-1-is based on an assessment of the expected snowfall variability. Mass gains from accumulating snow, particularly on the Antarctic Peninsula and within East Antarctica, exceed the ice dynamic mass loss from West Antarctica. The result exacerbates the difficulty of explaining twentieth century sea-level rise.

New type of canned cod gonads and liver pastes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grokhovsky V. A.

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The urgency of rational way of processing the offal of the Gadidae family (liver and gonads for food purposes has been proved. The possibility of using the frozen gonads (milt and caviar and the liver of the cod in the human nutrition (especially for the people of elderly age has been researched. The frozen gonads with addition of fish liver are proven to be used for producing the canned foods with high quality level. The physical, chemical and microbiological characteristics of the product have been determined by the standardized methods. The quality level of canned foods has been obtained using the developed criteria of the objective evaluation of the quality. The specimens of the canned pastes produced from the frozen cod milt, caviar and liver using different compositions have been researched. Near-to-optimal composition of the new product has been defined. The quality level of canned food is 88.6 %. The commercial sterility of the canned food specimens prepared using the developed technology has been established. The chemical composition and the sensory characteristics of canned food have been researched. It has been established that protein content in the canned food is 12.9 %, fat content – 13.5 %, water content – 71.2 %, sodium chloride content – 1.3 %, carbohydrates content – 0.5 %. The product is the uniform, finely ground, evenly mixed mass with the presence of the separate caviar grains. The color of the paste is light-beige. The canned food has the tender consistency, pleasant taste and aroma. The energy value of the product is 678 kJ (162 kcal. Using the frozen cod caviar, milt and liver for producing the developed assortment of canned foods will make it possible to solve the problem of the complex processing of fish, and also to manufacture the canned food of high quality on the shore enterprises from the frozen fish offal (caviar, milt and liver all the year round.

Modeling the cod larvae drift in the Bornholm Basin in summer 1994

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hinrichsen, H.H.; Lehmann, A.; St. John, Michael

1997-01-01

, initial fields of temperature, salinity and cod larvae concentration for the Bornholm Basin were constructed by objective analysis using observations taken during a research survey in early July, 1994. Outside the Bornholm Basin generalized hydrographic features of the Baltic Sea were utilized....... In general, most of the hydrographic features observed during the second research cruise are correctly simulated, with variations mainly attributed to the prescribed initial conditions outside the Bornholm Basin. Results from larval sampling during the second cruise could not entirely confirm the modeled......A combined 3-D physical oceanographic model and a field sampling program was performed in July and August 1994 to investigate the potential drift of larval Baltic cod from the center of spawning effort in the Bornholm Basin, Baltic Sea. The goal of this exercise was to predict the drift...

The influence of ozonated time on the degree of depreciation of BOD, COD, TSS and phosphate in hospital liquid waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Isyuniarto and Andrianto

2009-01-01

The influence of ozonated time towards degree depreciation of Bode, COD, TSS and phosphate in hospital liquid waste was done. This research aim study influence of lime adding and ozone using to reduce of BOD, COD, TSS and phosphate in hospital waste. Added of lime mean for total increase ion OH - , while parameter of ozonization time mean to complete organic compounds oxidation in waste and flock formation. From this research it was found that optimum lime addition was 1.1% (% weight) and ozonization time was 20 minutes. In this condition it was achieved degree of BOD = 18.88 mg/l; COD = 25.68 mg/l, TSS = 80 mg/l and phosphate = 1.52 mg/l. This condition fulfil quality standard decided, that has to BOD = 75 mg/l; COD = 100 mg/l, TSS = 100 mg/l and phosphate = 2.0 mg/l. (author)

Microbiology and Geochemistry of Antarctic Paleosols

Science.gov (United States)

Mahaney, W. C.; Malloch, D.; Hancock, R. G. V.; Campbell, I. B.; Sheppard, D.

2000-08-01

Samples of ancient soils from horizons in paleosols from the Quartermain Mountains (Aztec and New Mountain areas of the Antarctic Dry Valleys) were analyzed for their chemical composition and microbiology to determine the accumulation and movement of salts and other soluble constituents. The salt concentrations are of special interest because they are considered to be a function of age, derived in part from nearby oceanic and high altitude atmospheric sources. The geochemistry of ancient Miocene-age paleosols in these areas is the direct result of the deposition and weathering of till, derived principally from dolerite and sandstone source rock, in association with airborne-influxed salts. Paleosols nearer the coast have greater contents of chlorine, and farther inland near the Inland Ice Sheet, nitrogen tends to increase on a relative basis. The accumulation and vertical distribution of salts and other soluble chemical elements indicate relative amounts of movement in the profile over long periods of time, to the order of several million years. Iron, both in total concentration and in the form of various extracts, indicates it can be used as a geochronometer to assess the buildup of goethite plus hematite over time in the paleosols. Trends for ferrihydrite, a partially soluble Fe-hydroxide, shows limited profile translocation that might be related to the movement of salt. Six of the eight selected subsamples from paleosol horizons in three soil profiles contained nil concentrations of bacteria and fungi. However, two horizons at depths of between three to eight centimeters yielded several colonies of the fungi Beauveria bassiana and Penicillium spp., indicating some input of organic carbon. Beauveria bassiana is often reported in association with insects and is used commercially for the biological control of some insect pests. Penicillium species are commonly isolated from Arctic, temperate and tropical soils and are known to utilize a wide variety of organic

Isolation of Campylobacter spp. from Three Species of Antarctic Penguins in Different Geographic Locations.

Science.gov (United States)

García-Peña, F J; Llorente, M T; Serrano, T; Ruano, M J; Belliure, J; Benzal, J; Herrera-León, S; Vidal, V; D'Amico, V; Pérez-Boto, D; Barbosa, A

2017-03-01

The presence of Campylobacter species was studied in three Antarctic penguin species, Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae), chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarctica) and gentoo (Pygoscelis papua). A total of 390 penguins were captured in 12 different rookeries along the Antarctic Peninsula with differences in the amount of human visitation: six colonies were highly visited [Stranger Point, King George Island (P. papua and P. adeliae); Hannah Point, Livingston Island (P. papua and P. antarctica); Deception Island (P. antarctica); and Paradise Bay, Antarctic Peninsula (P. papua)], and six colonies were rarely visited [Devil's Point, Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island (P. papua); Cierva Cove, Antarctic Peninsula (P. papua); Rongé Island (P. papua and P. antarctica); Yalour Island (P. adeliae); and Avian Island (P. adeliae)]. A total of 23 strains were isolated from penguins from nine different rookeries. Campylobacter lari subsp. lari was isolated from eight samples (seven from P. papua and one from P. adeliae); C. lari subsp. concheus from 13 (ten from P. adeliae and three from P. antarctica) and C. volucris from two samples (both from P. papua). We did not find any significant differences in the prevalence of Campylobacter spp. between the populations in highly and rarely visited areas. This is the first report of C. lari subsp. concheus and C. volucris isolation from penguins in the Antarctic region.

Spatially Extensive Standardized Surveys Reveal Widespread, Multi-Decadal Increase in East Antarctic Adélie Penguin Populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Southwell, Colin; Emmerson, Louise; McKinlay, John; Newbery, Kym; Takahashi, Akinori; Kato, Akiko; Barbraud, Christophe; DeLord, Karine; Weimerskirch, Henri

2015-01-01

Seabirds are considered to be useful and practical indicators of the state of marine ecosystems because they integrate across changes in the lower trophic levels and the physical environment. Signals from this key group of species can indicate broad scale impacts or response to environmental change. Recent studies of penguin populations, the most commonly abundant Antarctic seabirds in the west Antarctic Peninsula and western Ross Sea, have demonstrated that physical changes in Antarctic marine environments have profound effects on biota at high trophic levels. Large populations of the circumpolar-breeding Adélie penguin occur in East Antarctica, but direct, standardized population data across much of this vast coastline have been more limited than in other Antarctic regions. We combine extensive new population survey data, new population estimation methods, and re-interpreted historical survey data to assess decadal-scale change in East Antarctic Adélie penguin breeding populations. We show that, in contrast to the west Antarctic Peninsula and western Ross Sea where breeding populations have decreased or shown variable trends over the last 30 years, East Antarctic regional populations have almost doubled in abundance since the 1980's and have been increasing since the earliest counts in the 1960's. The population changes are associated with five-year lagged changes in the physical environment, suggesting that the changing environment impacts primarily on the pre-breeding age classes. East Antarctic marine ecosystems have been subject to a number of changes over the last 50 years which may have influenced Adélie penguin population growth, including decadal-scale climate variation, an inferred mid-20th century sea-ice contraction, and early-to-mid 20th century exploitation of fish and whale populations.

Spatially Extensive Standardized Surveys Reveal Widespread, Multi-Decadal Increase in East Antarctic Adélie Penguin Populations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Colin Southwell

Full Text Available Seabirds are considered to be useful and practical indicators of the state of marine ecosystems because they integrate across changes in the lower trophic levels and the physical environment. Signals from this key group of species can indicate broad scale impacts or response to environmental change. Recent studies of penguin populations, the most commonly abundant Antarctic seabirds in the west Antarctic Peninsula and western Ross Sea, have demonstrated that physical changes in Antarctic marine environments have profound effects on biota at high trophic levels. Large populations of the circumpolar-breeding Adélie penguin occur in East Antarctica, but direct, standardized population data across much of this vast coastline have been more limited than in other Antarctic regions. We combine extensive new population survey data, new population estimation methods, and re-interpreted historical survey data to assess decadal-scale change in East Antarctic Adélie penguin breeding populations. We show that, in contrast to the west Antarctic Peninsula and western Ross Sea where breeding populations have decreased or shown variable trends over the last 30 years, East Antarctic regional populations have almost doubled in abundance since the 1980's and have been increasing since the earliest counts in the 1960's. The population changes are associated with five-year lagged changes in the physical environment, suggesting that the changing environment impacts primarily on the pre-breeding age classes. East Antarctic marine ecosystems have been subject to a number of changes over the last 50 years which may have influenced Adélie penguin population growth, including decadal-scale climate variation, an inferred mid-20th century sea-ice contraction, and early-to-mid 20th century exploitation of fish and whale populations.

Guanine limitation results in CodY-dependent and -independent alteration of Staphylococcus aureus physiology and gene expression.

Science.gov (United States)

King, Alyssa N; Borkar, Samiksha; Samuels, David J; Batz, Zachary; Bulock, Logan; Sadykov, Marat R; Bayles, Kenneth W; Brinsmade, Shaun R

2018-04-30

In Staphylococcus aureus , the global transcriptional regulator CodY modulates the expression of hundreds of genes in response to the availability of GTP and the branched-chain amino acids isoleucine, leucine, and valine (ILV). CodY DNA-binding activity is high when GTP and ILV are abundant. When GTP and ILV are limited, CodY's affinity for DNA drops, altering expression of CodY regulated targets. In this work, we investigated the impact of guanine nucleotides on S. aureus physiology and CodY activity by constructing a guaA null mutant (Δ guaA ). De novo biosynthesis of guanine monophosphate is abolished due to the guaA mutation; thus, the mutant cells require exogenous guanosine for growth. We also found that CodY activity was reduced when we knocked out guaA , activating the Agr two-component system and increasing secreted protease activity. Notably, in a rich, complex medium, we detected an increase in alternative sigma factor B activity in the Δ guaA mutant, which results in a 5-fold increase in production of the antioxidant pigment staphyloxanthin. Under biologically relevant flow conditions, Δ guaA cells failed to form robust biofilms when limited for guanine or guanosine. RNA-seq analysis of S. aureus transcriptome during growth in guanosine-limited chemostats revealed substantial CodY-dependent and -independent alteration of gene expression profiles. Importantly, these changes increase production of proteases and δ-toxin, suggesting that S. aureus exhibits a more invasive lifestyle when limited for guanosine. Further, gene-products upregulated under GN limitation, including those necessary for lipoic acid biosynthesis and sugar transport, may prove to be useful drug targets for treating Gram-positive infections. Importance Staphylococcus aureus infections impose a serious economic burden on healthcare facilities and patients because of the emergence of strains resistant to last-line antibiotics. Understanding the physiological processes governing

Inhibition of haemoglobin-mediated lipid oxidation in washed cod muscle and cod protein isolates by Fucus vesiculosus extract and fraction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Tao; Jonsdottir, Rosa; Kristinsson, Hordur

2010-01-01

washed cod muscle and protein isolates, phlorotannin-enriched ethyl acetate (EtOAc) fraction showed higher inhibitory effect than crude 80% ethanol (EtOH) extract. The addition of oligomeric phlorotannin-rich subfraction (LH-2) separated by Sephadex LH-20 chromatography, completely inhibited...... similar level of TPC and chemical antioxidant activities as oligomeric subfraction LH-2, it was far less efficient in model systems. These results suggest that other factors rather than the intrinsic reactivity toward radicals could be responsible for the inhibitory effect of phlorotannins on lipid...

Photosynthesis in a sub-Antarctic shore-zone lichen

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smith, V.; Gremmen, N.J.M.

2001-01-01

Photosynthetic responses to moisture, light, temperature, salinity and inorganic nitrogen fertilization are reported for a shore-zone lichen Turgidiusculum complicatulum (formerly Mastodia tesselata), a possible recent introduction to sub-Antarctic Marion Island. Optimum moisture contents for net

Influence of the COD to sulphate ratio on the anaerobic organic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Experiments were carried out with synthetic substrate containing glucose, ammonium acetate and methanol, besides sodium bicarbonate. Micronutrients were provided by adding salts and trace metals from a stock solution. The influent chemical oxygen demand (COD) was maintained as constant as possible around 2 000 ...

Rock pushing and sampling under rocks on Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, H.J.; Liebes, S.; Crouch, D.S.; Clark, L.V.

1978-01-01

Viking Lander 2 acquired samples on Mars from beneath two rocks, where living organisms and organic molecules would be protected from ultraviolet radiation. Selection of rocks to be moved was based on scientific and engineering considerations, including rock size, rock shape, burial depth, and location in a sample field. Rock locations and topography were established using the computerized interactive video-stereophotogrammetric system and plotted on vertical profiles and in plan view. Sampler commands were developed and tested on Earth using a full-size lander and surface mock-up. The use of power by the sampler motor correlates with rock movements, which were by plowing, skidding, and rolling. Provenance of the samples was determined by measurements and interpretation of pictures and positions of the sampler arm. Analytical results demonstrate that the samples were, in fact, from beneath the rocks. Results from the Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer of the Molecular Analysis experiment and the Gas Exchange instrument of the Biology experiment indicate that more adsorbed(?) water occurs in samples under rocks than in samples exposed to the sun. This is consistent with terrestrial arid environments, where more moisture occurs in near-surface soil un- der rocks than in surrounding soil because the net heat flow is toward the soil beneath the rock and the rock cap inhibits evaporation. Inorganic analyses show that samples of soil from under the rocks have significantly less iron than soil exposed to the sun. The scientific significance of analyses of samples under the rocks is only partly evaluated, but some facts are clear. Detectable quantities of martian organic molecules were not found in the sample from under a rock by the Molecular Analysis experiment. The Biology experiments did not find definitive evidence for Earth-like living organisms in their sample. Significant amounts of adsorbed water may be present in the martian regolith. The response of the soil

De novo genome assembly and annotation of Australia's largest freshwater fish, the Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii), from Illumina and Nanopore sequencing read.

Science.gov (United States)

Austin, Christopher M; Tan, Mun Hua; Harrisson, Katherine A; Lee, Yin Peng; Croft, Laurence J; Sunnucks, Paul; Pavlova, Alexandra; Gan, Han Ming

2017-08-01

One of the most iconic Australian fish is the Murray cod, Maccullochella peelii (Mitchell 1838), a freshwater species that can grow to ∼1.8 metres in length and live to age ≥48 years. The Murray cod is of a conservation concern as a result of strong population contractions, but it is also popular for recreational fishing and is of growing aquaculture interest. In this study, we report the whole genome sequence of the Murray cod to support ongoing population genetics, conservation, and management research, as well as to better understand the evolutionary ecology and history of the species. A draft Murray cod genome of 633 Mbp (N50 = 109 974bp; BUSCO and CEGMA completeness of 94.2% and 91.9%, respectively) with an estimated 148 Mbp of putative repetitive sequences was assembled from the combined sequencing data of 2 fish individuals with an identical maternal lineage; 47.2 Gb of Illumina HiSeq data and 804 Mb of Nanopore data were generated from the first individual while 23.2 Gb of Illumina MiSeq data were generated from the second individual. The inclusion of Nanopore reads for scaffolding followed by subsequent gap-closing using Illumina data led to a 29% reduction in the number of scaffolds and a 55% and 54% increase in the scaffold and contig N50, respectively. We also report the first transcriptome of Murray cod that was subsequently used to annotate the Murray cod genome, leading to the identification of 26 539 protein-coding genes. We present the whole genome of the Murray cod and anticipate this will be a catalyst for a range of genetic, genomic, and phylogenetic studies of the Murray cod and more generally other fish species of the Percichthydae family. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

Otolith microstructure analysis to resolve seasonal patterns of hatching and settlement in western Baltic cod

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rehberg-Haas, Sabine; Hammer, Cornelius; Hillgruber, Nicola

2012-01-01

Previous studies showed that Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) settle to demersal life at a given size, while the annulus is formed seasonally, irrespective of size. The goal of this study was to examine the timing of check formation in juvenile Baltic cod otoliths to validate macrostructural ageing...... and to differentiate between true annuli and secondary structures such as settlement checks. Otoliths were collected from fish off Fehmarn Island in 2008 and 2009, and were examined for macrostructural and microstructural patterns using light and scanning electron microscopy. All fish examined were age-0. Back...

Monitoring of Antarctic moss ecosystems using a high spatial resolution imaging spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Malenovsky, Zbynek; Lucieer, Arko; Robinson, Sharon; Harwin, Stephen; Turner, Darren; Veness, Tony

2013-04-01

The most abundant photosynthetically active plants growing along the rocky Antarctic shore are mosses of three species: Schistidium antarctici, Ceratodon purpureus, and Bryum pseudotriquetrum. Even though mosses are well adapted to the extreme climate conditions, their existence in Antarctica depends strongly on availability of liquid water from snowmelt during the short summer season. Recent changes in temperature, wind speed and stratospheric ozone are stimulating faster evaporation, which in turn influences moss growing rate, health state and abundance. This makes them an ideal bio-indicator of the Antarctic climate change. Very short growing season, lasting only about three months, requires a time efficient, easily deployable and spatially resolved method for monitoring the Antarctic moss beds. Ground and/or low-altitude airborne imaging spectroscopy (called also hyperspectral remote sensing) offers a fast and spatially explicit approach to investigate an actual spatial extent and physiological state of moss turfs. A dataset of ground-based spectral images was acquired with a mini-Hyperspec imaging spectrometer (Headwall Inc., the USA) during the Antarctic summer 2012 in the surroundings of the Australian Antarctic station Casey (Windmill Islands). The collection of high spatial resolution spectral images, with pixels about 2 cm in size containing from 162 up to 324 narrow spectral bands of wavelengths between 399 and 998 nm, was accompanied with point moss reflectance measurements recorded with the ASD HandHeld-2 spectroradiometer (Analytical Spectral Devices Inc., the USA). The first spectral analysis indicates significant differences in red-edge and near-infrared reflectance of differently watered moss patches. Contrary to high plants, where the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) represents an estimate of green biomass, NDVI of mosses indicates mainly the actual water content. Similarly to high plants, reflectance of visible wavelengths is

Radarsat Antarctic Mapping Project Digital Elevation Model, Version 2

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The high-resolution Radarsat Antarctic Mapping Project (RAMP) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) combines topographic data from a variety of sources to provide consistent...

Geology of the Wilkes land sub-basin and stability of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet: Insights from rock magnetism at IODP Site U1361

Science.gov (United States)

Tauxe, L.; Sugisaki, S.; Jiménez-Espejo, F.; Escutia, C.; Cook, C. P.; van de Flierdt, T.; Iwai, M.

2015-02-01

IODP Expedition 318 drilled Site U1361 on the continental rise offshore of Adélie Land and the Wilkes subglacial basin. The objective was to reconstruct the stability of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) during Neogene warm periods, such as the late Miocene and the early Pliocene. The sedimentary record tells a complex story of compaction, and erosion (thus hiatuses). Teasing out the paleoenvironmental implications is essential for understanding the evolution of the EAIS. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) is sensitive to differential compaction and other rock magnetic parameters like isothermal remanence and anhysteretic remanence are very sensitive to changes in the terrestrial source region. In general, highly anisotropic layers correspond with laminated clay-rich units, while more isotropic layers are bioturbated and have less clay. Layers enriched in diatoms are associated with the latter, which also have higher Ba/Al ratios consistent with higher productivity. Higher anisotropy layers have lower porosity and moisture contents and have fine grained magnetic mineralogy dominated by maghemite, the more oxidized form of iron oxide, while the lower anisotropy layers have magnetic mineralogies dominated by magnetite. The different magnetic mineralogies support the suggestion based on isotopic signatures by Cook et al. (2013) of different source regions during low productivity (cooler) and high productivity (warmer) times. These two facies were tied to the coastal outcrops of the Lower Paleozoic granitic terranes and the Ferrar Large Igneous Province in the more inland Wilkes Subglacial Basin respectively. Here we present evidence for a third geological unit, one eroded at the boundaries between the high and low clay zone with a "hard" (mostly hematite) dominated magnetic mineralogy. This unit likely outcrops in the Wilkes subglacial basin and could be hydrothermally altered Beacon sandstone similar to that detected by Craw and Findlay (1984) in Taylor

Antarctic ozone loss in 1989-2010: evidence for ozone recovery?

Science.gov (United States)

Kuttippurath, J.; Lefèvre, F.; Pommereau, J.-P.; Roscoe, H. K.; Goutail, F.; Pazmiño, A.; Shanklin, J. D.

2012-04-01

We present a detailed estimation of chemical ozone loss in the Antarctic polar vortex from 1989 to 2010. The analyses include ozone loss estimates for 12 Antarctic ground-based (GB) stations. All GB observations show minimum ozone in the late September-early October period. Among the stations, the lowest minimum ozone values are observed at South Pole and the highest at Dumont d'Urville. The ozone loss starts by mid-June at the vortex edge and then progresses towards the vortex core with time. The loss intensifies in August-September, peaks by the end of September-early October, and recovers thereafter. The average ozone loss in the Antarctic is revealed to be about 33-50% in 1989-1992 in agreement with the increase in halogens during this period, and then stayed at around 48% due to saturation of the loss. The ozone loss in the warmer winters (e.g. 2002, and 2004) is lower (37-46%) and in the colder winters (e.g. 2003, and 2006) is higher (52-55%). Because of small inter-annual variability, the correlation between ozone loss and the volume of polar stratospheric clouds yields ~0.51. The GB ozone and ozone loss values are in good agreement with those found from the space-based observations of the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer/Ozone Monitoring Instrument (TOMS/OMI), the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME), the Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography (SCIAMACHY), and the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), where the differences are within ±5% and are mostly within the error bars of the measurements. The piece-wise linear trends computed from the September-November vortex average GB and TOMS/OMI ozone show about -4 to -5.6 DU (Dobson Unit) yr-1 in 1989-1996 and about +1 DU yr-1 in 1997-2010. The trend during the former period is significant at 95% confidence intervals, but the trend in 1997-2010 is significant only at 85% confidence intervals. Our analyses suggest a period of about 9-10 yr to get the first detectable ozone

Reconciling projections of the Antarctic contribution to sea level rise

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, Tamsin; Holden, Philip; Edwards, Neil; Wernecke, Andreas

2017-04-01

Two recent studies of the Antarctic contribution to sea level rise this century had best estimates that differed by an order of magnitude (around 10 cm and 1 m by 2100). The first, Ritz et al. (2015), used a model calibrated with satellite data, giving a 5% probability of exceeding 30cm by 2100 for sea level rise due to Antarctic instability. The second, DeConto and Pollard (2016), used a model evaluated with reconstructions of palaeo-sea level. They did not estimate probabilities, but using a simple assumption here about the distribution shape gives up to a 5% chance of Antarctic contribution exceeding 2.3 m this century with total sea level rise approaching 3 m. If robust, this would have very substantial implications for global adaptation to climate change. How are we to make sense of this apparent inconsistency? How much is down to the data - does the past tell us we will face widespread and rapid Antarctic ice losses in the future? How much is due to the mechanism of rapid ice loss ('cliff failure') proposed in the latter paper, or other parameterisation choices in these low resolution models (GRISLI and PISM, respectively)? How much is due to choices made in the ensemble design and calibration? How do these projections compare with high resolution, grounding line resolving models such as BISICLES? Could we reduce the huge uncertainties in the palaeo-study? Emulation provides a powerful tool for understanding these questions and reconciling the projections. By describing the three numerical ice sheet models with statistical models, we can re-analyse the ensembles and re-do the calibrations under a common statistical framework. This reduces uncertainty in the PISM study because it allows massive sampling of the parameter space, which reduces the sensitivity to reconstructed palaeo-sea level values and also narrows the probability intervals because the simple assumption about distribution shape above is no longer needed. We present reconciled probabilistic

Impacts of the north and tropical Atlantic Ocean on the Antarctic Peninsula and sea ice.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xichen; Holland, David M; Gerber, Edwin P; Yoo, Changhyun

2014-01-23

In recent decades, Antarctica has experienced pronounced climate changes. The Antarctic Peninsula exhibited the strongest warming of any region on the planet, causing rapid changes in land ice. Additionally, in contrast to the sea-ice decline over the Arctic, Antarctic sea ice has not declined, but has instead undergone a perplexing redistribution. Antarctic climate is influenced by, among other factors, changes in radiative forcing and remote Pacific climate variability, but none explains the observed Antarctic Peninsula warming or the sea-ice redistribution in austral winter. However, in the north and tropical Atlantic Ocean, the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (a leading mode of sea surface temperature variability) has been overlooked in this context. Here we show that sea surface warming related to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation reduces the surface pressure in the Amundsen Sea and contributes to the observed dipole-like sea-ice redistribution between the Ross and Amundsen-Bellingshausen-Weddell seas and to the Antarctic Peninsula warming. Support for these findings comes from analysis of observational and reanalysis data, and independently from both comprehensive and idealized atmospheric model simulations. We suggest that the north and tropical Atlantic is important for projections of future climate change in Antarctica, and has the potential to affect the global thermohaline circulation and sea-level change.

Temperature effects on hemocyanin oxygen binding in an antarctic cephalopod.

Science.gov (United States)

Zielinski, S; Sartoris, F J; Pörtner, H O

2001-02-01

The functional relevance of oxygen transport by hemocyanin of the Antarctic octopod Megaleledone senoi and of the eurythermal cuttlefish Sepia officinalis was analyzed by continuous and simultaneous recordings of changes in pH and hemocyanin oxygen saturation in whole blood at various temperatures. These data were compared to literature data on other temperate and cold-water cephalopods (octopods and giant squid). In S. officinalis, the oxygen affinity of hemocyanin changed at deltaP50/degrees C = 0.12 kPa (pH 7.4) with increasing temperatures; this is similar to observations in temperate octopods. In M. senoi, thermal sensitivity was much smaller (delta log P50/delta pH) increased with increasing temperature in both the cuttlefish and the Antarctic octopod. At low PO2 (1.0 kPa) and pH (7.2), the presence of a large venous oxygen reserve (43% saturation) insensitive to pH reflects reduced pH sensitivity and high oxygen affinity in M. senoi hemocyanin at 0 degrees C. In S. officinalis, this reserve was 19% at pH 7.4, 20 degrees C, and 1.7 kPa O2, a level still higher than in squid. These findings suggest that the lower metabolic rate of octopods and cuttlefish compared to squid is reflected in less pH-dependent oxygen transport. Results of the hemocyanin analysis for the Antarctic octopod were similar to those reported for Vampyroteuthis--an extremely high oxygen affinity supporting a very low metabolic rate. In contrast to findings in cold-adapted giant squid, the minimized thermal sensitivity of oxygen transport in Antarctic octopods will reduce metabolic scope and thereby contribute to their stenothermality.

Controlling the COD removal of an A-stage pilot study with instrumentation and automatic process control.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Mark W; Elliott, Matt; DeArmond, Jon; Kinyua, Maureen; Wett, Bernhard; Murthy, Sudhir; Bott, Charles B

2017-06-01

The pursuit of fully autotrophic nitrogen removal via the anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) pathway has led to an increased interest in carbon removal technologies, particularly the A-stage of the adsorption/bio-oxidation (A/B) process. The high-rate operation of the A-stage and lack of automatic process control often results in wide variations of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal that can ultimately impact nitrogen removal in the downstream B-stage process. This study evaluated the use dissolved oxygen (DO) and mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) based automatic control strategies through the use of in situ on-line sensors in the A-stage of an A/B pilot study. The objective of using these control strategies was to reduce the variability of COD removal by the A-stage and thus the variability of the effluent C/N. The use of cascade DO control in the A-stage did not impact COD removal at the conditions tested in this study, likely because the bulk DO concentration (>0.5 mg/L) was maintained above the half saturation coefficient of heterotrophic organisms for DO. MLSS-based solids retention time (SRT) control, where MLSS was used as a surrogate for SRT, did not significantly reduce the effluent C/N variability but it was able to reduce COD removal variation in the A-stage by 90%.

Peatland Ecosystem Processes in the Maritime Antarctic During Warm Climates.

Science.gov (United States)

Loisel, Julie; Yu, Zicheng; Beilman, David W; Kaiser, Karl; Parnikoza, Ivan

2017-09-27

We discovered a 50-cm-thick peat deposit near Cape Rasmussen (65.2°S), in the maritime Antarctic. To our knowledge, while aerobic 'moss banks' have often been examined, waterlogged 'peatlands' have never been described in this region before. The waterlogged system is approximately 100 m 2 , with a shallow water table. Surface vegetation is dominated by Warnstorfia fontinaliopsis, a wet-adapted moss commonly found in the Antarctic Peninsula. Peat inception was dated at 2750 cal. BP and was followed by relatively rapid peat accumulation (~0.1 cm/year) until 2150 cal. BP. Our multi-proxy analysis then shows a 2000-year-long stratigraphic hiatus as well as the recent resurgence of peat accumulation, sometime after 1950 AD. The existence of a thriving peatland at 2700-2150 cal. BP implies regionally warm summer conditions extending beyond the mid-Holocene; this finding is corroborated by many regional records showing moss bank initiation and decreased sea ice extent during this time period. Recent peatland recovery at the study site (maritime Antarctic region may promote a more peatland-rich landscape in the future.

Searching for eukaryotic life preserved in Antarctic permafrost

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zucconi, L.; Selbmann, L.; Buzzini, P.

2012-01-01

Fungi and yeasts isolated in pure culture from Antarctic permafrost collected at different depths in the McMurdo Dry Valleys were identified with cultural, physiological and molecular methods. Fungi belonged to the genera Penicillium, Eurotium, Cladosporium, Alternaria, Engyodonthium, Aureobasidium...

Improved simulation of Antarctic sea ice due to the radiative effects of falling snow

Science.gov (United States)

Li, J.-L. F.; Richardson, Mark; Hong, Yulan; Lee, Wei-Liang; Wang, Yi-Hui; Yu, Jia-Yuh; Fetzer, Eric; Stephens, Graeme; Liu, Yinghui

2017-08-01

Southern Ocean sea-ice cover exerts critical control on local albedo and Antarctic precipitation, but simulated Antarctic sea-ice concentration commonly disagrees with observations. Here we show that the radiative effects of precipitating ice (falling snow) contribute substantially to this discrepancy. Many models exclude these radiative effects, so they underestimate both shortwave albedo and downward longwave radiation. Using two simulations with the climate model CESM1, we show that including falling-snow radiative effects improves the simulations relative to cloud properties from CloudSat-CALIPSO, radiation from CERES-EBAF and sea-ice concentration from passive microwave sensors. From 50-70°S, the simulated sea-ice-area bias is reduced by 2.12 × 106 km2 (55%) in winter and by 1.17 × 106 km2 (39%) in summer, mainly because increased wintertime longwave heating restricts sea-ice growth and so reduces summer albedo. Improved Antarctic sea-ice simulations will increase confidence in projected Antarctic sea level contributions and changes in global warming driven by long-term changes in Southern Ocean feedbacks.

Impacts of marine instability across the East Antarctic Ice Sheet on Southern Ocean dynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. J. Phipps

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Recent observations and modelling studies have demonstrated the potential for rapid and substantial retreat of large sectors of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS. This has major implications for ocean circulation and global sea level. Here we examine the effects of increasing meltwater from the Wilkes Basin, one of the major marine-based sectors of the EAIS, on Southern Ocean dynamics. Climate model simulations reveal that the meltwater flux rapidly stratifies surface waters, leading to a dramatic decrease in the rate of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW formation. The surface ocean cools but, critically, the Southern Ocean warms by more than 1 °C at depth. This warming is accompanied by a Southern Ocean-wide “domino effect”, whereby the warming signal propagates westward with depth. Our results suggest that melting of one sector of the EAIS could result in accelerated warming across other sectors, including the Weddell Sea sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Thus, localised melting of the EAIS could potentially destabilise the wider Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Persistent organochlorines in high-Antarctic fish; Persistente chlororganische Verbindungen in hochantarktischen Fischen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zimmermann, S.

1997-11-01

24 chlorinated hydrocarbons from different classes (PCB, HCH, DDT, Chlordane, Hexachlorobenzene and Octachlorostyrene) were analyzed in four species of high-Antarctic fish (Aethotaxis mitopteryx, Pleuragramma antarcticum, Trematomus lepidorhinus, and Chinodraco myersi). The concentrations were in the order of 1 {mu}g/kg wet weight or 10 {mu}g/kg lipid weight, respectively. Highest concentrations were measured for HCB in all species. The species showed different distribution patterns for the organochlorines studied. Compared with concentrations in fish from other regions the organochlorine levels measured in Antarctic fish are rather low. It is unlikely that the burden of organochlorines will cause any toxic effects in high-Antarctic fish yet. Nevertheless, with regard to the sensitive Antarctic ecosystem, even small concentrations carry a high risk of harm for Antarctic life. Environmental pollution in Antarctica should be observed with a monitoring program using standardized methods. For this purpose, the fish species studied are very useful as bioindicators for organochlorine contamination. (orig.) [Deutsch] 24 persistente Chlorkohlenwasserstoffe verschiedener Schadstoffgruppen (PCB, HCH, DDT, Chlordan, Hexachlorbenzol und Octachlorstyrol) wurden in vier hochantarktischen Fischarten (Aethotaxis mitopteryx, Pleuragramma antarcticum, Trematomus lepidorhinus und Chionodraco myersi). Die Konzentrationen der nachgewiesenen Schadstoffe im Ganzfisch liegen jeweils in der Groessenordnung von 1 {mu}g/kg Feuchtgewicht bzw. 10 {mu}g/kg Lipidgewicht mit erheblichen Schwankungen je nach Schadstoff und Art. Die Spezies zeigen artspezifische Schadstoffverteilungsmuster. Die Konzentrationen sind gegenueber denen in Fischen aus Gebieten mit staerkerem zivilisatorischem Einfluss eher niedrig. Die Fremstoffbelastungen der hochantarktischen Fische fuehren wahrscheinlich noch nicht zu messbaren toxischen Effekten bei den Fischen. Dennoch geht von den Schadstoffen in Hinblick auf das

Modeling Antarctic Ice Sheet retreat in warm climates: a historical perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Pollard, D.; Deconto, R. M.; Gasson, E.

2016-12-01

Early modeling of Antarctic Ice Sheet size vs. climate focused on asymmetry between retreat and growth, with much greater warming needed to cause retreat from full ice cover, due to Height Mass Balance Feedback and albedo feedback. This led to a long-standing model-data conflict, with models needing 1000 to2000 ppmv atmospheric CO2 to produce retreat from full size, vs. proxy data of large ice fluctuations despite much lower CO2 since the Miocene.Subsequent modeling with marine ice physics found that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could undergo repeated warm-period collapses with realistic past forcing. However, that yields only 3 to 7 m equivalent sea-level rise above modern, compared to 10 to 20 m or more suggested by some geologic data. Large subglacial basins in East Antarctica could be vulnerable to the same processes,but did not retreat in most models due to narrower and shallower sills.After recent modifications, some ice sheet models were able to produce warm-period collapse of major East Antarctic basins, with sea-level rise of up to 15 m. The modifications are (i) hydrofracturing by surface melt, and structural failure of ice cliffs, or (ii) numerical treatment at the grounding line. In these models, large retreat occurs both for past warmintervals, and also for future business-as-usual scenarios.Some interpretations of data in the late Oligocene and Miocene suggest yet larger fluctuations, between 50 to 100% of modern Antarctic size. That would require surface-melt driven retreat of some terrestrial East Antarctic ice, despite the hysteresis issue raised above. A recent study using a coupled climate-ice sheet model found that with a finer climate gridand more frequent coupling exchange, substantial retreat of terrestrial Antarctica can occur with 500 to 840 ppmv CO2, much lower than in earlier models. This will allow meaningful interactions between modeling and deeper-time geologic interpretations since the late Oligocene.

Chemical surface disinfection of eggs of Baltic cod, Gadus morhua L

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Overton, J L; Bruun, Morten Sichlau; Dalsgaard, Inger

2010-01-01

The effect of two disinfectants on eggs and larvae of Baltic cod, Gadus morhua, was investigated. The eggs were disinfected for 10 min using various concentrations of either glutaraldehyde (100, 200, 400, 600 and 800 mg L−1) or iodophor (10, 50, 100 and 150 mg L−1), 1–4-days post......-fertilization. Bactericidal effect of disinfection, survival to hatching, hatching success and larval abnormalities were assessed. Larval survival was recorded at 5-, 10- and 15-days post-hatch (dph). Although Baltic cod eggs have an unusually thin chorion, they could tolerate surface disinfection. A reduction in bacterial...... growth was observed with increased concentrations of disinfectant (3.0 × 107–1.6 × 101 CFU mL−1). Abnormalities in newly hatched larvae were not related to disinfection. Survival of the yolk sac larvae was significantly better for eggs treated with 400 mg L−1 glutaraldehyde for 10 min at 10 and 15 dph...

The effect of carbon dioxide on growth of juvenile Atlantic cod Gadus morhua L

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moran, Damian; Støttrup, Josianne

2011-01-01

A trial was undertaken to investigate how exposure to graded hypercapnia affected the growth performance of juvenile (15-80 g) Atlantic cod. Juveniles were grown at 20‰ salinity and 10 °C for 55 days under three hypercapnic regimes: low (2 ± 0.9 mg L−1 CO2, 0.6 mm Hg, 1000 μatm), medium (8 ± 0.5 mg...... experiments using marine fish species. The test concentrations were recalculated from the reported carbonate chemistry conditions, and indicated that the CO2 concentration effect threshold may have been overestimated in two of these studies. Our study suggests that juvenile Atlantic cod are more susceptible...

Modelling the effects of environmental conditions on the acoustic occurrence and behaviour of Antarctic blue whales.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fannie W Shabangu

Full Text Available Harvested to perilously low numbers by commercial whaling during the past century, the large scale response of Antarctic blue whales Balaenoptera musculus intermedia to environmental variability is poorly understood. This study uses acoustic data collected from 586 sonobuoys deployed in the austral summers of 1997 through 2009, south of 38°S, coupled with visual observations of blue whales during the IWC SOWER line-transect surveys. The characteristic Z-call and D-call of Antarctic blue whales were detected using an automated detection template and visual verification method. Using a random forest model, we showed the environmental preferences pattern, spatial occurrence and acoustic behaviour of Antarctic blue whales. Distance to the southern boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (SBACC, latitude and distance from the nearest Antarctic shores were the main geographic predictors of blue whale call occurrence. Satellite-derived sea surface height, sea surface temperature, and productivity (chlorophyll-a were the most important environmental predictors of blue whale call occurrence. Call rates of D-calls were strongly predicted by the location of the SBACC, latitude and visually detected number of whales in an area while call rates of Z-call were predicted by the SBACC, latitude and longitude. Satellite-derived sea surface height, wind stress, wind direction, water depth, sea surface temperatures, chlorophyll-a and wind speed were important environmental predictors of blue whale call rates in the Southern Ocean. Blue whale call occurrence and call rates varied significantly in response to inter-annual and long term variability of those environmental predictors. Our results identify the response of Antarctic blue whales to inter-annual variability in environmental conditions and highlighted potential suitable habitats for this population. Such emerging knowledge about the acoustic behaviour, environmental and habitat preferences of

Modelling the effects of environmental conditions on the acoustic occurrence and behaviour of Antarctic blue whales.

Science.gov (United States)

Shabangu, Fannie W; Yemane, Dawit; Stafford, Kathleen M; Ensor, Paul; Findlay, Ken P

2017-01-01

Harvested to perilously low numbers by commercial whaling during the past century, the large scale response of Antarctic blue whales Balaenoptera musculus intermedia to environmental variability is poorly understood. This study uses acoustic data collected from 586 sonobuoys deployed in the austral summers of 1997 through 2009, south of 38°S, coupled with visual observations of blue whales during the IWC SOWER line-transect surveys. The characteristic Z-call and D-call of Antarctic blue whales were detected using an automated detection template and visual verification method. Using a random forest model, we showed the environmental preferences pattern, spatial occurrence and acoustic behaviour of Antarctic blue whales. Distance to the southern boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (SBACC), latitude and distance from the nearest Antarctic shores were the main geographic predictors of blue whale call occurrence. Satellite-derived sea surface height, sea surface temperature, and productivity (chlorophyll-a) were the most important environmental predictors of blue whale call occurrence. Call rates of D-calls were strongly predicted by the location of the SBACC, latitude and visually detected number of whales in an area while call rates of Z-call were predicted by the SBACC, latitude and longitude. Satellite-derived sea surface height, wind stress, wind direction, water depth, sea surface temperatures, chlorophyll-a and wind speed were important environmental predictors of blue whale call rates in the Southern Ocean. Blue whale call occurrence and call rates varied significantly in response to inter-annual and long term variability of those environmental predictors. Our results identify the response of Antarctic blue whales to inter-annual variability in environmental conditions and highlighted potential suitable habitats for this population. Such emerging knowledge about the acoustic behaviour, environmental and habitat preferences of Antarctic blue whales is

The Effects of Interactive Stratospheric Chemistry on Antarctic and Southern Ocean Climate Change in an AOGCM

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Feng; Newman, Paul; Pawson, Steven; Waugh, Darryn

2014-01-01

Stratospheric ozone depletion has played a dominant role in driving Antarctic climate change in the last decades. In order to capture the stratospheric ozone forcing, many coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs) prescribe the Antarctic ozone hole using monthly and zonally averaged ozone field. However, the prescribed ozone hole has a high ozone bias and lacks zonal asymmetry. The impacts of these biases on model simulations, particularly on Southern Ocean and the Antarctic sea ice, are not well understood. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of using interactive stratospheric chemistry instead of prescribed ozone on Antarctic and Southern Ocean climate change in an AOGCM. We compare two sets of ensemble simulations for the 1960-2010 period using different versions of the Goddard Earth Observing System 5 - AOGCM: one with interactive stratospheric chemistry, and the other with prescribed monthly and zonally averaged ozone and 6 other stratospheric radiative species calculated from the interactive chemistry simulations. Consistent with previous studies using prescribed sea surface temperatures and sea ice concentrations, the interactive chemistry runs simulate a deeper Antarctic ozone hole and consistently larger changes in surface pressure and winds than the prescribed ozone runs. The use of a coupled atmosphere-ocean model in this study enables us to determine the impact of these surface changes on Southern Ocean circulation and Antarctic sea ice. The larger surface wind trends in the interactive chemistry case lead to larger Southern Ocean circulation trends with stronger changes in northerly and westerly surface flow near the Antarctica continent and stronger upwelling near 60S. Using interactive chemistry also simulates a larger decrease of sea ice concentrations. Our results highlight the importance of using interactive chemistry in order to correctly capture the influences of stratospheric ozone depletion on climate

Penguin eggshell membranes reflect homogeneity of mercury in the marine food web surrounding the Antarctic Peninsula

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brasso, Rebecka L.; Polito, Michael J.; Lynch, Heather J.; Naveen, R.; Emslie, Steven D.

2012-01-01

Remote regions such as the Antarctic have become increasingly important for investigations into far-reaching anthropogenic impacts on the environment, most recently in regard to the global mercury cycle. Spatial patterns of mercury availability in four regions of the Antarctic Peninsula were investigated using three species of sympatrically breeding Pygoscelis penguins as biomonitors. Eggshells with intact membranes from Adélie, Gentoo, and Chinstrap penguins were collected at 24 breeding colonies in the South Orkney Islands, South Shetland Islands, eastern Antarctic Peninsula, and western Antarctic Peninsula during the 2006/2007 austral summer. In addition, we compared eggshell membrane mercury concentrations with eggshell stable isotope values (δ 15 N and δ 13 C) to determine if species-specific trophic or foraging habitat preferences influenced female mercury exposure prior to breeding. With few exceptions, mercury concentrations were found to be fairly homogeneous throughout the Antarctic Peninsula suggesting little spatial variation in the risk of exposure to dietary mercury in this food web. Mercury concentrations in Gentoo and Adélie penguins were similar while Chinstrap penguins tended to have higher eggshell membrane mercury concentrations than their congeners. However, inter and intra-specific differences in eggshell membrane mercury concentration were not related to eggshell δ 15 N or δ 13 C values, a likely result of all three species foraging at similar trophic positions. The lack of regional-scale differences in mercury availability in this marine ecosystem may be a reflection of generally uniform atmospheric deposition and upwelling of regionally homogeneous deep water rather than from geographically distinct point sources. -- Highlights: ► We examined regional patterns of mercury availability in the Antarctic Peninsula. ► Three species of Pygoscelis penguins were used as biomonitors. ► Chinstrap penguins tended to have higher mercury

Reduction of COD in wastewater from an organized tannery industrial region by Electro-Fenton process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurt, Ugur; Apaydin, Omer; Gonullu, M. Talha

2007-01-01

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have led the way in the treatment of aqueous waste and are rapidly becoming the chosen technology for many applications. In this paper, COD reduction potential of leather tanning industry wastewaters by Electro-Fenton (EF) oxidation, as one of the AOPs, was experimentally evaluated. The wastewater sample was taken from an outlet of an equalization basin in a common treatment plant of an organized tannery industrial region in Istanbul, Turkey. Treatment of the wastewater was carried out by an electrochemical batch reactor equipped with two iron electrodes, which were connected parallel to each other. The oxidation process was studied for optimization of H 2 O 2 and the electricity consumptions were observed at different contact times under different pH conditions (3.0, 5.0 and 7.2). In each case, electricity consumption for decreased COD mass was estimated. In this process, COD was reduced by 60-70% within 10 min. By taking into consideration the local sewerage discharge limit, applicability of EF process for the tannery wastewaters was evaluated

Reduction of COD in wastewater from an organized tannery industrial region by Electro-Fenton process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kurt, Ugur [Yildiz Technical University, Environmental Engineering Department, 34349 Istanbul (Turkey)]. E-mail: ukurt@yildiz.edu.tr; Apaydin, Omer [Yildiz Technical University, Environmental Engineering Department, 34349 Istanbul (Turkey)]. E-mail: apaydin@yildiz.edu.tr; Gonullu, M. Talha [Yildiz Technical University, Environmental Engineering Department, 34349 Istanbul (Turkey)]. E-mail: gonul@yildiz.edu.tr

2007-05-08

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have led the way in the treatment of aqueous waste and are rapidly becoming the chosen technology for many applications. In this paper, COD reduction potential of leather tanning industry wastewaters by Electro-Fenton (EF) oxidation, as one of the AOPs, was experimentally evaluated. The wastewater sample was taken from an outlet of an equalization basin in a common treatment plant of an organized tannery industrial region in Istanbul, Turkey. Treatment of the wastewater was carried out by an electrochemical batch reactor equipped with two iron electrodes, which were connected parallel to each other. The oxidation process was studied for optimization of H{sub 2}O{sub 2} and the electricity consumptions were observed at different contact times under different pH conditions (3.0, 5.0 and 7.2). In each case, electricity consumption for decreased COD mass was estimated. In this process, COD was reduced by 60-70% within 10 min. By taking into consideration the local sewerage discharge limit, applicability of EF process for the tannery wastewaters was evaluated.

Tightened constraints on the time-lag between Antarctic temperature and CO2 during the last deglaciation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. D. van Ommen

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Antarctic ice cores provide clear evidence of a close coupling between variations in Antarctic temperature and the atmospheric concentration of CO2 during the glacial/interglacial cycles of at least the past 800-thousand years. Precise information on the relative timing of the temperature and CO2 changes can assist in refining our understanding of the physical processes involved in this coupling. Here, we focus on the last deglaciation, 19 000 to 11 000 yr before present, during which CO2 concentrations increased by ~80 parts per million by volume and Antarctic temperature increased by ~10 °C. Utilising a recently developed proxy for regional Antarctic temperature, derived from five near-coastal ice cores and two ice core CO2 records with high dating precision, we show that the increase in CO2 likely lagged the increase in regional Antarctic temperature by less than 400 yr and that even a short lead of CO2 over temperature cannot be excluded. This result, consistent for both CO2 records, implies a faster coupling between temperature and CO2 than previous estimates, which had permitted up to millennial-scale lags.

Low-temperature transitions in cod and tuna determined by differential scanning calorimetry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Kristina Nedenskov; Jørgensen, Bo; Nielsen, Jette

2003-01-01

Differential scanning calorimetry measurements have revealed different thermal transitions in cod and tuna samples. Transition temperatures detected Lit -11degreesC, -15degreesC and -21degreesC were highly dependent on the annealing temperature. In tuna muscle an additional transition was observed...... at -72degreesC. This transition appeared differently than the thermal events observed at higher temperatures, as it spanned a broad temperature interval of 25degreesC. The transition was comparable to low-temperature glass transitions reported in protein-rich systems. No transition at this low...... temperature was detected in cod samples. The transitions observed at higher temperatures (-11degreesC to -21degreesC) may possibly stein from a glassy matrix containing muscle proteins. However, the presence of a glass transition at - 11degreesC was in disagreement with the low storage stability at -18degrees...

Effect of netting direction and number of meshes around on size selection in the codend for Baltic cod (Gadus morhua)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wienbeck, Harald; Herrmann, Bent; Moderhak, Waldemar

2011-01-01

We investigated experimentally the effect that turning the netting direction 90° (T90) and halving the number of meshes around in the circumference in a diamond mesh codend had on size selection of Baltic cod. The results generally agreed with predictions of a previous simulation-based study. Both...... modifications had a significant positive effect on the size selection of cod. The best selection results were obtained for a codend in which both factors were applied together. For that codend, very little between-haul variation in cod size selection was detected, especially compared to the reference codend...

The Effects of Temperature, Hypoxia and Hypercapnia on the Metabolism of Atlantic Cod Gadus morhua

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tirsgård, Bjørn

in the water conditions affecting their performance, growth and reproduction. Variations in the water conditions between years and due to climatic changes, affects the survival rate, population dynamic and bio-energetic distribution of the Atlantic cod (Hansson et al., 1996; Essington et al., 2001...... into bio-energetic models used to predict survival, growth and reproduction rates and cod stock dynamics. Furthermore, due to the growing interest of the continuing global increase in atmospheric and oceanic CO2 levels (ICES, 2010), and the rapid expansion of fish farming in land-based recirculated...... important for bio-energetic models (Werner et al., 1996; Leising and Franks, 1999; Werner et al., 2001; Lough et al., 2005). The temperature effect on the metabolism of Atlantic cod larvae however have received little attention (Laurence, 1978; Finn et al., 2002; Peck and Buckley, 2008), likely due...

In-situ aircraft observations of ice concentrations within clouds over the Antarctic Peninsula and Larsen Ice Shelf

OpenAIRE

Grosvenor, D. P.; Choularton, T. W.; Lachlan-Cope, T.; Gallagher, M. W.; Crosier, J.; Bower, K. N.; Ladkin, R. S.; Dorsey, J. R.

2012-01-01

In-situ aircraft observations of ice crystal concentrations in Antarctic clouds are presented for the first time. Orographic, layer and wave clouds around the Antarctic Peninsula and Larsen Ice shelf regions were penetrated by the British Antarctic Survey's Twin Otter aircraft, which was equipped with modern cloud physics probes. The clouds studied were mostly in the free troposphere and hence ice crystals blown from the surface are unlikely to have been a major source for the ice phas...

Why is age determination of Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) so difficult?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hüssy, Karin

2010-01-01

to a consistent pattern the following year, and overlap was not influenced by sex or fish size. The results suggest that otolith opacity in Baltic cod is not associated with seasonal patterns in daily increment structure and that traditional age determination based on otolith opacity yields highly uncertain...

Concentration of trace elements in feathers of three Antarctic penguins: Geographical and interspecific differences

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jerez, Silvia [Area de Toxicologia, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia (Spain); Motas, Miguel, E-mail: motas@um.es [Area de Toxicologia, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia (Spain); Palacios, Maria Jose; Valera, Francisco [Departamento de Ecologia Funcional y Evolutiva, Estacion Experimental de Zonas Aridas, CSIC, Carretera de Sacramento s/n, 04120 La Canada de San Urbano, Almeria (Spain); Cuervo, Jose Javier; Barbosa, Andres [Departamento de Ecologia Funcional y Evolutiva, Estacion Experimental de Zonas Aridas, CSIC, Carretera de Sacramento s/n, 04120 La Canada de San Urbano, Almeria (Spain); Departamento de Ecologia Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, C/Jose Gutierrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid (Spain)

2011-10-15

Antarctica is often considered as one of the last pristine regions, but it could be affected by pollution at global and local scale. Concentrations of Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Cd and Pb were determinated by ICP-MS in feathers (n = 207 individuals) of gentoo, chinstrap and Adelie penguin collected in 8 locations throughout the Antarctic Peninsula (2006-2007). The highest levels of several elements were found in samples from King George Island (8.08, 20.29 and 1.76 {mu}g g{sup -1} dw for Cr, Cu and Pb, respectively) and Deception Island (203.13, 3.26 and 164.26 {mu}g g{sup -1} dw for Al, Mn and Fe, respectively), where probably human activities and large-scale transport of pollutants contribute to increase metal levels. Concentrations of Cr, Mn, Cu, Se or Pb, which are similar to others found in different regions of the world, show that some areas in Antarctica are not utterly pristine. - Highlights: > We study levels of trace elements in feathers of Antarctic penguins. > Eight different rookeries throughout the Antarctic Peninsula were sampled. > Interspecific (gentoo, chinstrap, Adelie) and geographical differences were tested. > Relatively high metal levels were found in areas with major human presence. > Penguin feather can be useful for metals monitoring in the Antarctic environment. - Trace element levels in feathers of three penguin species from the Antarctic Peninsula indicate the presence of pollution in certain locations.

Concentration of trace elements in feathers of three Antarctic penguins: Geographical and interspecific differences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jerez, Silvia; Motas, Miguel; Palacios, Maria Jose; Valera, Francisco; Cuervo, Jose Javier; Barbosa, Andres

2011-01-01

Antarctica is often considered as one of the last pristine regions, but it could be affected by pollution at global and local scale. Concentrations of Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Cd and Pb were determinated by ICP-MS in feathers (n = 207 individuals) of gentoo, chinstrap and Adelie penguin collected in 8 locations throughout the Antarctic Peninsula (2006-2007). The highest levels of several elements were found in samples from King George Island (8.08, 20.29 and 1.76 μg g -1 dw for Cr, Cu and Pb, respectively) and Deception Island (203.13, 3.26 and 164.26 μg g -1 dw for Al, Mn and Fe, respectively), where probably human activities and large-scale transport of pollutants contribute to increase metal levels. Concentrations of Cr, Mn, Cu, Se or Pb, which are similar to others found in different regions of the world, show that some areas in Antarctica are not utterly pristine. - Highlights: → We study levels of trace elements in feathers of Antarctic penguins. → Eight different rookeries throughout the Antarctic Peninsula were sampled. → Interspecific (gentoo, chinstrap, Adelie) and geographical differences were tested. → Relatively high metal levels were found in areas with major human presence. → Penguin feather can be useful for metals monitoring in the Antarctic environment. - Trace element levels in feathers of three penguin species from the Antarctic Peninsula indicate the presence of pollution in certain locations.

Contrasting patterns in lichen diversity in the continental and maritime Antarctic

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Shiv Mohan; Olech, Maria; Cannone, Nicoletta; Convey, Peter

2015-09-01

Systematic surveys of the lichen floras of Schirmacher Oasis (Queen Maud Land, continental Antarctic), Victoria Land (Ross Sector, continental Antarctic) and Admiralty Bay (South Shetland Islands, maritime Antarctic) were compared to help infer the major factors influencing patterns of diversity and biogeography in the three areas. Biogeographic patterns were determined using a variety of multivariate statistical tools. A total of 54 lichen species were documented from Schirmacher Oasis (SO), 48 from Victoria Land (VL) and 244 from Admiralty Bay (AB). Of these, 21 species were common to all areas. Most lichens from the SO and VL areas were microlichens, the dominant genus being Buellia. In AB, in contrast, many macrolichens were also present and the dominant genus was Caloplaca. In SO and VL large areas lacked any visible lichen cover, even where the ground was snow-free in summer. Small-scale diversity patterns were present in AB, where the number of species and genera was greater close to the coast. Most species recorded were rare in the study areas in which they were present and endemic to Antarctica.

The changing form of Antarctic biodiversity

OpenAIRE

Chown, Steven L.; Clarke, Andrew; Fraser, Ceridwen I.; Cary, S. Craig; Moon, Katherine L.; McGeoch, Melodie A.

2015-01-01

Antarctic biodiversity is much more extensive, ecologically diverse and biogeographically structured than previously thought. Understanding of how this diversity is distributed in marine and terrestrial systems, the mechanisms underlying its spatial variation, and the significance of the microbiota is growing rapidly. Broadly recognizable drivers of diversity variation include energy availability and historical refugia. The impacts of local human activities and global environmental change non...

Effect of different temperature regimes on the chlorophyll a concentration in four species of Antarctic macroalgae

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Dhargalkar, V.K.

th Symp. on Polar Biology, Nat. Inst. Pf Polar Research. Tokyo. Mem. natn. lnst. polar Res. Tokyo(Spec.Issue).32: l12-116. Papenfuss, G. F. 1964. Catalogue and bibliography of Antarctic and sub- antarctic benthic marine algae. Am. Geophys. Union...

ARM West Antarctic Radiation Experiment (AWARE) Science Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lubin, D [National Science Foundation; Bromwich, DH [Ohio State University; Russell, LM [Scripps Institution of Oceanography; Verlinde, J [The Pennsylvania State University; Vogelmann, AM [Brookhaven National Laboratory

2015-10-01

West Antarctica is one of the most rapidly warming regions on Earth, and this warming is closely connected with global sea level rise. The discovery of rapid climate change on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) has challenged previous explanations of Antarctic climate change that focused on strengthening of circumpolar westerlies in response to the positive polarity trend in the Southern Annular Mode. West Antarctic warming does not yet have a comprehensive explanation: dynamical mechanisms may vary from one season to the next, and these mechanisms very likely involve complex teleconnections with subtropical and tropical latitudes. The prime motivation for this proposal is that there has been no substantial atmospheric science or climatological field work on West Antarctica since the 1957 International Geophysical Year and that research continued for only a few years. Direct meteorological information on the WAIS has been limited to a few automatic weather stations for several decades, yet satellite imagery and meteorological reanalyses indicate that West Antarctica is highly susceptible to advection of warm and moist maritime air with related cloud cover, depending on the location and strength of low pressure cells in the Amundsen, Ross, and Bellingshausen Seas. There is a need to quantify the role of these changing air masses on the surface energy balance, including all surface energy components and cloud-radiative forcing. More generally, global climate model simulations are known to perform poorly over the Antarctic and Southern Oceans, and the marked scarcity of cloud information at southern high latitudes has so far inhibited significant progress. Fortunately, McMurdo Station, where the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Facility’s (ARM’s) most advanced cloud and aerosol instrumentation is situated, has a meteorological relationship with the WAIS via circulation patterns in the Ross and Amundsen Seas. We can therefore gather sophisticated data with cloud

Behavioural changes of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) after marine boulder reef restoration: Implications for coastal habitat management and Natura 2000 areas