Invader amphipods Gmelinoides fasciatus (Stebbing, 1899) inhabiting distant waterbodies demonstrate differences in tolerance and energy metabolism under elevated temperatures

Gmelinoides fasciatus is a successful invasive amphipod (Amphipoda, Crustacea) that dispersed from Lake Baikal to various waterbodies. Here we studied whether Baikal conditions are optimal for G. fasciatus in terms of thermotolerance and investigated lethal temperatures, 70 kDa heat shock protein level, energy metabolism, and antioxidant defense of animals from three geographically distant waterbodies under changing temperatures. We used acute heat exposure to 28 °C to assess the median lethal times and gradual temperature increase from 6 °C to determine the lethal temperatures. Mortality under heat shock was explainable by the baseline content of Hsp70 that correlated with thermal history. But it was not the case under gradual temperature increase where Hsp70 levels became similar and the mortality pattern changed. The most thermotolerant amphipods from the Gulf of Finland demonstrated a higher amount of free glucose during the temperature increase that may be related to the higher salinity of this waterbody and less energy required for ion regulation. Even though concentrations of major physiological ions in Lake Baikal are lower than in Lake Ladoga, G. fasciatus from Ladoga was slightly more sensitive to the gradual temperature increase. This difference could be explained by the influence of high levels of humic and other potentially toxic substances in Lake Ladoga indicated by increased activities of catalase and glutathione S-transferase. Importantly, all G. fasciatus populations accumulated relatively low levels of lactate during the temperature increase, which may reflect the ability of this invasive species to effectively maintain aerobic metabolism under various conditions.     

The effect of salinity and temperature on electromagnetic wave attenuation in brine

Ice slurries are typically formed from an aqueous solution of water and salt (NaCl) at 5% salinity. Ice pigs, used in many industry areas, are taken from a bulk ice slurry and used to clear waste or recover product from pipes. Ice fraction is a key property of an ice slurry, since it determines it's ‘thickness’ and therefore cleaning capacity. Electromagnetic wave interrogation has been shown to accurately predict an ice fraction to within an error of ±1.2%. The largest remaining process error comes from inherent salinity variation, which affects the electromagnetic wave attenuation significantly. Increasing electromagnetic wave attenuation with increasing salinity and the effect of temperature, shown to also increase attenuation, is quantified. Calibration methods are proposed, aiming to eliminate the unwanted effect of varying salinity. Analysis on multiple samples showed a 16% reduction in average error, and 9% reduction in maximum error when the calibration method was applied.     

Removal of chlorophenols from groundwater by chitosan sorption

The equilibrium and kinetics of chlorophenol (CP) sorption by chitosan, poly D-glucosamine, were studied under simulated groundwater conditions. Lower temperature, from 25 degrees C to 15 degrees C and then 5 degrees C, markedly decreased the adsorption rates by a factor of 30-53% and 7-22%. Comparison between two types of chitosan, flakes and highly swollen beads, demonstrated that the maximum pentachlorophenol (PCP) uptake capacities in Langmuir and Freundlich models depend on the specific surface area of the particle. Low temperature (5 degrees C) significantly increased the PCP uptake capacity in comparison to higher temperatures (15 degrees C and 25 degrees C). PCP uptake capacity was halved at pH levels higher than 6.5, and NaCl concentrations greater than 1% blocked PCP sorption almost completely. Of five kinds of chlorophenols, i.e. 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP), 3,4-dichlorophenol (3,4-DCP), 2,3-dichlorophenol (2,3-DCP), 2,6-dichlorophenol (2,6-DCP), 3-monochlorophenol (3-MCP), TCP had the maximum sorption efficiency on flake-type chitosan, followed by DCPs, and finally MCP (the three kinds of DCP, with the same elemental compositions, achieved similar sorption performances).     

On the issue of limiting nutrient and predictions of cyanobacteria in aquatic systems

This study aims at bridging the gap between freshwater and marine eutrophication studies by presenting (1) a cross-system analysis of the relationship between chlorophyll and the total nitrogen (TN) to total phosphorus (TP) ratio (2) a general model to predict concentrations of cyanobacteria from data on TP, the TN/TP ratio, salinity and temperature, and (3) a general trophic level classification for aquatic systems based on chlorophyll classes (for oligo-, meso-, eu- and hypertrophic systems). The data compiled in this study concerns more than 500 lakes and coastal areas covering a very wide domain in terms of nutrient concentrations and salinity. There was no simple relationship between the TN/TP ratio and empirical chlorophyll concentrations or concentrations of cyanobacteria. Variations in TP rather than TN generally seem to be more important to predict variations among systems in chlorophyll-a and cyanobacteria. Different "bioavailable" forms of the nutrients (DIN, DIP, phosphate, nitrate, etc.) have been shown to have very high coefficients of variation (CV), which means that many samples are needed to obtain reliable empirical data which are necessary in models aiming for high predictive power and practical usefulness.     

Influence of soil properties on trace element availability and plant accumulation in a Mediterranean salt marsh polluted by mining wastes: implications for phytomanagement

The aims of this study were to determine the factors which control metal and As phytoavailability in the different microenvironments (Sand Dunes, Salt Flat, Dry River and Shrubs) present at a Mediterranean salt marsh polluted by mining wastes. We performed a field study following a plot sampling survey. The analyses of soil parameters (pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon contents, etc.), total metal and As concentrations and their phytoavailability assessed with EDTA were related to each microenvironment and the corresponding plant species uptake. The averages of pH and EC were slightly alkaline (pH ≈ 7.5) and saline (≈ 2.2 to 17.1 dS m⁻¹) respectively. The soil samples from the Salt Flat subzone showed the highest metal concentrations (e.g. 51 mg kg⁻¹ Cd, 11,600 mg kg⁻¹ Pb) while for As, the highest concentrations occurred in the Dry River (380 mg kg⁻¹ As). The total metal and EDTA-extractable concentrations occurred as it follows: Salt Flat > Dry River > Degraded Dunes > Shrubs. In relation to plant metal and As accumulation, the highest root concentrations were obtained in the species from the Salt Flat subzone: ~ 17 mg kg⁻¹ As, ~ 620 mg kg⁻¹ Pb, for both, Juncus maritimus and Arthrocnemum macrostachyum. However the highest metal and As shoot concentrations occurred in species from the Sand Dunes: ~ 23 mg kg⁻¹ As ~ 270 mg kg⁻¹ Pb for Dittrichia viscosa; ~ 23 mg kg⁻¹ As, ~ 390 mg kg⁻¹ Zn for Crucianella maritima. The occurrence of edaphic gradients including salinity and texture determined the vegetation distribution. However, it cannot be concluded that there was a disturbance due to metal(loid)s soil concentrations in terms of vegetation composition except in the Degraded Dunes and Dry River. The higher EDTA-extractable concentrations were coincidental with the most saline soils but this did not result in higher metal(loid)s plant accumulation.     

气藏凝析水引起的地层水矿化度淡化问题——以四川盆地新场气田须二段气藏为例

前人据研究成果提出了高温高压气藏地层水矿化度变化较大的认识,由此有可能得出与实际情况不一致的结论,其主要原因是忽视了低矿化度凝析水的影响。为此,利用四川盆地新场气田须家河组二段气藏投产以来获得的产出水样矿化度资料,研究了不同水气比阶段的井口水样矿化度特征,认为井口产出水样矿化度明显受到了凝析水淡化的影响,气藏井口产出水可以划分为凝析水、地层水及其两者的混合水。研究结果表明：①井口产出水矿化度随气井水气比增大而增高,由低矿化度凝析水向高矿化度地层水转变;②当气井水气比小于0.1 m³/10⁴ m³时,井口产出水为矿化度小于1 g/L的凝析水;③当水气比为0.1～0.8 m³/10⁴ m³时,水样矿化度介于凝析水和地层水之间,水样以混合水为主;④气井水气比大于等于0.8 m³/10⁴ m³时,水样最接近于地层水矿化度,凝析水对水样矿化度的影响可以忽略;⑤在排除凝析水淡化影响后,单一气藏地层水矿化度差异不大,新场气田须二段气藏变化范围在93.47～120.05 g/L之间。     

Effect of different substrate concentrations and salinity on hydrogen production from mariculture organic waste (MOW)

In this paper, the influence of substrate concentrations and salinity on hydrogen production from mariculture organic waste (MOW) at mesophilic condition in batch reactors was determined. It was found that the hydrogen yield and hydrogen content were influenced by the initial substrate concentrations and salinity. The optimum concentration for hydrogen production was 20 g/L. The salinity could produce inhibit effect for hydrogen production. The low hydrogen content was detected at high salinity condition. The nutrients changing and metabolites composition could also be significantly influenced by the salinity. The releasing of carbohydrate from MOW could be easily used for hydrogen production, and protein could be accumulated and assimilated during the hydrogen fermentation. The enhancing of salinity was disadvantage for total metabolites accumulation.     

Nonionic surfactants from poly(ethylene terephthalate) waste: II. Effect of temperature,salinity, pH-value,and solvents on the demulsification efficiency

The effect of temperature, NaCl concentration (salinity), pH-value, and solvents on the demulsification efficiency of the demulsifiers synthesized from poly(ethylene terephthalate) waste [polyoxyethylenated glycolized product of PET (POGP)] in breaking synthetic water-in-benzene emulsions stabilized by petroleum asphaltenes have been investigated. The demulsification efficiency of the studied polymeric surfactants was found to increase as the temperature was raised and the salinity of the aqueous phase decreased. Neutral pH-value of the aqueous phase of the emulsion was found to be the optimum value causing maximum demulsification efficiency. Water and 1, 2 propylene glycol were found to be the best solvents for the prepared demulsifiers offering maximum demulsification efficacy.     

The influence of temperature, pressure, salinity and capillary force on the formation of methane hydrate

We present here a thermodynamic model for predicting multi-phase equilibrium of methane hydrate liquid and vapor phases under conditions of different temperature, pressure, salinity and pore sizes. The model is based on the 1959 van der Waals-Platteeuw model, angle-dependent ab initio inter- molecular potentials, the DMW-92 equation of state and Pitzer theory. Comparison with all available experimental data shows that this model can accurately predict the effects of temperature, pressure, salinity and capillary radius on the formation and dissociation of methane hydrate. Online calculations of the p-T conditions for the formation of methane hydrate at given salinities and pore sizes of sediments are available on: www.geochem-model.org/models.htm.