scholarly journals Distribution of Carbon and Nitrogen as Indictors of Environmental Significance in Coastal Sediments of Weizhou Island, Beibu Gulf

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 3285
Author(s):  
Zhiyi Tang ◽  
Chao Cao ◽  
Kunxian Tang ◽  
Hongshuai Qi ◽  
Yuanmin Sun ◽  
...  

Carbon and nitrogen contents and their isotopic components, and AMS (Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) radiocarbon dating ages, were measured for 57 coastal sediments from Weizhou Island to analyze the distribution of total inorganic carbon (TIC) and its carbon and oxygen isotopic components (δ13Ccarb and δ18Ocarb), total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents and their stable isotopic components (δ13CTOC and δ15NTN), and their environmental significance. The results showed that the oldest age of coastal sediments on Weizhou Island was 2750 cal. a BP (before present), and the average TIC contents of cores A1, A2, B1, C1, and D1 in the intertidal zone were all greater than 5%, where δ13Ccarb and δ18Ocarb were enriched, whereas the TIC contents in cores A3, C2, and D2 of the supra-tidal zone were low, where δ13Ccarb and δ18Ocarb were depleted. Moreover, TIC decreased sharply, 4.95% on average, to close to zero from the estuary to the upstream region in the C1-C2 section. The average C/N ratio was 7.02, and δ13CTOC and δ15NTN were between −14.96‰ and −27.26‰ and −14.38‰ and 4.12‰, respectively. These measurements indicate that the TIC in coastal sediments mainly came from seawater. Cores A1, A2, and B1 in the northern intertidal zone exhibited organic terrestrial signals because of C3 and C4 plant inputs, which indicates that the important source on the northern coast of Weizhou Island came from island land but followed the decrease in C3 plants. The lacustrine facies deposits were mainly distributed in the upper reaches of the river, the northern coastline was advancing toward the sea, and part of the southwestern coastal sediments rapidly accumulated on the shore under the influence of a storm surge. The relative sea level of the Weizhou Island area has continuously declined at a rate of approximately 2.07 mm/a, using beach rock as a marker, since the Holocene.

Author(s):  
Zhiyi Tang ◽  
Chao Cao ◽  
Kunxian Tang ◽  
Hongshuai Qi ◽  
Yuanmin Sun ◽  
...  

Carbon and nitrogen contents and their isotopic components and AMS radiocarbon dating ages were measured for 57 coastal sediments from Weizhou Island to analyze the distribution of total inorganic carbon (TIC) and its carbon and oxygen isotopic components (δ13Ccarb and δ18Ocarb), total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents and their stable isotopic components (δ13CTOC and δ15NTN) and environmental significance. The results showed that the oldest age of coastal sediments on Weizhou Island was 2750 cal. a BP, and the average TIC contents of A1, A2, B1, C1, and D1 in the intertidal zone were all greater than 5%, where δ13Ccarb and δ18Ocarb were enriched, while the TIC contents in A3, C2, and D2 of the supra-tidal zone were low, where δ13Ccarb and δ18Ocarb were depleted. Moreover, TIC decreased sharply from the estuary to upstream region in the C1-C2 section. The average C/N ratio was 7.02, and δ13CTOC and δ15NTN were between -14.96‰~-27.26‰ and -14.38‰~4.12‰, respectively. These measurements indicated that the TIC in coastal sediments mainly came from seawater. A1, A2, and B1 in the northern intertidal zone exhibited organic terrestrial signals because of C3 and C4 plant inputs, which proved that the important source of the northern coast of Weizhou Island came from the island. The lacustrine facies deposits were mainly distributed in the upper reaches of the river, the northern coastline was rapidly advancing toward the sea, and part of the southwestern coastal sediments rapidly accumulated to the shore under the influence of a storm surge. The relative sea level of the Weizhou Island area has continuously declined at a rate of approximately 2.07 mm/a, using beach rock as a marker, since the Holocene.


2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-178 ◽  

Atrazine, a chlorinated s-triazine group of herbicide is one of the most widely used pesticides in the World. Due to its extensive use, long half-life and various toxic properties, it has very high environmental significance. Up to 22 mg l-1 of atrazine was found in ground water whereas permissible limit of atrazine is in ppb level in drinking water. As per Indian standard there should not be any pesticide present in drinking water. Among many other treatment processes available, Incineration, adsorption, chemical treatment, phytoremediation and biodegradation are the most commonly used ones. Biological degradation of atrazine depends upon various factors like the operating environment, external carbon and nitrogen sources, carbon/ nitrogen ratio (C/N), water content and the bacterial strain. Although, general atrazine degradation pathways are available, the specific pathways in specific conditions are not yet clearly defined. In this paper extensive review has been made on the occurrence of atrazine in surface and ground water bodies, probable sources and causes of its occurrence in water environment, the toxicity of atrazine on various living organisms and its removal by biological processes.


2017 ◽  
Vol 155 (1) ◽  
pp. 203-208
Author(s):  
ISMAEL FERRUSQUÍA-VILLAFRANCA ◽  
VÍCTOR ADRIÁN PÉREZ-CRESPO ◽  
JOSÉ E. RUIZ-GONZÁLEZ ◽  
ENRIQUE MARTÍNEZ-HERNÁNDEZ ◽  
PEDRO MORALES-PUENTE

AbstractThe diet and habitat ofLeptomeryxsp. from the Late Uintan Yolomécatl Formation of NW Oaxaca, SE Mexico were inferred using dental enamel carbon and oxygen isotopic relationships, and compared with those of congeneric species from temperate North America. Results show thatLeptomeryxsp. fed on C3 plants and lived in open forest or forest/savanna ecotone. The palynoflora and co-occurrence of perissodactyls and artiodactyls that live in an environment like that ofLeptomeryxsupport this interpretation. Further, both records disclose that in NW Oaxaca (southern North America) tropical conditions prevailed at that time, unlike that of temperate North America.


1998 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 101-137
Author(s):  
Reese E. Barrick

Isotopic studies of vertebrate material have a short history, while isotopic analyses of invertebrates originated in the 1940's. Interestingly, the driving force behind Harold Urey's desire to derive a carbonate paleotemperature scale in the 1940's and 1950's was the hope that it would solve the mystery of dinosaur extinction by demonstrating temperature changes at the K/T boundary. The most useful and commonly investigated stable isotopes for paleobiologic studies of vertebrates are carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. Oxygen is available from the inorganic bone or tooth apatite phase. Carbon is most often derived from tooth enamel carbonate or organic collagen, and nitrogen is derived from collagen. Each of these stable isotopes provides information on different aspects of an animal's biology and when combined, provide powerful analyses for ecological and evolutionary reconstructions. In the 1970's, much work was done describing the carbon and nitrogen variations in plants. This period was followed in the late 1970's and early 1980's by research on these isotopic variables in mammals (e.g., DeNiro and Epstein, 1978, 1981; Vogel, 1978; Van der Merwe, N.J., 1982). The utility of these isotopes for dietary recognition led to their extensive investigation in archeological studies. Not until the mid to late 1980's and 1990's have these isotopes been utilized in both the inorganic component of teeth and bones as well as the organic component of bones in Pleistocene and older paleobiologic studies. The 1980's also saw the emergence of research on the oxygen isotopic variations in mammals. However, the focus of isotopic studies on vertebrates was not for paleobiologic purposes, but rather, for attempts to derive paleohydrologic or paleoclimatic information from them (e.g., Longinelli, 1984; Luz et al., 1984).


Author(s):  
Monica Dorigo Correia

The distribution and ecology of scleractinian corals on reef ecosystems along the coast of the State of Alagoas, north-east Brazil, were characterized. The scleractinians comprised 13 species in nine families, with five endemic corals, on the Alagoas coast. All of these species were found on reef ecosystems of two distinct geological origins. Coral reefs are predominant on the northern and central coast with banks near the beach line and distributed along the coast line, with many platform surfaces emerging during low tide. Sandstone reefs are more common along the south coast of Maceió city and the southern coast of Alagoas. These reefs were formed by old sand banks solidified through sedimentation starting from chemical reactions with calcium carbonate or iron oxide from the Quaternary period, and are generally in rows parallel to the coastline and near the outlets of rivers and estuaries. A few species including Favia gravida and Siderastrea stellata were found in the intertidal zone on top of the reef platform of both types of reefs. The other scleractinian species were observed on the reef borders where there were some inlets and channels. A larger number of coral species occur on the northern coast where the seawater is clearer throughout the year.


2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (10) ◽  
pp. 892-899 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.K. Kristensen ◽  
E. Kristensen ◽  
M.C. Forchhammer ◽  
A. Michelsen ◽  
N.M. Schmidt

The use of stable isotopes in diet analysis usually relies on the different photosynthetic pathways of C3 and C4 plants, and the resulting difference in carbon isotope signature. In the Arctic, however, plant species are exclusively C3, and carbon isotopes alone are therefore not suitable for studying arctic herbivore diets. In this study, we examined the potential of both stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes to reconstruct the diet of an arctic herbivore, here the muskox ( Ovibos moschatus (Zimmermann, 1780)), in northeast Greenland. The isotope composition of plant communities and functional plant groups was compared with those of muskox faeces and shed wool, as this is a noninvasive approach to obtain dietary information on different temporal scales. Plants with different root mycorrhizal status were found to have different δ15N values, whereas differences in δ13C, as expected, were less distinct. As a result, our examination mainly relied on stable nitrogen isotopes. The interpretation of stable isotopes from faeces was difficult because of the large uncertainty in diet–faeces fractionation, whereas isotope signatures from wool suggested that the muskox summer diet consists of around 80% graminoids and up to 20% willows. In conclusion, the diet composition of an arctic herbivore can indeed be inferred from stable isotopes in arctic areas, despite the lack of C4 plants.


Author(s):  
Heather Sebire

Many prehistoric monuments survive in the landscape and are revered by later generations but there is a special category of artefacts and monuments that reflect images of ourselves, sometimes with just faces and sometimes as life-size human figures. On Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, just off the north-west coast of France, two statuemenhirs or standing stones survive that appear to represent female figures, although the form of the stones themselves may have masculine traits also. Guernsey is the most westerly of the Channel Islands and so it is particularly surprising that these exceptional human representations should be found there (Kinnes 1995). The menhirs have witnessed a long history and have been refigured in modern times possibly in an attempt to Christianize them. One has even been given the local nickname of the ‘Grand Mere’, implying a benign maternal presence. Guernsey is one of a group of small islands that lie strategically placed in the western Channel off the northern coast of France, collectively known as the Channel Islands. The islands of Alderney, Sark, Herm, Lihou and Jethou are part of its Bailiwick, but the largest island of Jersey is independent. Guernsey is positioned some 50 kilometres off the western coast of the Cotentin peninsula of Normandy in France and 120 kilometres from mainland Britain. The Bay of Saint Malo, in which Guernsey and the other Channel Islands are situated, has a very large tidal range due to its position and currents. As a result of this, the inter-tidal zone is extensive. Guernsey is 7.5 kilometres at its widest point and 14 kilometres long, with an area of about 63 square kilometres. This area increases at low tide by some 11 square kilometres. As the great French novelist Victor Hugo famously said, . . . The Channel Islands are fragments of France that fell into the sea and were gathered up by England [ ... ] Of the four islands, Sark, the smallest, is the most beautiful; Jersey, the largest, is the prettiest; Guernsey, wild and charming shares their characteristics. (Hugo 1839, v) . . .


2007 ◽  
Vol 74 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 254-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Binyuan He ◽  
Tinghe Lai ◽  
Hangqing Fan ◽  
Wenqing Wang ◽  
Hailei Zheng

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