Exploration of Plastic-Degrading Bacteria From Marina Beach, Semarang, Central Java

Plastic waste has threatens the environment and affect to the economic and tourism sectors, marine life, coastal ecosystems and human health. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) states that 85% of waste in the oceans is plastic. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry also noted that Indonesia experienced an increase in plastic waste from 14% in 2013 to 16% in 2016. By 2020 the volume of plastic waste in Indonesia predicted to reach 67.8 million tons. Plastic waste takes 100-500 years to completely decompose. An alternative solution is to involve microorganisms to decompose plastic polymers. However, plastic waste reducing bacteria isolated from coastal ecosystem has not been much explored. In this study, an exploration of natural bacteria that degrades plastic waste from coastal ecosystems is carried out. Plastic samples were collected from the Marina Beach Semarang, Central Java. Plastic samples were taken from a depth of 0-10 cm in three coastal ecosystems: coastal sand sediments, rocks and mangroves. Samples then isolated and screened to obtain bacteria that have the potential to degrade polyethylene. Selected bacteria were identified by biochemical physiology according to the method of Cappuccino and Sherman and classified to genus level according to Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology and Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology. The results showed that three genera of bacteria had high polyethylene degradation potential with the speed of degradation: Enterobacteriaceae 0.0091%; Moraxella spp. 0.0066%; and Pseudomonas spp. 0.0076% per week.

Geomorphology of the Coastal Sand Dune Fields and Their Association with the Palaeolandscape Evolution of Akrotiri Peninsula, Lemesos, Cyprus

Two well-developed late Pleistocene dune fields have been identified on the western and eastern side of Akrotiri promontory (Lemesos, Cyprus). The dune fields extend immediately from the low level of their source beaches onto higher ground (>48 m amsl). Geomorphic observations supported by OSL dating and sedimentological data provided evidence of the dune development and for the palaeogeographic reconstruction of the area. Relative sea level changes and wave action during the upper Pleistocene and Holocene played an important role into the development of the palaeolandscape and affected the formation of the dunes. From the collected data the development of the western dune field started at 56.2 ± 5.5 ka when the relative sea level was at approximately −60 m and contributed to the development of the western tombolo of the area whereas the eastern dune field developed in the late Holocene, after the formation of the eastern spit that resulted in the formation of the Akrotiri Salt lake.

Estimation of radiological parameters associated with mining and processing of coastal sand in Binh Dinh province, Vietnam

In Vietnam mining industry is significantly contributing to the socio-economicdevelopment. For the industrialization, many kinds of minerals are being exploited and processed that caused the Earth surface to be disconcerted leading to the increase of erosion of soil that possibly carries radioactive nuclides of the natural radioactive chains. Mining could cause increasing radioactive background to the miners as well as to the public members around the mines. This paper presents radiological parameters associated with mining and processing ilmenite minerals in coastal sand for titanium for export in Binh Dinh province, Central Part of Vietnam.

The late Quaternary stratigraphy of coastal dunes and associated deposits in southern Africa

Coastal sand dune sediments with associated intraformational aeolianite, palaeosols and beachrock are found throughout much of the southern African coast, and have important roles as both Quaternary environmental archives and in recording the interplay of sediment supply, coastal processes and sea-level change. This paper examines the stratigraphy and palaeoenvironmental significance of coastal sand dunes and associated sediments, using examples mainly from South Africa but also with reference to the sandy coasts of Namibia and southern Mozambique. Based on morphological, sedimentary and dating evidence reported in the diverse literature, the stratigraphic relationship of coastal sand dune sediments to Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) is summarized, and a chronostratigraphic diagram for the period MIS 6 to 1 along the South African coast is used to identify spatially coherent sedimentary units that correspond to different regional climatic and sea-level phases. This framework provides a stratigraphic context to better examine the relationship between coastal sand dunes and external forcing during the late Quaternary in southern Africa, and to guide future field studies.

Hymenobacter Taeanensis Sp. Nov., Radiation Resistant Bacterium Isolated from Coastal Sand Dune

An aerobic, Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped, and light pink-colored bacterial strain, designated TS19T, was isolated from a sand sample obtained from a coastal sand dune after exposure to 3 kGy of gamma radiation. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the isolate was a member of the genus Hymenobacter and was most closely related to H. wooponensis WM78T (98.3% similarity). Strain TS19T and H. wooponensis showed resistance to gamma radiation with D10 values (i.e., the dose required to reduce the bacterial population by tenfold) of 7.3 kGy and 3.5 kGy, respectively. The genome of strain TS19T consists of one contig with 4,879,662 bp and has a G+C content of 56.2%. The genome contains 3,955 protein coding sequences, 44 tRNAs, and 12 rRNAs. The predominant fatty acids of strain TS19T were iso-C15:0, summed feature 4 (iso-C17:1 I and/or anteiso-C17:1 B), summed feature 3 (C16:1 ω6c and/or C16:1 ω7c), and C16:1 ω5c. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, and one unknown aminophospholipid. The main respiratory quinone was menaquinone-7. Based on the phylogenetic, physiological, and chemotaxonomic characteristics, strain TS19T represents a novel species, for which the name Hymenobacter taeanensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is TS19T (=KCTC 72897T =JCM 34023T).