Masu salmon Oncorhynchus masou masou divides into two life histories after a year of life in the river, the sea-run form and the fluvial form. Since salmons are anadromous, the sea-run form salmons are known to pollute the river sediments during spawning migration. In this study, we have studied the accumulation of organochlorines in the fluvial form as well as the sea-run form, and discussed their differences. In order to elucidate the accumulation patterns of organochlorines in both the fluvial and sea-run form masu salmons, the concentrations of organochlorines were determined in the muscle of both life histories. The organochlorines in the sea-run form were 7 to 21 times higher than those of fluvial form. Since salmons are semelparous, the carcasses of polluted sea-run form pollute the river sediments. The trans-nonachlor/trans-chlordane (N/C) ratio in the fluvial form (1.93) was significantly lower than that of sea-run form (23.8). This indicates that the fluvial form is polluted by comparatively newly input chemicals. These results suggest that sea-run form masu salmons have the potential to pollute the river sediments secondarily as vectors, but from the difference in N/C ratio between the two forms, the fluvial fish does not seem to be polluted by those organochlorine compounds of sea-run fish origin yet.

Long-term nutrient concentration trends and load variations at six monitoring stations on four canals in the Southern Indian River Lagoon (Florida, USA) were evaluated using the Estimate Trend (Estrend) and Load Estimator (Loadest) programs. The results of trend analysis on nutrient concentrations suggested that the nutrient trend patterns were spatially variable. Increasing trends were most often observed in orthophosphate and/or total phosphorus at five stations. Significantly increased annual loads were observed for orthophosphate at four stations from 1979 through 2004. The median concentrations of ammonia (0.05 to 0.10 mg l-¹) were greater than the State of Florida surface water quality criteria of class III freshwater body for ammonia. The median concentrations of total phosphorus (138 to 376 μg l-¹) were greater than the USEPA ambient water quality criteria recommendation for the study area (Nutrient Ecoregion XIII). Nutrient (phosphorus and nitrogen) loads observed in this study are likely to impair the water quality in the Southern Indian River Lagoon.

The atmosphere over Brazilian cities is influenced by a variety of emissions sources. In this study, aerosol collection and back-trajectory analysis were used to determine the influence of local and remote sources. Aerosols were collected at three locations within the state of São Paulo: one megacity and two cities in which sugar cane burning in the surroundings is observed. We quantified the major water-soluble inorganic ions and trace metals. As expected, vehicle emissions influenced the atmosphere of the megacity heavily, and sugar cane burning influenced that of the other locations. During the period of this experiment the back-trajectory analysis revealed that air masses are transported into the state from the northeast of Brazil, where biomass burning occurs. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that the two principal components account for 48.5% of the total data variance. We conclude that local sources have a strong impact on the concentrations of particulate matter and pollutants. Remote sources also contribute to the concentrations of aerosol pollutants.

The complexation of Cu by sewage sludge-derived dissolved organic matter (SSDOM) is a process by which the environmental significance of the element may become enhanced due to reduced soil sorption and, hence, increased mobility. The work described in this paper used an ion selective electrode procedure to show that SSDOM complexation of Cu was greatest at intermediate pH values because competition between hydrogen ions and Cu for SSDOM binding sites, and between hydroxyl ions and SSDOM as Cu ligands, was lowest at such values. Batch sorption experiments further showed that the process of Cu complexation by SSDOM provided an explanation for enhanced desorption of Cu from the solid phase of a contaminated, organic matter-rich, clay loam soil, and reduced adsorption of Cu onto the solid phase of a sandy loam soil. Complexation of Cu by SSDOM did not affect uptake of Cu by spring barley plants, when compared to free ionic Cu, in a sand-culture pot experiment. However, it did appear to lead to greater biomass yields of the plant; perhaps indicating that the Cu-SSDOM complex had a lower toxicity towards the plant than the free Cu ion.

We intensively surveyed the concentrations of chemical species in aerosols and gases using a four-stage filter-pack method at a site in Japan facing the Sea of Japan in winter with 6-h sample intervals. A few chloride species emitted anthropogenically were detected, and the HCl (g) concentration was quite low. The number of chloride species artifacts was also low. The HNO₃ (g) concentration was significantly higher when the monitored air mass passed over the Korean Peninsula compared to when it did not pass over the Korean Peninsula. In addition, the HNO₃ (g) concentration was significantly higher when the air mass arrived at the monitoring site by passing the route at lower latitude than the latitude of the monitoring site. On the other hand, the SO₂ (g) concentration showed no change between various trajectories of the air mass. The [Formula: see text] (p)/non-seasalt- (nss-) [Formula: see text] (p) ratio was intermediate between the compositions of (NH₄)₂SO₄ and NH₄HSO₄ when the air mass passed over the Korean Peninsula, whereas it was intermediate between NH₄HSO₄ and H₂SO₄ when the air mass did not pass over the Korean Peninsula. We detected the transboundary transport of sulfur dioxide with high time-resolution monitoring at two separate monitoring points: the current monitoring site and Oki Island.

Regular additions of NH₄NO₃ (35-140 kg N ha-¹ yr-¹) and (NH₄)₂SO₄ (140 kg N ha-¹ yr-¹) to a calcareous grassland in northern England over a period of 12 years have resulted in a decline in the frequency of the indigenous bryophyte species and the establishment of non-indigenous calcifuge species, with implications for the structure and composition of this calcareous bryophyte community. The lowest NH₄NO₃ additions of 35 kg N ha-¹ yr-¹ produced significant declines in frequency of Hypnum cupressiforme, Campylium chrysophyllum, and Calliergon cuspidatum. Significant reductions in frequency at higher NH₄NO₃ application rates were recorded for Pseudoscleropodium purum, Ctenidum molluscum, and Dicranum scoparium. The highest NH₄NO₃ and (NH₄)₂SO₄ additions provided conditions conducive for the establishment of two typical calcifuges - Polytrichum spp. and Campylopus introflexus, respectively. Substrate-surface pH measurements showed a dose-related reduction in pH with increasing NH₄NO₃ deposition rates of 1.6 pH units between the control and highest deposition rate, and a further significant fall in pH, of >1 pH unit, between the NH₄NO₃ and (NH₄)₂SO₄ treatments. These results suggest that indigenous bryophyte composition may be at risk from nitrogen deposition rates of 35 kg N ha-¹ yr-¹ or less. These effects are of particular concern for rare or endangered species of low frequency.

Sediment cores were collected from two sites (A2 and ZQ) in the Qingdao sea area of the Yellow Sea. Radionuclides ⁴⁰K, ¹³⁷Cs, ²¹⁰Pb, ²²⁶Ra, ²²⁸Ra, ²²⁸Th, ²³⁴Th, and ²³⁸U in the cores were measured using HPGe γ spectrometry. The sedimentation rate of the A2 Core using ²¹⁰Pbex and ¹³⁷Cs was 0.665 cm yr-¹, therefore this 32 cm long core represents a 48 year timespan leading to the sampling date in 2001. The mixing layer was restricted to the upper 5 cm as determined from the profile of ²³⁴Th. The uniformity of the activity distributions of ⁴⁰K and ²³⁸U throughout the A2 Core and the activity distributions of ²²⁶Ra, ²²⁸Ra and ²²⁸Th below the mixing layer suggested that no significant oceanographic event or change in sediment material source had occurred during this timespan. The ²¹⁰ Pb was in excess relative to ²²⁶Ra, but ²²⁶Ra was deficient with respect to ²³⁸U in the entire A2 Core, while excess ²³⁴Th and ²²⁸Th were apparent only in the surface 5 cm. Total organic matter (TOM) in Core A2 decreases with depth. The second core, taken to a depth of 14 cm, was from Site ZQ, which is located near Zhanqiao, Qingdao. The variations of the nuclide activity ratios in this core were similar to those in the A2 Core, i.e., the excess ²¹⁰ Pb and ²²⁶Ra deficiency were consistent throughout the core but excess ²²⁸Th was only in the surface to a depth of 2 cm. The ⁴⁰K activity in the ZQ Core fluctuated and showed no real trend with depth. The activities of ¹³⁷Cs, ²¹⁰Pb, ²²⁶Ra and ²³⁸U in the entire length of Core ZQ, and ²²⁸Ra and ²²⁸Th from 2 cm to the bottom, were comparable within the uncertainty of measured activity.

Strongly decreasing atmospheric emissions and acidic deposition during the 1990s have initiated chemical reversal from acidification in several drinking-water reservoirs of the Erzgebirge, SE Germany. We studied responses of phytoplankton, zooplankton and fish stocks in five reservoirs and at enclosure scale after experimental neutralization of 1,200 m³ of lake water. About 4 months after this treatment, diatoms and cryptomonads replaced the predominating chrysophytes and dinoflagellates. The colonization by acid-sensitive species of green algae, cryptomonads, rotifers and Cladocera (e.g. Bosmina longirostris) is explained by the occurrence of dormant stages or by survival of individuals in very low abundances. Analogous to the enclosure experiment, three reservoirs showed significantly (p < 0.01) falling trends of chlorophyll a and phytoplankton biovolume, mainly due to the decline of dinoflagellates. Picoplankton and diatoms increased slightly in two reservoirs. The zooplankton communities were dominated by rotifers and small Cladocera. Representatives of the genus Daphnia were lacking. Two reservoirs were re-colonized by zooplanktivorous fish populations of either perch (Perca fluviatilis) or sunbleak (Leucaspius delineatus). The latter exhibited extremely high fluctuating abundance and biomass and even suffered from a population crash. This natural mortality was caused by a limited food supply. Hence, severe top-down control may delay the recovery of larger zooplankton species like daphnids. Fishery management comprising the introduction of predatory fishes can help to control zooplanktivorous fish populations and to prevent their mass mortality.

We discuss the background and methods for estimating uncertainty in a holistic manner in a regional terrestrial biota Full Carbon Account (FCA) using our experience in generating such an account for vast regions in northern Eurasia (at national and macroregional levels). For such an analysis, it is important to (1) provide a full account; (2) consider the relevance of a verified account, bearing in mind further transition to a certified account; (3) understand that any FCA is a fuzzy system; and (4) understand that a comprehensive assessment of uncertainties requires multiple harmonizing and combining of system constraints from results obtained by different methods. An important result of this analysis is the conclusion that only a relevant integration of inventory, process-based models, and measurements in situ generate sufficient prerequisites for a verified FCA. We show that the use of integrated methodology, at the current level of knowledge, and the system combination of available information, allow a verified FCA for large regions of the northern hemisphere to be made for current periods and for the recent past.

Stormwater runoff from urban surfaces often contains elevated levels of toxic metals. When discharged directly into water bodies, these pollutants degrade water quality and impact aquatic life and human health. In this study, the composition of impervious surface runoff and associated rainfall was investigated for several storm events at an urban site in Orlando, Florida. Total mercury in runoff consisted of 58% particulate and 42% filtered forms. Concentration comparisons at the start and end of runoff events indicate that about 85% of particulate total mercury and 93% of particulate methylmercury were removed from the surface before runoff ended. Filtered mercury concentrations showed less than 50% reduction of both total and methylmercury from first flush to final flush. Direct comparison between rainfall and runoff at this urban site indicates dry deposition accounted for 22% of total inorganic mercury in runoff.