scholarly journals Halogenated hydrocarbon formation in a moderately acidic salt lake in Western Australia – role of abiotic and biotic processes

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 406 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Ruecker ◽  
P. Weigold ◽  
S. Behrens ◽  
M. Jochmann ◽  
X. L. Osorio Barajas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lake Sediments ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Salt Lakes ◽  
Neutral Salt ◽  
Acidic Salt ◽  
Acidic Conditions ◽  
Stimulation Of

Environmental context Volatile halogenated organic compounds (VOX) contribute to ozone depletion and global warming. Here we demonstrate that acidic salt lake sediments in Western Australia contribute to the global natural emission of these compounds and that the emissions are primarily of biotic origin. Elucidating major sources and sinks of VOX is a key task in environmental chemistry because their formation and degradation have major effects on atmospheric chemistry and thus earth climate. Abstract Volatile organohalogen compounds (VOX) are known environmental pollutants and contribute to stratospheric ozone depletion. Natural formation of VOX has been shown for many environments from the deep sea to forest soils and Antarctica. Recently, we showed that VOX are emitted from pH-neutral salt lakes in Western Australia and that they are mainly of biotic origin. To which extent this biotic organohalogen formation in salt lakes is pH-dependent and whether VOX are also formed under acidic conditions are unknown. Therefore, we quantified VOX emissions from an acidic salt lake in Western Australia (Lake Orr) in biotic and abiotic (γ ray-irradiated) microcosm experiments under controlled laboratory conditions. The experiments revealed that biotic halogenation processes also occurred under acidic conditions (pH range 3.8–4.8), though the emissions were approximately one order of magnitude lower (nanogram per kilogram dry sediment range) than from pH-neutral lake sediments. Among the detected substances were brominated, e.g. tribromomethane, as well as chlorinated compounds (e.g. trichloromethane). The addition of lactate and acetate, and ferrihydrite showed no stimulation of VOX formation in our microcosms. Hence, the stimulation of Fe-metabolising microorganisms and their potential effect on the formation of reactive Fe species did not promote VOX emissions, suggesting a direct enzymatic formation of the emitted compounds.

Salsolaius gen. nov. a new genus of Apalochrini (Coleoptera, Melyridae, Malachiinae) from the salt Lake Way of Western Australia

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5082 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-400
Author(s):  
ZHENHUA LIU ◽  
ADAM ŚLIPIŃSKI ◽  
HONG PANG
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Type Species ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Salt Lakes ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Male Specific

Apalochrini comprises nearly half of the genera of Australian Melyridae, which are all recognized by male specific characters, and are commonly found on grasses, flowers and riverside or seashore rocks. Here we describe a new genus Salsolaius gen. nov. from Lake Way of Western Australia, representing the first known genus of Australian Melyridae inhabitating in salt lakes. The new genus can be easily distinguished by asymmetrically biserrate antennae and exposed apical abdomen from above in both male and female, the former characters is firstly found in Melyridae. Consequently, Salsolaius biserratus sp. nov. was described as the type species of this genus. An updated key to genera of Australian Apalochrini is provided.  

scholarly journals New particle formation above a simulated salt lake in aerosol chamber experiments

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 489 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Kamilli ◽  
J. Ofner ◽  
B. Lendl ◽  
P. Schmitt-Kopplin ◽  
A. Held
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Mechanism ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Organic Aerosol ◽  
Particle Formation ◽  
Salt Lakes ◽  
New Particle Formation ◽  
Aerosol Formation ◽  
Aerosol Chamber

Environmental context Deforestation in Western Australia beginning in the mid-19th century led to a considerable change of the land surface, and Western Australia is now suffering more often from droughts. Particle formation induced by salt lakes has been identified as a potential control factor for changed precipitation patterns. This study aims to determine key factors involved in the particle formation process by simulating a simplified salt lake in an aerosol chamber in the laboratory. Abstract In recent field experiments, particle formation has been observed above salt lakes in Western Australia and related to changes in regional precipitation patterns. This work investigates the particle formation potential above a simulated salt lake in aerosol chamber experiments under various conditions. The salt lake mixture comprised fixed concentrations of NaBr, NaCl and Na2SO4, and varying concentrations of FeSO4 and FeCl3. Further, an organic mixture of 1,8-cineol and limonene was added under dark and light conditions. Both the presence of organic compounds and of light were found to be essential for new particle formation in our experiments. There were clear indications for conversion of FeII to FeIII, which suggests a Fenton-like reaction mechanism in the system. Contrary to the idea that a Fenton-like reaction mechanism might intensify the oxidation of organic matter, thus facilitating secondary organic aerosol formation, the observed particle formation started later and with lower intensity under elevated FeII concentrations. The highest particle number concentrations were observed when excluding FeII from the experiments. Chemical analysis of the formed aerosol confirmed the important role of the Fenton-like reaction for particle formation in this study. Ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry and Raman spectroscopy provide analytical proof for the formation of organosulfates and halogenated organic compounds in the experiments presented. Even though halogens and organic precursors are abundant in these experimental simulations, halogen-induced organic aerosol formation exists but seems to play a minor overall role in particle formation.

scholarly journals The Toba supervolcano eruption caused severe tropical stratospheric ozone depletion

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergey Osipov ◽  
Georgiy Stenchikov ◽  
Kostas Tsigaridis ◽  
Allegra N. LeGrande ◽  
Susanne E. Bauer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
System Model ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Sulfate Aerosols ◽  
Winter Conditions ◽  
Attenuation Mechanism ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Sulfur Emissions

AbstractSupervolcano eruptions have occurred throughout Earth’s history and have major environmental impacts. These impacts are mostly associated with the attenuation of visible sunlight by stratospheric sulfate aerosols, which causes cooling and deceleration of the water cycle. Supereruptions have been assumed to cause so-called volcanic winters that act as primary evolutionary factors through ecosystem disruption and famine, however, winter conditions alone may not be sufficient to cause such disruption. Here we use Earth system model simulations to show that stratospheric sulfur emissions from the Toba supereruption 74,000 years ago caused severe stratospheric ozone loss through a radiation attenuation mechanism that only moderately depends on the emission magnitude. The Toba plume strongly inhibited oxygen photolysis, suppressing ozone formation in the tropics, where exceptionally depleted ozone conditions persisted for over a year. This effect, when combined with volcanic winter in the extra-tropics, can account for the impacts of supereruptions on ecosystems and humanity.

Record springtime stratospheric ozone depletion at 80°N in 2020

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramina Alwarda ◽  
Kristof Bognar ◽  
Kimberly Strong ◽  
Martyn Chipperfield ◽  
Sandip Dhomse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Optical Absorption Spectroscopy ◽  
Chemical Transport Model ◽  
Polar Stratospheric Clouds ◽  
Ozone Loss ◽  
Stratospheric Clouds

<p>The Arctic winter of 2019-2020 was characterized by an unusually persistent polar vortex and temperatures in the lower stratosphere that were consistently below the threshold for the formation of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). These conditions led to ozone loss that is comparable to the Antarctic ozone hole. Ground-based measurements from a suite of instruments at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) in Eureka, Canada (80.05°N, 86.42°W) were used to investigate chemical ozone depletion. The vortex was located above Eureka longer than in any previous year in the 20-year dataset and lidar measurements provided evidence of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) above Eureka. Additionally, UV-visible zenith-sky Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) measurements showed record ozone loss in the 20-year dataset, evidence of denitrification along with the slowest increase of NO<sub>2</sub> during spring, as well as enhanced reactive halogen species (OClO and BrO). Complementary measurements of HCl and ClONO<sub>2</sub> (chlorine reservoir species) from a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer showed unusually low columns that were comparable to 2011, the previous year with significant chemical ozone depletion. Record low values of HNO<sub>3</sub> in the FTIR dataset are in accordance with the evidence of PSCs and a denitrified atmosphere. Estimates of chemical ozone loss were derived using passive ozone from the SLIMCAT offline chemical transport model to account for dynamical contributions to the stratospheric ozone budget.</p>

scholarly journals Ozone database in support of CMIP5 simulations: results and corresponding radiative forcing

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 10875-10933 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Cionni ◽  
V. Eyring ◽  
J. F. Lamarque ◽  
W. J. Randel ◽  
D. S. Stevenson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Tropospheric Ozone ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
High Latitudes ◽  
The Future ◽  
Column Ozone

Abstract. A continuous tropospheric and stratospheric vertically resolved ozone time series, from 1850 to 2099, has been generated to be used as forcing in global climate models that do not include interactive chemistry. A multiple linear regression analysis of SAGE I+II satellite observations and polar ozonesonde measurements is used for the stratospheric zonal mean dataset during the well-observed period from 1979 to 2009. In addition to terms describing the mean annual cycle, the regression includes terms representing equivalent effective stratospheric chlorine (EESC) and the 11-yr solar cycle variability. The EESC regression fit coefficients, together with pre-1979 EESC values, are used to extrapolate the stratospheric ozone time series backward to 1850. While a similar procedure could be used to extrapolate into the future, coupled chemistry climate model (CCM) simulations indicate that future stratospheric ozone abundances are likely to be significantly affected by climate change, and capturing such effects through a regression model approach is not feasible. Therefore, the stratospheric ozone dataset is extended into the future (merged in 2009) with multi-model mean projections from 13 CCMs that performed a simulation until 2099 under the SRES (Special Report on Emission Scenarios) A1B greenhouse gas scenario and the A1 adjusted halogen scenario in the second round of the Chemistry-Climate Model Validation (CCMVal-2) Activity. The stratospheric zonal mean ozone time series is merged with a three-dimensional tropospheric data set extracted from simulations of the past by two CCMs (CAM3.5 and PUCCINI) and of the future by one CCM (CAM3.5). The future tropospheric ozone time series continues the historical CAM3.5 simulation until 2099 following the four different Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs). Generally good agreement is found between the historical segment of the ozone database and satellite observations, although it should be noted that total column ozone is overestimated in the southern polar latitudes during spring and tropospheric column ozone is slightly underestimated. Vertical profiles of tropospheric ozone are broadly consistent with ozonesondes and in-situ measurements, with some deviations in regions of biomass burning. The tropospheric ozone radiative forcing (RF) from the 1850s to the 2000s is 0.23 W m−2, lower than previous results. The lower value is mainly due to (i) a smaller increase in biomass burning emissions; (ii) a larger influence of stratospheric ozone depletion on upper tropospheric ozone at high southern latitudes; and possibly (iii) a larger influence of clouds (which act to reduce the net forcing) compared to previous radiative forcing calculations. Over the same period, decreases in stratospheric ozone, mainly at high latitudes, produce a RF of −0.08 W m−2, which is more negative than the central Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) value of −0.05 W m−2, but which is within the stated range of −0.15 to +0.05 W m−2. The more negative value is explained by the fact that the regression model simulates significant ozone depletion prior to 1979, in line with the increase in EESC and as confirmed by CCMs, while the AR4 assumed no change in stratospheric RF prior to 1979. A negative RF of similar magnitude persists into the future, although its location shifts from high latitudes to the tropics. This shift is due to increases in polar stratospheric ozone, but decreases in tropical lower stratospheric ozone, related to a strengthening of the Brewer-Dobson circulation, particularly through the latter half of the 21st century. Differences in trends in tropospheric ozone among the four RCPs are mainly driven by different methane concentrations, resulting in a range of tropospheric ozone RFs between 0.4 and 0.1 W m−2 by 2100. The ozone dataset described here has been released for the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) model simulations in netCDF Climate and Forecast (CF) Metadata Convention at the PCMDI website (http://cmip-pcmdi.llnl.gov/).

scholarly journals Exploring Microbial Resource of Different Rhizocompartments of Dominant Plants Along the Salinity Gradient Around the Hypersaline Lake Ejinur

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junqing Luo ◽  
Zhechao Zhang ◽  
Yazhou Hou ◽  
Fengwei Diao ◽  
Baihui Hao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput Sequencing ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Salinity Gradient ◽  
Salt Lakes ◽  
Hypersaline Environment ◽  
Hypersaline Lake ◽  
Littoral Zones ◽  
Microbial Resources ◽  
Bacteria And Fungi

Lake littoral zones can also be regarded as another extremely hypersaline environment due to hypersaline properties of salt lakes. In this study, high-throughput sequencing technique was used to analyze bacteria and fungi from different rhizocompartments (rhizosphere and endosphere) of four dominant plants along the salinity gradient in the littoral zones of Ejinur Salt Lake. The study found that microbial α-diversity did not increase with the decrease of salinity, indicating that salinity was not the main factor on the effect of microbial diversity. Distance-based redundancy analysis and regression analysis were used to further reveal the relationship between microorganisms from different rhizocompartments and plant species and soil physicochemical properties. Bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere and endosphere were the most significantly affected by SO42–, SOC, HCO3–, and SOC, respectively. Correlation network analysis revealed the potential role of microorganisms in different root compartments on the regulation of salt stress through synergistic and antagonistic interactions. LEfSe analysis further indicated that dominant microbial taxa in different rhizocompartments had a positive response to plants, such as Marinobacter, Palleronia, Arthrobacter, and Penicillium. This study was of great significance and practical value for understanding salt environments around salt lakes to excavate the potential microbial resources.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document