Late Archean biospheric oxygenation and atmospheric evolution

High-resolution geochemical analyses of organic-rich shale and carbonate through the 2500 million-year-old Mount McRae Shale in the Hamersley Basin of northwestern Australia record changes in both the oxidation state of the surface ocean and the atmospheric composition. The Mount McRae record of sulfur isotopes captures the widespread and possibly permanent activation of the oxidative sulfur cycle for perhaps the first time in Earth's history. The correlation of the time-series sulfur isotope signals in northwestern Australia with equivalent strata from South Africa suggests that changes in the exogenic sulfur cycle recorded in marine sediments were global in scope and were linked to atmospheric evolution. The data suggest that oxygenation of the surface ocean preceded pervasive and persistent atmospheric oxygenation by 50 million years or more.     

网箱养鱼沉积物中有机污染物的检测分析

通过对网箱养鱼水域底部沉积物中有机污染物进行分析检测,结果显示,网箱养鱼水域底部沉积层中含有大量的有机污染物,其中酚类化合物和低价的含硫化合物含量特别高。经检测分析结果揭示的网箱养鱼水域底部沉积物中有机污染物的种类和含量,可为综合治理网箱养鱼沉积物中有机污染物提供参考。     

酸性硫酸盐土中硫的形态与酸性表现探讨

选取４个酸性硫酸盐土剖面共２０个土壤样品进行了硫的分级测定和土壤ｐＨ值的测定,对土壤中硫的形态、含量及其剖面分布规律,以及它们对土壤酸性的贡献进行了探讨,分析结果显示,酸性硫酸盐土中的全硫含量较高,其中土壤硫以无机态硫为主,无机态硫又 以硫铁矿、水溶性和交换性硫为主,有机硫和元素硫含量较低,土壤全硫含量和硫的矿的含量一般具有随剖面浓度的增加而升高的趋势;黄钾铁矾与水溶性硫、交换性硫有类似的剖面变化     

An archaeal iron-oxidizing extreme acidophile important in acid mine drainage

A new species of Archaea grows at pH approximately 0.5 and approximately 40 degrees C in slime streamers and attached to pyrite surfaces at a sulfide ore body, Iron Mountain, California. This iron-oxidizing Archaeon is capable of growth at pH 0. This species represents a dominant prokaryote in the environment studied (slimes and sediments) and constituted up to 85% of the microbial community when solution concentrations were high (conductivity of 100 to 160 millisiemens per centimeter). The presence of this and other closely related Thermoplasmales suggests that these acidophiles are important contributors to acid mine drainage and may substantially impact iron and sulfur cycles.     

X-ray Absorption Spectroscopic Investigation of Sulfur Sites in Coal: Organic Sulfur Identification

High-resolution x-ray absorption spectroscopy was used to probe the chemical and structural environments of sulfur in coal. Measurement of the sulfur Kedge spectra down to 2472.0 electron volts under nonvacuum conditions was made possible in an all-helium path, and a Stern-Heald type ion chamber was used for fluorescence detection. For a number of selected sulfur-containing minerals and organic model compounds, results show that near-edge spectral features are diagnostic for sulfur in specific organic moieties such as thiols, disulfides, and various heterocyclics, as well as in mineral sulfide and sulfate phases. The spectrum of a model system containing 35 percent iron pyrite and 65 percent benzothiophene was found to match the observed spectral features of a bituminous coal from the eastern United States.     

Swept away: resuspension of bacterial mats regulates benthic-pelagic exchange of sulfur

Filaments and extracellular material from colorless sulfur bacteria (Beggiatoa spp.) form extensive white sulfur mats on surface sediments of coastal, oceanic, and even deep-sea environments. These chemoautotrophic bacteria oxidize soluble reduced sulfur compounds and deposit elemental sulfur, enriching the sulfur content of surface sediment fivefold over that of deeper sediments. Laboratory flume experiments with Beggiatoa mats from an intertidal sandflat (Nova Scotia) demonstrated that even slight erosion of sediment causes a flux of 160 millimoles of sulfur per square meter per hour, two orders of magnitude greater than the flux produced by sulfur transformations involving either sulfate reduction or sulfide oxidation by benthic bacteria. These experiments indicate that resuspension of sulfur bacterial mats by waves and currents is a rapid mechanism by which sediment sulfur is recycled to the water column. Benthic communities thus lose an important storage intermediate for reduced sulfur as well as a high-quality bacterial food source for benthic grazers.     

Composition of Aqueous Solutions in Equilibrium with Sulfides and Oxides of Iron at 350{degrees}C

Solutions of potassium chloride (pH-buffered and 1-molal) equilibrated at 350 degrees C with pyrrhotite, pyrite, and magnetite contained approximately 1 millimole of reduced sulfur and less than 0.1 millimole of oxidized sulfur per kilogram. Similar solutions equilibrated with pyrite, magnetite, and hematite contained approximately 1 millimole of reduced sulfur, but 3 to 6 millimoles of oxidized sulfur per kilogram. Both types of solutions contained less than 0.1 millimole of iron per kilogram at pH >/= 6 and approximately 100 millimoles per kilogram at pH 2.     

Abiotic pyrite formation produces a large Fe isotope fractionation

The iron isotope composition of sedimentary pyrite has been proposed as a potential proxy to trace microbial metabolism and the redox evolution of the oceans. We demonstrate that Fe isotope fractionation accompanies abiotic pyrite formation in the absence of Fe(II) redox change. Combined fractionation factors between Fe(II)(aq), mackinawite, and pyrite permit the generation of pyrite with Fe isotope signatures that nearly encapsulate the full range of sedimentary δ(56)Fe(pyrite) recorded in Archean to modern sediments. We propose that Archean negative Fe isotope excursions reflect partial Fe(II)(aq) utilization during abiotic pyrite formation rather than microbial dissimilatory Fe(III) reduction. Late Proterozoic to modern sediments may reflect greater Fe(II)(aq) utilization and variations in source composition.     

Natural product terpenoids in Eocene and Miocene conifer fossils

Numerous saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons, but not polar compounds, originating from plants and microorganisms (biomarkers) have been reported in sediments, coals, and petroleum. Here we describe natural product terpenoids found in two fossil conifers, Taxodium balticum (Eocene) and Glyptostrobus oregonensis (Miocene). A similar terpenoid pattern is also observed in extant Taxodium distichum. The preservation of characteristic terpenoids (unaltered natural products) in the fossil conifers supports their systematic assignment to the Cypress family (Cupressaceae sensu lato). The results also show that fossil conifers can contain polar terpenoids, which are valuable markers for (paleo)chemosystematics and phylogeny.     

Desulfurization of coal

Coal combustion is the largest single source of sulfur oxide pollution. Treatment of some major representative U.S. coals with aqueous ferric solution removes 40 to 75 percent of the sulfur content through near quantitative oxidation of the pyritic sulfur contained in the coal matrix. Elemental sulfur and iron sulfate are recovered as products of the reaction. Engineering assessment indicates that the system, when fully developed, offers high potential for the economic abatement of sulfur oxide pollution.     

Inositol isomers: occurrence in marine sediments

A combined gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric technique was used to identify and quantitate the occurrence of myo-, chiro-, and scyllo-inositol in marine sediments. The most abundant isomer was myo-inositol. These inositols were found in all the organic-rich sediment samples examined, and the amount of inositol decreased steadily with the age of the sample. A small fraction of the inositols occurred as hexaphosphate esters.     

Seawater sulfur isotope fluctuations in the Cretaceous

The exogenic sulfur cycle is tightly coupled with the carbon and oxygen cycles, and therefore a central component of Earth's biogeochemistry. Here we present a high-resolution record of the sulfur isotopic composition of seawater sulfate for the Cretaceous. The general enrichment of isotopically light sulfur that prevailed during the Cretaceous may have been due to increased volcanic and hydrothermal activity. Two excursions toward isotopically lighter sulfur represent periods of lower rates of pyrite burial, implying a shift in the location of organic carbon burial to terrestrial or open-ocean settings. The concurrent changes in seawater sulfur and inorganic carbon isotopic compositions imply short-term variability in atmospheric oxygen partial pressure.     

大蒜中有机硫化合物及其分析方法

大蒜是在我国广泛种植和食用的农产品,具有抗菌、抗炎、抗氧化等多种营养健康功能。这些主要得益于大蒜中的有机硫化合物,包括蒜氨酸等风味前体化合物、大蒜素等硫代亚磺酸酯和大蒜烯等硫醚类挥发性化合物等。这些有机硫化合物或各自具有其生物活性,或多种化合物相互协同,共同产生同一种生理功效。但有机硫化合物普遍具有易酶解或稳定性差等特点,且不同类别有机硫化合物的化学性质差异也较大,目前对大蒜中有机硫化合物的分析方法仍然存在局限性,现有报道多是对某类化合物进行总量测定,或是针对个别化合物进行测定,尚未有研究对大蒜中的有机硫化合物进行全面系统的分析。因此,本研究分别对大蒜中主要风味前体化合物、硫代亚磺酸酯和硫醚类挥发性化合物的分析方法进行了分类讨论和综述,包括其样品前处理方法和检测方法。     

Analytical Methods of the Organic Sulfur Compounds in Garlic

Garlic is a kind of widely planted agricultural product in China, which has plenty of nutritional and healthy functions, such as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidation. These functions are mainly attributed to the organic sulfur compounds, including the flavor precursors, thiosulfinates and thioether volatile compounds. The organic sulfur compounds either have its own biological activities, or multiple compounds work together to produce the same physiological effect. However, considering the poor stability and property diversity of the organic sulfur compounds, the analysis of organic sulfur compounds remains a big challenge. Existing reports are mainly on the determination of several compounds or one group of compounds, and there has been no comprehensive analysis of the organic sulfur compounds in garlic yet. Therefore, in the present review, the analysis methods of the main flavor precursors, thiosulfinates and thioether volatile compounds in garlic were separately discussed and summarized, including the sample pretreatment and detection methods.     

Sulfate burial constraints on the Phanerozoic sulfur cycle

The sulfur cycle influences the respiration of sedimentary organic matter, the oxidation state of the atmosphere and oceans, and the composition of seawater. However, the factors governing the major sulfur fluxes between seawater and sedimentary reservoirs remain incompletely understood. Using macrostratigraphic data, we quantified sulfate evaporite burial fluxes through Phanerozoic time. Approximately half of the modern riverine sulfate flux comes from weathering of recently deposited evaporites. Rates of sulfate burial are unsteady and linked to changes in the area of marine environments suitable for evaporite formation and preservation. By contrast, rates of pyrite burial and weathering are higher, less variable, and largely balanced, highlighting a greater role of the sulfur cycle in regulating atmospheric oxygen.     

Sulfur isotopic composition of cenozoic seawater sulfate

A continuous seawater sulfate sulfur isotope curve for the Cenozoic with a resolution of approximately 1 million years was generated using marine barite. The sulfur isotopic composition decreased from 19 to 17 per mil between 65 and 55 million years ago, increased abruptly from 17 to 22 per mil between 55 and 45 million years ago, remained nearly constant from 35 to approximately 2 million years ago, and has decreased by 0.8 per mil during the past 2 million years. A comparison between seawater sulfate and marine carbonate carbon isotope records reveals no clear systematic coupling between the sulfur and carbon cycles over one to several millions of years, indicating that changes in the burial rate of pyrite sulfur and organic carbon did not singularly control the atmospheric oxygen content over short time intervals in the Cenozoic. This finding has implications for the modeling of controls on atmospheric oxygen concentration.     

Bacteriogenic sulfur in air pollution

On a yearly basis, the major source of atmospheric sulfur compounds in and near Salt Lake City, Utah, is industrial. Isotopic studies suggest that the next most important source is bacteriogenic sulfur released by anaerobes from muds. On a seasonal basis, the bacteriogenic source of sulfur compounds may rival the industrial source in importance.     

Inorganic and organic sulfur cycling in salt-marsh pore waters

Sulfur species in pore waters of the Great Marsh, Delaware, were analyzed seasonally by polarographic methods. The species determined (and their concentrations in micromoles per liter) included inorganic sulfides (相似文献   

Large sulfur bacteria and the formation of phosphorite

Phosphorite deposits in marine sediments are a long-term sink for an essential nutrient, phosphorus. Here we show that apatite abundance in sediments on the Namibian shelf correlates with the abundance and activity of the giant sulfur bacterium Thiomargarita namibiensis, which suggests that sulfur bacteria drive phosphogenesis. Sediments populated by Thiomargarita showed sharp peaks of pore water phosphate (/=50 grams of phosphorus per kilogram). Laboratory experiments revealed that under anoxic conditions, Thiomargarita released enough phosphate to account for the precipitation of hydroxyapatite observed in the environment.     

Oligotrophy and nitrogen fixation during eastern mediterranean sapropel events

Nitrogen isotopic measurements in fossil chlorophyll from late Pleistocene organic-rich sediments (sapropels) in the eastern Mediterranean Sea provide geochemical evidence for stratified, nutrient-depleted surface water and extensive nitrogen fixation. This evidence is reconciled with previous indications of high productivity by invoking a model of sapropel formation in which increased river discharge facilitates development of a specialized phytoplankton population whose annual mass sinking provides the organic flux to generate sapropels. This interpretation is consistent with the widespread occurrence of mat-forming diatoms that thrive in stratified water and can harbor diazotrophic bacterial symbionts, but does not support eutrophication of surface waters by enhanced river runoff or a circulation reversal.