Oceanic Uptake of Fossil Fuel CO2: Carbon-13 Evidence

The delta(13)C value of the dissolved inorganic carbon in the surface waters of the Pacific Ocean has decreased by about 0.4 per mil between 1970 and 1990. This decrease has resulted from the uptake of atmospheric CO(2) derived from fossil fuel combustion and deforestation. The net amounts of CO(2) taken up by the oceans and released from the biosphere between 1970 and 1990 have been determined from the changes in three measured values: the concentration of atmospheric CO(2), the delta(13)C of atmospheric CO(2) and the delta(13)C value of dissolved inorganic carbon in the ocean. The calculated average net oceanic CO(2) uptake is 2.1 gigatons of carbon per year. This amount implies that the ocean is the dominant net sink for anthropogenically produced CO(2) and that there has been no significant net CO(2) released from the biosphere during the last 20 years.     

Water and carbon in rusty lunar rock 66095

Lunar rock 66095 contains a hydrated iron oxide and has an unusual amount of water for a lunar rock (140 to 750 parts per million), 90 percent of which is released below 690 degrees C. The deltaof water released at these low temperatures varies from -75 to -140 per mil relative to standard mean ocean water (SMOW). The small amount of water released between 690 degrees and 1300 degrees C has a delta of about -175 +/-25 per mil SMOW. These delta values are not unusual for terrestrial water. The delta(18)O of water extracted from 110 degrees to 400 degrees C has a value of +5+/- I per mil SMOW, similar to the value for lunar silicates from rock 66095 and different from the value of -4 to -22 per mil found for samples of terrestrial rust including samples of rusted meteoritic iron. The amount of carbon varies from 11 to 59 parts per million with a delta(13)C from -20 to -30 per mil relative to Pee Dee belemnite. Only very small amounts of reduced species (such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane) were found, in contrast to the analyses of other lunar rocks. Although it is possible that most of the water in the iron oxide (goethite) may be terrestrial in origin or may have exchanged with terrestrial water during sample return and handling, evidence presented herein suggests that this did not happen and that some lunar water may have a deltaD that is indistinguishable from that of terrestrial water.     

Atmospheric transfer of carbon-14: a problem in fungus translocation studies

The carbon-14-labeled carbon dioxide that is released by respiration after glucose labeled with carbon-14 is applied to fungal mycelium can be reabsorbed in highly significant amounts by distant mycelium and agar media in the same petri dishes. Atmospheric transfer of carbon-14 must be considered when using labeled organic compounds to study translocation in fungi.     

Stable-carbon isotope ratios as a measure of marine versus terrestrial protein in ancient diets

The stable-carbon isotope ratios for the flesh of marine and terrestrial animals from Canada's Pacific coast differ by 7.9 +/- 0.4 per mil, reflecting the approximately 7 per mil difference between oceanic and atmospheric carbon. This difference is passed on to human consumers. The carbon isotopic values (delta(13)C) for human collagen thus yield direct information on the relative amounts of marine and terrestrial foods in prehistoric diets.     

Endogenous carbon in carbonaceous meteorites

Seven carbonaceous chondrites have been analyzed for soluble organic compounds, carbonate, and residual carbon. Carbon-13/carbon-12 isotopic mneasurements on these fractions gave the following values relative to a marine carbonate standard: carbonate, +40 to +70 per mil; residual carbon, -15 to -17 per mil; soluble organic material, -17 to -27 per mil, with one value of -5.5 per mil. These values are interpreted to indicate that carbonate, residual carbon, and part of the extractable organic material are endogenous to these meteorites.     

Sulfur mustard: reaction with L-cells treated with 5-fluorodeoxyuridine

After exposure to 5-fluorodeoxyuridine, L-cells are considerably more sensitive to the lethal effect of sulfur mustard than after they have been released from this block by addition of thymidine and allowed to proceed into the G2 phase of the division cycle. Nevertheless, for both populations, the amounts of mustard bound per cell and per nucleus (expressed as the amount of mustard per unit of protein) were the same. Likewise, the amounts of mustard bound per unit of DNA were the same for both populations.     

Arctic lakes and streams as gas conduits to the atmosphere: implications for tundra carbon budgets

Arctic tundra has large amounts of stored carbon and is thought to be a sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO(2)) (0.1 to 0.3 petagram of carbon per year) (1 petagram = 10(15) grams). But this estimate of carbon balance is only for terrestrial ecosystems. Measurements of the partial pressure of CO(2) in 29 aquatic ecosystems across arctic Alaska showed that in most cases (27 of 29) CO(2) was released to the atmosphere. This CO(2) probably originates in terrestrial environments; erosion of particulate carbon plus ground-water transport of dissolved carbon from tundra contribute to the CO(2) flux from surface waters to the atmosphere. If this mechanism is typical of that of other tundra areas, then current estimates of the arctic terrestrial sink for atmospheric CO(2) may be 20 percent too high.     

Model studies of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin formation during municipal refuse incineration

Toxic chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins are known to be formed in incinerators that burn municipal refuse. These compounds were synthesized by surface-catalyzed reactions on fly ash particulates taken from incinerators. Dioxins were produced catalytically from chlorinated phenol precursors, from non-chlorinated compounds that were chemically dissimilar to dioxins, and from reaction of phenol with inorganic chlorides. The relative amounts of dioxins formed from [13C6]pentachlorophenol with different fly ashes that had been cleaned of all organic compounds corresponded well with those amounts originally found on the samples as received from the incinerators. The optimum temperature range for the formation of dioxins from pentachlorophenol was 250 degrees to 350 degrees C.     

改性活性炭对木糖液脱色性能的研究

采用磷酸法活性炭(PAC)对木糖液进行脱色,研究表明,活性炭对木糖液中的氮类物质、酚类化合物及铁等有良好的去除能力,经活性炭脱色后木糖液颜色变浅,其透光率由28.5%提高到66.4%。活性炭经氨水改性后(PAC-NH3.H2O),其表面化学发生了一定的变化,与未改性的PAC试样相比,试样PAC-NH3.H2O的碱性官能团浓度由0.313 5 mmol.g-1增加到0.534 9 mmol.g-1,表面的吸附活性位增多,对木糖液中氮类物质和酚类化合物的吸附量增加。木糖液经PAC-NH3.H2O脱色后,其透光率由28.5%提高到71.4%,与未改性PAC试样相比,透光率提高了5%,其吸附能力有一定程度的提高,是一种可行的活性炭改性方法。     

Is soot composed predominantly of carbon clusters?

Soot generated from diesel fuel in a combustion tube is characterized by microanalysis, x-ray diffraction, chemical reactivity, and nuclear magnetic resonance to address the recent proposal of the significance of carbon clusters in soot. The data support a traditional model of soot as polynuclear aromatic compounds rather than as clusters of carbon atoms with minimal edge site density. The amounts of noncarbon atoms in the soot (hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur) are commensurate with the edge density of the crystallites (2 by 2 nanometers) inferred from diffraction. The chemistry of soot, in being reduced by potassium metal and alkylated by alkyl iodides, is that known for aromatic compounds and not that anticipated for materials such as graphite, with a small fraction of carbon atoms on edges.     

Acetabularia chloroplast DNA: electron microscopic visualization

Isolated chloroplasts of Acetabularia mediterranea, lysed by osmotic shock in a protein monolayer, released large amounts of supercoiled DNA. In some cases, the DNA radiated in large loops from centers of organization. The amount of DNA per chloroplast may be similar to that of a bacterium.     

Interstellar carbon in meteorites

The Murchison and Allende chondrites contain up to 5 parts per million carbon that is enriched in carbon-13 by up to + 1100 per mil (the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-13 is approximately 42, compared to 88 to 93 for terrestrial carbon). This "heavy" carbon is associated with neon-22 and with anomalous krypton and xenon showing the signature of the s-process (neutron capture on a slow time scale). It apparently represents interstellar grains ejected from late-type stars. A second anomalous xenon component ("CCFXe") is associated with a distinctive, light carbon (depleted in carbon-13 by 38 per mil), which, however, falls within the terrestrial range and hence may be of either local or exotic origin.     

Wood versus fossil fuel as a source of excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere: a preliminary report

If the amounts of wood consumed in deforestation to increase agricultural land and as firewood in underindustrialized countries are added to the amount consumed by the money economies as forest products, the estimates of the net amount of wood removed from the biosphere in this century should be revised upward. The per capita ratio of the weight of carbon from net wood burned to the weight of carbon from fossil fuel burned in this century has been at least 0.1 and may have approached 1.0.     

植物体氮素的挥发损失——Ⅳ.玉米生长过程中挥发损失的氮素

把玉米植株和用经磷酸甘油液浸泡的塑料泡沫覆盖的生长介质(土壤)同置于密闭的生长室中,捕获测定了玉米整个生育过程中挥发的氨气。结果表明,玉米能挥发出少量的氨,中后期62d挥发量约为200g/ha;后期挥发量较前期大,约6g/d·ha(N)。温度、叶子衰老程度、施氮水平对氨气挥发量未表现出明显影响。玉米挥发的氨量不稳定,变异较大。     

Global carbon sinks and their variability inferred from atmospheric O2 and delta13C

Recent time-series measurements of atmospheric O2 show that the land biosphere and world oceans annually sequestered 1.4 +/- 0.8 and 2.0 +/- 0.6 gigatons of carbon, respectively, between mid-1991 and mid-1997. The rapid storage of carbon by the land biosphere from 1991 to 1997 contrasts with the 1980s, when the land biosphere was approximately neutral. Comparison with measurements of delta13CO2 implies an isotopic flux of 89 +/- 21 gigatons of carbon per mil per year, in agreement with model- and inventory-based estimates of this flux. Both the delta13C and the O2 data show significant interannual variability in carbon storage over the period of record. The general agreement of the independent estimates from O2 and delta13C is a robust signal of variable carbon uptake by both the land biosphere and the oceans.     

Search for organic compounds in the lunar dust from the sea of tranquiblity

A sample of lunar dust was examined for organic compounds. Carbon detected in concentrations of 157 micrograms per gram had a delta(13)C per mil (PDB) value of + 20. Treatment with hydrochloric acid yielded hydrocarbons of low molecular weight, suggesting the presence of carbides. The gas chromatogram of the acylated and esterified derivatives of the hydrolyzate was similar to that obtained for the Pueblito de Allende meteorite. There were no detectable amounts of extractable high-molecular-weight alkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons, isoprenoid hydrocarbons, normal alkanes, fatty acids, amino acids, sugars, or nucleic acid bases. Traces of porphyrins were found, perhaps arising from rocket exhaust materials.     

Global deforestation: contribution to atmospheric carbon dioxide

A study of effects of terrestrial biota on the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere suggests that the global net release of carbon due to forest clearing between 1860 and 1980 was between 135 x 10(15) and 228 x 10(15) grams. Between 1.8 x 10(15) and 4.7 x 10(15) grams of carbon were released in 1980, of which nearly 80 percent was due to deforestation, principally in the tropics. The annual release of carbon from the biota and soils exceeded the release from fossil fuels until about 1960. Because the biotic release has been and remains much larger than is commonly assumed, the airborne fraction, usually considered to be about 50 percent of the release from fossil fuels, was probably between 22 and 43 percent of the total carbon released in 1980. The increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is thought by some to be increasing the storage of carbon in the earth's remaining forests sufficiently to offset the release from deforestation. The interpretation of the evidence presented here suggests no such effect; deforestation appears to be the dominant biotic effect on atmospheric carbon dioxide. If deforestation increases in proportion to population, the biotic release of carbon will reach 9 x 10(15) grams per year before forests are exhausted early in the next century. The possibilities for limiting the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere through reduction in use of fossil fuels and through management of forests may be greater than is commonly assumed.     

Carbon-13/carbon-12 isotope fractionation of organic matter associated with uranium ores induced by alpha irradiation

Analyses of stable carbon isotopes from two sample suites from sandstone uranium (tabular) ores show interesting variations. Organic carbon associated with high-grade uranium ore is heavy (delta(13)C = -16.9 to -19.6 per mil, where delta(13)C = (13)C/(12)C relative to the Pee Dee belemnite standard) relative to the adjacent lower-grade samples (-22.7 to -26.4 per mil). It is suggested that the heavy isotopic values for the are samples are related to a radiation and chemical isotope effect that has occurred mainly because of an alpha-radiation dose of 10(11) rads.     

Carbon-13 and carbon-14 abundances in alaskan aquatic organisms: delayed production from peat in arctic food webs

Inputs of terrestrial peat carbon to the nearshore Alaskan Beaufort Sea from erosion and fluvial transport are of the same magnitude as in situ primary production within 10 kilometers of shore. Nevertheless, carbon-13/carbon-12 ratios and carbon-14 abundances in marine organisms show that only small amounts of the terrestrial carbon are transferred beyond the microbial level. Freshwater organisms, however, are heavily dependent on peat, as shown by pronounced seasonal radiocarbon depressions in resident fish and ducks. Tundra ponds and lakes are areas where accumulated terrestrial peat carbon is apparently transferred to aquatic insect larvae and passed on to higher organisms. The lack of functionally analogous abundant marine prey organisms may explain why peat carbon is not efficiently transferred to apical food web species in the marine environment.     

Volatile halogenated organic compounds released to seawater from temperate marine macroalgae

Volatile halogenated organic compounds synthesized by various industrial processes are troublesome pollutants because they are persistent in terrestrial ecosystems and because they may be present in sufficient quantities to alter the natural atmospheric cycles of the halogens. Certain of these compounds, including polybromomethanes and several previously unobserved alkyl monohalides and dihalides, appear to be natural products of the marine environment. A variety of temperate marine macroalgae (the brown algae Ascophyllum nodosum and Fucus vesiculosis, the green algae Enteromorpha linza and Ulva lacta, and the red alga Gigartina stellata) not only contain volatile halogenated organic compounds but also release them to seawater at rates of nanograms to micrograms of each compound per gram of dry algae per day. The macroalgae may be an important source of bromine-containing material released to the atmosphere.