Estrogen pollution in a highly productive ecosystem off central-south Chile     

Bertin A  Inostroza PA  Quiñones RA 《Marine pollution bulletin》2011,62(7):1530-1537

While the presence of steroid estrogens in the environment has become a major environmental and health concern, their occurrence in coastal sediments remains poorly characterized. In this study, we measured the levels of three natural (estrone, 17β-estradiol, estriol) and one synthetic (17α-ethinylestradiol) estrogens in 54 coastal sediment samples collected from nine locations off central-southern Chile. Steroid estrogens were found in every sample. Remarkably high levels of 17α-ethinylestradiol were detected, reaching up to 48.14 ng/g dry weight. As a result, the global estrogenic loads were estimated to be high at all sites. Interestingly, they were found to correlate with the size of human populations served by sewage plants. Our study indicates that 17α-ethinylestradiol may accumulate in coastal sediments. The possible impact of this highly potent synthetic estrogen on the biota of the marine ecosystem off central-south Chile and on human health remains an open question.  相似文献   

Internal tidal bore warm fronts and settlement of invertebrates in central Chile     

Cristian A. Vargas  Diego A. Narvez  Andrea Piones  Roberto M. Venegas  Sergio A. Navarrete 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》2004,61(4):603-612

We studied the occurrence of large high frequency temperature fluctuations and their potential association with settlement of intertidal invertebrates during the spring/summer period 1999/2000 at Las Cruces, on the coast of central Chile. Our results showed the existence of internal tidal bores, characterized by sharp drops in water temperature at the surface and near the bottom, and subsequent temperature increases, which occurred with a semidiurnal periodicity. Measured currents support the hypothesis of alternating onshore and offshore movement of warm-water fronts. The frequency of the events varied through the summer and their amplitude seems to be modulated by onshore winds. The strongest events were observed when strong onshore winds occurred in late afternoon hours and the entire water column showed a semidiurnal temperature signal. Highest values of chlorophyll concentration in the intertidal zone and daily settlement of bivalves, gastropods and crustaceans were observed at times when conditions were favorable for occurrence of internal tidal bores. Results suggest that internal tidal bore warm fronts could play an important role in the transport of neustonic larval invertebrates and the delivery of phytoplankton to at least some intertidal sites along the coast of Chile.  相似文献   

What factors affect the decision making process when setting TACs?: The case of Chilean fisheries     

Carlos P. Leal  Renato A. Quiñones  Carlos Chávez 《Marine Policy》2010

Although failures and successes in fisheries management are related to decision making processes, these are rarely analyzed in detail and even less often following quantitative or semi-quantitative approaches. Herein, we study the decision making process for Chile's most important fisheries using a binary decision model. This model evaluates the probability that an annual total allowable catch (TAC) will or will not be modified by the National Fisheries Council (NFC) based on biological, economic, and social factors. We also analyze some aspects of individual voting, particularly whether the members vote against or abstain from voting on the proposed TAC and if they prioritize resource conservation objectives. Our results indicate that the risk of over exploitation for many important stocks in Chile is aggravated by failures at the decision making level: the scientifically recommended TACs for those fisheries that generate higher levels of employment and have greater economic value are normally increased. This analysis shows that the NFC has clearly prioritized short-term economic and social objectives over resource conservation goals. We discuss the need to adjust the composition and functioning of the NFC in order to ensure long-term sustainability of the fisheries.  相似文献   

P and S Mach Waves Generated by the Detonation of a Cylindrical Explosive Charge - Experiments and Simulations     

Fr  d  ric Vanbrabant  Enrique P. Chac  n  Luis A. Qui  ones 《Fragblast: International Journal for Blasting and Fragmentation》2002,6(1):21-35

During blasting operations in a competent rock mass without open joints or faults, the structure of the wave fields generated by the detonation of a cylindrical charge depends mainly on the relation between the velocity of detonation ( c d ) and the velocity of the P and S waves, c P and c S , respectively, in the medium. If c d is larger than c P , detonation is supersonic and Mach P and S waves appear. If c d is between c P and c S , detonation is transonic, and only an S Mach wave is generated. If c d is less than c S , subsonic detonation occurs. In this paper, we describe an experiment conducted at the Andina mine (Chile) in order to demonstrate the differences between the wave fields generated by supersonic and transonic detonation. We also present a simulation of the detonation of a cylindrical charge using the finite differences Itasca software FLAC3.4. In particular, we show how important it is to secure a good adjustment of the rheological behaviour of the medium, in our case, a strain softening elasto-plastic model.  相似文献   

Application of the FAO quantitative and SINDI methods to assess the quality of different soils in Castilla-La Mancha (Spain)     

V. González-Quiñones  A. de la Torre  M. P. García  A. Polo  R. Jiménez-Ballesta 《Environmental Geology》2007,53(3):527-531

In the region of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain), over half of the soils are under cropping. This vast agricultural activity, combined with other anthropological uses, has led to a deterioration of the soil quality and virtual degradation. Therefore, it was deemed to assess the quality of these soils, which was achieved by applying two different methods. Three soils, representative of typical conditions in this community, were sampled and diverse properties were analysed in order to apply two different approaches. The first soil evaluation was carried out by a traditional method developed by FAO using a productivity index, whereas the second method consisted of the application of a new method called SINDI, developed in New Zealand. Both approaches make an evaluation based on a number of indicators that differs in each case. These differences explain why each method ranked the soils studied in different order reaching diverse conclusions on their quality.  相似文献   

Methane in shallow cold seeps at Mocha Island off central Chile     

Gerdhard L. JessenSilvio Pantoja  Marcelo A. GutiérrezRenato A. Quiñones  Rodrigo R. GonzálezJavier Sellanes  Matthias Y. KellermannKai-Uwe Hinrichs 《Continental Shelf Research》2011,31(6):574-581

We studied for the first time the intertidal and subtidal gas seepage system in Mocha Island off Central Chile. Four main seepage sites were investigated (of which one site included about 150 bubbling points) that release from 150 to 240 tonnes CH₄ into the atmosphere per year. The total amount of methane emitted into the atmosphere is estimated in the order of 800 tonnes per year. The gases emanated from the seeps contain 70% methane, and the stable carbon isotopic composition of methane, δ¹³C-CH₄ averaged −44.4±1.4‰ which indicates a major contribution of thermogenic gas. Adjacent to one of the subtidal seeps, rocky substrates support a diverse community of microbial filaments, macroalgae, and benthic organisms. While stable carbon isotopic compositions of marine benthic organisms indicate a dominant photosynthesis-based food web, those of some hard-substrate invertebrates were in the range −48.8‰ to −36.8‰, suggesting assimilation of methane-derived carbon by some selected taxa. This work highlights the potential subsidy of the trophic web by CH₄-C, and that its emission to the atmosphere justifies the need of evaluating the use of methane to support the energy requirements of the local community.  相似文献   

Long-range dependence in the runoff time series of the most important Patagonian river draining to the Pacific Ocean     

Rodrigo M. Montes  Renato A. Quiñones 《新西兰海洋与淡水研究杂志》2018,52(2):264-283

The Baker River is the largest free-flowing river in Chilean Patagonia. Long-range dependence (LRD), a recognised hydrological property of river runoff worldwide, was detected for the Baker River runoff time series. Analyses were conducted on a monthly scale between 1961 and 2015 using the fractal and multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis methodology. A long-range-dependent Hurst coefficient (H) equal to 0.94 was obtained. A scaling range, which is the signature of LRD, was detected for the Baker River runoff time series between 1 and 5.25 years. Baker River runoff showed a strong correlation (r?=?0.96) with the Antarctic Oscillation (AAO) Index during the 2007–2015 period. The high storage capacity of Lake General Carrera, the size of the Baker River basin area and the dynamics of AAO are proposed as main factors that contribute to the emergence of LRD in the Baker River runoff time series.  相似文献   

Spatial variability of soil quality in the surroundings of a saline lake environment     

María Eugenia Pérez González  María del Pilar García Rodríguez  Vanesa González-Quiñones  Raimundo Jiménez Ballesta 《Environmental Geology》2006,51(1):143-149

The spatial variability of the quality of the soil on the shores of a lagoon affected by hydromorphy and/or salinity can be identified (Laguna de Villacañas, Castilla La Mancha) by the use of multitemporal Landsat images in order to analyse these changes. For this purpose, TM and ETM images along with field observations and certain edaphic laboratory parameters are used. In order to identify saline-hydromorphic soils, the spatial variability of chemical and physical properties of a transect, which includes from Solonchaks to Regosols and Cambisols, have been correlated with the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). This index, chosen for specific dates, has proven to be very useful in detecting halophytic vegetation and relating it to the variability of the quality of these soils.  相似文献   

A time series of prokaryote secondary production in the oxygen minimum zone of the Humboldt current system, off central Chile     

H.A. Levipan  R.A. Quiñones  H. Urrutia 《Progress in Oceanography》2007,75(3):531-549

Because the marine picoplanktonic communities are made up of phylogenetically different microbial groups, the re-evaluation of key processes such as bacterial secondary production (BSP) has become an important contemporary issue. The difficulty of differentiating the metabolic processes of Bacteria from the rest of the microorganisms in the water column (i.e., Archaea and Eukarya) has made it difficult to estimate in situ BSP. This work presents the seasonal variability of the prokaryote secondary production (PSP) measured by the incorporation of ¹⁴C-leucine in the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) off central-southern Chile. The BSP and potential archaeal secondary production (PASP) were determined through the combined use of ¹⁴C-leucine and N¹-guanyl-1, 7-diaminoheptane (GC₇), an efficient inhibitor of archaeal and eukaryote cell growth. BSP accounted for the majority of the PSP (total average, 59 ± 7.5%); maximum values were ∼600 μg C m⁻³ h⁻¹ and, on several dates, BSP represented 100% of the PSP. Similarly, PASP was also an important fraction of the PSP (total average, 42.4 ± 8.5%), although with levels that ranged from not detectable (on given dates) to levels that represented up to ∼97% of PSP (winter 2003). Our results showed that both Bacteria and Archaea accounted for almost equal portions of the prokaryote heterotrophic metabolism in the OMZ, and that PASP is notoriously enhanced through temporal pulses of heterotrophy. This indicates that, at least in marine systems with high abundance of Archaea (e.g., mesopelagic realm), the secondary production obtained through methods measuring the uptake of radiolabeled substrates should be considered as PSP and not as BSP. If the latter is the target measurement, then the use of an inhibitor of both archaeal and eukaryote cell growth such as GC₇ is recommended.  相似文献   

Analysis of size effects on the geomechanical parameters of intact granite samples under unconfined conditions     

J. Quiñones  J. Arzúa  L. R. Alejano  F. García-Bastante  D. Mas Ivars  G. Walton 《Acta Geotechnica》2017,12(6):1229-1242

A total of 28 uniaxial compressive strength tests were performed on cylindrical Blanco Mera granite samples with diameters ranging between 14 and 100 mm, with results indicating that this granite undergoes a significant reverse size effect: the UCS increases as sample diameter increases up to 54 mm, but thereafter decreases. It was also found that the results tend to be more scattered for smaller sample diameters. We also found an apparent correlation between Young’s modulus and sample diameter. It was not possible to draw any clear conclusions regarding the variability in Poisson’s ratio with sample size. With respect to crack initiation and crack damage stresses, the behaviour of the tested samples also indicates a reverse effect. This research would suggest that the traditionally assumed decrease in strength as sample size increases does not hold for granite samples with diameters below 54 mm.  相似文献