Aliphatic biomarker signatures of early Oligocene-early Miocene source rocks in the central Qiongdongnan Basin:Source analyses of organic matter

The geochemical signatures of fifty-four rock samples and three supplementary drill stem test(DST)oils from the Yacheng-Sanya formations in the central Qiongdongnan Basin(CQB)were analysed.Reconstruction of the early Oligocene-early Miocene(36–16 Ma)palaeovegetation and source analyses of organic matter(OM)were conducted using aliphatic biomarkers in ancient sediments and DST oils.Both the interpreted aquatic and terrigenous OM contributed to the CQB source rocks(SRs)but had varying relative proportions.The four distribution patterns derived from n-alkanes,terpanes,and steranes are representative of four OM composition models of the Yacheng-Sanya SRs,including model A,model B,model C,and model D,which were classified based on the increasing contribution from terrigenous OM relative to aquatic OM.Some terrigenous higher plantderived biomarkers,including oleanane,des-A-oleanane,C_(29)ααα20R sterane,bicadinanes,the C_(19)/(C_(19)+C_(23))tricyclic terpane ratio,and other n-alkane-derived ratios suggest that angiosperms had increased proportions in the palaeoflora from early Oligocene to early Miocene,and the bloom of terrigenous higher plants was observed during deposition of upper Lingshui Formation to lower Sanya Formation.These findings are consistent with the incremental total organic carbon and free hydrocarbons+potential hydrocarbons(S_1+S_2)in the lower Lingshuilower Sanya strata with a significant enrichment of OM in the E_3l_1-N_1s_2 shales.The maturity-and environmentsensitive aliphatic parameters of the CQB SRs and DST oils suggest that all the samples have predominantly reached their early oil-generation windows but have not exceeded the peak oil windows,except for some immature Sanya Formation shales.In addition,most of the OM in the analysed samples was characterised by mixed OM contributions under anoxic to sub-anoxic conditions.Furthermore,terrestrial-dominant SRs were interpreted to have developed mainly in the Lingshui-Sanya formations and were deposited in sub-oxic to oxic environments,compared to the anoxic to sub-anoxic conditions of the Yacheng Formation.

Biomarker assessments of sources and environmental implications of organic matter in sediments from potential cold seep areas of the northeastern South China Sea

Multi-biomarker indexes were analyzed for two piston cores from potential cold seep areas of the South China Sea off southwestern Taiwan. Total organic carbon（TOC） normalized terrestrial（n-alkanes） and marine（brassicasterol, dinosterol, alkenones and iso-GDGTs） biomarker contents and ratios（TMBR, 1/Pmar-aq, BIT） were used to evaluate the contributions of terrestrial and marine organic matter（TOM and MOM respectively） to the sedimentary organic matter, indicating that MOM dominated the organic sources in Core MD052911 and the sedimentary organic matter in Core ORI-_（86）0-22 was mainly derived from terrestrial inputs, and different morphologies were the likely reason for TOM percentage differences. BIT results suggested that river-transported terrestrial soil organic matter was not a major source of TOM of sedimentary organic matter around these settings.Diagnostic biomarkers for methane-oxidizing archaea（MOA） were only detected in one sample at 172 cm depth of Core ORI-_（86）0-22, with abnormally high iso-GDGTs content and Methane Index（MI） value（0.94）. These results indicated high anaerobic oxidation of methane（AOM） activities at or around 172 cm in Core ORI-_（86）0-22.However in Core MD052911, MOA biomarkers were not detected and MI values were lower（0.19–0.38）, indicated insignificant contributions of iso-GDGTs from methanotrophic archaea and the absence of significant AOM activities. Biomarker results thus indicated that the discontinuous upward methane seepage and insufficient methane flux could not induce high AOM activities in our sampling sites. In addition, the different patterns of TEX_（86） and U_（37）^（K′） temperature in two cores suggested that AOM activities affected TEX_（86）37 temperature estimates with lower values in Core ORI-_（86）0-22, but not significantly on TEX_（86） temperature estimates in Core MD052911.

Molecular characterization of effluent organic matter in secondary effluent and reclaimed water:Comparison to natural organic matter in source water

Municipal wastewater reclamation is becoming of increasing importance in the world to solve the problem of water scarcity. A better understanding of the molecular composition of effluent organic matter（Ef OM） in the treated effluents of municipal wastewater treatment plants（WWTPs） is crucial for ensuring the safety of water reuse. In this study, the molecular composition of Ef OM in the secondary effluent of a WWTP in Beijing and the reclaimed water further treated with a coagulation–sedimentation–ozonation process were characterized using a non-target Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry（FT-ICR MS） method and compared to that of natural organic matter（NOM） in the local source water from a reservoir. It was found that the molecular composition of Ef OM in the secondary effluent and reclaimed water was dominated by CHOS formulas, while NOM in the source water was dominated by CHO formulas. The CHO formulas of the three samples had similar origins. Anthropogenic surfactants were responsible for the CHOS formulas in Ef OM of the secondary effluent and were not well removed by the coagulation-sedimentation-ozonation treatment process adopted.

Chemical composition and source apportionment of PM10 and PM2.5 in different functional areas of Lanzhou,China

To elucidate the air pollution characteristics of northern China, airborne PM_10（atmospheric dynamic equivalent diameter ≤ 10 μm） and PM_（2.5）（atmospheric dynamic equivalent diameter ≤ 2.5 μm） were sampled in three different functional areas（Yuzhong County,Xigu District and Chengguan District） of Lanzhou, and their chemical composition（elements, ions, carbonaceous species） was analyzed. The results demonstrated that the highest seasonal mean concentrations of PM_10（369.48 μg/m^3） and PM_（2.5）（295.42 μg/m^3） were detected in Xigu District in the winter, the lowest concentration of PM_（2.5）（53.15 μg/m^3） was observed in Yuzhong District in the fall and PM_10（89.60 μg/m^3） in Xigu District in the fall.The overall average OC/EC（organic carbon/elemental carbon） value was close to the representative OC/EC ratio for coal consumption, implying that the pollution of Lanzhou could be attributed to the burning of coal. The content of SNA（the sum of sulfate, nitrate,ammonium, SNA） in PM_（2.5）in Yuzhong County was generally lower than that at other sites in all seasons. The content of SNA in PM_（2.5）and PM_10 in Yuzhong County was generally lower than that at other sites in all seasons（0.24–0.38）, indicating that the conversion ratios from precursors to secondary aerosols in the low concentration area was slower than in the area with high and intense pollutants. Six primary particulate matter sources were chosen based on positive matrix factorization（PMF） analysis, and emissions from dust, secondary aerosols, and coal burning were identified to be the primary sources responsible for the particle pollution in Lanzhou.

Quantifying the characteristics of particulate matters captured by urban plants using an automatic approach

It is widely accepted that urban plant leaves can capture airborne particles. Previous studies on the particle capture capacity of plant leaves have mostly focused on particle mass and/or size distribution. Fewer studies, however, have examined the particle density, and the size and shape characteristics of particles, which may have important implications for evaluating the particle capture efficiency of plants, and identifying the particle sources. In addition, the role of different vegetation types is as yet unclear. Here, we chose three species of different vegetation types, and firstly applied an object-based classification approach to automatically identify the particles from scanning electron microscope（SEM）micrographs. We then quantified the particle capture efficiency, and the major sources of particles were identified. We found（1） Rosa xanthina Lindl（shrub species） had greater retention efficiency than Broussonetia papyrifera（broadleaf species） and Pinus bungeana Zucc.（coniferous species）, in terms of particle number and particle area cover.（2） 97.9% of the identified particles had diameter ≤10 μm, and 67.1% of them had diameter ≤2.5 μm. 89.8% of the particles had smooth boundaries, with 23.4% of them being nearly spherical.（3） 32.4%–74.1% of the particles were generated from bare soil and construction activities, and 15.5%–23.0% were mainly from vehicle exhaust and cooking fumes.