Seong-Gil Kang

Assessment of metal pollution in Onsan Bay, Korea using Asian periwinkle Littorina brevicula as a biomonitor

Cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) concentrations in the marine gastropod, Littorina brevicula Philippi, were determined to assess the metal pollution in Onsan Bay, Korea. Samples of L. brevicula employed as a biomonitor and seawater were collected from 12 to 20 stations of Onsan Bay in November 1997, respectively. Dissolved metal concentrations in surface seawater were highest at the station near Onsan Non-ferrous Industrial Complex: 1.15 micrograms l-1 for Cd, 2.49 micrograms l-1 for Pb, 3.75 micrograms l-1 for Cu and 23.98 micrograms l-1 for Zn. These values were 1-2 orders higher than those shown at outer regions of the Bay. Metal concentrations in the soft body of periwinkles were highly variable at different sampling locations: 0.48-27.11 micrograms g-1 for Cd, 1.41-24.91 micrograms g-1 for Pb, 57-664 micrograms g-1 for Cu and 83-246 micrograms g-1 for Zn. The values from stations near the industrial complex were higher than those expected from relationships between body sizes and metal body burdens in periwinkles collected from the whole Korean coast. Spatial distribution of metal concentrations in the periwinkle and seawater indicated that Onsan industrial complex near the Bay is the input source of these metals. Especially, Cd and Pb concentrations in the periwinkle and seawater were distinctly decreased with distance from the Onsan industrial complex. Non-essential metals such as Cd and Pb in the periwinkle showed a strong correlation with dissolved metal concentrations in seawater. Conversely, essential Cu and Zn in the periwinkle were hardly explained by those in seawater, except at the most contaminated sites.

Induction of the P450 reporter gene system bioassay by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Ulsan Bay (South Korea) sediments

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and induction of the P450 reporter gene system (RGS) for 6- and 16-h exposure periods were determined in organic extracts of Ulsan Bay (South Korea) sediments to assess the utility of this bioassay as a screening tool for PAH contamination. The sum of the concentrations of 23 individual PAHs in 30 sediment samples (sigma PAH) based on GC-MS analysis ranged from 0.05 to 6.1 micrograms/g dry wt. P450 RGS fold induction ranged from 4.0 to 320 micrograms/g based on benzo[a]pyrene toxic equivalents (BaPEq). P450 RGS BaPEq and the chemical BaPEq, defined as the sum of the products of individual PAH concentrations and pre-determined toxic equivalency factors, exhibited very strong positive correlations with sigma PAH (r2 > 0.90; P < 0.001). Fold induction did not increase (and in some cases decreased) after the optimal incubation period (6 h) for PAHs, indicating that other compounds known to induce the P450 RGS (e.g. chlorinated organics) were not present at levels effecting significant induction. This was supported by GC-ECD analysis where non-ortho and mono-ortho polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) known to be strong P450 RGS inducers were found to be at very low or non-detectable levels in samples with the highest P450 RGS responses. The profound difference in PAH profiles for the two most contaminated sites suggested that this assay is especially sensitive for selected PAHs with greater than four rings. Combined with previous results, the P450 RGS shows promise as a useful screening tool for predicting deleterious biological effects resulting from CYP1A1-inducing, sediment-associated chemicals, particularly high molecular weight PAHs.

Baseline metal concentration in the Asian periwinkle Littorina brevicula employed as a biomonitor to assess metal pollution in Korean coastal water.

Concentrations of Al, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, V, Ni, Co, Cr, Cd and Pb in the Asian periwinkle Littorina brevicula were determined from 39 sampling locations along the whole Korean coast. Metal concentrations in the periwinkle varied highly with sampling stations, but the variations could be well explained by the body size after eliminating the data exceeding the High criteria. Among the stations exceeding the High criteria corresponding to mean plus one standard deviation of the logarithms of the individual site mean, some stations exhibited values higher than expected from the relationship between metal body burden and body size, indicating that these locations were polluted with metals. However, several High stations followed the trends of the curve, suggesting that they resulted from the effect of their small body size, not from environmental contamination. Periwinkles of similar body sizes exhibited same range of metal concentrations in their body, independent of geographical position.

Size distribution, growth and production of Sargassum thunbergii in an intertidal zone of Padori, west coast of Korea

This paper considers an estimation of population parameters by mathematical equations on the basis of size distribution and biomass obtained from a field survey. Sargassum thunbergii, a dominant alga in t he surf zone of Korean coast, was investigated from June 1990 to August 1991. We divided the population into interval groups according to the time of recruitment. A separation of the population by age or size was impossible because of difficulties arising from continuous recruitment over the growing season. The basic idea for the solution is based on the assumption that the estimated values of the growth rate, number of births and deaths reflect real values, if the biomass and coefficient of variation obtained from the field investigation are coincident with those calculated by equations. The predicted behavior of the population is as follows: the proportion of numbers of recruits is large, but the contribution of recruits to biomass and production is insignificant, and the growth curve shows a sigmoid pattern.

The Relationship between Primary Production of Microphytobenthos and Tidal Cycle on the Hwaseong Mudflat, West Coast of Korea

ABSTRACT Kwon, B.-O.; Koh, C.-H.; Khim. J. S.; Park, J.; Kang, S-G., and Hwang, J.H., 2014. The relationship between primary production of microphytobenthos and tidal cycle on the Hwaseong mudflat, west coast of Korea. The present study examined variation in sediment temperature and irradiance with respect to microphytobenthos primary production at the Hwaseong mudflat, west coast of Korea, under different tidal cycles. The study was carried out during March and April 2009, which encompassed two spring tides and one neap tide. It was not possible to continuously measure primary production in situ across the tidal cycles; hence, photosynthesis–irradiance (P-I) curves at different temperatures were obtained experimentally in the laboratory. These readings were then used to calculate primary production, by projecting in situ mooring records of irradiance and temperature onto the P-I curves. The sediment temperature and irradiance were measured continuously, and the averages of 10-minute intervals from the mooring records were used. The results show that changes in primary production simulated from the P-I curves were strongly associated with the tidal cycle. During the two spring tides that were recorded, mean daily primary production was 1005 and 1125 mg C m−2 d−1, respectively. However, primary production was lower during the neap tide (898 mg C m−2 d−1). Temperature appeared to influence these differences in mean daily production. In situ mean daily temperatures during exposure were 14°C and 20°C during the first and second spring tides, respectively. In contrast, mean daily total irradiance was noticeably higher in the first spring tide compared with the second spring tide. During the neap tide, the site was exposed in the morning and afternoon, when light intensity and temperature were relatively low. In contrast, during the spring tide, the site was exposed at noon, when light intensity and temperature were high. The current study provided new insights about how changes in environmental parameters during tidal cycles affect microphytobenthic primary production, indicating the complexity of this process and the requirement for further fine-scale research.

Cellular Energy Allocation of a Marine Polychaete Species (Perinereis aibuhitensis) Exposed to Dissolving Carbon Dioxide in Seawater

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the biochemical adverse effect of increased carbon diox- ide in seawater on marine polychaete, Perinereis aibuhitensis. We measured the available energy reserves, Ea (total carbohydrate, protein, and lipid content) and the energy consumption, Ec (electron transport activity) of Perinereis aibuhitensis exposed for 7-d to a range of CO2 concentration such as 0.39 (control =390 ppmv), 3.03 (=3,030 ppmv), 10.3 (=10,300 ppmv), and 30.1 (=30,100 ppmv) CO2 mM, respectively. The cellular energy allocation (CEA) methodology was used to assess the adverse effects of toxic stress on the energy budget of the test organisms. The results of a decrease in CEA effect of increased carbon dioxide in seawater from all individ- ual in Ea and Ec. Increase of carbon dioxide reduced pH in seawater, significantly. The chemical changes in sea-

Chronic Effect Exposed to Carbon Dioxide in Benthic Environment with Marine Invertebrates Copepod(Tisbe sp.) and Amphipod (Monocorophium acherusicum)

Chronic effects such as reproduction and population dynamics with elevated CO2 concentration were evaluated using two representative marine benthic species, copepod (Tisbe sp.) and amphipod (Monocorophium acherusicum) adopting long-term exposure. Juvenile copepod and amphipod individuals were cultivated in the seawater equilibrated with control air (0.395 mmol CO2/air mol) and high CO2 air having 0.998, to 3.03, 10.3, and 30.1 mmol CO2/air mol during 20 and 46 days, respectively. After the exposure period, the number of benthic invertebrate was counted with separate larval and juvenile stage such as naupliar, copepodid and adult for copepod, or neonate and adult for amphipod, respectively. The individual number of both test species at each life-stage was significantly decreased in seawater with 10.3 mmol CO2/air mol or higher. Recently, the technology of marine CO2 sequestration has been developed for the reduction of CO2 emission, which may cause climate change. However, under various scenarios of CO2 leaks during the injection process or sequestrated CO2 in marine geological structure, 1)

A Numerical Study on the CO 2 Leakage Through the Fault During Offshore Carbon Sequestration

To mitigate the greenhouse gas emission, many carbon capture and storage projects are underway all over the world. In Korea, many studies focus on the storage of in the offshore sediment. Assurance of safety is one of the most important issues in the geological storage of . Especially, the assessment of possibility of leakage and amount of leaked is very crucial to analyze the safety of marine geological storage of . In this study, the leakage of injected through fault was numerically studied. TOUGH2-MP ECO2N was used to simulate the subsurface behavior of injected . The storage site was 150 m thick saline aquifer located 825 m under the continental shelf. It was assumed that leak was happened through the fault located 1,000 m away from the injection well. The injected could migrate through the aquifer by both pressure difference driven by injection and buoyancy force. The enough pressure differences made it possible the to migrate to the bottom of the fault. The could be leaked to seabed through the fault due to the buoyancy force. Prior to leakage of the injected , the formation water leaked to seabed. When reached the seabed, leakage of formation water stopped but the same amount of sea water starts to flow into the underground as the amount of leaked . To analyze the effect of injection rate on the leakage behavior, the injection rate of was varied as 0.5, 0.75, and . The starting times of leakage at 1, 0.75 and injection rates are 11.3, 15.6 and 23.2 years after the injection, respectively. The leakage of to the seabed continued for a period time after the end of injection. The ratios of total leaked to total injected at 1, 0.75 and injection rates are 19.5%, 11.5% and 2.8%, respectively.

Genotoxicity (DNA damage) on Blood Cells of Parrot Fish (Oplegnathus fasciatus) Exposed to Acidified Seawater Making of CO 2

DNA damage such as genotoxicity was identified with comet assay, which blood cell of a marine parrot fish (Oplegnathus fasciatus) was exposed to an acidified seawater, lowered pH gradient making of CO2 gas. The gradient of pH were 8.22, 8.03, 7.81, 7.55 with control as HBSS solution with pH 7.4. DNA tail moment of fish blood cell was 0.548 ± 0.071 exposed seawater of pH 8.22 condition, on the other hand, DNA tail moment 1.601 ± 0.197 exposed acidified seawater of pH 7.55 lowest condition. The approximate difference with level of DNA damage was 2.9 times between highest and lowest of pH. DNA damage with decreasing pH was significantly increased with DNA tail moment on blood cell of marine fish (ANOVA, p < 0.001). Ocean acidification, especially inducing the leakage of sequestered CO2 in geological structure is a consequence from the burning of fossil fuels, and long term effects on marine habitats and organisms are not fully investigated. The physiological effects on adult fish species are even less known. This result shown that the potential of dissolved CO2 in seawater was revealed to induce the toxic effect on genotoxicity such as DNA breakage.

Sub-lethal and lethal toxicities of elevated CO 2 on embryonic, juvenile, and adult stages of marine medaka Oryzias melastigma

The potential leakage from marine CO2 storage sites is of increasing concern, but few studies have evaluated the probable adverse effects on marine organisms. Fish, one of the top predators in marine environments, should be an essential representative species used for water column toxicity testing in response to waterborne CO2 exposure. In the present study, we conducted fish life cycle toxicity tests to fully elucidate CO2 toxicity mechanism effects. We tested sub-lethal and lethal toxicities of elevated CO2 concentrations on marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma) at different developmental stages. At each developmental stage, the test species was exposed to varying concentrations of gaseous CO2 (control air, 5%, 10%, 20%, and 30%), with 96u202fh of exposure at 0-4u202fd (early stage), 4-8u202fd (middle stage), and 8-12u202fd (late stage). Sub-lethal and lethal effects, including early developmental delays, cardiac edema, tail abnormalities, abnormal pigmentation, and mortality were monitored daily during the 14u202fd exposure period. At the embryonic stage, significant sub-lethal and lethal effects were observed at pHu202f<u202f6.30. Hypercapnia can cause long-term and/or delayed developmental embryonic problems, even after transfer back to clean seawater. At fish juvenile and adult stages, significant mortality was observed at pHu202f<u202f5.70, indicating elevated CO2 exposure might cause various adverse effects, even during short-term exposure periods. It should be noted the early embryonic stage was found more sensitive to CO2 exposure than other developmental stages of the fish life cycle. Overall, the present study provided baseline information for potential adverse effects of high CO2 concentration exposure on fish developmental processes at different life cycle stages in marine ecosystems.