Tamiji Yamamoto

Growth and phosphate uptake kinetics of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense from Hiroshima Bay in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan

Shellfish poisoning by the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense (Lebour) Balech occurred for the first time in Hiroshima Bay, Japan, in 1992. Oyster culture in the bay produces as much as 60% of the total production in Japan, and it suffered severe damage. In the present study, we experimentally investigated the growth rate and phosphate uptake kinetics of A. tamarense, Hiroshima Bay strain. A short‐term phosphate uptake experiment revealed that the maximum uptake rate was 1.4 pmol P cell‐1 per h and the half‐saturation constant was 2.6 umol L‐1. In semicontin‐uous culture, the maximum specific growth rate and the minimum phosphorus cell quota were 0.54 day‐1 and 0.56 pmol P cell‐1, respectively. These uptake rates suggest that A. tamarense is a poor phosphorus competitor compared with other species. However, the large phosphorus storage capacity (Qpmax/qo= 36), the surge phosphorus uptake ability (Vs/Vi= 4.1) and the low growth rate would be advantageous for surviving brief periods of phosphorus limitation which frequently occur in Hiroshima Bay.

Removal of hydrogen sulfide using crushed oyster shell from pore water to remediate organically enriched coastal marine sediments.

Hydrogen sulfide is highly toxic and fatal to benthic organisms as well as causing depletion of dissolved oxygen and generating blue tide in eutrophic coastal seas. The purposes of this study are to reveal adsorption characteristics of hydrogen sulfide onto crushed oyster shell, and to evaluate removal efficiency of hydrogen sulfide from pore water in organically enriched sediments using container experiment in order to develop a coastal sediment amendment. The crushed oyster shell was mainly composed of CaCO(3) with calcite and CaO crystal phase. The batch experiment showed removal kinetics of hydrogen sulfide can be expressed as the first order equation and Langmuir plot fitted well in describing the adsorption behavior with the adsorption maximum at 12 mg-S g(-1). The container experiments suggested the oyster shell adsorbs hydrogen sulfide in pore water effectively and reduces oxygen consumption in the overlying water. Furthermore, oxidation-reduction potential of the sediment was higher with addition of crushed oyster shell than the control without oyster shell. Thus, it is concluded that crushed oyster shell can be an effective amendment to remediate organically enriched sediments in eutrophic coastal seas.

Small-scale zooplankton aggregations at the front of a Kuroshio warm-core ring

Abstract A Longhurst-Hardy Plankton Recorder was used to study the small-scale zooplankton distribution across the front of a Kuroshio warm-core ring in June 1979. Zooplankton were strongly aggregated in the frontal region; patches of zooplankton and phytoplankton were spatially separated. A major part of the zooplankton assemblage consisted of neritic forms such as cladocerans and indicator species of the cold Oyashio water. This implies that lateral entrainment of coastal waters, which is directly influenced by the Oyashio, was an important factor in the formation of the aggregations at the Kuroshio warm-core ring front. Variation in the distribution of abundance peaks of individual zooplankton species was also observed. Futhermore, zooplankton showed more intensive non-randomness (aggregation) than phytoplankton and non-motile euphausiids eggs. Thus, biological processes, such as motility and prey-predator interaction, also appeared to be regulating the patchiness.

Effects of winds, tides and river water runoff on the formation and disappearance of the Alexandrium tamarense bloom in Hiroshima Bay, Japan

Abstract Effects of winds, tides and river water runoff on the formation and disappearance of Alexandrium tamarense blooms in Hiroshima Bay, Japan were investigated using data from March to June of 1992–1998. The north wind at the initial growth phase of A. tamarense appeared to have prevented bloom formation by dispersing the organism offshore and/or through turbulent mixing. The decrease in the cell density at the end of the blooms was significantly affected by tidal mixing, indicating that the turbulent mixing induced by tidal excursions may be one of the factors terminating the bloom. Box model analyses applied to the data collected from the observations in 1996 and 1997 showed that river water runoff apparently dispersed the bloom, implying that stratification of the water column due to river water runoff is not necessary for the bloom formation. In conclusion, calm conditions with less wind and tidal mixing along with less river water runoff are considered to be important for the formation of the A. tamarense bloom in Hiroshima Bay, Japan.

Combined adsorption and oxidation mechanisms of hydrogen sulfide on granulated coal ash

Hydrogen sulfide is highly toxic to benthic organisms and may cause blue tide with depletion of dissolved oxygen in water column due to its oxidation. The purpose of this study is to reveal the combined adsorption and oxidation mechanisms of hydrogen sulfide on granulated coal ash that is a byproduct from coal electric power stations to apply the material as an adsorbent for hydrogen sulfide in natural fields. Sulfur species were identified in both liquid and solid phases to discuss removal mechanisms of the hydrogen sulfide with the granulated coal ash. Batch experiments revealed that hydrogen sulfide decreased significantly by addition of the granulated coal ash and simultaneously the sulfate ion concentration increased. X-ray absorption fine structure analyses showed hydrogen sulfide was adsorbed onto the granulated coal ash and successively oxidized by manganese oxide (III) contained in the material. The oxidation reaction of hydrogen sulfide was coupling with reduction of manganese oxide. On the other hand, iron containing in the granulated coal ash was not involved in hydrogen sulfide oxidation, because the major species of iron in the granulated coal ash was ferrous iron that is not easily reduced by hydrogen sulfide.

Remediation of coastal marine sediments using granulated coal ash

It is very important to reduce phosphorus flux from sediment as well as cutting down terrigenous loads in order to control eutrophication in semi-enclosed coastal seas. Hydrogen sulfide is also a noxious substance which is highly toxic and fatal to benthic organisms. The purpose of this study is to evaluate remediation efficiency of organically enriched sediments using granulated coal ash (GCA) in terms of reducing benthic phosphorus flux and hydrogen sulfide. A flow-through experimental system was used to simulate the semi-enclosed water bodies. The application of GCA decreased the concentration of PO4(3-) in the pore water effectively, and reduced phosphate releasing flux from the sediment into overlying water by 37-44% compared to the control. The hydrogen sulfide in the pore water was also decreased by 77-100%, due to adsorption onto the GCA and deactivation of sulfate-reducing bacteria due to increasing pH. Thus, GCA is a promising recycled material for reducing phosphate releasing flux from organically enriched sediment to alleviate eutrophication as well as reduce the concentration of hydrogen sulfide in pore water.

Characteristics of phosphate adsorption onto granulated coal ash in seawater

The deterioration of sediments is a serious environmental problem. Controlling nutrient release fluxes from sediments is important to alleviating eutrophication and to reducing terrigenous nutrient loads. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the phosphate removal performance of granulated coal ash (GCA) from seawater, which is produced from coal thermal electric power generation. Batch experiments were carried out to investigate the removal kinetics of phosphate from seawater under both oxic and anoxic conditions. Phosphate was removed well from seawater under both oxic and anoxic conditions. The adsorption isotherm for phosphate revealed that GCA could remove phosphate effectively from seawater above a concentration of 1.7micromolL(-1). GCA can reduce the concentration of phosphate in seawater effectively under anoxic conditions where iron type adsorbents cannot be applied. Therefore, GCA could potentially be used to adsorb phosphate in the organically-enriched sediment, which generally occurs under highly reductive conditions.

Mechanisms of hydrogen sulfide removal with steel making slag.

In the present study, we experimentally investigated the removal of hydrogen sulfide using steel-making slag (SMS) and clarified the mechanism of hydrogen sulfide removal with the SMS. The results proved that SMS is able to remove hydrogen sulfide dissolved in water, and the maximum removal amount of hydrogen sulfide per unit weight of the SMS for 8 days was estimated to be 37.5 mg S/g. The removal processes of hydrogen sulfide were not only adsorption onto the SMS, but oxidation and precipitation as sulfur. The chemical forms of sulfide adsorbed onto the SMS were estimated to be sulfur and manganese sulfide in the ratio of 81% and 19%, respectively. It is demonstrated here that the SMS is a promising material to remediate organically enriched coastal sediments in terms of removal of hydrogen sulfide. Furthermore, using SMS is expected to contribute to development of a recycling-oriented society.

The Role of Suspended Oyster Culture on Nitrogen Cycle in Hiroshima Bay

The predominance of bivalves affects the cycle of materials in the coastal ecosystem. In the present study, the role of suspended oyster culture on the nitrogen cycle was demonstrated for the northern Hiroshima Bay. The nitrogen cycle was considered as two systems, (1) the primary production (PP) system and (2) the oyster culture (OC) system. The results show that about 26% of N productivity was supplied to process by cultured oysters in the OC system. This process varies seasonally due to the seasonal variations of PON, physiological activities and biomass of oysters. The N processing rates were found to be high in summer and low in winter. The biodeposition and excretion of N in the OC system are 3.0 and 2.1 ton N d−1, while the natural sedimentation rate and N regeneration in the PP system are 8.3 and 18.0 ton N d−1, which indicates that the PP system is a major system regenerating N in the water column. The release of total dissolved N from the bottom to the water column is about 8.3 ton N d−1. The amount of N harvested as oyster product was about 1.3 ton N d−1, which is about 10% of daily N loading in north Hiroshima Bay. According to the N cycle developed in the present study, the results suggest the significant role of suspended oyster culture on the nitrogen cycle in Hiroshima Bay. In addition, our results indicate that oyster production was efficiently harvested, suggesting that oyster culture could probably be used as a tool to remove N from Hiroshima Bay.

Processes Causing the Chlorophyll a Maximum in the Tidal Front in Iyo-Nada, Japan

A field survey was undertaken to reveal the structure of the tidal front in Iyo-nada. An obvious tidal front was found between the mixed region around Hayasui Straits and the stratified region in Iyo-Nada. Its structure was typical in the eastern part and was influenced by the river discharge in the western part. An intense chlorophylla maximum was found in the subsurface layer of the eastern typical front. Analysis using TS diagram suggested that, around the eastern front, there was an intrusion from the mixed water to the middle layer of the stratified water. This intrusion was supposed to be an important process supplying nutrients from the mixed water to the subsurface of the frontal region and causing the intense chlorophylla maximum.