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All required documents are in this folder. The “5 references guidelines” give an example. I will have to provide the 5 articles via pdf because studypool won’t allow more than 5 files.
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5 References Guidelines
BIOL 354 Discussion
The goal of this assignment is to summarize the key points of your 5 chosen scientific resources
(e.g., journal articles) and to explain how each one is applicable to your research paper topic.
Details on finding and citing appropriate literature are in the Literature Searching and
Citations Guidelines.
For each of your 5 sources you should first include the full reference (use Ecology formatting),
followed by a short paragraph that should include the goal of the article (1 sentence), the
applicable findings of the article (2-3 sentences), and how the article will fit into your research
paper (1-2 sentences). You will be graded on content, length, and correct citation format using
Ecology formatting. Remember: the summaries should be in your own words and should not
contain any quotes.
Below is an example reference that would receive full credit:
Finkelstein, M. E., S. Wolf, M. Goldman, D.F. Doak, P.R. Sievert, G. Balogh, and H. Hasegawa.
2010. The anatomy of a (potential) disaster: Volcanoes, behavior, and population viability of
the short-tailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus). Biological Conservation 143:321-331.
This article uses a population viability analysis to examine threats to an endangered seabird, the
short-tailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus). The authors explore how a natural disaster, like a
volcano eruption, would affect the small population of short-tailed albatrosses on their breeding
islands. They then compare these effects with the measured impact of a 1% annual increase in
population mortality due to human activities, like bycatch. I can use this paper to show how
overharvesting marine fish populations can have unintended effects on the conservation of other
marine species.
Science of the Total Environment 916 (2024) 170228
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Science of the Total Environment
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scitotenv
Anthropogenic multipollutant input to the offshore South China Sea
Fen Chen a, c, Shengyi Mao b, Gang Li a, Yuhang Tian a, Li Miao a, Weihai Xu a, Xiaowei Zhu a, *,
Wen Yan a, c, *
a
Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
Key Laboratory of Gas Hydrate, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
c
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
b
H I G H L I G H T S
G R A P H I C A L A B S T R A C T
• Using biomarkers and elements for
pollutant assessment in the Nansha Sea
area.
• Petroleum hydrocarbons and heavy
metals (Cd and As) are the main
pollutants.
• The coprostanols and long-chain alkyl
mid-chain ketones are recognized.
• The riverine input may be the main
source of these pollutants.
• Anthropogenic pollutants can have
harmful effects on the coral reef
ecosystem.
A R T I C L E I N F O
A B S T R A C T
Editor: Paromita Chakraborty
The remote region of the South China Sea (SCS), situated far from urban mainland areas, is commonly perceived
to experience minimal pollution. However, this may evolve into a considerably polluted region owing to
increasing anthropogenic pollutants. In this study, we employ a multidisciplinary approach to analyze the surface
sediments collected from the offshore area of the southern SCS. Our aim is to explore potential anthropogenic
pollutants, their interactions, and the related controlling factors. This research endeavors to enhance our un
derstanding of the current pollution status in the SCS and help making relevant policy management decisions.
Comparison with previous reports reveals that now, the area is more extensively and increasingly contaminated
by petroleum hydrocarbons and heavy metals (Cd and As) than before. For the first time, we report the recog
nition of coprostanol and long-chain alkyl mid-chain ketones, unveiling the noticeable incorporation of sewage
fecal matter and biomass burning into offshore sediments. Moreover, sedimentary multipollutants (except ke
tones) exhibit strong correlations with terrestrial elements and fine-sized particles, displaying a roughly highwest/low-east spatial variability in pollutant accumulation or enrichment. These signatures evidently demon
strate the major impact of river discharges (e.g., the Mekong River to the west and the Pearl and Red Rivers to the
north) on the SCS. They have hydrodynamic effects on the subsequent basin-wide dispersal of pollutants, driven
by monsoon-induced large- and regional-scale currents. The different behavior of burning-related ketones may be
partly due to their aerosol form, leading to atmospheric transportation. Because anthropogenic multipollutants
Keywords:
Lipid biomarkers
Heavy metals
Petroleum hydrocarbons
Coral reef
Nansha Sea area
* Corresponding authors at: Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Guangzhou 510301, China.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (X. Zhu), [email protected] (W. Yan).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170228
Received 13 October 2023; Received in revised form 12 January 2024; Accepted 15 January 2024
Available online 23 January 2024
0048-9697/© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/4.0/).
F. Chen et al.
Science of the Total Environment 916 (2024) 170228
pose compounded threats, exacerbating oceanic warming and acidification to marine ecosystems such as the
widespread coral reefs in the southern SCS, scientific management of urban emissions is required to mitigate
ecosystem degradation in the Anthropocene era.
1. Introduction
mainland, serving as a study area.
Similar to many offshore oceanic regimes, the Nansha Sea area has
received limited attention regarding anthropogenic contamination.
Previous studies reported hydrocarbons and metals in surface sediments
from this remote region (Wan et al., 2019; Zhu et al., 2011), offering a
valuable opportunity for temporal comparison with our current data to
evaluate their present status. For the first time, we report other organic
pollutants, including sewage feces and biomass-burning residues, aim
ing to establish a comprehensive pollution context in the region. Our
study reveals that conventionally less polluted offshore oceans, such as
the Nansha Sea area, are impacted by multiple pollutants.
Over recent decades, an increasing number of anthropogenic multi
pollutants (e.g., petroleum hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and micro
plastics) have been discharged into coastal seas due to rapid
reclamation, urbanization, and industrialization. The contaminants with
varying toxicity levels pose acute and chronic hazards to marine eco
systems (Kanhai et al., 2017). This contamination can indirectly and
seriously threaten human health through consumption of marine food.
Although oceanic regions far away from urban regions (hereafter
referred to as remote or offshore oceans, including marginal seas) are
typically minimally impacted by human activities, recent reports indi
cate detectable contamination levels in these regions. For example,
anthropogenic pollutants such as heavy metals (Zhu et al., 2011), oil
hydrocarbons (Han et al., 2020), and microplastics (Tan et al., 2020) are
frequently detected in the offshore South China Sea (SCS). Similarly,
other offshore oceanic regions have exhibited detectable pollution from
anthropogenic sources (Monteiro et al., 2018; Solberg, 2012). Therefore,
anthropogenic pollution appears to be a widespread phenomenon in the
global oceans, progressively extending from inshore coasts to offshore
regions.
Efforts are made to investigate the occurrence, nature, fate, and
impact of human-induced pollution; however, these efforts typically
concentrate on a single pollutant type, resulting in a knowledge gap
regarding the behaviors and interactions of two or more pollutants
(Crane et al., 2001; Oyetibo et al., 2021). This issue is particularly
prominent in offshore oceans (which receive limited attention), where a
comprehensive assessment of anthropogenic multipollutants is absent.
This lack of data considerably impedes our understanding of the trans
port and distribution of anthropogenic multipollutants in remote areas,
their controlling factors and intrinsic connections, and the ecological
effects on marine biodiversity and ecosystem health. To address this
issue, in this study, we apply a multidisciplinary organic and inorganic
geochemical approach to analyze the surface sediments collected from
the Nansha Sea area in the southern SCS, located far from the urban
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Study area and samples
The SCS is surrounded by the South China mainland and Taiwan
Island to the north, Luzon Island to the east, Borneo to the south, and
Indochina to the west (Fig. 1A). This geographical location results in the
SCS receiving terrestrial riverine loadings from the surrounding areas
through their large/small river systems. The three principal rivers dis
charging into the SCS are the Mekong, Red, and Pearl Rivers (Liu et al.,
2003; Milliman and Syvitski, 1992), complemented by mountainous
rivers from Taiwan, Luzon, Palawan, Borneo, and other regions (Liu
et al., 2011a, 2011b; Zhong et al., 2021). These rivers carry sediments as
well as substantial volumes of nutrients, carbon, and pollutants to the
SCS coasts. The influx of these materials can lead to eutrophication and
ecological toxicity, influencing carbon dynamics (Jia et al., 2013; Peng
et al., 2008, 2007, 2005, 2002; Sattarova et al., 2021). After being dis
charged from the river mouth, the materials can be further transported
toward offshore regions, influenced by basin-wide and regional currents.
These currents are driven by the seasonally reversing monsoon system,
which includes basin-wide cyclonic circulation during the winter
monsoon) and large-scale cyclonic (the northern SCS) and anticyclonic
(the southern SCS) gyres during the summer monsoon (Fig. 1A; Fang
Fig. 1. Geographical location of study area and sampling sites. The basin-wide (A) and regional-scale (B) seasonal surface circulation is marked by red dotted lines
(the southwest monsoon and its driven surface circulation in summer) and white solid lines (the northeast monsoon and its driven surface circulation in winter),
respectively (Fang et al., 1998; Shaw and Chao, 1994; Liu et al., 2002; Wang and Li, 2009). Blue arrow in (B) indicates modern coral reefs, known as the Nan
sha Island.
2
F. Chen et al.
Science of the Total Environment 916 (2024) 170228
et al., 1998; Shaw and Chao, 1994). Consequently, Taiwan and Luzon
Island primarily influence the northeastern part of the SCS through the
Kuroshio and winter coastal currents (Liu et al., 2016). Meanwhile, the
Pearl and Red Rivers transport materials mainly to the northwestern
part of the SCS, affecting areas such as the Pearl River Estuary, Beibu
Gulf, and Hainan Island (Liu et al., 2010a, 2010b; Liu et al., 2017b).
The Nansha Sea area, situated on the southern continental shelf of
the SCS, primarily receives terrigenous riverine loading from the
Mekong River and northern Borneo catchments (Liu et al., 2004; Liu
et al., 2010a; Liu et al., 2011a; Zhong et al., 2021). Additionally, con
tributions from far-field river watersheds in the north, such as the Red
and Pearl Rivers, are also present, albeit to a lesser extent. The materials
are transported by monsoon-forced currents (Fig. 1; Wang et al., 2001;
Gao, 2005). As one of the most intriguing marine ecosystems in the
Nansha sea area, coral reefs are widely distributed known as the Nansha
Islands, covering the largest coral reef area in the SCS (Fig. 1B; Yu,
2012).
In this study, 23 surface sediments (0–2 cm) located at
110.4–115.6◦ E and 8.4–10.9◦ N were collected onboard the ShiYan 1
during a cruise in 2020, organized by the South China Sea Institute of
Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Fig. 1B). After collection,
these samples were sealed in plastic boxes and subsequently frozen.
They were then freeze-dried at − 50 ◦ C in the laboratory and ground
using an agate mortar and pestle for further analyses and tests.
Chemical Reagent, China) and 1 ml of HNO3 (68 %; Sinopharm Chem
ical Reagent, China) were added. The crucible was sealed and heated at
185 ◦ C for 35 h to digest the sample. After digestion, the residue was
treated with 1 ml of Rh (0.2 μg/ml; internal standard, NCS Testing
Technology, China), 2 ml of HNO3 (68 %; Sinopharm Chemical Reagent,
China), and 3 ml of deionized water (water purification preparation,
PALL CASCADA IX MK2). The crucible was sealed again and heated at
140 ◦ C for 5 h. Subsequently, the prepared sample was analyzed using
inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) on a PerkinElmer Elan 9000 at the State Key Laboratory of Environmental
Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
2.4. Sediment particle-size determination
The particle-size components were analyzed using a laser particle
sizer (Malvern Mastersizer 2000) at the Key Laboratory of Ocean and
Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese
Academy of Sciences. This analysis followed a protocol reported in our
previous study (Tian et al., 2019). Briefly, sediment samples were
divided into two groups based on grain sizes: 0.02–2000 μm and > 2000
μm. The former group was measured directly, while the latter underwent
further processing. This involved a combination of two fractions ob
tained after sieving through a 1-mm mesh sieve.
2.5. Quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC)
2.2. Lipid extraction and measurement
In general, analysis of blank samples, standard reference materials
(SRMs), or duplicates was conducted concurrently to evaluate the QA/
QC for lipid, elemental, and particle-size measurements. GC–MS analysis
of blank samples, each sample containing only internal standards (one
blank per five sediment samples), demonstrated high QA/QC precision
during lipid extraction, separation, and measurement in the sediment
samples, with no detectable artificial products. This analysis also
showed high recovery rates (>80 %) of internal standards, as evidenced
by comparing their abundances before and after the experiment. ICP-MS
analysis of three SRMs (GBW 07315 and GBW 07316: Chinese marine
sediments and BHVO-2: U.S. Geological Survey-basalt) indicated that
the calculated relative error values (RSDs) were < 3 % (SI Table S1),
aligning with findings reported by Li et al. (2018), demonstrating the
high precision of our trace-element analytical results. In the particle-size
analysis, each sample was measured thrice to determine the average
value. The resulting low RSD estimates for median grain size (Mz) (
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