Increased nutrient supply to the Southern Ocean during the Holocene and its implications for the pre-industrial atmospheric CO₂ rise

A rise in the atmospheric CO2 concentration of ~20 parts per million over the course of the Holocene has long been recognized as exceptional among interglacials and is in need of explanation. Previous hypotheses involved natural or anthropogenic changes in terrestrial biomass, carbonate compensation in response to deglacial outgassing of oceanic CO2, and enhanced shallow water carbonate deposition. Here, we compile new and previously published fossil-bound nitrogen isotope records from the Southern Ocean that indicate a rise in surface nitrate concentration through the Holocene. When coupled with increasing or constant export production, these data suggest an acceleration of nitrate supply to the Southern Ocean surface from underlying deep water. This change would have weakened the ocean’s biological pump that stores CO2 in the ocean interior, possibly explaining the Holocene atmospheric CO2 rise. Over the Holocene, the circum-North Atlantic region cooled, and the formation of North Atlantic Deep Water appears to have slowed. Thus, the ‘seesaw’ in deep ocean ventilation between the North Atlantic and the Southern Ocean that has been invoked for millennial-scale events, deglaciations and the last interglacial period may have also operated, albeit in a more gradual form, over the Holocene

Etazene, safer than heroin and fentanyl : Non-fentanyl Novel Synthetic Opioid Listings on One Darknet Market

Background Novel synthetic opioids are fueling the overdose deaths epidemic in North America. Recently, non-fentanyl novel synthetic opioids have emerged in forensic toxicological results. Cryptomarkets have become important platforms of distribution for illicit substances. This article presents the data concerning the availability trends of novel non-fentanyl synthetic opioids listed on one cryptomarket. Methods Listings from the EmpireMarket cryptomarket Opiates section were collected between June 2020 and August 2020. Collected data were processed using eDarkTrends Named Entity Recognition algorithm to identify novel synthetic opioids, and to analyze their availability trends in terms of frequency of listings, available average weights, average prices, quantity sold, and geographic indicators of shipment origin and destination information. Results 35,196 opioid-related listings were collected through 12 crawling sessions. 17 nonfentanyl novel synthetic opioids were identified in 2.9 % of the collected listings for an average of 9.2 kg of substance available at each data point. 587 items advertised as non-fentanyl novel synthetic opioids were sold on EmpireMarket for a total weight of between 858 g and 2.7 kg during the study period. 45.5 % of these listings were advertised as shipped from China. Conclusions Fourteen of the 17 non-fentanyl novel synthetic opioids were identified for the first time on one large cryptomarket suggesting a shift in terms of novel non-fentanyl synthetic opioids availability. This increased heterogeneity of available novel synthetic opioids could reduce the efficiency of existing overdose prevention strategies. Identification of new opioids underpins the value of cryptomarket data for early warning systems of emerging substance use trends

Listed for Sale: Analyzing Data on Fentanyl, Fentanyl Analogs and Other Novel Synthetic Opioids on One Cryptomarket

The United States is facing a “triple wave” epidemic fueled by novel synthetic opioids. Cryptomarkets, anonymous marketplaces located on the deep web, play an increasingly important role in the distribution of illicit substances. This article presents the data collected and processed by the eDarkTrends platform concerning the availability trends of novel synthetic opioids listed on one cryptomarket. Methods: Listings from the DreamMarket cryptomarket “Opioids” and “Research Chemicals” sections were collected between March 2018 and January 2019. Collected data were processed using eDarkTrends Named Entity Recognition algorithm to identify opioid drugs, and to analyze their availability trends in terms of frequency of listings, available average weights, average prices, and geographic indicators of shipment origin and destination information. Results: 95,011 opioid-related listings were collected through 26 crawling sessions. 33 novel synthetic opioids were identified in 3.3 % of the collected listings. 44.7 % of these listings advertised fentanyl (pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical) or fentanyl analogs for an average of 2.8 kgs per crawl. “Synthetic heroin” accounted for 33.2 % of novel synthetic opioid listings for an average 1.1 kgs per crawl with 97.7 % of listings advertised as shipped from Canada. Other novel synthetic opioids (e.g., U-47,700, AP-237) represented 22 % of these listings for an average of 6.1 kgs per crawl with 97.2 % of listings advertised as shipped from China. Conclusions: Our data indicate consistent availability of a wide variety of novel synthetic opioids both in retail and wholesale-level amounts. Identification of new substances highlights the value of cryptomarket data for early warning systems of emerging substance use trends

Exploring Televend, an innovative combination of cryptomarket and messaging app technologies for trading prohibited drugs

Background. Digital technologies continue to facilitate drug trading. Televend was an innovative combination of multiple digital technologies, with its backend hosted on the darknet, while purchases were made through the messaging app Telegram. Here, we provide an initial characterisation of this nascent market. Methods. Televend and White House Market (WHM) were scraped (Jun–Jul 2021) and a global cross-sectional web survey of 15,513 drug buyers (Global Drug Survey; GDS) was conducted (Dec 2020–Mar 2021). Results. Televend was 10% of the size of WHM, the largest drug cryptomarket (4,515/44,830 listings per week). Both markets predominantly contained drug-related listings covering similar drug categories, with similar country of origin and destination. Very few GDS drug buyers reported use of Televend (0.73%). Most Televend buyers (68/114) reported buying cannabis, then cocaine (20), MDMA (17), and LSD (12). The Televend and darknet groups had similar demographic and drug use characteristics; whereas compared with app purchasers, older age increased the odds of Televend use (aRRR=1.06, p<.001), identifying as a cisgender woman decreased the odds (aRRR=0.43, p=.004), while last-year use of a greater number of drug types (aRRR=1.20, p<.001) and less frequent drug use (aRRR=0.998, p=.032) increased the odds of Televend purchase. Conclusions. While smaller, Televend was not noticeably different in its drug offerings to its largest cryptomarket competitor, and it attracted a cohort more similar to darknet than to app drug buyers. Future Televend-like markets may be attractive to people with less specialised technical knowledge who already routinely scroll through social media feeds