43 research outputs found
RiverOceanPlastic: Land-ocean transfer of plastic debris in the North Atlantic, Cruise No. AL534/2, 05 March – 26 March 2020, Malaga (Spain) – Kiel (Germany)
Cruise AL534/2 is part of a multi-disciplinary research initiative as part of the JPI Oceans project
HOTMIC and sought to investigate the origin, transport and fate of plastic debris from estuaries to
the oceanic garbage patches. The main focus of the cruise was on the horizontal transfer of plastic
debris from major European rivers into shelf regions and on the processes that mediate this
transport. Stations were originally chosen to target the outflows of major European rivers along the
western Europe coast between Malaga (Spain) and Kiel (Germany), although some modifications
were made in response to inclement weather. In total, 16 stations were sampled along the cruise
track. The sampling scheme was similar for most stations, and included: 1) a CTD cast to collect
water column salinity and temperature profiles, and discrete samples between surface and
seafloor, 2) sediment sampling with Van Veen grab and mini-multi corer (mini-MUC), 3) suspended
particle and plankton sampling using a towed Bongo net and vertical WP3 net, and 4) surface
neusten sampling using a catamaran trawl. At a subset of stations with deep water, suspended
particles were collected using in situ pumps deployed on a cable. During transit between stations,
surface water samples were collected from the ship’s underway seawater supply, and during calm
weather, floating litter was counted by visual survey teams. The samples and data collected on
cruise AL534/2 will be used to determine the: (1) abundance of plastic debris in surface waters, as
well as the composition of polymer types, originating in major European estuaries and transported
through coastal waters, (2) abundance and composition of microplastics (MP) in the water column
at different depths from the sea surface to the seafloor including the sediment, (3) abundance and
composition of plastic debris in pelagic and benthic organisms (invertebrates), (4) abundance and
identity of biofoulers (bacteria, protozoans and metazoans) on the surface of plastic debris from
different water depths, (5) identification of chemical compounds (“additives”) in the plastic debris
and in water samples
A unique Valanginian paleoenvironment at an iron ore deposit near Zengővárkony (Mecsek Mts, South Hungary), and a possible genetic model
Abstract
The spatially restricted Early Valanginian iron ore (limonite) and manganese deposit at Zengõvárkony (Mecsek Mts, southern Hungary) contains a rich, strongly limonitized, remarkably large-sized (specimens are 30–70% larger than those at their type localities) brachiopod-dominated (mainly Lacunosella and Nucleata) megafauna and a diverse crustacean microfauna, which indicates a shallow, nutrient-rich environment possibly linked to an uplifted block, and/or a hydrothermal vent
Adenoviruses of the most ancient primate lineages support the theory on virus−host co-evolution
The scarcity or complete lack of information on the adenoviruses (AdVs) occurring in the most ancient non-human primates resulted in the initiation of a study for exploring their abundance and diversity in prosimians and New World monkeys (NWMs). In order to assess the variability of these AdVs and the possible signs of the hypothesised virus−host co-evolution, samples from almost every family of NWMs and prosimians were screened for the presence of AdVs. A PCRscreening of 171 faecal or organ samples from live or dead, captive or wild-living prosimians and NWMs was performed. The PCR products from the gene of the IVa2 protein were sequenced and used in phylogeny calculations. The presence of 10 and 15 new AdVs in seven and ten different species of prosimians and NWMs was revealed, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the tentative novel AdVs cluster into two separate groups, which form the most basal branches among the primate AdVs, and therefore support the theory on the co-evolution of primate AdVs with their hosts. This is the first report that provides a comprehensive overview of the AdVs occurring in prosimians and NWMs, and the first insight into the evolutionary relationships among AdVs from all major primate groups
A Miocene Phreatoplinian eruption in the North-Eastern Pannonian Basin, Hungary: The Jató Member
A Middle Miocene, ~8 m thick pyroclastic succession, reported from the Bükk Foreland Volcanic Area (BFVA) in
Northern Hungary (Central Europe) specified here as the Jató Member, was produced by silicic
phreatomagmatism (Phreatoplinian sensu lato). Two well-preserved outcrops ~8 km apart and inferred to be
within ~10–50 km from source represent the discontinuously exposed, layered, paleosol-bounded,
phreatomagmatic JatóMember. They show an identical phenocrystal assemblage of feldspar, biotite and amphibole
without weathered zones or signs of erosion, that suggest deposition in one eruption phase lasting hours to
months. The succession contains three subunits: 1) subunit A, 1.8 m thick, a series of well-sorted fine to coarse
ash or lapilli tuff layers with constant thickness; 2) subunit B, 2.1 m thick, a series of normal-graded layers
with an upper fine-grained zone containing abundant ash aggregates with a coarser-grained core and distinctively
finer-grained outer rim; 3) subunit C, 4.5 m thick, a massive, poorly to well-sorted coarse ash with gas escape
structures and ash aggregates at its base. The upward change of these lithofacies implies an initially
sustained dry fallout-dominated deposition of ash and pumice lapilli resulting in subunit A. Subsequently, multiple
wet and dilute Pyroclastic Density Currents (PDCs) dispersed subunits B and C. The general abundance of
PDC-related ash aggregates in the middle-upper part of the succession (particularly in subunit B), and the transformation
of a fall-dominated to a collapsing depositional regime producing wet dilute PDCs, imply the increasing
influence of water during the eruption (Phreatoplinian sensu lato). The presence of water is related to an
epicontinental sea duringMiddle to LateMiocene in the Carpatho-Pannonian region. The transition from an initial
dry magmatic phase generated fallout activity followed by the emplacement of wet PDCs' rich in ash aggregates,
when external water infiltrated from a surrounding lake or sea water entered the vent.ÚNKP-16-3
New National Excellence Program of the Ministry of Human Capacities
and the National Talent Program – Young Talents of the Nation (NTPNFTÖ-
18-B-0130). Thisworkwas supported by theHungarian Scientific
Research Fund project nos. K105245, K115472, K128625, K131894,
K128122 and by the European Union and the State of Hungary, cofinanced
by the European Regional Development Fund in the project
of GINOP - 2.3.2 - 15 - 2016 - 00009 ICER. KN's contribution and field
work were possible by the fund available under the Erasmus+ International
Credit Mobility, - ELTE –Massey University Research Cooperation
Program. Balázs Bradák acknowledges the financial support of project
BU235P18 (Junta de Castilla y León, Spain) and the European Regional
Development Fund (ERD)