Protistan Communities Within the Galápagos Archipelago With an Emphasis on Micrograzers

The Galápagos Archipelago is a globally significant biodiversity hotspot. However, compared to the relatively well-known megafauna, the distribution and ecological significance of marine protists in this system are poorly understood. To gain an understanding of the protistan assemblages across trophic modes, an intensive oceanographic survey was conducted in the Galápagos Marine Reserve (GMR) in October of 2018. The Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC)-influenced region had higher chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentrations than those of the eastern regions of the archipelago, along with higher abundances of protistan grazers. Specifically, proportions of autotrophic and potentially mixotrophic dinoflagellates were higher in the EUC, whereas in the eastern regions, heterotrophic dinoflagellates and chlorophytes dominated. Taxonomic composition and biochemical indicators suggested proportions of micrograzers and their associated heterotrophic biomass was higher in the oligotrophic, low Chl-a regions in the east. We also report observations from a dinoflagellate bloom in the western archipelago, which was heavily influenced by upwelling of the EUC. The red tide-forming dinoflagellate Scrippsiella lachrymosa was highly detected through light microscopy and DNA amplicon sequencing. In addition, the heterotrophic dinoflagellate Polykrikos kofoidii was detected and, based on cell densities observed in this study and grazing rates obtained from the literature, estimated to potentially graze up to 62% of S. lachrymosa bloom population. Our findings thus provide new insights into the composition of micrograzers and their potential roles in structuring protistan communities in the Galápagos Archipelago

Ionising radiation metrology for the metallurgical industry

Every year millions tons of steel are produced worldwide from recycled scrap loads. Although the detection systems in the steelworks prevent most orphan radioactive sources from entering the furnace, there is still the possibility of accidentally melting a radioactive source. The MetroMetal project, carried out in the frame of the European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP), addresses this problem by studying the existing measurement systems, developing sets of reference sources in various matrices (cast steel, slag, fume dust) and proposing new detection instruments. This paper presents the key lines of the project and describes the preparation of radioactive sources as well as the intercomparison exercises used to test the calibration and correction methods proposed within the project.JRC.D.4-Standards for Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguard

Protistan plankton communities in the Galápagos Archipelago respond to changes in deep water masses resulting from the 2015/16 El Niño

The Galápagos Archipelago lies within the Eastern Equatorial Pacific Ocean at the convergence of major ocean currents that are subject to changes in circulation. The nutrient-rich Equatorial Undercurrent upwells from the west onto the Galápagos platform, stimulating primary production, but this source of deep water weakens during El Niño events. Based on measurements from repeat cruises, the 2015/16 El Niño was associated with declines in phytoplankton biomass at most sites throughout the archipelago and reduced utilization of nitrate, particularly in large-sized phytoplankton in the western region. Protistan assemblages were identified by sequencing the V4 region of the 18S rRNA gene. Dinoflagellates, chlorophytes and diatoms dominated most sites. Shifts in dinoflagellate communities were most apparent between the years; parasitic dinoflagellates, Syndiniales, were highly detected during the El Niño (2015) while the dinoflagellate genus, Gyrodinium, increased at many sites during the neutral period (2016). Variations in protistan communities were most strongly correlated with changes in subthermocline water density. These findings indicate that marine protistan communities in this region are regimented by deep water mass sources and thus could be profoundly affected by altered ocean circulation

A virtual reality collaborative planning simulator and its method for three machines in a fully mechanized coal mining face

The existing automatic control program and its parameters for three machines in a fully mechanized Coal Mining face are static and simplex and are therefore inadequate for satisfying the complex and dynamic environment of underground coal mines. To overcome this problem, a collaborative mathematical model is established that includes the effects of a dynamic environment. A virtual reality collaborative planning simulator with methods for the three machines is also proposed based on a multi-agent system. According to the dynamic characteristics of the environment, equipment, and technologies, a fully mechanized Unity3D simulator (FMUnitySim) is designed in terms of multiple factors and multiple dimensions. The factors affecting the coordinated operation of the three machines are analyzed and modeled. The communication modes, coordination, and redundant sensing process among multiple agents, which include the shearer agent and the scraper conveyor agent, are also investigated in detail. Using this system, the key parameters of the three machines can be planned and adjusted online to design and distinctly observe the corresponding collaborative simulations of coordinated operation with multiple perspectives and in real time. Tests of different maximum shearer haulage speeds for regular or reverse transporting coal are designed; their key parameters, including the average shearer haulage speed, average follower distance, and average scraper conveyor load, are planned and simulated using FMUnitySim. The optimal parameter combination is obtained by analyzing and comparing the simulation results. The proposed FMUnitySim offers an effective means and theoretical basis for the rapid planning and safe automatic production of a fully mechanized Coal Mining face

Characterisation of activity content of 226Ra in spiked metallurgical slag using an interlaboratory comparison

More than half of yearly steel production in EU comes from recycling. The metal foundries pass the metal scrap through radiation portal monitors at the entrance of the foundry; nevertheless an orphan radioactive source may still remain undetected e.g. due to the shielding from the scrap load itself. In such case the source may enter the smelting route ending in contaminated steel products and by-products of the process. The European metal foundries are aware of the problem and increasingly apply radioactivity monitoring of the steel products. It is of outmost importance to perform accurate measurements, in order to prove compliance with respect to legal radioactivity limits, and metrologically challenging to ensure the quality of such measurements. In the light of a global steel market it is obvious that harmonisation of the analytical methodologies is critical. In the EURAMET's EMRP joint research project, 'MetroMetal' (Ionising radiation metrology for the metallurgical industry), existing radioactivity measurement methods were studied and new optimized methods, systems and standards were proposed for the radioactivity control of steel and by-products in steel mills. In this context, reference activity standards, including the most frequently occurring radionuclides in melting incidents in suitable geometries and matrices, have been developed. Amongst these standards were two series of sources of 60Co in cast steel, one of 137Cs in fume dust and one of 226Ra in furnace slag. The common feature in all four standards was that Interlaboratory comparisons (ILCs) were used to characterise the activity concentrations. In the particular case of 226Ra in slag the material was prepared by spiking and an ILC was conducted amongst 9 European National Metrology Laboratories and JRC, with the aim to verify the activity concentration of the spiked material and to validate the calibration and correction methods proposed by MetroMetal. In the present work, the organization and the results of the ILC on 226Ra activity concentration in metallurgical slag standards are presented.JRC.G.2-Standards for Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguar

The half-life of 129I

The radionuclide 129I is a long-lived fission product that decays to 129Xe by beta-particle emission. It is an important tracer in geological and biological processes and is considered one of the most important radionuclides to be assessed in studies of global circulation. It is also one of the major contributors to radiation dose from nuclear waste in a deep geological repository. Its half-life has been obtained by a combination of activity and mass concentration measurements in the frame of a cooperation of 6 European metrology institutes. The value obtained for the half-life of 129I is 16.14 (12) × 106 a, in good agreement with recommended data but with a significant improvement in the uncertainty.JRC.G.2-Standards for Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguard

Characterisation of a radionuclide specific laboratory detector system for the metallurgical industry by Monte Carlo simulations

One of the outputs of the European Metrology Research Programme project “Ionising radiation metrology for the metallurgical industry” (MetroMetal) was a recommendation on a novel radionuclide specific detector system optimized for the measurement of radioactivity in metallurgical samples. The detection efficiency of the recommended system for the standards of cast steel, slag and fume dust developed within the project was characterized by Monte Carlo (MC) simulations performed using different MC codes. Capabilities of MC codes were also tested for simulation of true coincidence summing (TCS) effects for several radionuclides of interest in the metallurgical industry. The TCS correction factors reached up to 32 % showing that the TCS effects are of high importance in close measurement geometries met in routine analyses of metallurgical samples.JRC.D.4-Standards for Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguard

Results of the EURAMET.RI(II)-K2.Ho-166m activity comparison

In 2013, five laboratories took part in the EURAMET.RI(II)-K2.Ho-166m comparison of activity concentration measurements of 166mHo. The activity measurements of this comparison are part of the joint research project “Metrology for Radioactive Waste Management” of the European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP). One aim of this project is a new determination of the 166mHo half-life.The results were found to be in good agreement and no outlier could be identified. A comparison reference value (CRV) has been calculated as the power-moderated mean (PMM) of all final laboratory results and was found to be 119.27(10) kBq g–1. Preliminary degrees of equivalence based on the Comparison Reference Value were also calculated for each reporting laboratory. The Key Comparison Reference Value and final degrees of equivalence will be calculated by the BIPM from the data contained herein and data from measurements made in the International Reference System (SIR).JRC.D.4-Standards for Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguard

Characterisation of a radionuclide specific laboratory detector system for the metallurgical industry by Monte Carlo simulations

Kierrätysmetallia hyödyntävissä metallisulattamoissa saattaa lopputuotteena saatavaan teräkseen tai muuhun materiaaliin joutua radioaktiivisia aineita. Tuotteen radiologinen puhtaus todetaan yleensä laboratoriomittauksin. Artikkelissa kuvataan eurooppalaisessa metrologian tutkimusohjelmassa kehitetty optimaalinen mittausjärjestely, jolla epäpuhtaudet havaitaan mahdollisimman tehokkaasti. Mittausjärjestelmän ominaisuuksia on testattu laskennallisia menetelmiä käyttäen