Through appropriate soil and crop residue management, soil can function as a sink for carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) for the mitigation of greenhouse gases (GHG). No research has yet investigated the potential of intercrop agroecosystems to reduce emissions of GHG to the atmosphere. This research evaluates whether maize-soybean intercrop agroecosystems sequester more C and N and emit fewer GHG than maize and soybean sole crop agroecosystems. An experiment was conducted at Balcarce, Argentina using four treatments: a maize sole crop, a soybean sole crop, and two intercrops with either 1:2 or 2:3 rows of maize to soybean. The objectives were to quantify soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil total nitrogen (TN) at 0-10, 10-20, 20-40, 40-80 and 80-120 cm depths, rates of decomposition of maize and soybean crop residue after 312 days, crop residue C- and N-input at harvest, and emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). Significant decreases in SOC were observed with depth in all treatments after 40 cm, and significant decreases in TN were observed with depth in all treatments after 20 cm. Crop residue from maize had the greatest input of C and N to the soil, but the slowest rate of decomposition. Soybean biomass had the least input of C and N to the soil and the fastest rate of decomposition. The 1:2 and 2:3 intercrop agroecosystems had moderate crop residue inputs of C and N and intermediate rates of decomposition. No significant differences in GHG emissions were detected between treatments throughout the growing season. The major influences on GHG emissions were weather events, soil temperature and moisture, and crop residue input. Annual GHG emissions were determined; the CH4 sink in the 1:2 intercrop and the soybean sole crop was significantly greater (P < 0.05) than the 2:3 intercrop and the maize sole crop. Emissions of CO2 were inversely proportionate to N2O, with the greatest C sink in the 1:2 intercrop.

Through appropriate soil and crop residue management, soil can function as a sink for carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) for the mitigation of greenhouse gases (GHG). No research has yet investigated the potential of intercrop agroecosystems to reduce emissions of GHG to the atmosphere. This research evaluates whether maize-soybean intercrop agroecosystems sequester more C and N and emit fewer GHG than maize and soybean sole crop agroecosystems. An experiment was conducted at Balcarce, Argentina using four treatments: a maize sole crop, a soybean sole crop, and two intercrops with either 1:2 or 2:3 rows of maize to soybean. The objectives were to quantify soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil total nitrogen (TN) at 0-10, 10-20, 20-40, 40-80 and 80-120 cm depths, rates of decomposition of maize and soybean crop residue after 312 days, crop residue C- and N-input at harvest, and emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). Significant decreases in SOC were observed with depth in all treatments after 40 cm, and significant decreases in TN were observed with depth in all treatments after 20 cm. Crop residue from maize had the greatest input of C and N to the soil, but the slowest rate of decomposition. Soybean biomass had the least input of C and N to the soil and the fastest rate of decomposition. The 1:2 and 2:3 intercrop agroecosystems had moderate crop residue inputs of C and N and intermediate rates of decomposition. No significant differences in GHG emissions were detected between treatments throughout the growing season. The major influences on GHG emissions were weather events, soil temperature and moisture, and crop residue input. Annual GHG emissions were determined; the CH4 sink in the 1:2 intercrop and the soybean sole crop was significantly greater (P < 0.05) than the 2:3 intercrop and the maize sole crop. Emissions of CO2 were inversely proportionate to N2O, with the greatest C sink in the 1:2 intercrop.

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is one of the largest pools of carbon in the ocean, and is of the same size as the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Estuaries connecting the land and the ocean are one of the most important DOC sources to the ocean, and play an important role in the global carbon cycle. Because of their complex chemical, physical, geological and biological properties, estuaries have become rich ecological environment. In this study, we investigated the seasonal distributions of DOC in the Taiwan Strait (TS) and Taiwanese rivers, aiming to understand the distributions and variations of DOC in different seasons. The results show that DOC concentrations are generally the highest in the upper estuary, and then decrease downstream due to mixing with the low DOC seawater. The process of river flow constantly accumulates terrestrial material, and the DOC shows positive correlations with Chl. a, CH4 and BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand), suggesting that biological activities and pollutions could be sources of DOC in the estuary. The DOC concentrations (salinity<1) varied in dry (Nov.-Apr.) and wet (May-Oct.) seasons with ranges of 42-1185 £gM (mean=245¡Ó254£gM; n=32) and 18-565 £gM (mean=183¡Ó151£gM; n=24), respectively. The total DOC flux of 25 rivers is 87.8 Gg C/yr, which can be translated to the fluxes of all rivers in Taiwan to be 101.9 Gg C/yr. The amount of DOC flux in Taiwan is only about 0.07% of the tropical area, but the per unit area flux (3.92 gC /m2 /yr) is almost twice those of the tropical rivers (2.13 gC /m2 /yr). In Taiwan, the population density and land use are higher than the world average. Consequently, the impacts of the environment by human activities reveal the utmost export of DOC, and need further investigation. Next, in the TS, the DOC shows significant negative correlations with Sigma-T, and the distributions of DOC are mainly controlled by physical mixing in both winter and summer. In the western TS, DOC concentration is relatively high, compared to the eastern part, and is because of low temperature and salinity, but high DOC coastal China current flowing from north to south. DOC concentration decreases with increasing depth owing to the intrusion at depth by the Kuroshio, which contains relatively low DOC. In winter, the import of coastal China current brings more nutrients from north to south, and supports the growth of bacteria which depletes the DOC and oxygen. As the result, DOC decomposition rate is higher in winter than in summer. The TS¡¦s DOC fluxes in summer (northern TS: 3.85¡Ñ1012mol C/yr¡Fsouthern TS: 3.75¡Ñ1012mol C/yr) are higher than in winter (northern TS: 3.69¡Ñ1012mol C/yr¡Fsouthern TS: 2.84¡Ñ1012mol C/yr). Main differences are due to the prevailing southwest monsoon winds in summer transporting more water from the South China Sea to the TS, and the river discharge brings more terrigenous organic matters into the TS. Therefore, the DOC export in summer is higher than in winter.

The equatorial Pacific is a major region of biological production in the world oceans and an important part of the global carbon cycle. Changes in climate during the Cenozoic (65 Ma to present) have impacted the carbon cycle, and it is important to assess these impacts. This study focuses on the primary productivity of the equatorial Pacific during the early to middle Miocene (24 - 12 Ma) as recorded by Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Site 574, and investigates the sedimentary components potentially linked to productivity: bio-Ba, bio-SiO₂, Corg, CaCO₃, and uranium, as well as detrital thorium to estimate clay-bound barium. Within this time frame the plate beneath Site 574 traveled northwesterly across the equator and allows a unique opportunity to monitor changes in productivity and the carbon cycle in this region. It is difficult to determine directly primary productivity from the sedimentary record because the preservation of different proxies for this parameter - Corg, bio-CaCO₃, and bio-SiO₂, can be highly variable. The variability has many causes, including nutrient recycling in the water column and the depth of the carbonate compensation depth (CCD), which prevents the preservation and ultimate burial of plankton debris at the seafloor. To interpret the production versus deposition rates during the early and middle Miocene, proxies were used in conjunction with direct measurements of biogenic remains. By determining the concentrations of biogenically produced barium (bio-Ba), which is less affected by degradation, it is evident that the mass of Corg produced was much greater than that preserved in the sediments. We observed higher deposition of bio-Ba and bio- SiO₂ as the site was transported over the equatorial divergence by plate tectonics, as expected. In contrast, CaCO₃, accumulation was low in the divergence region, and coincides with a dissolution event known from other site studies in the equatorial Pacific. The pattern of uranium deposition resembles CaCO₃ and Corg, and average U concentrations suggest that it was primarily deposited as a trace element in the shell material of biogenic carbonate. Corg also resembles CaCO₃ and appears to represent primarily a dissolution signal. Total uranium analysis proved to be a useful proxy for Corg and CaCO₃ preservation, and analysis of detrital thorium (²³²Th) concentration suggests very limited terrigenous clay input. Comparison of the different proxies reveals carbonate preservation events, changes in Corg preservation, and changes in deposition as DSDP Site 574 migrated northwesterly across the equator.

This study aims to understand the influence of hydrochemical and nutrient dynamics on the metabolism of organic carbon, and to explore the relationship between the metabolism of organic carbon and air-sea fluxes of CO2 in the Kaoping coastal zone and the northern South China Sea (NSCS). Distributions of nutrients in the Kaoping Canyon increased generally with the increase of freshwater input from the Kaoping River that discharged the highest rate during the summer season. In the northern SCS, the enhanced nutrient distributions were caused by freshwater input or upwelling in coastal and shelf zones, and by vertical mixing in the central basin in winter. During the study periods, the integrated gross production (IGP) ranged from 1389 to 8918 mgC m-2d-1 in the Kaoping Canyon, and from 851 to 5032 mgC m-2d-1 in the NSCS. The integrated dark community respiration (IDCR) ranged from 919 to 5848 mgC m-2d-1 in the Kaoping Canyon, and from 435 to 10707 mgC m-2d-1 in the NSCS. The higher IGP was found in summer than in winter for both study areas, primarily due to greater inputs of freshwater from the Kaoping River and/or from the Pearl River. The deeper euphotic depth may be also responsible for higher IGP in the central basin during the summer season. Positive correlations are significant between GP (DCR) and temperature, PAR and nutrients, and negative correlations are also significant between GP (DCR) and salinity, showing the significant impacts of freshwater inputs and climatic changes on GP (DCR). However, GP was determined largely by DCR, and DCR was attributed mainly to BR (bacteria respiration) for both the Kaoping Canyon (ave., 78%) and the NSCS (ave., 65%). In addition, the ratio of IBR/IDCR ranged from 48 to 88% for the Kaoping Canyon and from 58 to 88% for the NSCS. The ratio of IGP/IDCR is an indicator of net ecosystem production, with >1 for the autotrophic system and <1 for the heterotrophic system. The ratio was greater than 1.0 for most stations during summer but was <1.0 away from the nearshore station during winter in the Kaoping Canyon. The ratio was <1.0 for all but stations near the Pearl estuary (H and H1 stations) during both summer and winter in the NSCS, indicating a year-round heterotrophic around the slope and basin of NSCS. However, this ratio was higher in winter than in summer in the NSCS, possibly resulted from higher GP in winter than in summer. The IGP/IDCR may not be the sole factor in determining the air-sea fluxes of CO2. The physical forcing such as temperature and wind velocity may be also important in determining the source or sink of CO2 in the study areas.

Abstract This study is to investigate the spatial and temporal variabilities of geochemical and carbon isotopic compositions of particles collected in the region off northeast Taiwan. Organic carbon isotopic compositions (d13Corg), total organic carbon content (TOC) and C/N ratio were determined in sediment particles collected at different water depths from three time-series sediment traps (at T12, T13, and T18 stations, respectively). The results showed abnormally high mass fluxes than those previously found. Generally they increase with water depths, implying both the transport from Lanyang-Hsi River and the resuspension from the seafloor. TOC contents range from 0.5 to 1.5wt% and decrease with depths. This can be attributed to changes in the surface productivity, lateral transport and organic preservation. The organic carbon isotopic compositions range between -21 and -25o/oo, which falls well within the d13Corg values of continental margin sediments. The lower d13Corg values at T12 station than those at T13 station can be attributed to the large terrestrial inputs. It is noted that d13Corg values decrease with depths, suggesting a significant contribution of the horizontal transport of particles to the settling process.

Coastal outwelling of organic carbon from mangrove wetlands contributes to near-shore productivity and influences biogeochemical cycling of elements. I used a flume to measure fluxes of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) between a mangrove forest and adjacent tidal creek along Shark River, Florida. Shark River’s hydrology is influenced by diurnal tides and seasonal rainfall and wind patterns. Samplings were made over multiple tidal cycles in 2003 to include dry, wet, and transitional seasons. Surface water [DOC], temperature, salinity, conductivity and pH were significantly different among all sampling periods. [DOC] was highest during the dry season (May), followed by the wet (October) and transitional (December) seasons. Net DOC export was measured in October and December, inferring the mangrove forest is a source of DOC to the adjacent tidal creek during these periods. This trend may be explained by high rates of rainfall, freshwater inflow and subsequent flushing of wetland soils during this period of the year.

In the process of traditional water treatment, the humic acid and fulvic acid can be oxidized by chlorination; besides, it also produces small molecular organic compounds at the same time. Coagulation, flocculation, and sedimentation can reduce the concentration of the Assimilable Organic Carbon (AOC) significantly. An example of Ping-Ding water treatment plant was performed with sampling twelve times monthly from December 2008 to November 2009, the strong influence of chlorine, and coagulation, flocculation on the AOC can be observed. Comparing to the removal efficiency of water process in Ping-Ding water treatment plant, the AOC presented much stably in the distribution systems. We observed the data on the mean concentration of monthly sampling related to the operation unit in the water treatment plant. The Total Organic Carbon (TOC), and the Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) had the same trend with AOC in the water treatment process; it showed that TOC, and DOC had well relation to AOC in Ping-Ding water treatment plant. However, scrutinizing single monthly sampling, we found that the concentration of AOC did not fix out with the concentration of TOC and DOC at the same time. Therefore, results indicate that the AOC is mainly related to the smaller organic molecules of the TOC. In the series of sampling, we divided the influence of climate factor into the dry season and the pour season. The research discussed the five analysis items in the final results and discussion¡GTOC, DOC, UV254, UV254/DOC, and AOC. Basically, the concentration of the five analysis items on the pour season is higher than the dry season; it indicates that the raw water¡¦s concentration of organic carbon in Ping-Ding water treatment plant is higher during raining days. This can express the high concentration of the UV254, UV254/DOC, and AOC in water treatment plant in our work.

Total organic carbon (TOC) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) are two methods used for measuring organic pollutants in wastewater. Both methods are widely used but the COD method results in production of hazardous wastes, including mercury.The purpose of this study was to validate the method TOC that will replace COD and find a factor to convert TOC to COD. In this study 26 samples were analyzed from four sewage treatment plant in the municipality of Enköping.The results show that the COD method could be replaced by the TOC method.The factor for COD/TOC was between 3.1 - 3.3. Both methods will be used in parallel until 2013 when it will be forbidden to use the COD analysis.

An investigation of shale pore structure and compositional/geochemical heterogeneities has been undertaken to elucidate the controls upon gas capacities of potential shale gas reservoirs in northeastern British Columbia, western Canada. Methane sorption isotherms, pore structure and surface area data indicate a complex interrelationship of total organic carbon (TOC) content, mineral matter and thermal maturity affect gas sorption characteristics of Devonian-€”Mississippian (D-€”M) and Jurassic strata. Methane and carbon dioxide sorption capacities of D-€”M shales increase with TOC content, due to the microporous nature of the organic matter. Clay mineral phases arealso capable of sorbing gas to their internal structure; hence D-€”M shales which are both TOC- and clay-rich have the largest micropore volumes and sorption capacities on a dry basis. Jurassic shales, which are invariably less thermally mature than D-€”M shales, do not have micropore volumes which correlate with TOC. The covariance of methane sorption capacity with TOC, independent of micropore volume, indicates a solute gas contribution (within matrix bituminite) to the total gas capacity. On a wt% TOC basis, D-M shales sorb more gas than Jurassic shales: a result of thermal-maturation induced, structural transformation of the D-€”M organic fraction. Organic-rich D-€”M strata are considered to be excellent candidates for gas shales in Western Canada. These strata have TOC contents ranging between 1-5.7 wt%, thermal maturities into the dry-gas region, and thicknesses in places of over 1000 m. Total gas capacity estimates range between 60 and 600 bcf/section where a substantial percentage of the gas capacity is free gas, due to high reservoir temperatures and pressures. Inorganic material influences modal pore size, total porosity and sorption characteristics of D-M shales. Carbonate-rich samples often have lower organic carbon contents (oxic deposition) and porosity, hence potentially lower sorbed and free-gas capacities. Highly mature Devonian shales are both silica and TOC-rich (up to 85% quartz and 5 wt% TOC) and as such, deemed excellent potential shale gas reservoirs because they are both brittle (fracable), and gas-charged. However, quartz-rich Devonian shales display tight-rock characteristics, with poorly developed fabric, small median pore diameters and low permeabilities. Hence potential `frac-zones' will require an increased density of hydraulic fracture networks for optimum gas production.