Document g2qn9VVVDBnn4qzveQwN2x23V

Innately result in faster metabolic The fact that not only surfaces__Ji bacteria (7) but also microorganisms collected at the deep-sea Boor are ex hibiting extremely slow metabolic rates when incubated in situ may be inter preted in two ways. .- Life processes in general may be slower at deep-sea conditions than at surface pressures and temperatures for reasons other than the low nutrient supply. Studies on the deep-sea benthic fauna (7), have reported (i) extreme diversity of species, <ii) small brood size, (iii) preponderance of adult in dividuals in most species, and (iv) abun dant cases of endemism. These charac teristics suggest slow growth and long life of the individual animal and could be the result of a relative retardation of certain critical metabolic processes. The slow metabolic rate may also lead to the argument that an active, adapted microflora does not exist in the deep-sea sediment. The high colony counts usually found when deep-sea sediment samples are streaked on nu trient agar (5) may originate solely from surviving and viable cells that reached the ocean floor with sedimenting detri tus particles. Particulate organic mat ter readily available for microbial de composition will hardly reach the deep ocean. It will largely be degraded dur ing the slow sedimentation, estimated to take from several weeks to more than a year per 1000 m of depth (8). The particulate organic matter in deep waters was shown to be "refractory" (9), that is, no degradability could be demonstrated. The total amount of larger particulate material (for instance, animal carcasses) reaching the deep sea undegraded will probably be very small, although of considerable significance for the highly diverse but scanty fauna of benthic scavengers. Nothing is known about the quantity of nonrefractory or ganic matter reaching the deep-sea floor with the relatively fast-sinking fecal pel lets of zooplankton (8). . Thus, the top sediment being virtu-jj ally void of nonrefractory organic mat-f ter readily available for degradation,j the_activity of microorganisms in the; deep sea may be largely confined to in - testinal tracts of animals, where the enriched nutrient milieu will enable microorganisms to decompose refrac tory materials (chitin, cellulose, and so forth) in an endosymbiotic fashion. This notion is supported by the finding of an enlarged gut in deep-sea mollusks . (70). According to this hypothesis, the role played by microorganisms in the turnover of organic matter in the deepsea sediments appears to be funda mentally different from that in shallowwater sediments, or, for that matter, in soil. Experiments on incubations of solidified organic materials (agar, starch, gelatin) on the deep-sea floor in open containers (77) show that after 1 year of exposure, marks of animal feeding appeared to be almost the only sign of disintegration. No work on the intestinal flora of deep-sea invertebrates has yet been done. Complementing our earlier work (7), the data reported in this study confirm the conclusion that the deep sea must be considered extremely inefficient with respect to recycling of organic wastes. Holger W. Jannasch Carl O. Wirsen Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543 References Mid Notes D. H. W. Jannasch, K. Eimhjcllcn, C. O. Wirsen, A, Farmanfarmaian, Science 171, 672 <1972). 2. O. H. Lowry, N. J. Rosebrough, A. L. Farr, R. J. Randall, J. Biol Chem. 193, 265 (1951). 3. Identified by R. Turner (Museum of Compara tive Zoology, Harvard University). 4. K. L. Smith and J. M. Teal, Science 179, 262 . (1973). . 5. C. E. ZoBell, Bull. Misaki Mar. Biol Inst. Kyoto Univ. 12, 77 (1968). 6. * - - and L. L. Hittlc, Can. 7. Microbiol. 13, 1311 (1967). 7. J. F. Grassle and H. L. Sanders, Deep-Sea Res., in press. 8. T. J. Smayda, Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Annu. Rev. , 353 (1970). 9. D. W. Menzcl and J. H. Rylher, Inst. Mar. Scl. Univ. Alaska Publ. No. / (1970), p. 31. 10. J. A. Allen and H. L. Sanders, Deep-Sea Res. 13, 1175 (1966). 11. H. W. Jannasch and C. O. Wirsen, In prepara tion. 12. We thank P. Holmes for assistance in one of the Alvin dives; and J. M. Teal, J. F. Grassle, and K. L. Smith for a critical discussion of the manuscript. Research supported by NSF grant GA 33405. This is contribution No. 2967 of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Jnstitution. 6 December 1972 Polychlorobiphenyls in North Atlantic Ocean Water Abstract. Concentrations of polychlorobiphenyls (PCB's) have been measured at the surface and at various depths in the water of the North Atlantic Ocean between 26N and 63N. The concentrations average about 20 parts per trillion and amount to an estimated 2 X 70* metric tons of PCB's in the upper 200 meters of water. The average concentrations of PCB's in the surface water of the Sargasso Sea are lower than those in the northern North Atlantic. Seawater is the most abundant solvent available for trapping hydrocarbons, such as the polychlorobiphenyls (PCB's), released into the environment. The volume of the oceans (1021. liters) is sufficient to dissolve all the PCB's that have been manufactured (7). Relatively few measurements have been made of PCB concentrations in open-ocean water to,- determine the extent t9 which it functions. as a solvent trap (2). Most analyses have been confined to orga nisms (5), which comprise less than 1 part per million of the total volume. During the summer of 1972 we analyzed the PCB concentrations of open-ocean water in the eastern and western North Atlantic between 26N and 63 N. The stations and analyses are tabulated in Table 1 (4). For samples 1 to 9 and 13 we extracted 19 liters of sea water (5) with 2 liters of a hexane-ether mixture (94:6), concentrated the extract, and then analyzed it by electron-cap ture gas chromatography (ECGC). For the other samples we pumped 19 to 80 liters of water through a brass or glass column [16 by 2 cm (inside diameter)] packed with Amberlite XAD-2 resin (Rohm Sc Haas) to a height of 12 cm (6) at 250 ml/min. The PCB's were eluted from the column with 300 ml of boiling acetonitrile at full gravity flow. The acetonitrile was then diluted with 1 liter of water (distilled or seawater) and extracted with hexane. The con centrated hexane extract was analyzed by ECGC. No cleanup of the extract was required prior to ECGC. Unfiltered seawater samples collected and analyzed simultaneously with water filtered through a 0.3-/un glass fiber filter or a glass wool plug contained a maximum of 10 percent more PCB than the filtered seawater samples. All analyses were completed on shipboard within 4 hours of sampling (7). Three observations can be made from the data: 1) Although the range is very broad, the concentrations of PCB's in the northern :North Atlantic average 35 ng/kg [35 parts per trillion (ppt)] in surface waters, and 10 ppt at 200 m. 2) The PCB concentrations decrease with depth. 3) The surface waters of the Sar gasso Sica (stations 25--41) have slightly lower surface concentrations of PCB's (27 ppt) than surface waters in other parts of the North Atlantic. The widespread distribution of PCB's 11 MAY 1973 .... DSW 361808 643 \ STLCOPCB4098036 in the open North Atlantic {^_j>orts gest that PCB's, adsorbed on partiC1 ) wc assume that the half-lives arc simi previous observations that the atmo latcs falling into this region, are par lar (9). The observed ratio from our sphere must be the predominant mode tially solubilized by equilibrating with data [and from (2)] must be less than of transport (3). The wide range of the surface water. Evaporative codistil 0.05 {that is, < 1 ppt/20 ppt (sec first concentrations observed {<1 to 150 lation then transports some of this footnote. Table 1)]. Thus the environ ppt), in some cases at points only 80 material to areas of higher precipitation. mental half-life of the PCB's appears km apart (stations 29 and 33), may be The volume of the upper 200 m of the considerably greater than that of DDT due to seaslicks (2), localized rainfall, North Atlantic is 1018 liters. If we as and its metabolites. or discharges from ships. No relation sume an average PCB concentration of .. George R. Harvey ship between PCB concentration and 2 X 10-8 g/liter in that volume (8), William G. Steinhauer proximity to land was observed. The then there may be about 2 X 1010 g John M. Teal presence of measurable PCB concen (2 X 10* metric tons) of PCB's in the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, trations, even to depths of 3000 m, water (7, 9). The total amount of Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543 suggests that animals which migrate PCB's produced in the United States in vertically, plus sinking shells, feces, and 1971 was 1.8X 10* metric tons {/). '' References and Notes dead organisms, transport PCB's out On the basis of quantitative estimates 1. The total U.S. production of PCB's since of the mixed layer (about 150 m) and of rates of production and rates of 1957 Is about 3.6 X 1011 g [Chem. Eng. News _ (6 Dec. 1971), p. 15] which is estimated to prevent even higher concentrations loss to the environment, a 2DDT/ from accumulating in the productive PCB ratio [2DDT refers to DDT, 1,1,1,- . be about one-half of the total world pro duction. 2. C. E. Olney and J. G. Quinn, paper pre zone. trichloro-2,2-bis{p-chlorophenyI) eth The Sargasso Sea is an area of high ane, and its major metabolites] of 10 , sented as part of the deliberations of the International Decade of Ocean Exploration Baseline Conference, E. D. Goldberg, chair evaporation and low rainfall. We sug- is expected in the North Atlantic, if man, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, N.Y., 24-26 May 1972 (these workers mea sured the PCB concentrations in the surface microlayer and 20 cm below the surface in the North Atlantic; their subsurface con Table 1. Concentrations of PCB's in North Atlantic ocean water. The limit of detection was 1 X 10" g/liter for a 19-liter sample. centrations agree with our surface measure ments, although their sample size was much smaller). Sta Position tion North West Date (1972) Depth (m) PCB con centration* (X 10- g/liter) 3. G. R. Harvey, V. T. Bowen, R. H. Backus, G. D. Grice, In Nobel Symposium 20: The Changing Chemistry of the Oceans, D. Dyrssen and D. Jagncr, Eds. (Almqvist & Wiksell, 1 52 55' 35 08' 2 44 oo- 30 36' 6/30 7/3 0 0; 200 150 35; 10 Stockholm, 1972), p. 177; deliberations of the International Decade of Ocean Exploration Baseline Conference, E. D. Goldberg, chair 3 40 33' 29 16' 4 36 11' 25 33' 5 34 02' 22 50' 7/5 7/7 7/9 0; 200 0; 200 0; 200 4; 7 11; 3 30; 6 man, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, N.Y., 24-26 May 1972. 4. Stations 1 to 23 were occupied on cruise 1C5 of R.V. Chain; stations 25 to 41 were occupied 6 35 00' 18 59' 7/11 0; 200 14; 5 on cruise 71 of R.V. Atlantis-II. Station 24 is 7 34 47' 8 r 38 20' 9 38 23' 14 57' 11 23' 11 11' 7/13 7/15 7/22 0; 200 0; 200 0; 200 67; 39 19; 2 41; 13 the Woods Hole dock. 5. Surface samples were collected in a stainless steel bucket from the bow of the ship while U was under way. Deep samples were collected 10 38 19' 19 28' 11 41 09' 20 46' 12 43 57' 22 13' 7/23 7/24 7/25 0 0 0 77 <1 52 in a 160-liter Bodman bottle lined with Kel-F; R. H. Bodman, V. T. Bowen, L, W. Slabaugh, Mar. Res. 19, 141 (1961). 6. The parameters for the use of this resin 13 43 20' 21 57' 7/27- 0 47 given in the text were developed by the 14 43 16' 21 34' 15 46 31' 21 43' 16 52 31' 19 52' 7/29 7/30 8/1 100; 3000 ' 0 0; 100 45; >It 10 45; 8 authors in this laboratory. The efficiency of the adsorptive extraction, when compared with solvent extraction, is > 95 percent 7- A Packard gas-liquid chromatograph, model - 17 18 19 20 21 22 52 35' 55 41' 57 22' 60 04' 60 09' . 60 29' 19 53' 15 02' 12 01' 06 02' 05 36' 04 43' 8/2 1500 8/4 0 8/5 200 8/6 200 8/7 ........ 0 8/7 -0 >lt - 3 ' : 97 . V ' ... . 42 82 ' - 23 ' - -407, equipped with a **Ni electron-capture detector was used. No motion sensitivity was observed in the instrument's response. A shipboard analysis revealed that the ship's paints, greases, and oils did not contain any . PCB'#. 8 These data and (2). In contrast, PCB con 23 24 . 25 26 27 28 63 03' 41* 32' 39 40' 37 12' 34 32' 35 22' 02 22' 70 40" 70 03' 68 54' 67 01' 67 36' 8/8 V?-: - 0; 200 10/2 9/21 " 0 o 9/22 0 9/23 0 9/24 1000 V : -- .V'; 21; 7 30 29 36 ' 12 1 . . centrations in coastal northeastern Pacific ' waters average 1 ppt (I. Barrett, paper pre tented as part of the deliberations of the International Decade of Ocean Exploration Baseline Conference, E. D. Goldberg, chair man, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, N.Y., 24-26 May 1972). 29 35 17' 68 28' 9/24 0 2 9. This quantity is remarkably similar to a 30 - 31 ...... 32 ri- 33 " 34 35 36 1 36 . /: 35 34 56' 05' 24' 37' 26' 66 34' 67 27' 68 24' 67 49" 66 22' 9/25 9/26 9/27 9/27 9/28 :- 0. 5, 0 o 22 0 ' ' : ' 9 0 12 - recently calculated estimate of U x 104 metric tons of PCB's in the North Atlantic; no water data were available at the time of the calculation [L C. T. Nisbet and A. F. Sarofim, Environ. Health Persped. 1, 21 0972)]. . 35 33" 41' 65 44' 9/28 .0 .15 10. Wc thank Dr. R. H. Backus, chief scientist ~ 36 28 42' 58 39' 10/3 0 26 on cruise 105 of R.V. Chain, for allowing us 37 26 50' 55 38' 10/5 0 36 'the opportunity to collect those samples and 38 25 56' 54 15' 39 26 58' 53 57' 40 28 26' 53 55' 41 31 13' 53 49' 10/6 10/7 10/8 10/9 .0 ~0 -0 .0 27 -.42 ' - 88 68 Dr. V. T. Bowen for making the deep samples available. Supported by grant GX 35212 from the Office of the International Decade of Ocean Exploration, National Sci ence Foundation and grant GQ 16020 from * The closest matching commercial mixture in all cases was that containing 54 percent chlorine. Thus the commercially available Aroclor 12S4 <Monsanto) was used as the standard. Procedural blanks ranged from 0 to 3 ng/liter and were subtracted from the tabulated concentrations; DDT and its Oho Environmental Protection Agency. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution contribution No. 2798. metabolites, if present, were present at concentrations less than 1 ng/Uter. fPoor match for Aroclor. 10 November 1972 * r 644 V SCIENCE, VOL. 180 DSW 361809 STLCOPCB4098037