Abstract
Growing diamond film on a titanium substrate is a challenge. The major problem is the stability of the diamond film form. Since titanium metal is an ideal material for electrode fabrication, especially for DSA type electrodes, the research on the improvement of working life of boron-doped diamond film on titanium (Ti/BDD) remains a hot topic. By using proper pretreatment and a suitable combination of precursor gases, my research laboratory has been able to fabricate Ti/BDD electrodes using hot-filament chemical vapor deposition method with accelerated working life over 260 hours (measured under conditions of 10,000A/m2 in 3M H2SO4). The accelerated service life was further improved to 320 hours by deposition a layer of silicon between Ti and BDD layers. A recent innovation by having staged substrate temperatures lead to the producing of the Ti/BDD electrode with an accelerated service life over 800 hours. This great improvement was found to be attributed to the formation of a TiC layer at lower substrate temperature during the first stage of deposition, followed with a high quality BDD layer deposited at the latter stage at higher substrate temperature. The Ti/BDD electrodes can be utilized as electrochemical sensors of measuring pollutants, or work as anodic electrode in electro-oxidation of various pollutants such as acetic acid, maleic acid, dyes, phenols, etc.

Abstract
The Estuary Lagoon Mundau-Manguaba (ELMM), in the State of Alagoas is a very productive one and is located in Maceio, Brazil. In this estuary, two lagoons (Mundau and Manguaba) and some streams are connected with the Atlantic Ocean. Due to the input of nutrients, a very rich and highly productive ecosystem was generated, being the nutritional source for the local people. Among those organisms, the bivalve mollusk Mytella charruana has a huge nutritional significance, being very easy to catch. For this reason the elevated productivity of this mollusk is essential. The estuary has suffered the impact of some human activities and the most important are related to sugar cane, culture, sugar/alcohol production allied to MVC and PVC industries and in natura sewage release local cities, including the capital of the state, Maceio. The present work aims to evaluating lead concentration in the tissues of Mytella charruana, since those organisms can be used as biomonitors of heavy metals pollution. The mollusk was first washed with Water Milli-Q, until complete elimination of incrusted sediments. After removal of the soft tissue from the shells, with plastic spoons, excess humidity was eliminated using paper filter. Digestion was performed using 2.0 (? 0.0001) g (wet wt) of mollusk tissue in 10 mL of concentrated HNO3. After filtration through 0.45 |im membrane, the solution was made up to 100 mL using citrate buffer (pH 3). Lead concentration in the digest was determined by anodic stripping voltammetry, using square wave voltammetry. The mercury film was generated on a carbon vitreous surface (BAS) from Hg(NO3)2.H2O solution, with 5 minutes of deposition. The pre-concentration of the analyte was also of 5 min. In the optimized conditions (citrate buffer, pH 3), calibration curves were built with linearity between 3.5 and 160 ppb. The mollusk digest was analysed, yielding 1.7 |ig/g of Pb. Recovery tests in the sample were performed in the determination of Pb with addition of 360 |iL and after 550 |iL of one solution of 1 mg/L of Pb. The results obtained were 94 e 76% for the first and second additions, respectively. The used methods were adequate concerning extraction and Pb determination, in the analysis of mollusk Mytella charruana. The content of Pb in he mollusk does not compromise is use as a nutritional source.

Abstract
Modelling the thermal structure and heat content of lakes in climate change is getting more and more important as a fundament for ecological lake models. Various studies demonstrated the strong impact of climate change on environmental systems, including the ecosystems of lakes. Anyhow there are several gaps in understanding the complex interaction of atmosphere and hydrosphere as well as in modelling their impact on aquatic ecosystems. When using a hydrodynamic lake model for ecological studies, the careful calibration and validation is an essential condition. The results of the validation process and the following statistical analysis will be presented in this contribution. Afterwards the hydrodynamic model is suitable to estimate future trends in the development of the lakes thermal characteristics, e.g. vertical thermal stratification, Schmidt stability or thermocline shift, which have a significant influence on the aquatic ecosystem. Therefor it is advisable to use data of existing regional climate models, e.g. REMO on the basis of different IPCC emission scenarios. Finally the hydrodynamic model can be coupled with an aquatic ecological model to support the future water quality management. We are working with the one-dimensional hydrodynamic model DYRESM (Centre for Water Research 2010), which is a process based model using a Lagrangian layer scheme. It was established successfully in different investigation areas around the world, in Middle Europe for example at Lake Constance. The input parameters of the model are provided by the meteorological network of the DWD and the Bavarian environmental agency. The calibration covers a period between 2001 and 2007,the validation between 2007 and 2011. As study object we selected the pre-alpine, 83 metres deep, currently dimictic Lake Ammersee, which is located 30 km south west of Munich. This lake was chosen due to the fact that in our opinion it could be representative for many other lakes in the northern foothills of the Alps considering their similar geogenic, climate geographic and limnologic character. There is no other lake in Upper Bavaria where such a large calibration and validation of a hydrodynamic model was achieved. To quantify the current model error when comparing the modelled data with the measured data during model calibration and validation at Lake Ammersee, we calculated the root mean square errors (RMSE), mean absolute errors (MAE) and coefficients of determination in different depths. This statistical analysis we will also present in this contribution.

Abstract
The main reason for preventing the use of chromium in surface coatings is their high ambient impact in their applications. This work aims at creation and investigation of new anticorrosion environmental friendly coating system without chromium addition. The hybrid organic-inorganic sol-gel coating was prepared by TEOS (tetraethoxysilane), titanium alcoxides and additives which provide corrosion protection for magnesium alloy. The coating exhibits excellent adhesion to the substrate and prevents corrosion attack in 5 mM sodium chloride solution for 9 days of standard immersion test. The morphology and the structure of the sol-gel coatings were characterized with SEM/EDS, TEM and AFM techniques. Corrosion behaviour of substrates treated with sol-gel derived coatings was tested by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy. Different composition of sol-gel systems show enhanced protection of magnesium alloy.

Abstract
The Iceland Basin region of the N. Atlantic is important for two reasons. Firstly, the biological carbon pump here exhibits one of the strongest signals of any of the worlds oceans. Secondly, the food-web of this region supports the important herbivorous calanoid copepod, Calanus finmarchicus, that forms an important dietary component of the commercially important juvenile Cod stock. Both carbon export via the biological carbon pump and the transfer of energy to herbivorous zooplankton depends primarily on the amount of nitrate-based new production relative to total primary production. However, climate change scenarios for this region predict that ocean stratification may become stronger, and as a consequence, the upward flux of nitrate may become constrained. Furthermore, there are some recent indications that new nitrate-based production in this region may be somewhat iron limited. To test these ideas, we therefore undertook a cruise to the Iceland Basin region in July / August 2007, to examine controls on new production. We undertook measurements of phytoplankton new and regenerated production using 15N-NO3, 15N-NH4 and 13C tracers and we compared nitrate uptake with the upward diffusive flux of nitrate determined from turbulence measurements. We also assessed phytoplankton new production rates in response to ambient light and Fe gradients and further assessed Redfield C:N fixation rates from duallabelling (13C, 15N) experiments since the Redfield stoichiometry of particle flux has important consequences for relative rates of carbon and nitrogen export. In this paper, we report on some of our key findings.

Abstract
Barrier sandbars and barrier islands are geologically young, highly dynamic and represent a complex coastal system that includes a number of different but closely related sedimentary depositional environments with geomorphologic elements of varying origin, genesis and evolution. Barrier sandbars are exposed ridges of sand that are built offshore by wave action. The so-called Kniepsand on the island of Amrum represents one of the widest beaches in Europe. The Kniepsand originally belongs to a system of sandbars lining the North-Frisian coast. Some of these sandbars are already attached to the mainland (e.g. St. Peter-Ording-Sand and Westerhever-Sand). The offshore sandbars of Japsand, Norderoogsand and Suderoogsand are located in front of the western coastline of the North-Frisian Island and the Halligen and fulfil the function of natural coastal defence dissipating the energy of the incoming deep-water waves of the North Sea. Barrier sandbars are usually investigated through the use of aerial photos and borehole data. Therefore, the processes of evolution and the internal structure of sandbars are often unknown. That is why this study chooses an integrated approach using high-resolution ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and sedimentological analyses of shallow sediment cores drilled at selected sites along the radar profiles. A geophysical Survey Systems Inc. radar system, SIR-2000 coupled with a 200 MHz antenna, was used. Based on these data a sedimentary model was generated that describes the process of barrier sandbar migration and the attachment to the Pleistocene island core. According to historical maps and nautical charts of the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the Kniepsand used to be a solitary barrier sandbar located well in front of the islands west coast without any connection to its Pleistocene core consisting of Saalian moraine deposits. The presented model shows how the Kniepsand has welded onto the Pleistocene island core of Amrum. Before the barrier sandbar was connected to the island, tidal flat deposits had been accumulated in a low energy environment. Tidal flat deposits show a general coarsening upward trend and turn into overlying coarser grained beach deposits. Old cliffs formed through several storm surges are also preserved in GPR data. Normally, the former structure of the barrier sandbar will be lost as its sediment is welded onto the island core to form the contemporary sandy beach. The study indicates that GPR-data make it possible to reveal the structure of the former sandbar and to figure out and understand the barrier sandbar attachment process.

Abstract
It is not possible to derive reliable fishing mortality estimates for the majority of species that are potentially impacted by the trawl fishery from landings data alone. For some species the proportion of the catch that is landed is driven by market forces so that fluctuations in annual landings do not necessarily reflect fluctuations in actual catches or in abundance, whereas many species are not commercially useful and are not landed at all. Although the total annual catch of such species is not known, trends in the trawl survey abundance indices can be used as indicators of the impact of incidental mortality on their populations. The trend in abundance indices for 1985 to 2008 are presented for 100 bycatch species (or species groups) taken during research trawl surveys of the west and south coasts of South Africa. For many species the inter-annual fluctuations are greater than any apparent trend. Trend lines for the majority of species do not have significant slopes.

Abstract
One predicted result of climate change on upwelling systems is that increasing pressure gradients between land and sea will result in greater equatorward wind stress and therefore increased upwelling intensity. Notable ecosystem changes have been documented in eastern boundary upwelling regions in recent decades, including the southern Benguela, where striking changes in zooplankton, pelagic, demersal, line, squid and rock lobster fisheries and seabird abundances have been shown. Nutrient availability has undeniable bottom- up influences on trophic structure and food-web pathways by mediating phytoplankton competition and succession. In this first long-term study of nutrient variability in the Benguela system, we compiled and interrogated historical nutrient, oxygen and hydrographic data from a defined geographic area incorporating St Helena Bay. General linear models (GLMs) were applied to archived nutrient data to establish longterm concentration trends where seasonal effects are excluded. Surface concentrations were also excluded as these are modified by phytoplankton productivity. Nitrate and phosphate concentrations both increased between 1983 and 2004 by ~40% and ~50% respectively, while silicate showed no trend over this period. Oxygen concentrations declined by ~30% between 1960 and 2004. The prominent increases in nitrate and phosphate, together with decreasing oxygen concentrations, suggest a parallel increase in primary (new) productivity, leading to elevated POC/N flux and later decomposition processes that utilize oxygen below the pycnocline. Both processes have important future implications for biogeochemical cycles, ecosystems and commercial fisheries that we discuss here. Furthermore, due to the retention of upwelled water and biogenic material in St Helena Bay, the region could provide early indicators of change.

Abstract
Estuarine research in South Africa has generally been ?graduation driven? in that short datasets (<3 years) are mostly collected to answer highly defined questions normally for degree purposes. The SAEON Elwandle node aims to implement a long-term study examining the demersal fish communities of three estuaries with differing freshwater input (Kariega Estuary ? marine dominated, Great Fish Estuary ? freshwater dominated and Sundays Estuary ? intermediate freshwater input). The long-term nature of the study should allow for temporal variation on both the annual and seasonal scales to be investigated and the role that freshwater plays within these systems to be further established. As the selected systems have vastly different turbidity levels, gear avoidance may be an issue in clear water systems such as the Kariega. A pilot study has been initiated where comparative otter trawling for demersal fish was undertaken during the day and night at 15 sites in the Kariega Estuary over a period of three consecutive days in Spring 2007. A total of 1961 fishes representing 28 species from 15 families were recorded. Catches were dominated by Glossogobius callidus, Rhabdosargus holubi, Solea turbynei, Caffrogobius gilchristi and Heteromycteris capensis. Glossogobius callidus, S. turbynei and C. gilchristi were recorded in significantly higher numbers at night than during the day (p < 0.05). In contrast only one species, R. holubi, was caught in significantly higher numbers during the day (p < 0.05). The total number of species and individuals sampled was also significantly higher at night (p < 0.05). Initial results indicate that sampling would be more suitable at night but further investigation in the turbid Great Fish Estuary is required.

Abstract
Redox speciation of chromium has attracted a great deal of interest in view of the toxic properties of Cr(VI) compared with the much less toxic Cr(III). Cr(VI) dominates in effluents from metallurgical and metal finishing industries and Cr(III) exists mainly in tannery, textile and decorative plating industry wastes. The total chromium concentration in unpolluted natural waters is 1-10 ^g L-1 1. A procedure for the determination of chromium in contaminated waters by AdSV using morin or morin-5-sulfonic acid as adsorbing and complexing agents have been optimized. Cr(VI)-morin complexes are adsorbed into electrode and then reduced to Cr(III)-morin complexes. In the presence of tetrabutylammonium tetrafluoroborate peak current of free ligand decreases and the peak current of complex were lightly enhanced. The variation of peak current with pH, adsorption time, adsorption potential, ligand and quaternary ammonium salt concentration, and some instrumental parameters such as stirring rate in the accumulation stage and step amplitude, pulse amplitude and step duration in the obtaining of the square wave voltamperograms were optimized. The best experimental parameters were pH = 4.0 - 8.0 (Britton Robinson buffers), Cmomi = 3.5 |imol L-1, CTBATFB = 10.0 |i mol L-1, tads = 60 s and Eads = -0.50 V vs Ag/AgCl. Under these conditions the peak current was proportional to the chromium concentration over the 0.0-25.0 |ig L-1 range, with a detection limit of 0.7 |ig L-1. Reproducibility for 6.0 |ig L-1 chromium solution was 3.1 % (n = 6). The method was validated with synthetic sea water spiked with 22 metal ions and fortified water GBW08607 (Reference material. Certified value: Cr 0.500|ig/g) and applied to analysis of Cr(VI) in the presence of Cr(III) in contaminated waters.