Integrating High-Resolution Coastal Acidification Monitoring Data Across Seven United States Estuaries.

Beginning in 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) National Estuary Program (NEP) started a collaboration with partners in seven estuaries along the East Coast (Barnegat Bay; Casco Bay), West Coast (Santa Monica Bay; San Francisco Bay; Tillamook Bay), and the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Coast (Tampa Bay; Mission-Aransas Estuary) of the United States to expand the use of autonomous monitoring of partial pressure of carbon dioxide (CO) and pH. Analysis of high-frequency (hourly to sub-hourly) coastal acidification data including CO, pH, temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen (DO) indicate that the sensors effectively captured key parameter measurements under challenging environmental conditions, allowing for an initial characterization of daily to seasonal trends in carbonate chemistry across a range of estuarine settings. Multi-year monitoring showed that across all water bodies temperature and CO covaried, suggesting that CO variability was governed, in part, by seasonal temperature changes with average CO being lower in cooler, winter months and higher in warmer, summer months.

Photocatalytic disinfection using titanium dioxide: spectrum and mechanism of antimicrobial activity.

The photocatalytic properties of titanium dioxide are well known and have many applications including the removal of organic contaminants and production of self-cleaning glass. There is an increasing interest in the application of the photocatalytic properties of TiO(2) for disinfection of surfaces, air and water. Reviews of the applications of photocatalysis in disinfection (Gamage and Zhang 2010; Chong et al.

Photocatalytic antimicrobial activity of thin surface films of TiO(2), CuO and TiO (2)/CuO dual layers on Escherichia coli and bacteriophage T4.

TiO(2)-coated surfaces are increasingly studied for their ability to inactivate microorganisms. The activity of glass coated with thin films of TiO(2), CuO and hybrid CuO/TiO(2) prepared by atmospheric Chemical Vapour Deposition (Ap-CVD) and TiO(2) prepared by a sol-gel process was investigated using the inactivation of bacteriophage T4 as a model for inactivation of viruses. The chemical oxidising activity was also determined by measuring stearic acid oxidation.