The use of bacterial branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) to reconstruct mean annual air temperatures (MAATs) and environmental pH from soils has sparked significant interest in the terrestrial paleoclimate community. However, the reconstruction of these climate proxies from peat bogs is rare in monsoonal regions of the East Asia. This research was carried out on a core from the Shuizhuyang (SZY) peat bog located in Fujian Province. Branched GDGT (brGDGT) indexes were used for reconstructing the paleoclimate of the last 30 cal ka. The aim was to evaluate quantitatively the MAAT and pH values since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the subtropical zone of China. Results show that the CBT-MBT′-derived MAAT at MIS 3 is about 15.6 °C on average, which is followed by a significant fall at the LGM (11.7–12.1 °C). The temperature difference between the LGM and the present-day value is as high as 5.8 °C. The synchronous variation of biomarker and pollen proxies indicates that replacement of subtropical evergreen broadleaved forests by cold-tolerant, deciduous broadleaved forests was driven by the significant drop in air temperature. Our results also indicate that the Younger Dryas event lasted from about 12.9 to about 11.3 cal ka, and cooling event at 3.2 cal ka in the late Holocene was detected, showing the sensitivity of peat bogs to rapid cooling. Our pH reconstructions indicate that the pH of the bog rose during Heinrich 1 and Bølling-Allerød periods, probably due to low precipitation, and were lowest in the Holocene thermal maximum between 8 ka and 2.5 ka, probably due to higher precipitation. The decoupling of reconstructed MAAT and pH during particularly deglaciation and YD periods supports the hypothesis that the variations in temperature and precipitation are not always synchronous.

Workshop dust, soil and sediment samples were collected to investigate the level and spatial distribution of PCDDs/Fs at an intensive electronic waste (e-waste) recycling site in Southern China, and also to characterize the dioxin emission in different e-waste recycling procedures. The concentrations of total PCDDs/Fs ranged from 1866 to 234292 ng kg−1 for the dust samples, from 3187 to 63998 ng kg−1 dry wt for the top soils, and 33718 ng kg−1 for the surface sediment. All the samples were characterized by abnormally high concentrations of OCDD and an extremely low portion of PCDFs. Different e-waste recycling procedures may generate different congener profiles. Open burning and dismantling were the two procedures emitting relatively higher concentrations of PCDDs/Fs in this case, indicating that low-tech recycling operations were one of the major contributors of PCDDs/Fs to the environment. The variation and distinction of the concentrations and homologue/congener profiles among different environmental matrices reveal the characteristics of contaminant environmental behavior and fate during the transportation from “source” to “sink”. Daily intake of PCDDs/Fs through soil ingestion and dermal absorption was negligible, but the rough estimated total PCDD/F intake dose far exceeded the tolerance daily intake value of 4 pg-TEQ per kg per day recommended by WHO, indicating that residents in Longtang were at a high risk of exposure to dioxins, especially children.

The compositions of glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) in surface sediments and sediment cores from the Eastern Lau Spreading Center (ELSC), South Pacific Ocean, were determined. Isoprenoid GDGTs (isoGDGTs) and branched GDGTs (brGDGTs) are present in all the samples, with archaea and bacteria, respectively, as the sources of these membrane lipids. Greater concentrations of isoGDGTs (0.08–38.0 ng/g dry weight (dw)) than brGDGTs (0.05–27.4 ng/g dw) indicate that archaea made larger contributions to the GDGT pool in the ELSC sediments than bacteria. The relative abundance of brGDGTs and BIT index (the branched vs. isoprenoid tetraether) values are higher in samples taken from the seafloor in the vicinity of or close to hydrothermal vents than in samples taken distant from hydrothermal activity, suggesting that brGDGTs are likely produced in the ELSC hydrothermal vents. Temperature estimates based on TEX86 (TetraEther indeX of tetraethers consisting of 86 carbon atoms) appear to reflect local surface water temperatures despite potential in situ hydrothermal input of GDGTs to the ELSC sediments.Highlights► GDGTs were measured in surface sediments and sediment cores from the Eastern Lau Spreading Center. ► Greater concentrations of isoGDGTs than brGDGTs indicate that archaea made larger contributions than bacteria. ► The abundance of brGDGTs is higher in samples taken in the vicinity of hydrothermal vents. ► Temperature estimates based on TEX86 reflect local surface water temperatures.

Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) were analyzed in peat samples taken from the Zoigê grassland, located on the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The mean annual air temperature (MAAT) and pH in the 210Pb-dating peat core were reconstructed based on the cyclization of branched tetraethers (CBT) and methylation of branched tetraethers (MBT) indices for the last 150 years. The results showed that the MAAT and pH values involved three stages of variation over the last 150 years. The pH was stable and the MAAT decreased slowly by about 1°C from 1851 to 1927. The pH decreased rapidly by 0.6 and the MAAT decreased significantly by 2.5°C between 1927 and 1979. The pH and MAAT increased by 0.8 and 5°C, respectively, since the 1980s. The reconstructed temperatures correspond well to the mean winter temperatures reconstructed using tree-rings from the Jiuzhaigou Valley, situated at the boundary between the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and the Sichuan Basin. The estimated MAAT was similar to the temperatures reconstructed using tree-rings, indicating an increasing trend, as shown by local instrumental records from 1957 to 2001. These results provide further confidence in the application of proxies based on glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers in peat records for continental paleoclimate reconstruction.

Total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N), lipids and biogenic silica (BSi) from a high-resolution sediment core east of Hong Kong span the interval from 1925 to 2001. Organic matter (OM) within this core (E2) is derived from both marine phytoplankton and terrestrial material as deduced from the range of values of δ13Corg (− 24.0‰ to − 22.4‰) and δ15N (2.9‰ to 5.3‰) and lipid biomarkers. Diatom and dinoflagellate productivity which is reflected in the biogenic silica (BSi) and dinosterol concentrations respectively, increased gradually starting in 1940 and accelerated after 1965, especially between 1980 and 2000, indicating that algal blooms and/or red tides caused by eutrophication increased during this time. The abundance of coprostanol, which reflects domestic sewage discharge, and the terrestrial biomarkers (long-chain fatty acids and fatty alcohols and sitosterol) exhibit similar temporal changes with the primary production, showing that the enhanced eutrophication resulted from increased anthropogenic activities in the northern coastal waters of the South China Sea (SCS) in recent decades.

The isotopic composition (δ13C and δ15N) and organic carbon (OC) and total nitrogen (TN, organic plus inorganic) content of 37 carbonate-free surficial sediments of the subtropical Pearl River estuary and the adjacent shelf of South China Sea (SCS) was determined. The δ13C values indicate that the sediment organic material is a mixture from two sources, terrestrial and marine. Several of the sediments have extremely low (< 4) OC / TN ratios, which could be due to low OC contents and/or to a significant fraction of the TN present as inorganic nitrogen adsorbed on clays. In general, the spatial patterns of OC, TN, δ13C and δ15N are similar. Values are low at the river mouth and on the western coast, suggesting proportionally greater accumulation of terrestrial particulate organic matter relative to marine phytodetritus, which is limited by low productivity in the turbid plume of the Pearl River. Algal-derived organic carbon (al-OC) content is estimated to be low (≤ 0.06%) at the river mouth and higher (up to 0.57%) on the adjacent inner shelf based on a mixing model of end members.

Surface sediments from the subtropical Pearl River estuary and adjacent South China Sea were investigated by molecular organic geochemical methods to determine the composition, distribution and origin of extractable lipids (n-alkanes, n-alkanols and sterols). The absolute and organic C normalized concentrations of total alkane, n-alkanol, and sterol ranged from 0.16 to 2.67 μg g−1 and 0.9 to 12.3 μg g−1 OC, 24.4 to 427.3 ng g−1 and 63.2 to 1966.7 ng g−1 OC, and 9.0 to 493.5 ng g−1 and 58.4 to 1042.4 ng g−1 OC, respectively. The spatial distributions of these biomarkers indicated that terrestrial-derived molecular biomarkers such as long-chain n-alkanes, n-alkanols and plant-derived sterols were higher at the river mouth and along the coastline, suggesting that a higher proportion of terrestrial particulate organic matter was deposited there. Relatively lower amounts of marine-derived biomarkers such as short-chain n-alkanes, algal sterols at the river mouth reflected the lower primary productivity due to high turbidity. The spatial patterns of these biomarkers were partially related to the estuarine processes and conditions, evidencing an increased terrestrial signal from the Pearl River mouth to the inner estuary, and enhanced marine conditions further offshore.

Three sediment cores were taken from the Pearl River estuary and adjacent northern South China Sea (SCS). These sediment cores span the time interval 1900–2000 AD. The stratigraphy of the concentration, the ratio of total organic carbon (TOC) to total nitrogen (TN) and stable isotope (δ13Corg) of organic carbon (OC) from three high-resolution sediment cores were analyzed. The stratigraphic profiles of OC concentration, TOC/TN ratios and δ13Corg for the near past 100 yrs indicate that terrestrial organic matter decreases from 68.3% to 27.4% of the TOC in the Pearl River estuary, while Dapeng Bay (offshore east of Hong Kong) apparently had throughout little terrestrial organic matter input. The highest deposited OC occurs at the Humen River mouth and the OC concentrations are higher in the outer estuary than in the inner shelf of the northern SCS. The deposited OC at the River mouth increased with time, which could be caused by the high precipitation of land-derived organic matter and the high input of terrestrial organic matter, which is likely related to the rapid urbanization and industrial development in the Pearl River Delta since the 1970s. The OC concentrations did not exhibit an obvious increase with time in most areas of the Pear River estuary and adjacent inner shelf of the SCS, but the algal-derived OC concentration inferred from the δ13Corg values increased with time especially from 1980 to 2000 in the outer Pearl River estuary and Dapeng Bay. This increase is presumably caused by enhanced primary marine productivity supported by higher anthropogenic nutrient inputs.

Workshop dust, soil and sediment samples were collected to investigate the level and spatial distribution of PCDDs/Fs at an intensive electronic waste (e-waste) recycling site in Southern China, and also to characterize the dioxin emission in different e-waste recycling procedures. The concentrations of total PCDDs/Fs ranged from 1866 to 234292 ng kg−1 for the dust samples, from 3187 to 63998 ng kg−1 dry wt for the top soils, and 33718 ng kg−1 for the surface sediment. All the samples were characterized by abnormally high concentrations of OCDD and an extremely low portion of PCDFs. Different e-waste recycling procedures may generate different congener profiles. Open burning and dismantling were the two procedures emitting relatively higher concentrations of PCDDs/Fs in this case, indicating that low-tech recycling operations were one of the major contributors of PCDDs/Fs to the environment. The variation and distinction of the concentrations and homologue/congener profiles among different environmental matrices reveal the characteristics of contaminant environmental behavior and fate during the transportation from “source” to “sink”. Daily intake of PCDDs/Fs through soil ingestion and dermal absorption was negligible, but the rough estimated total PCDD/F intake dose far exceeded the tolerance daily intake value of 4 pg-TEQ per kg per day recommended by WHO, indicating that residents in Longtang were at a high risk of exposure to dioxins, especially children.