Keywords:Stable isotopes (d 18 O and dD) CFCs and SF 6 Shallow groundwater origin and age Shallow groundwater recharge Lake Nyos -Cameroon s u m m a r yThe shallow aquifer in the vicinity of Lake Nyos (Northwest, Cameroon) is one of the main water supply sources to meet the water needs of the inhabitants to be resettled after 1986s tragedy. Unfortunately, there is a lack of knowledge on the groundwater recharge and flow systems in the area. Multiple environmental tracers (d 18 O, dD, Cl À , CFCs and SF 6 ) and a yearly record of rainfall, surface waters and groundwater were employed to characterize the recharge mechanism of the shallow groundwater seeping in the fractured rock of the Lake Nyos catchment (LNC). The d 18 O-dD relationship of the rainfall events gave the Nyos Meteoric Water Line: dD = 8.28 d 18 O + 11.87. Inland moisture vapor may have impacted the isotopic composition of original vapor masses from Gulf of Guinea prior to precipitation. Shallow groundwater in the LNC shows a similar trend of enrichment in 18 O and D as surface waters indicating a well-mixed aquifer. The proportions of surface waters and rainfall in the groundwater reservoir were 87% and 13%, respectively. The high annual recharge rate (941 mm/yr) and the seasonal variability in the isotopic signatures of groundwater indicate a renewable aquifer system. CFCs apparent ages-based piston flow model revealed a young age (average of 24 a.) of the groundwater in the LNC. SF 6 -based ages were biased young as compared to relatively younger than CFCs-based ages, implying an additional terrigenic production of SF 6 . The conceptual model for groundwater flow suggests that three main flow regimes, mainly controlled by the physical properties of the rock heterogeneities govern the movement of water in the aquifer. The piston flow model appears, however, to be the better model to explain the flow regime in the highly faulted and fissured area where recharge occurs ($1200-1600 masl). The rapid circulation and the low solubility lead to low mineralization. In the middle-lower area where waters circulate more in the weathered layer, exponential mixing model dominates, yielding more mineralized water. Downward to the valley, with prevailing gentle slope, interaction between surface and recently infiltrated groundwater better explain the observed similarity in the isotopic compositions and the mineralization of water.

With the use of conventional hydrogeochemical techniques, multivariate statistical analysis, and stable isotope approaches, this paper investigates for the first time surface water and groundwater from the surrounding areas of Lake Monoun (LM), West Cameroon. The results reveal that waters are generally slightly acidic to neutral. The relative abundance of major dissolved species are Ca(2+) > Mg(2+) > Na(+) > K(+) for cations and HCO3 (-) ≫ NO3 (-) > Cl(-) > SO4 (2-) for anions. The main water type is Ca-Mg-HCO3. Observed salinity is related to water-rock interaction, ion exchange process, and anthropogenic activities. Nitrate and chloride have been identified as the most common pollutants. These pollutants are attributed to the chlorination of wells and leaching from pit latrines and refuse dumps. The stable isotopic compositions in the investigated water sources suggest evidence of evaporation before recharge. Four major groups of waters were identified by salinity and NO3 concentrations using the Q-mode hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). Consistent with the isotopic results, group 1 represents fresh unpolluted water occurring near the recharge zone in the general flow regime; groups 2 and 3 are mixed water whose composition is controlled by both weathering of rock-forming minerals and anthropogenic activities; group 4 represents water under high vulnerability of anthropogenic pollution. Moreover, the isotopic results and the HCA showed that the CO2-rich bottom water of LM belongs to an isolated hydrological system within the Foumbot plain. Except for some springs, groundwater water in the area is inappropriate for drinking and domestic purposes but good to excellent for irrigation.

The aim of this study was to assess the microbial diversity associated with Lake Nyos, a lake with an unusual chemistry in Cameroon. Water samples were collected during the dry season on March 2013. Bacterial and archaeal communities were profiled using Polymerase Chain Reaction-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) approach of the 16S rRNA gene. The results indicate a stratification of both communities along the water column. Altogether, the physico-chemical data and microbial sequences suggest a close correspondence of the potential microbial functions to the physico-chemical pattern of the lake. We also obtained evidence of a rich microbial diversity likely to include several novel microorganisms of environmental importance in the large unexplored microbial reservoir of Lake Nyos.

A new bacterial strain capable of reducing thalli of various seaweeds (red, green, and brown algae) was isolated from marine sediments of Uozu in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. We designated the strain Simiduia sp. TM-2 based on analyses of the 16S rRNA gene and gyrB gene sequences and its biochemical and morphological characteristics. Zymography methods revealed numerous active bands of alginate lyases, cellulases, and agarases in the cells and culture supernatants of TM-2, showing that the strain possessed multiple polysaccharide lyases. A novel agarase gene (agaTM2) was cloned from TM-2 and expressed in Escherichia coli. The resulting DNA sequence contained an open reading frame of 1764 bp that encoded a protein of 587 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 64 kDa and pI of 4.62. The deduced amino acid sequence, AgaTM2, had a typical signal peptide followed by a glycoside hydrolase family 16 catalytic domain and two carbohydrate-binding modules 6. A BLAST search indicated that AgaTM2 shared 75.5 % amino acid sequence identity with agarase from Simiduia agarivorans SA1. The cloned and purified AgaTM2 protein showed optimal activity at 35 °C and pH 8.0, and its thermostability increased in the presence of calcium ions. AgaTM2 degraded agarose to tetraose and hexaose.

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