1956--2005年上海气象灾害时空变化分析

根据上海市历史气象灾害资料,对1956---2005年上海5种气象灾害的时空变化特征进行了分析。结果表明：①从时问变化来看,气象灾害年际变化呈波动上升趋势;从各灾种来看,1956--1985年影响上海的5种气象灾害发生的次数基本均衡,而1986—2005年暴雨洪涝和大风两种灾害成为影响上海的主要气象灾害。②从空间变化上看,浦东新区和崇明县为气象灾害高发区,而闵行区和金山区为低发区;对各灾种来说,除暴雨洪涝的发生次数和频度在市区最高外,其余4种气象灾害均是在浦东新区最高,而暴雨洪涝是各区发生次数和频度最高的,龙卷风则是最低的。     

2014年7月青海气象灾害特点及气象服务分析

2014年7月青海省气象灾害最显著的特点是种类少(仅3种)、频次高、损失大,为近7年少见。月内共发生气象灾害30起,其中暴雨洪涝17起、冰雹11起、次生地质灾害泥石流2起,灾害主要分布在西宁、海东、海北、海南和黄南地区。经分析发现,北方冷空气与副热带高压边缘暖湿气流的共同作用,造成了2014年7月青海降水分布不均,暴雨日数偏多,大范围大雨出现时间早,位置偏北,是致灾的主要原因。文章总结分析了气象灾害发生的特点及预报服务情况,旨在为今后气象服务工作提供借鉴。     

黄河上游青海段暴雨洪涝气象灾害风险评估技术研究与应用

用1984~2015年黄河上游青海段16个气象测站有气象灾情记录以来的暴雨洪涝灾情资料,初步探讨了暴雨洪涝气象灾害风险评估的理论依据、主要评估基点,并应用马尔可夫模型和统计决策理论建立了风险评估数学模型、风险函数以及最优决策。以黄河上游青海地区贵德测站为例,说明了整个评估中的基本计算操作过程,其结果在暴雨洪涝灾害灾前风险评估中有一定的参考价值。     

秦皇岛区域几类极端天气、气候灾害的特征分析及防灾减灾探讨

秦皇岛区域是气象灾害频发地区，危害最大的有冰雹、暴雨、干旱、洪涝等。通过对秦皇岛地区48年来比较典型的极端天气事件和气候灾害的统计分析，找出极端天气和气候灾害的演变规律，为建立有效的气象灾害监测、预警系统，完善、提高防灾减灾体系提供参考，对提高当地社会和经济，抵御气象灾害的能力，减轻气象灾害具有重要意义。     

青海省河湟地区气象灾害变化特征分析

通过对青海省河湟地区1961～2017年气象灾害的时空变化特征分析发现:河湟地区年平均低温冷害次数随时间变化呈微弱减少趋势;生育前期干旱在河湟地区农牧业生产中较为突出;干旱日数呈显著下降趋势,循化干旱日数最多,海晏干旱日数最少;雪灾发生次数呈明显下降趋势,1989年雪灾发生次数最多,湟中县为发生雪灾次数最多的地区;年暴雨日数波动较大,1961年暴雨日数最多,为55d; 20世纪90年代之前年冰雹日数较多,至90年代之后年冰雹日数急剧下降,呈减少趋势。     

秦皇岛市气候变化对农业气象灾害的影响

40多年来秦皇岛市气候发生了明显的变化，致使农业气象灾害增加：第一，冬暖、倒春寒、春末高温等灾害频次增多，冬季低温冻害频次和程度减少；第二，冬旱、春旱、秋旱、秋冬连旱、冬春连旱增多，伏旱次数明显减少，盛夏洪涝频次减少；第三，低温连阴雨、高温干旱、干热风等灾害在频次和程度上均发生明显变化。因此，秦皇岛农业生产防灾减灾的重点和方法也适当调整。     

2012年秦皇岛市夏秋异常降水及其影响评估简

2012年秦皇岛市夏秋季降水异常偏多,暴雨洪涝、地质灾害严重,给工农业生产及交通航运等带来严重损失。利用统计分析方法对6～11月秦皇岛异常降水进行分析,结果表明：6～11月连续6个月降水偏多,为1955年有气象记录以来唯一年份;11月全市降水偏多5倍以上,创有气象记录以来极值;7下8上区域性暴雨范围大,持续时间长,尤其8月3～4日受台风“达维”影响,出现了近50 a最大洪涝。在分析降水异常基础上,对引起的气象灾害及其影响进行了分析。     

莆田市气象灾害及减灾对策研究

根据近17年的莆田市气候影响评价资料,结合实地调查,对莆田市台风、暴雨、冰雹、干旱、寒潮等主要气象灾害的基本特点进行了分析。研究表明,近17年莆田市危害最大的气象灾害是台风灾害,其次为洪涝灾害,揭示了几种主要气象灾害之间的相互关系,并提出相应的减灾对策。     

2018年汛期青海省异常降水特征分析及其影响

据青海省气象资料分析表明:2018年汛期青海省降水异常偏多,较最多的1967年还多10%,创1961年以来历史极值,20站次列历史前3位;出现80站次大雨以上天气列1961年以来历史同期最多,全省区域站(自动站)出现大雨以上1 104站次,其中暴雨108站次;多地日降水量突破历史极值,全省共有23县(市)发生极端日降水事件,其中8县(市)日降水突破同期历史记录;受频繁极端强降水影响,全省共发生暴雨洪涝灾害104起,暴雨洪涝、雷电灾害造成了较大的人员伤亡和财产损失,其中暴雨洪涝灾害为近10a最重;异常偏多的降水量使黄河上游出现了2012年以来最强汛情。成因主要是西太平洋副热带高压面积大、强度强、脊线位置偏北,致使我省东部地区夏季降水量偏多。     

2018年汛期青海省异常降水特征分析及其影响

据青海省气象资料分析表明:2018年汛期青海省降水异常偏多,较最多的1967年还多10%,创1961年以来历史极值,20站次列历史前3位;出现80站次大雨以上天气列1961年以来历史同期最多,全省区域站(自动站)出现大雨以上1 104站次,其中暴雨108站次;多地日降水量突破历史极值,全省共有23县(市)发生极端日降水事件,其中8县(市)日降水突破同期历史记录;受频繁极端强降水影响,全省共发生暴雨洪涝灾害104起,暴雨洪涝、雷电灾害造成了较大的人员伤亡和财产损失,其中暴雨洪涝灾害为近10a最重;异常偏多的降水量使黄河上游出现了2012年以来最强汛情。成因主要是西太平洋副热带高压面积大、强度强、脊线位置偏北,致使我省东部地区夏季降水量偏多。     

BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS AND BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ESTUARINE/COASTAL POLLUTION1

ABSTRACT: Sustained interest in and concern about the health status of the aquatic environment has resulted in extensive research focused on (1) effects of pollution on survival, growth, and reproduction of resource species at all life stages; (2) diseases of fish and shellfish, as they may be related to pollution and as they may serve as indicators of environmental stress; and (3) contaminant body burdens in fish and shellfish - their effects on the aquatic animals and their potential effects on humans. Effects, lethal and sublethal, of pollutants on life history stages of fish and shellfish have been documented, as have impacts on local stocks in badly degraded habitats, but as yet there has been no adequate quantitative demonstration of effects on entire aquatic species - probably because of the difficulty in sorting out relative effects of the many environmental factors that influence abundance. Sublethal effects, especially those that result in disease, have been examined intensively, and some diseases and disease syndromes have been associated statistically with pollution. Other pollution indicators (biochemical, physiological, genetic, behavioral, and ecological) have also received some attention, as have body burdens of contaminants in aquatic species. Research, especially that conducted during the past decade, has done much to clarify the many pathways and toxic effects of contaminants on aquatic animals, and has also helped to identify mechanisms for survival of fish and shellfish in the presence of environmental changes caused by human activities.     

Definition Procedures Have Little Effect on Performance of Environmental Classifications of Streams and Rivers

Mapped environmental classifications are defined using various procedures, but there has been little evaluation of the differences in their ability to discriminate variation in independent ecological characteristics. We tested the performance of environmental classifications of the streams and rivers of France that had been defined from the same environmental data using geographic regionalization and numerical classification of individual river valley segments. Test data comprised invertebrate assemblages, water chemistry, and hydrological indexes obtained from sites throughout France. Classification performance was measured by analysis of similarity (ANOSIM). Geometric regions defined by a regular grid and without regard to environmental variables and a posteriori classifications based on clustering the test datasets defined lower and upper bounds of performance for a given number of classes. Differences in classification performances were generally small. The ANOSIM statistics for the a posteriori classifications were around twice that of all environmental classifications, including geometrically defined regions. The hydro-ecoregions performed slightly better for the invertebrate data and the network classification performed slightly better for the chemistry and hydrological data. Our results indicate that environmental classifications that are defined using different procedures can be comparable in terms of their ability to discriminate variation of ecological characteristics and that alleged differences in performance arising from different classification procedures can be small relative to unexplained variation. We conclude that definition procedures might have little effect on the performance of large-scale environmental classifications and decisions over which procedures to use should be based primarily on pragmatic considerations.     

Journalists' views of advertiser pressures on agricultural news

All major journalism ethical codes explicitly state that journalists should protect editorial copy from undue influence by outside sources. However, much of the previous research on agricultural information has concentrated on what information various media communicate (gatekeeping studies) or communication's role in increasing innovation adoption (diffusion studies). Few studies have concentrated specifically on organizational and structural constraints that might adversely affect agricultural journalists' ethical standards; those that have, focus largely on farm magazines. A study of newspaper reporters who cover agricultural news found that the most pressing ethical concern is the effect of advertiser (agri-business) pressure on editorial copy, and that their concerns in general parallel those of farm magazine writers and editors. The majority reported being in situations in which they might be exposed to advertiser pressure, including pressures to change or withhold editorial copy. Large minorities suggested that advertising pressures affect the overall environment in which agricultural journalists work, and more than one in ten said they allow advertiser pressures to influence editorial decisions. The newspaper reporters who cover agricultural beats showed slightly more resistance to advertiser pressure than did farm magazine editors in a parallel study.     

Effect of Light on Biodegradation of Estrone, 17β‐Estradiol,and 17α‐Ethinylestradiol in Stream Sediment

Biodegradation of [A‐ring ¹⁴C] Estrone (E1), 17β‐estradiol (E2), and 17α‐ethinylestradiol (EE2) to ¹⁴CO₂ was investigated under light and dark conditions in microcosms containing epilithon or sediment collected from Boulder Creek, Colorado. Mineralization of the estrogen A‐ring was observed in all sediment treatments, but not epilithon treatments. No difference in net mineralization between light and dark treatments was observed for ¹⁴C‐E2. Net mineralization of ¹⁴C‐E1 and ¹⁴C‐EE2 was enhanced in light treatments. Extents of ¹⁴CO₂ accumulation and rates of mineralization were significantly greater for E2 than E1 under dark conditions, but were comparable under light conditions. These results indicate substantial differences in the uptake and metabolism of E1 and E2 in the environment and suggest biorecalcitrance of E1 relative to E2 in light‐limited environments. The extent of ¹⁴CO₂ accumulation and rate of mineralization for EE2 in dark treatments were less than half of that observed for E2 and generally lower than for E1, consistent with previous reports of EE2 biorecalcitrance. However, ¹⁴CO₂ accumulation and rates of mineralization were comparable for EE2, E2, and E1 under light conditions. These results indicate photoactivation and/or phototransformation/photodegradation processes can substantially enhance heterotrophic biodegradation of estrogens in sunlit environments and may play an important role in estrogen transport and attenuation.     

Bioremediation of Soils by Plant–Microbe Systems

Abstract

Sustainable ecosystems can be designed to eliminate environmental toxins and reduce pathogen loads through the direct and indirect consequences of plant and microbial activities. We present an approach to the bioremediation of disturbed environments, focusing on petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) contaminants. Treatment consists of incorporating a plant-based amendment to enhance ecosystem productivity and physiochemical degradation followed by the establishment of plants to serve as oxidizers and foundations for microbial communities. Promising amendments for widespread use are entire plants of the water fern Azolla and seed meal of Brassica napus (rapeseed). An inexpensive byproduct from the manufacture of biodiesel and lubricants, rapeseed meal is high in nitrogen (6% wt/wt), stimulates >100-fold increases in populations of resident Streptomyces species, and suppresses fungal infection of roots subsequently cultivated in the amended soil. Synergistic enzymatic and chemical activities of plant and microbial metabolism in root zones transform and degrade soil contaminants. Emphasis is given to mechanisms that enable PHC functionalization via reactive molecular species.     

Energetics and environmental costs of agriculture in a dry tropical region of India

The present article, based on a study of five village ecosystems, assesses the energy efficiency of rain-fed agriculture in a dry tropical environment and the impact of agricultural activity on the surrounding natural ecosystems. Agronomic yield is insufficient to meet the food requirement of the human population, hence 11.5%–49.7% of the required amount of food grains are imported from the market. Energy requirements of five studied agroecosystems are subsidized considerably by the surrounding forest in the form of fodder and firewood. Natural ecosystems supply about 80%–95% of fodder needs and 81%–100% of fuelwood needs. The output-input ratio of agriculture indicated that, on average, 4.1 units of energy are expended to obtain one unit of agronomic energy. Of this, 3.9 units are supplied by the natural ecosystem. In addition, 38% of the extracted firewood is marketed. The illegal felling and lopping of trees result in ever-increasing concentric circles of forest destruction around the villages and together with excessive grazing results in savannization. The forests can be conserved by encouraging fuelwood plantations (0.7 ha/ha cultivated land) and developing village pastures (1.6 ha/ha cultivated land) and reducing the livestock numbers. Agricultural production in the region can be stabilized by introducing improved dry farming techniques such as intercropping, planned rainwater management, and adequate use of fertilizers.     

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY “METROPOLITAN WATER MANAGEMENT INSTITUTIONS?”1

ABSTRACT The term “institution” and several variants are used frequently in the literature on metropolitan water management. The state-of-the art investigation on which this paper is based revealed that 1) many uses of the term do not include careful definitions; 2) many users of the term seemed unaware of the general, theoretical literature on the subject of institutions; 3) there was little consistency among uses, either in the practical literature dealing with water or in the conceptual literature dealing with theories of institutions or institutionalization; 4) some usages were without significant meaning; 5) in many cases the term was used as a kind of “black box” to account for behavioral, societal, or managerial factors; 6) the term was often used as a synonym for “organization”. This latter use is frequently found in federal reports, including National Water Commission studies, and is most unfortunate because it tends to slight significant social-psychological factors. A suggested definition is: “An institution is the structured result or outcome of a process by which values are articulated, arranged, and communicated, having continuity over time, and influencing behavior of persons who did not necessarily participate in formulating those values (norms).”     

Provincial development plans in Zimbabwe: an analysis of their content,structure and methodology

Zimbabwean provincial plans were instituted to help in the achievement of the national goal of the creation of an egalitarian, socialist and integrated society. The national goal itself was adopted as an antithesis to the dualist society characterised by spatial, economic, social, politican and technological inequalities that Zimbabwe inherited from colonialism. This meant that provincial plans had to play both a functional (or growth allocating/distribution) and a territorial (or redistribution) role.

This paper reviews their role in achieving the national goal by examining their functions, content, structure and methodology. The paper concludes that because of their nature, provincial plans are not suitable tools for the achievement of the national goal.     

Waste minimisation in practice

One of the major hindrances to waste minimisation on a construction site is the difficulty in establishing a methodology and using this methodology to benchmark future construction projects. This paper introduces SMARTWaste, a software tool that has been used to audit, reduce and target waste arisings on a construction site. This tool tries to link the construction process and the waste hierarchy. That is reducing waste on a construction site rather than landfilling it. Three applications of the SMARTWaste software will be discussed using case studies from three different types of construction. An evaluation of these case studies shows that, by implementing a waste minimisation scheme on-site, you can improve material recovery for reuse. Also, by using the waste arisings as a benchmark you can reduce your waste arisings on future sites. Application of SMARTWaste or a similar waste minimisation tool on a wider basis could reduce waste arisings and could result in a built environment that consumed less natural resources and energy, and also produced less pollution and waste. Such a built environment would be environmentally and socially more responsive and responsible.     

COMPARISON OF TRACE ELEMENT CONCENTRATIONS IN TISSUE OF COMMON CARP AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MONITORING1

Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) collected from four sites in the Red River of the North in 1994 were analyzed for arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), selenium (So), and zinc (Zn). Concentrations differed among liver, muscle, and whole body. Generally, trace element concentrations were the greatest in livers while concentrations in whole bodies were greater than those in muscle for Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn, and concentrations in muscle were similar to whole body for As and Se. Concentrations of Cr were lower in liver than either muscle or whole body. Correlations between liver and whole body concentrations were stronger than those between liver and muscle concentrations, but the strongest correlations were between muscle and whole body concentrations. Examination of tissue concentrations by collection sites suggested that, for a general survey, the whole body may be the most effective matrix to analyze.