Relationships between water quality, habitat quality, and macroinvertebrate assemblages in Illinois streams

The influence of specific stressors, such as nutrient enrichment and physical habitat degradation, on biotic integrity requires further attention in Midwestern streams. We sampled 53 streams throughout Illinois and examined relationships between macroinvertebrate community structure and numerous physicochemical parameters. Streams were clustered into four major groups based on taxa dissimilarity. Habitat quality and dissolved nutrients were responsible for separating the major groups in a nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination. Furthermore, the alignment of environmental factors in the ordination suggested there was a habitat quality-nutrient concentration gradient such that streams with high-quality habitats usually had low concentrations of nutrients. Discrimination by community measures further validated the major stream groups and indicated that forested streams had generally higher biological integrity than agricultural streams, which in turn had greater integrity than urban streams. Our results demonstrate that physical habitat degradation and nutrient pollution are important and often confounded determinants of biotic integrity in Illinois streams. In addition, we suggest that management of Midwestern streams could benefit from further implementation of multivariate data exploration and stream classification techniques.     

自然气候老化测试及应用

描述自然气候条件对材料老化的影响以及对预测材料不同应用方向等方面的影响。通过对不同地点,不同老化方法的比较,重点介绍了目前国际上使用的老化方法－直接曝晒,黑板箱曝晒,间接曝晒,自然加速老化等多种标准方法的特点,使用的局限性以及对材料老化结果的影响,并详细介绍了适用于自然老化地点的选择,主要影响因素等等。文章在分析多种老化方法的同时,指出了各种方法的适用性,这对材料老化方面的研究有很大的参考价值和指导意义。     

Integrating Large Wood Jams into Hydraulic Models: Evaluating a Porous Plate Modeling Method

Large wood (LW) jams are key riverine habitat features that affect hydraulic processes and aquatic habitat. The hydraulic influence of LW jams is poorly understood due to the complexity of fluid dynamics around irregular, porous structures. Here we validated a method for two‐dimensional hydraulic modeling of porous LW jams using the open‐source modeling software Delft3D‐FLOW. We sampled 19 LW jams at three reaches across the Columbia River Basin in the United States. We used computer‐generated porous plates to represent LW jams in the modeling software and calibrated our modeling method by comparing model outputs to measured depths and velocities at validation points. We found that modeling outputs are error‐prone when LW jams are not represented. By representing LW jams as porous plates we reduced average velocity root mean square error (RMSE) values (i.e., improved model accuracy) by 42.8% and reduced average depth RMSE values by 5.2%. These differences impacted habitat suitability index modeling. We found a 15.1% increase in weighted useable area for juvenile steelhead at one test site when LW jams were simulated vs. when they were ignored. We investigated patterns in average RMSE improvements with varying jam size, bankfull obstruction, porosity, and structure type, and river complexity. We also identified research gaps related to field estimation of LW jam porosity and porous structure modeling methods.     

PCB remediation in schools: a review

Growing awareness of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in legacy caulk and other construction materials of schools has created a need for information on best practices to control human exposures and comply with applicable regulations. A concise review of approaches and techniques for management of building-related PCBs is the focus of this paper. Engineering and administrative controls that block pathways of PCB transport, dilute concentrations of PCBs in indoor air or other exposure media, or establish uses of building space that mitigate exposure can be effective initial responses to identification of PCBs in a building. Mitigation measures also provide time for school officials to plan a longer-term remediation strategy and to secure the necessary resources. These longer-term strategies typically involve removal of caulk or other primary sources of PCBs as well as nearby masonry or other materials contaminated with PCBs by the primary sources. The costs of managing PCB-containing building materials from assessment through ultimate disposal can be substantial. Optimizing the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of remediation programs requires aligning a thorough understanding of sources and exposure pathways with the most appropriate mitigation and abatement methods.     

Catalytic gasification of biomass (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Miscanthus</Emphasis>) enhanced by CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> sorption

The main objective of this work concerns the coupling of biomass gasification reaction and CO₂ sorption. The study shows the feasibility to promote biomass steam gasification in a dense fluidized bed reactor with CO₂ sorption to enhance tar removal and hydrogen production. It also proves the efficiency of CaO-Ca₁₂Al₁₄O₃₃/olivine bi-functional materials to reduce heavy tar production. Experiments have been carried out in a fluidized bed gasifier using steam as the fluidizing medium to improve hydrogen production. Bed materials consisting of CaO-based oxide for CO₂ sorption (CaO-Ca₁₂Al₁₄O₃₃) deposited on olivine for tar reduction were synthesized, their structural and textural properties were characterized by Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) methods, and the determination of their sorption capacity and stability analyzed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). It appears that this CaO-Ca₁₂Al₁₄O₃₃/olivine sorbent/catalyst presents a good CO₂ sorption stability (for seven cycles of carbonation/decarbonation). Compared to olivine and Fe/olivine in a fixed bed reactor for steam reforming of toluene chosen as tar model compound, it shows a better hydrogen production rate and a lower CO₂ selectivity due to its sorption on the CaO phase. In the biomass steam gasification, the use of CaO-Ca₁₂Al₁₄O₃₃/olivine as bed material at 700 °C leads to a higher H₂ production than olivine at 800 °C thanks to CO₂ sorption. Similar tar concentration and lighter tar production (analyzed by HPLC/UV) are observed. At 700 °C, sorbent addition allows to halve tar content and to eliminate the heaviest tars.     

Predicting Sample Source Location from Soil Analysis Using Neural Networks

A system combining a national soils database with a neural network was developed for prediction of source location for soil samples. The neural network was trained to predict environmental characteristics, which can be of crucial importance to investigating officers in a police operation or to environmental agencies attempting to locate the source of a pollutant. When coupled with maps of environmental conditions and a generalized opinion pool approach, the system was used to produce weighted maps of source location. The system was capable of reducing search areas of a sample source to less than 0.1% of the total area.     

Importance of considering intraborehole flow in solute transport modeling under highly dynamic flow conditions

Correct interpretation of tracer test data is critical for understanding transport processes in the subsurface. This task can be greatly complicated by the presence of intraborehole flows in a highly dynamic flow environment. At a new tracer test site (Hanford IFRC) a dynamic flow field created by changes in the stage of the adjacent Columbia River, coupled with a heterogeneous hydraulic conductivity distribution, leads to considerable variations in vertical hydraulic gradients. These variations, in turn, create intraborehole flows in fully-screened (6.5m) observation wells with frequently alternating upward and downward movement. This phenomenon, in conjunction with a highly permeable aquifer formation and small horizontal hydraulic gradients, makes modeling analysis and model calibration a formidable challenge. Groundwater head data alone were insufficient to define the flow model boundary conditions, and the movement of the tracer was highly sensitive to the dynamics of the flow field. This study shows that model calibration can be significantly improved by explicitly considering (a) dynamic flow model boundary conditions and (b) intraborehole flow. The findings from this study underscore the difficulties in interpreting tracer tests and understanding solute transport under highly dynamic flow conditions.     

Assessment of chlorophyll-a as a criterion for establishing nutrient standards in the streams and rivers of Illinois

Nutrient enrichment is a frequently cited cause for biotic impairment of streams and rivers in the USA. Efforts are underway to develop nutrient standards in many states, but defensible nutrient standards require an empirical relationship between nitrogen (N) or phosphorus (P) concentrations and some criterion that relates nutrient levels to the attainment of designated uses. Algal biomass, measured as chlorophyll-a (chl-a), is a commonly proposed criterion, yet nutrient-chl-a relationships have not been well documented in Illinois at a state-wide scale. We used state-wide surveys of >100 stream and river sites to assess the applicability of chl-a as a criterion for establishing nutrient standards for Illinois. Among all sites, the median total P and total N concentrations were 0.185 and 5.6 mg L(-1), respectively, during high-discharge conditions. During low-discharge conditions, median total P concentration was 0.168 mg L(-1), with 25% of sites having a total P of > or =0.326 mg L(-1). Across the state, 90% of the sites had sestonic chl-a values of < or =35 microg L(-1), and watershed area was the best predictor of sestonic chl-a. During low discharge there was a significant correlation between sestonic chl-a and total P for those sites that had canopy cover < or =25% and total P of < or =0.2 mg L(-1). Results suggest sestonic chl-a may be an appropriate criterion for the larger rivers in Illinois but is inappropriate for small rivers and streams. Coarse substrate to support benthic chl-a occurred in <50% of the sites we examined; a study using artificial substrates did not reveal a relationship between chl-a accrual and N or P concentrations. For many streams and rivers in Illinois, nutrients may not be the limiting factor for algal biomass due to the generally high nutrient concentrations and the effects of other factors, such as substrate conditions and turbidity.