SIMULATION OF SEDIMENT AND PLANT NUTRIENT LOSSES BY THE CREAMS WATER QUALITY MODEL1

ABSTRACT: CREAMS was applied to a field-sized watershed planted to cotton in the Limestone Valley region of northern Alabama. The field was cultivated for three years with conventional tillage (CvT) followed by three years of conservation tillage (CsT). CREAMS is composed of three components: hydrology, erosion, and chemistry. Surface runoff and losses of sediment, N and P were simulated and results were compared with the observed data from the watershed. Curve numbers recommended in the CREAMS user's guide were not adequate for the watershed conditions. The hydrology submodel improved runoff simulation from CvT and CsT when field-data based curve numbers were used. The erosion submodel demonstrated that CsT reduced sediment loss more than CvT, even though CsT had higher runoff than CvT. The nutrient submodel based on the simulated runoff and sediment underpredicted N loss for both CvT and CsT. This submodel, however, accurately predicted P loss for CvT, but underpredicted for CsT (50 percent lower than the observed). The results of CREAMS simulation generally matched the observed order of magnitude for higher runoff, lower sediment, and higher N and P losses from CsT than from CvT.     

Distribution of polychlorinated biphenyls in the Fort Edward,New York,water system

Levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been determined in the water, in the soils and sediments, and in the biota of a small upstate New York public water supply system, which is near the heavily polluted section of the Hudson River and a disposal site for PCB-containing waste. The impounded water exhibits a significant and relatively uniform level of Aroclor 1016, whereas the ground and surface waters supplying the reservoir do not. Rainfall, which exhibits a high level of Aroclor 1016, constitutes a small but significant source of PCB input. Soil and sediment samples exhibit significant median levels of both Aroclor 1016 and Aroclor 1254, but the local concentrations vary widely. The biota exhibit much higher PCB levels than the water or sediments, and show a strong preference for Aroclor 1254. The PCB levels in the macroinvertebrates are particularly high, suggesting that these organisms may provide a useful indicator for monitoring PCB contamination in aquatic systems. Risk assessment indicates that the lifetime incremental risk of cancer associated with the drinking water is below 10^–6. Management of such low levels of PCB contamination is best achieved by reducing the input of PCBs.     

Use of Radar Remote Sensing (RADARSAT) to Map Winter Wetland Habitat for Shorebirds in an Agricultural Landscape

Many of todays agricultural landscapes once held vast amounts of wetland habitat for waterbirds and other wildlife. Successful restoration of these landscapes relies on access to accurate maps of the wetlands that remain. We used C-band (5.6-cm-wavelength), HH-polarized radar remote sensing (RADARSAT) at a 38° incidence angle (8-m resolution) to map the distribution of winter shorebird (Charadriiformes) habitat on agricultural lands in the Willamette Valley of western Oregon. We acquired imagery on three dates (10 December 1999, 27 January 2000, and 15 March 2000) and simultaneously collected ground reference data to classify radar signatures and evaluate map accuracy of four habitat classes: (1) wet with 50% vegetation (considered optimal shorebird habitat), (2) wet with > 50% vegetation, (3) dry with 50% vegetation, and (4) dry with > 50% vegetation. Overall accuracy varied from 45 to 60% among the three images, but the accuracy of focal class 1 was greater, ranging from 72 to 80%. Class 4 coverage was stable and dominated maps (40% of mapped study area) for all three dates, while class 3 coverage decreased slightly throughout the study period. Among wet classes, class 1 was most abundant (30% coverage) in December and January, decreasing in March by 15%. Conversely, class 2 increased dramatically from January to March, likely due to transition from class 1 as vegetation grew. This approach was successful in detecting optimal habitat for shorebirds on agricultural lands. For modest classification schemes, radar remote sensing is a valuable option for wetland mapping in areas where cloud cover is persistent. Also, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA     

RIO GRANDE VALLEY,COLORADO, NEW MEXICO,AND TEXAS1

ABSTRACT: The Rio Grande Valley National Water-Quality Assessment study unit encompasses about 45,700 square miles in Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas upstream from the gaging station Rio Grande at El Paso, Texas, and includes surface-water closed basins east of the Continental Divide in New Mexico, and the San Luis Closed Basin in Colorado. The mean annual precipitation ranges from less than 6 to more than 50 inches; potential evapo-transpiration ranges from less than 35 to more than 80 inches per year. Land use is mainly rangeland, forest land, and cropland. Total irrigated acreage in 1990 was about 914,000 acres and water use was about 3,410,000 acre-feet. Two structural settings are found in the study unit: alluvial basins and bedrock basins. The alluvial basins can have through-flowing surface water or be closed basins. The discussion of streamflow and water quality for the surface-water system is based on four river reaches for the 750 miles of the main stem. The quality of the ground water is affected by both natural process and human activities and by nonpoint and point sources. Nonpoint sources for surface water include agriculture, hydromodification, and mining operations; point sources are mainly discharge from wastewater treatment plants. Nonpoint sources for ground water include agriculture and septic tanks and cesspools; point sources include leaking underground storage tanks, unlined or manure-lined holding ponds used for disposal of dairy wastes, landfills, and mining operations.     

Evolutionary or fragmented environmental policy making? coal,power, and agriculture in the Hunter Valley,Australia

Intensified surface mining, power generation, and smelting operations in the Hunter River lowlands, NSW, Australia have posed numerous new environmental management problems. Legislative controls over water, soils, and land use management have been clearly insufficient and remain so. The complex range of environmental changes is challenging government agencies as well as coal developers. While water demands are increasing in the region the proportionally greatest competitors are power generation and irrigation. Comprehensive regional water quality assessment is inadequate and divided between a number of agencies with fragmentary interests. Coal development inquiries signal further controversy over appropriate management solutions and are an ongoing phenomenon in the region. The early 1980s resource boom has been followed by lower rates of economic growth, which have resulted in disparate agency responses to major ongoing environmental questions. While issue attention cycles are often remarkably short in environmental management, matters of water, land, and air quality require intensive and ongoing monitoring and policy development.     

伊犁河谷生态旅游资源环境分析及评价

伊犁河谷地理位置独特，特殊的气候及水文条件孕育了丰富的生态旅游资源，具备开展生态旅游的资源基础。从自然环境和人文环境两个方面分析了伊犁河谷生态旅游资源形成的条件，在对伊犁河谷生态旅游资源分类的基础上，采用定性与定量相结合的方法对伊犁河谷适宜开展生态旅游的景区（点）进行了综合评价，以期为制定伊犁河谷生态旅游开发与发展战略提供依据。     

岷江上游干旱河谷地区生态环境需水量探讨

探讨了生态环境需水量的概念,将人类需水量纳入了生态环境需水量,进而初步探讨了岷江上游干旱河谷地区的生态环境需水量。分别估算了岷江上游干旱河谷地区河道内生态环境需水量、植被需水量及人类(生活和生产)需水量,得出当地生态环境需水总量为34.81×108m3,并提出在岷江上游干旱河谷地区应根据现在和将来有效供水量和生态环境年需水量综合考虑,确定适当的经济社会发展结构和规模,以维系和提高生态环境质量。     

自平衡试验在武汉光谷中心项目工程中的应用分析

本文结合武汉光谷中心项目工程的实例,详细介绍了在该工程中自平衡试验的原理和具体操作过程,并根据自平衡试验所得的数据,分别采用技术规程公式和等效转换曲线两种方法对桩基的承载力进行了分析研究,结果表明通过自平衡试验能够有效且精确地得到建筑物试桩承载力数值,可为建筑物的设计和施工提供依据;另外,对现阶段利用自平衡试验检测桩基承载力的方法提出了建议,对现阶段桩基检测以及自平衡测试技术的理解和研究具有一定的意义。     

渝东峡江区全新世环境考古与环境变迁研究现状

渝东峡江区全新世环境考古与环境变迁研究,目前的成果主要涉及部分遗址点的古环境复原、个别次流域环境变迁研究及初步建立的古洪水发生序列,在研究思路、方法和手段上仍需考虑区域特殊性并重视：①反映人地关系互动的环境考古研究,包括人类生存环境的生态条件、环境质量及人类对环境的影响能力方面;②遗址“次生堆积”的环境影响因素研究和“事件层”多成因分析;③遗址地层与自然地层的对比研究、区域环境考古及其比较研究;④区域古环境变化序列与全球变化区域响应研究;⑤确保获取高分辨率、满足多指标综合要求的沉积物样品。     

Official and folk flood warning systems: An assessment

Recent floods in West Bengal, India, focused public attention on the inadequacies of the flood warning system. This study examines some socioeconomic constraints on the communication of flood warning messages. It then looks at perceptions of, and responses by, villagers in a flood-prone region of West Bengal to official and folk flood warnings.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.