New Technology for Conducting Radiation Hazard Assessments: The Application of the Underwater Radiation Spectral Identification System (URSIS) at the Massachusetts Bay Industrial Waste (U.S.A.)

The Underwater Radiation Spectral Identification System (URSIS) is a portable spectrometer used for the in situ detection of radioactivity in the marine environment. This paper reports on the first time application of this technology to assess, in a preliminary manner, the potential radiation threat to the public and environment at an aquatic disposal site – the Massachusetts Bay Industrial Waste Site (IWS). Utilizing the meneuvering capabilities of ROV and manned submersible vehicles, the URSIS was successfully positioned close (5–10 cm) to waste containers for a period sufficient to detect, in real time, the presence of radioactive materials. Spectral data from 45 individual targets indicated that the radionuclides present in sediments which draped or partially buried waste containers were consistent with natural background concentrations. No man-made radionuclides were detected at any of the target or background measurement locations. These data support the conclusion that low-level radiation does not pose an imminent and widespread human health or ecological threat in Massachusetts Bay.     

Integrated Modular Modeling of Water and Nutrients From Point and Nonpoint Sources in the Patuxent River Watershed1

Abstract: We present a simple modular landscape simulation model that is based on a watershed modeling framework in which different sets of processes occurring in a watershed can be simulated separately with different models. The model consists of three loosely coupled submodels: a rainfall‐runoff model (TOPMODEL) for runoff generation in a subwatershed, a nutrient model for estimation of nutrients from nonpoint sources in a subwatershed, and a stream network model for integration of point and nonpoint sources in the routing process. The model performance was evaluated using monitoring data in the watershed of the Patuxent River, a tributary to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, from July 1997 through August 1999. Despite its simplicity, the landscape model predictions of streamflow, and sediment and nutrient loads were as good as or better than those of the Hydrological Simulation Program‐Fortran model, one of the most widely used comprehensive watershed models. The landscape model was applied to predict discharges of water, sediment, silicate, organic carbon, nitrate, ammonium, organic nitrogen, total nitrogen, organic phosphorus, phosphate, and total phosphorus from the Patuxent watershed to its estuary. The predicted annual water discharge to the estuary was very close to the measured annual total in terms of percent errors for both years of the study period (≤2%). The model predictions for loads of nutrients were also good (20‐30%) or very good (<20%) with exceptions of sediment (40%), phosphate (36%), and organic carbon (53%) for Year 1.     

The Great Lake’s future at a cross road

Some argue that a collective vision for the future of the Laurentian Great Lakes is embodied in the␣Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA). The GLWQA is a binational agreement, first signed in 1972 by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and President Richard Nixon, wherein the two countries (the Parties) commit to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem.” Article X of the Agreement states that the Parties shall conduct a comprehensive review of the operation and effectiveness of this Agreement following every third biennial report of the [International Joint] Commission (IJC). The IJC’s 12th Biennial Report, released in 2004, triggered this important science, program, and policy review which commenced May 2006. This essay makes the case for a rigorous review, that explores deliberately the future scope of the Agreement to protect the world’s largest surface freshwater resource, and calls for innovation in the governance regime of this binational ecosystem.     

A Modeling System to Assess Land Cover Land Use Change Effects on SAV Habitat in the Mobile Bay Estuary

Estuarine ecosystems are largely influenced by watersheds directly connected to them. In the Mobile Bay, Alabama watersheds we examined the effect of land cover and land use (LCLU) changes on discharge rate, water properties, and submerged aquatic vegetation, including freshwater macrophytes and seagrasses, throughout the estuary. LCLU scenarios from 1948, 1992, 2001, and 2030 were used to influence watershed and hydrodynamic models and evaluate the impact of LCLU change on shallow aquatic ecosystems. Overall, our modeling results found that LCLU changes increased freshwater flows into Mobile Bay altering temperature, salinity, and total suspended sediments (TSS). Increased urban land uses coupled with decreased agricultural/pasture lands reduced TSS in the water column. However, increased urbanization or agricultural/pasture land coupled with decreased forest land resulted in higher TSS concentrations. Higher sediment loads were usually strongly correlated with higher TSS levels, except in areas where a large extent of wetlands retained sediment discharged during rainfall events. The modeling results indicated improved water clarity in the shallow aquatic regions of Mississippi Sound and degraded water clarity in the Wolf Bay estuary. This integrated modeling approach will provide new knowledge and tools for coastal resource managers to manage shallow aquatic habitats that provide critical ecosystem services.     

“引江济太”过程中塑化剂类污染物的输入特征和环境健康风险评价

为了解"引江济太"过程中塑化剂类污染物对贡湖的输入特征,于2013年8月对14个采样点的7种邻苯二甲酸酯类化合物(PAEs)的浓度进行采样分析,并通过美国环保署(USEPA)推荐的方法,对其环境风险进行评价.结果表明:各采样点邻苯二甲酸二丁酯(DBP)和邻苯二甲酸二环己酯(DCHP)均有检出,除采样点10、11和12外,邻苯二甲酸二乙酯(DEP)也有检出,其余4种均未检出,长江引水经望虞河进入贡湖后,DEP、DBP和DCHP浓度均有不同程度的降低,且其最高浓度均出现在望虞河长江引水处(采样点1),说明在引水过程中长江水对望虞河有明显的PAEs输入,而贡湖锡东水厂DEP浓度高于贡湖其他采样点,南泉水厂DBP和DCHP浓度高于贡湖其他采样点,金墅湾水厂PAEs浓度总体处于较低水平.环境健康风险评价结果显示:DEP的最大非致癌风险值为3.91×10-8a~(-1),未超过国际组织规定范围,而DBP的最大非致癌风险值为1.17×10-5a~(-1),超过英国皇家协会RS规定的1×10-6a~(-1),但均对人体无明显非致癌危害.     

Methane and nitrous oxide emissions from a subtropical coastal embayment (Moreton Bay, Australia)

Surface water methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) concentrations and fluxes were investigated in two subtropical coastal embayments (Bramble Bay and Deception Bay, which are part of the greater Moreton Bay, Australia). Measurements were done at 23 stations in seven campaigns covering different seasons during 2010-2012. Water-air fluxes were estimated using the Thin Boundary Layer approach with a combination of wind and currents-based models for the estimation of the gas transfer velocities. The two bays were strong sources of both CH₄ and N₂O with no significant differences in the degree of saturation of both gases between them during all measurement campaigns. Both CH₄ and N₂O concentrations had strong temporal but minimal spatial variability in both bays. During the seven seasons, CH₄ varied between 500% and 4000% saturation while N₂O varied between 128 and 255% in the two bays. Average seasonal CH₄ fluxes for the two bays varied between 0.5 ± 0.2 and 6.0 ± 1.5 mg CH₄/(m²·day) while N₂O varied between 0.4 ± 0.1 and 1.6 ± 0.6 mg N₂O/(m²·day). Weighted emissions (t CO₂-e) were 63%-90% N₂O dominated implying that a reduction in N₂O inputs and/or nitrogen availability in the bays may significantly reduce the bays' greenhouse gas (GHG) budget. Emissions data for tropical and subtropical systems is still scarce. This work found subtropical bays to be significant aquatic sources of both CH₄ and N₂O and puts the estimated fluxes into the global context with measurements done from other climatic regions.     

Assessment of the Water Quality and Ecosystem Health of the Great Barrier Reef (Australia): Conceptual Models

Run-off containing increased concentrations of sediment, nutrients, and pesticides from land-based anthropogenic activities is a significant influence on water quality and the ecologic conditions of nearshore areas of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, Australia. The potential and actual impacts of increased pollutant concentrations range from bioaccumulation of contaminants and decreased photosynthetic capacity to major shifts in community structure and health of mangrove, coral reef, and seagrass ecosystems. A detailed conceptual model underpins and illustrates the links between the main anthropogenic pressures or threats (dry-land cattle grazing and intensive sugar cane cropping) and the production of key contaminants or stressors of Great Barrier Reef water quality. The conceptual model also includes longer-term threats to Great Barrier Reef water quality and ecosystem health, such as global climate change, that will potentially confound direct model interrelationships. The model recognises that system-specific attributes, such as monsoonal wind direction, rainfall intensity, and flood plume residence times, will act as system filters to modify the effects of any water-quality system stressor. The model also summarises key ecosystem responses in ecosystem health that can be monitored through indicators at catchment, riverine, and marine scales. Selected indicators include riverine and marine water quality, inshore coral reef and seagrass status, and biota pollutant burdens. These indicators have been adopted as components of a long-term monitoring program to enable assessment of the effectiveness of change in catchment-management practices in improving Great Barrier Reef (and adjacent catchment) water quality under the Queensland and Australian Governments’ Reef Water Quality Protection Plan.     

胶州湾综合监测与评价工作研究

为全面掌握环胶州湾区域生态环境状况,更好地服务于环胶州湾区域经济发展和生态环境保护,根据《近岸海域环境监测规范》(HJ 442-2008),青岛市环境监测中心站对环胶州湾区域进行了综合监测与评价,建立了环胶州湾区域陆海统筹监测评价体系,完善了胶州湾水质监测网络,摸清了环胶州湾区域直排海污染源状况及环胶州湾区域土地利用状况。针对综合监测与评价过程中存在的胶州湾污染源的排放状况掌握不全面、河流入海通量的测算不准确、环境质量的变化趋势预测不能实现的问题,提出了加强入海河流监测、实行陆源污染物总量控制管理、建立自动监测站等对策建议。     

Coupled radon, methane and nitrate sensors for large-scale assessment of groundwater discharge and non-point source pollution to coastal waters

We constructed a survey system of radon/methane/nitrate/salinity to find sites of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) and groundwater nitrate input. We deployed the system in Waquoit Bay and Boston Harbor, MA where we derived SGD rates using a mass balance of radon with methane serving as a fine resolution qualitative indicator of groundwater. In Waquoit Bay we identified several locations of enhanced groundwater discharge, out of which two (Childs and Quashnet Rivers) were studied in more detail. The Childs River was characterized by high nitrate input via groundwater discharge, while the Quashnet River SGD was notable but not a significant source of nitrate. Our radon survey of Boston Harbor revealed several sites with significant SGD, out of these Inner Harbor and parts of Dorchester Bay and Quincy Bay had groundwater fluxes accompanied by significant water column nitrogen concentrations. The survey system has proven effective in revealing areas of SGD and non-point source pollution.