Management and Limnology Interact to Drive Water Temperature Patterns in a Middle Rockies River‐Reservoir System

This study seeks to improve understanding of temperature patterns in reservoir outflows. We examined water temperatures in an irrigation storage reservoir, Island Park Reservoir, and its outflow, Henry’s Fork of the Snake River in eastern Idaho. Our objectives were to (1) quantify the extent to which daily temperature ranges in the reservoir outflow deviated from other reaches of the Henry’s Fork, and (2) test whether the reservoir’s net volume change during the summer — expressed as the volume of water remaining in the reservoir on September 1 — predicted mean summer temperature in the outflow. Two years of temperature data showed dampened diel temperature cycles in the reservoir outflow. Model selection with 17 years of climatic, hydrologic, and reservoir management variables found mean summer temperature in the outflow was best predicted by September 1 reservoir volume and average summer air temperature. Two years of weekly reservoir thermal profiles indicated large changes in reservoir volume eliminated cool hypolimnetic water and encouraged mixing, allowing warm epilimnetic water to be discharged into the outflow. Increases in future drought frequency and severity and increases in summer air temperatures could increase the frequency of occurrence of high mean summertime water temperatures in the outflow. Our study provides important information for local managers by quantifying influences on outflow temperatures and the downstream river ecosystem.     

Maximizing Returns from Payments for Water‐Based Ecosystem Services: Incorporating Externality Effects of Land Management

Given the expansion of payments for water‐based ecosystem services (PWES) worldwide, two relevant issues are as follows: (1) determination of efficient allocations of payments among land managers, and (2) how this might change when paying one manager to implement a best management practice (BMP) to enhance an ecosystem service impacts the cost‐effectiveness of BMPs considered by other land managers not currently involved in PWES. Such externalities may be negative if diminishing returns dominate, or positive if mechanisms such as “social diffusion” dominate. We analyze how a planner should optimally allocate payments, depending on whether the expected externalities are negligible, negative, or positive. We employ (1) an optimal control model to gain insights on the problem’s dynamics, and (2) stochastic dynamic programming to determine optimal funding strategies using a specific application. The study contributes to the literature by identifying dynamically optimal PWES payment patterns, and illustrates how they should change when one accounts for externalities induced by the program. Because such impacts have not been addressed previously in a rigorous way, this treatment provides useful value added for PWES design and implementation.     

Habitat Improvements and Fish Community Response Associated with an Agricultural Two‐Stage Ditch in Mower County,Minnesota

Water quality and stream habitat in agricultural watersheds are under greater scrutiny as hydrologic pathways are altered to increase crop production. Ditches have been traditionally constructed to remove water from agricultural lands. Little attention has been placed on alternative ditch designs that are more stable and provide greater habitat diversity for wildlife and aquatic species. In 2009, 1.89 km of a conventional drainage ditch in Mower County, Minnesota, was converted to a two‐stage ditch (TSD) with small, adjacent floodplains to mimic a natural system. Cross section surveys, conducted pre‐ and post‐construction, generally indicate a stable channel with minor adjustments over time. Vegetation surveys showed differences in species composition and biomass between the slopes and the benches, with changes ongoing. Longitudinal surveys demonstrated a 12‐fold increase in depth variability. Fish habitat quality improved with well‐sorted gravel riffles and deeper pool habitat. The biological response to improved habitat quality was investigated using a Fish Index of Biological Integrity (FIBI). Our results show higher FIBI scores post‐construction with scores more similar to natural streams. In summary, the TSD demonstrated improvements in riparian and instream habitat quality and fish communities, which showed greater fish species richness, higher percentages of gravel spawning fish, and better FIBI scores. This type of management tool could benefit ditches in other regions where gradient and geology allow.     

Does Wetland Location Matter When Managing Wetlands for Watershed‐Scale Flood and Drought Resilience?

Wetland protection and restoration strategies that are designed to promote hydrologic resilience do not incorporate the location of wetlands relative to the main stream network. This is primarily attributed to the lack of knowledge on the effects of wetland location on wetland hydrologic function (e.g., flood and drought mitigation). Here, we combined a watershed‐scale, surface–subsurface, fully distributed, physically based hydrologic model with historical, existing, and lost (drained) wetland maps in the Nose Creek watershed in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America to (1) estimate the hydrologic functions of lost wetlands and (2) estimate the hydrologic functions of wetlands located at different distances from the main stream network. Modeling results showed wetland loss altered streamflow, decreasing baseflow and increasing stream peakflow during the period of the precipitation events that led to major flooding in the watershed and downstream cities. In addition, we found that wetlands closer to the main stream network played a disproportionately important role in attenuating peakflow, while wetland location was not important for regulating baseflow. The findings of this study provide information for watershed managers that can help to prioritize wetland restoration efforts for flood or drought risk mitigation.     

Dynamic contact angle effects on gas-liquid behaviors in the cathode of proton exchange membrane fuel cell with stirred tank reactor design

Liquid water management is still a critical issue in the improvement of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) performance. In this work, for the first time, the liquid water behavior and transport inside the cathode of a PEMFC with a stirred tank reactor (STR) design, rather than the conventional PEMFC flow channel design, are numerically studied. The dynamic contact angle (DCA) is applied to multiple wall boundaries in the numerical model through a user-defined-function (UDF) code, i.e., STR-DCA model. Another numerical model with the static contact angle (SCA) and same operating conditions, i.e., STR-SCA model, is also developed for comparison. The volume of fluid (VOF) method is employed in the simulation to track the gas-liquid interface. The results show that the liquid water distribution and transport are significantly different between these two models, indicating the remarkable effects of DCA on the simulation results. It is also verified the capability of STR-PEMFC to reduce the liquid water flooding, showing the potential of this channel-less type fuel cell in the further development.     

基于风险的中国电影产业安全管理初探

随着我国电影产业的发展,各种安全事故层出不穷,电影产业的安全生产已经是一个无法回避的问题。在分析电影产业安全事故特点的基础上,结合风险预警理论,系统地探讨了电影产业安全风险管理的基本框架,对提高电影产业安全生产水平提出了建议。     

基于互联网+的轨道交通动力设备安全管理系统的研究

根据我国轨道交通设备安全管理的需求,提出基于互联网+的轨道交通动力设备安全管理系统平台的框架,运用J2EE开发工具,采用嵌入式高速数据采集技术、故障诊断技术,构建形成集成化、网络化和信息化的轨道交通动力设备安全管理系统。完善智能的设备安全管理系统,能有效提高轨道交通动力设备的安全监管力度,保障设备安全。     

Risk management in operations of petrochemical plants: Can better planning prevent major accidents and save money at the same time?

This paper presents an argument that improvement in operational safety can be achieved concurrently with increased operational efficiency. This is a fundamentally different viewpoint on the investment in safety. Traditionally, the cost of providing safety barriers is offset by the expected benefits of reducing the occurrence and severity of accidents. Our approach departs from this method of accounting for safety improvements and focuses on planning as a means of managing systems' response uncertainty and consequently reducing both major accident risk and the cost of operations. The scope of the paper is limited to interventions such as maintenance and repairs and defined in the context of major accident prevention e.g. hydrocarbon leaks. However, the developed methodology is general enough to be applied across the spectrum of process industry facilities and operations.     

完善广东省环境应急管理机制研究

通过对多起北江污染事件(2005年北江镉污染、2010年北江铊污染、2011年武江河锑污染)的案例分析,探究突发环境污染事件的共同特征(由企业违法排污重金属污染物或EPA重点控制优先污染物造成)和演变趋势(影响范围逐渐扩大致应急管理要求逐渐提高),提出重点防控环境优先污染物、整治重污染行业、加强环境承载能力预警、实行强制环境责任保险制度等环境应急管理对策,完善广东省环境应急管理机制.     

中国页岩气开发过程环境管理现状与对策分析研究

中国页岩气资源储量丰富,随着页岩气商业勘探开发的不断推进,引发的生态环境问题日益突出.从页岩气开采工艺来看,开发对水、大气、土壤及生态地质环境等都有一定的影响.此外,中国页岩气开发过程中还存在法规标准体系不健全、监管机制缺乏、环境准入机制不明等问题.因此,针对页岩气开发所带来的环境风险,亟需完善法律法规与标准体系、严格监督管理、制定开发环境规划.同时,建设环保示范工程,加大环保科研投入,降低页岩气开发的环境影响,实现页岩气开发的绿色可持续发展.