Defining the Diurnal Pattern of Snowmelt Using a Beta Distribution Function

Snow is an important component of the hydrologic cycle for many regions worldwide. In addition to vital water resources, snowmelt can be important for forest ecosystem dynamics and flood risk. However, standard design events in the United States lack a design snowmelt event, including only precipitation events, though snowmelt has been shown to be larger than rainfall. In this article, we present a method using hourly snow water equivalent data to develop and test a function for representing the diurnal pattern of snowmelt. A two‐parameter beta distribution function is modified for the purposes of this study and found to fit the pattern of snowmelt well with a root mean squared error of 0.008. Soil moisture sensors were additionally utilized to assess the timing of the snowmelt water outflow from the base of the snowpack that supports the shape of the function, but suggests that the timing of losses recorded on snow pillows lag as much as 3 h. Further testing of the function showed the shape of the function to be accurate. The methods developed and tested in this paper can be applied for design purposes comparing snowmelt and rainfall events or to improve hydrological models investigating processes such as streamflow or groundwater recharge.     

智能家电的低待机功耗研究

从智能家电待机工作状态入手,分析电器产品中参与待机工作的各部分电路原理,提出降低潜在功耗设计思路和计算方法,从家电设计研发阶段对待机功耗进行控制,同时对待机功耗精确测量方法关键点进行解读以控制低功耗测试不确定度,有助于低待机功耗设计和测量的标准化和规范化。     

The influence of the level of definition of functional specifications on the environmental performances of a complex system. EcoCSP approach

The tendency towards a homogenous mode of development modelled on that of Western countries means that sustainable development has become increasingly urgent. It is necessary to thoroughly redefine products and their expected performances in such a way that the consequences are compatible with sustainable development. In the domain of product design, this means that it is no longer sufficient to use assessment tools “after the fact” to check the impact of products whose functional unit (FU) was defined prior to production; it is now necessary to rethink the definition of the FU itself. This article aims to present an approach based on a combination of life cycle analysis methods and problem-solving by constraint satisfaction. This original approach makes it possible to vary the design of the different dimensions of the FUs of a complex system and thus to make it easier to identify the best architecture along with the best functional definition of the system. In this study, the EcoCSP approach is applied to define the functional performances of an ecological passenger ferry. The complexity of couplings between subsystems and the sheer number of those subsystems mean that the designer has to use “intelligent” tools. These simulate a great number of scenarios and help him/her to fine-tune the system and make the right technological choices with regard to the right functional specifications.     

美国EPA地表水质监测与评估的点位设计介绍

介绍了美国EPA地表水质监测与评估的点位设计。首先,指导性文件《基本水质监测方案》中的环境监测计划要求建立1个不少于1 000个点位的国家地表水质环境监测网,并提出了点位设计的标准,包括4点基本要求和针对每一类水域的具体要求。其次,另一指导性文件《准备州综合水质评估(305b报告)和电子升级:报告内容的准则》提出了1种新的对水质的综合性评估技术,要求在传统的判断点位设计的基础上增加概率统计点位设计方法。最后,全国一致的概率统计点位设计是相当有效的获知全国范围的水质情况及变化趋势的方法,EPA完全支持通过这种概率统计点位设计的方法来评估更多的水质状况。概率统计点位设计是EPA地表水质监测与评估的点位设计的发展趋势。     

Environmental assessment of garden waste management in the Municipality of Aarhus, Denmark

An environmental assessment of six scenarios for handling of garden waste in the Municipality of Aarhus (Denmark) was performed from a life cycle perspective by means of the LCA-model EASEWASTE. In the first (baseline) scenario, the current garden waste management system based on windrow composting was assessed, while in the other five scenarios alternative solutions including incineration and home composting of fractions of the garden waste were evaluated. The environmental profile (normalised to Person Equivalent, PE) of the current garden waste management in Aarhus is in the order of −6 to 8 mPE Mg⁻¹ ww for the non-toxic categories and up to 100 mPE Mg⁻¹ ww for the toxic categories. The potential impacts on non-toxic categories are much smaller than what is found for other fractions of municipal solid waste. Incineration (up to 35% of the garden waste) and home composting (up to 18% of the garden waste) seem from an environmental point of view suitable for diverting waste away from the composting facility in order to increase its capacity. In particular the incineration of woody parts of the garden waste improved the environmental profile of the garden waste management significantly.     

Review of Agri-Environment Indexes and Stewardship Payments

Agri-environment programs aim to secure environmental and social stewardship services through payments to farmers. A critical component of many agri-environment programs is an agri-environment index (AEI) used to quantify benefits and target investments. An AEI will typically comprise multiple indicators, which are weighted and combined using a utility function, to measure the benefit of investment options (e.g., projects, farms, regions). This article presents a review of AEIs with 11 case studies from agri-environment programs in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. We identify a generic procedure used to define AEIs and explore the implications of alternative methodological approaches. We conclude that AEIs have become an extremely important policy instrument and make suggestions for their improvement.     

可靠性技术的发展与应用

本文介绍了可靠性标准体系与参数体系，可靠性的分析与设计方法，可靠性试验的发展趋势，指出可靠性管理是产品可靠性工作的核心，以及提高电子设备可靠性的发展策略。     

NABat: A top-down,bottom-up solution to collaborative continental-scale monitoring

Collaborative monitoring over broad scales and levels of ecological organization can inform conservation efforts necessary to address the contemporary biodiversity crisis. An important challenge to collaborative monitoring is motivating local engagement with enough buy-in from stakeholders while providing adequate top-down direction for scientific rigor, quality control, and coordination. Collaborative monitoring must reconcile this inherent tension between top-down control and bottom-up engagement. Highly mobile and cryptic taxa, such as bats, present a particularly acute challenge. Given their scale of movement, complex life histories, and rapidly expanding threats, understanding population trends of bats requires coordinated broad-scale collaborative monitoring. The North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) reconciles top-down, bottom-up tension with a hierarchical master sample survey design, integrated data analysis, dynamic data curation, regional monitoring hubs, and knowledge delivery through web-based infrastructure. NABat supports collaborative monitoring across spatial and organizational scales and the full annual lifecycle of bats.     

河流CO2与CH4排放研究进展

河流作为连接海-陆两大碳库的主要通道,其水-气界面二氧化碳(CO_2)与甲烷(CH_4)排放构成全球碳循环的重要环节,对全球气候变暖的贡献不容小觑.明确河流水体CO_2与CH_4产排过程、时空特征以及控制因素是认识河流生态学功能以及其对变化环境响应的重要内容.基于当前河流CO_2与CH_4排放研究进展,构建河流碳排放动力学概念框架(内源代谢、陆源输入),并从全球尺度、区域尺度、流域尺度综述了河流碳排放时空变异性特征以及存在的研究不足.在理解碳排放动力学概念框架和时空变异特征的基础上,构建了河流CO_2与CH_4动力学控制因子分层框架(内部因子:有机质、温度、营养盐;外部因子:水文、地貌、人类活动),深入探讨了河流碳排放的关键影响因素.最后,根据当前研究中存在的不足,提出河流碳排放应将纳入区域陆地碳平衡过程,今后研究重点应包括流域尺度上河流CO_2与CH_4内源产生与陆源输入相对贡献的量化研究、不同界面CO_2与CH_4产生与排放过程研究、高时空分辨率的监测数据的补充以及变化环境与人类活动干扰下河流碳排放的响应过程等,为理解河流生态学过程及生态系统功能提供基础,同时为我国进一步深入开展相关研究提供借鉴.     

Ethanol mediated As(III) adsorption onto Zn-loaded pinecone biochar: Experimental investigation, modeling, and optimization using hybrid artificial neural network-genetic algorithm approach

Organic matters (OMs) and their oxidization products often influence the fate and transport of heavy metals in the subsurface aqueous systems through interaction with the mineral surfaces. This study investigates the ethanol (EtOH)-mediated As(III) adsorption onto Zn-loaded pinecone (PC) biochar through batch experiments conducted under Box–Behnken design. The effect of EtOH on As(III) adsorption mechanism was quantitatively elucidated by fitting the experimental data using artificial neural network and quadratic modeling approaches. The quadratic model could describe the limiting nature of EtOH and pH on As(III) adsorption, whereas neural network revealed the stronger influence of EtOH (64.5%) followed by pH (20.75%) and As(III) concentration (14.75%) on the adsorption phenomena. Besides, the interaction among process variables indicated that EtOH enhances As(III) adsorption over a pH range of 2 to 7, possibly due to facilitation of ligand–metal(Zn) binding complexation mechanism. Eventually, hybrid response surface model–genetic algorithm (RSM–GA) approach predicted a better optimal solution than RSM, i.e., the adsorptive removal of As(III) (10.47 μg/g) is facilitated at 30.22 mg C/L of EtOH with initial As(III) concentration of 196.77 μg/L at pH 5.8. The implication of this investigation might help in understanding the application of biochar for removal of various As(III) species in the presence of OM.