Simple Model of Dissolved Oxygen Consumption in a Bay within High Organic Loading: An Applied Remediation Tool

San Vicente Bay is a coastal shallow embayment in Central Chile with multiple uses, one of which is receiving wastewater from industrial fisheries, steel mill effluents, and domestic sewage. A simulation model was developed and applied to dissolved oxygen consumption by organic residues released into this embayment. Three compartments were established as function of: depth, circulation and outfall location. The model compartments had different volumes, and their oxygen saturation value was used as baseline. The parameters: (a) BOD₅ of the industrial and urban effluents, (b) oxygen demand by organic sediments, (c) respiration, (d) photosynthesis and (e) re-aeration were included in the model. Iteration results of the model showed severe alterations in Compartment 1, with a decrease of 65% in the oxygen below saturation. Compartment 2 showed a small decline (10%) and compartment 3 did not show apparent changes in oxygen values. Measures recommended for remediation were to decrease the BOD₅ loading by 30% in the affected sector. Iteration of the model for 200 h following recommendations derived from the preceding results produced an increase in saturation of 60% (5 ml O₂ L⁻¹), which suggested an improvement of the environmental conditions.     

Suburbanization and drought: A mixed methods vulnerability assessment in rainy Massachusetts

This paper presents evidence that water restrictions in suburbanizing eastern Massachusetts towns are becoming more common, controlling for climate. We then assess the relationship between these suburban droughts and residential development. Focusing on the suburbs of Boston, seven towns independent of the Boston water supply system were selected to represent differing levels of sprawl-style growth. Water restrictions are becoming more frequent in all of the towns studied, and models demonstrate that restrictions are increasing in duration, independent of climate. Interviews suggest that residential development is playing a central role in this increasing sensitivity to suburban drought, though other factors are also important. Long-term planning and integration of land-use planning and water management emerged as two key paths for attenuating the impacts of development.     

University of Benin water supply system: Microbiological and physico-chemical assessments

The microbiological and physico-chemical characteristics of the drinking water supplied by the Central Borehole at the University of Benin, Ugbowo Campus were investigated. The investigation entailed assessment of the pH, turbidity, total suspended solids, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity, conductivity, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, sulphate, chloride, N-nitroso compounds, cadmium, chromium, nickel, lead, zinc, manganese, iron, coliform count, BOD₅ and COD of the water at the Central Borehole and at ten residential quarters. The assessment indicated that the water was fit for drinking and other domestic applications. Results were also compared with WHO, EU and Nigeria FEPA standards. The results showed that the pH values of the water (5.01–5.86) and total coliform count (1–2/100 ml) expressed as MPN were outside the limits set by the WHO, EU and FEPA. The data also showed that the other water quality parameters assessed were within WHO, EU and FEPA permissible limits. The results of ANOVA showed that significant changes occurred during distribution.     

Development of a database of landfills and dump sites in Asian countries

This article briefly summarizes the limited landfill/dump information available for developing Asian countries, and introduces a database that aims to close the information gap through collecting and sharing data. Developing nations usually try to adapt the systems and technologies of developed countries. However, this approach may not be appropriate because of differences in socioeconomic, cultural, and political backgrounds. Many waste management projects fail after operations are transferred to local authorities owing to a lack of funds to cover the high operational expenses. Some successful projects have been adapted to local conditions, although the information on these successes is not often available for others. Nevertheless, only a few developing countries even have a national inventory of their dumps/landfills, and decision-makers have little awareness of the dumps and their impacts. The database introduced here will gather landfill/dump information from each country and organize it in a comparable format, and it will then be published on the Internet.     

Land Conversion for Suburban Housing: A Study of Urbanization Around Warsaw and Olsztyn,Poland

In Poland of the 1990s, urban demand for housing land around city agglomerations increased rapidly. The decreasing profitability of agricultural production also caused farmers to become interested in the sale of agricultural land for nonagricultural purposes, and new land legislation granted them the right to sell their land. Polish counties simultaneously received self-governing status, which allowed them to define the priorities for local development. Counties received additional responsibility for land management and quickly demonstrated strong support for land conversion, which was perceived as a factor of local development. This paper argues that decentralization and the extension of private control over land have led to a loss of rural landscapes in Poland because farmers, county governments, and rural society in general gained from the conversion of agricultural to housing land. Rapid urbanization has significantly reduced the availability of open space around cities and threatened valuable landscapes, for it has occurred in the absence of environmental safeguards. This paper reports findings from research in two counties, located in regions with diverse economic growth rates. Decentralization is particularly problematic if tax regulations and intergovernmental fiscal relations reward local authorities for urbanization but not environmental protection. Note: This version was published online in June 2005 with the cover date of August 2004.     

The economics of landmine clearance in Afghanistan

This paper presents an economic evaluation of landmine clearance in Afghanistan. The main benefits comprise increased agricultural output, saved transport time and running costs, saved human casualties and the saved costs of supporting refugees and displaced persons. An investment of US$100 million between 1988 and 1998 is estimated to provide annual benefits of $50.3 million per annum between 1999 and 2008. This translates into net present values of between $935 and $1,744 million, depending on the rate of discount used. This contrasts with the negative NPVs estimated for several other countries.     

我国东亚飞蝗发生的气候背景及长期预测

我国东亚飞蝗的发生发展与大气环流的变化密切相关。对1952—1999年我国东亚飞蝗的发生面积与大气环流的74项特征指标值进行了相关研究。结果表明，上一年9月到当年4月大西洋副高面积、强度、脊线位置、北界，上一年9月、10月西藏高原指数，当年1月、2月、5月亚洲区极涡面积。北半球1月极涡面积，亚洲3月纬向环流指数以及亚洲5月经向环流指数与我国蝗虫发生面积相关明显。其中大西洋副热带高压对我国东亚飞蝗发生的影响主要是通过影响秋冬季节蝗卵的孵化和越冬期间的地面温度，从而影响蝗卵基数和孵化为成虫的数量，进而影响着我国东亚飞蝗发生、发展和危害情况的变化。通过上述对蝗虫发生有明显影响的大气环流特征值进行回归分析，结果表明。上年9月和当年4月大西洋副高脊线、3月大西洋副高北界、上年9月西藏高原指数、5月亚洲区极涡面积和3月亚洲纬向环流指数与发生面积拟合较好，说明这些大气环流特征值的强弱是决定东亚飞蝗发生的关键因素。     

黔中岩溶地区草地下土壤CO_2含量的变化特征

全球碳循环中,CO_2的未知汇可能是陆地生态系统中某一部分,如土壤。土壤中CO_2的含量是大气的几倍至近百倍,它的吸收与释放将影响大气中的CO_2浓度。岩溶地区占全球陆地面积的1/15。对典型的岩溶地区——黔中某地土壤的CO_2进行了四季及昼夜的采样测定,结果表明,该地地表大气的CO_2含量具有季节变化的特征。土壤气中的CO_2浓度为大气CO_2浓度的几倍至一百多倍;自地表向下,随着土壤深度的增大,CO_2浓度升高。土壤CO_2含量的季节变化及昼夜变化,与土壤中CO_2来源和温度等因子变化有关。     

Vegetation patterns and nature reserve construction in an extremely-arid desert in Anxi,NW China's Gansu Province

Anxi County is located in the northwestern part of the Hexi Corridor in gansu Province and has the sole national level nature reserve of extremely-arid desert in China.Phytosociological methods (Braun-Blanquet,1964) are used to classify plant community types in this area.Eleven are disting uished,including six of deserts,four of oases and one transitional type between deserts and oases.Direct gradient analysis (DCA) is employed to correlate the distribution of plant communities to physiogeographic conditions.This study makes clear that water is the most important ecological factor for the distribution of plant species and communities in this area.The effects of water have been demonstrated in different ways.A vegetation gradient from lower altitude to higher altitude in the southern part of the reserve is driven by a precipitation gradient.The effects of the depth of ground water table contribute to the differentiation of vegetation from desert to oasis in the flat area.In a finer scale,the washed gullies have obviously higher species richness and also higher vegetation cover than the surround gobi surfaces,possibly caused by the effects of floods.The vegetation patterns demonstrate that the area of Anxi County is a complete landscape unit.The range of the current nature reserve is not large enough for the purpose of conserving the unique biodiversity in this area.     

十三陵地震台观测技术系统优化改造

在北京十三陵地震台建设了一个高度集成的地震观测监控系统,将原来分散的观测项目(如测震、GPS、气氡、气汞、电磁波、地电场等测项),改造为集中到一台服务器管理,在一个监控平台上统一实现了对台站数据的收集、入库、管理、处理、监控等业务;对这些观测项目可以在控制台上直接取数并将数据入库;初步实现了观测数据的收集、数据处理、数据管理、数据监控的软件管理系统,减少了系统维护工作量,方便台站工作人员操控。监控系统的地震前兆数据监管软件系统DataMonitor可准实时监视数据,检查数据的异常和到达情况,并向台站数据管理人员告警;可对数据库数据进行统计,包括数据到达情况统计、缺数统计、数据连续率统计等。该系统还提供多种前兆数据处理方法,实现对前兆数据的各种常规分析处理。