Effects of Equilibration Temperature on PM10 Concentrations from the TEOM Method in the Lower Fraser Valley

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the effect of equilibration temperature on PM₁₀ concentrations from the tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM) method by operating collocated TEOM monitors at different equilibration temperatures in an airshed (the Lower Fraser Valley, British Columbia). This airshed contained an abundance of par-ticulate semivolatile material (PSVM). For the period when three collocated TEOM monitors were operated, the PM₁₀ from the monitor at an equilibration temperature of 30 ° C was 2.5 μ g/m³ (22%) and 1.7 (17%) μ g/m³ higher, on average, than the PM₁₀ from monitors at 50 and 40 ° C, respectively, and the differences were proportional to the ambient PM₁₀ loading. Greater volatilization of PSVM in the TEOM monitors at higher equilibration temperatures may have been a cause of the differences.     

An experimental survey of a herring fishery by long-range sonar

For 3 years, the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences has operated a long-range side-scan sonar for viewing the texture and topography of the ocean floor (project G.L.O.R.I.A., Geological Long Range Inclined Asdic). It was recommended that an experiment should be arranged to discover if such a device could detect commercial pelagic fish on the Continental Shelf at long ranges and, if so, to determine any research on commercial applications. This paper describes such a trial, carried out on a Scottish inshore herring fishery in the Sea of the Hebrides, during late September,1971. A survey was first made in the area by echosounder and short-range side-scan sonar to confirm the bathymetry, to locate false targets, and to observe the distribution and diurnal vertical movement of the herring. During the subsequent G.L.O.R.I.A. runs, up to 9kW of acoustic power was transmitted at 6.4 kHz, with the signal returns processed by a linear correlator with a time-bandwidth product of 400, so that signal/noise ratios obtained were equivalent to a short-pulse sonar with peak powers in excess of 1 mW. Due to the summer water-conditions, it was found that the propagation depended critically on the position of the source in the water column. Under the best conditions, with the source towed at 33 m in an isothermal surface layer, herring were detected to a range of 15 km in a water depth of 120 to 170 m. For a period of 3 days, a fishery area of 170 km² was kept under surveillance by steaming up and down 13 km-long base lines at a speed of 13 km/h facing SE towards Hawes Bank and the islands of Tiree and Coll. As a result, a plan view of the area, including both fish and the geological features of the bank, was generated every 1 1/4 h. It was found possible to track certain aggregations of herring using these records for periods up to 5 h. On the final might, remotely directed catches were made on 3 aggregations by guiding a purse-seine vessel to within 1 km of each target. The internal composition of the aggregations detected by G.L.O.R.I.A. is discussed in terms of both the echosounding data and expanded A-scan excerpts from the recorded G.L.O.R.I.A. target signals. Possible research and commercial applications for the long-range detection of pelagic fish by low-frequency towed or fixed sonar systems are briefly discussed.     

Environmental Mediation in Planning Appeals: Lessons from the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales

In both England and Wales (UK) and New South Wales (Australia) the respective planning systems permit the applicant a right of appeal to challenge the merits of a town planning decision. These systems have experienced a growing appeal workload over the last 10 years whilst their administrators have sought to increase the speed of decision making. To deal with such pressures, as well as to provide an alternative method of resolving appeal disputes, the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales has introduced a mediation facility in planning appeals. The Court itself has estimated that some 736 hours have been spent in mediation with an estimated saving of Court time of approximately 405 days. This paper examines how these reforms have sought to reduce the level of dispute in the planning system and consequently the number of appeals with their associated time and expense. Comparison will be made with reforms introduced into the UK system, in particular the Informal Hearing method. The extent to which such mediation could operate in the UK is considered.     

Molecular phylogenies help resolve taxonomic confusion with Asian <Emphasis Type="Italic">Crassostrea</Emphasis> oyster species

Identification of oyster species is still largely based on phenotypic characters that are highly plastic. Prompted by the proposed introduction of the Asian oyster species Crassostrea ariakensis into the Chesapeake Bay region of the U.S.A., this study uses molecular genetic information to understand the taxonomic framework surrounding C. ariakensis and to confidently distinguish among various sympatric oyster species. Putative samples of C. ariakensis and other species of cupped oysters from across Asia were collected and phylogenetic analyses were conducted on DNA sequences of both nuclear (ITS-1) and mitochondrial (COI) regions. Trees generated based on the two independent molecular datasets were highly congruent, and indicate that many oysters collected for this study as C. ariakensis were originally misidentified. Results also indicate that C. ariakensis, C. hongkongensis and C. nippona are distinct, but closely related species. There is strong support in both analyses for a close relationship between C. gigas and C. sikamea, as well as between C. belcheri and C. gryphoides, and between C. iredalei and C. madrasensis. The parsimony analyses based on these DNA markers, however, did not provide evidence to support C. angulata as a distinct species from C. gigas. Overall, the results emphasize the need for rigorous species identification, and additional extensive and intensive sampling to more accurately determine relationships among Crassostrea species, define their geographic distributions, and establish existing sympatry patterns.     

Information needs related to teaching about air quality

Translating knowledge of air quality into a form that can be understood by students and the general public is a major challenge for scientists, public officials, and teachers. Social science studies have shown that both educators and the general public are relatively uninformed about recent findings in environmental research. It is especially difficult to get students of today excited about environmental issues because environmental education has become institutionalized. Students believe they know about major environmental problems even when their knowledge is rudimentary or even wrong. One problem in getting public attention is the general level of hyperbole and hysteria common in most media. Thus, do we try to be even more shrill and apocalyptic than other advocates clamoring for public notice, or should we refuse to participate in this competition for attention?A model is presented to bring K-12 teachers, scientists, and students together to develop innovative, inquiry-based, active learning materials for environmental education. Curricular materials utilizing the discovery process can be created and tested in an iterative process that incorporates the results of current science research into highly effective teaching materials for schools. Following extensive evaluative procedures and review, exemplary materials are prepared for publication. This collaborative method also gives teachers and students a more realistic understanding of how science works by giving them access to active scientists and practical scientific experience.Finally, we argue that scientists need to reveal why they care about environmental issues. It is not enough to remain aloof and objective. If we are going to motivate students and the public to make changes in their lives, we need to make a convincing case for the importance of air quality and what it means in practical terms to our common environment.     

Learning to Network and Networking to Learn: Facilitating the Process of Adaptive Managementin a Local Response to the UK's National AirQuality Strategy

The adaptive management leitmotiv of “learning to manage and managing to learn” sets out an attractive agenda for dealing with the overwhelming complexity of environmental phenomena that humans have problematized. To ensure that this rallying cry translates into effective action, it is important to give consideration to structures and procedures for facilitating the efforts of those willing or able to respond to the adaptive management call. To date, calls to establish the right organization to coordinate multiagency responses have tended to emphasize the noun, or bounded-entity, sense of the word organization. We believe that this is at the expense of its other, verb or process, connotation. In this paper, rather than searching for the perfect organization structure that mandates mutual trust and collective action shaped by all relevant parties' perspectives and possible contributions, we direct attention towards the process of nurturing integrated adaptive responses among individuals who have diverse organizational allegiances. By shifting the balance towards the process connotation of the right organization, we hope that a new mindscape can be discerned for those interested in putting adaptive management principles into practice. We seek to conjure up an image of this mindscape through the phrase “learning to network and networking to learn,” and set out to strengthen this by demonstrating how adaptive response networks can arise from the mutually defining relationship between stakeholders and issues. This is demonstrated through a local response to the United Kingdom's National Air Quality Strategy.