Copper desorption in flooded agricultural soils and toxicity to the Florida apple snail (Pomacea paludosa): implications in Everglades restoration

Copper (Cu) desorption and toxicity to the Florida apple snail were investigated from soils obtained from agricultural sites acquired under the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. Copper concentrations in 11 flooded soils ranged from 5 to 234 mg/kg on day 0 and from 6.2 to 204 mg/kg on day 28 (steady-state). The steady-state Cu concentration in overlying water ranged from 9.1 to 308.2 microg/L. In a 28-d growth study, high mortality in snails occurred within 9 to 16 d in two of three soil treatments tested. Growth of apple snails over 28 d was affected by Cu in these two treatments. Tissue Cu concentrations by day 14 were 12-23-fold higher in snails exposed to the three soil treatments compared to controls. The endangered Florida snail kite and its main food source, the Florida apple snail, may be at risk from Cu exposure in these managed agricultural soil-water ecosystems.     

THE FLOOD OF '96 AND ITS SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS IN THE SUSQUEHANNA RWER BASIN1

ABSTRACT: The meteorology flood hydroclimatolog and socioeconomic impacts of the Flood of January 1996 in the Susquehanna River Basin are explored. The analysis explains how an unusual storm system brought high humidities, high temperatures, strong winds, and heavy rain to the basin. The rapid melt of the deep snowpack, combined with the heavy rainfall, produced the sudden release of large volumes of water. Because the ground surface was frozen or saturated, this water moved primarily as overland flow. Thus, the flood waters were not restricted to areas immediately adjacent to stream channels and, consequently, some of the largest impacts were on people, property, and infrastructure in areas not normally prone to flooding. Socioeconomic patterns of flooding over time and space are investigated to put this flood into context and to highlight its impacts. The analysis concludes that if such overland flooding is a more common feature of climate change, then the current vulnerability to this form of flooding and its economic implications must be considered carefully.     

AN EVALUATION OF TWO HYDROLOGIC MODELS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE SCENARIOS1

ABSTRACT: Understanding the effects of climate change on water resources requires coupling atmospheric and hydrologic models. With the wide array of hydrologic models, from simple empirical to complex physically based, it is not clear which is preferable to simulate hydrologic variations over long time scales. To address this issue, a black-box artificial neural network (ANN) model was compared to a distributed parameter conceptual Geographic Information System based Hydrologic Modeling System (GIS-HMS). Both models computed daily direct surface runoff in four sub-basins of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River Basin, Pennsylvania and were evaluated with five objective functions. Overall, results were comparable between models. However, the ANN was favored in the larger sub-basins, while GIS-HMS was more accurate in the smaller catchments. Both models were impaired by the poor spatial and temporal resolution of precipitation data and the simplified representation of antecedent soil-moisture conditions. In the context of climate change, where simulations are limited by computing power, results suggest that both models are appropriate. When detailed simulations are essential, GIS-HMS is a preferable model to use. On the other hand, the ANN model is more suitable when multiple scenarios require immediate analysis and the distributed qualities of runoff are not required.