洪泽湖沉积物中营养盐和重金属的垂向分布特征研究

为了揭示洪泽湖沉积物中营养盐和重金属的垂向分布特征,2008年6月采集了洪泽湖淮河入湖口附近、湖西和湖心3个柱状沉积物样品.通过测定分析其总氮、总磷、有机质和重金属Cu、Zn、Pb、Cd、Fe、Al、Cr、Hg、Mn、As的垂向分布特征,揭示了营养盐演化规律及重金属污染历史.结果表明,淮河口附近沉积环境受淮河流域影响较大,营养盐中TN、TP、OM的含量分别为390.8～643.7、428.6～538.6、5 194.3～9 164.9 mg.kg-1,Zn、Cd、Al、Fe和Mn受人为影响较小,其余重金属人为影响较大.湖西区沉积环境受淮河及湖西周边城市影响,TN、TP、OM的含量为633.4～2 677.3、480.0～1 115.9、7 140.8～47 849.7 mg.kg-1,TN、OM和重金属污染程度从20世纪70年代末加剧,90年代以来有所改善,As和Cr受流域人类活动影响较大,其余重金属受人为影响较小.湖心来源主要为流域碎屑物质,TN、TP、OM的含量为904.7～1 585.4、526.3～750.1、10 635.6～19 020.6 mg.kg-1,营养盐和重金属相关性显著,垂向分布均相似,含量从底层至表层呈上升趋势.沉积柱中营养盐、重金属元素具有比较一致的污染特征,与洪泽湖流域发展阶段相吻合,洪泽湖沉积环境属于洪水冲刷型堆积模式(Turbidity Flood Model方式).     

藻源性黑水团环境效应:对水-沉积物界面氮磷变化的驱动作用

利用自制的静态模拟实验装置,通过连续抽取间隙水来研究藻细胞沉降在沉积物表面后对水-沉积物界面处的N、P变化的驱动作用及影响效果.结果表明,藻细胞沉降后,在50 min内就完全消耗掉水-沉积物界面处的溶解氧,同时水体出现严重的发黑、发臭现象;形成的厌氧、强还原环境,使得死亡的藻细胞在界面处发生强烈的厌氧矿化作用,界面处的水溶性PO34--P、NH 4+-N在实验的第2 d开始向上覆水中扩散,含量不断增加.至实验结束时(实验第8 d),界面处PO34--P、NH 4+-N的含量分别达到4.00 mg/L、39.45 mg/L,分别为同期对照实验样柱中的10倍和241倍(对照样柱中的PO43--P、NH 4+-N的含量分别为0.42 mg/L、0.16 mg/L).藻细胞的厌氧矿化加剧了氮磷营养盐向上覆水的扩散,在加重水体营养盐含量的同时,也为藻华的再次发生提供了物质基础.     

太湖草型湖区沉积物再悬浮对水体营养盐的影响

再悬浮过程中沉积物对水体营养盐的内源贡献是湖泊,特别是浅水湖泊富营养化研究中的重要问题.采用原位沉积物柱样和原状上覆水的Y型扰动装置,被用来研究常规风情下太湖草型湖区沉积物的再悬浮和沉降过程对水体营养盐负荷的影响.结果表明,小风和中风的再悬浮过程导致水体氨氮和磷酸根磷含量显著下降,单位面积水柱含量最大变化量分别为-0.140 g·m-2和-1.59 mg·m-2;大风条件下,水体氨氮含量下降幅度很小,磷酸盐则出现明显增加趋势,最大增量为0.81mg·m-2.再悬浮过程之后的沉降过程中,中、小风条件的水体氨氮含量变小,大风条件的含量没有明显变化.磷酸根磷含量在中、小风条件下与风浪前差别较小,大风条件的含量则明显增大,最大增量为1.36 mg·m-2.因此,沉积物的再悬浮过程和沉降过程对上覆水体的营养盐动态负荷都产生重要影响.与太湖无植被湖区的研究结果对比说明,水生植物的存在对风浪作用下沉积物与上覆水的物质交换有一定的抑制作用.     

镇江城市降雨径流营养盐污染特征研究

城市降雨径流污染是城市水体水质恶化的主要原因之一,为了分析降雨径流的污染特征,从2006-05开始,选择镇江具有代表性的土地使用功能对其降雨径流水质进行监测,分析了径流中固体悬浮物和营养盐的变化特征.结果表明,镇江不同功能区中5～40 μm粒径的固体悬浮物体积分数最大;商业区径流污染物浓度很高,其中SS浓度高达978 mg/L,是城市面源污染的主要来源;降雨初期的30 min径流污染物浓度很高,随降雨历时的延长污染物浓度逐渐下降并趋于稳定;溶解态氮、颗粒态磷和固体悬浮物是径流中污染物输出的主要形态;通过分析固体悬浮物与其他污染物的相关性,发现固体悬浮物是径流中营养盐吸附的载体,去除固体悬浮物是治理镇江降雨径流污染的有效途径.     

云贵高原湖区湖泊营养物生态分区技术方法研究

提出一种基于主成分分析、聚类分析、判别分析和空间自相关的分区模型,用于对云贵高原湖区湖泊营养物生态分区的研究.首先运用主成分分析方法对众多指标进行了降维综合处理,产生彼此互补相关又能综合反映湖区情况的4个新指标,累计贡献率达到93.69%,具有充分的代表性,构建了云贵高原湖区湖泊营养物生态分区指标体系.在此基础上,根据各区域新指标值,结合聚类模型初步将湖泊流域分为5类,再利用判别分析完成非湖泊流域的类别判别,最后运用空间自相关分析方法,按聚类结果进行全局自相关分析,Moran’sI为0.320,且检验值Z值为68.2,远大于临界值(显著水平1%所对应的临界值2.58),表明聚类结果与空间位置具有显著相关性,之后运用局部自相关对区域各因素的主成分综合得分的空间分布格局进行了量化分析,揭示了零散分类区块在空间地域分布上的关联和差异,根据关联结果完成最终的分区.结果表明,利用此分区模型可以尽量避免人为因素,得到更为客观的分区结果,具有良好的适应性和可行性,可为探索适合我国湖泊营养物生态分区的指标体系和分区技术方法,完成全国湖泊营养物生态分区和科学地制定我国湖泊营养物基准和富营养化控制标准提供技术支持.     

Accretion of Nutrients and Sediment by a Constructed Stormwater Treatment Wetland in the Lake Tahoe Basin

This unique study evaluates the cumulative 16‐year lifetime performance of a wetland retention basin designed to treat stormwater runoff. Sediment cores were extracted prior to basin excavation and restoration to evaluate accretion rates and the origin of materials, retention characteristics of fine particulate matter, and overall pollutant removal efficiency. The sediment and organic layers together accreted 3.2 cm of depth per year, and 7.0 kg/m²/yr of inorganic material. Average annual accretion rates in g/m²/yr were as follows: C, 280; N, 17.7; P, 3.74; S, 3.80; Fe, 194; Mn, 2.68; Ca, 30.8; Mg, 30.7; K, 12.2; Na, 2.54; Zn, 0.858; Cu, 0.203; and B, 0.03. The accretion of C, N, P and sediment was comparable to nonwastewater treatment wetlands, overall, and relatively efficient for stormwater treatment wetlands. Comparison of particle size distribution between sediment cores and suspended solids in stormwater runoff indicated the wetland was effective at removing fine particles, with sediment cores containing 25% clay and 56% silt. A majority of the accretion of most metals and P could be attributed to efficient trapping of allochthonous material, while over half the accretion of C and N could be attributed to accumulation of autochthonous organic matter. Stormwater treatment was shown to be effective when physical properties of a retention basin are combined with the biological processes of a wetland, although sediment accretion can be relatively rapid.     

Boosted Regression Tree Models to Explain Watershed Nutrient Concentrations and Biological Condition

Boosted regression tree (BRT) models were developed to quantify the nonlinear relationships between landscape variables and nutrient concentrations in a mesoscale mixed land cover watershed during base‐flow conditions. Factors that affect instream biological components, based on the Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI), were also analyzed. Seasonal BRT models at two spatial scales (watershed and riparian buffered area [RBA]) for nitrite‐nitrate (NO₂‐NO₃), total Kjeldahl nitrogen, and total phosphorus (TP) and annual models for the IBI score were developed. Two primary factors — location within the watershed (i.e., geographic position, stream order, and distance to a downstream confluence) and percentage of urban land cover (both scales) — emerged as important predictor variables. Latitude and longitude interacted with other factors to explain the variability in summer NO₂‐NO₃ concentrations and IBI scores. BRT results also suggested that location might be associated with indicators of sources (e.g., land cover), runoff potential (e.g., soil and topographic factors), and processes not easily represented by spatial data indicators. Runoff indicators (e.g., Hydrological Soil Group D and Topographic Wetness Indices) explained a substantial portion of the variability in nutrient concentrations as did point sources for TP in the summer months. The results from our BRT approach can help prioritize areas for nutrient management in mixed‐use and heavily impacted watersheds.     

Emerging Tools for Continuous Nutrient Monitoring Networks: Sensors Advancing Science and Water Resources Protection

Sensors and enabling technologies are becoming increasingly important tools for water quality monitoring and associated water resource management decisions. In particular, nutrient sensors are of interest because of the well‐known adverse effects of nutrient enrichment on coastal hypoxia, harmful algal blooms, and impacts to human health. Accurate and timely information on nutrient concentrations and loads is integral to strategies designed to minimize risk to humans and manage the underlying drivers of water quality impairment. Using nitrate sensors as the primary example, we highlight the types of applications in freshwater and coastal environments that are likely to benefit from continuous, real‐time nutrient data. The concurrent emergence of new tools to integrate, manage, and share large datasets is critical to the successful use of nutrient sensors and has made it possible for the field of continuous monitoring to rapidly move forward. We highlight several near‐term opportunities for federal agencies, as well as the broader scientific and management community, that will help accelerate sensor development, build and leverage sites within a national network, and develop open data standards and data management protocols that are key to realizing the benefits of a large‐scale, integrated monitoring network. Investing in these opportunities will provide new information to guide management and policies designed to protect and restore our nation's water resources.     

Linking Nitrogen Export to Landscape Heterogeneity: The Role of Infrastructure and Storm Flows in a Mediterranean Urban System

Urban ecosystems are often sources of nonpoint source (NPS) nitrogen (N) pollution to aquatic ecosystems. However, N export from urban watersheds is highly variable. Examples of densely urbanized watersheds are not well studied, and these may have comparatively low export rates. Commonly used metrics of landscape heterogeneity may obscure our ability to discern relationships among landscape characteristics that can explain these lower export rates. We expected that differences not often captured by these metrics in the relative cover of vegetation, structures, and impervious surfaces would better explain observed variation in N export. We examined these relationships during storms in residential watersheds. Contrary to expectations, land cover did not directly predict variation in N or water export. Instead, N export was strongly linked to drainage infrastructure density. Our research highlights the role of fine‐scaled landscape attributes, mainly infrastructure, in explaining patterns of N export from densely urbanized watersheds. Changes to hydrologic flow paths by infrastructure explained more variation in N export than land cover. Our findings support further development of landscape ecological models of urban N export that focus on hydrologic modification by infrastructure rather than traditional landscape measures such as land use, as indicators for evaluating patterns of NPS nitrogen pollution in densely urbanized watersheds.     

Comparing Costs of Onsite Best Management Practices to Nutrient Credits for Stormwater Management: A Case Study in Virginia

Best management practices (BMPs) are widely used to mitigate impacts of increased impervious surfaces on stormwater runoff. However, there is limited detailed and up‐to‐date information available on the cost of designing, constructing, and maintaining BMPs over their lifetime. The objective of this study is to analyze BMPs recently constructed by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to quantify their total cost per pound of phosphorus removed annually. A motivating factor for the study is recent changes to regulatory guidelines in Virginia which allow for full or partial substitution of purchased nutrient credits in lieu of constructing onsite BMPs to achieve compliance with stormwater quality regulations. Results of the analysis of nine BMPs found their cost ranged from $20,100 to $74,900, in 2014 dollars, per pound ($44,313‐$165,126 per kg) of phosphorus removed. Based on these results and assuming current credit prices procured by VDOT, purchasing nutrient credits is a cost‐effective option for the agency, especially when factoring in the cost of additional right of way for the BMP. Based on this finding, we expect compliance with stormwater quality regulations through credit purchases to become more widely used in Virginia. Moving forward, we suggest more direct tracking of BMP costs to support comparisons between BMP costs across a range of types and conditions to credit purchases for meeting stormwater regulations.