Biomonitoring in the Boulder River Watershed, Montana, USA: Metal Concentrations in Biofilm and Macroinvertebrates, and Relations with Macroinvertebrate Assemblage

Portions of the Boulder River watershed contain elevated concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc in water, sediment, and biota. We measured concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in biofilm and macroinvertebrates, and assessed macroinvertebrate assemblage and aquatic habitat with the objective of monitoring planned remediation efforts. Concentrations of metals were generally higher in downstream sites compared with upstream or reference sites, and two sites contained metal concentrations in macroinvertebrates greater than values reported to reduce health and survival of resident trout. Macroinvertebrate assemblage was correlated with metal concentrations in biofilm and macroinvertebrates. However, macroinvertebrate metrics were significantly correlated with a greater number of biofilm metals (8) than metals in invertebrates (4). Lead concentrations in biofilm appeared to have the most significant impact on macroinvertebrate assemblage. Metal concentrations in macroinvertebrates were directly proportional to concentrations in biofilm, indicating biofilm as a potential surrogate for monitoring metal impacts in aquatic systems.     

EMAP Design and River Reach File 3 (RF3) as a Sample Frame in the Central Valley, California

The Central Valley, California, R-EMAP project assessed the effects of highly modified, agriculturally dominated landuse on the aquatic resources of the lower portion of the Central Valley watersheds. The focus of this paper is to assess the utility of the EMAP design and the River Reach File version 3 (RF3) 1:100,000 scale Digital Line Graph (DLG) as a sampling frame. The study area is 34,099 mi²(88,316 km²) and comprises the lower reaches of the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River watersheds to the 1000 ft. (305 m) elevation. Sampling sites are selected using a tessellation stratified design to represent the two main populations of interest: natural streams and man-made waterways. Sites are selected to represent 13,226 miles of streams and sloughs, and 14,648 miles of irrigation canals, ditches and drains. To achieve an approximately equal sample size across stream orders and basins, the sample design was weighted by Strahler order categories to ensure sampling occurred in the higher order streams. Based on office and field reconnaissance, the study provided information on the quality of RF3 as a sampling frame. Site selection using RF3 had a success rate of approximately 44%. The RF3 database has an error rate of approximately 7%. When human influence factors were included, the error rate increased to 16%. There was an 11% error rate when selecting sites for natural streams, and approximately a 14% error rate for man-made waterways. The reconnaissance information indicated that presence or absence of irrigation ditches and return drains depends on changing agricultural uses. Some of the error in the RF3 for natural streams and man-made waterways can be attributed to rapid urban expansion, especially in the San Joaquin basin.     

Heavy Metal Concentrations in Water, Sediment, Fish and Some Benthic Organisms from Tigris River, Turkey

In this study concentrations of heavy metals, such as Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn were determined in water, sediment, muscle, liver and gill of fish (Silurus triostegus, Mastacembelus simack, Mystus halepensis, Orthrias euphraticus) the muscle and liver of crab (Potamon fluviatilis), the internal organs of fresh water snail (Physa acuta), and mussel (Unio elongatulus), and in whole biomass of green algae (Spirogyra sp.) examples collected seasonally from three selected sites (I, II, and III) of Tigris River and from a reference site on Resan Creek. In general, the average Cd, Cu, Mn, Ni, Zn, and Fe values in Sites I, II, and III were found to be high in spring and summer. The concentrations of heavy metals in the Tigris River are compared with previous studies in the same sites. The results showed that Cu levels have gradually decreased during recent years. In Tigris River, among the living organisms, i.e., those which are living in benthic region and showing biomonitor characteristic, crab, snail, green algae, mussel and fish are seen to be formed in sequence. Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn values obtained from the muscle of fish and from the mass of internal organs of mussel and snail were found to be under the acceptable values suggested.     

Results of An Indoor Size Fractionated PM School Sampling Program in Libby, Montana

Libby, Montana is the only PM_2.5 nonattainment area in the western United States with the exceptions of parts of southern California. During January through March 2005, a particulate matter (PM) sampling program was conducted within Libby’s elementary and middle schools to establish baseline indoor PM concentrations before a wood stove change-out program is implemented over the next several years. As part of this program, indoor concentrations of PM mass, organic carbon (OC), and elemental carbon (EC) in five different size fractions (>2.5, 1.0–2.5, 0.5–1.0, 0.25–0.5, and <0.25 μm) were measured. Total measured PM mass concentrations were much higher inside the elementary school, with particle size fraction (>2.5, 0.5–1.0, 0.25–0.5, and <0.25 μm) concentrations between 2 and 5 times higher when compared to the middle school. The 1.0–2.5 μm fraction had the largest difference between the two sites, with elementary school concentrations nearly 10 times higher than the middle school values. The carbon component for the schools’ indoor PM was found to be predominantly composed of OC. Measured total OC and EC concentrations, as well as concentrations within individual size fractions, were an average of two to five times higher at the elementary school when compared to the middle school. For the ultrafine fraction (<0.25), EC concentrations were similar between each of the schools. Despite the differences in concentrations between the schools at the various fraction levels, the OC/EC ratio was determined to be similar.     

Design of River Water Quality Monitoring Networks: A Case Study

Karoon River, from Gotvand Dam to Persian Gulf with more than 450 km in length and an annual discharge of 11,891 million cubic meters, is the largest river in Iran. Increasing water withdrawal from and wastewater discharge to the river has endangered the aquatic life of this important ecosystem. Furthermore, the drinking and in-stream water quality standards have been violated in many instances. In this paper, a river water quality monitoring network is designed, including determination of sampling frequencies as well as location of water quality monitoring stations. In this regard, two models are developed. The first model is a Genetic Algorithm-based optimization model and the second one is a combination of Kriging method and Analytical Hierarchy Process. The temporal variation of the concentration of water quality variables along Karoon and Dez Rivers are evaluated and the main water quality indicators are selected. Then, thirty five stations are selected and the application of Entropy Theory in calculating the sampling frequency is demonstrated. The results show the significant value of the proposed methodology in the design of monitoring network.     

Size distribution and composition of phosphorus in the East Tiao River, China: the significant role of colloids

The environmental risk of aquatic phosphorus (P) critically depends on its mobility and bioavailability, both of which are greatly affected by the size distribution and composition of P. The size distribution (particulate, colloidal and truly dissolved phase) of P, composed of molybdate reactive P (MRP) and molybdate unreactive P (MUP), was determined at twenty-three typical sections of the East Tiao River, China in the plum rain season. Results indicated particulate P was dominant followed by the truly dissolved P, while colloidal P was quantitatively the lowest in the whole river. From upstream to downstream, particulate P sharply increased, along with a slight decrease of truly dissolved P. However, colloidal P remained at a relatively stable level in the whole river, ranging from below detection limit to 0.025 mg L(-1), 0 to 13.4% of total P (TP). Furthermore, colloidal MRP exhibited a rising trend downriver as compared to upriver, with the notable transfer of MRP from the truly dissolved phase to particulate and colloidal phases. Particle concentration effect for colloids, observed in the study of MRP distribution, further corroborated the role of colloids in MRP solid/liquid partitioning. These observations, in this large-scale field investigation, fitted the "colloidal pumping" hypothesis. It may be concluded that colloids act as the intermediate and buffer in the dynamically balanced transfer of P from truly dissolved phase to large particulate phase, having a significant role in size distribution of P.     

Natural and Anthropogenic Factors Controlling the Dissolved Organic Carbon Concentrations and Fluxes in a Large Tropical River, India

Carbon studies in tropical rivers have gained significance since it was realized that a significant chunk of anthropogenic CO₂ emitted into the atmosphere returns to the biosphere, that is eventually transported by the river and locked up in coastal sediments for a few thousand years. Carbon studies are also significant because dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is known to complex the toxic trace metals in the river and carry them in the dissolved form. For the first time, this work has made an attempt to study the variations in DOC concentrations in space and time for a period of 19 months, and estimate their fluxes in the largest peninsular Indian river, the Godavari at Rajahmundry. Anthropogenic influence on DOC concentrations possibly from the number of bathing ghats along the banks and domestic sewage discharge into the river are evident during the pre-monsoon of 2004 and 2005. The rise in DOC concentrations at the onset of monsoon could be due to the contributions from flood plains and soils from the river catchment. Spatial variations highlighted that the DOC concentrations in the river are affected more by the anthropogenic discharges in the downstream than in the upstream. The discharge weighted DOC concentrations in the Godavari river is 3–12 times lower than Ganga-Brahmaputra, Indus and major Chinese rivers. The total carbon fluxes from the Godavari into the Bay of Bengal is insignificant (0.5%) compared to the total carbon discharges by major rivers of the world into oceans.     

Status of the Niagara River point source discharge information: Sampling design and estimation of loading

Two basic requirements, low bias and high precision, are necessary for generating reliable estimates for the load from point and nonpoint sources of pollution. Biases and low precision can be the result of using a bad sampling design and/or inadequate method of estimation. The effects of biases can be reduced at the design stage prior to the data collection or at the data anlysis stage. This paper discusses the statistical issues involved in generating adequate load estimations using recently published point source discharge data from the Niagara River to illustrate these issues.     

Operational and Design Considerations of a Trickling Filter for Ammonia Removal from Potable Water

We studied the steady-state behavior of a mathematical model of a nitrifying trickling filter. In particular, we studied the effect of the operating conditions of the filter on the complete and safe nitrification. We presented the results with the help of the operating diagram of the system and we determined the range of operating conditions resulting in optimal operation. We also computed biofilm thickness along the filter depth and concentration profiles inside the biofilm, and compared them with experimental results found in the literature. The comparison shows very good qualitative agreement between model predictions and experimental data.     

Ecosystem Responses to Extreme Natural Events: Impacts of Three Sequential Hurricanes in Fall 1999 on Sediment Quality and Condition of Benthic Fauna in the Neuse River Estuary, North Carolina

A study was conducted in November 1999 to assess sediment quality and condition of benthic fauna in the Neuse River Estuary (NRE), North Carolina, USA, following the passage of three Atlantic hurricanes during the two months prior. Samples for analysis of macroinfauna (>0.5 mm sieve size), chemical contamination of sediments, and other abiotic environmental variables (salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, depth, sediment granulometry) were collected at 20 sites from the mouth of the Neuse River at Pamlico Sound to approximately 90 km upstream. Results were compared to those obtained from the same area in July 1998 using similar protocols. Depressed salinity, caused by extreme rainfall and associated high freshwater flow, persisted throughout much of the estuary, which had experienced periods of water-column stratification and hypoxia of underlying waters. Fifteen of the 20 sites, representing 299 km² (76% of the survey area), also showed signs of benthic stress based on a multi-metric benthic index of biotic integrity (B-IBI). Benthic impacts included reductions in the abundance, diversity, and numbers of species and shifts in taxonomic composition, with a notable increase in dominance of the opportunistic polychaete Mediomastus ambiseta as other former dominant species declined. There was no significant increase in the extent of chemical contamination compared to pre-hurricane conditions. Storm-related reductions in dissoved oxygen and salinity were the more likely causes of the observed benthic impacts, though it was not possible, based on these results, to separate storm effects from seasonal changes in the benthos and annual episodes of summer anoxia and hypoxia.     

Measurement of Atmospheric Deposition Under Forest Canopies: Some Recommendations for Equipment and Sampling Design

Quantification of the forest water flux provides valuable information for the understanding of forest ecosystem functioning. As such, throughfall (and stemflow to a lesser extent) has been frequently measured. Although throughfall collection may seem relatively simple, the requirements to obtain reliable estimates are often underestimated. This review addresses the criteria to take into account when working out the sampling procedure, from the selection of equipment to implementation in the field. Sound sampling of the forest water flux is difficult due to its high spatial and temporal variation. The high costs entailed by the ideal sampling design often prohibit its implementation. Different procedures are available, some of which are compromises between the aim of the study (monitoring or experimental study, short or long term objectives, absolute or relative estimates, quality of the assessment to be achieved) and the available means.     

Development of Dissolved Oxygen Model for a Highly Variable Flow River: A Case Study of Ravi River in Pakistan

A framework for dissolved oxygen (DO) modeling of the Ravi River has been developed based on a combination of laboratory measurements and field and monitoring data. Both the classical Streeter-Phelps (CSP) and the modified Streeter-Phelps (MSP) models are used for DO simulations. The MSP model considers the carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD) and nitrogenous biochemical oxygen demand (NBOD) separately, whereas the CSP model is evaluated considering only the CBOD and NBOD is incorporated in the overall BOD utilization rate. CBOD, NBOD and BOD rates have been determined through long-term BOD analysis of five main wastewater outfalls and two surface drains discharging into the Ravi River over a 98 km stretch. Analysis by Thomas Method manifests strong coefficient of determination “R²” between 0.72 and 0.98 for all the three types of BOD rates. Sensitivity analyses have also been carried out to find out a suitable reaeration rate formula for highly variable flows in the Ravi River. The CSP model results based on classical approach of considering only CBOD show significant difference between the model predictions and field measurements suggesting that NBOD needs to be incorporated for the model development. The dissolved oxygen values calculated using the MSP model and the CSP model based on overall BOD rate are in close agreement with field measurements and are thus suitable to model DO levels in the Ravi River.     

Characterization of Benthic Communities and Physical Habitat in the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Merced Rivers, California

The primary goal of this study was to characterize physical habitat and benthic communities (macroinvertebrates) in the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced Rivers in California’s San Joaquin Valley in 2003. These rivers have been listed as impaired water bodies (303 (d) list) by the State of California due to the presence of organophosphate (OP) insecticides chlorpyrifos and diazinon, Group A pesticides (i.e., organochlorine pesticides), mercury, or unknown toxicity. Based on 10 instream and riparian physical habitat metrics, total physical habitat scores in the Stanislaus River ranged from 124 to 188 (maximum possible total score is 200). The highest total habitat score was reported at the upstream site. Tuolumne River physical habitat scores ranged from 86 to 167. Various Tuolumne River physical habitat metrics, including total habitat score, increased from downstream to upstream in this river. Merced River physical habitat scores ranged from 121 to 170 with a significant increase in various physical habitat metrics, including total habitat score, reported from downstream to upstream. Channel flow (an instream metric) and bank stability (a riparian metric) were the most important physical habitat metrics influencing the various benthic metrics for all three rivers. Abundance measures of benthic macroinvertebrates (5,100 to 5,400 individuals) were similar among the three rivers in the San Joaquin watershed. Benthic communities in all three rivers were generally dominated by: (1) Baetidae species (mayflies) which are a component of EPT taxa generally considered sensitive to environmental degradation; (2) Chironomidae (midges) which can be either tolerant or sensitive to environmental stressors depending on the species; (3) Ephemerellidae (mayflies) which are considered sensitive to pollution stress; and (4) Naididae (aquatic worms) which are generally considered tolerant to environmental stressors. The presence of 117 taxa in the Stanislaus River, 114 taxa in the Tuolumne River and 96 taxa in the Merced River implies that the benthic communities in these streams are fairly diverse but without a clear definition of benthic community expectations it is unknown if these water bodies are actually impaired.     

Correlated Parameters Uncertainty Propagation in a Rainfall-Runoff Model,Considering 2-Copula; Case Study: Karoon III River Basin

Hydrological models are widely used to investigate practical issues of water resources. Parametric uncertainty is considered as one of the most important sources of uncertainty in environmental researches. Generally, it is assumed that the parameters are independent mutually, but correlation within the parameter space is an important factor having the potential to cause uncertainty. The objective and innovation of this study was to address the effects of parameters correlation on a continuous hydrological model uncertainty. HEC-HMS with soil moisture accounting (SMA) infiltration method was used to model daily flows and simulate certainty bounds for Karoon III basin, southwest of IRAN, in two scenarios, independent and correlated parameters using 2-copula. The parameters were represented by probability distributions, and the effect on prediction error were evaluated using Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) on Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). Saturated hydraulic conductivity (K), Clark storage-coefficient (R), and time of concentration (tc) were chosen for investigation, based on observed sensitivity analysis of simulated peak over threshold (POT). One hundred runs were randomly generated from 100 parameter sets captured from LHS of parameters distributions in each sub-basin. Using generated parameter sets, 100 continuous hydrographs were simulated and values of certainty bounds calculated. Results showed that when 2-copula correlated R and tc, with 0.656 Kendall’s Tau and 0.818 Spearman’s Rho coefficients, were propagated, decreasing of outputs’ sharpness was more than when considering K and R (K-R), with 0.166 and 0.262; therefore, incorporation of correlations in the MCS is important, especially when the correlation coefficients exceed 0.65. The model was evaluated at the outlet of the basin using daily stream flow data. Model reliability was better for above-normal flows than normal and below-normal. Reliability increases of simulated flow when considering correlated R-tc was more than K-R because of the correlation values. Incorporation of copula for K-tc not only did not improve the model reliability but also decreased it. Results showed improvement of model reliability, by decreasing predicted error of hydrologic modeling, when dealing with correlated parameters in the system.     

Characteristic Study of Dry Deposition, Concentration, Compositions for Particulates Mass and Ionic Species During Summer and Autumn Season at a Traffic Sampling Site

Aerosol samples for dry deposition and total suspend particulates (TSP) were collected from August to November of 2003 in central Taiwan. Ion chromatography was used to analyze the related water-soluble ionic species (Cl⁻, NO₃ ⁻, SO₄ ²⁻, Na⁺, NH₄ ⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺). The results obtained in this study indicated that the ambient air particulate mass concentrations in the daytime period (averaged 975.4 μg m⁻³) were higher than the nighttime period (averaged 542.1 μg m⁻³). And the daytime dry deposition fluxes (averaged 58.12 μg m⁻² sec⁻¹) were about 2.2 times as that of nighttime dry deposition fluxes (averaged 26.54 μg m⁻² sec⁻¹) of the downward dry deposition. The average values downward and upward of dry deposition fluxes for the weekend period were almost higher than the weekday period for either daytime or nighttime period. Furthermore, the average daytime dry deposition fluxes (averaged 26.37 μg m⁻² sec⁻¹) were also about 2.3 times as that of nighttime dry deposition fluxes (averaged 11.52 μg m⁻² sec⁻¹). Moreover, the results also indicate that SO₄ ²⁻ and Ca²⁺ have higher average composition for total suspended particulates in the daytime period while Ca²⁺, SO₄ ²⁻, and Na⁺ have the higher average composition for total suspends particulates in the nighttime period.     

Variable-source flood pulsing in a semi-arid transboundary watershed: the Chobe River, Botswana and Namibia

The Chobe River, characterized by an unusual flood pulsing regime and shared between Botswana and Namibia, lies at the heart of the world’s largest transfrontier conservation area (the Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area). Significant ecological changes and vegetation conversions are occurring along its floodplains. Various scenarios for agricultural and urban water use are currently being proposed by the government of Botswana. However, the understanding of the river’s annual flow regime and timing of the relative contributions of water from three different sources is relatively poor. In light of past and future climate change and variability, this means that allocating water between ecological flows and economic and domestic uses will become increasingly challenging. We reconstruct the inundation history in this basin to help ease this challenge. This paper presents a spatiotemporal approach to estimate the contribution of water from various sources and the magnitude of changes in the flooding extent in the basin between 1985 and 2010. We used time series analysis of bimonthly NOAA AVHRR and NASA MODIS data and climatologic and hydrologic records to determine the flooding timing and extent. The results indicate that between 12 and 62 % of the basin is flooded on an annual basis and that the spatial extent of the flooding varies throughout the year as a function of the timing of peak discharge in two larger basins. A 30-year trend analysis indicates a consistent decline in the average monthly flooded area in the basin. The results may prove useful in future water utilization feasibility studies, in determining measures for protecting ecological flows and levels, and in ecosystem dynamics studies in the context of current and future climate change and variability.     

A Novel Formulation for Designing a Monitoring Strategy: Application to the Design of a River Quality Monitoring System

In this work, we propose a technique to automatically optimize the monitoring of any distributed indicator (concentration of a substance along a river, blood pressure of a patient over time, etc.) for which a reliable estimate is previously available. From a mathematical point of view, the problem is based on obtaining a reliable estimate of the chosen indicator (e.g., by numerical simulation), and then solving a multi-objective optimization problem (with mixed real and integer variables) whose solution must provide an efficient and satisfactory monitoring strategy. As an illustrative case, we show the steps to follow in order to implement that strategy when designing a system for monitoring water quality in a river. Finally, we present and analyze the results when applying the proposed technique to study a real case in the Neuse River (North Carolina, USA).     

Patchy Distribution Fields: Sampling Distance Unit of a Spiral Survey and Reconstruction Adequacy

A mathematical model is used to examine the effects of choosing various units of sampling distance of a spiral acoustic survey on the adequacy of reconstructing patchy distribution fields. The model simulates fish or plankton patches (or gaps) of different shapes and spatial orientations, and an acoustic survey by a spiral of Archimedes along which a unit of sampling distance is set. For comparison, surveys are imitated by parallel transects along which the same unit of sampling distance is set. Adequacy of the reconstructed fields to those originally generated is evaluated by calculating their correlations (r). In the case of a spiral survey, the mathematical experiments conducted show that an immovable field can be reconstructed properly (r ² > 0.70) if the ratio of the units of sampling distance to the autocorrelation radius for the field averaged in various directions d/R _av < 1.0–1.5. Regarding immovable fields, the spiral surveys ensure, practically speaking, the same adequacy of the field reconstruction as do surveys by parallel transects with the same unit of sampling distance. In regard to movable fields, a comparison of the results of spiral surveys with those of surveys by parallel transects indicates that the former may ensure even higher adequacy of the field reconstruction than do the latter, provided that the units of sampling distances in these surveys are equal to each other.