MODIFIED FALLING HEAD PERMEAMETER ANALYSES OF SOILS FROM TWO SOUTH FLORIDA WETLANDS1

ABSTRACT: The vertical hydraulic conductivity for upward and downward flow conditions was investigated under controlled laboratory conditions for intact cores of organic sediments from two south Florida wetlands ‐ one cypress dome and one emergent marsh. A modified falling head permeameter apparatus was constructed for this effort; the methodology for analyzing the data from the apparatus was generalized and simplified from a previously published version. For the two study wetlands, the hydraulic conductivity in the downward flow direction varied from 77 to 89 percent of that in the upward flow direction.     

GROUND-WATER TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATIONS AT LYONS FERRY FISH HATCHERY,WASHINGTON1

ABSTRACT: The well field serving the Lyons Ferry Fish Hatchery has experienced reduced water temperatures following continued, periodic withdrawal of large volumes of water. In January 1985, the well field temperature was 49°F, which is less than the optimal 52°F for raising salmon and steelhead trout. The aquifer supplying the hatchery is in hydraulic and thermal connection with the Snake River and a flooded embayment of the Palouse River. Ground-water temperatures in the well field cycle on an annual basis in response to changes in surface water temperature and pumping rate. Numerical simulation of the well field, using a simplified mixing cell model, demonstrates the coupling of well field hydraulics and aquifer thermal response. Alternative pumping schedules indicate that it is feasible to adjust ground-water pumping to effectively store heat in the aquifer during the summer months when surface water temperatures are elevated. Sensitivity analysis of this model indicated that the primary controls of the system's thermal response are the volume of the aquifer assumed to contribute to the well field and temperature of the overlying surface water body.     

The environmental dimension to security issues

Summary Citing topical international instances the author demonstrates that environmental impoverishment is a major cause for tension and hostilities between nations. He makes a strong case that an assessment of security concepts should include a measure of environmental and resource-based stability.Few threats to peace and survival of the human community are greater than those posed by the prospects of cumulative and irreversible degradation of the biosphere on which human life depends. In a global context, true security cannot be achieved by mounting buildup of weapons (defense in a narrow sense), but only by providing basic conditions for solving non-military problems which threaten them. Our survival depends not only on military balance, but on global cooperation to ensure a sustainable biological environment.Report of the Brandt Commission, 1980Dr Norman Myers is a consultant in environment and development. He is a prolific author and served as the General Editor toThe GaiaAtlas of Planet Management (1985). In 1983, Dr Myers was awarded the World Wildlife Fund Gold Medal for his work on conservation.