Effects of Recent Volcanic Eruptions on Aquatic Habitat in the Drift River, Alaska, USA: Implications at Other Cook Inlet Region Volcanoes

/ Numerous drainages supporting productive salmon habitat are surrounded by active volcanoes on the west side of Cook Inlet in south-central Alaska. Eruptions have caused massive quantities of flowing water and sediment to enter the river channels emanating from glaciers and snowfields on these volcanoes. Extensive damage to riparian and aquatic habitat has commonly resulted, and benthic macroinvertebrate and salmonid communities can be affected. Because of the economic importance of Alaska's fisheries, detrimental effects on salmonid habitat can have significant economic implications. The Drift River drains glaciers on the northern and eastern flanks of Redoubt Volcano. During and following eruptions in 1989-1990, severe physical disturbances to the habitat features of the river adversely affected the fishery. Frequent eruptions at other Cook Inlet region volcanoes exemplify the potential effects of volcanic activity on Alaska's important commercial, sport, and subsistence fisheries. Few studies have documented the recovery of aquatic habitat following volcanic eruptions. The eruptions of Redoubt Volcano in 1989-1990 offered an opportunity to examine the recovery of the macroinvertebrate community. Macroinvertebrate community composition and structure in the Drift River were similar in both undisturbed and recently disturbed sites. Additionally, macroinvertebrate samples from sites in nearby undisturbed streams were highly similar to those from some Drift River sites. This similarity and the agreement between the Drift River macroinvertebrate community composition and that predicted by a qualitative model of typical macroinvertebrate communities in glacier-fed rivers indicate that the Drift River macroinvertebrate community is recovering five years after the disturbances associated with the most recent eruptions of Redoubt Volcano. KEY WORDS: Aquatic habitat; Volcanoes; Lahars; Lahar-runout flows; Macroinvertebrates; Community structure; Community composition; Taxonomic similarity     

Assessment of deep aquifer groundwater quality in a geographically unique climatic region of Southern Western Ghats,India using water quality indices

Water quality index (WQI) models are generally used in hydrochemical studies to simplify complex data into single values to reflect the overall quality. In this study, deep groundwater quality in the Chittur and Palakkad Taluks of the Bharathapuzha river basin of Kerala, India, was assessed by employing the WQI method developed by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME). The assessment of overall water quality is indispensable due to the specific characteristics of the study area, such as geography, climate, over-drafting, and prevalent agricultural practices. Forty representative samples were collected from the study area for monsoon (MON) and pre-monsoon (PRM) seasons. The results showed a general increase of contents from MON to PRM. The major cations were spread in the order Ca²⁺>Na+>Mg²⁺>K⁺ and the anions HCO₃⁻>Cl⁻>CO₃²⁻ based on their relative abundance. Among various parameters analysed, alkalinity and bicarbonate levels during MON were comparatively high, which is indicative of carbonate weathering, and 90% of the samples failed to meet the World Health Organization (WHO, 2017)/Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS, 2012) drinking water guidelines. The CCME WQI analysis revealed that nearly 50% of the samples during each season represented good and excellent categories. The samples in the poor category comprised 10% in MON and 15% in PRM. The overall WQI exhibited 15% of poor category samples as well. The spatial depiction of CCME WQI classes helped to expose zones of degraded quality in the centre to eastward parts. The spatial and temporal variations of CCME WQI classes and different physicochemical attributes indicated the influence of common factors attributing to the deep groundwater quality. The study also revealed inland salinity at Kolluparamba and Peruvamba stations, where agricultural activities were rampant with poor surface water irrigation.     

Photodegradation of the steroid hormones 17beta-estradiol (E2) and 17alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2) in dilute aqueous solution

The photochemical transformation of natural estrogenic steroid 17beta-estradiol (E2) and the synthetic oral contraceptive 17alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2) has been studied in dilute non buffered aqueous solution (pH 5.5-6.0) upon monochromatic (254 nm) and polychromatic (lambda>290 nm) irradiation. Upon irradiation at 254 nm, the quantum yields of E2 and EE2 photolysis were similar and evaluated to be 0.067+/-0.007 and 0.062+/-0.007, respectively. Upon polychromatic excitation, and by using phenol as chemical actinometer, the photolysis efficiencies have been determined to be 0.07+/-0.01 and 0.08+/-0.01 for E2 and EE2, respectively. For both estrogens, photodegradation by-products were identified with GC/MS and LC/MS. In a first step, a model compound--5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-2-naphthol (THN)--, which represents the photoactive phenolic group, was used to obtain basic photoproduct structural informations. Numerous primary and secondary products were observed, corresponding to hydroxylated phenolic- or quinone-type compounds.     

The efficacy of protoporphyrin as a predictive biomarker for lead exposure in canvasback ducks: Effect of sample storage time

We used 363 blood samples collected from wild canvasback dueks (Aythya valisineria) at Catahoula Lake, Louisiana, U.S.A. to evaluate the effect of sample storage time on the efficacy of erythrocytic protoporphyrin as an indicator of lead exposure. The protoporphyrin concentration of each sample was determined by hematofluorometry within 5 min of blood collection and after refrigeration at 4 °C for 24 and 48 h. All samples were analyzed for lead by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Based on a blood lead concentration of 0.2 ppm wet weight as positive evidence for lead exposure, the protoporphyrin technique resulted in overall error rates of 29%, 20%, and 19% and false negative error rates of 47%, 29% and 25% when hematofluorometric determinations were made on blood at 5 min, 24 h, and 48 h, respectively. False positive error rates were less than 10% for all three measurement times. The accuracy of the 24-h erythrocytic protoporphyrin classification of blood samples as positive or negative for lead exposure was significantly greater than the 5-min classification, but no improvement in accuracy was gained when samples were tested at 48 h. The false negative errors were probably due, at least in part, to the lag time between lead exposure and the increase of blood protoporphyrin concentrations. False negatives resulted in an underestimation of the true number of canvasbacks exposed to lead, indicating that hematofluorometry provides a conservative estimate of lead exposure.The U.S. Government's right to retain a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence in and to any copyright is acknowledgedDeceased     

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT EVALUATION OF HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL IN LAND1

Since the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring in 1962 there has been a rapidly growing public concern over widespread contamination of the environment with hazardous wastes. In recent years scientific findings on the ecological effects of various hazardous substances have posed several important questions. What exactly are hazardous wastes? Can these substances be disposed of in a technically feasible, economical, and safe way with assurance that they have been permanently eliminated from the ecosystem? What compositional alterations or movements of the hazardous wastes occur in water, soil, or air systems? What effect will these wastes have on the water, soil, or air systems? What effect will these wastes have on the water, soil, or air properties? Consequently, a University of Louisville study has developed a relevant definition of hazardous wastes for the Environmental Engineering profession together with priority of concern rating systems to delineate the degree of environmental impact imposed on a total ecosystem by a hazardous waste and the feasibility of disposing of hazardous substances at specific landfill sites. It is felt that refinements of the priority of concern rating systems offered here may provide a sound basis from which procedural decisions may be structured to establish future national hazardous waste disposal sites.     

Total versus inhalable sampler comparison study for the determination of asphalt fume exposures within the road paving industry

Exposure to asphalt fumes has a threshold limit value (TLV of 0.5 mg m(-3) (benzene extractable inhalable particulate) as recommended by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). This reflects a recent change (2000) whereby two variables are different from the previous recommendation. First is a 10-fold reduction in quantity from 5 mg m(-3) to 0.5 mg m(-3). Secondly, the new TLV specifies the "inhalable" fraction as compared to what is presumed to be total particulate. To assess the impact of these changes, this study compares the differences between measurements of paving asphalt fume exposure in the field using an "inhalable" instrument versus the historically used 'total' sampler. Particle size is also examined to assist in the understanding of the aerodynamic collection differences as related to asphalt fumes and confounders. Results show that when exposures are limited to asphalt fumes, a 1:1 relationship exists between samplers, showing no statistically significant differences in benzene soluble matter (BSM). This means that for the asphalt fume ACGIH TLV, the 'total' 37-mm sampler is an equivalent method to the "inhalable" method, referred to as IOM (Institute of Occupational Medicine), and should be acceptable for use against the TLV. However, the study found that when confounders (dust or old asphalt millings) are present in the workplace, there can be significant differences between the two samplers' reported exposure. The ratio of IOM/Total was 1.37 for milling asphalt sites, 1.41 for asphalt paving over granular base, and 1.02 for asphalt over asphalt pavements.     

Laboratory studies of the remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contaminated soil by in-vessel composting

The biodegradation of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), listed as priority pollutants by the USEPA, present in a coal-tar-contaminated soil from a former manufactured gas plant site was investigated using laboratory-scale in-vessel composting reactors to determine the suitability of this approach as a bioremediation technology. Preliminary investigations were conducted over 16 weeks to determine the optimum soil composting temperature (38, 55 and 70 degrees C). Three tests were performed; firstly, soil was composted with green-waste, with a moisture content of 60%. Secondly, microbial activity was HgCl2-inhibited in the soil green-waste mixture with a moisture content of 60%, to evaluate abiotic losses, while in the third experiment only soil was incubated at the three different temperatures. PAHs and microbial populations were monitored. PAHs were lost from all treatments with 38 degrees C being the optimum temperature for both PAH removal and microbial activity. Calculated activation energy values (E(a)) for total PAHs suggested that the main loss mechanism in the soil-green waste reactors was biological, whereas in the soil reactors it was chemical. Total PAH losses in the soil-green waste composting mixtures were by pseudo-first order kinetics at 38 degrees C (k = 0.013 day(-1), R2 = 0.95), 55 degrees C (k = 0.010 day(-1), R2 = 0.76) and at 70 degrees C (k = 0.009 day(-1), R2 = 0.73).     

Numerical modelling of horizontal sediment-laden jets

Sediment-laden turbulent flows are commonly encountered in natural and engineered environments. It is well known that turbulence generates fluctuations to the particle motion, resulting in modulation of the particle settling velocity. A novel stochastic particle tracking model is developed to predict the particle settling out and deposition from a sediment-laden jet. Particle velocity fluctuations in the jet flow are modelled from a Lagrangian velocity autocorrelation function that incorporates the physical mechanism leading to a reduction of settling velocity. The model is first applied to study the settling velocity modulation in a homogeneous turbulence field. Consistent with basic experiments using grid-generated turbulence and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) calculations, the model predicts that the apparent settling velocity can be reduced by as much as 30 % of the stillwater settling velocity. Using analytical solution for the jet mean flow and semi-empirical RMS turbulent velocity fluctuation and dissipation rate profiles derived from CFD predictions, model predictions of the sediment deposition and cross-sectional concentration profiles of horizontal sediment-laden jets are in excellent agreement with data. Unlike CFD calculations of sediment fall out and deposition from a jet flow, the present method does not require any a priori adjustment of particle settling velocity.     

Habitat Improvements and Fish Community Response Associated with an Agricultural Two‐Stage Ditch in Mower County,Minnesota

Water quality and stream habitat in agricultural watersheds are under greater scrutiny as hydrologic pathways are altered to increase crop production. Ditches have been traditionally constructed to remove water from agricultural lands. Little attention has been placed on alternative ditch designs that are more stable and provide greater habitat diversity for wildlife and aquatic species. In 2009, 1.89 km of a conventional drainage ditch in Mower County, Minnesota, was converted to a two‐stage ditch (TSD) with small, adjacent floodplains to mimic a natural system. Cross section surveys, conducted pre‐ and post‐construction, generally indicate a stable channel with minor adjustments over time. Vegetation surveys showed differences in species composition and biomass between the slopes and the benches, with changes ongoing. Longitudinal surveys demonstrated a 12‐fold increase in depth variability. Fish habitat quality improved with well‐sorted gravel riffles and deeper pool habitat. The biological response to improved habitat quality was investigated using a Fish Index of Biological Integrity (FIBI). Our results show higher FIBI scores post‐construction with scores more similar to natural streams. In summary, the TSD demonstrated improvements in riparian and instream habitat quality and fish communities, which showed greater fish species richness, higher percentages of gravel spawning fish, and better FIBI scores. This type of management tool could benefit ditches in other regions where gradient and geology allow.