Ultraviolet absorbance as a proxy for total dissolved mercury in streams

Stream water samples were collected over a range of hydrologic and seasonal conditions at three forested watersheds in the northeastern USA. Samples were analyzed for dissolved total mercury (THg_d), DOC concentration and DOC composition, and UV₂₅₄ absorbance across the three sites over different seasons and flow conditions. Pooling data from all sites, we found a strong positive correlation of THg_d to DOC (r² = 0.87), but progressively stronger correlations of THg_d with the hydrophobic acid fraction (HPOA) of DOC (r² = 0.91) and with UV₂₅₄ absorbance (r² = 0.92). The strength of the UV₂₅₄ absorbance-THg_d relationship suggests that optical properties associated with dissolved organic matter may be excellent proxies for THg_d concentration in these streams. Ease of sample collection and analysis, the potential application of in-situ optical sensors, and the possibility for intensive monitoring over the hydrograph make this an effective, inexpensive approach to estimate THg_d flux in drainage waters.     

Ultrafine particle fluxes above four major European cities

Little information is known about the behaviour of ultrafine particles (UFP) on a citywide scale. Total particle number flux, dominated by UFP, and other meteorological parameters were collected from tower sites in Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Gothenburg between 1999 and 2006 using the eddy covariance technique. Averaged diurnal cycles were produced for particle number flux, concentration, sensible heat flux, emission velocity, friction velocity, wind speed and temperature. UFP flux cycles showed clear diurnal trends which were linked to traffic activity and local sources. Wind sector analysis showed contributions to flux from local heavily urbanised areas. A simple parameterised model linking UFP flux to traffic activity, sensible heat and friction velocity above the city was produced.     

Investigating the chemical nature of humic-like substances (HULIS) in North American atmospheric aerosols by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

The high-molecular weight water-soluble organic compounds present in atmospheric aerosols underwent functional-group characterization using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), with a focus on understanding the chemical structure and origins of humic-like substances (HULIS) in the atmosphere. Aerosol samples were obtained from several locations in North America at times when primary sources contributing to organic aerosol were well-characterized: Riverside, CA, Fresno, CA, urban and peripheral Mexico City, Atlanta, GA, and Bondville, IL. Chemical analysis targeted identification and quantification of functional groups, such as aliphatic, aromatic, and bulk carboxylic acids, organosulfates, and carbohydrate-like substances that comprise species with molecular weights (MW) 200–600 amu. Measured high-MW functional groups were compared to modeled primary sources with the purpose of identifying associations between aerosol sources, high-MW aerosol species, and HULIS. Mobile source emissions were linked to high-molecular weight carboxylic acids, especially aromatic acids, biomass burning was associated with carboxylic acids and carbohydrate-like substances, and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) correlated well with the total amount of HULIS measured, whereas organosulfates showed no correlation with aerosol sources and exhibited unique spatial trends. These results suggested the importance of motor vehicles, biomass burning, and SOA as important sources of precursors to HULIS. Structural characteristics of atmospheric HULIS were compared to terrestrial humic and fulvic acids and revealed striking similarities in chemical structure, with the exception of organosulfates which were unique to atmospheric HULIS.     

Characterization of PM2.5-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Atlanta—Seasonal variations at urban,suburban, and rural ambient air monitoring sites

Twenty-eight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and methylated PAHs (Me-PAH) were measured in daily PM_2.5 samples collected at an urban site, a suburban site, and a rural site in and near Atlanta during 2004 (5 samples/month/site). The suburban site, located near a major highway, had higher PM_2.5-bound PAH concentrations than did the urban site, and the rural site had the lowest PAH levels. Monthly variations are described for concentrations of total PAHs (∑PAHs) and individual PAHs. PAH concentrations were much higher in cold months than in warm months, with average monthly ∑PAH concentrations at the urban and suburban-highway monitoring sites ranging from 2.12 to 6.85 ng m^?3 during January–February and November–December 2004, compared to 0.38–0.98 ng m^?3 during May–September 2004. ∑PAH concentrations were found to be well correlated with PM_2.5 and organic carbon (OC) within seasons, and the fractions of PAHs in PM_2.5 and OC were higher in winter than in summer. Methyl phenanthrenes were present at higher levels than their un-substituted homologue (phenanthrene), suggesting a petrogenic (unburned petroleum products) input. Retene, a proposed tracer for biomass burning, peaked in March, the month with the highest acreage and frequency of prescribed burning and unplanned fires, and in December, during the high residential wood-burning season, indicating that retene might be a good marker for burning of all biomass materials. In contrast, potassium peaked only in December, indicating that it might be a more specific tracer for wood-burning.     

Organic aerosol characterization by complementary measurements of chemical bonds and molecular fragments

Organic aerosol chemical markers from normalized concentrations of independent measurements of mass fragments (using Aerosol Mass Spectrometry, AMS) are compared to bond-based functional groups (from Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, FTIR) during eight field projects in the western hemisphere. Several field projects show weak correlations between alcohol group fractions and m/z 60 fractions, consistent with the organic hydroxyl groups and the fragmentation of saccharides, but the weakness of the correlations indicate chemical differences among the relationships for ambient aerosols in different regions. Carboxylic acid group fractions and m/z 44 fractions are correlated weakly for three projects, with correlations expected for aerosols dominated by di-acid compounds since their fragmentation is typically dominated by m/z 44. Despite differences for three projects with ratios of m/z 44 to m/z 57 fragments less than 10, five projects showed a linear trend between the project-average m/z 44 to m/z 57 ratio and the ratio of acid and alkane functional groups. While this correlation explains only a fraction of the fragment and bond variability measured, the consistency of this relationship at multiple sites indicates a general agreement with the interpretation of the relative amount of m/z 44 as a carboxylic acid group marker and m/z 57 as an alkane group marker.     

Population dynamics and the economics of invasive species management: the greenhouse whitefly in California-grown strawberries

In agriculture, relatively few efficacious control measures may be available for an invasive pest. In the case of a new insect pest, insecticide use decisions are affected by regulations associated with its registration, insect population dynamics, and seasonal market price cycles. We assess the costs and benefits of environmental regulations designed to regulate insecticide applications on an invasive species. We construct a bioeconomic model, based on detailed scientific data, of management decisions for a specific invasion: greenhouse whiteflies in California-grown strawberries. The empirical model integrates whitefly population dynamics, the effect of whitefly feeding on strawberry yields, and weekly strawberry price. We use the model to assess the optimality of alternative treatment programs on a simulated greenhouse whitefly population. Our results show that regulations may lead growers to "under-spray" when placed in an economic context, and provide some general lessons about the design of optimal invasive species control policies.     

Challenges to liberalism: The case of Australian energy policy

This paper considers liberal and nationalist economic policy approaches to the ownership and development of Australian energy resources (oil, gas, coal and uranium). In the two decades prior to 1983, Australia pursued economic policies in relation to its energy resources which could broadly be described as ‘nationalist’. Governments of the day intervened in development decisions in an effort to enhance the ‘national interest’. From 1983, along with the deregulation of the Australian economy as a whole, policy relating to energy resources was liberalised. Development of energy reserves henceforth occurred according to the dictates of the market. This paper argues that recent Australian energy policy initiatives reflect an increase in nationalist influences and a retreat from the liberalisation agenda that dominated energy policy making in the 1980s and 1990s. Three examples are discussed where policy has been influenced by a nationalist framework: (1) the domestic gas reservation policy in Western Australia; (2) Australian government efforts to promote a ‘value adding’ nuclear processing industry and (3) Australian Labor Party policy giving preferential financial incentives for gas to liquids projects. The re-emergence of nationalism in Australia is occurring either because policy makers now favour it as a path to energy security or in some cases because they believe that appeals to nationalism will generate political support.     

Efficiency of perchlorate consumption in road flares, propellants and explosives

When an explosive detonates or a propellant or flare burns, consumption of the energetic filler should be complete but rarely is, especially in the presence of large amounts of non-combustible materials. Herein we examine three types of perchlorate-containing devices to estimate their potential as sources of contamination in their normal mode of functioning. Road flares, rocket propellants and ammonium nitrate (AN) emulsion explosives are potentially significant anthropogenic sources of perchlorate contamination. This laboratory evaluated perchlorate residue from burning of flares and propellants as well as detonations of ammonium nitrate emulsion explosives. Residual perchlorate in commercial products ranged from 0.094 mg perchlorate per gram material (flares) to 0.012 mg perchlorate per gram material (AN emulsion explosives). The rocket propellant formulations, prepared in this laboratory, generated 0.014 mg of perchlorate residue per gram of material.     

Modeling the costs and benefits of dam construction from a multidisciplinary perspective

Although the benefits of dam construction are numerous, particularly in the context of climate change and growing global demand for electricity, recent experience has shown that many dams have serious negative environmental, human, and political consequences. Despite an extensive literature documenting the benefits and costs of dams from a single disciplinary perspective, few studies have simultaneously evaluated the distribution of biophysical, socio-economic, and geopolitical implications of dams. To meet the simultaneous demands for water, energy, and environmental protection well into the future, a broader view of dams is needed. We thus propose a new tool for evaluating the relative costs and benefits of dam construction based on multi-objective planning techniques. The Integrative Dam Assessment Modeling (IDAM) tool is designed to integrate biophysical, socio-economic, and geopolitical perspectives into a single cost/benefit analysis of dam construction. Each of 27 different impacts of dam construction is evaluated both objectively (e.g., flood protection, as measured by RYI years) and subjectively (i.e., the valuation of said flood protection) by a team of decision-makers. By providing a visual representation of the various costs and benefits associated with two or more dams, the IDAM tool allows decision-makers to evaluate alternatives and to articulate priorities associated with a dam project, making the decision process about dams more informed and more transparent. For all of these reasons, we believe that the IDAM tool represents an important evolutionary step in dam evaluation.     

Extending the environmental risk assessment for oseltamivir (Tamiflu®) under pandemic use conditions to the coastal marine compartment

In case of an avian-influenza-derived human flu pandemic, an inordinately high use of medicines over several weeks is predicted, in particular for the recommended influenza antiviral oseltamivir (Tamiflu). While the risk of oseltamivir to sewage works and freshwater bodies has already been assessed, the fact that a large percentage of the human population worldwide lives relatively close to the sea raises concern for its environmental compatibility in coastal marine waters. The potential risk of high oseltamivir use to the marine compartment is assessed in this publication, based on the 2003 European Community Technical Guidance Document (TGD) for risk assessment. Subchronic embryo–larval ecotoxicity tests with three marine invertebrates (Pomatoceros triqueter, Annelida; Mytilus edulis, Mollusca; Paracentrotus lividus, Echinodermata) and chronic growth inhibition tests with two different groups of marine microalgae (Isochrysis galbana, Haptophyta; Skeletonema costatum, Heterokontophyta) were performed with the active substance oseltamivir carboxylic acid to derive a dependable marine predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC). This was compared to a predicted environmental concentration (PEC) for oseltamivir in coastal waters, based on the worst-case freshwater PEC. The PEC/PNEC risk characterisation ratio for the marine compartment is well below 1, which in the terminology of the TGD signifies no immediate concern. Further, while oseltamivir may be persistent (P), it is not bioaccumulative (B) nor highly ecotoxic (T) and therefore not a PBT substance. In conclusion, even a high pandemic use of oseltamivir would not lead to a significant risk for the marine compartment, in confirmation of the risk assessment for sewage works and freshwaters.