Characterization of atmospheric aerosols by SEM in a rural area in the western part of México and its relation with different pollution sources

Samples of particulate matter were collected during the period from October 2006 through September 2007 in a rural station located 12 km from the city of Colima. A total of 3600 particles were analyzed by SEM-EDS and then classified by their chemical composition and morphology in order of abundance: those rich in C, Fe, Si–Al, Cl–Na, Ca, Ba; and to a lesser abundance, particles rich in heavy metals such as Pb and V–Ni were observed. A factorial analysis was carried out to determine the main elements related with the emission sources such as crustal/farming; fuel-oil; marine; volcanic activity and industry. Trough the seasons, the dominant winds causes the presence of anthropogenic particles in the rural site. The information presented in this study aims to give insight and detailed of the analysis of the morphological characteristics and chemical composition of atmospheric particles at individual level in a rural site from Colima State, Mexico.     

Development and validation of a method for evaluating temporary wooden guardrails built and installed on construction sites

Wooden guardrails are usually built and installed on construction sites to protect workers against falls. In this context, it is extremely difficult to verify whether they are safe and comply with existing regulations. The present study describes the development and validation of an evaluation method and a test protocol for verifying whether these wooden guardrails are safe and meet the requirements of the Québec Safety Code for the construction industry (S-2.1, r.6) in order to ensure that workers have adequate fall protection. This study shows that some wooden guardrails do not comply with S-2.1, r.6. The evaluation method and test protocol are reproducible and easily applicable on construction sites and can easily be adapted to international regulations.     

Current efforts to monitor and conserve the Eastern Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca in Hungary

The globally threatened Eastern Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca has been one of the flagship species of Hungarian bird conservation efforts since the 1980s. Due to these conservation activities and positive land-use changes during the last 2 decades, the Hungarian Imperial Eagle population increased from as few as approximately 20 pairs in the early 1980s to 81 pairs by 2006. Between 2002 and 2005 as part of a LIFE-Nature project, MME/Birdlife Hungary carried out particularly intensive monitoring, conservation, research, and public awareness actions. The main goal of the project was to secure the long-term sustainable increase in the Imperial Eagle population after Hungary's European Union accession in 2004. New methods were developed and applied to census and monitor the breeding and wintering population sizes. Standardized baseline land-use mapping and surveys were introduced to detect long-term land-use and prey density changes in priority areas for Imperial Eagles and to monitor the effects of key mortality factors, such as electrocution. Historical information and data gathered before and during the project period were assimilated using a Geographic Information System and incorporated into a comprehensive set of Imperial Eagle Management Guidelines.     

Relationship between ammonia stomatal compensation point and nitrogen metabolism in arable crops: current status of knowledge and potential modelling approaches

The ammonia stomatal compensation point of plants is determined by leaf temperature, ammonium concentration ([NH4+]apo) and pH of the apoplastic solution. The later two depend on the adjacent cells metabolism and on leaf inputs and outputs through the xylem and phloem. Until now only empirical models have been designed to model the ammonia stomatal compensation point, except the model of Riedo et al. (2002. Coupling soil-plant-atmosphere exchange of ammonia with ecosystem functioning in grasslands. Ecological Modelling 158, 83-110), which represents the exchanges between the plant's nitrogen pools. The first step to model the ammonia stomatal compensation point is to adequately model [NH4+]apo. This [NH4+]apo has been studied experimentally, but there are currently no process-based quantitative models describing its relation to plant metabolism and environmental conditions. This study summarizes the processes involved in determining the ammonia stomatal compensation point at the leaf scale and qualitatively evaluates the ability of existing whole plant N and C models to include a model for [NH4+]apo.     

Macroinvertebrate community response to acid mine drainage in rivers of the High Andes (Bolivia)

Several High Andes Rivers are characterized by inorganic water pollution known as acid mine drainage (AMD). The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between metal concentrations in the sediments and the macroinvertebrate communities in two river basins affected by AMD. In general, the taxon diversity of the macroinvertebrate community at the family level was low. The concentrations of Cd, Cu, Zn, Pb and Ni at mining sites were higher than at unpolluted sites. The pH of the water was alkaline (7.0-8.5) in unpolluted sites, whereas it dropped to very low values (<3) at mining sites. Redundancy Analysis (RDA) showed that pH was the best predictor of macroinvertebrate community richness. The number of macroinvertebrate families decreased gradually with increasing acidity, both in pools and riffles, though it is suggested that riffle communities were more affected because they are in closer contact with the acid water.     

Measuring regional trends in ozone

We model maximum daily ozone concentration at a number of sites in Ontario in terms of weather classes, temperature, season and a moving average error term. In an effort to detect a regional trend in the remaining residuals, we develop a method related to principal components which obtains the linear combination of sites with greatest autocorrelation. We apply this method to data from sites in Southern Ontario and conclude that there was a regional trend in ozone during the period 1980–1992. A similar treatment does not find a general trend in temperature data but does reveal a widening gap in temperature between northern and southern sites.     

The role of metadata and strategies to detect and control temporal data bias in environmental monitoring of soil contamination

It is crucial for environmental monitoring to fully control temporal bias, which is the distortion of real data evolution by varying bias through time. Temporal bias cannot be fully controlled by statistics alone but requires appropriate and sufficient metadata, which should be under rigorous and continuous quality assurance and control (QA/QC) to reliably document the degree of consistency of the monitoring system. All presented strategies to detect and control temporal data bias (QA/QC, harmonisation/homogenisation/standardisation, mass balance approach, use of tracers and analogues and control of changing boundary conditions) rely on metadata. The Will Rogers phenomenon, due to subsequent reclassification, is a particular source of temporal data bias introduced to environmental monitoring here. Sources and effects of temporal data bias are illustrated by examples from the Swiss soil monitoring network. The attempt to make a comprehensive compilation and assessment of required metadata for soil contamination monitoring reveals that most metadata are still far from being reliable. This leads to the conclusion that progress in environmental monitoring means further development of the concept of environmental metadata for the sake of temporal data bias control as a prerequisite for reliable interpretations and decisions.     

Water quality in Lis river, Portugal

In the past 30?years, the Lis river basin has been subjected to constant ecological disasters mainly due to piggery untreated wastewater discharges. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of existing domestic, agricultural, and industrial activities on the water quality, and to propose a watershed plan to protect and manage surface water resources within the Lis river basin. For this purpose, 16 monitoring stations have been strategically selected along the Lis river stretch and its main tributaries to evaluate the water quality in six different sampling periods (2003–2006). All samples were characterized in terms of organic material, nutrients, chlorophyll, and pathogenic bacteria. Generally, the Lis river presents poor water quality, according to environmental quality standards for surface water, principally in terms of dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen, and fecal coliform, which can be associated mainly with the contamination source from pig-breeding farms.     

Hydrogeological definition and applicability of abandoned coal mines as water reservoirs

Hydrogeologically, the Central Coal Basin (Asturias, Spain) is characterized by predominantly low-permeability materials that make up a multilayer aquifer with very low porosity and permeability values, where the sandstones act as limited aquifers, and wackes, mudstones, shales and coal seams act as confining levels. Preferential groundwater flow paths are open fractures and zones of decompression associated with them, so the hydraulic behaviour of the system is more associated with fracturing than lithology. Thus, abandoned and flooded mines in the area acquire an important role in the management of water resources, setting up an artificial "pseudo-karst" aquifer. This paper evaluates the potential application of the abandoned mines as underground reservoirs, both for water supply and energetic use, mainly through heat pumps and small hydropower plants. In particular, the groundwater reservoir shaped by the connected shafts Barredo and Figaredo has been chosen, and a detailed and multifaceted study has been undertaken in the area. The exposed applications fit with an integrated management of water resources and contribute to improve economic and social conditions of a traditional mining area in gradual decline due to the cessation of such activity.     

An Evaluation of Microscopic Emission Models for Traffic Pollution Simulation Using On-board Measurement

As a result of the continuously increasing numbers of motor vehicles in metropolitan areas worldwide, road traffic emission levels have been recognized as a challenge during the planning and management of transportation. Experiments were conducted to collect on-road emission data using portable emission measurement systems in two Chinese cities in order to estimate real traffic emissions and energy consumption levels and to build computational models for operational transport environment projects. In total, dynamic pollutant emissions and fuel consumption levels from dozens of light duty vehicles, primarily from four different vehicle classes, were measured at a second-by-second level. Using the collected data, several microscopic emission models including CMEM, VT-Micro, EMIT, and POLY were evaluated and compared through calibration and validation procedures. Non-linear optimization methods are applied for the calibration of the CMEM and EMIT models. Numerical results show that the models can realize performance levels close to the CMEM model in most cases. The VT-Micro model shows advantages in its unanimous performance and ability to describe low emission profiles while the EMIT model has a clear physics basis and a simple model structure. Both of them can be applied when extensive emission computation is required in estimating environmental impacts resulting from dynamic road traffic.