Mitigating the effects of climate change on the nests of sea turtles with artificial irrigation

For sea turtles, like many oviparous species, increasing temperatures during development threaten to increase embryonic mortality, alter offspring quality, and potentially create suboptimal primary sex ratios. Various methods are being implemented to mitigate the effects of climate change on reproductive success, but these methods, such as breeding programs, translocations, and shading, are often invasive and expensive. Irrigation is an alternative strategy for cooling nests that, depending on location, can be implemented relatively quickly and cheaply. However, multiple factors, including ambient conditions, nest substrate, and species characteristics, can influence irrigation success. Additionally, irrigation can vary in duration, frequency, and the volume of water applied to nests, which influences the cooling achieved and embryonic survival. Thus, it is critical to understand how to maximize cooling and manage risks before implementing irrigation as a nest-cooling strategy. We reviewed the literature on nest irrigation to examine whether artificial irrigation is feasible as a population management tool. Key factors that affected cooling were the volume of water applied and the frequency of applications. Embryonic responses varied with species, ambient conditions, and the timing of irrigation during development. Nest inundation was the key risk to a successful irrigation regime. Future irrigation regimes must identify clear targets, either primary or adult sex ratios, that maximize population viability. Monitoring population responses and adjusting the irrigation regime in response to population characteristics will be critical. Most studies reported on the manipulation of only one or two variables, further research is required to understand how altering multiple factors in an irrigation regime influences the cooling achieved and embryonic responses.     

Sustainable Rainwater Catchment Systems for Micronesian Atoll Communities

Atoll island communities rely on rainwater catchment systems (RWCS) as a primary method of storing freshwater. However, stored freshwater can be depleted during times of drought, requiring importation of water to sustain community living. To maintain adequate water supply under future climatic conditions, the functioning of RWCS for atoll communities must be analyzed and optimal designs must be adopted. In this study, a quantitative analysis of stored daily water volumes is provided for atoll islands within the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), with Nikahlap Island, Pakein Atoll, and a generic island in western FSM used as representative cases. Using a daily water balance model for the RWCS, baseline conditions are simulated for the 1997‐1999 time period, during which an intense El Niño‐induced drought occurred, and a sensitivity analysis is performed to quantify the influence of RWCS features on water system outputs, whereupon an optimal RWCS design using existing infrastructure is analyzed. Results indicate the strong influence of catchment area, system efficiency, and storage capacity on water volumes and the depletion of water during dry seasons and drought periods using current RWCS infrastructure. Adequate storage can be maintained during a major drought if unused RWCS features are employed and if minimal rationing is adopted. Study results provide water resource managers and government officials with valuable data for consideration in water security measures.     

The moral self: A review and integration of the literature

The role of the self in moral functioning has gained considerable theoretical and empirical attention over the last 25 years. A general consensus has emerged that the self plays a vital role in individuals' moral agency. This surge of research produced a proliferation of constructs related to the moral self, each grounded in diverse theoretical perspectives. Although this work has advanced our understanding of moral thought and behavior, there has also been a lack of clarity as to the nature and functioning of the moral self. We review and synthesize empirical research related to the moral self and provide an integrative framework to increase conceptual coherence among the various relevant constructs. We then discuss emerging opportunities and future directions for research on the moral self as well as implications for behavioral ethics in organizational contexts. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessing and Mitigating the Effects of Windblown Soil on Rare and Common Vegetation

Acting under the auspices of the US Endangered Species Act, we quantified wind erosion and its effects on rare and common plant species on a semi-arid military installation in Hawaii. Our goal was to develop management strategies, based on local data, to aid the conservation of rare and common indigenous plants and their habitats. We collected windblown soil coming off of roads and other disturbed soils to assess likely impacts to plants occurring at certain heights and distances from disturbed surfaces. We then subjected plants in a glasshouse to windblown dust treatments, designed from our field data to simulate erosion events, and evaluated the effect of these treatments on photosynthesis and survival. We also designed several field experiments to examine the in-situ effects of windblown soil and soil substrate on germination, growth rate, and survival of indigenous and nonindigenous plants. We conclude from these experiments that most direct effects of windblown soil to plants can be effectively mitigated by locating roads and training areas at least 40 m from sensitive plant habitats and through vegetation management to maintain at least 11% aerial cover on disturbed surfaces. Effects of soil type on germination, growth, and survival was species-specific, emphasizing the importance of species trials prior to, or during, rehabilitation efforts.     

A comparison of the efficiency of different surfactants for removal of crude oil from contaminated soils

This paper presents the results from study investigating the efficiency with which different surfactants remove crude oil from contaminated soil using a soil washing process. The surfactants studied were aqueous solutions of rhamnolipid, saponin and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The efficiency of surfactants' removal was quantified and then GC/MS analysis conducted to investigate the distribution of hydrocarbons remaining on the washed soil samples compared to those on a control. The results showed that SDS removed the most crude oil from soil, followed by rhamnolipid and then saponin. However, the different surfactants showed preferences in terms of which crude oil components they removed from the contaminated soil. SDS removed more of the aliphatics than aromatic hydrocarbons whereas saponin removed the aromatic hydrocarbon preferentially to the aliphatic hydrocarbons. Clearly these results provide important information for the selection of surfactants used to remove crude oil from contaminated soils.     

Deposition and removal of fugitive dust in the arid southwestern United States: measurements and model results

This work was motivated by the need to better reconcile emission factors for fugitive dust with the amount of geologic material found on ambient filter samples. The deposition of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 10 microm (PM10), generated by travel over an unpaved road, over the first 100 m of transport downwind of the road was examined at Ft. Bliss, near El Paso, TX. The field conditions, typical for warm days in the arid southwestern United States, represented sparsely vegetated terrain under neutral to unstable atmospheric conditions. Emission fluxes of PM10 dust were obtained from towers downwind of the unpaved road at 7, 50, and 100 m. The horizontal flux measurements at the 7 m and 100 m towers indicated that PM10 deposition to the vegetation and ground was too small to measure. The data indicated, with 95% confidence, that the loss of PM10 between the source of emission at the unpaved road, represented by the 7 m tower, and a point 100 m downwind was less than 9.5%. A Gaussian model was used to simulate the plume. Values of the vertical standard deviation sigma(z) and the deposition velocity Vd were similar to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ISC3 model. For the field conditions, the model predicted that removal of PM10 unpaved road dust by deposition over the distance between the point of emission and 100 m downwind would be less than 5%. However, the model results also indicated that particles larger than 10 microm (aerodynamic diameter) would deposit more appreciably. The model was consistent with changes observed in size distributions between 7 m and 100 m downwind, which were measured with optical particle counters. The Gaussian model predictions were also compared with another study conducted over rough terrain and stable atmospheric conditions. Under such conditions, measured PM10 removal rates over 95 m of downwind transport were reported to be between 86% and 89%, whereas the Gaussian model predicted only a 30% removal. One explanation for the large discrepancy between measurements and model results was the possibility that under the conditions of the study, the dust plume was comparable in vertical extent to the roughness elements, thereby violating one of the model assumptions. Results of the field study reported here and the previous work over rough terrain bound the extent of particle deposition expected to occur under most unpaved road emission scenarios.     

A chance-constrained goal programming model to evaluate response resources for marine pollution disasters

This paper develops a model to aid Coast Guard managers in formulating appropriate policies with respect to planning for various types of equipment required to contain major pollution incidents. The model is elaborated in terms of three primary stages of response: offloading, containment, and removal. The zero order rule of chance constrained programming is used to obtain a deterministic equivalent of the original chance constrained model. This is then replaced by a goal programming formulation to allow for plans that come “as close as possible” to desired quality and risk levels for each pertinent region and type of incident. Numerical examples illustrate potential uses of the model with special emphasis on its value for budgetary (equipment) planning by central management that extends to evaluation of risk and performance quality levels, as well as the usual dual evaluator approaches for evaluating initially prescribed levels for equipment and their efficiency coefficients.     

Modeling future land cover and water quality change in Minneapolis,MN, USA to support drinking water source protection decisions

Continued alteration of the nitrogen cycle exposes receiving waters to elevated nitrogen concentrations and forces drinking water treatment services to plan for such increases in the future. We developed four 2011–2050 land cover change scenarios and modeled the impact of projected land cover change on influent water quality to support long-term planning for the Minneapolis Water Treatment Distribution Service (MWTDS) using Soil Water and Assessment Tool. Projected land cover changes based on relatively unconstrained economic growth led to substantial increases in total nitrogen (TN) loads and modest increases in total phosphorus (TP) loads in spring. Changes in sediment, TN, and TP under two “constrained” growth scenarios were near zero or declined modestly. Longitudinal analysis suggested that the extant vegetation along the Mississippi River corridor upstream of the MWTDS may be a sediment (and phosphorus) trap. Autoregressive analysis of current (2008–2017) chemical treatment application rates (mass per water volume processed) and extant (2001–2011) land cover change revealed that statistically significant increases in chemical treatment rates were temporally congruent with urbanization and conversion of pasture to cropland. Using the current trend in chemical treatment application rates and their inferred relationship to extant land cover change as a bellwether, the unconstrained growth scenarios suggest that future land cover may present challenges to the production of potable water for MWTDS.     

Synthesis of mono- and dimethoxylated polychlorinated biphenyl derivatives starting from fluoroarene derivatives

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are environmental pollutants implicated in a variety of adverse health effects, including cancer and noncancer...