Clusters of community exposure to coastal flooding hazards based on storm and sea level rise scenarios—implications for adaptation networks in the San Francisco Bay region

Regional Environmental Change - Sea level is projected to rise over the coming decades, further increasing the extent of flooding hazards in coastal communities. Efforts to address potential...     

Application of the ERICA Integrated Approach to the Drigg coastal sand dunes

The EC-funded project 'Environmental Risks from Ionising Contaminants: Assessment and Management' (ERICA) developed an 'Integrated Approach' for assessing the impact of ionising radiation on ecosystems. This paper presents the application of the ERICA Integrated Approach, supported by a software programme (the ERICA Tool) and guidance documentation, to an assessment of the Drigg coastal sand dunes (Cumbria, UK). Targeted sampling provided site-specific data for sand dune biota, including amphibians and reptiles. Radionuclides reported included (90)Sr, (99)Tc, (137)Cs, (238)Pu, (239+240)Pu and (241)Am. Site-specific data were compared to predictions derived using the ERICA Tool. Some under- and over-predictions of biota activity concentrations were identified but can be explained by the specific ecological characteristics and contamination mechanism of the dunes. Overall, the results indicated no significant impact of ionising radiation on the sand dune biota and the Integrated Approach was found to be a flexible and effective means of conducting a radiation impact assessment.     

Wetland cultivation and hydrological management in eastern Africa: Matching community and hydrological needs through sustainable wetland use

Wetlands are critical natural resources in developing countries where they perform a range of environmental functions and provide numerous socio-economic benefits to local communities and a wider population. In recent years, however, many wetlands throughout eastern Africa have come under extreme pressure as government policies, socio-economic change and population pressure have stimulated a need for more agriculturally productive land. Although wetland drainage and cultivation can make a key contribution to food and livelihood security in the short term, in the long term there are concerns over the sustainability of this utilization and the maintenance of wetland benefits. This article draws upon recent research carried out in western Ethiopia, which addressed the sustainability of wetland agriculture in an area of increasing food insecurity and population pressure. It discusses the impacts of drainage and cultivation on wetland hydrology and draws attention to local wetland management strategies, particularly those characterized by multiple use of wetlands, where agriculture exists alongside other wetland uses. The article suggests that where multiple wetland uses exist, a range of benefits can be sustained with little evidence of environmental degradation. Ways of promoting and empowering such sustainable wetland management systems are discussed in the context of the wider need for water security throughout the region.     

Stochastical analysis of surfactant-enhanced remediation of denser-than-water nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL)-contaminated soils

Stochastical analysis was performed to assess the effect of soil spatial variability and heterogeneity on the recovery of denser-than-water nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPL) during the process of surfactant-enhanced remediation. UTCHEM, a three-dimensional, multicomponent, multiphase, compositional model, was used to simulate water flow and chemical transport processes in heterogeneous soils. Soil spatial variability and heterogeneity were accounted for by considering the soil permeability as a spatial random variable and a geostatistical method was used to generate random distributions of the permeability. The randomly generated permeability fields were incorporated into UTCHEM to simulate DNAPL transport in heterogeneous media and stochastical analysis was conducted based on the simulated results. From the analysis, an exponential relationship between average DNAPL recovery and soil heterogeneity (defined as the standard deviation of log of permeability) was established with a coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.991, which indicated that DNAPL recovery decreased exponentially with increasing soil heterogeneity. Temporal and spatial distributions of relative saturations in the water phase, DNAPL, and microemulsion in heterogeneous soils were compared with those in homogeneous soils and related to soil heterogeneity. Cleanup time and uncertainty to determine DNAPL distributions in heterogeneous soils were also quantified. The study would provide useful information to design strategies for the characterization and remediation of nonaqueous phase liquid-contaminated soils with spatial variability and heterogeneity.     

WATERSHED WEIGHTING OF EXPORT COEFFICIENTS TO MAP CRITICAL PHOSPHOROUS LOADING AREAS1

ABSTRACT: The Export Coefficient model (ECM) is capable of generating reasonable estimates of annual phosphorous loading simply from a watershed's land cover data and export coefficient values (ECVs). In its current form, the ECM assumes that ECVs are homogeneous within each land cover type, yet basic nutrient runoff and hydrological theory suggests that runoff rates have spatial patterns controlled by loading and filtering along the flow paths from the upslope contributing area and downslope dispersal area. Using a geographic information system (GIS) raster, or pixel, modeling format, these contributing area and dispersal area (CADA) controls were derived from the perspective of each individual watershed pixel to weight the otherwise homogeneous ECVs for phosphorous. Although the CADA‐ECM predicts export coefficient spatial variation for a single land use type, the lumped basin load is unaffected by weighting. After CADA weighting, a map of the new ECVs addressed the three fundamental criteria for targeting critical pollutant loading areas: (1) the presence of the pollutant, (2) the likelihood for runoff to carry the pollutant offsite, and (3) the likelihood that buffers will trap nutrients prior to their runoff into the receiving water body. These spatially distributed maps of the most important pollutant management areas were used within New York's West Branch Delaware River watershed to demonstrate how the CADA‐ECM could be applied in targeting phosphorous critical loading areas.     

Oxidative remobilization of biogenic uranium(IV) precipitates: effects of iron(II) and pH

The oxidative remobilization of uranium from biogenic U(IV) precipitates was investigated in bioreduced sediment suspensions in contact with atmospheric O2 with an emphasis on the influence of Fe(II) and pH on the rate and extent of U release from the solid to the aqueous phase. The sediment was collected from the U.S. Department of Energy Field Research Center (FRC) site at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Biogenic U(IV) precipitates and bioreduced sediment were generated through anaerobic incubation with a dissimilatory metal reducing bacterium Shewanella putrefaciens strain CN32. The oxidative remobilization of freshly prepared and 1-yr aged biogenic U(IV) was conducted in 0.1 mol/L NaNO3 electrolyte with variable pH and Fe(II) concentrations. Biogenic U(IV)O2(s) was released into the aqueous phase with the highest rate and extent at pH 4 and 9, while the U remobilization was the lowest at circumneutral pH. Increasing Fe(II) significantly decreased U remobilization to the aqueous phase. From 70 to 100% of the U in the sediments used in all the tests was extractable at the experiment termination (41 d) with a bicarbonate solution (0.2 mol/L), indicating that biogenic U(IV) was oxidized regardless of Fe(II) concentration and pH. Sorption experiments and modeling calculations indicated that the inhibitive effect of Fe(II) on U(IV) oxidative remobilization was consistent with the Fe(III) oxide precipitation and U(VI) sorption to this secondary phase.     

Growth of the kelp Ecklonia radiata near the northern limit of its range in Western Australia

The length, growth and survivorship of mature sporophytes of Ecklonia radiata (C.Ag.) J. Agardh were measured on two patch reefs within the lagoon of a high-latitude, coralreef atoll (Easter Group, Houtman Abrolhos; 28° to 29° S; 113°35 to 114°03E) for 1 yr (1982–1983). The sites differed in their proximity to the perimeter reef, but had similar regimes of temperature, light, nutrient concentration and water movement. Kelp length, growth rate and survivorship differed significantly between sites, although plant density was similar (less than l m^-2). At the site near the lagoon perimeter, the central lamina averaged 381 mm in length, grew at an annual mean rate of 1.28 mm d^-1, and 56% of tagged individuals had died after one year. The corresponding values for the site near the centre of the lagoon were: 257 mm, 0.75 mm d^-1 and 92%. Three other sites on the coastal limestone reefs near Perth (400 km to the south) were studied for various intervals over a 5 yr period (April 1979 to August 1984). The kelp from the low-latitude sites were smaller, grew more slowly, and suffered similar or greater mortality than their southern counterparts. Latitudinal comparisons were confounded by differences in kelp density between sites, but there is no evidence for density-dependent effects on the measured parameters across the range of natural densities observed. Growth rates at all sites were negatively correlated with ambient sea temperatures when these were above 20°C. There was no evidence of adaptation to the higher sea temperatures experienced at the Abrolhos, and temperature cannot be dismissed as a factor controlling the growth of the species near the northern limit of its distribution on the Western Australian coast. Other factors however must be involved in determining the latitudinal position of that limit.     

Controlled release,blind tests of DNAPL characterization using partitioning tracers

The partitioning tracer technique for dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) characterization was evaluated in an isolated test cell, in which controlled releases of perchloroethylene (PCE) had occurred. Four partitioning tracer tests were conducted, two using an inverted, double five-spot pumping pattern, and two using vertical circulation wells. Two of the four tests were conducted prior to remedial activities, and two were conducted after. Each test was conducted as a "blind test" where researchers conducting the partitioning tracer tests had no knowledge of the volume, method of release, nor resulting spatial distribution of DNAPL. Multiple partitioning tracers were used in each test, and the DNAPL volume estimates varied significantly within each test based on the different partitioning tracers. The tracers with large partitioning coefficients generally predicted a smaller volume of PCE than that expected based on the actual release volume. However, these predictions were made for low DNAPL saturations (average saturation was approximately 0.003), under conditions near the limits of the method's application. Furthermore, there were several factors that may have hindered prediction accuracy, including tracer degradation and remedial fluid interference.     

Design of aquifer remediation systems: (2) estimating site-specific performance and benefits of partial source removal

A Lagrangian stochastic model is proposed as a tool that can be utilized in forecasting remedial performance and estimating the benefits (in terms of flux and mass reduction) derived from a source zone remedial effort. The stochastic functional relationships that describe the hydraulic "structure" and non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) "architecture" have been described in a companion paper (Enfield, C.G., Wood, A.L., Espinoza, F.P., Brooks, M.C., Annable, M., Rao, P.S.C., this issue. Design of aquifer remediation systems: (1) describing hydraulic structure and NAPL architecture using tracers. J. Contam. Hydrol.). The previously defined functions were used along with the properties of the remedial fluids to describe remedial performance. There are two objectives for this paper. First, is to show that a simple analytic element model can be used to give a reasonable estimate of system performance. This is accomplished by comparing forecast performance to observed performance. The second objective is to display the model output in terms of change in mass flux and mass removal as a function of pore volumes of remedial fluid injected. The modelling results suggest that short term benefits are obtained and related to mass reduction at the sites where the model was tested.     

Cellulose Fiber/Bentonite Clay/Biodegradable Thermoplastic Composites

Adding cellulose fiber reinforcement can improve mechanical properties of biodegradable plastics, but fiber must be well dispersed to achieve any benefit. The approach to dispersing fiber in this study was to use aqueous gels of sodium bentonite clay. These clay-fiber gels were combined with powdered compostable thermoplastics and calcium carbonate filler. The composite was dried, twin-screw extruded, and injection molded to make thin parts for tensile testing. An experimental design was used to determine the effect of fiber concentration, fiber length, and clay concentration. Polybutylene adipate/terephthalate copolymer (PBAT) and 70/30 polylactic acid (PLA)/PBAT blend were the biodegradable plastics studied. The composite strength decreased compared to the thermoplastics (13 vs. 19 MPa for PBAT, 27 vs. 38 MPa for the PLA/PBAT blend). The composite elongation to break decreased compared to the thermoplastics (170% vs. 831% for PBAT, 4.9% vs. 8.7% for the PLA/PBAT blend). The modulus increased for the composites compared to the thermoplastic standards (149 vs. 61 MPa for PBAT, 1328 vs. 965 MPa for the PLA/PBAT blend). All composite samples had good water resistance.