GEOMORPHIC AND PEDOLOGIC INFLUENCE ON SMALL-SCALE EPHEMERAL CHANNEL DIMENSION IN RANGELANDS1

ABSTRACT: Geomorphic processes may partly determine channel geometry. Soil particle uplift during freezing and thawing cycles and bank sloughing during wetting and drying periods were observed. Soil properties and channel dimension were measured to determine the dominant processes controlling channel geometry in eight small (mean area 0.096 km²) drainages in Logan Canyon, Utah. Soil cohesion was low (plasticity index > 15) for all but one of the drainages sampled. Basin scale geomorphic variables were examined to determine if they control channel dimension. Bankfull width was highly correlated to channel length and valley length with r² values of 0.85 and 0.84, respectively. A strong canonical correlation (0.64) showed that distance from the watershed divide, bank liquid limit, and bank sand content were effective predictor variables of bankfull width and depth. The interrelations between geomorphic and pedogenic processes were the strongest determinants of ephemeral channel dimension in this study.     

Job and non-job activities,job satisfaction and mental health among veterinarians

This study examines the relationship between dimensions of job and non-job activity, job satisfaction and mental health among veterinary professionals and tests specific predictions arising from the work of Broad bent (1985) and Karasek (1979). Results are based on an analysis of 411 questionnaires returned in a postal survey. Job and non-job activities contributed a significant proportion of unique variance in total mental health as measured, and related differently to anxiety and depression. Support for Broadbent's (1985) predictions was mixed. Pacing related distinctively to anxiety, but depression showed no relationship to social aspects of activity. Both lack of control over the speed of activities and discretion were related to mental health indices, but support was found for the role of discretion as a buffer in an interactive sense on one outcome measure only. Results are discussed in terms of ideas arising from the clinical literature, and suggestions offered for the potential use of carefully chosen activity in controlling levels of anxiety, depression and well-being.     

NONLINEAR SOLUTIONS OF THE BQUSSINESQ EQUATION AND COMPARISONS WITH FIELD OBSERVATIONS1

ABSTRACT: Two models based on variations of the one dimensional Boussinesq equation are presented. The models are formulated by treating each of the two nonlinearities appearing in the equation separately, and the resulting equations are solved by implicit finite difference techniques. The models have been used to predict drawdowns created from large scale pumping at an open coal mine pit dewatering project in Poland. The predictions were found to be in good agreement with data collected over a period of seven years.     

Monitoring priority substances of directives 76/464/EEC and 2000/60/EC in Greek water bodies

The priority substances of List I, 76/464/EEC Directive, some of which belong to the new Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC, have been monitored in the surface waters of Greece through the developed network of 53 sampling stations. The analytical methods used for the determination of these substances included Purge and Trap-Gas chromatography-Mass spectrometry for volatile and semivolatile organic compounds, Gas Chromatography-Electron Capture Detection for organochlorine insecticides, High Performance Liquid Chromatography for pentachlorophenol and Atomic Absorption Spectrometry for metals. The results have shown the presence of several priority substances in Greek surface waters, in most cases at concentrations well below the regulatory limits. However, non-compliance was observed for a limited number of compounds. The monitoring network and the analytical determinations have to be expanded to more water bodies and more priority substances, in order to safeguard the quality of Greek surface waters.     

An assessment and monitoring program for birds in the Lower Urubamba region,Peru

We developed an assessment and monitoring plan for birds in connection with the exploration and potential development of a large natural gas field in the Lower Urubamba drainage of Peru, a project of Shell Prospecting and Development Peru (SPDP). Our objectives were to: (1) inventory the birds in the area, including information on habitat use and abundance, and (2) devise long-term monitoring protocols for birds. We sampled birds through a combination of visual and auditory surveys and mist-netting at 4 well sites and 3 sites along the Urubamba and Camisea rivers. We recorded 420 speciesduring 135 days of field work. We consider the highest prioritiesfor a future monitoring program to be: (1) establish whether edge effects are occurring at well sites, along roads and alongthe planned pipeline route and determine the significance and extent of these effects and (2) assess the impact of increased human access to the area on game and other exploited species. The remoteness of the area, its rugged terrain and dense vegetation and the lack of trained personnel limit the choice of survey and monitoring methods. We recommend use of mist-netting and transects for monitoring edge effects and useof transects for monitoring game and other exploited species.     

Modeling the flow and leachate transport in the vadose and saturated zones of a municipal landfill

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the groundwater contamination due to the construction and operation of the municipal landfill of Amari, Rethymno, Crete. The groundwater flow and leachate transport in the vadose and saturated zones were studied and simulated, using three different models: the one-dimensional groundwater flow and contaminant transport model for the vadose zone Pesticide Root Zone Model (PRZM-3), the Geographical Information System (GIS) Argus ONE and the three-dimensional groundwater flow and contaminant transport model Princeton Transport Code (PTC). The simulation time was 30 and 20 years, and the results obtained, according to the models and the existing hydrogeological conditions, were very encouraging and reassuring about the groundwater quality of the broad region.     

RCRA ground-water monitoring decision procedures viewed as quality control schemes

The problems of developing and comparing statistical procedures appropriate to the monitoring of ground water at hazardous waste sites are discussed. It is suggested that these decision procedures should be viewed as quality control schemes and compared in the same way that industrial quality control schemes are compared. The results of a Monte Carlo simulation study of run-length distribution of a combined Shewhart-CUSUM quality control scheme are reported.     

Monitoring mercury in fish in a stream system receiving multiple industrial inputs

Sunfish and a minnow species were used as indicators of anthropogenic mercury contamination in an east Tennessee stream system receiving multiple point and non-point discharges. The monitoring of bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) and redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus) identified bioavailable mercury near three geographically separate industrial facilities, and was able to detect decreases in contamination with distance away from these facilities. In general, total mercury concentrations in the tissue of sunfish in this study were low in comparison to the most commonly cited human health threshold limits, although concentrations at some sites exceeded 1 g/g. Caged blacknose dace (Rhinichthys atratulus) were monitored in conjunction with resident fish as an indicator of more discrete sources in selected headwater streams where fish movement was deemed a potential factor affecting mercury body burdens. Mercury concentrations in muscle tissue of caged dace after 12 weeks exposure were generally low (<0.2 g/g) at all sites but higher than in fish from reference streams. mercury accumulation varied between species (sunfish vs. dace) and monitoring method (caged vs. resident) at the same site, with sunfish tending to accumulate higher concentrations of mercury than resident dace which, in turn, contained about twofold higher concentrations than caged dace. However, the site-to-site pattern of mercury accumulation was similar. This study demonstrates the utility of using small stream dwelling fish with restricted home ranges as a tool for identifying and evaluating the bioavailability of mercury sources in large industrial or urbanized settings.     

Use and abuse revisited: Response to Pluhar and Varner

In her recent Counter-Reply to my views, Evelyn Pluhar defends her use of literature on nutrition and restates her argument for moral vegetarianism. In his Vegan Ideal article, Gary Varner claims that the nutrition literature does not show sufficient differences among women, men, and children to warrant concern about discrimination. In this response I show how Professor Pluhar continues to draw fallacious inferences: she begs the question on equality, avoids the main issue in my ethical arguments, argues from irrelevancies, misquotes her sources, equivocates on context, confuses safety with morality, appeals to fear, confuses correlation with cause, fails to evaluate scientific studies, draws hasty conclusions from insufficient data, ignores a large amount of data which would call her views into question, does not follow good scientific or moral argumentation, objectionably exceeds the limits of her expertise, and resorts to scapegoating. I also argue that Professor Varner fails to make his case because he offers virtually no evidence from scientific studies on nutrition, relies on outdated and fallacious sources, makes unsupported claims, ignores evidence that would contravene his claims, draws hasty conclusions based on weakly supported hypotheses rather than facts, employs a double standard, appeals to ignorance, does not evaluate arguments from his sources, and makes anad hominem attack on a respected nutritionist when his focus should be on evaluating the evidence and arguments from the scientific studies themselves. Neither Varner nor Pluhar have responded sufficiently to the real issue in my arguments, that of discrimination and bias in the vegan ideal.