Seasonal and annual distribution of organic contaminants in marine sediments from Elkhorn slough, moss landing harbor and nearshore Monterey Bay, California

This 3-year study provides data on the spatial, seasonal and annual variability of hydrocarbons and total organic carbon present in marine sediments at three sites: Elkhorn Slough, Moss Landing Harbor and nearshore Monterey Bay in the vicinity of Moss Landing, California. The study provides baseline information that could be used to evaluate the potential impacts of future fuel oil releases occuring in the Moss Landing area. Groups of hydrocarbons were chosen to represent the hydrocarbon inputs into the Moss Landing area. These included the pesticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), phthalic acid ester (PAE), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and combustion PAHs (SigmaCOMBs). For SigmaDDTs, SigmaPCBs, SigmaPAEs, SigmaPAHs and SigmaCOMBs, the major sources of variability were between sites and random effects. Subsites within each site contributed little variability. No significant seasonal differences in any chemical contaminant group were found at any site. Significant seasonal differences in total organic carbon (TOC) and significant annual differences in SigmaPCBs, SigmaPAHs, SigmaCOMBs and SigmaPAEs were found at the nearshore Monterey Bay site. Significant annual differences in SigmaPAEs and TOC were found within Moss Landing Harbor, and significant annual differences in SigmaPAEs were found within the Elkhorn Slough site. Implications for future sampling designs in the Moss Landing area are that given the current baseline conditions (a stable, low rate of hydrocarbon input), a variability of 75-150 m(2) may not need to be heavily sampled. Spatial variability, not seasonal or annual variability, is the major source of hydrocarbon variability in Moss Landing sediments, although 3 years may not be long enough to establish long-term annual trends. Further research to determine the SigmaPAH spatial sampling scale for oil spills is needed.     

酸沉降作用的降低和安大略省基拉尼湖泊的化学恢复

毗邻加拿大安大略省萨德伯里市的基拉尼公园中的湖泊都表现出明显的水质变化,其中包括pH值和碱度的普遍增加,SO2- 4、碱基阳离子和金属浓度的减少.经过数十年的改善,尽管一些湖泊的pH值已经大于6,但仍有许多湖泊的湖水酸度却一直很高.过去,萨德伯里金属冶炼厂排放引起的过高的硫沉降左右了这一地区的酸化过程.然而,自从冶炼厂的硫排放被严格控制之后(排放量降低了90%),萨德伯里地区的硫排放就不再是该地区最主要的硫沉降源了.目前,基拉尼地区的SO2- 4湿沉降和湖水中SO2- 4浓度已经十分接近约200km外的安大略省多赛特地区,这就表明基拉尼地区的硫沉降现在主要来自于长距离传输,而不是当地污染源.对基拉尼湖泊的研究揭示了化学恢复过程的复杂本质.一旦湖水的酸度降低,就会引起一系列的变化,包括Ca2+浓度的减少,透明度增加和热力学状态改变.这些变化可能会潜在地影响一些生态体系.因此很明显需要对基拉尼湖泊的恢复在多胁迫因子的框架内继续进行评价.     

Degradation of phenol in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket(UASB) reactor at ambient temperatureKE

A synthetic wastewater containing phenol as sole substrate was treated in a 2.8 L upflow anaerobic sludge blanket(UASB) reactor at ambient temperature. The operation conditions and phenol removal efficiency were discussed, microbial population in the UASB sludge was identified based on DNA cloning, and pathway of anaerobic phenol degradation was proposed. Phenol in wastewater was degraded in an UASB reactor at loading rate up to 18 gCOD/(L·d), With a 1:1 recycle ratio, at 26(1℃, pH 7.0-7.5. An UASB reactor was able to remove 99% of phenol up to 1226 mg/L in wastewater with 24 h of hydraulic retention time(HRT). For HRT below 24 h, phenol degradation efficiency decreased with HRT, from 95.4% at 16 h to 93.8% at 12 h. It further deteriorated to 88.5% when HRT reached 8 h. When the concentration of influent phenol of the reactor was 1260 mg/L(corresponding COD 3000 mg/L), with the HRT decreasing(from 40 h to 4 h, corresponding COD loading increasing), the biomass yields tended to increase from 0.265 to 3.08 g/(L·d). While at 12 h of HRT, the biomass yield was lower. When HRT was 12 h, the methane yield was 0.308 L/(gCOD removed), which was the highest. Throughout the study, phenol was the sole organic substrate. The effluent contained only residual phenol without any detectable intermediates, such as benzoate, 4-hydrobenzoate or volatile fatty acids(VFAs). Based on DNA cloning analysis, the sludge was composed of five groups of microorganisms. Desulfotomaculum and Clostridium were likely responsible for the conversion of phenol to benzoate, which was further degraded by Syntrophus to acetate and H2/CO2. Methanogens lastly converted acetate and H2/CO2 to methane. The role of epsilon-Proteobacteria was, however, unsure.     

Is being a leader a mixed blessing? A dual‐pathway model linking leadership role occupancy to well‐being

Recent leadership research has drawn greater attention to how the well‐being of leaders influences leadership behaviors, follower performance and well‐being, and overall leadership effectiveness. Yet little attention has been paid to the relationship between occupying leadership positions and job incumbents' well‐being. This research addresses this question by developing and testing a dual‐pathway model. Our model proposes that incumbency in leadership positions is positively related to high levels of both job demands and job control, whereas job demands and job control have offsetting effects on well‐being. Results based on a longitudinal sample revealed that employees who transitioned from nonleadership positions to leadership roles showed trajectories of increasing job demands and job control, whereas such trends were weaker among those who remained in nonleadership positions. Findings from three additional samples generally demonstrated that leadership role occupancy was indirectly related to various indices of psychological and physiological well‐being through job demands and job control. Because the signs of the indirect effects through job demands and job control differed in expected ways, the overall relationship between leadership role occupancy and the well‐being outcomes was generally small and nonsignificant. We discuss research and practical implications of our framework and findings for organizations, employees, and leaders.     

Smallholder Farms as Stepping Stone Corridors for Crop-Raiding Elephant in Northern Tanzania: Integration of Bayesian Expert System and Network Simulator

Crop-raiding elephants affect local livelihoods, undermining conservation efforts. Yet, crop-raiding patterns are poorly understood, making prediction and protection difficult. We hypothesized that raiding elephants use corridors between daytime refuges and farmland. Elephant counts, crop-raiding records, household surveys, Bayesian expert system, and least-cost path simulation were used to predict four alternative categories of daily corridors: (1) footpaths, (2) dry river beds, (3) stepping stones along scattered small farms, and (4) trajectories of shortest distance to refuges. The corridor alignments were compared in terms of their minimum cumulative resistance to elephant movement and related to crop-raiding zones quantified by a kernel density function. The “stepping stone” corridors predicted the crop-raiding patterns. Elephant presence was confirmed along these corridors, demonstrating that small farms located between refuges and contiguous farmland increase habitat connectivity for elephant. Our analysis successfully predicted elephant occurrence in farmland where daytime counts failed to detect nocturnal presence. These results have conservation management implications.     

Phytoplankton production patterns in Massachusetts Bay and the absence of the 1998 winter–spring bloom

The seasonal productivity cycle and factors controlling annual variation in the timing and magnitude of the winter–spring bloom were examined for several locations (range: 42°20.35′–42°26.63′N; 70°44.19′–70°56.52′W) in Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay, USA, from 1995 to 1999, and compared with earlier published data (1992–1994). Primary productivity (mg C m⁻² day⁻¹) in Massachusetts Bay from 1995 to 1999 was generally characterized by a well-developed winter–spring bloom of several weeks duration, high but variable production during the summer, and a prominent fall bloom. The bulk of production (mg C m⁻³ day⁻¹) typically occurred in the upper 15 m of the water column. At a nearby Boston Harbor station a gradual pattern of increasing areal production from winter through summer was more typical, with the bulk of production restricted to the upper 5 m. Annual productivity in Massachusetts Bay and Boston Harbor ranged from a low of 160 g C m⁻² year⁻¹ to a high of 787 g C m⁻² year⁻¹ from 1992 to 1999. Mean annual productivity was higher (mean=525 g C m⁻² year⁻¹) and more variable near the harbor entrance than in western Massachusetts Bay. At the harbor station productivity varied more than 3.5-fold (CV=40%) over an 8 year sampling period. Average annual productivity (305–419 g C m⁻² year⁻¹) and variability around the means (CV=25–27%) were lower at both the outer nearfield and central nearfield regions of Massachusetts Bay. Annual productivity in 1998 was unusually low at all three sites (<220 g C m⁻² year⁻¹) due to the absence of a winter–spring phytoplankton bloom. Potential factors influencing the occurrence of a spring bloom were investigated. Incident irradiance during the winter–spring period was not significantly different (P > 0.05) among years (1995–1999). The mean photic depth during the bloom period was significantly deeper (P < 0.05) in 1998, signifying greater light availability with depth. Nutrients were also in abundance during the winter–spring of 1998 with stratified conditions not observed until May. In general, the magnitude of the winter–spring bloom in Massachusetts Bay from 1995 to 1999 was significantly correlated with winter water temperature (r ²=0.78) and zooplankton abundance (r ²=0.74) over the bloom period (typically February–April). The absence of the 1998 bloom was associated with higher than average water temperature and elevated levels of zooplankton abundance just prior to, and during, the peak winter–spring bloom period. Received: 3 July 2000 / Accepted: 6 December 2000     

A small subsurface ion mobility spectrometer sensor for detecting environmental soil-gas contaminants

A small subsurface ion mobility spectrometer (SS-IMS) was constructed and tested with several environmental contaminants to determine its potential for monitoring gaseous volatile organic compounds in the vadose zone. Trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) were detected and separated in IMS for the first time. Detection limits as low as 1 part per billion volume-to-volume (ppb(v)) were observed. Reduced mobility (K(0)) values were reported for 11 environmental contaminants. These data demonstrated the potential of ion mobility spectrometry as a viable technology for detecting and separating environmental soil-gas contaminants in the field, which may lead to a practical and simple approach for long-term monitoring of contaminated soils.     

AgInput: An Agricultural Nutrient and Pesticide Source Model

Agriculture can be a major nonpoint source (NPS) of nutrient and pesticide contamination in the environment. Available databases do not provide accurate and dynamic data on fertilizer and pesticide application, which limits the ability of complex watershed models to simulate contaminant loads into impaired water bodies. A model for estimating agricultural nutrient and pesticide input for watershed modeling has been developed. Climate, soils, and major agricultural operations are considered within the model, so that it can be adapted to any watershed or subregion within a watershed. The timing of the agricultural operations is a function of the weather data, providing realistic results at daily, monthly, or annual application rates. The model also predicts irrigation demand and biomass production, which can be used to calibrate the model. Model output can be used in any watershed model that considers agricultural land uses. Two case studies were evaluated, using grape vineyards in the Napa River and strawberry production in Newport Bay as examples. The predicted time to maturity corresponded well with actual data. Irrigation and fertilizer needs were very sensitive to weather input. Although the model can generate weather from long-term averages, the simulated results are best when at least observed precipitation and temperature are provided, to capture extreme events. The model has data for 98 crops and 126 pesticides, based on the California Department of Pesticide Regulation database. The databases are easily modifiable by the user to adapt them to local conditions. The output from AgInput is much needed for watershed modeling and for development of total maximum daily loads (TMDLs), based on realistic targets of irrigation, nutrient, and pesticide inputs. The model is available for free download at .     

VEGETATION Symptoms as a MEASURE of AIR POLLUTION

January 1984 forecasts by The Mcllvaine Company project variable but promising worldwide industry trends for the coming year. The influence on the market of air pollution legislation (in particular, acid rain legislation), gauged by utility planning trends, is discussed in the context of a shifting world market. Specialties within the segmented air pollution control market are categorized by the “market leader” concept, with which the author identifies a number of top companies as “world market leaders.”