Vertical distribution of aerosol optical properties based on aircraft measurements over the Loess Plateau in China

Vertical distributions of aerosol optical properties based on aircraft measurements over the Loess Plateau were measured for the first time during a summertime aircraft campaign, 2013 in Shanxi, China. Data from four flights were analyzed. The vertical distributions of aerosol optical properties including aerosol scattering coefficients (σ_sc), absorption coefficients (σ_ab), Angström exponent (α), single scattering albedo (ω), backscattering ratio (β_sc), aerosol mass scattering proficiency (Q_sc) and aerosol surface scattering proficiency (Q_sc^′) were obtained. The mean statistical values of σ_sc were 77.45 Mm^− 1 (at 450 nm), 50.72 Mm^− 1 (at 550 nm), and 32.02 Mm^− 1 (at 700 nm). The mean value of σ_ab was 7.62 Mm^− 1 (at 550 nm). The mean values of α, β_sc and ω were 1.93, 0.15, and 0.91, respectively. Aerosol concentration decreased with altitude. Most effective diameters (ED) of aerosols were less than 0.8 μm. The vertical profiles of σ_sc,, α, β_sc, Q_sc and Q_sc^′ showed that the aerosol scattering properties at lower levels contributed the most to the total aerosol radiative forcing. Both α and β_sc had relatively large values, suggesting that most aerosols in the observational region were small particles. The mean values of σ_sc, α, β_sc, Q_sc, Q_sc^′, σ_ab and ω at different height ranges showed that most of the parameters decreased with altitude. The forty-eight hour backward trajectories of air masses during the observation days indicated that the majority of aerosols in the lower level contributed the most to the total aerosol loading, and most of these particles originated from local or regional pollution emissions.     

基于模糊专家系统的垃圾焚烧底灰重金属污染风险评价

垃圾焚烧处理技术可以实现城市生活垃圾减量化,但底灰中重金属的存在与迁移转化会形成持续的潜在风险。针对重金属Cu、Cr、Pb和Cr对环境的潜在风险进行分析,将模糊专家系统引入潜在生态风险指数法中。首先将重金属的富集系数作为输入,然后应用知识库和推理机制来实现重金属对环境危害快速、不确定信息的准确推理,最后对城市生活垃圾焚烧底灰中重金属对环境的潜在风险进行评价。实验结果验证,该方法能够更快速、准确地做出适当的决定,为底灰的安全处置和再利用提供理论基础。     

Assessment of potential soybean cadmium excluder cultivars at different concentrations of Cd in soils

The selection of cadmium-excluding cultivars has been used to minimize the transfer of cadmium into the human food chain. In this experiment, five Chinese soybean plants were grown in three soils with different concentrations of Cd (0.15, 0.75 and 1.12 mg/kg). Variations in uptake, enrichment, and translocation of Cd among these soybean cultivars were studied. The results indicated that the concentration of Cd in seeds that grew at 1.12 mg/kg Cd in soils exceeded the permitted maximum levels in soybeans. Therefore, our results indicated that even some soybean cultivars grown on soils with permitted levels of Cd might accumulate higher concentrations of Cd in seeds that are hazardous to human health. The seeds of these five cultivars were further assessed for interactions between Cd and other mineral nutrient elements such as Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn and Zn. High Cd concentration in soil was found to inhibit the uptake of Mn. Furthermore, Fe and Zn accumulations were found to be enhanced in the seeds of all of the five soybean cultivars in response to high Cd concentration. Cultivar Tiefeng 31 was found to fit the criteria for a Cd-excluding cultivar under different concentrations of Cd in soils.     

环境规划中环境资源有价理论的政策研究和实践

随着环境保护意识的加强和环境保护理论的不断拓展,环境资源有价的理念逐步深入到管理层面,环境资源有偿使用也逐步成为重要的环境管理手段。部分省份经过多年的实践探索,取得了积极成效,但也存在一些问题。为了使环境资源有价理论相关内容在环境保护"十三五"规划中更加完善,本文在环境资源有价理论的基础上,通过分析总结,探索适宜的可持续发展的一系列经济政策,并介绍其在山西省的实践应用,期望利用经济手段的调控作用,实现环境保护和经济可持续发展的目的。     

Driver hand-held cellular phone use: a four-year analysis

INTRODUCTION: The use of hand-held cellular (mobile) phones while driving has stirred more debate, passion, and research than perhaps any other traffic safety issue in the past several years. There is ample research showing that the use of either hand-held or hands-free cellular phones can lead to unsafe driving patterns. Whether or not these performance deficits increase the risk of crash is difficult to establish, but recent studies are beginning to suggest that cellular phone use elevates crash risk. METHODS: The purpose of this study was to assess changes in the rate of hand-held cellular phone use by motor-vehicle drivers on a statewide level in Michigan. This study presents the results of 13 statewide surveys of cellular phone use over a 4-year period. Hand-held cellular phone use data were collected through direct observation while vehicles were stopped at intersections and freeway exit ramps. Data were weighted to be representative of all drivers traveling during daylight hours in Michigan. RESULTS: The study found that driver hand-held cellular phone use has more than doubled between 2001 and 2005, from 2.7% to 5.8%. This change represents an average increase of 0.78 percentage points per year. The 5.8% use rate observed in 2005 means that at any given daylight hour, around 36,550 drivers were conversing on cellular phones while driving on Michigan roadways. The trend line fitted to these data predicts that by the year 2010, driver hand-held cellular phone use will be around 8.6%, or 55,000 drivers at any given daylight hour. CONCLUSIONS: These results make it clear that cellular phone use while driving will continue to be an important traffic safety issue, and highlight the importance of continued attempts to generate new ways of alleviating this potential hazard.     

Herbicide Roundup® and its main constituents cause oxidative stress and inhibit acetylcholinesterase in liver of Carassius auratus

Roundup® is a glyphosate-based herbicide containing a mixture of surfactants. This paper evaluates the toxic effects of Roundup® and its main constituents on the goldfish, Carassius auratus, after 7 days exposure. Fish were exposed to 0.16, 0.032 and 0.0064 mg/L of Roundup® [containing 41% isopropylamine salt of glyphosate (G.I.S) and 18% polyoxyethylene amine (POEA)], G.I.S, and POEA. Their livers were taken for determining reactive oxygen species (ROS), superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, malondialdehye (MDA) content and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity. Hydroxyl radical (·OH) could be induced by exposing Roundup® at a rate of 43%–111%, G.I.S at 90%–124% and POEA at142%–157%. A decreased SOD activity was observed in fish exposed to G.I.S and POEA. The contents of MDA significantly increased when exposed to Roundup® at all concentrations, 0.16 mg/L G.I.S and 0.032 mg/L POEA. The exposure led to an inhibition of AChE in livers overall during the experimental periods. POEA was more toxic than Roundup® or G.I.S during this experiment. AChE and ·OH are supposed to be sensitive biomarkers of the exposure of Roundup® and its main constituents to C. auratus.     

Estimating nitrate leaching with a transfer function model incorporating net mineralization and uptake of nitrogen

Because of the complex interaction of chemical and biological processes of nitrogen (N) in soils, it is difficult to estimate the leaching of nitrate with various N transformations in porous media. In this study, a transfer function model was developed to simulate the outflow concentration of nitrate in soils during the growth of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), taking into account the main N transformations using source and sink terms. The source and sink terms were treated as inputs to the solute transport volume and incorporated into the transfer function model to characterize their effects on nitrate concentration in the outflow. A field experiment was conducted in three nonweighing lysimeters for 181 d. Nitrate concentrations were measured along the 2-m soil profile of each lysimeter at different times. Comparison between the experimental data and simulated results with the transfer function showed that the model provided reasonable prediction of the nitrate leaching process as well as the total amount leached. Results also indicated that considering the N transformations in the transfer function significantly increased the estimation accuracy. The relative errors of total amount leached were < 7% with the N transformations included, but up to 17% without including the transformation processes.     

Long-Term Effects of Fertilization on Soil Organic Carbon Changes in Continuous Corn of Northeast China: RothC Model Simulations

Soil organic C (SOC) content can increase by managing land use practices in which the rates of organic C input exceed those of organic C mineralization. Understanding the changes in SOC content of Black soils (mainly Typic Halpudoll) in northeast China is necessary for sustainable using of soil resources there. We used the RothC model to estimate SOC levels of Black soils under monoculture cropping corn in a long-term fertilization trial at Gongzhuling, Jilin Province, China. The model outputs for the changes in SOC were compared with measured data in this long-term fertilization/manure trial. The sound performance of model in simulating SOC changes suggests that RothC is feasible with Black soils in the temperate climatic region of northeast China. The modeled and measured results indicated that the treatment without fertilizer/farmyard manure (FYM) addition led to a continuous decline in SOC during the study period and N and NPK fertilization were inadequate to maintain the SOC levels in the plow layer (upper 20 cm) unless FYM was added under the current conventional management associated with no above-ground crop residues returning into the soil. Soil organic carbon could follow the same path of decline if the same management practices are maintained. Model results indicate that returning above-ground crop residues to the soil from 2002 to 2022 would increase SOC by 26% for the treatment without fertilization addition, 40% for N treatment, 45% for NPK treatment, and 38% and 46% for N and NPK treatments with FYM addition, compared to the levels in the corresponding treatments in 2002. The simulation results suggest that the RothC model is a feasible tool to assess SOC trend under different management practices, and returning above-ground crop residues into the soil would lead to a remarkable increase in SOC of Black soils in the region.