Assessment of the Water Quality of Troia for the Multipurpose Usages

The aim of this study was to determine the origin and quality of waters in Troia. For this purpose total of 25 water samples including 2 springs, 14 surfaces and 9 groundwaters, were collected at eight different times. Global positioning system (GPS) was used to determine to coordinates of sampling points. The concentration of 6 minor elements (B, Cu, F, Fe, Pb and Zn), 9 major anions and cations (Na(+), Ca(2+), K(+), Mg(2+), SO(4)(2-), PO(4)(3-), HCO(3)(-), Cl(-) and, CO(3)(2-)) were determined by spectrometric, colorimetric and volumetric methods. Water pH, EC, DO, ORP and TDS were measured in situ using probes. The data showed that the concentrations of most of minor elements were below the EPA and TSE limits except Pb which ranged between 0.001 and 4.832 mg L(-1). Statistically significant relationships (P<0.01 and r>0.70) were observed between Fe and Cu, Cu and K(+), Cu and Ca(2+), B and Na(+), Na(+) and K(+). Assessing the water based on irrigation using Wilcox model showed that some well waters were not suitable for irrigation. Troia water was found to be highly corrosive and the average corrosion coefficients varied from 0.5 to 4.6. According to the Piper and Schoeller diagrams results, the water in Troia was classified as mixed water type.     

ESTIMATING STREAMFLOW AND ASSOCIATED HYDRAULIC GEOMETRY,THE MID‐ATLANTIC REGION,USA1

ABSTRACT: Methods to estimate streamflow and channel hydraulic geometry were developed for unpaged streams in the Mid‐Atlantic Region. Observed mean annual streamflow and associated hydraulic geometry data from 75 gaging stations in the Appalachian Plateau, the Ridge and Valley, and the Piedmont Physiographic Provinces of the Mid‐Atlantic Region were used to develop a set of power functions that relate streamflow to drainage area and hydraulic geometry to streamflow. For all three physiographic provinces, drainage area explained 95 to 98 percent of the variance in mean annual streamflow. Relationships between mean annual streamflow and water surface width and mean flow depth had coefficients of determination that ranged from R²= 0.55 to R²= 0.91, but the coefficient of determination between mean flow velocity and mean annual streamflow was lower (R²= 0.44 to R²= 0.54). The advantages of using the regional regression models to estimate streamflow over a conceptual model or a water balance model are its ease of application and reduced input data needs. The prediction of the regression equations were tested with data collected as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP). In addition, equations to transfer streamflow from gaged to ungaged streams are presented.     

Elemental mercury (Hg0) removal from coal syngas using magnetic tea-biochar: Experimental and theoretical insights

Mercury is ranked 3^rd as a global pollutant because of its long persistence in the environment. Approximately 65% of its anthropogenic emission (Hg⁰) to the atmosphere is from coal-thermal power plants. Thus, the Hg⁰ emission control from coal-thermal power plants is inevitable. Therefore, multiple sorbent materials were synthesized using a one-step pyrolysis method to capture the Hg⁰ from simulated coal syngas. Results showed, the Hg⁰ removal performance of the sorbents increased by the citric acid/ultrasonic application. T5CUF_0.3 demonstrated the highest Hg⁰ capturing performance with an adsorption capacity of 106.81 µg/g within 60 min at 200 °C under complex simulated syngas mixture (20% CO, 20% H₂, 10 ppmV HCl, 6% H₂O, and 400 ppmV H₂S). The Hg⁰ removal mechanism was proposed, revealing that the chemisorption governs the Hg⁰ removal process. Besides, the active Hg⁰ removal performance is attributed to the high dispersion of valence Fe₃O₄ and lattice oxygen (α) contents over the T5CUF_0.3 surface. In addition, the temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and XPS analysis confirmed that H₂S/HCl gases generate active sites over the sorbent surface, facilitating high Hg⁰ adsorption from syngas. This work represented a facile and practical pathway for utilizing cheap and eco-friendly tea waste to control the Hg⁰ emission.     

Effect of Flow Depth and Velocity on Nitrate Loss Rates in Natural Channels1

Carleton, James N. and Yusuf M. Mohamoud, 2012. Effect of Flow Depth and Velocity on Nitrate Loss Rates in Natural Channels. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 1‐12. DOI: 10.1111/jawr.12007 Abstract: Loss rates of nitrate from streams and rivers are governed by movement of the ion from water column to anoxic bed sediments. Quantitative representations of nitrate in streams and rivers have often treated such losses as governed by first‐order mechanisms that are invariant with respect to potential modulating factors other than temperature. Results of studies in recent years, however, suggest that rates of water column‐sediment mass transfer are influenced by stream geometry and associated hydraulics. We develop expressions for the instream nitrate loss rate coefficient, k, as a function of water velocity and depth, using hydraulic geometry to empirically relate velocity to depth for two cases: (1) variability in mean conditions among reaches; and (2) temporal variability in conditions at a single reach, under changing flow. The result is expressions for k as functions of water column depth. Measured stream k values reported in the literature are shown to be well represented by expressions developed for the first case, and the potential for application to probabilistic analysis is briefly examined. We explore the latter case using the Hydrologic Simulation Program – FORTRAN (HSPF) model, modified to incorporate the dependence of k on instantaneous stream depth. In example simulations of two nitrate‐exporting watersheds, the incorporation of depth‐dependence of k produces improvement in the model’s ability to match observed stream nitrate concentrations.     

Bioreactor applications in waste treatment

An overview of bioreactor applications in treatment of gaseous, liquid and solid wastes is presented with emphasis on newer technologies. Waste treatment is considered in a broad context including concentration by bioaccumulation, degradation to substances with reduced environmental impact and upgrading to such useful products as feeds, foods and fuels. Biofilters and bioscrubbers for gaseous pollutants, high-rate municipal and industrial wastewater treatment in airlift bioreactors, reactor-based soil bioremediation, artificial wetland filters for liquid effluents, and protein enrichment of agricultural solid residues are some of the technologies reviewed. The various treatment strategies are illustrated with examples. The developments discussed point to an increasing role for bioreactor based processes in waste treatment and reuse.     

A GIS-based model for rating natural protection areas according to natural protection priorities

There has been a major urban shift of population in Turkey over the last century. Most people lived in rural areas until 1960, but now more than half live in urban areas. This trend has continued over the last 20 years, as families moved further away from city centres to find houses in the country, and this has caused land use to change rapidly. In decision-making studies to protect nature areas, rating and assessment of ecological data by scientific verification is difficult due to the huge volume and diversity of data. Therefore, the search for the most suitable and applicable method to achieve physical planning based on ecological understanding has been sought. The necessity for numerous parameters to be taken into account has stimulated the use of geographic information systems (GIS). This study assesses the usefulness of a GIS-based model in the protected area of Kaynaklar County, to the south of the city of Izmir. Existing cultural and natural land-use types, as well as soil, hydrologic, geologic and geomorphologic data layers (future classes) were gathered from field observation and using Landsat and IKONOS satellite images, and transferred to a database according to GIS rules. Index values were determined by taking impact on attributes of natural protection as a priority and these were attached to each feature class. Layers of data were merged by spatial intersection methods and new polygons were created for both cultural and natural features. A three-grade final map of the study area was generated using total index values of each new polygon.     

Recent developments on gas–solid heterogeneous oxidation removal of elemental mercury from flue gas

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Mercury is a toxic and persistent environmental pollutant which has been recognized as a global threat to human health and our ecosystem because&nbsp;mercury...     

28-Homobrassinolide mitigates boron induced toxicity through enhanced antioxidant system in Vigna radiata plants

The objective of this study was to establish relationship between boron induced oxidative stress and antioxidant system in Vigna radiata plants and also to investigate whether brassinosteroids will enhance the level of antioxidant system that could confer tolerance to the plants from the boron induced oxidative stress. The mung bean (V. radiata cv. T-44) plants were administered with 0.50, 1.0 and 2.0 mM boron at 6 d stage for 7 d along with nutrient solution. At 13 d stage, the seedlings were sprayed with deionized water (control) or 10⁻⁸ M of 28-homobrassinolide and plants were harvested at 21 d stage to assess growth, leaf gas-exchange traits and biochemical parameters. The boron treatments diminished growth, water relations and photosynthetic attributes along with nitrate reductase and carbonic anhydrase activity in the concentration dependent manner whereas, it enhanced lipid peroxidation, electrolyte leakage, accumulation of H₂O₂ as well as proline, and various antioxidant enzymes in the leaves of mung bean which were more pronounced at higher concentrations of boron. However, the follow-up application of 28-homobrassinolide to the boron stressed plants improved growth, water relations and photosynthesis and further enhanced the various antioxidant enzymes viz. catalase, peroxidase and superoxide dismutase and content of proline. The elevated level of antioxidant enzymes as well as proline could have conferred tolerance to the B-stressed plants resulting in improved growth, water relations and photosynthetic attributes.     

Impacts of seawater intrusion on soil salinity and alkalinity in Bafra Plain, Turkey

This study was carried out to investigate possible seawater intrusion into groundwater along the coastal lines of the Bafra Plain and salinity–alkalinity problems over land areas irrigated with water exposed to seawater intrusion were evaluated. For this purpose, 32 groundwater wells were selected over the plain, water samples were taken from these wells between October 2007 and September 2008, and chemical analyses were performed over these samples. Soil samples were taken from the fields irrigated with this water at 32 different locations at the end of the irrigation season in September 2008 from 0–30, 30–60, 60–90, and 90–120 cm soil depths and textures. EC, pH, Na, Ca, Mg, and K analyses were performed over these samples. Excessive seawater intrusion was observed in some parts of the plain and impacts of seawater intrusion decreased with the distance from the coastal line. It was determined that groundwater quality was significantly affected from seawater intrusion. Salinity and especially alkalinity problems were observed in land areas irrigated with this water and alkalinity increased with the rate of intrusion.