Methane oxidation in slurry storage surface crusts

Livestock manure is a significant source of atmospheric methane (CH4), especially during liquid storage. In liquid manure (slurry) storages a surface crust may form naturally, or an artificial surface crust can be established. We investigated whether there is a potential for CH4 oxidation in this environment. Surface crust materials were sampled from experimental storages with cattle slurry (with natural crust) or anaerobically digested cattle slurry (with straw layer) that had been stored with or without a wooden cover. Extracts of surface crust material were incubated with 5.6% CH4 in the headspace, and methanotrophic activity was demonstrated in all four treatments following a 4- to 10-d lag phase. Subsequent incubation of field-moist surface crust material with 350 microL L(-1) CH4 also showed CH4 oxidation, indicating a potential for CH4 removal under practical storage conditions. There was no CH4 oxidation activity during incubation of autoclaved samples. Methane oxidation rates were 0.1 to 0.5 mg kg(-1) organic matter (OM) h(-1), which is comparable with the activity in wetlands and rice paddies. Partial drying increased CH4 oxidation to 0.2 to 1.4 mg kg(-1) OM h(-1), probably as a result of improved diffusivity within the surface crust. Rewetting reversed the stimulation of methanotrophic activity in some treatments, but not in others, possibly due to a decline in CH4 production in anaerobic volumes, or to growth of methanotrophs during incubation. This study presents direct evidence for methanotrophic activity in slurry storages. Measures to ensure crust formation with or without a solid cover appear to be a cost-effective greenhouse gas mitigation option.     

自来水中痕量挥发性有机物的测定

近十年来,水中污染物的鉴定及分析逐渐引起了人们的重视,BOD、COD及TOC指标的测定只能说明有机污染物的存在,并不能提供关于污染物分子结构特性及其毒性的重要信息.水中原来就不同程度地含有一些有机和无机化合物,经过自来水厂氯化处理后会形成一系列挥发性有机卤化物,其中有些是已知的致癌物.因此,饮用水氯化处理与人体健康的关系受到人们的密切关注,水中痕量有机挥发物的分析已成为环境化学研究中的重大课题之一.填充柱GC/ECD测定法由于柱容量大,而且有较高的分析灵敏度,所以适合水中挥发性卤化物的常规测定,但是对复杂组分的分离不甚理想,     

The influence of obstetricians on the utilization of amniocentesis

A study of 173 Western New York State obstetricians was undertaken to study referral patterns for second-trimester amniocentesis in 1974–1978. Referral patterns were analysed in relation to obstetrician age, religion, board certification, hospital affiliation and practice location. Forty-seven per cent of the obstetricians had never referred a patient for amniocentesis. Those referring were overall younger than those not referring and were significantly more often board certified. Obstetrician religion was significantly related to referral with fewer Catholic obstetricians referring. Hospital affiliation (teaching versus non-teaching) and obstetrician practice location (urban versus rural) were not important factors after controlling for religion and board certification. Obstetrician factors account for a small but important part of the variability in referral, and other factors, such as cost and access to laboratory and obstetric care need further investigation.     

基于多区域投入产出(MRIO)的中国区域居民消费碳足迹分析

近年来,居民消费活动和环境的关系逐渐受到关注,而与温室气体排放相关的研究更是其中的热点.因此,本文采用“居民消费碳足迹”概念来定义特定居民消费活动所导致的直接和间接温室气体排放的总和,主要包括CO2、CH4、N2O3种温室气体;构建了基于环境扩展的多区域投入产出(Multiregional input-output,MRIO)模型的碳足迹核算方法,并以2007年中国8个区域为例对其居民消费碳足迹的数量、构成、分布及转移进行了分析.结果显示,2007年全国居民消费碳足迹总量达到31.74亿t(以CO2当量计).此外,碳足迹还呈现出区域差异明显、间接排放大于直接排放、城乡差距过大等特征.人均碳足迹方面,发展水平较高的京津、东部沿海地区明显高于相对滞后的西北、西南区域.研究还对碳足迹的区域分布和转移进行了深入探讨.结果发现,东北、京津、西北和西南区域转移收支为负,表示这些区域为其他区域承担的排放大于其他区域为其承担的排放;剩余的北部沿海、东部沿海、南部沿海和中部区域情况则正好相反.这些结果对现阶段中国制定具体区域消费政策或分配碳减排责任等具有参考价值;本研究的方法论也适用于研究其他环境因子及足迹因子与居民消费的关系.     

云南宁洱6.4级地震灾区范围的快速判断

采用云南175个历史强震的等震线图、云南数字等震线模型和云南1：400万活动断裂资料,对常规正圆法灾区范围量化与数字等震线模型灾区范围量化得到的云南宁洱6．4级地震灾区范围进行了对比,分析了地震等震线长轴方向与活动断裂的关系。结果表明,灾害地震的灾区范围用等震线模型来量化比常规用正圆来量化更加符合地震的客观情况。     

Occurrence of organotins in the Yangtze River and the Jialing River in the urban section of Chongqing, China

The occurrence of organotins in the Yangtze River and the Jialing River in the urban section of Chongqing, China and their impact on drinking water waterworks are reported in this study. Water samples were extracted by solid-phase microextraction and measured using a gas chromatograph with mass spectrometer. The results showed that the rivers studied were polluted by both butyltins and phenyltins and that the butyltin species was the dominant pollutant. Butyltins, especially monobutyltin, were detected in all 18 sampling stations, and phenyltins were detected only in 11 sampling stations. Majority of the organotins were MBTs with concentrations varying from 27.3 to 1,145.8 ng Sn L^?1. Diphenyltin and dibutyltin were the second most common with the highest levels of 113.7 and 202.5 ng Sn L^?1, respectively. Monophenyltin, tributyltin, and triphenyltin had the lowest detection rates with concentration levels of 9.7, 161.8, and 37.2 ng Sn L^?1, respectively. Some of the organotins were also detected in drinking water waterworks, which posed a threat to the water quality of Chongqing.     

An integrated approach to model the biomagnification of organic pollutants in aquatic food webs of the Yangtze Three Gorges Reservoir ecosystem using adapted pollution scenarios

The impounding of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) at the Yangtze River caused large flooding of urban, industrial, and agricultural areas, and profound land use changes took place. Consequently, substantial amounts of organic and inorganic pollutants were released into the reservoir. Additionally, contaminants and nutrients are entering the reservoir by drift, drainage, and runoff from adjacent agricultural areas as well as from sewage of industry, aquacultures, and households. The main aim of the presented research project is a deeper understanding of the processes that determines the bioaccumulation and biomagnification of organic pollutants, i.e., mainly pesticides, in aquatic food webs under the newly developing conditions of the TGR. The project is part of the Yangtze-Hydro environmental program, financed by the German Ministry of Education and Science. In order to test combinations of environmental factors like nutrients and pollution, we use an integrated modeling approach to study the potential accumulation and biomagnification. We describe the integrative modeling approach and the consecutive adaption of the AQUATOX model, used as modeling framework for ecological risk assessment. As a starting point, pre-calibrated simulations were adapted to Yangtze-specific conditions (regionalization). Two exemplary food webs were developed by a thorough review of the pertinent literature. The first typical for the flowing conditions of the original Yangtze River and the Daning River near the city of Wushan, and the second for the stagnant reservoir characteristics of the aforementioned region that is marked by an intermediate between lake and large river communities of aquatic organisms. In close cooperation with German and Chinese partners of the Yangtze-Hydro Research Association, other site-specific parameters were estimated. The MINIBAT project contributed to the calibration of physicochemical and bathymetric parameters, and the TRANSMIC project delivered hydrodynamic models for water volume and flow velocity conditions. The research questions were firstly focused on the definition of scenarios that could depict representative situations regarding food webs, pollution, and flow conditions in the TGR. The food webs and the abiotic site conditions in the main study area near the city of Wushan that determine the environmental preconditions for the organisms were defined. In our conceptual approach, we used the pesticide propanil as a model substance.     

Real-Time Measurements of Jet Aircraft Engine Exhaust

Abstract

Particulate-phase exhaust properties from two different types of ground-based jet aircraft engines—high-thrust and turboshaft—were studied with real-time instruments on a portable pallet and additional time-integrated sampling devices. The real-time instruments successfully characterized rapidly changing particulate mass, light absorption, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content. The integrated measurements included particulate-size distributions, PAH, and carbon concentrations for an entire test run (i.e., “run-integrated” measurements). In all cases, the particle-size distributions showed single modes peaking at 20–40nm diameter. Measurements of exhaust from high-thrust F404 engines showed relatively low-light absorption compared with exhaust from a turboshaft engine. Particulate-phase PAH measurements generally varied in phase with both net particulate mass and with light-absorbing particulate concentrations. Unexplained response behavior sometimes occurred with the real-time PAH analyzer, although on average the real-time and integrated PAH methods agreed within the same order of magnitude found in earlier investigations.