Fe-exchanged zeolite as the effective heterogeneous Fenton-type catalyst for the organic pollutant minimization: UV irradiation assistance

The issue of investigations in this study was an application of heterogeneous Fenton-type catalyst, Fe-exchanged zeolite FeZSM5, for the minimization of phenol and overall organic content in the model wastewater. Applied treatment systems included variation of heterogeneous and homogeneous Fenton-type catalyst with and without the assistance of UV irradiation, FeZSM5/H2O2, Fe2+/H2O2/NH4ZSM5, Fe3+/H2O2/NH4ZSM5, UV/FeZSM5/H2O2, UV/Fe2+/H2O2/NH4ZSM5 and UV/Fe3+/H2O2/NH4ZSM5. Processes efficiency was evaluated on the basis of phenol removal, mineralization extent, H2O2 consumption and concentration of iron ions in the bulk after the treatment. By all applied systems, complete phenol removal was achieved in less than 30 min of treatment time. Systems including heterogeneous Fenton-type catalyst showed somewhat lower mineralization efficiency in comparison to the corresponding systems applying homogeneous Fenton-type catalysts and the addition of synthetic zeolite NH4ZSM5. Significantly lower concentration of iron ions in the bulk after the treatment could give these systems, particularly UV/FeZSM5/H2O2, a great advantage over the homogeneous Fenton-type systems.     

Uranium in sediments, mussels (Mytilus sp.) and seawater of the Krka river estuary

The response of an aquatic environment to the decrease of phosphate discharges from a technologically improved transhipment terminal, situated at the Croatian Adriatic coast in the port of Sibenik, has been assessed based on uranium activity and concentration in sediment, seawater and mussels Mytilus sp. The highest 238U activities (485+/-16Bqkg(-1) dry weight) were found in the sediment sample collected from the sampling site closest to the terminal. The maximum concentrations in the sediment samples are above the natural ranges and clearly indicate the harbour activities' influence. The 238U/226Ra activity ratios in sediment samples demonstrate the decreasing trend of phosphate ore input. Mussel samples showed levels of 238U activities in the range from 12.1+/-2.9 to 19.4+/-7.2 Bqkg(-1) dry weight, thus being slightly higher than in normally consumed mussels. Only the seawater, taken just above the bottom sediment at the sampling site closest to the terminal, shows a slightly higher uranium concentration (3.1+/-0.2 microgL(-1)) when compared to the samples taken in upper seawater layers (2.1+/-0.2 microgL(-1)) but is in the range of the concentration level of uranium in natural seawater. Since the transhipment terminal in the port of Sibenik was modernised in 1988, discharge of phosphate ore into the seawater was drastically reduced and, consequently, uranium concentration levels in seawater have decreased. However, enhanced uranium activity levels are still found in deeper sediment layer samples and in mussel.     

Determinants of Spatial and Temporal Patterns in Compensatory Wetland Mitigation

Development projects that impact wetlands commonly require compensatory mitigation, usually through creation or restoration of wetlands on or off the project site. Over the last decade, federal support has increased for third-party off-site mitigation methods. At the same time, regulators have lowered the minimum impact size that triggers the requirement for compensatory mitigation. Few studies have examined the aggregate impact of individual wetland mitigation projects. No previous study has compared the choice of mitigation method by regulatory agency or development size. We analyze 1058 locally and federally permitted wetland mitigation transactions in the Chicago region between 1993 and 2004. We show that decreasing mitigation thresholds have had striking effects on the methods and spatial distribution of wetland mitigation. In particular, the observed increase in mitigation bank use is driven largely by the needs of the smallest impacts. Conversely, throughout the time period studied, large developments have rarely used mitigation banking, and have been relatively unaffected by changing regulatory focus and banking industry growth. We surmise that small developments lack the scale economies necessary for feasible permittee responsible mitigation. Finally, we compare the rates at which compensation required by both county and federal regulators is performed across major watershed boundaries. We show that local regulations prohibiting cross-county mitigation lead to higher levels of cross- watershed mitigation than federal regulations without cross-county prohibitions. Our data suggest that local control over wetland mitigation may prioritize administrative boundaries over hydrologic function in the matter of selecting compensation sites.     

Host genotype and age have no effect on rejection of parasitic eggs

Egg rejection belongs to a widely used host tactic to prevent the costs incurred by avian brood parasitism. However, the genetic basis of this behaviour and the effect of host age on the probability of rejecting the parasitic egg remain largely unknown. Here, we used a set of 15 polymorphic microsatellite loci, including a previously detected candidate locus (Ase64), to link genotypes of female great reed warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus), a known rejecter, with their egg rejection responses in two host populations. We also tested whether host female age, as a measure of the experience with own eggs, plays a role in rejection of common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) eggs. We failed to find any consistent association of egg rejection responses with host female genotypes or age. It seems that host decisions on egg rejection show high levels of phenotypic plasticity and are likely to depend on the spatiotemporal variation in the parasitism pressure. Future studies exploring the repeatability of host responses towards parasitic eggs and the role of host individual experience with parasitic eggs would greatly improve our understanding of the variations in host behaviours considering the persistence of brood parasitism in host populations with rejecter phenotypes.     

Use of strategic environmental assessment in the site selection process for a radioactive waste disposal facility in Slovenia

The benefits of strategic environmental considerations in the process of siting a repository for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste (LILW) are presented. The benefits have been explored by analyzing differences between the two site selection processes. One is a so-called official site selection process, which is implemented by the Agency for radwaste management (ARAO); the other is an optimization process suggested by experts working in the area of environmental impact assessment (EIA) and land-use (spatial) planning. The criteria on which the comparison of the results of the two site selection processes has been based are spatial organization, environmental impact, safety in terms of potential exposure of the population to radioactivity released from the repository, and feasibility of the repository from the technical, financial/economic and social point of view (the latter relates to consent by the local community for siting the repository). The site selection processes have been compared with the support of the decision expert system named DEX. The results of the comparison indicate that the sites selected by ARAO meet fewer suitability criteria than those identified by applying strategic environmental considerations in the framework of the optimization process. This result stands when taking into account spatial, environmental, safety and technical feasibility points of view. Acceptability of a site by a local community could not have been tested, since the formal site selection process has not yet been concluded; this remains as an uncertain and open point of the comparison.     

Phytoplankton distribution across the southeast Adriatic continental and shelf slope to the west of Albania (spring aspect)

We present the first insight to the oceanography of the southeastern Adriatic Sea, where coastal water influenced by Albanian rivers comes into contact with the inflowing oligotrophic Eastern Adriatic Current (Ionian Surface Water and Levantine Intermediate Water). A distinct plankton distribution was observed on each side of the shelf break hydrographic boundary in May 2009, during gradual warming of the surface waters. The prochlorophytes accumulated along the nutricline above the shelf and continental slope. The phosphorus limited inshore waters were dominated by a small diatom Chaetoceros circinalis, dinoflagellates, cryptophytes, autotrophic picoplankton, and heterotrophic nanoplankton. The offshore surface layer was characterized by bigger nanoplankton (coccolithophorids, green flagellates). Low nutrient concentrations influence relatively low productivity not only above the Albanian shelf but also further to the north along the Montenegrine and Croatian coastal Adriatic Sea.     

The effect of changes to the method of estimating the pollen count from aerobiological samples

Pollen data have been recorded at Novi Sad in Serbia since 2000. The adopted method of producing pollen counts has been the use of five longitudinal transects that examine 19.64% of total sample surface. However, counting five transects is time consuming and so the main objective of this study is to investigate whether reducing the number to three or even two transects would have a significant effect on daily average and bi-hourly pollen concentrations, as well as the main characteristics of the pollen season and long-term trends. This study has shown that there is a loss of accuracy in daily average and bi-hourly pollen concentrations (an increase in % ERROR) as the sub-sampling area is reduced from five to three or two longitudinal transects. However, this loss of accuracy does not impact on the main characteristics of the season or long-term trends. As a result, this study can be used to justify changing the sub-sampling method used at Novi Sad from five to three longitudinal transects. The use of two longitudinal transects has been ruled out because, although quicker, the counts produced: (a) had the greatest amount of % ERROR, (b) altered the amount of influence of the independent variable on the dependent variable (the slope in regression analysis) and (c) the total sampled surface (7.86%) was less than the minimum requirement recommended by the European Aerobiology Society working group on Quality Control (at least 10% of total slide area).     

Characteristics of black carbon aerosol mass concentration over the East Baltic region from two-year measurements

Continuous measurements of black carbon (BC) aerosol mass concentration were performed at a background site Preila (55°55'N, 21°00'E, 5 m a.s.l., Lithuania) during the period 2008-2009. The data were used to characterize the BC mass concentration distribution over the East Baltic region. High increase in aerosol BC concentration was associated with the change in air mass characteristics and biomass burning during the winter heating season and spring wildfires. Monthly means of BC concentration ranged from 212 to 1268 ng m(-3) and the highest hourly means of concentration were from 4800 to 6300 ng m(-3), predominantly in spring and winter months. During the October-April period the BC mass concentrations were about twice as high as those in the summertime. The BC diurnal pattern in winter was typically different from that in spring indicating the seasonal variation of the atmospheric boundary layer height. The weekday/weekend difference was not strongly pronounced because the BC concentrations in Preila are mainly affected by long-range transport or local sources. Typical periodicities caused by anthropogenic and meteorological influences have been identified using Fourier analysis. It was shown that domestic heating appears as a 365 day periodicity; traffic slightly contributes 5-7 day peaks in the spectrum and elevated long-range BC can be identified as characteristic peaks with periodicities in the range from 16 to 29 days.Temporal evolution and transport of BC aerosols were interpreted by the air mass backward trajectory analysis in conjunction with the examination of the wavelength dependence on the aethalometer data. Air masses originated from the North Atlantic Ocean and Scandinavia were favourable for lower BC concentrations (350 ng m(-3)), while the BC level associated with the Western Europe airflows was significantly higher (970 ng m(-3)). The mean values of ?ngstr?m exponent of the absorption coefficient (monthly means 1.45 ± 0.25 and 0.84 ± 0.50 over January and June, respectively) revealed that the BC concentration observed over the East Baltic is influenced by submicron sized particles as a result of incomplete biomass combustion during the winter season.