Assessment of intrinsic bioremediation of a coal-tar-affected aquifer using Two-dimensional reactive transport and Biogeochemical mass balance approaches.

Expedited site characterization and groundwater monitoring using direct-push technology and conventional monitoring wells were conducted at a former manufactured gas plant site. Biogeochemical data and heterotrophic plate counts support the presence of microbially mediated remediation. By superimposing solutions of a two-dimensional reactive transport analytical model, first-order degradation rate coefficients ((day-1) ) of various compounds for the dissolved-phase plume were estimated (i.e., benzene [0.0084], naphthalene [0.0058], and acenaphthene [0.0011]). The total mass transformed by aerobic respiration, nitrate reduction, and sulfate reduction around the free-phase coal-tar dense-nonaqueous-phase-liquid region and in the plume was estimated to be approximately 4.5 kg/y using a biogeochemical mass-balance approach. The total mass transformed using the degradation rate coefficients was estimated to be approximately 3.6 kg/y. Results showed that a simple two-dimensional analytical model and a biochemical mass balance with geochemical data from expedited site characterization can be useful for rapid estimation of mass-transformation rates.     

Local and Indigenous management of climate change risks to archaeological sites

Hundreds of thousands of significant archaeological and cultural heritage sites (cultural sites) along the coasts of every continent are threatened by sea level rise, and many will be destroyed. This wealth of artefacts and monuments testifies to human history, cosmology and identity. While cultural sites are especially important to local and Indigenous communities, a stall in coordinated global action means adaptation at a local scale is often unsupported. In response, this paper produces a practical climate change risk analysis methodology designed for independent, community-scale management of cultural sites. It builds on existing methods that prioritise sites most at risk from climate impacts, proposing a field survey that integrates an assessment of the relative cultural value of sites with assessment of exposure and sensitivity to climate impacts. The field survey also stands as a monitoring program and complements an assessment of organisational adaptive capacity. The preliminary field survey was tested by Indigenous land managers in remote northern Australia at midden and rock art sites threatened by sea level rise, extreme flood events and a range of non-climactic hazards. A participatory action research methodology—incorporating planning workshops, semi-structured interviews and participant observations—gave rise to significant modifications to the preliminary field survey as well as management prioritisation of 120 sites. The field survey is anticipated to have global application, particularly among marginalised and remote Indigenous communities. Well-planned and informed participation, with community control, monitoring and well-informed actions, will contribute significantly to coordinated global and regional adaptation strategies.     

An Assessment of Residues from Duct Injection Demonstration Sites

The duct injection retrofit process for flue gas cleanup of sulfur dioxide emissions has been demonstrated at several sites in the United States through a series of U.S. Department of Energy research projects. As a subcontractor on one of the projects, the University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center performed a comprehensive characterization of four residues from three demonstration sites. The characterization task objective was to facilitate understanding of materials handling and to identify potential disposal and utilization options for these high-volume coal utilization solid residues. Characterization included evaluation of the physical and engineering properties, chemical composition, mineralogy, and leaching potential. Chemical characterization results provided interesting and valuable information from the standpoint of the bulk chemistry and phase assemblages, as well as potential environmental issues associated with the use or disposal of these materials. Results of the chemical and mineralogical characterizations indicate that duct injection residues will be suitable for specific utilization applications and that disposal of these residues should be similar to many conventional coal combustion residues. Significant mineralogical phase changes were noted in long-term leaching experiments.     

"What Works Well; What Needs Improvement": Lessons in public consultation from British Columbia's resource planning processes

Resource planning and management in British Columbia, Canada, has been steadily moving towards more active public participation. While government agencies have long been required to consult the general public during the course of land or resource use planning, the 1990s brought in a period of more intense public involvement. In terms of resource planning, this led to the creation of several new planning processes. Given that there is now considerable experience with the Commission on Resources and Environment (CORE) and the Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP) processes, it is time for an appraisal. In particular, the paper examines the public's perceptions of these processes with respect to 'what works well' and 'what needs improvement'. The results highlight a number of areas to which process designers and managers should direct attention. There are three key items of note. First, there are generally low levels of awareness by respondents of public consultation processes in their community. Second, there is a need for access to timely, relevant and readable information throughout the course of the process in order to keep participants and the public as up-to-date as possible. Finally, there must be greater clarity about the process itself, including mandates, participants and decision-making powers.     

The concept of the Portuguese National Ecological Reserve: constraints and impossibilities in the Azores Archipelago

The biophysical features of small islands (SI) distinguish them from other territories; isolation, small size and several anthropogenic pressures reduce the resilience of ecosystems and increase their vulnerability to global changes. Many SI have a shortage of infrastructures, institutions and technical/financial resources that hinder planning and require different integrated solutions. In Portugal, the National Ecological Reserve (NER) is legally binding for spatial planning instruments. It aims to defend natural values and areas of ecological value, or sensibility, or susceptible to natural hazards. However, the criteria for the design of NER are strictly set for mainland territory, not taking into account specific features of small islands. A case study of the Azores Archipelago is used to demonstrate that spatial planning instruments should be adapted to island contexts. Such adaptation will increase the effectiveness of their implementation in relation to the protection of natural resources, stability of biophysical structures and prevention of natural hazards. Observing the main differences between mainland and the Azores Archipelago it is possible to define a methodological transposition of the NER aims and goals into an island context. This approach is an answer to the constraints in effective adaptation of spatial planning instruments for islands.     

Biological aspects of metal waste reclamation with biosolids

Smelter waste deposits pose an environmental threat worldwide. Biosolids are potentialy useful in reclamation of such sites. Biological aspects of revegetation of Zn and Pb smelter wastelands using biosolids are discussed in this report. The goal of the studies was to assess to what extent biosolid treatment would support ecosystem functioning as measured by biological indicators such as enzyme activities of revegetated metal waste or plant growth. Another crucial aspect was related to the assessment of metal transfer to the ecosystem which could affect the health of local fauna and also create a food chain risk. A field experiment was conducted on a smelter waste deposit in Piekary Slaskie, Silesia, Poland, with two separate fields - established on wastes from the Welz and Doerschel smelting processes. The tested methods allowed revegetation of the fields - application of municipal biosolid at the rate 300 dry t ha(-1) combined with the incorporation of commercial lime in a mixed oxide and carbonate form at the rate of 1.5 and 30 t for Welz waste or use of a 30 cm by-product lime cap followed by incorporation of biosolid at a rate of 300 t ha(-1) for the more acidic Doerschel waste. Studies on biological activities demonstrated that the reclamation methods used are an effective way to establish new, fully-functioning ecosystems that support plant growth. They also provided strong evidence that forage crops grown on Zn, Cd and Pb contaminated sites reclaimed using lime and biosolids do not pose identified risk for wildlife and food safety.     

Habitat specialization and the exploitation of allochthonous carbon by zooplankton

The significance of spatial subsidies depends on consumer resource interactions in the recipient habitat. Lakes are subsidized by terrestrial carbon sources, but the pathways of allochthonous carbon through lake food webs are complex and not well understood. Zooplankton vertically partition resources within stratified lakes in response to life history trade-offs that are governed by predators, the quantity and quality of food, and abiotic conditions (e.g., UV, temperature, and viscosity). We measured habitat specialization of zooplankton in an oligotrophic lake where allochthonous and autochthonous resources varied with depth. During stratification, the quantity and quality of zooplankton food was highest in the hypolimnion. We used a yearlong time series of the delta13C of zooplankton and particulate organic matter (POM) to determine which zooplankton species exploited hypolimnetic rather than epilimnetic resources. Because the delta13C of POM decreased with depth, we used the delta13C of zooplankton to detect inter- and intraspecific variation in habitat selection. We incubated Daphnia pulex at discrete depths in the water column to confirm that the delta13C of zooplankton can indicate habitat specialization. Zooplankton that specialized in the epilimnion relied more on allochthonous carbon sources than those that specialized in the hypolimnion. Therefore, the fate of allochthonous carbon subsidies to lakes depends on spatially explicit consumer-resource interactions.