Valuation of Spatial Configurations and Forest Types in the Southern Appalachian Highlands

Site-specific estimates of the values of spatial configuration and forest composition are presented. Amenity values of forest patches are found to vary the most by urban and sprawling development patterns of specific areas and forest types. For example, smaller patches of deciduous forest are more highly valued in the urban and sprawling areas of Greensboro, North Carolina, whereas larger patches of deciduous forest are more highly valued in the urban and sprawling areas of Greenville, South Carolina. Within the Greenville and Greensboro areas, visible landscape complexity is highly valued for deciduous and evergreen forest patches, whereas lower visible landscape complexity, i.e., smoothly trimmed forest patch boundaries, is highly valued for mixed forest patches.     

Effect of mixing on NO removal in the selective noncatalytic reduction reaction process

The effect of mixing of NH₃ and NO on the selective noncatalytic reduction (SNCR) reaction was investigated using a bench-scale reactor. Three different experimental conditions were compared for the removal of NO in the bulk gas with NH₃, a reducing agent, by means of mixing and contacting. The temperature that gave the highest NO removal efficiency was about 800°C when NH₃ was injected with air or NH₃ was premixed and air was injected. It is suggested that control of mixing of the reducing agent and the injection conditions could be a good way to increase NO removal efficiency as well as to lower the reaction temperature. When NH₃ was injected with air, the NO removal efficiency increased with increasing injected air flow if the initial NO concentration was low, whereas for high NO concentrations, the NO removal efficiency slightly increased up to an injected air flow rate of 100 ml/min. A proposed mixed-flow model can be used as a prediction tool for the NO removal efficiency covering various conditions of the real SNCR process.     

Effects of varying dilutions, pH, temperature and cations on spermatozoa motility in fish Larimichthys polyactis

The objectives of this present study were to assess the effects of varying dilutions, pH, temperature and cations on spermatozoa motile parameters (SMPs) in fish Larimichthys polyactis. Optimal SMPs were observed when emen was diluted in artificial seawater (ASW) at a ratio of 1 to 100, with temperature of 10 degreesC and pH 8.0. The spermatozoa of L. polyactis were immotile in distilled water and motile in solution containing different cations. Maximum SMPs were obtained in each solution containing 0.4 mol NaCI, 0.4 mol KCI, 0.2 mol CaCI2 and 0.2 mol MgCl2. This study provides baseline knowledge of L. polyactis spermatozoa sensitivity of pH, temperature and cationic effects.     

Abiotic subsurface behaviors of As(V) with Fe(II)

Subsurface geochemical behavior of As(V) with Fe(II) was studied under strict anoxic conditions. Abiotic reduction of As(V) (0.1 mM) to As(III) by aqueous Fe(II) and sorbed Fe(II) in pH range 5.0-7.0 and Fe(II)(aq) concentration (0.6-1.2 mM) was investigated along with the effect of As(V) on the oxidation of Fe(II) by dissolved oxygen (DO). Although the reduction was thermodynamically feasible for homogeneous chemical conditions, practically no As(V) reduction by aqueous Fe(II) was observed. Similarly, no sorbed As(V) reduction was observed under the heterogeneous experimental conditions by sorbed Fe(II) onto synthetic iron oxide (hematite, α-Fe?O?). Experimental results on Fe(II) oxidation by DO in the presence of 0.1 mM As(V) showed a significantly slower Fe(II) oxidation, which might be due to the formation of Fe(II)-As(V) complex in the aqueous phase. The results of this study demonstrate that As(V) is relatively stable in the presence of Fe(II) under subsurface environment and interfere the oxidation of Fe(II).     

Tourism effects on the environment and economic sustainability of sub-Saharan Africa

This paper integrates tourism, economic growth, and environmental issues in a multivariate format. Unlike recent research on this topic, a panel data of selected sample nations of sub-Saharan Africa is adopted by using cointegration and panel regression models. The current research discovers both long-run equilibrium and short-run dynamics between economic growth, tourism, energy use, and carbon emissions in sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, tourism and energy use show a highly significant direct impact on economic growth. In addition, tourism, energy use, and economic growth yield a highly significant positive effect on carbon emissions. Dissecting the region into oil producers and non-oil producers further suggests that the economic growth of sub-Saharan Africa has been accomplished by strong growth in tourism and energy use. However, there is highly significant evidence that in oil producing countries, CO₂ emissions are directly affected by energy use and economic growth and not by tourism. For non-oil producing countries, tourism and energy use but not economic growth incur a highly significant positive impact on carbon emissions.     

Long-term assessment of the environmental fate of heavy metals in agricultural soil after cessation of organic waste treatments

The current study examined the anthropogenic accumulation and natural decrease in metal concentrations in agricultural soils following organic waste application. Three common organic wastes, including municipal sewage sludge, alcohol fermentation processing sludge, and pig manure compost (PMC), were applied annually to an agricultural soil under field conditions over 7 years (1994–2000) at a rate of 12.5, 25, and 50 ton ha^?1 year^?1 and the soil accumulation of three metals of concern (Cu, Pb, and Zn) was monitored. Subsequently, organic waste amendments ceased and the experimental plots were managed using conventional fertilization for another 10 years (2001–2010) and the natural decrease in metal concentrations monitored. Although Cu and Zn concentrations in all experimental plots did not exceed the relevant guideline values (150 mg kg^?1 for Cu and 300 mg kg^?1 for Zn), significant increases in metal concentrations were observed from cumulative application of organic wastes over 7 years. For instance, PMC treatment resulted in an increase in Cu and Zn from 9.8 and 72 mg kg^?1 to 108.2 and 214.3 mg kg^?1, respectively. In addition, the natural decrease in Cu and Zn was not significant as soils amended with PMC showed only a 16 and 19 % decline in Cu and Zn concentrations, respectively, even 10 years after amendment ceased. This research suggested that more attention must be paid during production of organic waste-based amendments and at the application stage.     

Direct assessment of international consistency of standards for ground-level ozone: strategy and implementation toward metrological traceability network in Asia

An international exercise to directly assess consistency of standards for ground-level ozone in East Asia was conducted as part of the East Asian Regional Experiment 2005 (EAREX 2005) in the framework of the Atmospheric Brown Clouds (ABC) project. Ten organizations collaboratively participated in the intercomparison. Four groups representing Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan made comparisons at the Gosan super observatory, Jeju Island, Korea, in March 2005, with ozone instruments calibrated to their national standards, and four Japanese groups made off-site comparisons with laboratory-level standards. All comparisons generally indicated good agreement with the standard reference photometer (SRP) 35, built by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (USA) and maintained by the National Institute for Environmental Studies (Japan). The assessment was expanded to measurement networks contributing to the World Meteorological Organization's Global Atmospheric Watch (WMO/GAW) program as part of off-site comparisons, and excellent agreement was achieved. These efforts contribute to propagating traceability of the national metrology standards among the atmospheric science community, to ensuring comparability of the existing ozone measurements, and to establishing an integrated network of air quality monitoring in Asia.     

An estimation of vehicle kilometer traveled and on-road emissions using the traffic volume and travel speed on road links in Incheon City

The objective of this study is to estimate the vehicle kilometer traveled (VKT) and on-road emissions using the traffic volume in urban. We estimated two VKT; one is based on registered vehicles and the other is based on traffic volumes. VKT for registered vehicles was 2.11 times greater than that of the applied traffic volumes because each VKT estimation method is different. Therefore, we had to define the inner VKT is moved VKT inner in urban to compare two values. Also, we focused on freight modes because these are discharged much air pollutant emissions. From analysis results, we found middle and large trucks registered in other regions traveled to target city in order to carry freight, target city has included many industrial and logistics areas. Freight is transferred through the harbors, large logistics centers, or via locations before being moved to the final destination. During this process, most freight is moved by middle and large trucks, and trailers rather than small trucks for freight import and export. Therefore, these trucks from other areas are inflow more than registered vehicles. Most emissions from diesel trucks had been overestimated in comparison to VKT from applied traffic volumes in target city. From these findings, VKT is essential based on traffic volume and travel speed on road links in order to estimate accurately the emissions of diesel trucks in target city. Our findings support the estimation of the effect of on-road emissions on urban air quality in Korea.