Groundwater protection on Long Island,New York: a study in management capacity

Through their powers to regulate land use and their responsibilities for public water supply, local governments are critical players in groundwater protection. Unfortunately, the demands of groundwater protection are high, and many local governments do not have the ability or capacity to develop and implement appropriate management strategies. This paper analyzes groundwater protection experiences on Long Island, New York, a place where groundwater dependence is high, and threats to groundwater are serious. Long Island's experiences highlight the need to approach capacity building for groundwater protection broadly, concentrating on factors such as political commitment and citizen support; enhancement of local technical competency through linkages and support from state and federal governments; and strengthening of institutional arrangements at all levels.     

Determination of volatile organic compounds in workplace air by multisorbent adsorption/thermal desorption-GC/MS

Investigation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was first conducted in the air of class-100 cleanrooms at liquid crystal display (LCD) fabrication facilities. Air samples were collected on multisorbent tubes (including Carbopack B, Carbopack C, and Carbosieve S-III) and analyzed using adsorption/thermal desorption coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Optimal conditions lead to average recoveries in the range of 96.2-98.2%, and method detection limits between 0.38 and 0.78 ppb, under the condition of 1-l sampling volume and 80% relative humidity. The method appears to be accurate, sensitive, simple and well-suited for determining VOC distributions from various stages of LCD manufacturing process and temporal variations of the analyte concentrations. About 15 VOCs were identified in workplace air. The major pollutants such as propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PGMEA), butyl acetate, and acetone that are commonly used in the opto-electronics industry were detected and accurately quantified with the established method.     

决策科学与DSS

要实现科学管理,必须掌握决策的科学,并在决策过程中运用现代管理的基本工具——计算机,以辅助决策,提高组织效能。本文正是以“国家环境质量决策支持系统”为分析范例,从决策科学与DSS技术的结合上介绍了决策模式分析,决策模型建立和决策选择,综述了DSS概念,结构和建立初始系统,并通过自适应的设计和应用过程形成最终系统的开发方法。文中列举了一些国内外开发应用DSS的实例,并指出在高层次复杂决策问题上,目前的DSS支持手段还是比较薄弱的      

A dusk chorus effect in a nocturnal bird: support for mate and rival assessment functions

The dawn chorus is a striking feature of spring mornings and a characteristic behaviour of many bird species, particularly the passerines. Dawn singing has been considered a reliable signal of male quality for mate and rival assessment. Singing is presumed to be relatively costly at dawn both because air temperatures are relatively low and because birds have not fed overnight. Models of optimal daily routine predict the existence of a “dusk chorus” in nocturnal birds, although this prediction has received little empirical attention. Nocturnal birds at dusk may be energy-limited because of a lack of daytime feeding, and singing at dusk may thus ensure signal reliability. Here, we used an observational and experimental approach to study vocal behaviour at dusk and dawn in a nocturnal raptor, the little owl Athene noctua. We assess whether male little owls adjust their vocal behaviour according to feeding stage (i.e. period of the night), ambient air temperature and territorial context (i.e. spontaneous calling behaviour vs elicited calling by intrusion). Across different temperatures, we find that both spontaneous vocal activity and inter-individual variability in call duration increased at dusk, clearly indicating a dusk chorus phenomenon. Results from playback presentations suggest that food, rather than air temperature, is likely to be more constraining at dusk. We discuss how comparing dusk and dawn choruses in nocturnal and diurnal species can provide insights into both mechanistic and functional aspects of signalling behaviour.     

Carbon capture of biochar produced by microwave co-pyrolysis: adsorption capacity,kinetics, and benefits

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Microwave co-pyrolysis of sewage sludge and leucaena wood was conducted to produce biochar as an adsorbent for CO2 capture. Both microwave power level...     

Chemical fingerprint and source apportionment of PM 2.5 in highly polluted events of southern Taiwan

To investigate the spatial distribution and diurnal variation of the chemical composition of PM2.5 pollution in an industrial city of southern Taiwan, 12-h PM2.5 was diurnally continuously collected simultaneously at the Kaoping Air Quality Zone (KAQZ) during one highly PM2.5-polluted episode. Water-soluble ions, metallic elements, carbonaceous contents, dicarboxylic acids, and anhydrosugars were analyzed to characterize the chemical fingerprint of PM2.5. Backward trajectory simulation and chemical mass balance (CMB) receptor modeling were applied to identify the potential sources of PM2.5 and their contributions. It showed that Chaozhou (rural area) accompanying the highest SORs and NORs suffered from the most severe PM2.5 pollution during the episode. Sulfate (SO42−) was probably formed by the atmospheric chemical reaction in the daytime, while NO3− processed at nighttime at the KAQZ. A homogeneous formation of NO3− occurred at Chaozhou. The concentrations of Zn, Pb, Fe, Cu, V, and Al, mainly emitted from anthropogenic sources, increased significantly at the KAQZ. The highest OC, SOC/OC, and DA/OCs at Daliao (industrial area) were attributed to the transformation of primary VOCs to secondary OC via photo-oxidation during the episode. Oxalic acid was mainly produced through photochemical reactions since a high correlation between oxalic acid and Ca2+ was observed at Nanzi (urban area) and Daliao during the episode. During the episode, PM2.5 mostly originated from local primary or secondary aerosol than long-range overseas transport. The dominant source was anthropogenic emissions, accounting for 67.1% and 70.4% of PM2.5 at Nanzi and Daliao, respectively. At Chaozhou, the contribution of anthropogenic emissions was the lowest (42.4%), but secondary aerosols had the highest contribution of 38.3% of PM2.5 among the three areas during the episode.     

Social influences on expressed willingness to pay: results of a deliberative monetary valuation study in Colombia

Deliberative monetary valuation (DMV) methods can support environmental decision making by enabling the exchange of arguments and information to produce more democratic outcomes. The product of a valuation may be an array of expressions of willingness to pay (WTP) by individuals or a collectively agreed monetary value. Concerns have been raised, however, as to whether this product is an outcome of thoughtful and independent decision-making or influenced by social pressures to conform. Our study examines this issue and addresses concerns about the use of DMV, based on a public deliberation of forest conservation in Colombia. We analyzed the impacts of social conformity on WTP under two different decision scenarios: individual and collective. The results suggest that the impacts of social conformity are greater when a collective decision is required. These findings indicate that tensions between the differing goals of DMV could undermine its democratic promise.     

Role of Geographic Information System (GIS) in Watershed Simulation By Winvast Model

The uncertainty of modeling input will increase the simulation error, and this situation always happens in a model without user-friendly interface. WinVAST model, developed by the University of Virginia in 2003, treats an entire multi-catchment by a tree-view structure. Its extra computer programs can connect geographic information system (GIS). Model users can prepare all the necessary information in ArcGIS. Extracting information from GIS interface can not only decrease the inconvenience of data input, but also lower the uncertainty due to data preparation. The Daiyuku Creek and Qupoliao Creek in the Fei-tsui reservoir watershed in Northern Taiwan provided the setting for the case study reported herein. The required information, including slope, stream length, subbasin area, soil type and land-use condition, for WinVAST model should be prepared in a Microsoft Access database, which is the project file of WinVAST with extension mdb. In ArcGIS interface, when the soil layer, land-use layer, and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) map are prepared, all the watershed information can be created as well. This study compared the simulation results from automatically generated input and manual input. The results show that the relative simulation error resulting from the rough process of data input can be around 30% in runoff simulation, and even reach 70% in non-point source pollution (NPSP) simulation. It could conclude that GIS technology is significant for predicting watershed responses by WinVAST model, because it can efficiently reduce the uncertainty induced by input errors.     

Prediction of the effluent from a domestic wastewater treatment plant of CASP using gray model and neural network

When a domestic wastewater treatment plant (DWWTP) is put into operation, variations of the wastewater quantity and quality must be predicted using mathematical models to assist in operating the wastewater treatment plant such that the treated effluent will be controlled and meet discharge standards. In this study, three types of gray model (GM) including GM (1, N), GM (1, 1), and rolling GM (1, 1) were used to predict the effluent biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and suspended solids (SS) from the DWWTP of conventional activated sludge process. The predicted results were compared with those obtained using backpropagation neural network (BPNN). The simulation results indicated that the minimum mean absolute percentage errors of 43.79%, 16.21%, and 30.11% for BOD, COD, and SS could be achieved. The fitness was higher when using BPNN for prediction of BOD (34.77%), but it required a large quantity of data for constructing model. Contrarily, GM only required a small amount of data (at least four data) and the prediction results were analogous to those of BPNN, even lower than that of BPNN when predicting COD (16.21%) and SS (30.11%). According to the prediction, results suggested that GM could predict the domestic effluent variation when its effluent data were insufficient.     

The effects of two acanthocephalan parasites, Pomphorhynchus laevis and Polymorphus minutus, on pairing success in male Gammarus pulex (Crustacea: Amphipoda)

Parasites can decrease male mating success in host species in various ways, in particular by affecting male competitive ability for access to females. However, male-male competition can take different forms (i.e. interference vs exploitation competition) and which type of competition is most affected by parasites is not always clear. We investigated the influence of two acanthocephalan parasites Pomphorhynchus laevis and Polymorphus minutus on the pairing success of their intermediate host, Gammarus pulex, using field-based studies and complementary laboratory-based studies. We first studied male pairing success in the field using four large samples of paired and unpaired individuals collected at different dates. In three of the samples, the effects of size and parasite infection were significant, whereas for one sample only male size had a significant effect. There was no difference in size distributions between infected and uninfected gammarids. Large males were paired more often than smaller males, and uninfected males were paired more frequently than infected males, the pairing success of P. minutus-infected males being more severely affected than that of P. laevis-infected males. We then experimentally tested the ability to enter into precopula with a receptive female in the presence or absence of competitors. In competitive situations, the pairing success of P. laevis- and P. minutus-infected males was significantly lower than that of uninfected males, with pairing success being more affected in P. laevis-infected than in P. minutus-infected males. In the absence of competition, males infected with P. laevis were significantly less likely to enter into precopula compared with uninfected males and P. minutus-infected males, whereas there was no difference between uninfected and P. minutus-infected males in their inclination to pair with a receptive female. However, for both parasites, latency time to pair formation was significantly shorter for uninfected than for infected males. In a third experiment, we tested for a potential effect of vertical segregation on the pairing success of infected and uninfected males, but found no evidence for it. We conclude that infected males may be less competitive than uninfected males in competition by exploitation between males for females.