Water-soluble organic compounds at a mountain-top site in Colorado,USA

Water extracts of atmospheric particulate matter (PM_2.5) collected at the Storm Peak Laboratory (SPL) (3210 MSL, 40.45° N, 106.74° W) were analyzed for a wide variety of polar organic compounds. The unique geographical character of SPL allows for extended observations/sampling of the free tropospheric interface. Under variable meteorological conditions between January 9th and January14th 2007, the most abundant compounds were levoglucosan (9–72 ng m^?3), palmitic acid (10–40 ng m^?3) and succinic acid (18–27 ng m^?3). Of 84 analytes included in the GC–MS method, over 50 individual water extractable polar organic compounds (POC) were present at concentrations greater than 0.1 ng m^?3. During a snow event (Jan. 11th–13th), the concentrations of several presumed atmospheric transformation compounds (dicarboxylic acids) were reduced. Lower actinic flux, reduced transport distance, and ice crystal scavenging may explain this variability. Diurnal averages over the sampling period revealed a higher total concentration of water extractable POC at night, 211 ng m^?3 (105–265 ng m^?3), versus day, 160 ng m^?3 (137–205 ng m^?3), which suggests a more aged nighttime aerosol character. This may be due to the increased daytime convective mixing of local primary emissions from the Yampa Valley. XAD resin extracts revealed a gas-phase partitioning of several compounds, and analysis of cloud water collected at this site in 2002 revealed a similar compound abundance trend. Levoglucosan, a wood smoke tracer was generally found to be the most abundant compound in both aerosol and cloud water samples. Variations in meteorological parameters and local/regional transport analysis play an important interpretive role in understanding these results.     

Place attachment and flood preparedness

Does place attachment and the consequent emotional connections and ties that people have with environments affect their preparedness for natural disasters, such as floods? This study took up this research question for the understudied geographical region of Orissa, India. In particular, investigation focused on three kinds of place attachment, viz. economic, genealogical, and religious. Contextualized scales for place attachment and flood preparedness were developed for a survey. Data were collected from 300 residents in flood prone areas. Validity and reliability of the scales were established. Overall, place attachment was found to significantly influence flood preparedness. Hierarchical regression analysis was performed to determine whether the three factors of place attachment influence flood preparedness. Controlling for confounding effects of age and family type, regression analysis revealed that people having genealogical and economic place attachment prepared for floods, but those with religious place attachment did not prepare for floods. The implications of these findings for future studies are described.     

Use of amendments to reduce leaching loss of phosphorus and other nutrients from a sandy soil in Florida

Goal, Scope and Background Transport of P from agricultural land contributes to the eutrophication of surface waters. Soil amendment is considered one of the best management practices (BMPs) to reduce P loss from sandy soils. Laboratory column leaching experiments were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of different soil amendments in reducing P leaching from a typical sandy soil in Florida. Methods The tested amendments were CaCl₂, CaCO₃, Al(OH)₃, cellulose, and mill mud, and applied at the rate of 15 g/kg for a single amendment and each 7.5 g/kg if two amendments were combined. Leaching was conducted every four days for 32 days, 250 mL of deionized water being leached for each column per leaching event. Leachates were collected from each leaching event and analyzed for reactive P, PO₄-P, and macro and micro-elements. Results and Discussion Except for the soils amended with CaCl₂, or CaCl₂+CaCO₃, reactive P and PO₄-P leaching losses mainly occurred in the first three leaching events. Phosphorus leaching from the soils amended with CaCl₂ or CaCl₂+CaCO₃ was less but more persistent than that of other amendments. Reactive Pleaching loss was reduced by 36.0% and 40.4% for the amendments of CaCl₂, and CaCl₂+CaCO₃, respectively, as compared with chemical fertilizer alone, and the corresponding values for PO₄-P were 70.8% and 71.9%. The concentrations of K, Mg, Cu, and Fe in leachate were also decreased by CaCl₂ or CaCl₂+CaCO₃ amendment. Among the seven amendments, CaCl₂, CaCO₃, or their combination were most effective in reducing P leaching from the sandy soil, followed by cellulose and Al(OH)₃, the effects of mill mud and mill mud + Al(OH)₃ were marginal. Conclusions These results indicate that the use of CaCl₂, CaCO₃, or their combination can significantly reduce P leaching from sandy soil, and should be considered in the development of BMPs for the sandy soil regions. Recommendations and Outlook Most agricultural soils in south Florida are very sandy with minimal holding capacities for moisture and nutrients. Repeated application of fertilizer is necessary to sustain desired yield of crops on these soils. However, eutrophication of fresh water systems in this area has been increasingly concerned by the public. Losses of P from agricultural fields by means of leaching and surface runoff are suspected as one of the important non-point contamination sources. The benefits and effectiveness of soil amendment in reducing P losses from cropping production systems while sustaining desired crop yield need to be demonstrated. Calcium chloride, CaCO₃, or their combination significantly reduce Pleaching from sandy soil, and should be considered in the development of BMPs for the sandy soil regions.     

Bioconcentration and Phytotoxicity of Cd in Eichhornia crassipes

Plants of Eichhornia crassipes grown at various levels of cadmium ranging from 0.1 to 100 μg ml⁻¹ accumulated Cd in a concentration and duration dependent manner. At all levels, Cd accumulation by various plant tissues followed the order roots shoot leaves. Approximately 80% of total Cd was accumulated by plant at highest concentration (100 μg ml⁻¹) used in the experiment. Cadmium induced phytotoxicity appears at 25.0 μg ml⁻¹ resulting into reduced levels of chlorophyll, protein and in vivo nitrate reductase activity of the plant. However, a slight induction of these physiological variables was obtained at lowest Cd (0.1 μg ml⁻¹) concentration. In contrast, carotenoid content increased at highest Cd concentration i.e., 100 μg ml⁻¹. Similar effects at low and high levels of Cd was obtained with respect to mitotic index and micronuclei in root meristem of the plant. It could be inferred that Cd toxicity in plant is differential depending upon the low and high concentration of Cd in the medium.     

Characterization of different road dusts in opencast coal mining areas of India

Dust from haul and transport roads are the major source of air pollution in opencast coal mining areas. Dust generated during mining operations pollutes air which causes different health problems. Various available techniques are implemented in the field to minimize and control dust in mining areas. However, they are not very effective because dust deposited on road surfaces are not removed by these techniques. For effective control of dust in opencast mining areas, it has to be regularly collected from road surfaces and may be converted into solid form, and subsequently can be used as a domestic fuel considering its physicochemical properties. The present paper describes a comparative study of qualitative and quantitative aspects of road dust samples of four coalfields of India. The pH of the dust was found to be in the range of 5.1–7.7. Moisture, ash, volatile matter, fixed carbon, water-holding capacity, bulk density, and specific gravity of dust samples were found to be in the range of 0.5–3.0%, 45–76%, 12.6–20.0%, 10.2–45.3%, 21.17–31.71%, 1.15–1.70, and 1.73–2.30 g cm⁻³, respectively. Observing the overall generation and characteristics of coal dust, it is suggested that coal dust from haul and transport roads of mining areas can be effectively collected and used as domestic fuel.     

Post tsunami changes in soil properties of Andaman Islands, India

A post tsunami study was conducted to assess the changes in soil properties in the Andaman Island, in India. The present study reported tsunami led conversion of acid soils to saline acid soils and acid sodic soils to acid saline sodic soils in the areas South Andaman inundated during tsunami and permanently receded later and in the low-lying area submerged during high tides. Upon intense leaching acid saline soils and acid saline sodic may further develop typical characteristics of acidic soils and acidic sodic soil, respectively. The soil at Guptapara inundated almost due to tsunami with minimal pyrite oxidation has potential to develop into highly acidic soils upon drainage. The tsunami by and large has modified some depositional layer affecting the salt accumulation to a greater extent and iron to a lesser extent and least to sodicity.     

Seasonal appearance of Chlorophyceae phytoplankton bloom by river discharge off Paradeep at Orissa Coast in the Bay of Bengal

Characteristics of the monsoonal bloom of phytoplankton at Orissa Coast in the Bay of Bengal were studied through bimonthly observation from April 2001 to December 2002. Three photosynthetic pigments chlorophyll-a (Chl a), chlorophyll-b (Chl b) and carotenoid (Car) were analyzed by absorption spectroscopic method. The seasonal variation of Chl a included phytoplankton bloom in the coastal area during monsoon period. The water column integrated Chl a reached to 68 mg m(-2) at the station-1(St1), and amounted to 20 mg m(-2) at 30 km off the river mouth during August 2001. In contrast the same amount was found at 15 km off the Mahanadi river mouth during August 2002. Salinity during this period varied from 5 psu at the St1 to 27 psu at the edge of the bloom area. The total amount of river discharge in the monsoon period calculated from daily river discharge data reported by Water Resources Department in India was 84 x 10(9) m(3) during 2001 and 20 x 10(9) m(3) during 2002. Both nitrate and phosphate concentrations showed negative quadratic relationship with salinity throughout the observation period. Extrapolated nitrate and phosphate concentration discharge from the Mahanadi river were 10.8 and 4 microg-at l(-1), respectively. Microscopic identification revealed dominance of fluvial Chlorophyceae and diatoms during the monsoon period showing influence of the freshwater discharge.     

Electrospinning production of nanofibrous membranes

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Electrospinning has attracted a worldwide interest as a technique for the production of nanofibrous membranes with diameter ranging 2 nm to several...     

Influence of real and synthetic municipal solid waste leachates on consolidation and shear strength behaviour of bentonites

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - For safe disposal of wastes in landfills, compacted bentonite is recommended as bottom liners due to their significant cation exchange (CEC) and...