Element patterns in albatrosses and petrels: Influence of trophic position, foraging range, and prey type

We investigated the concentrations of 22 essential and non-essential elements among a community of Procellariiformes (and their prey) to identify the extent to which trophic position and foraging range governed element accumulation. Stable isotope analysis (SIA) was used to characterise trophic (δ¹⁵N) and spatial patterns (δ¹³C) among species. Few consistent patterns were observed in element distributions among species and diet appeared to be highly influential in some instances. Arsenic levels in seabird red blood cells correlated with δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C, demonstrating the importance of trophic position and foraging range for arsenic distribution. Arsenic concentrations in prey varied significantly across taxa, and in the strength of association with δ¹⁵N values (trophic level). In most instances, element patterns in Procellariiformes showed the clearest separation among species, indicating that a combination of prey selection and other complex species-specific characteristics (e.g. moult patterns) were generally more important determining factors than trophic level per se.     

A Thermodynamic Geography: Night-Time Satellite Imagery as a Proxy Measure of Emergy

Night-time satellite imagery enables the measurement, visualization, and mapping of energy consumption in an area. In this paper, an index of the “sum of lights” as observed by night-time satellite imagery within national boundaries is compared with the emergy of the nations. Emergy is a measure of the solar energy equivalent used, directly or indirectly, to support the processes that characterize the economic activity in a country. Emergy has renewable and non-renewable components. Our results show that the non-renewable component of national emergy use is positively correlated with night-time satellite imagery. This relationship can be used to produce emergy density maps which enable the incorporation of spatially explicit representations of emergy in geographic information systems. The region of Abruzzo (Italy) is used to demonstrate this relationship as a spatially disaggregate case.     

A Portable,Battery-Operated,Immediate-Readout Dust-Particle Analyzer

A portable, battery-operated, electro-optical dust analyzer operating on the principle of light scattering from individual dust particles in air drawn through a high-intensity light field has been developed for monitoring dust levels where external power may be unavailable. The instrument counts and size-discriminates airborne particles over two size ranges upwards of 0.3 microns with immediate readout. A dilution mechanism permits analysis of particulate concentrations as high as 2400 particles/cm³ on each channel. The self-contained Ni-Cd batteries are rechargeable. Total weight, including batteries and all components, is approximately 14 Ib. Total power used, mainly for pumping a filtered air sheath at 300 cm/sec and for the light source, is less than 34 watts. Another unique feature is the flow system designed for turbulence suppression.

Electronic calibration in terms of number of particles/cm³ for each size range is accomplished in the laboratory by means of a pulse generator with respect to which the readout indicator is calibrated for count. The input voltages to the pulse-height discriminators are appropriately attenuated for various pulse amplitudes simulating the output of the light-sensitive pickup, a photomultiplier tube.Pulse height as a function of particle size was measured for polystyrene latex beads ranging from 0.3 to 2 microns in diameter. Good correlation is obtained with results from commercial analyzers.

Field surveys have been undertaken with the CAES prototype analyzer at various sites in central Pennsylvania and at numerous sampling points within the cities of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Particulate concentrations as high as 1400 particles/ cm³ have been measured at a coal cleaning plant.     

Effects of Nighttime Chemistry upon the Transport of Ozone and Ozone Precursors

It has been recognized for several years that ozone in rural areas can exceed the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for photochemical oxidant whirh was 0.08 ppm for one hour, not to be exceeded more than once per year. During the summer of 1973, the NAAQS was exceeded from 15 to 37% of the time at four rural monitoring sites in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia.¹ This is a greater violation rate than is found in many urban areas. Dimitriades and Altshuller² have enumerated four possible sources for this rural ozone: (a) transport from urban areas, (b) local photochemical generation from urban ozone precursors, (c) local photochemical generation from precursors of rural origin which may be man-made or natural, and (d) injection of stratospheric ozone into the rural area. This paper considers the chemistry pertinent to the first two of these possible sources of rural ozone, namely the long distance (overnight) transport of ozone and ozone precursors.     

Formaldehyde Concentrations in Wisconsin Mobile Homes

Mobile homes utilize a class of prefabricate construction techniques which rely greatly upon the use of particle board and hardwood plywood paneling for structural components. This has resulted In household sources which may emit formaldehyde into the home, since urea-formaldehyde resins are used as the bonding agent in most pressed wood stocks. A series of 137 mobile home households was investigated to determine indoor formaldehyde exposure concentrations. Homes were selected based on the estimated age of the construction components. Homes were studied serially for a nine-month period, with formaldehyde samples obtained on a monthly basis using a modified NIOSH chromotropic acid procedure. Formaldehyde concentrations were found to range from less than 0.10 ppm to 2.84 ppm. The median exposure concentration was 0.39 ppm. Analysis of variance was performed on each home to discern visit and room measurement effects. Eighty-nine percent of the homes exhibited no measurement placement effects, while only 10 percent failed to demonstrate between-visit variance effects. Regression models were constructed to predict household formaldehyde concentrations. Concentrations exhibited an inverse relationship with the age of the construction materials. A weighted least squares regression model of log of home age predicting temperature-corrected log formaldehyde explained 82 percent of the formaldehyde variation.     

Controlled Exposures of Volunteers to Respirable Carbon and Sulf uric Acid Aerosols

Respirable carbon or fly ash particles are suspected to increase the respiratory toxicity of coexisting acidic air pollutants, by concentrating acid on their surfaces and so delivering it efficiently to the lower respiratory tract. To investigate this issue, we exposed 15 healthy and 15 asthmatic volunteers in a controlled- environment chamber (21°C, 50 percent relative humidity) to four test atmospheres: (i) clean air; (ii) 0.5-μm H2SO4 aerosol at =100 μg/m³, generated from water solution; (iii) 0,5-μm carbon aerosol at =250 μg/m³, generated from highly pure carbon black with specific surface area comparable to ambient pollution particles; and (iv) carbon as in (iii) plus =100 μg/m³ of ultrafine H2SO4 aerosol generated from fuming sulfuric acid. Electron microscopy showed that nearly all acid in (iv) became attached to carbon particle surfaces, and that most particles remained in the sub-μm size range. Exposures were performed double-blind, 1 week apart. They lasted 1 hr each, with alternate 10-min periods of heavy exercise (ventilation =50 L/min) and rest. Subjects gargled citrus juice before exposure to suppress airway ammonia. Lung function and symptoms were measured pre-exposure, after initial exercise, and at endexposure. Bronchial reactivity to methacholine was measured after exposure. Statistical analyses tested for effects of H₂SO₄ or carbon, separate or interactive, on health measures. Group data showed no more than small equivocal effects of any exposure on any health measure. One individual's responses were consistent with a clinically significant excess airway constriction from H₂SO₄ plus carbon, and 2-3 others showed slight excess responses to the combined pollutants, but all these observations might have reflected chance variations. We conclude that coexisting carbon aerosol did not increase respiratory irritancy of H₂SO₄, in most healthy and asthmatic subjects exposed for 1 hr under simulated "worst-case" ambient conditions.     

Responses of a soil bacterium, Pseudomonas chlororaphis O6 to commercial metal oxide nanoparticles compared with responses to metal ions

The toxicity of commercially-available CuO and ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) to pathogenic bacteria was compared for a beneficial rhizosphere isolate, Pseudomonas chlororaphis O6. The NPs aggregated, released ions to different extents under the conditions used for bacterial exposure, and associated with bacterial cell surface. Bacterial surface charge was neutralized by NPs, dependent on pH. The CuO NPs were more toxic than the ZnO NPs. The negative surface charge on colloids of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) was reduced by Cu ions but not by CuO NPs; the EPS protected cells from CuO NPs-toxicity. CuO NPs-toxicity was eliminated by a Cu ion chelator, suggesting that ion release was involved. Neither NPs released alkaline phosphatase from the cells’ periplasm, indicating minimal outer membrane damage. Accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species was correlated with CuO NPs lethality. Environmental deposition of NPs could create niches for ion release, with impacts on susceptible soil microbes.     

Hot,Salty Water: A Confluence of Issues in Managing Stormwater Runoff for Urban Streams

Research increasingly highlights cause and effect relationships between urbanization and stream conditions are complex and highly variable across physical and biological regions. Research also demonstrates stormwater runoff is a key causal agent in altering stream conditions in urban settings. More specifically, thermal pollution and high salt levels are two consequences of urbanization and subsequent runoff. This study describes a demonstration model populated with data from a high gradient headwaters stream. The model was designed to explain surface water‐groundwater dynamics related to salinity and thermal pollution. Modeled scenarios show long‐term additive impacts from salt application and suggest reducing flow rates, as stormwater management practices are typically designed to do, have the potential to greatly reduce salt concentrations and simultaneously reduce thermal pollution. This demonstration model offers planners and managers reason to be confident that stormwater management efforts can have positive impacts.     

Travis Air Force Base: A greener cleanups case study

Travis Air Force Base, California, has accelerated the pace of remediation while reducing long‐term costs and cutting greenhouse gas production. This has been achieved through optimizing existing systems and processes, adopting greener cleanups best management practices, and testing and implementing innovative “green” technologies. By optimizing and replacing existing systems that used energy‐intensive infrastructure, and by promoting the use of innovative in situ technologies, the US Air Force (Air Force) led team comprised of the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the performance‐based contractor CH2M, and the regulatory agencies consisting of the US Environmental Protection Agency, the California Water Board, and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, has reduced annual system operation and maintenance costs by over $200,000 per year, while reducing annual carbon dioxide production by approximately 930 tons per year. As a result of these actions, chlorinated solvent source areas have been reduced by over 99 percent in some cases, and the predicted cleanup time frame for multiple sites has been reduced by several decades. This article provides a case study for implementation of cost‐effective greener cleanup actions, and summarizes the approach taken by the Air Force led team to complete the greener cleanups self‐declaration process consistent with the ASTM International's E‐2893 Standard Guide for Greener Cleanups.     

Effects of pen bedding and feeding high crude protein diets on manure composition and greenhouse gas emissions from a feedlot pen surface

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from concentrated animal feeding operations vary by stage of production and management practices. The objective of this research was to study the effect of two dietary crude protein levels (12 and 16%) fed to beef steers in pens with or without corn stover bedding. Manure characteristics and GHG emissions were measured from feedlot pen surfaces. Sixteen equal-sized feedlot pens (19?×?23 m) were used. Eight were bedded approximately twice a week with corn stover and the remaining eight feedlot pens were not bedded. Angus steers (n = 138) were blocked by live weights (lighter and heavier) with 7 to 10 animals per pen. The trial was a 2?×?2 factorial design with factors of two protein levels and two bedding types (bedding vs. non bedding), with four replicates. The study was conducted from June through September and consisted of four ?28-day periods. Manure from each pen was scrapped once every 28 days and composite manure samples from each pen were collected. Air samples from pen surfaces were sampled in Tedlar bags using a Vac-U-Chamber coupled with a portable wind tunnel and analyzed with a greenhouse gas gas chromatograph within 24 hr of sampling. The manure samples were analyzed for crude protein (CP), total nitrogen (TN), ammonia (NH₃), total volatile fatty acid (TVFA), total carbon (TC), total phosphorus (TP), and potassium (K). The air samples were analyzed for methane (CH₄), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and nitrous oxide (N₂O) concentrations. The concentration of TN was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in manure from pens with cattle fed the high protein diets. The volatile fatty acids (VFAs) such as acetic, propionic, isobutyric, butyric, isovaleric, and valeric acids concentrations were similar across both treatments. There were no significant differences in pen surface GHG emissions across manure management and dietary crude protein levels.

Implications: Livestock manure produces odor and emits GHGs (CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O) at different stages of production and management practices that have significant environmental concerns. Thus, it is important to measure GHG contributions from different sources and develop appropriate mitigation strategies for minimizing GHG contribution from livestock production facilities. Two dietary protein levels (12 and 16%) fed to beef steers in pens with or without corn stover bedding were studied. The results indicated that dietary protein levels and bedding vs. no bedding had very little effect on GHG emissions and manure composition under open feedlot conditions in North Dakota climatic conditions and management practices.