Local-scale fluxes of carbon dioxide in urban environments: methodological challenges and results from Chicago

Much attention is being directed to the measurement and modeling of surface-atmosphere exchanges of CO2 for different surface types. However, as yet, few measurements have been conducted in cities, even though these environments are widely acknowledged to be major sources of anthropogenic CO2. This paper highlights some of the challenges facing micrometeorologists attempting to use eddy covariance techniques to directly monitor CO2 fluxes in urban environments, focusing on the inherent variability within and between urban areas, and the importance of scale and the appropriate height of measurements. Results from a very short-term study of CO2 fluxes, undertaken in Chicago, Illinois in the summer of 1995, are presented. Mid-afternoon minimum CO2 concentrations and negative fluxes are attributed to the strength of biospheric photosynthesis and strong mixing of local anthropogenic sources in a deep mixed layer. Poor night-time atmospheric mixing, lower mixed layer depths, biospheric respiration, and continued missions from mobile and fixed anthropogenic sources, account for the night-time maxima in CO2 concentrations. The need for more, longer-term, continuous eddy covariance measurements is stressed.     

Effects of clearfelling on stream and soil water aluminium chemistry in three UK forests

Data are presented demonstrating how clearfelling has changed soil and stream water aluminium chemistry. For soil waters, a strong empirical relationship was observed between inorganic aluminium (Al(inorg)) and total inorganic anion (TIA) concentrations. Before felling, chloride and sulphate accounted for the largest proportion of the TIA concentration. After felling, in soils where nitrification was active, nitrate became increasingly important. Where this led to an increase in TIA, Al(inorg) concentrations increased. Over five years, nitrate concentrations have fallen, along with TIA, resulting in a sympathetic decline in Al(inorg). Streams draining clearfelled areas initially became more acid, although chloride and sulphate concentrations decreased. Stream water nitrate concentrations increased soon after felling and remained higher than controls for up to four years. While nitrate concentrations were high, Al(inorg) remained unchanged. Subsequently, as nitrate and TIA decreased, Al(inorg) also declined to concentrations below those in the control stream. Clearfelling upland forests will not necessarily result in immediate improvements in water quality, although long-term benefits may be seen before canopy-closure of the next crop.     

Deposition of atmospheric ammonia to moorlands

Micrometeorological methods were applied to measure fluxes of atmospheric ammonia (NH3) to moorlands. Measurements were made in a wide variety of surface conditions and included both Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull and Eriophorum vaginatum L. dominated sites. NH3 was found to deposit rapidly to all the sites investigated, providing large deposition velocities (Vd, typically 10-40 mm s(-1)) and usually minimal surface resistances (rc). A small number of measurements were made in frozen conditions and suggest a possible exception to this pattern with mean rc of 50-200 s m(-1). The effect of vegetation drying was also investigated and a possible increase in rc observed, though this was small (< 10 s m(-1)). The results are interpreted in terms of the processes controlling exchange; it is shown that NH3 deposition is predominantly to the leaf surfaces and that the net NH3 compensation point approaches zero. Annual estimates show that dry deposition of NH3 is a major source of atmospheric nitrogen to moorland ecosystems. For two typical UK sites subject to background air concentrations, NH3 dry deposition is of similar magnitude to equivalent NH4+ inputs in wet deposition. In the vicinity of emission sources, NH3 dry deposition is expected to dominate inputs of atmospheric nitrogen.     

Cadmium availability to the cyanobacterium Synechocystis aquatilis in solutions containing chloride

Availability of cadmium to Synechocystis aquatilis (estimated by 109Cd sorption and cadmium toxicity-14C method) in solutions containing cadmium and complexing (KCl) or non-complexing (KNO3) salts, in the range of 0-0.5 m was investigated. Both cadmium surface adsorption and transport into the cells were lower in solutions containing cadmium chloride complexes (CdCl+, CdCl2, CdCl3-) than in those containing cadmium in the form of Cd2+. Also, cadmium toxicity in solutions of higher KCl concentrations, in which CdCl+ and CdCl2 forms predominated, was significantly limited.     

Effect of nickel on some aspects of protein metabolism in the gill and kidney of the freshwater fish, Cyprinus carpio L

Nickel has an adverse effect on some aspects of protein metabolism of the freshwater fish, Cyprinus carpio. The main changes observed were: (a) Decrease in soluble, structural and total proteins, AlAT and AAT activities with an increase in the levels of free amino acids, protease and GDH activities and ammonia in the gill and kidney at 1, 2, 3, and 4 days of exposure to a lethal concentration, 40 mg litre(-1) of nickel; (b) Increase in soluble, structural and total proteins, free amino acids and the activities of protease, AlAT, AAT and GDH with a decrease in ammonia and urea in these organs at 1, 5, 10 and 15 days of exposure to sublethal concentration, 8 mg litre(-1); (c) The magnitude in these changes increased over time with both concentrations of the metal, and was more marked in gill than in kidney.     

Response of the Plastic Lake catchment, Ontario, to reduced sulphur deposition

As a consequence of decreases in the emission rate of sulphur in eastern North America in the late 1970s and early 1980s, sulphate deposition in central Ontario declined by about 40%, but has remained constant for about six years. Plastic Lake, a small, dilute lake on the Precambrian shield that the authors have studied since 1979, acidified between the start of the study and about 1986, but since then has not changed. The authors also monitored the chemistry of streamwater draining the Plastic Lake catchment. Water quality of runoff from an upland site improved rapidly (pH and alkalinity increased, SO4(2-) and Al decreased), but two factors offset these improvements. A small wetland area downstream reversed most of these changes, resulting in a constant output of strong acid from the catchment. In addition, in extremely dry years (1983, 1987, 1989) there were very high concentrations of SO4(2-) in the streamwater, suggesting substantial re-oxidation of reduced S in the catchment.     

Real-world vehicle emissions: a summary of the tenth coordinating research council on-road vehicle emissions workshop

The Coordinating Research Council (CRC) held its tenth workshop in March 2000, focusing on results from the most recent real-world vehicle emissions research. In this paper, we summarize the presentations from researchers who are engaged in improving our understanding of the contribution of mobile sources to emission inventories. Participants in the workshop discussed efforts to improve mobile source emission models and emission inventories, results from gas- and particle-phase emissions studies from spark-ignition and diesel-powered vehicles, new methods for measuring mobile source emissions, improvements in vehicle emission control systems (ECSs), and evaluation of motor vehicle inspection/maintenance (I/M) programs, as well as topics for future research.     

Adsorption of methabenzthiazuron on six allophanic and nonallophanic soils: effect of organic matter amendment

This article reports on methabenzthiazuron [1-(1,3-benzothiazol-2-yl)-1,3-dimethylurea] (MBT) adsorption process on six agricultural allophanic and nonallophanic soils. The effect of amendment with exogenous organic matter was also studied. Adsorption kinetic fits an hyperbolic model. MBT adsorption reached an apparent equilibrium within 2 h and followed a second-order reaction. The maximum adsorbed amounts for natural soils ranged from 32 to 145 microg g(-1). Rate constants were considered relatively low (0.27-1.5 x 10(-4) [microg g(-1)](1-n) s-1); the slow process was attributed to a combined effect of difussion and adsorption. MBT adsorption fits the Freundlich model with r values > or =0.998 at P < or = 0.001 significance levels. Kf and Freundlich exponents (l/n) ranged from 5.3 to 82.1 cm3 g(-1) and from 0.66 to 0.73, respectively. Kf values for soils with a low organic matter content were lower than that obtained from the only typical allophanic soil derived from volcanic ash under study. Lineal regression analysis between Kf and organic matter content of nonallophanic soils gave a correlation coefficient of 0.980 (P = 0.02). Dispersion of Kd values together with close values of K(OM) indicate that organic matter (OM) was the principal component responsible for MBT adsorption in unamended soils. Addition of peat decreased soil pH and increased adsorption capacity for allophanic and nonallophanic soils. Kinetic experiments showed enhancements of Xmax values and lower rate constants.     

Seveso Women's Health Study: does zone of residence predict individual TCDD exposure?

The compound, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), is produced as an unwanted by-product of various chemical reactions and combustion processes, including the manufacture of chlorinated phenols and derivatives. In animals, TCDD exposure is associated with toxic, carcinogenic, developmental, and reproductive effects. In 1976, a chemical plant explosion in Seveso, Italy, exposed the residents in the surrounding community to the highest exposure to TCDD known in humans. Materials from an aerosol cloud of sodium hydroxide, sodium trichlorophenate and TCDD were deposited over an 18.1 km2 area. As evidence of the significant level of TCDD exposure, numerous animals died and 193 cases of chloracne were reported among residents of the area. Initially, the contaminated area was divided into three major exposure Zones (A, B, R) based on the concentration of TCDD in surface soils. To date, the majority of epidemiologic studies conducted in Seveso have used Zone of residence as a proxy measure of exposure. The purpose of the present study is to validate the use of Zone of residence in Seveso as a proxy measure of exposure against individual serum TCDD measurement, and to determine whether questionnaire information can improve the accuracy of the exposure classification. Using data collected from the Seveso Women's Health Study (SWHS), the first comprehensive epidemiologic study of the reproductive health of women in Seveso, we determined that Zone of residence is a good predictor of individual serum TCDD level, explaining 24% of the variance. Using questionnaire information could have improved prediction of individual exposure levels in Seveso, increasing the percent of the variation in serum TCDD levels explained to 42%.     

ESF Workshop

Dioxin and PCB monitoring programs for food and feeding stuff in most countries of the world, including many European Countries are currently inadequate. Better control of food production lines and food processing procedures is needed to minimize entry of dioxin to the food chain and will help to avoid dioxin contamination accidents. This would also improve the ability to trace back a possible contamination to its source. European guidelines for monitoring programs should be established to ensure comparable and meaningful results. These guidelines should define the minimum requirements for the design of monitoring programs, analytical methods, and quality assurance. Though data from Northern Europe shows that the general population exposure to dioxin and PCB has decreased during the last ten years these compounds continue to be a risk of accidental contamination of the food chain. The most prominent recent example is the Belgian dioxin contamination of feeding stuff in 1999. The Belgian dioxin contamination was not detected due to dioxin monitoring programs but by their direct biological effects seen in animals. Four other cases of dioxin contamination have been detected in Europe since 1997 due to local monitoring programs. One of them (citrus pulp pellets 1998) was in a much larger scale than the Belgian dioxin contamination. The general population's exposure to dioxins and PCBs is still in the same range (1-4 pg WHO-TEQ/kg body weight and day) as the recently revised WHO tolerable daily intake (TDI). There is concern that short-term high level exposure to dioxins, furans, and PCB may cause biological effects on the human fetal development and further research is required. Further actions to control sources building on considerable advances already made in many countries may need to be supplemented by measures to prevent direct contamination of feeding stuff or food to reduce general population exposure further.