Apportionment of ambient primary and secondary pollutants during a 2001 summer study in Pittsburgh using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency UNMIX

Apportionment of primary and secondary pollutants during the summer 2001 Pittsburgh Air Quality Study (PAQS) is reported. Several sites were included in PAQS, with the main site (the supersite) adjacent to the Carnegie Mellon University campus in Schenley Park. One of the additional sampling sites was located at the National Energy Technology Laboratory, located approximately 18 km southeast of downtown Pittsburgh. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) mass, gas-phase volatile organic material (VOM), particulate semivolatile and nonvolatile organic material (NVOM), and ammonium sulfate were apportioned at the two sites into their primary and secondary contributions using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency UNMIX 2.3 multivariate receptor modeling and analysis software. A portion of each of these species was identified as originating from gasoline and diesel primary mobile sources. Some of the organic material was formed from local secondary transformation processes, whereas the great majority of the secondary sulfate was associated with regional transformation contributions. The results indicated that the diurnal patterns of secondary gas-phase VOM and particulate semivolatile and NVOM were not correlated with secondary ammonium sulfate contributions but were associated with separate formation pathways. These findings are consistent with the bulk of the secondary ammonium sulfate in the Pittsburgh area being the result of contributions from distant transport and, thus, decoupled from local activity involving organic pollutants in the metropolitan area.     

Assessing ecological correlates of marine bird declines to inform marine conservation

Identifying drivers of ecosystem change in large marine ecosystems is central for their effective management and conservation. This is a sizable challenge, particularly in ecosystems transcending international borders, where monitoring and conservation of long‐range migratory species and their habitats are logistically and financially problematic. Here, using tools borrowed from epidemiology, we elucidated common drivers underlying species declines within a marine ecosystem, much in the way epidemiological analyses evaluate risk factors for negative health outcomes to better inform decisions. Thus, we identified ecological traits and dietary specializations associated with species declines in a community of marine predators that could be reflective of ecosystem change. To do so, we integrated count data from winter surveys collected in long‐term marine bird monitoring programs conducted throughout the Salish Sea—a transboundary large marine ecosystem in North America's Pacific Northwest. We found that decadal declines in winter counts were most prevalent among pursuit divers such as alcids (Alcidae) and grebes (Podicipedidae) that have specialized diets based on forage fish, and that wide‐ranging species without local breeding colonies were more prone to these declines. Although a combination of factors is most likely driving declines of diving forage fish specialists, we propose that changes in the availability of low‐trophic prey may be forcing wintering range shifts of diving birds in the Salish Sea. Such a synthesis of long‐term trends in a marine predator community not only provides unique insights into the types of species that are at risk of extirpation and why, but may also inform proactive conservation measures to counteract threats—information that is paramount for species‐specific and ecosystem‐wide conservation. Evaluación de las Correlaciones Ecológicas de las Declinaciones de Aves Marinas para Informar a la Conservación Marina     

不同雨强对太湖河网区河道入湖营养盐负荷影响

为揭示太湖河网区不同雨强下入湖河道面源污染规律,以太湖入湖负荷最大的河道大浦河为例,通过一周年逐日高频监测水体各形态氮、磷及溶解性有机碳等营养盐情况,结合河道流量及降雨量的自动监测资料,分析了大雨、中雨、小雨及无雨等4种降雨强度下太湖河网区典型河道的流量和营养盐负荷特征.结果表明,作为太湖河网区的典型入湖河道,大浦河时常发生往复流现象,观测的365 d内,有60 d日均流量为负值,占16%;河道流量对雨强的响应较为迟缓,仅强降雨事件( 25 mm·d~(-1))下,降雨当日河道流量才显著增加;中雨期平均流量仅比无雨期高了29%,在统计上不显著.河道水体营养盐浓度在不同降雨强度下差异不显著,大雨、中雨、小雨及无雨事件下河道总氮浓度分别为(3. 00±0. 58)、(3. 34±0. 93)、(3. 55±1. 05)和(3. 37±1. 14) mg·L~(-1),小雨事件当天水体总氮浓度均值最高,而4种类型降雨事件下河道总磷含量分别为(0. 228±0. 068)、(0. 258±0. 121)、(0. 219±0. 083)和(0. 225±0. 121) mg·L~(-1),差异性也不显著,就平均值而言,中雨时河道总磷浓度最高.夏季典型降雨过程分析表明,不同雨强发生之后河道溶解性有机碳和各形态氮的浓度变化不大,但大雨之后次日河道各形态磷浓度有明显增高,持续时间为2 d,中雨后次日河道总磷和颗粒态磷有明显增高,持续时间仅为1 d,小雨后磷浓度基本无变化.大雨、中雨、小雨和无雨时总氮日负荷分别为7. 64、3. 19、3. 21和2. 62 t·d~(-1),总磷日负荷分别为0. 59、0. 26、0. 22和0. 20 t·d~(-1),受入湖流量影响,大雨期营养盐日负荷显著高于中雨及以下强度的降雨;然而,由于一年内大雨出现频次较少,大雨期氮和磷总入湖负荷占年负荷的比重不大,大雨期总氮和总磷分别入湖61. 11 t和4. 72 t,占观测周年的5. 6%和5. 8%,这与山区河道降雨负荷间的关系有着显著区别.本高频观测表明,太湖流域平原河网区河道面源污染汇集过程复杂,入湖负荷受降雨强度的影响相对较小,入湖水量是营养盐负荷的重要影响因素.本研究结果对太湖流域平原河网区湖泊的面源污染的估算及控制对策的制定具有参考价值.     

Application of the paleolimnological method to assess metal contaminant distribution (As,Cu, Pb,Zn) in pulp mill stabilization basin sediments,Nova Scotia,Canada

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The paleolimnological method was used to decouple geogenic and anthropogenic metal (loids) contributions in a sediment stabilization basin (Boat...     

Safeguarding the Pantanal Wetlands: Threats and Conservation Initiatives

Abstract:  The Pantanal, one of the largest wetlands on the planet, comprises 140,000 km² of lowland floodplain of the upper Rio Paraguai basin that drains the Cerrado of central Brazil. The diverse mosaics of habitats resulting from the varied soil types and inundation regimes are responsible for an extraordinarily rich terrestrial and aquatic biota, exemplified by the bird richest wetland in the world—463 birds have been recorded there—and the largest known populations of several threatened mammals, such as Pampas deer ( Ozotoceros bezoarticus ), marsh deer ( Blastocerus dichotomus ), giant otter ( Pteronura brasiliensis ), and jaguar ( Panthera onca ). Until recently, deforestation of the adjoining Brazilian central plateau was considered the major threat to this area, but now deforestation is a critical problem within the floodplain itself. More than 40% of the forest and savanna habitats have been altered for cattle ranching through the introduction of exotic grasses. And there are other threats that lead to large-scale disruption of ecological processes, severely affecting biodiversity. Although the Pantanal wetland is a Biosphere Reserve and is considered a Wetland of International Importance, only 2.5% of the upper Paraguai River basin is formally protected. To date, protected areas have been created opportunistically and as such, although of undoubted value, protect only a fraction of the Pantanal's wildlife and habitats. Among the conservation initiatives in the area, the private sector is increasingly participating in the establishment of private reserves. The prospects are far from optimistic, however, and the major challenge is to find alternative socioeconomic models that allow for conservation and economic uses of the land in association with the development of specific environmental legislation that reflects the unique characteristics of the region.     

Some characteristics of a plume from a point source based on analytical solution of the two-dimensional advection–diffusion equation

The moments of the concentration distribution obtained using a recent analytical solution of the steady-state two-dimensional advection–diffusion equation are presented. The solving methodology is the Generalized Integral Laplace Transform Technique, which allows obtaining a reliable solution of the advection–diffusion equation without any restrictive assumption about the eddy diffusivity coefficients and wind speed profiles. The first four moments and value and position of maximum ground level concentration are calculated. The concentration standard deviation is compared against the semi-empirical ones used in operative Gaussian models.     

The effect of selection treatments on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mytilus edulis</Emphasis>, modifications of genetic and physiological characteristics

This study examined the effects of two selection treatments (elevated water temperature and air exposure) on the genetic and physiological characteristics of the juvenile marine mussel, Mytilus edulis (<10 mm). Genetic effects were measured on five allozymes and fitness assessed using physiological tests to estimate energy balance (scope for growth) as well as size, growth and survival. The in vitro treatments resulted in 48% mortality from an air exposure of 11 h at 27°C and 76% mortality from a 6-h exposure to 33°C water. Survivors (n = 1,152) of each treatment along with controls (n = 2,304) were measured and randomly placed in compartmentalized cages. Mussels were deployed to three bays in Prince Edward Island, Canada and monitored over a 10-month period. Initially, both of the treatments had an effect on mussel size and increased the heterozygosity of the surviving mussels. Physiological analyses after 3 months in the field showed that the two treated mussels showed lower metabolic rate that the control group. After 10 months in the field, the treated mussels were larger and had lower mortality than the untreated control mussels. Unexplained environmental interaction in each of the bays had an effect on allelic frequencies and heterozygosity. Overall, the results demonstrate that simple husbandry techniques can be used to increase the productivity of mussel seed and heterozygosity measures can be used to assess fitness. However, more field data is needed to determine the consistency of the increased productivity and if the increased productivity justifies the costs of a selective treatment. Furthermore, because the level of heterozygosity in juvenile mussel populations can vary considerably, both spatially and temporally, it may be effective as a warning of future natural mass mortality when overall heterozygosity levels are found to be low.     

Antibiotic Resistance of Enterococcus spp. Isolated from Wastewater and Sludge of Poultry Slaughterhouses

Antibiotimicrobial resistance was investigated in 537 Enterococcus spp. isolates recovered from 22 samples of crude inflow, treated effluent and sludge collected in wastewater treatment plants of eight poultry slaughterhouses of Portugal. No significant differences (P > 0.05) were found in the resistance to each antimicrobial agent with regards to the origin of the sample (inflow, sludge and effluent). Many of the isolates displayed resistance to tetracycline (85.7%), erythromycin (45.7%), nitrofurantoin (34.0%) and rifampicin (17.8%). Resistance was also observed, but to a lesser extent, to ciprofloxacin (10.2%), ampicillin (8.0%), chloramphenicol (4.6%), vancomycin (0.9%) and gentamicin (0.4%). Resistance to three or more antimicrobial classes was present in 37.1% of the isolates. Wastewater treatment resulted in viable enterococci decrease between less than 1 log and 4 log; nevertheless, more than 4.4 × 10⁵ colony forming units (CFU)/100 mL were present in the outflow of the plants and thus resistant enterococci are not prevented from reaching the general environment.     

motor vehicle emissions and atmospheric lead concentrations in the los angeles area

This paper is directed to those concerned with the effect of changes in lead consumption by motor vehicles on atmospheric lead concentrations. Atmospheric lead concentrations in the Los Angeles area have been found to be dependent on lead consumption, meteorology, and source-receptor relationships. Mathematical relationships between these variables for selected Los Angeles area sites are derived. Los Angeles County experienced a 50% reduction in annual average atmospheric lead concentrations between 1971 and 1976, which was found to be due to a decrease in vehicular emissions of lead. Seasonal variations in lead concentration were found to be mainly a product of seasonal variations in weather. Projections of atmospheric lead concentrations for the next decade show a continued downtrend, based on regulation of fuel lead content and introduction of additional catalyst equipped vehicles. By the mid-1980's most locations in the Los Angeles area are expected to attain the California and federal ambient air quality standards for lead, 1.5 micrograms per cubic meter, based on a monthly average.     

The potential for increased atmospheric CO2 emissions and accelerated consumption of deep geologic CO2 storage resources resulting from the large-scale deployment of a CCS-enabled unconventional fossil fuels industry in the U.S.

Desires to enhance the energy security of the United States have spurred renewed interest in the development of abundant domestic heavy hydrocarbon resources including oil shale and coal to produce unconventional liquid fuels to supplement conventional oil supplies. However, the production processes for these unconventional fossil fuels create large quantities of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and this remains one of the key arguments against such development. Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technologies could reduce these emissions and preliminary analysis of regional CO₂ storage capacity in locations where such facilities might be sited within the U.S. indicates that there appears to be sufficient storage capacity, primarily in deep saline formations, to accommodate the CO₂ from these industries. Nevertheless, even assuming wide-scale availability of cost-effective CO₂ capture and geologic storage resources, the emergence of a domestic U.S. oil shale or coal-to-liquids (CTL) industry would be responsible for significant increases in CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere. The authors present modeling results of two future hypothetical climate policy scenarios that indicate that the oil shale production facilities required to produce 3 MMB/d from the Eocene Green River Formation of the western U.S. using an in situ retorting process would result in net emissions to the atmosphere of between 3000 and 7000 MtCO₂, in addition to storing potentially 900–5000 MtCO₂ in regional deep geologic formations via CCS in the period up to 2050. A similarly sized, but geographically more dispersed domestic CTL industry could result in 4000–5000 MtCO₂ emitted to the atmosphere in addition to potentially 21,000–22,000 MtCO₂ stored in regional deep geologic formations over the same period. While this analysis shows that there is likely adequate CO₂ storage capacity in the regions where these technologies are likely to deploy, the reliance by these industries on large-scale CCS could result in an accelerated rate of utilization of the nation's CO₂ storage resource, leaving less high-quality storage capacity for other carbon-producing industries including electric power generation.