Modeling tracer diffusion in fractured and unfractured, unsaturated, porous media

A proposed tracer diffusion test for the Exploratory Shaft Facility at Yucca Mountain, NV, is modeled. For the proposed test, a solution containing conservative tracers will be introduced into a borehole in the geologic medium of interest. The tracers will diffuse and advect from the saturated source region into the unsaturated matrix in the surrounding tuff. After some time, the borehole is to be overcored, and tracer concentrations in the fluid will be measured in the core as a function of distance from emplacement. The data will be used to evaluate diffusive behavior and to derive effective diffusion coefficients for the tracers in the specific tuff. Numerical simulations are used to study the effects of effective diffusion coefficient, porosity, saturation, and fracturing on tracer transport. Results are reported for numerical simulations of tests in the Topopah Spring Member and the Tuff of Calico Hills, which have significantly different porosities and saturations. The simulations make the following predictions: The spread of tracer during the test will be sensitive to the effective diffusion coefficient of the tracer. Tracer will diffuse farther in the Topopah Spring Member than in the Tuff of Calico Hills because of the former's lower porosity and saturation. Tracer transport by advection into the Topopah Spring Member will be greater than that into the Tuff of Calico Hills because of capillary effects. While advection will be a significant mechanism for tracer penetration into the Topopah Spring tuff, it will be less significant for tracer penetration into the Calico Hills tuff. The proximity of a single vertical fracture to the source region determines its effects on tracer transport, especially if the fracture diverts fluid flowing from the source region into the matrix.     

Environmental photooxidation of dibenzothiophenes following the Amoco Cadiz oil spill

Photooxidation products of dibenzothiophenes (sulfur containing petroleum heteroaromatic hydrocarbons) were characterized in an oil slick sample obtained from a field location following the AMOCO CADIZ oil spill. The same oxidation products were formed in the laboratory by the photooxidation of a medium Arabian crude oil which contained the identical precursor hydrocarbons. Analytical techniques included fractionation by liquid/solid chromatography and characterization using high resolution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. To the best of the author's knowledge, this represents the first reported instance for the formation of photooxidation products following an actual oil spill. A comparison of the quantities of various oxidation products was carried out by quantitative mass spectrometry using extracted ion current profiles of dibenzothiophenes and their corresponding sulfoxides. The geochemical and physiological implications of such photooxidation processes are also discussed.     

The effect of soil composition and hydration on the bioavailability and toxicity of cadmium to hibernating juvenile American toads (Bufo americanus)

The soil ecotoxicology literature has focused primarily on a few major taxa, to the neglect of other fossorial organisms such as amphibians. We selected cadmium (Cd) and the American toad (Bufo americanus) as a model contaminant and biological species to assess the impact of soil contamination on amphibian hibernation survival and post-hibernation condition. Soil sand composition (50, 70, 90%) and hydration (100, 150% water holding capacity (WHC)) were manipulated in addition to Cd concentration (0, 56, 165, 483 microg/g) to determine whether these soil properties affect toxicity. Soil Cd concentration significantly reduced survival and locomotor performance, and was correlated negatively with percent mass loss and positively with whole body Cd concentration. Higher sand content resulted in less mass loss and greater Cd uptake. Toads that were hibernated in 50% sand hydrated to 100% WHC had higher survival, less mass loss, and better sprint performance than those hibernated in 50% sand, 150% WHC. This study demonstrates that concentrations of Cd found in soil at highly contaminated sites can be bioaccumulated by hibernating amphibians and may reduce fitness. Differences in microhabitat use may cause species to vary in their exposure and susceptibility to soil contamination. The toxicity of Cd to amphibians could be greater in natural systems where there are multiple stressors and fluctuations in environmental variables.     

The monitoring,Evaluation, reporting,verification, and certification of energy-efficiency projects

In this paper, we present an overview of guidelinesdeveloped for the monitoring, evaluation, reporting,verification, and certification (MERVC) ofenergy-efficiency projects for climate changemitigation. The monitoring and evaluation ofenergy-efficiency projects is needed to determine moreaccurately their impact on greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions and other attributes, and to ensure that theglobal climate is protected and that countryobligations are met. Reporting, verification andcertification will be needed for addressing therequirements of the Kyoto Protocol. While the cost ofmonitoring and evaluation of energy-efficiencyprojects is expected to be about 5–10% of a project'sbudget, the actual cost of monitoring and evaluationwill vary depending on many factors, including thelevel of precision required for measuring energy andGHG reductions, type of project, and amount of fundingavailable.     

Desertification,and climate change: the case for greater convergence

Poor knowledge of links between desertification and globalclimate change is limiting funding from the Global Environment Facility foranti-desertification projects and realization of synergies between theConvention to Combat Desertification (CCD) and the FrameworkConvention on Climate Change (FCCC). Greater convergence betweenresearch in the two fields could overcome these limitations, improve ourknowledge of desertification, and benefit four areas of global climate changestudies: mitigation assessment; accounting for land cover change in thecarbon budget; land surface-atmosphere interactions; and climate changeimpact forecasting. Convergence would be assisted if desertification weretreated more as a special case in dry areas of the global process of landdegradation, and stimulated by: (a) closer cooperation between the FCCCand CCD; (b) better informal networking between desertification and globalclimate change scientists, e.g. within the framework of theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Both strategies wouldbe facilitated if the FCCC and CCD requested the IPCC to provide ascientific framework for realizing the synergies between them.     

Time pattern of off-site plutonium deposition from rocky flats plant by lake sediment analyses

A sediment core from a lake downwind of the Rocky Flats Plant, where nuclear weapons components are produced, was used to reconstruct a time pattern of off-site plutonium deposition. Core sections were dated by analyses of ¹³⁷Cs, ^239,240Pu, ²³⁸Pu, and ²⁴¹Am fallout from nuclear testing and ²³⁸Pu fallout from a satellite failure. A peak in transuranic concentrations occurred in late 1969 which was attributable to the Plant. This was confirmed by mass isotopic analysis of plutonium isotopes in selected core segments where the global fallout and Plant contributions could be differentiated. The 18 nCi ^239,240Pu per m² from the Plant that had accumulated in the sediment is reasonable when compared to soil analyses.     

Oil-Mineral Aggregate Formation on Oiled Beaches: Natural Attenuation and Sediment Relocation

The significance of oil-mineral aggregate (OMA) formation on the effectiveness of the in situ shoreline treatment options of natural attenuation (natural recovery) and sediment relocation (surf washing) was examined during field trials on two mixed-sediment (sand and pebble) beaches experimentally oiled with IF-30 oil. At both sites, the amount of oil remaining in the experimental plots was dramatically reduced within five days after sediment relocation treatments. Time-series microscopy and image analysis of breaker-zone water samples demonstrate that OMA formation occurred naturally on the oiled beaches at both sites and was accelerated by the sediment relocation procedure. Lower concentrations of OMA in the breaker zone at Site 3 are attributed to the higher wave-energy levels at this site that presumably facilitated more rapid OMA dispersion. The granulometry and mineralogy of beach sediment and of subtidal sediment trap samples indicate that the material settling in nearshore waters originated from the relocated sediment and that a portion of the finer sediment was probably transported out of the study region before settling. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis demonstrated that a significant fraction of the oil dispersed into nearshore waters and sediments by interaction with mineral fines was biodegraded. The fact that little or no residual oil was found stranded on the shore in areas adjacent to the experimental plots and that only small amounts of oil were found in nearshore subtidal sediments and sediment trap samples suggests that a large fraction of the oil lost from the experimental plots may have been dispersed in the form of relatively buoyant OMA.     

Remote measurement of NO2 in the brown cloud over Albuquerque,New Mexico

Remote measurements of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) were recorded in the brown cloud over Albuquerque, NM, using absorption spectroscopy in the winter of 1987-88 and summer of 1989. The NO₂ burdens (optical densities) measured in this manner were found to be in excess of 100 ppm-m. These long pathlength measurements correspond to total concentrations of approximately 5–10 ppb over the integrated observation pathlengths, which ranged from 10–20 km. These concentrations compare well with single location, independent NO _x analyses. Using two correlation (absorption) spectrometers simultaneously, it was shown that the NO₂ distribution is not uniform over the city and can change on the order of minutes in the boundary layer late in the day, demonstrating the advantages of NO₂ optical measurements for assessing the location and extent of urban nitrogen dioxide levels in the boundary layer.     

Lake of flies, or lake of fish? A trophic model of Lake Malawi

Ecosystem-focused models have, for the first time, become available for the combined demersal and pelagic components of a large tropical lake ecosystem, Lake Malawi. These provide the opportunity to explore continuing controversies over the production efficiencies and ecological functioning of large tropical lakes. In Lake Malawi these models can provide important insight to the effect of fishing on fish composition, and the potential competition that the lakefly Chaoborus edulis may have with fisheries production. A mass-balanced trophic model developed for the demersal fish community of the southern and western areas of Lake Malawi was integrated with an existing trophic model developed for the open-water pelagic. Input parameters for the demersal model were obtained from a survey of fish distributions, fish food consumption studies, and from additional published quantitative and qualitative information on the various biotic components of the community. The model was constructed using the Ecopath approach and software. The graphically presented demersal food web spanned four trophic levels and was based primarily on consumption of detritus, zooplankton and sedimented diatoms. Zooplankton was imported into the system at trophic levels three and four through fish predation on carnivorous and herbivorous copepods and Chaoborus larvae. It is proposed that the primary consumption of copepods was by fish migrating into the pelagic zone. Chaoborus larvae in the demersal were probably consumed near the lakebed as they conducted a daily migration from the pelagic to seek refuge in the sediments. This evidence for strong benthic-pelagic coupling provided the opportunity for linking the demersal model to the existing model for the pelagic community so producing the first model for the complete ecosystem. Energy fluxes through the resulting combined model demonstrated that the primary import of biomass to the demersal system was detritus of pelagic origin (72.1%) and pelagic zooplankton (10.6%). Only 15.8% of the biomass consumed within the demersal system was of demersal origin. Lakefly production is efficiently utilised by the lake fish community, and any attempt to improve fishery production through introduction of a non-native plantivorous fish species would have a negative impact on the stability and productivity of the lake ecosystem.     

Effects of seagrasses and algae of the Caulerpa family on hydrodynamics and particle-trapping rates

The widespread decline of seagrass beds within the Mediterranean often results in the replacement of seagrasses by opportunistic green algae of the Caulerpa family. Because Caulerpa beds have a different height, stiffness and density compared to seagrasses, these changes in habitat type modify the interaction of the seafloor with hydrodynamics, influencing key processes such as sediment resuspension and particle trapping. Here, we compare the effects on hydrodynamics and particle trapping of Caulerpa taxifolia, C. racemosa, and C. prolifera with the Mediterranean seagrasses Cymodocea nodosa and Posidonia oceanica. All macrophyte canopies reduced near-bed volumetric flow rates compared to bare sediment, vertical profiles of turbulent kinetic energy revealed peak values around the top of the canopies, and maximum values of Reynolds stress increased by a factor of between 1.4 (C. nodosa) and 324.1 (P. oceanica) when vegetation was present. All canopies enhanced particle retention rates compared to bare sediment. The experimental C. prolifera canopy was the most effective at particle retention (m² habitat); however, C. racemosa had the largest particle retention capacity per structure surface area. Hence, in terms of enhancing particle trapping and reducing hydrodynamic forces at the sediment surface, Caulerpa beds provided a similar or enhanced function compared to P.oceanica and C. nodosa. However, strong seasonality in the leaf area index of C. racemosa and C. taxifolia within the Mediterranean, combined with a weak rhizome structure, suggests that sediments maybe unprotected during winter storms, when most erosion occurs. Hence, replacement of seagrass beds with Caulerpa is likely to have a major influence on annual sediment dynamics at ecosystem scales.