Distance and flow effects on microsphere transport in a large gravel column

Consumption of microbially contaminated ground water can cause adverse health effects and the processes involved in pathogen transport in aquifers need to be understood. The influences of distance, flow velocity, and colloid size on colloid transport were examined in homogenous pea-gravel media using an 8-m column and three sizes (1, 5, and 10 microm) of microspheres. Experiments were conducted at three flow rates by simultaneously injecting microspheres with a conservative tracer, bromide. Observed concentrations were simulated with CXTFIT and analyzed with filtration theory. The results demonstrate that colloid concentration is strongly log-linearly related to transport distance (as suggested by filtration theory) in coarse gravels, similar to our previous field studies. In contrast, the log-linear relationship is often reported to be invalid in fine porous media. The observed log-linear relationship is possibly because straining is negligible in the coarse gravels investigated. This has implications in predicting setback distances for land disposal of effluent, and suggests that setback distances in gravel aquifers can be estimated using constant spatial removal rates (f). There was an inverse relationship between transport distance and colloidal concentration, but not with temporal attachment rate (katt) and collision coefficient (alpha). Increases in flow velocity result in increasing colloidal recovery, katt and alpha but decreasing f. Increases in sphere size result in decreasing colloidal recovery with increasing katt, f, alpha, and velocity enhancement. Diffusion is the dominant collision mechanism for 1-microm spheres (81-88%), while settling dominates for 5- and 10-microm spheres (> 87%), and interception is very small for all spheres investigated.     

The in situ treatment of synthetic musk fragrances in groundwater

Synthetic musk fragrances (SMFs) have been shown to be micropollutants in various aquatic and groundwater systems, often occurring at microgram per liter concentrations. Studies have shown that the most commonly detected SMFs in water are nitro musks and polycyclic musks. The SMFs are typically introduced into the environment in continuous streams such as from wastewater and land application of wastewater or sludge generated during wastewater treatment. Various studies for the treatment of SMFs have been undertaken for wastewater but studies for the treatment of SMFs in groundwater are limited, especially for in situ treatment. A pilot‐scale test was conducted to determine if the use of colloidal activated carbon (CAC) could effectively reduce dissolved concentrations of nitro and polycyclic synthetic musk compounds including musk xylene, musk ketone, galaxolide, and tonalide. The pilot test was carried out downgradient of a septic system in Central Canada where a series of nitrification and denitrification reactions are occurring in an unconfined aquifer. A 10‐weight percent CAC solution was injected into a series of temporary direct push injection points to target the synthetic musk plume. The plume contained galaxolide and tonalide concentrations up to 687 and 187 nanograms per liter (ng/L), respectively, while the concentrations of musk ketone and musk xylene were below the method detection limit (20 ng/L). A total of 13,950 liters of CAC solution was injected during one injection event. The pilot test results indicated that the CAC was effectively delivered to the target injection zone resulting in an increase in total organic carbon concentrations within the saturated soil greater than two orders of magnitude compared to the background concentrations. Analyses of the groundwater chemistry before and post‐injection indicated that the CAC had no detrimental impact on the groundwater quality while reducing the concentration of dissolved galaxolide and tonalide within the plume to below the method detection limits within 51 days of injection with the exception of two of the 14 wells monitored which had galaxolide and tonalide concentrations up to 78 and 35 ng/L. Within 6 months of application, the concentrations of galaxolide and tonalide had decreased to below the method detection limits. Subsequent monitoring of the groundwater quality over a one‐year period failed to detect galaxolide and tonalide, suggesting that the CAC was effective in attenuating the galaxolide and tonalide.     

Retention of estrogenic steroid hormones by selected New Zealand soils

We performed batch sorption experiments for 17beta-estradiol (E2) and 17alpha-ethynylestradiol (EE2) on selected soils collected from dairy farming regions of New Zealand. Isotherms were constructed by measuring the liquid phase concentration and extracting the solid phase with dichloromethane, followed by an exchange step, and analysis by HPLC and UV detection. The corresponding metabolite estrone, (E1) formed during equilibration of E2 with soil was taken into account to estimate the total percentage recoveries for the compounds, which ranged from 47-105% (E2 and E1) and 83-102% (EE2). Measured isotherms were linear, although some deviation from linearity was observed in a few soils, which was attributed to the finer textured particles and/or the allophanic nature of the soils having high surface area. There was a marked difference in K(d)(eff) (effective distribution coefficient) values for E2 and EE2 among the soils, consistent with the soils organic carbon content and ranged from 14-170 L kg(-1) (E2), and 12-40 L kg(-1) (EE2) in the soils common for both compounds. The sorption affinity of hormones in the soils followed an order: EE2相似文献   

The carbon neutral free for all

Businesses offering to make you or your company carbon neutral are proliferating on the Internet. The term carbon neutral is being defined by common usage. There are no standard ways of measuring your carbon emissions and so no standards for becoming carbon neutral. This paper examines eleven websites offering carbon neutrality. It compares online calculators, their results and the costs of offsetting calculated on the strength of those results. It traces two offset projects: one in Kenya, offering voluntary offsets and run by a not-for-profit organisation; one in India striving for UN Clean Development Mechanism status. The projects are traced from the online carbon offset retailer to the actual project on the ground in order to compare the online rhetoric with the time consuming and difficult work of developing community based projects in Third World countries. The paper offers a definition of carbon neutral based on the ways in which the term is being used. It also uncovers a range of issues for further discussion.     

Effects of environmental methylmercury on the health of wild birds, mammals, and fish

Wild piscivorous fish, mammals, and birds may be at risk for elevated dietary methylmercury intake and toxicity. In controlled feeding studies, the consumption of diets that contained Hg (as methylmercury) at environmentally realistic concentrations resulted in a range of toxic effects in fish, birds, and mammals, including behavioral, neurochemical, hormonal, and reproductive changes. Limited field-based studies, especially with certain wild piscivorous bird species, e.g., the common loon, corroborated laboratory-based results, demonstrating significant relations between methylmercury exposure and various indicators of methylmercury toxicity, including reproductive impairment. Potential population effects in fish and wildlife resulting from dietary methylmercury exposure are expected to vary as a function of species life history, as well as regional differences in fish-Hg concentrations, which, in turn, are influenced by differences in Hg deposition and environmental methylation rates. However, population modeling suggests that reductions in Hg emissions could have substantial benefits for some common loon populations that are currently experiencing elevated methylmercury exposure. Predicted benefits would be mediated primarily through improved hatching success and development of hatchlings to maturity as Hg concentrations in prey fish decline. Other piscivorous species may also benefit from decreased Hg exposure but have not been as extensively studied as the common loon.     

A comparison of two techniques for studying sediment desorption kinetics of hydrophobic pollutants

A comparison of two techniques (gaseous purge and vial desorption) for studying the kinetics of desorption of hydrophobic pollutants from natural sediments was conducted using identical, pre-equilibrated pollutant-sediment suspensions. Desorption profiles for the two techniques [for Lindane, Aldrin, 2,2'-dichlorobiphenyl (2,2'-DCB), 4,4'-dichlorobiphenyl (4,4'-DCB), and 2,2',6,6'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (TCB)] were then compared, based on the distribution of pollutant mass between the labile (fast) and non-labile (slow) desorption phases and the release rate constants for each phase of release. The vial desorption technique shows many practical advantages over the gaseous purge technique, including its more realistic mixing conditions, the use of an independent sample for each data point (as opposed to a calculation of a cumulative mass purged at each time point), the fact that the vials constitute a closed system and are therefore less subject to ambient contamination, and the relatively low demands of time and money for the vial technique. No consistent trends in labile rate constants or in pollutant distribution between the labile and non-labile phase were observed between the two techniques. A comparison of kinetic parameters shows much faster non-labile rate constants for the gaseous purge technique, attributed to the violent, continuous agitation employed, which likely disrupted sediment aggregates and oxidized the natural organic matter associated with the sediment. Non-labile rate constants have implications for the long-term fate of compounds adsorbed to repetitively disturbed sediments. This study suggests that the traditionally less popular vial desorption technique may yield more realistic non-labile desorption rate constants.     

Bacterial community structure in soils contaminated by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Bacterial community structure was examined in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contaminated soil taken from a timber treatment facility in southern Ireland. Profiles of soil bacterial communities were generated using a molecular fingerprinting technique, terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP), and results were interpreted using sophisticated multivariate statistical analysis. Findings suggested that there was a correlation between PAH structure and bacterial community composition. Initial characterisation of soil from the timber treatment facility indicated that PAH contamination was unevenly distributed across the site. Bacterial community composition was correlated with the type of PAH present, with microbial community structure associated with soil contaminated with two-ringed PAHs only being distinctly different to communities in soils contaminated with multi-component PAH mixtures. Typically the number of bacterial ribotypes detected in samples did not appear to be adversely affected by the level of contamination.     

Comparison of Two Types of Metapopulation Models in Real and Artificial Landscapes

Abstract: Application of metapopulation models is becoming increasingly widespread in the conservation of species in fragmented landscapes. We provide one of the first detailed comparisons of two of the most common modeling techniques, incidence function models and stage-based matrix models, and test their accuracy in predicting patch occupancy for a real metapopulation. We measured patch occupancies and demographic rates for regional populations of the Florida scrub lizard (   Sceloporus woodi ) and compared the observed occupancies with those predicted by each model. Both modeling strategies predicted patch occupancies with good accuracy ( 77–80%) and gave similar results when we compared hypothetical management scenarios involving removal of key habitat patches and degradation of habitat quality. To compare the two modeling approaches over a broader set of conditions, we simulated metapopulation dynamics for 150 artificial landscapes composed of equal-sized patches (2–1024 ha) spaced at equal distances (50–750 m). Differences in predicted patch occupancy were small to moderate (<20%) for about 74% of all simulations, but 22% of the landscapes had differences openface> 50%. Incidence function models and stage-based matrix models differ in their approaches, assumptions, and requirements for empirical data, and our findings provide evidence that the two models can produce different results. We encourage researchers to use both techniques and further examine potential differences in model output. The feasibility of obtaining data for population modeling varies widely among species and limits the modeling approaches appropriate for each species. Understanding different modeling approaches will become increasingly important as conservation programs undertake the challenge of managing for multiple species in a landscape context.     

Probability analyses of combining background concentrations with model-predicted concentrations

In order to calculate total concentrations for comparison to ambient air quality standards, monitored background concentrations are often combined with model predicted concentrations. Models have low skill in predicting the locations or time series of observed concentrations. Further, adding fixed points on the probability distributions of monitored and predicted concentrations is very conservative and not mathematically correct. Simply adding the 99th percentile predicted to the 99th percentile background will not yield the 99th percentile of the combined distributions. Instead, an appropriate distribution can be created by calculating all possible pairwise combinations of the 1-hr daily maximum observed background and daily maximum predicted concentration, from which a 99th percentile total value can be obtained. This paper reviews some techniques commonly used for determining background concentrations and combining modeled and background concentrations. The paper proposes an approach to determine the joint probabilities of occurrence of modeled and background concentrations. The pairwise combinations approach yields a more realistic prediction of total concentrations than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) guidance approach and agrees with the probabilistic form of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

Implications: EPA's current approaches to determining background concentrations for compliance modeling purposes often lead to “double counting” of background concentrations and actual plume impacts and thus lead to overpredictions of total impacts. Further, the current Tier 1 approach of simply adding the top ends of the background and model predicted concentrations (e.g., adding the 99th percentiles of these distributions together) results in design value concentrations at probabilities in excess of the form of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.