MISSOURI RIVER - THE NEW COMPACTING GAME1

ABSTRACT: This paper addresses the recent interest in management of the Missouri River. Interstate issues in the river basin include interbasin water diversions, riverbed and shoreline degradation, loss of recreational and natural areas, reduction in navigation capacity, the status of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program in terms of general river development, and the elimination of river basin commissions, An attempt to develop a comprehensive interstate water compact failed in the 1950s. The new efforts towards establishing a compact are discussed, as well as other available mechanisms for resolution of the current political and legal differences among the ten river basin states.     

ASPECTS OF THE UNDERWATER LIGHT FIELD OF EIGHT CENTRAL NEW YORK LAKES1

ABSTRACT: The underwater light field of eight central New York lakes, which represent a wide range of trophic state, was characterized through paired measurements of Sechi disc transparency (SD, m) and diffuse light attenuation (K_d, m^?1). A total of 90 paired measurements are included in the data base. Substantial variability in the K_d SD product with time within individual systems, and amongst systems, was observed, which indicates differences in the relative contributions of absorption and scattering to attenuation. More than 50 percent of the temporal variability in K_d was attributable to attendant variations in chlorophyll a (C, mg m^?3) in only two of the lakes. Estimates of the adsorption (a, m^?1) and scattering (b, m^?1) coefficients based on paired K_d and SD measurements compared well with more precise determinations available for one of the lakes. Determinations of a and b for the eight lakes, from SD and K_d measurements, indicated great system-specificity and temporal variability in these characteristics. The temporal variability in relative contributions of a and b to K_d is consistent with covariation of different attenuating components and the lack of correlation between C and K_d in most of the study lakes.     

EFFECT OF “WHITING” ON OPTICAL PROPERTIES AND TURBIDITY IN OWASCO LAKE,NEW YORK1

ABSTRACT: The effects “whiting” (CaCO₃ precipitate) had on the optical properties and turbidity of the epilimnion of Owasco Lake, New York, were studied during the summer of 1985. Turbidity was partitioned according to “whiting” and non-“whiting” components utilizing a simple acidification procedure. Diffuse light attenuation was partitioned according to the attenuating processes of absorption and scattering. “Whiting” was present most of the summer. Two major “whiting” events occurred that caused major increases in turbidity and the attenuation of light. “Whiting” was the principle regulator of turbidity during the study; it caused increases in light attenuation by increasing light scattering. “Whiting” events can easily be mistaken by the public for phytoplankton blooms.     

Opportunity costs of implementing forest plans

Intellectual concern with the National Forest Management Act of 1976 has followed a course emphasizing the planning aspects of the legislation associated with the development of forest plans. Once approved, however, forest plans must be implemented. Due to the complex nature of the ecological systems of interest, and the multiple and often conflicting desires of user clientele groups, the feasibility and costs of implementing forest plans require immediate investigation. For one timber sale on the Coconino National Forest in Arizona, forest plan constraints were applied and resulting resource outputs predicted using the terrestrial ecosystem analysis and modeling system (TEAMS), a computer-based decision support system developed at the School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, With forest plan constraints for wildlife habitat, visual diversity, riparian area protection, and soil and slope harvesting restrictions, the maximum timber harvest obtainable was reduced 58% from the maximum obtainable without plan constraints.Former Graduate Student at Northern Arizona University.     

Airborne emissions of mercury from municipal solid waste. I: new measurements from six operating landfills in Florida

Mercury-bearing material enters municipal landfills from a wide array of sources, including fluorescent lights, batteries, electrical switches, thermometers, and general waste; however, the fate of mercury (Hg) in landfills has not been widely studied. Using automated flux chambers and downwind atmospheric sampling, we quantified the primary pathways of Hg vapor releases to the atmosphere at six municipal landfill operations in Florida. These pathways included landfill gas (LFG) releases from active vent systems, passive emissions from landfill surface covers, and emissions from daily activities at each working face (WF). We spiked the WF at two sites with known Hg sources; these were readily detected downwind, and were used to test our emission modeling approaches. Gaseous elemental mercury (Hg(O)) was released to the atmosphere at readily detectable rates from all sources measured; rates ranged from approximately 1-10 ng m(-2) hr(-1) over aged landfill cover, from approximately 8-20 mg/hr from LFG flares (LFG included Hg(O) at microg/m3 concentrations), and from approximately 200-400 mg/hr at the WF. These fluxes exceed our earlier published estimates. Attempts to identify specific Hg sources in excavated and sorted waste indicated few readily identifiable sources; because of effective mixing and diffusion of Hg(O), the entire waste mass acts as a source. We estimate that atmospheric Hg releases from municipal landfill operations in the state of Florida are on the order of 10-50 kg/yr, substantially larger than our original estimates, but still a small fraction of current overall anthropogenic losses.     

Numerical methods for improving sensitivity analysis and parameter estimation of virus transport simulated using sorptive-reactive processes

Using one- and two-dimensional homogeneous simulations, this paper addresses challenges associated with sensitivity analysis and parameter estimation for virus transport simulated using sorptive-reactive processes. Head, flow, and conservative- and virus-transport observations are considered. The paper examines the use of (1) observed-value weighting, (2) breakthrough-curve temporal moment observations, and (3) the significance of changes in the transport time-step size. The results suggest that (1) sensitivities using observed-value weighting are more susceptible to numerical solution variability, (2) temporal moments of the breakthrough curve are a more robust measure of sensitivity than individual conservative-transport observations, and (3) the transport-simulation time step size is more important than the inactivation rate in solution and about as important as at least two other parameters, reflecting the ease with which results can be influenced by numerical issues. The approach presented allows more accurate evaluation of the information provided by observations for estimation of parameters and generally improves the potential for reasonable parameter-estimation results.     

Airborne emissions of mercury from municipal solid waste. II: potential losses of airborne mercury before landfill

Waste distribution and compaction at the working face of municipal waste landfills releases mercury vapor (Hg(o)) to the atmosphere, as does the flaring of landfill gas. Waste storage and processing before its addition to the landfill also has the potential to release Hg(o) to the air if it is initially present or formed by chemical reduction of Hg(II) to Hg(o) within collected waste. We measured the release of Hg vapor to the atmosphere during dumpster and transfer station activities and waste storage before landfilling at a municipal landfill operation in central Florida. We also quantified the potential contribution of specific Hg-bearing wastes, including mercury (Hg) thermometers and fluorescent bulbs, and searched for primary Hg sources in sorted wastes at three different landfills. Surprisingly large fluxes were estimated for Hg losses at transfer facilities (approximately 100 mg/hr) and from dumpsters in the field (approximately 30 mg/hr for 1000 dumpsters), suggesting that Hg emissions occurring before landfilling may constitute a significant fraction of the total emission from the disposal/landfill cycle and a need for more measurements on these sources. Reducing conditions of landfill burial were obviously not needed to generate strong Hg(o) signals, indicating that much of the Hg was already present in a metallic (Hg(o)) form. Attempts to identify specific Hg sources in excavated and sorted waste indicated few readily identifiable sources; because of effective mixing and diffusion of Hg(o), the entire waste mass acts as a source. Broken fluorescent bulbs and thermometers in dumpsters emitted Hg(o) at 10 to >100 microg/hr and continued to act as near constant sources for several days.     

Excess plutonium in soil near the Nevada Test Site,USA

Two soil profiles were collected from undisturbed areas near the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The activity of 137Cs in the surface layer of the downwind Queen City Summit profile is three times higher than at the upwind site at Searchlight, NV (41.1+/-0.6 mBq/g vs. 13.0+/-0.4 mBq/g), and the 239,240Pu activity is 100 times greater (51+/-2 mBq/g vs. 0.52+/-0.03 mBq/g). An examination of the literature suggests that the 137Cs/239,240Pu and the 239,240Pu/238Pu activity ratios in soils and sediments from the northern hemisphere, due to fallout from atmospheric atomic weapons testing, have generalized values of 36+/-4 and 30+/-4, respectively (as of 1 July 1995). Deviations from these values may indicate possible contamination by sources other than fallout. Data from the surface soil of the downwind Queen City Summit profile yield a 137Cs/239,240Pu ratio of 0.81+/-0.02 and a 239,240Pu/238Pu ratio of 78+/-6. Clearly, an increase in 239,240Pu relative to 137Cs or 238Pu can account for these observations. There is compelling evidence that this "excess" 239,240Pu came from activities at the NTS during the aboveground testing of nuclear devices, more than likely from safety tests, some 40 years ago, and/or during the interim by the wind-driven resuspension of contaminated surface soil on the NTS and its transport off-site. Moreover, the two concentration profiles show that high percentages of both of these elements are retained for decades in the upper few centimeters of soil in Nevada's desert environment.