Modeling of road traffic noise and estimated human exposure in Fulton County, Georgia, USA

Environmental noise is a major source of public complaints. Noise in the community causes physical and socio-economic effects and has been shown to be related to adverse health impacts. Noise, however, has not been actively researched in the United States compared with the European Union countries in recent years. In this research, we aimed at modeling road traffic noise and analyzing human exposure in Fulton County, Georgia, United States. We modeled road traffic noise levels using the United States Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration Traffic Noise Model implemented in SoundPLAN?. After analyzing noise levels with raster, vector and fa?ade maps, we estimated human exposure to high noise levels. Accurate digital elevation models and building heights were derived from Light Detection And Ranging survey datasets and building footprint boundaries. Traffic datasets were collected from the Georgia Department of Transportation and the Atlanta Regional Commission. Noise level simulation was performed with 62 computers in a distributed computing environment. Finally, the noise-exposed population was calculated using geographic information system techniques. Results show that 48% of the total county population [N=870,166 residents] is potentially exposed to 55 dB(A) or higher noise levels during daytime. About 9% of the population is potentially exposed to 67 dB(A) or higher noises. At nighttime, 32% of the population is expected to be exposed to noise levels higher than 50 dB(A). This research shows that large-scale traffic noise estimation is possible with the help of various organizations. We believe that this research is a significant stepping stone for analyzing community health associated with noise exposures in the United States.     

Reproductive dynamics of endeavour prawns, Metapenaeus endeavouri and M. ensis, in Albatross Bay, Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia

 The spawning patterns of two penaeid prawns, Metapenaeus endeavouri (Schmitt) and M. ensis (De Haan), were examined from data collected at 45 stations between March 1986 and March 1992. An index of population fecundity based on the abundance, proportion and fecundity of sexually mature females was used as a measure of spawning output of the prawn stock. The population fecundity index for M. ensis was higher than that for M. endeavouri. The monthly population fecundity index for M. endeavouri varied markedly among years, while that for M. ensis was consistent among years. Spawning of M. endeavouri occurred year-round, while that of M. ensis was concentrated mainly in spring (September to November). For M. endeavouri, a minor spawning, derived from a relatively small number of summer spawners, occurred in the 20 to 30 m offshore waters in summer. In early summer (after May), the major spawning group consisted of large females from the winter-spawning cohort, and the spawning area shifted to depths of 30 to 60 m. In winter (July), the major spawning, derived from the winter-spawning cohort, occurred at depths of 20 to 40 m. For M. ensis, the major spawning, derived from the spring-spawning cohort, was observed in depths <50 m and was concentrated particularly in inshore waters (<20 m) in spring. In autumn, the spawning output was mainly from the autumn-spawning cohort, which comprised but a small number of individuals. In winter, the major spawning group again consisted of the large females from the spring-spawning cohort, and spawning increased in the oceanic waters (>50 m). These results suggest that mature female M. endeavouri and M. ensis move offshore (>40 m) by May and July, respectively, and return to shallow waters (<35 m) in July and November, respectively. The monthly reproduction patterns of both species in the “effective spawning” area showed that the major spawning season for M. endeavouri is August to October and that for M. ensis is September to December. Received: 19 February 1999 / Accepted: 18 June 2000     

Application of an artificial sea salt solution to determine acute toxicity of herbicides to Proisotoma minuta (Collembola)

The acute toxicity test is described in this experiment where the Collembola species Proisotoma minuta was exposed to herbicides in an artificial sea salt solution for seven days. The salt solution did not prohibit the insects' reproduction system. The seven day LD50 values for trifluralin, pendimethalin, metolachlor, prometryn, paraquat, atrazine, fluometuron, and diuron were 3.48, 10.4, 12.4, 13.0, 23.1, 33.4, 250, and 711 mg L(-1), respectively. A good correlation between toxicity of the compounds and their lipophilicity and vapor pressure was recorded in this study.     

Assessing the environmental performance of English arable and livestock holdings using data from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN)

Agri-environment schemes (AESs) have been implemented across EU member states in an attempt to reconcile agricultural production methods with protection of the environment and maintenance of the countryside. To determine the extent to which such policy objectives are being fulfilled, participating countries are obliged to monitor and evaluate the environmental, agricultural and socio-economic impacts of their AESs. However, few evaluations measure precise environmental outcomes and critically, there are no agreed methodologies to evaluate the benefits of particular agri-environmental measures, or to track the environmental consequences of changing agricultural practices. In response to these issues, the Agri-Environmental Footprint project developed a common methodology for assessing the environmental impact of European AES. The Agri-Environmental Footprint Index (AFI) is a farm-level, adaptable methodology that aggregates measurements of agri-environmental indicators based on Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) techniques. The method was developed specifically to allow assessment of differences in the environmental performance of farms according to participation in agri-environment schemes. The AFI methodology is constructed so that high values represent good environmental performance. This paper explores the use of the AFI methodology in combination with Farm Business Survey data collected in England for the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN), to test whether its use could be extended for the routine surveillance of environmental performance of farming systems using established data sources. Overall, the aim was to measure the environmental impact of three different types of agriculture (arable, lowland livestock and upland livestock) in England and to identify differences in AFI due to participation in agri-environment schemes. However, because farm size, farmer age, level of education and region are also likely to influence the environmental performance of a holding, these factors were also considered. Application of the methodology revealed that only arable holdings participating in agri-environment schemes had a greater environmental performance, although responses differed between regions. Of the other explanatory variables explored, the key factors determining the environmental performance for lowland livestock holdings were farm size, farmer age and level of education. In contrast, the AFI value of upland livestock holdings differed only between regions. The paper demonstrates that the AFI methodology can be used readily with English FADN data and therefore has the potential to be applied more widely to similar data sources routinely collected across the EU-27 in a standardised manner.     

Cytochrome <Emphasis Type="Italic">b</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cyt-b</Emphasis>) gene sequence analysis in six flatfish species (Teleostei,Pleuronectidae), with phylogenetic and taxonomic insights

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) at Cyt-b gene region was sequenced for six flatfish species (in total nine sequences of at least 1,117 bp) from the Far East of Russia and compared with other sequences of Pleuronectiformes comprising altogether 34 species and 3 outgroup species (Perciformes). Analysis of the protein-coding Cyt-b gene revealed a statistically substantiated bias in (T + C):(A + G) content, supporting earlier findings. Values of P-distances, as summarized for different scales of the evolutionary history at Cyt-b gene, revealed a clear pattern of increased nucleotide diversity at four different phylogenetic levels: (1) intraspecies, (2) intragenus, (3) intrafamily, and (4) intraorder. Scores of average P-distances of the four categories of comparison in flatfishes were (1) 0.46 ± 0.19%, (2) 11.74 ± 2.26%, (3) 17.51 ± 3.13%, and (4) 25.60 ± 0.42%, respectively (mean ± SE). These data support the concept that speciation in the order Pleuronectiformes, in most cases, follows a geographic mode through the accumulation of numerous small genetic changes over a long period of time. A phylogenetic tree for 64 sequences of flatfishes and 3 other fishes belonging to ray-finned fishes (Actinopterigii) was developed using Cyt-b gene and four different analytical approaches: neighbour-joining (NJ), Bayesian (BA), maximum parsimony (MP), and maximum likelihood (ML). The analysis revealed a monophyletic origin for the representatives of Pleuronectidae, which is the principal flatfish family investigated (99% repetition level in our BA analysis). A well supported property of the phylogenetic tree was the monophyletic placement of all the five flatfish families and the order Pleuronectiformes among other representatives of ray-finned fishes of the class Actinopterigii. Species identification on per individual basis (barcoding tagging) was generally high. However, there were taxonomic complications that arose during analysis, and they are discussed. Major outcomes of this discussion are the necessity of synonymy acceptance for Hippoglossoides elassodon, and H. robustus, and for Pseudopleuronectes yokohamae and P. schrenki. Priority considerations suggest H. elassodon and P. yokohamae as valid species names.     

Spatiotemporal classification of environmental monitoring data in the Yeongsan River basin, Korea, using self-organizing maps

Environmental monitoring data for planning, implementing and evaluating the Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) management system have been measured at about 8-day intervals in a number of rivers in Korea since 2004. In the present study, water quality parameters such as Suspended Solids (SS), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Total Nitrogen (TN), and Total Phosphorus (TP) and the corresponding runoff were collected from six stations in the Yeongsan River basin for six years and transformed into monthly mean values. With the primary objective to understand spatiotemporal characteristics of the data, a methodologically systematic application of a Self-Organizing Map (SOM) was made. The SOM application classified the environmental monitoring data into nine clusters showing exclusively distinguishable patterns. Data frequency at each station on a monthly basis identified the spatiotemporal distribution for the first time in the study area. Consequently, the SOM application provided useful information that the sub-basin containing a metropolitan city is associated with deteriorating water quality and should be monitored and managed carefully during spring and summer for water quality improvement in the river basin.     

Decision-Tree-based data mining and rule induction for predicting and mapping soil bacterial diversity

Soilmicrobial ecology plays a significant role in global ecosystems. Nevertheless, methods of model prediction and mapping have yet to be established for soil microbial ecology. The present study was undertaken to develop an artificial-intelligence- and geographical information system (GIS)-integrated framework for predicting and mapping soil bacterial diversity using pre-existing environmental geospatial database information, and to further evaluate the applicability of soil bacterial diversity mapping for planning construction of eco-friendly roads. Using a stratified random sampling, soil bacterial diversity was measured in 196 soil samples in a forest area where construction of an eco-friendly road was planned. Model accuracy, coherence analyses, and tree analysis were systematically performed, and four-class discretized decision tree (DT) with ordinary pair-wise partitioning (OPP) was selected as the optimal model among tested five DT model variants. GIS-based simulations of the optimal DT model with varying weights assigned to soil ecological quality showed that the inclusion of soil ecology in environmental components, which are considered in environmental impact assessment, significantly affects the spatial distributions of overall environmental quality values as well as the determination of an environmentally optimized road route. This work suggests a guideline to use systematic accuracy, coherence, and tree analyses in selecting an optimal DT model from multiple candidate model variants, and demonstrates the applicability of the OPP-improved DT integrated with GIS in rule induction for mapping bacterial diversity. These findings also provide implication on the significance of soil microbial ecology in environmental impact assessment and eco-friendly construction planning.     

Method to estimate the required oxygen amount and aeration period for the completion of landfill aeration

To reliably predict field operation performance derived from lab-based tests, it is very important to observe and consider all the specific landfill-site properties. The purpose of this study was to suggest and discuss the availability of batch and lysimeter tests to estimate the oxygen amount and the aeration period. To achieve this purpose, a comparison between lab test (batch and lysimeter tests) and full-scale applications was conducted. This study showed that aerobic batch and lysimeter tests could be used to estimate the amount of oxygen (mg-O₂/g-DM) required to bio-stabilize landfilled wastes within a short period of time. In addition, aeration periods necessary to reach the target value can be calculated by a first-order kinetic depending on moisture content. Therefore, this study suggests that when applying in situ aeration processes to field-scale landfills, the amount of aeration required to bio-stabilize landfilled wastes has to be determined by the aerobic batch test, and then the aeration period required to reach the target value can be calculated by a reliable monitoring of the oxygen concentration in a landfill site in combination with the first-order kinetic.     

Acute and chronic health risk assessment for inhalation and ingestion exposure in acrylic acid leak accidents

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - We established a hypothetical acrylic acid leak accident scenario, conducted a health risk assessment of local residents, and compared an actual...