Enhanced water resource base for sustainable integrated water resource management

The article states the case for greatly enhanced reliance on desalination in the provision of freshwater. It argues that the concept of integrated water resource management (IWRM), should be expanded to routinely include desalination, and that sea water and brackish water should be listed among available sources of freshwater. In recent years, the price per m3 of freshwater obtained from desalination has steadily declined, and is now within competitive range of conventional sources, especially as extracting water from surface sources (rivers, lakes) is becoming increasingly expensive as well as ecologically harmful, and groundwater in many locations is saline or depleted. With the expectation that by 2020, five billion people will reside in megacities, today's conventional water resources are likely to become insufficient. As many of these megacities are located near ocean coasts, sea water seems a logical solution.     

MODELING SEDIMENT AND PHOSPHORUS LOSSES IN AN AGRICULTURAL WATERSHED TO MEET TMDLs1

ABSTRACT: This paper studies the effectiveness of alternative farm management strategies at improving water quality to meet Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) in agricultural watersheds. A spatial process model was calibrated using monthly flow, sediment, and phosphorus (P) losses (1994 to 1996) from Sand Creek watershed in south‐central Minnesota. Statistical evaluation of predicted and observed data gave r² coefficients of 0.75, 0.69, and 0.49 for flow (average 4.1 m³/s), sediment load (average 0.44 ton/ha), and phosphorus load (average 0.97 kg/ha), respectively. The calibrated model was used to evaluate the effects of conservation tillage, conversion of crop land to pasture, and changes in phosphorus fertilizer application rate on pollutant loads. TMDLs were developed for sediment and P losses based on existing water quality standards and guidelines. Observed annual sediment and P losses exceeded these TMDLs by 59 percent and 83 percent, respectively. A combination of increased conservation tillage, reduced application rates of phosphorus fertilizer, and conversion of crop land to pasture could reduce sediment and phosphorus loads by 23 percent and 20 percent of existing loads, respectively. These reductions are much less than needed to meet TMDLs, suggesting that control of sediment using buffer strips and control of point sources of phosphorus are needed for the remaining reductions.     

TEMPORAL CHANGES IN THE YADKIN RIVER FLOW VERSUS SUSPENDED SEDIMENT CONCENTRATION RELATIONSHIP1

ABSTRACT: Dynamic linear models (DLM) and seasonal trend decomposition (STL) using local regression, or LOESS, were used to analyze the 50‐year time series of suspended sediment concentrations for the Yadkin River, measured at the U.S. Geological Survey station at Yadkin College, North Carolina. A DLM with constant trend, seasonality, and a log₁₀ streamflow regressor provided the best model to predict monthly mean log₁₀ suspended sediment concentrations, based on the forecast log likelihood. Using DLM, there was evidence (odds approximately 69:1) that the log₁₀ streamflow versus log₁₀ suspended sediment concentration relationship has changed, with an approximate 20 percent increase in the log₁₀ streamflow coefficient over the period 1981 to 1996. However, sediment concentrations in the Yadkin River have decreased during the decade of the 1990s, which has been accompanied by a concomitant increase in streamflow variability. Although STL has been shown to be a versatile trend analysis technique, DLM is shown to be more suitable for discovery and inference of structural changes (trends) in the model coefficient describing the relationship between flow and sediment concentration.     

CHEMISTRY OF COALBED METHANE DISCHARGE WATER INTERACTING WITH SEMI‐ARID EPHEMERAL STREAM CHANNELS1

ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to examine the chemistry of Coalbed Methane (CBM) discharge water reacting with semi‐arid ephemeral stream channels in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming. The study area consisted of two ephemeral streams: Burger Draw and Sue Draw. These streams are tributaries to the perennial Powder River. Samples were collected bimonthly from three CBM discharge points and seven channel locations in Burger Draw and Sue Draw. Samples were also collected bimonthly from the Powder River above and below the confluence of Burger Draw. Before sample collection, the pH and electrical conductivity (EC) were measured in the field. Samples were transported to the laboratory and analyzed for alkalinity, major cations, and anions. From the measurement of sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg), practical sodium adsorption ratio (SARp) and true sodium adsorption ratio (SARt) were calculated. Results suggest pH and EC of CBM discharge water was 7.1 and 4.3 dS/m, respectively. The CBM discharge water consisted of higher concentrations of sodium and alkalinity compared to other components. The pH of CBM discharge water increased significantly (p = 0.000) in the downstream channel of Burger Draw from 7.1 to 8.84 before it joined with the Powder River. Dissolved calcium concentration of CBM discharge water decreased significantly (p = 0.000) in the downstream channel water. Subsequently, SARp increased approximately from 24 to 29. The SARt also increased significantly (p = 0.001) in the downstream channel water. For instance, SARt of CBM discharge water increased from 32.93 to 45.5 downstream channels after the confluence of Sue Draw with the Burger Draw. The only significant difference in water chemistry above and below the confluence of Burger Draw with the Powder River was pH, which increased from 8.36 to 8.52. The significant increase in SAR values of CBM discharge water in Burger Draw and Sue Draw tributaries suggest a careful monitoring of salinity and sodicity is needed if CBM discharge water is used for irrigation in semi‐arid environments. Results discussed in this study will be useful to downstream water users who depend on water for irrigation.     

TRANSIENT RESPONSE FUNCTIONS FOR CONJUNCTIVE WATER MANAGEMENT IN THE SNAKE RIVER PLAIN,IDAHO1

ABSTRACT: Increasing demands on western water are causing a mounting need for the conjunctive management of surface water and ground water resources. Under western water law, the senior water rights holder has priority over the junior water rights holder in times of water shortage. Water managers have been reluctant to conjunctively manage surface water and ground water resources because of the difficulty of quantification of the impacts to surface water resources from ground water stresses. Impacts from ground water use can take years to propagate through an aquifer system. Prediction of the degree of impact to surface water resources over time and the spatial distribution of impacts is very difficult. Response functions mathematically describe the relationship between a unit ground water stress applied at a specific location and stream depletion or aquifer water level change elsewhere in the system. Response functions can be used to help quantify the spatial and temporal impacts to surface water resources caused by ground water pumping. This paper describes the theory of response functions and presents an application of transient response functions in the Snake River Plain, Idaho. Transient response functions can be used to facilitate the conjunctive management of surface and ground water not only in the eastern Snake River Plain basin, but also in similar basins throughout the western United States.     

滑坡灾害快速反应系统

滑坡灾害快速反应系统由滑坡知识、受灾体和救灾指挥3部分组成.其中每一部分都包括一个完整的体系,并有评价指标描述.该系统的实现主要依靠滑坡数据库、动态仿真模拟和抢险救灾预案技术的支撑.     

事故和安全舰艇指挥员的心理素质对比研究

对有过不同程度操舰事故经历的舰艇指挥员和无事故经历的舰艇指挥员的心理素质测评比较研究 ,为舰艇指挥员心理素质的选拔和培训提供依据。根据研究要求选择了 4 2名被试者 ,并对其进行实验测评研究。结果表明 ,实验组在颜色视觉、立体视觉、注意分配能力、简单反应时间、复杂反应时间、速度预期反应等的能力水平都比控制组低 ,同时在结果的图表中 ,还注意到二组被试者在各个反应时指标中的临界值。对比研究的 6个项目指标 ,在一定程度上可以认为是舰艇指挥员心理品质指标中的重要组成部分 ,其临界值可以为更好地选拔合格舰艇指挥员的心理素质提供科学依据。     

我国道路交通安全发展情景分析

以日本和美国为例 ,分析了发达国家道路交通事故高发期的发展历程 ,得出了道路交通事故的上升与国家经济发展和机动化增长有着直接关系的结论。笔者通过分析和预测我国经济和道路交通的发展情景发现 ,今后我国道路交通发展特征和日本道路交通高发期的情况十分类似。如果现有交通管理体制和技术措施没有大的变化 ,我国道路交通事故死亡人数到 2 0 2 0年可能会超过 2 3万人。为此 ,国家应尽快改善道路交通管理方面所存在体制上、行政上和技术上的不足 ,防止出现笔者所预测的道路交通事故极其严重的局面。     

基于CAN总线的分布式安全报警系统

CAN总线是一种多主站局部网络 ,支持分布式控制系统或实时控制系统的通信功能 ,具有检错功能强 ,抗干扰 ,传输速率高等优点 ,广泛应用于工业控制领域。笔者以CAN总线技术为基础 ,用单片机和个人计算机组成分布式安全报警系统 ,该系统具有开放性、全分散体系结构、安装维护简单等特点。笔者介绍了该系统的总体构成及其软件和硬件设计。试验结果表明 ,该系统实现了事故现场、住户与住宅小区三者联系的安全报警功能。系统稳定性好 ,实时性强 ,报警准确。     

复杂矿井通风系统角联风路自动识别方法的研究

角联风路的识别与稳定性分析是矿井通风系统稳定性与可靠性分析理论中的核心内容之一。笔者对通风系统角联风路进行了深入的研究;分析了通路法的局限性,简化了角联风路的数学模型,提出了快速、准确、灵活的角联风路自动识别的新方法——节点位置法;编写了角联风路自动识别软件,并应用现场数据进行测试,将其结果与通路法的结果进行了比较分析;证明了节点位置法是切实可行的。