Maximum rates of nitrate removal in a denitrification wall

Denitrification walls are constructed by mixing a carbon source such as sawdust into soils through which ground water passes. These systems can reduce nitrate inputs to receiving waters by enhancing denitrification. Maximum rates of nitrate removal by denitrification need to be determined for design purposes. To determine maximum rates of nitrate removal we added excess nitrate (50 mg N L(-1)) to a trench up-gradient of a denitrification wall during a 9-d trial. Bromide (100 g L(-1)) was also added as a conservative tracer. Movement of nitrate and bromide was measured from shallow wells and soil samples were removed for measurements of denitrification, carbon availability, nitrate, and other microbial parameters. Rates of nitrate removal, determined from the ratio of NO3-N to Br and ground water flow, averaged 1.4 g N m(-3) of wall d(-1) and were markedly greater than denitrification rates determined using the acetylene block technique (average: 0.11 g N m(-3) of wall d(-1)). These nitrate removal rates were generally lower than reported in other denitrification walls. Denitrification rates increased when nitrate was added to the laboratory incubations, indicating that despite large nitrate inputs in the field, denitrification remained limited by nitrate. This limitation was partially attributed to nitrate predominantly moving through zones of greater hydraulic conductivity or in the mobile fraction of the ground water and slow diffusion to the immobile fraction where denitrifiers were active.     

The prospect of alien life in exotic forms on other worlds

The nature of life on Earth provides a singular example of carbon-based, water-borne, photosynthesis-driven biology. Within our understanding of chemistry and the physical laws governing the universe, however, lies the possibility that alien life could be based on different chemistries, solvents, and energy sources from the one example provided by Terran biology. In this paper, we review some of these possibilities. Silanes may be used as functional analogs to carbon molecules in environments very different from Earth; solvents other than water may be compatible for life-supporting processes, especially in cold environments, and a variety of energy sources may be utilized, some of which have no Terran analog. We provide a detailed discussion of two possible habitats for alien life which are generally not considered as such: the lower cloud level of the Venusian atmosphere and Titan’s surface environment.     

Heavy metal contamination from mining sites in South Morocco: 1. Use of a biotest to assess metal toxicity of tailings and soils

Our work was conducted to investigate the heavy metal toxicity of tailings and soils collected from five metal mines located in the south of Morocco. We used the MetPAD biotest Kit which detects the toxicity specifically due to the heavy metals in environmental samples. This biotest initially developed to assess the toxicity of aquatic samples was adapted to the heterogeneous physico-chemical conditions of anthropogenic soils. Contrasted industrial soils were collected from four abandoned mines (A, B, C and E) and one mine (D) still active. The toxicity test was run concurrently with chemical analyses on the aqueous extracts of tailings materials and soils in order to assess the potential availability of heavy metals. Soil pH was variable, ranging from very acidic (pH 2.6) to alkaline values (pH 8.0-8.8). The tailings from polymetallic mines (B and D) contained very high concentrations of Zn (38,000-108,000 mg kg(-1)), Pb (20,412-30,100 mg kg(-1)), Cu (2,019-8,635 mg kg(-1)) and Cd (148-228 mg kg(-1)). Water-extractable metal concentrations (i.e., soil extracts) were much lower but were highly toxic as shown by the MetPAD test, except for soils from mines A, E and site C3 from mine C. The soil extracts from mine D were the most toxic amongst all the soils tested. On this site, the toxicity of soil water extracts was mainly due to high concentrations of Zn (785-1,753 mg l(-1)), Cu (1.8-82 mg l(-1)) and Cd (2.0-2.7 mg l(-1)). The general trend observed was an increase in metal toxicity measured by the biotest with increasing available metal contents in tailings materials and soils. Therefore, the MetPAD test can be used as a rapid and sensitive predictive tool to assess the heavy metal availability in soils highly contaminated by mining activities.     

Study on Distribution and Content of Nickel in Dry Batteries

在实验室条件下,对国产50个品牌80种废干电池中镍的分布及含量进行了研究.结果表明,95％的废干电池含有金属镍,其中碱性废干电池的镍主要分布在外皮(壳)和外底片,碳性废干电池主要分布在金属帽中,钮扣式废干电池分布在正极壳和负极盖.废干电池中镍的质量分数在1％～8.4％之间,平均质量分数为2.4％.废干电池的碳粉中不含镍.     

基于FDS的车厢火灾烟气流动的数值模拟分析

使用FDS火灾模拟软件对列车车厢进行火灾模拟,得到车厢内温度与烟气浓度随时间变化的规律,计算出临界温度与临界可视距离出现的时间,发现在车厢火灾中,总是烟气浓度先达到临界点。车厢火灾的疏散防控措施中,控制烟气浓度应是重点工作。     

Incorporating putatively neutral and adaptive genomic data into marine conservation planning

The availability of genomic data for an increasing number of species makes it possible to incorporate evolutionary processes into conservation plans. Recent studies show how genetic data can inform spatial conservation prioritization (SCP), but they focus on metrics of diversity and distinctness derived primarily from neutral genetic data sets. Identifying adaptive genetic markers can provide important information regarding the capacity for populations to adapt to environmental change. Yet, the effect of including metrics based on adaptive genomic data into SCP in comparison to more widely used neutral genetic metrics has not been explored. We used existing genomic data on a commercially exploited species, the giant California sea cucumber (Parastichopus californicus), to perform SCP for the coastal region of British Columbia (BC), Canada. Using a RAD-seq data set for 717 P. californicus individuals across 24 sampling locations, we identified putatively adaptive (i.e., candidate) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) based on genotype–environment associations with seafloor temperature. We calculated various metrics for both neutral and candidate SNPs and compared SCP outcomes with independent metrics and combinations of metrics. Priority areas varied depending on whether neutral or candidate SNPs were used and on the specific metric used. For example, targeting sites with a high frequency of warm-temperature-associated alleles to support persistence under future warming prioritized areas in the southern coastal region. In contrast, targeting sites with high expected heterozygosity at candidate loci to support persistence under future environmental uncertainty prioritized areas in the north. When combining metrics, all scenarios generated intermediate solutions, protecting sites that span latitudinal and thermal gradients. Our results demonstrate that distinguishing between neutral and adaptive markers can affect conservation solutions and emphasize the importance of defining objectives when choosing among various genomic metrics for SCP.     

生态补偿助力脱贫攻坚：协同、拮抗与对接

中央政府提出的“生态补偿脱贫一批”标志着生态补偿扶贫正逐步成为我国打赢脱贫攻坚战的重要途径之一。2020年是脱贫攻坚战的决胜之年，生态补偿如何有效助力脱贫攻坚成为研究的热点。本文以实践与政策为导向，运用文献研究法和逻辑分析法，在厘清生态补偿扶贫理念形成与发展的基础上，解析生态补偿与脱贫攻坚之间存在的协同效应和拮抗效应。研究发现生态补偿与脱贫攻坚在地理空间位置、实施主客体、标准、方式和途径等方面相耦合容易产生协同效应，在价值诉求、农户资源禀赋、政府部门工作等方面矛盾产生拮抗效应。生态补偿有效助力脱贫攻坚的关键在于构建对接机制以强化协同效应、弱化或去除拮抗效应。为此，通过建立精准的瞄准制度、稳定脱贫的长效机制、政府部门内部生态补偿扶贫协调机制等举措，构建生态补偿与脱贫攻坚的对接机制，以促进二者高效协同发展。     

不同磁化抑尘剂对煤粉润湿性影响规律的实验研究

针对微小粒径粉尘具有危害大且难润湿的问题,基于润湿剂与磁场对水滴颗粒的耦合改性机理,研究不同磁场强度下各抑尘剂对煤粉润湿性影响,采用座滴法测定磁化试剂的煤粉表面接触角,通过粉尘润湿机理进行分析,煤尘沉降Walker实验进行佐证,得到抑尘剂种类、浓度与磁化强度对煤粉的润湿性规律。结果表明:未经磁化的高于临界胶束浓度值溶液对煤尘的润湿能力变化不大,阴离子表面活性剂溶液对煤样的润湿能力强于非离子表面活性剂溶液和阳离子表面活性剂溶液;磁化强度为500 mT的磁化溶液对煤尘润湿能力达到最佳效果。     

Dispersal per recruit: an efficient method for assessing sustainability in marine reserve networks.

Marine reserves are an increasingly important tool for the management of marine ecosystems around the world. However, the effects of proposed marine reserve configurations on sustainability and yield of populations are typically not estimated because of the computational intensity of direct simulation and uncertainty in larval dispersal and density-dependent recruitment. Here we develop a method for efficiently assessing a marine reserve configuration for persistence and yield of a population with sedentary adults and dispersing larvae. The method extends the familiar sustainability criteria of individual replacement for single populations based on eggs-per-recruit (EPR) to spatially distributed populations with sedentary adults, a dispersing larval phase, and limited carrying capacity in the settlement-recruit relationship. We refer to this approach as dispersal-per-recruit (DPR). In some cases, a single DPR calculation, based on the assumption that post-settlement habitat is saturated (i.e., at maximum recruitment), is sufficient to determine population persistence, while in other cases further iterative calculations are required. These additional calculations reach an equilibrium more rapidly than a full simulation of age- or size-structured populations. From the DPR result, fishery yield can be computed from yield-per-recruit (YPR) at each point. We assess the utility of DPR calculations by applying them to single reserves, uniformly distributed systems of reserves, and randomly sized and spaced systems of reserves on a linear coastline. We find that for low levels of EPR in fished areas (e.g., 10% or less of the natural, unfished EPR when post-settlement habitats are saturated by 35% of natural settlement), a single DPR calculation is sufficient to determine persistence of the population. We also show that, in uniform systems of reserves with finite reserve size, maximal fisheries yield occurs when the density of reserves is such that all post-settlement habitat is nearly saturated with settlers. Finally, we demonstrate the application of this approach to a realistic proposed marine reserve configuration.