Temporal and spatial variations of nutrients in the Ten Mile Creek of South Florida, USA and effects on phytoplankton biomass

Water quality throughout south Florida has been a major concern for many years. Nutrient enrichment in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) is a major surface water issue and is suggested as a possible cause of symptoms of ecological degradation. In 2005-06, water samples were collected weekly from seven sites along Ten Mile Creek (TMC), which drains into the Indian River Lagoon, to investigate and analyze spatial and temporal fluctuations of nutrients nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). The objective of this study was to understand the relationships among chlorophyll a concentration, nutrient enrichment and hydrological parameters in the surface water body.High median concentrations of total P (TP, 0.272 mg L(-1)), PO4-P (0.122 mg L(-1)), and dissolved total P (DTP, 0.179 mg L(-1)); and total N (TN, 0.988 mg L(-1)), NO3(-)-N (0.104 mg L(-1)), NH4+-N (0.103 mg L(-1)), and total Kjeldahl N (TKN, 0.829 mg L(-1)), were measured in TMC. The concentrations of TP, PO4-P, DTP, TN, NO3(-)-N, NH4+-N, and TKN were higher in summer and fall than in winter and spring. However, chlorophyll a and pheophytin concentrations during this period in TMC varied in the range of 0.000-60.7 and 0.000-17.4 microg L(-1), with their median values of 3.54 and 3.02 microg L(-1), respectively. The greatest mean chlorophyll a (10.3 microg L(-1)) and pheophytin (5.71 microg L(-1)) concentrations occurred in spring, while the lowest chlorophyll a (1.49 microg L(-1)) and pheophytin (1.97 mug L(-1)) in fall. High concentrations of PO4-P (>0.16 mg L(-1)), DTP (>0.24 mg L(-1)), NO3(-)-N (>0.15 mg L(-1)), NH4+-N (>0.12 mg L(-1)), and TKN (>0.96 mg L(-1)), occurred in the upstream of TMC, while high concentrations of chlorophyll a (>6.8 mug L(-l)) and pheophytin (>3.9 microg L(-l)) were detected in the downstream of TMC. The highest chlorophyll a (11.8 mug L(-l)) and pheophytin (6.06 microg L(-l)) concentrations, however, were associated with static and open water conditions. Hydrological parameters (total dissolved solid, electrical conductivity, salinity, pH, and water temperature) were positively correlated with chlorophyll a and pheophytin concentrations (P < 0.01) and these factors overshadowed the relationships between N and P concentrations and chlorophyll a under field conditions. Principal component analysis and the ratios of DIN/DP and TN/TP in the water suggest that N is the limiting nutrient factor for phytoplankton growth in the TMC and elevated N relative to P is beneficial to the growth of phytoplankton, which is supported by laboratory culture experiments under controlled conditions.     

Performance evaluation of a full-scale natural treatment system for nonpoint source and point source pollution removal

This study presents a full-scale performance of a natural treatment system (NTS) facility in Taiwan with nearly 2 years of observations. The study site, composed of several treatment ponds in series, was designed primarily to reduce polluted stormwater runoff from tea gardens and partially to untreated domestic wastewater from nearby villages. Thus, both nonpoint source and point source pollution are treated in this system. From 28 field samplings in 2006-2007, the NTS site shows satisfactory treatment performance and the effluent water quality is significantly improved. Seven of the 28 sampling events are storm events (nonpoint source pollution) and the remainder are from regular monitoring (point source pollution). The average volume of influent and effluent is 533 CMD and 196 CMD, respectively. In order to determine the removal efficiency, several assessment measures are employed in an attempt to obtain unbiased conclusions. They are removal rate (RR), efficiency rate (ER), summation of loads (SOL), flux rate (FR), and effluent probability method (EPM). The average percent removal efficiency of NH(3)-N is 53.5-75.2% and of TP is 59.0-84.7%, in which the highest result is calculated by SOL method and the lowest rate is obtained from RR. In FR evaluation, larger treatment capacity for NH(3)-N than for TP is provided in the site and the average FR is respectively 0.230 g/m(2) day and 0.017 g/m(2) day. Of the methods examined, EPM is the only method capable of illustrating data distribution. Finally, recommendations on the usefulness of these measures are summarized to facilitate the understandings of NTS performance evaluations.     

Vegetation recovery patterns assessment at landslides caused by catastrophic earthquake: A case study in central Taiwan

The catastrophic earthquake, 7.3 on the Richter scale, occurred on September 21, 1999 in Central Taiwan. Much of standing vegetation on slopes was eliminated and massive, scattered landslides were induced at the Jou-Jou Mountain area of the Wu-Chi basin in Nantou County. We evaluated three methods for assessing landslide hazard and vegetation recovery conditions. (1) Self-organizing map (SOM) neural network coupled with fuzzy technique was used to quickly extract the landslide. (2) The NDVI-based vegetation recovery index derived from multi-temporal SPOT satellite images was used to evaluate vegetation recovery rate in the denudation sites. (3) The spatial distribution index (SDI) based on land-cover topographic location was employed to analyze vegetation recovery patterns, including the invading, surviving and mixed patterns at the Jou-Jou Mountain area. On September 27, 1999, there were 849.20 ha of landslide area extracted using the self-organizing map and fuzzy technique combined model. After six years of natural vegetation succession, the landslide has gradually restored, and vegetation recovery rate reached up to 86%. On-site observation shows that many native pioneer plants have invaded onto the denudation sites even if disturbed by several typhoons. Two native surviving plants, Arundo formosana Hack and Pinus taiwanensis Hayata, play a vital role in natural vegetation succession in this area, especially for the sites on ridgeline and steep slopes.     

盲样考核浓度预判及稀释方法——以原子荧光法测定水中砷为例

以原子荧光法测定水中砷为例,探讨了实验室盲样考核浓度预判及稀释方法.分析了3个砷盲样考核实例,归纳了“直接稀释法”“系列稀释法”“最大稀释法”3种方法,分别适用于盲样浓度范围窄、适中、宽3种情况,检测人员可根据考核机构给定的浓度范围合理选用.     

环境监测技术培训需求分析——应用OTP模型

简述了环境监测技术培训需求分析的重要性及OTP模型的概念.针对环境监测技术培训的现状和特点,设计了符合环境监测技术培训特点的OTP模型,提出了系统分析环境监测技术培训需求的方法,以及根据实际情况科学设置输入项的不同权重,充分考虑影响模型输出的各种因素,加强研究模型输入项的量化表征,动态调整模型的输入项的建议.     

Effect of air-drying and oven-drying treatment on Cr(VI) content and Cr bond forms in soil

Air-drying and oven-drying are pretreatment processes often used before testing and analyzing various soil characteristics in the laboratory. This study selected three kinds of soil, including red soil, entisol, and alluvial soil, and examined the variation of the Cr(VI) content and Cr bond forms in these soils during air-drying and oven-drying. The results show that when the soil is air-dried in natural environment, the Cr(VI) content decreases with air-drying time. On day 10 of air-drying, the Cr(VI) content in these soils is 22.8～47.9 % of the initial value. When the soil is oven-dried, the Cr(VI) concentration decays faster; on day 8, the Cr(VI) is no longer detected in these soil samples. When the Cr(VI)-contaminated soil is treated by air-drying and oven-drying, the Cr bond form converts into a more stable form. After oven-drying, the Cr mainly exists in Fe–Mn oxide form, organic bond form, and residual form. The air-drying and oven-drying pretreatment processes of soil reduce the Cr(VI) content and stabilize the Cr bond form. If the laboratory analytic results are applied to risk analysis or remediation strategy planning for chromium-contaminated soil, the toxicity, bioavailability, and mobility of Cr in soil may be underrated.     

建设项目竣工验收现场平行样控制指标研究

依据建设项目竣工环境保护验收中污水监测的要求,通过积累大量验收监测质量检查的实验数据,运用数理统计的方法,以化学需氧量和氨氮两个项目为例,建立了质控数据的评价方法,并确定了现场平行样偏差指标的限値。     

挥发性有机物污染土壤样品采样方法比较

以苯系物污染土壤样品的采集为例,比较了4种不同采样方法导致样品检测结果的差异。其中,方法 1将样品装填至广口瓶内并压实密封,方法2采用非扰动采样器采集10 g样品后转移至加有10 mL甲醇保护剂的Vial瓶中密封,方法 3用非扰动采样器采集10 g样品后直接将其密封于采样器内,方法 4用Encore采样器采样后将其密封于采样器内。结果表明,方法 2采集样品的检出率最高,其余3种方法的差异不明显,方法 2采集样品的检出结果 71%以上都大于其余3种方法。而且,对于挥发性较强的苯与甲苯,以方法 2采集的样品91%以上都大于其余3种方法,最大及平均检出浓度高出2~3个数量级。5种不同土质样品检测结果表明,对于有机质含量较低的细砂,方法2的最高及平均检出浓度均高于其余3种方法 1~3个数量级,差异随土壤有机质含量的升高而降低。可见,对于苯系物及挥发性强于苯系物的其他挥发性有机物污染土壤样品的采集,方法 2效果最优,可指定为VOCs污染场地土壤样品的采样方法。     

The general utilization of scrapped PC board

The traditional burning process is used to recover copper from scrapped PC board (printed circuit board) but it causes serious environmental problems. In this research a new process was developed which not only prevents pollution problems, but also maximizes the utility of all the materials on the waste board. First, the scrapped PC board was crushed and grounded, then placed in the NH₃/NH₅CO₃ solution with aeration in order to dissolve copper. After distilling the copper NH₃/NH₅CO₃ solution and then heating the distilled residue of copper carbonate, pure copper oxide was obtained with particle size of about 0.2 μm and the shape elliptical. The remaining solid residue after copper removal was then leached with 6 N hydrochloric acid to remove tin and lead. The last residue was used as a filler in PVC plastics. The PVC plastics with PC board powder as filling material was found to have the same tensile strength as unfilled plastics, but had higher elastic modulus, higher abrasion resistance, and was cheaper.     

Levels of black carbon and their relationship with particle number levels—observation at an urban roadside in Taipei City

Information on the relationship between black carbon (BC) and particle number levels in urban areas is limited. Therefore, investigating the relationship between BC and particle number levels in different particle size ranges at an urban area is worthwhile. This study used an aethalometer and scanning mobility particle sizer to measure the levels of BC and particle number simultaneously at an urban roadside in Taipei City. Measurement results show that hourly BC levels are 0.62–8.80 μg m^?3 (mean?=?3.50 μg m^?3) and hourly particle number levels are 4.21?×?10³–4.64?×?10⁴ particles cm^?3 (mean?=?2.00?×?10⁴ particles cm^?3) in Taipei urban area. The BC and particle number levels peak during morning (7:00–9:00) and evening (16:00–18:00) rush hours on weekdays. Low BC and particle number levels exist in the early morning hours. Time variations in BC levels are the same as those of particle number levels in this study, clearly indicating that BC and particles are likely released from the same emission source. Additionally, BC levels in the urban area are more strongly associated with ultrafine particle levels than with total particle number levels, particularly in the size range of 56–180 nm. According to measurement results, most BC in aerosols in urban areas can be in the ultrafine size range.