ERI evaluation of injectates used at a dry‐cleaning site

A former dry‐cleaning site in Jackson, Tennessee, has undergone remediation to treat dense nonaqueous‐phase liquid (trichloroethene [TCE] and tetrachloroethene [PCE]) contamination in the subsurface. The dry cleaning operation closed in 1977. In 2002, a series of injections were made at the site consisting of corn syrup, vegetable oils, and Simple Green®. In 2004, approximately 200 cubic yards of contaminated soil were excavated, and the bottom of the excavation was covered with sodium lactate. In 2009, the site was characterized using proprietary electrical resistivity imaging (ERI; commercially available as Aestus GeoTrax Surveys^TM). Follow‐up confirmation soil borings targeted anomalies detected via the geophysical work. The results indicate an extremely electrically conductive (less than 1 ohm‐m) vadose zone downgradient from the injection wells, and extremely electrically resistive areas (greater than 10,000 ohm‐m) in the phreatic zone near the injection area. The sample data indicate that the electrically resistive anomalous zones contain moderate to high concentrations of undegraded dry‐cleaning compounds. Electrically conductive anomalous zones are interpreted to be areas of biological activity generated by the amendments injected into the subsurface based on the extreme conductivity values detected, the chemical composition (i.e., PCE degradates are present), and the dominant vadose‐zone location of the conductive zones. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Participatory evaluation of collaborative and integrated water management: Insights from the field

The Maitland Watershed Partnerships (MWPs) is a multi-stakeholder forum established in 1999 in an agricultural watershed in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. This paper presents 10 lessons emerging from the participatory evaluation of the MWPs carried out in 2005. As suggested in the literature and highlighted by the experience of the MWPs, multi-stakeholder collaboration and integration is about learning how to cope with and take advantage from difference, diversity and divergence. Watershed partnerships are arenas in which different types of knowledges, diverse values and divergent sectoral perspectives, are confronted. In this context, inter-organizational leadership is essential to develop and sustain collaborative advantage among multiple public, private and civil society actors. According to the experience of the MWPs, however, embracing difference, diversity and divergence should go well beyond initial planning stages. Instead, pursuing compromise and agreement should also be at the forefront during the monitoring and evaluation stages. Negotiating indicators for monitoring and evaluation that can address water management both as a social process and a technical process is critical, as is making the distinction between partnership outputs and partnership outcomes.     

The biogenic content of process streams from mechanical–biological treatment plants producing solid recovered fuel. Do the manual sorting and selective dissolution determination methods correlate?

The carbon emissions trading market has created a need for standard methods for the determination of biogenic content (χ_B) in solid recovered fuels (SRF). We compare the manual sorting (MSM) and selective dissolution methods (SDM), as amended by recent research, for a range of process streams from a mechanical–biological treatment (MBT) plant. The two methods provide statistically different biogenic content values, as expressed on a dry mass basis, uncorrected for ash content. However, they correlate well (r² > 0.9) and the relative difference between them was <5% for χ_B between 21% ^w/w_d and 72% ^w/w_d (uncorrected for ash content). This range includes the average SRF biogenic content of ca. 68% ^w/w_d. Methodological improvements are discussed in light of recent studies. The repeatability of the SDM is characterised by relative standard deviations on triplicates of <2.5% for the studied population.     

Global environmental change: the contribution of social science research to policy in the UK

Research into global environmental change in the United Kingdom, has sought to influence public policy. It has also served to refashion the social sciences themselves, forcing them to consider sustainability as a dimension of all social and economic behaviour. This paper describes the way in which the principle of enhanced sustainability might become a point of reference in social science research. It discusses, some of the lessons that have been learned from the Global Environmental Change Programme and then considers the relationship between this work and research on the environment undertaken within the natural sciences.This paper was presented as a keynote delivery at the Global Forum '94 Conference Towards a sustainable Future: Promoting Sustainable Development, Manchester, UK.     

An Evaluation of Multiple Objective Decision Support Weighting Techniques in Natural Resource Management

Multiple objective decision support (MODS) is a structured framework for evaluating decision alternatives against multiple, and often conflicting, criteria. Its ability to handle complex trade-offs in a variety of quantitative and qualitative units gives it much potential in the field of natural resource management (NRM). A key component of MODS is the process used to obtain information from decision makers on the relative importance of evaluative criteria. Ranking algorithms then use this information to determine the relative value of each decision alternative. This paper explores how practising community based NRM decision makers respond to five generic methods for weighting the criteria. It presents a study in which 55 decision makers throughout five regions in Queensland, Australia, applied MODS to evaluate environmental projects seeking funding under the Australian Natural Heritage Trust. Weighting methods applied include fixed point scoring, rating, ordinal ranking, a graphical method and paired comparisons. Decision makers evaluated each weighting method in terms of ease of use and of how much it helped clarify the decision problem. Results show that decision makers felt uncomfortable applying fixed point scoring and generally preferred to express their preferences through ordinal ranking. This has implications for the types of ranking algorithms that can be applied to evaluate the decision alternatives.     

气候变化对波罗的海入海河流流量的影响

进入波罗的海的河流流量是在一个面积约160万km2的流域中各种不同气候状况下产生的.波罗的海流域气候的变化不仅影响入海淡水的总量,而且对这些水源的分配亦有影响.利用水文模拟,分析了未来气候变化对波罗的海入海径流的影响.使用了瑞典区域气候模拟计划(SWECLIM)中的4种不同的气候变化情景.根据这些不同的气候情景,全部入海河流总的平均年入海量的变化范围为当前入海量的-2%～+15%.波罗的海不同亚区的入海量的变化是大不相同的,其中最剧烈的年均变化范围是-30%～+40%.但是,所有评价的气候情景的共同点是总体趋势为来自波罗的海流域南部地区入海流量减少,北部地区入海量增加.