IMPROVEMENT OF LEACHATE PREDICTION THROUGH MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LAYERS1

ABSTRACT: Existing leachate prediction models over- or underestimate leachate generation by up to three orders of magnitude. Practical experiments show that channeled flow in waste leads to rapid discharge of large leachate volumes and heterogeneous moisture distributions. In order to more accurately predict leachate generation, leachate models must be improved. To predict moisture movement through waste, the one-domain water balance model HELP, and two-domain PREFLO, are tested. Experimental waste and leachate flow values are compared with model predictions. When calibrated with experimental parameters, the HELP model yields reasonable predictions of cumulative leachate flow and PREFLO provides estimates of breakthrough time. In the short term, field capacity has to be reduced to 0.12 and effective storage and hydraulic conductivity of the waste must be increased to 0.2 and 2.2 cm/s respectively. In the long term, a new modeling approach must be developed to adequately describe the moisture movement mechanisms.     

FLOW DURATION CURVES II: A REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS IN WATER RESOURCES PLANNING1

ABSTRACT: A streamflow duration curve illustrates the relationship between the frequency and magnitude of streamflow. Flow duration curves have a long history in the field of water-resource engineering and have been used to solve problems in water-quality management, hydropower, instream flow methodologies, water-use planning, flood control, and river and reservoir sedimentation, and for scientific comparisons of streamflow characteristics across watersheds. This paper reviews traditional applications and provides extensions to some new applications, including water allocation, wasteload allocation, river and wetland inundation mapping, and the economic selection of a water-resource project.     

Economic and equity implications of land-use zoning in suburban agriculture

A cash-flow viability model is used to evaluate the impacts of land-use zoning on farm households in New Jersey. Findings suggest that zoning results in increased production expenses, lower efficiency and profitability, and the devaluation of land assets. Cash flow and economic viability are, thus, reduced. Impacts of zoning on farm incomes, off-farm incomes, revenues from land sales, indebtedness, and farm sizes were not statistically significant. The results suggest that the use of land-use zoning statutes to guarantee the existence of agriculture may not be equitable unless transferable development rights or other methods of compensating farmers for their losses are simultaneously implemented.     

Identification of critical areas on forest lands for control of nonpoint sources of pollution

Most nonpoint source pollution problems on forest lands can be controlled by careful planning and management of specific critical areas. Critical areas include sites with high mass and surface erosion hazards, overland flow areas, and the riparian zone. Some guides for identifying critical areas are presented along with examples of land-use constraints that might be applied.     

KALMAN FILTER ESTIMATION AND PREDICTION OF DAILY STREAM FLOWS: I. REVIEW,ALGORITHM, AND SIMULATION EXPERIMENTS1

An important class of models, frequently used in hydrology for the forecasting of hydrologic variables one or more time periods ahead, or for the generation of synthetic data sequences, is the class of autoregressive(AR) models. As the AR models belong to the family of linear stochastic difference equations, they have both a deterministic and a stochastic component. The stochastic component is often assumed to have a Gaussian distribution. It is well known that hydrologic observations (e.g., stream flows) are heavily affected by noise. To account explicitly for the observation noise, the linear stochastic difference equation is expressed in state variable form and an observation model is introduced. The discrete Kalman filter algorithm can then be used to obtain estimates of the state variable vector. Typically, in hydrologic systems, model parameters, system noise statistics and measurement noise statistics are unknown, and have to be estimated. In this study an adaptive algorithm is discussed which estimates these quantities simultaneously with the state variables. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated by using simulated data.     

NONLINEAR SOLUTIONS OF THE BQUSSINESQ EQUATION AND COMPARISONS WITH FIELD OBSERVATIONS1

ABSTRACT: Two models based on variations of the one dimensional Boussinesq equation are presented. The models are formulated by treating each of the two nonlinearities appearing in the equation separately, and the resulting equations are solved by implicit finite difference techniques. The models have been used to predict drawdowns created from large scale pumping at an open coal mine pit dewatering project in Poland. The predictions were found to be in good agreement with data collected over a period of seven years.     

RESISTANCE TO FLOW OVER RIPRAP IN STEEP CHANNELS1

ABSTRACT: A series of flume tests were conducted to determine the flow resistance of angular shaped riprap in steep channels. Flow resistance was expressed in terms of the Darcy-Weisbach friction factor and the Manning's roughness coefficient. Prototype channels of 4 ft. (1.2 m) and 12 ft. (3.7 m) in width were constructed at slopes ranging from 0.01 to 0.20. The channel beds were comprised of angular riprap of median diameters of 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 inches (2.59, 5.59, 10.41, 12.95, and 15.75 cms). The Darcy-Weisbach and Manning's coefficients were determined for each test condition prior to bed failure. The resulting Darcy-Weisbach coefficients were related to the channel energy gradient and the bed relative submergence for highly turbulent flow. Also, Manning's roughness coefficients were related to the product of the median stone diameter and energy gradient. Because of the angular shape of the riprap and the wedging and/or packing of the bed materials, the resistance to flow was found to exceed the flow resistance values predicted by previous studies. Expressions were presented for estimating the resistance to flow for angular riprap in steep channels.     

The Influence of Synoptic-scale Air Flow and Local Circulation on the Dust Layer Height in the North of the Taklimakan Desert

The present study investigates the influences of synoptic-scale air flows and local wind circulations on the dust layer height (DLH) in the Taklimakan Desert, based on lidar observations performed in the north of the desert in March 2003. The DLH fluctuates approximately every three days between 2500 m (above sea level) and 5000 m, including diurnal variations. Meteorological analyses and numerical simulations show that the three-day fluctuation of DLH corresponds with variations in synoptic-scale air flows over the Taklimakan Desert, and the diurnal variations are linked to downdrafts and updrafts that are formed over the north of the desert as part of local circulations. When strong northerly winds prevail in the upper troposphere and a developed valley wind blows toward the Tienshan Mountains in the lower troposphere, the downdrafts strengthen in the middle troposphere over the north of the desert, lowering the DLH to about 2500 m. In contrast, the DLH rises to about 5000 m when the updrafts develop between strong southerly winds in the upper troposphere and a developed mountain wind blowing from the Tienshan Mountains. Simulations for the local circulation behavior without the presence of the Tienshan Mountains demonstrate that the valley and mountain winds on the southern slope of the Tienshan Mountains control the intensity of the downdrafts and updrafts, thereby influencing the DLH over the north of the Taklimakan Desert.     

Soils Characteristics of The Bassendean and Spearwood Sands of the Gnangara Mound (Western Australia) and their Controls On Recharge, Water Level Patterns and Solutes of The Superficial Aquifer

The flow pathways of water in the soils of the Gnangara Mound are highly irregular and depend upon the moisture content, the repellency and preferential wettability potential of the soils. The occurrence of preferential flow is more evident in dry soils. As the soil wets during the rainy season, the water repellence and differential wettability decreases, the fingering and the preferential flow paths disappear. Most of the agricultural sites in the Spearwood Sands which showed more irregular flow than the Bassendean Sands are under continuous irrigation during cultivation season. As the repellency problems are chemically treated, it is therefore expected that the flow will be more uniform all the year round. Landuse is mainly responsible for variation in recharge rates; however, the hydraulic properties control aquifer response and water level pattern to a greater degree. Water levels in the mid 1970s were in a semi steady state. Since that time, a combination of increasing water use by pine plantations, heavy pumping from private boreholes in market gardens and private homes and intensive pumping from the Gnangara Mound for the metropolitan water supply have caused water levels to continually decline in the Superficial aquifer. Nitrate and phosphate concentrations in the regional Superficial aquifer are generally very low. None of the tested pesticides (atrazine, diazinon, dimethoate, endosulfan, fenamiphos, iprodione, malathion and chlorpyrifos) were detected in the groundwater samples collected from the monitoring bores.     

Incomplete mixing in a small, urban stream

Conservative solute tracer experiments were conducted in Indian Creek, a small urban stream located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Estimated flow rates were between 46 Ls(-1) and 81 Ls(-1), average stream width was 5.5m and average stream depth was 0.2m. Given these dimensions, most researchers would think it reasonable to assume that the stream is completely mixed vertically and horizontally. However, we found that the stream was not vertically completely mixed in a 1.0m deep, 30 m long pool. The limited mixing was demonstrated by the vertical stratification of a tracer cloud which was completely mixed both laterally and vertically across the stream prior to entering the pool. We suggest that the cause of limited mixing is due to a balance between groundwater inflow and transverse dispersion at the cross-section. We show that the unsupported assumption of complete mixing may result in a wide range, and thus increased uncertainty, of the values of stream flow and longitudinal dispersion coefficient estimated from these data. We conclude that the assumption of complete mixing and one-dimensional modeling must be checked against actual field conditions, even in small streams.