Evaluating Sediment Stability at Sites with Historic Contamination

The stability of cohesive sediment deposits during a rare storm is a critical component in the evaluation of remedial options at a contaminated sediment site. Estimating scour depths during a rare storm, and the resulting contaminant concentrations in the surficial layer of the bed, is necessary for comparing the efficacy of various remedial alternatives. Evaluation of sediment stability is accomplished using sediment transport analyses that employ quantitative procedures. Qualitative analyses or conceptual models can be useful for developing and validating quantitative analysis tools; however, qualitative techniques alone generally are insufficient for conducting defensible remedial alternative evaluations. The level of analysis used for a specific site depends on data availability, required level of accuracy, and time and budget constraints. A tier 1 analysis involves the use of approximate equations to produce order-of-magnitude estimates of scour depths during a rare storm. The second tier of this analysis scheme employs the development and application of a sediment transport model to evaluate bed stability. State-of-the-science sediment transport models have been effectively used as management tools for evaluating remedial options at several contaminated sediment sites. It should not be presumed that rare storm events cause catastrophic impacts at the site under review. Two case studies demonstrate that a rare storm is not necessarily catastrophic; significant increases in surficial bed concentrations caused by reexposure of elevated concentrations buried at depth in the bed will not necessarily occur during a rare storm. However, it is important to note that sediment stability is site-specific.     

Grazing greatly reduces the temporal stability of soil cellulolytic fungal community in a steppe on the Tibetan Plateau

Excessive livestock grazing degrades grasslands ecosystem stability and sustainability by reducing soil organic matter and plant productivity. However, the effects of grazing on soil cellulolytic fungi, an important indicator of the degradation process for soil organic matter, remain less well understood. Using T-RFLP and sequencing methods, we investigated the effects of grazing on the temporal changes of cellulolytic fungal abundance and community structure in dry steppe soils during the growing months from May to September, on the Tibetan Plateau using T-RFLP and sequencing methods. The results demonstrated that the abundance of soil cellulolytic fungi under grazing treatment changed significantly from month to month, and was positively correlated with dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and soil temperature, but negatively correlated with soil pH. Contrastingly, cellulolytic fungal abundance did not change within the fencing treatment (ungrazed conditions). Cellulolytic fungal community structure changed significantly in the growing months in grazed soils, but did not change in fenced soils. Grazing played a key role in determining the community structure of soil cellulolytic fungi by explaining 8.1% of the variation, while pH and DOC explained 4.1% and 4.0%, respectively. Phylogenetically, the cellulolytic fungi were primarily affiliated with Ascomycota (69.65% in relative abundance) and Basidiomycota (30.35%). Therefore, grazing substantially reduced the stability of soil cellulolytic fungal abundance and community structure, as compared with the fencing treatment. Our finding provides a new insight into the responses of organic matter-decomposing microbes for grassland managements.     

Polymer hydrogels with enhanced stability and heterogeneous Fenton activity in organic pollutant removal

Polymer hydrogel-based materials have been shown to act as novel Fenton catalysts for water treatment, but the rational design of hydrogel-based catalysts with good stability has been a great challenge. To increase the stability and activity of polymer-based Fenton catalysts, uniform urchin-like α-Fe_2O_3 was grown in situ in a PVA carrier matrix here. PVA molecules promoted the growth of urchin-like α-Fe_2O_3, and then the PVA hydrogel acted as a barrier and carrier to reduce agglomeration. Through coordination by hydroxyl groups,PVA had good combination with Fe ions and α-Fe_2O_3. The formation of Fe–O–C bonds between iron oxides and polymers was reported for the first time, enhancing the material stability during catalysis. Under higher PVA concentrations, the resulting composite hydrogel could generate more ˙OH due to the increase in the number of active sites because of the hairy urchin-like structure. In tetracycline degradation through a heterogeneous Fenton reaction, the resulting material had good catalytic activity from pH 2 to pH 10 with low iron leaching, good reusability and remained at a level of nearly 90%after five consecutive cycles. Density functional theory calculations were used to further prove the mechanism of structural change of the iron oxides. The HOMO and LUMO energies of the iron oxides changed from 5.428 and 4.899 eV to 5.926 and 5.310 eV,indicating that the presence of PVA could influence the charge of the iron atom. The results provide new insights into the preparation of polymer hydrogel-based heterogeneous Fenton catalysts with enhanced stability for water treatment.     

Implications of a simple competition model for the stability of an intercropping system

It is a common view that intercropping systems of agricultural crops produce more stable yields than do systems in which the same crops are grown in monoculture. This paper discusses a modelling approach which has been used to support the notion that whether or not intercropping is more stable than monoculture depends on the mode of interaction among crops, i.e. whether two different crops suppress or enhance each other. It is shown here that this notion is not supported by the model used. We conclude that the relative merits of the two cropping systems depend on the proportion of land allocated to each crop rather than on the mode of interaction. The model suggests that if the optimum allocation of land is considered, both systems will be equally stable.     

Renewable biomass gel reinforced core-shell dry water material as novel fire extinguishing agent

This work explores the feasibility of using chitosan (CS)-sodium alginate (SA) crosslinking gel to reinforce dry water (DW) composites. The stability and fire extinguishing efficiency of the DW powder are investigated. Compared to ordinary DW material, water loss rate of the modified DW composite is decreased, and its pressure resistance and stability are significantly increased. Moreover, it possesses higher fire extinguishing efficiency than conventional dry powder. Fire extinguishing mechanism and gel formation mechanism are proposed. The improvement in stability has great significance for the storage and transportation of DW materials. These results demonstrate the ability to create a fully green and renewable crosslinking gel capable of endowing high stability to DW material. This work provides a novel solution to improve the stability of DW materials, which will have great application prospect in fire suppression of some flammable hazardous chemicals.     

Generation and stability of bentonite colloids at the bentonite/granite interface of a deep geological radioactive waste repository

The possible mechanisms of colloid generation at the near field/far field interface of a radioactive repository have been investigated by means of novel column experiments simulating the granite/bentonite boundary, both in dynamic and in quasi-static water flow conditions. It has been shown that solid particles and colloids can be detached from the bulk and mobilised by the water flow. The higher the flow rate, the higher the concentration of particles found in the water, according to an erosion process. However, the gel formation and the intrinsic tactoid structure of the clay play an important role in the submicron particle generation even in the compacted clay and in a confined system. In fact, once a bentonite gel is formed, in the regions where the clay is contacted with water, clay colloids can be formed even in quasi-static flow conditions. The potential relevance of these colloids in radionuclide transport has been studied by evaluating their stability in different chemical environments. The coagulation kinetics of natural bentonite colloids was experimentally studied as a function of the ionic strength and pH, by means of time-resolved light scattering techniques. It has been shown that these colloids are very stable in low saline (approximately 1 x 10(-3) M) and alkaline (pH > or = 8) waters.     

基于RS/GIS技术的南四湖流域典型市域生态敏感性评价——以济宁市为例

基于RS和GIS技术,利用多源数据,从土壤侵蚀、土壤盐渍化、景观以及采矿塌陷4个方面对研究区的生态敏感性进行了评价,研究了空间分布差异及规律。结果表明:土壤侵蚀敏感性以轻度和中度为主,由东北和西南向中心递减趋势;土壤盐渍化除西部平原区盐渍化高风险突出外,敏感性普遍较低,由西向东递减;景观稳定性主要表现为轻度敏感,由四周向中心递减;采矿塌陷敏感性指标由于受人类活动影响呈现极端分布,高敏感区主要分布在研究区中部地区;研究综合生态敏感性分布空间差异显著,以不敏感区为主,整体上呈由西向东递减的趋势。     

Experimental and numerical analysis of flow instabilities in rectangular shallow basins

Free surface flows in several shallow rectangular basins have been analyzed experimentally, numerically and theoretically. Different geometries, characterized by different widths and lengths, are considered as well as different hydraulic conditions. First, the results of a series of experimental tests are briefly depicted. They reveal that, under clearly identified hydraulic and geometrical conditions, the flow pattern is found to become non-symmetric, in spite of the symmetrical inflow conditions, outflow conditions and geometry of the basin. This non-symmetric motion results from the growth of small disturbances actually present in the experimental initial and boundary conditions. Second, numerical simulations are conducted based on a depth-averaged approach and a finite volume scheme. The simulation results reproduce the global pattern of the flow observed experimentally and succeed in predicting the stability or instability of a symmetric flow pattern for all tested configurations. Finally, an analytical study provides mathematical insights into the conditions under which the symmetric flow pattern becomes unstable and clarifies the governing physical processes.     

空心玻璃微珠对泡沫灭火剂发泡能力和热稳定性影响研究

本文研究了空心玻璃微珠添加量及泡沫液浓度对泡沫灭火剂发泡能力和稳定性的影响,对比了热辐射条件下空心玻璃微珠添加前后泡沫的热稳定性.结果表明,添加量低于40%时,空心玻璃微珠对泡沫灭火剂发泡能力影响不大,而泡沫的稳定性显著降低,添加量为50%时,虽泡沫发泡能力降低,但泡沫的稳定性却增强.泡沫的发泡能力随蛋白泡沫浓度升高而增强.蛋白浓度为10%,空心微珠添加量为50%时,由于泡沫内部形成了稳定的三相泡沫骨架结构,泡沫热稳定性较未添加微珠之前显著增强.