Carbon partitioning among the first trophic levels in the North Western Adriatic Basin

In the frame of PRISMA II Project samples for plankton analyses were carried out during four cruises (June, 1996; February and June, 1997; February, 1998) in order to assess the relative importance in term of biomasses of the three main size fractions (pico- <2 r µm, nano- 2-20 r µm and micro-plankton >20 r µm). Spatial and temporal distribution of the three plankton fractions were described as abundance and contribution to the total carbon content in an area between Po River mouth and Rimini. The relative contribution of picoplankton resulted higher in the offshore zone, while that of nanoplankton in the inshore waters. In February 1998 microphytoplankton, mainly constituted by diatoms, was very abundant in the inshore waters. Micro-zooplankton was always very scarce. Cluster analyses performed on these data grouped the stations on the basis of their community structure, and agreed with the hydrological features. Small size classes contributed more significantly to the total plankton carbon content in most of the situations. Microplankton fraction contribution was relevant only during spring diatom bloom of February 1998 and with a less extent in the confined coastal summer blooms.     

Parameterization of Albedo over Heterogeneous Surfaces in Coupled Land-Atmosphere Schemes for Environmental Modeling. Part I: Theoretical Background

In grid-based environmental models, the underlying surface consists of patches of solid and liquid parts and different plant communities, creating a very heterogeneous picture in the grid cell. In these cases, numerical modelers usually use a simple arithmetic average to determine the grid-cell albedo, a key variable in the parameterization of the land-surface radiative transfer over the grid cell. The object of this paper is to consider the assumptions for aggregating the albedo over a very heterogeneous surface where various surfaces occur at different heights, and, then propose a method for deriving a general expression for it. The suggested expression for the albedo is compared with the conventional approach, for the two-patches grid-cell with a simple geometrical distribution and different heights of its components. A numerical test is performed to compare the two approaches by numerical simulation of the evolution of the surface temperature over the particular grid-cell. Specifically, a one-dimensional land-surface model was applied to an isolated rocky grid-cell with a hole in the center; the model was forced with meteorological observations taken on July 17, 1999 in Philadelphia, PA.     

Radioactivity in the Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is, like the Mediterranean, a marginal sea, which with the Black Sea, were marine environments contaminated from the Chernobyl accident.

Radiocaesium and plutonium isotopes were studied in water, sediment and macroalgae in the Baltic Sea since 1982. the inventory of ¹³⁷Cs in the Baltic increased from 0.65 PBq to 5.85 PBq following the Chernobyl accident. the corresponding increase for ^{239 + 240}Pu was less significant and yielded 1.5 TBq to a total value of 16.5 TBq.

For plutonium, 98% is trapped in the sediment and the net-exchange of this element through the Baltic straits is very small (1 GBq/year), while for radiocaesium, 45% is in the water phase and there is a net-loss of 60 000 GBq annually into the adjacent water (Kattegatt).     

Urban horticulture: its significance to environmental conservation

Urban horticulture, defined as plant production activities that are conducted in a city or suburb that produce horticultural plants that are wholly or partially edible, and which are economically viable, has the potential to reduce CO₂ emissions caused by the transportation of produce. Moreover, to increase productivity in limited areas and use limited resources effectively, closed or semi-closed systems (i.e., greenhouses) are considered more advantageous than open systems (i.e., fields) from which resources can easily escape into the surrounding environment. In this paper the significance of urban horticulture in reducing CO₂ emissions in the transportation process is discussed with reference to simple case studies. In the context of building or rebuilding greenhouses suitable for urban horticulture, the present situation regarding resource inputs and outputs in greenhouses is compared to that in open fields. The reduction of resource inputs and outputs in greenhouse production is also discussed.     

Fate of Co at a sludge land application site

Vertical distributions of ⁶⁰Co are determined in soil cores obtained from a 10-ha grassland, where anaerobically digested sludge was applied by surface spraying from 1986 to 1995 on the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Reservation. These results, along with historical application records, are used to estimate vertical-migration rates and perform a mass balance. The presence of ⁶⁰Co results solely from the sludge-application process. Soil, vegetation, and surface-water samples were collected. Eleven soil cores were sectioned into 3-cm increments and analyzed by gamma-ray spectrometry. No ⁶⁰Co was detected in the vegetation or water samples. The downward migration rate of ⁶⁰Co in the upper 15 cm of soil ranged from 0.50 to 0.73 cm/yr. About 98%, 0.020 ± 0.011 Bq/cm², of ⁶⁰Co remained in the upper 15 cm of soil, which compared favorably with the expected ⁶⁰Co activity based on historical records of 0.019 ± 0.010 Bq/cm².     

Microbial biomass yield and turnover in soil biodegradation tests: carbon substrate effects

Most of the standardized biodegradation tests used to assess the ultimate biodegradation of environmentally degradable polymers are based solely on the determination of net evolved carbon dioxide. However, under aerobic conditions, it has to be considered that heterotrophic microbial consortia metabolize carbon substrates both to carbon dioxide and in the production of new cell biomass. It is generally accepted that in the relatively short term, 50% of the carbon content of most organic substrates is converted to CO₂, with the remaining carbon being assimilated as biomass or incorporated into humus. The latter is particularly important when the metabolism of the organic matter occurs in a soil environment. A straightforward relationship between the free-energy content of a carbon substrate (expressed as the standard free-energy of combustion) and its propensity for conversion to new microbial biomass rather than mineralization to CO₂ has been established. This can potentially lead to underestimation of biodegradation levels of test compounds, especially when they consist of carbon in a fairly low formal oxidation state and relatively high free-energy content. In the present work, the metabolism of different kind of carbon substrates, especially in soil, is reviewed and compared with our own experimental results from respirometric tests. The results show that conversion of highly oxidized materials, such as the commonly used reference materials, cellulose or starch, to CO₂ may be significantly overestimated. The addition of glucosidic material to soil leads to greatly increased respiration and is accompanied by a very low conversion to biomass or humic substances. In contrast, relatively less oxidized substrates metabolize more slowly to give both CO₂ and biomass to an extent which may be significantly underestimated if glucosidic materials are used as the reference. The need for an overall carbon balance taking into account both the carbon immobilized as biomass and that volatized as CO₂ must be considered in standard respirometric procedures for assessing the biodegradability of slowly degrading macromolecules.     

厌氧序批式反应器预处理垃圾渗滤液的碳平衡研究

为初步了解垃圾渗滤液中有机物降解过程的物质和能量转化,对渗滤液实际处理工程提供借鉴,在最优工艺参数条件下,分别用处于中温(35±1)℃和常温状态的厌氧序批式反应器(ASBR)对垃圾渗滤液进行预处理。通过对反应器内的液相、气相和固相碳素进行全面的分析测定,结果表明:中温(常温)条件下,整个反应周期内约有86.4%(77.6%)的碳进入气相,约有1.7%(1.4%)的碳进入固相,其余约11.7%(22.3%)的碳仍存于液相中;其中,进入气相部分的碳有77.6%(71.3%)以甲烷形式存在,8.8%(4.7%)以二氧化碳形式存在,这说明ASBR预处理垃圾渗滤液过程中产生的甲烷资源化利用潜力较大。另外,反应器在中温状态下较常温状态处理效果更佳。     

自上而下的城市能源消耗碳排放估算方法

快速的城镇化进程带来城市碳排放的快速增长,准确的城市水平碳排放数据对于制定科学合理的碳减排政策极为关键,明确碳排放源的关键类别可以做到有的放矢和精准管控.但是目前中国碳排放数据的研究主要集中在国家、地区和省级层面,城市水平由于所需基础数据的不透明和不准确,长久以来缺乏完整的碳排放清单.为解决该问题,在以前相关研究的基础上,通过省级能源平衡表,尝试利用合理的分配指标从省级碳排放数据估算出下属城市的碳排放,构建了一套自上而下的城市能源消耗碳排放估算方法.通过与现有可获得的城市水平数据进行对比,发现估算差距均在10%以内,证明了该方法的可行性和准确性,并尝试在时间尺度进行了扩展.为获取在时间和空间上均连续的中国城市能源消耗碳排放数据提供了科学的方法和合理的思路,也能为各城市分配减排任务和城市间进行减排协商提供可靠的数据支撑.     

洛阳市大气细颗粒物化学组分特征及溯源分析

为研究洛阳市大气细颗粒物(PM2.5)的化学组分及来源的时空分布特征,对汾渭平原地区较为欠缺的PM2.5相关研究进行补充,在2018年4月至2019年1月在洛阳市高新和林校2个点位进行了样品采集,对P(PM2.5)、化学组分(水溶性离子、碳质组分、元素)和来源进行分析.2个点位的年均ρ(PM2.5)分别为(76.6±37.9)μg-m-3和(83.2±38.9)μg·m-3,季节变化由高到低均为:冬季、春季、秋季和夏季.高新和林校的9种水溶性离子浓度分别占PM2.5的 55.1％和54.2％,林校的二次离子(NO3-、SO42-和NH4+)年均浓度之和高于高新.高新和林校的ρ[有机碳(OC)]、P[元素碳(EC)]分别为(12.4±7.7)μg·m-3、(1.2±0.5)μg·m-3和(13.4±7.7)μg·m-3、(1.3±0.5)μg·m-3,林校的含碳组分在各季节均高于高新;高新和林校冬季的二次有机碳(SOC)在OC中质量分数分别为67.8％和77.3％,远高于其他季节.化学质量平衡结果表明,高新和林校的主要贡献源均为二次硝酸盐(26.9％和27.1％)、二次硫酸盐(14.5％和14.8％)、燃煤(12.6％和11.6％)、SOA(10.8％和12.2％),高新的生物质源贡献较高,而林校的扬尘源和机动车源贡献较高.后向轨迹和潜在源贡献因子分析表明,洛阳市春季不仅受到来自西北方向的传输,来自西南地区的污染传输也不能忽略;夏季既受到正东方向的季风影响,又有来自正南方向的潜在污染;秋季污染物主要来自东南方向,同时也存在西北方向的潜在来源;冬季受到的传输影响则主要来自周边区域,污染来源较为集中.     

Carbon Pool Dynamics in the Lower Fraser Basin from 1827 to 1990

/ To understand the total impact of humans on the carbon cycle, themodeling and quantifying of the transfer of carbon from terrestrial pools tothe atmosphere is becoming more critical. Using previously published data,this research sought to assess the change in carbon pools caused by humans inthe Lower Fraser Basin (LFB) in British Columbia, Canada, since 1827 anddefine the long-term, regional contribution of carbon to the atmosphere. Theresults indicate that there has been a transfer of 270 Mt of carbon frombiomass pools in the LFB to other pools, primarily the atmosphere. The majorlosses of biomass carbon have been from logged forests (42%), wetlands(14%), and soils (43%). Approximately 48% of the forestbiomass, almost 20% of the carbon of the LFB, lies within old-growthforest, which covers only 19% of the study area. Landfills are nowbecoming a major sink of carbon, containing 5% of the biomass carbonin the LFB, while biomass carbon in buildings, urban vegetation, mammals, andagriculture is negligible. Approximately 26% of logged forest biomasswould still be in a terrestrial biomass pool, leaving 238 Mt of carbon thathas been released to the atmosphere. On an area basis, this is 29 times theaverage global emissions of carbon, providing an indication of the pastcontributions of developed countries such as Canada to global warming andpossible contributions from further clearing of rainforest in both tropicaland temperate regions.KEY WORDS: Carbon pools; Global warming; Carbon release to atmosphere;Greenhouse effect