Oil Production, Agriculture, and Groundwater Quality in the Southeastern Gulf Coast Aquifer, Texas

Associations between groundwater quality and land usewere evaluated in the southeastern Gulf Coast Aquifer,Texas. Data from 19 234 oil/gas wells and 256 water wellswere mapped with a geographic information system (GIS) andstatistically analyzed. Water wells near oil/gas wells hadsignificantly higher levels of chloride, bromide, and totaldissolved solids (TDS). Bromide-chloride ratios were alsohigher at water wells near oil/gas wells. Shallower waterwells had significantly higher chloride, bromide, TDS, andnitrate concentrations. Nitrate concentrations were higherbeneath cropland compared to other land uses. Results ofthis study suggest that oil/gas production and agriculturehave impacted water quality in the Gulf Coast Aquifer.     

Effects of brine injection wells, dry holes, and plugged oil/gas wells on chloride, bromide, and barium concentrations in the Gulf Coast Aquifer, southeast Texas, USA

Data from 1,122 brine injection wells, 24,515 dry holes, 20,877 plugged oil/gas wells, and 256 water wells were mapped with a geographic information system (GIS) and statistically analyzed. There were 9, 107, and 58 water wells within 750 m of a brine injection well, dry hole, or plugged oil/gas well, respectively. Computed median concentrations were 157 mg/l for chloride, 0.8 mg/l for bromide, and 169 microg/l for barium. The maximum chloride concentration was 2,384 mg/l, close to 10 times the secondary drinking water standard. Shallow water wells and water wells near plugged oil/gas wells had significantly higher chloride and bromide levels.     

海峡西岸地区人为源大气污染物排放特征研究

采用以"自下而上"为主的方法建立了2007年海峡西岸地区的人为源大气污染物排放清单.计算结果显示,海西地区人为源SO2、NOx、CO、PM10、PM2.5、VOCs和NH3排放总量分别为69.5×104、96.1×104、413.1×104、93.9×104、40.6×104、85.0×104和28.5×104t.电厂和工业燃烧设施分别占SO2排放的48%和39%,以及NOx排放的51%和25%.水泥、砖瓦等制造过程贡献了约51%的PM10排放和36%的PM2.5排放.秸秆燃烧、加油站和涂料等VOCs面源分别占到其排放总量的27%、15%和4%.NH3的主要排放源为畜禽养殖和氮肥施用等农业部门,占到总排放量的89%.海西地区的单位面积大气污染物排放量仅相当于长三角地区的25%左右,略高于全国平均水平.该地区人为源和天然源VOCs排放比重分别占56%和44%,人为源VOCs排放比重低于全国大部分地区.海西大气污染高排放地区主要集中在沿海一带,以泉州、潮汕、福州和温州等地区为主,建议"十二五"发展过程中,重点关注上述高排放地区,限制重点排放源的发展,开发低耗能、低污染的发展模式.     

Translating Science into Coastal Development Decisions: The Articulations Science and Planning in South Australia

Climate change risks to the coast and coastal developments have been well-documented. In spite of these warnings, new coastal developments are still proposed and built. Australian research has demonstrated how State-level planning documents fail to incorporate recent sea-level rise projections, with researchers demanding more responsiveness to coastal science from planners, policy-makers and developers. This paper takes an alternative approach to the science, planning and coastal development nexus by developing a relational understanding of the barriers to the uptake of science into coastal development decisions. Drawing on qualitative interview material from two recent and non-routine South Australian cases where sea-level rise (SLR) science was contested, and inspiration from actor-network theory's concepts of obligatory passage points, translation, intermediaries and mediators, this research foregrounds the malleability of scientific knowledge and planning protocols. We find that skilful social actors negotiate and re-frame science and planning; clear scientific recommendations can be subsumed to planning process, while clear planning process creates internecine disputes between nomothetic and idiographic science. An implication of this analysis is that the broad narrative of a lack of scientific uptake into coastal development needs to be sensitized to how science and planning interact in practice to legitimate decisions.     

Assessing community vulnerability to floods and hurricanes along the Gulf Coast of the United States

Hurricanes and flooding have affected millions of people and generated massive economic losses over the past several decades. Geographic information system (GIS) methods are employed in this paper to analyse coastal communities' vulnerability to these two hazards along the Gulf Coast of the United States. Specifically, two types of quantitative indicators are developed: (i) exposure to hurricanes and flooding, based on information from multiple sources; and a social vulnerability index, constructed using census data. These indices are combined to depict the spatial patterns of overall community vulnerability to hurricanes and flooding along the US Gulf Coast. The results of this study can potentially inform disaster management agencies, county governments, and municipalities in areas at heightened risk. Furthermore, the demonstration of the geographic distribution of community vulnerability can assist decision-makers in prioritising to-do items and designing policies and plans for the more effective allocation of resources. The paper ends by discussing the study's limitations and its practical implications.