Monitoring Air Quality in Mountains: Designing an Effective Network

A quantitatively robust yet parsimonious air-quality monitoring network in mountainous regions requires special attention to relevant spatial and temporal scales of measurement and inference. The design of monitoring networks should focus on the objectives required by public agencies, namely: 1) determine if some threshold has been exceeded (e.g., for regulatory purposes), and 2) identify spatial patterns and temporal trends (e.g., to protect natural resources). A short-term, multi-scale assessment to quantify spatial variability in air quality is a valuable asset in designing a network, in conjunction with an evaluation of existing data and simulation-model output. A recent assessment in Washington state (USA) quantified spatial variability in tropospheric ozone distribution ranging from a single watershed to the western third of the state. Spatial and temporal coherence in ozone exposure modified by predictable elevational relationships ( 1.3 ppbv ozone per 100 m elevation gain) extends from urban areas to the crest of the Cascade Range. This suggests that a sparse network of permanent analyzers is sufficient at all spatial scales, with the option of periodic intensive measurements to validate network design. It is imperative that agencies cooperate in the design of monitoring networks in mountainous regions to optimize data collection and financial efficiencies.     

Cumulative impact assessment in environmental planning: A coastal wetland watershed example

Several theoretical, analytical, and institutional difficulties have impeded the development and application of the assessment of cumulative environmental impacts. Watershed development on coastal wetlands offers an ideal context for evaluating the land disturbance target approach to cumulative impact assessment. A model land use planning system involving a time series approach was developed for Elkhorn Slough in California. The approach included four major components: evaluation of erosion susceptibility, measurement of land disturbance, establishment of a land disturbance target, and a comparison of existing and target land disturbance values. Further research is needed to test the transferability of the approach in a wide range of coastal watersheds and to verify the applicability of the methods to other cumulative impact problems.     

科技论文的写作

本文介绍了科技论文的写作步骤和基本格式,指出科技论文写作中应注意的事项。     

Desert Water Harvesting to Benefit Wildlife: A Simple, Cheap, And Durable Sub-Surface Water Harvester for Remote Locations

A sub-surface desert water harvester was constructed in the sagebrush steppe habitat of south-central Idaho, U.S.A. The desert water harvester utilizes a buried micro-catchment and three buried storage tanks to augment water for wildlife during the dry season. In this region, mean annual precipitation (MAP) ranges between about 150–250 mm (6″–10″), 70% of which falls during the cold season, November to May. Mid-summer through early autumn, June through October, is the dry portion of the year. During this period, the sub-surface water harvester provides supplemental water for wildlife for 30–90 days, depending upon the precipitation that year. The desert water harvester is constructed with commonly available, “over the counter” materials. The micro-catchment is made of a square-shaped, 20 mL. “PERMALON” polyethylene pond liner (approximately 22.9 m × 22.9 m = 523 m²) buried at a depth of about 60 cm. A PVC pipe connects the harvester with two storage tanks and a drinking trough. The total capacity of the water harvester is about 4777 L (1262 U.S. gallons) which includes three underground storage tanks, a trough and pipes. The drinking trough is refined with an access ramp for birds and small animals. The technology is simple, cheap, and durable and can be adapted to other uses, e.g. drip irrigation, short-term water for small livestock, poultry farming etc. The desert water harvester can be used to concentrate and collect water from precipitation and run-off in semi-arid and arid regions. Water harvested in such a relatively small area will not impact the ground water table but it should help to grow small areas of crops or vegetables to aid villagers in self-sufficiency.     

新疆河流洪水水污染分析

洪水期间的水污染主要来源于面源。其特点是污染物的浓度高、负荷量大。给工业、渔业和人民生活都会带来不同程度的危害。悬浮物是洪水过程中的主要面污染产物，同时还作为载体吸附和携带大量的有机物、无机盐、重金属类和微生物进入水体，致使河流水质下降。在研究洪水灾害的同时。不应忽略洪水期间的水污染问题。     

How and why is Aquatic Quality Changing at Nahanni National Park Reserve, nwt, Canada?

Nahanni National Park Reserve is located at southwestern NWT-Yukon border. One of the first UNESCO World Heritage sites, Nahanni lies within Taiga Cordillera and Taiga Shield Ecozones. Base and precious metal mining occurred upstream of Nahanni prior to park establishment. Nahanni waters, sediments, fish, and caribou have naturally elevated metals levels. Baseline water, sediment and fish tissue quality data were collected and analyzed throughout Nahanni during 1988–91 and 1992–97. These two programs characterized how aquatic quality variables are naturally varying in space and time, affected by geology, stream flow, seasonality, and extreme meteorological and geological events. Possible anthropogenic causes of aquatic quality change were examined. Measured values were compared to existing Guidelines and site-specific objectives were established.     

Water Quality Evaluation and Trend Analysis in Selected Watersheds of the Atlantic Region of Canada

Water quality indices (WQIs) have been developed to assess the suitability of water for a variety of uses. These indices reflect the status of water quality in lakes, streams, rivers, and reservoirs. The concept of WQIs is based on a comparison of the concentration of contaminants with the respective environmental standards. The number, frequency, and magnitude by which the environmental standards for specific variables are not met in a given time period are reflected in WQIs. Further, the water quality trend analysis predicts the behavior of the water quality parameters and overall water quality in the time domain. In this paper, the concept of WQI was applied to three selected watersheds of Atlantic region: the Mersey River, the Point Wolfe River, and the Dunk River sites. To have robust study, two different water quality indices are used: Canadian Water Quality Index (CWQI), and British Columbia Water Quality Index (BWQI). The complete study was conducted in two steps. The first step was to organize and process the data into a format compatible with WQI analysis. After processing the input data, the WQI was calculated. The second step outlined in the paper discusses detailed trend analysis using linear and quadratic models for all the three sites. As per the 25 years trend analysis, overall water quality for agriculture use observed an improving trend at all the three sites studied. Water quality for raw water used for drinking (prior to treatment) and aquatic uses has shown improving trend at Point Wolfe River. It is further observed that pH, SO₄, and NO₃ concentrations are improving at Dunk River, Mersey River, and Point Wolfe River sites. To ascertain the reliability and significance of the trend analysis, a detailed error analysis and parametric significance tests were also conducted It was observed that for most of the sites and water uses quadratic trend models were a better fit than the linear models.     

Trihalomethanes in Drinking Water of Greater Québec Region (Canada): Occurrence, Variations and Modelling

The levels of trihalomethanes (THMs) – the main species of by-product from water chlorination – were monitored in thedistribution systems of the five major drinking water utilitiesof the greater area of Québec City in order to investigate andmodel their occurrence on a spatial and seasonal basis. Data forTHMs and other water quality and operational parametersassociated with their formation were generated through a 16 monthsampling program involving several sites representing variablewater residence times, from the plant to the system extremity.The results demonstrate that the differences in measured THMlevels between the five utilities are mainly due to the variablequality of raw waters, the type of water treatment process beingused and the type and levels of applied disinfectant. Dependingon the utility, average THM levels were from 1.3 to 2.5 timeshigher in the system extremities than in the water leaving thetreatment plant. Also, average levels of THMs measured in summerat the distribution system extremities were, depending on theutility, from 2.5 to 5 times higher than the average levelsmeasured in winter. The seasonal differences were found to besignificantly greater than those observed by others in waterutilities in the United States and Europe and are explained inlarge part by the considerable changes, over the year, in thequality and temperature of surface waters in Southern Québec. Forthe five utilities under study, multivariate regression modelswere developed in order to predict spatial and seasonalvariations of THMs. Both residual chlorine demand and temperaturewere found to be better, statistically, as predictors for THMoccurrence. The usefulness of the developed models for routineand long term water quality management, as well as for assessmentof human exposure to THMs, are also discussed.     

Trace Metal Concentration in Roadside Surface Soil and Tree Back: A Measurement of Local Atmospheric Pollution in Abuja, Nigeria

Cadmium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc concentrations were analysed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry in surface soil and tree bark from different districts of Abuja, Nigeria, in order to determine the atmospheric trace metal input in the area.Elevated concentrations of some of the studied metals were observed in the soil and tree bark samples from the commercial/high traffic areas of the city compared to backgroundvalues. In soil samples, the average concentration of the metals were 0.6±0.4, 18.0±4.0, 281±39, 16±4 and66±23 g g^-1 dry weight for Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn, respectively, whilst the average concentrations in tree bark were 0.3±0.2, 12±4, 133±32, 13±3 and 61±10 g g^-1 dry weight for Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn, respectively. The trend in trace metal levels suggested that automobile emissions are a major source of these metals as the highest concentrations of Pb and Zn were recorded in the commercial areas of the city known for their high traffic densities. The levels of metal in the study area were relativelylow compared to levels found in some larger and older cities in various countries worldwide.     

Sharing the geo-Referenced Results of Climate Change Impact Research

The Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative (PARC) has implemented an Internet Map Server (IMS) at the PARC web site (www.parc.ca) to 1) disseminate the geo-referenced results of PARC sponsored research on climate change impacts and adaptation, and 2) address data, information and knowledge management within the PARC network of researchers and partners. PARC facilitates interdisciplinary research on adaptation to the impacts of climate change in the Canadian Prairie Provinces. The web site is intended as a platform for sharing information and encouraging discussion of climate change impacts and adaptation. The IMS enables scientists and stakeholders to apply simple climate change scenarios to geo-referenced biophysical and social data, and dynamically create maps that display the geographic distribution of potential impacts of climate change. With a limited capacity for spatial analysis, most geo-processing and the climate impact modeling is done offline within a GIS environment. The IMS will serve the output from climate impact models, such that the model results can be customized by the web site user and be most readily applied to the planning and analysis of adaptation strategies.