Reflections on the use of Bayesian belief networks for adaptive management

A broad range of tools are available for integrated water resource management (IWRM). In the EU research project NeWater, a hypothesis exists that IWRM cannot be realised unless current management regimes undergo a transition toward adaptive management (AM). This includes a structured process of learning, dealing with complexity, uncertainty etc. We assume that it is no longer enough for managers and tool researchers to understand the complexity and uncertainty of the outer natural system-the environment. It is just as important, to understand what goes on in the complex and uncertain participatory processes between the water managers, different stakeholders, authorities and researchers when a specific tool and process is used for environmental management. The paper revisits a case study carried out 2001-2004 where the tool Bayesian networks (BNs) was tested for groundwater management with full stakeholder involvement. With the participation of two researchers (the authors) and two water managers previously involved in the case study, a qualitative interview was prepared and carried out in June 2006. The aim of this ex-post evaluation was to capture and explore the water managers' experience with Bayesian belief networks when used for integrated and adaptive water management and provide a narrative approach for tool enhancement.     

The sorption of heavy metal species by sediments in soakaways receiving urban road runoff

Infiltration facilities are designed for both the retention of non-point pollutants and the replenishment of groundwater in urban areas. In this study, sorption tests were conducted to evaluate the speciation of heavy metals and their behaviour in infiltration facilities receiving urban road runoff containing high DOC concentrations and stable heavy metal organic complexes. Road dust and three soakaway sediments were collected from heavy traffic areas and a residential area with an infiltration-type sewerage system in Tokyo, Japan. Sequential multiple batch tests were conducted by adding prepared road dust leachate (artificial road runoff) or deionised water to soakaway sediment to obtain soakaway sediment leachate (artificial percolating water from soakaway sediment), which mimicked the sorption by sediments in soakaways receiving urban road runoff. Heavy metal speciation was assessed by means of a combination of anion-exchange resin measurements and MINTEQA2 model calculations, and further validated by chelating resin measurements. In road dust leachates and soakaway sediment leachates, Cu predominantly existed as organic complexes and carbonates, whereas most Mn, Zn and Cd were found to exist in the form of free ions and carbonate complexes. Stable organic complexes of Cu in road dust leachates were strongly adsorbed by soakaway sediments despite the limited adsorption of DOC. On the other hand, desorption of free Mn, Zn and Cd ions from the sediment receiving road dust leachates was observed, indicating that heavy metals such as Mn, Zn and Cd may ultimately reach groundwater as free ions.     

Determination of the origin of groundwater nitrate at an air weapons range using the dual isotope approach

Nitrate is one of the most common contaminants in shallow groundwater, and many sources may contribute to the nitrate load within an aquifer. Groundwater nitrate plumes have been detected at several ammunition production sites. However, the presence of multiple potential sources and the lack of existing isotopic data concerning explosive degradation-induced nitrate constitute a limitation when it comes to linking both types of contaminants. On military training ranges, high nitrate concentrations in groundwater were reported for the first time as part of the hydrogeological characterization of the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range (CLAWR), Alberta, Canada. Explosives degradation is thought to be the main source of nitrate contamination at CLAWR, as no other major source is present. Isotopic analyses of N and O in nitrate were performed on groundwater samples from the unconfined and confined aquifers; the dual isotopic analysis approach was used in order to increase the chances of identifying the source of nitrate. The isotopic ratios for the groundwater samples with low nitrate concentration suggested a natural origin with a strong contribution of anthropogenic atmospheric NOx. For the samples with nitrate concentration above the expected background level the isotopic ratios did not correspond to any source documented in the literature. Dissolved RDX samples were degraded in the laboratory and results showed that all reproduced degradation processes released nitrate with a strong fractionation. Laboratory isotopic values for RDX-derived NO(3)(-) produced a trend of high delta(18)O-low delta(15)N to low delta(18)O-high delta(15)N, and groundwater samples with nitrate concentrations above the expected background level appeared along this trend. Our results thus point toward a characteristic field of isotopic ratios for nitrate being derived from the degradation of RDX.     

Risk assessment and prioritisation of contaminated sites on the catchment scale

Contaminated sites pose a significant threat to groundwater resources worldwide. Due to limited available resources a risk-based prioritisation of the remediation efforts is essential. Existing risk assessment tools are unsuitable for this purpose, because they consider each contaminated site separately and on a local scale, which makes it difficult to compare the impact from different sites. Hence a modelling tool for risk assessment of contaminated sites on the catchment scale has been developed. The CatchRisk screening tool evaluates the risk associated with each site in terms of its ability to contaminate abstracted groundwater in the catchment. The tool considers both the local scale and the catchment scale. At the local scale, a flexible, site specific leaching model that can be adjusted to the actual data availability is used to estimate the mass flux over time from identified sites. At the catchment scale, a transport model that utilises the source flux and a groundwater model covering the catchment is used to estimate the transient impact on the supply well. The CatchRisk model was tested on a groundwater catchment for a waterworks north of Copenhagen, Denmark. Even though data scarcity limited the application of the model, the sites that most likely caused the observed contamination at the waterworks were identified. The method was found to be valuable as a basis for prioritising point sources according to their impact on groundwater quality. The tool can also be used as a framework for testing hypotheses on the origin of contamination in the catchment and for identification of unknown contaminant sources.     

内抽外压式集尘器实验、数值模拟与分析

根据内抽外压式集烟尘器专利研制了一个内抽外压式集尘器,并在井下进行实验。经过3种方法测试均收到预期的的效果,司机工作区达到了国家卫生要求,由于采用外筒压风,防止了瓦斯积聚避免瓦斯爆炸。应用离散颗粒模型模拟了内抽外压式集尘器内气相流场和粉尘颗粒的运动,该集尘器不仅把矿井巷道中细微可呼吸粉尘吸收到除尘器中,又能防止了瓦斯积聚。数值模拟与实验结果的一致性表明:把内抽外压式集尘器放置在掘进机前方,由于粉尘在气流的携带下运动使掘进机司机在矿井巷道中的工作环境得到改善,减少矿工患尘肺病的概率,开发了井下集尘的新工艺、新设备。     

出口角度对防烟空气幕防烟效果影响的数值模拟

利用火灾动力学模拟软件FDS,以四川消防研究所高层实验塔二层为原型,模拟在不同防烟空气幕出口角度情况下高层建筑前室烟气运动情况,获得在其他条件不变情况下,空气幕运行时的最佳出口角度。试验结果表明:空气幕角度为5°及20°时,模拟试验后期烟气基本突破了空气幕蔓延至前室内,而当出口角度为10°和15°时防烟效果较好,且15°时防烟效果优于10°,故推荐空气幕运行时的最佳出口角度为15°。     

Management of basiphilous dune slack communities in relation to carbonate accumulation and hydrological conditions

In dune slacks in The Netherlands, a decline of rare mesotrophic basiphilous plant species and their plant communities has been observed in combination with an increase of more productive systems with common, taller acidophilous plant species. This has been attributed to both natural and anthropogenic changes. In a humid climate with a precipitation surplus, as in The Netherlands, the calcium carbonate content of a calcareous soil increases with depth. However, soils in coastal dune slacks, may have a higher carbonate content in the topsoil horizon than in the underlying layers. Carbonates which buffer the pH can prolong the presence of mesotrophic basiphilous plant communities which are of high conservation value. To explain the occurrence of calcareous surface horizons in dune slacks, hydrological and micromorphological analyses were carried out in three dune slacks. Two slacks are situated on the Wadden Sea islands in the northern part of The Netherlands; one on Schiermonnikoog and one on Texel. The third slack is situated in the dunes on the island of Goeree in the southwestern part of The Netherlands. In all three slacks, carbonate occurs as mollusc and gastropod fragments (silt- or sand-sized) and as micritic nodules in the topsoil layer, due to aeolian deposition and sedimentation by water.In situ carbonate accumulation (calcitans and calcareous crusts) due to CO₂ release in inundated and/or capillary rise of calcareous groundwater near, or at the soil surface. Accumulation of carbonate also occurs as a result of biological activity by algae in the topsoil of the Goeree site. In general, hydrological processes maintaining high levels of calcareous groundwater are a prerequisite for the maintenance of high carbonate levels in topsoils. Such levels are necessary for the conservation and management of basiphilous pioneer vegetation.     

北京市地下水污染源荷载影响评价

在阐述地下水污染源荷载影响基本概念的基础上,介绍了污染源荷载影响评价的3大要素:污染荷载等级、含水层敏感性及地下水价值,说明了评价体系、指标和方法及过程。根据主要污染源荷载分析,结合地下水环境现状,对北京市进行了分区,提出污染源管理措施。     

Heavy metal contamination from mining sites in South Morocco: Monitoring metal content and toxicity of soil runoff and groundwater

The aim of the present work is the assessment of metal toxicity in runoff, in their contaminated soils and in the groundwater sampled from two mining areas in the region of Marrakech using a microbial bioassay MetPLATE™. This bioassay is based on the specific inhibition of the β-galactosidase enzyme of a mutant strain of Escherichia coli, by the metallic pollutants. The stream waters from all sampling stations in the two mines were all very toxic and displayed percent enzyme inhibition exceeding 87% except SWA₄ and SWB₁ stations in mine C. Their high concentrations of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) confirm the acute toxicity shown by MetPLATE. The pH of stream waters from mine B and C varied between 2.1 and 6.2 and was probably responsible for metal mobilization, suggesting a problem of acid mine drainage in these mining areas. The bioassay MetPLATE™ was also applied to mine tailings and to soils contaminated by the acidic waters. The results show that the high toxicity of these soils and tailings was mainly due to the relatively concentration of soluble Zn and Cu. The use of MetPLATE™ in groundwater toxicity testing shows that, most of the samples exhibited low metal toxicity (2.7–45.5% inhibition) except GW3 of the mine B (95.3% inhibition during the wet season and 82.9% inhibition during the dry season). This high toxicity is attributed to the higher than usual concentrations of Cu (189 μg Cu l⁻¹) and Zn (1505 μg Zn l⁻¹). These results show the potential risk of the contamination of different ecosystems situated to the vicinity of these two metalliferous sites. The general trend observed was an increase in metal toxicity measured by the MetPLATE with increasing total and mobile metal concentrations in the studied matrices. Therefore, the MetPLATE bioassay is a reliable and fast bioassay to estimate the metals toxicity in the aquatic and solids samples.     

徐州市生活垃圾填埋场地下水典型金属污染物研究

在对徐州地区生活垃圾填埋场调查分析的基础上,根据填埋特征和地质状况选取4座典型填埋场为调查对象,采用ICP-MS对垃圾渗滤液及地下水中26种重金属进行监测分析。结果表明,在4个垃圾填埋场地下水及渗滤液中ρ(Sr)均相对较高(700μg/L);地下水中金属元素均正在以Ca,Mg为主向Na,Mg为主转化;地下水中Al,B质量浓度大小顺序为Y场(雁群)S场(睢宁)C场(翠屏山)P场(邳州);4个垃圾填埋场共同典型重金属污染物为Mn,Fe,Zn,Ba;除上述污染物外,Y场地下水潜在典型重金属污染物为Pb和Mo;S场为Mo和As;C场为Tl和Co;P场为As。