Specific Conductance and pH as Indicators of Watershed Disturbance in Streams of the New Jersey Pinelands, USA

/ We used linear regression to independently and jointly relate specific conductance and pH measured at New Jersey Pinelands stream sites to the percentage of altered land in a watershed. Percentage altered land included developed and agricultural land uses and represented watershed disturbance for a given site. Median values calculated for a 2-year period (September 1992 through August 1994) characterized pH and specific conductance at the study sites. We found the relationships between the median values for both water-quality measures and percentage altered land for a site to be consistent across subregion and dominant altered-land use. Our results also demonstrated that the water-quality/altered-land relationships developed using median values were similar to relationships developed using data from any single-sample period within the entire study period. Individually, pH and specific conductance explained 48% and 56%, respectively, of the variability in watershed disturbance among study sites. The joint use of pH and specific conductance explained 79% of the watershed disturbance variability among sites. The joint use of these easily obtained water-quality measures can provide a quick assessment of instream water-quality impacts from upstream watershed disturbance at any Pinelands stream site. Additionally, a range in pH and specific conductance, and hence a range in ambient water quality, can be predicted for a given altered-land percentage or a change in existing altered-land conditions.     

山东省的干旱化特征分析

利用山东省近50多年的农业旱灾灾情资料和降水资料，分析了干旱灾情和致灾因子的变化特征。结果指出：20世纪70年代后期以来，6—9月份西太平洋副高脊线位置偏南，山东省的汛期降水量有明显的减少趋势，导致干旱灾害的受灾面积明显增大。进入90年代以后，与1961—1976年相比，干燥度指数普遍增大，半岛东部及黄河以北地区干燥程度增大得最为明显，半岛东部、鲁东南及鲁南的大部分地区由湿润区演变成了半湿润区，而黄河以北绝大部分地区及鲁中北部、半岛西北部的局部地区则由半湿润区演变成了半干旱地区。造成干燥度变化的主要原因是降水量的变化，其次是积温的变化。     

环境物探技术在岩溶勘察中的应用及其效果

将高密度电阻率法及工程地震映像法两种环境物探技术同时应用于实际的地质灾害(岩溶)勘察中,结果表明:对于岩溶这样的地质灾害,单一环境物探技术虽然能清楚反映其埋深、规模和发育情况,但各有缺陷。而多种环境物探技术的综合使用,相互补充,将能大大提高岩溶勘察的准确性,提高勘察效果和效率。     

基于WSR的国有高新技术企业安全分析模型

针对我国国有高新技术企业在发展中面临的困难,指出对其安全问题研究,是一项复杂的系统工程。基于系统分析的WSR(物理-事理-人理)理论和方法,对影响高新技术企业的安全因素进行较为全面的分析,构建了国有高新技术企业安全因素WSR分析模型,为高新技术企业安全运营问题的系统研究提出了新的思路。     

高压变频技术在70 t电弧炉除尘系统中的应用

提出运用高压变频技术实现电弧炉除尘风机变频调速的工艺.在70 t ABB电弧炉烟气治理运用中,以温度为调速系统主要控制参数,设计工频和变频两套系统,实现除尘风机的转速按工艺要求调节,其功率因数从0.83提高到0.97,除尘系统节电60%,冶炼工况同时也得到改善.表明该工艺具有广阔的应用前景.     

AN ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVE LAND DEVELOPMENT AROUND LAKES1

ABSTRACT: The objective of the study was to evaluate alternative land developments around New Hampshire lakes. Alternative development patterns, evaluated by their impacts on the lake area environment and area economy, included residential patterns, commercial patterns, and combinations of these two types. Phosphorus loading of the lake water was used as a proxy variable for changes in the lake water quality. Commercial developments yielded the highest revenues to the town and the local area. It also attracted the most lake users to the area as well as contributing the largest phosphorus loading in the lake waters. Residential developments, although contributing high revenues to the businessmen in the area, yielded less net income to the town. Phosphorus loading levels from residential developments were much lower than lake phosphorus loading by commercial developments.     

PLANNING LEVEL ESTIMATES OF THE VALUE OF RESERVOIRS FOR WATER SUPPLY AND FLOW AUGMENTATION IN NEW HAMPSHIRE1

: In general, the choice among reservoirs for water supply or flow augmentation is a multiobjective problem. Choices are based in part on the yield available from water supply reservoirs or, in the case of flow augmentation reservoirs, on the increase in low flows at downstream locations. Detailed estimates of these effects may be too costly for basin planning purposes. Thus this paper presents methods for rapid estimation of those quantities for New Hampshire. For water supply reservoirs, a composite empirical relation between Y95 (the draft available 95 percent of the time) and storage ratio, S*, is developed from previous studies in the region. For flow augmentation reservoirs, empirical relations between S* and degree of regulation, R*, are applied to each upstream regulating reservoir. Values of regulation arc then summed and divided by the mean flow at the downstream reach of interest. This parameter, (ΓR)*, is then related to increase in flow available 95 percent of the time by an empirical relation.     

Examining the determinants of public environmental concern: Evidence from national public surveys

Early research showed that citizens’ environmental concern in the United States was linked to three individual-level factors: socio-demographic variables, political orientations, and personal beliefs or worldviews about human-nature relations. Given many changes in the American society over the last several decades, one important, yet unanswered question is whether these factors still drive public environmental concern in the United States today, and if so, to what extent. This study, drawing from extant theoretical and empirical studies, aims to reinvestigate the determinants of citizens’ environmental concern by employing three national public surveys conducted in 2004, 2007, and 2013. Our data analyses confirm and expand the findings of previous research on the significance and importance of political ideology, fundamental beliefs about human-nature relations, and certain socioeconomic factors such as gender and race in explaining citizens’ environmental concern. More specifically, political liberals, people with higher New Ecological Paradigm values, females, and Non-Whites tend to be more concerned about environmental problems than their counterparts are. Our data analyses also reveal some interesting findings when compared to many previous studies: first, our data indicate a positive relationship between age and environmental concern, suggesting that older people in the United States are more concerned about the environment than younger adults; second, unlike most past research showing a positive Education-Environmental Concern relationship, our study suggests that education level seems to have little effect in explaining citizens’ environmental concern measured in this study. Key implications for environmental policymaking and recommendations for future research are discussed in the conclusion.     

Advancing urban ecosystem governance in New York City: Shifting towards a unified perspective for conservation management

New York City’s extensive municipal park system is home to forests, wetlands, and grasslands that provide important ecological and social benefits to the city’s population. While efforts and programs exist to restore and protect these spaces, management recommendations are complex due to variable conditions in urban natural areas. To advance the management of urban natural areas, the first comprehensive ecological assessment was conducted through a collaborative effort across 4000 ha of natural areas within New York City parkland. Field and spatial data were collected and analyzed to identify the extent of forests, the types of forests, and their conditions. This approach will help guide decision-making and prioritization of natural area management at the regional level by developing unique quantitative targets for urban forests. This project serves as an example of collaboration between private and public institutions advancing the governance of urban natural areas to achieve citywide conservation and policy goals.     

“马坝人”与“石峡文化”──纪念“马坝人”头骨化石发现40周年

本文以科普形式介绍在广东曲江马坝镇发现的“马坝人”古人类头骨化石和附近新石器时代“石峡文化”情况。并探讨二者承前启后关系。