Improvement in HSPF's Low‐Flow Predictions by Implementation of a Power Law Groundwater Storage‐Discharge Relationship

We have enhanced the ability of a widely used watershed model, Hydrologic Simulation Program — FORTRAN (HSPF), to predict low flows by reconfiguring the algorithm that simulates groundwater discharge. During dry weather periods, flow in most streams consists primarily of base flow, that is, groundwater discharged from underlying aquifers. In this study, HSPF's groundwater storage‐discharge relationship is changed from a linear to a more general nonlinear relationship which takes the form of a power law. The nonlinear algorithm is capable of simulating streamflow recession curves that have been found in some studies to better match observed dry weather hydrographs. The altered version of HSPF is implemented in the Chesapeake Bay Program's Phase 5 Model, an HSPF‐based model that simulates nutrient and sediment loads to the Chesapeake Bay, and is tested in the upper Potomac River basin, a 29,950 km² drainage area that is part of the Bay watershed. The nonlinear relationship improved median Nash‐Sutcliffe efficiencies for log daily flows at the model's 45 calibration points. Mean absolute percent error on low‐flow days dropped in five major Potomac River tributaries by up to 12 percentage points, and in the Potomac River itself by four percentage points, where low‐flow days were defined as days when observed flows were in the lowest 5th percentile range. Percent bias on low‐flow days improved by eight percentage points in the Potomac River, from ?11 to ?3%.     

Spatial variability in characteristics and trace metal levels in sediments from watercourses

Assessing sediment quality requires sampling designs which address variability. Often however, only one sample or composited sample is collected at a sample site. Existing studies on sediment variability or sampling strategies primarily concern lake or marine sediments. Two rivers and one canal were sampled to assess sediment variability. Further, it was determined if sediment contamination in running water could be predicted by using visual criteria and/or knowledge of the presence of depositional and erosion areas. Metal concentrations and sediment characteristics were measured in different visually distinct areas of the river. At all sample sites the coefficient of variance was relatively high for most sediment characteristics (1.4‐ > 100%) and metal levels (15.3–63.6%). In one river the majority of sediment characteristics variation was between two sediment types and detected by visually distinct differences. Significant differences in cadmium and zinc concentrations were also detected. Contrary to what was expected, cadmium, and zinc levels were highest in the coarse fraction. No differences were found in the second river. In the canal a greater concentration of fine grained sediments and metals were found in the deep areas. It was not possible to predict sediment areas with the highest levels of metal contamination using visual criteria or knowledge of the erosion and sedimentation pattern of the river.     

环太湖主要河流氮素组成特征及来源

以2012年太湖20条主要环湖河流中氮素的逐月调查数据为依据,探讨了河水中氮素的含量、形态组成和季节性分布规律,旨在为进一步实施入湖河流小流域的污染治理提供依据. 结果表明,太湖20条环湖河流的ρ(TN)平均值为2.53~6.31 mg/L,鉴于太湖水体中ρ(TN)多年来居高难下,水质类别主要由ρ(TN)决定,因此按ρ(TN)年均值,将环湖20条河流分为重度、中度和轻度污染3类. DIN(溶解态无机氮)是氮素的主要存在形式,ρ(DIN)平均占ρ(TN)的72%以上. 其中,重度和中度污染河流中ρ(NH₃-N)和ρ(NO₃--N)各占ρ(DIN)的约50%,轻度污染河流则以NO₃--N为主,ρ(NO₃--N)占ρ(DIN)的60%以上. 除个别河流外,重度和中度污染河流水体中非汛期(11月—翌年4月)ρ(TN)、ρ(NH₃-N)和ρ(NO₃--N)普遍高于汛期(5—10月),并且汛期和非汛期差异显著. 这可能与非汛期的水温较低并且污水处理厂及湿地等生态系统的氮素去除率低于汛期有关,此外,也说明点源污染占主要地位;轻度污染河流中ρ(NH₃-N)在汛期和非汛期差异不显著,说明点源和非点源负荷相当. 重度和中度污染河流应重点针对点源污染开展治理;轻度污染河流应将点源、面源污染协同治理,以利于进一步改善水质.      

ADDRESSING TOTAL PHOSPHORUS IMPAIRMENTS WITH WATER QUALITY TRADING1

ABSTRACT: Water quality trading is a voluntary economic process that provides an opportunity for dischargers to reduce the costs associated with meeting a discharge limitation. Trading can provide a cost effective solution for point sources (i.e., wastewater treatment plants) to meet strict effluent limitations set in response to total maximum daily loads (TMDLs). A successful trading program often depends on first determining the trading suitability of a pollutant for a particular watershed. A simple technical approach has been developed to identify sub‐watersheds within the Raritan River Basin, New Jersey, where water quality trading could provide a cost effective and scientifically feasible method for addressing total phosphorus impairments. The methodology presented will serve as a model to conduct similar analyses in other watersheds. The Raritan River Basin was divided into 12 subwatershed‐based study areas. Point‐nonpoint source trading opportunities were examined for each study area by examining the point and nonpoint source total phosphorus loading to impaired water bodies. Of the 12 subwatersheds examined, four had a high potential for implementing a successful trading program. Since instream phosphorus concentrations are closely related to soil erosion, an additional analysis was performed to examine soil erodibility. Recommendations are presented for conducting an economic analysis following the feasibility study.     

北京河流大型底栖动物空间格局及其环境响应研究

大型底栖动物群落结构及多样性对于区域河流环境状况具有重要的指示意义。基于2014年5月—2015年8月间北京市河流大型底栖动物群落结构调查数据,分析底栖动物的生物多样性特征和空间格局。调查共发现大型底栖动物151种(或分类单元),隶属于5门9纲67科127属,水生昆虫占绝对优势。聚类分析表明76个采样点可被分为4组,组1主要包含北部山区的潮白河水系,具有较为典型的山溪型河流底栖动物特征,组2主要包含永定河山峡段和北运河水系的清河,组3主要包含大清河水系和北运河水系的温榆河、北沙河、南沙河等,二者具有城市河流兼有山溪型河流底栖动物的特征,组4主要包含北运河水系,具有典型的城市河流底栖动物特征。优势种分析表明:组1的优势种为热水四节蜉(Baetis thermicus)、秀丽白虾(Exopalaemon modestus)和网栖石蛾(Cheumatopsyche sp.),组2为直突摇蚊(Orthocladius sp.)、钩虾(Gammarus sp.)和长足摇蚊(Tanypus sp.),组3为摇蚊科幼虫(larvae of Chironomidae)和寡毛类(Oligochaeta),组4是以中华摇蚊(Chironomus sinicus)为代表的摇蚊幼虫。功能摄食类群研究表明:组1以收集者和滤食者占绝对优势,相对丰度分别为60%和29.6%;组2、组3、组4均以收集者占绝对优势,相对丰度分别为97.7%、90%、97.5%。物种数、Shannon-Wiener多样性指数、Pielou均匀度指数和Margalef丰富度指数的组间差异性显著(P0.05)。研究表明,北京河流大型底栖动物受河流自然环境变化的影响显著,形成了典型的山区-城市底栖动物空间格局,山区河流中保持了较高的生物多样性,城市河流及其过渡区的大型底栖动物退化明显,大型底栖动物能够明显指示环境状况的变化并可指导河流环境的保护与恢复。     

入洱海河流临湖段底泥氮的分布

于2013年7月在洱海流域采集了17条主要入洱海河流临湖段的底泥和上覆水样品,测定分析样品中TN、NH₃-N和NO₃--N的含量,揭示底泥中氮素的分布特征,并探讨底泥与上覆水中氮素含量的相关性. 结果表明:①17条入洱海河流临湖段底泥中w(TN)为23.10～310.60 mg/kg,平均值为141.66 mg/kg. ②对w(TN)有显著性差异的河流进行分组,并按照w(TN)由低到高排序为清碧溪、双鸳溪<白石溪<灵泉溪、龙溪、阳溪<桃溪、梅溪、隐仙溪、弥苴河<莫残溪、波罗江<永安江<锦溪<中和溪、罗时江、白鹤溪. 其中,各组之内河流间w(TN)无显著差异,而各组之间w(TN)差异显著(P=0.05). ③底泥中w(NH₃-N)、w(ON)与w(TN)呈极显著正相关,氮存在形态以ON为主. 其中,“北三江”临湖段底泥的厌/缺氧程度高,底泥中w(NO₃--N)占w(TN)的比例明显低于西部入洱海河流;上覆水中ρ(TN)与底泥中w(TN)、w(ON)呈极显著正相关.      

Hydrologic Landscape Characterization for the Pacific Northwest,USA

We update the Wigington et al. (2013) hydrologic landscape (HL) approach to make it more broadly applicable and apply the revised approach to the Pacific Northwest (PNW; i.e., Oregon, Washington, and Idaho). Specific changes incorporated are the use of assessment units based on National Hydrography Dataset Plus V2 catchments, a modified snowmelt model validated over a broader area, an aquifer permeability index that does not require preexisting aquifer permeability maps, and aquifer and soil permeability classes based on uniform criteria. Comparison of Oregon results for the revised and original approaches found fewer and larger assessment units, loss of summer seasonality, and changes in rankings and proportions of aquifer and soil permeability classes. Differences could be explained by three factors: an increased assessment unit size, a reduced number of permeability classes, and use of smaller cutoff values for the permeability classes. The distributions of the revised HLs in five groups of Oregon rivers were similar to the original HLs but less variable. The improvements reported here should allow the revised HL approach to be applied more often in situations requiring hydrologic classification and allow greater confidence in results. We also apply the map results to the development of hydrologic landscape regions.     

Integrating Seasonal Information on Nutrients and Benthic Algal Biomass into Stream Water Quality Monitoring

Benthic chlorophyll a (BChl a) and environmental factors that influence algal biomass were measured monthly from February through October in 22 streams from three agricultural regions of the United States. At‐site maximum BChl a ranged from 14 to 406 mg/m² and generally varied with dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN): 8 out of 9 sites with at‐site median DIN >0.5 mg/L had maximum BChl a >100 mg/m². BChl a accrued and persisted at levels within 50% of at‐site maximum for only one to three months. No dominant seasonal pattern for algal biomass accrual was observed in any region. A linear model with DIN, water surface gradient, and velocity accounted for most of the cross‐site variation in maximum chlorophyll a (adjusted R² = 0.7), but was no better than a single value of DIN = 0.5 mg/L for distinguishing between low and high‐biomass sites. Studies of nutrient enrichment require multiple samples to estimate algal biomass with sufficient precision given the magnitude of temporal variability of algal biomass. An effective strategy for regional stream assessment of nutrient enrichment could be based on a relation between maximum BChl a and DIN based on repeat sampling at sites selected to represent a gradient in nutrients and application of the relation to a larger number of sites with synoptic nutrient information.     

Identification of Putative Geographically Isolated Wetlands of the Conterminous United States

Geographically isolated wetlands (GIWs) are wetlands completely surrounded by uplands. While common throughout the United States (U.S.), there have heretofore been no nationally available, spatially explicit estimates of GIW extent, complicating efforts to understand the myriad biogeochemical, hydrological, and habitat functions of GIWs and hampering conservation and management efforts at local, state, and national scales. We used a 10‐m geospatial buffer as a proxy for hydrological or ecological connectivity of National Wetlands Inventory palustrine and lacustrine wetland systems to nationally mapped and available stream, river, and lake data. We identified over 8.3 million putative GIWs across the conterminous U.S., encompassing nearly 6.5 million hectares of wetland resources (average size 0.79 ± 4.81 ha, median size 0.19 ha). Putative GIWs thus represent approximately 16% of the freshwater wetlands of the conterminous U.S. The water regime for the majority of the putative GIWs was temporarily or seasonally flooded, suggesting a vulnerability to ditching or hydrologic abstraction, sedimentation, or alterations in precipitation patterns. Additional analytical applications of this readily available geospatially explicit mapping product (e.g., hydrological modeling, amphibian metapopulation, or landscape ecological analyses) will improve our understanding of the abundance and extent, effect, connectivity, and relative importance of GIWs to other aquatic systems of the conterminous U.S.     

宜兴城市内河污染物时空分布及解析

选取宜兴主城区18个典型内河采样点,对NO-3-N、NO-2-N、p H、CODMn、NH+4-N、TN、TP、SS、BOD5、DO、挥发酚、汞、铅及石油类14个主要水质指标进行为期1年的监测,频率为每月1次。采用综合污染指数法、聚类分析及因子分析法,系统解析了宜兴主城区内河水体污染物的时空分布特性。研究结果表明,综合污染指数随季节变化特征较为明显,总体污染程度表现为第三季度第二季度第四季度第一季度;聚类分析结果显示,河道的污染程度从空间上可分为2类(组);对城区内河监测点全年的因子分析提取3个特征因子,分析结果表明,内河河道以氮、磷污染为主导因素。