Is There a Metabolism of an Urban Ecosystem? An Ecological Critique

The energy and material flows of a city are often described as urban metabolism (UM), which is put forward as a way to link a city's ecology and economy. UM draws parallels to the biology of individual organisms, yet the analogy is misapplied. In striving to be interdisciplinary, UM makes this organismic comparison rather than identifying the city as an ecosystem, thereby ignoring developments in ecological theory. Using inappropriate rhetoric misdirects researchers, which influences scientific investigation-from problem statements to interpretations. UM is valuable in quantifying the city's use of natural resources but does not achieve a comprehensive, integrated analysis of the urban ecosystem. To realize an interdisciplinary, perhaps transdisciplinary, understanding of urban ecology, researchers need to emphasize the essential tenets of material flows analysis, view the city as an ecosystem, and use language that properly reflects current knowledge, theory, and conceptual frameworks in the foundational disciplines.     

Anthropogenic metal cycles in China

The flows and stocks of seven important industrial metals were characterized for mainland China for several years in the dynamically changing decade of 1994–2004. One-year snapshot cycles are provided for chromium, nickel, and silver. For copper, zinc, lead, and iron, multiple-year cycles have been completed; they demonstrate that the flows of these metals into use in China doubled between 2000 and 2004. Although the Chinese per capita flows from production to disposal are mostly shown to be below the global average rate, they are increasing or are expected to increase dramatically. The metal resource efficiency is evaluated for several indicators of material flow analysis; these metrics for China are also below the global average values. The research quantitatively illustrates that China’s metal cycles may pose significant resource and environmental challenges in terms of their magnitudes and potential for growth.     

尾矿库溃坝模型探讨

针对尾矿库日常工作中需要对其溃坝可能造成的危害及危害范围进行估计而又没有成熟的模型可用的情况,采用工程类比法,根据泥石流以及水库溃坝等方面的工程经验和数学模型,经过对其相似之处进行类比,并对原有模型进行适当调整,以期得出尾矿库溃坝所形成泥石流的数学模型,并求出其冲击范围和破坏能力,可以为尾矿库的应急管理工作和选址决策提供一个相对成熟和稳定的方法。     

A European model for waste and material flows

The use of materials and the generation of waste are linked to economic activities and in many projections these are assumed to be a constant ratio of the economic activities. This may be the case considering detailed economic activities and unchanged technology. However, the assumption of constant coefficients is questionable when linking material use and waste generation to aggregated economic activities. Therefore, in this paper, econometrics is used to test the assumption of constant waste coefficients empirically. The analyses show that an assumption of constant waste coefficients is not supported, generally, and a model allowing for trendwise changing coefficients is developed and used for projections of waste and material flows in 25 European countries.     

运用模拟方法解决步行街人车混流区问题

在分析城市步行街及其周边存在人车混行、人员密度高、通行效率低、潜在的危险大的基础上,笔者用计算机模拟方法研究了沈阳市中街步行街的一个人车混行的交叉路口,实际勘察了十字路口道路格局、车流、人流状况,测量、估计通过路口的人数、流量,根据获得的数据,对不设置交通信号灯、设置信号灯、建设过街天桥或地下通道等几种情况进行模拟,得到各种情况下的通行效率,并对不同的过街方案的优缺点进行比较。最终选择过街方案需要综合考虑影响安全和效率的多种因素,包括地域、人流量、路口宽度、周边交通等因素,用较小的经济投入取得最大的通行效率。文中的模拟采用EXODUS软件。     

ESTIMATING STREAMFLOW AND ASSOCIATED HYDRAULIC GEOMETRY,THE MID‐ATLANTIC REGION,USA1

ABSTRACT: Methods to estimate streamflow and channel hydraulic geometry were developed for unpaged streams in the Mid‐Atlantic Region. Observed mean annual streamflow and associated hydraulic geometry data from 75 gaging stations in the Appalachian Plateau, the Ridge and Valley, and the Piedmont Physiographic Provinces of the Mid‐Atlantic Region were used to develop a set of power functions that relate streamflow to drainage area and hydraulic geometry to streamflow. For all three physiographic provinces, drainage area explained 95 to 98 percent of the variance in mean annual streamflow. Relationships between mean annual streamflow and water surface width and mean flow depth had coefficients of determination that ranged from R²= 0.55 to R²= 0.91, but the coefficient of determination between mean flow velocity and mean annual streamflow was lower (R²= 0.44 to R²= 0.54). The advantages of using the regional regression models to estimate streamflow over a conceptual model or a water balance model are its ease of application and reduced input data needs. The prediction of the regression equations were tested with data collected as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP). In addition, equations to transfer streamflow from gaged to ungaged streams are presented.     

SIMULATION OF FRESHWATER DISCHARGES FROM UNGAGED AREAS TO THE SEBASTIAN RIVER,FLORIDA1

ABSTRACT: Due to alterations in the natural drainage system over the past several decades and intensified agricultural practices, freshwater discharges to the Sebastian River, Florida, have increased substantially. As a result, salinity patterns in the Sebastian River and adjacent Indian River lagoon have been disrupted and the influx of nutrients has increased. Recently, the St. Johns River Water Management District has developed a 3‐D hydrodynamic and salinity model for the Sebastian River and adjacent Indian River to study the effects of freshwater inflows, and to set guidelines for management of future freshwater discharges. Freshwater inflows to the Sebastian River are part of the input data of the hydrodynamic model. Except for the downstream drainage areas, inflows are gaged, and the data were used for calibration of the hydrologic simulations. Collectively, the downstream ungaged areas constitute about 16 percent of the total drainage area. Because of the significant contribution to the total drainage area, reliable estimates of freshwater discharges from the ungaged areas to the Sebastian River are needed. This case study illustrates the development of a set of model parameters, reflecting the hydrologic and physiographic characteristics of the entire region. In this context region applies to the watersheds located in the coastal area along the Indian River from Titusville in the north to Vero Beach in the south. The parameter set was first tested on a number of gaged drainage basins in the region, and was then applied to the ungaged areas.     

河流生态基流量整合计算模型

针对北方地区流域水域生态系统人工化明显和河流断流的现状,提出了河流生态基流量的概念,并分析了其内涵．河流生态基流量包括河道生态基流量、河口生态基流量和湿地生态基流量．河流生态基流量计算应考虑流域内不同水系、不同河段生态环境的差异性和时空变化规律．通过改进生态环境需水量的计算方法,分析河流的空间结构特征、各河段的相互关系以及流域的水特征,提出了整合计算模型．整合计算模型分为2类：不同水系和同一水系的整合．同一水系整合计算模型又分为：河流生态基流量整合模型、河流与湿地生态基流量的整合以及河道生态基流量的整合模型．其中最为复杂的河道生态基流量的整合模型共分为6种形式：简单式、汇流式、分流式、组合式、交叉式和河口式．研究结果表明：各子系统的生态基流量是河流生态基流量整合计算的基础;河流生态基流量保证系数是计算的重要参数,其值在确定基数的基础上,通过恢复模式和空间优化配置这2个影响因子进行调整而得到,取值范围为[0,1];整合计算模型需要明确消耗性生态基流量和非消耗性生态基流量,消耗性生态基流量不受保证系数的影响,非消耗性生态基流量因保证系数取值的不同而变化．     

An assessment of greenhouse gas emissions and material flows caused by the Finnish economy using the ENVIMAT model

An environmentally extended input-output (EE-IO) analysis - environmental impacts of material flows caused by the Finnish economy - was carried out in order to improve data on production and consumption in Finland. The study resulted in the ENVIMAT model, which can be used to analyze the relationship between material flows, environmental impacts and the economy. The model is based on monetary and physical input-output tables and an environmental life-cycle impact assessment. This article summarizes the main methodological aspects and findings regarding the material flows and climate impacts caused by the Finnish economy in 2002 and 2005. The Finnish model has relatively detailed input data with 150 industries and 918 products and the data on imports was assessed according to a mixed approach with the help of life-cycle inventory data. The results of the model showed that the Finnish economy uses imported material resources as much as domestic resources. Life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by imports were equivalent to 70-80% of domestic emissions. The GHG emissions embodied in imports (emissions abroad) and exports (emissions within Finland) were of the same magnitude. The analysis showed that the service sector accounted for 44% of GHG emissions caused by the domestic final use of products. Analysis of the results also showed that the indicator of total material requirement (TMR) should not be used for environmental impact comparisons of products and services. In the future, the aim is to use the ENVIMAT model for assessing temporal changes in the economy; for monitoring sustainable development; for planning climate change mitigation; and for identifying important factors in the economy and assessing their impacts.