Implementation of a windblown dust parameterization into MODELS-3/CMAQ: Application to episodic PM events in the US/Mexico border

Windblown dust is known to impede visibility, deteriorate air quality and modify the radiation budget. Arid and semiarid areas with unpaved and unvegetated land cover are particularly prone to windblown dust, which is often attributed to high particulate matter (PM) pollution in such areas. Yet, windblown dust is poorly represented in existing regulatory air quality models. In a study by the authors on modeling episodic high PM events along the US/Mexico border using the state-of-the-art CMAQ/MM5/SMOKE air quality modeling system [Choi, Y.-J., Hyde, P., Fernando, H.J.S., 2006. Modeling of episodic particulate matter events using a 3D air quality model with fine grid: applications to a pair of cities in the US/Mexico border. Atmospheric Environment 40, 5181–5201], some of the observed PM₁₀ NAAQS exceedances were inferred as due to windblown dust, but the modeling system was incapable of dealing with time-dependent episodic dust entrainment during high wind periods. In this paper, a time-dependent entrainment parameterization for windblown dust is implemented in the CMAQ/MM5/SMOKE modeling system with the hope of improving PM predictions. An approach for realizing windblown dust emission flux for each grid cell over the study domain on an hourly basis, which accounts for the influence of factors such as soil moisture content, atmospheric stability and wind speed, is presented in detail. Comparison of model predictions with observational data taken at a pair of US/Mexico border towns shows a clear improvement of model performance upon implementation of the dust emission flux parameterization.     

Use of USLE/GIS Methodology for Predicting Soil Loss in a Semiarid Agricultural Watershed

The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) is an erosion model to estimate average soil loss that would generally result from splash, sheet, and rill erosion from agricultural plots. Recently, use of USLE has been extended as a useful tool predicting soil losses and planning control practices in agricultural watersheds by the effective integration of the GIS-based procedures to estimate the factor values in a grid cell basis. This study was performed in the Kazan Watershed located in the central Anatolia, Turkey, to predict soil erosion risk by the USLE/GIS methodology for planning conservation measures in the site. Rain erosivity (R), soil erodibility (K), and cover management factor (C) values of the model were calculated from erosivity map, soil map, and land use map of Turkey, respectively. R values were site-specifically corrected using DEM and climatic data. The topographical and hydrological effects on the soil loss were characterized by LS factor evaluated by the flow accumulation tool using DEM and watershed delineation techniques. From resulting soil loss map of the watershed, the magnitude of the soil erosion was estimated in terms of the different soil units and land uses and the most erosion-prone areas where irreversible soil losses occurred were reasonably located in the Kazan watershed. This could be very useful for deciding restoration practices to control the soil erosion of the sites to be severely influenced.     

Heavy Metal Contents of the Karasu Creek Sediments, Nigde, Turkey

Heavy metal contamination in sediments of the Karasu spring was investigated in the presented study. In this respect, sediment samples were collected from contaminant sites along the spring starting from the spring water manifestation site, base of the Akkaya dam to the dam exit site. Heavy metal concentrations were determined by X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer. Cobalt, copper, arsenic, tin, nickel, zinc, cadmium, lead, aluminum, iron, titan, chromium and manganese contents of the Karasu creek sediments are found as 18.30–69.00, 12.40–595.0 5.50–345.3, 5.80–15.1, 10.9–64.1, 28.90–103,300, 4.1–356.2, 7.70–37,840, 13,460–109,400, 11,740–62,900, 22.18–59.04, 41.70–369 and 12.09–3,480 mg/kg, respectively. Results indicate the presence of a contamination in the Karasu creek. All the metal concentrations were found to be exceeding their acceptable limit values. Eutrophication is developed in the Karasu creek and the Akkaya dam. It is thought that heavy metal accumulation in the creek is originated from discharge from mine quarries, industrial and domestic wastes. Protection zones should be defined and all necessary measures must be taken along the Karasu creek.     

Optical and Chemical Methods of Metal Ash Analysis and Tin Recovery

‘Metal ash’ presents a waste disposal problem in most of the developing countries as the industries employ obsolete technologies. In this paper we describe analysis of tin ash, zinc ash and aluminium ash by means of optical methods, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), electron probe micro analysis (EPMA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and chemical methods. The results of tin ash obtained by XRD method matched well with the cassiterite, a naturally occurring mineral of tin. ICP-MS studies reveal the presence of a large number of tracer metals, which may cause pollution by tertiary dispersion and this aspect is discussed. Conversely, the data generated by chemical methods are limited. However, the methods are simple and cost-effective. Then, they can easily be adopted by low-budget industries. Simple and cost-effective process to recover tin from tin ash is described. It is based on heating tin ash with sodium cyanide to about 900°C to separate tin component from the metal ash. The process recovers good quality tin and offers a very high yield. The process can be scaled up to small pilot plant.     

底泥中重金属毒性的室内孔隙水分析技术

根据孔隙水中重金属的浓度可以判定底泥中重金属的毒性但获得真正的底泥孔隙水十分困难。本文提供了一套简便易行的室内原状孔隙水取样技术,将碳化硅砂芯埋入底泥,添加表层水并静置９０ｄ,通过渗滤获得孔隙水,测定孔隙水中重的浓度,所得结果与微生态系统暴露试验中生物指示的重金属的毒性大小相吻合,与生物积累重金属的浓度显著正相关。     

Metals in Feathers of Bonin Petrel, Christmas Shearwater, Wedge-Tailed Shearwater, and Red-Tailed Tropicbird in the Hawaian Islands, Northern Pacific

Levels of environmental pollutants are usually higher in mainland and coastal areas than in offshore or oceanic islands due to higher inputs from agricultural and industrial sources. Levels of heavy metals are usually higher in adult than in young birds, because they have had longer to accumulate metals in their tissues, and/or because they may eat larger, more contaminated, prey. We examined the levels of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, mercury, and selenium in the adults and young of Bonin petrel (Pterodroma hypoleuca), Christmas shearwater (Puffinus nativitatis) and red-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda) on Midway Atoll, and adult wedge-tailed shearwater (Puffinus pacificus) on Midway Atoll and on Manana Island (off Oahu) in the northern Pacific. All birds were analyzed individually except for Christmas Shearwater chicks where samples were pooled to obtain sufficient quantities for analysis. Significant (p<0.05) age-related differences were found for mercury, selenium, manganese and chromium in Bonin petrels, for selenium and mercury in Christmas shearwaters, and for chromium and mercury in Red-tailed Tropicbirds. Lead approached significance for all three species. Adults had higher levels than young except for chromium and manganese in the petrels and arsenic in all three species. There were significant interspecific differences in concentrations of all metals except arsenic for the adults nesting on Midway. Christmas shearwaters had the highest levels of all metals except mercury and chromium. Bonin petrels, the smallest species examined, had mercury levels that were over three times higher than any of the adults of the other three species. For wedge-tailed shearwaters, levels of chromium and lead were significantly higher, and manganese and selenium were lower on Midway than Manana. Knowledge of the foraging ranges and habits of these far-ranging seabirds is inadequately known, but does not currently explain the observed differences among species. We could not find a consistent pattern of differences between the burrow nesting species (Bonin petrel, Wedge-tailed shearwater) and the surface nesting tropicbirds. There was no consistent pairwise correlation between any metals across all species.     

城市化中大沥再生金属行业的“收放”决择

在城市升级大潮下,作为广佛同城化核心区的大沥镇再生金属行业发展处于"收放二难"境地:限制该行业发展势必动摇大沥有色金属产业链、影响村组收入和第三产业发展;相反,若是放任该行业发展,则会造成城市升级困难、土地空间固化,社会环境恶化、行业恶性竞争,最终发展也是陷入死胡同。因此,不能搞一刀切,现实的选择是在兼顾产业转型和城市升级原则下有条件发展、有管制提升、有目的转型。     

长江入海口北支沿海滩涂养殖区底泥重金属污染特征及趋势评价

对长江入海口北支沿海滩涂养殖区底泥重金属污染的总体水平进行调查,结果表明,滩涂养殖区底泥重金属含量满足海洋沉积物质量一类标准要求,污染程度属于安全Ⅰ级水平,重金属潜在生态危害属轻微级别,6种重金属潜在生态危害由大到小排序依次为Cd﹥Hg﹥Cu﹥Cr﹥Pb﹥As,2005年～2011年,底泥重金属污染程度均处于安全的Ⅰ级水平。     

水固液微界面氧化还原反应过程与污染物控制研究

本文介绍了3个反应体系,包括铁锰复合氧化物氧化吸附除砷体系、铁氧化物包覆零价铁光芬顿催化和负载型多价态锰氧化物臭氧催化体系,通过固液微界面不同的氧化还原反应,实现了对水中砷和难降解有机污染物的高效去除.重点介绍了不同氧化还原反应对污染物转移转化的作用机制,说明了水体中固液微界面氧化还原反应,对污染物的转移转化起着重要作用.     

广州城市污泥中重金属形态特征及其生态风险评价

分析了广州市4个不同来源的城市污水处理污泥中重金属含量,考察了污泥样品中重金属形态分布和生物可利用性,并分别利用风险评价指数(RAC)和固废重金属毒性浸出方法评价了污泥中重金属生态危害风险和浸出毒性风险.结果表明,污泥样品中Cu、Cr、Pb和Zn含量较高,不同来源污水处理污泥中重金属含量差别较大.污泥样品中重金属绝大部分以非稳定态存在,酸性污泥中可迁移的酸溶态重金属比例较高.由单一萃取结果,1 mol·L-1NaOAc溶液(pH 5.0)和0.02 mol·L-1EDTA+0.5 mol·L-1NH4OAc溶液(pH 4.6)分别对酸性和碱性污泥中生物可利用态重金属具有较好的萃取能力.污泥酸性越强,其中生物可利用态重金属比例越大.污泥中重金属的迁移能力使其处于高生态危害风险程度;重金属的生物可利用性使酸性污泥大多处于极高危害风险程度,而使碱性污泥大多处于中等危害风险水平.除城市污水处理污泥外,污泥样品中重金属具有高的浸出毒性风险,萃取重金属生物可利用态后,污泥仍具有高浸出毒性风险,但由于浸出毒性风险降低使部分污泥可进行填埋处置.