Seasonal evaluation and spatial variability of suspended particulate matter in the vicinity of a large coal-fired power station in India—A case study

Coal combustion in the power sector gives rise to the emission of primary and secondary particulate pollutants. Since the emission of pollutants depends on coal quality and combustion technology, and given that transport, transformation and deposition of contaminants depend on regional climatic conditions, specific studies for the power stations is needed to evaluate their environmental impacts. Monitoring of ambient respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) and suspended particulate matter (SPM) levels around a large coal-fired power station in India was carried out. The specific objectives were the determination of spatial and seasonal variability in RSPM and SPM levels, and their relationship with meteorological parameters such as wind velocity and relative humidity. The results have shown a marked seasonal trend and spatial variability in RSPM and SPM levels in the study area. Higher concentrations of ambient RSPM and SPM were found in downwind monitoring stations compared to upwind direction. Ratios of RSPM to SPM and correlation coefficient values between RSPM and SPM along with meteorological parameters were also worked out. Relative humidity and wind velocity have shown an inverse relation with particulate deposition pattern.     

Hydrological influences on the water quality trends in Tamiraparani Basin,South India

Water quality variables – Turbidity, pH, Electrical Conductivity(EC), Chlorides and Total Hardness (TH) were monitored at adownstream location in the Tamiraparani River during 1978–1992. The observations were made at weekly intervals in a watertreatment and supply plant using standard methods. Graphical andstatistical analyses were used for data exploration, trenddetection and assessment. Box-Whisker plots of annual andseasonal changes in variables indicated apparent trends beingpresent in the data and their response to the seasonal influenceof the monsoon rainfall. Further, the examination of the medianvalues of the variables indicated that changes in the directionof trend occurred during 1985–1986, especially in pH, EC and TH. The statistical analyses were done using non-parametric methods,the ANCOVA on rank transformed data and the Seasonal Man-Kendalltest. The presence of monotonic trend in all the water qualityvariables was confirmed, however, with independent direction ofchange. The trend line was fitted by the method of leastsquares. The estimated values indicated significant increases inEC (28 S cm^-1) while significant decreases were observed inturbidity (90 NTU), pH (0.78), and total hardness (23 ppm) in a span of 15 years. The changes induced in river flow by the addition of a stabilizing reservoir, the influence of seasonal and spatialpattern of monsoon rainfall across the river basin and the increased agriculture appear causative factors for the water quality trends seen in the Tamiraparani River system.     

Mean Annual Temperature and Total Annual Precipitation Trends at Canadian Biosphere Reserves

This article examines instrumental climate records from a varietyof stations associated with the following Biosphere Reserves across Canada: (i) Waterton Lakes, (ii) Riding Mountain, (iii) Niagara Escarpment, (iv) Long Point, and (v) Kejimkujik (Candidate Biosphere Reserve). Annual series are generated fromdaily temperature and precipitation values. In addition, homogeneous data are used from other stations and regional records to supplement the records from the local biosphere stations. Long term trends are identified over the period of the instrumental record. In general, data from the interval 1900 to 1998 show cooler temperatures in the 1920's, warmingfrom the early 1940's into the early 1950's, cooling into the1970's, and subsequent warming. At many stations, 1998 is the warmest in the instrumental record. Comparisons with the regional data sets show good agreements between the temperatureseries. The 20th century warming is approximately 1.0 °C in the Riding Mountain area and 0.6 °Cin the Long Point, Niagara Escarpment, and Waterton Lakes areas.There has been slight cooling in the Kejimkujik area over the past half century. Precipitation data show increasing trends inthe Kejimkujik, Long Point, Niagara Escarpment, and Waterton Lakes areas with no long term trend in the Riding Mountain area. This work is part of the Canadian Biosphere Reserves Association (CBRA) Climate Change Initiative (CCI), designed to present climate change information to Biosphere Reserve communities to allow local organizations to understand climate change and adapt to potential impacts.     

重庆环保产业发展现状及趋势

本文分析了重庆市环保产业的发展现状、主要特点及存在的主要问题。并介绍了《重庆市“十一五”环保产业发展规划研究报告》提出的“十一五”环保产业发展目标、重点和任务，介绍了重庆环保产业发展的总体目标、发展趋势，2010年重庆市环保产业发展的经济目标和重点投资项目，以及保障环产业产业发展的政策措施。     

中小企业安全投资状况的调查与分析

近年来,我国中小企业的安全生产问题十分突出,重特大事故频发。导致当前中小企业安全生产形势严峻的主要原因之一,是企业安全投资欠账太多。笔者对江苏省某市100家中小企业安全生产状况进行了调查,并对取得的若干企业的安全投资数据进行了分析。结果显示:近5年,无论是企业安全总投资,还是企业人均安全投资,均呈现增长趋势,而企业间安全投资水平差距较大;不同行业、不同性质企业的安全投资结构和人均安全投资指标差异明显,建筑行业和原为私营性质的企业应成为政府部门监管的重点;人均安全总投资与工伤事故起数对应相关,通过加大预先的安全投入,可以有效地预防或减少工伤事故。     

趋势面拟合法在煤矿瓦斯地质变量预测中的应用研究

从瓦斯地质学的观点出发,将反映煤层瓦斯基本参数的空间变化规律看做是与其赋存地质条件密切相关的连续函数。结合趋势面拟合及其模型优化的原理和方法分析得出了淮北矿业集团公司芦岭煤矿井田范围内瓦斯含量的变化及分布与其位置坐标的对应数值关系,依据该数值关系可对矿井深部采场和未开采区域实施比较准确、可靠的定量瓦斯预测。该方法也适用于其他具有相似特征的瓦斯地质变量分析。     

地理信息系统与海上溢油模型集成研究

将地理信息系统(GIS)技术与溢油模型进行集成,其优点是能发挥GIS在模型参数获取、空间数据分析与管理、模拟结果可视化等方面的优势,使整个溢油建模过程更为便捷。文中介绍了GIS与溢油模型集成的概念,分析了GIS技术在海上溢油模型中的应用实例,给出了一种GIS与溢油模型的紧密集成方案,讨论了两者集成的发展趋势。     

Strengthening artisanal mining research and policy through baseline census activities

Over the past 10–15 years, several governments have implemented an array of technology, support‐related, sustainable livelihoods (SL) and poverty‐reduction projects for artisanal and small‐scale mining (ASM). In the majority of cases, however, these interventions have failed to facilitate improvements in the industry's productivity and raise the living standards of the sector's subsistence operators. This article argues that a poor understanding of the demographics of target populations has precipitated these outcomes. In order to strengthen policy and assistance in the sector, governments must determine, with greater precision, the number of people operating in ASM regions, their origins and ethnic backgrounds, ages, and educational levels. This can be achieved by carrying out basic and localized census work before promoting ambitious sector‐specific projects aimed at improving working conditions in the industry.     

震害信息遥感获取技术历史、现状和趋势

回顾了基于遥感进行的震害信息获取技术的发展历史,总结了各个遥感技术发展阶段所采用的震害识别技术,对震害识别技术进行了分类,给出了每种分类方法的划分标准和原则,并对每一种震害识别方法的特点进行了分析和评价,指出了其各自的技术关键、优势和不足.根据现行各种识别技术的特点,结合遥感技术发展状况和地震灾害的特点,分析了震害信息获取技术的发展趋势.     

江苏省近47年来的梅雨特征及灾害影响

利用江苏省气象台1954～2000年的梅雨期降水资料，采用趋势分析方法，对江苏省的梅雨变化特征进行了分析研究。结果表明：近47年来江苏省梅雨量年际变化大致可以分为少雨和多雨两个阶段；梅雨的区域分布特征是苏南及沿江地带梅雨量的年波动不及淮北地区；各年份梅雨持续的天数相差极为悬殊，而其降水极值除个别年份外大多低于800mm；梅雨量的丰歉常常决定了江苏省的旱涝总趋势，特别的丰梅年和枯梅年对江苏省农业生产和社会经济发展都带来显著的负面影响。