Baseline concentrations of trace elements in residential soils from Southeastern Missouri

Anthropogenic sources of pollution can significantly contribute to elevated concentrations of toxic elements in soils. A preliminary survey of trace elements content and their availability in residential soils from New Madrid County, Missouri was undertaken. Mean elemental concentrations (mg kg⁻¹, dry wt) of sixty two soil samples were: As 6.6, Be 0.8, Cd 1.6, Co 9.7, Cr 24.5, Cu 18.1, Fe 9951, Mn 298, Ni 15.6, Pb 48.8, V 42.1, Zn 95.5 and Hg 0.05. The US EPA preliminary remediation goals (PRGs) was only exceeded by As (7 % of samples) and V (8% of samples). The Missouri average background values were exceeded by Pb (69%), Zn (31%), Cu (27%), As (23%), Be (19%), Co (18%), Ni (16%), V (8%) and Mn (2%). Crustal enrichments (EF_c) for As (97), Cr (6), Cu (10), Pb (121), V (7), and Hg (17) were highest for North Lilbourn soils. Fractionation experiment revealed that Fe (54–79%) was in the residual phase while Zn (70–90%), Mn (88–92%), As (59–81%) and Pb (63–79%) were potentially available in soils. Factor loadings of the element concentrations on principal components 1, 2 and 3 accounted for over 81% variance of the data set. The factor loadings suggested that apart from natural contributions of trace elements to the soils, human activities possibly accounted for other inputs in soils.     

Multivariate analysis of trace metal levels in tannery effluents in relation to soil and water: a case study from Peshawar, Pakistan

Tannery effluents and relevant ground water and soil samples collected from various tanning industries of Peshawar were analyzed for Na, Ca, K, Mg, Fe, Mn, Cr, Co, Cd, Ni, Pb and Zn by the AAS method. The metal concentration data for the three media are reported in terms of basic statistical parameters, metal-to-metal correlations and linear regression analyses. Metal distributions in the three media were quite divergent and showed non-normal distributions with high standard deviation and skewness parameters. Sodium exhibited the highest mean levels of 1,277mg/L, 881mg/L and 12,912mg/kg in the effluent, ground water and soil samples, respectively. Among other metals, Cr concentrations were 410mg/L, 0.145mg/L, 100mg/kg and Ca, 278mg/L, 64.8mg/L, and 2,285mg/kg in the effluent, ground water and soil samples, respectively. Some significant correlations were observed between effluent and soils in terms of Na, Cr, Ni, Co and Pb. The ground water-soil interrelationship suggested that Na levels in the soil and ground water were significantly correlated with each other (r=0.486, P<0.01). Similarly, Cr in the soil is strongly correlated with Ca in ground water (r=0.486, P<0.01). These results were duly supported by the linear regression analysis of data. The source identification studies conducted using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Cluster Analysis (CA) evidenced that ground water and soil were being contaminated by the toxic metals emanating from the tannery effluents.     

Cultural shift towards sustainability in the construction industry of Hong Kong

Sustainable development is forward-looking; it is a continuous mission for future developments of human society. A genuinely sustainable society is one that initiates developments in sustainable ways. The development of a genuinely sustainable society is supported by its citizens who think and act according to a recognized code of conduct - the sustainable culture. Similar to other forms of culture, sustainable culture of a society is not static, but changes over time. The changes found in a sustainable culture are reflections of the status of sustainability in a society and these changes should be measured from time to time. The resulting measurement gives very important information for decision-makers, in the government and in the private sector, to examine the magnitude of changes that have taken place in a given period of time. The results will also enable them to review and adjust policies in order to better accommodate changes according to the trends of society.This paper provides a method – the T-model, to investigate and measure the extent of change of sustainable culture through two extensive surveys among participants of the construction industry of Hong Kong. The change in sustainable culture is reflected by the change in attitude and practice among construction participants, this can be found in their performance in project development, design and construction operations. The data of these changes are collected and converted to numerical scores. The T-model synthesized these scores and revealed the change of sustainable culture within the specific study time frame.     

森林火灾防治决策专家系统的研究与实现

笔者比较系统地收集、研究了林火专家多年积累的理论、经验和解决问题的方法以及各种预测模型、模型的适应条件和使用规则等 ,利用人工智能和COM组件技术 ,通过模型技术和专家系统技术的有机结合 ,建立了基于网络的森林火灾防治决策专家系统。实现了森林火灾从火灾预测、林火扑救决策、清理火场、看守火场到最后的损失评估全过程的推理辅助决策 ;实现了整个决策过程中预测模型和预测结果随外界条件的突变而进行的实时修正 ,从而真正实现了森林火灾管理各个阶段的实时性、准确性和正确性。     

城市生活垃圾填埋场产气规律研究

研究城市垃圾填埋气体成分及产气规律。方法通过深圳市玉龙坑垃圾填埋场现场抽气试验理论计算。结果场区内填埋气体含量分别为ＣＨ４６２．２％，Ｏ２１．０％，ＣＯ２３４．７％，其余气体２．１％；     

海平面上升对珠江口水位影响的分析

珠江三角洲水位变化存在着大量不确定性、不精确性,这些特性既具有模糊特征,也具有灰色特征。在分析珠江三角洲灯笼山站年平均水位的变化特征和闸坡站海平面变化趋势的基础上,利用灰关联法分析代表站灯笼山站年平均水位与流量、海平面、潮差等8个因素的关系,年平均水位与影响因素之间的灰关联度均大于0.7,说明各因子对年平均水位均产生显著影响,其中海平面变化与年平均水位的灰关联度为0.736,说明海平面变化是年平均水位的重要影响因素。选取灰关联度较大的（马＋三）流量、闸坡站海平面、灯笼山站的年最高水位、年最低水位、年平均低潮、年平均潮差这6个指标进行主成分分析。结果表明：第一主成分为径流潮汐作用,第二主成分的代表因素为海平面上升,第三主成分的代表因素为年最高水位;其中海平面上升为代表的第二主成分对年平均水位的贡献率为20.1%。因此,海平面上升对灯笼山站年平均水位的影响虽然弱于径流潮汐作用,但其影响也是显著的。     

东西部地区环境质量的统计分析与追溯

从环境污染和生态环境的角度选取城市区域环境的评价指标,采集国家统计局发布的原始数据,用主成分法对东、西部地区环境质量的变动趋势进行分析,计算了综合环境质量,追溯了统计结果背后的因果关系,据此给出进一步改善环境治理质量的建议。     

长江重庆段溶解性有机物的荧光特性分析

利用三维荧光光谱(EEMs),并结合平行因子分析(PARAFAC)及主成分分析(PCA),研究了长江重庆段溶解有机物(DOM)的荧光组分特征及其污染来源,并探讨了荧光强度同溶解性有机碳(DOC)及溶解氧(DO)的相关性.结果表明,PARAFAC模型识别出长江重庆段DOM由2类6个荧光组分组成,即类腐殖质荧光组分C1(350/422 nm)、C4(245,305/395 nm)、C5(260,340/420 nm)、C6(260/480 nm)及类蛋白荧光组分C2(275/300 nm)、C3(227,278/329 nm).在DOM来源组成中,陆源的类腐殖质含量占62.56%,类蛋白物质含量占31.31%.类腐殖质组分的荧光强度同DOC的含量存在明显的线性正相关(r=0.73),类蛋白组分的荧光强度同DO的含量呈明显的线性负相关(r=0.80).EEMs-PARAFAC不仅可以表征长江重庆段DOM的光谱特征,示踪长江重庆段的有机污染程度,还可以为三峡库区水体保护提供依据.