Temporal moments analysis of preferential solute transport in soils

Temporal moments analysis of solute breakthrough curves is used to investigate the preferential leaching of chloride, nitrate and phosphate through an Australian soil. Recent studies have shown that current models and methods do not adequately describe the leaching of nutrients through soil, often underestimating the risk of groundwater contamination by surface-applied chemicals, and overestimating the concentration of resident solutes. This inaccuracy results primarily from ignoring soil structure and non-equilibrium between soil constituents, water and solutes. Therefore simple models are required to accurately characterise solute transport in natural and agricultural soils under non-equilibrium conditions. A multiple sample percolation system, consisting of 25 individual collection wells was constructed to study the effects of localised soil heterogeneities on the transport of nutrients (NO₃ ^–, Cl^–, PO₄ ^{3 –}) in the vadose zone of an agricultural soil predominantly dominated by clay. Using data collected from the multiple sample percolation experiments, this paper compares and contrasts the performance of temporal moments analysis with two mathematical models for predicting solute transport, the advective-dispersion model with a reaction term (ADR) and a two-region preferential flow model (TRM) suitable for modelling preferential transport. The values for solute transport parameters predicted by temporal moments analysis were in excellent agreement with experimental data and results from ADR and TRM. It is concluded that temporal moments analysis when applied with other physical models such as the ADR and TRM, provide an excellent means of obtaining values for important solute transport parameters and gaining insight of preferential flow. These results have significant ramifications for modelling solute transport and predicting nutrient loadings.     

Ecological quality boundary-setting procedures: the Gulf of Riga case study

Two approaches for setting ecological class boundaries, response curves and a simplified mathematical boundary-setting protocol, were tested for coastal, transitional and open waters in the Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea. The simplified mathematical boundary-setting protocol defines acceptable ecological status based on expert judgment by a uniform relative deviation from reference conditions. In contrast, response curves derive class boundary definitions from observed changes in biological quality elements along environmental pressure gradients for class boundary definitions. Identification of relevant environmental pressures for the construction of response curves was based on a conceptual model of eutrophication in the Gulf of Riga. Response curves were successfully established for summer chlorophyll a and transparency, as well as for macrozoobenthos abundance in the Central Gulf, macrozoobenthos biotic coefficient in the Southern Gulf, and maximum depth of phytobenthos in the Northern Gulf. In the Gulf of Riga response curves almost always permitted a larger deviation from reference conditions than the 50% deviation applied for the simplified mathematical boundary-setting protocol. The case study clearly demonstrated that class boundary definitions should take into account the sensitivity of the target water body. Also, the class boundaries for different ecological quality elements were internally more consistent than those derived by the simplified mathematical boundary-setting protocol.     

两种土壤质量变化的定量评价方法比较

土地利用和管理在时空尺度上影响着土壤质量变化的方向和幅度，土壤质量评价方法的选择和应用对了解土壤的变化非常重要，不同方法的比较分析可以了解方法本身的差异和优缺点。选取卧龙自然保护区6种典型的土地利用类型，以空间代替时间序列的方式，研究森林次生演替，人工林种植及农业土地利用方式对土壤质量的影响。采用了综合土壤质量指数法(QI)与土壤退化指数法(DI)两种定量研究方法。结果皆揭示灌丛有着较高的土壤质量值。依次为灌丛→自然林，次生林→撂荒地→人工林→坡耕地，坡耕地土壤质量值较低。为更好的比较两种方法的差异，提出了QI的相对指数值(QI')，结果显示QI'和DI有着非常好的线性相关，退化指数法的方法简单，比较易用．而综合质量指数法有着较好的生态学意义。     

Recycling process for yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia ceramics using a hydrothermal treatment

The recycling process for 3 mol% yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (3Y-TZP) sintered at 1450°–1550°C was examined by applying low-temperature degradation of zirconia ceramics under hydrothermal conditions. Hydrothermal treatment at a temperature from 200° to 240°C can lead to the spontaneous disintegration of 3Y-TZP sintered bodies into powdery particles. The hydrothermally obtained zirconia powder was found to consist of primary particles and aggregated particles. Detailed X-ray diffraction measurement revealed the formation of a cubic zirconia phase in the 3Y-TZP sintered bodies, which seemed to inhibit the disintegration of aggregated particles toward the primary particle level. The reclaimed 3Y-TZP powder was sintered again through a conventional powder processing route. The mechanical properties and microstructure of recycled 3Y-TZP sintered specimens were examined by comparison with those of the original 3Y-TZP sintered bodies. Dense recycled 3Y-TZP sintered at a higher temperature exhibited higher fracture toughness to some degree than the original 3Y-TZP.     

"立体互动教学法"在高职"应用写作"教学中的应用

进入新世纪，作为信息载体的应用写作越来越受到社会重视，然而目前高职院校中的应用写作教学现状却与这种重视不相适应。为此，本文试就目前高职教学中如何改革应用写作教学方法的问题，从“应用写作课与相关课程互动”、“写作理论和写作实践互动”、“应用写作文种之间互动”、“促使教学主体进行互动”四个方面提出了看法，以期对高职应用写作教学改革有所裨益。     

High seas marine protected area policy development: Macro-goals or micro-actions?

The notion of creating marine protected areas (MPAs) in the high seas has been hailed as “an idea whose time has come”, and advocates are calling for them to be part of a global representative system to be established by 2012. It is argued in this paper that embedding the high seas MPA concept in the macro-goal of a global representative system subsumes more pragmatic and politically acceptable “micro-actions”. Development of politically contentious policy proposals such as high seas MPAs may have a better chance of success if they proceed by increments and are negotiated outside the limelight of a full scale, temporally defined global project. The following paper critically analyses the salience of international environmental agreements in the context of high seas MPAs and suggests a prototype MPA established by means of a negotiated agreement between a small number of countries which share political will and technological capacity to make a difference. Modelled on the recently implemented Titanic Accord, the prototypical high seas MPA would allow parties to develop a collaborative, rules-based regime which could be used to manage the actions of citizens involved in activities that may have a negative impact on the specified area.     

Evaluation of Three Watershed‐Scale Pesticide Environmental Transport and Fate Models1

Abstract: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) has completed an evaluation of three watershed‐scale simulation models for potential use in Food Quality Protection Act pesticide drinking water exposure assessments. The evaluation may also guide OPP in identifying computer simulation tools that can be used in performing aquatic ecological exposure assessments. Models selected for evaluation were the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), the Nonpoint Source Model (NPSM), a modified version of the Hydrologic Simulation Program‐Fortran (HSPF), and the Pesticide Root Zone Model‐Riverine Water Quality (PRZM‐RIVWQ) model. Simulated concentrations of the pesticides atrazine, metolachlor, and trifluralin in surface water were compared with field data monitored in the Sugar Creek watershed of Indiana’s White River basin by the National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program. The evaluation not only provided USEPA with experience in using watershed models for estimating pesticide concentration in flowing water but also led to the development of improved statistical techniques for assessing model accuracy. Further, it demonstrated the difficulty of representing spatially and temporally variable soil, weather, and pesticide applications with relatively infrequent, spatially fixed, point estimates. It also demonstrated the value of using monitoring and modeling as mutually supporting tools and pointed to the need to design monitoring programs that support modeling.     

纳米碳酸钙碳化法生产方法研究

简要介绍了碳化法生产纳米碳酸钙工艺流程。重点探讨了其中的碳化方法，获知目前我国主要有鼓泡碳化、喷雾碳化和超重力碳化等的碳化工艺。同时着重探讨了碳化反应的机理，并以此为依据讨论和比较了鼓泡碳化、喷雾碳化和超重力碳化3种碳化工艺。     

The Potential of Soil Carbon Sequestration Through Improved Management Practices in Norway

The study was conducted to assess the potential of Norwegian agricultural ecosystems to sequester carbon (C) based on the data from some long-term agronomic and land use experiments. The total emission of CO₂ in Norway in 1998 was 41.4 million metric ton (MMT), of which agriculture contributed only 0.157 MMT, or <0.4% of the total emissions. With regards to methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) gases, however, agricultural activities contributed 32.5% and 51.3% of their respective emissions in Norway. The soil organic carbon (SOC) losses associated with accelerated soil erosion in Norway are estimated at 0.475 MMTC yr^–1. Land use changes and soil/crop management practices with potential for SOC sequestration include conservation tillage methods, judicious use of fertilizers and manures, use of crop residues, diverse crop rotations, and erosion control measures. The potential for SOC sequestration is 0.146 MMTC yr^–1 for adopting conservation tillage, 0.011–0.035 MMTC yr^–1 for crop residue management, 0.026 MMTC yr^–1 for judicious use of mineral fertilizer, 0.016–0.135 MMTC yr^–1 for manure application, and 0.036 MMTC yr^–1 for adopting crop rotations. The overall potential of these practices for SOC sequestration ranges from 0.591 to 1.022 MMTC yr^–1 with an average value of 0.806 MMTC yr^–1. Of the total potential, 59% is due to adoption of erosion control measures, 5.8% to restoration of peat lands, 21% to conversion to conservation tillage and residue management, and 14% to adoption of improved cropping systems. Enhancing SOC sequestration and improving soil quality, through adoption of judicious land use and improved system of soil and crop management, are prudent strategies for sustainable management of soil, water and environment resources.Readers should send their comments on this paper to: bhaskarn ath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

如何改进大学英语词汇教学

英语词汇对整个英语学习起着至关重要的作用.对于英语词汇的学习,大学生已经认识到了其重要性,但仍然存在各种各样的误区.为了提高学生的单词学习效率,教师应该采取科学方法来呈现英语词汇;借助英文电影、动画片、歌曲等激发学生的学习兴趣,以生动、形象、直观的方式进行英语词汇教学,给学生讲述成语和典故加深学生对英语词汇的印象和理解,采取灵活多样的教学形式进行英语词汇教学.