Holocene fire history from the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, New South Wales, Australia: the climate, humans and fire nexus

This study presents a reconstruction of the fire activity of the last ~14,200 cal. years BP (before AD 1950) from Gooches Crater Right, located on the Newnes Plateau, approximately 150 km to the west of Sydney (~33°27′S, 150°16′E) within the Blue Mountains National Park. Charcoal analysis and palynology were undertaken with the aim of untangling any inter-relationship between climate, humans and fire. A chronology of the site was provided by radiocarbon dating. The dominant control on fire in this environment during the Holocene appears to be climate. Periods of climate change, identified in previous studies, are associated with higher levels of fire activity. Fire was less ubiquitous between ~9,000 and 6,000 years BP, a period normally described as having a higher effective moisture in south-eastern Australia. The mid-Holocene fluctuations in charcoal may reflect anthropogenic fire, climate forcing or alternatively human responses to any climate change. Coeval changes in palaeoclimatic sequences elsewhere and palynology at the site support a climatic explanation or that Aboriginal people used fire within a climatic framework.     

Gravity model formulation for an extensive National Parkway Site

The purpose of this study was to collect specific information on the characteristics and intensity of local Blue Ridge Parkway use and to use that information to develop a recreation use model of local Parkway visitation. Data were obtained from a self-administered mail-back questionnaire sent to a random sample of people living in the 29 counties adjacent to the Parkway.We developed two recreation use projection/demand models that employ three variables (distance, alternative recreation sites, and population density) to predict visitation to different Parkway areas from various local origins. The derived model estimates indicated that about one-fourth of all Parkway visits in 1978 were one-day visits made by area residents.     

Effects of cultivation strategies on the cultivation of Chlorella sp. HQ in photoreactors

Heterotrophic cultivation caused high level of ROS and high lipids accumulation. HMTC is the best culture strategy for improving the microalgal biomass. Chlorella sp. HQ had great nutrient removal capacity under five culture strategies. The effects of cultivation strategies (including autotrophic cultivation (AC), heterotrophic cultivation (HC), fed-batch cultivation (FC), heterotrophic+ autotrophic two-stage cultivation (HATC), and heterotrophic+ mixotrophic two-stage cultivation (HMTC)) on the growth and lipid accumulation of Chlorella sp. HQ and its total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) removal in secondary effluent were investigated in column photoreactors. The results showed that the TN and TP removal rates ranged between 93.72%–95.82% and 92.73%–100%, respectively, under the five different strategies. The microalgal growth potential evaluated by the maximal growth rate (R_max) was in the order of HMTC>HC>FC>AC>HATC. The values of biomass, total lipid yield, triacylglycerols (TAGs) yield, and total lipid content of the microalga cultivated in the last 5 d increased significantly, but the TAGs productivities of the five strategies were lower than those in the first 7 d. Compared with all the other cultivation strategies, the TAGs productivity and yield after 12 d of cultivation under the heterotrophic condition reached the highest values accompanying the highest level of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), in which the TAGs yield reached 40.81 mg/L at the end of the cultivation period. The peaks in TAGs yield and ROS level suggested that HC was beneficial for lipids accumulation via regulating the cellular redox status and exerting ROS stress on microalgal cells. In summary, HMTC was the best cultivation strategy for improving the microalgal biomass and HC was the best strategy for microalgal TAGs accumulation to produce biodiesel.     

Ammonium nitrate thermal decomposition with additives

Runaway reactions present a potentially serious threat to the chemical process industry and the community; such reactions occur time and time again often with devastating consequences. The main objective of this research is to study the root causes associated with ammonium nitrate (AN) explosions during storage. The research focuses on AN fertilizers and studies the effects of different types of fertilizer compatible additives on AN thermal decomposition. Reactive Systems Screening Tool (RSST) has been used for reactivity evaluation and to better understand the mechanisms that result in explosion hazards. The results obtained from this tool have been reported in terms of parameters such as “onset” temperature, rate of temperature and pressure rise and maximum temperature. The runaway behavior of AN has been studied as a solid and solution in water. The effect of additives such as sodium sulfate (Na₂SO₄) and potassium chloride (KCl) has also been studied. Multiple tests have been conducted to determine the characteristics of AN decomposition accurately. The results show that the presence of sodium sulfate can increase the “onset” temperature of AN decomposition thus acting as AN thermal decomposition inhibitor, while potassium chloride tends to decrease the “onset” temperature thus acting as AN thermal decomposition promoter.     

What limits predator detection in blue tits (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Parus caeruleus</Emphasis>): posture,task or orientation?

To detect threats and reduce predation risk prey animals need to be alert. Early predator detection and rapid anti-predatory action increase the likelihood of survival. We investigated how foraging affects predator detection and time to take-off in blue tits (Parus caeruleus) by subjecting them to a simulated raptor attack. To investigate the impact of body posture we compared birds feeding head-down with birds feeding head-up, but could not find any effect of posture on either time to detection or time to take-off. To investigate the impact of orientation we compared birds having their side towards the attacking predator with birds having their back towards it. Predator detection, but not time to take-off, was delayed when the back was oriented towards the predator. We also investigated the impact of foraging task by comparing birds that were either not foraging, foraging on chopped mealworms, or foraging on whole ones. Foraging on chopped mealworms did not delay detection compared to nonforaging showing that foraging does not always restrict vigilance. However, detection was delayed more than 150% when the birds were foraging on whole, live mealworms, which apparently demanded much attention and handling skill. Time to take-off was affected by foraging task in the same way as detection was. We show that when studying foraging and vigilance one must include the difficulty of the foraging task and prey orientation.Communicated by P.A. Bednekoff     

Reactive transport modeling of processes controlling the distribution and natural attenuation of phenolic compounds in a deep sandstone aquifer

Reactive solute transport modeling was utilized to evaluate the potential for natural attenuation of a contaminant plume containing phenolic compounds at a chemical producer in the West Midlands, UK. The reactive transport simulations consider microbially mediated biodegradation of the phenolic compounds (phenols, cresols, and xylenols) by multiple electron acceptors. Inorganic reactions including hydrolysis, aqueous complexation, dissolution of primary minerals, formation of secondary mineral phases, and ion exchange are considered. One-dimensional (1D) and three-dimensional (3D) simulations were conducted. Mass balance calculations indicate that biodegradation in the saturated zone has degraded approximately 1-5% of the organic contaminant plume over a time period of 47 years. Simulations indicate that denitrification is the most significant degradation process, accounting for approximately 50% of the organic contaminant removal, followed by sulfate reduction and fermentation reactions, each contributing 15-20%. Aerobic respiration accounts for less than 10% of the observed contaminant removal in the saturated zone. Although concentrations of Fe(III) and Mn(IV) mineral phases are high in the aquifer sediment, reductive dissolution is limited, producing only 5% of the observed mass loss. Mass balance calculations suggest that no more than 20-25% of the observed total inorganic carbon (TIC) was generated from biodegradation reactions in the saturated zone. Simulations indicate that aerobic biodegradation in the unsaturated zone, before the contaminant entered the aquifer, may have produced the majority of the TIC observed in the plume. Because long-term degradation is limited to processes within the saturated zone, use of observed TIC concentrations to predict the future natural attenuation may overestimate contaminant degradation by a factor of 4-5.     

Intercomparison of reactive transport models applied to UO2 oxidative dissolution and uranium migration

Oxidative dissolution of uranium dioxide (UO₂) and the subsequent migration of uranium in a subsurface environment and an underground waste disposal have been simulated with reactive transport models. In these systems, hydrogeological and chemical processes are closely entangled and their interdependency has been analyzed in detail, notably with respect to redox reactions, kinetics of mineralogical evolution and hydrodynamic migration of species of interest.Different codes, where among CASTEM, CHEMTRAP and HYTEC, have been used as an intercomparison and verification exercise. Although the agreement between codes is satisfactory, it is shown that the discretization method of the transport equation (i.e. finite elements (FE) versus mixed-hybrid FE and finite differences) and the sequential coupling scheme may lead to systematic discrepancies.     

废啤酒酵母吸附去除水溶液中活性红4

用废啤酒酵母作生物吸附剂吸附水溶液中活性红4(RR4),并对吸附性能进行了评价。通过电位滴定和FTIR分析表明废啤酒酵母上主要存在磺酸基、羧基及氨基等官能团。对溶液pH值、RR4浓度和吸附时间等因素对吸附的影响进行了研究,结果表明:废啤酒酵母对RR4的吸附速率快,320min即可达到吸附平衡;酸性条件利于吸附,碱性条件下则会发生解吸附,pH=11条件下解吸附率高于86%;等温吸附数据符合Langmuir模式,pH=2条件下废啤酒酵母对RR4的最大吸附量为103.36mg/g。     

活性黑KN-B染料的生物降解研究

通过试验考察了厌氧条件下活性黑KN-B的生物降解历程,同时对染料的降解动力学及降解机理进行了初步探讨与分析。结果表明:厌氧颗粒污泥可以单独降解活性黑KN-B(以活性黑为单一碳源时,活性黑KN-B的24降解率为43.1%),也可以在以葡萄糖为共基质条件下降解活性黑KN-B;以活性黑KN-B为单一碳源时其降解过程符合一级反应动力学方程,而以葡萄糖为共基质时其降解过程符合二级反应动力学方程;对降解前和降解24h后的降解液采用UV一可见、红外光谱分析,用UV-可见光谱发现活性黑KN-B在可见光区600nm处的吸收峰已消失,并且紫外区309nm处的吸收峰减弱,但255nm处的吸收峰增强,说明活性黑KN-B染料中的偶氮键断裂后生成芳香胺类化合物,这些中间产物可进一步降解。用红外光谱分析,结果与UV-可见光谱分析一致。     

应用生态动力学模型评价上海淀山湖富营养化控制方案

近年来,由于淀山湖入湖河流和环湖污水排放,淀山湖水质严重富营养化,夏季高温季节蓝藻水华时有发生。基于最近开展的比较系统的大规模水文、水质、生物同步监测和底质氮磷营养盐释放通量实验,进行入湖氮磷营养盐通量计算分析。通过建立淀山湖水动力一生态动力学耦合模型,利用同步实测和历史资料进行水动力模型和生态动力学模型的率定验证,模拟典型风场作用下的淀山湖三维流场特征;利用生态动力学模型系统研究淀山湖氮磷营养盐和藻类的时空变化和演替规律,初步掌握淀山湖的富营养化过程;综合评价了污染负荷削减、水力调度（水体停留时间）等措施对控制淀山湖富营养化的作用,明确磷是淀山湖藻类生长的关键营养盐限制因子。模型预测结果表明,磷负荷削减50％以上才能使淀山湖夏季蓝藻生物量开始下降;削减90％以上的营养盐负荷才能有效抑制蓝藻水华;水体停留时间的长短是藻类是否过度繁殖的重要条件,加大引水流量,减少淀山湖水体停留时间是有效控制蓝藻水华的重要途径;目前阶段,与控制营养盐负荷（50％）相比,增大引水流量可以更有效地降低蓝藻暴发时的生物量。