Modeling Pre‐ and Post‐Dam Removal Sediment Dynamics: The Kalamazoo River,Michigan1

Abstract:  The state of Michigan is interested in removing two low‐head dams in an 8.8 km reach of the Kalamazoo River between Plainwell and Otsego, Michigan, while minimizing impacts locally and to downstream reaches. The study was designed to evaluate the erosion, transport, and deposition of sediments over a 37.3‐year period using the channel evolution model CONCEPTS for three simulation scenarios: Dams In (DI), Dams Out (DO), and Design (D). The total mass of sediment emanating from the channel boundary, for the DI case, shows net deposition of 4,100 T/y for the study reach, with net transport (suspended and bed load) of 10,500 T/y passing the downstream boundary. For the DO case, net erosion is 19,200 T/y with net transport of 30,100 T/y (187% increase) passing the downstream boundary. For the D case, net deposition is 2,570 T/y (37% decrease) with transport of 14,200 T/y (35% increase) passing the downstream boundary. The most significant findings were: (1) removal of the low‐head dams will cause significant erosion of sediments stored behind the dams and increased sediment loads passing the downstream boundary and (2) sediment loads for the proposed channel design are similar to existing conditions and offer reduced fine‐sediment loadings.     

Factors in offshore planning that affect the risk for major accidents

The purpose of this paper is to systematically analyse a typical planning process in the offshore industry from the perspective of causes of major accidents, with the ultimate aim of identifying factors that affect the risk for major accidents occurring. We first study and describe a typical planning process for offshore oil and gas operations in Norway. Then we analyse a number of theories of major accidents, to see how the different theories and their explanations of causes and contributing factors can be of relevance for future plans and planning processes. Finally, we review accident investigations to search for evidence of how weaknesses in planning processes can contribute to major accidents through the above identified factors. Also, we try to identify any additional factors that have not been recognised through the theoretical review. This provides empirical support for the theoretical basis. Thirteen factors which directly or indirectly can influence the planning process causing a major accident potential are identified. These are exemplified through a review of investigation reports. The paper suggests that planning process should focus more on increasing quality in the plans at an early phase, with examples from incidents, and illustrate the relation between planning quality and potential for major accidents.     

The Aging of America's Reservoirs: In‐Reservoir and Downstream Physical Changes and Habitat Implications

Reservoirs are important for various purposes including flood control, water supply, power generation, and recreation. The aging of America's reservoirs and progressive loss of water storage capacity resulting from ongoing sedimentation, coupled with increasing societal needs, will cause the social, economic, environmental, and political importance of reservoirs to continually increase. The short‐ and medium‐term (<50 years) environmental consequences of reservoir construction and operation are well known and include an altered flow regime, lost connectivity (longitudinal, floodplain), an altered sediment regime, substrate compositional change, and downstream channel degradation. In general, reservoir‐related changes have had adverse consequences for the natural ecosystem. Longer term (>50 years) environmental changes as reservoirs enter “old” age are less understood. Additional research is needed to help guide the future management of aging reservoir systems and support the difficult decisions that will have to be made. Important research directions include assessment of climate change effects on aging and determination of ecosystem response to ongoing aging and various management actions that may be taken with the intent of minimizing or reversing the physical effects of aging.     

长江源区基于坡面尺度的土壤水热过程模拟研究

长江源多年冻土区土壤水热传输过程机理与模拟,是广泛关系到高原生态环境保护恢复和区域水文过程的关键科学问题。因此,以GEOtop模型为研究平台,以长江源不同植被盖度下（裸地、30%、65%和92%）高寒草甸的观测数据为基础,检验模型对土壤水热迁移过程的描述与模拟精度。总体而言,GEOtop模型需要率定的参数较少,从而减少模型模拟的不确定性,提高了模拟精度。对不同植被盖度下土壤温度、水分和实际蒸散发模拟的NSE 系数基本达到08,表明模型能准确模拟高寒生态系统土壤的水热传输过程,可以作为长江源区土壤水热过程的有效模拟工具     

水环境中的碘化X-射线造影剂及其去除工艺研究进展

碘化X-射线造影剂(Iodinated X-ray contrast media,ICM)在水环境中被广泛检出,因其近期被发现是碘化消毒副产物的前体物而受到越来越多的关注.本文总结了ICM在污水、地表水和饮用水等水环境中的污染现状;分析了ICM的转化产物及转化机制;重点介绍了ICM的去除工艺,包括高级氧化技术、辐射技术以及生物降解转化技术;讨论了ICM及其降解转化产物可能对环境造成的生态风险.最后,本文对未来ICM的研究前景进行了展望.     

Does Riparian Forest Restoration Thinning Enhance Biodiversity? The Ecological Importance of Large Wood

Intact riparian ecosystems are rich in biological diversity, but throughout the world, many have been degraded. Biodiversity declines, particularly of vertebrates, have led to experimental efforts to restore riparian forests by thinning young stands to accelerate creation of large diameter live trees. However, many vertebrates depend on large diameter deadwood that is standing as snags or fallen to the forest floor or fallen into streams. Therefore, we reviewed the sizes of deadwood and live trees used by different vertebrate species to understand which species are likely to benefit from different thinning treatments. We then examined how riparian thinning affects the long‐term development of both large diameter live trees and deadwood. To this end, we used a forest growth model to examine how different forest thinning intensities might affect the long‐term production and abundance of live trees and deadwood. Our results suggest that there are long‐term habitat tradeoffs associated with different thinning intensities. Species that utilize large diameter live trees will benefit most from heavy thinning, whereas species that utilize large diameter deadwood will benefit most from light or no thinning. Because far more vertebrate species utilize large deadwood rather than large live trees, allowing riparian forests to naturally develop may result in the most rapid and sustained development of structural features important to most terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates.     

An analysis of the likely success of policy actions under uncertainty: Recovery from acidification across Great Britain

In the context of wider debates about the role of uncertainty in environmental science and the development of environmental policy, we use a Generalised Likelihood Uncertainty Estimate (GLUE) approach to address the uncertainty in both acid deposition model predictions and in the sensitivity of the soils to assess the likely success of policy actions to reduce acid deposition damage across Great Britain. A subset of 11, 699 acid deposition model runs that adequately represented observed deposition data were used to provide acid deposition distributions for 2005 and 2020, following a substantial reduction in SO₂ and NO_x emissions. Uncertain critical loads data for soils were then combined with these deposition data to derive estimates of the accumulated exceedance (AE) of critical loads for 2005 and 2020. For the more sensitive soils, the differences in accumulated exceedance between 2005 and 2020 were such that we could be sure that they were significant and a meaningful environmental improvement would result. For the least sensitive soils, critical loads were largely met by 2020, hence uncertainties in the differences in accumulated exceedance were of little policy relevance. Our approach of combining estimates of uncertainty in both a pollution model and an effects model, shows that even taking these combined uncertainties into account, policy-makers can be sure that the substantial planned reduction in acidic emissions will reduce critical loads exceedances. The use of accumulated exceedance as a relative measure of environmental protection provides additional information to policy makers in tackling this ‘wicked problem’.     

Nitrogen deposition alters soil chemical properties and bacterial communities in the Inner Mongolia grassland

Nitrogen deposition has dramatically altered biodiversity and ecosystem functioning on the earth; however, its effects on soil bacterial community and the underlying mechanisms of these effects have not been thoroughly examined. Changes in ecosystems caused by nitrogen deposition have traditionally been attributed to increased nitrogen content. In fact, nitrogen deposition not only leads to increased soil total N content, but also changes in the NH₄⁺-N content, NO₃^--N content and pH, as well as changes in the heterogeneity of the four indexes. The soil indexes for these four factors, their heterogeneity and even the plant community might be routes through which nitrogen deposition alters the bacterial community. Here, we describe a 6-year nitrogen addition experiment conducted in a typical steppe ecosystem to investigate the ecological mechanism by which nitrogen deposition alters bacterial abundance, diversity and composition. We found that various characteristics of the bacterial community were explained by different environmental factors. Nitrogen deposition decreased bacterial abundance that is positively related to soil pH value. In addition, nitrogen addition decreased bacterial diversity, which is negatively related to soil total N content and positively related to soil NO₃^--N heterogeneity. Finally, nitrogen addition altered bacterial composition that is significantly related to soil NH₄⁺-N content. Although nitrogen deposition significantly altered plant biomass, diversity and composition, these characteristics of plant community did not have a significant impact on processes of nitrogen deposition that led to alterations in bacterial abundance, diversity and composition. Therefore, more sensitive molecular technologies should be adopted to detect the subtle shifts of microbial community structure induced by the changes of plant community upon nitrogen deposition.