Modelling vegetation greenness responses to climate variability in a Mediterranean terrestrial ecosystem

Accurate knowledge of the quality and environmental impact of the highway runoff in Pear River Delta, South China is required to assess this important non-point pollution source. This paper presents the quality characterization and environmental impact assessment of rainfall runoff from highways in urban and rural area of Guangzhou, the largest city of Pear River Delta over 1 year’s investigation. Multiple regression and Pearson correlation analysis were used to determine influence of the rainfall characteristics on water quality and correlations among the constituents in highway runoff. The results and analysis indicates that the runoff water is nearly neutral with low biodegradability. Oil and grease (O&G), suspended solids (SS) and heavy metals are the dominant pollutants in contrast to the low level of nutrient constituents in runoff. Quality of highway runoff at rural site is better than that of at urban site for most constituents. Depth and antecedent dry period are the main rainfall factors influencing quality of highway runoff. The correlation patterns among constituents in highway runoff at urban site are consistent with their dominant phases in water. Strong correlations (r ≥ 0.80) are found among chemical oxygen demand (COD), total phosphorus, Cu and Zn as well as conductivity, nitrate nitrogen and total nitrogen. O&G, COD, SS and Pb in highway runoff at urban site substantially exceed their concentrations in receiving water of Pear River. The soil directly discharged by highway runoff at rural site has contaminated seriously by heavy metals in surface layer accompanying with pH conversion from original acidic to alkaline at present.     

Effects of sewage sludge amendment on heavy metal accumulation and consequent responses of Beta vulgaris plants

Use of sewage sludge, a biological residue produced from sewage treatment processes in agriculture is an alternative disposal technique of waste. To study the usefulness of sewage sludge amendment for palak (Beta vulgaris var. Allgreen H-1), a leafy vegetable and consequent heavy metal contamination, a pot experiment was conducted by mixing sewage sludge at 20% and 40% (w/w) amendment ratios to the agricultural soil. Soil pH decreased whereas electrical conductance, organic carbon, total N, available P and exchangeable Na, K and Ca increased in soil amended with sewage sludge in comparison to unamended soil. Sewage sludge amendment led to significant increase in Pb, Cr, Cd, Cu, Zn and Ni concentrations of soil. Cd concentration in soil was found above the Indian permissible limit in soil at both the amendment ratios.

The increased concentration of heavy metals in soil due to sewage sludge amendment led to increases in heavy metal uptake and shoot and root concentrations of Ni, Cd, Cu, Cr, Pb and Zn in plants as compared to those grown on unamended soil. Accumulation was more in roots than shoots for most of the heavy metals. Concentrations of Cd, Ni and Zn were more than the permissible limits of Indian standard in the edible portion of palak grown on different sewage sludge amendments ratios. Sewage sludge amendment in soil decreased root length, leaf area and root biomass of palak at both the amendment ratios, whereas shoot biomass and yield decreased significantly at 40% sludge amendment. Rate of photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and chlorophyll content decreased whereas lipid peroxidation, peroxidase activity and protein and proline contents, increased in plants grown in sewage sludge-amended soil as compared to those grown in unamended soil.

The study clearly shows that increase in heavy metal concentration in foliage of plants grown in sewage sludge-amended soil caused unfavorable changes in physiological and biochemical characteristics of plants leading to reductions in morphological characteristics, biomass accumulation and yield. The study concludes that sewage sludge amendment in soil for growing palak may not be a good option due to risk of contamination of Cd, Ni and Zn and also due to lowering of yield at higher mixing ratio.     

Transport of Sr2+ and SrEDTA2- in partially-saturated and heterogeneous sediments

Strontium-90 has migrated deep into the unsaturated subsurface beneath leaking storage tanks in the Waste Management Areas (WMA) at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Reservation. Faster than expected transport of contaminants in the vadose zone is typically attributed to either physical hydrologic processes such as development of preferential flow pathways, or to geochemical processes such as the formation of stable, anionic complexes with organic chelates, e.g., ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). The goal of this paper is to determine whether hydrological processes in the Hanford sediments can influence the geochemistry of the system and hence control transport of Sr(2+) and SrEDTA(2-). The study used batch isotherms, saturated packed column experiments, and an unsaturated transport experiment in an undisturbed core. Isotherms and repacked column experiments suggested that the SrEDTA(2-) complex was unstable in the presence of Hanford sediments, resulting in dissociation and transport of Sr(2+) as a divalent cation. A decrease in sorption with increasing solid:solution ratio for Sr(2+) and SrEDTA(2-) suggested mineral dissolution resulted in competition for sorption sites and the formation of stable aqueous complexes. This was confirmed by detection of MgEDTA(2-), MnEDTA(2-), PbEDTA(2-), and unidentified Sr and Ca complexes. Displacement of Sr(2+) through a partially-saturated undisturbed core resulted in less retardation and more irreversible sorption than was observed in the saturated repacked columns, and model results suggested a significant reservoir (49%) of immobile water was present during transport through the heterogeneous layered sediments. The undisturbed core was subsequently disassembled along distinct bedding planes and subjected to sequential extractions. Strontium was unequally distributed between carbonates (49%), ion exchange sites (37%), and the oxide (14%) fraction. An inverse relationship between mass wetness and Sr suggested that sandy sediments of low water content constituted the immobile flow regime. Our results suggested that the sequestration of Sr(2+) in partially-saturated, heterogeneous sediments was most likely due to the formation of immobile water in drier regions having low hydraulic conductivities.     

甲烷-煤尘复合火焰的传播与温度特征

为了揭示甲烷-煤尘复合体系的燃烧特征,利用高速摄像机、超细热电偶、显微镜头等对管道内甲烷-煤尘复合火焰的传播过程及其温度特征进行了试验研究.结果表明,随着煤尘浓度的增加,甲烷-煤尘复合火焰的最高温度及传播速度呈现先增大后减小的趋势; 对于甲烷-煤尘复合火焰,粒径较大的煤尘在较小的浓度达到最高温度,而粒径较小的煤尘则需要在较大的浓度达到最高温度.     

稀有植物掌叶木生物学习性及其保护

掌叶木为我国特有残遗植物 ,仅分布在广西与贵州接壤的石灰岩地区。因人为破坏、生境特殊及自身特性影响 ,资源稀少 ,被列为国家重点保护植物。本文研究了其生态生物学特性 ,并初步探讨其致濒原因及解决方法     

强夯引起地面振动的衰减特征

对强夯施工的现场进行了近距离的测量 ,得到了最大地动位移值随距离的变化特征 ,其衰减规律较好地符合负幂函数衰减规律 ,水平径向与垂直向的衰减指数分别为 1 495 3,0 4714。     

上海青浦地区大气降水的化学特征

利用上海青浦地区2003—2014年观测的大气降水监测资料,分析该区域12 a以来大气降水的酸化程度、化学组成特征,探讨降水中化学成分的不同来源及相对贡献。结果表明:降水pH年均值为4.43~6.33,酸雨频率为2.6%~86.8%,降水酸化程度大致经历了明显恶化和波动变化2个阶段。降水电导率年均值为1.77~4.01 m S/m,呈下降趋势。降水中各离子雨量加权平均当量浓度顺序为SO_4~(2-)NH_4~+Ca~(2+)NO_3~-Cl~-Na~+Mg~(2+)F-K~+,SO_4~(2-)、NH+4、Ca~(2+)和NO_3~-是降水中的主要离子,占离子总量的83.0%;降水类型由硫酸型向硫酸和硝酸混合型转变。降水离子中的二次组分SO_4~(2-)、NO_3~-和NH_4~+绝大部分来源于人为源,Ca~(2+)、Mg~(2+)和K+主要来自于土壤源和人为源的贡献,Cl~-主要来自海洋源,同时人为源的影响也不可忽视。     

上海市臭氧污染时空分布及影响因素

分析2006—2016年上海市的监测数据发现,臭氧(O_3)浓度存在逐年上升趋势,污染持续时间有所增加,但除水平风速有下降趋势外,其他相关气象因素的年际变化趋势并不显著。空间分析结果表明,上海市O_3超标主要集中在西南部郊区,但市区O_3超标潜势不容忽视。O_3污染高发季节的污染玫瑰图分析发现,上海市南部地区是影响上海市O_3污染的关键区域;对于NO_2减排的影响分析发现,尽管上海市O_3平均浓度总体处于上升趋势,但在NO_2下降幅度最为明显的内环市区和北部郊区,O_3上升幅度低于NO_2下降幅度较小的内外环区域和西部郊区,表明上海市的O_3污染控制仍需持续推进NOx的减排,并同步推进VOCs的减排。     

沈阳臭氧污染时空分布特征及变化趋势

以沈阳2013—2015年臭氧(O_3)监测数据为基础,从地域差异及时间变化上分析了沈阳O_3浓度变化特征。结果表明:沈阳城市外围O_3浓度高于城市中心;O_3浓度变化具有明显季节特征,夏季O_3浓度最高,冬季最低;O_3浓度日变化呈单峰分布,谷值出现在06:00,峰值出现在14:00;O_3浓度出现明显"周末效应",周末白天O_3浓度高于工作日O_3浓度,夜间差异不大。     

青藏高原典型城市拉萨市近地面臭氧污染特征

拉萨市作为青藏高原典型城市,环境空气质量相对较好,但臭氧污染近年来有所凸显。对拉萨市臭氧的现状与污染特征进行分析基础上,探讨臭氧污染的影响因素。结果表明:拉萨市臭氧污染表现出"来得早,去得快"的特征,与内地城市相比,拉萨市臭氧质量浓度在3月即可达到全年平均值(2015年为105μg/m~3),而9月以后将低于全年平均值,并在春末夏初达到峰值;由于青藏高原海拔高,紫外线强,相对内陆地区臭氧均值偏高,2015年拉萨市臭氧年均值比北京市和成都市分别高出7.7%、29.0%,其小时浓度变化呈中午高、早晚低的特征;拉萨市臭氧的浓度变化受空气湿度、日照时间和日均气温的影响;生物质燃料的跨界传输可能也对青藏高原地区臭氧的来源产生一定影响。