Cadmium in aquatic microcosms: Implications for screening the ecological effects of toxic substances

A two-phase set of experiments was conducted to address some of the problems inherent in ecological screening of toxic substances in aquatic microcosms. Phase I was a 4×4 factorial experiment dealing with the interactive effects of cadmium and nutrients in static microcosms. Phase II was a 2×4 factorial experiment using flowthrough microcosms to study temporal aspects of system behavior in response to nutrient loading and chronic versus acute cadmium perturbations. Nutrient enrichment resulted in increased biomass and metabolic activity in both static and flowthrough microcosms. Cadmium treatments generally resulted in a decrease in abundance of grazing crustaceans and a subsequent increase in community respiration, suggesting a change in community structure from a grazing to a detritus food chain. Of the variables measured, community metabolism, community composition, and output/input ratios of nitrate-nitrogen were the most useful indicators of system response to cadmium. Nutrient enrichment significantly influenced cadmium effects with respect to most of the variables measured; high levels of enrichment reduced the effects of cadmium. For screening the ecological effects of toxic chemicals, a series of experiments is proposed, including 1) relatively simple static microcosms, 2) flow through microcosms, and 3) more detailed but selective studies in microcosms derived from specific ecosystems. Each step yields increasingly more information and serves as a guide for subsequent experiments; in addition, each step more closely approximates natural ecosystems.     

地钱浸提液对小球藻的生长抑制效应

研究地钱对小球藻生长的抑制效应,筛选出廉价、高效、低毒的抑藻剂,对比分析了地钱与研究较为广泛的大麦秸秆对小球藻生长抑制效果的差异.结果显示,在0.5g/L地钱浸提液中培养120h后小球藻生长的抑制率达到88.17%,而0.5g/L大麦秸秆浸提液的抑制率只有66.28%.可见,在相同浓度条件下地钱浸提液的抑藻效果优于大麦秸秆浸提液;高浓度的25g/L地钱浸提液降低了小球藻的光合活性,而低浓度的1g/L浸提液对小球藻光合活性的影响不显著;通过对比乙醇和去离子水浸提液对小球藻抑制效果,说明对小球藻的生长起抑制作用的是地钱浸提液中的有机化感组分;地钱浸提液的抑藻效果与杨梅素、芹菜素和木犀草素这3种单一黄酮类化感物质相似.     

基于信息筛选和拉依达准则识别地下水主要组分水化学异常的方法研究

地下水水化学组分的异常值识别是获取水化学背景值的重要的一环,以往提出的基于水化学各组分内在联系的计算背景值的水化学图法及Durov图法在柳江盆地的研究中均取得了良好的效果,但是水化学图法的计算步骤繁多,过程复杂,对采样精度要求严格.因此,为简化计算过程,快速识别异常,本文借鉴英国地调局识别异常的方法,以沙颍河流域为研究区,针对该区浅层地下水水质资料,利用信息筛选法替代水化学图法,对研究区内水化学主要组分进行异常识别,并将不同识别方法的识别效果进行对比分析.结果表明,尽管存在两种方法单独识别出的异常数据较多,但是水化学图法+拉依达准则和信息筛选法+拉依达准则对地下水主要组分的异常识别效果均较好,异常识别后的剩余数据的阈值范围较为一致,信息筛选法能够在大尺度区域内精度较低条件下,有效地替代水化学图法快速识别出异常值.     

Communication Strategy of Transboundary Air Pollution Findings in a US–Mexico Border XXI Program Project

From 1996 to 1997, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) conducted an air quality study known as the Lower Rio Grande Valley Transboundary Air Pollution Project (TAPP). The study was a US–Mexico Border XXI program project and was developed in response to local community requests on a need for more air quality measurements and concerns about the health impact of local air pollutants; this included concerns about emissions from border-dependent industries in Mexico, known as maquiladoras. The TAPP was a follow-up study to environmental monitoring done by EPA in this area in 1993 and incorporated scientific and community participation in development, review of results, and public presentation of findings. In spite of this, critical remarks were leveled by community activists against the study's preliminary “good news” findings regarding local air quality and the influence of transboundary air pollution. To resolve these criticisms and to refine the findings to address these concerns, analyses included comparisons of daily and near real-time measurements to TNRCC effects screening levels and data from other studies along with wind sector analyses. Reassessment of the data suggested that although regional source emissions occurred and outliers of elevated pollutant levels were found, movement of air pollution across the border did not appear to cause noticeable deterioration of air quality. In spite of limitations stated to the community, the TAPP was presented as establishing a benchmark to assess current and future transboundary air quality in the Valley. The study has application in Border XXI Program or other air quality studies where transboundary transport is a concern since it involved interagency coordination, public involvement, and communication of scientifically sound results for local environmental protection efforts.     

A GIS-BASED MODELING APPROACH FOR EVALUATING GROUNDWATER VULNERABILITY TO PESTICIDES1

ABSTRACT: The Attenuation Factor (AF), a screening model, was used to evaluate the relative degree of vulnerability of groundwater to pesticide contamination in Louisa County, Virginia. For evaluating the contamination potential of pesticides, three scenarios of pesticide leaching represented by high, moderate, and low cases of degradation and sorption in the soil were considered. Data layers were overlaid within a Geographic Information System (GIS) for spatial computation of AF for the actual and 2m groundwater depths. This spatial database was divided into five contamination potential categories namely high, medium, low, very low, and unlikely, based on the numerical values of the AF for each cell (119 ha). The results for the three most mobile pesticides are presented in this paper. The performance of the AF model was evaluated by comparing its predicted results with the field data from an experimental watershed. The AF model was able to identify most of the frequently detected pesticides in the watershed. A sensitivity analysis was also performed. The results of this study provide information about the potential groundwater threat by pesticides to the citizens ahd decision-makers in the County and can be used for formulating an appropriate land use management plan to protect the groundwater quality.