Recent Changes in Stream Flashiness and Flooding,and Effects of Flood Management in North Carolina and Virginia

The southeastern United States has undergone anthropogenic changes in landscape structure, with the potential to increase (e.g., urbanization) and decrease (e.g., reservoir construction) stream flashiness and flooding. Assessment of the outcome of such change can provide insight into the efficacy of current strategies and policies to manage water resources. We (1) examined trends in precipitation, floods, and stream flashiness and (2) assessed the relative influence of land cover and flow‐regulating features (e.g., best management practices and artificial water bodies) on stream flashiness from 1991 to 2013. We found mean annual precipitation decreased, which coincided with decreasing trends in floods. In contrast, stream flashiness, overall, showed an increasing trend during the period of study. However, upon closer examination, 20 watersheds showed stable stream flashiness, whereas 5 increased and 6 decreased in flashiness. Urban watersheds were among those that increased or decreased in flashiness. Watersheds that increased in stream flashiness gained more urban cover, lost more forested cover and had fewer best management practices installed than urban watersheds that decreased in stream flashiness. We found best management practices are more effective than artificial water bodies in regulating flashy floods. Flashiness index is a valuable and straightforward metric to characterize changes in streamflow and help to assess the efficacy of management interventions.     

A real-time simulating non-isothermal mathematical model for the passive feed direct methanol fuel cell

In order to understand the complex transport phenomena in a passive direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), a theoretical model is essential. The analytical model provides a computationally efficient framework with a clear physical meaning. For this, a non-isothermal, analytical model for the passive DMFC has been developed in this study. The model considers the coupled heat and mass transport along with electrochemical reactions. The model is successfully validated with the experimental data. The model accurately describes the various species transport phenomena including methanol crossover and water crossover, heat transport phenomena, and efficiencies related to the passive DMFC. It suggests that the maximum real efficiency can be achieved by running the cell at low methanol feed concentration and moderate current density. The model also accurately predicts the effect of various operating and geometrical parameters on the cell performance such as methanol feed concentration, surrounding temperature, and polymer electrolyte membrane thickness. The model predictions are in accordance with the findings of the other researchers. The model is rapidly implementable and can be used in real-time simulation and control of the passive DMFC. This comprehensive model can be used for diagnostic purpose as well.     

Temporal Trends in the Spatial Distribution of Impervious Cover Relative to Stream Location

Use of impervious cover is transitioning from an indicator of surface water condition to one that also guides and informs watershed planning and management, including Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §1251 et seq.) reporting. Whether it is for understanding surface water condition or planning and management, impervious cover is most commonly expressed as summary measurement (e.g., percentage watershed in impervious cover). We use the National Land Cover Database to estimate impervious cover in the vicinity of surface waters for three time periods (2001, 2006, 2011). We also compare impervious cover in the vicinity of surface waters to watershed summary estimates of impervious cover for classifying the spatial pattern of impervious cover. Between 2001 and 2011, surface water shorelines (streams and water bodies) in the vicinity of impervious cover increased nearly 10,000 km. Across all time periods, approximately 27% of the watersheds in the continental United States had proximally distributed impervious cover, i.e., the percentage of impervious cover in the vicinity of surface waters was higher than its watershed summary expression. We discuss how impervious cover spatial pattern can be used to inform watershed planning and management, including reporting under the Clean Water Act.     

Decline of traditional rice farming constrains the recovery of the endangered Asian crested ibis (Nipponia nippon)

Traditional agriculture benefits a rich diversity of plants and animals. The winter-flooded rice fields in the Qinling Mountains, China, are the last refuge for the endangered Asian crested ibis (Nipponia nippon), and intensive efforts have been made to protect this anthropogenic habitat. Analyses of multi-temporal satellite data indicate that winter-flooded rice fields have been continuously reduced across the current range of crested ibis during the past two decades. The rate of loss of these fields in the core-protected areas has unexpectedly increased to a higher level than that in non-protected areas in the past decade. The best fit (R² = 0.87) numerical response model of the crested ibis population shows that a reduction of winter-flooded rice fields decreases population growth and predicts that the population growth will be constrained by the decline of traditional winter-flooded rice fields in the coming decades. Our findings suggest that the decline of traditional rice farming is likely to continue to pose a threat to the long-term survival and recovery of the crested ibis population in China.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-015-0649-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Comprehensive Environmental Investigation at Former Industrial/Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Sites in Long Beach,CA: A Forensic Perspective

Two industrial sites were investigated based on years of available hydrogeologic information and monitoring data for soil and groundwater. Collected data were forensically evaluated using age-dating and fingerprinting methods. The previous business uses of the project sites were as a gas station, laundry/dry-cleaning service, and car wash with petroleum underground storage tanks (USTs). As a result, these sites were exposed to a number of toxic contaminants at relatively high concentrations. Source control was necessary for successful remediation and the ultimate removal of the remaining compounds from these industrial sites. Although contaminated soil around the source was excavated during the remedial action and the high concentrations of contaminants were reduced, typical groundwater contaminants such as petroleum hydrocarbons as gasoline (TPH-G), benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes (BTEX), and oxygenates including methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), diisopropyl ether (DIPE), ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE), tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME), and tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) were persistently found at the studied sites around the source points. The plume and concentration of contaminants had changed their shapes and strength for all monitoring periods. Thus, additional source control seems to be a requirement for the complete removal of source contamination, which must be ascertained with groundwater and soil monitoring on a regular time base. For the study sites, monitored natural attenuation was relatively feasible for the long-term plan; however, it did not offer a perfect remediation solution for an ultimate goal because of residual toxic compounds that might have affected the surrounding residential areas at higher concentrations than their health limits. Therefore, as a remediation strategy, the combination of clean-up technology and natural attenuation with monitoring activities are more highly recommended than either clean-up or natural attenuation used separately.     

城市生活垃圾机械生物处理效果

采用机械生物处理工艺研究了淋洗水解、脱水与好氧生物干燥对城市生活垃圾的处理效果.结果表明:在淋洗水解及压榨脱水机械生物处理阶段,控制淋洗液与生活垃圾重量比2∶1,停留时间1.2 ～1.4 d条件下,生活垃圾可以减量49.7％.而过程中产生的淋滤液COD为32 939 mg/L、pH为5.1、COD∶N∶P=261∶5∶3.6,可以进行厌氧消化处理或作为碳源进行资源化利用.在好氧生物干燥阶段,通风量采用0.08 m3/min,2～3d堆体温度可升至73℃,7d左右即可产出LCV高达15 000 kJ/kg左右的高品位垃圾衍生燃料(RDF),其产率为38.2％,氯元素含量低于0.5％,重金属含量较低,满足燃料要求.     

MFC强化同步短程硝化反硝化工艺的启动

微生物燃料电池(MFC)可在阴极实现反硝化、短程反硝化和同步硝化反硝化并产生电能,但在MFC阴极实现同步短程硝化反硝化的研究尚未见到报道。为了探讨MFC阴极同步短程硝化反硝化工艺的性能,将双室曝气阴极MFC与A/O脱氮工艺结合处理人工模拟低碳氮比废水。通过静置运行15 d使得MFC阴极室亚硝态氮得以积累,氨氧化菌得以富集。随即改为连续运行后第21天成功启动同步短程硝化反硝化MFC;阴极出水氨氮浓度为0.3 mg/L,亚硝态氮浓度为15.9 mg/L,硝态氮浓度为0.6 mg/L,亚硝化率达到95%以上,阴极电极自养反硝化去除率达到50%以上,COD去除率达到85%以上。结果表明,将MFC与同步短程硝化反硝化工艺结合,通过阴极室中氧气得电子获得高p H,可以强化同步短程硝化反硝化工艺,完成生物脱氮的同时回收电能,并具有减少外加碱度的优势。     

泥炭保护紫花苜蓿根系对柴油污染土壤修复的研究

采用盆栽试验,观察了泥炭保护根系移栽和直播2种栽培方式处理的紫花苜蓿在柴油污染土壤中的生长情况及其对土壤中柴油污染物的去除情况,探讨了利用泥炭保护根系措施清除土壤柴油污染物的可行性.结果表明,泥炭保护根系处理有利于紫花营蓿根系形态发育,能促进根系细菌和真菌的繁殖,并显著提高根区土壤柴油降解率.     

汽油机冷启动时燃油蒸发多参数影响研究

采用CFD商用软件STAR-CD对汽油机冷启动过程中燃油蒸发进行三维数值模拟,研究了油滴初直径、油滴初速度、进气温度、燃油温度、喷射定时和转速对燃油蒸发率的影响规律.计算结果表明,进气温度、燃油温度和转速对燃油蒸发有重要影响.进气门开时,在进气温度为-7℃和90℃时,蒸发率分别为5.7%和25.0%;相应地,在燃油温度为0℃和60℃时,燃油蒸发率分别为5.7%和22.0%.油滴初直径和喷射定时对燃油蒸发率有一定影响,油滴初速度对燃油蒸发率影响很小.     

放射性废物处置库顶盖毛细屏障的研究进展

放射性废物处置库工程屏障的设计对处置库中放射性废物的长期安全具有重要意义.毛细屏障作为处置库顶盖的工程屏障之一,已在国内外得到广泛的应用.阐述了放射性废物处置库顶盖毛细屏障设置的意义,对近年来毛细屏障的一些研究进展进行了分析,提出了一些尚待解决的问题.