Controls on Leaching of N Species in Upland Moorland Catchments

Spatial and temporal changes in mobility of N species have been studied for three UK upland river networks, the Etherow in the South Pennines, the Nether Beck in the Lake District and the Dee in NE Scotland. The catchments are subject to N deposition at 35.1, 22.0 and 10.8–15.6 kg N ha^–1 yr^–1, respectively. TheNH ₄ ⁺ leaching appears to be predominantly regulated by flowpath in more polluted upland catchments. It is greatest where water draining acidified peaty soils contributes more to total discharge. Soluble organic matter may provide the dominant counter anion. In the Etherowand Dee catchments, which are dominated by acid mineral and organic soils, at high discharge NO ₃ ^– also appears to be associated with greater input of water from acidified soils. In contrast, for the Nether Beck, higher NO ₃ ^– concentrations are associated with tributaries draining soils contributingwater with higher alkalinity, suggesting nitrification is important. For the Etherow and Dee, dissolved organic N (DON) appears to originate predominantly from acidified, peaty soils. Spiking experiments with peat soil from the Etherow catchment confirmed the limited capacity of these soils to utilize inorganic N inputs, favouring equilibration with NH ₄ ⁺ inputs and leaching losses of inorganic N throughout the year.     

Atmospheric lead and bromine in Germany: post-abatement levels,variabilities and trends

INTENTION, GOAL, SCOPE, BACKGROUND: Abatement measures since the 1970s have depleted lead and bromine levels in the atmosphere over large parts of Europe. Our knowledge of the atmospheric cycling of these elements while a several decade-long period of intensive mobilization reaches its end is incomplete. OBJECTIVE: We have characterized the trends in the atmospheric levels of Pb and Br and present-day temporal and spatial variabilities. METHODS: This was achieved by short-term (weeks) and long-term (years) measurements of particulate Pb and Br at various sites in Germany. Samples of atmospheric particulate matter were collected on filter membranes and analyzed by x-ray fluorescence. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Average Pb levels at rural and urban inland sites did not exceed concentrations in background aerosols, sampled at a Baltic Sea coastal site, by more than a factor of 3. Due to sea salt, bromide inland particulate Br levels are below those at a coastal site. There, non-sea salt Br, however, is significant as well. Urban Pb and Br levels are not necessarily higher than rural levels. The concentration levels have decreased in such a way that the previously common source, local vehicular traffic emissions, is no longer predominant. Regional rather than local sources have been increasingly determining the concentrations since the 1990s. This is more pronounced for Br than for Pb. We found indications for coal burning and long-range transport as significant Pb sources. For particulate Pb species, a range of ages (elapsed time since Pb emission) has been found. This range shows two maxima corresponding to characteristic times of 72 and 24 h. CONCLUSIONS: The (mean) atmospheric residence time of particulate Pb is longer than the residence time of Br, in particular in the wintertime. The chemical species contributing to atmospheric Pb should be addressed in future studies. RECOMMENDATION AND OUTLOOK: Clearly, despite effective abatement measures, atmospheric Pb will continue to be dominated by anthropogenic mobilization. The influence from long-range transport can be expected to decrease with the effectiveness of abatement programmes in neighbouring countries of the region.     

Dynamics of mercury fluxes and their controlling factors in large Hg-polluted floodplain areas

Environmental pollution by mercury (Hg) is a considerable environmental problem world-wide. Due to the occurrence of Hg volatilization from their soils, floodplains can function as an important source of volatile Hg. Soil temperature and soil water content related to flood dynamics are considered as important factors affecting seasonal dynamics of total gaseous mercury (TGM) fluxes. We quantified seasonal variations of TGM fluxes and conducted a laboratory microcosm experiment to assess the effect of temperature and moisture on TGM fluxes in heavily polluted floodplain soils. Observed TGM emissions ranged from 10 to 850 ng m⁻² h⁻¹ and extremely exceeded the emissions of non-polluted sites. TGM emissions increased exponentially with raised air and soil temperatures in both field (R²: 0.49-0.70) and laboratory (R²: 0.99) experiments. Wet soil material showed higher TGM fluxes, whereas the role of soil water content was affected by sampling time during the microcosm experiments.     

重庆市大气二(口恶)英污染水平及季节变化

一年内分季节对重庆市不同功能区大气中二英(PCDD/Fs)污染情况进行了监测研究.结果表明,重庆市大气中PCDD/Fs浓度范围和平均值(以TEQ计)分别为0.017~0.21 pg·m-3和(0.094±0.054)pg·m-3.PCDD/Fs污染水平区域分布和季节变化明显,分别为:商住区>郊区>对照点,冬季>春季>秋季>夏季.其中,冬季时大气中的二英浓度约为夏季时的2.2~4.6倍.主成分分析结果显示,PCDD/Fs同系物分布特征季节变化明显:冬、春季时主要表现为颗粒相中的分布特征,夏、秋季节则主要表现为气相中的.相关性分析表明,PCDD/Fs异构体质量浓度与SO2、NO2、PM10和TSP等常规参数含量大都呈显著正相关,与O3则呈负相关,但未达显著性水平.这表明,重庆大气PCDD/Fs的空间分布和季节变化与SO2、NO2、PM10和TSP等环境空气质量常规指标的分布情况基本一致,重庆大气PCDD/Fs污染与常规污染物的排放源密切相关.     

华北地区城镇多环芳烃干沉降特征

分别于冬季和夏季采集了北京、天津和秦皇岛3个城市,遵化、沧县、涞源和张北4个县城以及两处人为活动较少的背景地区降尘样品,分析了降尘量及降尘中多环芳烃含量,据此计算了各样点多环芳烃干沉降通量.结果表明,所研究城市夏季和冬季多环芳烃平均沉降通量分别为(6.3±7.4)μg·m-2·d-1和(16.4±14.9)μg·m-2.d-1,县城为(2.2 4±0.9)μg·m-2 d-1和(16.3±3.8)μg·m-2·d-1,对照点明显低于城镇,两季多环芳烃沉降通量分别为(1.0±0.3)μg·m-2 d-1和(1.6 4±0.7)μg·m-2,d-1.两季节获得的所有样点多环芳烃干沉降通量与降尘量显著相关,若分季节统计,相关性更加明显,且冬季降尘中多环芳烃含量显著高于夏季.由此可见,对多数样点而言,导致其多环芳烃干沉降通量差别的首要因素是降尘量,其次为季节差异.仅个别数据(夏季秦皇岛)表现出不同.降尘中多环芳烃成分谱具有明显的季节差异,城市与县城冬季降尘中菲的相对含量显著高于夏季.不同类型样点间差别较小,表现出区域性趋同现象,同种类型样点之间的多环芳烃成分谱则非常一致.     

Spatial patterns of off-the-system traffic crashes in Miami–Dade County,Florida, during 2005–2010

Objective: The objective of this study is to analyze the spatial distribution of the vehicles involved in crashes in Miami–Dade County. In addition, we analyzed the role of time of day, day of the week, seasonality, drivers’ age in the distribution of traffic crashes.

Method: Off-the-system crash data acquired from the Florida Department of Transportation during 2005–2010 were divided into subcategories according to the risk factors age, time of day, day of the week, and travel season. Various spatial statistics methods, including nearest neighbor analysis, Getis-Ord hot spot analysis, and kernel density analysis revealed substantial spatial variations, depending on the subcategory in question.

Results: Downtown Miami and South Beach showed up consistently as hotspots of traffic crashes in all subcategories except fatal crashes. However, fatal crashes were concentrated in residential areas in inland areas.

Conclusion: This understanding of patterns can help the county target high-risk areas and help to reduce crash fatalities to create a safer environment for motorists and pedestrians.     

基于河流参照状态的季风区域季节性农业灰水足迹核算方法与例证

灰水足迹核算对水资源管理具有重要意义.灰水足迹核算的两个重要参数污染物自然本底浓度和污染物入河系数在季风区域均存在明显的季节性差异,而在之前灰水足迹核算的研究中较少考虑季风区域灰水足迹可能存在的季节性差异.本文以河流总磷的参照状态作为其自然本底浓度核算了承德市农业灰水足迹.结果发现：相较于将总磷自然本底浓度值认为零,将总磷参照状态作为其自然本底浓度值的农业灰水足迹核算结果是其核算结果的1.29倍.农业灰水足迹呈现明显的季节性差异,雨季农业灰水足迹是旱季农业灰水足迹的10.65倍.在2003—2015年承德市农业灰水足迹构成中,种植业灰水足迹占较大比重,并且该比重随时间有增大的趋势.然而,承德市区县粮食产量的增长率与化肥的增长率未表现出显著关系,说明粮食产量的增幅与化肥施用的增幅无关.承德市农业灰水足迹相对较大的区县集中于承德北部区域,主要包括围场县、丰宁县和隆化县;农业灰水足迹相对较小的区县为营子区、双滦区、双桥区和宽城县.本文可阐明季风区域农业灰水足迹核算的季节性差异,以期促进灰水足迹核算方法的发展.     

Disturbance of the Macroinvertebrate communities of bank-root biotope of a river in southern Nigeria

The impact of disturbance on the macroinvertebrate community was investigated in the biotope of a river catchment area. A total of 56 and 18 taxa were recorded at Stations 1 and 2, accounting for 71 and 29% individual organisms, respectively. Twelve taxa were common at both stations. Baetidae (Ephemeroptera) constituted the predominant group with the 46% density at the upstream biotope of Station 1, whereas, family Hydrobidae (Mollusca) dominated numerically the downstream Station 2. Data revealed that months of sampling at stations significantly influenced the occurrence and abundance of the major groups. Three distinct patterns of seasonal affiliation among the benthos were observed. Monthly variation in species diversity occurred. The macroinvertebrate community was affected by disturbances at the downstream bank-root biotope, limiting the occurrence of life forms to a few adaptable groups.     

Seasonal distribution and speciation of mercury in a gold mining area,north-west province,South Africa

The seasonal speciation of mercury (Hg) was determined in water, soil, and sediments from watersheds located in the North-West province of South Africa. The study area is known to have a long history of mining activities which also include the recovery of gold from old tailings. Both inorganic (IHg) and methyl mercury (MHg) were detected at high concentrations (up to 8480 μg IHg kg^?1 and 13 μg MHg kg^?1) in surface sediments during dry season. A considerable remobilization of Hg from bottom sediments was observed in water from dry to wet season as well as the migration of Hg away from pollution sources due to seasonal influences. Hg in sediments mostly has been speciated as Hg⁰. Enhancement of Hg methylation occurred mainly in deeper sediments at regions corresponding to the lowest redox potential, higher pH, and enrichment of IHg. Hg values in borehole waters were very high (up to 3310 ng L^?1) suggesting a serious contamination of the site groundwater which needs to be addressed urgently in order to minimize further impact that affects the Vaal River and other water systems located nearby.     

Seasonal features of aerosol particles recorded in snow from Mt. Qomolangma （Everest） and their environmental implications

To assess the seasonality of aerosol deposition and anthropogenic effects on central Himalayas, a 1.85-m deep snow pit was dug on the northern slope of Mr. Qomolangma (Everest). Based on the morphology and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) signal, totally 1500 particles were classed into 7 groups: soot; aluminosilicates; fly ash; calcium sulfates; Ca/Mg carbonates; metal oxides; and biological particles and carbon fragments. The size distribution and number fractions of different particle groups exhibited distinct seasonal variations between non-monsoon and monsoon periods, which are clearly related to the differences in air mass pathways. Specifically, the relative abundance of soot in non-monsoon period (25%) was much higher than that in monsoon period (14%), indicating Mr. Qomolangma region received more anthropogenic influence in non-monsoon than monsoon period.