A genetic algorithm based stochastic programming model for air quality management

This paper presents a model that can aid planners in defining the total allowable pollutant discharge in the planning region,accounting for the dynamic and stochastic character of meteorological conditions.This is accomplished by integrating Monte Carlo simulation and using genetic algorithm to solve the model.The model is demonstrated by using a realistic air urban-scale SO2 control problem in the Yuxi City of China.To evaluate effectiveness of the model,results of the approach are shown to compare with those of the linear deterministic procedures. This paper also provides a valuable insight into how air quality targets should be made when the air pollutant will not threat the residents‘ health.Finally,a discussion of the areas for further research are briefly delineated.     

Excellent dye degradation performance of FeSiBP amorphous alloys by Fenton-like process

Amorphous alloys are being newly applied in wastewater treatment because of their unique atomic packing structure. They possess excellent degradation efficiency, stability and reusability. In this work, Fe₈₀Si₁₀B₁₀ and Fe₈₃Si₅B₈P₄ amorphous ribbons exhibited advanced catalytic performance for the degradation of Methyl Blue (MB) and Rhodamine B (RhB) dyes, and the color removal reach nearly 100% within 11 min for both the dyes. Compared with the Fe₈₀Si₁₀B₁₀ amorphous ribbon, the Fe₈₃Si₅B₈P₄ ribbon showed higher degradation efficiency due to its lower reaction activation energy, higher electron transfer ability and higher Fe content, and the formation of the galvanic cell between the strong Fe–P bonds and the weak Fe–B bonds. It also exhibited high stability and reusability. The degradation efficiency was improved when the appropriate concentration of H₂O₂ is added. As regards the pH, high degradation efficiency was observed in acidic MB solution, but it decreased as the pH increased up to pH 7. The application of the electro–Fenton–like process is discussed, which can effectively improve the degradation performance in a nearly natural solution. This study presents a high efficiency low-cost catalyst for synthetic dye degradation and expands the functional applications of Fe-based amorphous alloys.     

合肥市冬季颗粒物污染传输通道分析及通量研究

综合前后向轨迹聚类分析、激光雷达探测传输量及典型案例,系统分析2018—2020年冬季合肥市主要传输型重污染过程,揭示合肥大气污染输送通道的主要特征和污染期间PM_2.5的传输通量。结果表明：合肥市冬季污染主要输入通道分别为京津冀-山东西部-安徽北部-合肥(35%)、山东南部-安徽北部-南京-合肥(26%)、内蒙古-河北-山东-江苏中部-合肥(24%)、内蒙古-山西-河北南部-河南-安徽北部-合肥(15%);主要输出通道为合肥-六安或安庆-湖北-江西(54%)、合肥-安徽北部-江苏北部(18%)、合肥-河南南部-陕西(17%)、合肥-上海或浙江-海上(11%)。对激光雷达监测结果采用像素检测法分析,结果表明2018—2020年污染传输过程的平均传输通量分别可达20.3、33.7、19.5 t/h,年际差异较大。外源传输通量较高时的主导风向为偏北风,并且风速为3.1 m/s左右。合肥市处于安徽省自北向南污染传输通道的中游区域,受上游城市传输影响显著,典型污染传输型的平均传输通量可比上游城市(淮北市)低57.6%,比下游城市(池州市)高25.5%,且污染过程中常伴随PM...     

Setting Realistic Recovery Targets for Two Interacting Endangered Species,Sea Otter and Northern Abalone

Failure to account for interactions between endangered species may lead to unexpected population dynamics, inefficient management strategies, waste of scarce resources, and, at worst, increased extinction risk. The importance of species interactions is undisputed, yet recovery targets generally do not account for such interactions. This shortcoming is a consequence of species‐centered legislation, but also of uncertainty surrounding the dynamics of species interactions and the complexity of modeling such interactions. The northern sea otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) and one of its preferred prey, northern abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana), are endangered species for which recovery strategies have been developed without consideration of their strong predator–prey interactions. Using simulation‐based optimization procedures from artificial intelligence, namely reinforcement learning and stochastic dynamic programming, we combined sea otter and northern abalone population models with functional‐response models and examined how different management actions affect population dynamics and the likelihood of achieving recovery targets for each species through time. Recovery targets for these interacting species were difficult to achieve simultaneously in the absence of management. Although sea otters were predicted to recover, achieving abalone recovery targets failed even when threats to abalone such as predation and poaching were reduced. A management strategy entailing a 50% reduction in the poaching of northern abalone was a minimum requirement to reach short‐term recovery goals for northern abalone when sea otters were present. Removing sea otters had a marginally positive effect on the abalone population but only when we assumed a functional response with strong predation pressure. Our optimization method could be applied more generally to any interacting threatened or invasive species for which there are multiple conservation objectives. Definición de Metas de Recuperación Realistas para Dos Especies en Peligro Interactuantes, Enhydra lutris y Haliotis kamtschatkana     

Recent advances based on the synergetic effect of adsorption for removal of dyes from waste water using photocatalytic process

The problem of textile dye pollution has been addressed by various methods,mainly physical,chemical,biological,and acoustical.These methods mainly separate and/or remove the dye present in water.Recently,advanced oxidation processes(AOP)have been focused for removal of dye from waste water due to their advantages such as ecofriendly,economic and capable to degrade many dyes or organic pollutant present in water.Photocatalysis is one of the advance oxidation processes,mainly carried out under irradiation of light and suitable photocatalytic materials.The photocatalytic activity of the photocatalytic materials mainly depends on the band gap,surface area,and generation of electron–hole pair for degradation dyes present in water.It has been observed that the surface area plays a major role in photocatalytic degradation of dyes,by providing higher surface area,which leads to the higher adsorption of dye molecule on the surface of photocatalyst and enhances the photocatalytic activity.This present review discusses the synergic effect of adsorption of dyes on the photocatalytic efficiency of various nanostructured high surface area photocatalysts.In addition,it also provides the properties of the water polluting dyes,their mechanism and various photocatalytic materials;and their morphology used for the dye degradation under irradiation of light along with the future prospects of highly adsorptive photocatalytic material and their application in photocatalytic removal of dye from waste water.     

DROUGHT,TREE RINGS,AND RESERVOIR DESIGN1

Droughts constitute one of the most important factors affecting the design and operation of water resources infrastructure. Hydrologists ascertain their duration, severity, and pattern of recurrence from instrumental records of precipitation or stream‐flow. Under suitable conditions, and with proper analysis, tree rings obtained from long living, climate sensitive species of trees can extend instrumental records of streamflow and precipitation over periods spanning several centuries. Those tree‐ring “reconstructions” provide a valuable insight about climate variability and drought occurrence in the Holocene, and yield long term hydrological data useful in the design of water infrastructure. This work presents a derivation of drought risk based on a renewal model of drought recurrence, a brief review of the basic theory of tree‐ring reconstructions, and a stochastic model for optimizing the design of water supply reservoirs. Examples illustrate the methodology developed in this work and the supporting role that tree‐ring reconstructed streamflow can play in characterizing hydrologic variability.     

Topographic Controls of Nitrogen,Sulfur, and Carbon Transport from a Tolerant Hardwood Hillslope

The lateral down-slope movement of water, NO₃ ^-, NH₄ ⁺, SO₄ ^2-, H⁺ and DOC through an ablation till was examined from 1987 to 1990 for a one hectaresoil catena on a steep hillslope with uniform forest cover at the Turkey Lakes Watershed (TLW), Ontario, Canada. Natural variation in the export of nutrients from the soil profile via soil water to Little Turkey Lake was assessed in relation to nutrient distribution in soil at different topographic positions.Subsurface throughflow exhibited dramatic differences in nutrientconcentrations and fluxes with slope position, largely reflectingthat of the soil horizons through which the water passed. GreaterNO₃ ^-, SO₄ ^2-, and DOC concentrations in subsurface water in the upper, well-drained hillslope were a reflection of enrichment by contact with more acidic, more developed podzols, and more favorable soil physical and biological conditions for NO₃ ^- retention in solution.Nutrient inputs to the lake were strongly influenced by increaseddown-slope transport of water, and increased SO₄ ^2-, N, and C retention in wetter, less-developed podzolic soils that characterize lower slope positions. An understanding of water movement and soil development variation withtopographic position was required to accurately estimate nutrient budgets for steep slopes at TLW.     

Role of seepage supply in aquatic vegetation dynamics in former river channels: Prediction testing using a hydroelectric construction

One predicted impact of the construction of the hydroelectric plant of Brégnier-Cordon (Upper Rhône River, France) was the rise of the water table in the part of the plain situated upstream from the power plant. This impact made it possible to test the hypothesis that the slowing, indeed the halting, of ecological successions occurs in the former channels upstream from the power plant because of the increase of seepage supply through coarse alluvium. The vegetation of two braided former channels, one situated upstream (impacted site) and one downstream (reference site) of the power plant was studied over a period of nine years, before (1981) and after (1985, 1986, 1987, and 1989) the construction of the hydroelectric power-plant. The two sites had similar vegetation and successional stages at the beginning of the study. The seepage supply increases in the impacted site resulted in the establishment ofChara globularis andRiccia fluitans, indicating groundwater influence, but, after halting in 1985–1986, the ecological succession proceeded slowly again in 1987 and 1989, depicted by continuing eutrophication (expressed particularly by the increasing abundance ofCeratophyllum demersum). As expected, ecological succession was not halted in the reference site. Terrestrialization processes were apparent and changes were more rapid at its upstream part.     

Linking Wild and Captive Populations to Maximize Species Persistence: Optimal Translocation Strategies

Abstract:  Captive breeding of animals is widely used to manage endangered species, frequently with the ambition of future reintroduction into the wild. Because this conservation measure is very expensive, we need to optimize decisions, such as when to capture wild animals or release captive-bred individuals into the wild. It is unlikely that one particular strategy will always work best; instead, we expect the best decision to depend on the number of individuals in the wild and in captivity. We constructed a first-order Markov-chain population model for two populations, one captive and one wild, and we used stochastic dynamic programming to identify optimal state-dependent strategies. The model recommends unique sequences of optimal management actions over several years. A robust rule of thumb for species that can increase faster in captivity than in the wild is to capture the entire wild population whenever the wild population is below a threshold size of 20 females. This rule applies even if the wild population is growing and under a broad range of different parameter values. Once a captive population is established, it should be maintained as a safety net and animals should be released only if the captive population is close to its carrying capacity. We illustrate the utility of this model by applying it to the Arabian oryx ( Oryx leucoryx ). The threshold for capturing the entire Arabian oryx population in the wild is 36 females, and captive-bred individuals should not be released before the captive facilities are at least 85% full.