Sediment Flux to the Sea as Influenced by Changing Human Activities and Precipitation: Example of the Yellow River,China

Since the 1970s, the sediment flux of the Yellow River to the sea has shown a marked tendency to decrease, which is unfavorable for wetland protection and oil extraction in the Yellow River delta. Thus, an effort has been made to elucidate the relation between the sediment flux to the sea and the drainage basin factors including climate and human activities. The results show that the sediment flux to the sea responds to the changed precipitation in different ways for different runoff and sediment source areas in the drainage basin. If other factors are assumed to be constant, when the annual precipitation in the area between Longmen and Sanmenxia decreases by 10 mm, the sediment flux to the sea will decrease by 27.5 million t/yr; when the precipitation in the area between Hekouzhen and Longmen decreases by 10 mm, the sediment flux to the sea will decrease by 14.3 million t/yr; when the precipitation in the area above Lanzhou decreases by 10 mm, the sediment flux to the sea will decrease by 17.4 million t/yr. A multiple regression equation has been established between the sediment flux to the sea and the influencing factors, such as the area of land terracing and tree and grass planting, the area of the land created by the sediment trapped by check dams, the annual precipitation, and the annual quantity of water diversion by man. The equation may be used to estimate the change in the sediment flux to the sea when the influencing variables are further changed, to provide useful knowledge for the environmental planning of the Yellow River drainage basin and its delta.     

SURFACE HEAT LOSS AND FRAZIL ICE PRODUCTION IN THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER1

ABSTRACT: The rates of ice production due to surface heat loss in open water reaches of the St. Lawrence River, between the Ogdensburg-Prescott Boom and the Moses-Saunders Dam, are analyzed for the past 20 winters. Simple statistical parameters for ice production rates and air temperature are determined. Regression analyses for relationships between surface heat loss rates and freezing degree days indicate that an excellent linear correlation exists between these two variables. The study also shows that it is important to consider other heat exchange components, such as the bed heat flux and viscous dissipation, in the total ice production analysis for the river reach.     

PHOSPHORUS ASSIMILATION IN A STREAM SYSTEM OF THE LAKE OKEECHOBEE BASIN1

ABSTRACT: The ability to predict how streams and wetlands retain phosphorus (P) is critical to the management of watersheds that contribute nutrients to adjacent aquatic systems such as lakes. Field and laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the P assimilatory capacity of a stream (Otter Creek) in the Taylor Creek/Nubbin Slough Basin located north of Lake Okeechobee, Florida. Dominant soils in this basin are sandy Spodosols; landuse is primarily dairy farms and beef cattle pastures. Estimates of P assimilation show that sediments assimilate approximately 5 percent of the P load. Phosphorus assimilation rates in the stream were estimated using first-order relationships based on the total P concentration of the water column as a function of distance from the primary source. This method assumes minimal lateral inputs. Stream lengths required for one turnover in P assimilation were estimated to be in the range of 3–16 km. Laboratory studies using intact sediment cores indicated a P assimilation rate of 0.025 m day^?1, and equilibrium P concentration of 0.16 ± 0.03 mg L^?1 in the water column. Dissolved P concentration gradients in the sediments showed upward flux of P at water column P concentration of <0.16 mg L^?1. Approximately 56–77 percent of the P assimilated in the above-ground vegetation during active growth was released or translocated within six months of senesence, suggesting short-term storage in above-ground vegetation. Bottom sediments and recalcitrant detrital plant tissue provide for long-term P assimilation in the creek. Although stream sediments have the potential to adsorb P, high flow rate and low contact period between water and sediment limits this process.     

滏阳河表层沉积物氮分布特征和界面无机氮扩散通量估算

为了揭示非常规水源补给河流沉积物-水界面氮交换过程及其特点,为非常规水源补给河流富营养化机制提供基础数据.选择典型非常规水源补给河流(滏阳河)为研究对象,分析河流沉积物中氮素空间分布及上覆水-孔隙水氮营养盐垂直分布特征,并估算滏阳河不同区段沉积物-水界面无机氮扩散通量.结果表明,滏阳河整体表层沉积物总氮含量范围在770~10590 mg·kg~(-1)之间,其中有机态氮为氮素的主要存在形式,占总氮比例达84.9%~99.3%.NH3-N为无机氮的主要形态,含量范围为3.23~1135.00 mg·kg~(-1).溶氧量作为影响沉积物-水界面无机氮分布的主要因素.邯郸段硝氮浓度在孔隙水中随深度逐渐升高,孔隙水平均硝态氮浓度达3.54 mg·L~(-1),为上覆水8倍之多.邢台、衡水、沧州段硝氮浓度随深度而逐渐降低;滏阳河下游衡水段和沧州段进入沉积物-水界面后氨氮浓度呈下降趋势.滏阳河上游邯郸段与邢台段沉积物-水界面NH3-N由沉积物向上覆水扩散,扩散通量为48.9~1471.0μmol·m~(-2)·d-1.下游河段部分点位NH3-N表现为上覆水向沉积物中扩散,扩散通量在-932~-456μmol·m~(-2)·d-1之间.非常规水源补给河流在氮营养盐外源得到控制后,仍存在内源释放风险,将会加大河流治理与修复的难度.     

杭州西溪湿地CH4、CO2通量及其主要影响因子

本研究采用便携式温室气体分析仪连接通量箱在线监测杭州西溪湿地CH_4、CO_2通量日变化及季节变化,同时也对包括有机碳含量、湿度、孔隙度、比重、p H、Eh在内的潜在影响因子进行了研究。结果表明,通常情况下,CH_4、CO_2通量的变化分别为-0.001 9~0.035 3mg/(m~2·h)和-109.76~442.55mg/(m~2·h);CH_4、CO_2通量的变化存在明显正相关关系。CH_4通量的季节变化表现为夏季秋季春季冬季;CO_2通量的季节变化表现为夏季春季冬季秋季。土壤湿度是影响CH_4通量变化的重要因子,通常湿度越大,CH_4通量越大;在生长季维管植物有助于CH_4的氧化;西溪湿地土质差异也使CH_4、CO_2通量排放有所差异,具体表现在土壤有机碳含量相差较大,而土壤中有机碳的含量与CH_4产生潜力呈显著正相关。     

一体式膜生物反应器(MBR)处理生活污水的研究

小区生活污水难以被完全收集和处理的特点,实验采用占地小、结构紧凑的一体式膜生物反应器对小区生活污水进行处理,探究一体式膜生物反应器对不同污染物的去除规律.结果显示反应器出水中的COD、TN、浊度以及典型污染物LAS的含量均能满足相关排放标准.同时研究了不同种类的膜清洗剂对膜通量恢复的影响,并发现酸类清洗剂有最好的清洗效果,碱类清洗剂能有效去除有机物和二氧化硅等污染物,而氧化性清洗剂效果并不理想.     

Minimizing N2O fluxes from full-scale municipal solid waste landfill with properly selected cover soil

Municipal solid waste landfills emit nitrous oxide （N2O） gas. Assuming that the soil cover is the primary N2O source from landfills, this study tested, during a four-year project, the hypothesis that the proper use of chosen soils with fine texture minimizes N2O emissions. A full-scale sanitary landfill, a full-scale bioreactor landfill and a cell planted with Nerium indicum or Festuca arundinacea Schreb, at the Hangzhou Tianziling landfill in Hangzhou City were the test sites. The N2O emission rates from all test sites were considerably lower than those reported in the published reports. Specifically, the N2O emission rate was dependent on soil water content and nitrate concentrations in the cover soil. The effects of leachate recirculation and irrigation were minimal. Properly chosen cover soils applied to the landfills reduced N2O flux.     

Turnover and loss of nitrogenous compounds during composting of food wastes

Few people have so far explored into the research of the dynamics of various nitrogenous compounds (including water-soluble nitrogen) in composting of food wastes. This study aimed to investigate the solid-phase nitrogen, water-soluble nitrogen, nitrogen loss together with ammonia volatilization in the process of food wastes composting. A laboratory scale static aerobic reactor in the experiment was employed in the composting process of a synthetic food waste, in which sawdust was used as the litter amendment. In the experiment, oxygen was supplied by continuous forced ventilation for 15 days. The results have shown that the concentrations of total nitrogen and organic nitrogen decrease significantly in the composting process, whereas NH₄ ⁺-N concentration increases together with little fluctuation in NO₃ ⁻-N. After composting, the total content of the water-soluble nitrogen compounds in the compost greatly increased, the total nitrogen loss amounted to 50% of the initial nitrogen, mainly attributed to ammonia volatilization. 56.7% of the total ammonia volatilization occurred in the middle and late composting of the thermophilic stage. This suggested that the control at the middle and late composting of thermophilic stage is the key to nitrogen loss in the food waste compost. __________ Translated from Environmental Science and Technology, 2006, 29(12): 54–56, IV–V [译自: 环境科学与技术]     

Verification of Wind-Driven Volatilization Models

Mass-transfer processes of paramount importance, such as reaeration and volatilization, occur at the air–water interface. Particularly, volatilization is intensively studied because it can be a relevant removal process for toxic contaminants from flowing and standing surface waters. The paper provides a comparison among predictive equations available from literature for standing waters for the case of MTBE contamination. Most of the considered equations tend to overestimate the volatilization rate, while three equations offer a good fit with the observed data. Finally, these equations are applied to a larger amount of field data.     

新疆盐渍化土壤氮肥氨挥发损失特征初步研究

在室温下应用“静态吸收法”,研究不同盐渍化程度的盐化土壤和碱化土壤上氮肥氨挥发损失特征。结果表明:(1)除碱土外碱化土壤上氮肥氨挥发量随时间延长呈现下降趋势,在盐化土壤上氨挥发量随时间呈现先上升后下降趋势。(2)供试9个典型盐渍化土壤样品上氮肥氨挥发量(Y)与时间(t)关系均符合Y=at2 bt c动力学方程,相关性呈极显著水平。(3)氨挥发总量(Y)、氨挥发速率(Yi)与土壤含盐量(x)呈极显著正相关;氨挥发持续时间随着盐渍化程度的增加而延长。(4)氨挥发总量、挥发速率与盐渍土pH相关性未达到显著水平;盐渍土上pH值对氨挥发的影响需要进一步研究。以上结果表明,盐渍化耕作土壤上氮肥氨挥发的控制要依据盐渍化类型的不同而制定相应的措施。