Land Cover Changes as a Result of Environmental Restrictions on Nitrate Leaching in Dairy Farming

Nitrate leaching forms an important environmental problem because it causes pollution of groundwater and surface water, and adds to already problematic eutrophication. This study analyses the impact of reductions in nitrate leaching on land cover decisions of dairy farms, of which the activities make an important contribution to nitrate leaching. As the level of nitrate leaching depends on groundwater depth as well as on the supply of nitrogen, spatial variation in groundwater levels will cause a spatial variation in land cover under restrictions on nitrate leaching. A non-linear partial optimisation model for the economic and ecological aspects of the problem were used to show how land cover and dairy farms' financial balances change when nitrate losses are reduced. The model is spatially explicit, and describes nitrate leakage and yields of maize and grass as a function of groundwater depth, including the effects of various grazing systems. The model analyses the decisions of a risk neutral agent who minimises costs under the following constraints: (i) production, feed requirements and mass balances for fodder; (ii) constraints for nitrate leaching. Economic costs are attributed to increased costs of fodder and processing of manure when nitrate restrictions are tightened. An important result of the study is the variation in compliance costs and land cover for maize and grass production brought about by spatial variation in groundwater depth. While the effects are negligible for some shallow groundwater classes, it is extremely difficult in other classes – if not impossible – to obtain the EU standard of maximum admissible losses of 34 kg N ha^–1 at low costs. The study shows an important reduction in land cover by maize.     

煤与瓦斯突出的物理模拟和数值模拟研究

利用自行设计的实验装置,通过现场采集具有突出倾向的煤样,分别向实验装置煤样中充入吸附能力较大的CO2和吸附能力较小的N2来模拟不同级别的煤与瓦斯突出现象,物理试验结果表明:瓦斯压力越大,突出强度越大;当瓦斯压力相近时,吸附和解吸能力大的瓦斯突出强度大。通过数值模拟对煤与瓦斯突出进行研究,数值模拟再现了煤矿开采过程中诱发的煤与瓦斯突出全过程,同时验证了煤与瓦斯突出是瓦斯压力、地应力及煤岩体的力学性质综合作用的结果,该验证对进一步深入理解认识煤与瓦斯突出的机理具有重要的理论和实践意义。     

Experimental Study of the Criteria of Flow Laminarization in Two-Dimensional Dense Gas Plumes

Laminarization of flow in a two-dimensional dense gas plume was experimentally investigated in this study. The plume was created by releasing CO₂ through a ground-level line source into a simulated turbulent boundary layer over an aerodynamically rough surface in a meteorological wind tunnel. The bulk Richardson number (Ri_*), based on negative plume buoyancy, plume thickness, and friction velocity, was varied over a wide range so that the effects of stable stratification on plume laminarization could be observed. A variety of ambient wind speeds as well as three different sizes of roughness arrays were used so that possible effects of roughness Reynolds number (Re_*) on plume laminarization could also be identified. Both flow visualization methods and quantitative measurements of velocity and intermittency of turbulence were used to provide quantitative assessments of plume laminarization.Flow visualization provided an overall picture of how the plume was affected by the negative buoyancy. With increasing Ri_*, both the plume depth and the vertical mixing were significantly suppressed, while upstream propagation of the plume from the source was enhanced. The most important feature of the flow revealed by visualization was the laminarization of flow in the lower part of the plume, which appeared to be closely related to both Ri_* and Re_*.Measurements within the simulated dense gas plumes revealed the influence of the stable stratification on mean velocity and turbulence intensity profiles. Both the mean velocity and turbulence intensity were significantly reduced near the surface; and these reductions systematically depended on Ri_*. The roughness Reynolds number also had considerable influence on the mean flow and turbulence structure of the dense gas plumes.An intermittency analysis technique was developed and applied to the digitized instantaneous velocity signals. It not only confirmed the general flow picture within the dense plume indicated by the flow visualization, but also clearly demonstrated the changes of flow regime with variations in Ri_* and Re_*. Most importantly, based on this intermittency analysis, simple criteria for characterizing different flow regimes are formulated; these may be useful in predicting when plume laminarization might occur.     

TEOM法与实验室称重法监测大气中TSP的对比研究

用数理统计的方法计算出TEOM法与称重法监测结果的偏差,用F检验法检验TEOM法与称重法监测结果之间的致性,用r检测法检验TEOM法与称重法监测结果之间的相关性,用t检验法检验TEOM法与称重法监测结果之间的差异,通过对比研究,找出TEOM法与称重法之间的相互关系和规律。     

间歇-阶段性酸雨入侵对填埋稳定化飞灰中重金属浸出行为影响

以间歇-分阶段进水方式进行了模拟酸雨柱式动态淋溶实验.结果表明,间歇-阶段性酸雨入侵会影响填埋飞灰中Pb、Zn、Cu、Cr和Ni的浸出行为;尤其间歇停滞期后的初期酸雨入侵会增加多数重金属的再浸出水平,且该部分重金属的释放主要源于前阶段酸雨侵蚀过程中所形成的非稳定性(弱酸态)重金属.各酸雨侵蚀阶段,部分重金属(如Pb-Zn)的浸出行为具有相关性,这与各重金属在飞灰基质内的赋存形态、矿物相稳定性及酸性侵蚀程度等有关.各阶段酸雨入侵会相继溶出飞灰中的可溶性(NaCl、KCl等)、难溶性氯盐(CaClOH)以及微溶性钙盐(CaSO₄),并增加CaCO₃和Ca-Al-Si-O等矿物的峰强.各阶段酸雨入侵会使初始飞灰表面的团簇状结构逐渐被酸性(H⁺)侵蚀作用破坏,并暴露出大量棒状或条形状CaCO₃晶体,且随着酸雨入侵次数的增加,CaCO₃也将逐渐被侵蚀破坏.本研究为非连续酸性降雨条件下填埋稳定化飞灰的重金属浸出行为评价及风险管控提供了科学依据.     

皂素和柠檬酸复合淋洗土壤中的钍

采用振荡淋洗和土柱动态淋洗实验研究了皂素和柠檬酸复合对土壤中钍的淋洗性能。实验结果表明:将质量浓度为20 g/L的皂素与浓度为20 mmol/L的柠檬酸以体积比1∶10配制复合淋洗液对污染土壤中钍的去除效果最佳,淋洗3.0 h,钍去除率为84.98%;准一级动力学方程能更好地描述复合淋洗液对钍的淋洗动力学特征;动态淋洗实验中当复合淋洗液用量为1 600 mL时,钍的累积去除量为73.66 mg/kg;淋洗后土壤中钍的酸可提取态、氧化结合态和有机结合态含量分别减少了79.63%、38.13%和20.34%,残渣态含量变化不大;淋洗后土壤中钍的稳定性增加。     

Estimating willingness to pay for a threatened species within a threatened ecosystem

This study conducts a choice experiment to determine the willingness to pay for Palouse Prairie conservation. The giant Palouse earthworm (Driloleirus americanus), a rare species endemic to the Palouse region, is included as an attribute of conservation and serves as a method for determining the willingness to pay for protecting the species. This method evaluates the value of the earthworm as an attribute of an overall willingness to pay for threatened ecosystem preservation rather than a direct willingness to pay for protecting the species. This method is expected to yield a more accurate measure of willingness to pay for rare species. The annual willingness to pay per household for the giant Palouse earthworm is $20.45 based on the conditional logit model and $19.30 based on the mixed logit model. Ranking and relative importance are included as methods for representing a non-monetary value and importance of the giant Palouse earthworm.     

Advantages and risks of using steel slag in preparing composts from raw organic waste

It had been reported that iron and manganese oxides in steel slag enhanced the production of humic acid (HA) from low-molecular-weight compounds, such as phenolic acids, amino acids, and saccharides. In the present study, this function of steel slag was applied to the composting of raw organic wastes (ROWs). The degree of humification of HAs is an important factor in evaluating compost quality. Thus, HAs were extracted from the prepared composts and the humification parameters were determined, in terms of elemental compositions, acidic functional group contents, molecular weights, spectroscopic parameters from UV–vis absorption and ¹³C NMR spectra. The timing for adding steel slag affected the degree of humification of HAs in the composts. The weight average molecular weight of a HA when slag was added initially (29 kDa) was significantly higher than when slag was added after elevating the temperature of the compost pile (17–18 kDa). These results show that ROWs are decomposed to low-molecular-weight compounds after the pile temperature is elevated and the presence of slag enhances the polycondensation of these compounds to produce HAs with a higher degree of humification. Because the slag used in the present study contained several-tens ng g^?1 to several μg g^?1 of toxic elements (B, Cu, Cr, and Zn), leaching tests for these elements from the prepared composts were carried out. Levels for leaching boron from composts prepared by adding slag (0.2–0.4 mg L^?1) were obviously higher than the corresponding levels without slag (0.05 mg L^?1).     

The varying effects of left–right ideology on support for the environment: Evidence from a Swedish survey experiment

Years of research show that left-leaning individuals are more supportive of environmental policies than right-leaning individuals. The explanation for the lower level of support among right-leaning individuals is their stronger preference for economic growth and lower acceptance of intervention in markets. However, recent cross-national studies have questioned whether the effect of ideology on environmental support is universal. A Swedish survey experiment shows that the effect of ideology varies greatly depending on how individuals think about the environment. Specifically, it demonstrates that if environmental support is contrasted with economic growth, then the effect of ideology is stronger as opposed to when environmental support is not juxtaposed with economic growth. Furthermore, among people who strongly perceive the environment as a left–right issue, there is a larger divide between left and right.     

Do global climate summits influence public awareness and policy preferences concerning climate change?

A survey-embedded experiment implemented around the time of the 2014 annual Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (N ≈ 1200) examined whether such summits are able to increase citizens’ awareness of climate problems. This study finds that exposure to positive or negative cues about the COP increases climate change awareness, particularly among participants who start out with a low level of awareness. Neither positive nor negative cues about the COP significantly affect people’s policy preferences. Our finding resonates with Bernard Cohen’s observation that the mass media may not often be successful in telling people what to think, but they are successful in telling readers what to think about.