A decision tree for Coastal Management permit guidelines

The Louisiana Coastal Management Division (CMD) uses over 90 guidelines for permitting construction activities in the coastal zone. The use of the guidelines by, the CMD staff is not always systematically applied to permit applications. A set of guideline decision trees was, therefore, developed for the permit review process using a structural modeling technique. A decision tree provides the framework for optimizing the decision process. The order in which decisions are made contributes to the efficiency and uniformity of the process. The result provides a more timely and consistent review of most permit applications regarding mining, hazardous wastes, levees, and zoning.     

Effects of Bridge Shading on Estuarine Marsh Benthic Invertebrate Community Structure and Function

The effect of bridge shading on estuarine marsh food webs was assessed by comparing benthic invertebrate communities beneath seven highway bridges with marshes outside of bridge-affected areas (reference marshes). We used light attenuation and height–width ratio (HW ratio), which takes into account the two main bridge characteristics that determine the degree of shading, to quantify the impact of shading on invertebrate communities. Low bridges, with HW ratio <0.7 and light attenuation greater than 85–90%, had benthic invertebrate densities and diversity that were significantly lower than reference marshes. Density of benthic invertebrates at low bridges was 25–52% (29,685–72,920 organisms/m²) of densities measured in adjacent reference marshes (119,329–173,351 organisms/m²). Likewise, there were fewer taxa under low bridges (5.8/11.35 cm² core) as compared to the reference marshes (9.0/11.35 cm² core). Density of numerically dominant taxa (e.g., oligochaetes and nematodes) as well as surface- and subsurface deposit feeders also were reduced under low bridges. Decreased invertebrate density, diversity, dominant taxa, and alterations of trophic feeding groups beneath low bridges was correlated with diminished above- and below-ground macrophyte biomass that presumably resulted in fewer food resources and available refuges from predators. With a greater knowledge of bridge shading effects, bridge construction and design may be improved to reduce the impacts on estuarine benthic invertebrate communities and overall ecosystem structure and function.     

Use Impairments and Ecosystem Impacts of the New York Bight

The New York Bight is perhaps one of the most used and abused coastal areas in the world as a consequence of urbanization and the disposal of the waste of some 20 million people who reside by its shores and surrounding bays and estuaries. A variety of sources, including those associated with sewage wastes, industrial wastes, contaminated dredged material, urban runoff, and atmospheric fallout contaminate these coastal waters. Many of the stresses of excess population and industrialization as measured by pollutant loadings and ecosystem impacts can be crudely quantified in terms of use impairments-use impairments that have measurable social and economic relevance. Five broad categories of impairment attributed to pollution in the Bight that are causing significant losses of ecological, economic, or social values are: beach closures, unsafe seafoods, hazards to commercial and recreational navigation, loss of commercial and recreational fisheries, and declines in birds, mammals and turtles. These impairments are generally caused by floatable wastes, nutrients, toxicants, pathogens and habitat loss. Measures of such impairments are not standard, nor in many cases totally quantifiable. We have examined specific subsets of these impairments in terms of their spatial and temporal changes and as a first approximation determined the economic and social significance of these changes. the cost of these impaired uses of the Bight are measured in terms of billions of dollars annually for New York and New Jersey.     

Why Critical Loads of Acidity and N for Soils Should be Based on Pollutant Effective Concentrations Rather Than Deposition Fluxes

Numerous assumptions have been made over the past 17 years when calculating critical loads for soils, both for acidity (based upon base cation steady state mass balances (SMB)) and for N (eutrophication, based upon N mass balances), often without all the assumptions being explicitly stated. The tacit assumptions that the author believes to be implicit in the SMB approach are critically reviewed, with particular reference to upland regions where slope processes are highly significant. It is concluded that many of them cannot be justified, especially those that involve ignoring many key processes known to be important to biogeochemical cycling and soil evolution in upland catchments. The evidence presented suggests that critical loads of acidity and of N for soils should be based upon effective pollutant and, for acidity, also effective base cation deposition concentrations, rather than upon pollutant deposition fluxes. This is because of the dominant role of cation exchange equilibria, rather than weathering rate, in regulation of the pH and base status of the more acidification-sensitive soils, and because of the importance of transport down slope of base cations, alkalinity and N species.     

Regeneration of industrial district wastewater using a combination of Fenton process and ion exchange—A case study

Regeneration studies of wastewater effluent from an organized industrial district (OID) for possible reuse in textile industry as process water was investigated. Advanced treatment methods including Fenton process, polyaluminium chloride (PAC) coagulation and ion exchange were applied on OID effluent. In Fenton process removal efficiencies for suspended solids (SS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), SAC₄₃₆ (spectral absorption coefficient), SAC₅₂₅ and SAC₆₂₀ were determined 61%, 36%, 35%, 49% and 67%, respectively. After Fenton process, wastewater samples were coagulated with PAC. Optimum removal efficiencies for SS, COD, Fe ion, SAC₄₃₆, SAC₅₂₅ and SAC₆₂₀ were determined 83%, 18%, 93%, 32%, 36% and 58%, respectively. Ion exchange experiments were conducted on chemically coagulated wastewater samples to improve the quality of wastewater. Optimum dosage of resins was determined. The experiments revealed that 1:1 resin ratio (20 mL H-type resin:20 mL OH-type resin) gave the best removal rates for the parameters considered in this study. Study results indicated that quality of the wastewater was suitable for the process water characteristics of textile industry and unit wastewater treatment cost was determined as 2.54 €/m³.     

无机离子交换材料吸附锶、铯研究进展

90Sr、137Cs的去除是放射性废水处理研究的重点。无机离子交换技术凭其所特有的优势已经成为较为经济和适宜的手段之一。本文介绍了常用的无机离子交换材料如沸石、杂多酸盐、复合离子交换剂、金属亚铁氰化物及铁氰化物、多价金属磷酸盐等的应用现状,探讨了无机离子交换材料吸附锶、铯的研究进展和发展方向,以期对以后的研究有所帮助。     

高砷地下水中砷的形态检测

地下水中砷污染严重影响着人类的健康,砷的生态毒理效应主要取决于其存在形态。文章用阴离子交换柱对内蒙古杭锦后旗高砷地下水在现场进行分离,在室内用原子荧光光度计进行检测。总砷浓度范围为80~1172μg/L,其中A(sⅢ)浓度百分含量为75.37%~92.39%,A(sⅤ)和颗粒态砷浓度百分含量分别为0.56%~13.87%、5.87%~20.65%。形态分析结果表明,该地区主要是还原环境,且颗粒态砷占有一定的比例,这对于进一步研究砷的去除和砷的地球化学行为有一定的指导意义。     

Pb(Ⅱ) biosorption using chitosan and chitosan derivatives beads: Equilibrium,ion exchange and mechanism studies

The study examined the adsorption of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution onto chitosan, chitosan-GLA and chitosan-alginate beads. Several important parameters influencing the adsorption of Pb(II) ions such as initial pH, adsorbent dosage and different initial concentration of Pb(II) ions were evaluated. The mechanism involved during the adsorption process was explored based on ion exchange study and using spectroscopic techniques. The adsorption capacities obtained based on non-linear Langmuir isotherm for ch...     

Assessment of the nitrogen and carbon budget of two managed temperate grassland fields

Greenhouse gas budgets as well as the productivity of grassland systems are closely related to the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles. Within the framework of the CarboEurope and NitroEurope projects we have measured C and N exchange on the field scale at the grassland site Oensingen previously converted from arable rotation. The site is located on the Swiss Central Plateau and consists of two parallel fields of equal size. One field was subjected to intensive management with average nitrogen input of 230 kg-N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ and 4–5 cuts per year, and the other to an extensive management with no fertilisation and less frequent cutting. The total C budget of the fields was assessed by measuring the CO₂ exchange by eddy covariance and analysing the carbon import by manure application and export by harvest. The N budget of the managed grassland is more complex. Besides the management related import and export, it includes gaseous exchange in many different forms (NO, NO₂, HNO₃, N₂O, NH₃, N₂) needing different analytical techniques, as well as input by rain and leaching of N-compounds with the soil water. The main (“level-3”) field sites in the NitroEurope project are supposed to measure 95% of the N fluxes at the field scale. For several of the N fluxes specific measurements have been performed for 1 year or longer at the site. Some of the remaining N budget components (dry and wet deposition) could be estimated from results of a national deposition network, while other components (NH₃ and N₂ emission) were estimated based on literature parameterisations. However, we found indications that the (systematic) uncertainties of these estimated N-fluxes are large and that it is important to make site-specific measurement for all relevant budget components. The suitability of corresponding experimental methods is discussed.Analysis of the C budget over a 6-year period (2002–2007) showed a significant mean difference between the two newly established grassland fields with a likely net carbon loss for the extensive management and a net sequestration for the intensive management. Since the C/N ratio of the soil organic matter of the grassland is constrained in a rather narrow range around 9.3, the change in the soil carbon pool is supposed to be accompanied by a corresponding change in the N storage. This approach provided an alternative method to check the N budget of the two grassland fields derived from the individual N fluxes.     

滨海湿地生态系统N_2O排放研究进展

滨海湿地作为陆地和海洋过渡区的重要组成部分,是陆源N的一个重要"汇",其N2O排放对于大气环境具有重要影响。综述了滨海湿地系统N2O通量特征、排放机制及影响因素的研究动态。当前滨海湿地N2O的排放研究主要集中在N2O排放规律、"源/汇"功能评估、硝化-反硝化作用机制及影响因素的探讨上。影响滨海湿地N2O排放的因素主要包括土壤理化性质、水文过程、生物群落及人类活动等。鉴于当前研究中存在的问题,其在今后研究中应亟需加强的领域包括:①长时间尺度N2O排放规律及"源/汇"功能评估;②多因子交互作用对N2O排放的影响;③植被本身N2O排放规律及影响机制;④N2O排放模型表征;⑤全球变化和人类活动对N2O排放的影响。