Human impact on beach and foredune microclimate on North Padre Island,Texas

The microclimate of beach and foredune areas of North Padre Island along the mid-Texas coast was found to be greatly modified by vehicular and pedestrian traffic during investigations made from late fall to early summer 1973–74. The primary effect of human activity on microclimate was expressed as reduced cover and species diversity of the vegetation. As the intensity of human activity increased, elevation, especially of areas near the beach, was decreased, whereas average wind velocities near the ground surface, evaporation, atmospheric salinity near the ground surface, wind-carried sand particles near the ground surface, soil salinity, soil pH, average soil temperature and range in temperature, soil bulk density, and soil-water contents were increased.     

In situ monitoring of atmospheric nitrous acid based on multi-pumping flow system and liquid waveguide capillary cell

In the last four decades, various techniques including spectroscopic, wet chemical and mass spectrometric methods, have been developed and applied for the detection of ambient nitrous acid (HONO). We developed a HONO detection system based on long path photometry which consists of three independent modules i.e., sampling module, fluid propulsion module and detection module. In the propulsion module, solenoid pumps are applied. With solenoid pumps the pulsed flow can be computer controlled both in terms of pump stroke volume and pulse frequency, which enables the attainment of a very stable flow rate. In the detection module, a customized Liquid Waveguide Capillary Cell (LWCC) is used. The customized LWCC pre-sets the optical fiber in-coupling with the liquid wave guide, providing the option of fast startup and easy maintenance of the absorption photometry. In summer 2014, our system was deployed in a comprehensive campaign at a rural site in the North China Plain. More than one month of high quality HONO data spanning from the limit of detection to 5 ppb were collected. Intercomparison of our system with another established system from Forschungszentrum Juelich is presented and discussed. In conclusion, our instrument achieved a detection limit of 10 pptV within 2 min and a measurement uncertainty of 7%, which is well suited for investigation of the HONO budget from urban to rural conditions in China.     

环境空气影响预测评价方法和模式问题探讨

指导环境影响评价的理论和技术方法要求具备较强操作性和实用性,鉴于实践中发现指导环评的相关技术方法存在一定的问题,这些给环评工作者在实际工作中带来了一定的困惑。通过对建设项目环境空气影响预测评价中存在的预测模式和方法两个常见问题进行了剖析,指出日均浓度预测方法和选取条件存在的不确定性及导则推荐的点源有风、小风模式预测结果的不连续性问题,通过提出上述问题为完善相关技术导则和方法修订提供可参考的依据。     

居住区单元景观质量的分析方法

随着房地产楼盘品质的提高,景观质量日益受到重视。分析住宅小区不同位置住宅单元的景观特点,对于掌握住宅单元的品质,确定合适定价策略有着重要意义。根据景观生态学理论,设计了表示住宅单元景观特点的指数。应用景观生态学的景观格局分析方法与虚拟现实技术的可视域分析方法,提出了对住宅单元可视景观特点进行定量分析方案。对典型住宅小区多个住宅单元的可视景观特点进行了模拟计算,计算结果较好地反映了实际的景观特点,从而为住宅单元景观质量定量评估提供了技术可能性。     

Heavy metals accumulation in tree leaves from urban areas

Higher plants may be used as biomonitors for the assessment of atmospheric heavy metal pollution by means of their bioaccumulative properties. We evaluated the reliability of biomonitoring heavy metal pollution by horse chestnut and linden leaves, common species found in Belgrade city parks. The results show that the highest concentrations of heavy metals were found in horse chestnut leaves at Studentski Park site, amounting to 110.2, 20.3 and 4.9 g g^–1 dry weight for Cu, Pb and Cd, respectively, which are considered above toxic levels for plants.Selected article from the Regional Symposium on Chemistry and Environment, Krusevac, Serbia, June 2003, organised by Dr. Branimir Jovancicevic.     

Spatial variability of ammonium and nitrate in soils near a poultry farm

This paper assesses the distribution of ammonium (NH4+) and nitrate (NO3-) nitrogen deposition in native bushland soil adjacent to an open ventilated poultry farm. The farm is located in Thirlmere 150 km south west of Sydney, Australia. A total of 104 geographically referenced soil cores were obtained from the study area. Soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), NH4(+) - and NO3(-)-nitrogen concentrations were analysed for variable trends at three depths, i.e. 0-30, 30-60, and 60-90 cm. Significantly higher concentrations of the two nitrogen forms and EC were observed nearer to the farm in the surface soil samples (0-30 cm). The distribution of NH4+, NO3- and EC were all correlated in surface samples throughout the study area. There was no indication of NH4+ and NO3- leaching within soil profile sampled and it appears that weeds and native vegetation had utilised the accumulated nitrogen. The level of N deposition adjacent to the poultry farm decreased downwind due to dispersion of plume and to the buffering effects from the bushland.     

Chloroform in the environment: occurrence,sources, sinks and effects

The chloroform flux through the environment is apparently constant at some 660±220 Gg yr⁻¹ (±1σ) and about 90% of the emissions are natural in origin: the largest single source being in offshore sea water (contributing 360±90 Gg yr⁻¹), with soil processes the next most important (220±100 Gg yr⁻¹). Other natural sources, mainly volcanic and geological, account for less than 20 Gg yr⁻¹. The non-natural sources total 66±23 Gg yr⁻¹ and are much better characterised than the natural sources. They are predominantly the result of using strong oxidising agent on organic material in the presence of chloride ion, a direct parallel with the natural processes occurring in soils.

Chloroform partitions preferentially into the atmosphere; the equilibrium distribution is greater than 99% and the average global atmospheric concentration has been calculated to be 18.5 pmol mol⁻¹. Atmospheric oxidation, the principal removal process, is approximately in balance with the identified source fluxes. Chloroform is widely dispersed in the aquatic environment (even naturally present in some mineral waters). Consequently, it is also widely dispersed in the tissue of living creatures and in foodstuffs but there is little evidence of bioaccumulation and the quantities in foodstuffs and drinking water are not problematical for human ingestion at the highest concentrations found. Definitive studies have shown that current environmental concentrations of chloroform do not present an ecotoxicological risk, even to fish at the embryonic and larval stages when they are most susceptible.

By virtue of the very small amounts that actually become transported to the stratosphere, chloroform does not deplete ozone materially, nor is it a photochemically active volatile organic compound (VOC). It has a global warming potential that is less than that of the photochemically active VOCs and is not classed as a greenhouse gas.     

石墨炉原子吸收直接测定大气颗粒物中的铅和锰

以少量HNO_3-HF-HClO_4消解粉尘滤膜,石墨炉原子吸收法测定铅和锰,进行了最佳条件选择,采用本法测定粉尘中的铅和锰,其回收率分别为87％～98％和94％～105％,用标准加入法检验结果吻合,方法变异系数分别为铅4.1％,锰3.7％。     

大气环境影响预测模式应用的几个问题

将当前大气环境影响预测模式应用中，对颗粒污染物地面浓度模式修正，气态污染物地面最大浓度模式选用和求长方法，静风条件下地面浓度模式及其参数选择等方面容易出现疏忽或失误的问题提出了来讨论，并提出了正确的应用方法。     

距离加权插值法在大气环境监测数据处理中的应用

探讨了用距离加权插值法对大气环境监测数据进行网格图形化处理，并对算法过程进行研究，从而得到区域大气环境污染物浓度分布等值线图，以便于更简明、直观地进行分析评价。