Pollutants and the health of green sea turtles resident to an urbanized estuary in San Diego, CA

Rapid expansion of coastal anthropogenic development means that critical foraging and developmental habitats often occur near highly polluted and urbanized environments. Although coastal contamination is widespread, the impact this has on long-lived vertebrates like the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) is unclear because traditional experimental methods cannot be applied. We coupled minimally invasive sampling techniques with health assessments to quantify contaminant patterns in a population of green turtles resident to San Diego Bay, CA, a highly urbanized and contaminated estuary. Several chemicals were correlated with turtle size, suggesting possible differences in physiological processes or habitat utilization between life stages. With the exception of mercury, higher concentrations of carapace metals as well as 4,4′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and γ chlordane in blood plasma relative to other sea turtle studies raises important questions about the chemical risks to turtles resident to San Diego Bay. Mercury concentrations exceeded immune function no-effects thresholds and increased carapace metal loads were correlated with higher levels of multiple health markers. These results indicate immunological and physiological effects studies are needed in this population. Our results give insight into the potential conservation risk contaminants pose to sea turtles inhabiting this contaminated coastal habitat, and highlight the need to better manage and mitigate contaminant exposure in San Diego Bay.     

Reducing phosphorus flux from organic soils in surface flow treatment wetlands

Treatment wetlands have a finite period of effective nutrient removal after which treatment efficiency declines. This is due to the accumulation of organic matter which decreases the capacity and hydraulic retention time of the wetland. We investigated four potential solutions to improve the soluble reactive P (SRP) removal of a municipal wastewater treatment wetland soil including; dry down, surface additions of alum or calcium carbonate and physical removal of the accreted organic soil under both aerobic and anaerobic water column conditions. The flux of SRP from the soil to the water column under aerobic conditions was higher for the continuously flooded controls (1.1 ± 0.4 mg P m⁻² d⁻¹), dry down (1.5 ± 0.9 mg P m⁻² d⁻¹) and CaCO₃ (0.8 ± 0.7 mg P m⁻² d⁻¹) treatments while the soil removal and alum treatments were significantly lower at 0.02 ± 0.10 and −0.07 ± 0.02 mg P m⁻² d⁻¹, respectively. These results demonstrate that the two most effective management strategies at sequestering SRP were organic soil removal and alum additions. There are difficulties and costs associated with removal and disposal of soils from a treatment wetland. Therefore our findings suggest that alum addition may be the most cost effective and efficient means of increasing the sequestering of P in aging treatment wetlands experiencing reduced P removal rates. However, more research is needed to determine the longer term effects of alum buildup in the organic soil on the wetland biota, in particular, on the macrophytes and invertebrates. Since alum effectiveness is time limited, a longer term solution to P flux may favor the organic soil removal.     

Contaminants in the coastal karst aquifer system along the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Intensive land development as a result of the rapidly growing tourism industry in the “Riviera Maya” region of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico may result in contamination of groundwater resources that eventually discharge into Caribbean coastal ecosystems. We deployed two types of passive sampling devices into groundwater flowing through cave systems below two communities to evaluate concentrations of contaminants and to indicate the possible sources. Pharmaceuticals and personal care products accumulated in the samplers could only have originated from domestic sewage. PAHs indicated contamination by runoff from highways and other impermeable surfaces and chlorophenoxy herbicides accumulated in samplers deployed near a golf course indicated that pesticide applications to turf are a source of contamination. Prevention and mitigation measures are needed to ensure that expanding development does not impact the marine environment and human health, thus damaging the tourism-based economy of the region.     

Ce-Sn-W-O_x催化剂的配伍优化及脱硝影响因素

采用共混热解法制备系列Ce-Sn-W-Ox复合氧化物,用于NH3选择性催化还原NO。通过正交实验优化CeSn-W-Ox配方,采用环境扫描电镜(ESEM)、X-射线衍射仪(XRD)等表征分析催化剂的微观形貌和固相结构,确立Ce-Sn-WOx最佳配比及结构形貌。结果表明,以粒度为5~8 mm的堇青石瓷片担载分散Ce-Sn-W-Ox,进行NH3-SCR脱除NO,当Ce/Sn/W元素摩尔比为1∶0.8∶0.6时,Ce Sn0.8W0.6Ox/堇青石NH3-SCR脱除NO效果最好。当空速为7 200 h-1,催化剂在252~426℃内脱除NO效率均大于94%。重点考察了反应空速(GHSV)、水蒸气(H2O)、SO2等对Ce Sn0.8W0.6Ox/堇青石NH3-SCR脱除NO活性的影响。研究表明,空速低于10 000 h-1时,催化剂脱硝活性受空速影响小;单独通入5%H2O对催化剂脱硝活性基本没有影响;单独通入429 mg/m3SO2导致催化剂活性略有降低;同时通入429 mg/m3SO2和5%H2O,催化剂脱硝活性下降至85.33%,除去SO2和H2O后,催化剂活性又能明显回升。     

地震滑坡地形剖面线多重分形特征及其在稳定性判别中的应用

"5.12"汶川地震诱发了大量的滑坡和不稳定斜坡体,这些滑坡和不稳定斜坡体的稳定性影响到灾区社会经济发展和灾后重建。地震滑坡的不同稳定性状态孕育了滑坡地形剖面线的演化特征,并且地震滑坡地形剖面线直接地反映了在地震力作用下坡体的演变过程和演化机制。根据实测的汶川地震诱发的滑坡地形剖面线特征,研究了相对稳定滑坡、蠕滑阶段滑坡和不稳定斜坡的地形剖面线的分布特征,以及地震滑坡不同稳定状态下的地形剖面线的多重分形维数演化特征。研究结果表明相对稳定滑坡的多重分形维数演化特征的具有明显的有序性,处于蠕滑状态的滑坡和不稳定斜坡的多重分形维数演化出现明显的特征性拐点。     

基于产业链的区域环境污染物排放的产业贡献

区域经济增长与环境质量之间的关系研究是目前学者们探讨的重要学术议题之一.其中较多的是对EKC曲线的验证,近几年部分学者从国民经济各部门中的产业自身特征、产业结构、技术进步、FDI效应等方面考察产业发展对污染物排放的影响.然而以上研究议题中学者均没有讨论污染物的发生主体-各产业部门与排污的直接关系.故本文将从宏观尺度下的综合水平测度区域经济发展与环境质量关系、中观尺度下的产业属性特征与排污关系的研究视角转移至分析具体产业部门的污染物排放效应,同时将产业置于产业链的结构形式中,研究产业链上产业发展与污染物排放的关系.发现:第一,通过借助复杂网络思想的社区划分方法,将山东省39个产业部门分为3个社团.其中社团I主要由制造业部门组成,共有18个产业部门,社团II包括了15个部门,主要是第三产业,杜团III由6个产业部门组成且内部异质性高.第二,选择其中以制造业为主的社团I,并在社团I内识别出一条彼此间联系最为紧密的产业链,包括农林牧渔业、食品制造及烟草加工业、化学工业、纺织工业、服装皮革羽绒及其制品业、通用/专用设备制造业和交通运输设备制造业.以一种定量的方法获取了通过价值流传递而串在一起的产业链条.该产业链的经济规模、污染物规模在山东省均有重要地位.第三,采用岭回归分析方法,构建了6个制造业与产业链工业废水、固体废弃物排放的关系模型,6个制造业中对工业废水、固体废弃物排放相对贡献度最大的部门分别为服装皮革羽绒及其制品业、食品制造及烟草加工业.这是由于上游产业排污的链式传递效应与产业自身污染物排放效应的共同叠加作用.     

Water-soluble matter in PM2.5 in a coastal city over China: Chemical components, optical properties, and source analysis

Although marine and terrestrial emissions simultaneously affect the formation of atmospheric fine particles in coastal areas, knowledge on the optical properties and sources of water-soluble matter in these areas is still scarce. In this work, taking Qingdao, China as a typical coastal location, the chemical composition of PM_2.5 during winter 2019 was analyzed.Excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy was combined with parallel factor analysis model to explain the component...     

Short-term changes in mobile dunes at Port Alfred,South Africa

Development along the western beachfront of Port Alfred, which is situated along a sandy shoreline, increased markedly in the 1960s as the coastal town became a popular holiday resort. This development included the removal of coastal vegetation, which resulted in the destabilization of dunes and migration of sand westerly onto the road, West Beach parking lot, and lawns of the cabanas. Sand traps were constructed to collect sand blowing across the dunes over set periods, and the net sand movement along the mobile dune belt was calculated using Hunter's equation. The dunes show an easterly movement of sand at a rate of 3.5 m/yr, which is comparable with figures recorded along other areas of this coastline. Considering the wind regime and amount of sand movement along this coast, it is inappropriate to clear vegetation and develop within the dune region.     

Integration of long-term fish kill data with ambient water quality monitoring data and application to water quality management

Almost half (354) of all fish kills (805) in South Carolina, USA, between 1978 and 1988 occurred in the coastal zone. These kills were analyzed for causative, spatial, and temporal associations as a distinct data set and as one integrated with ambient water quality monitoring data. Estuarine kills as a result of natural causes accounted for 42.8% followed by man-induced (35.1%) and undetermined causes (22.1%). Although general pesticide usage was responsible for 53.9% of man-induced kills, weed control activities around resorts and municipal areas accounted for slightly more kills (20.9%) than did agricultural (19.8%) or vector control (13.2%) uses. A dramatic decline in agricultural-related kills has been observed since 1986 as the integrated pest management approach was adopted by many farmers. When taken with the few kills (12.0%) resulting from wastewaters, this suggests that these two land-use activities have been successfully managed via existing programs (IPM and NPDES, respectively) to minimize their contributions to estuarine fish kills. Ambient trend monitoring data demonstrated no coastal-wide dispersion of pesticide pollution. These data confirmed the nature of fish kills to be site-specific, near-field events most closely associated with the contiguous land-use practices and intensities. Typically, fish kill data are considered as event-specific data limited to the bounds of that event only. Our analysis has shown, however, that a long-term data set, when integrated with ambient water quality data, can assist in regulatory and resource management decisions for both short- and long-term planning and protection applications.     

Coastal landscape preference evaluation: A comparison among tourists in Greece

An evaluation of coastal landscape of pine forest in Greece by summer visitors of various nationalities was carried out. The visual preferences for a set of landscape, represented in photographs, expressed by these various nationality groups were compared. The subjects used in this research came from Greece, Germany, Italy, France, Great Britain, Austria, Yugoslavia, and Scandinavian countries. The findings show that there is an agreement over the basic preference, but, nevertheless, there are differences of opinion between the nationality groups that might be attributed to cultural influences and the effect of being familiar with their own environments. Since coastal landscape plays an important role in the tourist industry, these findings could be very useful to policy-making agencies.