Flow,Organic, and Inorganic Sediment Yields from a Channelized Watershed in the South Carolina Lower Coastal Plain

Many small streams in coastal watersheds in the southeastern United States are modified for agricultural, residential, and commercial development. In the South Carolina Lower Coastal Plain, low‐relief topography and a shallow water table make stream channelization ubiquitous. To quantify the impacts of urbanization and stream channelization, we measured flow and sediment from an urbanizing watershed and a small forested watershed. Flow and sediment export rates were used to infer specific yields from forested and nonforested regions of the urbanizing watershed. Study objectives were to: (1) quantify the range of runoff‐to‐rainfall ratios; (2) quantify the range of specific sediment yields; (3) characterize the quantity and quality of particulate matter exported; and (4) estimate sediment yield attributable to agriculture, development, and channelization activities in the urbanizing watershed. Our results showed that the urban watershed exported over five times more sediment per unit area compared with the forested watershed. Sediment concentration was related to flow flashiness in the urban watershed and to flow magnitude in the forested watershed. Sediments from the forested watershed were dominated by organic matter, whereas mineral matter dominated sediment from the urban stream. Our results indicated that a significant shift in sediment quality and quantity are likely to occur as forested watersheds are transformed by urbanization in coastal South Carolina.     

The Hourglass: A Conceptual Framework for the Transport of Biologically Active Compounds from Agricultural Landscapes

Recent research has suggested that the fate of biologically active compounds (BACs) originating from point sources such as wastewater treatment plants is fundamentally different from that of similar compounds released from nonpoint sources through runoff from agricultural landscapes. Downstream from wastewater treatment plants, BACs will degrade via a variety of mechanisms; however, their concentration in the water adjacent to the point of discharge may not decrease over time, as the compounds are continually released. In contrast, in agricultural systems, BACs are episodically introduced to surface water during snowmelt and rainstorm events, and under these circumstances, may be found in water for only hours or days after a storm event. Recent research in our laboratories as well as others, has suggested that sediments play an important role in the persistence of herbicides and steroids in watersheds after nonpoint source loading events. Conceptually, the sediment serves as both a sink and a source, equilibrating with BACs during storm events then slowly releasing them back into the water over time, long after the initial pulse of chemicals has moved downstream.     

Assessment of Endocrine‐Disrupting Chemicals Attenuation in a Coastal Plain Stream Prior to Wastewater Treatment Plant Closure

The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting a combined pre/post‐closure assessment at a long‐term wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) site at Fort Gordon near Augusta, Georgia. Here, we assess select endocrine‐active chemicals and benthic macroinvertebrate community structure prior to closure of the WWTP. Substantial downstream transport and limited instream attenuation of endocrine‐disrupting chemicals (EDCs) was observed in Spirit Creek over a 2.2‐km stream segment downstream of the WWTP outfall. A modest decline (less than 20% in all cases) in surface water detections was observed with increasing distance downstream of the WWTP and attributed to partitioning to the sediment. Estrogens detected in surface water in this study included estrone (E1), 17β‐estradiol (E2), and estriol (E3). The 5 ng/l and higher mean estrogen concentrations observed in downstream locations indicated that the potential for endocrine disruption was substantial. Concentrations of alkylphenol ethoxylate (APE) metabolite EDCs also remained statistically elevated above levels observed at the upstream control site. Wastewater‐derived pharmaceutical and APE metabolites were detected in the outflow of Spirit Lake, indicating the potential for EDC transport to aquatic ecosystems downstream of Fort Gordon. The results indicate substantial EDC occurrence, downstream transport, and persistence under continuous supply conditions and provide a baseline for a rare evaluation of ecosystem response to WWTP closure.     

Streamside Forest Buffer Width Needed to Protect Stream Water Quality,Habitat, and Organisms: A Literature Review

This literature review addresses how wide a streamside forest buffer needs to be to protect water quality, habitat, and biota for small streams (≤~100 km² or ~5th order watershed) with a focus on eight functions: (1) subsurface nitrate removal varied inversely with subsurface water flux and for sites with water flux >50 l/m/day (~40% avg base flow to Chesapeake Bay) median removal efficiency was 55% (26‐64%) for buffers <40 m wide and 89% (27‐99%) for buffers >40 m wide; (2) sediment trapping was ~65 and ~85% for a 10‐ and 30‐m buffer, respectively, based on streamside field or experimentally loaded sites; (3) stream channel width was significantly wider when bordered by ~25‐m buffer (relative to no forest) with no additional widening for buffers ≥25 m; (4) channel meandering and bank erosion were lower in forest but more studies are needed to determine the effect of buffer width; (5) temperature remained within 2°C of levels in a fully forested watershed with a buffer ≥20 m but full protection against thermal change requires buffers ≥30 m; (6) large woody debris (LWD) has been poorly studied but we infer a buffer width equal to the height of mature streamside trees (~30 m) can provide natural input levels; (7, 8) macroinvertebrate and fish communities, and their instream habitat, remain near a natural or semi‐natural state when buffered by ≥30 m of forest. Overall, buffers ≥30 m wide are needed to protect the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of small streams.     

Influences of Water and Sediment Quality and Hydrologic Processes on Mussels in the Clinch River

Segments of the Clinch River in Virginia have experienced declining freshwater mussel populations during the past 40 years, while other segments of the river continue to support some of the richest mussel communities in the country. The close proximity of these contrasting reaches provides a study area where differences in climate, hydrology, and historic mussel distribution are minimal. The USGS conducted a study between 2009 and 2011 to evaluate possible causes of the mussel declines. Evaluation of mussel habitat showed no differences in physical habitat quality, leaving water and sediment quality as possible causes for declines. Three years of continuous water‐quality data showed higher turbidity and specific conductance in the reaches with low‐quality mussel assemblages compared to reaches with high‐quality mussel assemblages. Discrete water‐quality samples showed higher major ions and metals concentrations in the low‐quality reach. Base‐flow samples contained high major ion and metal concentrations coincident to low‐quality mussel populations. These results support a conceptual model of dilution and augmentation where increased concentrations of major ions and other dissolved constituents from mined tributaries result in reaches with declining mussel populations. Tributaries from unmined basins provide water with low concentrations of dissolved constituents, diluting reaches of the Clinch River where high‐quality mussel populations occur.     

苯达松生产高浓度含磷废水的镁盐-钙盐协同沉淀处理及资源化研究

采用鸟粪石结晶协同钙盐沉淀法从苯达松生产高浓度含磷废水中回收磷酸盐沉淀物,探讨了磷回收效果的影响因素,并对所得磷酸盐沉淀物进行了定量分析和盆栽对照实验。实验结果表明：在pH为9~10、n（Mg²⁺）∶n（NH₄⁺）∶n（PO₄^3-）为1.2∶1∶1的最佳条件下加入氯化镁和氯化铵,磷回收率（以磷计）可达95.7%;再按照n（Ca²⁺）∶n（Mg²⁺）为0.10加入氯化钙,磷总回收率达到99.1%,上清液中磷质量浓度降至8.7 mg/L;每盆施用3 g磷酸盐沉淀物,对开豆41^#具有显著的增效作用,对杂草猪殃殃也有较好的除草效果。     

近40年来海南省三大河下游水体的含沙量特征及影响因素

利用海南省水文局提供的1960—2000年水文资料,对近40年来海南省三大河下游水体的含沙量特征及影响因素进行了分析。结果表明,南渡江、昌化江和万泉河下游水体4—11月份的含沙量一般都较大,而1、2、3、12月份的含沙量都很小,夏秋两季的含沙量明显高于冬春两季,这也跟三大河下游地区的不同月份和季节性平均降雨量分布规律基本相一致,说明降雨在一定程度上决定着三大河流域的土壤侵蚀状况。从年平均含沙量来看,昌化江的含沙量整体明显高于南渡江和万泉河,这可能是昌化江流域原始森林的破坏引起水土流失等自然灾害向下游输送泥沙的结果。     

A survey of lead pollution in Chhattisgarh State, central India

Lead (Pb) is of major environmental concern due to its toxicological importance. The anthropogenic emission of Pb is at least 100 times higher than natural emissions. Soil and dust are significant sources of Pb exposure. Lead is generally immobile in soil and accumulates in the upper layers. Lead particles may enter homes via shoes, clothes, pets, and windows. Central India is rich in deposits of natural resource materials such as coal, pyrite, dolomite, and alumina that contain Pb and other heavy metals at the trace levels, and the substantial exploitation of these materials has tended to increased contamination of water and geological formations. Here we present data on Pb concentrations in the water, soil and sediment samples (n=158) collected from 70 locations in Chhattisgarh state, Raipur region. Lead concentrations in the surface water (n=44), groundwater (n=44), soils (n=60) and sediments (n=10) ranged from 6 to 1410, 3 to 52, 12.8 to 545, and 31 to 423 μg g⁻¹, with mean values of 305, 16, 102 and 190 μg g⁻¹, respectively. Most of the Pb fractions of >80% can be leached out with the chemical extractants EDTA, acetic acid, and hydroxylamine hydrochloride. Lead has accumulated in the soil clay fraction due to its relatively large surface area and decreases with increasing depth in the soil profile.     

蟹类活动对河口潮滩沉积物重金属分布的影响

利用现场样方调查以及室内蟹箱模拟试验,研究了蟹类的掘穴、取食等活动对河口潮滩沉积物中Cu、Pb、Fe、Mn、Zn、Cr等重金属分布的影响.结果表明,蟹类活动可以显著地增加潮滩沉积物用以交换的表面积,改变周围沉积物的有机质含量和粒度特征,使沉积物中的重金属含量显著增加,为在沉积物-水界面发生的重金属交换过程提供了更多的物质来源.蟹类活动对沉积物中重金属垂向分布的影响与沉积物类型密切相关.图6表1参10     

沉水植物对沉积物中磷赋存形态影响的初步研究

采用磷的分级方法研究苦草移植后生长过程中沉积物不同的磷赋存形态(NH4Cl-P, BD-P, NaOH-P和HCl-P)以及总磷的变化,同时结合野外人工恢复的水草区域采样的结果,进一步分析了野外条件下沉水植物狐尾藻(Myriophyllum spicatum L.)对磷赋存形态的影响,结果表明,沉水植物能够有效的降低沉积物中磷的含量,而且水生植物对磷的不同赋存形态的影响并不相同,其中,BD-P是受沉水植物影响最为明显的磷赋存形态.