Chemical Characteristics of Urban Stormwater Sediments and Implications for Environmental Management, Maricopa County, Arizona

On the basis of published guidelines, urban stormwater sediments do not appear to constitute a major regional environmental problem with respect to the chemical characteristics investigated here. At individual sites, high concentrations of organic compounds—chlordane, dieldrin, PCBs, and toxaphene—may require some attention. The possible environmental hazard presented by low-level organochlorine contamination is not addressed in this paper; however, high levels of toxicity in urban sediments are difficult to explain. Sediment toxicity varied significantly with time, which indicates that these tests should be evaluated carefully before they are used for management decisions.     

Erosion Control at Construction Sites: The Science–Policy Gap

/ To test the effectiveness of Michigan's soil erosion control law, 30 construction sites were evaluated in the east-central part of the state. The analytical framework lumped nine best management practices (BMPs) most closely related to the law into three categories: slope stabilization, soil stabilization, and water management. All sites were in the land clearing or foundation/framing stage of construction and were evaluated within 2 days after a rainfall event. Only four of the sites performed above the mean of the scoring scale, with the categorical scoring of BMPs indicating the worst performance for slope stabilization measures. The poor results suggest a failure to integrate scientific knowledge of erosion control with policy. A fundamental problem is the lack of basic site data on soil, topography, and hydrology, resulting in the incorrect application of BMPs, such as staging, filter fences, and berms. The current institutional framework for soil erosion control also provides disincentives to mitigate local erosion problems.     

直线电机轮轨交通系统安全性分析

直线电机轮轨系统采用直线感应电机牵引 ,轮轨系统支承导向 ,是一种在技术、经济、环保方面均具有良好性能的新型城市轨道交通系统。该系统有两种主要技术模式 ,均有良好的安全运营记录。笔者介绍了系统的性能和设计特点 ;从牵引制动系统、控制系统、管理系统、养护维修系统以及防灾系统 5个方面对系统的安全性设计方法进行了总结 ;认为该系统具有良好的安全性能 ,先进的安全管理理念以及健全的安全防护系统 ;特别强调对该系统进行的安全设计研究 ,将为提高我国城市轨道交通系统的安全性提供新的思路     

Managing Urban Trees and Their Soil Envelopes in a Contiguously Developed City Environment

Urban Hong Kong is covered by high building, road, and population densities. Its urban morphology is inherently not conducive to extensive or high-grade greening. Recent renewal of old areas has squeezed out some limited interstitial plantable space, although in new development areas modest spaces have been earmarked for greenery. The study aims at evaluating the major constraints to urban trees and their companion urban soil envelopes and at providing specific recommendations to improve tree management in the city. The analysis covers the above-ground confinements that dampen tree performance, the less tangible but rather difficult institutional restrictions that impose a somewhat unnecessary lid on tree planting, the multiplicity of players and stakeholders involved in urban-tree management that militates against coordination and cooperation, the widespread occupation of underground space by utility lines often to the exclusion of trees, and the extremely poor quality of urban soils that are often used without amelioration to support tree growth. The management recommendations furnish practical suggestions and hints to improve the short- and long-term welfare of trees in terms of quality, quantity, and spatial distribution. The conclusion enumerates some concrete measures for consideration by decision-makers to upgrade the city's greenery to close the gap between science and policy.     

Urban Environmental Management in Botswana: Toward a Theoretical Explanation ofPublic Policy Failure

For the last three and half decades, Botswana has been widely acclaimed to be one of sub-Saharan Africa's longest and most stable liberal democracies, coupled with and sustained by a growing economy. One of the major contradictions, however, within this development scenario, has been the neglect of environmental problems in the country in general, and urban environmental issues in particular. Part of the problem fueling the misconception of environmental issues in Botswana is the state's domination of the country's environmental agenda. This is linked to the power disjunction in decision-making and policy processes between state and nonstate actors over the most appropriate course of action to tackle the problems. Without adopting appropriate analytical frameworks, it is possible that the problem of urban environmental mismanagement in Botswana will persist. This article examines some of the major urban environmental issues in Botswana from neighborhood, citywide, and urban–rural interface perspectives. Further, the elite theory of public policy is used to explain constraints on policy change in the urban environmental management arena in Botswana.     

Urban geochemistry: research strategies to assist risk assessment and remediation of brownfield sites in urban areas

Urban geochemical maps of Wolverhampton and Nottingham, based on multielement analysis of surface soils, have shown distribution patterns of “total” metals concentrations relating to past and present industrial and domestic land use and transport systems. Several methods have been used to estimate the solubility and potential bioavailability of metals, their mineral forms and potential risks to urban population groups. These include sequential chemical extraction, soil pore water extraction and analysis, mineralogical analysis by scanning electron microscopy, source apportionment by lead isotope analysis and the development of models to predict metal uptake by homegrown vegetables to provide an estimate of risk from metal consumption and exposure. The results from these research strategies have been integrated with a geographical information system (GIS) to provide data for future land-use planning.     

Urban geochemical mapping studies: how and why we do them

Geochemical mapping is a technique rooted in mineral exploration but has now found worldwide application in studies of the urban environment. Such studies, involving multidisciplinary teams including geochemists, have to present their results in a way that nongeochemists can comprehend. A legislatively driven demand for urban geochemical data in connection with the need to identify contaminated land and subsequent health risk assessments has given rise to a greater worldwide interest in the urban geochemical environment. Herein, the aims and objectives of some urban studies are reviewed and commonly used terms such as baseline and background are defined. Geochemists need to better consider what is meant by the term urban. Whilst the unique make up of every city precludes a single recommended approach to a geochemical mapping strategy, more should be done to standardise the sampling and analytical methods. How (from a strategic and presentational point of view) and why we do geochemical mapping studies is discussed.

Some characteristics of the distribution of heavy metals in urban topsoil of Xuzhou,China

An assessment is presented of distribution characteristics of heavy metals in the urban topsoil from the city of Xuzhou. The concentrations of Ag, Al, As, Au, Ba, Be, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ga, Hg, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Pd, Pt, Sb, Sc, Se, Sn, V and Zn have been determined from 21 soil samples. Examination of lognormal distribution plots indicates that the diagrams of Al, Be, Fe, Ga, Li, and V are almost linear suggesting that these metals are almost unaffected by anthropogenic activities while the plots for As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Pd, Pt, Se, Zn and others are not linear probably due to anthropogenic activities from which these metals are delivered to the soils. Al is used for mineralogical normalization of these data. An evaluation of background values for topsoil is also carried out by means of lognormal distribution plots. The results show our background values obtained from the lognormal distribution plots are comparable to those values of uncontaminated soils of Xuzhou obtained by previous work except for Cd and Hg. At present, no explanation for the exceptions Cd and Hg can be given.     

某油田稠油采出液生产分离器机械消泡技术研究

目的 针对某油田进行机械消泡技术研究,进而为促进分离器内稠油的快速消泡提供解决办法.方法 利用Fluent软件模拟不同导流板参数下分离器中气液分离效果及泡沫变化情况,并采用动态解析法发泡方式,利用高压溶气消泡测试系统对不同类型和型号的金属规整填料和两种化学消泡剂,进行消泡测试以及组合消泡实验.结果 导流板放置角度为45°时,分离效率和泡沫聚并效果均较好,而导流板放置距离影响不大;随着消泡填料的高度增加,消泡效果随之增加.结论 分离器入口导流板最佳放置角度为45°,孔板波纹填料SM250*12 cm为优选的机械消泡构件.实际生产采用机械消泡方法即可满足消泡需求,要求更好的消泡效果时,可将机械消泡与化学消泡剂消泡两种方式结合使用.     

基于生态系统服务权衡的生态安全多情景决策

聚焦于成渝城市群生态安全格局识别的主题,耦合多源数据,运用相应的模型与算法对区域粮食生产、碳固存、产水、土壤保持、生境质量5类生态系统服务进行估算,在此基础上借助空间统计与分析厘清生态系统服务功能间的权衡/协同关系,并构建不同风险情景,明确未来区域发展的生态安全格局.结果显示,2000~2015年,成渝城市群粮食生产、固碳和产水量这3类服务功能均呈下降趋势,土壤保持、生境质量服务呈上升趋势,且各类服务的空间分异性突出;固碳、产水、土壤保持与生境质量两两之间均表现为协同关系,粮食生产与这4类服务间表现为权衡关系,但这种冲突性在区域发展过程中逐渐呈减弱趋势;在空间分布上,成渝城市群生态系统服务间的权衡/协同关系表现出了一定的集聚特征;不同决策风险下生态系统服务间的权衡值也不同,随着决策风险系数的增加权衡值呈现先上升后下降的趋势;最终确定风险系数α=1.6为最适宜情景,此时权衡值最高、区域生态系统风险适中.将决策者的态度纳入生态安全格局识别过程中,使结果更全面,为城市群生态安全格局评价和管理提供科学支撑.