Bioremediation perspective of historically contaminated sediment with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

The purpose of the current study is to compare the influence of different aerobic conditions(biostimulation(BS),bioaugmentation(BA),and a combination of biostimulation and bioaugmentation(BB))on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAH)degradation and compare the degraded amount with single step XAD-4 extraction as a new tool for bioavailability assessment for chronically contaminated sediment samples obtained from territory of Autonomous Province Vojvodina of Serbia(S1,S2,and S3).A great number of papers dealing with biodegradation of PAHs in spiked sediment or soil have been published,but to the authors’knowledge,a limited number of papers studied aged,historically polluted sediment and a sum of chosen U.S.Environmental Protection Agency(USEPA)PAHs.A significant reduction(up to67%)in PAH concentration was observed,while the percentage of reduction varied depending on the sediment sample and treatment used.BS treatment successfully stimulated growth of indigenous bacteria.Further,PAH-degrading strain Sphingomonas paucimobilis F8 inoculated in BA and BB treatment survived for up to 7 weeks after it was suppressed by unfavorable conditions or native microbes.Degraded amounts generally showed good correlation with results obtained from XAD-4 extraction.Results obtained in the current study represent a good start for standardizing a XAD-4 extraction technique as a simplified,easier,and lower cost method for bioavailability assessment.     

Factors that contributed to recent eutrophication of two Slovenian mountain lakes

Increased eutrophication was recently observed in the 5th (5J) and 6th (6J) Triglav Lakes, two remote Slovenian mountain lakes. Sediment phosphorus (P) pools were analysed and potential external P sources affecting the lakes (atmospheric deposition, terrestrial export and nearby hut) evaluated, to assess the effects of internal and external changes on the lakes. A sequential extraction procedure was used to quantify five P fractions from the sediments: adsorbed (NH₄Cl–P), redox-sensitive (BD–P), aluminium- (NaOH–P) and calcium- (HCl–P) bound, and refractory organic (Res–P) P. Total phosphorus (TP) contents in surface sediment of 5J and 6J were 1430 and 641 µg P g^?1 dry weight sediment (dw), respectively. TP varied with depth in 5J sediments, but displayed no discernible pattern, whereas it decreased steadily downcore in 6J. Contents of all P forms were distinctly higher in 5J than 6J, but their rank order and relative abundances were similar in the two lakes. Res–P was the most abundant P fraction, followed by HCl–P. Together, the two P forms accounted for nearly 80 and 90% of TP in 5J and 6J sediments, respectively. BD–P and NaOH–P were less abundant, with each fraction accounting for 3 to 9% of TP, whereas NH₄Cl–P was least abundant. Atmospheric deposition and terrestrial export were substantial sources of P for the lakes. Delivery of the former was estimated to be at least 7.5 mg P m^?2 yr^?1 and the latter around 20 mg P m^?2 yr^?1. We concluded that P was not retained in the catchment effectively, likely because of only slightly acidic soil pH (5.9), relatively low aluminium content and high organic matter content (53%) in soils, resulting in higher vulnerability of the studied lakes to eutrophication. The mountain hut could also be a significant source of P for the lakes. Each year, it could potentially contribute ~12 kg of soluble P to the environment, but the true impact of the hut on lake trophic status remains unclear.     

Numerical Study of Winter Diurnal Convection Over the City of Krasnoyarsk: Effects of Non-freezing River,Undulating Fog and Steam Devils

We performed a numerical simulation of penetrative convection of an inversion-topped weakly stratified atmospheric boundary layer over urban terrain with a strong localized source of heat and moisture. With some simplifications, the case mimics the real environment of the Krasnoyarsk region in Russia where the non-freezing river Yenisei acts as a thermal and humidity source during winter, generating an undulating fog pattern along the river accompanied with scattered ‘steam devils’. An idealized full diurnal cycle was simulated using an unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) three-equation algebraic flux model and the novel buoyancy-accounting functions for treating the ground boundary conditions. The results show a significant effect of the river on the net temperature and moisture distribution. The localized heat and moisture source leads to strong horizontal convection and marked non-uniformity of humidity concentration in the air. An interplay of several distinct large-scale vortex systems leads to a wavy pattern of moisture plumes over the river. The simulations deal with rare natural phenomena and show the capability of the RANS turbulence closure to capture the main features of flow and scalar fields on an affordable, relatively coarse, computational grid.     

A finite element model for seismic response analysis of deformable rocking frames

A new finite element model to analyze the seismic response of deformable rocking bodies and rocking structures is presented. The model comprises a set of beam elements to represent the rocking body and zero‐length fiber cross‐section elements at the ends of the rocking body to represent the rocking surfaces. The energy dissipation during rocking motion is modeled using a Hilber–Hughes–Taylor numerically dissipative time step integration scheme. The model is verified through correct prediction of the horizontal and vertical displacements of a rigid rocking block and validated against the analytical Housner model solution for the rocking response of rigid bodies subjected to ground motion excitation. The proposed model is augmented by a dissipative model of the ground under the rocking surface to facilitate modeling of the rocking response of deformable bodies and structures. The augmented model is used to compute the overturning and uplift rocking response spectra for a deformable rocking frame structure to symmetric and anti‐symmetric Ricker pulse ground motion excitation. It is found that the deformability of the columns of a rocking frame does not jeopardize its stability under Ricker pulse ground motion excitation. In fact, there are cases where a deformable rocking frame is more stable than its rigid counterpart. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chrystal and Proudman resonances simulated with three numerical models

The aim of this work was to study Chrystal and Proudman resonances in a simple closed basin and to explore and compare how well the two resonant mechanisms are reproduced with different, nowadays widely used, numerical ocean models. The test case was based on air pressure disturbances of two commonly used shapes (a sinusoidal and a boxcar), having various wave lengths, and propagating at different speeds. Our test domain was a closed rectangular basin, 300 km long with a uniform depth of 50 m, with the theoretical analytical solution available for benchmark. In total, 2250 simulations were performed for each of the three different numerical models: ADCIRC, SCHISM and ROMS. During each of the simulations, we recorded water level anomalies and computed the integral of the energy density spectrum for a number of points distributed along the basin. We have successfully documented the transition from Proudman to Chrystal resonance that occurs for a sinusoidal air pressure disturbance having a wavelength between one and two basin lengths. An inter-model comparison of the results shows that different models represent the two resonant phenomena in a slightly different way. For Chrystal resonance, all the models showed similar behavior; however, ADCIRC model providing slightly higher values of the mean resonant period than the other two models. In the case of Proudman resonance, the most consistent results, closest to the analytical solution, were obtained using ROMS model, which reproduced the mean resonant speed equal to 22.00 m/s— i.e., close to the theoretical value of 22.15 m/s. ADCIRC and SCHISM models showed small deviations from that value, with the mean speed being slightly lower—21.97 m/s (ADCIRC) and 21.93 m/s (SCHISM). The findings may seem small but could play an important role when resonance is a crucial process producing enhancing effects by two orders of magnitude (i.e., meteotsunamis).     

Progress in Danube Loess and Paleoenvironment Study

Danube loess, located at the westernmost part of the widespread Eurasian loess belt, is one of the most well-preserved aeolian dust deposits in Europe with the basal age dating back over 1 Ma. Owing to its unique location and formation processes, Danube loess plays an important role in understanding the linkage of climate changes in different climate regimes over Eurasian continent and paleoclimatic changes in middle-high northern latitudes. Major research advances of the Danube loess, including compositions, provenance, chronology, stratigraphy and paleoenvironment changes were systematically reviewed and the focuses of future research were suggested. To better understand loess provenance, the compositions of sediments in all the potential source areas should be investigated, and methodological study of provenance indicators and application of multi-proxies approaches need to be carried out. Chronologically and stratigraphically, feldspar luminescence dating and tephrochronology methods should be widely used, and the establishment of a uniform stratigraphic framework and correlation scheme should be constrained by precise chronology. In terms of the paleoenvironment, it is necessary to conduct high-resolution multi-proxies reconstruction of paleoenviroment for the entire loess-paleosol sequence, extending from the last interglacial period (130 ka to present) to interval of last 1 Ma. The future progress in Danube loess is crucial to improving the study of continental paleoclimate comparison and paleoclimate dynamics over the Eurasian loess region.     

Experimental investigation of seismic behaviour of the ancient Protiron monument model

Throughout history, dry-stone masonry structures have been strengthened with different types of metal connectors in order to increase their resistance which enabled their survival, especially in the seismically active area. One such example is the ancient Protiron monument placed in the Peristyle square of the Diocletian's Palace in Split, Croatia. The Protiron was built at the turn of the 3rd century as a stone masonry structure with dowels embedded between its base, columns, capitals and broad gable. The stone blocks in the broad gable were connected by metal clamps during restoration at the beginning of the 20th century. In order to study the seismic performance of the strengthened stone masonry structures, an experimental investigation of seismic behaviour of a physical model of the Protiron was performed on the shaking table. The model was designed as a true replica model in a length scale of 1:4 and exposed to representative earthquake with increasing intensities up to collapse. The tests provided a clear insight into system behaviour, damage mechanism and failure under intensive seismic load, especially into the efficiency of connecting elements, which had a special role in increasing seismic resistance and protection of the structure from collapse. Additionally, this experiment provided valuable data for verification and calibration of numerical models for strengthened stone masonry structures.     

Forecasting hourly particulate matter concentrations based on the advanced multivariate methods

In this study, several multivariate methods were used for forecasting hourly PM₁₀ concentrations at four locations based on SO₂ and meteorological data from the previous period. According to the results, boosted decision trees and multi-layer perceptrons yielded the best predictions. The forecasting performances were similar for all examined locations, despite the additional PM₁₀ spatio-temporal analysis showed that the sites were affected by different emission sources, topographic and microclimatic conditions. The best prediction of PM₁₀ concentrations was obtained for industrial sites, probably due to the simplicity and regularity of dominant pollutant emissions on a daily basis. Conversely, somewhat weaker forecast accuracy was achieved at urban canyon avenue, which can be attributed to the specific urban morphology and most diverse emission sources. In conclusion to this, the integration of advanced multivariate methods in air quality forecasting systems could enhance accuracy and provide the basis for efficient decision-making in environmental regulatory management.     

Possibility for hydroenergetic utilization of relatively researched water streams

Small mountain water streams are lately more interesting from the aspect of hydroenergetic exploitation. Catchments area of smaller rivers and creeks are mostly not enough researched from hydroenergetic aspect, so the most difficult task for small hydropower plant designers is to determine hydroenergetic potential of discussed water streams, from short period of hydrological observations. Very often happens that existing measurement stations on discussed water streams are placed few kilometers from potentially place of water intake and the value of flow is drastically different on these two locations. In this work, two methods for determination of hydrological picture for the chosen location of water intake on discussed river are shown, correlation method and analogy method. Using these methods it is possible to use data that describes measured values of discharge from the old measurement stations, that is exists on the same or adjacent river, to determine flow duration curve on the place of interests. Results given from these two methods are compared with measured values of discharge and precipitation from last period that are collected from location of planed intake. Based on the good agreement of theoretical and measured values, it was concluded that these two methods can be also applied to the adjacent basins. Suggestion of hydroenergetic utilization of discussed water stream and its economic justification is also presented in this work.