Impact of Turbidity on TCE and Degradation Products in Ground Water

Elevated particulate concentrations in ground water samples can bias contaminant concentration data. This has been particularly problematic for metal analyses where artificially increased turbidity levels can affect metals concentrations and confound interpretation of the data. However, few studies have been conducted to determine the impact of particulates on trichloroethylene (TCE), cis-dichloroethylene (c-DCE), and vinyl chloride concentrations.
Laboratory batch studies and field investigations were conducted to evaluate the effects of suspended solids on VOC concentrations in ground water samples analyzed by purge-and-trap gas chromatography. Three different solids were used to assess the effects of suspended particulates. The solids were aquifer material from a field site in North Carolina and two reference clay minerals (kaolinite and Namontimorillonite). During the laboratory portion of this study, the solids were used to determine effects on TCE concentrations under controlled laboratory conditions.
The same solids were used in a field study to compare the laboratory results with field results. Solids were added to the sample vials prior it) sample collection to intentionally increase turbidity levels in the water samples. Results of the study indicate essentially no decrease in TCE, c-DCH, or vinyl chloride concentrations due to increased turbidity levels.     

Estimating Stable Measured Values and Detecting Anomalies in Groundwater Geochemistry Time Series Data Across the Athabasca Oil Sands Area,Canada

Regional groundwater monitoring in the Athabasca region of Alberta, Canada, provides information on groundwater quality and geochemical changes over time, including data useful for evaluating potential impacts of industrial activity such as oil sands mining and in situ operations. Data collected from over 5000 wells from the 1950s to 2014, including 161 wells from government’s monitoring network, were used to develop and apply bootstrap techniques for the detection of changes in groundwater geochemistry over time and at specific points in time. Increasing temporal anomalies were identified in Cl, TDS, B, and naphthenic acids in the McMurray formation across 2003 and 2008, while decreasing anomalies were found for SO₄. Temporal variance for 15 indicators was quantified for a smooth bootstrap approach to arrive at stable values representative of the most recent samples taken from wells in the study area. Stable values revealed sampling bias in the Devonian, Grand Rapids, Empress, Channel Beverly, and Muriel Lake formations suggesting expansion of sampling may be necessary. Although temporal anomalies were found in the McMurray formation, sampling bias was not identified. The entropy and relative magnitude of time series were evaluated to identify candidate wells for continued observations, which consist of wells with low measurements and low entropy that are near active industry lease boundaries. Temporal anomalies, stable values, and entropy were combined into type-well information to provide plots for visual inspection and interpretation. Stable values are useful for regional mapping, for detecting future changes and trends, and for identifying areas of interest warranting further investigation.

     

Potential CO2-induced climate effects on North American wheat-producing regions

The environmental requirements for growth of winter, spring, and fallsown spring wheats in North America are specified and compared to temperature results from the control run of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies general circulation model (GISS GCM) and observed precipitation in order to generate a simulated map of current wheat production regions. The simulation agrees substantially with the actual map of wheat-growing regions in North America. Results from a doubled CO₂ run of the climate model are then used to generate wheat regions under the new climatic conditions. In the simulation, areas of production increase in North America, particularly in Canada, due to increased growing degree units (GDU). Although wheat classifications may change, major wheat regions in the United States remain the same under simulated doubled CO₂ conditions. The wheat-growing region of Mexico is identified as vulnerable due to high temperature stress. Higher mean temperatures during wheat growth, particularly during the reproductive stages, may increase the need for earlier-maturing, more heat-tolerant cultivars throughout North, America. The soil moisture diagnostic of the climate model is used to analyze potential water availability in the major wheat region of the Southern Great Plains.     

Dewatering and extensional deformation of the Shikoku Basin hemipelagic sediments in the Nankai Trough

The Shikoku Basin hemipelagic sequence, which underlies the Nankai Trough wedge, S.W. Japan, thins by 50% between the outer edge of the trench wedge and DSDP Site 582, 14 km arcward. A sedimentation model, which incorporates changes in sedimentation rates with time and with distance from the trench wedge toe, indicates that 57% of the total thinning occurs as a result of temporally varying sedimentation rates and a time transgressive facies boundary between the trench wedge turbidites and the underlying hemipelagites. Burial-induced consolidation beneath the wedgeshaped turbiditic overburden, accounts for the remaining 43% of arcward thinning within the hemipelagic unit. Rapid dewatering, modeled as one-dimensional consolidation suggests that the excess pore water pressures are quite low during this progressive dewatering. Thus, high pore water pressures should not be assumed to occur universally in convergent margin settings. Normal faults and vein structures in the hemipelagites suggest near-horizontal extension in addition to vertical consolidation. The estimates of excess pore water pressures together with fault geometries and horizontal extensional strains, determined from the geometry of the subducting oceanic plate, can be used to constrain the stress conditions at failure. The expulsion of hot water from the rapidly dewatering sediments in the Nankai Trough may help to explain anomalously high heat flow in the central part of the trough.     

Siliceous microfossil succession in the recent history of two basins in Lake Baikal, Siberia

As part of the international cooperative Baikal Drilling Project, siliceous microfossil assemblage succession was analyzed in two short ( 30-cm) sediment cores from Lake Baikal. One core was recovered from the north basin (Core 324, 55°15N, 109°30E), a second from between the central and southern basins (Core 316, 52°28N, 106°5E). The northern core had higher amounts of biogenic silica (40 g SiO₂ per 100 g dry weight sediment) compared to the southern core, and increased deposition in the more recent sediments. Weight percent biogenic silica was lower in the southern core, ranging from approximately 20–30 g SiO₂ per 100 g dry weight sediment throughout the entire core. Trends in absolute microfossil abundance mirror those of biogenic silica, with generally greater abundance in the northern core (86–275×10⁶ microfossils g^–1 dry sediment) compared to the southern core (94–163×10⁶ microfossils g^–1 dry sediment).Cluster analyses using relative abundance of the dominant diatom and chrysophyte taxa revealed four zones of microfossil succession in each core. Microfossil assemblage succession in the north basin may be reflecting shifts in nutrient supply and cycling driven by climatic changes. The most recent sediments in the northern basin (Zone 1,c. 1890's–1991 A.D.) were characterized by an increased abundance ofAulacoseira baicalensis andAulacoseira spore. Zone 3 (c. 1630's–1830's A.D.) was dominated by the endemicCyclotella spp. and reduced abundance of theAulacoseira spp. Zone 3 corresponds approximately to the Little Ice Age, a cooler climatic period. The microfossil assemblages between Zones 1 and 3 (Zone 2,c. 1830's–1890's A.D.) and below Zone 3 (Zone 4,c. 830's–1430's A.D.) are similar to one another suggesting they represent transitional intervals between warm and cold periods. Southern basin sediments record similar changes in the endemic taxa. However, the increased abundance of non-endemic planktonic taxa (e.g.Stephanodiscus binderanus, Synedra acus, Cyclostephanos dubius) during two periods in recent history (post World War II and late 1700's) suggests evidence for anthropogenic induced changes in southern Lake Baikal.     

Ocean urea fertilization for carbon credits poses high ecological risks

The proposed plan for enrichment of the Sulu Sea, Philippines, a region of rich marine biodiversity, with thousands of tonnes of urea in order to stimulate algal blooms and sequester carbon is flawed for multiple reasons. Urea is preferentially used as a nitrogen source by some cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates, many of which are neutrally or positively buoyant. Biological pumps to the deep sea are classically leaky, and the inefficient burial of new biomass makes the estimation of a net loss of carbon from the atmosphere questionable at best. The potential for growth of toxic dinoflagellates is also high, as many grow well on urea and some even increase their toxicity when grown on urea. Many toxic dinoflagellates form cysts which can settle to the sediment and germinate in subsequent years, forming new blooms even without further fertilization. If large-scale blooms do occur, it is likely that they will contribute to hypoxia in the bottom waters upon decomposition. Lastly, urea production requires fossil fuel usage, further limiting the potential for net carbon sequestration. The environmental and economic impacts are potentially great and need to be rigorously assessed.     

Hotelling Revisited: Oil Prices and Endogenous Technological Progress

This article examines the Hotelling model of optimal nonrenewable resource extraction in light of empirical evidence that petroleum and minerals prices have been trendless despite resource scarcity. In particular, we examine how endogenous technology-induced shifts in the cost function would have evolved over time if they were to maintain a constant market price for nonrenewable resources. We calibrate our model using empirical data on world oil, and find that, depending on the estimate of the initial stock of reserve, oil reserves will likely be depleted some time between the years 2040 and 2075.     

地图妆饰生活(一)

<正>你迷恋机器猫、蒙奇奇、泰迪熊或是变形金刚,于是特别爱穿印有它们图像的T恤衫,还收藏了好大一摞的画册,不仅在家里摆满了大大小小各形各款的玩偶,连放在办公室的手机座、喝水杯也都是它们的造型——没办法,资深"粉丝"就是这样热     

Climate change, ambient ozone, and health in 50 US cities

We investigated how climate change could affect ambient ozone concentrations and the subsequent human health impacts. Hourly concentrations were estimated for 50 eastern US cities for five representative summers each in the 1990s and 2050s, reflecting current and projected future climates, respectively. Estimates of future concentrations were based on the IPCC A2 scenario using global climate, regional climate, and regional air quality models. This work does not explore the effects of future changes in anthropogenic emissions, but isolates the impact of altered climate on ozone and health. The cities’ ozone levels are estimated to increase under predicted future climatic conditions, with the largest increases in cities with present-day high pollution. On average across the 50 cities, the summertime daily 1-h maximum increased 4.8 ppb, with the largest increase at 9.6 ppb. The average number of days/summer exceeding the 8-h regulatory standard increased 68%. Elevated ozone levels correspond to approximately a 0.11% to 0.27% increase in daily total mortality. While actual future ozone concentrations depend on climate and other influences such as changes in emissions of anthropogenic precursors, the results presented here indicate that with other factors constant, climate change could detrimentally affect air quality and thereby harm human health.