INTERPRETATION OF COPPER AND ZINC CONTAMINATION IN THE AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT OF PENINSULAR MALAYSIA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO A POLLUTED RIVER, SEPANG RIVER

Three different aquatic ecosystems(an urban pond,Kelana Jaya Pond;a polluted river,Sepang River;and the intertidal and offshore areas of the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia)with different sets of ecological backgrounds and human activities were reviewed and assessed for the levels of Cu and Zn contamination with special reference to those found in polluted sediments collected from the Sepang River.The discussion on the contamination levels of Cu and Zn in the aquatic environment of Peninsular Malaysia was based on a comparison of the metal contamination of 4 kinds of aquatic environments.The comparison of 4 different areas was based on ① total concentrations of 2 metals;② the concentrations and percentages of the nonresistant(EFLE,acid-reducible and oxidisable-organic)and resistant geochemical fractions;and ③ correlation coefficients(R-values)based on data of 4 areas separately and a combination of 4 areas.The Sepang River recorded nonresistant fractions of 63.1% for Zn and 55.8% for Cu in addition to slightly lower metal concentrations when compared to those(60%-70%)reported before the shutting down of the piggery activities in that area.These nonresistant metal percentages(55%-63%)indicated that the metal concentrations were still dominated by anthropogenic sources since nonresistant fraction of metals were mostly contributed by anthropogenic sources.The positive results from the four different aquatic environments assessed here provided strong evidence to show that Malaysia's aquatic environment had received anthropogenic Cu and Zn.The present study also showed that the percentage of the nonresistant fraction and the R-values based on correlation analysis of Cu and Zn could be used as indicators of Cu and Zn pollution in the Malaysian aquatic ecosystem.Based on the present data,the correlation coefficients(R-values)are potential indicators of EFLE Cu and acid-reducible Cu of the sediments.The use of R-values as indicators of metal pollution is suggested and it is applicable to other heavy metal data although it should be improved in future studies.     

Refinements in BaSO4 to CO2 Preparation and δ18 O Calibration of the Sulfate Reference Materials NBS-127, IAEA SO-5 and IAEA SO-6

Refinements have been made to achieve over 99% yield in the conversion of CO to CO₂ in order to improve the reproducibility and accuracy of δ¹⁸ O measurements in sulfates. BaSO₄ (10-15 mg) was mixed with an identical amount of spectrographic-grade graphite and loaded into a Pt boat. The mixture was gradually heated to 1100 °C to reduce sulfate to CO and CO₂; the former gas was simultaneously converted to CO₂ by a glow discharge between Pt electrodes immersed in a magnetic field (produced by a pair of external neodymium magnets). A small memory effect was noticed during the analysis (less than 0.3‰ per 10‰ difference in δ¹⁸ O between two subsequently analysed samples). The memory effect, however, was suppressed by repetitive preparation of the same specimen. CO₂ produced in this way from sulfate reference samples was analysed on a dual inlet and triple collector mass spectrometer along with CO₂ equilibrated with VSMOW, GISP and SLAP water reference samples. To avoid large departures of measured isotope ratios from ¹⁸O/¹⁶O of the working calibrator we used CO₂ gas prepared from ocean water sulfate for this purpose. The calibrated δ¹⁸ O values (in ‰) obtained in this way for NBS-127, IAEA SO-5 and IAEA SO-6 reference materials were 8.73 ± 0.05, 12.20 ± 0.07 and -10.43 ± 0.12, respectively.     

Metal pollution assessment and multivariate analysis in sediment of Anzali international wetland

Anzali international wetland located in southwestern Caspian Sea coast is one of the most important wetlands of Iran from environmental and ecological points of view. Metal concentrations (Cu, Zn, Cr, Fe, Mn, Pb, Ni, Cd, and Li) in 41 surface sediment samples from Anzali wetland were determined. Assessment of ecological risk of sediment samples as well as their degree of contamination revealed considerable ecological risk and moderate degree of contamination in eastern part of the study area. Multivariate statistical analyses were used to identify metal content relationship and their origin. Higher enrichment factors of Cd, Pb, and Zn exhibited probable effects on human activities. Based on sediment quality guidelines (SQGs), moderate potential toxicity levels of sediment samples were identified. A new sediment quality index named sediment toxicity degree was developed based on the results of the multivariate statistical analysis to assess metal toxicity in surface sediments of aquatic systems. Results showed higher sensitivity of the new index (ST_d) to assess toxic effect of heavy metals on sediments and better capability to differentiate zones with different levels of risk within the study area than that of some other indices such as SQG-Q.     

Current Status of Marine Pollution and Mitigation Strategies in Arid Region: A Detailed Review

Ocean Science Journal - Coastal pollution is becoming a significant threat for both marine ecosystems and humans. Marine pollution and coastal degradation are severely exacerbated by anthropogenic...     

Mass balance of major elements in relation to weathering in soils developed on igneous rocks in a semiarid region, northwestern Iran

This study was conducted to evaluate the weathering intensity of the major soils developed on igneous rocks in semiarid region of northwestern Iran.Eight parent materials were selected including monzodiorite,alkali granite,granodiorite,syenite,pyroxene diorite,hornblende andesite,pyroxene andesite,and dacite.Representative soil profiles were described and soil samples were collected and analyzed for selected chemical and physical properties and total concentrations of major elements and Zr,V,Ti and Y.Bulk densities as well as Ti,Zr and V concentrations were used to estimate the strain factors and mass balance equations were used to quantify the net result of pedogenic weathering,i.e.elemental loss and gain.The results of clay content and pedogenic iron variability as well as index of compositional variability(ICV),chemical index of alteration(CIA) and,A-CN-K and MFW ternary plots showed that the soils developed on volcanic rocks(hornblende andesite> pyroxene andesite> dacite) were more weathered than those on the plutonic parent rocks(alkali granite,granodiorite,monzodiorite,syenite,pyroxene diorite).The results of mass balance calculations based on the strain factors revealed that the Ca and Na depleted during weathering progress mostly from plagioclase grains.In the semiarid regions Ca is precipitated as pedogenic calcite in the soil horizons.K and Mg depletion is less than Ca and Na especially in the profiles on the hornblende andesite with the highest clay and LOI content.The results of this study clearly suggest that the behavior of K and Mg during the weathering cannot only be explained by the disintegration of the primary minerals,since they are fixed on the secondary clay minerals.Iron did not change in the soils compared to the parent material and was precipitated as the pedogenic iron and conserved in the soil horizons.Overall,the results on the weathering indicators and major elements mass balance enrichment/depletion in the study area confirmed that the soil profiles developed on volcanic rocks are more weathered than those on the plutonic igneous rocks.     

Analysis of wheat farmers’ risk perceptions and attitudes: evidence from Punjab,Pakistan

Natural Hazards - Agriculture involves multiple risks of which environmental and production threats are major ones. Farmers’ risk attitudes and risk perceptions have a significant role in...     

Base Treated Cogon Grass (Imperata cylindrica) as an Adsorbent for the Removal of Ni(II): Kinetic,Isothermal and Fixed‐bed Column Studies

The adsorption of Ni(II) from aqueous solutions using base treated cogon grass or Imperata cylindrica (NHIC) was performed under batch and column modes. Batch experiments were conducted to determine the factors affecting adsorption such as pH, adsorbent dosage, initial nickel concentration, contact time and temperature. The fixed‐bed column experiment was performed to determine the practical applicability of NHIC and to obtain the breakthrough curve. Adsorption was fast as equilibrium was achieved within 60 min, and was best described by the pseudo second order model. According to the Langmuir model, a maximum adsorption capacity of 6.96 mg/g was observed at pH 5 and at a temperature of 313 K. Thermodynamic parameters such as ΔG⁰, ΔH⁰ and ΔS⁰ were calculated, and indicated that adsorption was a spontaneous and endothermic process. The mechanistic pathway of Ni(II) uptake was examined by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X‐ray (EDX) spectroscopy. The Thomas and Yoon‐Nelson models were used to analyze the fixed‐bed column data.     

Enhancing the interface friction between glass fiber-reinforced polymer sheets and sandy soils through sand coating

ABSTRACT

Soil-pile interface friction is an important geotechnical engineering factor to be considered in achieving a safe and cost-effective design. Conventional materials such as concrete, steel, and wood exhibit serious long-term soil substructure problems, particularly with regard to durability, deterioration, and corrosion. Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are potential alternatives for addressing these long-term problems. This paper describes the results of an experimental study of the interface friction between sandy soil and glass FRP (GFRP) sheets coated with different ratios of sand per unit of surface area. A direct shear test was used to study 18 different groups of GFRP specimens. The test parameters were the amount of silica sand coating and normal stresses in the direct shear tests. The GFRP specimens were sheared against three types of soil: sand, silty sand, and sandy lean-clay, of which the first two were used in both dense and loose states. The experimental results showed that coating the GFRP sheets with silica sand was effective in enhancing the interface friction with sandy soils under different normal stresses. A pile implication analysis was also performed to compare the effect of sand coated GFRPs on the load capacity of friction piles with different length to diameter ratios.     

A Web GIS Application for Dams and Drought in India

Dams and diversion are built in India for meeting needs of water and energy. Due to variability of monsoon in space and time, precipitation falls short or exceeds causing in extreme cases drought and floods respectively. Water resource planners and engineers need information on dams and diversion. Drought information is needed in disaster management. For dissemination of these spatial data, Web GIS technology can be utilized, which is amalgamation of several information technologies. For Web GIS application, a high end, powerful and open source software, namely Mapserver is available. The software is CGI technology based. An application on dams and drought information for India is conceptualized using Mapserver. It is planned to write the application by modifying available tutorial. This will require writing DHTML pages, writing logic, using available libraries etc. Separate DHTML pages will be written for dam and drought applications. For dam application pages will be written for storage, hydropower and all dams. The drought application will provide maps of rainfall over districts for different SPI and time scales.     

Regional scale rainfall–runoff modeling using VARX–MGARCH approach

Multivariate time series modeling approaches are known as useful tools for describing, simulating, and forecasting hydrologic variables as well as their changes over the time. These approaches also have temporal and cross-sectional spatial dependence in multiple measurements. Although the application of multivariate linear and nonlinear time series approaches such as vector autoregressive with eXogenous variables (VARX) and multivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (MGARCH) models are commonly used in financial and economic sciences, these approaches have not been extensively used in hydrology and water resources engineering. This study employed VARX and VARX–MGARCH approaches in modeling mean and conditional heteroscedasticity of daily rainfall and runoff records in the basin of Zarrineh Rood Dam, Iran. Bivariate diagonal VECH (DVECH) model, as a main type of MGARCH, shows how the conditional variance–covariance and conditional correlation structure vary over the time between residuals series of the fitted VARX. For this purpose, five model fits, which consider different combinations of twofold rainfall and runoff, including both upstream and downstream stations, have been investigated in the present study. The VARX model, with different orders, was applied to the daily rainfall–runoff process of the study area in each of these model fits. The Portmanteau test revealed the existence of conditional heteroscedasticity in the twofold residuals of fitted VARX models. Therefore, the VARX–DVECH model is proposed to capture the heteroscedasticity existing in the daily rainfall–runoff process. The bivariate DVECH model indicated both short-run and long-run persistency in the conditional variance–covariance matrix related to the twofold innovations of rainfall–runoff processes. Furthermore, the evaluation criteria for the VARX–DVECH model revealed the improvement of VARX model performance.