The potential of natural ecosystem self-purifying measures for controlling nutrient inputs

Most ecosystems have a certain assimilative capacity regarding plant nutrient or biodegradable organic matter. Knowledge of the metabolizing processes of different ecosystems enable the use of natural systems for pollution abatement from agricultural, domestic and industrial sources. Such ecologically engineered natural systems are often very cost efficient. At the Centre for Soil and Environmental Research (JORDFORSK) studies of degradation processes and the fate of plant nutrients in small streams, ponds, wetlands, vegetative filter strips and soil are being conducted in order to gain experience with and develop self purifying methods. Preliminary results show that denitrification in streams remove only a minor part of the annual nitrogen (N) transport (1–15%), but that this process can remove a considerable part of the N transport during summer. Constructed ponds and wetlands in streams draining agricultural areas showed 10–56% retention of soil particles, 23–40% of phosphorous (P) and 5–13% of N. Narrow ponds had a higher efficiency than wide ponds per unit surface area. Short-term experiments with vegetative strips treating agricultural runoff show a sediment removal of over 95%, a P removal from 80–90% and N removal between 60 and 75%. A multistage subsurface constructed wetland treating domestic waste-water removed an average of 97% P, 91% BOD, 80% of suspended solids, 55% N and 99.9% E. coli over the first 18 months of operation. Preliminary results from a multistage plant with constructed ponds and wetlands treating landfill leachate show high treatment efficiency for the same parameters. A rapid infiltration plant in northern Norway showed an average removal of 99% P, 90% COD and 73% N after 4 years of operation. These results show that self purifying measures offer potential for design of pollution abatement systems for agricultural as well as domestic purposes in the Norwegian climate.     

Five years’ central pacific sea level from in situ array,satellite altimeter and numerical model: Research note

Abstract

Temporal and spatial features of central equatorial Pacific Ocean sea‐level variation appear similar, in measurements from two very different systems (one in the ocean and one carried on a satellite), and in results from a numerical model of the region. In particular, there is an interannual cycle: during El Nino, Kelvin waves appear at the equator, and the sea‐surface ridge associated with the equatorial current system shifts southward; in non‐El Nino years, instability waves appear at 6°N (strongest around the end of each calendar year), and the ridge shifts to the north. This three‐way comparison gives support to both measurement systems and to the numerical model.     

Socio-climatic hotspots in Brazil

Brazil suffers yearly from extreme weather and climate events, which can be exacerbated in a warmer climate. Although several studies have analyzed the projections of climate change in Brazil, little attention has been paid to defining the locations that can be most affected, and consequently have a more vulnerable population, in a spatially-explicit form. This study presents a spatial analysis of summarized climate change data and a joint investigation combining these possible climate changes and social vulnerability indicators in Brazil. The Regional Climate Change Index (RCCI), which can synthesize a large number of climate model projections, is used for the climate analysis, and the Socio-Climatic Vulnerability Index (SCVI) is proposed to aggregate local population vulnerabilities to the climate change information. The RCCI results show climatic hotspots emerging in Brazil, covering the western portion of the Northeast (NE), northwestern Minas Gerais state and center-western (CW) and northern regions (N), except northeast Pará and Amapá states. The SCVI analysis reveals major socio-climatic hotspots in the NE and several localized hotspots in some of the major Brazilian metropolitan regions, namely Manaus, Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Salvador, Rio de Janeiro and S?o Paulo. The two novelties of this study are a spatially detailed analysis of the RCCI in Brazil and the development of an index that can summarize the large amount of climate model information available today with social vulnerability indicators. Both indices may be important tools for improving the dialogue between climate and social scientists and for communicating climate change to policymakers in a more synthetic and socially relevant form.     

Recent advances in mountain climate research

The paper provides a brief overview of recent advances in selected areas of mountain climate research. It addresses the contrasting vertical precipitation gradients in the Alps and in central Asia, snow line in the Alps, orographic precipitation in North America, the Mesoscale Alpine Programme wind studies, automatic weather stations in mountains, satellite remote sensing of glacier changes, and temperature change at high elevations. The evidence for altitudinal differences in the temperature response to recent warming is discussed.     

Multiple calcrete profiles in the Tabernas Basin,southeast Spain: their origins and geomorphic implications

The paper describes a sequence of Pliocene(? ) to Quaternary age calcretes developed within alluvial fan and fluvial gravels in the Tabernas Basin, Almería Province, southeast Spain. Calcrete profiles are described from sites adjacent to major tributaries of the Rambla de Tabernas. Six distinct calcrete units are identified within the basin. These have variable distributions but have developed in an identifiable evolutionary sequence. Two pairs of calcrete units are widely present across the basin preserving two former land surfaces. Each of the former land surfaces has been planated and subsequently buried by alluvial fan or fluvial gravels. A massive calcrete unit is present at the base of each gravel sequence, immediately in contact with the underlying bedrock, with a less well developed calcrete unit situated at the top of the gravel sequence. The lowest two calcrete units within the basin are more spatially restricted and are confined to the floors and flanks of incised drainage lines. The geochemistry, macro- and micromorphological properties and geomorphological positions of the calcrete units are outlined and, on the basis of this information, their mode of origin identified. Two main modes of calcrete genesis appear to be present: massive calcretes situated in direct contact with bedrock are suggested to have formed by groundwater processes, whilst calcretes situated at the top of gravel sequences are likely to have developed by pedogenic processes. Calcrete genesis is subsequently considered in the context of the reconstruction of the early phases of landscape development, and is suggested to have been controlled by phases of uplift and stability within the Tabernas Basin. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of selected cobalt-60 complexes as tracers of groundwater

A series of Co-60 compounds, considered as potentially useful tracers of groundwater movement, were prepared and evaluated in soil column and batch studies. The compounds were: potassium hexacyanocobaltate (III), K₃Co(CN)₆; potassium ethylenediamminetetraacetato-cobaltate (III), KCo(EDTA); ammonium 12-tungstodicobaltoate (III), (NH₄)₈[Co(II)Co(II)W₁₂O₄₂] · 20 H₂O; chloraquotetrammine cobalt (III) chloride, [Co(NH₃)₄(H₂O)Cl]Cl₂; and sodium hexanitrocobaltate (III), Na₃Co(NO₂)₆. The performance of K₃ ⁶⁰Co(CN)₆ and K ⁶⁰Co EDTA were dependent on their environment and more especially on the type and amount of clay present. The EDTA cobalt complex cannot be used in soils that are basic or where a large fraction of the clay is saturated with Na⁺ and/or Ca⁺⁺. Of the other radioactive tracers tested, none were suitable for groundwater tracing because of instability in aqueous solution (Na₃Co(NO₂)₆), variable anionic structure under acid conditions ((NH₃)₈[Co(II)Co(II)W₁₂O₄₂] · 20 H₂O), or preferential uptake by the clay fraction ([Co(NH₃)₄(H₂O)Cl]Cl₂).     

Application of a degree-day model to reconstruct Pleistocene glacial climates

There is empirical evidence of a nonlinear relation between annual precipitation, or accumulation, and summer mean temperature at the equilibrium line altitude (ELA) on glaciers around the world. The degree-day model gives a similar relation between accumulation and summer temperature, although instead of a single universal curve there is a family of curves depending upon the annual temperature range. Furthermore, the degree-day model also gives nonlinear relations between accumulation and annual mean temperature. Thus, estimations of accumulation can be made from both summer and annual temperatures at the ELA of former reconstructed glaciers, such as those in Greece. This is particularly useful since these climatic variables have major implications for biological proxies, such as vegetation history indicated in the pollen record, and for periglacial proxies, such as permafrost distributions indicated in the geomorphological record. The close relationship between glaciers and climate provides one of the most precise methods for reconstructing former climates and offers considerable potential for resolving our understanding of Pleistocene cold-stage climates.