Long-Term Evaluation of Mulch Biowall Performance to Treat Chlorinated Solvents

Permeable reactive barriers (PRBs), such as mulch biowalls, have been installed at numerous groundwater cleanup sites, and laboratory and field studies have demonstrated biotic and abiotic processes that degrade chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) in groundwater passing through these engineered remedies. However, the longevity of mulch biowalls remains a fundamental research question. Soil and groundwater sampling at seven mulch biowalls at Altus Air Force Base (AFB) approximately 10 years after installation demonstrated the ongoing degradation of CVOCs. Trichloroethene was not detected in five of seven groundwater samples collected from the biowall despite upgradient detections above federal drinking water standards. Microbial sampling established the presence of key dechlorinating bacteria and the abundance of genes encoding specific enzymes for degradation, high methane concentrations, low sulfate concentrations, and negative oxidation-reduction potential, all indicative of highly reducing conditions within the biowalls and favorable conditions for CVOC destruction via microbial reductive dechlorination. High cellulose content (>79%) of the mulch, elevated total organic carbon (TOC) content in groundwater, and elevated potentially bioavailable organic carbon (PBOC) measurements in soil samples further supports an ongoing, long-lived source of carbon. These results demonstrate the ongoing and long-term efficacy of the mulch biowalls at Altus AFB. In addition, concentrations of bacteria, TOC, PBOC, and other geochemical parameters suggest a modest impact of the biowalls downgradient. The continued presence of CVOCs downgradient may be attributable to back diffusion from low-permeability shale. However, the biowalls continue to provide benefits by removing CVOCs in groundwater, thus reducing further CVOC loading to the downgradient, low-permeability strata.     

Field Demonstration of the Horizontal Treatment Well (HRX Well®) for Passive In Situ Remediation

The horizontal reactive media treatment well (HRX Well®) uses directionally drilled horizontal wells filled with a treatment media to induce flow-focusing behavior created by the well-to-aquifer permeability contrast to passively capture proportionally large volumes of groundwater. Groundwater is treated in situ as it flows through the HRX Well and downgradient portions of the aquifer are cleaned via elution as these zones are flushed with clean water discharging from the HRX Well. The HRX Well concept is particularly well suited for sites where long-term mass discharge control is a primary performance objective. This concept is appropriate for recalcitrant and difficult-to-treat constituents, including chlorinated solvents, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), 1,4-dioxane, and metals. A full-scale HRX Well was installed and operated to treat trichloroethene (TCE) with zero valent iron (ZVI). The model-predicted enhanced flow through the HRX Well (compared to the flow in and equivalent cross-sectional area orthogonal to flow in the natural formation before HRX Well installation) and treatment zone width was consistent with flows and widths estimated independently by point velocity probe (PVP) testing, HRX Well tracer testing, and observed treatment in downgradient monitoring wells. The actual average capture zone width was estimated to be between 45 and 69 feet. Total TCE mass discharge reduction was maintained through the duration of the performance monitoring period and exceeded 99.99% (%). Decreases in TCE concentrations were observed at all four downgradient monitoring wells within the treatment zone (ranging from 50 to 74% at day 436), and the first arrival of treated water was consistent with model predictions. The field demonstration confirmed the HRX Well technology is best suited for long-term mass discharge control, can be installed under active infrastructure, requires limited ongoing operation and maintenance, and has low life cycle energy and water requirements.     

基于分布式大流域径流模型的中国西北黑河流域水文模拟

水资源短缺是中国西北干旱地区长期的问题,区域人口增加、城市化扩张,加之气候变化的影响进一步加剧了西北地区水资源短缺,也使生活用水、灌溉用水、工业用水和维持生态系统稳定的用水危险加剧.采用分布式大流域径流模型(DLBRM)模拟黑河流域水文(中国第二大内陆河,流域面积128 000 km2)来理解区域的冰川和积雪融化水、地下水、地表水、蒸散发等方面的分布,评估气候变化对水文的影响和冰川退缩对中游和下游来水量的影响.模拟结果表明,黑河流域的大部分产流那源于黑河上游地区的祁连山.模拟1990-2000年黑河河流日流量变化结果认为,黑河中游正义峡给下游的供水为10×108m3,其中地表径流占51%,层间流占49%.中游地区沙土具有较高的蒸腾发能力,近一半的地表水被蒸发掉.模拟实践证明,分布式大流域径流模型可以结合气候变化、水资源管理方面的成果,改进流域水文模拟的精度.     

High-resolution well-log derived dielectric properties of gas-hydrate-bearing sediments, Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope

A dielectric logging tool, electromagnetic propagation tool (EPT), was deployed in 2007 in the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well (Mount Elbert Well), North Slope, Alaska. The measured dielectric properties in the Mount Elbert well, combined with density log measurements, result in a vertical high-resolution (cm-scale) estimate of gas hydrate saturation. Two hydrate-bearing sand reservoirs about 20 m thick were identified using the EPT log and exhibited gas-hydrate saturation estimates ranging from 45% to 85%. In hydrate-bearing zones where variation of hole size and oil-based mud invasion are minimal, EPT-based gas hydrate saturation estimates on average agree well with lower vertical resolution estimates from the nuclear magnetic resonance logs; however, saturation and porosity estimates based on EPT logs are not reliable in intervals with substantial variations in borehole diameter and oil-based invasion.EPT log interpretation reveals many thin-bedded layers at various depths, both above and below the thick continuous hydrate occurrences, which range from 30-cm to about 1-m thick. Such thin layers are not indicated in other well logs, or from the visual observation of core, with the exception of the image log recorded by the oil-base microimager. We also observe that EPT dielectric measurements can be used to accurately detect fine-scale changes in lithology and pore fluid properties of hydrate-bearing sediments where variation of hole size is minimal. EPT measurements may thus provide high-resolution in-situ hydrate saturation estimates for comparison and calibration with laboratory analysis.     

Estimating Sea-Level Allowances for Atlantic Canada using the Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC

Abstract

Sea-level allowances at 22 tide-gauge sites along the east coast of Canada are determined based on projections of regional sea-level rise for the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5) from the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR5) and on the statistics of historical tides and storm surges (storm tides). The allowances, which may be used for coastal infrastructure planning, increase with time during the twenty-first century through a combination of mean sea-level rise and the increased uncertainty of future projections with time. The allowances show significant spatial variation, mainly a consequence of strong regionally varying relative sea-level change as a result of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA). A methodology is described for replacement of the GIA component of the AR5 projection with global positioning system (GPS) measurements of vertical crustal motion; this significantly decreases allowances in regions where the uncertainty of the GIA models is large. For RCP8.5 with GPS data incorporated and for the 1995–2100 period, the sea-level allowances range from about 0.5?m along the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to more than 1?m along the coast of Nova Scotia and southern Newfoundland.     

The input of organic material to the oceans: air—sea interactions and the organic chemical composition of the sea surface

In order to understand and quantify the way in which organic matter is transported from the atmosphere to the oceans it is important to know not only the various mechanisms by which the material is transferred between the two phases, but also the role of natural organic material at the air—sea interface in modifying such transport. In order to predict the latter it is necessary to have some knowledge of the organic chemistry and physico-chemical properties of material at the sea surface. Its organic chemistry is presently the subject of considerable controversy, although surface pressure measurements and force-area data for sea surface material, together with its very mixed chemical nature, strongly suggest that over most of the oceans it cannot form a coherent film.Transfer of organic material across the air—sea interface can be by either wet (liquid) or dry (gas and solid) deposition. The flux carried by each path can be characterised by the product of the rate of transfer of the substance concerned and its concentration in the transporting phase. Any modifying effect of material at the sea surface will vary depending on the mode of transfer, as well as the properties of the interfacial material. Application of these ideas is illustrated by calculation of atmosphere—ocean fluxes for total organic carbon, CCI₄, CCI₃F, PCBs and DDT.     

Simultaneous measurements of transparency and irradiance in the coastal waters of North Wales

Simultaneous measurements of the diffuse attenuation coefficient, k, and the collinated beam attenuation coefficient, c, were made on a continuous basis at a near-shore site off the north coast of Anglesey, North Wales. A statistical approach to calculating the diffuse attenuation coefficient, k, in coastal waters allowed variations in transparency to be taken into consideration. The ratio of c:k varied throughout the year between approximately 11:1 and 5:1, indicating the changes in the scattering and absorption properties of the water column. The major contribution to coastal turbidity was from the scattering of light by suspended material with the relationship between scattering and absorption being dependent on the nature of the suspended matter.