Bioindication of water and bottom sediment pollution in the Kondopozhskaya Bay of Lake Onega

The situation in the Kondopozhskaya Bay of Onega Lake, polluted by wastewater of a pulp-and-paper mill is considered. The dynamics of wastewater input over 80 years is analyzed; the rate of such input varied widely in this period because of changes in cellulose production processes. A close correlation was found to exist between the characteristics of the state of aquatic organism communities and the environmental physicochemical characteristics. The pollution indices of water mass and the bed are evaluated, including biological and physicochemical data. Those indices can be used to identify polluted zones of water and bottom sediments in Onega Lake subject to the discharge of wastewaters from pulp-and-paper mill.     

Nutrient Transport into the White Sea with River Runoff

Averaged data from long-term observations of concentrations of mineral-nutrient fractions along with fragmentary data and indirect estimates of organic-component concentrations in the tributaries of the sea (the Niva, the Onega, the Northern Dvina, the Mezen, and the Kem rivers) are analyzed. Monthly variations in the concentrations of the major nutrients in the river water flowing into the sea are characterized, and relationships between them in different seasons are determined. Annual nutrient transport into the White Sea by river water is assessed based on characteristics of river runoff and nutrient concentrations using a mathematical model. Wide variations are established in the ratios of organic and mineral fractions of nutrients delivered into the sea. The shares of mineral components in the total runoff of N_tot and P_tot into the sea are found to be equal to 18.1 and 18.8%, respectively.     

Below- and Aboveground Spartina alterniflora Production in a Louisiana Salt Marsh

The monthly variations of below- and aboveground biomass of Spartina alterniflora were documented for a south Louisiana salt marsh from March 2004 to March 2005, and in March 2006 and 2007. The annual production rate above- and belowground was 1821 and 11,676 g m^?2, respectively (Smalley method), and the annual production rate per biomass belowground was 10.7 g dry weight^?1, which are highs along the latitudinal distributions of the plant’s range. The average root + rhizome/shoot ratio (R&R/S) was 2.6:1, which is lower than the R&R/S ratios of 4 to 5.1 reported for Spartina sp. marshes in the northeastern US. The belowground biomass increased from July to September and fluctuated between October and November, after which it declined until February when the growing season began. The belowground biomass was dominated by rhizomes, which declined precipitously in spring and then rose to a seasonal high in the month before declining again as the late summer rise in inflorescence began. Over half of the root biomass in a 30-cm soil profile was in the upper 10 cm, and in the 10- to 20-cm profile for rhizomes. The maximum March biomass above- and belowground was four to five times that of the minimum biomass over the four sampling years. The net standing stock (NSS) of N and P in live biomass aboveground compared to that in the belowground biomass was about 1.7 times higher and equal, respectively, but the NSS of N and P for the live + dead biomass was about six times higher belowground. The average nitrogen/phosphorous molar ratios of 16:1 aboveground is in agreement with the often tested N limitation of biomass accumulation aboveground, whereas the 37:1 belowground ratio suggests that there is an influence of P on R&R foraging for P belowground. Some implications for management and restoration are, in part, that salt marshes should be evaluated and examined using information on the plant’s physiology and production both below- and aboveground.     

Flow dynamics and geomorphology of a trough blowout

The dynamics and geomorphological development of a trough blowout located at Fiona Beach in the Myall Lakes National Park in NSW, Australia, are examined. Wind speeds, velocities and flow structure were measured utilizing an array of miniature Rimco cup anemometers, Gill bivane and UVW instruments, and wind vanes. Flow measurements indicate that when the wind approaches the trough blowout parallel to the throat orientation, jets occur both in the deflation basin and along the erosional walls, relative flow deceleration and expansion occurs up the depositional lobe, jets are formed over the depositional lobe crest accompanied by downwind flow separation on the leeward side of the lobe, and flow separation and the formation of corkscrew vortices occur over the crests of the erosional walls. Maximum erosion and transport occurs up the deflation basin and onto the depositional lobe. Trough blowout morphologies are explained as a function of these flow patterns. When the wind approaches the blowout obliquely, the flow is steered considerably within the blowout, and the degree and complexity of topographic steering is dependent on the blowout topography. The flow is usually extremely turbulent and large corkscrew vortices are common. The local topography of a blowout can be very important in determining overall sand transport and blowout evolutionary conditions and paths. Estimates of potential sand transport within the blowout may be up to two orders of magnitude lower than actual rates if remotely sensed wind data are used.     

On the way to a better state? The role of NGOs in the planning and implementation of protected areas in Brazil

Protected areas are considered some of the most versatile as well as important instruments of nature conservation and environmental policies. The `classic' model of nature conservation aims at the isolation of large areas in order to preserve their `pristine' nature from human interference. However, the transfer of this model to developing countries led to serious conflicts with local people. From a socio-geographical viewpoint, protected areas can be understood as regulative tools for the shaping and controlling of space. This approach helps to recognise the influence of distinct modes of appropriation of space and nature on the emergence and course of conflicts. In the present article it is used to analyse the leading role played by Brazilian NGOs in the transformation of the classic model of protected area management at the beginning of the nineties. Two case studies – dealing with the implementation of the Amazonian Mamirauá Reserve and with the reform of the Brazilian protected area legislation – are used to illustrate not only the success of the new approaches, but also the expectations and contradictions which surround the future development of protected areas in Brazil.     

Geomorphological Holocene events as deduced from lithological records of the fluvial basins of Dauria

A conjugate analysis of the processes of morphogenesis and sedimentation within small fluvial basins of Dauria revealed a rhythmic character of change of the Holocene processes which are combined into cycles of a different hierarchical level. It is shown that each cycle begins with an extreme phase of intense fluvial drift and delivery of matter from the system. The fluvial horizons comprise the lower part of deposits of the Holocene macrocycle in the Vesnyanka pad’ (a valley without a permanent watercourse). A disastrous fluvial drift was recorded repeatedly for the period 7–8.5 cal. ka and at the transition time from the Atlantic to Subboreal time. A normal zonal phase of integration of matter within the basins is exhibited by buried humus horizons of soils which give clear evidence of 1800-year cycles. A regional development in Dauria is recorded for the soils with the age of about 8, 6.4 and 4.6 as well as 1.2–1.4 cal. ka. The upper part of the deposits of each cycle is characterized by aeolian horizons of extreme arid phases. The profiles of proluvial trails are indicative of 130-year cycles. Based on results from studying buried soils, data of pollen analysis and radiocarbon dating of the deposits, we determined an enhancement in climate aridization for the last 10 ka and, in general, a decreased of the sedimentation and morphogenesis rate.     

Assessment of 2DH and pseudo‐3D modelling platforms in a large saline aquatic system: Lake Urmia,Iran

The main objective of this paper is to provide comparative quantitative examinations on the capabilities of two‐dimensional horizontal and pseudo‐three‐dimensional (3D) modelling approaches for simulating spatial and temporal variability of the flow and salinity in Lake Urmia, Iran. The water quality in the lake has been an environmentally important subject partly because this shallow hypersaline aquatic ecosystem is considered to be one of the largest natural habitats of a unique multicellular organism, Artemia urmiana. This brine shrimp is the major food source for many of the protected and rare shorebirds that visit the lake. A. urmiana can grow and survive in certain ranges of salinity, and their disappearance could lead to an alteration of existing equilibria. The lake has also experienced considerable man‐made changes during the past three decades. A newly built crossing embankment almost divided the lake into two northern and southern halves. A relatively small opening of 1.25 km in the new embankment provides water connections between the two halves. As a result, the flow and salinity regimes have been significantly changed. This might have had adverse serious impacts on the lake ecosystem. In the current study, the two‐dimensional horizontal hydrodynamic model has been found to provide reasonable predictions for the flow regime in the lake, whereas its salinity predictions have not been consistent with the field observations. The pseudo‐3D model has produced results fairly close to the salinity measurements and its temporal and spatial variations. The pseudo‐3D model has been used for evaluating the embankment effects on the lake hydrodynamics and on the salinity conditions. The effectiveness of introducing a different number or length of openings in the embankment for restoring the pre‐embankment conditions has also been examined. These remedy options have been found not to offer substantial improvements to the lake's existing ecosystem. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.