Projected Reorganization of Florida Bay Seagrass Communities in Response to the Increased Freshwater Inflow of Everglades Restoration

Historic changes in water-use management in the Florida Everglades have caused the quantity of freshwater inflow to Florida Bay to decline by approximately 60% while altering its timing and spatial distribution. Two consequences have been (1) increased salinity throughout the bay, including occurrences of hypersalinity, coupled with a decrease in salinity variability, and (2) change in benthic habitat structure. Restoration goals have been proposed to return the salinity climates (salinity and its variability) of Florida Bay to more estuarine conditions through changes in upstream water management, thereby returning seagrass species cover to a more historic state. To assess the potential for meeting those goals, we used two modeling approaches and long-term monitoring data. First, we applied the hydrological mass balance model FATHOM to predict salinity climate changes in sub-basins throughout the bay in response to a broad range of freshwater inflow from the Everglades. Second, because seagrass species exhibit different sensitivities to salinity climates, we used the FATHOM-modeled salinity climates as input to a statistical discriminant function model that associates eight seagrass community types with water quality variables including salinity, salinity variability, total organic carbon, total phosphorus, nitrate, and ammonium, as well as sediment depth and light reaching the benthos. Salinity climates in the western sub-basins bordering the Gulf of Mexico were insensitive to even the largest (5-fold) modeled increases in freshwater inflow. However, the north, northeastern, and eastern sub-basins were highly sensitive to freshwater inflow and responded to comparatively small increases with decreased salinity and increased salinity variability. The discriminant function model predicted increased occurrences of Halodule wrightii communities and decreased occurrences of Thalassia testudinum communities in response to the more estuarine salinity climates. The shift in community composition represents a return to the historically observed state and suggests that restoration goals for Florida Bay can be achieved through restoration of freshwater inflow from the Everglades.     

A contribution to the crystal chemistry of the voltaite group: solid solutions, Mössbauer and infrared spectra, and anomalous anisotropy

Voltaite is a mineral of fumaroles, solfatares, coal-fire gas vents, and acid-mine drainage systems. The nominal composition is K₂Fe₅ ²⁺Fe₃ ³⁺Al(SO₄)₁₂·18H₂O and the nominal symmetry is cubic, $Fd\overline{3}c$ . The tetragonal (I4₁/acd) superstructure of voltaite is known as the mineral pertlikite. In this study, we investigated 22 synthetic voltaite samples in which Fe²⁺ was partially or completely replaced by Mg, Zn, Mn, or Cd, by single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction (both in-house and synchrotron). Two samples contained NH₄ ⁺ instead of K⁺. The structure of voltaite is based on a framework defined by kröhnkite-like heteropolyhedral chains which host both M³⁺ and M²⁺ in octahedral coordination. Unit cell dimensions of the end-members scale almost linearly with the size of M²⁺. In the Fe²⁺-Mg-Zn solid solutions, the Fe²⁺-Mg and Fe²⁺-Zn solutions are linear (ideal) in terms of their lattice-parameter variations. The Mg-Zn solid solution, however, is strongly non-ideal. A detailed analysis of the topology of the chains showed that this behavior originates in expansion and contraction of individual M²⁺-O bonds within the chains. In the Mg-Zn solid solution, some of the M²⁺-O bonds expand while none contract. In the other solid solutions, expansion of some M²⁺-O bonds is always compensated by contraction of the other ones. Parts of the nominally cubic crystals are optically anisotropic and their symmetry is found to be tetragonal by single crystal X-ray diffraction measurements. The coexistence of cubic and tetragonal sectors within a single crystal without any detectable difference in their chemical composition is difficult to explain in terms of growth of such composite crystals. Mössbauer and infrared spectra collected on our synthetic crystals conform with previously published data.     

Hydrogeochemical zonation for groundwater management in the area with diversified geological and land-use setup

Despite its limited aerial extent, the National Capital Territory (NCT) Delhi, India, has diversified geological and topographical setup. A geochemical assessment of prevailing conditions of aquifer underlying the NCT was attempted and further classified into different hydrogeochemical zones on the basis of statistical and analyses and its correlation with land use, geological and climatic setting. Mineral phase study and isotopic analyses were used for the verification of performed clustering. Saturation indices (SI) calculated using the geochemical modelling code PHREEQC were used to distinguish the characteristics of four zones, as saturation states of the water does not change abruptly. Four different hydrogeochemical zones were statistically identified in the area: (1) intermediate (land-use-change-impacted) recharge zone, (2) discharge (agriculture-impacted) zone, (3) recharge (ridge) zone, and (4) recharge floodplain (untreated-discharge-impacted) zone. The distinctiveness of hydro-geochemical zones was further verified using stable isotopic (²H and ¹⁸O) signature of these waters. GIS-based flow regime in association with long-term geochemical evidences implied that these zones are being affected by different problems; thus, it necessitates separate environmental measures for their management and conservation. The study suggested that in a diversified urban setup where the complex interactions between anthropogenic activities and normal geochemical processes are functioning, hydrogeochmical zoning based on the integration of various techniques could be the first step towards sketching out the groundwater management plan.     

Crops,trees, and birds: Biodiversity change under agricultural intensification in Uganda's farmed landscapes

Geografisk Tidsskrift, Danish Journal of Geography 106(2): 115–130, 2006

This paper examines the relationship between the intensity of agricultural land use and the abundance and richness of trees and birds in a humid tropical developing region where natural vegetation is being rapidly converted into farmland under market and population pressures. We analysed survey data on land use, birds and woody plants collected in 14 study sites situated within smallholder cropland and commercial plantations in southern Uganda. Commercial plantations had very few trees and only 10% of the original bird species. Land use intensification in smallholder systems also showed losses in bird abundance and species richness, but not nearly as much as in plantations. In both systems the impact of intensification was much bigger on the specialised and threatened birds compared to the less specialised species. This argues strongly for ‘species-sensitive’ conservation policies combining protected areas with land use regulation in areas undergoing intensification. We also found a much higher loss in bird biodiversity during the first phases of land use intensification (when larger tracts of forest are cleared) than in later phases characterised by clearing of smaller patches of vegetation and improved management of farm trees. This suggests high pay-offs to geographical targeting of conservation efforts in farmed landscapes.     

Understanding the Cyclicity of Chemical Weathering and Associated CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Consumption in the Brahmaputra River Basin (India): The Role of Major Rivers in Climate Change Mitigation Perspective

Weathering of rocks that regulate the water chemistry of the river has been used to evaluate the CO₂ consumption rate which exerts a strong influence on the global climate. The foremost objective of the present research is to estimate the chemical weathering rate (CWR) of the continental water in the entire stretch of Brahmaputra River from upstream to downstream and their associated CO₂ consumption rate. To establish the link between the rapid chemical weathering and thereby enhance CO₂ drawdown from the atmosphere, the major ion composition of the Brahmaputra River that drains the Himalaya has been obtained. Major ion chemistry of the Brahmaputra River was resolved on samples collected from nine locations in pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons for two cycles: cycle I (2011–2012) and cycle II (2013–2014). The physico-chemical parameters of water samples were analysed by employing standard methods. The Brahmaputra River was characterized by alkalinity, high concentration of Ca²⁺ and HCO₃ ^? along with significant temporal variation in major ion composition. In general, it was found that water chemistry of the river was mainly controlled by rock weathering with minor contributions from atmospheric and anthropogenic sources. The effective CO₂ pressure (log\({{\text{P}}_{{\text{C}}{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}}}}}\)) for pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon has been estimated. The question of rates of chemical weathering (carbonate and silicate) was addressed by using TDS and run-off (mm year^?1). It has been found that the extent of CWR is directly dependent on the CO₂ consumption rate which may be further evaluated from the perspective of climate change mitigation The average annual CO₂ consumption rate of the Brahmaputra River due to silicate and carbonate weathering was found to be 0.52 (×10⁶ mol Km^?2 year^?1) and 0.55 (×10⁶ mol Km^?2 year^?1) for cycle I and 0.49 (×10⁶ mol Km^?2 year^?1) and 0.52 (×10⁶ mol Km^?2 year^?1) for cycle II, respectively, which were significantly higher than that of other Himalayan rivers. Estimation of CWR of the Brahmaputra River indicates that carbonate weathering largely dominates the water chemistry of the Brahmaputra River.     

Rheological characteristics of mixed kaolin–sand slurry,impacts of pH,temperature, solid concentration and kaolin–sand mixing ratio

Significant amount of slurry waste is produced from mineral processing plants globally constituting high levels of both kaolin and sand in aqueous suspension. Large quantities of slurry and mine tailings require efficient handling, transportation and storage system. The transportation and treatment of kaolin–sand slurry is dependent on its rheological behaviour which is a function of temperature, total solid concentration and pH. In this study, the effects of total solid concentration, pH and temperature on rheological behaviour of kaolin–sand mixture were investigated. These parameters were varied to analyse the viscosity, yield stress, flow index and shear force requirements of the mixed kaolin–sand suspension as a function of these varying parameters. Experimental rheological investigation conducted on rotational stress-controlled rheometer equipped with Peltier concentric cylinder system showed that the kaolin–sand mixture suspension is shear thickening in nature. The shear stress-rate rheograms for the kaolin–sand suspension can be modelled by the Herschel–Bulkley model with high levels of accuracy for pH range of 4–11, temperature range of 20–50 °C and solid concentration of 5–50 %. Solid concentration of the suspension was found to significantly affect the rheological behaviour of the mixture where higher kaolin–sand slurry concentration resulted in greater viscosity and the trend becoming less predictable for solid concentration greater than 50 % by weight. pH was another factor affecting the rheological behaviour of kaolin–sand slurry. pH of 3 or less resulted in the dramatic increase of viscosity of the suspension possibly due to the isoelectric point of the mixture system found between pH of 3 and 4.