Assessing background ground water chemistry beneath a new unsewered subdivision

Previous site-specific studies designed to assess the impacts of unsewered subdivisions on ground water quality have relied on upgradient monitoring wells or very limited background data to characterize conditions prior to development. In this study, an extensive monitoring program was designed to document ground water conditions prior to construction of a rural subdivision in south-central Wisconsin. Previous agricultural land use has impacted ground water quality; concentrations of chloride, nitrate-nitrogen, and atrazine ranged from below the level of detection to 296 mg/L, 36 mg/L, and 0.8 microg/L, respectively, and were highly variable from well to well and through time. Seasonal variations in recharge, surface topography, aquifer heterogeneities, surficial loading patterns, and well casing depth explain observed variations in ground water chemistry. This variability would not have been detected if background conditions were determined from only a few monitoring wells or inferred from wells located upgradient of the subdivision site. This project demonstrates the importance of characterizing both ground water quality and chemical variability prior to land-use change to detect any changes once homes are constructed.     

Natural turbidity variability and weather forecasts in risk management of anthropogenic sediment discharge near sensitive environments

Coastal development activities can cause local increases in turbidity and sedimentation. This study characterises the spatial and temporal variability of turbidity near an inshore fringing coral reef in the central Great Barrier Reef, under a wide range of natural conditions. Based on the observed natural variability, we outline a risk management scheme to minimise the impact of construction-related turbidity increases. Comparison of control and impact sites proved unusable for real-time management of turbidity risks. Instead, we suggest using one standard deviation from ambient conditions as a possible conservative upper limit of an acceptable projected increase in turbidity. In addition, the use of regional weather forecast as a proxy for natural turbidity is assessed. This approach is simple and cheap but also has limitations in very rough conditions, when an anthropogenic turbidity increase could prove fatal to corals that are already stressed under natural conditions.     

Results from a sixteen year study on the effects of oiling from the Exxon Valdez on adult pink salmon returns

For sixteen years following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill adult returns of pink salmon in Prince William Sound, Alaska were monitored to assess spill effects on survival. No evidence of spill effects was detected for either intertidal or whole-stream spawning fish. From 1989 through 2004 mean densities for oiled and reference streams tracked each other, illustrating similar responses of oiled and reference stream adult populations to naturally changing oceanographic and climactic conditions. Hatchery fish strayed into the study streams, but similar incursions occurred in oiled and reference streams, and their presence was compensated for to eliminate their influence on determining the success of the returning natural populations. These results, showing no detectable effects of oiling on pink salmon spawning populations, are supported by published field studies on pink salmon incubation success in oiled streams.     

高精度测定稳定氯同位素的制样方法

以Ｔａｙｌｏｒ和Ｇｒｉｍｓｒｕｄ（１９６９）提出的＾３７Ｃｌ测量的测样原理为基础，介绍了不同地质样品的化学处理方法，研究了ＣＨ３Ｉ的纯化技术，将ＡｇＣｌ转化为ＣＨ３Ｃｌ的过程以及用气相色谱（ＧＣ）法分离ＣＨ３Ｃｌ和ＣＨ３Ｉ的技术。文中详述的制样方法可用来查明近地表地下水和岩石系统中δ＾３７Ｃｌ的天然变化。     

地下水^32硅年龄的测定方法—液体闪烁计数法

用Fe(OH) 3共沉淀从天然水中提取纯化SiO2 ,回收率在 30 %～ 98% ,然后提取32 P ,将H3PO4溶液和PicoflourLLT混合制备计数溶液 ,用液体闪烁计数法测量32 P的放射性 ,计算32 Si的放射性浓度 ,最后确定地下水的年龄。通过对河北平原浅层地下水的32 Si年龄进行测定 ,所得的32 Si年龄为 92 9 89a± 1 7 87a,与1 4 C的校正年龄一致