Light Requirements for Growth and Survival of Eelgrass (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Zostera marina</Emphasis> L.) in Pacific Northwest (USA) Estuaries

We developed light requirements for eelgrass in the Pacific Northwest, USA, to evaluate the effects of short- and long-term reductions in irradiance reaching eelgrass, especially related to turbidity and overwater structures. Photosynthesis-irradiance experiments and depth distribution field studies indicated that eelgrass productivity was maximum at a photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) of about 350–550 μmol quanta m⁻² s⁻¹. Winter plants had approximately threefold greater net apparent primary productivity rate at the same irradiance as summer plants. Growth studies using artificial shading as well as field monitoring of light and eelgrass growth indicated that long-term survival required at least 3 mol quanta m⁻² day⁻¹ on average during spring and summer (i.e., May-September), and that growth was saturated above about 7 mol quanta m⁻² day⁻¹. We conclude that non-light-limited growth of eelgrass in the Pacific Northwest requires an average of at least 7 mol quanta m⁻² day⁻¹ during spring and summer and that long-term survival requires a minimum average of 3 mol quanta m⁻² day⁻¹.     

Validation of a fish farm waste resuspension model by use of a particulate tracer discharged from a point source in a coastal environment

To validate a resuspension model of particulate material (salmonid farm wastes), a UV fluorescent particle tracer was selected with similar settling characteristics. Tracer was introduced to the seabed (water depth ≈30 m) and sediment samples taken on days 0, 3, 10, 17 and 30 to measure the horizontal and vertical distribution of tracer in sediments. A concentric sampling grid was established at radii of 25, 50, 100, 150, 200, 400, 700 and 1, 000 m from the source on transects 30° apart. The bulk of the deployed tracer was initially concentrated in an area 25 m radius from the release point; tracer was observed to steadily decrease to zero over a period of 30 days. In a 200 m region measured from the release point in the direction of the residual current, the redeposition of tracer was low. A Lagrangian particle tracking model was validated using these observed data by varying resuspension model parameters within limits to obtain the best agreement between spatial and temporal distributions. The validated model generally gave good predictions of total mass budgets (±7% of total tracer released), particulary where tracer concentrations were high near the release point. Best fit model parameters (critical erosion shear stress=0.018 N m⁻², erodibility constan=60 g m⁻² d⁻¹) are at the low end of reported parameters for coastal resuspension models. Such a low critical erosion shear stress indicates that the frequency of resuspension and deposition events for freshly deposited material is high.     

D/H ratios of atmospheric H2 in urban air: results using new methods for analysis of nano-molar H2 samples

We present the results of a study of the concentration and D/H ratio of molecular hydrogen from air in the Los Angeles Basin and adjacent San Gabriel Mountains. These data define a mixing relationship in dimensions of D/H ratio vs. 1/(H₂) which constrains the δD_VSMOW of unpolluted winter air in this region to be ca. +100 to +125 ‰ and that of urban H₂ sources to be ca. −270 ‰. This study makes use of a new method for measuring the deuterium content of molecular hydrogen in small samples (∼100 to 500 cc) of air, which we describe in detail. The method consists of an off-line separation of H₂ followed by introduction to the mass spectrometer in a continuous flow of He. Off-line, all components of an atmospheric gas sample, with the exception of He, H₂, and Ne are condensed by exposure to a cold-trap held at 30 Kelvin. This separation is followed by cryo-transfer of non-condensable gases to a small volume molecular sieve finger, with assist from a mercury piston pump. At the mass spectrometer, the sample is put in line with a continuous flow of He where it is focused on to an additional column of molecular sieve before subsequent introduction into the ion source. Analyses of DH/H₂ ratio have accuracy and precision of ±4 to 7 per mil. Comparison of sample peak area to peak areas of standards of known size allows for determination of H₂ concentration with accuracy and precision of ∼±5%, relative. The method reduces sample size and processing time by several orders of magnitude compared to previous methods, allowing for sampling at proportionately higher spatial and temporal resolution.     

In situ sampling reveals rapid uptake and depuration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by surf clams (Paphies subtriangulata) affected by the Rena oil spill

ABSTRACT

To investigate the uptake and depuration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons associated with the Rena oil spill we sampled the surf clam Paphies subtriangulata at two open coast locations (6?km apart) just prior to oil coming ashore (7 October 2011), then at 1–3 week intervals for the next 4 months. Total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (tPAH) increased at both sites from 1 to 96–124?µg?kg^?1 (wet weight) by 18 October before declining to low levels (<4?µg?kg^?1) by February 2012. Ongoing sampling throughout 2012–2014 included three additional sites to the north east (up to 30?km away) and a site 5?km to the south east revealing tPAH levels generally <10?µg?kg^?1 except in October 2013 where levels ranged between 39–45?µg?kg^?1 at all sites. A comparison of PAH component profiles with oil-contaminated beach sediment indicated that the high levels observed in surf clams between October–December 2011 were clearly associated with the Rena spill. However, the October 2013 peak had a PAH profile inconsistent with weathered Rena oil, suggesting an alternative source of contamination. Our results highlight the potential for P. subtriangulata as a PAH monitoring tool but recognise more study is needed to better quantify baseline levels and uptake and depuration dynamics.     

Migration and speciation transformation mechanisms of mercury in undercurrent zones of the Tongguan gold mining area,Shaanxi Loess Plateau and impact on the environment

In order to study the migration and transformation mechanism of Hg content and occurrence form in subsurface flow zone of gold mining area in Loess Plateau and its influence on water environment, the field in-situ infiltration test and laboratory test were carried out in three typical sections of river-side loess, alluvial and proluvial strata in Tongguan gold mining area of Shaanxi Province, and the following results were obtained: (1) The source of Hg in subsurface flow zone is mainly caused by mineral processing activities; (2) the subsurface flow zone in the study area is in alkaline environment, and the residual state, iron and manganese oxidation state, strong organic state and humic acid state of mercury in loess are equally divided in dry and oxidizing environment; mercury in river alluvial or diluvial strata is mainly concentrated in silt, tailings and clayey silt soil layer, and mercury has certain stability, and the form of mercury in loess is easier to transform than the other two media; (3) under the flooding condition, most of mercury is trapped in the silt layer in the undercurrent zone where the sand and silt layers alternate with each other and the river water and groundwater are disjointed, and the migration capacity of mercury is far less than that of loess layer and alluvial layer with close hydraulic connection; (4) infiltration at the flood level accelerates the migration of pollutants to the ground; (5) the soil in the undercurrent zone is overloaded and has seriously exceeded the standard. Although the groundwater monitoring results are safe this time, relevant enterprises or departments should continue to pay attention to improving the gold extraction process, especially vigorously rectify the small workshops for illegal gold extraction and the substandard discharge of the three wastes, and intensify efforts to solve the geological environmental problems of mines left over from history. At present, the occurrence form of mercury in the undercurrent zone is relatively stable, but the water and soil layers have been polluted. The risk of disjointed groundwater pollution can not be ignored while giving priority to the treatment of loess and river alluvial landform areas with close hydraulic links. The research results will provide a scientific basis for water conservancy departments to groundwater prevention and control in water-deficient areas of the Loess Plateau.     

赣南地区石雷石英闪长岩的成因:岩石化学、副矿物微量元素、锆石U-Pb年代学与Sr-Nd-Hf同位素制约

石雷石英闪长岩是赣南崇-余-犹地区比较特殊的闪长质侵入体。锆石的原位U-Pb定年表明,该岩体侵位于433.5±3.4Ma。全岩主量元素特征上显示出中偏酸性(SiO2=56.92%～64.70%),富Al(Al2O3=14.10%～14.83%),富碱(Alk=6.41%～7.40%)特别是富钾(K2O=3.86%～4.85%),镁、铁含量较高,MgO:3.47%～5.95%,FeOT:5.23%～8.14%以及低磷(P2O5=0.27%～0.4%)的特点;微量元素上主要富集K、Rb、Cs等大离子亲石元素和轻稀土元素,亏损Nb、Ta、Ti、P等高场强元素。磷灰石微量元素特征上显示高度富集稀土元素特别是轻稀土元素的特征;具有Eu的负异常(δEu=0.37～0.45)。ISr位于0.7073～0.7132之间,εNd(t)变化于-8.41～-4.97之间,两阶段钕模式年龄介于1.58～1.86Ga之间,Hf同位素组成相对均一,εHf(t)主要集中变化于-8～-2之间,两阶段Hf模式年龄加权平均为1.77±0.09Ga,这些特征都暗示了该石英闪长质岩体的形成是强烈壳幔相互作用的产物,区内加里东晚期可能发生了局部的岩石圈的减薄。     

Mechanical Behavior of Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation Cemented Sand

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - New sustainable ground improvement techniques have been recently required for applications in onshore and offshore geotechnical structures. The...     

A case study of using Raman lidar measurements in high-accuracy GPS applications

This paper investigates the impact of rapid small-scale water vapor fluctuations on GPS height determination. Water vapor measurements from a Raman lidar are used for documenting the water vapor heterogeneities and correcting GPS signal propagation delays in clear sky conditions. We use data from four short observing sessions (6 h) during the VAPIC experiment (15 May–15 June 2004). The retrieval of wet delays from our Raman lidar is shown to agree well with radiosonde retrievals (bias and standard deviation (SD) were smaller than 1 and 2.8 mm, respectively) and microwave radiometers (from two different instruments, bias was 6.0/−6.6 mm and SD 1.3/3.8 mm). A standard GPS data analysis is shown to fail in accurately reproducing fast zenith wet delay (ZWD) variations. The ZWD estimates could be improved when mean post-fit phase residuals were removed. Several methodologies for integrating zenith lidar observations into the GPS data processing are also presented. The final method consists in using lidar wet delays for correcting a priori the GPS phase observations and estimating a scale factor for the lidar wet delays jointly with the GPS station position. The estimation of this scale factor allows correcting for a mis-calibration in the lidar data and provides in the same way an estimate of the Raman lidar instrument constant. The agreement of this constant with an independent determination using radiosonde data is at the level of 1–4%. The lidar wet delays were derived by ray-tracing from zenith pointing measurements: further improvement in GPS positioning is expected from slant path lidar measurements that would properly account for water vapor anisotropy.     

Connecting Local to Global: Geographic Information Systems and Ecological Footprints as Tools for Sustainability

Tools that support public engagement with sustainability are essential for local sustainability planning. This research investigates the ability of two geographic information system (GIS)-based tools to promote discussion of sustainability in a suburban context. A local ecological footprint tool and a community environmental atlas (an environmentally themed online mapping system) were created for seven suburban boroughs of Montreal. Variations of both tools have been used to support sustainability efforts, but their use has not been widely evaluated. Working from a public participation GIS (PPGIS) framework that recognizes the powerful influence of data representation, this research uses focus groups to evaluate how well these tools address three criteria that have emerged from the literature on public engagement in sustainability: interdependency across systems, reflexivity about personal and social decision making, and interactions across spatial scales. Whereas the atlas remains advantageous for discussing local spatial specifics, it was found that the ecological footprint helped people see the interconnections among systems, integrate local and global aspects of sustainability, and reflect on the values and assumptions underlying current social and economic structures.