Effects of Olestra on Organic and Solids Removal in Septic Tanks

A field study was conducted to examine the fate and potential effects of olestra, a non-caloric fat replacer, in septic tanks. The study compared the performance of parallel septic tanks, which were led domestic waste water with liquid and solid forms of olestra, against a control tank receiving waste water without olestra. Results showed that 36 g/d of olestra dosed to the tanks (a three-fold exaggeration of expected loadings) had no adverse effect on system operation (based on visual observations and sludge accumulation) or performance (based on removal of organic content and solids) over a six-month period. Removal efficiencies for total suspended solids (TSS), carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were not significantly different (p<0.05) in the olestra tanks when compared to the control tank. In addition, a relatively small amount of the total olestra added (3 to 6%) was recovered in the septic tank effluents over the course of the study. Accumulation of tank solids was not affected as measured sludge levels in the tank at the middle and end of the study showed no difference between the olestra dosed tanks and the control tank.     

A multiwavelength study of the early evolution of the classical nova LMC 1988 1

We study star-formation-inducing mechanisms in galaxies through multiwavelength measurements of a sample of dwarf galaxies in the Virgo cluster described in Paper I. Our main goal is to test how star-formation-inducing mechanisms depend on several parameters of the galaxies, such as morphological type and hydrogen content. We derive the star formation rate and star formation histories of the galaxies, and check their dependence on other parameters.   Comparison of the sample galaxies with population synthesis models shows that these objects have significantly lower metallicity than the solar value. The colours can generally be explained as a combination of two different stellar populations: a young (3–20 Myr) metal-poor population which represents the stars currently forming presumably in a starburst, and an older (0.1–1 Gyr) population of previous stellar generations. There is evidence that the older stellar population was also formed in a starburst. This is consistent with the explanation that star formation in this type of objects takes place in short bursts followed by long quiescent periods.   No significant correlation is found between the star formation properties of the sample galaxies and their hydrogen content. Apparently, when star formation occurs in bursts, other parameters influence the star formation properties more significantly than the amount of atomic hydrogen. No correlation is found between the projected Virgocentric distance and the rate of star formation in the galaxies, suggesting that tidal interactions are not significant in triggering star formation in cluster dwarf galaxies.     

Secondary circulation induced by flow curvature and Coriolis effects around headlands and islands

Previous studies have shown that flow curvature in river bends generates a secondary circulation in the plane normal to the mean flow direction. A similar circulation pattern is shown to exist in oceanic situations when flows are subject to curvature, mainly due to interaction with topographic features. However, it is shown that, due to differences between oceanic conditions and river bends, theory and prediction methods based on the assumptions for river bends are invalid for oceanic flows. Via scaling arguments based on the equations of motion, that include both the effects of flow curvature and the Coriolis force, parameters that govern the different flow regimes are identified. The maximum strength of the secondary flow is derived for each flow regime and is verified using a three-dimensional (3-D) numerical model applied to an idealized island. It is also shown that upwelling, due to the generation of secondary flow, occurs off the tips of the headland or island, and its influence can extend far downstream.Responsible Editor: Richard Signell     

Identifying Environmental and Natural Resource Management Conflict Potential Using Participatory Mapping

Methods have been proposed for identifying land use conflict potential using participatory mapping data and models. In a case study from Finland, we extend conflict mapping research by evaluating the capacity for participatory mapping to identify conflict for land uses that include mining, tourism development, commercial forestry, recreation, and nature protection. We evaluated two conflict models using reference sites where conflict was expected and assessed whether conflict potential was influenced by participant social group (resident, visitor, holiday home owner). The conflict models correctly identified the locations of current and proposed mining projects and major tourism locations (ski areas) in the region, while conflict for commercial forestry and reindeer herding was spatially distributed. Preferences for land use by social group were more similar than different across the study region. Identification of conflict potential using participatory mapping can provide a useful planning diagnostic but would benefit from additional research for validation.     

Non-biological fractionation of stable Ca isotopes in soils of the Atacama Desert, Chile

We measured Ca stable isotope ratios (δ^44/40Ca) in an ancient (2 My), hyperarid soil where the primary source of mobile Ca is atmospheric deposition. Most of the Ca in the upper meter of this soil (3.5 kmol m⁻²) is present as sulfates (2.5 kmol m⁻²), and to a lesser extent carbonates (0.4 kmol m⁻²). In aqueous extracts of variably hydrated calcium sulfate minerals, δ^44/40Ca_E values (vs. bulk Earth) increase with depth (1.4 m) from a minimum of −1.91‰ to a maximum of +0.59‰. The trend in carbonate-δ^44/40Ca in the top six horizons resembles that of sulfate-δ^44/40Ca, but with values 0.1-0.6‰ higher. The range of observed Ca isotope values in this soil is about half that of δ^44/40Ca values observed on Earth. Linear correlation among δ^44/40Ca, δ³⁴S and δ¹⁸O values indicates either (a) a simultaneous change in atmospheric input values for all three elements over time, or (b) isotopic fractionation of all three elements during downward transport. We present evidence that the latter is the primary cause of the isotopic variation that we observe. Sulfate-δ³⁴S values are positively correlated with sulfate-δ¹⁸O values (R² = 0.78) and negatively correlated with sulfate δ^44/40Ca_E values (R² = 0.70). If constant fractionation and conservation of mass with downward transport are assumed, these relationships indicate a δ^44/40Ca fractionation factor of −0.4‰ in CaSO₄. The overall depth trend in Ca isotopes is reproduced by a model of isotopic fractionation during downward Ca transport that considers small and infrequent but regularly recurring rainfall events. Near surface low Ca isotope values are reproduced by a Rayleigh model derived from measured Ca concentrations and the Ca fractionation factor predicted by the relationship with S isotopes. This indicates that the primary mechanism of stable isotope fractionation in CaSO₄ is incremental and effectively irreversible removal of an isotopically enriched dissolved phase by downward transport during small rainfall events.     

Sequence stratigraphy of the Mancos Shale,lower Tres Hermanos Formation,and coeval middle Cenomanian to middle Turonian strata,southern New Mexico,USA

Sequence stratigraphic analysis of four widely spaced outcrops of middle Cenomanian to middle Turonian strata deposited in the Western Interior foreland basin in southern New Mexico, USA, defines ten sequence boundaries in a marine shale‐rich interval ca 200 m thick. The majority of sequence boundaries are based on basinward shifts in lithofacies characterized by either a non‐Waltherian contact between distal‐bar or lower shoreface sandstone and underlying lower offshore shale, or an erosional contact between distal‐bar or lower shoreface sandstone and underlying upper offshore shale. The sequence boundaries commonly correlate basinward to packages of storm‐deposited sandstone and to beds of sandy grainstone composed of winnowed inoceramid shell fragments. In several cases, however, the sequence boundaries pass basinward into presumably conformable successions of lower offshore shale. Maximum flooding surfaces within the sequences are represented by one or more beds of locally phosphatized globiginerid wackestone and packstone or exist within a conformable succession of lower offshore shale. Following initial south/south‐westward transgression into the study area, the regional trend of palaeoeshorelines was north‐west to south‐east, although isopach data indicate that lobes of sandstone periodically spread south‐eastward across the study area. The ten sequences in the study area are arranged into a third‐order composite megasequence that is characterized by overall upward‐deepening followed by upward‐shallowing of sequences. The composite megasequence is similar but not identical to the previously established T‐1 transgression and R‐1 regression in New Mexico. Based on radioisotopic dates of bentonites, the average frequency of the sequences within the study area was ca 327 kyr, which is consistent with fourth‐order cycles of ca 400 kyr interpreted in coeval marine strata elsewhere in the world.