Removal rate and releases of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in two wastewater treatment plants,Korea

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play an important role in minimizing the release of many pollutants into the environment. Nineteen congeners in two WWTPs in Korea were determined to investigate the occurrence and fate of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) during wastewater treatment processes. The concentration of total PBDEs was 69.6 and 183 ng/L in influent, which declined to 1.59 and 2.34 ng/L in the final effluent, respectively (Tongyeong and Jinhae WWTPs). PBDEs were found to exist mostly in the particulate phase of wastewater, which rendered sedimentation efficient for the removal of PBDEs. BDE-209 was the predominant congener in the influent and sludge. Most of the PBDEs entering the WWTPs presumably ended up in the sludge, with < 2% being discharged with the final effluent. According to the mass loading estimation, every day 2.55–9.29 g PBDEs entered the two WWTPs, 2.8–10.4 g were disposed to landfill sites in sludge form and 0.06–0.12 g were discharged to the surrounding water through final effluent, respectively. Preliminary results indicated that the ecological risk to organisms in soil exposed to PBDEs through the usage of sludge application to agricultural land was relatively low. To our knowledge, this study is the first to report on the removal efficiency of PBDEs in a WWTP in Korea.     

Large temporal changes in contributions of groundwater-borne nutrients to coastal waters off a volcanic island

We examined the contribution of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) to nutrient budgets in Hwasun Bay, Jeju Island, Korea in August 2009, October 2014, and May 2015. The concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) in fresh groundwater were in the range of 285?716 μM and 2.3?3.2 μM, respectively, which were each 1?2 orders of magnitude higher than those in the bay seawater. The outer-bay seawater flowing into the bay was oligotrophic (2.9 ± 1.9 μM for DIN and 0.2 ± 0.3 μM for DIP). Nutrient budget calculations were performed for each season by accounting for submarine fresh groundwater discharge (SFGD) and water residence times. In August 2009 (DIN = 1.8 μM and DIN:DIP ratio = 4.6 for the outerbay water), DIN inputs from SFGD accounted for approximately 40% of the DIN inventory in the bay seawater. In October 2014 (DIN = 1.1 μM and DIP < 0.05 μM for the outer-bay water), DIP from SFGD accounted for approximately 100% of the DIP inventory in the bay seawater. In May 2015, mean concentrations of DIN and DIP in the bay seawater were 8.6 ± 12 μM and 0.11 ± 0.04 μM, respectively, with conservative behaviors in the bay seawater in association with excessive groundwater inputs. These results imply that SGD plays a critical but different role in nutrient budgets and stoichiometry in coastal waters off a volcanic island depending on open-ocean nutrient conditions.     

Land acquisition: a means to mitigate water scarcity and reduce conflict?

ABSTRACT

In recent years there has been a surge in land investments, primarily in the African continent, but also in Asia and Latin America. This increase in land investment was driven by the food pricing crisis of 2007–2008. Land investors can be identified from a variety of sectors, with actors ranging from hedge funds to national companies. Many water-scarce countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are among these financiers, and primarily invest in Africa. Recognizing the potential for “outsourcing” their food security (and thereby also partly their water security), Middle Eastern countries such as Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have invested in land for food production in Africa. The extent to which this is happening is still unclear, as many contracts are not yet official and the extent of the leases is vague. This paper investigates the land investments and acquisitions by Middle Eastern countries. It also seeks to analyse what effect, if any, these investments can have on the potential for conflict reduction and subsequent peacebuilding in the Middle East region as the activity removes pressure from transboundary water resources.

EDITOR D. Koutsoyiannis ASSOCIATE EDITOR K. Aggestam     

A drought outlook study in Korea

Abstract

Techniques are proposed for developing a monthly and weekly drought outlook and the drought outlook components are evaluated. A drought index, the surface water supply index (SWSI) was modified and used for the drought outlook. A water balance model (abcd) was successfully calibrated using a regional regression, including monthly and weekly factors, and was used to convert meteorology to hydrology. For the monthly drought outlook, an ensemble technique was applied, both with and without monthly industrial meteorology information (MIMI). For the weekly drought outlook, a deterministic forecasting technique was applied employing the Global Data Assimilation and Prediction System (GDAPS). The methodologies were applied to the Geum River basin in Korea. While only the weekly outlook using the GDAPS has sufficient forecasting capability to suggest it might be useful, the accuracy of the monthly drought outlook is expected to improve as the climate forecast accuracy increases.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor D. Hughes

Citation Kim, Y.-O., Lee, J.-K., and Palmer, R.N., 2012. A drought outlook study in Korea. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 57 (6), 1141–1153.     

Similarities between strike-slip faults at different scales and a simple age determining method for active faults

Abstract Several differently scaled strike‐slip faults were examined. The faults shared many geometric features, such as secondary fractures and linkage structures (damage zones). Differences in fault style were not related to specific scale ranges. However, it was recognized that differences in style may occur in different tectonic settings (e.g. dilational/contractional relays or wall/linkage/tip zones), different locations along the master fault or different fault evolution stages. Fractal dimensions were compared for two faults (Gozo and San Andreas), which supports the idea of self‐similarity. Fractal dimensions for traces of faults and fractures of damage zones were higher (D ～1.35) than for the main fault traces (D ～1.005) because of increased complexity due to secondary faults and fractures. Based on the statistical analysis of another fault evolution study, single event movements in earthquake faults typically have a maximum earthquake slip : rupture length ratio of approximately 10^?4, although this has only been established for large earthquake faults because of limited data. Most geological faults have a much higher maximum cumulative displacement : fault length ratio; that is, approximately 10^?2 to 10^?1 (e.g. Gozo, ～10^?2; San Andreas, ～10^?1). The final cumulative displacement on a fault is produced by accumulation of slip along ruptures. Hence, using the available information from earthquake faults, such as earthquake slip, recurrence interval, maximum cumulative displacement and fault length, the approximate age of active faults can be estimated. The lower limit of estimated active fault age is expressed with maximum cumulative displacement, earthquake slip and recurrence interval as T ? (d_max /u) · I(M).     

Impact of sensor measurement error on sensor positioning in water quality monitoring networks

This paper studies the impact of sensor measurement error on designing a water quality monitoring network for a river system, and shows that robust sensor locations can be obtained when an optimization algorithm is combined with a statistical process control (SPC) method. Specifically, we develop a possible probabilistic model of sensor measurement error and the measurement error model is embedded into a simulation model of a river system. An optimization algorithm is used to find the optimal sensor locations that minimize the expected time until a spill detection in the presence of a constraint on the probability of detecting a spill. The experimental results show that the optimal sensor locations are highly sensitive to the variability of measurement error and false alarm rates are often unacceptably high. An SPC method is useful in finding thresholds that guarantee a false alarm rate no more than a pre-specified target level, and an optimization algorithm combined with the thresholds finds a robust sensor network.     

An algorithm for fast 3D inversion of surface electrical resistivity tomography data: application on imaging buried antiquities

In this work a new algorithm for the fast and efficient 3D inversion of conventional 2D surface electrical resistivity tomography lines is presented. The proposed approach lies on the assumption that for every surface measurement there is a large number of 3D parameters with very small absolute Jacobian matrix values, which can be excluded in advance from the Jacobian matrix calculation, as they do not contribute significant information in the inversion procedure. A sensitivity analysis for both homogeneous and inhomogeneous earth models showed that each measurement has a specific region of influence, which can be limited to parameters in a critical rectangular prism volume. Application of the proposed algorithm accelerated almost three times the Jacobian (sensitivity) matrix calculation for the data sets tested in this work. Moreover, application of the least squares regression iterative inversion technique, resulted in a new 3D resistivity inversion algorithm more than 2.7 times faster and with computer memory requirements less than half compared to the original algorithm. The efficiency and accuracy of the algorithm was verified using synthetic models representing typical archaeological structures, as well as field data collected from two archaeological sites in Greece, employing different electrode configurations. The applicability of the presented approach is demonstrated for archaeological investigations and the basic idea of the proposed algorithm can be easily extended for the inversion of other geophysical data.     

Massive sedimentation of fine sediment with organic matter and enhanced benthic-pelagic coupling by an artificial dyke in semi-enclosed Chonsu Bay, Korea

To assess the impact of an artificial dyke in Chonsu Bay (CBD) on the organic carbon (C(org)) cycle, we measured excess (210)Pb activities, C(org) and nitrogen content in sediment cores. The C(org) oxidation rates (C(ox)) on the surface sediment and benthic nutrient fluxes were also quantified with an in situ benthic chamber. The higher excess (210)Pb inventory, C(org) and nitrogen in cores near the CBD indicated lateral transport and local, massive deposition of particulate matter due to tidal circulation altered by artificial dyke construction. The C(ox) in sediment near the CBD was about twice as high as that out of the bay, suggesting the importance of benthic remineralization of organic matter. The benthic fluxes of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphate were four to six times higher than those outside the bay, corresponding to 141% and 131% respectively, of the requirements for primary production.     

Impacts of Seasonal Pumping on Stream‐Aquifer Interactions in Miryang,Korea

Large agricultural fields in South Korea are located mostly on alluvial plains, where a significant amount of groundwater is used for heating of water‐curtain insulated greenhouses. Such greenhouses are commonly used for crop cultivation during the winter dry season from November to March. After use the groundwater is discharged directly into streams, causing groundwater depletion. A hydrogeological study was carried out in a typical agricultural area of this type, located on an alluvial aquifer near the Nakdong River. Groundwater levels, chemical characteristics, and temperatures from 68 observation wells were analyzed to determine the impacts of seasonal groundwater pumping on the groundwater system and stream‐aquifer interactions. Our results show that the groundwater system has not yet reached a state of dynamic equilibrium. Decades of excessive seasonal pumping have caused a gradual decline of groundwater levels, leading to groundwater depletion, especially in areas further from the river. Seasonal pumping has also significantly affected groundwater quality in the aquifer near the river. Groundwater temperature is decreasing (in this case a disadvantage), and saline groundwater is being diluted by induced recharge. The results of this study provide a basic outline for effective integrated water management that is widely applicable in South Korea.     

Non-stationary frequency analysis of extreme precipitation in South Korea using peaks-over-threshold and annual maxima

The conventional approach to the frequency analysis of extreme precipitation is complicated by non-stationarity resulting from climate variability and change. This study utilized a non-stationary frequency analysis to better understand the time-varying behavior of short-duration (1-, 6-, 12-, and 24-h) precipitation extremes at 65 weather stations scattered across South Korea. Trends in precipitation extremes were diagnosed with respect to both annual maximum precipitation (AMP) and peaks-over-threshold (POT) extremes. Non-stationary generalized extreme value (GEV) and generalized Pareto distribution (GPD) models with model parameters made a linear function of time were applied to AMP and POT respectively. Trends detected using the Mann–Kendall test revealed that the stations showing an increasing trend in AMP extremes were concentrated in the mountainous areas (the northeast and southwest regions) of South Korea. Trend tests on POT extremes provided fairly different results, with a significantly reduced number of stations showing an increasing trend and with some stations showing a decreasing trend. For most of stations showing a statistically significant trend, non-stationary GEV and GPD models significantly outperformed their stationary counterparts, particularly for precipitation extremes with shorter durations. Due to a significant-increasing trend in the POT frequency found at a considerable number of stations (about 10 stations for each rainfall duration), the performance of modeling POT extremes was further improved with a non-homogeneous Poisson model. The large differences in design storm estimates between stationary and non-stationary models (design storm estimates from stationary models were significantly lower than the estimates of non-stationary models) demonstrated the challenges in relying on the stationary assumption when planning the design and management of water facilities. This study also highlighted the need of caution when quantifying design storms from POT and AMP extremes by showing a large discrepancy between the estimates from those two approaches.