Sampling Trace-Level Organic Solutes with Polymeric Tubing Part I. Static Studies

Twenty polymeric tubings were filled with a test solution containing eight organic solutes. The test solutions were monitored for losses, indicating that sorption had occurred, and for signs that leaching of organic constituents had occurred. The tubings tested included seven flexible products and eight fluoropolymers. Among the rigid tubings tested, three fluoropolymers (fluorinated ethylene propylene [FEP], FEP-lined polyethylene, polyvinylidene fluoride) were the least sorptive tubings. However, even these tubings readily sorbed some of the analytes. Among the flexible tubings tested, a fluoroelastomer tubing and a tubing made of a copolymer of vinylidene fluoride and hexafluoropropylene were the least sorptive.
Several of the tubings tested leached constituents into the test solution. The polyurethane, polyamide, flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyester-lined PVC, and silicone-modified thermoplastic elastomer tubings were found to leach the most constituents. We were unable to detect any constituents leaching from the polyethylene tubings, the rigid fluoropolymer tubings, and one of the plasticized polypropylene tubings.     

The flux ejection dynamo with small diffusivity

A number of examples are worked out to illustrate the consequences of reverse flux ejection from the surface of a convective layer of conducting fluid. Generally the reverse flux ejection has the opposite effect of magnetic buoyancy, tending to bury the fields rather than bringing them through the surface. Even a weak flux ejection effect prevents the excape of magnetic field through the surface. Reverse flux ejection at the surface of an -dynamo profoundly alters the character of the solutions of the dynamo equations. Altogether, flux ejection serves to obscure the interpretation of magnetic observations. The outstanding problem now is to determine under what circumstances there exists cyclonic convection with rotations in excess of ±1/2 in the rising columns of fluid. Negative turbulent diffusion is expected to be a close companion of the flux ejection effect.This work was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under grant NGL 14-001-001.     

Modeling Volatile Chemical Transport, Biodecay, and Emission to Indoor Air

A model is presented for estimating vapor concentrations in buildings because of volatilization from soil contaminated by non- aqueous phase liquids (NAPL) or from dissolved contaminants in ground water. The model considers source depletion, diffusive- dispersive transport of the contaminant of concern (COC) and of oxygen and oxygen-limited COC biodecay. Diffusive-advective transport through foundations and vapor losses caused by foundation cross-flow are considered. Competitive oxygen use by various species is assumed to be proportional to the product of the average dissolved-phase species concentration and a biopreference factor. Laboratory and field data indicate the biopreference factor to be proportional to the organic carbon partition coefficient for the fuel hydrocarbons studied. Predicted indoor air concentrations were sensitive to soil type and subbase permeability. Lower concentrations were predicted for buildings with shallow foundations caused by flushing of contaminants by cross-flow. NAPL source depletion had a large impact on average exposure concentration. Barometric pumping had a minor effect on indoor air emissions for the conditions studied. Risk-based soil cleanup levels were much lower when biodecay was considered because of the existence of a threshold source concentration below which no emissions occur. Computed cleanup levels at NAPL-contaminated sites were strongly dependent on total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) content and COC soil concentration. The model was applied to two field sites with gasoline-contaminated ground water. Confidence limits of predicted indoor air concentrations spanned approximately two orders of magnitude considering uncertainty in model parameters. Measured contaminant concentrations in indoor air were within model-predicted confidence limits.     

Spatial considerations when monitoring reef fishes

Spatial dependence can obscure relationships between response and explanatory variables because of structuring within the residuals reducing variance and biasing coefficient estimates. Here, we highlight the influence of the spatial component, in the presence of spatial dependence, on abundance trends. This is illustrated using abundance data for a Critically Endangered reef fish, dageraad Chrysoblephus cristiceps, which were obtained from a long-term monitoring programme in the Tsitsikamma National Park marine protected area, South Africa. Correlograms illustrate distinct spatial structuring in the abundance data, and spatial variables were determined as more important than temporal variables when ranked according to predictive power using a random forest analysis. A generalised additive model (GAM) that did not account for spatial dependencies was compared to a generalised additive mixed model (GAMM) that incorporated a spatial residual correlation structure. Results derived from the spatially explicit GAMM differed considerably from the GAM lacking a spatial component, with the latter deemed to produce over-precise and partially biased abundance trends. The study emphasises the importance of space in accurately modelling abundance estimates, particularly temporal trends, and provides an introduction to the minimal statistical requirements necessary to address the violations associated with spatial autocorrelation.     

Novel Well Completions in Small Diameter Coreholes Created Using Portable Rock Drills

Difficult access conditions have limited techniques for groundwater system characterization and monitoring in bedrock exposed landscapes. This condition is common in the mining industry and resulted in the development of lightweight portable drills. This paper describes how these drills were used at a contaminated site to understand the groundwater flow system by adapting piezometer designs, ensuring effective seals to obtain reliable hydraulic head, hydrochemistry, and contaminant concentrations. Two drilling machines were evaluated: the Shaw Portable Core Drill? fits in a backpack and can advance continuously cored rock holes, nominal 51 millimeters (mm) diameter, to depths up to approximately 15 meters (m); and the larger Winkie Drill? requires a two or more people to mobilize and can advance continuously cored holes, nominal 48 mm diameter, to depths of approximately 45 m. The resulting small diameter coreholes were accommodated in the design of each well using a seal created by injecting grout into a semipermeable fabric sleeve. This “fabric sleeve” serves as a means to contain the grout and ensures that the entire annulus above the screen is sealed without loss of grout into the formation, allowing the well to perform as a piezometer. To develop and demonstrate this methodology for groundwater monitoring in bedrock, the two drills were used in drainages located along the slopes of an elevated sandstone outcrop near Los Angeles, California. Unique insights into the groundwater flow system of this bedrock environment, which would otherwise be unattainable, were achieved. This methodology overcomes the accessibility limitations of conventional drilling methods that prevent installation of wells in remote and rugged mountainous terrains.     

Modelling surface‐water depression storage in a Prairie Pothole Region

In this study, the Precipitation‐Runoff Modelling System (PRMS) was used to simulate changes in surface‐water depression storage in the 1,126‐km² Upper Pipestem Creek basin located within the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota, USA. The Prairie Pothole Region is characterized by millions of small water bodies (or surface‐water depressions) that provide numerous ecosystem services and are considered an important contribution to the hydrologic cycle. The Upper Pipestem PRMS model was extracted from the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Hydrologic Model (NHM), developed to support consistent hydrologic modelling across the conterminous United States. The Geospatial Fabric database, created for the USGS NHM, contains hydrologic model parameter values derived from datasets that characterize the physical features of the entire conterminous United States for 109,951 hydrologic response units. Each hydrologic response unit in the Geospatial Fabric was parameterized using aggregated surface‐water depression area derived from the National Hydrography Dataset Plus, an integrated suite of application‐ready geospatial datasets. This paper presents a calibration strategy for the Upper Pipestem PRMS model that uses normalized lake elevation measurements to calibrate the parameters influencing simulated fractional surface‐water depression storage. Results indicate that inclusion of measurements that give an indication of the change in surface‐water depression storage in the calibration procedure resulted in accurate changes in surface‐water depression storage in the water balance. Regionalized parameterization of the USGS NHM will require a proxy for change in surface‐storage to accurately parameterize surface‐water depression storage within the USGS NHM.     

Reintroduced large wood modifies fine sediment transport and storage in a lowland river channel

This paper explores changes in suspended sediment transport and fine sediment storage at the reach and patch scale associated with the reintroduction of partial large wood (LW) jams in an artificially over‐widened lowland river. The field site incorporates two adjacent reaches: a downstream section where LW jams were reintroduced in 2010 and a reach immediately upstream where no LW was introduced. LW pieces were organized into ‘partial’ jams incorporating several ‘key pieces’ which were later colonized by substantial stands of aquatic and wetland plants. Reach‐scale suspended sediment transport was investigated using arrays of time‐integrated suspended sediment samplers. Patch‐scale suspended sediment transport was explored experimentally using turbidity sensors to track the magnitude and velocity of artificially generated sediment plumes. Fine sediment storage was quantified at both reach and patch scales by repeat surveys of fine sediment depth. The results show that partial LW jams influence fine sediment dynamics at both the patch and reach scale. At the patch‐scale, introduction of LW led to a reduction in the concentration and increase in the time lag of released sediment plumes within the LW, indicating increased diffusion of plumes. This contrasted with higher concentrations and lower time lags in areas adjacent to the LW; indicating more effective advection processes. This led to increased fine sediment storage within the LW compared with areas adjacent to the LW. At the reach‐scale there was a greater increase in fine sediment storage through time within the restored reach relative to the unrestored reach, although the changes in sediment transport responsible for this were not evident from time‐integrated suspended sediment data. The results of the study have been used to develop a conceptual model which may inform restoration design. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gravel‐bed river evolution in earthquake‐prone regions subject to cycled hydrographs and repeated sediment pulses

Sediment often enters rivers in the form of sediment pulses associated with landslides and debris flows. This is particularly so in gravel‐bed rivers in earthquake‐prone mountain regions, such as Southwest China. Under such circumstances, sediment pulses can rapidly change river topography and leave the river in repeated states of gradual recovery. In this paper, we implement a one‐dimensional morphodynamic model of river response to pulsed sediment supply. The model is validated using data from flume experiments, so demonstrating that it can successfully reproduce the overall morphodynamics of experimental pulses. The model is then used to explore the evolution of a gravel‐bed river subject to cycled hydrographs and repeated sediment pulses. These pulses are fed into the channel in a fixed region centered at a point halfway down the calculational domain. The pulsed sediment supply is in addition to a constant sediment supply at the upstream end. Results indicate that the river can reach a mobile‐bed equilibrium in which two regions exist within which bed elevation and surface grain size distribution vary periodically in time. One of these is at the upstream end, where a periodic discharge hydrograph and constant sediment supply are imposed, and the other is in a region about halfway down the channel where periodic sediment pulses are introduced. Outside these two regions, bed elevation and surface grain size distribution reach a mobile‐bed equilibrium that is invariant in time. The zone of fluctuation‐free mobile‐bed equilibrium upstream of the pulse region is not affected by repeated sediment pulses under the scenarios tested, but downstream of the pulse region, the channel reaches different fluctuation‐free mobile‐bed equilibriums under different sediment pulse scenarios. The vertical bed structure predicted by the simulations indicates that the cyclic variation associated with the hydrograph and sediment pulses can affect the substrate stratigraphy to some depth. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.