Differential supply of autochthonous organic carbon and nitrogen to the microbial loop in the Delaware Estuary

Using stable isotope tracer techniques in 4-h bottle incubations, the importance of organic matter transfer from phytoplankton to heterotrophic bacteria (bacteria) has been re-evaluated in the Delaware Estuary, considering carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles separately. The hypothesis is that the transfer of C and N from phytoplankton to bacteria varies both temporally and spatially along estuarine gradients in response to variation in factors such as terrestrial organic C supply, inorganic N speciation and concentrations, and extracellular release of dissolved organic matter by phytoplankton. The percentage of autochthonous dissolved organic C being assimilated by bacteria varied between 3% and 10% of primary production and was not related to the rate of primary production. The transfer of N was considerably more variable when compared to C transfer, averaging ca. 20% of phytoplankton N assimilation; individual experiments yielded rates as high as 50%. Unlike C, autochthonous dissolved organic N transfer appears to vary with the magnitude of primary production, and its assimilation by bacteria accounted for 0–56% of the total measured bacterial N uptake. The results highlight the importance of separate consideration of C and N elemental cycles in evaluating sources of organic matter to the estuarine microbial loop.     

Water quality in Lemoa, Guatemala

A variety of water supply sources are used in the rural Guatemalan Highlands. Formal municipal systems are rare, but villagers frequently form local water committees that construct spring-based supply systems. Recent work has indicated that groundwater may be a viable water supply source. The water quality from these two sources was characterized as well as water from other common sources including surface water and precipitation collection systems. Typically, all of the water sources contained unacceptable levels of coliform bacteria except for groundwater from a drilled well. Water monitoring indicated that not only did the water contain coliforms at the actual sources, but the infrastructure used to transmit the water to points of use may also be a source of coliforms. A cost comparison indicates that groundwater may be a cost-competitive, higher quality alternative to traditional spring-fed water systems.     

Evaluation of an upscaled model for DNAPL dissolution kinetics in heterogeneous aquifers

Estimates of contaminant fluxes from DNAPL sources as a function of time and DNAPL mass reduction are important to assess the long-term sustainability and costs of monitored natural attenuation and to determine the benefits of partial source removal. We investigate the accuracy of the upscaled mass transfer function (MTF) proposed by Parker and Park [Parker JC, Park E. Modeling field-scale dense nonaqueous phase liquid dissolution kinetics in heterogeneous aquifers. WRR 2004;40:W05109] to describe field-scale dissolved phase fluxes from DNAPL sources for a range of scenarios generated using high-resolution 3-D numerical simulations of DNAPL infiltration and long-term dissolved phase transport. The results indicate the upscaled MTF is capable of accurately describing field-scale DNAPL dissolution rates as a function of time. For finger-dominated source regions, an empirical mass depletion exponent in the MTF takes on values greater than one which results in predicted mass flux rates that decrease continuously with diminishing DNAPL mass over time. Lens-dominated regions exhibit depletion exponents less than one, which results in more step-function like mass flux versus time behavior. Mass fluxes from DNAPL sources exhibiting both lens- and finger-dominated subregions were less accurately described by the simple MTF, but were well described by a dual-continuum model of the same form for each subregion. The practicality of calibrating a dual-continuum model will likely depend on the feasibility of obtaining spatially resolved field measurements of contaminant fluxes or concentrations associated with the subregions using multilevel sampling or some other means.     

New observations on the geomorphology and origins of Mountain Lake,Virginia

Mountain Lake is the only natural lake of significance in the unglaciated southern Appalachian Highlands. It is located near the summit of Salt Pond Mountain, Giles County Virginia, at an elevation of 1177 m. It is underlain by Ordovician and Silurian non‐calcareous shale and sandstone of the Martinsburg, Juniata and Clinch formations. Historical (250 years) and sediment (6000 years) records suggest that the size of the lake has varied periodically. In the 1930s lake origin was proposed as due to valley damming by a lateral landslide (Hutchinson and Pickford, 1932) or damming by scree (Sharp, 1933). A later theory modified the landslide hypothesis to the primarily vertical collapse of a canyon feature in the Clinch (Parker et al., 1975). Fracture trace analysis now reveals a regional lineation feature associated with the lake. This feature is present surficially both downgradient from the lake to the northwest, and upgradient to the southeast. Sonar bathymetry and diver reconnaissance show it expressed as a (relatively sediment‐free) narrow open crevice in the deepest (33 m) portion of the lake, probably a fault. Hydrologic observation and resistivity suggest preferential water movement along this fracture, as well as leakage directly from the lake. The present study suggests conduit erosion within this feature and periodic vertical downsettling of overlying Clinch material as the primary mechanism of lake origin and water‐level fluctuations through time. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Complexity, land-use modeling, and the human dimension: Fundamental challenges for mapping unknown outcome spaces

Land-use systems are characterized by complex interactions between human decision-makers and their biophysical environment. Mismatches between the scale of human drivers and the impacts of human decisions potentially threaten the ecological sustainability of these systems. This article reviews sources of complexity in land-use systems, moving from the human decision level to human interactions to effects over space, time and scale. Selected challenges in modeling such systems and potential resolutions are discussed, including strategies to empiricize complex models and methods for linking models across human and natural systems. Illustrative examples from published literature and an ongoing research project focused on timber harvest and carbon sequestration are used throughout the paper. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of remaining challenges to modeling indirect and cross-scale linkages and of the potential utility of complex models of land systems.     

Experimental simulation of rapid rock block disintegration by sodium chloride in a foggy coastal desert

An environmental chamber was used to simulate a 24-h cycle of rock surface temperature and relative humidity, a stone pavement with differing levels of sodium chloride content, and differing levels of fog precipitation to assess some of the controls of rock weathering in the vicinity of Swakopmund in the Namib Desert. The rock employed was Cretaceous Chalk. Some treatments were effective at causing disintegration after 76 temperature/humidity cycles and 10 fog cycles. Small amounts of fog moisture (0.5 mm per event) were associated with the greatest amounts of breakdown, whereas the amount of salt in the simulated pavements appeared to be of less significance. The experiment showed that sodium chloride can be an effective agent of weathering in a coastal foggy environment.     

Comparison of Fiberglass and Other Polymeric Well Casings, Part III. Sorption and Leaching of Trace-Level Metals

This series of experiments was initiated to determine the overall suitability of three alternative polymeric well casing materials (fluorinated ethylene propylene [FEP], fiberglass-reinforced epoxy [FRE], and fiberglass-reinforced plastic [FRP]) for use in ground water monitoring wells and to compare these materials with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) well casings. This paper focuses on sorption and leaching of metals.
Generally, the fiberglass materials leached more metal contaminants than PVC, FEP, and PTFE. However, with one exception (Pb leaching from FRP), leached concentrations were below maximum allowable limits set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for drinking water. With respect to sorption, none of the polymers sorbed the anions tested, but all of them sorbed one or more of the cations tested. FEP and PTFE were much less sorptive than the other materials.     

Blended head analyses to reduce uncertainty in packer testing in fractured-rock boreholes

Open boreholes in fractured rock often cross-connect fractures with differing hydraulic head and the head differences between these fractures cause vertical flow in the water column. This cross-connection has potential to bias transmissivity (T) values obtained from straddle packer tests. This study demonstrates how measurements of the blended head in the open-hole segments above and below the straddle-packer test interval can be used to correct packer tests for cross-connection effects. A pressure response observed in the open-hole segment above and/or below the packers isolating a test interval during a hydraulic test indicates short-circuiting of water from the injection interval through the vertically connected fracture network to the open-hole segments, resulting in the overestimation of T. A method is presented using blended head concepts to minimize this error using a trial-and-error procedure to determine the short-circuiting flow rate to account for the head conditions in the open-hole segments during each hydraulic test. Observed differences between the measured head and the calculated blended head in the open-hole segments above and below the test interval are attributed to cross-connection effects around the 1-m-long packers. The head and corrected T values determined from packer tests are used to estimate the flow in and out of the open hole at each of the intervals tested for assessing the cross-connection effects under open borehole conditions. Understanding open-hole flow dynamics gives insight about the potential for vertical cross connection of chemical constituents caused by the open hole.