Groundwater-level response to land-use change and the implications for salinity management in the West Moorabool River catchment, Victoria, Australia

The connection between the removal of native vegetation, rising water tables and increasing stream salinity has been established for many catchments across Australia. However, the West Moorabool River in south west Victoria is an example of a catchment where there has been little discernable effect on groundwater levels following land clearing. Over the past 150 years, a significant portion of the catchment has been cleared of dense forest for agricultural development. Historic standing water-level records from 1870–1871 and 1881 are compared with contemporary measurements (1970s to 2007) recorded in the government bore databases. The data show that the earliest recorded groundwater levels are well within the seasonal range of values observed today. By integrating geology and hydrogeology with historical observations of groundwater levels, climate data and land use, the contemporary field observations of stream salinity are linked to the changed water use and shift in rainfall. In contrast to the normally accepted axiom, reafforestation as a management strategy to mitigate the rising salinity in the West Moorabool River catchment would seem inappropriate.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in urban soils representing different land use categories in Shanghai

An extensive soil survey was carried out in Shanghai to investigate the spatial distribution and possible sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in urban soils. Soil samples were collected from highways, iron-smelting plants, steel-smelting plants, shipbuilding yards, coking plants, power plants, chemical plants, urban parks, university campuses and residential areas and were analyzed for 16 PAHs by gas chromatography with mass detection. High PAH concentrations were found in all locations investigated, with mean values of soil total PAH concentrations in the range 3,279–38,868 μg/kg DM, and the PAH concentrations were significantly influenced by soil organic matter content. Soil PAH profiles in all districts were dominated by PAHs with 4–6 rings. Principal components analysis and diagnostic ratios of PAHs indicate that they were mainly derived from coal combustion and petroleum but in soils from highways the PAHs were derived largely from vehicle exhaust emissions. The high concentrations of PAHs found indicate that many urban soils in Shanghai represent a potential hazard to public health.     

A kinetic approach to describe trace-element distribution between particles and solution in natural aquatic systems

The partitioning of radioactive trace elements between seawater and particulate matter from surface sediments and sediment traps was investigated in laboratory experiments. For the elements Na, Zn, Se, Sr, Cd, Sn, Sb, Cs, Ba, Hg, Th and Pa (group I) constant distribution coefficients (K_d) were found after a few days of equilibration, whereas the elements Be, Mn, Co and Fe (group II) showed an increasing K_d over the whole time of observation of 108 days. The time dependence of K_d is described by an adsorption-desorption equilibrium (group I elements), followed by a lattice transport reaction step (group II elements). The reaction rate constants are compared to Mn oxidation rates and to adsorption rate constants derived from in situ measurements of the $\text{U}\text{Th}$ disequilibrium as available from literature.     

A community-wide intercomparison exercise for the determination of dissolved iron in seawater

The first large-scale international intercomparison of analytical methods for the determination of dissolved iron in seawater was carried out between October 2000 and December 2002. The exercise was conducted as a rigorously “blind” comparison of 7 analytical techniques by 24 international laboratories. The comparison was based on a large volume (700 L), filtered surface seawater sample collected from the South Atlantic Ocean (the “IRONAGES” sample), which was acidified, mixed and bottled at sea. Two 1-L sample bottles were sent to each participant. Integrity and blindness were achieved by having the experiment designed and carried out by a small team, and overseen by an independent data manager. Storage, homogeneity and time-series stability experiments conducted over 2.5 years showed that inter-bottle variability of the IRONAGES sample was good (< 7%), although there was a decrease in iron concentration in the bottles over time (0.8–0.5 nM) before a stable value was observed. This raises questions over the suitability of sample acidification and storage.     

Large-scale laboratory experiment on erosion of sand beds by moving circular vertical jets

This study investigates the topographic deformation due to the erosion of a sand bed impinged by a moving submerged turbulent round jet in a large-scale laboratory. The test conditions represent the case of discharges beneath a vessel while operating in water with a limited clearance such as a shallow navigation channel. The jet moves horizontally and discharges water vertically downward towards the bed. The distance between the jet nozzle and the bed equals six times the jet diameter so the jet flow is in the potential core region. The speed of the jet horizontal motion was varied to examine its effect on the scour profile. The characteristic lengths of the scour profile in the asymptotic state were determined by modifying the empirical formulas in Aderibigbe and Rajaratnam [1996. Erosion of loose beds by submerged circular impinging vertical turbulent jets. Journal of Hydraulic Research 34(1), 19–33]. The maximum scour depth, the scour hole radius, and the ridge height were found to be a function of the ratio of the jet exit to jet translation velocities and were modeled using a hyperbolic function. Empirical equations describing the scour profile were developed and the scour profile was found to be self-similar when normalized by appropriate length scales.     

Thermodynamic characterization of boltwoodite and uranophane: Enthalpy of formation and aqueous solubility

Boltwoodite and uranophane are uranyl silicates common in oxidized zones of uranium ore deposits. An understanding of processes that impact uranium transport in the environment, especially pertaining to the distribution of uranium between solid phases and aqueous solutions, ultimately requires determination of thermodynamic parameters for such crystalline materials. We measured formation enthalpies of synthetic boltwoodites, K(UO₂)(HSiO₄)·H₂O and Na(UO₂)(HSiO₄)·H₂O, and uranophane, Ca(UO₂)₂(HSiO₄)₂·5H₂O, by high temperature oxide melt solution calorimetry. We also studied the aqueous solubility of these phases from both saturated and undersaturated conditions at a variety of pH. The combined data permit the determination of standard enthalpies, entropies and Gibbs free energies of formation for each phase and analysis of its potential geological impact from a thermodynamic point of view.     

Mapping Submerged Aquatic Vegetation with GIS in the Caloosahatchee Estuary: Evaluation of Different Interpolation Methods

This article evaluates different spatial interpolation methods for mapping submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in the Caloosahatchee Estuary, Florida. Data used for interpolation were collected by the Submersed Aquatic Vegetation Early Warning System (SAVEWS). The system consists of hydro-acoustic equipment, which operates from a slow-moving boat and records bottom depth, seagrass height, and seagrass density. This information is coupled with geographic location coordinates from a Global Positioning System (GPS) and stored together in digital files, representing SAV status at points along transect lines. Adequate spatial interpolation is needed to present the SAV information, including density, height, and water depth, as spatially continuous data for mapping and for comparison between seasons and years. Interpolation methods examined in this study include ordinary kriging with five different semivariance models combined with a variable number of neighboring points, the inverse distance weighted (IDW) method with different parameters, and the triangulated irregular network (TIN) method with linear and quintic options. Interpolation results were compared with survey data at selected calibration transects to examine the suitability of different interpolation methods. Suitability was quantified by the determination coefficient (R2) and the root-mean-square error (RMSE) between interpolated and observed values. The most suitable interpolation method was identified as the one yielding the highest R2 value and/or the lowest RMSE value. For different geographic conditions, seasons, and SAV parameters, different interpolation methods were recommended. This study identified that kriging was more suitable than the IDW or TIN method for spatial interpolation of all SAV parameters measured. It also suggested that transect data with irregular spatial distribution patterns such as SAV parameters are sensitive to interpolation methods. An inappropriate interpolation method such as TIN can lead to erroneous spatial representation of the SAV status. With a functional geographic system and adequate computing power, the evaluation and selection of interpolation methods can be automated and quantitative, leading to a more efficient and accurate decision.