Interface Treatment of Petroleum Hydrocarbon‐impacted Lower Permeability Layers by Activated Sodium Persulfate to Reduce Emissions to Groundwater

Nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL)‐impacted lower permeability layers in heterogeneous media are difficult to fully remediate and can act as persistent sources of groundwater contamination through diffusive emissions to transmissive aquifer zones. This work investigated the benefits of partial remediation involving treatment focused near the high‐low permeability interface, with the performance metric being emissions reduction. A sequential base‐activated persulfate (S₂O₈ ^2?) delivery treatment strategy was studied in this work, involving 13–14 d deliveries of 10% w/w sodium persulfate (Na₂S₂O₈) and 14–28 d deliveries of 19 g/L sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Treatment and control experiments were conducted in 1.2‐m wide × 1.2‐m tall × 5‐cm thick physical model tanks containing two soil layers differing in hydraulic conductivity by three orders of magnitude. The top 10 cm of the lower permeability layers contained 7400–7800 mg‐NAPL/kg‐soil; the NAPL was comprised of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, p‐xylene, o‐xylene, n‐propylbenzene, and 1,3,5‐trimethylbenzene (TMB) mixed in octane. Approximately 0.1 g‐Na₂S₂O₈ was delivered per cm²‐interface area over 13–14 d. The S₂O₈ ^2? and SO₄ ^2? concentration profiles suggest higher oxidant reaction rates when NaOH is delivered prior to, rather than after Na₂S₂O₈. After 264 d and two treatments, hydrocarbon emissions from the NAPL source were reduced by 60% to 73% compared to a no‐treatment control tank. The incremental benefit of the second treatment was only about 10% of the effect of the first treatment.     

Need for and access to supportive services in the child welfare system

The purpose of this paper is to examine how geographical availability of social services is related to foster care entry rates and referrals for child maltreatment investigations. The primary concerns are to (1) determine locations across Los Angeles County where the availability of social services is low but display a high need for those services and (2) begin to examine how the geographic distribution of social services is related to rates of referrals and foster care entries in child maltreatment. Archival data for all 288 zip codes within Los Angeles County were collected on rates of referrals, foster care entries, location and types of social service agencies, and zip code demographics. Data were analyzed using point process models and spatial regressions. Higher densities of child welfare services in local areas (for referrals) and lagged areas (for referrals and foster care entries) were related to lower rates of child maltreatment. The density of housing and housing-related services was negatively related to referrals in local areas and foster care entry rates in lagged areas. Areas with higher densities of substance abuse and domestic violence service agencies had significantly higher rates of both Child Protective Services referrals and entries into foster care in local areas. While the total density of child welfare services within and surrounding zip code areas is related to lower rates of referrals and foster care entries, the findings are less clear about what those specific services are. Living in and around “resource rich” zip codes may reduce rates of child maltreatment.     

Calibration of a coupled biological-physical model for prediction in a coastal inlet

We describe a numerical forecast system designed for prediction of physical and biological dynamics of a coastal inlet. It is based on a coastal ocean observatory that was located at Lunenburg Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada. Biological, chemical, optical, and physical measurements were collected from instrumented moorings, weekly sampling and detailed surveys from 2002 through 2007. Here we present a framework for calibration and evaluation of an ecosystem model using data from the summer of 2007. A three-dimensional hydrodynamic model was coupled to a simple biological (Nutrients-Phytoplankton-Detritus) model; a simple model was used so results could be compared directly to observed biological and chemical variables using skill scores as a first step toward data-assimilation modeling. As a complement to this analysis, variability of model output, e.g., the nutrient limitation term, was examined to understand the modeled biological response to the simulated physical environment. Skill scores based on variances in observed and simulated time-series of biological components were also investigated. Coastal upwelling/downwelling simulated through this model has been found to increase modeled biological activity in the bay. Also model skill in reproducing the observed patterns in nutrients and phytoplankton has been increased due to the restoring conditions for biology set up at the open ocean boundaries of the bay.     

A spectral optimally interpolated mean sea surface from satellite radar altimetry

 A technique is presented for the development of a high-precision and high-resolution mean sea surface model utilising radar altimetric sea surface heights extracted from the geodetic phase of the European Space Agency (ESA) ERS-1 mission. The methodology uses a cubic-spline fit of dual ERS-1 and TOPEX crossovers for the minimisation of radial orbit error. Fourier domain processing techniques are used for spectral optimal interpolation of the mean sea surface in order to reduce residual errors within the initial model. The EGM96 gravity field and sea surface topography models are used as reference fields as part of the determination of spectral components required for the optimal interpolation algorithm. A comparison between the final model and 10 cycles of TOPEX sea surface heights shows differences of between 12.3 and 13.8 cm root mean square (RMS). An un-optimally interpolated surface comparison with TOPEX data gave differences of between 15.7 and 16.2 cm RMS. The methodology results in an approximately 10-cm improvement in accuracy. Further improvement will be attained with the inclusion of stacked altimetry from both current and future missions. Received: 22 December 1999 / Accepted: 6 November 2000     

Chloride loading in the South Fork of the Shenandoah River,Virginia, U.S.A.

Loading trends and sources of CI^– in the South Fork of the Shenandoah River, Virginia were analyzed for the period 1929–1982. CI^– has increased from approximately 2 mg/L (2,776 tons/yr) to over 10 mg/L (14,256 tons/yr). Natural CI^– is estimated to be 1.01 mg/L (1,388 tons/yr) with precipitation providing 0.99 mg/L and rocks 0.02 mg/L. From 1929 to 1949 CI^– concentrations were relatively constant and independent of discharge, conforming to the Type II curve of Davis and Zobrist (1978), indicative of natural or relatively uncontaminated streams. Since 1952 CI^– concentrations increased exponentially as river discharge decreases conforming to the Type I curve of Davis and Zobrist for polluted streams. Since 1965 anthropogenic CI^– loading at 12,868 tons/yr has remained relatively constant. Four major sources contribute 92.2 percent (11,871 tons/yr) of the anthropogenic CI^–: (1) deicing salts—4,149 tons/yr, (2) domestic sewage—3,015 tons/yr, (3) livestock and poultry wastes—2,458 tons/yr, and (4) commercial fertilizers—2,249 tons/yr.     

Perspectives on being a field-based geomorphologist during pregnancy and early motherhood

Many geomorphologists who are mothers find it challenging to balance field research alongside pregnancy and caring for young children. We offer perspectives on the challenges to conducting fieldwork as mothers and possible solutions, as a means of promoting conversations and highlighting issues that are less commonly considered in field-based geomorphic research. Although every mother's experience and needs are different, we discuss strategies for conducting fieldwork, addressing childcare issues, and dealing with financial considerations. We call for our community to support geomorphologists who are pregnant or caring for young children in carrying out fieldwork to help enhance the diversity of voices and perspectives within our discipline.     

Bio-gentrification: vulnerability bio-value chains in gentrifying neighbourhoods†

In this paper, I develop the concept of “bio-gentrification” as a way to broaden critical theoretical debates on the relationship between gentrification and “social mixing” policies. Bio-gentrification weds urban Marxist political economic insights to the neo-Foucauldian notion of biopower. The former stresses spatial tactics of removal and displacement and value generated through land and property. The latter assesses a wider terrain of spatial tactics, their relationship to knowledge produced about humans as living beings, and their alignment with capitalist urbanization. The Vancouver example illuminates how social mixing “truths” and practices to which they are tied generate value by naturalizing human insecurity in situ and transforming the biological existence of disadvantaged peoples into raw material for profit through a process that can be conceptualized as a “vulnerability bio-value chain.” Bio-gentrification refers to the tension between removal and embedding of disadvantaged peoples and points to the need for a bio-gentrification politics to confront this dynamic.     

Secular and orbital variability of Cir X-1 observed in optical spectra

We have observed variations in the optical emission lines from the X-ray binary Circinus X-1. These variations may be attributed both to orbital variations and to long term secular changes in line strength. We have detected double-peaked H α emission lines on two occasions, providing the first direct evidence for an accretion disc in the system. The separation of the peaks was different on the two occasions, suggesting that the disc might have a different size. The equivalent width of the emission lines dropped by more than a factor of three between 1999 and 2000; this continues the trend seen in earlier data, so that the H α equivalent width has now declined by a factor of 20 since 1976. The emission lines do not appear to show signature of orbital motion, except for the data taken near phase 0, which show a significant velocity shift.
We have observed an absorption component to the He  i lines on one occasion. We suggest that, unlike the P Cygni profiles seen in X-ray spectra, this absorption does not arise in the accelerating zone of a radiatively driven wind. Instead, the absorption arises in material previously ejected from the system. It was only seen on this one occasion because the strength of the emission line had dropped dramatically.     

Making Sense of Claims across Institutional Divides: critical PGIS and mapping customary land in Timor-Leste

This article explores land-tenure issues faced by Timor-Leste, specifically with reference to customary land, and the significance of mapping in resolving those difficulties. A critical review is undertaken of the pitfalls of Indigenous mapping and applications of Participatory Geographic Information Systems (PGIS) to achieve sensitive and empowering outcomes for customary groups seeking land claims. A methodology for mapping customary land in Timor-Leste is described and an analysis of the author's on-the-ground research is presented. Although the importance of customary institutions for rural land management across Timor-Leste is ascertained, this article does not advance a definitive land rights framework for the country or prescribe national mapping of customary areas. Instead, it argues for a mapping methodology to support land-use decision-making that can make sense of Indigenous knowledge and appropriate cultural practices in rural land-use claims. Identified as crucial in the process is the equal value attributed to evidence presented in myriad forms that may act as key information bridges across epistemological divides and knowledges. PGIS is a potentially important tool for resolving land-use conflicts in rural Timor-Leste when resolution occurs within a formalised institutional framework.