Assessment of regional air pollution distribution by point cumulative semivariogram method at Erzurum urban center, TURKEY

In the assessment of air quality, regional distribution and dispersion with distance are important, together with the variations of pollutants in time. On this occasion, the point cumulative semi-variogram (PCSV) method is used in order to find simply regional distribution of pollutants of Erzurum urban centre. This method is based simply on the summation of square differences in air pollutant concentrations between different sites. Monthly regional variation maps of Erzurum are constructed by finding radius of influence (for SO₂, from 1000 m to 3500 m and, for TSP, 1000–2000 m) and PCSV scattering diagram data at different levels by using monthly average sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and total suspended particulate (TSP) matter concentrations in 2001–2002 winter season. Consequently, the air pollution distribution of Erzurum is assessed.     

SEDIMENT TRANSPORT, DELTA GROWTH AND SEDIMENTATION IN LAKE NIGARDSVATN, NORWAY

ABSTRACT. The retreat of Nigardsbreen, an outlet glacier from the ice-cap Jostedalsbreen in south-central Norway, from its largest extent during the Little Ice Age, uncovered a proglacial lake during 1936–1967. This lake, Nigardsvatn, has been studied since 1968 in order to obtain data on solid material carried by the meltwater stream from the glacier, both in suspension and as bottom load. Between 70 and 85% of the suspended sediment has been deposited on the lake bottom, forming annual varves. The coarse material has been deposited in a delta, the formation of which started in 1968. Its growth, and hence the volume of total annual bottom load, has been surveyed annually for the past 36 years. In 1969 the entire bottom load was collected by building a fence-like net across the river. Material >3 cm was caught by this net, and formed approximately half the amount of suspended sediment transport during the same three-week period. Annual average deposition on the delta was 11800×10³ kg for the period 1968–2003. This is almost the same amount as carried in suspension from the glacier on an annual mean basis for the 36-year period. If conditions remain constant, the lake will be completely filled in about 500 years. The glacier erosion is calculated to be 0.3 mm/a.     

沙坡头没蒿和柠条叶片δ13C 和 N 含量的季节变化特征

通过对腾格里沙漠东南缘沙坡头人工固沙区油蒿和柠条叶片稳定碳同位素分辨率（△）和N 含量的测定，研究了不同种植方式下油蒿和柠条叶片△ 和 N 含量的季节变化及其关系。结果表明：在不同种植方式下，两种植物的△ 与 N 含量在不同月份之间均存在显著差异。油蒿叶片 △ 极显著高于柠条的：在不同种植方式下，油蒿单种下 △ 显著高于混种，柠条则反之。 油蒿叶片 N 含量极显著低于柠条的：不同种植方式下柠条叶片 N 含量无显著差异，而单种油蒿叶片 N 含量则显著低于混种。在 △ 与 N 含量的关系中，柠条叶片 △ 与 N 在两种生境、单种和混种下均极显著正相关，雨明柠条叶片 N 含量可以作为其 △ 与 N 含量的季节变化及其关系在不同微生境有所差异。     

Water pollution in gold mining industry: a case study in Roşia Montană district, Romania

The preliminary study of streams and rivers from the Roşia Montană area revealed that the concntration of heavy metals— Cd, Mn, Cu, Pb, and Zn—are above accepted limits. The gold extraction method is based on flotation. The most important pollution sources are mine tailings. The determinations were performed for samples collected in: April 2004, July 2004, September 2004, November 2004, February 2005 and May 2005. The highest concentrations were found for cadmium in September 2004: 0.17 mg/L; for copper in September 2004: 1.38 mg/L; for manganese in July 2004: 239.4 mg/L; for lead in May 2005: 0.54 mg/L; and for zinc in September 2004: 35.37 mg/L;. This study involved three small rivers (streams) that flow into the Mureş River and finally into the Danube River, having a great impact on human health and environmental stability in the area. In May 2005, a sample of drinking water from the mining district was also collected.     

黄土区人类活动影响下的 产汇流模拟研究

日益频繁的人类活动改变了流域下垫面条件,对流域产汇流产生很大的影响。本文以黄河中游典型支流岔巴沟为研究区域,提出利用基于DEM的分布式水文模拟技术,探讨流域人类活动过程中的产汇流模拟,避免了经验公式的概化和由此引起的局限。模拟的结果证实了该方法的可行性。采用网格滞蓄的方法可以在子网格上体现人类活动引起的下垫面的变化及其对产汇流的影响,反映各个时期的产汇流条件,对降雨做出合理响应。     

The role of baseflow in dissolved solids delivery to streams in the Upper Colorado River Basin

Salinity has a major effect on water users in the Colorado River Basin, estimated to cause almost $300 million per year in economic damages. The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program implements and manages projects to reduce salinity loads, investing millions of dollars per year in irrigation upgrades, canal projects, and other mitigation strategies. To inform and improve mitigation efforts, there is a need to better understand sources of salinity to streams and how salinity has changed over time. This study explores salinity in the baseflow fraction of streamflow, assessing whether groundwater is a significant contributor of dissolved solids to streams in the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB). Chemical hydrograph separation was used to estimate baseflow discharge and baseflow dissolved solids loads at stream gages (n = 69) across the UCRB. On average, it is estimated that 89% of dissolved solids loads originate from the baseflow fraction of streamflow, indicating that subsurface transport processes play a dominant role in delivering dissolved solids to streams in the UCRB. A statistical trend analysis using weighted regressions on time, discharge, and season was used to evaluate changes in baseflow dissolved solids loads in streams (n = 27) from 1986 to 2011. Decreasing trends in baseflow dissolved solids loads were observed at 63% of streams. At the three most downstream sites, Green River at Green River, UT, Colorado River at Cisco, UT, and the San Juan River near Bluff, UT, baseflow dissolved solids loads decreased by a combined 823,000 metric tons (mT), which is approximately 69% of projected basin‐scale decreases in total dissolved solids loads as a result of salinity control efforts. Decreasing trends in baseflow dissolved solids loads suggest that salinity mitigation projects, landscape changes, and/or climate are reducing dissolved solids transported to streams through the subsurface. Notably, the pace and extent of decreases in baseflow dissolved solids loads declined during the most recent decade; average decreasing loads during the 2000s (28,200 mT) were only 54% of average decreasing loads in the 1990s (51,700 mT).     

Discharge‐sediment processes of the Zhadang glacier on the Tibetan Plateau measured with a high frequency data acquisition system

In high elevation cold regions of the Tibetan Plateau, suspended sediment transfer from glacier meltwater erosion is one of the important hydrological components. The Zhadang glacier is a typical valley‐type glacier in the Nyainqentanglha Mountains on the Tibetan Plateau. To make frequent and long period records of meltwater runoff and sediment processes in the very high elevation and isolated regions, an automatic system was installed near the glacier snout (5400 m a.s.l) in August 2013, to measure the transient discharge and sediment processes at 5‐min interval, which is shorter than the time span for the water flow to traverse the catchment from the farthest end to the watershed outlet. Diurnal variations of discharge, and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) were recorded at high frequency for the Zhadang glacier, before suspended sediment load (SSL) was computed. Hourly SSC varied from the range of 0.2 kg/m³ to 0.5 kg/m³ (at 8:00–9:00) to the range of 2.0 kg/m³ to 4.0 kg/m³ (at 17:00–18:00). The daily SSL was 32.24 t during the intense ablation period. Hourly SSC was linearly correlated with discharge (r = 0.885**, n = 18, p < 0.01). A digit‐eight hysteresis loop was observed for the sediment transport in the glacier area. Air temperature fluctuations influence discharge, and then result in the sediment variations. The results of this study provide insight into the responses of suspended sediment delivery processes with a high frequency data in the high elevation cold regions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

From soil aggregates to riverine flocs: a laboratory experiment assessing the respective effects of soil type and flow shear stress on particles characteristics

Particles eroded from hillslopes and exported to rivers are recognized to be composite particles of high internal complexity. Their architecture and composition are known to influence their transport behaviour within the water column relative to discrete particles. To‐date, hillslope erosion studies consider aggregates to be stable once they are detached from the soil matrix. However, lowland rivers and estuaries studies often suggest that particle structure and dynamics are controlled by flocculation within the water column. In order to improve the understanding of particle dynamics along the continuum from hillslopes to the lowland river environment, soil particle behaviour was tested under controlled laboratory conditions. Seven flume erosion and deposition experiments, designed to simulate a natural erosive event, and five shear cell experiments were performed using three contrasting materials: two of them were poorly developed and as such can not be considered as soils, whilst the third one was a calcareous brown soil. These experiments revealed that soil aggregates were prone to disaggregation within the water column and that flocculation may affect their size distribution during transport. Large differences in effective particle size were found between soil types during the rising limb of the bed shear stress sequence. Indeed, at the maximum applied bed shear stress, the aggregated particles median diameter was found to be three times larger for the well‐developed soil than for the two others. Differences were smaller in the falling limb, suggesting that soil aggregates underwent structural changes. However, characterization of particles strength parameters showed that these changes did not fully turn soil aggregates into flocs, but rather into hybrid soil aggregate–floc particles. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Combining two filter paper‐based analytical methods to monitor temporal variations in the geochemical properties of fluvial suspended particulate matter

Many of the commonly used analytical techniques for assessing the properties of fluvial suspended particulate matter (SPM) are neither cost effective nor time efficient, making them prohibitive to long‐term high‐resolution monitoring. We present an in‐depth methodology utilizing two types of spectroscopy which, when combined with automatic water samplers, can generate accurate, high‐temporal resolution SPM geochemistry data, inexpensively and semi‐destructively, directly from sediment covered filter papers. A combined X‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy approach is developed to estimate concentrations for a range of elements (Al, Ca, Ce, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, Si, Ti) and compounds (organic carbon, Al_dithionate, Al_oxalate, Fe_dithionate, and Fe_oxalate) within SPM trapped on quartz fibre filters at masses as low as 3 mg. Calibration models with small prediction errors are derived, along with mass correction factor models to account for variations in retained SPM mass. Spectral pre‐processing methods are shown to enhance the reproducibility of results for some compounds, and the importance of filter paper selection and homogeneous sample preparation in minimizing spectral interference is emphasized. The geochemical signal from sediment covered filter papers is demonstrated to be time stable enabling samples to be stored for several weeks prior to analysis. Example results obtained during a heavy precipitation event in October 2012 demonstrate the methodology presented here has considerable potential to be utilized for high‐resolution monitoring of SPM geochemistry under a range of in‐stream hydrological conditions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Suspended sediment and total dissolved solid yield patterns at the headwaters of Urumqi River,northwestern China: a comparison between glacial and non‐glacial catchments

In order to understand the differences in the suspended sediment and total dissolved solid (TDS) yield patterns between the glacial and non‐glacial catchments at the headwaters of Urumqi River, northwestern China, water samples were collected from a glacier catchment and an empty cirque catchment within the region, during three melting seasons from 2006 to 2008. These samples were analyzed to estimate suspended sediment and TDS concentrations, fluxes and erosion rates in the two adjoining catchments. There were remarked differences in suspended sediment and TDS yield patterns between the two catchments. Suspended sediment concentrations were controlled mainly by the sediment source, whereas TDS concentrations were primarily related to the hydrologic interaction with soil minerals. Generally, the glacial catchment had much higher suspended sediment and TDS yields, together with higher denudation rates, than the non‐glacial catchment. Overall, glacial catchment was mainly dominated by physical denudation process, whereas the non‐glacial catchment was jointly influenced by physical and chemical denudation processes. The observed differences in material delivery patterns were mainly controlled by the runoff source and the glacial processes. The melting periods of glacier and snow were typically the most important time for the suspended sediment and TDS yields. Meanwhile, episodic precipitation events could generate disproportionately large yields. Subglacial hydrology dynamics, glaciers pluck and grind processes could affect erodibility, and the large quantities of dust stored on the glacier surface provided additional sources for suspended sediment transport in the glacial catchment. These mechanisms imply that, in response to climate change, the catchment behaviour will be modified significantly in this region, in terms of material flux. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.