Taxonomic composition and seasonality of diatoms in three Dinaric karstic lakes in Croatia

The composition and temporal distribution of planktonic diatoms were studied in three small shallow karstic lakes – Modro Oko, Desne, and Kuti – throughout the seasons in 1994, 1995, 1997, and 1998. Physico-chemical parameters did not differ among the three lakes, except for NO₃ concentrations. Altogether, 137 diatom taxa within 41 genera were found in all three lakes combined. The highest number of taxa belonged to the genera Surirella (13), Navicula (12), andCymbella (9). Most taxa were tychoplanktonic, with true panktonic taxa contributing only 14% of the total. Despite their physical-chemical similarity, the lakes showed differences in the structure and dynamics of their diatom communities. Blooms occurred at different times in each of the lakes, and community similarity (Jaccard index) among all three was low (17.6–29.1%). The highest mean values of surface diatom abundance in Modro Oko (2199 cells L⁻¹), Desne (7900 cells L⁻¹), and Kuti (20690 cells L⁻¹) were not significantly different. Margalef's species richness index did not differ either among the lakes or seasonally. Only five diatom taxa in quantitative samples, and 22 taxa in net-samples, were common to all lakes. The most frequent diatoms were Cyclotella striata (56–93%), Fragilaria ulna (50–67%), and Asterionella formosa (27–83%). The most abundant taxa in Modro Oko, Desne, and Kuti were, respectively, Cymbella sp. 1 (402 cells L⁻¹), Cyclotella striata (3000 cells L⁻¹) and Asterionella formosa (20690 cells L⁻¹). Eighteen taxa were recorded for the first time in Croatia: Amphora commutata, Caloneis amphisbaena var. subsalina, C. silicula var. peisonis, Campylodiscus echeneis, Coscinodiscus lacustris, Denticula elegans, Gyrosigma acuminatum var. lacustre, G. distortum var. parkeri, G. fasciola, Navicula menisculus var. menisculus, N. pusilla, N. helensis, Stauroneis parvula var. prominula, Staurosira construens f. subsalina, Stephanodiscus sp. 1, Surirella gracilis, S. ovalis, and S. striatula. The genus Stephanodiscus was recorded for the first time in Croatia.     

Impacts of land use changes on groundwater resources in the Heihe River Basin

Land use and land cover changes have a great impact on the regional hydrological process. Based on three periods of remote sensing data from the 1960s and the long-term observed data of groundwater from the 1980s, the impacts of land use changes on the groundwater system in the middle reach of Heihe River Basin in recent three decades are analyzed by the perspective of groundwater recharge and discharge system. The results indicate that with the different intensities of land use changes, the impacts on the groundwater recharge were 2.602×108 m3/a in the former 15 years (1969-1985) and 0.218×108 m3/a in the latter 15 years (1986-2000), and the impacts on the groundwater discharge were 2.035×108 m3/a and 4.91×108 m3/a respectively. When the groundwater exploitation was in a reasonable range less than 3.0×108 m3/a, the land use changes could control the changes of regional groundwater resources. Influenced by the land use changes and the large-scale exploitation in the recent decade, the groundwater resources present apparently regional differences in Zhangye region. Realizing the impact of land use changes on groundwater system and the characteristics of spatial-temporal variations of regional groundwater resources would be very important for reasonably utilizing and managing water and soil resources.     

Influences of wastewater discharges on the water quality of Mamasın dam watershed in Aksaray, Central Anatolian part of Turkey

Sustaining the human ecological benefits of surface water requires carefully planned strategies for reducing the cumulative risks posed by diverse human activities. Municipal governments in Aksaray City play a key role in developing solutions to surface water management and protection problems. The responsibility to provide drinking water and sewage works, regulate the use of private land, and protect public health provides the mandate and authority to take action. A large part of Aksaray City uses Mamasın dam water as its primary source for drinking water. Several point sources of contamination may result from direct wastewater discharges from Melendiz and Karasu rivers, which recharge the Mamasın dam watershed. Relevant studies were carried out for monitoring the eutrophication process, which usually occurs in the static water mass of the Mamasın dam lake. This process may be caused by the continual increase in nutrients and decrease of O₂ levels, causing anaerobic conditions. Stimulated algae growth in these water bodies consequently reduces water quality. Hydrochemical parameters were evaluated to estimate the types of pollution sources, the level of pollution, and its environmental impacts on the Mamasın dam drinking water reservoir.     

Stochastic Modelling of the Impact of Flood Protection Measures Along the River Waal in the Netherlands

River flooding is a problem of international interest. In the past few years many countries suffered from severe floods. A large part of the Netherlands is below sea level and river levels. The Dutch flood defences along the river Rhine are designed for water levels with a probability of exceedance of 1/1250 per year. These water levels are computed with a hydrodynamic model using a deterministic bed level and a deterministic design discharge. Traditionally, the safety against flooding in the Netherlands is obtained by building and reinforcing dikes. Recently, a new policy was proposed to cope with increasing design discharges in the Rhine and Meuse rivers. This policy is known as the Room for the River (RfR) policy, in which a reduction of flood levels is achieved by measures creating space for the river, such as dike replacement, side channels and floodplain lowering. As compared with dike reinforcement, these measures may have a stronger impact on flow and sediment transport fields, probably leading to stronger morphological effects. As a result of the latter the flood conveyance capacity may decrease over time. An a priori judgement of safety against flooding on the basis of an increased conveyance capacity of the river can be quite misleading. Therefore, the determination of design water levels using a fixed-bed hydrodynamic model may not be justified and the use of a mobile-bed approach may be more appropriate. This problem is addressed in this paper, using a case study of the river Waal (one of the Rhine branches in the Netherlands). The morphological response of the river Waal to a flood protection measure (floodplain lowering in combination with summer levee removal) is analysed. The effect of this measure is subject to various sources of uncertainty. Monte Carlo simulations are applied to calculate the impact of uncertainties in the river discharge on the bed levels. The impact of the “uncertain” morphological response on design flood level predictions is analysed for three phenomena, viz. the impact of the spatial morphological variation over years, the impact of the seasonal morphological variation and the impact of the morphological variability around bifurcation points. The impact of seasonal morphological variations turns out to be negligible, but the other two phenomena appear to have each an appreciable impact (order of magnitude 0.05–0.1 m) on the computed design water levels. We have to note however, that other sources of uncertainty (e.g. uncertainty in hydraulic roughness predictor), which may be of influence, are not taken into consideration. In fact, the present investigation is limited to the sensitivity of the design water levels to uncertainties in the predicted bed level.     

海底地下水排放:重要的海岸带陆海相互作用过程

沿海地区海底地下水排放在北美和欧洲等发达地区受到了越来越多的重视,被认为是一个重要的海岸带陆海相互作用过程。但这一过程在我国尚未引起足够认识,有关研究极少见。海底地下水排放的研究历史不长,只是近十多年才有了快速的发展,有了越来越多的定量研究成果。其研究方法主要有水文计算法、现场实测法和地球化学示踪法,各种方法之间的对比实验是目前的热点问题。沿海地下水排放具有重要的环境意义,它可以是陆地营养物质和污染物质的一个重要排放通道,可以对海岸带环境产生一定影响。我国沿海地区应该加强有关的研究工作,为海岸带环境管理作出贡献。     

松花江上游地区汞污染的化学生态效应

采样分析了吉林省东部松花江上游金矿开采区及其附近水、土壤、动植物及河流沉积物样品中汞的含量，发现河流沉积物中汞的污染相当严重；受其影响当地的植物和两栖类动物——中国林蛙体内总汞和甲基汞含量也明显高于对照组。实验表明，林蛙内脏对汞的富集能力大于肌肉；秋季对汞的富集大于春季；河流沉积物中甲基汞的含量与林蛙体内甲基汞的含量有较好的正相关。汞污染的来源与区域内个体金矿的滥采滥排有直接关系，表明人类活动所产生的有毒重金属在地表过程中出现了化学生态效应。     

Metrics to assess how longitudinal channel network connectivity and in‐stream Atlantic salmon habitats are impacted by hydropower regulation

Habitat fragmentation in channel networks and riverine ecosystems is increasing globally due to the construction of barriers and river regulation. The resulting divergence from the natural state poses a threat to ecosystem integrity. Consequently, a trade‐off is required between the conservation of biodiversity in channel networks and socio‐economic factors including power generation, potable water supplies, fisheries, and tourism. Many of Scotland's rivers are regulated for hydropower generation but also support populations of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) that have high economic and conservation value. This paper investigates the use of connectivity metrics and weightings to assess the impact of river barriers (impoundments) associated with hydropower regulation on natural longitudinal channel connectivity for Atlantic salmon. We applied 2 different weighting approaches in the connectivity models that accounted for spatial variability in habitat quality for spawning and fry production and contrasted these models with a more traditional approach using wetted area. Assessments of habitat loss using the habitat quality weighted models contrasted with those using the less biologically relevant wetted area. This highlights the importance of including relevant ecological and hydrogeomorphic information in assessing regulation impacts on natural channel connectivity. Specifically, we highlight scenarios where losing a smaller area of productive habitat can have a larger impact on Atlantic salmon than losing a greater area of less suitable habitat. It is recommended that future channel connectivity assessments should attempt to include biologically relevant weightings, rather than relying on simpler metrics like wetted area which can produce misleading assessments of barrier impacts.     

Assessment of flow paths and confluences for saltwater intrusion in a deltaic river network

Saltwater intrusion is a serious issue in estuarine deltas all over the world due to rapid urban sprawl and water shortage. Therefore, detecting the major flow paths or locations at risk of saltwater intrusion in estuarine ecosystems is important for mitigating saltwater intrusion. In this paper, we introduce a centrality index, the betweenness centrality (BC), to address this problem. Using the BC as the weighted attribute of the river network, we identify the critical confluences for saltwater intrusion and detect the preferential flow paths for saltwater intrusion through the least‐cost‐path algorithm from a graph theory approach. Moreover, we analyse the responses of the BC values of confluences calculated in the river network to salinity. Our results show that the major flow paths and critical confluences for saltwater intrusion in a deltaic river network can be represented by the least cost paths and the BC values of confluences, respectively. In addition, a significant positive correlation between the BC values of confluences and salinity is determined in the Pearl River Delta. Changes in the salinity can produce significant variation in the BC values of confluences. Therefore, freshwater can be diverted into these major flow paths and critical confluences to improve river network management under saltwater intrusion. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Groundwater – the disregarded component in lake water and nutrient budgets. Part 2: effects of groundwater on nutrients

Lacustrine groundwater discharge (LGD) transports nutrients from a catchment to a lake, which may fuel eutrophication, one of the major threats to our fresh waters. Unfortunately, LGD has often been disregarded in lake nutrient studies. Most measurement techniques are based on separate determinations of volume and nutrient concentration of LGD: Loads are calculated by multiplying seepage volumes by concentrations of exfiltrating water. Typically low phosphorus (P) concentrations of pristine groundwater often are increased due to anthropogenic sources such as fertilizer, manure or sewage. Mineralization of naturally present organic matter might also increase groundwater P. Reducing redox conditions favour P transport through the aquifer to the reactive aquifer‐lake interface. In some cases, large decreases of P concentrations may occur at the interface, for example, due to increased oxygen availability, while in other cases, there is nearly no decrease in P. The high reactivity of the interface complicates quantification of groundwater‐borne P loads to the lake, making difficult clear differentiation of internal and external P loads to surface water. Anthropogenic sources of nitrogen (N) in groundwater are similar to those of phosphate. However, the environmental fate of N differs fundamentally from P because N occurs in several different redox states, each with different mobility. While nitrate behaves essentially conservatively in most oxic aquifers, ammonium's mobility is similar to that of phosphate. Nitrate may be transformed to gaseous N₂ in reducing conditions and permanently removed from the system. Biogeochemical turnover of N is common at the reactive aquifer‐lake interface. Nutrient loads from LGD were compiled from the literature. Groundwater‐borne P loads vary from 0.74 to 2900 mg PO₄‐P m^?2 year^?1; for N, these loads vary from 0.001 to 640 g m^?2 year^?1. Even small amounts of seepage can carry large nutrient loads due to often high nutrient concentrations in groundwater. Large spatial heterogeneity, uncertain areal extent of the interface and difficult accessibility make every determination of LGD a challenge. However, determinations of LGD are essential to effective lake management. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.