The influence of karst features on environmental studies in Turkey

 The carbonate rocks of Turkey, which underlie about one third of the country, possess major water resources with great potential for electricity generation and water supplies. The ongoing development of karst features, especially in the southern part of Turkey, demonstrates specific environmental problems that occur in many karst water supply projects. Karst aquifers, springs, sinkholes, dolines, poljes and other karst features are of great importance from the standpoint of karst water resources and environmental research studies. In karst regions, conservation and protection of groundwater resources for both qualitative and quantitative evaluations is possible only when the catchment area is determined accurately. Since the catchment area in karst terrains is not limited by the surface drainage boundaries and the groundwater flows through well-developed coduits or fissures, the equations used in non-karstic areas cannot be applied to such karstic regions. Studies on the development of karst features and its environmental impacts in Turkey are of recent origin. Therefore, many unreliable methods are being applied in karstic areas. For example, the use of "shallow holes or sinkholes and fault zones" for septic water waste disposal or as sewage by those who are not familiar with karst, sometimes causes very serious problems of extensive groundwater pollution. This paper discusses the development of different karstic features in Turkey and case studies on its environmental impacts. Received: 27 December 1995 · Accepted: 10 July 1996     

中国区域缺水问题的发展趋势与解决对策

分析了建国以来我国两个缺水阶段的特点，即第一阶段是由农田灌溉面积快速发展引起的，第二阶段是供水能力增长缓慢造成的；然后根据我国工业发展速度、宜农荒地面积和农田灌溉面积的增长情况，分５个地区对我国２１世纪的水资源需求进行了预测，２１世纪我国的需水量将持续增长，至２０５０年达９５０×１０９ｍ３，但供水发展缓慢，因此我国２１世纪上半叶区域缺水问题严重。最后提出了解决我国区域缺水问题的四条对策，即开源、节流、加强污水处理与扩大资金投入     

Water policy,trust and governance in the Murray-Darling Basin

Concerns for river health in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) area and shifting priorities for water use have led to a significant process of water reform over the last decade. The MDB area, also known as the food bowl of Australia, produces much of the country's food and is home to a significant portion of the population. A long-term drought, historical over-allocation of water for irrigation and climate variability have led to mounting concerns about the long-term viability of the rivers. While the reform process has resulted in the Commonwealth government taking control of the rivers from the States, it has also been influenced by changes in governments and consequent shifts in water allocation priorities from a privileging of agriculture to a broader approach encompassing economic, environmental and social concerns. This had led to uncertainty for the people and communities in the Basin and some confusion between the various layers of governance structures. This paper presents the results of exploratory research conducted with key, high-level stakeholders involved in water reform to examine their perceptions of the evolving water policy process. Despite agreement amongst stakeholders that returning water to the environment to ensure river health is critical, our research reveals significant tensions between stakeholders concerning the evolving process, particularly centred on the potential social outcomes and fairness and equity. This suggests the need for more integrated and transparent governance structures, attention to levels of trust between partners and a common vision that incorporates environmental, economic and social goals.     

Soil contamination near non-ferrous metal smelters: A review

This review summarizes over 160 studies focused on soil contamination near non-ferrous metal smelters. The methods of these investigations were examined with an emphasis on the combinations of traditional (geo)chemical approaches with various mineralogical and metal isotope techniques that are particularly helpful for depicting the fate of smelter-derived contamination in the soil. Differences in the distributions and binding of metal(loid)s in smelter-affected soils from temperate and (sub)tropical climatic zones indicate the greater vulnerability of the latter. Prevailing wind direction is a key factor affecting the dispersion of smelter emissions and their subsequent deposition into the soils, with greater importance found especially in arid areas. Whereas the greatest contamination is generally observed in the surface soil layers, downward migration of metal(loid)s in the soil profiles has been documented at numerous sites. Contamination of smelter soils significantly affects both plants and soil organisms, but suitable remediation techniques (such as chemical stabilization of soils by amendments) can be used for reducing the bioavailability of contaminants.     

Leaching potential and redox transformations of arsenic and selenium in sediment microcosms with fly ash

The unintended release of coal ash to the environment is a concern due to the enrichment of contaminants such as arsenic (As) and selenium (Se) in this solid waste material. Current risk assessments of coal ash disposal focus on pH as the primary driver of leaching from coal ash. However, redox speciation of As and Se is a major factor for their mobilization potential and has received much less attention for risk assessments, particularly in disposal scenarios where coal ash will likely be exposed to microbially-driven redox gradients. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the differences of aerobic and anaerobic conditions for the leaching of As and Se from coal ash. Batch sediment-ash slurry microcosms were performed to mimic an ash spill scenario and were monitored for changes in As and Se speciation and mobilization potential. The results showed that the dissolved As concentrations were up to 50 times greater in the anaerobic microcosms relative to the aerobic microcosms during the two week incubation. This trend was consistent with As redox speciation determined by X-ray absorption spectroscopy, which indicated that 55% of the As in the solid phase at the end of the experiment was present as As(III) (a more leachable form of arsenic relative to As(V)). In the aerobic microcosms, only 13% of the As was As(III) and the rest was As(V). More than half of the Se was present as Se(IV) in the original fly ash and in the aerobic microcosms, while in the anaerobic microcosms Se was gradually transformed to less soluble Se(0) species. Likewise, dissolved Se concentrations were up to 25 times greater in the aerobic microcosms relative to anaerobic conditions. While the overall observations of As and Se mobilization potential from coal ash were consistent with expectations for aqueous and solid phase speciation of these elements, the findings directly show the relevance of these processes for coal ash disposal. These results highlight the need to select appropriate environmental parameters to include in risk assessments as well as provide potential geochemical monitoring tools through the use of dissolved Se/As ratios to determine the redox conditions of ash storage and spill sites.     

Combination of single and sequential chemical extractions to study the mobility and host phases of potentially toxic elements in airborne particulate matter

Risk assessment of metals associated to airborne particulate matter (PM) has usually been based on the analysis of their total concentrations, which is a poor indicator of metal mobility. Chemical fractionation processes may provide an additional level of information, however, chemical complexity and small sample sizes do not allow to combine several extraction methods. Additionally, analysing the metal concentrations during the extractions exceptionally provides restricted information about metals’ speciation. To overcome these limitations we collected total suspended particulate matter (TSP) samples from the air filters placed in the air supply channel of methane-heated turbines of thermal power stations which allows collecting large amounts of TSP materials. Additionally, we combined single and sequential chemical extractions in which not only the concentrations of potentially toxic elements (PTE) (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn) but also that of the major chemical components (Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, S, Ti) were analysed. Our aims were to study these metals’ mobility and speciation through the study of their association to major chemical components.Accumulation of the studied PTEs in the TSP material suggests moderate contamination for Ni, Cd and Cr whereas a heavy one for Cu, Zn and Pb. Three groups of these PTEs could be distinguished based on their mobility. The highly mobile Zn and Cd (large ratios of water and weak acid soluble fractions) can be considered as especially harmful elements to environment. The moderately mobile Pb and Cu (large ratios of reducible and oxidizable fractions, respectively) may potentially have a negative effect on the environment, whereas the immobile Cr and Ni cannot be expected to pose a serious risk. Based on the statistical evaluation of extraction data, the potential phases for Zn and Cu are presented by metal-sulphates, -nitrates, -chlorides, -carbonates and -hydroxides, as well as sorbed forms. Lead primarily hosted by metal-carbonates and sorbed forms, as well as by -hydroxides, whereas Cu by organic matter. Finally, Cr and Ni are mostly incorporated into very resistant phases, most probably by magnetite or other resistant metal-oxides.Combination of single and sequential extractions, as well as that of the analysis of not only the target elements but also the major chemical components were found to be a very effective tool to study the host phases of PTEs in the TSP material. The necessity for relatively large sample amounts for such analyses could be fulfilled using special sampling methodology; however, obvious disadvantages of this kind of sampling must be taken into account when resulted data are evaluated.     

Spatial distribution,environmental assessment and source identification of metals content in surface sediments of freshwater reservoir,Pakistan

Surface sediments were collected from different sites of a freshwater reservoir, Pakistan, and analyzed for eight metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn) using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The estimated metals levels were found higher than other reported studies. The environmental indices including geoaccumulation index, enrichment factor and contamination factor identified Cd, Co, Pb and Zn as the priority pollutants of concern. Chromium, Cu and Mn were also found to be enriched in some areas. The pollution load index (≥1) indicated progressive deterioration of the sediments quality. Principal component and cluster analyses revealed that Cd, Co, Pb and Zn were mainly originated from agricultural activities, domestic wastes, road runoffs and recreational activities. Chromium, Cu, Fe and Mn were mainly derived from natural sources though Cr, Cu and Mn were partially contributed by human inputs. Based on spatial distribution, inlet and middle sites of the reservoir were found more contaminated. This study would drive urgent attention to develop preventive actions and remediation processes for aquatic system protection and future restoration of the reservoir.     

Groundwater resources in karst area in Southern China and sustainable utilization pattern

Occurrence conditions of groundwater in southern karst area are complicated. The water-bearing media in the karst have multiplicity, and the groundwater is hosted in holes, gaps, seams, pipes and caves. The karst water shows heterogeneity where fast and slow flow coexist, and the Darcy and non-Darcy flow coexist, and the liquid flow, the gas flow and solid flow coexist. The evaluation and investigation indicates that the mineable resource of karst groundwater is about 53.44 billion m3/y, and the current exploitation quantity is merely 6.565 billion m3/year. The exploitation and utilization potential is gigantic. In the region there are altogether 2 763 karst subterranean rivers with a total length of 12 687 km. The dry season runoff volume equals to 47 billion m3/year. At present the exploitation is only 10%. Four effective utilization models of karst groundwater resources have been put forward. (1) The karst hills-depression zone formed the surface-underground united reservoir. By digging tunnels, water diversion irrigation and generating electricity, the ecological economy is developed. (2) In the deep-cut peak cluster depression area, by using the high-part Epikarst spring and constructing the regulation and storage water tank, the stereo ecological agriculture is developed. (3) In the karst peak forest plain and hilly-gully area, the pump-type underground regulating reservoir is constructed and the water-saving ecological agriculture is strengthened. (4) In the fault basin region with the surrounding groundwater runoff belting beam backwater, the water resources are jointly controlled to develop a fruit crop base within the basin.     

Exploration on compound water circulation system to solve water resources problems of North China Plain

In order to solve water resources problems in the North China Plain, this paper explored human-nature compound water circulation system from three aspects including urban flood control, surface drainage and saline water in the central and eastern of the North China Plain. Results show that: (1) The technical methods have achieved zero increase in rainwater runoff in urban areas, (2) surface drainage depletion problems can be solved through abandoned water and river water separation method, (3) and technical method through promoting rainwater infiltration would be used to solve problem of saline water in the central and eastern parts. This research provides a new perspective to the ultimate solutions to water resources problems in the North China Plain, and a fresh research direction for the development of hydro-geological science.     

2014年春末黄海中华哲水蚤(Calanus sinicus)的呼吸率与油脂积累

春末是黄海冷水团中华哲水蚤(Calanus sinicus)度夏种群形成的关键时期。在此期间,中华哲水蚤C5期桡足类幼体(简称C5期)的油脂积累程度关系到种群能否顺利度夏。本文从呼吸率、油囊体积以及种群组成等角度,对春末黄海冷水团内外以及冷水团区表、底层的中华哲水蚤进行比较研究。结果表明,2014年5月底黄海冷水团初步形成,此时冷水团区中华哲水蚤C4和C5期幼体丰度占总体的62%—93%,种群处于度夏前的准备阶段。冷水团区C5期的平均呼吸率是近岸C5期的68%,同时冷水团底层C5期的油囊体积百分数是近岸种群的2.4倍。由此推测,冷水团区次表层较厚的温跃层(19—25m,0.3—0.5°C/m)以及冷水团的低温环境有利于C5期幼体降低呼吸消耗,进而增加油脂的积累。此外,冷水团区表、底层C5期的呼吸率相近,但底层C5期油囊体积百分数为表层的1.9—4.2倍,积累大量油脂的C5期偏向在冷水团底部活动。