Stream water chemistry and quality along an upland–lowland rural land-use continuum, south west England

This study examined stream water quality across a range of catchments which are representative of the key environments and land uses of rural south-west England. These catchments included: (a) an acidic upland headwater catchment, rising on the moorlands of Dartmoor, with low-intensity sheep rearing; (b) a headwater catchment rising on the weathered granite lower slopes of Dartmoor, with cattle farming; (c) a lowland headwater clay catchment with sub-surface drainage and high intensity livestock farming, fodder crop cultivation, and hard-standing/slurry storage; and (d) the main River Taw, a lowland river system receiving drainage from a range of tributaries, exemplified by the above catchment types. Variations in water chemistry and quality were observed along an upland–lowland transition, from headwater streams to the main river channel. Within the livestock-dominated headwater streams, total phosphorus (TP) was dominated by particulate phosphorus (PP). These PP concentrations appeared to be mainly linked to two sets of processes: (1) in-stream sediment precipitation with sorption/co-precipitation of phosphate and/or localised in-channel mobilisation of sediment (by cattle or channel-clearing operations) under low flow conditions, and (2) sediment erosion and transportation associated with near-surface runoff during storm events. Under baseflow conditions, in-stream and/or riparian processes played a significant role in controlling general nutrient chemistry, particularly in the headwater streams which were heavily impacted by livestock.     

Toxicities of antifouling biocide Irgarol 1051 and its major degraded product to marine primary producers

Irgarol 1051 (2-methythiol-4-tert-butylamino-6-cyclopropylamino-s-triazine) is an algaecide commonly used in antifouling paints. It undergoes photodegradation which yields M1 (2-methylthio-4-tert-butylamino-6-amino-s-triazine) as its major and most stable degradant. Elevated levels of both Irgarol and M1 have been detected in coastal waters worldwide; however, ecotoxicity effects of M1 to various marine autotrophs such as cyanobacteria are still largely unknown. This study firstly examined and compared the 96 h toxicities of Irgarol and M1 to the cyanobacterium Chroococcus minor and two marine diatom species, Skeletonema costatum and Thalassiosira pseudonana. Our results suggested that Irgarol was consistently more toxic to all of the three species than M1 (96 h EC50 values: C. minor, 7.71 microug L(-1) Irgarol vs. > 200 microg L(-1) M1; S. costatum, 0.29 microg L(-1) Irgarol vs. 11.32 microg L(-1)M1; and T. pseudonana, 0.41 microg L(-1) Irgarol vs. 16.50 microg L(-1)M1). Secondly, we conducted a meta-analysis of currently available data on toxicities of Irgarol and M1 to both freshwater and marine primary producers based on species sensitivity distributions (SSDs). Interestingly, freshwater autotrophs are more sensitive to Irgarol than their marine counterparts. For marine autotrophs, microalgae are generally more sensitive to Irgarol than macroalgae and cyanobacteria. With very limited available data on M1 (i.e. five species), M1 might be less toxic than Irgarol; nonetheless this finding warrants further confirmation with additional data on other autotrophic species.     

Application of biomarkers for improving risk assessments of chemicals under the Water Framework Directive: a case study

To answer the requirement of the European Commission's Water Framework Directive (WFD) for biological-effects endpoints to classify the ecological health of aquatic ecosystems, we propose the biomarker response index (BRI). The BRI, based on a suite of biomarkers at different levels of biological response at the individual level, provides an integrated relative measure of the general health status of coastal invertebrates. Using the BRI, the health of mussels (Mytilus edulis) from 10 estuaries classified by the Environment Agency of England and Wales under the WFD was compared. Eight sites were healthier than predicted and two showed a similar health status to that of the predicted point-source pollution risk classification. Results indicate that the BRI offers a potential measure of organism health that can be used in monitoring under the WFD as an additional aid to reduce uncertainty in defining risk classification and to provide better evidence of existing impact.     

Agricultural lands are hot-spots for annual runoff polluting the southern Great Barrier Reef lagoon

The world’s largest coral reef ecosystem, the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), continues to be degraded from land-based pollution. Information about the source of pollutants is critical for catchment management to improve GBR water quality. We report here on an 11-year source to sea study of pollutant delivery in runoff from the Fitzroy River Basin (FRB), the largest GBR catchment. An innovative technique that relates land use to pollutant generation is presented. Study results indicate that maximum pollutant concentrations at basin and sub-catchment scales are closely related to the percentage area of croplands receiving heavy rain. However, grazing lands contribute the majority of the long-term average annual load of most common pollutants. Findings suggest improved land management targets, rather than water quality targets should be implemented to reduce GBR pollution. This study provides a substantial contribution to the knowledge base for the targeted management of pollution ‘hot-spots’ to improve GBR water quality.     

A critical review of groundwater budget myth, safe yield and sustainability

The principle of water balance is well known, but its application often causes controversy. One recent debate is the use of the water balance equation to determine the safe yield and sustainable yield. Two extreme opinions exist on natural groundwater recharge. One misconception is that the development of groundwater is considered to be safe if the pumping rate does not exceed the rate of natural recharge. Another is that the sustainable pumping rate has nothing to do with natural recharge, but depends on the increased recharge and decreased discharge (called capture) induced by pumping. The truth is that both the natural recharge and dynamic development of the capture determine the safe yield or sustainable yield of a groundwater basin. This paper clarifies the water budget controversy and uses the water balance equation to critically analyse the concepts of safe yield and sustainable yield. Numerical simulation of a hypothetical case was used to demonstrate the natural groundwater balance, effects of pumping and the dynamic development of the capture.     

Comparative analysis of fuzzy inference systems for water consumption time series prediction

Two types of fuzzy inference systems (FIS) are used for predicting municipal water consumption time series. The FISs used include an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and a Mamdani fuzzy inference systems (MFIS). The prediction models are constructed based on the combination of the antecedent values of water consumptions. The performance of ANFIS and MFIS models in training and testing phases are compared with the observations and the best fit model is identified according to the selected performance criteria. The results demonstrated that the ANFIS model is superior to MFIS models and can be successfully applied for prediction of water consumption time series.     

注水诱发地震的成因及影响因素探讨

根据胜利油田东营凹陷深井注水所监测到的破裂信号特征分析,结合位于同一凹陷内的角7井注水诱发地震特征,对注水诱发地震的成因进行了探讨.注水过程中地层有无先存破裂面对所诱发的地震产生较大影响,认为诱发地震的震级与注采比和注水井的构造位置密切相关.     

Seasonal variation in water column conditions in the upper Gulf of Thailand

Seasonal variation in water column conditions in the upper Gulf of Thailand (UGoT) was analyzed by considering four major factors including surface heat flux, freshwater discharge, tidal and wind stirrings. The coincidence of surface heat loss, low river discharge and strong wind resulted in vertical well-mixing in December. Strong stratification developed in September and October due to large river discharge and moderate heat flux. Strong surface heating in April and May has a potential to generate strong stratification, although not as large as that in September and October due to low river discharge. Although no factors are prominent during January and March, and June and August, weak to moderate stratification results, because the influences of river discharge and surface heating are still larger than those of tidal and wind stirrings. The results of water column analysis based on monthly average data agree well with analyses derived from cruise data in the same months. Most analytical results correspond to the distributions of temperature and salinity from field observations. Disagreement, however, was found in December 2003 (cruise CU-2) when stratification in some small regions occurs in the distribution of water properties, but the water column analysis suggests vertical well-mixing. This phenomenon is triggered by non-uniform distribution of freshwater over UGoT, which is related to river discharge, monsoonal wind and current. Compared to a previous study regarding surface chlorophyll dynamics, water column conditions may be used to explain the occurrence of phytoplankton bloom in this region.     

Estimating uncertainty associated with water stages from a single SAR image

It is the goal of remote sensing to infer information about objects or a natural process from a remote location. This invokes that uncertainty in measurement should be viewed as central to remote sensing. In this study, the uncertainty associated with water stages derived from a single SAR image for the Alzette (G.D. of Luxembourg) 2003 flood is assessed using a stepped GLUE procedure. Main uncertain input factors to the SAR processing chain for estimating water stages include geolocation accuracy, spatial filter window size, image thresholding value, DEM vertical precision and the number of river cross sections at which water stages are estimated. Initial results show that even with plausible parameter values uncertainty in water stages over the entire river reach is 2.8 m on average. Adding spatially distributed field water stages to the GLUE analysis following a one-at-a-time approach helps to considerably reduce SAR water stage uncertainty (0.6 m on average) thereby identifying appropriate value ranges for each uncertain SAR water stage processing factor. For the GLUE analysis a Nash-like efficiency criterion adapted to spatial data is proposed whereby acceptable SAR model simulations are required to outperform a simpler regression model based on the field-surveyed average river bed gradient. Weighted CDFs for all factors based on the proposed efficiency criterion allow the generation of reliable uncertainty quantile ranges and 2D maps that show the uncertainty associated with SAR-derived water stages. The stepped GLUE procedure demonstrated that not all field data collected are necessary to achieve maximum constraining. A possible efficient way to decide on relevant locations at which to sample in the field is proposed. It is also suggested that the resulting uncertainty ranges and flood extent or depth maps may be used to evaluate 1D or 2D flood inundation models in terms of water stages, depths or extents. For this, the extended GLUE approach, which copes with the presence of uncertainty in the observed data, may be adopted.     

The effects of scene heterogeneity on soil moisture retrieval from passive microwave data

The τ–ω model of microwave emission from soil and vegetation layers is widely used to estimate soil moisture content from passive microwave observations. Its application to prospective satellite-based observations aggregating several thousand square kilometres requires understanding of the effects of scene heterogeneity. The effects of heterogeneity in soil surface roughness, soil moisture, water area and vegetation density on the retrieval of soil moisture from simulated single- and multi-angle observing systems were tested. Uncertainty in water area proved the most serious problem for both systems, causing errors of a few percent in soil moisture retrieval. Single-angle retrieval was largely unaffected by the other factors studied here. Multiple-angle retrievals errors around one percent arose from heterogeneity in either soil roughness or soil moisture. Errors of a few percent were caused by vegetation heterogeneity. A simple extension of the model vegetation representation was shown to reduce this error substantially for scenes containing a range of vegetation types.