Investigating landfill‐impacted groundwater seepage into headwater streams using stable carbon isotopes

The impact of landfill contaminated groundwater along a reach of a small stream adjacent to a municipal landfill was investigated using stable carbon isotopes as a tracer. Groundwater below the stream channel, groundwater seeping into the stream, groundwater from the stream banks and stream water were sampled and analysed for dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and the isotope ratio of DIC (δ¹³C_DIC). Representative samples of groundwater seeping into the stream were collected using a device (a ‘seepage well’) specifically designed for collecting samples of groundwater seeping into shallow streams with soft sediments. The DIC and δ¹³C_DIC of water samples ranged from 52 to 205 mg C/L and ?16·9 to +5·7‰ relative to VPDB standard, respectively. Groundwater from the stream bank adjacent to the landfill and some samples of groundwater below the stream channel and seepage into the stream showed evidence of δ¹³C enriched DIC (δ¹³C_DIC = ?2·3 to +5·7‰), which we attribute to landfill impact. Stream water and groundwater from the stream bank opposite the landfill did not show evidence of landfill carbon (δ¹³C_DIC = ?10·0 to ?16·9‰). A simple mixing model using DIC and δ¹³C_DIC showed that groundwater below the stream and groundwater seeping into the stream could be described as a mixture of groundwater with a landfill carbon signature and uncontaminated groundwater. This study suggests that the hyporheic zone at the stream–groundwater interface probably was impacted by landfill contaminated groundwater and may have significant ecological implications for this ecotone. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Leonid outburst of 1996

There is strong anticipation that the Leonid meteor shower could produce storm-level activity in 1998 and/or 1999. The well-documented Leonid outburst in 1996 and the more poorly observed one in 1994 have been taken by many observers to imply that a storm is imminent, This article explores the possible relationship between the 1996 outburst in activity and possible Leonid storms. The curve of activity is found to be much closer to that of normal activity, although with greater hourly rates, than it is to the very brief, steeply rising activity curve of a storm. It is probable that the 1996 outburst is thus completely unrelated to any future storm which may appear.     

东亚高空急流协同变化研究新进展

东亚高空急流是东亚大气环流系统的重要组成部分,对东亚地区的天气和气候具有重要影响。以往对东亚高空急流的研究多关注副热带急流及其对天气气候的影响,近年来,学者们在明确区分东亚副热带急流和极锋急流的基础上,从东亚副热带急流和极锋急流协同变化的视角,对东亚高空急流的变化规律和机理及其对我国气候异常的影响,开展了一系列研究,揭示出副热带急流和极锋急流强度的反位相协同变化是以副热带急流强（弱）伴随着极锋急流弱（强）为其主要配置形式和模态,并对应着特定的大气环流形势以及相应的气温和降水异常分布,与冬季冷空气活动、梅雨期降水、极端事件、冬季风等具有密切关系。本文聚焦东亚高空急流协同变化方面的最新研究成果,从东亚高空急流协同变化规律、高空急流协同变化的热力和动力学影响机理、高空急流协同变化气候效应、高空急流与中高纬低频遥相关型的联系等方面进行较为全面的总结,以加深东亚高空急流活动基本特征和变化规律的认识。     

Volunteer and professional macroinvertebrate monitoring provide concordant assessments of stream health

Whilst volunteer monitoring has many benefits for both volunteers and professionals, volunteer data must be validated to understand the value and potential applications of information from volunteer monitoring programmes. Our study aimed to assess the concordance between volunteer and professional data, including state and trend assessments. We compared macroinvertebrate data collected by volunteers using a simplified identification protocol to data collected by professionals following standard national protocols for collection and identification. We found that volunteer and professional macroinvertebrate data expressed as summary indices of ecological health were significantly correlated. However, the coarser level of taxonomic identification in the volunteer dataset limited the use of taxon richness as a biodiversity measure. We also demonstrated that the ability of volunteer data to detect long-term trends in ecological health is comparable to professional data. Overall, stream monitoring data collected by volunteers provided an assessment of stream health that was concordant with assessments based on data collected by professionals, indicating that volunteer data could be used to support professional monitoring programmes.     

Pycnogonida from the Snares Islands (note)

Four species of pycnogonid previously recorded from the Snares Islands are recorded from new localities. A juvenile Cheilopallene trappa had a proboscis typical of the Callipallenidae, and not the highly specialised form characteristic of adults.     

Lipid content in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fry and parr reared in spawning tributaries of Lake Taupo,New Zealand

The total lipid content of fry (25–30 mm) and parr (55–110 mm) of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss Richardson 1836) was measured in spring 1996 and 1997 and in autumn 1997 in six trout‐rearing tributaries of Lake Taupo, New Zealand. The fat content of fry was variable between streams and some streams had a higher inter‐annual variation than others. The fat content of parr was also variable among streams but no difference could be found between seasons. The streams that produced fry with high fat content did not always produce parr with high fat content.     

Book reviews

Behavioural biology of killer whales. Editors: C. Kirkevold and J. S. Lockard. Zoo Biology Monographs, Volume 1. Alan Liss Inc., New York, 1986. 457 p. ISBN 0–8451–3100–1. Price: US$79.50.

Aquaculture of Cyprinids. Editors: R. Billard and J. Marcel. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, 1986. 504 p. Price FF150.00. Available from INRA Publications, Route de St Cyr, 78000 Versailles, France.

The Peruvian anchoveta and its upwelling ecosystem: three decades of change. Editors: D. Pauly and I. Tsukayama. Institute) del Mar del Peru (IMARPE); Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ); International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM) 1987.351 p. ISBN 971–1022–34–6, ISSN 0115–4389. Price US$17.50 surface; US$36 airmail. Available from ICLARM, MCP.O. 1501, Makati, Metro Manilla, Philippines.

The freshwater planktonic blue‐greens (Cyanophyta/Cyanobacteria) of New Zealand: a taxonomic guide. By M. K. Etheredge and R. D. Pridmore. Published for the National Water and Soil Conservation Authority, 1987. 122 p, including 93 figures. ISSN0110–4705. Price $38.50. Available from DSIR Publishing, P.O. Box 9741, Wellington, New Zealand.     

Nature and quantity of net‐seston exported from Lake Taupo to the Waikato River,New Zealand

Over a diel cycle, the concentration in Waikato River water of negatively buoyant seston and of some animals from the littoral of Lake Taupo was significantly correlated with the velocity of wind over the lake. Riverine abundance of several littoral, lacustrine animals was significantly correlated with the weight of negatively buoyant seston. A significant negative correlation existed between the densities of negatively buoyant and positively buoyant seston in the river. In qualitative comparisons, eulimnetic species were sometimes over‐represented and sometimes under‐represented in river water, with no consistent pattern. Concentrations of eulimnetic species in river water were usually greatly less (down to 10^‐2) than those in the lake. The range of densities of zooplankters (> 160 μm in size) in the river was c. 20–2000 ind. m^‐3. Significant differences in the density of eulimnetic species in the river occurred at different times of the day, but on only 1 occasion was this probably linked to diel vertical migration in the lake. An increased rate of discharge from the lake may cause an increase in the density of some taxa in the river. The mean daily export of Botryococcus from the lake was at least 230 kg dry weight Forty‐five animal taxa derived from the littoral region of the lake were collected from the river including many not hitherto recorded from Lake Taupo.     

Precocious male quinnat salmon oncorhynchus tshawytscha (walbaum) in New Zealand (note)

Samples of yearling parr of quinnat salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum) from Lake Heron and the Glenariffe Stream were examined, and precocious ripe males were found. The proportion in the population (29.2%) was higher than is recorded in North America (2.6%).     

Effects of artificial shading on periphyton and invertebrates in a New Zealand stream

The association between abundance of invertebrates and presence of extensive periphyton cover in the Waitakere River (36° 28′S, 174° 31′E), northern New Zealand, was studied from October 1974 to June 1975. A black polythene canopy (44 m²) was placed across the stream, and the quantity of algal material and numbers of invertebrates in shaded and unshaded areas was measured. The presence of the canopy and the associated absence of periphyton influenced the distribution of several invertebrate species; those more abundant beneath the canopy were Slavina appendiculata (Oligochaeta: Naididae), Austrosimulium australense (Diptera: Simuliidae), and Aoteapsyche colonica (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae), whereas the chironomids Maoridiamesa harrisi (Diamesinae), Austrocladius sp. (Orthocladiinae), and Paratanytarsus agameta (Chironominae) and the trichopterans Hydrobiosis parumbripennis (Rhyacophilidae), Oxyethira albiceps (Hydroptilidae), and Pycnocentrodes spp. (Conoesucidae) were more abundant outside. Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Mollusca: Hydrobiidae) and Hydora nitida (Coleoptera: Elmidae), commonly recorded from algal mats in New Zealand, were equally abundant in shaded and unshaded areas. Differences in distribution between experimental and control sites may have been due to interference by periphyton with attachment sites (simuliids and hydropsychids) and feeding habits of the invertebrates (remaining species).