WATER-QUALITY MONITORING AND SPECIOUS DATA: THE EXAMPLE OF GEORGES CREEK,MARYLAND∗

Concurrent water data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Corps of Army Engineers, and the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene at the same site in order to describe present conditions and predict future environmental change in the Georges Creek basin in western Maryland. Evaluation of the data sets reveals measurement errors and weaknesses in sample design so that published complications contain significant errors. Unless these errors can be identified, policy based on such information may have unfortunate results.     

Data structures for three-dimensional spatial information systems in geology

Abstract

The accumulation of geological information in digital form, due to modern exploration methods, has introduced the possibility of applying geographical information system technology to the field of geology. To achieve the benefits in information management and in data analysis and interpretation, however, it will be necessary to develop spatial models and associated data structures which are specifically designed for working in three dimensions. Some progress in this direction has already been demonstrated, with the application of octree spatial subdivision techniques to the storage of uniform volume elements representing mineral properties. By imposing octree tessellations on more precisely-defined geometric data, such as triangulated surfaces and polygon line segments, it may now be possible to combine efficient spatial addressing with topologically-coded boundary representations of geological strata. The development of storage schemes capable of representing such geological boundary models at different scales poses a particular problem, a possible solution to which may be by means of hierarchical classification of the vertices of triangulated surfaces according to shape contribution.     

基于LabVIEW的预应力孔道压浆质量检测仪的软件设计

本文提出了一种预应力孔道压浆质量检测仪的硬件方案,在此基础上介绍了基于LabVIEW的仪器软件设计,重点讨论了软件实现的关键技术,实现了参数设置,多通道超声信号采集,文件管理等功能.软件界面友好,操作简单,适应仪器的野外工作,且升级维护方便.     

骨旁脂肪瘤的影像学特征及诊断价值

目的：分析骨旁脂肪瘤的影像学表现特征,提高对该病的认识及术前影像诊断水平。方法：回顾性分析经病理证实的我院2例骨旁脂肪瘤的临床及影像学表现。结果：2．例骨旁脂肪瘤,男女各1例,分别位于右侧股骨上段、左侧胫骨中下段骨旁软组织内。X线表现为骨旁软组织内的透光肿块;CT、MRI表现为骨旁脂肪密度或脂肪信号、有包膜的椭圆形分叶状肿块,边界清楚;邻近骨皮质形成突向肿瘤内部的珊瑚礁状或树枝状骨性突起。结论：骨旁椭圆形脂肪性肿块,伴有骨皮质突向肿块内的珊瑚礁状、树枝状骨性突起为骨旁脂肪瘤的影像学特征,具有重要的诊断价值。     

Potential use of dissolved cyanobacterial DNA for monitoring toxic Microcystis cyanobacteria in filtered water

Toxic and non-toxic Microcystis sp. are morphologically indistinguishable cyanobacteria that are increasingly posing health problems in fresh water systems by producing odours and/or toxins. Toxic Microcystis sp. produces toxicologically stable water soluble toxic compounds called microcystins (MCs) that have been associated with cases of aquatic life and wildlife poisoning and kills including some cases of human illnesses/deaths around the world. Thus, the need for rapid detection of toxic Microcystis sp. in surface water is imperatively a necessity for early mitigation purposes. Genomic DNA from potentially toxic Microcystis sp. comprises of ten microcystin synthetase (mcy) genes of which six major ones are directly involved in MCs biosynthesis. In Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) methodsmcy genes can be amplified from intracellular/extracellular genomic DNA using PCR primers. However, little is known about the limitations of sourcing genomic DNA templates from extracellular DNA dissolved in water. In this work, filtered water (0.45 μM) from a Microcystis infested Dam (South Africa) was re-filtered on 0.22 μM syringe filters followed by genomic DNA isolation and purification from micro-filtrates (9 mL). Six major mcy genes (mcyABCDEG) from the isolated DNA were amplified using newly designed as well as existing primers identified from literature. PCR products were separated by gel electrophoresis and visualized after staining with ethidium bromide. The limitation of using dissolved DNA for amplification of mcy genes was qualitatively studied by establishing the relationship between input DNA concentrations (10.0–0.001 ng/μL) and the formation of respective PCR products. The amplification of mcyA gene using new primers with as little as 0.001 ng/μL of DNA was possible. Other mcy gene sensitivities reached 0.1 ng/μL DNA dilution limits. These results demonstrated that with appropriately optimized PCR conditions the method can provide accurate cost-effective tools for rapid detection of toxic Microcystis sp. in water giving early information for water quality monitoring against MC producing cyanobacteria.     

Impacts of urbanisation on hydrological and water quality dynamics,and urban water management: a review

ABSTRACT

As urban space continues to expand to accommodate a growing global population, there remains a real need to quantify and qualify the impacts of urban space on natural processes. The expansion of global urban areas has resulted in marked alterations to natural processes, environmental quality and natural resource consumption. The urban landscape influences infiltration and evapotranspiration, complicating our capacity to quantify their dynamics across a heterogeneous landscape at contrasting scales. Impervious surfaces exacerbate runoff processes, whereas runoff from pervious areas remains uncertain owing to variable infiltration dynamics. Increasingly, the link between the natural hydrological cycle and engineered water cycle has been made, realising the contributions from leaky infrastructure to recharge and runoff rates. Urban landscapes are host to a suite of contaminants that impact on water quality, where novel contaminants continue to pose new challenges to monitoring and treatment regimes. This review seeks to assess the major advances and remaining challenges that remain within the growing field of urban hydrology.

Editor M.C. Acreman; Associate editor E. Rozos     

Spatial and temporal variability of groundwater quality of an Algerian aquifer: the case of Soummam Wadi

ABSTRACT

Five-year monitoring of physicochemical parameters was performed with two campaigns in low and high water periods of the Lower Soummam catchment. Data from 18 wells were processed by multivariate statistical tools in order to identify the principal factors influencing groundwater chemistry. Two matrices of 14 and 8 physicochemical parameters with 18 groundwater samples collected in wells were obtained. The correlation matrix showed strong associations between nine variables: K⁺, Ca²⁺, Na⁺, SO₄^2?, Cl^?, Mg²⁺, NO₂^?, Zn²⁺ and Sr²⁺. Principal component analysis and factor analysis showed that the cumulated variance of high and low water periods was of 83.19% and 78.55%, respectively. The variables assigned to the mineralization effect or to pollution indicators were presented by the factor analysis. The bivariate plots confirmed a mineralization model, ascribed to dissolution of geological materials, and to high levels of saline contamination attributed to leakages from sanitary systems. They also showed an increase “upstream to downstream” of the mineralization, visualization of temporal variations, and a dilution process identification of the natural mineralization during the recharge of the aquifer.

EDITOR D. Koutsoyiannis; ASSOCIATE EDITOR X. Chen     

Heavy metal pollution and assessment in the tidal flat sediments of Haizhou Bay,China

The heavy metal inventory and the ecological risk of the tidal flat sediments in Haizhou Bay were investigated. Results show that the average concentrations of heavy metals in the surface sediments exceeded the environment background values of Jiangsu Province coastal soil, suggesting that the surface sediments were mainly polluted by heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Pb and Zn). In addition, the profiles of heavy metals fluxes can reflect the socio-economic development of Lianyungang City, and heavy metals inputs were attributed to anthropogenic activities. Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn were mainly present in the non-bioavailable residual form in surface sediments, whereas Cd and Mn were predominantly in the highly mobile acid soluble and reducible fractions. The ecological risk of the polluted sediments stemmed mainly from Cd and Pb. According to the Sediment quality guidelines (SQGs), however, the adverse biological effects caused by the heavy metals occasionally occurred in tidal flat.     

D) UNITED Nations

Synopsis

In areas of accentuated relief, some of the basic assumptions made in the use of standard methods of assessing areal mean rainfall are often untenable. It is shown in this paper, that, not only does topography affect the actual rainfall distribution, but that the areal variability, measured as the correlation between any two points, is also dependent on the relief. Two methods are used to show this. Once method compares the areal variability of a flat area to one of accentuated relief, while the second method relates areal variability to topographic factors using a multiple regression technique.

The conclusions reached are then used for three purposed. The first is to develop a method of ascribing objectively areas or points to a particular raingauge, taking into account the nature of the terrain. The second is to establish a procedure for estimating the rainfall at ungauged points, by taking into account the rainfall at a selected nearby rainguage and the topographic situation of the points, and the third purpose is to provide means of establishing a correction factor to be applied to a raingauge reading in order that the reading may more accurately represent the area ascribed to it.     

QVOA techniques for fracture characterization

New computational techniques of QVOA analysis (Quality factor Versus Offset and Azimuth) for fracture characterization are developed. The techniques are applied to synthetic surface data of reflection with noise.