Seasonal Variations in Benthic Community Metabolism and Nitrogen Dynamics in a Shallow, Organic-Poor Danish Lagoon

The dynamics of benthic primary production and community respiration in a shallow oligotrophic, marine lagoon (Fællestrand, Denmark) was followed for 1·5 years. The shape of the annual primary production cycle was explained primarily by seasonal changes in temperature (r² = 0·67-0·72) and daylength (r² = 0·63), whereas temperature almost explained all variation in benthic community respiration (r² = 0·83-0·87). On a daily basis the benthic system was autotrophic during spring and summer supplied by 'new' and 'regenerated' nitrogen and predominantly heterotrophic during fall and winter caused by light and nutrient limitation. The linear depth-relationship between porewater alkalinity and ammonium indicated that the C:N ratio of mineralized organic matter is low in spring and summer (3-6) and high in fall and winter (9-16). This is inversely related to net primary production and thus the input of labile, nitrogen-rich algal cells. Accordingly, mineralization occurred predominantly in the upper 2-5 cm of the sediment. The pool of reactive material (microalgal cells) was estimated to account for 12% of total organic carbon in the upper 3 cm, and had an average turnover time of less than 1 month in summer. Assimilation of organic carbon by benthic animals was equivalent to about 30% of the annual gross primary production. Grazing reduced chlorophyll a concentration in the sediment during summer and spring to values 30-40% lower than in winter, but maintained a 3-4 times higher specific microalgal productivity. The rapid turnover of organic carbon and nitrogen, and important role of benthic microalgae showed that the benthic community in this oligotrophic lagoon is of a very dynamic nature.     

Can A Cup Anemometer `Underspeed'?

An analysis of cup-anemometer dynamics has been carried out inorder to determine whether the mean-wind velocity can have anegative bias. This would be contrary to the general belief thatcup anemometers always overspeed. Compared to prior analyses, theeffect of a possible nonlinearity of the calibration function isincluded. The conclusion is that neither longitudinal nor lateralvelocity fluctuations can contribute significantly to a negativebias. However, if a cup anemometer has an angular response thatfalls below the ideal cosine response, there will, as demonstratedin the concluding discussion, be a negative contribution from thevertical velocity fluctuations to the total bias, and thiscontribution may even outbalance the positive contributions fromthe longitudinal velocity fluctuations. Concrete evidence of suchexotic cup anemometer behaviour has not been reported in theliterature.     

First-Order Chemistry in the Surface-Flux Layer

We have discussed the behavior of a non-conserved scalar in the stationary, horizontally homogeneous, neutral surface-flux layer and, on the basis of conventional second-order closure, derived analytic expressions for flux and for mean concentration of a gas, subjected to a first-order removal process. The analytic flux solution showed a clear deviation from the constant flux, characterizing a conserved scalar in the surface-flux layer. It decreases with height and is reduced by an order of magnitude of the surface flux at a height equal to about the typical mean distance a molecule can travel before destruction. The predicted mean concentration profile, however, shows only a small deviation from the logarithmic behavior of a conserved scalar. The solution is consistent with assuming a flux-gradient relationship with a turbulent diffusivity corrected by the Damköhler ratio, the ratio of a characteristic turbulent time scale and the scalar mean lifetime. We show that if we use only first-order closure and neglect the effect of the Damköhler ratio on the turbulent diffusivity we obtain another analytic solution for the profiles of the flux and the mean concentration which, from an experimental point of view, is indistinguishable from the first analytic solution. We have discussed two cases where the model should apply, namely NO which, by night, is irreversibly destroyed by interaction with mainly O₃ and the radioactive ²²⁰Rn. Only in the last case was it possible to find data to shed light on the validity of our predictions. The agreement seemed such that a falsification of our model was impossible. It is shown how the model can be used to predict the surface flux of ²²⁰Rn from measured concentration profiles.     

Electrodialytic remediation of CCA-treated waste wood in pilot scale

When chromated copper arsenate (CCA)-treated wood is removed from service and turns into waste, the contents of Cu, Cr and As remain high due to the strong fixation of CCA in the wood. This high content of toxic compounds presents a disposal challenge. Incineration of CCA-treated waste wood is not allowed in Denmark; instead, the wood is to be land-filled until new methods for handling the wood are available. Since the amounts of CCA-treated wood being removed from service is expected to increase in the years to come, the need for finding alternative handling methods is very relevant. In this study, the usefulness of Electrodialytic Remediation was demonstrated for handling of CCA-treated waste wood in pilot scale. The electrodialytic remediation method, which uses a low-level direct current (DC) as the cleaning agent, combines electrokinetic movement of ions in the wood matrix with the principles of electrodialysis. It has previously been shown that it is possible to remove Cu, Cr and As from CCA-treated wood using electrodialytic remediation in laboratory scale, but until now, the method had not been studied in large scale. The pilot-scale plant used in this study was designed to contain up to 2 m³ wood chips. Six remediation experiments were carried out. In these experiments, the process was up-scaled stepwise by increasing the distance between the electrodes from initially 60 cm to finally 150 cm. The remediation time was varied between 11 and 21 days, and phosphoric acid and/or oxalic acid was used to facilitate the desorption of CCA from the wood. In the most successful of the experiments carried out, the concentration of CCA in the wood was reduced by up to 82% for Cr, 88% for Cu and at least 96% for As.     

Sensitivity of soil parameters in unsaturated zone modelling and the relation between effective,laboratory and in situ estimates

Simulation of soil moisture content requires effective soil hydraulic parameters that are valid at the modelling scale. This study investigates how these parameters can be estimated by inverse modelling using soil moisture measurements at 25 locations at three different depths (at the surface, at 30 and 60 cm depth) on an 80 by 20 m hillslope. The study presents two global sensitivity analyses to investigate the sensitivity in simulated soil moisture content of the different hydraulic parameters used in a one‐dimensional unsaturated zone model based on Richards' equation. For estimation of the effective parameters the shuffled complex evolution algorithm is applied. These estimated parameters are compared to their measured laboratory and in situ equivalents. Soil hydraulic functions were estimated in the laboratory on 100 cm³ undisturbed soil cores collected at 115 locations situated in two horizons in three profile pits along the hillslope. Furthermore, in situ field saturated hydraulic conductivity was estimated at 120 locations using single‐ring pressure infiltrometer measurements. The sensitivity analysis of 13 soil physical parameters (saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_s), saturated moisture content (θ_s), residual moisture content (θ_r), inverse of the air‐entry value (α), van Genuchten shape parameter (n), Averjanov shape parameter (N) for both horizons, and depth (d) from surface to B horizon) in a two‐layer single column model showed that the parameter N is the least sensitive parameter. K_s of both horizons, θ_s of the A horizon and d were found to be the most sensitive parameters. Distributions over all locations of the effective parameters and the distributions of the estimated soil physical parameters from the undisturbed soil samples and the single‐ring pressure infiltrometer estimates were found significantly different at a 5% level for all parameters except for α of the A horizon and K_s and θ_s of the B horizon. Different reasons are discussed to explain these large differences. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Orbit determination by four observations

An elliptic orbit is determined from two short-arc pairs of observations at different oppositions by the angular momentum integral. Other methods for initial orbit determination than the classical do exist.     

The pole of (51) Nemausa

The complex lightcurves make (51) Nemausa a good case for the study of general methods for pole determination. From six lightcurves the pole is determined to 20^h24^m; +53° (1950); the rotation is retrograde with period 7^h.782936 ± 0^h.000005. Presence of nongeometric scattering is proved by a significant 0.008 mag amplitude. Formulae and photometric elements are given for predictions of the shapes of lightcurves in future oppositions. The precision of the Fourier coefficients may be reduced below the present ±0.003 mag level by avoiding the systematic errors in the observations due to phase factor variations and discontinuities when changing comparison stars.     

Macroparasites of angelfish Brama brama (Bonnaterre, 1788) in the southern Benguela Current ecosystem

The angelfish Brama brama is a mesopelagic species distributed circumglobally in temperate to warm-temperate waters, including continental-shelf-edge and upper-slope waters of the Benguela Current ecosystem. Little is known about the parasite assemblage of Benguela B. brama, with only three parasite taxa having previously been documented from this species in the southern Benguela. This study describes the macroparasites recorded from 35 B. brama collected during research surveys off the west coast of South Africa in 2015 and 2016. A total of six macroparasite taxa were documented, including the nematode Anisakis pegreffii, the copepod Hatschekia conifera, the cestode Hepatoxylon trichiuri, an acanthocephalan from the genus Rhadinorhynchus, a monogenean from the family Diclidophoridae, and an unidentified species. Three of these (He. trichiuri, Rhadinorhynchus sp. and the unidentified species) had not previously been found to infect B. brama. The most prevalent macroparasite taxa were A. pegreffii (94%), the unidentified species (71%) and Ha. conifera (60%). Two of the parasites, Ha. conifera and He. trichiuri, showed seasonal variation in infection, and infection with the latter was positively correlated with host length. These findings increase our knowledge of B. brama biology and contribute to our understanding of the biodiversity of the southern Benguela ecosystem.     

Environmental technology—Combining environmental improvement and industrial development

This paper briefly gives the Norwegian government's perspective and role in promoting developments in environmental technologies. These are necessary to create environmental improvements, and thus comply with environmental standards, against a background of increasing industrial demands and developments. The role of governments in promoting and increasing co-operation and collaboration with industry is discussed. For example, the European EUREKA programme aims to promote advanced technologies but against the present environmentally sound criteria.