Natural Water Basins Research Articles

Water-Ecosystems-Food nexus security achievement in the context of climate change: the case study of an agricultural Mediterranean Basin, Greece

Natural resources conservation is considered indispensable for a sustainable future. A thorough managerial analysis of the current and future conservation and availability to meet future demands is both necessary and challenging. As water of adequate quantity and good quality is required for a favourable condition of natural ecosystems and for agricultural production, a comprehensive analysis which would consider hydrological, environmental and agricultural dimensions is needed to properly address their interactions and potential impacts. This study presents a Water-Ecosystems-Food (WEF) nexus methodological flamework aiming at identification and mitigation of critical challenges. The framework is tested in a highly productive water basin in north Greece, the Kokkinorema River Bain, which is also characterised by intense agriculture practices. The presented methodological approach was developed in the context of a natural resources sustainability scheme adapted by the national funded AgroClim project. The selection and prioritisation of the most efficient measures, including Nature-based Solutions, would be driven by a Decision Support System (DSS) tool which will feed upon ecological, social, economic and legislative information. The proposed DSS will also incorporate future climate scenarios to evaluate and address expected future water scarcity, ecosystems degradation and reduced agricultural productivity issues. The proposed methodology for addressing nexus challenges could be transferred to any other natural resources-stressed water basin with similar characteristics.

SWRO concentrates for more efficient wastewater reclamation

Developing technical alternatives to increase the volume of remediated waters is a promising way to alleviate pressure on natural water basins. However, the extra energy consumed in Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs), mainly powered by fossil fuels, hampers this strategy. This work focuses on promoting efficient upgrading alternatives of treated waters by recovering energy within the treatment process. The approach consists on the recovery and integration of Salinity Gradient Energy (SGE) generated from the contact between SWRO brines and reclaimed wastewaters in reverse electrodialysis modules. The analysis of opportunity of implementing integrated processes in Spanish WWTPs near SWRO desalination plants is tackled. 16 SWRO-WWTP pairs have been inventoried, 10 of them located in Jucar and Segura river basins, hot spot areas for water reclamation. A gross power density of 0.46 W/m2 (71 Wh/m3 reclaimed water) of SGE has been generated in the contact between SWRO brines and reclaimed wastewater, increased up to 0.23 kWh/m3 in the most favourable scenario. Estimates of freshwater withdrawals savings up to 434,387 m3/day within the selected installations are obtained. Decrease in water abstraction and integration of renewable source of energy in the remediation process will contribute to water sources protection and water industry decarbonisation.

Assessment of drought conditions over Iraqi transboundary rivers using FLDAS and satellite datasets

Study regionMiddle East. Study focusDroughts are a major natural disaster in almost every region of the world, causing negative impacts on natural resources and water basin management. However, it is challenging to study drought mechanisms in transboundary rivers where hydrometeorological observations are often not available or limited due to administrative issues. This study aims to assess drought conditions at three Iraqi transboundary river basins – (a) Mosul River Basin (between Iraq and Turkey), (b) Qadisiyah River Basin (between Iraq, Syria and Turkey), and (c) Dukan River Basin (between Iraq and Iran). The Famine Early Warning Systems Network Land Data Assimilation System (FLDAS) and satellite datasets have been used to calculate various drought indices and reservoir areas for the study period between 1987 and 2019. New hydrological insights for the regionsWe exhibited the usefulness of FLDAS and satellite datasets in analyzing the variations and trends in hydro-meteorological variables and reservoirs surface areas over three transboundary river basins. Results exposed a significant drought exacerbation over the study regions during the periods of 1989–1991, 2000–2003, 2007–2012, and 2015–2018. Based on our analysis on drought duration and severity for inside- and outside- Iraq, we suggest the long-term meteorological drought indices (12-,24-month timescales) in monitoring drought conditions. Our results could be beneficial for water and natural resources managers in understanding spatial variability and impact of droughts.

Ophthalmohelminthiasis in the Water Basins of Armenia

Ophthalmohelminthiasis are rather widespread in the natural and artificial water basins of Armenia. Totally 126 fish of 7 species have been researched. Fish was taken from the pond farms of the Ararat, Armavir, Kotayk and Aragatsotn regions, as well as from the rivers and ponds of the Ararat valley, the river Hrazdan and Lake Sevan. During the investigations 4 species of pathogens have been detected: Diplostomum spathaceum, D. rutili, D. mergi, and Tylodelphys clavata. The metacercariae of the pathogen of Diplostomum spathaceum have been detected in the fish of relatively well-maintained basins, while those of D. rutili have been detected in the fish of waterbasins contaminated with sewage waters.

QUESTIONS ON OPTIMUM DEVELOPMENT OF COMPLEX FOR MULTI-POINT CONTROL AND EVALUATION OF CONTAMINATION OF WATER BASINS POLLUTED BY WASTE WATER OF MINING AND PROCESSING PLANTS

The paper is devoted to questions on optimum development of complex for control and evaluation of contamination of water basins used for collection of industrial waste water. The purpose of the paper is development of scientific-methodical basics for development of measuring system for control and evaluation of contamination of natural water basins with heavy metals using method of attenuation of irradiation of dissolved organic matters excited by external irradiation. The task on optimization of operational regime of measuring complex for control and evaluation of contamination of natural water basins by waste water of large scale point type polluter of environment with heavy metals. The known model of Shtern-Volmer is used as a basis which assumes non-linear relationship between formed complex and fluorescent irradiations attenuation degree. It is noted that potential possibilities of Shtern-Volmers model are used not fully till now. So that in known researches the water objects polluted by several same sources are mainly researched. It is shown that Shtern-Volmer model is also applicable for analysis and estimation of pollution of water basins by single strong polluter that is mining and processing plants. For analysis the suggested special parameter, inversely proportional to concentration of heavy metals in water is used. Integration of this parameter on all possible values of heavy metals concentration and imposition of special limitation condition on the searched for function of dependence of attenuated part of fluorescent irradiation on maximum concentration of heavy metals make it possible to formulate and solve the task on searching of optimum type of this function providing for the optimum regime of operation of the complex.

Open questions for public water management: Discussions from Uruguay's restatization process

In Uruguay, potable water services—privatized during the neoliberal period—were set to return to the public sphere in the mid-2000s. This was a promising scenario as it entailed a wide scope for development. However, over a decade after this process was set in motion, the results are discouraging. The new problems in public water management have to do with outsourcing key areas and covert privatization processes. Furthermore, rate reforms transferred the problems created in natural water basins to mass users, which implies a form of water privatization as the entire society subsidizes the environmental costs of pollution (Ribeiro, 2006).There is a wide variety of gray areas between the public management model, where service provision is a common good and a state responsibility, and the private management model, where the service becomes a commodity.This paper analyzes the restatization and public management of drinking water services in Uruguay according to a state logic and its inertias in the transition from neoliberal to progressive administrations. Institutional inertia is critical in these experiences because it renders services the joint and complex result of combining a state logic and a privatization logic, where public oversight and community participation are mentioned by some government authorities but excluded in practice. This is what Gautreau and Perrier have called neoliberal resilience (2019). These logics intertwine perversely in key management areas, such as rate structures.

Plutonium and Americium Inventories in Soil Cores from the English Lake District, Cumbria (UK)

Environmental radioactivity has been reported in the stationary wetlands closer to the natural water basins in Great Britain, precisely in the English Lake District (Cumbria, UK) often emphasise on the investigation carried out through either high-resolution γ-ray spectroscopy or α-particle spectroscopy. The objective of the study is the evaluation of trace actinide (241Am) through environments radioactivity measurements of two Lakes in the Lake District using a broad-energy, high-resolution γ-ray spectroscopy germanium (BEGe) detector. These appeal to the need to determine the radioactive concentration (Bq/g) in the soil samples with the intent being to discern natural and anthropogenic contributions, and trends in abundances associated with influences of the landscape over time, at trace levels in the environment. These measurements highlight potential benefits for the assessment of 241Am and 241Pu, especially comparisons that might be made with accelerator mass spectrometry assessments (AMS). This study intents to offer an inclusive investigation practise for determining the levels of radioactivity in soil cores, as well as the method for statistical analysis approach to calculate the activity of a soil sample, with a special emphasis on categorising the natural and anthropogenic contributors to trace amounts of plutonium in the environment, that is, less than500 fg/g.

ABOUT POSSIBILITIES OF THE SECONDARY WASTEWATER USING OF THE BIOENERGETIC COMPLEX

The analysis of the general physical and chemical indicators and the maintenance of heavy metals of sewage of a bioenergy complex is carried out. It is established that the sedimentation rate of suspended particles in wastewater depends on the location of filtration fields with wastewater from the source of contamination. At the source, there is a maximum excess of the number of suspended particles with a minimum deposition rate. In all wastewater samples, the indicators of chemical and biological oxygen consumption exceeded the permissible standards by three orders of magnitude for reservoirs for recreational water use and those located within the settlements. Thus, this water cannot be discharged into any natural water basin and requires additional purification from organic matter. Also for this water, the use of biological treatment methods without additional chemicals is ineffective. The presence of a complex of macro- and microelements in wastewater in combination with a high content of organic matter (humus and sulfonic acids) may be the basis for their use as raw material for fertilizer production.

HYDRO-HYGIENIC ASSESSMENT OF FRESH WATER IN POLTAVA REGION FOR DRINKING AND RECREATIONAL USE

The problem of providing the needs of the population of Ukraine with quality drinking water in the XXI century from the actual becomes a sharp one. The question is not only the reduction of quantitative volumes unleavened water, which is threatened by a crisis of drinking water supply to certain regions of the country, and also that it is the first place to act quality of natural waters, which does not satisfy modern hygienic requirements. This is due to the increased pollution of natural water basins by industrial waste, agricultural production and municipal water consumption. In the medical and ecological-hygienic aspect, the issues of obligate contamination of water sources with global toxicants of organic and inorganic nature, disinfection of drinking and economic waters, sewage treatment, water preparation, etc. are the foremost issues. In this work, data from the State Environmental Protection Department in the Poltava region (2010 - 2017), Statistical materials of the sanitary-epidemiological situation in the water supply of the region were used. According to the Poltava regional water resources department, the river network of the Poltava region includes: one large river - the Dnieper, which flows within the region on a 145 km long section, 8 medium rivers with a total length of 1360 km (Psel, Khorol, Vorskla, Sula, Uday, Orzhitsa, Oril, Merla) and 1771 small rivers, watercourses and streams with a total length of 11501 km. The main aquifer horizons suitable for drinking use in the region are: Quaternary (alluvial) Poltava, Kharkiv, Buchak, Sineman-Lower Cretaceous and Jurassic. In total in the Poltava region there are more than 200 thousand shaft wells, which are used by about 605 thousand people (36% of the population). In 56% of wells, a significant excess of nitrate content was detected. Nitrates fall into the horizons of groundwater with human and animal waste (from non-concreted cesspools), and excessive nitrogen fertilization. In general, provision of the Poltava region with unleavened water for drinking and recreational purposes can be considered sufficient. But in relation to qualitative indicators there are problematic periods - the hot season is unfavorable for water supply of settlements on the water intake from the Dniprodzerzhynsk reservoir basin. For the population using the underground water-mountain umbrellas (upper water, Poltava and partially Kharkiv), these problem periods are spring and autumn, when there is more intense pollution of these horizons by the flow of meltwater and rainwater.

Indicators of processes of oil contamination of bottom sediments in natural water basins from the data of model experiments

Indicators of processes of oil contamination of bottom sediments in natural water basins from the data of model experiments

NOVEL TEMPORARY AQUATIC HABITATS AND DESERT INVERTEBRATE COMMUNITIES

Abstract The addition of desert water developments alleviates water stress for a variety of organisms and is likely necessary for some species as water availability from other isolated water sources declines with climate change. However, constructed water catchments are different structurally and do not cycle water the same way as natural sites. We assessed whether these novel habitats, the constructed catchments of the Sonoran Desert, function as ecological equivalents of the natural waters and evaluated their effects on macroinvertebrate biodiversity, community composition, and trophic function. We documented an accumulation of ammonia and less diversity and different taxa assemblages in the novel habitat. We also documented a more heterotrophic food web in the natural water basins that are more dependent on resource pulses, and a more autotrophic food web in novel habitats that are more dependent on primary production from the open catchment basin. As natural resource managers continue to add constructed waters to mitigate for climate change induced declines in water availability, organisms are more likely to encounter these novel habitats as they disperse. Consequently, by increasing the density of these novel habitats we are having a measurable effect on the types of species and trophic groups present as well as the ecosystem cycling of energy and nutrients across the desert landscape. The consequences of these shifts in invertebrate community composition and ecosystem cycling on the larger desert ecosystem is unknown.

Experimental Determination of Acoustic Field Characteristics in a Natural Shallow Water Basin in Different Seasons of the Year

The results from processing data obtained in a series of field experiments on sound propagation in a natural shallow water basin are presented. The focus is on identifying the mode structure. Vertical profiles of the acoustic pressure and spectrograms of the basin’s response function are analyzed.

ДОМЕСТИКАЦИЯ РАЗНОВОЗРАСТНЫХ ОСОБЕЙ, ПОЛУЧЕНИЕ ПОТОМСТВА И ВЫРАЩИВАНИЕ СЕГОЛЕТОК СУДАКА В РЫБОВОДНОМ ХОЗЯЙСТВЕ АЛМАТИНСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ КАЗАХСТАНА

The article highlights the research and developing biotechnological techniques of breeding resilient pikeperch stocking material in the fish farms of the southern Kazakhstan. There have been described biotechnical events to store up the broodstock and individuals of different age taken from the natural water-basin in order to form breeding stock for the fish farm. There have been given the values of mass, commercial length and fatness of species of early age groups; mass, commercial length, fatness and stage of maturity of pikeperch males and females.The comparative characteristic of statistically processed fish-breeding and biological parameters of pikeperch males and females has been suggested. The dynamics of general hydrochemical parameters of fish ponds has been presented, conditions for breeding pikeperch yearlings being defined as most available. The characteristic of productive possibilities of the wild pikeperch sires during periods of spawning, incubation of roe and producing the larvae has been given. There have been described biotechnological methods of carrying out pikeperch spawning in spawning cages on nests, incubation of eggs in apparatus "Amur" in conditions of the hatchery. The data on breeding pikeperch yearlings from fry reared in cages are presented. There has been found out the possibility to use starting trout feed along with live feed. The characteristics of fish-breeding and biological parameters of pikeperch yearlings bred in polyculture with carp fishes in the ponds. The recommendations on the part of main parameters that are optimal for forming pikeperch broodstockin conditions of the pond farms of the southern Kazakhstan have been given.

ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЕ КРИОКОНСЕРВИРОВАННОЙ СПЕРМЫ ДЛЯ ФОРМИРОВАНИЯ МАТОЧНОГО СТАДА СТЕРЛЯДИ

The research on the sterlet roe artificial insemination using cryopreserved sperm was carried out in the research base of the RAS Southern Scientific Centre (the Rostov region). Reproductive cells (including cryopreserved cells), larvae, sterlet fry ( Acipenser ruthenus Linnaeus, 1758) were taken as an object of research. A half of the roe (1.7 kg) taken from female starlet was inseminated by native sperm (control group); another half was inseminated by defrosted sperm of two males, which was stored in liquid nitrogen at -196ºC during 3 years (pilot group). Incubation lasted 5 days at water temperature 14.5-18.2ºC, with daily fluctuations of temperature 1.9ºC. Roe insemination in the control group made 90%, in the pilot group - 70%. Roe embryonic growth in the control group was faster, but embryogenesis duration in the pilot group met the standard time limits. Hatching prolarvae in the control group started one hour earlier, than in the pilot group; it made 75% and 60% of all incubated roe, correspondingly. Waste during the period of larvae maturing before they pass to mixed feeding was negligible - 2% in the control group and 3.4% in the pilot group. According to the test results, "open field" of reactivity of the central nervous system in the pilot group fry didn’t change from the control group fry, but more active response to stimuli was noted in the pilot group, which is very important for fry adaptation to the conditions in natural water basins. It was established that sterlet offspring obtained with use of defrosted sexual cells does not differ from the offspring obtained using native sperm and has higher morphometric characteristics. The test results prove the possibility and practicability of using sexual cells stored in liquid nitrogen for artificial restoration and formation of sturgeon fish broodstocks.

СТРАТЕГИЧЕСКИЕ НАПРАВЛЕНИЯ РАЗВИТИЯ РЫБНОГО ХОЗЯЙСТВА УКРАИНЫ

In terms of the current state of fish industry in Ukraine, a detailed analysis of literary, practical, legislative materials, scientific and technical information of the state of fish industry and aquaculture has been presented. The fish industry of Ukraine has been characterized as a component of the world fisheries complex having the same general problems of the development of aquaculture, as well as national problems stipulating its protracted crisis (lack of genetic material, food, funds, natural risks related to the management of water resources, aquatic specimens’ diseases, predation, and deficiency in water resources). Strategic goals, tasks and development prospects of fisheries activities in Ukraine have been formulated: protection, reproduction and rational use of fish supplies in natural water basins, implementation of advanced resource-saving and energy-conserving techniques of fish production in water bodies of different genesis and different purpose. An important role is assigned to the fish-breeding, land-reclamation works and compensating activities, connected to artificially created ichthyofauna. The article focuses on need of the state support for the revival and development of fish industry in Ukraine, which must become one of the key elements of the controlling mechanism over business enterprises.

Recovery of heavy metal ions with calcium peroxide microparticles

Sorption properties of micrometer calcium peroxide particles produced by the chemical reaction between calcium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide were studied. The dependences of the sorption properties of CaO2 particles on temperature and acidity of the medium were used to find the optimal values of these parameters at which the sorption of metals is at the maximum. It was shown that CaO2 particles are nearly as good in sorption properties with hematite and goethite nanoparticles and possess antifungal properties exceeding the corresponding characteristics of sulfur and silver nanoparticles. The simplicity of the method used to obtain the product containing 73% CaO2, low expenditure due to the application of large-tonnage starting reagents, and its good sorption and antimicrobial properties make it possible to recommend this compound for purification of wastewater, natural water basins, and soil to remove heavy metal ions, with the simultaneous detoxication of these objects.

Antibiotic resistance profiles of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from various Greek aquatic environments.

A large number of antibiotic-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates are continuously discharged into natural water basins mainly through sewage. However, the environmental reservoirs of antibiotic resistance factors are poorly understood. In this study, the antibiotic resistance patterns of 245 isolates from various aquatic sites in Greece were analysed. Twenty-three isolates with resistance patterns cefotaxime-aztreonam-ceftazidime, cefotaxime-aztreonam-meropenem, cefotaxime-ceftazidime-meropenem, cefotaxime-ceftazidime-aztreonam-meropenem and cefotaxime-ceftazidime-cefepime-aztreonam-meropenem were screened phenotypically for the presence of extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), while 77 isolates with various resistant phenotypes were screened for the presence of class 1 and class 2 integrase genes. The aztreonam-resistant isolates and ESBL producers were the main resistant phenotypes in all habitats tested. In 13/77 isolates class 1 integron was detected, while all tested isolates were negative for the presence of the class 2 integrase gene. CTX-M group 9 β-lactamase was present in a small number of isolates (three isolates) highlighting the emergence of ESBL genes in aquatic environments. As a conclusion, it seems that Greek water bodies could serve as a potential reservoir of resistant P. aeruginosa isolates posing threats to human and animal health.

Impact of wildfires on lakeside tamarisk communities in Northern Caspian Sea region

The current state and resilience to wildfire disturbances of the natural tamarisk (Tamarix laxa Willd) communities at on the coasts of Lake Buluchta, a salt lake, Caspian Depression (the Volga and Ural Rivers interfluve) is considered. The unique ecosystems of the natural Tamarisk communities are able to persist in specific biotopes of natural water basins only.

The Best Available Technology of Water/Wastewater Treatment and Seawater Desalination: Simulation of the Open Sky Seawater Distillation

This review suggests the concept of the best available technology of water/wastewater treatment and seawater desalination which is in fact a simulation of the seawater distillation at the open sky: coagulation in salty water aerated basin/ coagulation using seawater as coagulant solution with distillation using stored solar energy followed by waterfall on a natural mountain. This natural, green, and technico-economical technology is composed of three steps: the first one is coagulation which may be achieved: 1) in salty water aerated basin (air stripping, AS; dissolved air flotation, DAF) where the raw water is “diluted” in seawater; or 2) in “conventional” coagulation using seawater as coagulant solution instead of alum/ferric salts. The first option seems to be more natural as it simulates river water dilution in seawater and the second one is more practical for “rapid” water consummation. For colloids and microorganisms’ removal, double-layer compression and charge neutralisation, as main coagulation and disinfection mechanisms, would be involved in the first and second options, respectively. Aerated basin (AS/DAF) reproduces the natural aeration to simulate healthy natural water basin. Using stored solar energy, distillation as the best liquid-solid/liquid-liquid separation process provides the removal of dissolved pollutants. For well balanced calco-carbonic equilibrium, the last step of this green treatment is the waterfall on a natural mountain providing useful gases, dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide, and mineral salts to the water.

The effect of CO2 and salinity on the cultivation of Scenedesmus obliquus for biodiesel production

Biodiesel is a renewable and environmental friendly energy source that can be produced via tranesterification from various oil crops such as soy bean, sunflower, palm, and algae. In this work, the microalgae Scenedesmus obliquus, S. armatus and S. bernadii, isolated from natural water basins, were enriched in modified Chu 13 medium. Only S. obliquus showed significant oil accumulation and was thus further cultivated in 3 L tubular photo-reactors under mixotrophic conditions (16:8 h light-dark cycle) at room temperature and varying CO2 (5, 10, and 15%) supply. The results indicated that S. obliquus can be grown under various CO2 concentrations. A maximum biomass of 2.3 g/L was achieved when 15% CO2 was used. The effect of salinity on oil storage was also considered, using sodium chloride (NaCl) solutions of varying concentrations (0.05, 0.2, and 0.3 M). Higher lipid contents were found in cells that were subjected to salt stress compared to those in conditions without salt stress. A maximum oil accumulation of 36% was observed within 15 days at 0.3 M NaCl. A biodiesel yield of up to 97.4% was obtained.