Selected Monitoring Locations Research Articles

CONTAMINATION OF HEAVY METALS IN SOIL OF MANDIDEEP INDUSTRIAL AREA, MADHYA PRADESH, INDIA

A study has been conducted to assess the heavy metal contamination in soil of Dewas industrial area of Madhya Pradesh, India. Total twelve locations and one control location were selected in Dewas industrial area for soil quality monitoring w.r.t. heavy metals. The thirteen soil samples were monitored for heavy metals such as Chromium (Cr), Manganese (Mn), Nickel (Ni), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Iron (Fe), Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb) and Cobalt (Co) analysis during different four quarters from April 2018 to March 2019. The present study is an attempt to visualize the heavy metal contamination with w.r.t. Contamination Index (CI), Pollution Load Index (PLI) study in selected locations in Mandideep industrial area. Over all Pollution Load Index of soil was found greater than one which shows polluted soil w.r.t. heavy metals at all selected monitoring locations in Mandideep industrial area of Madhya Pradesh, India during this study. KEY WORDS: Industrial Area, Soil, Heavy Metals, Contamination Index (CI), Pollution Load Index (PLI)

Relating Watershed Characteristics to Elevated Stream Escherichia coli Levels in Agriculturally Dominated Landscapes: An Iowa Case Study

Fecal Indicator Bacteria (FIB) such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) are a leading cause of surface water impairments in the United States. However, the relative impacts of different watershed characteristics on microbial water quality in agriculturally dominated watersheds are unclear. Spatial and statistical analyses were utilized to examine relationships between watershed characteristics and FIB and a multiple regression model was created. Geometric mean E. coli concentration data were obtained for 395 ambient water quality monitoring locations in Iowa. Watersheds were delineated for thirty randomly selected monitoring locations and drainage areas ranged from 93 to 1.1 million hectares. Watershed characteristics examined include area, presence of animal units (open feed lots and confinements), percent of watershed area receiving manure application, presence of point-source discharges, and land cover. The results from the analyses reveal that the presence of animal feeding operations and agriculture, wetland, and woody vegetation land covers are the most influential watershed characteristics regarding E. coli concentration. A significant positive correlation was identified between E. coli concentration and agriculture while significant negative correlations were identified with animal feeding operations and wetland and woody vegetation. Establishing relationships between watershed characteristics and presence of E. coli is needed to identify dominant watershed characteristics contributing to pathogen water impairments and to prioritize remediation efforts.

Stratified and nonstratified areas in the N orth S ea: Long‐term variability and biological and policy implications

The European Unions' Marine Strategy Framework Directive aims to limit anthropogenic influences in the marine environment. But marine ecosystems are characterized by high variability, and it is not trivial to define its natural state. Here, we use the physical environment as a basis for marine classification, as it determines the conditions in which organisms must operate to survive and thrive locally. We present a delineation of the North Sea into five distinct regimes, based on multidecadal stratification characteristics. Results are based on a 51 year simulation of the region using the coupled hydrobiogeochemical model GETM-ERSEM-BFM. The five identified regimes are: permanently stratified, seasonally stratified, intermittently stratified, permanently mixed, and Region Of Freshwater Influence (ROFI). The areas characterized by these regimes show some interannual variation in geographical coverage, but are overall remarkable stable features within the North Sea. Results also show that 29% of North Sea waters fail to classify as one of the defined stratification regimes, due to high interannual variability. Biological characteristics of these regimes differ from diatom-based food webs in areas with prolonged stratification to Phaeocystis-dominated food webs in areas experiencing short-lived or no stratification. The spatial stability of the identified regimes indicates that carefully selected monitoring locations can be used to represent a substantive area of the North Sea.

Modelling Saharan dust transport into the Mediterranean basin with CMAQ

The need for a better quantification of the influence of Saharan dust transport processes on the air quality modelling in the Mediterranean basin led to the formulation of a dust emission module (DEM) integrated into the Air Quality Risk Assessment System for the Iberian Peninsula (SERCA). This paper is focused on the formulation of DEM based on the GOCART aerosol model, along with its integration and execution into the air quality model. It also addresses the testing of the module and its evaluation by contrasting results against satellite products such as MODIS and CALIPSO and ground-level observations of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) and concentration levels of PM10 for different periods in July 2007. DEM was found capable of reproducing the spatial (horizontal and vertical) and temporal profiles of Saharan dust outbreaks into the Mediterranean basin and the Atlantic coast of Africa. Moreover, it was observed that its combination with CMAQ increased the correlation degree between observed and modelled PM10 concentrations at the selected monitoring locations. DEM also enhanced CMAQ capabilities to reproduce observed AOT, although significant underestimations remain. The implementation of CMAQ + DEM succeeded in capturing Saharan dust transport into the Iberian Peninsula, with contributions up to 25 and 14 μg m−3 in 1 h and 24 h average PM10 respectively. The general improvement of total PM10 predictions in Spain are however moderate. The analysis of model performance for the main PM components points out that remaining PM10 underestimation is due to dust local sources missing in the inventories and misrepresentation of organic aerosol processes, which constitutes the main areas for future improvement of CMAQ capabilities to simulate particulate matter within SERCA.

An investigation of gamma background radiation in Hamadan province, Iran

The general population, everywhere in the world is exposed to a small dose of ionising radiation from natural sources. Stochastic effects such as cancer and genetic disorders are caused when living creatures are exposed to low doses. In Iran, it is measured in some cities, especially in high-background areas such as Ramsar, but so far there is no measurement in the Hamadan province. Hamadan is located in the west of Iran. Measurements were performed using a RDS-110 survey meter, CaSO(4):Dy thermoluminecense dosimetries (TLDs) and a Harshaw 4000 TLD reader. To estimate the dose rate outdoors, four stations along the main directions (north, south, west and east) and one in the town centre were selected. Mean annual X and gamma equivalent dose in Hamadan province are 1.12±0.22 and 1.66±0.07 mSv, which related to RDS-110 survey meter and TLDs measurements, respectively. The TLDs and RDS-110 results are representative of the external photon radiation doses for the selected monitoring locations and for those locations for the hours during which the measurements were taken, respectively. Maximum and minimum of external photon radiation doses are related to Hamadan and Kaboudar-Ahang towns, respectively. According to the results of the study, it seems that the annual X and gamma equivalent dose in Hamadan province exceeded the global mean external exposure amounts by the UNSCEAR, and further studies are needed to measure internal exposures to determine the total environmental radiation level in Hamadan province.

South Florida Water Management District ambient pesticide monitoring network: 1992 to 2007

The South Florida Water Management District has collected surface water and sediment samples for analysis of over 80 pesticides since 1992. Residues of atrazine and DDE-p,p(') are nearly ubiquitous throughout the sampling area. Surface water concentrations of atrazine at nine of 14 selected monitoring locations exhibited a downward trend and none of the detected concentrations exceeded established levels of concern. Seventy-five percent of the sampled locations had average sediment residues of DDE-p,p(') at levels that may impact sediment-dwelling organisms. Monitoring locations with the highest average DDE-p,p(') concentrations (based on detected values) and the highest percentage of pesticide detections did not exhibit consistent trends. Some locations exhibited increasing trends while trends at other locations showed a decrease in concentrations. Additionally, specific location concentrations for ethion, diazinon, and endosulfan documented periods of surface water quality exceedances. However, product label changes and grower education have substantially contributed to the reduced number of exceedances over time.

Trends in pollutant concentrations in relation to time of recharge and reactive transport at the groundwater body scale

Summary To quantify the threat of pollutants to present and future groundwater quality requires detecting trends in groundwater quality. We related the measured concentrations of pollutants from selected monitoring locations in the Sand Meuse groundwater body to the time of recharge determined by 3 H/ 3 He as a means to aggregate the measurements and detect trends that are significant for the entire groundwater body. The aim of this study was to (1) define under what conditions the concentrations of reactive solutes may be related to travel times; (2) identify solute specific trends; (3) assess which geochemical processes are responsible for these trends using a geochemical model (PHREEQC); and (4) distinguish between different types of trends. The observed trends in the concentrations of Cl are solely the result of historical changes in chloride concentrations in recharging groundwater. Cation exchange influences the trends in the concentrations of K and Ca, and heavy metals, and to a lesser extent also Na and Mg. Trends in the concentrations of NO 3 and SO 4 are the combined result of changing recharge concentrations and the process of pyrite oxidation. Fe, As, Ni and Zn are released during pyrite oxidation and these trends are indirectly the result of changing land use practices. We distinguish three types of trends in the concentrations of solutes related to time of recharge. These are the result of: (1) the anthropogenic trends in historical concentrations in recharging groundwater unaltered during conservative transport through the groundwater body, (2) anthropogenic trends in recharge concentrations altered by reactions during transport and (3) geochemical reactions in the subsurface that are triggered by anthropogenic changes in the recharge concentrations of other solutes.

Identification of Contaminant Sources in Water Distribution Systems Using Simulation–Optimization Method: Case Study

In this paper, the authors propose a new approach, the simulation–optimization method, to solve a nonlinear contaminant-source and release-history identification problem for a complex water distribution system. This approach is based on optimization analysis, using the EPANET water distribution system model as a simulator. In this approach, EPANET is used to generate concentrations at arbitrarily selected monitoring locations by specifying release histories of potential contaminant sources that are arbitrarily located within the water distribution system. This information is used in a continuous optimal predictor–corrector algorithm to identify the sources and their release histories. Throughout the simulation sequence, the water distribution system being studied is assumed to operate under known hydraulic operational patterns. The optimization model that is used as a corrector to estimate the release histories of the contaminant sources is designed to identify the similarity between the simulation response and measured data at monitoring locations. This information exchange is developed as a closed-loop system resulting in a convergent algorithm. Three scenarios, derived from the publicly documented Dover Township (Toms River), N.J., water-distribution system are tested using the proposed approach. Results show that the approach is effective, efficient, and robust in identifying locations and release histories of contaminant sources.