South Pond Research Articles

Nanchizi New Courtyard Housing in Beijing: Residents’ Perceptions and Experiences of the Redevelopment

Cultural sustainability is the theoretical framework for this study, which investigates Nanchizi (“South Pond”) new courtyard housing experimental project constructed in Beijing, China, in 2003. It is located in a traditional courtyard house neighborhood right to the east of the Forbidden City, in a culturally and politically sensitive area that the initial scheme had even caught the attention of UNESCO. The redevelopment project has restored numerous single-storey traditional courtyard houses that were in relatively good condition, demolished those in poor condition, and rebuilt two-storey new courtyard housing units with modern facilities and shared courtyards whose style and features resemble some aspects of Beijing siheyuan. This 2007-2008 onsite survey and semi-structured interviews with residents, project architect, and lead developer critically examine this approach to historic preservation in China. The findings reveal that communal courtyards promote social interaction and private courtyards facilitate cultural activities, despite some issues raised by the residents, including irrational unit design and poor construction quality, among others. The study attempts to offer valuable lessons and proposes a new courtyard garden house design template for discussion and future practice.

Organic matter accumulation and salinity change in open water areas within a saline boreal fen in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region, Canada

Saline boreal fens represent potential models for post-mining landscape reclamation in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (Canada) where wetland construction is challenged by salinization. One of the key indicators of reclamation success is the accumulation of organic matter within constructed fens. Thus, a better understanding of the linkages between salt content and organic matter storage in saline boreal fens can be useful for advancing fen construction in this region. As such, this study investigates how salinity fluctuations estimated by diatom-based transfer functions, coupled with changes in hydrological conditions and vegetation inferred from macrofossils have influenced organic matter accumulation rates (OMAR) over the last ~100 years in open-water areas (ponds) within a saline boreal fen near Fort McMurray, Alberta. Median OMAR (181 g m−2 yr−1) of the site suggests that the ponds situated within saline boreal fens can accumulate organic matter at a rate comparable to freshwater boreal and subarctic ponds, and the estimated salinity levels (3–21 ppt) did not severely affect organic matter accumulation. Strong significant positive (Lager Pond), strong significant negative (South Pond), and weak insignificant (Pilsner Pond) correlations between OMAR and diatom-inferred salinity were observed, suggesting that relations between organic matter accumulation and salt content are not straightforward, and salinity was not the main control on OMAR. Macrofossil data showed that organic matter accumulation has been mainly driven by water level, type of primary producers and pond regime. OMAR was the highest during the transition from peatland to ponds due to low decomposition rates resulting from high inputs of relatively resistant plant litter, and anoxic conditions. A macrophyte-dominated pond regime was associated with higher OMAR relative to algae-dominated regime.

Consolidation settlement of Salt Lake County tailings impoundment revealed by time-series InSAR observations from multiple radar satellites

Tailings impoundment failures may lead to catastrophically fatal, environmental and financial consequences. Monitoring the stability of tailings facility is therefore indispensable for sustainable mining development. Particularly, tailings experience gradual consolidation settlement as the pore pressure dissipates and the terrain subsides. However, field investigations and geotechnical analysis at tailings impoundment are limited by sparse field instrumentation due to high cost. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) can provide a full spatial view of settlement rate at millimeter-scale precision with bi-weekly or monthly updates. Here we integrate big remotely sensed data including multi-temporal and multi-spaceborne SAR images of ENVISAT, ALOS PALSAR-1, and Sentinel-1A, and SRTM DEM and LIDAR DEM, as well as water level data, to investigate the dynamics of consolidation settlement over the tailings impoundment area in the vicinity of Great Salt Lake, Utah. We show that the reclaimed south pond is experiencing enormous quasi-linear settlements with the largest rate of 200+ mm/yr around the low-permeable decant pond clay at the northeast corner during 2004–2011, and the rate decreases to 100+ mm/yr during 2015–2016. The nearly decadal InSAR measurements can be well-explained by geotechnical consolidation model, which reveals the long-term exponentially decaying settlement and predicts the settlement process in the near future. InSAR-derived displacement maps also highlight active motions of surrounding infrastructures, such as some highway segments. There is no clear evidence that the fluctuating deformation at those locations and seasonal varied water level are correlated. Our results demonstrate that high-resolution surface displacement measurements from InSAR can significantly improve our understanding of tailings settlement process and facilitate the monitoring of dams/infrastructures stability.

The ponds of Hattuša – early groundwater management in the Hittite kingdom

From about 1650 until 1200 BC Hattuša (pronounced Hattusha) was the capital of the Hittite Empire in central Asia Minor. On the steep terrain of today's ruined city lived and worked thousands of people whose homes, cattle, tools and places of worship had to be supplied with water. The question arose regarding how water was conveyed into the large-scale ponds in the urban area. The silted East Ponds (36,000 m3) and South Ponds (20,000 m3) have been excavated since the 1980s. A supply of the large volumes of water by a long pipeline from outside the city was repeatedly discussed. Due to the topographic, hydraulic and geo-hydrological conditions however, a long distance supply would have been uneconomic and also unnecessary. Still today, many willow fountains in the region are fed by artesian groundwater. It was therefore assumed that the ponds were cut into the slope aquifers and filled during the wet season. To verify this hypothesis, groundwater monitoring stations were installed in the autumn of 2009 directly uphill of the pond banks. Observed groundwater levels 2009–2011 are low in summer but rise above the former pond surfaces during winter. The Hittites used exfiltrating groundwater also in other reservoirs avoiding hefty and strongly varying surface inflows.

Design for Kids

Children, Youth and Environments Vol. 18 No. 2 (2008) ISSN: 1546-2250 Design for Kids Exley, Sharon and Exley, Peter (2007). The Images Publishing Group Pty Ltd.; 275 pages. $60. ISBN 1864701803. Being a designer who has worked with children and youth on participatory projects, I was excited when I first saw this book. It is colorful, has many beautiful and fun photographs and drawings, and is well-designed. The 44 projects illustrated within are sure to provide inspiration for others interested in designing spaces for children and youth or for potential clients looking to see what is possible. However, for more in-depth information about the design process and key components of designing for young people, the reader would be smart to look elsewhere. I found the first section, “Play with Architecture” and the last two sections, “Informants for Design: Teaching, Reflection, and Inquiry” and “Building the Dream” the most informative sections in the book. Within these sections, the authors, a man and wife team of art educator/painter and architect, share their philosophy and process for creating educative design™. This includes their TR(i)cycle method that incorporates teaching, reflection, and inquiry into the design process. Unfortunately, these three sections of the book only include a very brief overview rather than a through explanation of designing for young people. The majority of the book is dedicated to descriptions of spaces the authors have designed themselves. The project descriptions are grouped into the following categories: architectural, out-of-doors, experiential, exploratory, public, cultural, spiritual, and multigenerational . While these categories sound intriguing, they were not particularly meaningful as the projects described seemed to fit into multiple categories. It would have been more informative to group the projects by type, such as religious facilities, museums, educational centers, and the like. 251 The project descriptions are elegantly written, yet sound a little too much like selling points in a designer’s portfolio rather than reflections on projects that have been designed for children. For example, the section focused on the South Pond Nature Center describes a wonderfully rich concept for the re-design of an area in Lincoln Park in Chicago, Illinois. The illustrations present the design of a fun place for kids and parents alike. Unfortunately, however, this is all that is included. There is no information about the designers’ process, whether the project is slated to be built in the near future, or how much it will cost to build. I have personally worked on projects where a creative vision gets manipulated and altered beyond recognition due to restrictive budgets, bureaucratic decisions, doubts and resistance of maintenance staff, and a variety of other factors. Having experienced this, I would have found it extremely useful for the authors to include some of these details for the projects they presented in the book. For that same project in Lincoln Park, the authors state, “Outdoor learning nodes will foster an affinity for the natural world and develop an instinct to conserve it.” This is a bold statement that may indeed be true, yet is very dependent on the quality, accessibility and function of those “outdoor learning nodes.” If the purpose is to present a project that is conceptually strong and designed to foster a greater concern for the natural world, the authors would have been more persuasive by referencing studies that have shown this to be true. To their credit, the authors do recommend that people interested in designing for children learn about child development and educational theory by looking at the work of Roger Hart, Louise Chawla and Edith Cobb among others; however, this recommendation was buried on page 257. All of the project descriptions could have been improved by referencing the photos in the text, thus allowing the two to better complement each other, leading to a greater understanding of each project. The photos and drawings themselves are often not labeled other than with a very simple title, which left me wanting more information about each project. This was especially true for the floor plans and elevations. Although beautifully drawn, the authors 252 missed an opportunity to provide important details about each space, such as circulation patterns, layout, and size. Despite...

Optimisation of hydraulic performance to maximise faecal coliform removal in maturation ponds

The present study was conducted with the aim of improving faecal coliform (FC) and faecal streptococcus (FS) removal efficiencies in tertiary maturation stages of a sewage treatment plant in Southern England, where climatic conditions are sub-optimal. The research used intensive field assessments (bacteriological, general quality and hydraulic) to identify the parameters that affect the bacteriological quality of the effluent from three parallel maturation ponds (North, Central and South) of similar geometry and dimensions. An engineering intervention was carried out to convert the South pond to three channels to increase the L/W ratio from 9:1 to 79:1. Hydraulic tracer studies in the South pond with Rhodamine WT showed that the dispersion number ‘ d’ was reduced from 0.37 (dispersed flow) to 0.074 by this intervention under similar flow conditions (4.5 l/s). Hydraulic retention time was thus increased by 5 h, delay in jet flow short-circuiting was increased from 2.5 to 17.5 h thus increasing the exposure times for all elements. As a result of the intervention FC removal increased substantially. Maximum channel-lagoon efficiency of 99.84% was obtained at 4.5 l/s and 19 °C, when exposure to sunlight was 17 h in summer. It is concluded that the channel configuration produces a higher hydraulic efficiency than conventional maturation ponds. It is therefore recommended as a viable engineering solution which permits a low-cost upgrading of plant performance, requiring no additional land, and with minimal maintenance costs.

Stunting of Coho Salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch Parr Rearedin Wastewater‐Seawater Ponds

Abstract.After entering saline water coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch parr often cease to grow (stunt) and many stunts eventually die. Stunted coho parr occurred in an experimental wastewater‐seawater smolt production system constructed in 1971 on the northern arm of Humboldt Bay, Arcata, California, USA. In 1991 many stunted parr (1990 brood) were noted during transfer of juveniles from a 0.02‐ha shaded pond used for summer rearing (July‐December) to a 0.15‐ha unshaded pond used in winter‐spring rearing (January‐May). The cohort suffered a 42% mortality during summer rearing in low salinity water (7 ppt) but deaths due to stunting could not be estimated. When the summer parr were transferred for winter rearing to 15 ppt salinity water, a total mortality of 15% was nearly all related to stunting. A small sample of stunted, but otherwise normal‐appearing, parr found in smolt out‐migrant traps was retained for an additional year of rearing (February 1992—January 1993). There was a 29% survival in these stunts, with survivors attaining an average fork length of 16 cm (range 12–21 cm). The survivors exhibited parr, pre‐smolt, and “smolt‐like” external appearances. Five groups of 1990‐brood smolts were released into Humboldt Bay. They had rates of return to their point‐of‐release (South Pond) similar to other brood years released from the Arcata ponds and other northern California hatcheries. This suggested that whatever produced stunting in the 1990 brood acted independently of endocrinological or physiological factors that produce mortalities in smolts after entering saline water.

Quick selection guide to chemical protective clothing

Tailings impoundment failures may lead to catastrophically fatal, environmental and financial consequences. Monitoring the stability of tailings facility is therefore indispensable for sustainable mining development. Particularly, tailings experience gradual consolidation settlement as the pore pressure dissipates and the terrain subsides. However, field investigations and geotechnical analysis at tailings impoundment are limited by sparse field instrumentation due to high cost. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) can provide a full spatial view of settlement rate at millimeter-scale precision with bi-weekly or monthly updates. Here we integrate big remotely sensed data including multi-temporal and multi-spaceborne SAR images of ENVISAT, ALOS PALSAR-1, and Sentinel-1A, and SRTM DEM and LIDAR DEM, as well as water level data, to investigate the dynamics of consolidation settlement over the tailings impoundment area in the vicinity of Great Salt Lake, Utah. We show that the reclaimed south pond is experiencing enormous quasi-linear settlements with the largest rate of 200 + mm/yr around the low-permeable decant pond clay at the northeast corner during 2004–2011, and the rate decreases to 100 + mm/yr during 2015–2016. The nearly decadal InSAR measurements can be well-explained by geotechnical consolidation model, which reveals the long-term exponentially decaying settlement and predicts the settlement process in the near future. InSAR-derived displacement maps also highlight active motions of surrounding infrastructures, such as some highway segments. There is no clear evidence that the fluctuating deformation at those locations and seasonal varied water level are correlated. Our results demonstrate that high-resolution surface displacement measurements from InSAR can significantly improve our understanding of tailings settlement process and facilitate the monitoring of dams/infrastructures stability.

Alteration of salt marsh plant community composition by grazing snow geese

A notable omission from wetlands ecology has been the study of the influence of herbivores on vegetation. Reported here are the effects of grazing by snow geese Anser caerulescens altantica on the vegetation of salt marshes along the mid‐Atlantic coast of the United States, Exclosures were used to compare total and species percent cover between grazed and ungrazed areas in three marshes (Salt Flats, South Pond, and Bodie Island) with differing vegetation communities from 1978 to 1980. Spartina alterniflora was reduced by ⅔ in grazed versus ungrazed areas of Salt Flats, S. S. patens was reduced by ½ in grazed portions of South Pond but recovered when grazing ceased. In grazed portions of Bodie Island total plant cover was reduced by 16%. Scirpus robustus and S. patens reacted in opposite ways to grazing pressure with S. robustus increasing and S. patens decreasing, Elocharis was found only in grazed areas of Bodie Island. Echinochloa crusgali appeared in grazed portions of this marsh in 1978 but decreased in abundance during subsequent years. Scirpus americanus was unaffected by grazing, maintaining a nearly constant percent cover in grazed and ungrazed areas at Bodie Island.Differences in responses to grazing are discussed in terms of each species' growth and reproductive strategies as tempered by the physical and biological environment within each marsh.

The Effects of Grazing by Snow Geese on Coastal Salt Marshes

The influence of grazing by the Snow Goose (Anser caerulescens subspecies atlantica) was studied in three distinctly different North Carolina salt marshes. One marsh was dominated by Spartina alterniflora, one by a mixture of Spartina patens and Distichlis spicata, and one by Scirpus robustus. Snow Goose grazing consists principally of removal of roots and rhizomes to a depth of 20—25 cm. Exclosures were utilized to compare (1) belowground biomass and net production, (2) aerial plant cover and (3) detritus availability between grazed and ungrazed plots. Ungrazed portions of all study had significantly more biomass (P <.001) than grazed areas in the year following grazing. Belowground net production was less in the grazed portions of two of the sites (P < .10). Grazing intensity, measured as percent biomass removed, was 58.1 ± 7.4% at all sites. Plant cover was reduced at all sites in the spring following grazing. The Scirpus robutus marsh recovered more rapidly than the other marshes and appears to be a more stable grazing system. Finally, at South Pond and Salt Flats, more uprooted root—rhizome material was found in grazed areas than in ungrazed (P < .001, P < .05 respectively). This strongly suggests that Snow Geese make belowground net production available for transport to nearby estuarine waters where it could be used by estuarine consumers.

Insects Reared from the Many-spined Twig Gall of Rose Caused by Diplolepis multispinosa (Gillette) (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae)

During the Tears 1959 and 1960 galls on rose bushes were collected in Westminster Township south of London, Ontario. Thc bushes grew along fencerows at the sides of roads surrounding the comniunity of Pond Mills. This community, is centred around tw ponds, North Pond (Fig. 1-A) and South Pond (B) which are joined by a narrow, shallow stretch of water. Nearby roads are Pond Mills Road leading south from London, Commissioners Road leading east from London and the road separating Concessions 1 and 1 of the Township of Westminster. The dates of collection of the galls and the location of the bushes from which they were taken are shown in Figure 1.

A Study of the Population of Insects Emerging as Adults from South Walker Pond at London, Ontario

During the summer of 1956 a study was undertaken of the population of insects emerging as adults from near London, Ontario. This pond is one of a group of three kettle lakes situated just south of London in Westminster Township and lying just to the northeast of the corner of Wellington Road and the road separating Concession 1 from Concession 2 of the Township. three ponds are together designated as The Ponds by Saunders and Dale (1933) and as Walker -Ponds on the maps of the National Topographic Series. most easterly pond is Spettigues' Pond, the most westerly one is Saunders' Pond and the most southerly one is South Pond or Pond. (Fig. 1) is about 800 feet wide in the east-west direction and 800 feet in the north-south direction with three large bays extending easterly, westerly and southerly from the center of the lake. In the summer of 1956 there was no submerged or floating vegetation on the pond and the bottomr was covered with the soft, brown remains of disintegrating leaves. whole shore of -the pond is surrounded by a deciduous wood which is most extensive -towards the southeast.

Belle Isle Salt Dome, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana

A detailed torsion-balance survey has been made and a series of wells has been drilled since publication of Vaughan's paper in Geology of Salt Dome Oil Fields. The exploration now shows a subcircular dome 8,000-6,000 feet in diameter, the center of the dome in the northwestern part of South Pond, and a moderately thick cap at a depth of 350-700 feet over the south half of the dome.