Search results for "Science and technology"
showing 10 items of 1592 documents
Bathymetry time series using high spatial resolution satellite images
2020
The use of the new generation of remote sensors, such as echo sounders and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers with differential correction installed in a drone, allows the acquisition of high-precision data in areas of shallow water, as in the case of the channel of the Encañizadas in the Mar Menor lagoon. This high precision information is the first step to develop the methodology to monitor the bathymetry of the Mar Menor channels. The use of high spatial resolution satellite images is the solution for monitoring many hydrological changes and it is the basis of the three-dimensional (3D) numerical models used to study transport over time, environmental variability, and wa…
A Self-Contained and Automated Method for Flood Hazard Maps Prediction in Urban Areas
2020
Water depths and velocities predicted inside urban areas during severe storms are traditionally the final result of a chain of hydrologic and hydraulic models. The use of a single model embedding all the components of the rainfall&ndash
Strategies for Improving Optimal Positioning of Quality Sensors in Urban Drainage Systems for Non-Conservative Contaminants
2021
In the urban drainage sector, the problem of polluting discharges in sewers may act on the proper functioning of the sewer system, on the wastewater treatment plant reliability and on the receiving water body preservation. Therefore, the implementation of a chemical monitoring network is necessary to promptly detect and contain the event of contamination. Sensor location is usually an optimization exercise that is based on probabilistic or black-box methods and their efficiency is usually dependent on the initial assumption made on possible eligibility of nodes to become a monitoring point. It is a common practice to establish an initial non-informative assumption by considering all network…
Terrestrial Inputs Drive Seasonality in Organic Matter and Nutrient Biogeochemistry in a High Arctic Fjord System (Isfjorden, Svalbard)
2020
Climate-change driven increases in temperature and precipitation are leading to increased discharge of freshwater and terrestrial material to Arctic coastal ecosystems. These inputs bring sediments, nutrients and organic matter (OM) across the land-ocean interface with a range of implications for coastal ecosystems and biogeochemical cycling. To investigate responses to terrestrial inputs, physicochemical conditions were characterized in a river- and glacier-influenced Arctic fjord system (Isfjorden, Svalbard) from May to August in 2018 and 2019. Our observations revealed a pervasive freshwater footprint in the inner fjord arms, the geochemical properties of which varied spatially and seaso…
Biogenic Fenton process - A possible mechanism for the mineralization of organic carbon in fresh waters.
2020
To explore the mechanisms that mineralize poorly bioavailable natural organic carbon (OC), we measured the mineralization of OC in two lake waters over long-term experiments (up to 623 days) at different pH and iron (Fe) levels. Both the microbial and photochemical mineralization of OC was higher at pH acidified to 4 than at the ambient pH 5 or an elevated pH 6. During 244 days, microbes mineralized up to 60% of OC in the 10-mu m filtrates of lake water and more than 27% in the 1-mu m filtrates indicating that large-sized microbes/grazers enhance the mineralization of OC. A reactivity continuum model indicated that the acidification stimulated the microbial mineralization of OC especially i…
Carbon Budget and Molecular Structure of Natural Organic Matter in Bank Infiltrated Groundwater
2021
Groundwater : : journal of the Association of Ground-Water Scientists and Engineers, a division of the National Ground Water Association (2021). doi:10.1111/gwat.13087
Coupling of iron and dissolved organic matter in lakes–selective retention of different size fractions
2023
AbstractIncreasing concentration of iron (Fe) is observed in many boreal lakes, such as for the present study in Oslo Østmark, SE-Norway (1983–2018). As Fe-regulating processes are complex and dynamic, the link between mobilizing and retention processes is still not well understood. A seasonal study (2017–2018) from two headwaters, with medium and high dissolved organic matter (DOM) concentrations, showed that the loading of Fe to the lakes was highly dependent on flow conditions. Significantly higher values of Fe were related to autumn and winter periods with high runoff of highly colored and aromatic DOM compared to a severe drought period with minimum Fe values in the lakes. Compared to …
Sneaking into a Hotspot of Biodiversity: Coverage and Integrity of a Rhodolith Bed in the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea)
2022
Habitat mapping, physical characteristics and benthic community of a rhodolith bed in the Pelagie Islands (Strait of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea) were studied through Multi–Beam Echo–Sounder (MBES), Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and grab samples. The geomorphological analysis revealed an articulated and wide rhodolith bed; video inspections highlighted a bed with high coverage, few sandy patches and with a prevalence of the boxwork morphotype. A total of 207 taxa with 876 specimens were identified, and Polychaeta was the dominant taxon. Linguimaera caesaris, a Lessepsian benthic amphipod, was recorded in all sampling sites, and its presence represents an input to deepen the benthic assembla…
Macroalgal responses to ocean acidification depend on nutrient and light levels
2015
Ocean acidification may benefit algae that are able to capitalize on increased carbon availability for photosynthesis, but it is expected to have adverse effects on calcified algae through dissolution. Shifts in dominance between primary producers will have knock-on effects on marine ecosystems and will likely vary regionally, depending on factors such as irradiance (light vs. shade) and nutrient levels (oligotrophic vs. eutrophic). Thus experiments are needed to evaluate interactive effects of combined stressors in the field. In this study, we investigated the physiological responses of macroalgae near a CO2 seep in oligotrophic waters off Vulcano (Italy). The algae were incubated in situ …
Pharmaceuticals in processing of municipal sewage sludge studied by grab and passive sampling
2018
Abstract Concentrations of pharmaceuticals, consisting of four anti-inflammatory and one antiepileptic drug, were studied in the aqueous and solid phase of municipal sewage sludge, collected from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in central Finland. The samples included untreated municipal sludge from the biological wastewater treatment, digested sludge and sludge before and after composting. First, samples were taken as grab samples to study the bioavailable part in aqueous phase but also the part in solid fraction. Later, the long-term concentrations were studied by passive sampling with styrene divinylbenzene-reverse phase sulfonated (SDB-RPS) disks. In the untreated solid sludge, the …