Search results for "water pollution"
showing 10 items of 186 documents
Effects of eutrophication and organic loading on the occurrence of profundal harpacticoids in a lake in southern Finland.
1992
Harpacticoids made up 19 and 30% of the meiobenthos proper by number and 39 and 55% by biomass at maximum depths and a depth of 20 m, respectively, in Lake Paijanne. Harpacticoids accounted for higher proportions of the total meiobenthos in oligotrophic and unpolluted areas than in polluted areas. Seven species were identified, with Canthocamptus staphylinus confined to semi-lotic areas influenced by organic pollution from a pulp mill. Other species exhibited somewhat different distributions in oligotrophic and mesotrophic areas. Harpacticoid densities were most closely correlated with oxygen content and phytoplankton biomass, and correlations with environmental values were closer at maximu…
Three-Dimensional Calibration for Routine Analyses of Bromide and Nitrate Ions as Indicators of Groundwater Quality in Coastal Territories
2019
Nitrate and bromide ions are generally considered indicators of anthropogenic pollution and seawater intrusion, respectively, in the groundwater of coastal territories. The analysis of these species is generally carried out with routine chromatographic analyses which generally afford partially merged or poorly resolved peaks. In the present paper a simple method for the correct evaluation of their concentration in water is reported. This method does not imply utilization of other instruments or technologies, only the mathematical elaboration of the data obtained from routine analysis of standard solutions containing the two species. Standard binary solutions of nitrate and bromide ions at d…
Vertical standing copper nanowires for electrochemical sensor of nitrate in water
2020
Nitrogen, in the forms of nitrate (NO3-), nitrite, or ammonium, is a nutrient needed for plant growth and it is a common constituent of fertilizers [1]. When fertilizers are overused, they contaminate the ground water and then the food chain. For humans, a low level of nitrate is advisable because it increases the blood flow and has a good effect on both blood pressure and cardiovascular system. On the contrary, a high concentration of nitrate can be dangerous for humans. Nitrate ions undergoes different chemical transformations (i.e. to nitrite ions by Escherichia coli) producing different nitrogen-based compound such as nitrite ions, nitric oxide and ammonia [2]. These chemicals lead to s…
The combined use of chemical and biochemical markers to assess water quality along the Ebro River
2004
Carp (Cyprinus carpio) and barbel (Barbus graellsii) were collected from five sites along the Ebro River. The study was designed to assess levels of persistent organic pollutants and metals bioaccumulated by fish, and some biochemical responses (cytochrome P450 system, phase II activities, and metallothioneins) against those pollutants. The highest levels of PCBs and DDTs were detected in carp from industrialised areas, which also showed high levels of mercury and cadmium in the liver, and high levels of nonylphenol in bile. Significant alterations in some biochemical markers were observed and associated to combined exposure to pollutants. The activity 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase ranged …
Urban water quality modelling: a parsimonious holistic approach for a complex real case study
2010
In the past three decades, scientific research has focused on the preservation of water resources, and in particular, on the polluting impact of urban areas on natural water bodies. One approach to this research has involved the development of tools to describe the phenomena that take place on the urban catchment during both wet and dry periods. Research has demonstrated the importance of the integrated analysis of all the transformation phases that characterise the delivery and treatment of urban water pollutants from source to outfall. With this aim, numerous integrated urban drainage models have been developed to analyse the fate of pollution from urban catchments to the final receiving …
A practical approach to improve the statistical performance of surface water monitoring networks
2019
The representativeness of aquatic ecosystem monitoring and the precision of the assessment results are of high importance when implementing the EU’s Water Framework Directive that aims to secure a good status of waterbodies in Europe. However, adapting monitoring designs to answer the objectives and allocating the sampling resources effectively are seldom practiced. Here, we present a practical solution how the sampling effort could be re-allocated without decreasing the precision and confidence of status class assignment. For demonstrating this, we used a large data set of 272 intensively monitored Finnish lake, coastal, and river waterbodies utilizing an existing framework for quantifying…
Determination of phenoxy acid herbicides in drinking waters by HPLC and solid phase extraction
1998
Abstract An HPLC procedure for determining phenoxy acid herbicides in waters is described. A LichroSpher RP select B octadecyl-silane analytical column and spectrophotometric detection at 230 nm were used. Adequate retention was achieved with a mobile phase containing MeOH/phosphate buffer 10−2 M pH 2.5/PnOH (50/42/8, v/v). The herbicides were isolated from water samples by using a single solid phase extraction procedure with C18 solid-phase columns. An enrichment factor of 500 is achieved. The coefficients of variation of the method were generally lower than 2.7% at 0.4 μg L−1 herbicide concentration levels. Recoveries ranged between 93 and 118%. The results obtained indicate that the prop…
Improving the solid-phase extraction of “quat” pesticides from water samples
1998
A novel strategy, based on the addition of a cationic surfactant, for preventing the interferences associated with a diminution in the efficacy of solid-phase extraction (SPE) with silica cartridges of diquat, paraquat and difenzoquat in water is developed. Conditions for extraction are optimised with respect to pH, cationic surfactant and its concentration. Humic acids, anionic surfactants, inorganic salts and other organic contaminants like pesticides, phenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyls produce the studied interferences. The best performance is shown in the improvement of the "quats" recovery from waters with high levels of humic acids and anionic surf…
Effects of temperature on the acute toxicity of heavy metals (Cr, Cd, and Hg) to the freshwater crayfish, Procambarus clarkii (Girard).
1987
Chromium, an essential trace element for humans and animals is involved in normal carbohydrate metabolism; however, it is toxic at high concentrations. There is no evidence that cadmium and mercury are biologically essential but their toxicity for organisms is well known. Both cause toxic effects at low concentrations to most organisms, especially in combination with other environmental variables such as temperature. Lake Albufera and the surrounding rice field waters are subjected to very heavy loads of sewage and toxic industrial residues (including heavy metals) from the many urban and waste waters in this area. In 1978, the American red crayfish Procambarus clarkii appeared in lake Albu…
Premature aging in bone of fish from a highly polluted marine area
2015
Fish species have attracted considerable interest in studies assessing biological responses to environmental contaminants. In this study, the attention has been focussed on fishbone of selected fish species from a highly polluted marine area, Augusta Bay (Italy, Central Mediterranean) to evaluate if toxicant elements had an effect on the mineralogical structure of bones, although macroscopic deformations were not evident. In particular, an attempt was made to evaluate if bone mineral features, such as crystallinity, mineral maturity and carbonate/phosphate mineral content, determined by XR-Diffraction and FT-IR Spectroscopy, suffered negative effects due to trace element levels in fishbone,…