On the determination of atmospheric water vapor from GPS measurements

Surface-based GPS measurements of zenith path delay (ZPD) can be used to derive vertically integrated water vapor (IWV) of the atmosphere. ZPD data are collected in a global network presently consisting of 160 stations as part of the International GPS Service. In the present study, ZPD data from this network are converted into IWV using observed surface pressure and mean atmospheric water vapor column temperature obtained from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts' (ECMWF) operational analyses (OA). For the 4 months of January/July 2000/2001, the GPS-derived IWV values are compared to the IWV from the ECMWF OA, with a special focus on the monthly averaged difference (bias) and the standard deviation of daily differences. This comparison shows that the GPS-derived IWV values are well suited for the validation of OA of IWV. For most GPS stations, the IWV data agree quite well with the analyzed data indicating that they are both correct at these locations. Larger differences for individual days are interpreted as errors in the analyses. A dry bias in the winter is found over central United States, Canada, and central Siberia, suggesting a systematic analysis error. Larger differences were mainly found in mountain areas. These were related to representation problems and interpolation difficulties between model height and station height. In addition, the IWV comparison can be used to identify errors or problems in the observations of ZPD. This includes errors in the data itself, e.g., erroneous outlier in the measured time series, as well as systematic errors that affect all IWV values at a specific station. Such stations were excluded from the intercomparison. Finally, long-term requirements for a GPS-based water vapor monitoring system are discussed.

Fine-scale temporal characterization of trends in soil water dissolved organic carbon and potential drivers

Long-term monitoring of surface water quality has shown increasing concentrations of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) across a large part of the Northern Hemisphere. Several drivers have been implicated including climate change, land management change, nitrogen and sulphur deposition and CO2 enrichment. Analysis of stream water data, supported by evidence from laboratory studies, indicates that an effect of declining sulphur deposition on catchment soil chemistry is likely to be the primary mechanism, but there are relatively few long term soil water chemistry records in the UK with which to investigate this, and other, hypotheses directly. In this paper, we assess temporal relationships between soil solution chemistry and parameters that have been argued to regulate DOC production and, using a unique set of co-located measurements of weather and bulk deposition and soil solution chemistry provided by the UK Environmental Change Network and the Intensive Forest Monitoring Level II Network . We used statistical non-linear trend analysis to investigate these relationships at 5 forested and 4 non-forested sites from 1993 to 2011. Most trends in soil solution DOC concentration were found to be non-linear. Significant increases in DOC occurred mostly prior to 2005. The magnitude and sign of the trends was associated qualitatively with changes in acid deposition, the presence/absence of a forest canopy, soil depth and soil properties. The strongest increases in DOC were seen in acidic forest soils and were most clearly linked to declining anthropogenic acid deposition, while DOC trends at some sites with westerly locations appeared to have been influenced by shorter-term hydrological variation. The results indicate that widespread DOC increases in surface waters observed elsewhere, are most likely dominated by enhanced mobilization of DOC in surficial organic horizons, rather than changes in the soil water chemistry of deeper horizons. While trends in DOC concentrations in surface horizons have flattened out in recent years, further increases may be expected as soil chemistry continues to adjust to declining inputs of acidity.

Development Of Water Pollution Early Warning System For Oyster Harvesting Areas

The objective of this study is to develop a Pollution Early Warning System (PEWS) for efficient management of water quality in oyster harvesting areas. To that end, this paper presents a web-enabled, user-friendly PEWS for managing water quality in oyster harvesting areas along Louisiana Gulf Coast, USA. The PEWS consists of (1) an Integrated Space-Ground Sensing System (ISGSS) gathering data for environmental factors influencing water quality, (2) an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model for predicting the level of fecal coliform bacteria, and (3) a web-enabled, user-friendly Geographic Information System (GIS) platform for issuing water pollution advisories and managing oyster harvesting waters. The ISGSS (data acquisition system) collects near real-time environmental data from various sources, including NASA MODIS Terra and Aqua satellites and in-situ sensing stations managed by the USGS and the NOAA. The ANN model is developed using the ANN program in MATLAB Toolbox. The ANN model involves a total of 6 independent environmental variables, including rainfall, tide, wind, salinity, temperature, and weather type along with 8 different combinations of the independent variables. The ANN model is constructed and tested using environmental and bacteriological data collected monthly from 2001 – 2011 by Louisiana Molluscan Shellfish Program at seven oyster harvesting areas in Louisiana Coast, USA. The ANN model is capable of explaining about 76% of variation in fecal coliform levels for model training data and 44% for independent data. The web-based GIS platform is developed using ArcView GIS and ArcIMS. The web-based GIS system can be employed for mapping fecal coliform levels, predicted by the ANN model, and potential risks of norovirus outbreaks in oyster harvesting waters. The PEWS is able to inform decision-makers of potential risks of fecal pollution and virus outbreak on a daily basis, greatly reducing the risk of contaminated oysters to human health.

Eutrofização do Reservatório Cruzeta na bacia representativa do rio Seridó RN

Eutrophication has been listed as one of the main problems of water pollution on a global level. In the Brazilian semi-arid areas this problem takes even greater proportions due to characteristical water scarcity of the region. It is extremely important to the predictive eutrophication models development and to the reservoirs management in the semi-arid region, studies that promotes understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the expansion and control of algae blooms, essential for improving the water quality of these environments. The present study had as its main aims, evaluate the temporal pattern of trophic state, considering the influence of nutrients (N and P) and the light availability in the water column in the development of phytoplankton biomass, and perform the mathematical modelling of changes in phosphorus and chlorophyll a concentrations in the Cruzeta man-made lake located on Seridó, a typical semi-arid region of Rio Grande do Norte. To this, a fortnightly monitoring was performed in the reservoir in 05 stations over the months of March 2007 to May 2008. Were measured the concentrations of total phosphorus, total organic nitrogen, chlorophyll a, total, fixed and volatile suspended solids, as well as the measure of transparency (Secchi) and the profiles of photosynthetic active radiation (PAR), temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen and electrical conductivity in the water column. Measurements of vertical profiles have shown some periods of chemical and thermal stratification, especially in the rainy season, due to increased water column depth, however, the reservoir can be classified as warm polimitic. During the study period the reservoir was characterized as eutrophic considering the concentrations of phosphorus and most of the time as mesotrophic, based on the concentrations of chlorophyll a, according to the Thornton & Rast (1993) classification. The N:P relations suggest N limitation, conversely, significant linear relationship between the algae biomass and nutrients (N and P) were not observed in our study. However, a relevant event was the negative and significant correlation presented by Kt and chlorophyll a (r ² = 0.83) at the end of the drought of 2007 and the rainy season of 2008, and the algal biomass collapse observed at the end of the drought season (Dec/07). The equation used to simulate the change in the total phosphorus was not satisfactory, being necessary inclusion of parameters able to increase the power of the model prediction. The chlorophyll a simulation presented a good adjustment trend, however there is a need to check the calibrated model parameters and subsequent equation validation

Hydrochemical evaluation of the quality of some Brazilian waters

This investigation was carried out within the Parane sedimentary basin and neighbourhood in Brazil and involved the sampling of different water types with the purpose of evaluating its quality. Several methods were utilized for acquiring the hydrochemical data and a novel technique has been developed for evaluating the gross alpha and beta radioactivities in water, through a combined gamma-alpha spectrometry technique. The results obtained for the analyzed samples were compared with the guideline values established by the São Paulo State and Brazilian Health Ministry legislations for defining potable water standards and for the prevention and control of pollution in the environment. The hydrochemical data allowed evaluation of diverse problems related to the interaction between society and the environment such as sugarcane production and the releases associated with gas stations suppliers. The geogenic input of sulfate in groundwater was also identified. The established radiometric technique was properly calibrated and successfully applied to the analysis of different water types utilized for human consumption.

Laboratory essays on solid residues from an area of sand mining activities at Analandia, São Paulo, Brazil, and implications to the water resources quality

This investigation reports the results of tests performed in a laboratory with solid waste samples from an area belonging to Sibelco Mineracao Ltd., which is located around Analandia municipality, nearly in the center of São Paulo State, Brazil. Dissolution and leaching essays were realized under different experimental conditions in four samples collected from the mining front and decantation pool, with the aim of evaluating the possibility of release of several constituents to the liquid phase.

GIS_EM (Geographic information system for environmental monitoring) - A software implemented at Paulínia refinery (REPLAN) for management of environmental data

The computational program called GIS_EM (Geographic Information System for Environmental Monitoring), a software devised to manage geographic information for monitoring soil, surface, and ground water, developed for use in the Health, Safety, and Environment Division of Paulinia Refinery is presented. This program enables registering and management of alphanumeric information pertaining to specific themes such as drilling performed for sample collection and for installation of monitoring wells, geophysical and other tests, results of chemical analyses of soil, surface, and groundwater, as well as reference values providing orientation for soil and water quality, such as EPA, Dutch List, etc. Management of such themes is performed by means of alphanumeric search tools, with specific filters and, in the case of spatial search, through the selection of spatial elements (themes) in map view. Documents existing in digital form, such as reports, photos, maps, may be registered and managed in the network environment. As the system centralizes information generated upon environmental investigations, it expedites access to and search of documents produced and stored in the network environment, minimizing search time and the need to file printed documents. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the AIChE Annual Meeting and Fall Showcase (Cincinnati, OH 10/30/2005-11/4/2005).

Índice de Qualidade da Água (IQA) do reservatório Tanque Grande, Guarulhos (SP): Análise sazonal e efeitos do uso e ocupação do solo

The Tanque Grande Reservoir is located at the Serra da Cantereira, Guarulhos (SP), and provides 3% of the municipal drinking water. In the last years, the urban zone has expanded towards the reservoir and has significantly altered the land use. In this work, water samples from three stations were monitored from August/2007 up to July/2008 in terms of the Water Quality Index (IQA) adopted by CETESB. The waters were usually classified in the band Good during the study period. Nevertheless, termotolerants coliforms, BOD and total phosphorus have exceeded the legal limits several times. Such occurrences may be related to the economical activities at the sub-watersheds in addition to changes in the land use of the surroundings of the reservoir.

Águas superficiais na bacia do Ribeirão Água Parada no município de Bauru-SP: potencial de utilização para o abastecimento público

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Análise socioambiental da área do lixão do Jangurussu (Fortaleza-CE) e os impactos na comunidade do entorno

Pós-graduação em Geografia - IGCE

A system for environmental monitoring of hydroelectric reservoirs in Brazil

Environmental monitoring of aquatic systems is an important tool to support policy makers and environmental managers' decisions. Long-term, continuous collection of environmental data is fundamental to the understanding of an aquatic system. This paper aims to present the integrated system for environmental monitoring (SIMA), a long-term temporal series system with a web-based archive for limnological and meteorological data. The following environmental parameters are measured by SIMA: chlorophyll-a (µgL-1), water surface temperature (ºC), water column temperature by a thermistor string (ºC), turbidity (NTU), pH, dissolved oxygen concentration (mg L-1), electric conductivity (µS cm-1), wind speed (ms-1) and direction (º), relative humidity (%), shortwave radiation (Wm-2) and barometric pressure (hPa). The data were collected in a preprogrammed time interval (1 hour) and were transmitted by satellite in quasi-real time for any user within 2500 km of the acquisition point. So far, 11 hydroelectric reservoirs are being monitored with the SIMA buoy. Basic statistics (mean and standard deviation) and an example of the temporal series of some parameters were displayed at a database with web access. However, sensor and satellite problems occurred due to the high data acquisition frequency. Sensors problems occurred due to the environmental characteristics of each aquatic system. Water quality sensors rapidly degrade in acidic waters, rendering the collected data invalid. Data is also rendered invalid when sensors become infested with periphyton. Problems occur with the satellites' reception of system data when satellites pass over the buoy antenna. However, the data transfer at some inland locations was not completed due to the satellite constellation position. Nevertheless, the integrated system of water quality and meteorological parameters is an important tool in understanding the aquatic system dynamic. It can also be used to create hydrodynamics models of the aquatic system to allow for the study of meteorological implications to the water body.

Empirical models for estimating the suspended sediment concentration in Amazonian white water rivers using Landsat 5/TM

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Influence of microbiological quality of drinking water in the intestinal morphology of broilers

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Ecological and toxicological responses in a multistressor scenario: are monitoring programs showing the stressors or just showing stress? A case study in Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Isolamento e identificação das micobactérias em águas tratadas provenientes do sistema de abastecimento de Araraquara-SP

Water quality is very important for the health and the population welfare, and the public supply system must provide water quality and suffi cient quantity for the entire population. Water treatment stations, are the main way to obtain water quality. When this doesn’t occur, several problems can affect the population, in this case, using water with poor quality is a constant risk of emergence causing various diseases. The elimination of microorganisms in treated water reduces competition, encouraging the multiplication of chlorine resistant bacteria as Mycobacterium genus frequently isolated from treated and chlorinated water. Considering the lack of indication from examinations of mycobacteria routine laboratory for quality control of drinking water and other human uses, the objective was to verify the presence isolate and identify the environmental mycobacteria in the system water source surface of Araraquara - SP. We analyzed 40 water samples, distributed as follows: ten water gross collected at Station Water Treatment Plant (WTP), harvested after ten fi ltration; ten collected in the reservoir after chlorination and ten in the network distribution. Were recovered 43 isolates of mycobacteria. All isolates were subjected to PCR-PRA. The mycobacteria were identifi ed as M. lentifl avum, M. parafortuitum, M. genavense, M. gordonae, M. fortuitum, M. confl uent, M. duvalii, M. avium subspecies paratuberculosis and M. szulgai. With these results, was concluded that water is an important source of environmental mycobacteria probably related to several human diseases, suggesting the carrying out continuous monitoring of the microorganisms in the system drinking water.