Pharmaceutical pollution in marine waters and benthic flora of the southern Australian coastline
- Long, Benjamin, Harriage, Samantha, Schultz, Nick, Sherman, Craig, Thomas, Michael
- Authors: Long, Benjamin , Harriage, Samantha , Schultz, Nick , Sherman, Craig , Thomas, Michael
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Environmental chemistry Vol. 19, no. 6 (2023), p. 375-384
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Environmental context Most human pharmaceutical waste is discharged to the environment. While the presence of pharmaceuticals in freshwater systems is well documented globally, little is known of the impact on marine ecosystems. We measured pharmaceuticals in a marine environment in south-eastern Australia and found pharmaceutical concentrations around 24 000 times higher in benthic flora than in the marine surface waters. We discuss the potential use of seaweeds as biological indicators of pharmaceutical pollution. Rationale Pharmaceuticals are emerging pollutants of concern with a range of adverse consequences for organisms and ecosystems. Their presence in freshwater and estuarine systems has been well documented, but less is known about their prevalence in open ocean, or their uptake by benthic flora. This preliminary survey of the southern Australian coastline sought to measure the concentrations of key pharmaceuticals in both surface waters and benthic flora. Methodology This study used LC-MS/MS to measure the concentration carbamazepine, tramadol and venlafaxine in (1) samples from wastewater treatment plants, (2) ocean surface waters and (3) several species of benthic flora. Surface waters and benthic flora were sampled at two sites near waste water treatment plant (WWTP) discharges, and one site away from any discharge. Results All three pharmaceuticals were detected in surface water samples with their risk assessed (via risk quotient) as medium risk (carbamazepine) or low risk (venlafaxine, tramadol). All three pharmaceuticals were also detected in benthic flora, particularly in brown macroalgae Tramadol was measured at a maximum of 34.7 ng g
- Authors: Long, Benjamin , Harriage, Samantha , Schultz, Nick , Sherman, Craig , Thomas, Michael
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Environmental chemistry Vol. 19, no. 6 (2023), p. 375-384
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Environmental context Most human pharmaceutical waste is discharged to the environment. While the presence of pharmaceuticals in freshwater systems is well documented globally, little is known of the impact on marine ecosystems. We measured pharmaceuticals in a marine environment in south-eastern Australia and found pharmaceutical concentrations around 24 000 times higher in benthic flora than in the marine surface waters. We discuss the potential use of seaweeds as biological indicators of pharmaceutical pollution. Rationale Pharmaceuticals are emerging pollutants of concern with a range of adverse consequences for organisms and ecosystems. Their presence in freshwater and estuarine systems has been well documented, but less is known about their prevalence in open ocean, or their uptake by benthic flora. This preliminary survey of the southern Australian coastline sought to measure the concentrations of key pharmaceuticals in both surface waters and benthic flora. Methodology This study used LC-MS/MS to measure the concentration carbamazepine, tramadol and venlafaxine in (1) samples from wastewater treatment plants, (2) ocean surface waters and (3) several species of benthic flora. Surface waters and benthic flora were sampled at two sites near waste water treatment plant (WWTP) discharges, and one site away from any discharge. Results All three pharmaceuticals were detected in surface water samples with their risk assessed (via risk quotient) as medium risk (carbamazepine) or low risk (venlafaxine, tramadol). All three pharmaceuticals were also detected in benthic flora, particularly in brown macroalgae Tramadol was measured at a maximum of 34.7 ng g
- Soltani, Amin, Azimi, Mahdieh, O'Kelly, Brendan
- Authors: Soltani, Amin , Azimi, Mahdieh , O'Kelly, Brendan
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Applied Clay Science Vol. 238, no. (2023), p.
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Among the multitude of alternate plasticity index (PI) estimation proposals, empirical correlations based on the linear shrinkage (LS) test, originally proposed in the 1967 edition of the British BS 1377 standard, seem to be gaining increased attention. This study has two main aims: (i) re-examining LS-based correlations for PI estimation to better understand their true potentials and/or limitations; and (ii) investigating the possibility of employing LS, as a proxy for the standard PI, for fine-grained soil classification. To this end, comprehensive statistical analyses were performed on the largest and most diverse database assembled of its kind, entailing PI:LS measurements for 265 different fine-grained soils [pertaining to the ‘soft’ base percussion-cup liquid limit (LL = 17–134%) and the Australian standard LS = 0.5–32.0%]. It was demonstrated that the LS can generally only provide a rough approximation of the actual PI. At best, only those predictions produced by PI = 1.86 × LS for low-plasticity soils (i.e., LL
Modeled approaches to estimating blue carbon accumulation with mangrove restoration to support a blue carbon accounting method for Australia
- Lovelock, Catherine, Adame, Fernanda, Butler, Don, Kelleway, Jeffrey, Dittmann, Sabine, Fest, Benedikt, King, Karen, Macreadie, Peter, Mitchell, Katherine, Newnham, Mark, Ola, Anne, Owers, Christopher
- Authors: Lovelock, Catherine , Adame, Fernanda , Butler, Don , Kelleway, Jeffrey , Dittmann, Sabine , Fest, Benedikt , King, Karen , Macreadie, Peter , Mitchell, Katherine , Newnham, Mark , Ola, Anne , Owers, Christopher
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Limnology and Oceanography Vol. 67, no. S2 (2022), p. S50-S60
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The development and refinement of methods for estimating organic carbon accumulation in biomass and soils during mangrove restoration and rehabilitation can encourage uptake of restoration projects for their ecosystem services, including those of climate change mitigation, or blue carbon. To support the development of a blue carbon method for Australia under the Emission Reduction Fund scheme we investigated; (1) whether carbon accumulation data from natural mangroves could be used to estimate carbon accumulation during restoration; (2) modeling mangrove biomass accumulation; and (3) how modeled carbon accumulation could be achieved over heterogeneous sites. First, we assessed carbon accumulation in soil and biomass pools from the global literature, finding that estimating carbon accumulation using data from natural mangroves provided similar estimates as those for restored or rehabilitated mangroves. We assessed mangrove biomass accumulation from global chronosequence studies, which we used to develop regional models for estimating biomass accumulation with restoration in Australia using values from local natural mangroves. Estimating biomass carbon accumulation using site-based means of stand biomass provided similar estimates as values estimated through use of regional means values stratified by elevation; and reduced overestimates of biomass carbon accumulation that were based on regional mean values. Modeling soil carbon accumulation over environmentally heterogeneous project sites can apply a similar approach, stratifying over variation in site elevation. Our analysis provides a strategy for modeling blue carbon pools for an Australian blue carbon method that accommodates regional differences and is based on data from natural mangroves. © 2022 The Authors. Limnology and Oceanography published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography.
- Authors: Lovelock, Catherine , Adame, Fernanda , Butler, Don , Kelleway, Jeffrey , Dittmann, Sabine , Fest, Benedikt , King, Karen , Macreadie, Peter , Mitchell, Katherine , Newnham, Mark , Ola, Anne , Owers, Christopher
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Limnology and Oceanography Vol. 67, no. S2 (2022), p. S50-S60
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The development and refinement of methods for estimating organic carbon accumulation in biomass and soils during mangrove restoration and rehabilitation can encourage uptake of restoration projects for their ecosystem services, including those of climate change mitigation, or blue carbon. To support the development of a blue carbon method for Australia under the Emission Reduction Fund scheme we investigated; (1) whether carbon accumulation data from natural mangroves could be used to estimate carbon accumulation during restoration; (2) modeling mangrove biomass accumulation; and (3) how modeled carbon accumulation could be achieved over heterogeneous sites. First, we assessed carbon accumulation in soil and biomass pools from the global literature, finding that estimating carbon accumulation using data from natural mangroves provided similar estimates as those for restored or rehabilitated mangroves. We assessed mangrove biomass accumulation from global chronosequence studies, which we used to develop regional models for estimating biomass accumulation with restoration in Australia using values from local natural mangroves. Estimating biomass carbon accumulation using site-based means of stand biomass provided similar estimates as values estimated through use of regional means values stratified by elevation; and reduced overestimates of biomass carbon accumulation that were based on regional mean values. Modeling soil carbon accumulation over environmentally heterogeneous project sites can apply a similar approach, stratifying over variation in site elevation. Our analysis provides a strategy for modeling blue carbon pools for an Australian blue carbon method that accommodates regional differences and is based on data from natural mangroves. © 2022 The Authors. Limnology and Oceanography published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography.
Impacts of land management practices on blue carbon stocks and greenhouse gas fluxes in coastal ecosystems—a meta-analysis
- O’Connor, Jack, Fest, Benedikt, Sievers, Michael, Swearer, Stephen
- Authors: O’Connor, Jack , Fest, Benedikt , Sievers, Michael , Swearer, Stephen
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Global Change Biology Vol. 26, no. 3 (2020), p. 1354-1366
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Global recognition of climate change and its predicted consequences has created the need for practical management strategies for increasing the ability of natural ecosystems to capture and store atmospheric carbon. Mangrove forests, saltmarshes and seagrass meadows, referred to as blue carbon ecosystems (BCEs), are hotspots of atmospheric CO2 storage due to their capacity to sequester carbon at a far higher rate than terrestrial forests. Despite increased effort to understand the mechanisms underpinning blue carbon fluxes, there has been little synthesis of how management activities influence carbon stocks and greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes in BCEs. Here, we present a global meta-analysis of 111 studies that measured how carbon stocks and GHG fluxes in BCEs respond to various coastal management strategies. Research effort has focused mainly on restoration approaches, which resulted in significant increases in blue carbon after 4 years compared to degraded sites, and the potential to reach parity with natural sites after 7–17 years. Lesser studied management alternatives, such as sediment manipulation and altered hydrology, showed only increases in biomass and weaker responses for soil carbon stocks and sequestration. The response of GHG emissions to management was complex, with managed sites emitting less than natural reference sites but emitting more compared to degraded sites. Individual GHGs also differed in their responses to management. To date, blue carbon management studies are underrepresented in the southern hemisphere and are usually limited in duration (61% of studies <3 years duration). Our meta-analysis describes the current state of blue carbon management from the available data and highlights recommendations for prioritizing conservation management, extending monitoring time frames of BCE carbon stocks, improving our understanding of GHG fluxes in open coastal systems and redistributing management and research effort into understudied, high-risk areas. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
- Authors: O’Connor, Jack , Fest, Benedikt , Sievers, Michael , Swearer, Stephen
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Global Change Biology Vol. 26, no. 3 (2020), p. 1354-1366
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Global recognition of climate change and its predicted consequences has created the need for practical management strategies for increasing the ability of natural ecosystems to capture and store atmospheric carbon. Mangrove forests, saltmarshes and seagrass meadows, referred to as blue carbon ecosystems (BCEs), are hotspots of atmospheric CO2 storage due to their capacity to sequester carbon at a far higher rate than terrestrial forests. Despite increased effort to understand the mechanisms underpinning blue carbon fluxes, there has been little synthesis of how management activities influence carbon stocks and greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes in BCEs. Here, we present a global meta-analysis of 111 studies that measured how carbon stocks and GHG fluxes in BCEs respond to various coastal management strategies. Research effort has focused mainly on restoration approaches, which resulted in significant increases in blue carbon after 4 years compared to degraded sites, and the potential to reach parity with natural sites after 7–17 years. Lesser studied management alternatives, such as sediment manipulation and altered hydrology, showed only increases in biomass and weaker responses for soil carbon stocks and sequestration. The response of GHG emissions to management was complex, with managed sites emitting less than natural reference sites but emitting more compared to degraded sites. Individual GHGs also differed in their responses to management. To date, blue carbon management studies are underrepresented in the southern hemisphere and are usually limited in duration (61% of studies <3 years duration). Our meta-analysis describes the current state of blue carbon management from the available data and highlights recommendations for prioritizing conservation management, extending monitoring time frames of BCE carbon stocks, improving our understanding of GHG fluxes in open coastal systems and redistributing management and research effort into understudied, high-risk areas. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Sensitivity analysis on blast design parameters to improve bench blasting outcomes using the Taguchi method
- Hosseini, Mostafa, Khandelwal, Manoj, Lotfi, Rahman, Eslahi, Mohsen
- Authors: Hosseini, Mostafa , Khandelwal, Manoj , Lotfi, Rahman , Eslahi, Mohsen
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Geomechanics and Geophysics for Geo-Energy and Geo-Resources Vol. 9, no. 1 (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: In surface mines, bench blasting is a typical way of excavating hard rock mass. Although a significant development has taken place in explosive technology but still only a part of the energy is used to excavate and a large proportion of energy is wasted away and creates a number of nuisances. Backbreak, massive rock fragmentation, and high-intensity ground vibration are all symptoms of improper blasting. As a result, production costs increase significantly while productivity decreases. The blasting outcomes are affected by a variety of factors, which may be classified into three categories: rock properties, explosive properties, and blast geometry. Consequently, it is necessary to examine the effect of these parameters on bench blasting. So, in this study, a sensitivity analysis has been performed on various blast design parameters using the Taguchi method to study the influence of blast design parameters on blast vibration, backbreak, and rock fragmentation. A total of 32 experiments have been designed and numerical modeling was also carried out, using LS DYNA software to simulate the blast results. It was found that the blast hole diameter is the most important factor influencing the blasting outcomes. However, the number of rows in a blast affects backbreak almost slightly more than the hole diameter, but blast vibrations and the surrounding rock damage strongly depend on the hole diameter. Furthermore, rock blast geometry significantly affected rock blast vibration and damage compared to explosive properties. However, both blast geometry parameters and explosive properties play a significant role in backbreaking. © 2023, The Author(s).
- Authors: Hosseini, Mostafa , Khandelwal, Manoj , Lotfi, Rahman , Eslahi, Mohsen
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Geomechanics and Geophysics for Geo-Energy and Geo-Resources Vol. 9, no. 1 (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: In surface mines, bench blasting is a typical way of excavating hard rock mass. Although a significant development has taken place in explosive technology but still only a part of the energy is used to excavate and a large proportion of energy is wasted away and creates a number of nuisances. Backbreak, massive rock fragmentation, and high-intensity ground vibration are all symptoms of improper blasting. As a result, production costs increase significantly while productivity decreases. The blasting outcomes are affected by a variety of factors, which may be classified into three categories: rock properties, explosive properties, and blast geometry. Consequently, it is necessary to examine the effect of these parameters on bench blasting. So, in this study, a sensitivity analysis has been performed on various blast design parameters using the Taguchi method to study the influence of blast design parameters on blast vibration, backbreak, and rock fragmentation. A total of 32 experiments have been designed and numerical modeling was also carried out, using LS DYNA software to simulate the blast results. It was found that the blast hole diameter is the most important factor influencing the blasting outcomes. However, the number of rows in a blast affects backbreak almost slightly more than the hole diameter, but blast vibrations and the surrounding rock damage strongly depend on the hole diameter. Furthermore, rock blast geometry significantly affected rock blast vibration and damage compared to explosive properties. However, both blast geometry parameters and explosive properties play a significant role in backbreaking. © 2023, The Author(s).
- «
- ‹
- 1
- ›
- »