Ammonia volatilisation from soil irrigated with urban sewage effluent

Losses of ammonia (NH3) following sewage effluent irrigation of pasture were measured under different climatic conditions at Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. Ammonia volatilisation was measured by the micrometeorological mass balance technique using 2 different passive samplers, and by an indirect technique based on the measurements of ammoniacal-N (NH4+ + NH3) concentration, pH, and temperature of the soil solution in the 0–3 mm soil layer, and wind speed at 1.2 m above the soil surface. Maximal NH3 emission rates were measured directly following the effluent-irrigation. There was reasonable agreement between the 2 different passive gas samplers used to measure NH3 volatilisation. The NH3 volatilised was well related to the product of wind speed and the equilibrium ammonia concentration (calculated from the soil solution measurements) as was found in other studies. In addition, NH3 flux density was strongly related to evaporation; that is, when the water (effluent) evaporated NH3 was lost to the atmosphere. Under high evaporative conditions, a maximum of 24% of the ammoniacal-N in the effluent was lost by volatilisation within 2 days of application.

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Review on Renewable Energy Potential in Australian Subtropical Region (Central and North Queensland)

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.347-353.3846 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 347-353 ◽

pp. 3846-3855 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Ali Baniyounes ◽

Gang Liu ◽

M. G. Rasul ◽

M. M. K. Khan

Keyword(s):

Renewable Energy ◽

Wind Speed ◽

Spatial Databases ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Energy Resources ◽

Climatic Data ◽

Renewable Energy Resources ◽

Subtropical Region ◽

Energy Potential

In Australia the future demand for energy is predicted to increase rapidly. Conventional energy resources soaring prices and environmental impact have increased the interest in renewable energy technology. As a result of that the Australian government is promoting renewable energy; such as wind, geothermal, solar and hydropower. These types of energy are believed to be cost-effective and environmentally friendly. Renewable energy availability is controlled by climatic conditions such as solar radiation, wind speed and temperature. This paper aims to assess the potential of renewable energy resources, in particular wind and solar energy in an Australian subtropical region (Central and North Queensland) namely, Gladstone, Emerald, Rockhampton, Yeppoon, Townsville, and Cairns. Analysis is done by using the latest statistical state of Queensland energy information, along with measured data history of wind speed, solar irradiations, air temperature, relative humidity, and atmospheric pressure for those sites. This study has also shown that national assessments of solar and wind energy potential can be improved by improving local climatic data assessments using spatial databases of Central and North Queensland areas.

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Selection of drought-resistant crops for South Steppe of Ukraine

The Scientific Journal Grain Crops ◽

10.31867/2523-4544/0153 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 13-22

Author(s):

V. V. Gamayunova ◽

L. H. Khonenko ◽

M. I. Fedorchuk ◽

O. A. Kovalenko

Keyword(s):

Humus Content ◽

Soil Layer ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Growing Season ◽

Grain Sorghum ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Mineral Fertilizers ◽

Chemical Application ◽

Sowing Dates ◽

Drought Resistant

The cultivation expediency of more drought-resistant crops, in particular sorghum, millet, false flax, safflower and others, instead of sunflower in the area of the Southern Steppe of Ukraine is substantiated. This is, first of all, required by climate change both in Ukraine and in the world. Since 2004, researches of field crops were carried out in the conditions of the Educational and Scientific Practical Center of the Mykolaiv National Agrarian University. Soil phase is the southern chernozem with humus content in the 0–30 cm soil layer which consist of 2.96–3.21 %, with medium and high level of availability of mobile phosphorus and potassium and low – mobile nitrogen. Experiments with soriz (Oksamyt hybrid) were conducted during 2004–2006, millet (Tavriiske, Kostantynivske, Skhidnevarieties) in 2008–2010, grain sorghum (Stepovyi 5 hybrid) in 2014–2016, safflower dye (Lahidnyi variety) in 2017–2019. The years of research differed significantly in temperature and even more in the amount of precipitation before sowing and during the growing season of crops. However, the weather conditions were typical of the Southern Steppe zone of Ukraine. It is established that all studied drought-resistant crops respond positively to nutrition optimization – the level of yield and quality of grain or seeds increases. It was found that the soriz productivity depending on the application of fertilizers and sowing dates increased by 37.6–39.2 %, millet –by 33.3–41.6 %, grain sorghum depending on the background of nutrition and growing conditions – by 8.2–33.2 %, dye safflower – by 11.1–64.6 %. It was determined that the optimization of nutrition of cultivated crops allows to increase their resistance to adverse conditions and productivity in the case of application of low doses of the mineral fertilizers before sowing, pre-sowing treatment of seeds, and growth-regulating chemical application of plants on the main stages of the growing season. Key words: drought-resistant plants, climatic conditions, nutrition optimization, yield, crop quality, varieties, sowing dates.

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Inverse AERMOD and SCIPUFF Dispersion Modeling for Farm-Level PM10 Emission Rate Assessment

Transactions of the ASABE ◽

10.13031/trans.14311 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 64 (3) ◽

pp. 801-817

Author(s):

Bin Cheng ◽

Aditya Padavagod Shiv Kumar ◽

Lingjuan Wang-Li

Keyword(s):

Wind Speed ◽

Egg Production ◽

Single Point ◽

Dispersion Modeling ◽

Emission Rates ◽

Farm Level ◽

Area Source ◽

Inverse Dispersion ◽

Pm10 Emission ◽

Inverse Dispersion Modeling

HighlightsAERMOD and SCIPUFF were employed to back-calculate farm-level PM10 emission rates based on inverse modeling.Both AERMOD and SCIPUFF did not capture the diurnal and seasonal variations of farm-level PM10 emission rates.AERMOD modeling results were affected by wind speed, with higher wind speed leading to higher emission rates.Higher numbers of receptors and PM10 measurements with greater time resolution may be recommended in the future.Abstract. Air pollutant emissions from animal feeding operations (AFOs) have become a serious concern for public health and ambient air quality. Particulate matter with aerodynamic equivalent diameter less than or equal to 10 µm (PM10) is one of the major air pollutants emitted from AFOs. To assess the impacts of PM10 emissions from AFOs, knowledge about farm-level PM10 emission rates is needed but is challenging to obtain through field measurements. The inverse dispersion modeling approach provides an alternative way to estimate farm-level PM10 emission rates. In this study, two dispersion models, AERMOD and SCIPUFF, were employed to back-calculate farm-level PM10 emission rates based on hourly PM10 concentration measurements at four downwind locations in the vicinity of a commercial egg production farm in the southeast U.S. Onsite meteorological data were simultaneously recorded using a 10 m weather tower to facilitate the dispersion modeling. The modeling results were compared with PM10 emission measurements from two layer houses on the farm. Single-area source, double-area source, and double-volume source were used in AERMOD, while only single-point source was used in SCIPUFF. The inverse modeling results indicated that both SCIPUFF and AERMOD did not capture the diurnal and seasonal variations of the farm-level PM10 emission rates. In addition, the AERMOD modeling results were affected by wind speed, and higher emission rates may be predicted at higher wind speeds. The single-point source for SCIPUFF, the plume rise simplification for AERMOD, and insufficient concentration measurement resolution in response to temporal changes in wind direction may have added uncertainties to the modeling results. The results of this study suggest that more receptors covering more representative downwind locations should be considered in future modeling for farm-level emissions assessment. Moreover, ambient data collection with greater time resolution (e.g., less than one hour) is recommended to capture diurnal and seasonal patterns more rigorously. Only in this way can researchers achieve a better understanding of the effectiveness of inverse dispersion modeling for estimation of pollutant emission rates. Keywords: AERMOD, Animal feeding operations, Egg production, Farm-level emission rate, Inverse dispersion modeling, PM10, SCIPUFF.

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VARIATIONS IN SOIL RADON LEVELS DURING WINTER AND SPRING PERIODS

Radiation Protection Dosimetry ◽

10.1093/rpd/ncaa162 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 191 (2) ◽

pp. 250-254

Author(s):

Sakhayaan Gavriliev ◽

Tatiana Petrova ◽

Petr Miklyaev ◽

Nikolay Nefedov

Keyword(s):

Lung Cancer ◽

Soil Moisture ◽

Wind Speed ◽

Activity Concentration ◽

Inverse Correlation ◽

Ambient Air ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Α Decay ◽

Radon Flux ◽

Significant Health

Abstract Radon poses significant health risk due to inhalation and subsequent α-decay of its progeny and is the second biggest cause of lung cancer worldwide. In Russian Federation, radon flux density (RFD) measurements are performed routinely to assess radon safety of land lots before construction takes place. This study aims to show possible ‘weather’-influenced variations in RFD and radon activity concentration (RAC) that can occur during winter and spring periods in climatic conditions typical for territories with severe snowy winters. Results show that RFD correlates with weather, having a significant correlation with ambient air temperature in winter as well as spring periods and a weak inverse correlation with wind speed. In spring, RFD also responds to an increase in soil moisture, dropping severely because of rainfall. RAC, however, correlates very little with weather but has a weak inverse correlation with RFD.

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Soil and Stream‐Water Impacts of Sewage Effluent Irrigation onto Steeply Sloping Land

Journal of Environmental Quality ◽

10.2134/jeq1999.00472425002800040007x ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 28 (4) ◽

pp. 1105-1114 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

T. W. Speir ◽

A. P. Schaik ◽

H. A. Kettles ◽

K. W. Vincent ◽

D. J. Campbell

Keyword(s):

Stream Water ◽

Sewage Effluent ◽

Effluent Irrigation ◽

Sloping Land

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Bee Visitation and Fruit Quality in Berries Under Protected Cropping Vary Along the Length of Polytunnels

Journal of Economic Entomology ◽

10.1093/jee/toaa037 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 113 (3) ◽

pp. 1337-1346 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Mark A Hall ◽

Jeremy Jones ◽

Maurizio Rocchetti ◽

Derek Wright ◽

Romina Rader

Keyword(s):

Wind Speed ◽

Fruit Quality ◽

Uv Light ◽

Fruit Shape ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Pollination Services ◽

Pollinator Abundance ◽

South Wales ◽

Berry Crops ◽

Bee Foraging

Abstract Wild and managed bees provide effective crop pollination services worldwide. Protected cropping conditions are thought to alter the ambient environmental conditions in which pollinators forage for flowers, yet few studies have compared conditions at the edges and center of growing tunnels. We measured environmental variables (temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, white light, and UV light) and surveyed activity of the managed honey bee, Apis mellifera L.; wild stingless bee, Tetragonula carbonaria Smith; and wild sweat bee, Homalictus urbanus Smith, along the length of 32 multiple open-ended polyethylene growing tunnels. These were spaced across 12 blocks at two commercial berry farms, in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales and Walkamin, North Queensland, Australia. Berry yield, fresh weight, and other quality metrics were recorded at discrete increments along the length of the tunnels. We found a higher abundance and greater number of flower visits by stingless bees and honey bees at the end of tunnels, and less frequent visits to flowers toward the middle of tunnels. The center of tunnels experienced higher temperatures and reduced wind speed. In raspberry, fruit shape was improved with greater pollinator abundance and was susceptible to higher temperatures. In blueberry, per plant yield and mean berry weight were positively associated with pollinator abundance and were lower at the center of tunnels than at the edge. Fruit quality (crumbliness) in raspberries was improved with a greater number of visits by sweat bees, who were not as susceptible to climatic conditions within tunnels. Understanding bee foraging behavior and changes to yield under protected cropping conditions is critical to inform the appropriate design of polytunnels, aid pollinator management within them, and increase economic gains in commercial berry crops.

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Quantification of NOX Emissions Based on Car MAX-DOAS Measurements over Beijing and Impacts of Wind Field

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-12459 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Xinghong Cheng

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Wind Speed ◽

Wind Field ◽

Meteorological Condition ◽

Emission Rates ◽

Wind Fields ◽

Vertical Column ◽

Wind Speeds ◽

South Central ◽

The Mean

We carried out 14 days of Car MAX-DOAS experiments on the 6th Ring Rd of Beijing in January, September and October, 2014. The tropospheric vertical column densities (VCD) of NO2 are retrieved and used to estimate the emissions of NOx. The offline LAPS-WRF-CMAQ model system is used to simulate wind fields by assimilation of observational data and calculate the NO2 to NOx concentration ratios. The NOX emissions in Beijing for different seasons derived from Car MAX-DOAS measurements are compared with the multi-resolution emission inventory in China for 2012 (MEIC 2012), and impacts of wind field on estimated emissions and its uncertainties are also investigated. Results show that the NO2 VCD is higher in January than other two months and it is typically larger at the southern parts of the 6th Ring Road than the northern parts of it. Wind field has obvious impacts on the spatial distribution of NO2 VCD, and the mean NO2 VCD with south wind at most sampling points along the 6th Ring Rd is higher than north wind. The journey-to-journey variation pattern of estimated NOX emissions rates (ENOX) is consistent with that of the NO2 VCD, and ENOX is mainly determined by the NO2 VCD. In addition, the journey-to-journey ENOX in the same month is different and it is affected by wind speed, the ratio of NO2 and NOx concentration and the decay rate of NOX from the emission sources to measured positions under different meteorological condition. The ENOX ranges between 6.46&#215;1025 and 50.05&#215;1025 molec s-1. The averaged ENOX during every journey in January, September and October are respectively 35.87&#215;1025, 20.34&#215;1025, 8.96&#215;1025 molec s-1. The estimated ENOX after removing the simulated error of wind speed and observed deviation of NO2 VCD are found to be mostly closer to the MEIC 2012, but sometimes ENOX is lower or higher and it indicates that the MEIC 2012 might be overestimate or underestimate the true emissions. The estimated ENOX on January 27 and September 19 are obviously higher than other journeys in the same month because the mean NO2 VCD and Leighton ratio during these two periods are larger, and corresponding wind speeds are smaller. Additionally, because south wind may affect the spatial distribution of mean NO2 VCD in Beijing which is downwind of south-central&#160;regions of Hebei province with high source emission rates, the uncertainty of the estimated ENOX with south wind will be increased.

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