Monitoring Rainwater Properties and Outdoor Particulate Matter in a Former Steel Manufacturing City in Romania

Wet deposition is influencing air quality because air pollutants are washed away from the surrounding air. Consequently, particulate matter and associated compounds are transported in the rainwater and enter into soil, surface waters, and groundwater. Nonpoint sources of heavy metals from stormwater runoff have increased in urban areas due to industrialization and the increasing impervious surfaces. In this work, we present an assessment of the rainwater composition regarding the nutrients and other physicochemical characteristics measured in three locations selected in Targoviste city, Romania, a city that had a specialized steel factory and important metallurgical facilities. The rainwater was collected using three PALMEX rain samplers and then was transferred to high-density polyethylene bottles and analyzed using ICP-MS. PM2.5 concentrations were also monitored continuously using optical monitors calibrated using a gravimetric sampler. A detailed analysis of the heavy metals content in rainwater and PM was presented for the pollution episodes occurring in October and November 2019. Backward trajectories were computed using the HYSPLIT model for these periods. The results showed that the PM2.5 ranged from 11.1 to 24.1 μg/m3 in 2019, while the heavy metals in collected rainwater were (µg L−1): 0.25 (Cd) − CV = 26.5%, 0.10 (Co) − CV = 58.1%, 1.77 (Cr) − CV = 24.3%, 377.37 (Ni) − CV = 27.9%, 0.67 (Pb) − CV = 74.3%, and 846.5 (Zn) − CV = 20.6%. Overall, Ni, Pb, Cr, and V had significant correlations between the concentrations from rainwater and PM. Negative associations were found between precipitation events and heavy metals both from rainwater and PM, but only a few showed statistical significance. However, this could explain the “washing” effect of the rain on the heavy metals from PM2.5. The potential sources of nitrogen in the rainwater collected in Targoviste could be from burning fossil fuels and the soils, including both biological processes and fertilization resulting from the intensive agriculture in the piedmont plain in which the city is located. Based on the results, rainwater monitoring can constitute a reliable method for air quality characterization. Additional research is required to better understand seasonality and sources of heterogeneity regarding the associations between PM and rainwater composition.

Irrigation Scheme Selection Based on Water Footprint Analysis of Winter Wheat Production in Piedmont Plains of Hebei Province under Future Climate Scenarios

The statistical downscaling tool of a statistical downscaling model (SDSM) to generate the future climate of the piedmont plain area in Hebei Province for a 30-year period. The Xinji city was selected as a typical example of this area. The crop growth model of the decision support system for agrotechnology transfer (DSSAT) was adopted to estimate the changing trends of the water footprint of winter wheat production in this area under future climate conditions, and to obtain the optimal irrigation scheme of winter wheat for an ‘acceptable yield’. According to the test results, all the temperature indices of the piedmont plain area increased in the two selected future climate scenarios. In addition, the effective precipitation exhibited a slight decrease in scenario A2 and a remarkable increase in scenario B2. Both the total water footprint and green water footprint increased. A yield of 500 kg per mu was taken as the acceptable yield. In scenario A2, to achieve this acceptable yield, it was required to irrigate once in the jointing period with an irrigation rate of 105 mm. In scenario B2, one-time irrigation with an amount of 85 mm was sufficient to reach the acceptable yield.

The history of the forming and the features of the soil, lithological and geomorphological structure of the Jizzakh steppe as the basais for its natural zoning

The paper provides initial materials characterizing the complicated history of formation, natural soils and lithological-geomorphological conditions of the Jizzakh steppe before the beginning of reclamation development. It is shown that on the basis of soil-lithological and geomorphological zoning, the Jizzakh steppe is divided into a number of natural regions belonging to different levels (altitude levels) of the piedmont plain. In total, 22 districts have been identified within the Jizzakh steppe, including the foothill margins. On the piedmont plain itself, the regions are combined into two high-altitude levels: the upper step and the lower step or blanket zone. These two levels differ sharply in terms of drainage conditions and soil salinity. The upper level, covering the upper and middle parts of the alluvial fan, the high interconal Zaamin-Sanzar plain and the Lomakino plateau, is characterized by a weak manifestation of salinity due to relatively good drainage, except for the sloping depressions of the Lomakino plateau. In contrast to the upper level, the lower level, located in the blanket zone of the piedmont plain, is characterized by active natural salinization because of the poor drainage. The saline sediments of the Zaamin cone delta are characterized by the greatest thickness. To a lesser extent, the rocks of the Sanzar cone delta, which are drained by deep gullies, are salinized. The Khavast sloping plain is characterized by a strongly saline upper two-meter layer, with salt and gypsum content decreasing with depth. Thus, it is shown that high salinity and gypsum bearing rocks, as well as high groundwater salinity of the cone delta zone are the source of modern salt accumulation in soils of foothill Golodnostepskaya plain, as well as in soils of the cone delta zone of Djizak steppe.

Suitability assessment of soils of Panchagarh and Thakurgaon for tea (Camellia sinensis L.) and orange (Citrus aurantium L.) cultivation

Experiments were conducted in soils of the five Upazilas, namely Atwari, Tetulia, Boda, Ranisankail and Panchagarh Sadar of Panchagarh and Thakurgaon districts of Bangladesh to assess their potentialities for tea and orange cultivation. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) based soil suitability map was prepared depending on the hydrological, land and soil characteristics. It was observed that about 86, 76 and 50% soils in Atwari, Tetulia and Panchagarh Sadar Upazilas, respectively are suitable for tea and orange cultivation. But in Boda and Ranisankail Upazilas above 60% soils are suitable for cultivation of tea and orange. Besides, five representative soil pedons, namely Bhajanpur, Ranisankail, Pirgachha, Domar and Dimla were studied and compared with the standard suitability formats. The results revealed that soils of the Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts under the Old Himalayan piedmont plain are suitable for tea and orange cultivation. There is a vast scope of utilizing the land and soil resources of the above sites for tea and orange farming.

Meteorological Variability and Groundwater Quality: Examples in Different Hydrogeological Settings

Rainfall and temperature variability causes changes in groundwater recharge that can also influence groundwater quality by different processes. The aim of this study is the analysis of the hydrogeochemical variations over time due to meteorological variability in two different study areas in Italy: an alluvial aquifer in the Piedmont Po plain and an alluvial-pyroclastic aquifer in the Campanian plain. The examined plains show groundwater with natural quality not satisfying the European drinking water standards, or anthropogenic contamination. The peculiar natural quality is due, in the Campanian plain, to the closeness of volcanic areas, and to the presence of reducing conditions. In Piedmont plain a test site is characterized by a point-source contamination by heavy metals, due to the presence of past industrial activities. In all the examined areas there is a diffuse nitrate contamination. The fluctuations of the ions As, F, Fe, Mn, Cr VI, NO3, and Cl were analyzed and compared, using statistical methods, with the variations over time in precipitation, temperature, and piezometric levels, sometimes significant. Results highlight the importance of the groundwater and meteorological monitoring and the key role of the recharge variation in the hydrogeochemical processes. The linking degree between rainfall/temperature variability and hydrogeochemistry is variable, in function of the typology of chemical species, their origin, and of the aquifer characteristics. The fluctuation of climate variables determines sudden changes in the geochemistry of shallow unconfined aquifers (e.g., in the Piedmont plain), while semiconfined or confined aquifers (e.g., in the Volturno-Regi Lagni plain) react with a greater delay to these variations. Moreover, natural quality is more affected by climatic variations than anthropogenic contamination, which is the result of multiple environmental and anthropic factors.

The late Matuyama glaciation in the southern European Alps

<p>The onset of Pleistocene glaciations in the European Alps represented a significant change in the palaeoenvironmental settings of this mountain range. The stratigraphy of the event was described in the subsoil of the Po Plain (Muttoni et al., 2003; Scardia et al., 2012) and is marked by a regional unconformity (namely “Red unconformity”, Muttoni et al., 2003) at 870 ka, in the final part of the Matuyama chron. Elsewhere, in the Alpine end-moraine systems the record of early stages of glaciations is scarce and cryptic. Spots of glacigenic deposits with reverse magnetic polarity were recognized only in the Ivrea (Carraro et al., 1991) and Garda (Cremaschi, 1987; Scardia et al., 2015) end-moraine systems, while deposits related to (peri)glacial environment were recorded along the Lombardian foothills (Scardia et al., 2010). The updated record of the Garda system shows the geometry of a late Matuyama glacier overrunning the piedmont plain with comparable size in respect to the LGM (Monegato et al., 2017). This indicates a fully glaciated Adige-Sarca catchment, one of the largest of the Alps, suggesting that the Alpine Ice Sheet reached one of its waxing climax during a late Matuyama cold stage (MIS20 or MIS22).</p><p> </p><p>References</p><p>Carraro et al. 1991, Boll. Museo Reg. Sc. Nat. Torino 9, 99-117.</p><p>Cremaschi 1987, Edizioni Unicopli, 306 pp.</p><p>Monegato et al. 2017, Scientific Reports 7, 2078.</p><p>Muttoni et al. 2003, Geology 31, 989-992.</p><p>Scardia et al. 2010, Quaternary Science Reviews 29, 832-846.</p><p>Scardia et al. 2012, Tectonics 31, TC6004.</p><p>Scardia et al. 2015, GSA Bulletin 127, 113-130.</p>

Dynamics of Land Use and Land Cover Changes in An Arid Piedmont Plain in the Middle Reaches of the Kaxgar River Basin, Xinjiang, China

The Kaxgar River Basin, a key section of the Tarim River Basin, is a typical ecologically fragile region that has undergone rapid changes to its spatial patterns over the preceding few decades. In particular, the expansion of salinized land has posed a severe threat to ecological restoration and economic development. This study monitored the rates and patterns of land use and land cover (LULC) changes in the plain area of Aketao County in the middle reaches of the Kaxgar River Basin. Five Landsat images (captured in 1990, 1998, 2002, 2013, and 2018) were divided into seven LULC types: built-up land, cultivated land, woodland and grassland, light-moderate salinized land, heavy salinized land, water areas, and bare land. Subsequently, their dynamic processes were analyzed. The results revealed that in 1990, the dominant LULCs were cultivated land, woodland and grassland, and bare land. Throughout the study period (from 1990 to 2018), the coverage of built-up land, cultivated land, bare land, water areas, and light-moderate salinized land increased; by contrast, that of the other LULC types decreased. The most marked LULC changes were the expansion of light-moderate salinized land (by 6.2% of the study area) and the shrinkage of woodland and grassland (by 9.4% of the study area). Almost all the analyzed LULC types underwent conversion to other types; such conversion occurred most frequently between 1998 and 2018. The conversions of woodland and grassland into cultivated land and light-moderate salinized land were the most notable phenomena. Another highly evident change was the conversion of heavy salinized land into bare land. These results revealed that the expansion of salinized land and the shrinkage of woodland and grassland in the study area were the most severe environmental changes. Therefore, ecological protection and salinization control are urgently required to enable local economic development while not exceeding the environmental carrying capacity and ensuring the safety of the “green corridor” in the lower reaches of the Kaxgar River Basin.

Morphological, physical, and clay mineralogy of calcareous and gypsiferous soils in North of Lorestan, Iran

There is limited information about the genesis, classification, and properties of calcareous and gypsiferous soils of western Iran. This study investigated the morphological, physical, and mineralogical characteristics of soils on different physiographic units, including plateau, colluvial fans, and piedmont plain in the Aleshtar region. The results indicated that the parent materials (calcareous and gypsiferous) as well as topographic conditions had the most influence on the soil profile development, pedogenic processes, and clay mineralogy. Illite, chlorite, smectite, palygorskite, and kaolinite clay minerals were identified using X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Illite, chlorite, and kaolinite have genetically been inherited from parent rocks. Neoformation of smectite and palygorskite other than genetic inheritance was formed as a result of calcite and gypsum precipitation and poor drainage. Calcareous soils with the petrocalcic horizon and gypsiferous soils contained more pedogenic palygorskite. In conclusion, we suggest adding a new great group of Gypsixerepts to the soil taxonomy to reflect the presence of pedogenic gypsum in Inceptisols.