PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Researchers devise hidden dune filters to treat coastal stormwater runoff

Researchers devise hidden dune filters to treat coastal stormwater runoff
2013-03-19
(Press-News.org) When it rains, untreated stormwater can sweep pollutants into coastal waters, potentially endangering public health. Now researchers from North Carolina State University have developed low-cost filtration systems that are concealed beneath sand dunes and filter out most of the bacteria that can lead to beach closures.

"It was not economically feasible to use a tract of beachfront property to treat stormwater. Instead, we were able to devise a system that could be installed in an area that was not developable – underneath the dunes," says Dr. Michael Burchell, an assistant professor of biological and agricultural engineering at NC State and senior author of a paper on the research.

Specifically, the so-called dune infiltration systems reduced the concentration of bacteria in stormwater runoff by 96 percent.

The researchers designed and built two such systems in Kure Beach, N.C. The systems consist of large, open-bottomed chambers that effectively divert the stormwater into dunes, which serve as giant sand filters. The systems are built under dunes that are covered with vegetation. The researchers then launched a three-year study to see how the filters would perform.

"We needed to know if these filters would affect the flow of ground water, affect dune erosion and whether they would effectively limit bacterial pollution," Burchell says.

The filters "exceeded our expectations" at removing bacterial pollution, Burchell says. And the study found minimal impact on ground water. There were short-term increases in ground water levels during storms, but those increases dissipated in anywhere from a few hours to two weeks.

"And we found that after replanting, the coverage of the dune vegetation actually exceeded what had been there previously – which is important to dune stability," Burchell says.

Burchell's team has since installed a third dune infiltration system in a more developed location to see if the system is able to handle higher flow rates, water volume and concentrations of bacteria. That work is ongoing, but early results are promising.



INFORMATION:

The paper, "Long-term study of dune infiltration systems to treat coastal stormwater runoff for fecal bacteria," is published in the March 2013 issue of Ecological Engineering. Lead author of the paper is former NC State grad student W. D. Price. Co-authors are Dr. Bill Hunt, an associate professor of biological and agricultural engineering at NC State; and Dr. George Chescheir, an associate research professor of biological and agricultural engineering at NC State. The work was supported by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, and the filtration systems were installed by the Town of Kure Beach.


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Researchers devise hidden dune filters to treat coastal stormwater runoff

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

It's a sure thing: Knowledge of the game is not an advantage in sports gambling

2013-03-19
Psychologists have traditionally characterized compulsive gambling as an "impulse control disorder," and treated it by addressing the patient's obsessive tendencies. But according to Prof. Pinhas Dannon of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Beer Yaakov Mental Health Center, not all pathological gamblers fit the same profile. Though gambling is typically associated with casino games, strategic sports betting is rapidly gaining in popularity — and that's a whole other ball game, Prof. Dannon explains. "Sports gamblers seem to believes themselves the ...

Can a tropical water flea invade European lakes?

Can a tropical water flea invade European lakes?
2013-03-19
Daphnia is a genus of small, planktonic crustaceans, commonly called 'water fleas' because of their jumpy swimming style and their size (between 0.2 and 5 mm). They live in various aquatic environments, ranging from acidic swamps to freshwater lakes, ponds, streams and rivers. Species of the genus Daphnia play a key role in freshwater food webs: they consume algae and are themselves an important food item for small fish. Daphnia lumholtzi is a small subtropical and tropical representative, known as an invader in North America. It has never been found in Europe in the ...

Caterpillar-walk exhumation, the downfall of the Moche, and trilobites in camouflage

2013-03-19
Boulder, Colo., USA – New Geology articles posted online ahead of print cover everything from cratering on Mars to leopard-like camouflage in trilobites. Locations studied include the Ries Impact Crater; Hydrate Ridge, Oregon; Stromboli volcano; northern Peru; the Bushveld Complex, South Africa; western and central New York state; the Sahara Desert; and the French Alps. Brief highlights follow: 1. Analogous cratering at the Ries Impact Crater, Germany, and on Mars; 2. A presentation of the first secure, high-resolution land-sea PSV-based sediment-core synchronization; 3. ...

Wireless, implanted sensor broadens range of brain research

Wireless, implanted sensor broadens range of brain research
2013-03-19
A compact, self-contained sensor recorded and transmitted brain activity data wirelessly for more than a year in early stage animal tests, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. In addition to allowing for more natural studies of brain activity in moving subjects, this implantable device represents a potential major step toward cord-free control of advanced prosthetics that move with the power of thought. The report is in the April 2013 issue of the Journal of Neural Engineering. "For people who have sustained paralysis or limb amputation, rehabilitation ...

DNA catalysts do the work of protein enzymes

DNA catalysts do the work of protein enzymes
2013-03-19
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois chemists have used DNA to do a protein's job, creating opportunities for DNA to find work in more areas of biology, chemistry and medicine than ever before. Led by Scott Silverman, a professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the researchers published their findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Ideally, researchers would like to be able to design and build new catalysts from scratch that can do exactly what they want. Many enzymes make small modifications to the building blocks ...

UMass Amherst researchers reveal mechanism of novel biological electron transfer

UMass Amherst researchers reveal mechanism of novel biological electron transfer
2013-03-19
AMHERST, Mass. – When researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst led by microbiologist Derek Lovley discovered that the bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens conducts electricity very effectively along metallic-like "microbial nanowires," they found physicists quite comfortable with the idea of such a novel biological electron transfer mechanism, but not biologists. "For biologists, Geobacter's behavior represents a paradigm shift. It goes against all that we are taught about biological electron transfer, which usually involves electrons hopping from one molecule ...

Sex between monogamous heterosexuals rarely source of hepatitis C infection

2013-03-19
Individuals infected by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) have nothing to fear from sex in a monogamous, heterosexual relationship. Transmission of HCV from an infected partner during sex is rare according to new research published in the March issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). Experts estimate that HCV affects up to 4 million Americans, most of whom are sexually active. Medical evidence shows HCV is primarily transmitted by exposure to infectious blood, typically through intravenous ...

Greenhouse gas policies ignoring gap in household incomes: University of Alberta study

2013-03-19
Government policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from consumers need to be fairer for household income levels, says a University of Alberta researcher. A U of A study published recently online in the journal Environment and Behaviour looks at the different sources of greenhouse gas emissions from consumers, based on their income levels. The wealthiest households in Alberta emit the most greenhouse gases, but too often, income disparity hasn't been factored in to current polices—such as the carbon flat tax that is levied to British Columbia residents. Such ...

Kill Bill character inspires the name of a new parasitoid wasp species

Kill Bill character inspires the name of a new parasitoid wasp species
2013-03-19
Parasitoid wasps of the family Braconidae are known for their deadly reproductive habits. Most of the representatives of this group have their eggs developing in other insects and their larvae, eventually killing the respective host, or in some cases immobilizing it or causing its sterility. Three new species of the parasitoid wasp genus Cystomastacoides, recently described in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research, reflect this fatal behavior. Two of the new species were discovered in Papua New Guinea, while the third one comes from Thailand. The Thai species, Cystomastacoides ...

Newly incarcerated have 1 percent acute hepatitis C prevalence

2013-03-19
A study published in the March issue of Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, estimates that the prevalence of acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is nearly one percent among newly incarcerated inmates with a history of recent drug use. Findings suggest that systematic screening of intravenous (IV) drug users who are new to the prison system could identify more than 7,000 cases of HCV across the U.S. annually—even among asymptomatic inmates. According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Health—the ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Individuals with multiple sclerosis face substantially greater risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19, despite high rates of vaccination

Study shows obesity in childhood associated with a more than doubling of risk of developing multiple sclerosis in early adulthood

Rice Emerging Scholars Program receives $2.5M NSF grant to boost STEM education

Virtual rehabilitation provides benefits for stroke recovery

Generative AI develops potential new drugs for antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Biofuels could help island nations survive a global catastrophe, study suggests

NJIT research team discovering how fluids behave in nanopores with NSF grant

New study shows association of historical housing discrimination and shortfalls in colon cancer treatment

Social media use may help to empower plastic surgery patients

Q&A: How to train AI when you don't have enough data

Wayne State University researchers uncover potential treatment targets for Zika virus-related eye abnormalities

Discovering Van Gogh in the wild: scientists unveil a new gecko species

Small birds spice up the already diverse diet of spotted hyenas in Namibia

Imaging detects transient “hypoxic pockets” in the mouse brain

Dissolved organic matter could be used to track and improve the health of freshwaters

Indoor air quality standards in public buildings would boost health and economy, say international experts

Positive associations between premenstrual disorders and perinatal depression

New imaging method illuminates oxygen's journey in the brain

Researchers discover key gene for toxic alkaloid in barley

New approach to monitoring freshwater quality can identify sources of pollution, and predict their effects

Bidirectional link between premenstrual disorders and perinatal depression

Cell division quality control ‘stopwatch’ uncovered

Vaccine protects cattle from bovine tuberculosis, may eliminate disease

Andrew Siemion to receive the SETI Institute’s 2024 Drake Award

New study shows how the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus enters our cells

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy proves effective for locally advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma

Study flips treatment paradigm in bilateral Wilms tumor, shows resistance to chemotherapy may point toward favorable outcomes

Doctors received approximately $12.1 billion from drug and device makers between 2013-2022

Discovery suggests new strategy against follicular lymphoma

Making the future too bright: how wishful thinking can point us in the wrong direction

[Press-News.org] Researchers devise hidden dune filters to treat coastal stormwater runoff