Optical water quality assessment

Measuring fluorescence to improve water monitoring

2010-12-15

(Press-News.org) Madison, WI December 14, 2010 -- Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have proven that measuring fluorescence could improve source water monitoring during a study of the McKenzie River in Oregon. The study was designed to assess the amount, type and source of dissolved organic carbon that exists in all sources of drinking water.

Dissolved organic carbon can react with chlorine during water treatment and form halogenated compounds, commonly referred to as disinfection byproducts. Some of these byproducts are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, but a lack of strict controls and guidelines underscores the need for better understanding of sources for dissolved organic carbon. Measuring optical properties allows for researches to account for concentration, composition, and source of dissolved organic carbon, as well as its propensity to form disinfection byproducts.

In 2007 and 2008, water samples from the McKenzie River mainstream, tributaries and reservoir outflow were analyzed by scientists from the USGS in collaboration with the Eugene Water and Electric Board. Optical measurements assessed the full spectrum of fluorescence and absorption to provide an understanding of dissolved organic carbon properties and patterns, and to ascertain the benefits of using such measurements.

Results indicated sources of dissolved organic carbon and disinfection byproducts precursors originated upstream. They are most likely the consequence of human activity and are strongly linked to changes in the flow path of the waterway. Downstream tributaries did contain higher dissolved organic carbon concentrations; however they comprise less than 5% of the mainstream flow and therefore do not have a significant impact on drinking water.

Although there was interference while measuring the absorbance spectra, the study presented conclusive evidence illustrating the value of measuring optical properties.

"Optical measurements have the potential to be less expensive, faster, and more sensitive than laboratory chemical-based analyses," says Tamara Kraus, one of the authors of the study.

According to Kraus, instruments that measure optical properties have recently been developed and have the potential to help water utilities to understand the trends in water quality. She suggests that it would be more feasible and cost effective to lower the amount of disinfection byproducts precursors than establishing additional water treatment technologies.

INFORMATION:

The full study is available in the November-December 2010 issue of the Journal of Environmental Quality.

The full article is available for no charge for 30 days following the date of this summary. View the abstract at https://www.agronomy.org/publications/jeq/abstracts/39/6/2100.

The Journal of Environmental Quality is a peer-reviewed, international journal of environmental quality in natural and agricultural ecosystems published six times a year by the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA). The Journal of Environmental Quality covers various aspects of anthropogenic impacts on the environment, including terrestrial, atmospheric, and aquatic systems.

The American Society of Agronomy (ASA) www.agronomy.org, is a scientific society helping its 8,000+ members advance the disciplines and practices of agronomy by supporting professional growth and science policy initiatives, and by providing quality, research-based publications and a variety of member services.

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Human umbilical cord blood cells found to enhance survival and maturation of key brain cells

2010-12-15

Laboratory culture (in vitro) studies examining the activity of human umbilical cord blood cells (HUCB) on experimental models of central nervous system aging, injury and disease, have shown that HUCBs provide a 'trophic effect' (nutritional effect) that enhances survival and maturation of hippocampal neurons harvested from both young and old laboratory animals. "As we age, cognitive function tends to decline," said Alison E. Willing, PhD, a professor in the University of South Florida's (USF) Department of Neurosurgery and Brain repair and lead author for a study published ...

Tiny channels carry big information

2010-12-15

They say it's the little things that count, and that certainly holds true for the channels in transmembrane proteins, which are small enough to allow ions or molecules of a certain size to pass through, while keeping out larger objects. Artificial fluidic nanochannels that mimic the capabilities of transmembrane proteins are highly prized for a number of advanced technologies. However, it has been difficult to make individual artificial channels of this size – until now. Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley ...

New survey device gets better information on teenage sexual behavior

2010-12-15

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Brown University sociologists have developed a device to gather more reliable data about risky sexual behavior among Ethiopian teenagers and young adults than conventional face-to-face interviews can produce. Simple, portable, low-cost, and low-tech, the group's new nonverbal response card allows respondents to communicate nonverbally and confidentially during face-to-face interviews. Professors of sociology David Lindstrom and Dennis Hogan, and postdoctoral research associate Megan Klein Hattori published their findings in the December ...

Special section on stigma in Perspectives on Psychological Science: Group differences, not deficits

2010-12-15

Psychological scientists are faced with the arduous task of identifying distinctions between humans without stigmatizing groups of people based on these differences. In this special section of Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, experts present reasons for why differences in gender, race, sexual orientation, and culture should not be framed as deficits within the field of psychology. Stigma From Psychological Science: Group Differences, Not Deficits—Introduction to Stigma Special Section (http://pps.sagepub.com/content/5/6/687.full) ...

CSHL scientists identify elusive neuronal targets of deep brain stimulation

2010-12-15

Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. – Shooting steady pulses of electricity through slender electrodes into a brain area that controls complex behaviors has proven to be effective against several therapeutically stubborn neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. Now, a new study has found that this technique, called deep brain stimulation (DBS), targets the same class of neuronal cells that are known to respond to physical exercise and drugs such as Prozac. The study, led by Associate Professor Grigori Enikolopov, Ph.D., of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), is the cover ...

The ethics of biofuels

2010-12-15

In the world-wide race to develop energy sources that are seen as "green" because they are renewable and less greenhouse gas-intensive, sometimes the most basic questions remain unanswered. In a paper released today by the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary, authors Michal Moore, Senior Fellow, and Sarah M. Jordaan at Harvard University in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, look at the basic question of whether these energy sources are ethical. In addition to arguing that the greenhouse gas benefits of biofuel are overstated by many policymakers, ...

Researchers discover new signaling pathway linked to inflammatory disease

2010-12-15

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have described for the first time a key inhibitory role for the IL-1 signaling pathway in the human innate immune system, providing novel insights into human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and potential new treatments. The research, led by Jose M. Gonzalez-Navajas, PhD, and Eyal Raz, MD, a professor of medicine at UC San Diego, is published as a Brief Definitive Report in the December issue of The Journal of Experimental Medicine. The researchers report that signaling by the interleukin 1 receptor ...

Fighting flu in newborns begins in pregnancy

2010-12-15

A three-year study by Yale School of Medicine researchers has found that vaccinating pregnant women against influenza is over 90 percent effective in preventing their infants from being hospitalized with influenza in the first six months of life. Published in the December 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, the study builds on preliminary data the research team presented last year at the Infectious Disease Society of America in Philadelphia. Influenza is a major cause of serious respiratory disease in pregnant women and of hospitalization in infants. Although the ...

Scripps scientists see the light in bizarre bioluminescent snail

2010-12-15

Two scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego have provided the first details about the mysterious flashes of dazzling bioluminescent light produced by a little-known sea snail. Dimitri Deheyn and Nerida Wilson of Scripps Oceanography (Wilson is now at the Australian Museum in Sydney) studied a species of "clusterwink snail," a small marine snail typically found in tight clusters or groups at rocky shorelines. These snails were known to produce light, but the researchers discovered that rather than emitting a focused beam of light, the animal uses ...

Mothers' diets have biggest influence on children eating healthy

2010-12-15

EAST LANSING, Mich. — As health professionals search for ways to combat the rise in obesity and promote healthy eating, new research reveals a mother's own eating habits – and whether she views her child as a 'picky eater' – has a huge impact on whether her child consumes enough fruits and vegetables. A study by professor Mildred Horodynski of Michigan State University's College of Nursing looked at nearly 400 low-income women (black and non-Hispanic white) with children ages 1-3 enrolled in Early Head Start programs. Results show toddlers were less likely to consume ...

Optical water quality assessment

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: