Integrated assessment of river health based on water quality, aquatic life and physical habitat

The health conditions of Liao River were assessed using 25 sampling sites in April 2005, with water quality index, biotic index and physical habitat quality index. Based on the method of cluster analysis （CA） for water quality indices, it revealed that heavily polluted sites of Liao River are located at estuary and mainstream. The aquatic species surveyed were attached algae and benthic invertebrates. The result showed that the diversity and biomass of attached algae and benthic index of biotic integrity （B-IBI） were degrading as the chemical and physical quality of water bodies deteriorating. Physiochemical parameters, BODs, CODcr, TN, TP, NH3-N, DO, petroleum hydrocarbon and conductivity, were statistically analyzed with principal component analysis and correlation analysis. The statistical results were incorporated into the integrated assessing water quality index, combining fecal coliform count, attached algae diversity, B-IBI and physical habitat quality score. A comprehensive integrated assessing system of fiver ecological health was established. Based on the systimetic assessment, the assessed sites are categorized into 9 ＂healthy＂ and ＂sub-healthy＂ sites and 8 ＂sub-sick＂ and ＂sick＂ sites.

A New Approach for the Health Assessment of River Systems Based on Interconnected Water System Networks

Interconnected river system networks is a national water conservancy strategy in China and focus of research. Here we discuss the classification system, material and energy exchange between rivers and lakes, various dynamic flows and ecological functions of river-lake interconnected relationships. We then propose a novel method for the health assessment of river systems based on interconnected water system networks. In a healthy river system there is ＂material and energy exchange＂ and it is the first and foremost relationship of material and energy exchange between rivers and lakes. There are unobstructed various ＂flows＂ between rivers and lakes including material flows （water, dissolved substances, sediments, organisms and contaminants）, energy flows （water levels, flow and flow velocity）, information flows （information generated with water flows, organisms and human activities） and value flows （shipping, power generation, drinking and irrigation）. Under the influences of na- ture and human activity, various flows are connected by river-lake interconnection to carry material and energy exchange between rivers and lakes to achieve river-lake interactions. The material and energy exchange between rivers and lakes become one of the approaches and the direct driving forces of changes in river-lake interconnected relationships. The benignant changes in river-lake interconnected relationship tend to be in relatively steady state and in ideal dynamic balance.

Spatial–temporal distribution and potential ecological risk assessment of nonylphenol and octylphenol in riverine outlets of Pearl River Delta, China

The aquatic environments of the Pearl River Delta in Southern China are subjected to contamination with various industrial chemicals from local industries. In this paper, the occurrence, seasonal variation and spatial distribution of alkylphenol octylphenol （OP） and nonylphenol （NP） in fiver surface water and sediments in the runoff outlets of the Pearl River Delta were investigated. NP and OP were detected in all water and sediment samples and their mean concentrations in surface water during the dry season ranged from 810 to 3366 ng/L and 85.5 to 581 ng/L, respectively, and those in sediments ranged from 14.2 to 95.2 ng/g dw and 0.4 to 3.0 ng/g dw, respectively. In surface water, much higher concentrations were detected in the dry season than those in the wet season. In sediments, the concentrations in the dry season were also mostly higher. High concentrations of NP and OP were found in Humen outlet, likely due to high levels of domestic and industrial wastewater discharges. An ecological risk assessment with the use of hazard quotient （HQ） was also carried out and the HQvalues ranged from 3.6 × 10^-5 to 35 and 64% of samples gave a HQ 〉 1, indicating that the current levels of NP and OP pose a significant risk to the relevant aquatic organisms in the region.

Underestimated seismic hazard in the south of the Issyk-Kul Lake region (northern Tian Shan)

The Tian Shan Mountains were formed in the result of the India-Eurasia collision, which leads to cre- ation of contrast high-mountain relief and world known seismic activity. The seismic catastrophes, recorded instrumentally, have occurred to the north of the Issyk-Kul Lake region. There are also known significant earthquakes with magnitude being about 7 in western and eastern parts of the mentioned lake region. Only in the south of the Issyk-Kul depression the strong earthquakes recorded by the seismic network were not known. Our recent study in the south of the lssyk-Kul Lake region has revealed numerous active tectonic structures related to South Issyk-I（ul Fault： faults and folds, responsible for strong earthquakes＇ occurrence. These were historical and paleoseismic defornlations which led to changes in relief： fault scarps and significant rockslides. We have also found spectacular deformations in archeological monuments. All these deformations testify the location of epicentral areas of two strong historic （about llth and 16th （？） centuries AD） and paleoearthquakes （Holocene and Late Pleistocene）. Magnitude of ancient seismic events, according to parameters of the revealed fault scarps, were Ms 〉 7 and seismic intensity I 〉 IX. All revealed seismic deformations are located to adyrs （piedmonts） of the Terskey Ala-Too range bordered of the lssyk-Kul Lake depression in the south. Their formation is described by the model of a fault which rupture plane becomes shallower southward. This model is complicated by the presence of reverse thrusts. Here, we should admit the existence of a single zone of South lssyk-Kul Fault which is a long-lived feature which separates the structures with the different regime of movements during the Neotectonic time. All obtained data led us to a conclusion of significant underestimation of the seismic hazard in southern lssyk-Kul Lake region.

Determination of hexabromocyclododecanes in sediments from the Haihe River in China by an optimized HPLC–MS–MS method

Hexabromocyclododecanes（HBCDs）,a new type of persistent organic pollutants widely used as brominated flame retardants,have attracted wide attention due to their increasing level and toxicity. A method based on high-performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry（HPLC–MS–MS）in electrospray ionization mode has been developed by optimization of various parameters,which effectively improved the separation degree and responsive intensity of α-,β-and γ-HBCD isomers. The concentrations and distribution profiles of three HBCD isomers were investigated in sediments from the Haihe River in China.It was observed that the concentrations of HBCDs varied in the range of 0.4–58.82 ng/g,showing a decreasing trend along the flow direction,possibly due to attenuation and biodegradation along the flow direction of the Haihe River. The distribution profile of α-,β-,γ-HBCD was 7.91%–88.6%,0–91.47%,and 0.62%–42.83%,respectively. Interestingly,α-HBCD dominated in most sample sites. This was different from the distribution profile in commercial industrial products,which might be attributed to the inter-transformation and different degradation rates of the three HBCD isomers. The potential ecological risk of HBCDs in sediment was characterized under the two-tiered procedure of the European Medicines Evaluation Agency for environmental risk assessment. Although the HBCDs in the selected section of the Haihe River presented ＂no risk＂ in the sediment compartment,its risk in sediment cannot be neglected since sediment is one of the important sinks and reservoirs of pollutants.

Development and preliminary application of a method to assess river ecological status in the Hai River Basin,north China

The river ecosystem in the Hai River Basin（HRB）, an important economic region in China, is seriously degraded. With the aim of river restoration in the HRB, we developed a method to assess the river＇s ecological status and conducted a preliminary application of the method.The established method was a predictive model, which used macroinvertebrates as indicator organisms. The river＇s ecological status was determined by calculating the ratio of observed to expected values（O/E）. The method included ecoregionalization according to natural factors, and the selection of reference sites based on combinations of habitat quality and macroinvertebrate community. Macroinvertebrate taxa included Insecta,Crustacea, Gastropoda, and Oligochaeta, with 39 families and 95 genera identified in the HRB. The HRB communities were dominated by pollution tolerant taxa, such as Lymnaeidae, Chironomus, Limnodrilus, Glyptotendipes, and Tubifex. The average Shannon–Wiener index was 1.40 ± 0.5, indicating a low biodiversity. In the river length of 3.31 × 10^4 km, 55% of the sites were designated poor, with a bad ecological status. Among nine secondary river systems, Luan and Zi-ya had the best and worst river conditions,respectively. Only 17 reference site groups were selected for river management in the 41 ecoregions examined. This study lays the foundation for river restoration and related research in the HRB, and we anticipate further developments of this novel method.

Excretion of manure-borne estrogens and androgens and their potential risk estimation in the Yangtze River Basin

The Yangtze River is the longest river in China, and the river basin spans one fifth of the area of the whole country. Based on statistical data, the excretion of manure-borne steroid hormones, including steroid estrogens（SEs） and steroid androgens（SAs）, in 10 provinces of China within the region has been estimated. The potential environmental and ecological risk of manure-borne steroid estrogens to the surface water in this region was also assessed. The manure-borne SE and SA excretions in the 10 provinces and municipalities vary in the order： Sichuan 〉 Hunan 〉 Hubei 〉 Yunnan 〉 Jiangsu 〉 Anhui 〉 Jiangxi 〉Chongqing 〉 Qinghai 〉 Shanghai. The highest increase of manure-borne SEs（1434.3 kg）and SAs（408.5 kg） was found in Hunan and Hubei provinces, respectively, and the total excretion in 2013 was 65% more than 15 years earlier in these two provinces. However, the emissions in Anhui and Shanghai decreased in this 15 year period of time. Swine urine,chicken feces, cattle urine, and laying hen feces were considered the dominant sources of manure-borne E1, βE2, αE2, and SAs, respectively. Although Jiangsu province did not have the largest excretion of manure-borne SEs, it had the highest level of predicted17β-estradiol equivalency（EEQs） value of 16.65 ng/L in surface water because of the limited surface water resources. According to the lowest observable effect level of 10 ng/L for17β-estradiol, the manure-borne SEs in Jiangsu province might potentially pose ecological risk to its wild aquatic organisms.

Perfluoroalkyl substances and organochlorine pesticides in sediments from Huaihe watershed in China

Twelve perfluoroalkyl substances （PFASs） and nine organochlorine pesticides （OCPs） were quantified in surface sediments from the Huaihe River, China, along which there are intensive industrial and agricultural activities. Concentrations of PFASs ranged from 0.06 to 0.46 ng/g dry weight （dw）, and concentrations of OCPs ranged from 1.48 to 32.65 ng/g dw. Compared with other areas in China, concentrations of PFASs were lesser than the national mean value, while concentrations of OCPs were moderate. Concentrations of perfluorooctanoic acid （PFOA） and perfluorooctane sulfonate （PFOS） ranged from n.d. （not detected） to 0.03 and n.d. to 0.10 ng/g dw, respectively. Among the three groups of OCPs, mean concentrations of hexachlorocyclohexane and its isomers （HCHs）, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its metabolites （DDTs） and hexachlorobenzene （HCB） were 5.62 ± 4.35, 2.43 ± 3.12 and 1.55 ± 4.17 ng/g dw, respectively. Concentrations of HCHs and DDTs decreased from upstream to downstream along the mainstream of the Huaihe River. When compared to sediment quality guidelines （SQGs）, concentrations of HCHs, DDTs and HCB would pose adverse biological effects. In general, contamination by PFASs in the upstream of the Huaihe River was more severe than that in the downstream, which was mainly caused by interception from dams, locks and industrial emissions. And OCPs from tributaries, especially the Yinghe River and Wohe River, were higher than those from Huaihe mainstream, and primarily came from historical inputs.