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French, K. (2022). Indigenous knowledge, water management, and learning from our collective past. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 68, 101466.
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Pree, T. A. D. (2020). The politics of baselining in the Grants uranium mining district of northwestern New Mexico. Journal of Environmental Management, 268, 110601.
Abstract: During the second half of the twentieth century, northwestern New Mexico served as the primary production site for one of the world’s largest nuclear arsenals. From 1948 to 1970 the “Grants uranium district” provided almost half of the total uranium ore accumulated by the United States federal government for the production of nuclear weapons, in addition to becoming a national source for commercial nuclear energy from the late 1960s to the early 1990s. By the twenty-first century, after a prolonged period of economic decline that began in the late 1970s, all uranium mining and milling in New Mexico had ceased, leaving a legacy of environmental health impacts. What was once referred to as “The Uranium Capital of the World” now encompasses over a thousand abandoned uranium mines and seven massive uranium mill tailings piles, which are associated with airborne and soil contamination as well as groundwater plumes of uranium and other contaminants of concern, in a landscape that has been fractured by underground mine workings and punctured by thousands of exploratory boreholes. This article presents an ethnographic study of the diverse forms of expertise involved in monitoring and managing the mine waste and mill tailings. Drawing from over two years of ethnographic research, I describe the relationship between different stakeholders from local communities, government agencies, and transnational mining corporations as they deliberate about the possibility of cleaning up the former mining district. My thesis is that the possibility of cleaning up the Grants district hinges on the “politics of baselining”—a term I introduce to describe the relationship between stakeholders and their competing environmental models and hydrogeological theories; each accounts for a different geological past prior to mining that can be deemed “natural,” as the background against which to measure the anthropogenic impacts from mining.
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Boumaiza, L., Ammar, S. B., Chesnaux, R., Stotler, R. L., Mayer, B., Huneau, F., et al. (2023). Nitrate sources and transformation processes in groundwater of a coastal area experiencing various environmental stressors. Journal of Environmental Management, 345, 118803.
Abstract: In coastal salinized groundwater systems, contamination from various nitrate (NO3) inputs combined with complex hydrogeochemical processes make it difficult to distinguish NO3 sources and identify potential NO3 transformtation processes. Effective field-based NO3 studies in coastal areas are needed to improve the understanding of NO3 contamination dynamics in groundwater of such complex coastal systems. This study focuses on a typical Mediterranean coastal agricultural area, located in Tunisia, experiencing substantial NO3 contamination from multiple anthropogenic sources. Here, multiple isotopic tracers (δ18OH2O, δ2HH2O, δ15NNO3, δ18ONO3, and δ11B) combined with a Bayesian isotope MixSIAR model are used (i) to identify the major NO3 sources and their contributions, and (ii) to describe the potential NO3 transformation processes. The measured NO3 concentrations in groundwater are above the natural baseline threshold, suggesting anthropogenic influence. The measured isotopic composition of NO3 indicates that manure, soil organic matter, and sewage are the potential sources of NO3, while δ11B values constrain the NO3 contamination to manure; a finding that is supported by the results of MixSIAR model revealing that manure-derived NO3 dominates over other likely sources. Nitrate derived from manure in the study area is attributed to organic fertilizers used to promote crop growth, and livestock that deposit manure directly on the ground surface. Evidence for ongoing denitrification in groundwaters of the study area is supported by an enrichment in both 15N and 18O in the remaining NO3, although isotopic mass balances between the measured and the theoretical δ18ONO3 values also suggest the occurrence of nitrification. The simultaneous occurrence of these biogeochemical processes with heterogeneous distribution across the study area reflect the complexity of interactions within the investigated coastal aquifer. The multiple isotopic tracer approach used here can identify the effect of multiple NO3 anthropogenic activities in coastal environments, which is fundamental for sustainable groundwater resources management.
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Dąbrowska, J., Orellana, A. E. M., Kilian, W., Moryl, A., Cielecka, N., Michałowska, K., et al. (2023). Between flood and drought: How cities are facing water surplus and scarcity. Journal of Environmental Management, 345, 118557.
Abstract: Droughts and floods are weather-related hazards affecting cities in all climate zones and causing human deaths and material losses on all inhabited continents. The aim of this article is to review, analyse and discuss in detail the problems faced by urban ecosystems due to water surplus and scarcity, as well as the need of adaptation to climate change taking into account the legislation, current challenges and knowledge gaps. The literature review indicated that urban floods are much more recognised than urban droughts. Amongst floods, flash floods are currently the most challenging, which by their nature are difficult to monitor. Research and adaptation measures related to water-released hazards use cutting-edge technologies for risk assessment, decision support systems, or early warning systems, among others, but in all areas knowledge gaps for urban droughts are evident. Increasing urban retention and introducing Low Impact Development and Nature-based Solutions is a remedy for both droughts and floods in cities. There is the need to integrate flood and drought disaster risk reduction strategies and creating a holistic approach.
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Custódio, D. A., & Ghisi, E. (2023). Impact of residential rainwater harvesting on stormwater runoff. Journal of Environmental Management, 326, 116814.
Abstract: Population increase, climate change and soil impermeability are factors causing floods in large urban centres. Such places also always have water shortage problems. This research aims to evaluate the influence of rainwater harvesting in residential buildings on stormwater in a basin located in southern Brazil (Rio Cachoeira Basin). Urbanised and non-urbanised areas, soil types, curve numbers and time of concentration of each sub-basin were taken into account. Through the HEC-HMS programme, it was possible to calculate hydrographs for the base scenario (when there is no rainwater harvesting). Then, rainwater tanks for the residential buildings were sized using the computer programme Netuno. In the second scenario, there is rainwater harvesting in all residential buildings. Thus, the hydrographs for the second scenario were also calculated. The peak flow reduction potentials for the sub-basins ranged from 2.7% to 14.3%. The highest percentage (14.3%) did not occur in the sub-basin with the most extensive roof area; such highest peak flow reduction occurred in Bom Retiro sub-basin. In Bom Retiro sub-basin, there are more houses than multi-storey residential buildings. Even when considering the full potential of rainwater harvesting for roof areas of all existing buildings in the Rio Cachoeira Basin, the average potential reduction in peak flow was 7.2%. The conclusion is that rainwater tanks in residential buildings have little influence on stormwater runoff, and the stormwater runoff will be less affected when the area of the hydrographic basin is larger. Thus, the reduction in peak flows is insignificant when considering the flooding in the region.
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