1,720,992 research outputs found
Education and capacity development for groundwater resources management
No full textEducation and capacity development are crucial for successful groundwater management.
There are different actors and educational needs to be considered. The education
of groundwater professionals should cover the basics of groundwater science as well as
the many other technical and socio-economic issues at the interface between groundwater
and other disciplines. To achieve these aims, there are complementary educational
roles for universities, individual practitioners, NGOs, consultancies, scientific associations
and international development agencies. In addition, there is a need for
the education of policy makers and the general public, including well owners, who
are key stakeholders in groundwater governance. There is also a need for properlyfunctioning
institutions for the management of groundwater resources, yet the reality
is that many of the institutions are under-resourced, both in expertise about groundwater
and in financial resources. Capacity development is therefore crucial for improved
groundwater management. Different communication strategies are required for different
stakeholders, and there are opportunities for groundwater scientists to make more
use of social media and visual art in their outreach activities. Capacity development
can be enhanced by knowledge-sharing through the establishment of participatory
fora, and through schemes involving the assignment of local counterpart staff to work
alongside international experts
Modelling of hydrological pathways in Irish cathchments
No full textTHESIS 9878Conceptually, the main hydrological pathways contributing to river discharge are overland flow, interflow, shallow groundwater and deep groundwater. The percentage of the river hydrograph derived from each of these pathways is an important aspect of any hydrological study and is the focus of this research. Data collected from four study catchments as part of this research (rainfall, river discharge and temperature data from the river and boreholes) and available data from supplementary catchments, were analysed to determine the contribution of the pathways to river discharge through the application of various analytical techniques. Physical separation methods (recharge coefficients, master recession curve analysis, digital filtering algorithms and temperature tracer analysis) were employed to provide realistic ranges for the percentage of the river discharge derived from each of the pathways utilising measured discharge in the river, the geological setting of the catchment and temperature measurements in the river and the subsurface into account
Air quality monitoring and modelling at motorway and roundabout sites in Ireland
No full textTHESIS 7678EU legislation requires Ireland to set ambient air quality objectives, assess the ambient air quality, gather information on ambient air quality and make it available to the public, and to maintain or improve the ambient air quality. These ambient air quality objectives are specified in the Daughter Directives of the Air Quality Framework Directive (CEC, 1996; 1999; 2000; 2002). The Irish EPA considered that NO2 and PM10 would present the greatest challenges in meeting the EU standards and warned of the implications for traffic management and transport policy (EPA, 2000). ?Road traffic has replaced stationary combustion sources as the greatest threat? to air quality in Ireland, according to the EPA (2000). The transport sector is estimated to contribute 50% of total NOx emissions and 80% of total CO emissions in Ireland. Sources of PMio in Ireland are under investigation. Although classified as priority pollutants, there has been no historical national monitoring campaign for CO, NO2, PM10 and benzene, as there has been for smoke and sulphur dioxide
The impact of domestic wastewater treatment system effluent on private water wells: an evaluation of contamination fingerprinting techniques
No full textThe absence of a public water supply network in many rural areas of Ireland means that approximately 162,000 households rely on private wells for their water provision. In many cases such rural areas are also not connected to a centralised sewerage network and therefore depend on onsite domestic wastewater treatment systems (DWWTS). The necessity for the disposal of domestic wastewater and the attainment of safe drinking water within a spatially confined household site requires an in-depth understanding of the contaminant transport and attenuation processes for the DWWTS effluent - in parallel with suitable water well design and construction - in order to ensure groundwater resources (and hence human health) are adequately protected.
Previous sampling studies of private wells in Ireland have, however, shown a proportion to be contaminated, with sources of microbial contamination known to include DWWTS, as well as practices associated with intensive agricultural production. As exposure to faecal contaminated water is associated with acute gastrointestinal illness, which in some cases can prove fatal, it is important that sources and pathways of well contamination are identified and remedied. However, while the microbial quality of private well water is commonly assessed using faecal indicator bacteria (FIB), such as E. coli, FIB are not source-specific, and provide no information as to the origin of the contamination, making remedial actions and the refinement of best practices in onsite wastewater treatment and private well protection challenging. The overall aim of this research was to assess the impact of DWWTS on the well water quality of private wells in Ireland, through the application of a range of chemical and microbiological contamination fingerprinting techniques, including an evaluation of their ability to apportion contamination to a specific source.
A total of 212 households dependent on private wells and DWWTS were evaluated by individual site assessments that recorded variables relating to the hydrogeological setting, the individual construction features of each well and its siting relative to potential sources of contamination. The findings demonstrated that a significant proportion of wells were often inadequately sealed and protected against contamination via direct ingress. Subsequent sampling and analysis of each well for a range of chemical and microbial water quality indicators found that 15% were indeed contaminated with E. coli.
Through the development of a multiple logistic regression statistical model, the site assessment and water quality data were analysed to identify the specific factors associated with private well contamination. While geological setting and siting with respect to a DWWTS were not found to be significantly associated with the occurrence of contamination, poor wellhead condition and proximity to a potential point source of agricultural contamination were statistically significantly associated with the presence of E. coli.
A representative subset of 24 wells was monitored over a 14-month period to assess temporal variation in well water quality. This monitoring period identified significant temporal variation in quality, with 58 % of the wells testing positive for E. coli on at least one occasion.
These wells were then used to evaluate a range of chemical and microbiological fingerprinting techniques. Fingerprinting methods evaluated include ionic ratios (K/Na and Cl/Br), fluorescent whitening compounds, faecal sterol profiles, artificial sweeteners, caffeine, pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine and sulfamethoxazole) and human specific Bacteroidales 16S rRNA genetic markers.
The performance of each fingerprinting technique as well as the resources (and hence costs) required for their application varied considerably. Three methods/compounds (K/Na, Cl/Br and acesulfame) showed promise in identifying sources of well contamination. Elevated K/Na and Cl/Br ratios were found to be an indicator of potential impacts from decaying organic matter (such as farmyard waste) and DWWTS, respectively. The artificial sweetener acesulfame was detected on several occasions in a number of faecally-contaminated wells. Its conservative nature and anthropogenic origin suggest its potential use as a fingerprinting technique for human wastewater. In contrast, carbamazepine, sulfamethoxazole, caffeine, FWC and faecal sterol profile analysis appear to show reduced potential due to limited or non-detection. Whilst human and bovine specific Bacteroidales genetic markers were detected, further work is required to identify how the culture-independent nature of the method relates to faecal contamination.
The findings from this research were used to develop a stepped approach that could be applied to any private well in Ireland (and potentially internationally) in order to identify well water quality and the source(s) of any contamination that is identified. This tiered approach has the potential to identify the well water quality, its susceptibility to contamination, the source of contamination if any present and, hence, any remedial works that are required. As this research has indicated that a significant number of private wells are at least intermittently contaminated, the application of the tiered approach across Ireland is recommended to ensure groundwater and human health are protected
Private wells in Ireland : a quantitative assessment of groundwater quality, consumer awareness, contamination susceptibility and human health risk
No full textTHESIS 9626A doctoral research study, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency, was undertaken to examine and assess the health risks associated with private groundwater sources in Ireland. Furthermore, the potential contamination pathways and mechanisms, including consumer awareness, were investigated, quantified and modelled, in order to provide risk management and communication tools in the form of a source susceptibility model and guidance for private groundwater consumers in Ireland. Four primary study areas were selected using decision-based criteria for data acquisition and subsequent analyses, with a fifth area used for model verification. Within the four main study areas, 211 private groundwater sources, of differing design and construction characteristics were surveyed using a developed site assessment process. Furthermore, groundwater samples from each assessed source were analysed for a comprehensive suite of physicochemical, chemical and microbial parameters, with a number of these sources tested on a monthly basis for up to 21-months. A groundwater awareness questionnaire was developed and completed with 545 private groundwater users
Evaluation of background concentrations of air pollutants in Ireland and the development of guidelines for local assessment
No full textTHESIS 9151The values adopted for the background air pollutant concentrations in local air quality dispersion modelling studies have a significant effect on the accuracy of the overall result. Current practice regarding the data sources and assumptions on background concentrations, and subsequent addition to modelled concentrations, varies widely amongst modellers within Ireland and worldwide. A review of Environmental impact assessments (EIA) showed that in many instances the background concentration is neglected entirely, or an estimate of the annual mean is made based on representative data or short term monitoring. However, the use of a constant value is rarely appropriate since background concentrations vary widely, temporally and spatially, while also displaying a large influence from meteorological factors. Generally, the aim of a modelling study is to produce total concentration values, often for EIA, and comparison to EL) limit values. Currently in Ireland nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter of less than 10 micro grams diameter (PM10) are the two pollutants at most risk of exceeding these values and they are thus the focus of this thesis. Previous research has focused on the validation of air quality models to Irish conditions or on the study of air quality in heavily polluted areas such as kerbside or urban centre locations. However, these studies generally neglect the background concentration or conclude that it is indeed an important area and so attribute much of the observed error to this source. No detailed study specific to background concentrations in Ireland has been carried out previously. This research is based on pre-existing data and the collection of additional hourly NO2 and PM10 concentration data at a unique background site
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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