Pub Date : 2023-10-11DOI: 10.1371/journal.pwat.0000136
Ricardo Sánchez-Murillo, Luis González-Hita, Miguel A. Mejía-González, Blanca Carteño-Martinez, Juan C. Aparicio-González, Dustin Mañón-Flores, Lucía Ortega, Milica Stojanovic, Raquel Nieto, Luis Gimeno
Mexico encompasses a large spectrum of landscapes with topographic, geographic, and climatic factors interacting in a complex ecohydrological setting. For decades, isotope hydrogeological tools have been applied in Mexico using short-term or seasonal local meteoric water lines as valid input functions. Yet, a systematic evaluation of meteoric isotope characteristics is still lacking. Here we report on the spatial and temporal isotope variations of 21 precipitation monitoring stations across Mexico. Our database includes 608 monthly samples collected from 2018 to 2021 over four regions (between 5 and 2,365 m asl): the Pacific coast, the Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean Sea region, and the Central and Northern plateaus. Precipitation δ 18 O seasonality from the dry (winter) to the wet season (summer) was characterized by a notable W-shaped variability. Monthly precipitation amounts and δ 18 O compositions exhibited poor to strong linear regressions ( Adj . r 2 <0.01 to 0.75), with inverse (positive) relationships over the northern monsoon-affected region. Low d -excess (5.1 to 9.7‰) corresponded with greater terrestrial moisture contributions (20.5%) over the arid northern regions. Moisture inputs from the Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean were associated with near-equilibrium or greater d -excess values (8.8 to 14.3‰), respectively. The best-fit linear models for δ 18 O ( Adj . r 2 = 0.85) and δ 2 H ( Adj . r 2 = 0.88) were determined for topographic and geographical predictors, resulting in an updated high-resolution precipitation isoscape (100 m 2 grid) for Mexico. Orographic barriers (-2.10‰ in δ 18 O/km) coupled with the interaction of tropical cyclones and cold fronts, the evolution of the North American Monsoon system, and the passage of easterly trade winds play a remarkable role in controlling the spatial isotope rainfall variability. Our findings provide a robust baseline for ecohydrological, climatic, forensic, archeological, and paleoclimate studies in North America.
{"title":"Tracing isotope precipitation patterns across Mexico","authors":"Ricardo Sánchez-Murillo, Luis González-Hita, Miguel A. Mejía-González, Blanca Carteño-Martinez, Juan C. Aparicio-González, Dustin Mañón-Flores, Lucía Ortega, Milica Stojanovic, Raquel Nieto, Luis Gimeno","doi":"10.1371/journal.pwat.0000136","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000136","url":null,"abstract":"Mexico encompasses a large spectrum of landscapes with topographic, geographic, and climatic factors interacting in a complex ecohydrological setting. For decades, isotope hydrogeological tools have been applied in Mexico using short-term or seasonal local meteoric water lines as valid input functions. Yet, a systematic evaluation of meteoric isotope characteristics is still lacking. Here we report on the spatial and temporal isotope variations of 21 precipitation monitoring stations across Mexico. Our database includes 608 monthly samples collected from 2018 to 2021 over four regions (between 5 and 2,365 m asl): the Pacific coast, the Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean Sea region, and the Central and Northern plateaus. Precipitation δ 18 O seasonality from the dry (winter) to the wet season (summer) was characterized by a notable W-shaped variability. Monthly precipitation amounts and δ 18 O compositions exhibited poor to strong linear regressions ( Adj . r 2 <0.01 to 0.75), with inverse (positive) relationships over the northern monsoon-affected region. Low d -excess (5.1 to 9.7‰) corresponded with greater terrestrial moisture contributions (20.5%) over the arid northern regions. Moisture inputs from the Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean were associated with near-equilibrium or greater d -excess values (8.8 to 14.3‰), respectively. The best-fit linear models for δ 18 O ( Adj . r 2 = 0.85) and δ 2 H ( Adj . r 2 = 0.88) were determined for topographic and geographical predictors, resulting in an updated high-resolution precipitation isoscape (100 m 2 grid) for Mexico. Orographic barriers (-2.10‰ in δ 18 O/km) coupled with the interaction of tropical cyclones and cold fronts, the evolution of the North American Monsoon system, and the passage of easterly trade winds play a remarkable role in controlling the spatial isotope rainfall variability. Our findings provide a robust baseline for ecohydrological, climatic, forensic, archeological, and paleoclimate studies in North America.","PeriodicalId":93672,"journal":{"name":"PLOS water","volume":"124 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136097978","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-27DOI: 10.1371/journal.pwat.0000052
Julio A. Polanco, Jana Safarik, Jason S. Dadakis, Claire Johnson, Megan H. Plumlee
Primary and secondary treatment of municipal wastewater contributes to virus removal upstream of advanced purification to produce water for potable reuse. In this study, virus occurrence by cultivable and molecular methods was measured over a 24-month period in raw wastewater influents and secondary effluents from two municipal wastewater treatment plants that together provide the recycled water source for an advanced water purification facility. Using a rank-paired, covariance-based statistical approach, virus log removal values were determined for four wastewater treatment processes that operate in parallel at the two facilities (two activated sludge processes, trickling filter process, and trickling filter/solids contactor process). The trickling filter process exhibited the lowest observed removal of cultivable enteric virus with a median removal of 1.0 log 10 (or 90% removal) and a 5 th percentile log removal of 0.73 (or 82%), compared to the greatest removal observed for one of the activated sludge processes (median log removal of 2.4 or 99.6% and 5 th percentile of 2.1 or 99.2%). Median log removal observed for male-specific (MS) and somatic (SOM) coliphage was 1.8 (98.6% removal) and 0.5 (70%), respectively, for trickling filter and 2.9 (99.9%) and 2.0 (99%) for activated sludge. Thus, coliphage removal was fairly similar to removal observed for cultivable enteric virus. The cultivable enteric virus 5 th percentile removal (0.7) from the trickling filter treatment process was proposed to the state regulator for credit towards state requirements for virus removal related to groundwater augmentation with purified recycled water. Receiving pathogen removal credits for secondary wastewater treatment would allow for an improved margin (safety factor) of credits beyond the minimum required; and in this case may also increase the number of viable future groundwater recharge sites closer to drinking water production wells by reducing the underground travel time otherwise required to obtain sufficient credits.
{"title":"Enteric virus removal by municipal wastewater treatment to achieve requirements for potable reuse","authors":"Julio A. Polanco, Jana Safarik, Jason S. Dadakis, Claire Johnson, Megan H. Plumlee","doi":"10.1371/journal.pwat.0000052","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000052","url":null,"abstract":"Primary and secondary treatment of municipal wastewater contributes to virus removal upstream of advanced purification to produce water for potable reuse. In this study, virus occurrence by cultivable and molecular methods was measured over a 24-month period in raw wastewater influents and secondary effluents from two municipal wastewater treatment plants that together provide the recycled water source for an advanced water purification facility. Using a rank-paired, covariance-based statistical approach, virus log removal values were determined for four wastewater treatment processes that operate in parallel at the two facilities (two activated sludge processes, trickling filter process, and trickling filter/solids contactor process). The trickling filter process exhibited the lowest observed removal of cultivable enteric virus with a median removal of 1.0 log 10 (or 90% removal) and a 5 th percentile log removal of 0.73 (or 82%), compared to the greatest removal observed for one of the activated sludge processes (median log removal of 2.4 or 99.6% and 5 th percentile of 2.1 or 99.2%). Median log removal observed for male-specific (MS) and somatic (SOM) coliphage was 1.8 (98.6% removal) and 0.5 (70%), respectively, for trickling filter and 2.9 (99.9%) and 2.0 (99%) for activated sludge. Thus, coliphage removal was fairly similar to removal observed for cultivable enteric virus. The cultivable enteric virus 5 th percentile removal (0.7) from the trickling filter treatment process was proposed to the state regulator for credit towards state requirements for virus removal related to groundwater augmentation with purified recycled water. Receiving pathogen removal credits for secondary wastewater treatment would allow for an improved margin (safety factor) of credits beyond the minimum required; and in this case may also increase the number of viable future groundwater recharge sites closer to drinking water production wells by reducing the underground travel time otherwise required to obtain sufficient credits.","PeriodicalId":93672,"journal":{"name":"PLOS water","volume":"44 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135535650","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-20DOI: 10.1371/journal.pwat.0000180
Abishek Sankara Narayan, Marisa Boller
The provision of basic water and waste services, i.e., water supply, sanitation, solid waste and stormwater management, is essential for ensuring public and environmental health. These services are closely interconnected in their physical chains, creating both opportunities and challenges for service delivery [1]. Negative interlinkages can occur when solid waste enters pit latrines or faecal matter contaminates drinking water. On the other hand, there are opportunities for synergies, such as the reuse of treated wastewater or the co-digestion of faecal and organic waste. Despite these known synergies, institutional arrangements remain fragmented, and sectors continue to operate in isolated siloes. This raises the question: Should planning, implementation and management of these basic services be integrated? At the All Systems Connect Symposium 2023 in The Hague [2], six eminent speakers from academia, government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector debated this issue. This article presents the four key issues that were raised when considering integration of water and waste services in low-resource settings.
{"title":"To integrate or not to integrate? Water and waste as unified basic services","authors":"Abishek Sankara Narayan, Marisa Boller","doi":"10.1371/journal.pwat.0000180","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000180","url":null,"abstract":"The provision of basic water and waste services, i.e., water supply, sanitation, solid waste and stormwater management, is essential for ensuring public and environmental health. These services are closely interconnected in their physical chains, creating both opportunities and challenges for service delivery [1]. Negative interlinkages can occur when solid waste enters pit latrines or faecal matter contaminates drinking water. On the other hand, there are opportunities for synergies, such as the reuse of treated wastewater or the co-digestion of faecal and organic waste. Despite these known synergies, institutional arrangements remain fragmented, and sectors continue to operate in isolated siloes. This raises the question: Should planning, implementation and management of these basic services be integrated? At the All Systems Connect Symposium 2023 in The Hague [2], six eminent speakers from academia, government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector debated this issue. This article presents the four key issues that were raised when considering integration of water and waste services in low-resource settings.","PeriodicalId":93672,"journal":{"name":"PLOS water","volume":"352 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136306520","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-20DOI: 10.1371/journal.pwat.0000178
Abigail K. Kargol, Samantha R. Burrell, Indrajit Chakraborty, Heidi L. Gough
The wastewater used for experimental research is typically collected from a wastewater treatment plant or prepared as a synthetic solution in the lab. These options represent transportation and cost challenges, respectively, particularly for experiments requiring large volumes of wastewater. Here, we describe a method for creating inexpensive synthetic wastewater from readily available household products. The base solution, synthesized by soaking dog food pellets for 24 hours and straining the solution, had average nutrient values of 9.7 mg/L ammonia as N, 12.2 mg/L nitrate as N, 227 mg/L total nitrogen, and 4870 mg/L chemical oxygen demand (COD). Degradation tests demonstrated that soluble COD was biodegradable. The base solution was then used to prepare synthetic wastewater that met the requirements for two experimental applications; (1) anaerobic treatment of primary effluent and (2) land-application treatment of secondary effluent. Cost analysis indicated that the single-ingredient synthetic wastewater cost 92% less to produce than synthetic wastewater recipes that used laboratory chemicals, and reduced preparation time. These results demonstrated that use of commercial products can simplify the wastewater synthesis process and reduce experimental costs for large-volume research applications while still maintaining consistent wastewater characterization.
{"title":"Synthetic wastewater prepared from readily available materials: Characteristics and economics","authors":"Abigail K. Kargol, Samantha R. Burrell, Indrajit Chakraborty, Heidi L. Gough","doi":"10.1371/journal.pwat.0000178","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000178","url":null,"abstract":"The wastewater used for experimental research is typically collected from a wastewater treatment plant or prepared as a synthetic solution in the lab. These options represent transportation and cost challenges, respectively, particularly for experiments requiring large volumes of wastewater. Here, we describe a method for creating inexpensive synthetic wastewater from readily available household products. The base solution, synthesized by soaking dog food pellets for 24 hours and straining the solution, had average nutrient values of 9.7 mg/L ammonia as N, 12.2 mg/L nitrate as N, 227 mg/L total nitrogen, and 4870 mg/L chemical oxygen demand (COD). Degradation tests demonstrated that soluble COD was biodegradable. The base solution was then used to prepare synthetic wastewater that met the requirements for two experimental applications; (1) anaerobic treatment of primary effluent and (2) land-application treatment of secondary effluent. Cost analysis indicated that the single-ingredient synthetic wastewater cost 92% less to produce than synthetic wastewater recipes that used laboratory chemicals, and reduced preparation time. These results demonstrated that use of commercial products can simplify the wastewater synthesis process and reduce experimental costs for large-volume research applications while still maintaining consistent wastewater characterization.","PeriodicalId":93672,"journal":{"name":"PLOS water","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136306523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-19DOI: 10.1371/journal.pwat.0000117
K. Clark Appling, Mark D. Sobsey, Lisa M. Durso, Michael B. Fisher
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens human and animal health; effective response requires monitoring AMR presence in humans, animals, and the environment. The World Health Organization Tricycle Protocol (WHO TP) standardizes and streamlines global AMR monitoring around a single indicator organism, extended-spectrum-β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-Ec). The WHO TP culture-based method detects and quantifies ESBL-Ec by spread-plating or membrane filtration on either MacConkey or TBX agar (supplemented with cefotaxime). These methods require laboratories and trained personnel, limiting feasibility in low-resource and field settings. We adapted the WHO TP using a simplified method, the compartment bag test (CBT), to quantify most probable numbers (MPN) of ESBL-Ec in samples. CBT methods can be used correctly in the field by typical adults after a few hours’ training. We collected and analyzed municipal wastewater, surface water, and chicken waste samples from sites in Raleigh and Chapel Hill, NC over an 8-month period. Presumptive ESBL-Ec were quantified using MF on TBX agar supplemented with cefotaxime (MF+TBX), as well as using the CBT with chromogenic E . coli medium containing cefotaxime. Presumptive ESBL-Ec bacteria were isolated from completed tests for confirmation and characterization by Kirby Bauer disk diffusion tests (antibiotic sensitivity) and EnteroPluri biochemical tests (speciation). Both methods were easy to use, but MF+TBX required additional time and effort. The proportion of E . coli that were presumptively ESBL in surface water samples was significantly greater downstream vs upstream of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) outfalls, suggesting that treated wastewater is a source of ESBL-Ec in some surface waters. The CBT and MF+TBX tests provided similar (but not identical) quantitative results, making the former method suitable as an alternative to the more complex MF+TBX procedure in some applications. Further AMR surveillance using MF+TBX and/or CBT methods may be useful to characterize and refine their performance for AMR monitoring in NC and elsewhere.
{"title":"Environmental monitoring of antimicrobial resistant bacteria in North Carolina water and wastewater using the WHO Tricycle protocol in combination with membrane filtration and compartment bag test methods for detecting and quantifying ESBL E. coli","authors":"K. Clark Appling, Mark D. Sobsey, Lisa M. Durso, Michael B. Fisher","doi":"10.1371/journal.pwat.0000117","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000117","url":null,"abstract":"Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens human and animal health; effective response requires monitoring AMR presence in humans, animals, and the environment. The World Health Organization Tricycle Protocol (WHO TP) standardizes and streamlines global AMR monitoring around a single indicator organism, extended-spectrum-β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-Ec). The WHO TP culture-based method detects and quantifies ESBL-Ec by spread-plating or membrane filtration on either MacConkey or TBX agar (supplemented with cefotaxime). These methods require laboratories and trained personnel, limiting feasibility in low-resource and field settings. We adapted the WHO TP using a simplified method, the compartment bag test (CBT), to quantify most probable numbers (MPN) of ESBL-Ec in samples. CBT methods can be used correctly in the field by typical adults after a few hours’ training. We collected and analyzed municipal wastewater, surface water, and chicken waste samples from sites in Raleigh and Chapel Hill, NC over an 8-month period. Presumptive ESBL-Ec were quantified using MF on TBX agar supplemented with cefotaxime (MF+TBX), as well as using the CBT with chromogenic E . coli medium containing cefotaxime. Presumptive ESBL-Ec bacteria were isolated from completed tests for confirmation and characterization by Kirby Bauer disk diffusion tests (antibiotic sensitivity) and EnteroPluri biochemical tests (speciation). Both methods were easy to use, but MF+TBX required additional time and effort. The proportion of E . coli that were presumptively ESBL in surface water samples was significantly greater downstream vs upstream of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) outfalls, suggesting that treated wastewater is a source of ESBL-Ec in some surface waters. The CBT and MF+TBX tests provided similar (but not identical) quantitative results, making the former method suitable as an alternative to the more complex MF+TBX procedure in some applications. Further AMR surveillance using MF+TBX and/or CBT methods may be useful to characterize and refine their performance for AMR monitoring in NC and elsewhere.","PeriodicalId":93672,"journal":{"name":"PLOS water","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135059356","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-13DOI: 10.1371/journal.pwat.0000101
Lauren M. Kuehne, Chris Dickens, David Tickner, Mathis L. Messager, Julian D. Olden, Gordon O’Brien, Bernhard Lehner, Nishadi Eriyagama
Rivers are the arteries of human civilisation and culture, providing essential goods and services that underpin water and food security, socio-economic development and climate resilience. They also support an extraordinary diversity of biological life. Human appropriation of land and water together with changes in climate have jointly driven rapid declines in river health and biodiversity worldwide, stimulating calls for an Emergency Recovery Plan for freshwater ecosystems. Yet freshwater ecosystems like rivers have been consistently under-represented within global agreements such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Even where such agreements acknowledge that river health is important, implementation is hampered by inadequate global-scale indicators and a lack of coherent monitoring efforts. Consequently, there is no reliable basis for tracking global trends in river health, assessing the impacts of international agreements on river ecosystems and guiding global investments in river management to priority issues or regions. We reviewed national and regional approaches for river health monitoring to develop a comprehensive set of scalable indicators that can support “top-down” global surveillance while also facilitating standardised “bottom-up” local monitoring efforts. We evaluate readiness of these indicators for implementation at a global scale, based on their current status and emerging improvements in underlying data sources and methodologies. We chart a road map that identifies data and technical priorities and opportunities to advance global river health monitoring such that an adequate monitoring framework could be in place and implemented by 2030, with the potential for substantial enhancement by 2050. Lastly, we present recommendations for coordinated action and investment by policy makers, research funders and scientists to develop and implement the framework to support conservation and restoration of river health globally.
{"title":"The future of global river health monitoring","authors":"Lauren M. Kuehne, Chris Dickens, David Tickner, Mathis L. Messager, Julian D. Olden, Gordon O’Brien, Bernhard Lehner, Nishadi Eriyagama","doi":"10.1371/journal.pwat.0000101","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000101","url":null,"abstract":"Rivers are the arteries of human civilisation and culture, providing essential goods and services that underpin water and food security, socio-economic development and climate resilience. They also support an extraordinary diversity of biological life. Human appropriation of land and water together with changes in climate have jointly driven rapid declines in river health and biodiversity worldwide, stimulating calls for an Emergency Recovery Plan for freshwater ecosystems. Yet freshwater ecosystems like rivers have been consistently under-represented within global agreements such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Even where such agreements acknowledge that river health is important, implementation is hampered by inadequate global-scale indicators and a lack of coherent monitoring efforts. Consequently, there is no reliable basis for tracking global trends in river health, assessing the impacts of international agreements on river ecosystems and guiding global investments in river management to priority issues or regions. We reviewed national and regional approaches for river health monitoring to develop a comprehensive set of scalable indicators that can support “top-down” global surveillance while also facilitating standardised “bottom-up” local monitoring efforts. We evaluate readiness of these indicators for implementation at a global scale, based on their current status and emerging improvements in underlying data sources and methodologies. We chart a road map that identifies data and technical priorities and opportunities to advance global river health monitoring such that an adequate monitoring framework could be in place and implemented by 2030, with the potential for substantial enhancement by 2050. Lastly, we present recommendations for coordinated action and investment by policy makers, research funders and scientists to develop and implement the framework to support conservation and restoration of river health globally.","PeriodicalId":93672,"journal":{"name":"PLOS water","volume":"66 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134989621","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Great Salt Lake hosts an ecosystem that is critical to migratory birds and international aquaculture, yet it is currently threatened by falling lake elevation and high lakewater salinity resulting from water diversions in the upstream watershed and the enduring megadrought in the western United States. Microbialite reefs underpin the ecosystem, hosting a surface microbial community that is estimated to contribute 30% of the lake’s primary productivity. We monitored exposure, desiccation, and bleaching over time in an area of microbialite reef. During this period, lake elevation fell by 1.8 m, and salinity increased from 11.0% to 19.5% in open-water portions of the outer reef, reaching halite saturation in hydrologically closed regions. When exposed, microbialite bleaching was rapid. Bleached microbialites are not necessarily dead, however, with communities and chlorophyll persisting beneath microbialite surfaces for several months of exposure and desiccation. However, superficial losses in the mat community resulted in enhanced microbialite weathering. In microbialite recovery experiments with bleached microbialite pieces, partial community recovery was rapid at salinities ≤ 17%. 16S and 18S rRNA gene sequencing indicated that recovery was driven by initial seeding from lakewater. At higher salinity levels, eventual accumulation of chlorophyll may reflect accumulation and preservation of lake material in halite crusts vs. true recovery. Our results indicate that increased water input should be prioritized in order to return the lake to an elevation that submerges microbialite reefs and lowers salinity levels. Without quick action to reverse diversions in the watershed, loss of pelagic microbial community members due to sustained high salinity could prevent the recovery of the ecosystem-critical microbialite surface communities in Great Salt Lake.
{"title":"Desiccation of ecosystem-critical microbialites in the shrinking Great Salt Lake, Utah (USA)","authors":"Carie Frantz, Cecilia Gibby, Rebekah Nilson, Cole J. Stern, Maggie Nguyen, Cody Ellsworth, Hank Dolan, Alvin Sihapanya, Jake Aeschlimann, Bonnie K. Baxter","doi":"10.1371/journal.pwat.0000100","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000100","url":null,"abstract":"Great Salt Lake hosts an ecosystem that is critical to migratory birds and international aquaculture, yet it is currently threatened by falling lake elevation and high lakewater salinity resulting from water diversions in the upstream watershed and the enduring megadrought in the western United States. Microbialite reefs underpin the ecosystem, hosting a surface microbial community that is estimated to contribute 30% of the lake’s primary productivity. We monitored exposure, desiccation, and bleaching over time in an area of microbialite reef. During this period, lake elevation fell by 1.8 m, and salinity increased from 11.0% to 19.5% in open-water portions of the outer reef, reaching halite saturation in hydrologically closed regions. When exposed, microbialite bleaching was rapid. Bleached microbialites are not necessarily dead, however, with communities and chlorophyll persisting beneath microbialite surfaces for several months of exposure and desiccation. However, superficial losses in the mat community resulted in enhanced microbialite weathering. In microbialite recovery experiments with bleached microbialite pieces, partial community recovery was rapid at salinities ≤ 17%. 16S and 18S rRNA gene sequencing indicated that recovery was driven by initial seeding from lakewater. At higher salinity levels, eventual accumulation of chlorophyll may reflect accumulation and preservation of lake material in halite crusts vs. true recovery. Our results indicate that increased water input should be prioritized in order to return the lake to an elevation that submerges microbialite reefs and lowers salinity levels. Without quick action to reverse diversions in the watershed, loss of pelagic microbial community members due to sustained high salinity could prevent the recovery of the ecosystem-critical microbialite surface communities in Great Salt Lake.","PeriodicalId":93672,"journal":{"name":"PLOS water","volume":"66 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135878164","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-12DOI: 10.1371/journal.pwat.0000104
Anne Poelina, Magali McDuffie, Marlikka Perdrisat
The paper is an account of the work undertaken within ‘Martuwarra’, the Fitzroy River Watershed, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It is led by the sacred ancestral River, Martuwarra, who is given agency as a published author, and the creator of First Law, Warloongarriy Law. Poelina and Perdrisat come to this story through their lived experience as a Yi-Martuwarra marninil , Nyikina Warrwa Indigenous Australian women who belong to Martuwarra. McDuffie comes as a long-time non-Indigenous friend, family, filmmaker, who completed her doctoral research continuing her deep and enduring relationship with Nyikina people. Our work examines the colonial approaches still in use by government and industry, which are responsible for the ongoing injustices experienced by Indigenous Australians, our environment, and our non-human kin. It suggests implications for future research, education and policy, with a focus on watershed approaches, on moving from dis-ease towards health, through modelling economic and social well-being for the sustainability of the lifeways of everything and everyone around us. We see ourselves as ‘one society’ of planetary citizens, working to transform watersheds, globally, seeing cultural flows in all forms of living water as life, critical to sustain humanity within our common home, Mother Earth. We believe this can only be achieved by valuing the wisdom of Indigenous peoples, igniting our dialogic actions through an ethics of care, love, and peace.
{"title":"Martuwarra Fitzroy River Watershed: One society, one river law","authors":"Anne Poelina, Magali McDuffie, Marlikka Perdrisat","doi":"10.1371/journal.pwat.0000104","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000104","url":null,"abstract":"The paper is an account of the work undertaken within ‘Martuwarra’, the Fitzroy River Watershed, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It is led by the sacred ancestral River, Martuwarra, who is given agency as a published author, and the creator of First Law, Warloongarriy Law. Poelina and Perdrisat come to this story through their lived experience as a Yi-Martuwarra marninil , Nyikina Warrwa Indigenous Australian women who belong to Martuwarra. McDuffie comes as a long-time non-Indigenous friend, family, filmmaker, who completed her doctoral research continuing her deep and enduring relationship with Nyikina people. Our work examines the colonial approaches still in use by government and industry, which are responsible for the ongoing injustices experienced by Indigenous Australians, our environment, and our non-human kin. It suggests implications for future research, education and policy, with a focus on watershed approaches, on moving from dis-ease towards health, through modelling economic and social well-being for the sustainability of the lifeways of everything and everyone around us. We see ourselves as ‘one society’ of planetary citizens, working to transform watersheds, globally, seeing cultural flows in all forms of living water as life, critical to sustain humanity within our common home, Mother Earth. We believe this can only be achieved by valuing the wisdom of Indigenous peoples, igniting our dialogic actions through an ethics of care, love, and peace.","PeriodicalId":93672,"journal":{"name":"PLOS water","volume":"31 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135825933","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-07DOI: 10.1371/journal.pwat.0000172
S. Haaland, B. Eikebrokk, G. Riise, R. D. Vogt
Levels of dissolved natural organic matter (DNOM) are increasing in our boreal watercourses. This is manifested by an apparent increase in its yellow to brown colour of the water, i.e., browning. Sound predictions of future changes in colour of our freshwaters is a prerequisite for predicting effects on aquatic fauna and a sustainable operation of drinking water facilities using surface waters as raw water sources. A model for the effect of climate on colour (mg Pt L-1) has been developed for two surface raw water sources in Scotland, i.e., at Bracadale and Port Charlotte. Both sites are situated far out on the Scottish west coast, without major impact of acid rain, with limited amounts of frost, and with limited recent land-use changes. The model was fitted to 15 years long data-series on colour measurements, provided by Scottish Water, at the two sites. Meteorological data were provided by UK Met. The models perform well for both sites in simulating the variation in monthly measured colour, explaining 89 and 90% of the variation at Bracadale and Port Charlotte, respectively. These well fitted models were used to predict future changes in colour due to changes in temperature and precipitation based on median climate data from a high emission climate RCP8.5 scenario from the HadCM3 climate model (UKCP18). The model predicted an increase in monthly average colour during growing season at both sites from about 150 mg Pt L-1 to about 200 mg Pt L-1 in 2050–2079. Temperature is found to be the most important positively driver for colour development at both sites.
{"title":"Browning of Scottish surface water sources exposed to climate change","authors":"S. Haaland, B. Eikebrokk, G. Riise, R. D. Vogt","doi":"10.1371/journal.pwat.0000172","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000172","url":null,"abstract":"Levels of dissolved natural organic matter (DNOM) are increasing in our boreal watercourses. This is manifested by an apparent increase in its yellow to brown colour of the water, i.e., browning. Sound predictions of future changes in colour of our freshwaters is a prerequisite for predicting effects on aquatic fauna and a sustainable operation of drinking water facilities using surface waters as raw water sources. A model for the effect of climate on colour (mg Pt L-1) has been developed for two surface raw water sources in Scotland, i.e., at Bracadale and Port Charlotte. Both sites are situated far out on the Scottish west coast, without major impact of acid rain, with limited amounts of frost, and with limited recent land-use changes. The model was fitted to 15 years long data-series on colour measurements, provided by Scottish Water, at the two sites. Meteorological data were provided by UK Met. The models perform well for both sites in simulating the variation in monthly measured colour, explaining 89 and 90% of the variation at Bracadale and Port Charlotte, respectively. These well fitted models were used to predict future changes in colour due to changes in temperature and precipitation based on median climate data from a high emission climate RCP8.5 scenario from the HadCM3 climate model (UKCP18). The model predicted an increase in monthly average colour during growing season at both sites from about 150 mg Pt L-1 to about 200 mg Pt L-1 in 2050–2079. Temperature is found to be the most important positively driver for colour development at both sites.","PeriodicalId":93672,"journal":{"name":"PLOS water","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48889319","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-07DOI: 10.1371/journal.pwat.0000173
Hussam Hussein, Zoe Campbell, Josephine Leather, Patrick Ryce
Water diplomacy is a recent term that has been used to analyse hydropoltiical dynamics and issues that may arise when discussing transboundary water governance. In fact, the shared nature of transboundary water resources may lead to tension over their allocation and use which can in turn aggravate or harm interstate relations and cooperation. This is important as most freshwater resource systems cross jurisdictional borders, with 153 countries sharing transboundary rivers, lakes, and aquifers. Thus, a coordinated and sustainable management of these resources through water diplomacy is vital. While the concept of water diplomacy has been defined in several ways, we stress the need to emphasise diplomacy and the goals beyond the water field when considering this concept.
{"title":"Putting diplomacy at the forefront of Water Diplomacy","authors":"Hussam Hussein, Zoe Campbell, Josephine Leather, Patrick Ryce","doi":"10.1371/journal.pwat.0000173","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000173","url":null,"abstract":"Water diplomacy is a recent term that has been used to analyse hydropoltiical dynamics and issues that may arise when discussing transboundary water governance. In fact, the shared nature of transboundary water resources may lead to tension over their allocation and use which can in turn aggravate or harm interstate relations and cooperation. This is important as most freshwater resource systems cross jurisdictional borders, with 153 countries sharing transboundary rivers, lakes, and aquifers. Thus, a coordinated and sustainable management of these resources through water diplomacy is vital. While the concept of water diplomacy has been defined in several ways, we stress the need to emphasise diplomacy and the goals beyond the water field when considering this concept.","PeriodicalId":93672,"journal":{"name":"PLOS water","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46717991","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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