The purpose of this study is to present the development and application of residual flow procedure for analysis of three-dimensional (3-D) steady-state and transient seepage. The finite element equations are derived using a pseudo-variational principle which leads to a transient residual flow (load) vector that, in turn, is used to correct the position of the free surface iteratively. The procedure involves a fixed mesh which requires no mesh regeneration during transient analysis and during iterations. The procedure is also capable of handling material nonhomogeneities and anisotropy with relative ease. Several applications are made including verification with respect to closed-form solutions, and with results from a laboratory glass bead model simulating three-dimensional situations. For these glass beads, the coefficients of permeability and specific storage are also evaluated experimentally.

No description available.

Environmental and physical conditions are considered primary drivers of fish community assemblages. The anthropogenic alteration of aquatic ecosystems is implicated as a primary threat to fisheries worldwide. In riverine ecosystems, river-wide barriers may alter natural fluvial processes and hinder fish movement through the system. In this study, I use data collected from two successive years (2008 and 2009) of intensive quantitative electrofishing Casselman and Marcogliese (2008, 2009) performed in different seasons (late fall and late summer) on the lower Ottawa and Mississippi River systems, Ontario, to investigate the effects of sampling season, distance from the river mouth, water temperature, conductivity, rank of velocity and dams on fish abundance, species richness and the Shannon-Weiner Index (SWI) as a measure of species diversity. Sampling in late summer, compared with late fall, resulted in greater species richness and diversity. Colder water temperature affected community composition, and species richness decreased upstream, while diversity did not change. In both seasons, the distance from the river mouth influenced fish community composition, whereas dams appeared to have no effect. This suggests that the continuous gradient model of the River Continuum Concept (RCC) would be applicable in these fragmented systems, which are not heavily altered by fractionation. To effectively manage cost and accuracy when collecting fish community data in large rivers, it is essential to sample strategically during seasons likely to maximize diversity and richness. Sampling intensively during warm water months in various river reaches would likely provide the most complete representation of fish assemblage. / Thesis (Master, Biology) -- Queen's University, 2013-01-17 15:36:05.658

Tatera brantsii was numerically dominant in the small mammal community on the plateaux of the rehabilitated ash disposal sites of ESKOM's Hendrina Power Station in 1998 and 1999 (Vermaak 2000). The species seemed well adapted to exploit this environment and, through biopedturbation, had altered the topsoil structure and chemistry. The consequences of this and other activities also affected the rehabilitated plant community of the PFA-dam habitat. Burrowing appeared limited to just under the topsoil layer, and seemed more extensive than burrows of this species in natural ecosystems. The burrow system architecture was mapped and quantified, and localised increases in nitrates, phosphorous and organic carbon in immediately associated substrate were noted. However, this substrate enrichment was transient, and disappeared following the abandonment, and subsequent collapse of burrow systems, when gerbil colonies migrated away from the area. The mixing of soil horizons also resulted in a more homogeneous substrate, which was more friable, and thus drier. The high pH and salinity of the topsoil layer in areas undisturbed by gerbil burrowing, and concentrations of particular elements associated with either the topsoil covering or the ash, were reduced as a consequence of substrate mixing in disturbed areas. Gerbil impacts on the substrate of this habitat seemed to promote pedogenesis, eliminating the sharp distinction between the topsoil covering and the ash below, but the re-exposed ash of the burrow mounds would become subject to erosion, and reduce the effectiveness of the rehabilitation effort. Gerbil activities increased the number of plant species, especially ruderal forbs, comprising the plant community of the PFA-dam habitat, but plant community diversity was not significantly increased. However, numerical dominance by few tussock grass species was diminished , possibly reflecting burial under mounds of excavated substrate. The biomass and cover of some grass species were reduced in areas of gerbil impacts, and plant lifecycles appeared to be completed sooner in areas affected by gerbil activities. These effects may be as a result of the drier substrate produced following the collapse of the extensive network of abandoned burrows. The succession of this plant community towards an underutilised grassland state, the expected outcome of the rehabilitation effort, was minimally affected by gerbil activities. The effects of T.brantsii activities in this PFA-dam habitat were not as distinct as the effects noted by other authors studying fossorial rodent impacts in less disturbed habitats. This could be because further disturbances in this habitat would merely add to the currently disturbed state, whereas disturbance in more natural habitats, would show more of a change from the initial state. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Zoology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

M.Sc. / Atmospheric emissions of dust and chemicals from gold mine tailings are ongoing environmental management issues on the Witwatersrand, where residential areas have developed in proximity to dumps. Residual amounts of cyanide, used as a chemical in the gold extraction process, are deposited with the mineral tailings. This study deals with the evaluation of population exposure to cyanide vapour emitted from gold mine tailings dams, an issue of environmental impact and public health concern. The first part of this study deals with the determination of the emission factors of cyanide vapour from three selected gold mine tailings dams: one under reclamation; one no longer operational; and one fully operational as a slimes deposition site. These three sites are located in the Boksburg area of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality. Twelve samples were collected in all: six from the Cason (2628AAL91) mine dump (under reclamation in 2006); four from the ERPM tailings complex [comprising the dormant deposits 4/L/47, 4/L/48, 4/L/49 and 4/L/50, which are north of the N17 national highway; and the 2628ACL1 deposit, which is south of the N17]; and two from the Rooikraal (active) deposition site. All samples were collected in the year 2006. In the second part of the study, the obtained emission factors were used in an Industrial Source Complex dispersion model to measure the degree of population exposure to cyanide vapour for communities that are in proximity to the operational gold mine tailings dams in the Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. In the third part, a health risk assessment was carried out for communities in proximity to the selected gold mine tailings dams. The study revealed the average flux (± std. dev.) of Cason to be (4.7 ± 0.8) x 10-7 g m-2 s-1, the average flux of ERPM (3.9 ± 0.6) x 10-7 g m-2 s-1, the average flux of Rooikraal (1.7 ± 0.2) x 10-5 g m-2 s-1. The concentrations of cyanide vapour emitted from the older tailings deposits (sand) that are under reclamation and the dormant slimes dams are very low (and pose little health risk to occupants of adjacent land). However, HCN emission factors from operational tailings dams, which are receiving continuous depositions, are 3 to 80 times higher than the emission factors from dormant mine tailings. Ambient cyanide concentrations near the active tailings deposits may sometimes exceed selected international health standards. The average hourly, daily and annual dispersion model calculations for the Nasrec tailings deposition sites in Johannesburg revealed that 117 938, 18 722 and 8 130 people respectively were exposed to hydrogen cyanide concentrations that were above international (Ontario, Canada) standards. This raises environmental concerns that require institution of cyanide monitoring and setting of emission limits applicable to South African legal and environmental circumstances. These conclusions are based on a small number of emission factor determinations and hence these findings should be regarded as provisional. Further testing and verification are required for emission factors from a larger number of dormant, reworked and active tailings dams.

[pt] A barragem de Itaipu consiste em uma série de estruturas cujo comprimento total é de 7744 m. Uma dessas estruturas é a Barragem de Terra da Margem Esquerda (BTME), cuja extensão é de 1989 m. A BTME está fundada diretamente sobre o solo do local, que consiste em um perfil de intemperismo de basalto, indo desde argila, na superfície, à rocha sã. Seu comportamento é monitorado por 9 piezômetros elétricos, 26 piezômetros standpipe, 12 medidores de nível d`água e seis medidores de vazão. Os medidores de vazão foram inicialmente projetados para medir a água de percolação pelo corpo da barragem. Para tanto, a barragem dispõe de um sistema de canaletas para coletar a água que sai dos filtros internos e conduzi-la aos medidores. Contudo, só ocorre saída de água pelos filtros em pequenos trechos da barragem e não se tinha conhecimento da origem das águas medidas, pois ao longo da operação da usina, alterações foram feitas para drenar áreas alagadas e a água de drenagem foi conduzida ao sistema de canaletas. O objetivo desta dissertação é identificar a origem das águas medidas pelos medidores de vazão e entender como se dá o fluxo pela fundação e corpo da barragem de terra da margem esquerda. Para tanto, utilizou-se um modelo em elementos finitos, com o programa SEEP/W, para oito seções instrumentadas da barragem e procedeu-se correlações estatísticas entre todos os instrumentos da BTME. A principal conclusão obtida foi de que os medidores de vazão medem primordialmente água do reservatório que infiltra pelas fundações e que apenas uma parcela da água infiltrada é medida. / [en] The Itaipu dam consists of a series of different structures with a total length of 7744m. One of these structures is the Left Bank Earthfill Dam (LBED), whose length is 1989m. The LBED is founded directly in the local soil, which consists of a residual soil of basalt. The behaviour of the earthdam is monitored by 9 electric piezometers, 26 standpipe piezometers, 12 water level indicators and 6 flow meters. The flow meters were initially designed to measure the seepage through the dam body. For this purpose, the dam has a system of ditches to collect the water from the internal filters and to lead the water until a flow meter. However, there is water leaving the internal filters just in a little portion of the dam. In addition, there was no knowledge of the origin of the water that is measured in the flow meters, because many alterations were made in the operation of the dam to drain flooded areas. The drained water was conducted to the system of ditches. This work aims to identify the origin of the water measured in the flow meters and understand the seepage through the dam and its foundation. For this purpose a Finite Element Method analysis for eight instrumented sections was performed using the SEEP/W program. In addition, statistical correlations between data from all instrumentation of the LBED and rainfall were made. The main conclusion is that most of the water measured in the flow meters comes from the reservoir through the foundation. And only a little amount of the total seepage through the foundation is measured.

A expansão da fronteira agrícola amazônica representa possivelmente a mais extensa e profunda mudança no uso da terra do mundo contemporâneo. Estima-se que a Bacia Amazônica já teve 20% de sua área desmatada e seus ecossistemas aquáticos, que abrigam a maior diversidade de peixes de água doce do planeta, também vem enfrentando inúmeras outras pressões, entre elas a construção de barragens. O desmatamento e a construção de barragens causam profundas alterações nas características bióticas e abióticas dos ecossistemas lóticos, incluindo o aquecimento da água e mudanças na composição e estrutura das assembleias de peixes. Existem inúmeras evidências de que o aumento da temperatura afeta negativamente o tamanho corporal dos organismos, e aquecimentos provocados por mudanças climáticas já foram relacionados com reduções no tamanho corporal de peixes. Contudo, faltam estudos que demonstrem que processos locais e regionais de grande relevância como as mudanças no uso da terra, também podem causar o mesmo resultado. Com foco geográfico no arco do desmatamento amazônico nas cabeceiras do Rio Xingu, os objetivos desta tese foram, (i) investigar os efeitos do desmatamento e da construção de barragens sobre características ambientais, e sobre a composição e estrutura das assembleias de peixes em riachos de primeira ordem; e (ii) testar as hipóteses de que a conversão de florestas em áreas agrícolas está associada a um aquecimento dos riachos e a uma redução no tamanho corporal dos peixes, e que esta redução no tamanho corporal é resultado de alterações na crescimento dos peixes, seja por mecanismos de adaptação e/ou por plasticidade fenotípica, promovidas pelo aquecimento do ambiente. No primeiro capítulo desta tese, demonstramos que o desmatamento e a construção de barragens provocam alterações em características ambientais dos riachos de primeira ordem que afetam a disponibilidade de hábitat para os peixes. Isto resultou em alterações na composição e estrutura das assembleias, de forma que riachos de área agrícola apresentaram maior abundância e biomassa de peixes que riachos de floresta. Trechos represados apresentaram menor riqueza de espécies que trechos lóticos tanto em ambientes florestados como desmatados, sugerindo que a construção de barragens constitui uma ameaça significativa para a conservação da biodiversidade de peixes. No segundo capítulo, combinamos amostragem em campo e experimentos em laboratório e campo para demonstrar que a conversão de florestas em áreas agrícolas aqueceos riachos de cabeceira e reduz o tamanho corporal dos peixes através de alterações nas taxas de crescimento individual Os aquecimentos e reduções de tamanho que observamos foram consideravelmente maiores que os reportados na literatura para os efeitos observados e previstos do aquecimento global. Este é o primeiro estudo, até onde nós sabemos, que investigou os efeitos do aquecimento provocado pelo desmatamento no tamanho corporal de peixes. É possível que reduções no tamanho corporal de peixes mediadas pelo aquecimento estejam ocorrendo ao longo de todo o arco do desmatamento, onde riachos de primeira ordem coletivamente contribuem com grande fração da biodiversidade de espécies amazônicas, muitas delas endêmicas. / The expansion of the Amazonian agricultural frontier possibly represents the most extensive and profound land use change in the contemporary world. Deforestation, dam construction, and numerous other pressures have serious impacts on its aquatic ecosystems, that collectively hold the greatest diversity of freshwater fish on the planet. Deforestation and dam construction cause profound changes in biotic and abiotic characteristics of stream ecosystems, including water heating and changes in the composition and structure of fish assemblages. There are many evidences that the increase in temperature negatively affect organisms body size, and warming caused by climate changes have already been associated with reductions in fish body size. However, there are no studies showing that local and regional processes of major relevance, such land use changes, can also cause the same result. With a geographic focus on the Amazonian arc of deforestation in the headwaters of the Xingu River, the objectives of this thesis were: (i) to investigate the effects of deforestation and dam construction on environmental characteristics, and on the composition and structure of fish assemblages in first order streams; and (ii) to test the hypothesis that the conversion of forests into agricultural areas is associated with stream warming and reductions in fish body size, and that this reduction in body size is a result of changes in individual growth caused by adaptation and/or phenotypic plasticity, promoted by environmental warming. In the first chapter of this thesis, we show that deforestation and the construction of dams cause changes in environmental characteristics of first-order streams that affect the habitat availability for fish. This resulted in changes in the composition and structure of assemblages, so that agricultural area streams showed higher abundance and biomass of fish that forest streams. Reservoirs had lower species richness than lotic stretches both in forested and deforested streams, suggesting that the construction of dams poses a significant threat to the conservation of fish biodiversity. In the second chapter, we combine field sampling and laboratory and field experiments to demonstrate that the conversion of forests into agricultural areas warms headwater streams and reduces fish body size through changes in individual growth rates. Warming and size reductions we observed were considerably higher than those reported in the literature for the observed and predicted effects of global warming. This is the first study as far as we know, that investigated the effects of warming caused by deforestation in fish body size. It is possible that a broad scale fish body size reduction due to warming is occurring throughout the arc of deforestation, in streams that collectively account for a large fraction of Amazonian fish biodiversity.

Esta dissertação é uma contribuição, através de uma pesquisa bibliográfica, sobre o tema instrumentação e monitoramento em empreendimentos de barragens de rejeitos da mineração. Nesta pesquisa apresentam-se os objetivos básicos da instrumentação de barragens e suas características técnicas, metodologia construtiva das barragens de rejeitos e seu monitoramento através de auscultação da instrumentação. Como limitação do trabalho, devido à variedade de instrumentos que podem ser instalados em uma barragem, buscou-se pesquisar os instrumentos de medição de deslocamentos e controle de fluxo percolante, sendo os mais utilizados em barragens de terra e rejeitos. Justifica-se este tema motivado pelos últimos acidentes ocorridos em barragens de contenção de rejeitos, enfatizando a importância e a necessidade permanente da melhoria das condições de segurança e monitoramento das barragens brasileiras. Estes acidentes causam danos à população do entorno da barragem, econômicos ao empreendedor e ambientais. Como resultado obtido nesta pesquisa pode-se concluir que propiciou conhecimento atualizado ao meio técnico nacional de barragens. / This dissertation is a contribution, through a bibliographical research, on the subject of instrumentation and monitoring in enterprises of tailings dams. This research presents the basic objectives of the instrumentation of dams, their technical characteristics, the construction methodology of tailings dams and their monitoring through auscultation of the instrumentation. Due to the variety of instruments that can be installed in a dam, this work was limited to the analysis of two segments, instruments of measurement displacements and those for controlling percolation flow, which are the most commonly used in earth and tailings dams. This study is justified due to recent accidents occurring in tailings dams, which stress the importance and the permanent necessity of the improvement in security and monitoring conditions of Brazilian dams. These accidents cause social, economic and environmental damages to the enterprise. As a result of this research it can be concluded that it contributed with up-to-date knowledge to the national technical dam sector.

Barragens de rejeitos são estruturas que têm a finalidade de reter os resíduos sólidos e água dos processos de beneficiamento de minério. Seu planejamento inicia com a procura do local para implantação, etapa na qual se deve vincular todo tipo de variáveis que direta ou indiretamente influenciam a obra: características geológicas, hidrológicas, topográficas, geotécnicas, ambientais, sociais, avaliação de riscos, entre outras. Este trabalho apresenta um estudo sobre a utilização do método de analise hierárquica como apoio na tomada de decisões para seleção de locais para barragens de rejeitos. A revisão bibliográfica de fatores que influem nesta etapa de decisão resultou em indicadores claros de avaliação, que foram orientadores para a coleta de dados no estudo de caso. O estudo de caso consistiu na avaliação de três locais para a localização da nova barragem de rejeitos de beneficiamento de cobre a ser construída pela MINER S.A. no município de Carmen de Atrato, na Colômbia. Para a seleção do local entre três alternativas, foram considerados dois aspectos: custo inicial total e impacto ambiental. Na aplicação do método de análise hierárquica, o objetivo principal da hierarquia proposta foi o menor impacto ambiental, considerando-se as três causas consideradas mais importantes: implantação da barragem, ruptura da barragem e transporte de rejeitos da usina ao local de disposição. Foram analisados os impactos potenciais na água, solo, fauna, flora e ocupação humana. Os custos foram tratados separadamente. No final foi realizada uma análise conjunta dos custos iniciais totais e dos resultados do método de análise hierárquica, para servir como apoio ao tomador de decisão. Foi também realizada uma análise de sensibilidade, que mostra a influência significativa de um dos critérios nos pesos finais dos locais avaliados. / Tailings dams are structures designed to retain solid wastes and water generated in the processing of metal ore. The overall planning of these dams starts with site selection, step in which all directly or indirectly influential variables should be considered: geological, hydrological, topographic, geotechnical, environmental and social characteristics, risk evaluation etc. This work presents a study of the utilization of the hierarchy analysis process (AHP) as a tool for decision-making in the selection of sites for tailings dams. The bibliographic review of relevant factors resulted in the proposal of a list of indicators, which was very useful as an orientation for data collection in the study case, and is considered as an important contribution from this research. The study case consisted in the location of the new copper tailings dam of MINER Inc. in Carmen de Atrato, Colombia. Initially, a geochemical software was applied to the region to discard unsuitable areas. For the selection of a site among three resulting alternatives, two aspects were taken into account: total initial cost and environmental impact. In the application of AHP, the main objective of the proposed hierarchy was the lowest environmental impact. Three possible causes were considered as the most important concerning environmental impact: dam and reservoir occupancy, dam collapse and transportation of wastes from the plant to the disposal site. Potential impacts on water, soil, fauna, flora and human occupation were analyzed. Costs were treated separately. Finally, a joint analysis of total initial costs and results from the AHP application was carried out in order to convey a support for the decision maker. A sensilibtily analysis was also performed to show the influence of one of the subcriteria on the final alternatives weights.

Coletas de amostras de água para o estudo do fitoplâncton foram feitas, quinzenalmente, de outubro de 1977 a setembro de 1978, na Represa Billings, em São Bernardo do Campo, Estado de São Paulo. Foram amostrados dois locais: estação 1, no braço do Rio Grande e estação 2, no braço do Rio Pequeno. Procurou-se efetuar um estudo sazonal característico de clima tropical e subtropical ao abranger períodos consecutivos de chuva e estiagem. A distribuição do \"standing-stock\" do fitoplâncton foi feita por contagem de organismos em UPA/ml e por determinação da clorofila a. Procurou-se relacionar os resultados obtidos referentes ao fitoplâncton com as variáveis fÍsicas e químicas estudadas, quais sejam: temperatura, cor, turbidez, transparência, condutividade elétrica, pH, oxigênio dissolvido, oxigênio consumido, amônia, nitrito, fosfato e sílica. O máximo quantitativo da população fitoplanctônica foi encontrado no período de estiagem. Qualitativamente, foi obtido no período de chuva. Geralmente, predominaram Mougeotia sp. (Chlorophyceae) na estação 1 e Microcystis aeruginosa (Cyanophyceae) na estação 2, ambas apresentaram variação sazonal acentuada, o que nao aconteceu com as Euglenophyceae, as Chrysophyceae e as Dinophyceae. A temperatura influencia a distribuição quantitativa do fitoplâncton; quando foram registradas temperaturas altas a abundância de fitoplâncton foi menor. Nas estações estudadas, os teores de amônia e nitrato apresentaram variação sazonal acentuada, sendo máximos no período de estiagem. Portanto, houve coincidência no desenvolvimento quantitativo do fitoplâncton e nutrientes (amônia e nitrato). Houve uma correspondência evidente entre os picos de oxigênio dissolvido e a porcentagem de saturação desse gás na água com o pico de fitoplâncton total, evidenciando a contribuição de oxigênio pela fotossíntese. Os dados obtidos referentes ao \"standingstock\" de fitoplâncton (clorofia a e contagem de organismos), nutrientes (amônia e nitrato) e oxigênio consumido indicam que a Represa Billings constitui um ambiente eutrófico. / Phytoplankton samples were collected every two weeks at two stations for a period of one year (Oct., 1977 - Sept., 1978). The station 1 is located at Rio Grande and station 2 at Rio Pequeno in the Billings Reservoir, São Bernardo do Campo, State of São Paulo. The standing stock of the phytoplankton was determined by organisms counting and chlorophyll-a determination. An attempt was made to correlate phytoplankton with environmental factors, such as: tide, temperature, color, turbidity, water transparence, electric condutivity, pH, dissolved oxygen, consumed oxygen, ammonia, nitrits, nitrates, phosphates and silica. The phytoplankton consisted mainly of Mougeotia sp. (Chlorophyceae) at station 1 and Microcytis aeruginosa (Cyanophyceae) at station 2. Both groups showed a marked seasonal variation, but Euglenophyceae, Chrysophyceae, and Dinophyceae did not show this pattern. The maximum of phytoplankton was recorded during the draught season. Qualitatively, however, the phytoplankton maximum was recorded during the rainy season. It was also noted an influence of the temperature over the quantitative distribution of the phytoplankton; at high temperatures the phytoplankton abundance was less significant. The ammonia and nitrates concentrations also showed a marked seasonal variation, their peaks attained during the drought period. Therefore, there was a coincidence in the quantitative development of phytoplankton and the amount of nutrients (ammonia and nitrates). The peaks of the dissolved oxygen content of the water, and of the oxygen saturation values were very much related to the phytoplankton peak, showing the oxygen contribution by photosinthesis. The data obtained which refer to the standing stock of phytoplankton (chlorophyll-a and organism counting), nutrients (ammonia and nitrate) and the consumed oxygen indicate that the Billings Reservoir constitutes an eutrophic environment.