Aquatic vegetation can influence the transport of sediment and contaminants by changing the mean velocity and turbulent flow structure in channels. It is important to understand the hydraulics of the flows over vegetation in order to manage fluvial processes. Experiments in an open-channel flume with natural vegetation were carried out to study the influence of vegetation on the flows. In a half channel with two different densities of vegetation, the flow velocity, Reynolds stresses, and turbulence intensities were measured using an Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter （ADV）. We obtained velocity profiles in the lateral direction, Reynolds stresses in the vertical direction, and the flow transition between the vegetated and non-vegetated zones in different flow regimes. The results show that the streamwise velocity in the vegetated zone with higher density is almost entirely blocked. Reynolds stress distribution distinguishes with two different regions： inside and above the vegetation canopies. The turbulence intensities increase with increasing Reynolds number. The coherent vortices dominate the vertical transport of momentum and are advected clockwise between the vegetated zone and non-vegetated zone by secondary currents （a relatively minor flow superimposed on the primary flow, with significantly different speed and direction）, generated by the anisotropy of the turbulence.
Numerical solutions of three-dimensional, incompressible and unsteady Navier-Stokes equations for constant diameter swirling pipe flows are used to study vortex breakdown, including the detailed flow structures in the bubble domain and the ＂tail＂ behind the bubble during the vortex breakdown, and a comparison is made between the numerical solutions and the experimental results.
Aquatic ecosystems are often polluted with more than one type of contaminant, and information on the combined toxic effects of mixed pollutants on aquatic organisms is scarce at present. Acute toxicity of aromatic compounds and their ternary mixtures to the alga (Scenedesmus obliquus) was determined by the algae growth inhibition test. The median effective concentration (EC50) value for a single aromatic compound and EC50mix values for mixtures were obtained. the logarithm of n-octanol/water partition coefficient (logPmix) and the frontier orbital energy gap (ΔEmix) for mixtures were calculated. Based on the quantitative structure-activity relationship model for single chemical toxicity log(1/EC50) =0.426logP -1.150ΔE +12.61 (n=15, R2=0.917 and Q2=0.878), the following two-descriptor model was developed for the ternary mixture toxicity of aromatic compounds: log(1/EC50mix)=0.682logPmix-0.367ΔEmix+ 4.971 (n=44, R2=0.869 and Q2=0.843). This model can be used to predict the combined toxicity of mixtures containing toxicants with different mechanisms of action.
Aquatic vegetation affects sediment suspension and nutrient release by changing the flow structure. Experiments on the influence of submerged vegetation on flow structure, sediment suspension, and NH4-N release were carried in a flume with natural submerged vegetation. Turbulence characteristics in the vegetation section were measured using a three-dimensional acoustic Doppler velocimeter. The effects of submerged vegetation on bed shear stress （ τb ）, sediment suspension, and NH4-N release were analyzed. Results show that with vegetation, bed shear stress is reduced by about 20% - 80%, which, in turn, reduces sediment suspension. The impact of submerged vegetation on sediment suspension and NH4-N release should be considered along with flow intensity. When the flow Reynolds number is relatively small, the submerged vegetation is quite capable of inhibiting sediment suspension and reducing NH4-N release, but when the Reynolds number reaches a certain value, the presence of aquatic plants exacerbates sediment suspension and promotes NH4-N release. Results also reveal that a highly significant positive correlation exists between NH4-N concentration and water turbidity in both vegetated and non-vegetated channels.
Submerged vegetation has a significant impact on water flow velocity.Current investigations include the impact through adding drag resistance and increasing bottom roughness coefficient,which cannot elucidate the characters of real submerged vegetation.To evaluate the effects of submerged vegetation on water currents at different velocities,a laboratory experiment was conducted using three kinds of vegetations.The effective heights of these vegetations on varying flow velocities were evaluated.An equation describing the relationship between the normalized resistance of the submerged plants and the Reynolds number based on the plant effective height was then established and used to calculate the hydraulic resistance parameters of submerged plants in different stages of growth.
Objective To isolate, incubate, and identify 4-chlorophenol-degrading complex bacteria, determine the tolerance of these bacteria to phenolic derivatives and study their synergetic metabolism as well as the aboriginal microbes and co-metabolic degradation of mixed chlorophenols in river water. Methods Microbial community of complex bacteria was identified by plate culture observation techniques and Gram stain method. Bacterial growth inhibition test was used to determine the tolerance of complex bacteria to toxicants. Biodegradability of phenolic derivatives was determined by adding 4-chlorophenol-degrading bacteria in river water. Results The complex bacteria were identified as Mycopiana, Alcaligenes, Pseudomonas, and Flavobacterium. The domesticated complex bacteria were more tolerant to phenolic derivatives than the aboriginal bacteria from Qinhuai River. The biodegradability of chlorophenols, dihydroxybenzenes and nitrophenols under various aquatic conditions was determined and compared. The complex bacteria exhibited a higher metabolic efficiency on chemicals than the aboriginal microbes, and the final removal rate of phenolic derivatives was increased at least by 55% when the complex bacteria were added into river water. The metabolic relationship between dominant mixed bacteria and river bacteria was studied. Conclusion The complex bacteria domesticated by 4-chlorophenol can grow and be metabolized to take other chlorophenols, dihydroxybenzenes and nitrophenols as the sole carbon and energy source. There is a synergetic metabolism of most compounds between the aboriginal microbes in river water and the domesticated complex bacteria, 4- chlorophenol-degrading bacteria can co-metabolize various chlorophenols in fiver water.
