No abstract

Understanding the interaction processes between the mainstream and its tributaries and detailing the rates of contribution of water and nutrients from two different waterbodies in the confluence zone are essential for water management in the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR). The stable isotope ratios of hydrogen (δD) and oxygen (δ(18)O) were applied to explore the interactions between the TGR mainstream and a typical tributary, the Daning River. The results of the model calculations showed that approximately 78.9% of the water and 88% of the nitrate in the confluence zone were from the TGR mainstream. The dynamic vertical distributions of the mixing ratios, major ion contributions, and flow velocities indicated that the water mass from the Yangtze River mainstream flowed backward from the confluence zone up to the tributary along the surface and upper-middle layers, whereas water from the tributary flowed into the mainstream through the lower-middle and bottom layers. This study demonstrates the value of hydrogen and oxygen isotope tracers in accurately describing water mass mixing processes and estimating the rates of contribution of different nutrient sources in the confluence zone, which will provide valuable information for controlling algal blooms in the future.

No abstract

Growing concerns about urban runoff pollution and water scarcity caused by urbanization have prompted the application of bioretention facilities to manage urban stormwater. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of proposed bioretention facilities regarding road runoff pollutant removal and the variation characteristics of the media physicochemical properties and microbial diversity in dry-cold regions. Two types of bioretention facilities were designed and then constructed in Tianjin Eco-city, China, on the basis of combined soil filter media screened by a laboratory-scale test with a modified bioretention facility (MBF) containing soil moisture conservation ropes. Redundancy analysis was performed to evaluate the relationships between the variation in media physicochemical properties and microbial communities. An increase in media moisture could promote an increase in the relative abundance of several dominant microbial communities. In the MBF, the relatively low nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) (0.75 mg/L) and total nitrogen (TN) (4.71 mg/L) effluent concentrations, as well as better removal efficiencies for TN and NO3-N in challenge tests, were mainly attributed to the greater relative abundance of Proteobacteria (25.2%) that are involved in the microbial nitrogen transformation process. The MBF also had greater media microbial richness (5253 operational taxonomic units) compared to the conventional bioretention facility and in situ saline soils. The results indicate that stormwater runoff treated by both bioretention facilities has potential use for daily greening and road spraying. The proposed design approach for bioretention facilities is applicable to LID practices and sustainable stormwater management in other urban regions.