E-CO Energi

The Florida River in southwestern Colorado, USA, flows through the Southern Ute Reservation and is a cultural and water resource to Tribal and non-Tribal communities. High concentrations of total Al, up to 16 400 & micro;g l(-1), have been detected in the Florida River. Elevated Al concentrations in water may affect aquatic organisms' ability to regulate ions and inhibit respiratory functions. Water chemistry collected during three sampling events in 2022 from the Florida River and two of its tributaries are used here to better understand the spatial distribution, seasonality, and sources of Al concentrations in the Florida River. Streambed sediment and rock chemistry is also used to infer geologic sources of Al in the watershed. A five-stage sequential extraction was performed on streambed sediment and rock samples to help determine Al transport processes. We assessed relations between major and trace elements in water using a principal component analysis, finding that high Al concentrations in the Florida River (>3500 & micro;g l(-1) total Al) are caused by the erosion of Al-laden sediments. We used a stepwise multiple linear regression to investigate the relationship between land use and Al concentrations. Land use did not reliably predict Al concentration, though increased streamflow connected to reservoir releases - particularly in the Salt Creek tributary - were found to contribute Al to the Florida River during the irrigation season. In this study, we demonstrate that successful metal source appropriation may be achieved through limited field sampling when performed with sufficient water chemistry analysis, sequential chemical extraction of stream sediments, and statistical and land-use analysis.

Governments and industries worldwide are seeking methods to accurately estimate their methane inventories, particularly in the open-cut coal mining sector, where quantifying facility-level emissions remains challenging and robust verification methods are not yet widespread. Here, we compare methane emission rates estimated from two aircraft-based measurement platforms with operator-reported emissions from an open-cut coal mine in the Bowen Basin (Queensland, Australia). Coarse-resolution satellite-based data identified the mine as a significant emitter, making it ideal for case studies using airborne in situ and remote sensing platforms that provide high-resolution measurements to isolate mine-scale emissions. Using airborne in situ measurements, we estimated methane emission rates of 14.0 +/- 3.3 (+/- 2 sigma) t h-1 during May and June 2022. In September 2023, airborne in situ and remote sensing measurements yielded consistent emission rate estimates of 9.6 +/- 1.9 (+/- 2 sigma) t h-1 and 11.3 +/- 5.3 (+/- 2 sigma) t h-1, respectively. If sustained, these rates would equate to annual emissions of 1.5-4.2 Mt of CO2 equivalents (CO2-e) year-1, 3-8 times higher than operator-reported annual Scope 1 emissions (0.53-0.54 Mt of CO2-e year-1). Beyond highlighting the potential for under-reporting of emissions at this mine, our results indicate that aircraft-based technologies are valuable tools for supporting accurate reporting of facility-scale methane emissions from open-cut coal mines.

The ecology of discard and commercial fish plays a crucial role in maintaining balanced ecosystems. It is also essential for assessing the ecological status of marine environments. The Gulf of Antalya is the largest and most oligotrophic area in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. It shows a distinct fish community structure compared to other regions along the Turkish Mediterranean coast and the Turkish seas. The data used in this study were previously published for other fisheries research purposes. They have been reinterpreted here to evaluate ecological differences between commercial and discard fish. A total of 136 species were examined, with 59 classified as commercial and 77 as discards. A marked spatiotemporal contrast in abundance distribution was observed between commercial and discard fish. However, this contrast was less visually evident when considering biomass. Both abundance and biomass were higher for commercial species compared to discards in riverine regions. When fish size was assessed using the biomass-to-abundance ratio, discard fish were found to have heavier specimens than commercial fish. In general, the non-indigenous species (NIS) within commercial and discard groups showed spatial contrasts with indigenous species (IS) in terms of abundance. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H’) showed significant differences between commercial and discard groups, particularly in interaction with bottom depth. Cluster analysis revealed that faunistic variables were distinctly grouped for discards and commercials. The spatiotemporal distribution of fish assemblages was primarily clustered by bottom depth range (zone) and, secondarily, by species origin (IS vs. NIS). However, no distinct grouping was found to differentiate discard from commercial fish. Environmental variables affecting discard-environment and commercial-environment relationships were similar. However, the correlations were reversed in sign (positive to negative, or vice versa).