Biomedical subjects

P D Armitage

Publications and source records attributed to P D Armitage.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

The effects of sediment size fraction and associated algal biofilms on the kinetics of phosphorus release.

Experiments using flumes containing sediment of three different size fractions, from two sites on the River Tame, investigated the influences of sediment particle size, and an associated biofilm, on sediment-water exchanges in heterogeneous sediment deposits. This is the first study undertaken to understand the kinetics of the release of soluble reactive phosphorus from sediments of natural systems to identify which of the size compartments affected those fluxes most. Samples of fine material (<2 mm), gravel (2-20 mm), and stones (>20 mm) were collected over a period of several weeks and brought to a fluvarium where they were placed in artificial, controlled flow, and flume channels. Synthetic solutions of similar ionic strength to the river were prepared using calcium chloride. Temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen of the solution overlying the sediment were monitored automatically whilst filtered samples were obtained at 2 h intervals over 48 h. The biomass, expressed as mg m(-2) chlorophyll a, of the algal component of the biofilm from the surface of the sediment was estimated using methanol extraction. Differences in the responses were observed between the sediment size fractions and the two sites, where contaminant concentrations varied. The equilibrium phosphate concentration and a phosphorus transfer index were used to establish that there was a net uptake of phosphorus by all three sediment size fractions, from both sites, at the time of sampling. The kinetic results showed very fast initial reactions of phosphorus release from the larger size fractions with a well-developed filamentous algal growth present implying a different mechanism than diffusion being involved. The stones and associated biofilms also released more phosphorus than the fine fraction, e.g. final release concentrations for the most contaminated site were: fines approximately 2.5 microM, gravel approximately 6.5 microM, and stones approximately 65.0 microM (expressed as soluble reactive phosphorus). Phosphorus fluxes, calculated assuming the concentration of phosphorus in the sediment was less than the equilibrium concentration, were a maximum at the most contaminated site, e.g. fines 6.4 nmol m(-2) s(-1), gravel 27 nmol m(-2) s(-1), and stones 109 nmol m(-2) s(-1) (normalised with respect to the river bed area). These results confirm that sediment having a biofilm and associated particulate material results in a greater flux than fine sediment, which does not support a filamentous biomass. Removal of the fine particulates trapped in the algal growth reduced soluble phosphorus release. These factors demonstrate that both gravel and stone substrates have an important control over the release of soluble reactive phosphorus.

Biofilms↗

PubMed2005

Kinetics of phosphorus release from a natural mixed grain-size sediment with associated algal biofilms.

Experiments using flumes containing mixed grain-size sediment with an associated algal biofilm, from two sites on the R. Tame, investigated the sediment-water exchanges in heterogeneous sediment deposits. These results were considered in the light of findings of a companion study [Gainswin BE, et al. The effects of sediment size fraction and associated algal biofilms on the kinetics of phosphorus release. Sci Total Environ, this issue.] by considering this natural system in relation to the effects of the different sizes of material comprising the sediment. Sediment samples were collected in trays installed in the river over a period of one growth cycle (March 2001-April 2002) and placed in flume channels with controlled water flow. The temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen of the solution overlying the sediment were monitored automatically whilst filtered samples were obtained at 2-0h intervals over 48 h. The biomass, expressed as chlorophyll a, of the algal component of the biofilm from the surface of the sediment was estimated using methanol extraction. The composition of the sediment, viz. size fractions, organic matter and porosity, were determined at the end of the experiments. The equilibrium phosphate concentration and a phosphorus transfer index were used to establish that a net uptake of phosphorus by some of the samples that occurred at the time of sampling. The results were modelled using a Diffusion Boundary Layer model and the maximum flux from the sediment (or limiting diffusion flux) compared for each of the samples. The limiting diffusion flux was highest at the most contaminated site--reaching approximately 180 nmol m(-2) s(-1) (normalised with respect to the river bed area). The limiting diffusion flux calculated for the composite samples was in agreement with the flux estimated from the contributions expected from the individual size fractions [Gainswin BE, et al. The effects of sediment size fraction and associated algal biofilms on the kinetics of phosphorus release. Sci Total Environ, this issue.]. The dominance of the flux contribution from the stones size fraction (>20 mm) confirms that sediment having a filamentous biofilm and associated particulate material results in a greater flux than a silt sediment without such a biomass.

Biofilms↗

PubMed2001

Study of dissolved silicon and nitrate dynamics in a freshwater stream.

Dissolved reactive silicon and nitrate were measured at weekly intervals over a 3 year period (1991-94) on a 1.2km reach of a gauged Dorset Mill Stream. In addition, dissolved nitrite was measured over a 8 month period from the spring to late autumn in 1992. Two intensive studies with sampling at 2h intervals were also completed in low and high riverflow conditions. The results were analysed using a mass-balance approach with the loss and gains in nutrients dissolved in the water expressed in terms of areal rates. Losses of both nutrients occurred during periods of low streamflow in spring and summer. Losses of silicon are attributed to growth of epilithic diatoms whereas nitrate losses are consistent with a number of processes including the growth of aquatic plants, the development of epilithic biofilms and nitrogen transformations, such as denitrification, in bed-sediments. Stream water gained dissolved nitrite during its passage through the section. Silicon losses from the stream amounted to between 52 and 63 mmol m(-2) d(-1) (expressed per area of bed-sediment) for the spring periods in 1992-94. Nitrate losses were more variable with overall rates between 24 and 89 mmol m(-2) d(-1) for the summer periods in 1991-93.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2001

Classifying urban rivers.

Classification systems have been developed over the last century as a tool to aid managers in the preservation, conservation, enhancement and management of rivers. The classification systems developed to date have been designed to differentiate between relatively unimpacted, mainly rural rivers. Urban rivers typically show poor water quality and biological diversity, and so most current classification systems tend to group urban rivers into a single "poor" category. In this paper we describe a hierarchical framework for recording information about urban rivers that allows a more sensitive description of these rivers enabling subdivision into several classes according to the purpose of the classification. The different levels in the hierarchy, the types of attributes that are to be recorded at each level, and the relational database structure for storing the data are described. The 100-500 m river stretch level in the hierarchy relates to the engineered modification of urban rivers and is the key to their classification. An example classification at this scale illustrates a link between engineering modification, bank and bed materials and the number and diversity of physical habitats present. This classification underlines the importance of adopting a hierarchy of nested spatial scales for data collection, classification and interpretation since it illustrates a clear link between characteristics at the stretch scale and at the finer habitat scale. The classification also illustrates the varied nature of urban rivers and the fact that even quite heavily engineered stretches can contain a diversity of habitat types.

Cities↗

PubMed1995

An investigation of the effects of water velocity on inorganic phosphorus influx to a sediment.

Measurements of the net influx of soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), to a river bed-sediment, illustrate the importance of the water velocity and hydrodynamics in controlling the transfer rates. Experiments are reported using a characterised bed-sediment, with associated fauna, contained in a flowing-water channel. The results show a systematic increase in the net influx of SRP with increasing water velocity. A mathematical description of the influx was sought by modelling the experimental results using the Elovich equation, a boundary-layer model and a parabolic rate equation. In fact all three kinetic equations produce a good representation of the experimental data and it is concluded that further research is needed, in well-defined hydrodynamic conditions, to distinguish between the boundary-layer model and the parabolic equation. The boundary-layer model leads to an inverse relationship between the boundary-layer thickness (z/microm), and the water velocity (v/cm s(-1), viz z approximately 2500/v). In comparison, the parabolic equation of the form: influx of SRP (mol m(-2) = kp [SRP-EPC0]2, where EPC0 is the concentration at which the influx is zero prior to the sorption of phosphorus by the sediment and kp is the rate constant which leads to a velocity dependence, kp* = 0.714v + 1 where kp* is the reduced rate constant, kp* = kp(v)/kp(0). The semi-empirical Elovich equation in the form: influx of SRP (mol m(-2)) = (1/b) ln(1 + abt) where a and b are the Elovich parameters and t the time, gives a convenient description of the net influx of SRP to bed-sediments downstream of a point-source of pollution. The parameters calculated from the results obtained from the experimental channel are used to estimate the SRP flux to the sediment for a distance of up to 5 km downstream of a point-input of SRP.

Journal Article↗