Aquatic microcosms for assessment of effluent effects. Final report

Technical Report · Wed Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1978

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6230717· OSTI ID:6230717

Harte, J.; Levy, D.; Lapan, E.; Jassby, A.; Dudzik, M.; Rees, J.

Laboratory freshwater lake microcosms are studied with respect to their usefulness in providing a tool for environmental impact assessment. The microcosm system studied consists of a diverse assemblage of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and microbes in four sets of sextuplet 50-liter tanks initiated under four different nutrient level conditions. Three four-month studies were carried out, each with a different pollutant expected to be found in significant concentration in the aqueous effluent from coal gasification operations. These studies have led to: identification of those biological and chemical parameters most useful for evaluating the responses of microcosms to chemical pollutants; characterization of the difficulties in obtaining replicate microcosms that approximately simulate natural systems; a test of the usefulness of microcosms in evaluating hypothetical stability indicators; evaluation of the relative usefulness of the bloom and the quiescent stages of microcosm development for impact assessment studies; and a specific research plan for determining optimum procedures for microcosm design, initiation, and operation.

• Research Organization: California Univ., Berkeley (USA). Lawrence Berkeley Lab.
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 6230717
• Report Number(s): EPRI-EA-936
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010900 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Environmental Aspects
520200* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
COAL GASIFICATION
COAL LIQUEFACTION
ECOSYSTEMS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
GASIFICATION
LIQUEFACTION
LIQUID WASTES
PHYTOPLANKTON
PLANKTON
POLLUTION
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
WASTES
WATER POLLUTION
ZOOPLANKTON