A Tale of Two Corals

There has been a lot of news about the decline of the great barrier reefs and the legislative actions we need to take to combat global carbon dioxide levels.  In fact this morning I was listening to NPR about a research lab located on an island out side of the Great Barrier Reef.  The researchers had a control tank and a tank that had increased levels of carbon dioxide and temperature.  Of course the non-control tank was not doing so well.  The lead researcher was disheartened about the future of the reefs.

Then this afternoon in a conversation I learned that deep water reefs are starting to expand.  These reefs are located 180 feet under the surface of the ocean. At these depths only blue light makes it to corals who grow parallel to the ocean’s surface.  Species like these banana corals have learned to survive and thrive. Threats to these corals include dredging, transatlantic communication lines, and shifting tectonics. 

As alarming as the global climate predictions are, the earth as we know it can change instantly. However, one thing we can predict is the earth and it’s plants, animals, & humans will adapt legislation or not.

Scientific Review Based on Regulations

I have been taking a class on air quality permitting (something I have almost no background in). In the class we have learned that the EPA establishes National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The review of the NAAQS were established in the 1990 Amendment to the Clean Air Act. The rules established in the legislation specify that the EPA must review the NAAQS every 5 years to determine if the current limits are adequately protecting public health.  A similar provision exists in the 1996 Ammendment to the Clean Water Act for the review of the standards for assessing water quality. It is interesting that the contaminant review process is driven from legislation in both environmental arenas.

Smelly Air and Liability

A couple of weeks ago Bob who is a corrosive gas engineer came out to collect air samples to test for hydrogen sulfide concentrations for a developer in our area. The developer intends to build on the hillsides where the treatment plant is and needs to know if it is a potentially liable location for home construction.  Residents of an area, after purchasing a home in an affected area can sue the treatment plant owner or the builder if the purchase contract does not disclose the type of odor that could be encountered habitating the home.

Ok, back to the science, so Bob came out to test air at certain locations. The device he used to collect the sample looked like a UFO:

The air sample was collected in the following way:

A pneumatic pump draws air from under the dome of the ufo air trapper pictured above.

The air sample was then going to be sent to a lab in Minnesota that uses volunteers to come in and sniff the water. Each volunteer smells the water and ascribes a number to the smell. That number is used in a geometric mean to determine the numerical value for the water odor. The test is called Total Odor Number and the protocol can be found in Standard Methods foe the Examination of Water and Wastewater.

It was really great to meet Bob and learn more of what he does. Thanks again Bob for the information!