Andrzej Kłos

The quality of surface waters in the territory of Poland, despite the implemented remedial measures, is mostly classified as bad. This article presents the results of research on the composition of water macroelements in 24 artificial reservoirs located in Opole province (southern Poland), searching for the reasons behind their pollution. Concentrations of the anions F⁻, Cl⁻, Br⁻, NO₂⁻, NO₃⁻, PO₄³⁻ and SO₄²⁻ and cations Na⁺, NH₄⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ were taken into account. An analysis of seasonal changes was carried out and, on the example of a dam reservoir (Turawa Big Reservoir), a multi-point analysis of the distribution of ion concentrations in water at the reservoir surface was also carried out. It was shown that retention and flow-through reservoirs, where the main source of pollution is the water feeding the reservoirs, are the most vulnerable to pollution. The second group consists of closed reservoirs located in industrial and agricultural areas, which are exposed to pollution from rainwater run-off and field leachate. In the case of reservoirs created in marl mining areas, a significant effect was also indicated from the chemical composition of the substrate on the formation of ionic equilibria in waters filling the excavations. The research shows that there are no hard and fast rules regarding the seasonal variability of ion concentrations during the growing season, indicating that eutrophic reservoirs show greater variability of ion concentration. Graphical

Assessing the changing parameters of water quality at different points in the river–reservoir system can help prevent river pollution and implement remedial policies. It is also crucial in modeling water resources. Multivariate statistical analysis is useful for the analysis of changes in surface water quality. It helps to identify indicators that may be responsible for the eutrophication process of a reservoir. Additionally, the analysis of the water quality profile and the water quality index (WQI) is useful in assessing water pollution. These tools can support and verify the results of a multivariate statistical analysis. In this study, changes in water quality parameters of the Turawa reservoir (TR), and the Mała Panew river at the point below the Turawa reservoir (bTR) and above the Turawa reservoir (aTR), were analyzed. The analyzed period was from 2019 to 2020 (360 samples were analyzed). It was found that TN, NO₂-N, and NO₃-N decreased after passing through the Turawa reservoir. Nevertheless, principal component analysis (PCA) and redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that NO₂-N and NO₃-N contribute to the observed variability of the water quality in the river-reservoir system. PCA showed that pH and PO₄-P had a lower impact on the water quality in the reservoir than nitrogen compounds. Additionally, RDA proved that the values of the NO₃-N and NO₂-N indicators obtained the highest values at the aTR point, PO₄-P at the bTR, and pH at the TR. This allows the conclusion that the Turawa reservoir reduced the concentration of NO₂-N and NO₃-N in comparison with the concentration of these compounds flowing into the reservoir. PCA and RDA showed that both parameters (NO₂-N and NO₃-N) may be responsible for the eutrophication process of the Turawa reservoir. The analysis of short-term changes in water quality data may reveal additional sources of water pollution. High temperatures and alkaline reaction may cause the release of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds from sediments, which indicates an increased concentration of TP, PO4-P, and N_org in the waters at the TR point, and TP, PO₄-P, and NH₄-N concentrations at the bTR point. The water quality profile combined with PCA and RDA allows more effective monitoring for the needs of water management in the reservoir catchment area. The analyzed WQI for water below the reservoir (bTR) was lower than that of the reservoir water (TR), which indicates an improvement in water after passing through the reservoir.

Remote sensing, which is based on a reflected electromagnetic spectrum, offers a wide range of research methods. It allows for the identification of plant properties, e.g., chlorophyll, but a registered signal not only comes from green parts but also from dry shoots, soil, and other objects located next to the plants. It is, thus, important to identify the most applicable remote-acquired indices for chlorophyll detection in polar regions, which play a primary role in global monitoring systems but consist of areas with high and low accessibility. This study focuses on an analysis of in situ-acquired hyperspectral properties, which was verified by simultaneously measuring the chlorophyll concentration in three representative arctic plant species, i.e., the prostrate deciduous shrub Salix polaris, the herb Bistorta vivipara, and the prostrate semievergreen shrub Dryas octopetala. This study was conducted at the high Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, Norway. Of the 23 analyzed candidate vegetation and chlorophyll indices, the following showed the best statistical correlations with the optical measurements of chlorophyll concentration: Vogelmann red edge index 1, 2, 3 (VOG 1, 2, 3), Zarco-Tejada and Miller index (ZMI), modified normalized difference vegetation index 705 (mNDVI 705), modified normalized difference index (mND), red edge normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI 705), and Gitelson and Merzlyak index 2 (GM 2). An assessment of the results from this analysis indicates that S. polaris and B. vivipara were in good health, while the health status of D. octopetala was reduced. This is consistent with other studies from the same area. There were also differences between study sites, probably as a result of local variation in environmental conditions. All these indices may be extracted from future satellite missions like EnMAP (Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program) and FLEX (Fluorescence Explorer), thus, enabling the efficient monitoring of vegetation condition in vast and inaccessible polar areas.

Various techniques of determination of properties of physicochemical processes of heavy metal sorption in biosorbents were analysed. The methods of preparing and storing samples, conditions of experiment performance, as well as the methods of data interpretation were discussed. Two procedures of study were analysed: (1) in the static system of biosorbent-solution contact and (2) in the system of dynamic flow of solution. Copper cation sorption was studied. The effect of consecutive stages of the study on the quality of final results was shown. A high degree of uncertainty of the sorption capacity assessment was reported, which was dependent on the manner of conducting the study. The application of the pseudo-second order reaction model was substantiated to describe kinetics of cation-exchange sorption and the model of Langmuir isotherm to describe equilibria. The study conducted reveals that in order to perform comparative analyses, it is necessary to establish a joint concept of conducting studies and the interpretation of results.

Remote sensing is a suitable candidate for monitoring rapid changes in Polar regions, offering high-resolution spectral, spatial and radiometric data. This paper focuses on the spectral properties of dominant plant species acquired during the first week of August 2015. Twenty-eight plots were selected, which could easily be identified in the field as well as on RapidEye satellite imagery. Spectral measurements of individual species were acquired, and heavy metal contamination stress factors were measured contemporaneously. As a result, a unique spectral library of dominant plant species, heavy metal concentrations and damage ratios were achieved with an indication that species-specific changes due to environmental conditions can best be differentiated in the 1401–2400 nm spectral region. Two key arctic tundra species, Cassiope tetragona and Dryas octopetala, exhibited significant differences in this spectral region that were linked to a changing health status. Relationships between field and satellite measurements were comparable, e.g., the Red Edge Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (RENDVI) showed a strong and significant relationship (R² = 0.82; p = 0.036) for the species Dryas octopetala. Cadmium and Lead were below detection levels while manganese, copper and zinc acquired near Longyearbyen were at concentrations comparable to other places in Svalbard. There were high levels of nickel near Longyearbyen (0.014 mg/g), while it was low (0.004 mg/g) elsewhere.