The development of organisms is changing drastically because of anthropogenic changes in once-limited nutrients. Although the importance of changing macronutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, is well-established, it is less clear how anthropogenic changes in micronutrients will affect organismal development, potentially changing dynamics of selection. We use butterflies as a study system ...

Forest mortality along highways has long been a concern in areas where de-icing compounds are applied during winter. This study combined the spatial advantage of high-resolution remote sensing imagery and the temporal advantage of long-term archival imagery to quantify forest mortality and to detect the subtle and chronic effects of road de-icing salts for a large mountain watershed in the Sier...

Road-salt pollution in streams in the Northeastern United States has become a major concern, but historical data are scarce. Freshwater bivalve shells have the ability to record past environmental information, and may act as archives of road-salt pollution. We sampled Elliptio complanata shells from four streams, as well as specimens collected in 1877. Average [Na/Ca]shell was highest in modern...

Road salt deicers, especially NaCl and CaCl2, are increasingly applied to paved areas throughout the world. The goal of this study is to investigate the influence of high concentrations of these salts on wetland biogeochemistry. Sediment cores were collected in fall and spring from a freshwater wetland fringing an urban kettle lake (Asylum Lake, Kalamazoo, MI, USA), and incubated for 100 days i...

Ambient PM2.5 aerosol samples were collected from Wroclaw residential area between January and April 2009, and their elemental compositions were studied. The mean mass concentration of PM2.5 was 36±21 μg/m. Based on the variability in elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols, using principal component analysis (PCA) and multiple linear regression (MLRA), four main sources of fine particula...

Since the 1950s, widespread application of road salt for winter maintenance and safety in cold regions has led to increased conductivity levels many freshwater systems. Salting practices have adversely affected biota; however, magnitude ecological impacts may vary by species ecosystem. Here, we examine diatom assemblage changes during past ∼200 years from sedimentary records five impacted lakes...

This paper aims to study the feasibility of highly conductive carbon fiber reinforced concrete (CFRC) as a self-heating material for ice formation prevention and curing in pavements. Tests were carried out in lab ambient conditions at different fixed voltages and then introduced in a freezer at -15 °C. The specimens inside the freezer were exposed to different fixed voltages when reaching +5 °C...