Computational and experimental biomonitoring transboundary pollution for optimizing industrial effluent parameters

Abstract

This paper deals with monitoring transboundary pollution affecting a waterbody shared by two neighboring countries. The case under examination refers to a river crossing the borders between an upstream and a downstream country (UC and DC, respectively, by considering the borders as reference point), where the source of pollution is located in the UC but the downstream environmental impacts are manifested also in the DC. A methodology is presented, under the form of an algorithmic procedure including 20 activity stages and 10 decision nodes, for quantifying environmental impact, formulating the necessary knowledge framework for maximizing joint benefit and creating the suitable background for bilateral negotiations in order to reach a satisfactory agreement for both parts. The measure of pollution we introduce is the spatio-temporal oxygen deficit given as the area between a critical dissolved oxygen value and the corresponding oxygen sag curve. Based on this measure, we have determined the basic regimes that may appear in practice and we have highlighted the limiting cases that structure the domain where a quasi-optimal solution may be found. It is worthwhile noting that the presented approach can be extended to include water quality issues, especially suitable for dealing with extreme climatic changes (drought, flood, or other impacts of global warming), as well as the introduction of new technologies for improving water utility. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.