Effect of Atmosphere and Temperature Treatment on Leoanardite for Increasing Humic Acid Yield

In this review, the shifts in organic matter (OM) accumulation and C:N ratios in lake sediments to reconstruct paleoclimate and paleo-environmental changes since the early Holocene period are presented. The C:N proxy data of total OM reflect wet climatic conditions during early Holocene (10 to 8.2 kyrs BP) due to enhanced southwest monsoon. This was followed by intermittent arid conditions during the mid and late Holocene period (8.2 to 2.8 kyr BP). Enhanced values of C:N ratio during middle to late Holocene (7.8–2.3 kyrs B.P) indicate periods with lower lake levels and minimum precipitation, while decreased C:N ratio point to stronger SW monsoon and expansion of the lakes. Further, C:N and δ¹³C results from the lake sediments reveal a detailed and continuous paleo-environmental changes in the relative sources of OM (allochthonous vs autochthonous). Proxy records using such natural archives have also been utilized to reconstruct past extreme events and environmental changes around the lake systems, such as causes for lake desiccation, hydrographic changes, alternations between C₃ and C₄ vegetation and historical disturbances in the catchment area since the early-late Holocene period coupled with the Indian summer monsoon.     

Torrential rainfall-triggered shallow landslide characteristics and susceptibility assessment using ensemble data-driven models in the Dongjiang Reservoir Watershed,China

Natural Hazards - This study investigated the characteristics of rainfall-triggered landslides during the Typhoon Bilis in the Dongjiang Reservoir Watershed, China. The comparative shallow...     

Short-Term Morphological and Shoreline Changes at Trinkat Island,Andaman and Nicobar,India, After the 2004 Tsunami

The tsunami waves generated during the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of 26 December 2004 devastated the coastal area along Trinkat Island, causing sudden changes to the morphology of the landforms. This study uses a series of satellite images to record the short-term morphological response and shoreline changes as well as the recovery of coastal land after its destruction. Results indicate that the island experienced substantial erosion and a significant reduction in land area. Shoreline erosion is more prevalent than accretion at an average linear regression rate of ～?9 m per year between 2004 and 2013. The major morphological changes at Trinkat Island were observed in coastal inlets, beaches, and bay head-lands. Straight beaches had almost recovered eight years after the tsunami; however, erosion is continually observed in other areas. Our study will help understanding the response and recovery of shorelines in Indian Ocean regions after the 2004 tsunami.     

Groundwater vulnerability to pesticides in Northwest Bangladesh

The transport and leaching potential hazards of various pesticides were studied in a shallow unconfined aquifer located in Northwest Bangladesh. Pesticide leaching potential was quantified using a one-dimensional advective–dispersive transport equation for a non-conservative chemical that follows first-order decay and linear adsorption in soils. Leaching potential index (LPI) was calculated for 69 sites in the study area to evaluate the relative vulnerability to pesticide leaching and to prioritize sites for model study and soil sampling. The numerical ranks of computed LPI were grouped by quantiles into very high, high, moderate, low and very low categories; and based on these rankings, the most vulnerable site was selected. The fate and transport of pesticides in this most vulnerable site was modeled using MT3D. The model results indicate that pesticides with high sorptivity and moderate to high persistence have low potential impact on groundwater. Top soils are found to be particularly vulnerable to the accumulation of organochlorine pesticides. Results also revealed that decreasing the soil organic matter and increasing the half-life of the pesticides at deeper depths did not make any significant change. Finally, six soil samples were collected from the same site at depths of 0.0, 1.5, 3.0, 4.5, 6.0, and 7.5 m for the analysis of pesticide residues. The soil–water was extracted from the samples following standard extraction technique and tested using gas chromatography (GC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for pesticide residues. Results showed no trace of pesticide residues in the soil–water; however, a few unknown peaks were detected indicating the use of some unknown brand of chemicals in the study area.     

Mineral Resource Potential of Tajikistan: As an Important Component of Sustainable Development of the Silk Road Economic Belt

<正>The presence of rich natural resources and their rational use is the basis of dynamic and sustainable development of the state and society in general.The most effective integrated use of natural resources,which include mineral resources,predetermines the development of productive forces,the development of new areas,and the deployment of new industries,solves the problems of employment and contributes to economic growth of the     

A rapid seismic safety assessment method for mid-rise reinforced concrete buildings

The majority of existing buildings are not safe against earthquakes in most of the developing countries. Existing building stocks should be assessed with a seismic safety assessment method before a devastating earthquake. Cheaper and quicker rapid seismic safety assessment methods can be used instead of code-based assessment methods to determine the seismic performance of existing buildings. In this study, an approach was introduced to determine the seismic performance of existing mid-rise reinforced concrete buildings with fewer parameters and process steps than code-based detailed assessment procedures. Calibration and regulation of the introduced method were conducted on the 39 collapsed buildings’ projects in 1999 Kocaeli, Turkey, earthquake. Finally, 55 existing buildings located in Eskisehir, Turkey, assessed with this calibrated method and the results were compared with the results of a code-based detailed assessment method; the results showed a very good agreement of about 83%. This study shows that the proposed method can be applied for the determination of the seismic performance of existing mid-rise reinforced concrete buildings quickly and without compromising reliability.     

Preliminary Studies of Speleothem in Central Asia

正Objective The Westerlies is important in linking the Northern high latitude,North Atlantic and East Asian monsoon.The location and intensity of the Westerly jet can not only control the climate of central Asia(including northwest arid China),but also significantly influence the climate of the East Asian monsoon region.However,it remains     

Fish assemblages in Tanzanian mangrove creek systems influenced by solar salt farm constructions

Deforestation of mangrove forests is common occurrence worldwide. We examined fish assemblage composition in three mangrove creek systems in Tanzania (East Africa), including two creeks where the upper parts were partly clear-cut of mangrove forest due to the construction of solar salt farms, and one creek with undisturbed mangrove forest. Fish were caught monthly for one year using a seine net (each haul covering 170 m²) within three locations in each creek, i.e. at the upper, intermediate and lower reaches. Density, biomass and species number of fish were lower in the upper deforested sites compared to the mangrove-fringed sites at the intermediate and lower parts in the two creeks affected by deforestation, whereas there were no differences among the three sites in the undisturbed mangrove creek system. In addition, multivariate analyses showed that the structure of fish assemblages varied between forested and clear-cut sites within the two disturbed creeks, but not within the undisturbed creek. Across the season, we found no significant differences except for a tendency of a minor increase in fish densities during the rainy season. At least 75% of the fishes were juveniles and of commercial interest for coastal fisheries and/or aquaculture. Mugil cephalus, Gerres oyena and Chanos chanos were the most abundant species in the forested sites. The dominant species in the clear-cut areas were M. cephalus and Elops machnata, which were both found in relatively low abundances compared to the undisturbed areas. The conversion of mangrove forests into solar salt farms not only altered fish assemblage composition, but also water and sediment conditions. In comparison with undisturbed areas, the clear-cut sites showed higher salinity, water temperature as well as organic matter and chlorophyll a in the sediments. Our results suggest that mangrove habitat loss and changes in environmental conditions caused by salt farm developments will decrease fish densities, biomass and species numbers as well as alter the overall fish assemblage composition in the salt farm area but not downstream in the creek.