A Raman investigation on the boron form occurring in salt lake brine during evaporation

Boron resources are abundant in Da Qaidam salt lake of Qaidamu Basin. It has been given great attention for the polyborate species present in brine. In this study, the Raman spectroscopy was applied to investigate the existing-form of boron in brine during evaporation. The prepared solutions of MgO·2B2O3-H2O, MgO·2B2O3-MgCl2 -H2O, and MgO·2B2O3-MgSO4-H2O was also evaporated and recorded to study the influence of boron concentration, pH, and electrolytes on the borate speciation in brine. The mononborates of B(OH)3 and B(OH)4- were found to be the only forms present in the original salt lake brine. Brine evaporation promotes the formation of polyborate anions B3O3(OH)4-, B5O6(OH)4-, and B6O7(OH)62- and also disappearance of the B(OH)4- ion in brine with boron concentration of more than 11 g/L in B2O3. The pentaborate ion of B5O6(OH)4- was sensitive to the solution pH and found to be appeared under the pH value of 8.0. While the hexaborate ion of B6O7(OH)62- was observed more dependent on the electrolyte of magnesium chloride due to its special properties, such as promoting boron accumulation, lowering solution pH, and also the strong af?nity for water molecules, which is beneficial to the polymerization of borate ions in brine. The interaction mechanisms among polyborate anions during evaporation had also been proposed.     

The evolution of the spatial-temporal patterns of global energy security since the 1990s

Journal of Geographical Sciences - In this study, we developed an energy security evaluation model (ESEM) from three dimensions, energy supply-transport security, safety of energy utilization, and...     

The Belt and Road: Geographical pattern and regional risks

Journal of Geographical Sciences - Building the Belt and Road is initiatives of China to promote win-win international cooperation in the new era, aiming at green, health, intellect and peace and...     

Multiscale geographically and temporally weighted regression: exploring the spatiotemporal determinants of housing prices

Understanding scale effects is important and indispensable for geography studies. However, spatial and spatiotemporal statistical tools for measuring the operational scales of different processes are rather limited. This article extends the popular geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model to consider operational scale effects by proposing multiscale GTWR (MGTWR), which offers a flexible and scalable framework for identifying and analysing multiscale processes by specifying flexible bandwidths for various covariates. Then, MGTWR is employed to explore spatiotemporal variations and how influential factors are associated with housing prices in Shenzhen. This article attempts to extend GTWR to MGTWR in consideration of scale effects, thereby highlighting the importance of different levels of spatiotemporal heterogeneity. Furthermore, the empirical results of this study can provide valuable policy implications for real estate development in areas where urban planning should address multiscale effects in both temporal and spatial dimensions.     

Examining the sensitivity of spatial scale in cellular automata Markov chain simulation of land use change

Understanding the spatial scale sensitivity of cellular automata is crucial for improving the accuracy of land use change simulation. We propose a framework based on a response surface method to comprehensively explore spatial scale sensitivity of the cellular automata Markov chain (CA-Markov) model, and present a hybrid evaluation model for expressing simulation accuracy that merges the strengths of the Kappa coefficient and of Contagion index. Three Landsat-Thematic Mapper remote sensing images of Wuhan in 1987, 1996, and 2005 were used to extract land use information. The results demonstrate that the spatial scale sensitivity of the CA-Markov model resulting from individual components and their combinations are both worthy of attention. The utility of our proposed hybrid evaluation model and response surface method to investigate the sensitivity has proven to be more accurate than the single Kappa coefficient method and more efficient than traditional methods. The findings also show that the CA-Markov model is more sensitive to neighborhood size than to cell size or neighborhood type considering individual component effects. Particularly, the bilateral and trilateral interactions between neighborhood and cell size result in a more remarkable scale effect than that of a single cell size.     

Spatiotemporal heterogeneity and influencing mechanism of ecosystem services in the Pearl River Delta from the perspective of LUCC

Journal of Geographical Sciences - Land use/land cover change (LUCC) has considerable impact on ecosystem services. It is essential to quantify the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of ecosystem...     

A surface network based method for studying urban hierarchies by night time light remote sensing data

Urban hierarchies are closely related to economic growth, urban planning and sustainable urban development. Due to the limited availability of reliable statistical data at fine scales, most existing studies on urban hierarchy characterization failed to capture the detailed urban spatial structure information. Previous studies have demonstrated that night time light data are correlated with many urban socio-economic indicators and hence can be used to characterize urban hierarchies. This paper presents a novel method for studying urban hierarchies from night time light data. Night time light data were first conceptualized as continuous mathematical surfaces, termed night time light surfaces. From the morphology of these surfaces the corresponding surface networks were derived. Hereafter, a night time light intensity (NTLI) graph was defined to describe the morphology of the surface network. Then, structural similarity between the night time light surfaces of any two different cities was calculated via a threshold-based maximum common induced graph searching algorithm. Finally, urban hierarchies were defined on the basis of the structural similarities between different cities. Using the 2015 annual NPP-VIIRS night time light data, the urban hierarchies of 32 major cities in China were successfully examined. The results are highly consistent with the reference urban hierarchies.     

Recognition of Significant Surface Soil Geochemical Anomalies Via Weighted 3D Shortest-Distance Field of Subsurface Orebodies: A Case Study in the Hongtoushan Copper Mine,NE China

Natural Resources Research - Quantitative prediction of concealed mineralization is always confronted with difficulties in comprehensive analysis between 2D and 3D data and between qualitative and...     

Long‐term temporal and spatial patterns in bioeroding sponge distribution at the Abrolhos Bank,Brazil, Southwestern Atlantic

Bioeroding sponges belong to the most dominant bioeroders, significantly contributing to the erosion of coral reefs. Some species are tolerant or even benefit from environmental conditions such as ocean warming, acidification, and eutrophication. In consequence, increases in sponge bioerosion have been observed on some coral reefs over the last decades. The Abrolhos Bank is the largest coral reef system in the South Atlantic. It has been affected by sedimentation, eutrophication, overfishing, and climate change, mainly affecting coastal reefs, and at lesser intensity outer ones as well. This study aimed to describe spatial and temporal patterns in bioeroding sponge distribution in carbonate substrates in the Abrolhos Bank. Photo‐quadrats were used to compare bioeroding sponge abundance between two shallow reefs: a coastal, Pedra de Leste (PL), and an outer reef, Parcel dos Abrolhos (PAB). Each individual was delimitated over the substrate by determining the sponge surface through a line connecting the outermost papillae. The study was conducted over 6 years in 2008–2009 and 2013–2016. Four species of bioeroding sponges were identified: Cliona carteri Ridley, 1881, C. delitrix Pang, 1973, C. cf. schmidtii Ridley, 1881, and Siphonodictyon coralliphagum Rützler, 1971. The distribution and abundance of species varied between the inner and outer reefs and across the years, and displayed certain selectivity for the calcareous substrates recorded. Crustose coralline algae (CCA) were the main substrate excavated by the most abundant bioeroding species, C. carteri, and represented 70% of the substrate types occupied by this sponge (CCA, coral overgrown by CCA and plain coral). The highest abundance of bioeroding sponges observed in photo‐quadrats was 21.3 individuals/m² at the outer reefs (PAB) in 2014. The abundances or areal extents of bioeroding sponges were up to 10 times greater on the outer reefs than on the coastal ones, where sedimentation is higher and more strongly influenced by siliciclastic material. Moreover, a higher herbivorous fish biomass has been reported on outer reefs which could also influence the higher abundance of bioeroding sponges in outer reefs. During the study period of 6 years, an increase in bioeroding sponge abundance was observed at the outer reefs (PAB), with the sea surface temperature increase. As CCA have an important role in reefal cementation and carbonate production in the Abrolhos reefs, a bioerosion impact might be expected, in particular, on the outer reefs.     

The Cabo Frio upwelling overrides geographical patterns in the population dynamics of the shrimp Artemesia longinaris Spence Bate, 1888 (Decapoda: Penaeidae)

Upwelling areas are among the most productive ecosystems on the planet, influencing the biology of marine organisms. This study investigated the population dynamics of the shrimp Artemesia longinaris in two regions in southeastern Brazil, one inside (Macaé—Rio de Janeiro State) and one outside (Ubatuba—State of São Paulo) the Cabo Frio upwelling area. The aim was to verify the influence of the upwelling phenomenon on the abundance, growth, longevity, size of sexual maturity, and reproductive period of the species. In total, 188,902 individuals were captured at Macaé and 3,461 at Ubatuba. Individuals captured at Macaé showed larger maximum size, higher longevity, and slower growth rate, besides reaching sexual maturity at larger sizes than at Ubatuba. Continuous reproduction was observed in both regions, with juvenile recruitment peaks in spring and summer. Local conditions observed at Macaé were influenced by the Cabo Frio upwelling zone, characterized by productive and cooler waters that are around 20°C during most of the year. The upwelling phenomenon is probably the main factor influencing the population parameters studied here, changing the geographic patterns previously observed for the variation of these parameters in A. longinaris.