Developing the Next Generation of Community-Based Scholars

As we train the next generation of scholars, we should be cognizant that the academy is increasingly being asked to justify its value to broader society. We discuss ways in which students can prepare for the changing directions of the academy as they participate in a community geography research training program. Our results reveal the impacts of our program, contextualize lessons learned from creating community-based research experiences, and provide data to support a framework for other scholars to develop community-based research training programs.     

Improving decision-making activities for meningitis and malaria

Public health professionals are increasingly concerned about the potential impact that climate variability and change can have on infectious disease. The International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) is developing new products to increase the public health community’s capacity to understand, use and demand the appropriate climate data and climate information to mitigate the public health impacts of climate on infectious disease, in particular meningitis and malaria. In this paper, we present the new and improved products that have been developed for: (i) estimating dust aerosol for forecasting risks of meningitis and (ii) for monitoring temperature and rainfall and integrating them into a vectorial capacity model for forecasting risks of malaria epidemics. We also present how the products have been integrated into a knowledge system (IRI Data Library Map Room, SERVIR) to support the use of climate and environmental information in climate-sensitive health decision-making.     

Seismic treatment for a maximal credible earthquake in Guwahati city area of northeast India region

Strong ground motion parameters for the Guwahati city area, the capital city of the state of Assam in northeast India, are examined with the help of data accrued from local as well as worldwide network. Empirical relations are proposed for the ground motion parameters as a function of earthquake magnitude, distance, fault type, source depth and velocity characteristics of medium. Seismotectonics of the study region is examined, and a maximum credible earthquake M _S ~ 8.0 is presumed from the Brahmaputra fault, the nearest source zone in the city area. Such great/major event may cause intensity of the of 9.3 with a probability of 0,95 in the Guwahati city during time interval of 500 years. Further, the design spectrum with 67 % confidence level and the synthetic three-component accelerograms are constructed. These results are much relevant and useful for structural engineering to mitigate seismic hazards in the region.     

Thermodynamic Model of Uranium and Arsenic Accumulation in Saline Lakes

正1 Introduction The attractiveness of Shaazgai-Nuur Soda Lake(pH9.2-9.4)as an alternative metal source is explained by the high concentration of dissolved uranium(~1 mg/l)due to the location of water drainage territory within the Tsagan-     

A simple method to model the reduced environment of lake bottom sapropel formation

The Kambala and Barchin brackish lakes(Baraba steppe,southern West Siberia) contain an organic-rich sapropel layer that was formed in oxygen-depleted waters.We measured the bulk sediment elemental composition,the water chemistry and determined the mineralogical composition and predominant biota species(Diatoms and Cyanobacteria in phytoplankton community respectively) in the lakes.The result indicates that the first lake has a siliceous type of sapropel and the second a carbonaceous one.A computer thermodynamic model was developed for chemical interaction in water-bottom sediment systems of the Kambala and Barchin Lakes.The surface sodium bicarbonate waters are supersaturated with respect to calcite,magnesite(or low Mg-calcite),quartz and chlorite with minor strontianite,apatite and goethite(pH8.9-9.3,Eh 0.3 V).Nevertheless,it is shown that during sapropel deposition,deep silt waters should be anoxic(Eh0 V).The virtual component CH_2O has been used to create an anoxic environment suitable for pyrite formation due to the biotic community impact and abiotic reduction.Thermodynamic calculation has shown that silt water is not necessarily euxinic(anoxic and sulfidic).Depending on Eh,sulfate sulfur can dominate in solution,causing the formation of gypsum together with pyrite.An attempt was made to find a reason for solution supersaturation with respect to Ca and Mg ions due to their complexation with humic acids.     

REGIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE SCENARIOS UNDER GLOBAL WARMING IN KAZAKHSTAN

The aim of this paper is to report on the development of regional climate change scenarios for Kazakhstan as the result of increasing of CO₂ concentration in the global atmosphere. These scenarios are used in the assessment of climate change impacts on the agricultural, forest and water resources of Kazakhstan. Climate change scenarios for Kazakhstan to assess both long-term (2× CO₂ in 2075) and short-term (2000, 2010 and 2030) impacts were prepared. The climate conditions under increasing CO₂ concentration were estimated from three General Circulation Models (GCM) outputs: the model of the Canadian Climate Center Model (CCCM), the model of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) and the 1% transient version of the GFDL model (GFDL-T). The near-term climate scenarios were obtained using the probabilistic forecast model (PFM) to the year 2010 and the results of GFDL-T for years 2000 and 2030. A baseline scenario representing the current climate conditions based on observations from 1951 to 1980 was developed. The assessment of climate change in Kazakhstan based on the analysis of 100-years observations is given too. As a result of comparisons of the current climate (based on observed climate) the 1× CO₂ output from GCMs showed that the GFDL model best matches the observed climate. The GFDL model suggests that the minimum increase in temperature is expected in winter, when most of the territory is expected to have temperatures 2.3–4.5 °C higher. The maximum (4.3 to 8.2 °C) is expected to be in spring. CCCM scenario estimates an extreme worming above 11 °C in spring months. GFDL-T outputs provide an intermediate scenario.     

Sedimentation History of Neogene Lacustrine Sediments of Suseocka Bela Stena Based on Geochemical Parameters (Valjevo-Mionica Basin, Serbia)

Sediments of the western part of the Valjevo-Mionica basin (Serbia) were examined both geochemically and mineralogically to explain, on the basis of their sedimentological characteristics, the causes of changes in their qualitative and quantitative composition. A total of 62 samples obtained from the drillhole at depths up to 400 m was investigated. Using correlation of the obtained data, six geochemical zones were defined, two of which being specially distinguished by their mineralogical, geochemical and sedimentological characteristics. The first one, upper zone A, consists of banded marlstones interbedded with clay and oil shales and is characterized by presence of analcite and searlesite. These minerals and very high contents of Na2O indicate sedimentation in alkaline conditions with increased salinity in arid climate. That provided pronounced water stratification, as well as higher bioproductivity in the basin and sedimentary organic matter preservation. Therefore, the zone A sediments are characterized by high organic matter contents of the type which provides good potential for production of liquid hydrocarbons. Another specific zone, zone F, contains sediments with very high MgO, K2O and Li concentrations. Their geochemical correlation, as well as almost complete absence of illite in this zone, indicates the presence of interstratified clay mineral type illite-saponite (lithium-bearing Mg-smectite).     

Spatiotemporal multiscale diagnosis model to proactively respond to the multi-country monkeypox virus outbreak in 2022

This research analyzes the spatiotemporal trend of 23,121 monkeypox virus cases in the multi-country outbreak that affected 82 countries from January 2022 to July 2022. The spatiotemporal trends analysis is developed using open data and GIS to model 3D bins and emerging hot spots globally (data by country) and nationally (data by region) for hardest hit countries, like the USA and Spain. The implemented methodology distinguishes between problem areas —as significant hot spots— and countries with no pattern. Results show consecutive hot spot patterns in Western Europe and high location quotients in North America. Factually, the countries with consecutive patterns record 16,494 cases, that is, 71.34% of the cases, where 7.63% of the world population live. At the national level, in the analysis of the USA and Spain, the results reveal regional differences with significative hot spots in California and on the East Coast of the USA and the Mediterranean coast of Spain. The proposed methodology facilitates the monitoring of the spatiotemporal evolution of monkeypox cases and is scalable and replicable using non-arbitrary and statistical parameters. The findings indicate problematic zones in real-time, enabling policymakers to develop focused interventions and proactive strategies to mitigate the future risk of monkeypox.