Geochemistry and potential use of groundwater in the Rocca Busambra area (Sicily, Italy)

In the Rocca Busambra area (mid-west Sicily, Italy), from November 1999 to July 2002, 23 water points including wells and springs were sampled and studied for their chemical and isotopic compositions. Two rain gauges were also installed at different altitudes, and rainwater was collected monthly to determine the isotopic composition. The obtained results revealed the Rocca Busambra carbonate complex as being the main recharge area on account of its high permeability value. From a chemical view point, two main groups of water can be distinguished: calcium–magnesium–bicarbonate-type and calcium–magnesium–chloride–sulphate-type waters. The first group reflects the dissolution of the carbonate rocks; the second group probably originates from circulation within flyschoid sediments. Three water wells differ from the other samples due to their relatively high Na and K content, which probably is to be referred to a marked interaction with the “Calcareniti di Corleone” formation, which is rich in glauconite [(K, Na)(Fe³⁺, Al, Mg)₂(Si, Al)₄O₁₀(OH)₂]. In accordance with WHO guidelines for drinking water (2004), almost all the samples collected can be considered drinkable, with the exception of four of them, whose NO₃ ⁻, F⁻ and Na⁺ contents exceed the limits. On the contrary, the sampled groundwater studied is basically suitable for irrigation.     

Environmental isotopic and hydrochemical study of groundwater in the Ejina Basin,northwest China

The study investigates the groundwater evolution and its residence time in the Ejina Basin, northwest China according to isotope and hydrochemical analyses results. The groundwater chemistry is mainly controlled by the dissolution of halite, Glauber’s salt, gypsum, dolomite and calcite, also influenced by other processes such as evaporation, ion exchange, and deposition. Based on tritium content in atmospheric precipitation and by adopting a model with exponential time distribution function, the mean residence time of the unconfined aquifer groundwater with fairly high tritium activities (21–49 TU) is evaluated. The results show that these groundwaters have low residence time (5–120 years) and are renewable. In contrast, the deep confined groundwaters are tritium-free and radiocarbon values range from 18.3 to 26.7 pmc. According to the most commonly used ¹⁴C correction models, the radiocarbon groundwater ages were calculated which yield ages of approximately 4,087–9,364 years BP. Isotopic signatures indicate formation of deep confined groundwaters in a colder and wetter climate during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. It is suggested that long-term, rational water usage guide should be set up for the Heihe River Basin as a whole to permit a considerable discharge to the Ejina Basin.     

中国环境经济地理的研究主题展望

全球环境变化与技术经济范式变革对“经济-环境”关系产生深刻影响,但资源环境议题自20世纪80年代以来逐渐淡出全球经济地理研究的视野。2000年以来,环境经济地理逐渐兴起并对此进行反思,但其发展仍处于混沌状态。中国经济地理学科自身的人地关系传统和国家发展的探索与实践,为环境经济地理理论与实践创造了理想条件。环境经济地理并非全新的领域,其可从经济地理理论出发拓展对“经济-环境”关系的认识,据此提出3组研究主题：① 重新认识经济活动的区位,理解变化中的资源环境如何作用于传统与新兴经济活动;② 建立对不同地理尺度下要素流动和主体互动的认知,理解资源环境风险如何在各类关系网络中传递,又将如何重塑各类关系网络;③ 考察多主体在多区域之间、多层级制度背景下的相互作用,理解绿色创新与转型的过程,实现对“经济-环境”关系在不同发展场景下协同演化的认识。     

环境蠕变对农业病虫草鼠害的潜在影响

重点讨论了在全球气候变暖的大背景下,农业病虫草鼠害加重和新的病虫草鼠出现也作为一种蠕变现象正在遭受气候变化的影响和冲击。其主要表现在农业有害生物(病、虫、草、鼠)地理分布范围扩大、越冬界限北移、农田害虫害鼠发育时间缩短、繁殖代数增加、种群增长率加快、发生提早、危害加重、病毒病增加、新病虫草鼠出现等等。     

中国大范围雷暴大风事件(Derechos)研究:时空分布、环境背景和对流系统形态特征

基于2002—2019年高空、地面常规观测资料,卫星云图,部分新一代天气雷达单站资料以及2009年以后的中国雷达拼图资料,采用个例筛选与统计、动态合成分析、层次聚类和雷达图分析等方法,对发生在中国的大范围雷暴大风事件(Derechos)的时空分布、环境背景和对流系统形态特征进行了分析.结果表明:(1)Derechos事...     

Intertidal macrofauna and environmental stress at a riverine–marine boundary

A field experiment was carried out to test the effect of pore water salinity on the macrobenthic assemblages in an estuarine region of the Tagus estuary (Portugal) subjected to wide fluctuations in salinity. The conditions at the experimental site ranged from freshwater (minimum salinity 0.2) to mesohaline (maximum salinity 15.3). The experimental site was affected by an unexpected deposition of fluid mud during summer. Redundancy Analysis discriminated the experimental treatments along the first canonical ordination axis. The analysis also revealed an experimental gradient of increasing environmental stress, in which the minimal presence of organisms corresponded to treatments representing a high level of environmental stress. Sediment dynamics and saline fluctuations were the major factors that, together, determined the low macrofaunal abundance and species diversity at the experimental site. The most abundant macrofaunal species in this harsh environment were the polychaetes Hediste diversicolor and Streblospio shrubsolii.     

Cladoceran community composition in tropical semi-arid highland reservoirs in Tigray (Northern Ethiopia): A metacommunity perspective applied to young reservoirs

A field survey of zooplankton communities was carried out in 32 recently established tropical semi-arid reservoirs in the highlands of Northern Ethiopia with the aim to identify to what extent environmental factors determine species composition of the cladoceran community in such isolated and young reservoirs. To address seasonal variation, the survey was carried out both at the beginning and the end of the dry season. A total of 15 species of cladocerans were identified. Daphnia was the most abundant cladoceran genus, and was present in all reservoirs. Using presence-absence data, no association between cladoceran community composition and geographic distance was found. RDA results indicate that the set of environmental variables that explained cladoceran community composition differed among seasons. Depth, altitude and fish biomass showed a significant association with cladoceran community composition during the wet season, whereas variation in cladoceran community structure was associated with phytoplankton biomass in the dry season. The relative abundance of Daphnia was much higher in the pelagic than in the littoral zone of our study systems. Two key groups of pelagic filter-feeding cladocerans, Diaphanosoma and Daphnia, showed a clear pattern, in which one or the other tended to strongly dominate the community. In addition, we observed a negative association between dominance of Daphnia in the zooplankton community and dominance of cyanobacteria in the phytoplankton community.     

特殊环境胁迫下河流健康评价——以海水入侵影响的黄海岸沿海诸河为例

针对特殊环境胁迫下河流健康评价的不足,本文依据生态中心与人类中心相结合、整体论、运动论等哲学观点,建立4级模式、参数权重法、百分制计算的评价体系。第2级评价参数为流域环境胁迫程度、河流状况、防治环境胁迫潜力三部分。以海水入侵影响的黄海岸沿海诸河为例,评价结果为72分,准确反映了该河流的健康状况、危害程度和防治潜力,同时高权重参数为保护河流提供决策依据。     

Sediment transport on the Freiston Shore managed realignment site: An investigation using environmental magnetism

This paper presents the first attempt to use environmental magnetism to quantify sediment provenance on a managed realignment (MR) site. MR is one technique for creating/restoring intertidal habitats and improving the standard of coastal flood protection. Monitoring of MR sites is essential for determining how successful they are at achieving these aims, and normally includes measurement of sedimentation rates through the use of accretion plates and sediment erosion tables (SETs). One limitation of this technique is that the provenance of sediment accreting on realigned surfaces cannot readily be quantified. Our results demonstrate that magnetics-based fingerprinting can successfully apportion sediment source contributions to created/restored coastal saltmarshes with an efficiency similar to that of existing un-mixing models applied to other habitats (82.87%). Analysis of mineral magnetic properties (χ_FD, IRM_soft and SIRM) demonstrated that the majority of sediment accreting on the Freiston Shore MR Site (Lincolnshire, UK) is derived from established saltmarshes seaward of the breached embankment. This indicates that the MR site may be growing at the expense of neighbouring saltmarshes—thereby undermining the habitat-creation objectives used to justify MR. It is recommended that future MR monitoring programmes consider the provenance of post-breach deposits to help identify any adverse impacts that wetland creation/restoration may have on existing habitats. Further testing of environmental magnetism in coastal saltmarshes and MR sites is necessary to validate wider use of the technique.     

Mineral magnetic signatures in a long core from Lake Qarun, Middle Egypt

The analysis and interpretation of changes in mineral magnetic signatures from a long (ca. 8.2 m) sedimentary sequence recovered from Lake Qarun, Middle Egypt in 2003 spanning a timescale of approximately the last 2,000 years is reported. A suite of mass specific susceptibility and magnetic remanence measurements were made at irregular intervals downcore on 39 samples. These samples were selected on the basis of trends and abrupt changes in whole-core magnetic susceptibility measured using a Bartington^® MS2E sensor and were analysed for low and high temperature loss on ignition and their particle size distribution. Trends in all mineral magnetic concentration parameters are remarkably similar and were initially used to divide the core into three magnetically distinct zones. The upper and lower sections of the core (0–119 cm and 445–822 cm depth) are characterised by low values for all magnetic concentration parameters. Between 153 and 380 cm depth, concentration parameters are considerably higher, although somewhat variable. The S ratio and percentage loss of remanence after 24 h (IRM_loss) follow a different trend and are inversely related to each other. A low S ratio (<0.7) is associated with a loss of remanence of >4%. On the basis of these parameters, the core can be divided into four zones, and differences in magnetic mineralogy between these four zones were confirmed by measurement of IRM acquisition curves. The major difference between concentration parameters and ratios or percentage loss of IRM lies in the identification of an additional zone below 619 cm depth where the S ratio is high and IRM_loss is low. There is little evidence to suggest that the magnetic signatures are controlled by particle size or by trends in organic matter and/or carbonate content. The signatures appear to be predominantly detrital and show little evidence of post-depositional alteration through dissolution or authigenic addition of bacterial magnetite or greigite. Analysis of Saharan dust deposition rates in Northern Egypt suggests that atmospheric fallout is likely to make only a very minor contribution (<1%) to sedimentation rates in Lake Qarun. The downcore trends therefore appear to reflect major changes in fluvial sediment sources over the ca. 2,000 year time period spanned by this ～8 m core. Preliminary mineral magnetic characterisations of potential local sources suggest that these cannot account for the range of signatures recorded in the Qarun sediments and it is hypothesised that these sediments are derived from Nile river floods.