Recent Progress on Biosorption of Heavy Metals from Liquids Using Low Cost Biosorbents: Characterization,Biosorption Parameters and Mechanism Studies

A significant number of biosorption studies on the removal of heavy metal from aqueous solutions have been conducted worldwide. Nearly all of them have been directed towards optimizing biosorption parameters to obtain the highest removal efficiency while the rest of them are concerned with the biosorption mechanism. Combinations of FTIR, SEM‐EDX, TEM as well as classical methods such as titrations are extremely useful in determining the main processes on the surfaces of biosorbents. Diverse functional groups represented by carboxyl, hydroxyl, sulfate and amino groups play significant roles in the biosorption process. Solution pH normally has a large impact on biosorption performance. In brief, ion exchange and complexation can be pointed out as the most prevalent mechanisms for the biosorption of most heavy metals.     

Experimental Evaluation of Construction Waste and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag as Alternative Soil Stabilisers

In this study, the effect of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and recycled construction waste (CW) on bentonite clay stabilisation were investigated. The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of specimens was evaluated with different combinations of GGBFS and CW over various curing periods. A series of micro analysis tests consisting of scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectrometer and X-ray diffraction were also conducted to determine the microstructural arrangement and mineralogical effect of the stabilisation treatment. The UCS results showed an increment in strength after introduction of GGBFS and CW and the longer curing period produced more pronounced results. The optimum additive ratio was calculated as 5 % of slag and 20 % of construction waste under all curing conditions. The micro analytical results also indicated formation of structural bonds between admixtures and bentonite in stabilised specimens, as slag crystals and bentonite particles were observed to occupy the cavities and vesicles on the construction waste grains. However, the experimental data shows that the strength improvement is not significant with the addition of only construction waste.     

Determination of the ionospheric foF2 using a stand-alone GPS receiver

The critical frequency of ionospheric F2 layer (foF2) is a measure of the highest frequency of radio signal that may be reflected back by the F2 layer, and it is associated with ionospheric peak electron density in the F2 layer. Accurate long-term foF2 variations are usually derived from ionosonde observations. In this paper, we propose a new method to observe foF2 using a stand-alone global positioning system (GPS) receiver. The proposed method relies on the mathematical equation that relates foF2 to GPS observations. The equation is then implemented in the Kalman filter algorithm to estimate foF2 at every epoch of the observation (30-s rate). Unlike existing methods, the proposed method does not require any additional information from ionosonde observations and does not require any network of GPS receivers. It only requires as inputs the ionospheric scale height and the modeled plasmaspheric electron content, which practically can be derived from any existing ionospheric/plasmaspheric model. We applied the proposed method to estimate long-term variations of foF2 at three GPS stations located at the northern hemisphere (NICO, Cyprus), the southern hemisphere (STR1, Australia) and the south pole (SYOG, Antarctic). To assess the performance of the proposed method, we then compared the results against those derived by ionosonde observations and the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) 2012 model. We found that, during the period of high solar activity (2011–2012), the values of absolute mean bias between foF2 derived by the proposed method and ionosonde observations are in the range of 0.2–0.5 MHz, while those during the period of low solar activity (2009–2010) are in the range of 0.05–0.15 MHz. Furthermore, the root-mean-square-error (RMSE) values during high and low solar activities are in the range of 0.8–0.9 MHz and of 0.6–0.7 MHz, respectively. We also noticed that the values of absolute mean bias and RMSE between foF2 derived by the proposed method and the IRI-2012 model are slightly larger than those between the proposed method and ionosonde observations. These results demonstrate that the proposed method can estimate foF2 with a comparable accuracy. Since the proposed method can estimate foF2 at every epoch of the observation, it therefore has promising applications for investigating various scales (from small to large) of foF2 irregularities.     

Remote gully erosion mapping using aster data and geomorphologic analysis in the Main Ethiopian Rift

The Main Ethiopian Rift (MER) is an area of extreme topography underlain by post-Miocene volcanic rocks, Jurassic limestone and a Precambrian basement. A prime concern is the rapid expansion of wide gullies that are impinging on agricultural land. We investigate the potential contribution of Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data and geomorphologic parameters to discern patterns and features of gully erosion in the MER. Maximum Likelihood Classification (MLC), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Minimum Distance (MD) classifiers are used to extract different gully shapes and patterns. Several spatial textures based on Grey Level Co-occurrence Matrices (GLCMs) are then generated. Afterwards, the same classifiers are applied to the ASTER data combined with the spatial texture information. We used geomorphologic parameters extracted from SRTM and ASTER DEMs to describe the geomorphologic setting and the gullies’ shapes. The classifications show accuracies varying between 67% and 89%. Maps derived from this quantitative analysis allow the monitoring and mapping of land degradation as a direct result of gully-widening. This study reveals the utility of combining ASTER data and spatial textural information in discerning areas affected by gully erosion.     

印度尼西亚北部苏拉维斯蓝碧海峡2012-2015年东南季风期间浮游植物的变化

2013年4月,2014年5月,2012年6月和2015年10月在印度尼西亚北部苏拉维斯蓝碧海峡（Lembeh Strait）进行了4个航次的海洋生态调查,研究了蓝碧海峡的浮游植物种类组成,以及浮游植物群落结构的季节变化及其驱动因子。四个航次的调查中记录了5类浮游植物和416个种（类）。调查区浮游植物密度平均为2348cells/L,硅藻和甲藻种类最多。蓝藻种类最少,但丰度很高。季风转换期的4月份和10月份浮游植物丰度总量较低,东南季风期间5月份和6月份的浮游植物丰度较高。除了束毛藻（Trichodesmium）之外,常见种是浮游硅藻。浮游植物的丰度和多样性的季节性变化明显。海链藻（Thalassionema）、拟菱形藻（Pseudo-nitzschia）和蓝藻类的束毛藻对群落的不相似性贡献最大。由于蓝碧海峡南部营养盐浓度较高,南部水域的硅藻和甲藻密度稍高于海峡北部。虽然,南北两个水体中蓝藻的分布趋于均匀,但蓝碧海峡南部也有较高密度。与雅加达湾以及中国的一些海湾相比,蓝碧海峡的浮游植物丰度相当低。分析表明,SE季风期间上升流营养盐是左右浮游植物丰度月变化的重要因素。蓝碧海峡浮游生态系原始,且接近天然本底,人类活动背景噪声低,能够清晰地响应大环境的变化,是研究浮游生态系统的理想区域。     

东印度洋近20 ka以来的生物硅记录及其古生产力意义

通过对东印度洋钻孔CJ01-185的生物硅来探讨东印度洋古生产力的变化和古气候演化的响应。CJ01-185钻孔的生物硅含量在末次冰期最低,为0.86%;而到了全新世晚期生物硅含量达到1.89%。全新世晚期生物硅的堆积速率明显大于末次冰期。随着全新世海平面的快速上升,巽他海峡贯通,来自爪哇海的陆源物质输入到东印度洋,导致全新世的生物硅含量和生物硅的堆积速率增加。研究表明：巽他海峡贯通前,研究区的古生产力主要受东南季风变化和上升流的活动影响;而巽他海峡贯通后,古生产力很明显受到陆源物质输入的控制,东南季风变化和上升流的影响较弱。     

Radio frequency interference measurements in Indonesia

We report the first measurements of radio frequency spectrum occupancy performed at sites aimed to host the future radio astronomy observatory in Indonesia. The survey is intended to obtain the radio frequency interference (RFI) environment in a spectral range from low frequency 10 MHz up to 8 GHz. The measurements permit the identification of the spectral occupancy over those selected sites in reference to the allocated radio spectrum in Indonesia. The sites are in close proximity to Australia, the future host of Square Kilometre Array (SKA) at low frequency. Therefore, the survey was deliberately made to approximately adhere the SKA protocol for RFI measurements, but with lower sensitivity. The RFI environment at Bosscha Observatory in Lembang was also measured for comparison. Within the sensitivity limit of the measurement equipment, it is found that a location called Fatumonas in the surrounding of Mount Timau in West Timor has very low level of RFI, with a total spectrum occupancy in this measured frequency range being about 1 %, mostly found at low frequency below 20 MHz. More detailed measurements as well as a strategy for a radio quiet zone must be implemented in the near future.     

Growth and growth constraints in craft industry clusters: The batik industries of Central Java

We investigate the constraints on and forms of business change and how these shape collective dynamics in batik-producing districts in Indonesia. Conceptually, this paper argues the need to incorporate insights regarding the constraints on, forms of change and segmentation of small businesses with those relating to the collective dynamics of industry agglomerations and the possibilities for policy to effect joint action. We examined 89 batik businesses surveyed across four districts in Surakarta and Pekalongan, Central Java. Overall, the picture we find is one of constraint, modest forms of change and weariness of the effects that policy can have on collective dynamics. In the face of much diminished batik industry agglomerations in both cities, we find little evidence of differences in growth patterns and constraints according to location or industry segment.     

Atmospheric range correction for two-frequency SLR measurements

It has been widely known that the use of two-frequency Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) system is limited by stringent precision requirements of the range measurements and the proper atmospheric model. Owing to the stringent requirements, this SLR system is impractical for the current requirement of SLR measurements within the framework of global geodetic observing system (GGOS). If in the future this stringent requirement could be met, this SLR system would be an attractive tool to reduce atmospheric propagation effects of SLR and would be of great benefit for the next generation of GGOS design. To anticipate possible future developments of the two-frequency SLR systems, we have developed a new atmospheric correction formula for the two-frequency SLR measurements. The new formula eliminates the total atmospheric density effect including its gradient and provides two terms to calculate the curvature effect and the water vapor distribution effect. While the curvature effect can be calculated by an accurate model, the required information about the water vapor distribution along the propagation path can be calculated using previous developments of optical delay modeling or alternatively using results from microwave measurements. Theoretical simulations using the two-frequency systems of the Graz and TIGO-Concepción stations shows that the new formula completely reduces all propagation effects at any elevation angle above 3° with an accuracy better than 1 mm. However, the required precision for the difference of the two-frequency SLR measurements, i.e. better than 45 μm for a single epoch, exceeds the capability of the current state of the art SLR systems.