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In this work, cellulose nanofiber was prepared from water hyacinth (WH) using a simple domestic blender and employed as reinforcement in recycled paper. There are various sources to prepare cellulose nanofiber. However, water hyacinth was used as a source to synthesize cellulose in this study to decrease its devastating effect on the water body. Pure cellulose was isolated from water hyacinth with chemical treatments including dilute alkali swelling and bleaching. The chemical composition of water hyacinth was gravimetrically determined and the result demonstrated that cellulose is the largest constituent of the plant (55%), followed by hemicelluloses (19%) and lignin (14%). The remaining 12% was related to other extracts like fat, oil, pectin, etc. As the FTIR data revealed, the functional groups corresponding to lignin and hemicelluloses were absent in the FTIR spectra of extracted cellulose. To increase its functionality, the prepared cellulose was disintegrated into nanofibers using a simple mechanical treatment. To learn more about cellulose fibrillation, UV–Vis spectroscopy was used to analyze the light transmittance of 1 wt% water dispersed, mechanically treated cellulose. The dispersion showed high light transparency, particularly at a higher wavelength. As a result of the cellulose dispersion's reasonable light transmittance value, it can be deduced that the aggregated cellulose chains were efficiently transformed into nanofibers. The inclusion of cellulose nanofibers as reinforcement significantly improved recycled paper's moisture resistance, thermal stability, and mechanical strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] The pulp and paper sectors are thriving yet pose significant environmental threats to water bodies, mainly due to the substantial release of pollutants. Lignin-derived compounds are among the most problematic of these contaminants. To address this issue, we present our initial results on utilizing organic semiconductor photocatalysis under visible light for treating lignin-derived compounds. Our investigation has been centered around creating a green and cost-effective organic semiconductor photocatalyst. This catalyst is designed using a structure of bagasse cellulose spheres to support PM6 (poly[(2,6-(4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)-4-fluorothiophen-2-yl)benzo[1,2- b :4,5- b' ]dithiophene))– co -(1,3-di(5-thiophene-2-yl)-5,7-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-benzo[1,2- c :4,5- c' ]dithiophene-4,8-dione))]: MeIC (3,9-bis(2-methylene-(3-(1,1-dicyanomethylene)-cyclopentane-1,3-dione[ c ]-1-methyl-thiophe))-5,5,11,11-tetrakis(4-hexylphenyl)-dithieno[2,3- d:2′ , 3′-d' ]-s-indaceno[1,2- b :5,6- b' ]-dithiophene)). This photocatalyst demonstrates remarkable efficiency, achieving over 91 % degradation of lignin-derived compounds. The superior photocatalytic performance is attributed to three main factors: (1) The ability of PM6 to broaden MeIC's absorption range from 300 to 800 nm, allowing for effective utilization of visible light; (2) the synergistic interaction between PM6 and MeIC, which ensures compatible energy levels and a vast, evenly spread surface area, promoting charge mobility and extensive donor/acceptor interfaces. This synergy significantly enhances the generation and transport of carriers, resulting in a high production of free radicals that accelerate the decomposition of organic materials; (3) The deployment of PM6:MeIC on biomass-based carriers increases the interaction surface with the organic substances. Notably, PM6: MeIC showcases outstanding durability, with its degradation efficiency remaining between 84 % and 91 % across 100 cycles. This study presents a promising approach for designing advanced photocatalysts aimed at degrading common pollutants in papermaking wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effluents from a pulp and paper mill in India were analyzed for various physicochemical parameters and heavy metals. Multivariate statistical analysis was used to interpret the data obtained and predict the toxicity of each component to Cyprinus carpio L. fingerlings. The results showed that most of these parameters exceeded recommended levels set by various agencies, and the effluent was not suitable for discharge into agricultural fields or water bodies without further treatment. The results of static renewal toxicity tests revealed median lethal concentrations at 24, 48, 72, and 96 h to be 42, 25, 18.6 and 14.5%, respectively, and the fingerlings exhibited severe behavioral anomalies. The sublethal dose of 2.9% (v/v) caused alterations in the gill and liver at durations of 7, 14, 21, and 28 d. Anomalies such as mucous secretion, leucocyte infiltration, curling of the secondary lamellae tip, clubbing, and the fusion of the secondary lamellae, aneurism, etc. were prominent. The liver showed inflammatory infiltration, cytoplasmic inclusion bodies, vacuolar degeneration, fatty degeneration, pyknosis, karyolysis, distorted pancreatic area, and piecemeal necrosis, among other pathological symptoms. The study concluded that the effluent, even in greatly diluted form, was highly toxic and the severity of responses depended on the length of exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• First record of the presence of P. gatunense in South Africa. • Reappearance of P. bipes , last reported from South Africa during the 1930s. • Both are potential bloom-forming associated with several problems. • The morphology, taxonomy geographical distribution and limited ecology are discussed. The common freshwater dinoflagellate genus Peridinium includes the species P. gatunense and P. bipes , which are found globally. Despite forming a significant portion of algal communities, research on dinoflagellates in Africa is limited. This paper reports the first record of the presence of P. gatunense in South Africa, as well as the reappearance of P. bipes , which was last reported from South Africa during the 1930s. Light and scanning electron microscopy were used for species identification. Knowledge about the presence of these species is crucial because both are potential bloom-forming and associated with several problems having ecological impacts. The presence of both these species has potential in inhibiting the growth of the problematic cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa , as demonstrated by previous studies. It may present a natural and effective solution for the remediation of water bodies subjected to harmful cyanobacterial blooms. These insights are crucial for proactive management of freshwater ecosystems in the country. This paper discusses the morphology, taxonomy, geographical distribution, and some ecological aspects of P. gatunense and P. bipes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intensive utilization of tropical inland water bodies for multiple and sometimes competing activities underlines the necessity for their integrated and holistic co-management. This paper presents our synthesis on lake and reservoir fisheries in South and Southeast Asia as social–ecological systems, based on a synopsis of our research findings from a previous EU-funded research programme in Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Philippines (FISHSTRAT project). The paper attempts to merge our results with recent developments in research, policy and practice. We explore the effects of the main external and internal control mechanisms of the trophic state and pinpoint to the high production potential of traditionally unexploited small indigenous fish species. The limitations of conventional centralized management systems highlight the importance of introducing transdisciplinary approaches which integrate limnology, fish ecology and fisheries with the interests of other resource using stakeholders and decision makers in order to develop locally appropriate co-management strategies for sustainable aquatic resource use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews more than 40 journal articles that describe the traits of phytoplankton functional groups (FGs) and their responses to biotic and abiotic factors in freshwater environments. Scholars have used different approaches with varying assumptions, making it necessary to subject the available information to a modest review. The paper sheds light on the potential responses of phytoplankton assemblages to biotic factors such as allelopathy, vertical migration, prey-predator interactions, macrophytes dominance, zooplankton grazing, and abiotic factors such as nutrient deficiency, turbulence and mixing processes, light, and temperature. It also highlights the status of studies on phytoplankton FGs in Ethiopian water bodies. While FGs have relevant applications in ecosystem assessment and monitoring, the difficulties faced are briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of a series of papers aimed at creating a regional model based on the WAVEWATCH III spectral wave model adapted to conditions of an inland water body using the WRF atmospheric model. The models are adapted and verified based on results of a series of full-scale experiments on studying the wind–wave regime of the Gorky Reservoir in 2012–2019 using an autonomous buoy station based on the oceanographic Froude buoy. Within the framework of the WAVEWATCH III model, the influence of the WAM 3 wind forcing parameterization on the simulation result is analyzed and its parameters are adjusted along with the Discrete Interaction Approximation (DIA) scheme for approximate calculation of the Boltzmann integral. Within the framework of the WRF model, calculations are carried out using different parameterizations of the planetary boundary layer and the near-surface layer of the atmosphere, and the advantage of using the Large Eddy Simulation eddy-resolving method is shown. In addition to the review, the paper presents preliminary results of coupling the wave and atmospheric models, which makes it possible to adjust the interchange of parameters between the models at each time step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper assesses the chemical transformation of surface waters in the southeastern part of the Khibiny Mountainous Massif after launching the Oleniy Ruchey apatite–nepheline ore deposit in 2012. The influence of the Oleniy Ruchey Mine was reflected in an increase in water mineralization (by an order of magnitude) and in a change in the basic ion ratios in water objects receiving runoff from mines, rock, and tailing dumps compared to the watercourses unaffected by the mining enterprise's activities. Natural hydrocarbonate–sodium water with a mineralization of 10 mg/L was transformed into the nitrate–sodium or sulfate–calcium water. The content of nitrogen group compounds in the Lake Komarinoe water, which receives wastewater from the tailing dumps over the ten-year history of the mining and processing plant, has increased by two orders of magnitude, and the nitrate became basic ion. The concentrations of other basic ions and mineralization in this lake increased by an order of magnitude, as the content of trace elements (Sr, F, Mo), which belong to the main rock-forming minerals of apatite–nepheline deposits. Compared to the background water bodies, the mine wastewaters have the elevated mineralization (up to 260 mg/L), pH value (up to 10), and a modified chemical composition. They are characterized by a hydrocarbonate–sodium composition with a large proportion of nitrates and sulfates. Mine wastewaters have elevated contents of nutrient compounds, organic matter, and some trace elements (Al, Fe, Sr, Cu, Mn, Zn, and Cr). It has been established that the geochemical modifications in the quality of surface water are locally developed, being typical of water bodies receiving wastewater from a mining enterprise, in contrast to metallurgical plants, the atmospheric emissions of which caused pollution over tens and hundreds km. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paleolimnology is a rapidly expanding field within the natural sciences. To date, many scientific papers have been published focusing on studies of remains from single sediment cores in specific lakes, or a few cores from the same water body. However, few previous publications have provided a comprehensive comparative analysis of taphocenosis (and maternal community) changes in different water bodies from a large geographical region during whole Holocene using multivariate statistical methods. We conducted a joined statistical analysis of data obtained as a result of the cladoceran analysis of the sediment samples from six cores taken along the North-South transect from the Kola Peninsula to the Karelian Region (North-West Russia). Our aim was to identify, based on quantitative statistical methods, general whole-Holocene patterns in cladoceran taphocenosis changes. All taphocenoses in all cores from six lakes can be classified into six clusters based on their species composition. Our unexpected conclusion is that different taphocoenoses are formed by the same set of species, but their proportions vary significantly. This suggests that the same species may play different functional roles in different maternal communities. During whole Holocene, we observed a single taphocenosis cluster in the Holocene core from Lake Antyukh-Lambina, and four taphocenosis clusters in the Lake Medvedevskoe, with an intermediate number of clusters in the lakes between them. Furthermore, it can be asserted that the potential for cluster changes in the core is greater for the more southern studied water bodies (0–3 clusters for northern lakes vs. 4 clusters for southern lakes). Based on our data, we hypothesize that the diversity of cladoceran associations during the Holocene was lower in Arctic/Subarctic lakes, possibly due to their formation by ubiquitous species. Our study suggests that at least some Arctic lake ecosystems have remained unchanged since deglaciation times. Further studies are necessary to determine if this is a general rule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floods are among the most devastating natural disasters, posing significant risks to life, property, and infrastructure globally. Earth observation satellites provide data for continuous and extensive flood monitoring, yet limitations exist in the spatial completeness of monitoring using optical images due to cloud cover. Recent studies have developed gap-filling methods for reconstructing cloud-covered areas in water maps. However, these methods are not tailored for and validated in cloudy and rainy flooding scenarios with rapid water extent changes and limited clear-sky observations, leaving room for further improvements. This study investigated and developed a novel reconstruction method for time series flood extent mapping, supporting spatially seamless monitoring of flood extents. The proposed method first identified surface water from time series images using a fine-tuned large foundation model. Then, the cloud-covered areas in the water maps were reconstructed, adhering to the introduced submaximal stability assumption, on the basis of the prior water occurrence data in the Global Surface Water dataset. The reconstructed time series water maps were refined through spatiotemporal Markov random field modeling for the final delineation of flooding areas. The effectiveness of the proposed method was evaluated with Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 datasets under varying cloud cover conditions, enabling seamless flood mapping at 2–3-day frequency and 30 m resolution. Experiments at four global sites confirmed the superiority of the proposed method. It achieved higher reconstruction accuracy with average F1-scores of 0.931 during floods and 0.903 before/after floods, outperforming the typical gap-filling method with average F1-scores of 0.871 and 0.772, respectively. Additionally, the maximum flood extent maps and flood duration maps, which were composed on the basis of the reconstructed water maps, were more accurate than those using the original cloud-contaminated water maps. The benefits of synthetic aperture radar images (e.g., Sentinel-1) for enhancing flood mapping under cloud cover conditions were also discussed. The method proposed in this paper provided an effective way for flood monitoring in cloudy and rainy scenarios, supporting emergency response and disaster management. The code and datasets used in this study have been made available online (https://github.com/dr-lizhiwei/SeamlessFloodMapper). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperation amongst natural resource users is key to manage ecosystems sustainably and achieve environmental goals proposed by policy and regulations. This paper focuses on the impact that livestock farming can have on the quality of a water body and investigates farmers' willingness to cooperate to preserve water quality under two different sources of uncertainty and four different degrees of uncertainty. The first source relates to the level of water quality that must be guaranteed in a river catchment to avoid irreversible deterioration of aquatic ecosystems (threshold uncertainty, i.e. with catastrophic consequences). The second source relates to the financial losses that farmers will experience in the long run if they fail to cooperate (impact uncertainty). To this end, a lab‐in‐the‐field experiment was conducted with livestock farmers of Northern Ireland. A local public good game with threshold uncertainty was framed around an agri‐environmental scheme designed to create ungrazed buffer zones for water quality preservation. Results indicate that uncertainty generally hampers farmers' cooperation and the provision of information geared to reduce uncertainty enhances it. Impact uncertainty has a milder negative impact on cooperation than threshold uncertainty. Risk preferences and probability weighting do not influence cooperation, while loss aversion has an influence on cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water extraction from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images has an important application value in wetland monitoring, flood monitoring, etc. However, it still faces the problems of low generalization, weak extraction ability of detailed information, and weak suppression of background noises. Therefore, a new framework, Multi-scale Attention Detailed Feature fusion Network (MADF-Net), is proposed in this paper. It comprises an encoder and a decoder. In the encoder, ResNet101 is used as a solid backbone network to capture four feature levels at different depths, and then the proposed Deep Pyramid Pool (DAPP) module is used to perform multi-scale pooling operations, which ensure that key water features can be captured even in complex backgrounds. In the decoder, a Channel Spatial Attention Module (CSAM) is proposed, which focuses on feature areas that are critical for the identification of water edges by fusing attention weights in channel and spatial dimensions. Finally, the high-level semantic information is effectively fused with the low-level edge features to achieve the final water detection results. In the experiment, Sentinel-1 SAR images of three scenes with different characteristics and scales of water body are used. The PA and IoU of water extraction by MADF-Net can reach 92.77% and 89.03%, respectively, which obviously outperform several other networks. MADF-Net carries out water extraction with high precision from SAR images with different backgrounds, which could also be used for the segmentation and classification of other tasks from SAR images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to forecast the spatiotemporal water change trends in Urmia Lake through 2030. Three space–time cube-based models were applied. The forest-based forecast model, with a mean of 0.14 forecast root mean square error (RMSE) and 0.39 validation RMSE, had a better performance. According to the model's results, the peripheral parts of the lake will mainly stay completely arid with a 42.5% extension in the entire period, 21.7% in spring, and a 27% reduction in winter. In the middle parts, the aridity will increase by 121% in summer, 93% in fall, and 38% in spring. Eventually, the centric areas will not be completely arid; however, the water patterns' extent will decrease by 53.46% in fall, 34.6% in spring, and 28.5% in summer. Additionally, southern, eastern, western, and northern areas will experience drier conditions, respectively. The findings can be used for water resource management and water restoration plans for the lake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid and accurate detection of nitrite in the aqueous environment is extremely important for ecological safety and human health. In this paper, the Raman detection of nitrite by a NiFe2O4@Ag sensor in water is enhanced by an extra magnetic field collaborated with surface plasma. Most importantly, it is demonstrated that the magnetic field enhances the Raman peak intensity through not only the effect of magnetic aggregation but also the magnetic field‐induced dielectric polarization effect. In this way, the NO2− can be detected in a wide linear range from 10−8 to 10−3 mol L−1, and the limit of detection (LOD) can reach as low as 1.25 × 10−9 mol L−1, which is 5.69 times lower than that in the absence of an external magnetic field. Similarly, the sensitivity under the magnetic field is 2.65 times that without the magnetic field. In addition, the sensor also shows superior detection ability to NO2− in real samples. Given the excellent capability of the magnetic field‐enhanced Raman spectra, the reported strategy offers new thoughts on how to enhance the detection ability by an external magnetic field and show the great application potential in real water bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems are gaining popularity as a valuable means of harnessing solar energy on unused water surfaces. However, a significant gap persists in our comprehension of their thermal dynamics and the purported cooling benefits they provide. The lack of comprehensive monitoring data across different climatic regions and topographies aggravates this uncertainty. This paper reviews the applicability of established module temperature prediction models, originally developed for land-based PV systems, to FPVs. It then details the refinement of these models using FPV-specific data and their subsequent validation through large-scale, ongoing FPV projects. The result is a significant improvement in the accuracy of temperature predictions, as evidenced by the reduced Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and improved R-squared ( R 2 ) after parameter optimisation. This reduction means that the tailored models better reflect the distinct environmental influences and cooling processes characteristic of FPV systems. The results not only confirm the success of the proposed method in refining the accuracy of current models, but also indicate significant post-tuning changes in the parameters representing wind and convective effects. These adjustments highlight the increased responsiveness of FPVs to convective actions, especially when compared to ground-based systems, possibly due to the evaporative cooling effect of bodies of water. Through this research, we address a critical gap in our understanding of heat transfer in FPV systems and aim to enrich the knowledge surrounding the acknowledged cooling effect of FPVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal is a prominent energy resource in China. Therefore, it is crucial to accurately extract the coal-covered areas. Taking Xinjiang's Zhundong mining region as the study area, Landsat 8 OLI data were employed to assess the spectral curves of four typical ground objects, including vegetation, bare land, water body and bare coal. The Normalized Difference Bare Coal Index (NDBCI) and the Normalized Difference Coal Index (NDCI) were developed to extract coal-covered area. Higher-resolution Sentinel-2B data for the same period were used for verification, with extraction accuracy evaluated by five metrics including Kappa coefficient, Overall accuracy, Checking accuracy, Checking completeness and F1-score. The results of extracting coal-covered areas showed that (1) the NDBCI showed 'internal fragmentation' and the NDCI demonstrated 'pixel overflow' during the extraction process. Therefore, we determined the optimal thresholds −0.03 for NDBCI and 0.04 for NDCI. (2) NDBCI distinguished pixels with lower grey-scale values, such as water body, road and gangue. However, some dump zones and shed patches were misclassified. (3) NDCI generated clear boundaries and more complete interiors, and the dump zone and shed could be distinguished. However, some water body parts were misclassified as coal-covered areas. (4) Combined application of NDBCI and NDCI generated a 'complementary' effect better than both individual modes. Kappa coefficient, Overall accuracy and F1-score reached 0.95, 98.76% and 0.75, respectively. This study successfully extracted coal-covered areas by developing a remote sensing index based on spectral traits and a priori knowledge of the study area. The proposed combined extraction mode achieved high accuracy for rapid and reliable identification of coal-covered areas. Highlights: Two new remote sensing indexes for coal-covered area extraction were proposed in this paper. Complementary advantages were found between NDBCI and NDCI in the extraction. Accuracy assessment was performed based on manually deciphered high-precision raster data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Duck decoys are trapping devices designed to catch ducks. From the fourteenth century onwards, duck decoys emerged in riverine lowlands in northwestern Europe. Their operation is based on a rigorously maintained physical structure with a woodland that encloses a water body with protruding extensions called pipes, which end in nets and are surrounded by reed screens. Catching ducks in these places requires a complex interplay between different groups of ducks, a dog, and a human decoyman who together are enmeshed in what becomes a deeply deceptive landscape. This paper explores duck decoys in the Netherlands as relational, situated and co‐designed multispecies atmospheres. Through ethnographic descriptions of field visits, interviews and by drawing on historical accounts, we trace how inter‐ and intraspecies relations and behaviours are interpreted in terms of deception, betrayal, trust and curiosity. The varying interpretations of behaviours and the more‐than‐human knowledges at play reflect the essentially elusive character of the duck decoy. Especially when facing the environmental challenges of the Anthropocene, duck decoys and the ambiguous relations that were until recently maintained in them, encourage us to consider the historical trapping and hunting landscapes as places made by multispecies atmospheres. Even though these atmospheres and the intimate collectives of human and more‐than‐human lives have become increasingly fragile, their afterlives resonate through the changing character of the riverine landscape and its various waterfowl, as well as practices of knowing and conserving biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An understanding of turbulence and mixing is essential to the knowledge of turbulent dissipation, sediment transport, advection of nutrient-rich and organic effluents, and stormwater runoff in prototype water systems, as well as in laboratory channels used for physical modeling of geometrically-scaled full-scale water bodies and for validation of computational models. The acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV) system is a robust instrument well suited for such turbulence measurements in open channel flows. The application of acoustic Doppler velocimeter to transient free-surface flows is reviewed in this paper. Based upon field applications and laboratory experiments, the intricacy and inherent difficulties are discussed. The experience and expertise in transient flows highlighted the importance of the signal processing and precise synchronization. Finally, we stress a major benefit of the acoustic Doppler velocimetry for its capability to be used in both field and laboratory, in turn providing some level of confidence in the comparison between full-scale and laboratory data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increased call to demonstrate the benefits of EU Member States' river basin management plans, whose implementation has been delayed largely due to insufficient funding. This paper applies a contingent valuation study to investigate the benefit value of improved ecological status in river basins and the discrepancy between the quality of waters as perceived by river basin residents and as monitored under the Water Framework Directive. Respondents often reported worse quality for their focal water body than the monitored status indicated, a tendency established in a GIS analysis. The likelihood of such divergence increased most with degree of perceived deterioration of surface waters. Observed deterioration in waters, official status of one's focal water body and divergence between two quality measures had implications for welfare estimates. Describing water quality according to ecological criteria and as uniformly as possible would facilitate the use of valuation results in future benefit transfers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional approaches devoted to upgrading the sewerage system functionality are highly costly and time demanding. Thus, the implementation of comprehensive modelling approaches can be intended as an effective and economically viable strategy to detect and outdo the critical issues of the networks. This paper presents an integrated procedure to monitor and simulate the network's performance, based on the coupling of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) networks for data collecting and monitoring, with hydraulic simulations by the Storm Water Management Model 5.1 (EPA-SWMM) solver. The drawbacks of the network are then assessed by proposing several upgrades to improve the system. The proposed strategy was applied to the Nora-Noreña sewerage system, located in North Spain. Results show the potentiality of the methodology in reducing sewer network maximum filling degree requirements and overflows into the receiving water bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, China has launched a number of Gaofen (GF) series earth observation satellites. It is crucial to understand the relationship between the data of the GF series of satellite sensors for the selection of sensor images for scientific research. Taking the same-day transit image pairs of three regions as the study data, this paper compares the consistency of the Top of Atmosphere (TOA) reflectance of GF-1 WFV4 and GF-6 WFV sensors by using the TOA mean comparison method, and discusses the differences in water body and vegetation extraction. The results indicate that the satellite signal intensity in different land cover types and areas differs significantly. In the bare soil-dominated region, GF-1 WFV4 has a larger signal strength than GF-6 WFV, while in the vegetation-dominated region, it turns out to be just the opposite. The difference between the two sensors is mainly related to the difference in the spectral response function and the radiometric resolution of the two satellites. In addition, the determination coefficient (R2) of the corresponding bands of the two sensors is all greater than 0.90, indicating that the two sensors have strong linear correlation and good complementarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-mountain water bodies represent critical components of their ecosystems, serving as vital freshwater reservoirs, environmental regulators, and sentinels of climate change. To understand the environmental dynamics of these regions, comprehensive analyses of lakes across spatial and temporal scales are necessary. While remote sensing offers a powerful tool for lake monitoring, applications in high-mountain terrain present unique challenges. The Ancash and Cuzco regions of the Peruvian Andes exemplify these challenges. These regions harbor numerous high-mountain lakes, which are crucial for fresh water supply and environmental regulation. This paper presents an exploratory examination of remote sensing techniques for lake monitoring in the Ancash and Cuzco regions of the Peruvian Andes. The study compares three deep learning models for lake segmentation: the well-established DeepWaterMapV2 and WatNet models and the adapted WaterSegDiff model, which is based on a combination of diffusion and transformation mechanisms specifically conditioned for lake segmentation. In addition, the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) with Otsu thresholding is used for comparison purposes. To capture lakes across these regions, a new dataset was created with Landsat-8 multispectral imagery (bands 2–7) from 2013 to 2023. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed using metrics such as Mean Intersection over Union (MIoU), Pixel Accuracy (PA), and F1 Score. The results achieved indicate equivalent performance of DeepWaterMapV2 and WatNet encoder–decoder architectures, achieving adequate lake segmentation despite the challenging geographical and atmospheric conditions inherent in high-mountain environments. In the qualitative analysis, the behavior of the WaterSegDiff model was considered promising for the proposed application. Considering that WatNet is less computationally complex, with 3.4 million parameters, this architecture becomes the most pertinent to implement. Additionally, a detailed temporal analysis of Lake Singrenacocha in the Vilcanota Mountains was conducted, pointing out the more significant behavior of the WatNet model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Guadix-Baza Basin (southern Spain) displays one of the best continental records from the Late Miocene to the Middle Pleistocene in western Europe, with many localities of fossil small mammals in a quite complete and continuous stratigraphic sequence. The Late Miocene continentalization of the Guadix-Baza Basin was firstly mentioned in the 1980s based on the presumed presence of Hipparion gromovae granatensis at the site of Abla (Almería province). Subsequent discoveries of late Turolian deposits confirmed the Late Miocene continentalization of the basin. The interest in the Abla site led to a second sampling campaign to look for microvertebrate fossils, which proved successful. In this paper, a complete taxonomic study of the novel microvertebrate fauna from Abla is presented, providing updated information on the age of the locality. Representatives of the vertebrate families Cyprinidae, Alytidae, Anguidae, Soricidae, Cricetidae, and Muridae have been identified. The presence of Stephanomys specimens exceeding the size of latest Miocene-earliest Pliocene species allows us to correlate the Abla site with the Early Pliocene (Ruscinian), a younger age than initially stated. A qualitative paleoecological interpretation based on the herpetofauna suggests the dominance of open environments with presence of permanent water bodies during the deposition of the Abla site, under warmer and more humid climate conditions than today in the Guadix-Baza Basin. A revision of the Hipparion remains from this locality showed that the sample is closer to Hipparion fissurae than to the initially assigned species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the western Andes, climate changes have led to drastic ecological changes during the Pleistocene and Holocene. Given the debate surrounding precipitation pattern changes and the lack of research on lakes in the Chilean Altiplano, this study aims to assess recent climate changes. The paper presents an innovative methodology based on Google Earth Engine (GEE), utilizing fluctuations in water levels in endorheic lakes as natural precipitation indicators. Three lakes (Chungará, Miscanti, and Miniques) in isolated drainage systems were studied, where changes in water levels directly reflect rainfall variations. Data from Landsat-OLI 8, Landsat-ETM+, Landsat-TM 5, and MODIS spanning 31 years were processed using the Google Earth Engine platform. The shapes of the water bodies were extracted using hue saturation value (HSV) composites. The surface areas of the lakes were compared with precipitation data from national meteorological stations and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) using linear regression analyses. Both lake area and rainfall volume showed a decrease over time, with varying trends depending on environmental conditions. However, the analysis consistently indicates a reduction in the area and volume of Chilean lakes corresponding to observed rainfall patterns over the past three decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land surface water is a key part in the global ecosystem balance and hydrological cycle. Remote sensing has become an effective tool for its spatio-temporal monitoring. However, remote sensing results exemplified in so-called water indices are subject to several limitations. This paper proposes a new and effective water index called the Sentinel Multi-Band Water Index (SMBWI) to extract water bodies in complex environments from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. Individual tests explore the effectiveness of the SMBWI in eliminating interference of various special interfering cover features. The Iterative Self-Organizing Data Analysis Technique Algorithm (ISODATA) method and confusion matrix along with the derived accuracy evaluation indicators are used to provide a threshold reference when extracting water bodies and evaluate the accuracy of the water body extraction results, respectively. The SMBWI and eight other commonly used water indices are qualitatively and quantitatively compared through vision and accuracy evaluation indicators, respectively. Here, the SMBWI is proven to be the most effective at suppressing interference of buildings and their shadows, cultivated lands, vegetation, clouds and their shadows, alpine terrain with bare ground and glaciers when extracting water bodies. The overall accuracy in all tests was consistently greater than 96.5%. The SMBWI is proven to have a high ability to identify mixed pixels of water and non-water, with the lowest total error among nine water indices. Most notably, better results are obtained when extracting water bodies under interfering environments of cover features. Therefore, we propose that our novel and robust water index, the SMBWI, is ready to be used for mapping land surface water with high accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the expansion of green energy production, which is being pursued in order to mitigate climate change and carbon emissions from energy production. It addresses the delineation of areas that are suitable for the application of photovoltaics in the context of agricultural areas, water bodies, and parking spaces. Three specific photovoltaic types are examined in order to find out which criteria influence their geographic potential and whether spatial multi-criteria decision analysis methods are suitable for identifying suitable areas. The proposed approach consists of four steps: (1) collecting factors through expert interviews and questionnaires; (2) mapping the criteria to the spatial datasets; (3) deriving weighted scores for individual criteria through expert interviews; (4) applying the multi-criteria decision analysis method to compute and aggregate the final scores. We test our methodology at selected sites in the state of Styria, Austria. The test sites represent the topographical characteristics of the state and are about 5% of the size of Styria, approximately 820 km2. The key contributions are a weighted set of criteria that are relevant for the geographic potential of alternative photovoltaic types and the developed methodology to determine this potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper employs the user-defined function method to define the boundary and analyzes the effects of various ship speeds, wave parameters, and bow structural loads on deck and hull motion responses. When the ship has a wave slamming phenomenon, the water body's height, its response to the slamming load on the deck and superstructure, and hull motion improve the seakeeping performance of the hull model. Analysis of simulation results reveals that peak slamming loads generally increase with higher speeds and wave heights. As speed increases, results oscillate irregularly, affecting the nonlinearity of the slamming load. Additionally, when the wave slamming occurs, the slamming load near the superstructure of the bow model is relatively small. Finally, the numerical modeling method is used to modify the bow area structure, and the simulation analysis is carried out under different incident waves and speeds. The influence of the drift angle on the superstructure is discussed, and beneficial suggestions are provided for the future studies of waves on deck. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the greatest challenges faced when using gravity settling is achieving efficient particle removal and retention rates under high inflow rates. This paper proposes a new method for enhancing sedimentation and protecting the settled particle. This is accomplished by placing one layer of the virtual bed above the real bed to divide the water body into hydraulically different upper and lower regions. The normal structure of the newly-proposed virtual bed is a flat plate with many small perforations. When the water flows along the top surface of the virtual bed, it creates two effects: (1) it isolates and protects water in the area below the virtual bed from being disturbed by the fast and turbulent flows above, which enhances sedimentation of the particles in the lower region and protects the sediment which could be eroded; and (2) the vertical vortex generated by the surficial flows passing over the openings helps the nearby suspended particles to enter the quiescent water region below. To assess the performance of the newly-proposed virtual bed, a rectangular settling tank was used to conduct comparison tests of particle removal with three particle size ranges, four inflow rates, five virtual bed structural designs, and multiple experimental conditions. The results clearly showed that, compared with a traditional settling tank (without the virtual bed), the addition of the proposed settling structure notably enhanced the particle settling rate by 10%–15% for the particles tested and experimental conditions assessed. The virtual bed method easily can be applied to various water treatment devices and facilities to enhance the suspended particle removal efficiencies in treatments of storm runoff, wastewater, and many other kinds of water without the need for chemical additions or energy-intensive processes. This paper proposes and tested an innovative method for increasing the removal of suspended particles using a virtual bed. A virtual bed is composed of a plate with numerous holes through it suspended above particle-settling facilities. It enhances particle settling by providing a less disturbed region for settling particles, protecting already-settled particles, and encouraging the suspended particles to move toward the real bed. Laboratory tests in a rectangular tank with different particle sizes and flow rates showed that the virtual bed effectively improved particle removal rates. Various possible virtual bed structure designs are proposed and were examined. The best-performing virtual bed was identified, and possible reasons for its performance were discussed based on hydraulics and physics principles. Experiments with different tank configurations and virtual bed position arrangements were conducted, and based on the experimental results, general suggestions for using the virtual bed in practice more effectively are given. In principle, the proposed virtual bed can be applied to any particle-separation facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The developmental projects like dams and other capitalist structures in India, allocate the natural water reserves to elite industrialists and state apparatuses, leaving the local ecosystems impoverished and in the hands of capitalism driven policies, which milk the indigenous population to mollify the materialistic needs of the affluent. This predicament is vividly illustrated in Subhash Vyam's graphic narrative Water that employs the traditional Gond Art to anchor the consequences of the 'Slow Violence' rendered to the local ecosystems owing to the development policies. As the revered natural sources of water in Vyam's village are regulated through a dam, the rural Indigenous community is deprived of its basic rights to survive, vandalising the pious 'human-water' relationship, resulting in 'a serious ecological crisis'. Drawing theoretical insights from Rob Nixon, Ramachandra Guha and Vandana Shiva, the proposed paper attempts to emphasize that the graphic narrative Water, through its remarkable graphic visuals, conjoined with local customs and folklores, is a reflection of the agony of the indigenous communities. Further, the paper analyses the grim reality that privatisation not only leads to exploitation and consequent depletion of the natural resources, but also robs the local communities of their ways of survival and resource sharing practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mercury (Hg) is a well know element due its toxicity to both environment and humans. Also, mercury has a high persistence in the environment, and therefore, it is essential to monitor its presence on environmental matrices, such as water, soils and sediments. Sediment cores can provide a useful tool when monitoring water bodies for the presence of mercury since, when coupled with geochronological techniques, it is possible to analyze the temporal variation of Hg during a certain period. Thus, the objective of this work was to perform a systematic review about papers that analyzed the presence of Hg in dated sediment cores in Brazil. The review was performed in the following databases: Scielo, PubMed, Science Direct and Scopus. We searched for papers published between 2011 and 2020. In total, we found 217 articles, that after the application of successive filtration criteria, were reduced to 13 articles. The majority of the papers showed a tendency of increase in the concentration of Hg. We also performed a risk assessment that indicates that some places have Hg concentrations above quality criteria established for sediments. Regarding the sources, all the papers that presented a tendency of increase in Hg concentrations considered this as consequence of anthropogenic activities, such as chlor-alkali industries and deforestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the introduction of the water footprint concept in 2002, in the context of humankind's ever-increasing awareness of the valuable global freshwater resources, it has received more and more attention. The application of this relatively new concept has been expected to provide ecological and environmental benefits. For the water-intensive papermaking industry, it seems that water footprint needs to be addressed. The water footprint of cellulosic paper can be divided into three components, including its green water footprint, blue water footprint, and grey water footprint, which may be accounted for by considering the individual contributions of wood or non-wood materials, pulp production processes, effluent discharge to the receiving water bodies, process chemicals and additives, energy consumption, etc. In the literature, the accounting of water footprint during the whole production chain of cellulosic paper is already available, and relevant research findings can provide useful insights into the application of the concept; however, further development of the accounting methodologies is much needed, so that the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of water footprint can be internationally recognized, certified, and standardized. Although there are ongoing or upcoming debates and challenges associated with the concept, its application to papermaking industry may be expected to provide various encouraging possibilities and impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented which discusses the collaborative writing with multiple authors which has additional challenges including varied levels of engagement of coauthors, provision of fair credit through authorship or acknowledgements and acceptance of diversity of work styles. Also discussed are the 10 simple rules for collaboratively writing a multi-authored paper which include to build a writing team wisely; to create a data management plan and to jointly decide on authorship guidelines.

Solar panel efficiency is significantly influenced by its operating temperature. Recent advancements in emerging renewable energy alternatives have enabled photovoltaic (PV) module installation over water bodies, leveraging their increased efficiency and associated benefits. This paper examines the operational performance of solar panels placed over water bodies, comparing them to ground-mounted solar PV installations. Regression models for panel temperature are developed based on experimental setups at BITS Pilani, India. Developed regression models, including linear, quadratic, and exponential, are utilized to predict the operating temperature of solar PV installations above water bodies. These models incorporated parameters such as ambient temperature, solar insolation, wind velocity, water temperature, and humidity. Among these, the one-degree regression models with three parameters outperformed the models with four or five parameters with a prediction error of 5.5 °C. Notably, the study found that the annual energy output estimates from the best model had an error margin of less than 0.2% compared to recorded data. Research indicates that solar PV panels over water bodies produce approximately 2.59% more annual energy output than ground-mounted systems. The newly developed regression models provide a predictive tool for estimating the operating temperature of solar PV installations above water bodies, using only three meteorological parameters: ambient temperature, solar insolation, and wind velocity, for accurate temperature prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrological monitoring of flow data is important for flood prevention and modern river management. However, traditional contact methods are increasingly struggling to meet the requirements of simplicity, accuracy, and continuity. The video-based river discharge measurement is a technique to monitor flow velocity without contacting the water body by using the image-recognition algorithms, which has been verified to have the advantages of full coverage and full automation compared with the traditional contact technique. In order to provide a timely summary of the available results and to inform further research and applications, this paper reviews and synthesizes the literature on the general implementation routes of the video-based river discharge measurement technique and the principles and advances of today's popular image-recognition algorithms for velocity detection. Then, it discusses the challenges of image-recognition algorithms in terms of image acquisition conditions, parameter uncertainties, and complex meteorological and water environments. It is concluded that the performance of this technique can be improved by enhancing the robustness and accuracy of video-based discharge measurement algorithms, minimizing weather effects, and improving computational efficiency. Finally, future development directions for further perfecting this technique are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote sensing thematic data products are critical for assessing and analyzing geological environments, while efficient generation of thematic products is also highly significant for achieving corresponding sustainable development goals (SDGs). Currently, remote sensing thematic product generation has problems like low levels of automation and efficiency. Addressing these challenges is imperative for advancing sustainable development within the geological environment. This paper aims to address issues related to the generation of geological environment remote sensing thematic products, sorting through the overall process of remote sensing thematic product generation, exploring algorithm encapsulation, combination, and execution under technical methods for container and workflow, and relies on the Spark distributed processing architecture to achieve efficient thematic product generation supported by multiple geological environment data processing models. Finally, taking the three SDGs of SDG6, SDG11, and SDG15 as examples, we achieved the generation of a variety of thematic products such as the interpretation of water body distribution, extraction of urban informal settlements and distribution of water and soil erosion. Meanwhile, we comparatively analyzed the efficiency of thematic product generation on different processing architectures, and the experimental results further verified the feasibility and effectiveness of our proposed solution. This research provides a programme for the automated and intelligent generation of geological environment remote sensing thematic products and effectively assists the construction of sustainable development in the geological environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employing deep learning techniques for the semantic segmentation of remote sensing images has emerged as a prevalent approach for acquiring information about water bodies. Yet, current models frequently fall short in accurately extracting water bodies from high-resolution remote sensing images, as these images often present intricate details of terrestrial objects and complex backgrounds. Vegetation, shadows, and other objects close to water boundaries have increased similarity to water bodies. Moreover, water bodies in high-resolution images have different boundary complexities, shapes, and sizes. This situation makes it somewhat challenging to accurately distinguish water bodies in high-resolution images. To overcome these difficulties, this paper presents a novel network model named EU-Net, specifically designed to extract water bodies from high-resolution remote sensing images. The proposed EU-Net model, with U-net as the backbone network, incorporates improved residual connections and attention mechanisms, and designs multi-scale dilated convolution and multi-scale feature fusion modules to enhance water body extraction performance in complex scenarios. Specifically, in the proposed model, improved residual connections are introduced to enable the learning of more complex features; the attention mechanism is employed to improve the model's discriminative ability by focusing on important channels and spatial areas. The implemented multi-scale dilated convolution technique enhances the model's receptive field while maintaining the same number of parameters. The designed multi-scale feature fusion module is capable of processing both small-scale details and large-scale structures in images, while simultaneously modeling the spatial context relationships of features at different scales. Experimental results validate the superior performance of EU-Net in accurately identifying water bodies from high-resolution remote sensing images, outperforming current models in terms of water extraction accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faced with a growing problem due to environmental problems in the state of Michoacán and the irrational use of water, "Economic value of externalities in uncertainty and development in the central region of the Tacámbaro river basin" constitutes a paper that has the objective to estimate through fuzzy logic the Willingness to Pay of the users of the central region of the Tacámbaro River to carry out actions that allow increasing the flow of the river and avoiding its contamination. As well as specifying the socioeconomic value of externalities and the impacts that are generated in the regional development of the municipality due to the decrease of water in the basin. Information of great importance for the establishment of management actions for the Tacámbaro river basin in particular and for another body of water in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Dragonflies and damselflies are invaluable components of freshwater ecosystems, acting as dominant predators and facilitating the exportation of matter and energy from aquatic to terrestrial environments thanks to their powerful flight. They are also crucial as a food source for various animals and, in some cases, for humans. Through a comprehensive review of the literature, we estimated the biomass, density, and secondary production of these insects, assessing their potential significance in terrestrial fertilization. Our findings indicate that dragonfly larvae are particularly abundant in lentic habitats. Overall, the evidence suggests that dragonflies and damselflies may make a substantial contribution to the exportation of materials to terrestrial systems, especially considering the adults' ability to migrate and inhabit different types of water ecosystems. Freshwater insects are highly significant as ecosystem service providers, contributing to provisioning services, supporting services, and cultural services. Odonates are dominant predators in many freshwater systems, becoming top predators in fishless ecosystems. One service that odonates provide is the export of matter and energy from aquatic to terrestrial ecosystems. In this study, we provide a review of the literature aiming to estimate the density, biomass, and secondary production of odonates and discuss to what extent this order of insects is relevant for the fertilization of terrestrial ecosystems. We found published data on 109 species belonging to 17 families of odonates from 44 papers. Odonata larvae are abundant in freshwater systems, with a mean density of 240.04 ± 48.01 individuals m−2 (±SE). Lentic habitats show much higher densities (104.40 ± 55.31 individuals m−2, N = 118) than lotic systems (27.12 ± 5.09, N = 70). The biomass estimations for odonates indicate values of 488.56 ± 134.51 mg m−2 y−1, with similar values in lentic and lotic habitats, which correspond to annual secondary productions of 3558.02 ± 2146.80 mg m−2 y−1. The highest biomass is found in dragonflies of the Aeshnidae, Corduliidae, and Gomphidae families. The available evidence suggests a significant potential contribution of Odonata to the exportation of material from water bodies to land. This is further strengthened by the ability of adult odonates to migrate and to colonize different types of water bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapidly monitoring regional water quality and the changing trend is of great practical and scientific significance, especially for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region of China where water resources are relatively scarce and inland water bodies are generally small. The remote sensing data of the GF1 satellite launched in 2013 have characteristics of high spatial and temporal resolution, which can be used for the dynamic monitoring of the water environment in small lakes and reservoirs. However, the water quality remote sensing monitoring model based on the GF1 satellite data for lakes and reservoirs in BTH is still lacking because of the considerable differences in the optical characteristics of the lakes and reservoirs. In this paper, the typical reservoirs in BTH-Guanting Reservoir, Yuqiao Reservoir, Panjiakou Reservoir, and Daheiting Reservoir are taken as the study areas. In the atmospheric correction of GF1-WFV, the relative radiation normalized atmospheric correction was adopted after comparing with other methods, such as 6S and FLAASH. In the water clarity retrieval, a water color hue angle based model was proposed and outperformed other available published models, with the R2 of 0.74 and MRE of 31.7%. The clarity products of the four typical reservoirs in the BTH region in 2013–2019 were produced using the GF1-WFV data. Based on the products, temporal and spatial changes in clarity were analyzed, and the main influencing factors for each water body were discussed. It was found that the clarity of Guanting, Daheiting, and Panjiakou reservoirs showed an upward trend during this period, while that of Yuqiao Reservoir showed a downward trend. In the influencing factors, the water level of the water bodies can be an important factor related to the water clarity changes in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of cadmium pollution and its control is becoming increasingly severe issue in the world. Banana straw is an abundant bio raw material, but its burning or discarding in field not only causes pollution but also spreads fusarium wilt. The objective of this paper is to utilize biochar derived from the wilt-infected banana straw for remediation of Cd(II) pollution while to eliminate the pathogen. The activity of wilt pathogen in biochar was determined by PDA petri dish test. The Cd(II) adsorption of the biochar was determined by batch adsorption experiments. The effects of KOH concentration (0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 M) on the physicochemical characteristics of the biochar were also observed by BET, SEM, FTIR, XRD and XPS. Results showed that pristine banana straw biochar (PBBC) did not harbor any pathogen. The specific surface area (SSA) and Cd(II) adsorption capacity of 0.75 M KOH modified banana straw biochar (MBBC0.75M) were increased by 247.2% and 46.1% compared to that of PBBC, respectively. Cd(II) adsorption by MBBC0.75M was suitable to be described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Freundlich isotherm. After Cd(II) adsorption, the CdCO3 were confirmed by XRD and observed through SEM. The weakness and shift of oxygen-containing functional groups in MBBC0.75M after Cd(II) adsorption implied that those groups were complexed with Cd(II). The results showed that pyrolysis could not only eliminate banana fusarium wilt, but also prepare porous biochar with the wilt-infected banana straw. The porous biochar possessed the potential to adsorb Cd(II) pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss parameterizations of turbulent mixing processes in models of inland water bodies (lakes and reservoirs) that allow one to sustain turbulent fluctuations in the presence of small velocity shears even in the case of highly stable stratification. The proposed parameterization of the turbulent Prandtl number takes into account the nongradient correction for the mass flux and depends on two parameters: the anisotropy parameter, which describes the differences in the vertical and horizontal scales of the density field correlations, and the maximum flux Richardson number. It is shown that the value of the maximum flux Richardson number and, as a consequence, the asymptotical increase in the turbulent Prandtl number under strong stability are associated with differences in the integral time scales determined by the dissipation rate of the kinetic or potential energy and the fluctuation intensities of the corresponding fields. This is consistent with the direct numerical simulation of shear-driven stably stratified turbulence. The anisotropy parameter specifies the transitional regime from neutral stratification to strong stability. Using the proposed parameterization, numerical experiments are carried out to reproduce the thermal and biochemical regime of inland water bodies (Kuivajärvi Lake and Rybinsk Reservoir). The results show that the distribution of biochemical concentrations and gas transfer processes are more sensitive to specifying the value of the maximum flux Richardson number. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the influence of seasonal ice and prevalent type of recharge on the formation and functioning of zoobenthos communities in the coastal shallow zone of water bodies located north of 35° N. It was revealed that in the coastal shallow zone, zoobenthos species do not form communities but are represented by seasonal ephemeral groups. These habitations reach the maximum species diversity and qualitative development in July. Recommendations are given on the frequency of zoobenthos sampling to determine the water quality and an ecological status of a water body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the significant momentum of developing water quality models to simulate water quality variables and support decision-making, the literature recognizes the importance of addressing uncertainties embedded in the water quality models, such as inherent, parametric, and hydrological uncertainties. However, previous studies have not extensively examined the magnitude of hydrological events in terms of their intensity. Therefore, this paper aims to propose an adjusted Monte Carlo event-based scenarios framework that considers four scenarios (1- 35 years of flow rate records, 2- events with ARI ≤ 10 years, 3- events with ARI ≤ 5 years, 4- events with ARI ≤ 1) to evaluate hydrological variabilities and quantify embedded uncertainties. The study employs a Qual2k model that simulates five water quality variables in the Zaroub River, Iran, as a case study. The model's uncertainty boundaries are quantified using five statistical metrics: Plevel, ARIL, SU, CU, and EU. The study's findings reveal that when considering the flow rate time histories during extreme hydrological events, there is a significant increase in uncertainty in the water quality model, highlighting the challenge of incorporating various scenarios within the framework such as high computational demand, integrating different scenarios, sparse data, and its temporal resolution. On the other hand, reducing the ARI values of hydrological events not only minimizes the uncertainty boundaries but also improves the accuracy of the model simulations. These results underscore the critical importance of selecting hydrological scenarios based on the water quality variable under investigation. Furthermore, the proposed framework can be applied to any water quality model and water body. The study's outcomes suggest that the presented methodology reduces uncertainty and provides more reliable simulations for decision-making in water resources conundrums. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, the inversion of remote sensing satellite images of water environment indicators mostly stays in the indicators with active optical characteristics, while there is less research on the inversion of most water quality indicators with non-optical activity properties, weak scattering and absorption of optical radiation, the size of their concentration has little effect on the spectral characteristics of the water body, such as TOC(Total Organic Carbon). In this paper, based on Pingzhai Reservoir, a dammed river in the karst mountainous area, the inversion model of TOC concentration was established based on BP neural network (BPNN) and sentinel-2 satellite remote sensing images. The results showed that the single bands with high correlation with the measured TOC concentration data were two vegetation red-edge bands B6 (740 nm) and B7 (783 nm) and one NIR band B8 (842 nm), and finally b7, b6 + b7, b7 + b8, b7 ×b8 were selected as the input layers of BPNN for modeling through the combination of the bands, and their Pearson's coefficients were -0.667, -0.656, -0.655, - 0.675. The inverse model established could reach a minimum RMSE of 0.235 mg/L and a maximum R2 of 0.889, which was superior to that of the conventional empirical model. Demonstrate the feasibility of a TOC inversion method based on Sentinel-2 data and BPNN to monitor TOC concentrations in Pingzhai Reservoir. The study successfully established a BP neural network inversion model of TOC concentration in Pingzhai Reservoir with low error, meanwhile, we analyzed the correlation between common water quality indicators and TOC in the reservoir, in which TOC showed significant positive correlation with WT and significant negative correlation with TN and EC, with Pearson's coefficients of 0.655, -0.666, and -0.393, respectively. The article provides scientific theoretical foundation and technical support for water quality protection of water sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans and water have a complex relationship that includes various dimensions such as sociocultural, political, legal and ecological. Considering the ubiquity of water, we need a more holistic perspective to help us see water not as a static entity but rather as one in constant movement, physically and conceptually; acknowledging the interplay between water and humans is essential to understanding societal narratives deeply embedded in places. In this special section, an interdisciplinary group of scholars explore inland waters, taking a water‐centric view instead of a land‐centric one. The special section delves into the emerging hydro‐social connections, diverse forms of expertise, governance models, collective and spontaneous actions, and resilience strategies within the context of inland water bodies, exploring how canals, rivers and wetlands are experienced and represented as places. The papers in this collection show that any form of placemaking should take responsible stewardship of water, embrace its dynamic nature, and present a realistic pathway towards sustainable solutions for present and future water challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrological patterns of all natural water bodies pulse in variable rhythms of high and low water. The biodiversity of these ecosystems is driven by the changing nature of the environment, allowing different life strategies to coexist, e.g., by the fast reuse of nutrients when aquatic biota flourish in the recently wetted zones and vice versa. Much of the human culture in hydroscapes has developed as an adaptation to this rhythm, e.g., by using the flood‐fertilised floodplains for agriculture or fisheries, or by seasonal migration into or out of the floodplain (transhumance). Technological advances have allowed humans to control, change, or even eliminate this natural water rhythm by building dams, dikes, and canals. Consequently, important ecosystem functions fail, often resulting in failure of human life‐support systems but also in the failure and decline of cultural activities. I argue that the loss of socio‐cultural connectivity to the rhythms of rivers and other hydrosystems occurs in four phases: (i) loss of direct relationships (e.g., uses of waterborne resources), (ii) loss of indirect relationships (cultural activities that are connected to theses uses), (iii) turning away from the river/hydrosystem (often caused by decreased water quality), and (iv) total oblivion (caused by removal or burial of the hydrosystem). Reintegrating more riverine rhythms into human life would not mean to step back in time but rather to find a combination of revised traditional ecological knowledge, learning from nature, changing values in the context of use of natural resources, and innovations. This paper draws on social‐environmental aspects of the River Culture Concept – which attempts to reintegrate respect for the pulsing nature of hydrosystems into modern, sustainable management – and on diverse case studies. Examples are presented on how River Culture Concept approaches may contribute to revitalising socio‐ecological linkages to the rhythm of the waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]