Search

Coordinated drilling efforts are an important method to investigate active tectonics and magmatic processes related to faults and volcanoes. The US National Science Foundation (NSF) recently sponsored a series of workshops to define the nature of future continental drilling efforts. As part of this series, we convened a workshop to explore how continental scientific drilling can be used to better understand active tectonic and magmatic processes. The workshop, held in Park City, Utah, in May 2013, was attended by 41 investigators from seven countries. Participants were asked to define compelling scientific justifications for examining problems that can be addressed by coordinated programs of continental scientific drilling and related site investigations. They were also asked to evaluate a wide range of proposed drilling projects, based on white papers submitted prior to the workshop. Participants working on faults and fault zone processes highlighted two overarching topics with exciting potential for future scientific drilling research: (1) the seismic cycle and (2) the mechanics and architecture of fault zones. Recommended projects target fundamental mechanical processes and controls on faulting, and range from induced earthquakes and earthquake initiation to investigations of detachment fault mechanics and fluid flow in fault zones. Participants working on active volcanism identified five themes: the volcano eruption cycle; eruption sustainability, near-field stresses, and system recovery; eruption hazards; verification of geophysical models; and interactions with other Earth systems. Recommended projects address problems that are transferrable to other volcanic systems, such as improved methods for identifying eruption history and constraining the rheological structure of shallow caldera regions. Participants working on chemical geodynamics identified four major themes: large igneous provinces (LIPs), ocean islands, continental hotspot tracks and rifts, and convergent plate margins (subduction zones). This workshop brought together a diverse group of scientists with a broad range of scientific experience and interests. A particular strength was the involvement of both early-career scientists, who will initiate and carry out these new research programs, and more senior researchers with many years of experience in scientific drilling and active tectonics research. Each of the themes and questions outlined above has direct benefits to society, including improving hazard assessment, direct monitoring of active systems for early warning, renewable and non-renewable resource and energy exploitation, and predicting the environmental impacts of natural hazards, emphasizing the central role that scientific drilling will play in future scientific and societal developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering is the property of Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Natural Resources / Ziran Ziyuan Xuebao is the property of Journal of Natural Resources and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In recent times, a trend towards more climate-friendly and sustainable strategies and techniques in the field of civil engineering has arisen. For this reason, there is a high demand for engineering solutions which take into consideration not only technical issues but also ecological and aesthetic values. In this context, soil bioengineering constructions are gaining importance because the utilisation of living plants as construction material for conventional protective structures represents a preferred alternative. Different soil bioengineering techniques are used as stand-alone solutions or as complementary to conventional hydraulic and civil engineering solutions. Although the field of soil bioengineering has a long historical tradition, there is no assessment scheme that analyses energy consumption nor carbon footprint throughout the entire life cycle of soil bioengineering constructions. The following paper focuses on assessing three different soil bioengineering construction types. Through the use of an environmental life cycle assessment model, we show the possibilities and deficiencies of this method in the field of soil bioengineering. The analysis concentrates on the product stage and the construction phase. The results reveal that the hotspots of energy consumption for soil bioengineering constructions are the operating machines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Southern Caucasus, with its special geographic position and complex topography, is a well-known biodiversity hotspot. However, the formation of this hotspot remains largely unstudied. To reveal this, a thorough study of the fossil record of the region is necessary. In the present paper, we describe for the first time fossil monitor lizards (Varanus sp.) from two late Miocene localities from the Southern Caucasus (Jradzor, Armenia and Tetri Udabno, Georgia). We suggest that both fossils belong to a smallsized monitor lizard, comparable to the present-day species found in Iran and the Middle East (e.g., Iraq, Saudi Arabian)-the most western part of the extant monitor lizards' Eurasian distribution range. Our finds show that the genus had a broad distribution in the Eastern Paratethyan region during the late Miocene. In addition, we provide the probable temperature ranges for fossil localities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbially Induced Carbonate Precipitation (MICP) has emerged as a significant technology in the domains of energy conservation, environmental protection, and sustainable ecology, witnessing rapid advancements in recent years. Therefore, it is very important to understand the knowledge structure and development of this field comprehensively and systematically. Employing the bibliometric visualization tool CiteSpace, this study analyzes 1935 academic articles and reviews sourced from the core collection of the Web of Science (WOS) database. The analysis primarily encompasses collaboration networks, keyword co-occurrence, co-citation analysis, and cluster analysis. The results show that: (1) there are still many isolated nodes in authors, institutional and national networks, indicating that cooperation in this field continues to strengthen; (2) Hot topics include: bacteria, cementation, improvement, soil, sand and biomineralization, etc., which are high-frequency keywords in this field. In addition, terms such as biofilm, chemistry, calcification, and cementitious material emerge as highly influential keywords, reflecting the research hotspots in this field. (3) The co-citation analysis reveals interconnected topics in this field, such as biocemented sand, microbial-induced precipitation, engineered applications, microbial diversity, and self-healing concrete, these topics are current research hotspots. This paper is intended to serve as a comprehensive theoretical and practical resource for guiding future research in the MICP domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vietnam's 3260 km coastline is densely populated, experiences rapid urban and economic growth, and faces at the same time a high risk of coastal hazards. Satellite archives provide a free and powerful opportunity for long-term area-wide monitoring of the coastal zone. This paper presents an automated analysis of coastline dynamics from 1986 to 2021 for Vietnam's entire coastal zone using the Landsat archive. The proposed method is implemented within the cloud-computing platform Google Earth Engine to only involve publicly and globally available datasets and tools. We generated annual coastline composites representing the mean-high water level and extracted sub-pixel coastlines. We further quantified coastline change rates along shore-perpendicular transects, revealing that half of Vietnam's coast did not experience significant change, while the remaining half is classified as erosional (27.7%) and accretional (27.1%). A hotspot analysis shows that coastal segments with the highest change rates are concentrated in the low-lying deltas of the Mekong River in the south and the Red River in the north. Hotspots with the highest accretion rates of up to +47 m/year are mainly associated with the construction of artificial coastlines, while hotspots with the highest erosion rates of −28 m/year may be related to natural sediment redistribution and human activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mediterranean basin is one of the most vulnerable regions worldwide due to its population density, the concentration of economic activities along the coasts and borderline climatic balance. It is identified as one of the most critical erosion hotspots in Europe, mainly due to the degradation of coastal areas, overexploitation and unsustainable practices affecting beach tourism, agriculture and fishing. The region is also affected by other phenomena such as storms and floods, which are exacerbated by climate change. To mitigate and adapt to these environmental and climatic changes, Nature based Solutions (NbSs) are considered a promising step-forward. However, despite their global recognition in both research and policy, few scientific papers and documents on the state of NbSs implementation for coastal risk management in the Mediterranean exist. This paper aims to provide an understanding of the status of NbS adoption for coastal risk management in the Mediterranean through a literature review. Out of 162 scientific papers and documents, only 23 were found to be relevant to the study. Through the definition and support of an innovative matrix-based approach, the analysis of the state of adoption of NbSs have been performed. Despite the limited information on the state of the adoption of NbSs for coastal risk management in the Mediterranean due to the low numbers of scientific research and documents available, some key considerations have been revealed. • The Mediterranean basin is the most critical erosion hotspots in Europe. • NbSs are recognized a promising step-forward in coastal risk management. • Novel framework for the analysis of past and present NbS implementation. • Few studies report the adoption of NbSs for Mediterranean coastal risk management. • NbS for coastal risk management in the Mediterranean is still in an experimental phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Watersheds are the fundamental Earth surface functioning units that connect the land to aquatic systems. Many watershed-scale models represent hydrological processes but not biogeochemical reactive transport processes. This has limited our capability to understand and predict solute export, water chemistry and quality, and Earth system response to changing climate and anthropogenic conditions. Here we present a recently developed BioRT-Flux-PIHM (BioRT hereafter) v1.0, a watershed-scale biogeochemical reactive transport model. The model augments the previously developed RT-Flux-PIHM that integrates land-surface interactions, surface hydrology, and abiotic geochemical reactions. It enables the simulation of (1) shallow and deep-water partitioning to represent surface runoff, shallow soil water, and deeper groundwater and of (2) biotic processes including plant uptake, soil respiration, and nutrient transformation. The reactive transport part of the code has been verified against the widely used reactive transport code CrunchTope. BioRT-Flux-PIHM v1.0 has recently been applied in multiple watersheds under diverse climate, vegetation, and geological conditions. This paper briefly introduces the governing equations and model structure with a focus on new aspects of the model. It also showcases one hydrology example that simulates shallow and deep-water interactions and two biogeochemical examples relevant to nitrate and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). These examples are illustrated in two simulation modes of complexity. One is the spatially lumped mode (i.e., two land cells connected by one river segment) that focuses on processes and average behavior of a watershed. Another is the spatially distributed mode (i.e., hundreds of cells) that includes details of topography, land cover, and soil properties. Whereas the spatially lumped mode represents averaged properties and processes and temporal variations, the spatially distributed mode can be used to understand the impacts of spatial structure and identify hot spots of biogeochemical reactions. The model can be used to mechanistically understand coupled hydrological and biogeochemical processes under gradients of climate, vegetation, geology, and land use conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As long suspected, low mode asymmetry in inertially confined fusion (ICF) implosions has been implicated as a performance limiting factor [Casey et al., "Evidence of three-dimensional asymmetries seeded by high-density carbon-ablator nonuniformity in experiments at the national ignition facility," Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 025002 (2021)]. Recently a non-linear, but solvable, theory [Hurricane et al., "An analytic asymmetric-piston model for the impact of mode-1 shell asymmetry on ICF implosions," Phys. Plasmas 27, 062704 (2020)] based upon the simple picture of a pair of asymmetric pistons has generated new insights and provided some practical formulas for estimating the degradation of an implosion due to mode-1 asymmetry and demonstrated a previously unrecognized connection between measured hot-spot drift velocity, nuclear down-scatter ratio asymmetry, and the concept of residual kinetic energy (RKE). Asymmetry of the implosion "shell," as opposed to asymmetry of the hot-spot, was key to the classical mechanics model because the majority of the kinetic energy in an implosion is carried by the shell. Herein, the two-piston model is extended to a six-piston model in order to capture mode-2 asymmetry and coupling between mode-1 and mode-2. A key result of this new six-piston model is that the weighted harmonic mean of shell areal density is the fundamental quantity that determines the RKE and performance degradations for a three-dimensional implosion. Agreement is found between the scalings coming from the theory and ICF implosion data from the National Ignition Facility and to large ensembles of detailed simulations. The connection between the piston model's dependence upon the radius of peak velocity and coast-time is also highlighted in this paper. Finally, by extending the two-piston model to include time-dependent "swing," it is shown in the Appendix that the shell asymmetry at the time of stagnation dominates the solution for RKE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of the spatial distribution and clustering of productive areas of research can be used by prospective postgraduate students and early career researchers to target locations with high potential for professional development, as well as encourage strategic networking and sharing of knowledge. In the present study, the research output of the Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Science (RS/GIS) discipline in Australia was examined and hotspots of research activity were identified. Publication data from 10 peer-reviewed journals for the 1991 to 2010 period were used to look at research productivity and the levels of research collaboration between research institutions, based on authorship data. Results identified a number of hotspot areas, signifying a clustering of RS/GIS research. The productivity of these hotspot clusters changed over time, with some clusters that were very productive in the early 1990s giving way to other clusters that had developed significantly over time. Some clusters declined in productivity over time, while others were superseded by the development of more productive clusters. The study also found a substantial increase in cross-institutional collaboration in RS/GIS research in Australia over the last 20 years. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Revista Ambiente e Água is the property of Revista Ambiente e Agua and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Remote sensing data and methods are increasingly being embedded into assessments of volcanic processes and risk. This happens thanks to their capability to provide a spectrum of observation and measurement opportunities to accurately sense the dynamics, magnitude, frequency, and impacts of volcanic activity in the ultraviolet (UV), visible (VIS), infrared (IR), and microwave domains. Launched in mid-2018, the Special Issue "Remote Sensing of Volcanic Processes and Risk" of Remote Sensing gathers 19 research papers on the use of satellite, aerial, and ground-based remote sensing to detect thermal features and anomalies, investigate lava and pyroclastic flows, predict the flow path of lahars, measure gas emissions and plumes, and estimate ground deformation. The strong multi-disciplinary character of the approaches employed for volcano monitoring and the combination of a variety of sensor types, platforms, and methods that come out from the papers testify the current scientific and technology trends toward multi-data and multi-sensor monitoring solutions. The research advances presented in the published papers are achieved thanks to a wealth of data including but not limited to the following: thermal IR from satellite missions (e.g., MODIS, VIIRS, AVHRR, Landsat-8, Sentinel-2, ASTER, TET-1) and ground-based stations (e.g., FLIR cameras); digital elevation/surface models from airborne sensors (e.g., Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR), or 3D laser scans) and satellite imagery (e.g., tri-stereo Pléiades, SPOT-6/7, PlanetScope); airborne hyperspectral surveys; geophysics (e.g., ground-penetrating radar, electromagnetic induction, magnetic survey); ground-based acoustic infrasound; ground-based scanning UV spectrometers; and ground-based and satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging (e.g., TerraSAR-X, Sentinel-1, Radarsat-2). Data processing approaches and methods include change detection, offset tracking, Interferometric SAR (InSAR), photogrammetry, hotspots and anomalies detection, neural networks, numerical modeling, inversion modeling, wavelet transforms, and image segmentation. Some authors also share codes for automated data analysis and demonstrate methods for post-processing standard products that are made available for end users, and which are expected to stimulate the research community to exploit them in other volcanological application contexts. The geographic breath is global, with case studies in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Hawai'i, Alaska, Kamchatka, Japan, Indonesia, Vanuatu, Réunion Island, Ethiopia, Canary Islands, Greece, Italy, and Iceland. The added value of the published research lies on the demonstration of the benefits that these remote sensing technologies have brought to knowledge of volcanoes that pose risk to local communities; back-analysis and critical revision of recent volcanic eruptions and unrest periods; and improvement of modeling and prediction methods. Therefore, this Special Issue provides not only a collection of forefront research in remote sensing applied to volcanology, but also a selection of case studies proving the societal impact that this scientific discipline can potentially generate on volcanic hazard and risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The marginal area of a sedimentary basin is closer to the provenance, so the sand body is generally more developed. For the Western Margin Thrust Belt of the Ordos Basin, the quality of the Jurassic sandstone reservoirs is still less studied. Diagenesis and reservoir evaluation are important research contents and hotspots in sedimentary geology. Therefore, in this paper, the diagenesis and reservoir properties of the Jurassic Yan 6 to Yan 10 members (Yan'an Formation) have been systematically studied based on the latest 3D seismic, well logging, cast thin section, scanning electron microscope and petrophysical property tests in this area. Furthermore, the vertical heterogeneity of petrophysical properties of the Jurassic reservoir has been discussed in detail, and the diagenetic evolution sequence and classification criteria of Jurassic sandstone reservoir have been proposed. The research results show that the lithologies of the Yan 6 to Yan 10 members are mainly lithic quartz sandstone, lithic feldspar sandstone and feldspar lithic sandstone. The pore types of sandstone are mainly intergranular pores, followed by dissolution pores, intercrystalline pores and a few microfractures. There are two high‐value porosity zones in the buried depths of 1,950–2,050 m and 2,150–2,250 m, which are the coupling results of dissolution and palaeo‐overpressure. Based on the comprehensive study of petrology, petrophysical properties and diagenesis, the diagenetic evolution sequence of the Jurassic sandstone was restored and a comprehensive classification standard for the Jurassic sandstone reservoirs is proposed. The Jurassic reservoir in the study area is a structural‐lithological reservoir, which has a unified oil–water interface, the Type I and Type II reservoir areas in the structural high positions are conducive to the large‐scale accumulation of hydrocarbons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to test different methods used for assessing sediment yield indices to identify hotspots and rank sediment yield hotspots. This process includes the assessment of the entropy weighting (EW), fractal dimension (FD), slope length gradient (SL), and sediment connectivity (SC) methods. The indices at different sub-catchment levels were applied in the Ilanlu catchment (Iran) and organized based on five sediment hazard classes. To assess the performance of sediment hazard mapping, a method of superimposition was used and assessed with the erosion potential model (EPM). The superimposition showed that 8, 10, 4 and 9 sub-catchments, based on the degree of susceptibility, obtained the highest results from FD, EW, SL and SC, respectively, compared with the EPM model. The results show that EW and SC methods can achieve greater performance than FD and SL in identifying sediment production hotspots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Western Balkans are an important hotspot of caddisfly diversity in Europe, with several microscale endemics, many of which were discovered during the recent years. The genus Potamophylax Wallengren, 1891 likely originated and diversified in Europe, with the Balkan Peninsula being one of the most important diversity hotspots. In this paper, we describe the new species Potamophylax coronavirus sp. n. from Bjeshkët e Nemuna National Park in the Republic of Kosovo. The new species belongs to the Potamophylax winneguthi species group and is morphologically most similar to Potamophylax juliani Kumanski, 1999, currently known only from Bulgaria and Potamophylax winneguthi Klapalek, 1902, known from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. The male of the new species differs from its most similar congeners mainly in exhibiting: (1) elongated subrectangular superior appendages in lateral view; (2) hardly acuminate, almost rounded apex of intermediate appendages; (3) differently shaped, irregular and higher inferior appendages; (4) narrow spinate area, roughly rectangular in dorsal view, slightly wider at the base and (5) different paramere shape and/or spine pattern. The new species also differs by its considerably smaller size and association with open, high altitude eucrenal zones. The uncorrected interspecific pairwise distance between P. coronavirus and other species of the P. winneguthi species group is on par with those amongst other recognised species in the group, as well as with the yet ambiguously identified taxa from the Sharr, Rila and Bajgorë Mountains. The new species is most probably a microendemic of Bjeshkët e Nemuna, thus highlighting further this area as an important hotspot of caddisfly biodiversity in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic pollution has become a global and persistent challenge, posing threats to ecosystems and organisms. In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in scientific research focused on understanding microplastics in the soil‒plant system. This surge is primarily driven by the direct impact of microplastics on agricultural productivity and their association with human activities. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to provide an overview of the current research on microplastics in soil‒plant systems. We systematically analysed 192 articles and observed a significant rise in research interests since 2017. Notably, China has emerged as a leading contributor in terms of published papers, closely followed by Germany and the Netherlands. Through co-authorship network analysis, we identified 634 different institutions that participated in publishing papers in this field, with the Chinese Academy of Sciences having the most collaborations. In the co-occurrence keyword network, we identified four clusters focusing on the diversity of microplastics within the agroecosystem, transportation, and quantification of microplastics in soil, analysis of plastic contamination type and impact, and investigation of microplastic phytotoxicity. Furthermore, we identified ten research priorities, categorized into the effects of microplastics in "soil" and "plant". The research hotspots were found to be the effect of microplastics on soil physicochemical properties and the synergistic phytotoxicity of microplastics with other pollutants. Overall, this bibliometric analysis holds significant value, serving as an important reference point and offering valuable suggestions for future researchers in this rapidly advancing field. [Display omitted] • Bibliometric analysis on the microplastic (MP) in the soil-plant system was conducted. • The research hotspots and progress of MPs in the soil-plant system were demonstrated. • A remarkable increase in research on MPs in the soil-plant system has been recorded since 2017. • Identified ten research priorities on microplastic in the soil-plant system. • Synergistic toxicity of MPs and other pollutants poses a greater risk to soil organisms and plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virgin forests are unique ecosystems, which can be used as etalon for basic monitoring investigation. The paper presents original results of research. The aim of this study was long term investigation of soil microbiome in primeval forest ecosystems of Carpathian Biosphere Reserve, namely the structure of microbial communities, the number of major ecological-functional groups and determining hot spots. The Hotspots mapping is realized through GIS (Geographical Information System) technology. It was found that the structure and functional activity of soil microbiome change with altitude. Rebuilding structure of soil microbiome was fixed at altitude 555m; 776m; 1040m. The soil at altitude of 1,040 meters above sea level was characterized by minimum content of ammonifiers. At the altitude of 555 meters content of ammonifiers increased at six times, which indicates accumulation of organic matter in the soil. Similar changes occurred with the number of bacteria which are using mineral forms of nitrogen for their nutrition. Their maximum quantity was in the soil of biotope disposed at altitude of 555 meters above sea level. After 10 years, fluctuations of soil microbiota at different altitudes were the same. Long term monitoring during 2008-2018 years allowed determining hot spots in structural successions of soil microbiome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Hydrogeology Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Analysis of spatiotemporal heterogeneity and evolutionary characteristics of agricultural land eco-efficiency is of great significance for achieving a rational use of natural resources and coordinated development of the agricultural economy as well as the ecological environment. In this study, we construct the "ecological space–agricultural production–carbon emission" framework, incorporate carbon emission intensity as an undesired output into the evaluation index system of agricultural land eco-efficiency, calculate the eco-efficiency of agricultural land in 128 cities in the Yangtze River basin from 2009 to 2018 by adopting the super-efficiency SBM model, and discuss the spatial and temporal changes using methodology such as hotspot analysis and kernel density estimation by ArcGIS. The results show the following. The overall trend of agricultural land eco-efficiency in the Yangtze River basin is increasing year by year and still has potential for improvement. However, there are significant discrepancies among cities, with the eco-efficiency of the downstream being much higher than that of the midstream and upstream regions, and demonstrating the pattern of "big dispersion–small agglomeration". Some cities are still facing pressure to improve the eco-efficiency of agricultural land. Correspondingly, this paper puts forward optimization recommendations: Firstly, the downstream cities should give full play to their geographical advantages, actively introduce advanced production technologies, and reasonably allocate agricultural resources. Secondly, the upstream and midstream regions should formulate reasonable regional strategies in accordance with their natural resource endowments to improve the ecological benefits of agricultural land and narrow the regional disparities. This paper gives targeted policy recommendations at the levels of paying attention to education of farmers, providing incentives for ecological planting, strengthening agricultural infrastructure construction, reasonably controlling the use of agricultural materials, and increasing investment in agricultural pollutant emission management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present communication deals with the carbon dynamics in the Himalaya hotspot region. The Himalaya, a mountain range shared by Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar, is one of the biologically richest regions in the world that play an important role as source and sink in global carbon cycle. The purpose of this paper was to review and provide available studies related to carbon sequestration in the Himalayas. The carbon in forest is stored in five different pools viz. above-ground biomass, below-ground biomass, litter, deadwood and soil organic carbon. Estimates of biomass, carbon stock and soil organic carbon contents by almost all forest types including agroforestry systems and plantations in the Himalaya hotspot have been documented in this communication. The net rate of carbon sequestrated by forest was reported to be 2.4 ±0.4 Pg C yr-1 on a global scale. The Indian Himalayan Region constitutes about 5.4 billion tonnes of C and sequesters about 65 million tonnes of C yr-1. We analysed more than 135 peer-reviewed journal articles related to biomass and carbon sequestration. The review identifies that the studies estimated 3697.05, 3898.10 and 4235.05 tonnes carbon per hectare for Western, Central and Eastern Himalayan region respectively. The research on the biomass/carbon estimation received attention as early as 1980s, but increased gradually after 2001. These findings would contribute to policy-makers with useful information for mitigation of CO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring vegetation change and their potential drivers are important to environmental management. Previous studies on vegetation change detection and driver discrimination were two independent fields. Specifically, change detection methods focus on nonlinear and linear change behaviors, i.e., abrupt change (AC) and gradual change (GC). But driver discrimination studies mainly used linear coupling models which rarely concerned the nonlinear behaviors of vegetation. The two diagnoses need be treated as sequential flow because they have inner causality mechanisms. Furthermore, ACs concealed in time series may induce over/under-estimate contributions from human. We chose the Yangtze River Basin of China (YRB) as a study area, first separated ACs from GCs using breaks for additive and seasonal trend method, then discriminated drivers of GCs using optimized Restrend method. Results showed that (1) 2.83% of YRB were ACs with hotspots in 1998 (30.2%), 2003 (10.4%), and 2002 (7.6%); 66.7% of YRB experienced GC with 94.8% of which were positive; and (2) climate induced more area but less dramatic GCs than human activities. Further analysis showed that temperature was the main climate driver to GCs, while human-induced GCs were related to local eco-policies. The widely occurring ACs in 1998 were related to the flooding catastrophe, while the dramatic ACs in sub-basin 12 in 2003 may result from urbanization. This paper provides clear insights on the vegetation changes and their drivers at a relatively long perspective (i.e., 34 years). Sequential combination of specifying different vegetation behaviors with driver analysis could improve driver characterizations, which is key to environmental assessment and management in YRB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the use of Hot-Spot analysis, typically reserved for local analysis of crime and law enforcement, I document the dispersal and clustering of migrant mortalities on a temporal scale in the Ajo valley of Southern Arizona in the U.S.–Mexico borderlands. The study maps the influence of border enforcement by time and documents the forming of a state of exception, by finding whether and where migrants had taken other more-remote routes in relation to the constructing of and policing by a Border Patrol checkpoint, The spatiotemporal nature of 'Hot' and 'Cold-Spots' plus an analysis of migrant mortality locations before and after the establishment of a checkpoint serves as a novel approach to spatial analysis in border studies. It creates a type of remote forensics for verifying the 'funnel effect' and the condition of Bare Life it produces where law has taken migrant's political power and left them with their biological existence (Agamben in Homo sacer: sovereign power and bare life. Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1998). I show a widening of the state and a receding of the migrant into a rugged and remote isolation. Until now, the defining of the borderlands as a State of Exception (Doty in Int Political Sociol 1(2):113–137, 2007) has been theoretical and qualitative. This paper doesn't retract from that but rather adds quantitative data and interpretation to theory, making it a needed clarification of biopolitics in a time of growing use of militarization at the U.S.–Mexico border and worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A distance metric of patterns is crucial to hotspot cluster analysis and classification. In this paper, we propose an improved tangent space (ITS)-based distance metric for hotspot cluster analysis and classification. The proposed distance metric is an important extension of the well-developed tangent space method in computer vision. It can handle patterns containing multiple polygons, while the traditional tangent space method can only deal with patterns with a single polygon. It inherits most of the advantages of the traditional tangent space method, e.g., it is easy to compute and is tolerant with small variations or shifts of the shapes. The ITS-based distance metric is a more reliable and accurate metric for hotspot cluster analysis and classification. We also propose a hierarchical density-based clustering method for hotspot clustering. It is more suitable for arbitrary shaped clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As microelectronic system density continues to increase, cooling with conventional technologies continues to become more challenging and is often a limiter of performance and efficiency. The challenge arises due to both large heat fluxes generated across entire chips and packages, and localized hotspots with even higher heat flux. In this paper, nonuniform micropin-fin heat sinks are investigated for the cooling of integrated circuits with nonuniform power maps. Four heterogeneous micropin-fin samples were fabricated and tested in single-phase experiments with deionized water to investigate the effectiveness of local micropin-fin clustering for the cooling of hotspots. Cylindrical and hydrofoil micropin-fins were tested, as well as two types of heterogeneous arrays: those with pin-fins clustered directly over the hotspot and those with the high density cluster spanning the entire width of the channel to prevent flow bypass around the cluster. Samples were tested with a uniform nominal heat flux of 250 W/cm2 as well as a hotspot heat flux of 500 W/cm2. Local micropin-fin clustering was found to be an effective method of reducing local thermal resistance with a modest pressure drop penalty. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Solid heat spreaders, particularly those made of copper or graphite, are often benchmark solutions for hotspot thermal management. In this paper, we present exact and approximate analytical solutions of steady-state hotspot cooling with a planar heat spreader, which is subjected to adiabatic conditions except for a hotspot centered at the top surface and a constant temperature at the bottom surface. The approximate solution bridges exact solutions at two limits of hotspot size: infinitesimal hotspot at the center and uniform heat flux across the spreader. The approximate solution accounts for variable hotspot size and anisotropic thermal conductivity in a compact form, which is useful for estimating thermal parameters such as conduction shape factor and effective thermal conductivity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

MOVES and AERMOD are the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended models for use in project-level transportation conformity and hot-spot analysis. However, the structure and algorithms involved in running MOVES make analyses cumbersome and time-consuming. Likewise, the modeling setup process, including extensive data requirements and required input formats, in AERMOD lead to a high potential for analysis error in dispersion modeling. This study presents a distributed computing method for line source dispersion modeling that integrates MOVES-Matrix, a high-performance emission modeling tool, with the microscale dispersion models CALINE4 and AERMOD. MOVES-Matrix was prepared by iteratively running MOVES across all possible iterations of vehicle source-type, fuel, operating conditions, and environmental parameters to create a huge multi-dimensional emission rate lookup matrix. AERMOD and CALINE4 are connected with MOVES-Matrix in a distributed computing cluster using a series of Python scripts. This streamlined system built on MOVES-Matrix generates exactly the same emission rates and concentration results as using MOVES with AERMOD and CALINE4, but the approach is more than 200 times faster than using the MOVES graphical user interface. Because AERMOD requires detailed meteorological input, which is difficult to obtain, this study also recommends using CALINE4 as a screening tool for identifying the potential area that may exceed air quality standards before using AERMOD (and identifying areas that are exceedingly unlikely to exceed air quality standards). CALINE4 worst case method yields consistently higher concentration results than AERMOD for all comparisons in this paper, as expected given the nature of the meteorological data employed. Implications: The paper demonstrates a distributed computing method for line source dispersion modeling that integrates MOVES-Matrix with the CALINE4 and AERMOD. This streamlined system generates exactly the same emission rates and concentration results as traditional way to use MOVES with AERMOD and CALINE4, which are regulatory models approved by the U.S. EPA for conformity analysis, but the approach is more than 200 times faster than implementing the MOVES model. We highlighted the potentially significant benefit of using CALINE4 as screening tool for identifying potential area that may exceeds air quality standards before using AERMOD, which requires much more meteorology input than CALINE4. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Cetacean strandings (CS) have been reported in increasing numbers in coastal areas worldwide. Although the causes of these strandings are unknown, a number of anthropogenic and environmental factors have been suggested. This paper aims to characterize CS patterns and describe their fine-scale spatiotemporal dynamics. We analysed spatial and spatiotemporal CS patterns in Chile from January 1968 to January 2020. We identified a total of 389 CS events affecting eight cetacean families, 21 genera, and 35 species, which represent more than 85% of the reported species richness for the country. Most CS events (94.1%) were single (i.e., ≤two individuals). There were also 18 mass stranding (three to 24 individuals, 4.1%) and nine unusually large mass stranding events (>25 individuals, 2%). Purely spatial tests showed CS events appearing in random occurrence along the Chilean coast. Local tests for spatio-temporal clusters, however, identified a greater number of hotspots reported in the southernmost part of the country, namely, Chilean Patagonia. Specifically, significant spatio-temporal clusters were identified and defined as containing three or more individuals within a two-month period as a focal coastal event (<1 km radius). It is a cause of concern that CS events in Chile have been increasing consistently over the last decades, and although we were not able to identify their causes, we are able to highlight the importance of changes in climate conditions and of an increase in monitoring activities as primary drivers for such patterns, particularly important in Chilean Patagonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The increasing human impact in Romanian caves raises the urgency of publishing a correct database of the strictly-adapted cave fauna. Previous attempts at indexing cave fauna and classifying caves by using their fauna opened many questions regarding the use of an incomplete list of cave species and mixed lists of troglobionts/stygobionts with troglophiles/stygophiles for ranking caves with priority for protection. It has also become obvious that there is a need to publish a list of Romanian cave species that are under threat. Cave species in Romania (and elsewhere) are endemic on small ranges, are unique and must be considered as important units for conservation. A cave must be equally protected if it has one or more rare and strictly endemic cave species. Although not exhaustive, we here provide the first checklist of Romanian troglobionts/stygobionts developed in the framework of the DARKFOOD and GROUNDWATERISK projects, coordinated by the "Emil Racovita" Institute of Speleology, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The GIS application was used to complement the checklist of cave species with data on caves and surface environments above the caves. Until complete data on species diversity and population sizes are made available for each cave, measures of conservation can be implemented, based on the presence/absence of cave species, while classifications of caves for protection, based on the number of species, must be avoided. We also propose a list of Romanian caves with fauna that are under threat and a tentative Red List of Romanian troglobiont/stygobionts. New information This is the first database with identified troglobiont and stygobiont species of Romania, with a critical analysis of their distribution inside the country. A list of caves that need protection for their rare and unique species and a tentative Red List of Romanian cave fauna are also added. A total of 173 species were identified, of which 77 troglobionts and 96 stygobionts are currently registered in 366 caves. The database is divided into two parts, one part with a list of troglobionts, their revised systematic position, cave name, cave code and geographic region; and the second part with the same information on stygobionts. The database represents the contribution of many active researchers, who are the authors of this paper and of review publications of many other authors of the "Emil Racovi?ă" Institute of Speleology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering is the property of Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Monografies de la Societat ďHistòria Natural de les Balears is the property of Societat d'Historia Natural de les Balears and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The main pond within the historic Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is an important component of urban blue-green infrastructure. This paper reports on flood resilience provided by the pond (simulated using the CityCAT hydrodynamic model), its water residence times (obtained using the Shetran hydrological model), and the ecology and biodiversity (vascular plants, bryophytes, aquatic invertebrates, phyto- and zooplankton, birds) of the pond and the adjacent area. The results show that the pond improves the flood resilience with at least a 27% reduction in the peak discharge during a 1 h, one in 100-year event. The area represents a biodiversity hot spot with a range of native taxa occurring among introduced plant species. The plankton community is dominated by diatoms, reflecting elevated levels of turbulence and a relatively short residence time, with an average value of 10 days. Analysis of macroinvertebrate community indicates a potential for water quality improvement. The results are discussed in relation to multiple societal benefits related to flood resilience, recreation, education, water quality, amenity and biodiversity value. The conclusions may prove particularly valuable for introducing practical measures in the water catchment, preventing waterlogging of the soil and ensuring an uninterrupted supply of public services. This article is part of the theme issue 'Urban flood resilience'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have already indicated more disintegrations and calving of ice margins and a significant negative ice balance at certain parts of Antarctica in recent times. Changes in extent of ice shelves as well as glacier fronts are indeed good signatures of climate change. This paper essentially discusses the changes in Antarctic ice margins between 1997 and 2016. Change-detection technique has been employed using the Radar Satellite (RADARSAT) mosaic of 1997 and the mosaic of Antarctic ice margins generated using MODerate resolution Imaging Satellite (MODIS) images of 2016, with the help of Earth Resources Development Assessment system (ERDAS) Imagine software. Hotspots, where significant changes occurred, have been identified. Most part of the Antarctic coast between 75° E and 45° W, covering all West Antarctica and about half of East Antarctica, has shown definite retreat during this period. Major retreats are observed over the both sides of Ross ice shelf, Ronne ice shelf, Thwaites glacier, and Mertz glacier. Major advancements are observed over Filchner ice shelf, Amery ice shelf, middle portion of Ross ice shelf, and Stancomwills glacier tongue. Over the East Antarctica, areas of advancement and retreat are nearly same. But, over the West Antarctica, the area of retreat is significantly higher than area of advancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Natural Resources / Ziran Ziyuan Xuebao is the property of Journal of Natural Resources and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Due to the unique optical properties and excellent biological applications, carbon-based luminescent materials have become a research hotspot in recent years. In this paper, we report a synthesis method under mild condition, in which Carbon NanoCrystals (CNCs) were first prepared, and then high-purity multi-color carbon dots (HPMCCDs) were synthesized by modulating crystal morphology. The prepared nonfluorescent CNCs are, respectively, dissolved in a strong polar solvent and a weak polar solvent to prepare HPMCCDs. It exhibits the multi-excitation and multi-emission features (from green to yellow). The high-purity carbon dots (HPCDs) prepared by using this method demonstrate the higher quantum yields (QYs) (53.7%) than that of the carbon dots (CD) by traditional hydrothermal methods with dialysis, and make full use of the atomic economic model. Besides, it shows the unique up-conversion luminescence property (UCLP) at lower wavelength excitation and, which can also be placed for a long time at room temperature without being oxidized or deteriorated. Furthermore, we explored the regulation of polar-chromism mechanism of the CNCs. Finally, the HPMCCDs can be used for multi-color bioimaging in vivo and in vitro and as well as many other potential applications. A synthesis method under the mild condition, in which carbon nanocrystals (Carbon Nano-Crystals, CNCs) were firstly prepared, and then high-purity multi-color carbon dots (HPMCCDs) were synthesized by modulating crystal morphology, was reported. The CNCs are respectively dissolved in a strong polar solvent and a weak polar solvent to obtain the HPMCCDs. The prepared HPMCCDs exhibit multi-excitation, multi-emission and unique up-conversion luminescence features. Furthermore, the regulation of polar-chromism mechanism of the CNCs was explored. Finally, the HPMCCDs can be used for multi-color bioimaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aloricate oligotrich ciliates are important components of marine microplankton. This paper summarizes the results of several biodiversity and faunal studies on this group in typical coastal habitats of southern China that were carried out from 2006 to 2016. The main findings are as follows: (1) a total of 39 species belonging to 17 genera, seven families and four orders of aloricate oligotrich (s. l.) ciliates were identified from coastal waters of Zhanjiang, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Huizhou, and Hong Kong; among these 16 species, four genera, one family and one order were new to science; (2) the order Oligotrichida represents the most abundant taxon with highest species richness and its members are widely distributed in all coastal habitats; the family Strombidiidae and the genus Strombidium comprise the highest proportion of all oligotrichs at family and genus levels, respectively; (3) based on the results of our taxonomic investigations, the biodiversity of oligotrichs in five typical habitats are compared; mangrove wetland possessing the highest species richness of oligotrich ciliates represents a biodiversity hotspot habitat in the southern coast of China; (4) morphologies of 10 poorly known species, namely Pelagohalteria cirrifera, Strombidium conicum, Spirostrombidium schizostomum, Parallelostrombidium paralatum, Omegastrombidium elegans, Varistrombidium kielum, Spirotontonia turbinata, Pelagostrobilidium simile, Strombidinopsis batos, and Strombidinopsis cheshiri are redescribed based on living and protargol-stained specimens, and some new characters are analysed. Improved diagnoses of Strombidium conicum and Strombidinopsis batos are supplied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has undergone massive economic development over the last several decades, but at the cost of serious environmental degradation, including to coastal and marine ecosystems.This paper describes the governance arrangements for management of coastal and marine areas of southern, mainland China and Hong Kong, especially marine protected areas (MPAs).Although not widely recognized internationally, there are 123 designated MPAs spread across the South China Sea coast. However, the effectiveness of these MPAs in conservation of ecosystem goods and services is seriously limited by a familiar range of pressures, including limited resources, insufficient enforcement and massive coastal development.Recent developments in national policy include integration of all protected areas (including marine) under a single agency, a range of limits on coastal development and water pollution, and the strategy of 'eco‐civilization' to balance environmental management with economic development. If successfully implemented, these policies would profoundly change the course of marine environments in China, with globally significant consequences.Recommendations for improving MPA performance in China include: ensuring that marine systems are not overwhelmed within the new national jurisdiction, and maintaining and enhancing marine capacity;increased resourcing, supported by comprehensive and systematic economic valuations of ecosystem goods and services and natural capital;upgraded enforcement of existing environmental laws and regulations, combined with further refinement and development, especially around cumulative impact management;a particular focus on major reduction in water pollution in all forms;integration of marine management between Hong Kong SAR and surrounding Guangdong Province; andenhanced community engagement, participation and education.Finally, much greater, collaborative engagement by the international community with Chinese marine management and conservation would bring major, and very mutual, benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The critical stage in the evaluation of rainfall-induced landslide failure is in formulating reasonable models to better simulate spatiotemporal changes of slopes in the hilly terrains. A physically based model can take into account the contribution of rainfall infiltration and shear strength of saturated soil layer, and therefore help revealing the landslide formation mechanisms. This paper presents a physically based approach to simulate the landslide process triggered by rainstorm. On the basis of previous solutions, we select the simplified infiltration model Slope-Infiltration-Distributed Equilibrium (SLIDE) to illustrate the dynamical relations between factor of safety (FS) and accumulation of rainfall over time. This model is tested with three representative landslide events in the southwest, southeast, and south central of China during rainstorm. Results show that the time of landslide failure predicted from the SLIDE model is consistent with the reality. Meanwhile, this paper illustrates the differences of FS among the different slope gradients in the vicinity of same soil texture and relationship between FS and rainfall accumulation. This work formulates a methodology of rainstorm-induced landslide evaluation and improves upon the existing landslide prediction methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the development and validation of spatial models for wildfire occurrence at a broad landscape scale. The hotspots databases from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and logistic regression models are investigated for the comprehensive understanding of environmental and socioeconomic determinants regulating the spatial distribution of wildfires over the 11-year period 2003–2013. The probability of occurrence of at least one fire on a 1 km2grid cell in a 1,030,000 km2region located in South-Eastern Australia is studied for the prediction of future fire occurrence. Our research shows that wildfires are most likely to occur in mountainous areas, forests, savannas and lands with high vegetation coverage, and are less likely to occur on grasslands and shrublands. Wildfires also tend to occur in areas near human infrastructures. Environmental variables are strong individual predictors of fire occurrence while socioeconomic variables contribute more to the final model. The influence of environmental and socioeconomic conditions on wildfire occurrence and the spatial patterns of wildfires identified in this study can assist fire managers in implementing appropriate management actions in South-Eastern Australia. This paper also demonstrates the potential of applying the MODIS active fire product in wildfire occurrence studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mediterranean region has been regarded as a critical hotspot for desertification due to the impact of soil degradation, the land-use changes and the climate variations. Few large-scale studies have been devoted to analyse trends in land sensitivity to desertification in the northern Mediterranean basin. The present paper contributes to this deserving issue by quantifying the level of land sensitivity to desertification in Italy at seven points between 1960 and 2010 at a fine spatial scale. The approach used followed the Environmentally Sensitive Area scheme that assesses changes in four key themes (climate, soil, vegetation and land management) related to land degradation processes. Italian land was classified into four levels of sensitivity to desertification (non-affected, potentially affected, fragile and critical) according to the Environmentally Sensitive Area framework. Interestingly, although land surface area classified as 'fragile' and 'critical' grew homogeneously in Italy between 1960 and 1990, the increase observed in the most recent time period was spatially clustered and contributed to reverse the polarisation in 'structurally vulnerable' and 'non-affected' regions observed in Italy. The paper discussed these trends in the light of socioeconomic changes that occurred in Italy after World War II. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The system proposed in this paper is designed to detect the location of each hot spot appeared inside a solid homogenous block, based on the thermal information received from its surface. The proposes system is composed of hardware part which includes the observed block, the sensorial system, the data acquisition system, and software part which includes the monitoring function and the algorithms which calculate the position of the hot spot located inside the solid block. The authors used the phenomenon of heat conduction from a hot spot towards the surface of the object containing it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microblogging as a kind of social network has become more and more important in our daily lives. Enormous amounts of information are produced and shared on a daily basis. Detecting hot topics in the mountains of information can help people get to the essential information more quickly. However, due to short and sparse features, a large number of meaningless tweets and other characteristics of microblogs, traditional topic detection methods are often ineffective in detecting hot topics. In this paper, we propose a new topic model named multi-attribute latent dirichlet allocation (MA-LDA), in which the time and hashtag attributes of microblogs are incorporated into LDA model. By introducing time attribute, MA-LDA model can decide whether a word should appear in hot topics or not. Meanwhile, compared with the traditional LDA model, applying hashtag attribute in MA-LDA model gives the core words an artificially high ranking in results meaning the expressiveness of outcomes can be improved. Empirical evaluations on real data sets demonstrate that our method is able to detect hot topics more accurately and efficiently compared with several baselines. Our method provides strong evidence of the importance of the temporal factor in extracting hot topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excess nutrient pollution contributes to the formation of harmful algal blooms (HABs) that compromise fisheries and recreation and that can directly endanger human and animal health via cyanotoxins. Efforts to quantify the occurrence, drivers, and severity of HABs across large areas is difficult due to the resource intensive nature of field monitoring of lake nutrient and chlorophyll‐a concentrations. To better characterize how nutrients interact with other environmental factors to produce algal blooms in freshwater systems, we used spatially explicit and temporally matched climate, landscape, in‐lake characteristic, and nutrient inventory data sets to predict nutrients and chlorophyll‐a across the conterminous US (CONUS). Using a nested modeling approach, three random forest (RF) models were trained to explain the spatiotemporal variation in total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and chlorophyll‐a concentrations across US EPA's National Lakes Assessment (n = 2,062). Concentrations of TN and TP were the most important predictors and, with other variables, the RF model accounted for 68% of variation in chlorophyll‐a. We then used these RF models to extrapolate lake TN and TP predictions to lakes without nutrient observations and predict chlorophyll‐a for ∼112,000 lakes across the CONUS. Risk for high chlorophyll‐a concentrations is highest in the agriculturally dominated Midwest, but other areas of risk emerge in nutrient pollution hot spots across the country. These catchment and lake‐specific results can help managers identify potential nutrient pollution and chlorophyll‐a hot spots that may fuel blooms, prioritize at‐risk lakes for additional monitoring, and optimize management to protect human health and other environmental end goals. Plain Language Summary: When lakes receive large amounts of nutrients from the surrounding landscape due to fertilizer runoff or other sources of nutrient pollution, they can develop algal blooms. Algal blooms are harmful to the lake ecosystem and sometimes produce toxins which are dangerous to humans and animals. To assess this issue, lake chlorophyll‐a, a measure of algal presence, is monitored. This monitoring is limited in reach due to the expense of in‐lake sampling and the limited resolution of satellite technology. However, there is a wealth of climate, nutrient, landscape, and in‐lake characteristic data for the conterminous US (CONUS) which explains much of what contributes to nutrient pollution and algal growth. Here, we use this data in a machine learning model to predict nutrient (total nitrogen and total phosphorus) and chlorophyll‐a concentrations in about 112,000 lakes in the CONUS. We found that high chlorophyll‐a concentrations are more likely in the Midwest where agriculture is prevalent, but other areas with high lake chlorophyll‐a concentrations are present across the CONUS in nutrient pollution hot spots. These predictions of lake nutrient and chlorophyll‐a concentrations can help managers identify areas of concern, prioritize at‐risk lakes for testing, and target management to protect human health and the environment. Key Points: Chlorophyll‐a and nutrient concentrations in ∼112,000 lakes were predicted using widely available national data sets and machine learningNutrients far outweigh other environmental predictors in driving chlorophyll‐a concentrations in lakesWith more information about likely chlorophyll‐a concentrations, managers can prioritize lakes at risk for harmful algal bloom production [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active hotspot volcanism is the surface expression of ongoing dynamic subsurface changes, such as the generation, transport, and stalling of magmas within the upper mantle and crust. Magmatic influx and migration affects local stress patterns in the crust and lithospheric mantle, which influences seismic anisotropy. A better understanding of those patterns helps improve robustness of models forecasting the likelihood of an eruption and prolonged seismicity, with detailed studies being required to observe the significant variations that can occur on small spatial and temporal scales. Here, we investigate seismic anisotropy before, during and after volcanic eruptions. We use local seismicity around El Hierro and La Palma, the two westernmost islands in the Canaries and sites of the most recent volcanic eruptions in the archipelago. We obtained 215 results in El Hierro during and after the 2011/2012 eruption with five three-component broadband seismic stations and 908 results around the 2021 eruption in La Palma with two three-component broadband stations. On La Palma, the majority of seismicity and splitting results are recorded during the eruption and simultaneous deflation of the island. Seismicity locations do not change significantly and fast shear wave polarisation direction is mostly constant, but some variation can be attributed to changes in the magmatic plumbing system. On El Hierro, the general radial pattern reflects stresses induced by the overall uplift of the island during multiple magma intrusion events. Temporal subsets reveal significant variations in location and depth of the events, as well as significant variations in fast polarisation direction caused by ongoing dynamic changes of under- and overpressurisation. An increase of results starting in 2018 hints towards renewed subsurface activity within deeper parts of the plumbing system, affecting the rate of overall seismicity but not any vertical movement of the island. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil carbon monoxide (CO) fluxes represent a net balance between biological soil CO uptake and abiotic soil and (senescent) plant CO production. Studies largely from temperate and boreal forests indicate that soils serve as a net sink for CO , but uncertainty remains about the role of tropical rainforest soils to date. Here we report the first direct measurements of soil CO fluxes in a tropical rainforest and compare them with estimates of net ecosystem CO fluxes derived from accumulation of CO at night under stable atmospheric conditions. Furthermore, we used laboratory experiments to demonstrate the importance of temperature on net soil CO fluxes. Net soil surface CO fluxes ranged from -0.19 to 3.36 nmol m -2 s -1 , averaging ∼1 nmol CO m -2 s -1. Fluxes varied with season and topographic location, with the highest fluxes measured in the dry season in a seasonally inundated valley. Ecosystem CO fluxes estimated from nocturnal canopy air profiles, which showed CO mixing ratios that consistently decreased with height, ranged between 0.3 and 2.0 nmol CO m -2 s -1. A canopy layer budget method, using the nocturnal increase in CO , estimated similar flux magnitudes (1.1 to 2.3 nmol CO m -2 s -1). In the wet season, a greater valley ecosystem CO production was observed in comparison to measured soil valley CO fluxes, suggesting a contribution of the valley stream to overall CO emissions. Laboratory incubations demonstrated a clear increase in CO production with temperature that was also observed in field fluxes, though high correlations between soil temperature and moisture limit our ability to interpret the field relationship. At a common temperature (25 °C), expected plateau and valley senescent-leaf CO production was small (0.012 and 0.002 nmol CO m -2 s -1) in comparison to expected soil material CO emissions (∼ 0.9 nmol CO m -2 s -1). Based on our field and laboratory observations, we expect that tropical rainforest ecosystems are a net source of CO , with thermal-degradation-induced soil emissions likely being the main contributor to ecosystem CO emissions. Extrapolating our first observation-based tropical rainforest soil emission estimate of ∼ 1 nmol m -2 s -1 , global tropical rainforest soil emissions of ∼ 16.0 Tg CO yr -1 are estimated. Nevertheless, total ecosystem CO emissions might be higher, since valley streams and inundated areas might represent local CO emission hot spots. To further improve tropical forest ecosystem CO emission estimates, more in situ tropical forest soil and ecosystem CO flux measurements are essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Veterinarska Stanica is the property of Croatian Veterinary Institute and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Human pressures on river systems pose a major threat to the sustainable development of human societies in the twenty-first century. Previous studies showed that a large part of global river systems was already exposed to relevant anthropogenic pressures at the beginning of this century. A relevant question that has never been explained in the literature so far is whether these pressures are increasing in time, therefore representing a potential future challenge to the sustainability of river systems. This paper proposes an index we call "Differential Human Pressure on Rivers" (DHPR) to quantify the annual evolution of human pressure on river systems. DHPR identifies a per-year percentage increment (or decrement) of normalized human pressures on river systems (i.e., ratio of annual values to long-term average). This index, based on annual nightlights and stationary discharge data, is estimated for 2195 major river basins over a period of 22 years, from 1992 to 2013. The results show that normalized annual human pressure on river systems increased globally, as indicated by an average DHPR value of 1.9 % per year, whereby the greatest increase occurred in the northern tropical and equatorial areas. The evaluation of DHPR over this 22-year period allows the identification of hot-spot areas, therefore offering guidance on where the development and implementation of mitigation strategies and plans are most needed (i.e., where human pressure is strongly increasing). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]