Case study of dust event sources from the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts: An investigation of the horizontal evolution and topographical effect using numerical modeling and remote sensing

A severe dust event occurred from April 23 to April 27, 2014, in East Asia. A state-of-the-art online atmospheric chemistry model, WRF/Chem, was combined with a dust model, GOCART, to better understand the entire process of this event. The natural color images and aerosol optical depth (AOD) over the dust source region are derived from datasets of moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) loaded on a NASA Aqua satellite to trace the dust variation and to verify the model results. Several meteorological conditions, such as pressure, temperature, wind vectors and relative humidity, are used to analyze meteorological dynamic. The results suggest that the dust emission occurred only on April 23 and 24, although this event lasted for 5 days. The Gobi Desert was the main source for this event, and the Taklamakan Desert played no important role. This study also suggested that the landform of the source region could remarkably interfere with a dust event. The Tarim Basin has a topographical effect as a “dust reservoir” and can store unsettled dust, which can be released again as a second source, making a dust event longer and heavier.     

Vulnerability and resilience to climate change in Sorsogon City,the Philippines: learning from an ordinary city?

Sorsogon City is a rapidly urbanising coastal area in the Philippines. Its location, combined with a rapidly changing and growing urban fabric, leaves it vulnerable to both incremental climate change and associated extreme weather events. In this paper, UN-HABITAT data are used to draw out the climate change vulnerabilities and policy responses in Sorsogon City. Vulnerability “hotspots” highlight the spatial intersection of socio-economic justice concerns, particularly in terms of vulnerability to increased cyclone activity. We discuss vulnerabilities of Sorsogon City and its citizens to climate change and measures undertaken through various social, environmental and technical systems and interventions to increase resilience. The paper also attempts to unpick the relationship between the neat, concise reported city and the complexities of urban life using the Sorsogon experiment to consider the limitations of such approaches to governing climate change. We group these under four headings: social simplification in the absence of data; over-governance (and under-representation); quick wins versus strategic investment; and stretching the ecological and vulnerability footprints of the city. The experience of Sorsogon City is then extended to reflect on issues of governance and planning in other Asian coastal cities.     

2010年春季东亚地区沙尘气溶胶和PM10的模拟研究

利用区域空气质量模式系统RAQMS,模拟研究了2010年3月东亚地区PM10气溶胶的时空演变,研究了19~23日沙尘暴暴发的过程,并将模拟结果与中国16个城市的PM10地面观测数据进行了比较.结果显示,模式对于PM10和沙尘具有好的模拟能力,可以合理地反映东亚地区PM10的时空分布和沙尘暴的演变过程;观测值和模拟值的总体相关系数达到0.705,两者平均值分别为124.8,165.5mg/m3.2010年3月份东亚地区PM10平均浓度处在较高水平,沙尘气溶胶是PM10的主要组分.3月东亚地区沙尘排放量约110.4Mt,其中68%重新沉降到地表.     

Plant indicator status and implications for natural disaster management in both developed communities and indigenous communities

Only a few rigorous studies have attempted to focus on the topic of plant indicators in relation to natural disasters, although recently an increasing number of people have realized its significance. In an effort to aid disaster management, this article studied and aimed to improve the status of plant indicators in predicting or signaling natural disasters. Using a qualitative content analysis, the plant indicators’ uncertain status and certain status are systematically compared using specific plants, developed community efforts, indigenous community traditions, and characteristics of natural disaster management. A key tenet is that all stakeholders must change plant indicators’ uncertain status to certain status by comprehensively elaborating on the integration between developed communities and indigenous communities, plant indicators as a research agenda, the inclusion of plant indicators in disaster management policy and local plans, and education and training.     

Twenty five years of industrial development: a study of resource use rates and macro-efficiency indicators for five Asian countries

Economic and population growth in Asia over the last three decades has been unprecedented. While conventional economic indicators have been increasing consistently, indicators of resource and environmental quality have been deteriorating, raising questions about the implications of future growth. Economic growth in the future is considered to be contingent on ensuring a more efficient use of natural resources, while simultaneously striving to reduce environmental impacts. We examine time trends of three efficiency indicators; agricultural efficiency, energy efficiency of economic production and carbon efficiency of energy use, for the five most populous countries in Asia in order to assess whether industrial development has lead to increased resource use efficiency and an associated reduction in total resource use and environmental impacts. Our results indicate that agricultural efficiency has decreased in all five countries. Results are mixed for energy and carbon efficiencies. Where increases in energy and carbon efficiency have occurred, they have been completely overwhelmed by absolute increases in energy use and carbon emissions caused by increases in the scale of economic activity. Based on this analysis, we study the potential for further improvements and policy implications for future food supply, energy consumption and carbon emissions in the region.     

Soil organic carbon storage in a mountain permafrost area of Central Asia (High Altai,Russia)

The thawing and subsequent decomposition of large stocks of soil organic carbon (SOC) currently stored in the northern circumpolar permafrost region are projected to result in a ‘positive’ feedback on global warming. The magnitude of this feedback can only be assessed with improved knowledge about the total size and geographic distribution of the permafrost SOC pool. This study investigates SOC storage in an under-sampled mountain permafrost area in the Russian High Altai. SOC stocks from 39 soil pits are upscaled using a GIS-based land cover classification. We found that the top 100 cm of soils in Aktru Valley and the adjacent Kuray Basin only holds on average 2.6 ± 0.6 kg C m⁻² (95% confidence interval), of which only c. 1% is stored in permafrost. Global warming will result in an upward shift of alpine life zones, with new plant cover and soil development at higher elevations. As a result, this type of mountain permafrost area might act as a net C sink in the future, representing a ‘negative’ feedback on global warming.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01433-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

东南亚地区环境特征分析及产品环境适应性对策研究

目的 掌握东南亚地区环境特征,提出产品环境适应性工作对策。方法 采用主成分分析法开展东南亚地区环境精细化分类,依据分类结果,开展环境特征分析和规律研究,并在产品环境适应性问题原因分析的基础上,提出东南亚地区使用产品环境适应性工作对策。结果 东南亚地区具有年温度较高、相对湿度高、雨量充沛、太阳辐射较强等特征,但不同类别之间具有一定的差异性,D1、D2类环境呈现一定的季节性特征,D3、D4类全年环境较为稳定,温度、平均湿度、太阳辐射和降雨量均稳定地保持在较高量值范围内,温度常年保持在20～30℃,平均相对湿度在70%以上。结论 东南亚地区环境整体较为严酷,在产品环境适应性论证、设计和使用维护等阶段应采取针对性措施,以保证东南亚地区使用产品的环境适应性。     

树轮氢同位素气候学:现状与方向

树木年轮硝化纤维素的氢同位素组成被广泛地用于重建过去气候变化。文章介绍了树轮氢同位素气候学在技术、理论以及应用于重建气候变化等方面的进展以及存在的问题,着重阐述了用树木年轮硝化纤维素氢同位素组成来研究东亚季风的进展和今后需要解决的问题。     

Optimal Management of a Multispecies Shorebird Flyway under Sea‐Level Rise

Every year, millions of migratory shorebirds fly through the East Asian–Australasian Flyway between their arctic breeding grounds and Australasia. This flyway includes numerous coastal wetlands in Asia and the Pacific that are used as stopover sites where birds rest and feed. Loss of a few important stopover sites through sea‐level rise (SLR) could cause sudden population declines. We formulated and solved mathematically the problem of how to identify the most important stopover sites to minimize losses of bird populations across flyways by conserving land that facilitates upshore shifts of tidal flats in response to SLR. To guide conservation investment that minimizes losses of migratory bird populations during migration, we developed a spatially explicit flyway model coupled with a maximum flow algorithm. Migratory routes of 10 shorebird taxa were modeled in a graph theoretic framework by representing clusters of important wetlands as nodes and the number of birds flying between 2 nodes as edges. We also evaluated several resource allocation algorithms that required only partial information on flyway connectivity (node strategy, based on the impacts of SLR at nodes; habitat strategy, based on habitat change at sites; population strategy, based on population change at sites; and random investment). The resource allocation algorithms based on flyway information performed on average 15% better than simpler allocations based on patterns of habitat loss or local bird counts. The Yellow Sea region stood out as the most important priority for effective conservation of migratory shorebirds, but investment in this area alone will not ensure the persistence of species across the flyway. The spatial distribution of conservation investments differed enormously according to the severity of SLR and whether information about flyway connectivity was used to guide the prioritizations. With the rapid ongoing loss of coastal wetlands globally, our method provides insight into efficient conservation planning for migratory species. Gestión Óptima de una Ruta Migratoria de Múltiples Especies de Aves Costeras Sometida a Incremento del Nivel del Mar