Application of SMR to Modeling Watersheds in the Catskill Mountains

Very few hydrological models commonly used in watershed management are appropriate for simulating the saturation excess runoff. The Soil Moisture Routing model (SMR) was developed specifically to predict saturation excess runoff from variable source areas, especially for areas where shallow interflow controls saturation. A recent version of SMR was applied to two rural catchments in the Catskill Mountains to evaluate its ability to simulate the hydrology of these systems. Only readily available meteorological, topographical, and landuse information from published literature and governmental agencies was used. Measured and predicted streamflows showed relatively good agreement; the average Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency for the two watersheds were R ²=72% and R ²=63%. Distributed soil moisture contents and the locations of hydrologically sensitive areas were also predicted well.     

Efficient and recyclable palladium enriched magnetic nanocatalyst for reduction of toxic environmental pollutants

In this paper, highly stable, powerful, and recyclable magnetic nanoparticles tethered N-heterocyclic carbene-palladium(II) ((CH₃)₃[email protected]₃O₄) as magnetic nanocatalyst was successfully synthesized from a simplistic multistep synthesis under aerobic conditions through easily available low-cost chemicals. Newly synthesized (CH₃)₃[email protected]₃O₄ magnetic nanocatalyst was characterized from various analytical tools and catalytic potential of the (CH₃)₃[email protected]₃O₄ magnetic nanocatalyst was studied for the catalytic reduction of toxic 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)), Methylene Blue (MB) and Methyl Orange (MO) at room temperature in aqueous media. UV-Visible spectroscopy was employed to monitor the reduction reactions. New (CH₃)₃[email protected]₃O₄ magnetic nanocatalyst exhibited excellent catalytic activity for the reduction of toxic environmental pollutants. Moreover, (CH₃)₃[email protected]₃O₄ magnetic nanocatalyst could be easily and rapidly separated from the reaction mixture with the help of an external magnet and recycled minimum five times in reduction of 4-NP, MB, MO and four times in Cr(VI) without significant loss of catalytic potential and remains stable even after reuse.     

A cointegration and causality analysis of copper consumption and economic growth in rich countries

The paper examines the copper consumption-economic growth nexus for 16 rich economies from the period 1966 to 2010. Various generations of panel unit root and cointegration tests are applied. Both series are found to be integrated of order one. Evidence of cointegration is found especially when controlling for breaks and long-run cross-sectional dependence. Causality is investigated using a vector error-correction mechanism (VECM) framework. At individual level, unidirectional causality running from economic growth to copper consumption is unraveled for Finland, France and UK in the long-run. Unidirectional causality is also found running from copper consumption to economic growth for Spain. Long-run bi-directionality between economic growth and copper consumption is found for Belgium, Greece, Italy, Japan and South Korea. The neutrality hypothesis holds for Australia, Austria, Canada, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and USA in the long-run. Taken as a whole, panel causality test reveals a long-run unidirectional causality running from economic growth to copper consumption.     

Biocapacity convergence clubs in Latin America: an analysis of their determining factors using quantile regressions

Latin America experiences an increasing urban primacy index and a rapid expansion of the financial system, putting direct pressure on the demand for resources to satisfy the consumption of large cities. We investigate the convergence of per capita biocapacity in 16 Latin America countries and evaluate the factors that influence its evolution over time. Specifically, we analyze the impact of the urban primacy index, economic progress, and the financial globalization index on the convergence of per capita biocapacity. We use the methodological framework developed by Phillips and Sul Econometrica 75:1771-1855, (2007) to analyze the convergence and the formation of convergence clubs of biocapacity during 1970–2017. The findings indicate that the countries of the region do not share a common trend of biocapacity, although they are grouped into five converging clubs. Biocapacity transition analysis reveals that countries have heterogeneous transition pathways between them. Using marginal effects, we find that the urban primacy index and economic progress reduce the biocapacity. The effect of the financial globalization index on biocapacity is not conclusive. The quantile regressions reveal that quantiles’ impact of the urban primacy index and financial globalization on per capita biocapacity is heterogeneous. However, the effect of economic progress on biocapacity that predominates among quantiles is positive. The adoption of common policies among the countries that form the converging clubs could improve the effectiveness of pro-environmental policies and promote the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals related to environmental quality.