Environmental quality control and environmental games

Conclusion  In this paper we have considered a specific environmental game emphasizing both control-prevention efforts and the propensity to pollute by a firm which adopts a given pollution abatement technology. A random payoff game was constructed and solved under a risk neutral assumption and quadratic utilities for both the firm and the environmental controller. The game thus defined, provides a wide range of interpretations and potential approaches for selecting a control-inspection policies to prevent environmental risks. There are of course many facets to this problem, which could be considered and have not been considered in sufficient depth. For example, more complex control mechanisms and liabilities, the effects of insurance and risk sharing, the application of cooperative efforts and subvention of pollution abatement investments (through tax incentives and their like), etc. have not been considered [5,7]. These are topics for further research. The basic presumption of this paper is that it is very difficult to fully enforce pollution prevention by firms, as a result, some controls are needed to ensure that firms be controlled so that appropriate efforts are carried.     

Integrating disciplinary research into an interdisciplinary framework: A case study in sustainability research

The complexity of today’s research problems increasingly demands that scientists move beyond the confines of their own discipline. In this special issue, the basics of a transdisciplinary framework are established and problems analyzed in a specific discipline are successfully integrated in this transdisciplinary network. The intent has been to go beyond only statements about the importance of enabling early stage researchers to work across disciplinary boundaries, and to show that important discoveries are being made at the intersection of disciplines. Embedding various research projects in a more global framework can meet the demands of an interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary approach (especially for early stage researchers) and contribute significantly to sustainable research.     

A study on the orbit of air temperature movement

In this paper, we describe an air temperature movement by mapping its time series to the polar coordinates: the value of the time series is plotted on the radial coordinate and the time on the angular coordinate. In this way, both the yearly and daily air temperature movements from five different locations of China are used to demonstrate that, in an intuitionistic view, air temperature movement is neither random nor chaotic, but has its own orbit. We then propose an elliptic orbit model for the air temperature movement. Our proposed model provides quite good results when it is applied to the evaluation of yearly air temperature movements in eight locations in various parts of the world, and the evaluation of daily air temperature movements in five locations in Hunan Province of China on December 17, 2005. Results show that our approach provides a concise and helpful model for air temperature analysis.     

Assessing land use impacts on flood processes in complex terrain by using GIS and modeling approach

A distributed hydrologic modeling and GIS approach is applied for the assessment of land use impact in the Steinsel sub-basin, Alzette, Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. The assessment focuses on the runoff contributions from different land use classes and the potential impact of land use changes on runoff generation. The results show that the direct runoff from urban areas is dominant for a flood event compared with runoff from other land use areas in this catchment, and tends to increase for small floods and for the dry season floods, whereas the interflow from forested, pasture and agricultural field areas contributes to the recession flow. Significant variations in flood volume, peak discharge, time to the peak, etc., are found from the model simulation based on the three hypothetical land use change scenarios.     

Application of a checklist for quality assistance in environmental modelling to an energy model

Large, complex energy models present considerable challenges to develop and test. Uncertainty assessments of such models provide only partial guidance on the quality of the results. We have developed a model quality assistance checklist to aid in this purpose. The model checklist provides diagnostic output in the form of a set of pitfalls for the model application. The checklist is applied here to an energy model for the problem of assessing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Use of the checklist suggests that results on this issue are contingent on a number of assumptions that are highly value-laden. When these assumptions are held fixed, the model is deemed capable of producing moderately robust results of relevance to climate policy over the longer term. Checklist responses also indicate that a number of details critical to policy choices or outcomes on this issue are not captured in the model, and model results should therefore be supplemented with alternative analyses.     

A Simulation of Temporal and Spatial Variations in Carbon at Landscape Level: A Case Study for Lake Abitibi Model Forest in Ontario,Canada

Using a case study of the Lake Abitibi Model Forest (LAMF), this study aims to assess the temporal and spatial variability in carbon storage during 1990–2000, and to present a comprehensive estimation of the carbon budget for LAMF's ecosystems. As well, it provided the information needed by local forest managers to develop ecological and carbon-based indicators and monitor the sustainability of forest ecosystems. Temporal and spatial carbon dynamics were simulated at the landscape level using ecosystem model TRIPLEX1.0 and Geographical Information System (GIS). The simulated net primary productivity (NPP) and carbon storage in forest biomass and soil were compared with field data and results from other studies for Canada's boreal forests. The results show that simulated NPP ranged from 3.26 to 3.34 tC ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ in the 1990s and was consistent with the range measured during the Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Studies (BOREAS) in central Canada. Modeled NPP was also compared with the estimation from remote sensing data. The density of total above-and belowground biomass was 125.3, 111.8, and 106.5 tC ha⁻¹ for black spruce, trembling aspen, and jack pine in the LAMF ecosystem, respectively. The total carbon density of forested land was estimated at 154.4 tC ha⁻¹ with the proportion of 4:6 for total biomass and soil. The analysis of net carbon balance of ecosystem suggested that the LAMF forest ecosystem was acting as a carbon sink with an allowable harvest in the 1990s.     

Cells of the connective tissue differentiate and migrate into pollen sacs

In angiosperms, archesporial cells in the anther primordium undergo meiosis to form haploid pollen, the sole occupants of anther sacs. Anther sacs are held together by a matrix of parenchyma cells, the connective tissue. Cells of the connective tissue are not known to differentiate. We report the differentiation of parenchyma cells in the connective tissue of two Gordonia species into pollen-like structures (described as pseudopollen), which migrate into the anther sacs before dehiscence. Pollen and pseudopollen were distinguishable by morphology and staining. Pollen were tricolpate to spherical while pseudopollen were less rigid and transparent with a ribbed surface. Both types were different in size, shape, staining and surface architecture. The ratio of the number of pseudopollen to pollen was 1:3. During ontogeny in the connective tissue, neither cell division nor tetrad formation was observed and hence pseudopollen were presumed to be diploid. Only normal pollen germinated on a germination medium. Fixed preparations in time seemed to indicate that pseudopollen migrate from the connective tissue into the anther sac.     

京津风沙源区防风固沙功能的时空变化及其区域差异

防风固沙功能是京津风沙源治理成效的关键监测指标。以往研究注重局地防风固沙功能的评估,对全区防风固沙功能的时空变化与内部差异揭示不足。基于京津风沙源区多期遥感数据,采用修正风蚀方程与GIS空间统计技术,评估分析了2000-2015年防风固沙功能的整体变化及其区域差异。结果表明:(1)京津风沙源区年均防风固沙量为28.98亿t,防风固沙能力为68.24 t/hm~2,且均随年份变化波动增加,年均增速分别为1.10%和0.71%;(2)京津风沙源区防风固沙能力呈西北高、东南低趋势,有49.06%的区域防风固沙能力高于70 t/hm~2,评估期内有54%的区域防风固沙能力明显提高;(3)浑善达克沙地亚区、典型草原亚区和荒漠草原亚区的防风固沙量累计为全区防风固沙总量的88%,燕山丘陵山地水源保护亚区和晋北山地丘陵亚区的防风固沙能力提升最显著;(4)锡林郭勒盟、赤峰市和乌兰察布市的防风固沙量合计占全区防风固沙量的77%,朔州市与包头市防风固沙能力较高,北京市与天津市防风固沙能力增速较高。因此,未来应重视分区施策治理与西部和北部防风固沙功能提升。     

Effectiveness evaluation of water-sprinkling in controlling urban fugitive road dust based on TRAKER method: A case study in Baoding, China

Fugitive road dust (FRD) contributes a great deal to urban rainwater and air pollution and is commonly controlled by water-sprinkling in most Chinese cities. However, there is a lack of information on its effectiveness. We used the Testing Re-entrained Aerosol Kinetic Emissions from Roads (TRAKER) method to monitor different types of roads in Baoding city before and within 1 hr after water-sprinkling and obtained the road dirtiness index (a) and PM concentration in the road environment ($T_{\mathrm{T}}^{*}$), to evaluate the removal efficiency for PM deposited on the road surface (${\eta }_a$) and the reduction efficiency for the PM concentration in the road environment (${\eta }_{\text{PM}}$). The results give that the ${\eta }_a$ for three types of roads is ranked: branch road (87%-–100%) > major arterial road (80%-83%) > minor arterial road (68%-77%), and the ${\eta }_{\text{PM}}$ ranked: minor arterial road (70%) > branch road (46%-58%) > major arterial road (37%-53%). The ${\eta }_a$ and ${\eta }_{\text{PM}}$ varied non-linearly with time and presented a quadratic curve. The average effective control time (${\eta }_{\mathit{a}}$> 0) was 62 min on the major and minor arterial roads, and much longer than 1 hr on branch roads. The ${\eta }_{\text{PM}}$ values diminished completely by 72 min on average from the end of sprinkling for the three types of roads. Water-sprinkling can remove PM₁₀ particles from the road surface and reduce their concentration in the road environment more thoroughly than PM_2.5. Our findings could be helpful for controlling urban FRD emissions more efficiently and precisely.