Impact of regulation on English and Welsh water-only companies: an input-distance function approach

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The assessment of productivity change over time and its drivers is of great significance for water companies and regulators when setting urban water...     

Report on the fifth meeting of INRA’s national network of ecotoxicologists,ECOTOX

The fifth meeting of INRA’s national network of ecotoxicologists took place on 25 to 27 November 2014 in Biarritz, France. The main aim of the meeting was to bring together ecotoxicologists from INRA and associated partners, providing them ample opportunity to share and discuss their latest scientific results as well as the national policy of research in ecotoxicology and to precise perspectives for the network.     

“十三五”期间中国生态环境质量变化特征

以国家生态环境监测网监测结果为基础,总结归纳了"十三五"时期中国生态环境质量变化特征和主要环境问题。结果表明:"十三五"期间,全国生态环境质量全面好转,2020年环境空气优良天数比例比"十二五"末期上升5.8个百分点;地表水总体水质由轻度污染转为良好,Ⅰ～Ⅲ类水质断面比例上升17.4个百分点,劣V类断面比例下降9.0个百分点;酸雨污染程度减轻,海洋等环境要素质量稳中向好。但与此同时,后续改善难度加大,全国仍有40%地级及以上城市空气质量超标,4.8%的国土面积发生酸雨,辽河和海河流域仍是轻度污染,部分河流污染较重,地下水以IV类水质为主,农村饮用水源地和地表水水质均受到不同程度污染,近三分之一国土面积县域生态质量为较差和差。总体来看,当前生态环境质量与人民对美好生态环境的需求和美丽中国目标的实现还有较大差距。逐年上升的能源消费总量和不断增长的汽车保有量,增加了生态环境质量继续改善的压力。     

Bedload transport and bedforms migration under sand supply limitation

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - Most studies on sediment transport and bedforms migration consider unlimited sediment supply conditions. However, areas where the sediment supply is limited are...     

Comparison between UVA- and zero-valent iron-activated persulfate processes for degrading propylparaben

Conventional wastewater treatments are not efficient in removing parabens, which may thus end up in surface waters, posing a threat to aquatic biota and hu     

Alternative management structures for municipal waste collection services: The influence of economic and political factors

Identifying and characterising the factors that determine why a local authority opts for a particular way of managing its waste collection service is an important issue, warranting research interest in the field of municipal solid waste (MSW) management. This paper presents empirical evidence spanning a broad time horizon (2002–2010) showing that economic and political factors impact in different ways on the provision of waste management services. We examine five alternatives in this area, including public and private service delivery formulas and, within each field, individual and joint options. Our findings highlight the importance of the service cost and that of the various indicators of fiscal stress as determinant factors of management decisions regarding the provision of MSW management services.     

Effects of payments for ecosystem services on wildlife habitat recovery

Conflicts between local people's livelihoods and conservation have led to many unsuccessful conservation efforts and have stimulated debates on policies that might simultaneously promote sustainable management of protected areas and improve the living conditions of local people. Many government‐sponsored payments‐for‐ecosystem‐services (PES) schemes have been implemented around the world. However, few empirical assessments of their effectiveness have been conducted, and even fewer assessments have directly measured their effects on ecosystem services. We conducted an empirical and spatially explicit assessment of the conservation effectiveness of one of the world's largest PES programs through the use of a long‐term empirical data set, a satellite‐based habitat model, and spatial autoregressive analyses on direct measures of change in an ecosystem service (i.e., the provision of wildlife species habitat). Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) habitat improved in Wolong Nature Reserve of China after the implementation of the Natural Forest Conservation Program. The improvement was more pronounced in areas monitored by local residents than those monitored by the local government, but only when a higher payment was provided. Our results suggest that the effectiveness of a PES program depends on who receives the payment and on whether the payment provides sufficient incentives. As engagement of local residents has not been incorporated in many conservation strategies elsewhere in China or around the world, our results also suggest that using an incentive‐based strategy as a complement to command‐and‐control, community‐ and norm‐based strategies may help achieve greater conservation effectiveness and provide a potential solution for the park versus people conflict.     

湿法串联氧化脱硝机理研究

采用鼓泡法测试一定质量分数的H_2O_2和NaClO_2溶液在不同的温度和质量分数条件下氧化吸收剂对脱硝效率的影响,得出各自最优脱硝条件,最后与一定质量分数的KMnO_4溶液两两串联得出最优脱硝条件。结果表明:(1)NaClO_2的脱硝效率高于H_2O_2的脱硝效率。(2)在一定质量分数范围内,H_2O_2和NaClO_2的脱硝效率随质量分数的增加而增加,但超过临界质量分数后,脱硝效率降低。(3)NaClO_2与KMnO_4溶液串联,得到的脱硝效率最高。     

南京北郊秋冬季相对湿度及气溶胶理化特性对大气能见度的影响

为了解南京北郊秋冬季相对湿度与气溶胶理化特性对大气能见度的影响,利用2012年秋冬季气象要素资料、颗粒物浓度及其主要成分和气溶胶粒子谱分布等观测数据,分析了南京北郊大气能见度与气象要素、颗粒物污染之间的关系.结果表明,南京北郊秋冬季节平均大气能见度仅为4.76 km.颗粒物浓度与能见度存在一定的负相关关系,尤其细粒子对能见度的影响更为显著.随细粒子质量浓度和相对湿度(RH)的增大,低能见度出现的频率呈现上升趋势.能见度从5~10 km衰减到5km时,PM10和PM2.1质量浓度分别增加了7.56%和37.64%;其中SO2-4和NO-3质量浓度均有显著增加.气溶胶粒子数浓度对能见度的影响与相对湿度有关,粒径0.5~2μm的气溶胶数浓度随RH增加增长缓慢,而2~10μm范围内的粒子数浓度随RH增加而减小;结合气溶胶表面积浓度与能见度进行相关性分析,表明0.5~2μm的细粒子及相对湿度是导致南京北郊秋冬季大气能见度下降的主要因素.