Challenges of Urban and Regional Carbon Management and the Scientific Response

How urbanization unfolds in the text few decades and which urban development path we choose are potentially critical to the efforts aimed at stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions. However, our understanding of urban, as a unit or system, and its cross-scale linkages in the context of carbon management is at infancy state. In this context, this article outlines, the key challenges and introduces a new scientific initiative - Urban and Regional Carbon Management Initiative of the Global Carbon Project, which has raised key scientific questions with the aim to find reasonable answers. This article mainly showcases key science questions, past activities and future outlook with the aim to reach out to the related scientific and policy communities.     

Remediation of PCB-contaminated sediments: Volatility and solubility considerations

Through volatilization and long distance atmospheric transport, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been redistributed throughout the global environment. Over the last 70 years, these compounds have permeated every known environmental niche including the remote polar regions of the globe. In this article, the solubility and volatility of the PCB congeners are reviewed relative to the remedial technologies that are currently in use or under consideration. The following discussion focuses primarily on the management options for PCB-contaminated, subaqueous solids that require removal, dewatering, drying, and other treatment to degrade the target contaminants and/or containment in engineered facilities including constructed islands, upland secure landfills and subaqueous pits. Environmental mobility resulting from natural and engineered processes is discussed in relation to the potential for contributing to the global loading and redistribution of PCBs. Additionally, select emerging technologies and management options are reviewed relative to their potential to produce secondary environmental impacts resulting from the soluble and/or volatile redistribution of PCBs. Based on a lack of long-term experience and the recognition that contaminants will remain unaltered for decades, technologies involving engineered containment structures should be considered temporary remedial measures until cost-competitive, destructive processing of contaminated sediments is feasible.     

The recent 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death: a reminder of his contribution in the field of fluid mechanics

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - In this work, a summary of Leonardo da Vinci’s contribution in the field of fluid mechanics is reported. Some theoretical laws or fluid flows analyzed or drawn...     

Competing feedback in an idealized tide-influenced delta network

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - The morphodynamic evolution of river deltas is intimately tied to flow and sediment partitioning at bifurcations. In this work, the long-term equilibrium...