Seasonal to sub-seasonal variations of the Asian Tropopause Aerosols Layer affected by the deep convection, surface pollutants and precipitation

The Asian Tropopause Aerosols Layer (ATAL) refers to an accumulation of aerosols in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere during boreal summer over Asia, which has a fundamental impact on the monsoon system and climate change. In this study, we primarily analyze the seasonal to sub-seasonal variations of the ATAL and the factors potentially influencing those variations based on MERRA2 reanalysis. The ability of the reanalysis to reproduce the ATAL is well validated by CALIPSO observations from May to October 2016. The results reveal that the ATAL has a synchronous spatiotemporal pattern with the development and movement of the Asian Summer Monsoon. Significant enhancement of ATAL intensity is found during the prevailing monsoon period of July–August, with two maxima centered over South Asia and the Arabian Peninsula. Owing to the fluctuations of deep convection, the ATAL shows an episodic variation on a timescale of 7–12 days. Attribution analysis indicates that deep convection dominates the variability of the ATAL with a contribution of 62.7%, followed by a contribution of 36.6% from surface pollutants. The impact of precipitation is limited. The ATAL further shows a clear diurnal variation: the peak of ATAL intensity occurs from 17:30 to 23:30 local time (LT), when the deep convection becomes strongest; the minimum ATAL intensity occurs around 8:30 LT owing to the weakened deep convection and photochemical reactions in clouds. The aerosol components of the ATAL show different spatiotemporal patterns and imply that black carbon and organic carbon come mainly from India, whereas sulfate comes mainly from China during the prevailing monsoon period.     

Molten hydroxide for detoxification of chlorine-containing waste: Unraveling chlorine retention efficiency and chlorine salt enrichment

Hazardous waste dechlorination reduces the potential of creating dioxins during the incineration process. To investigate the salt effect on waste dechlorination, molten hydroxides with a low melting temperature were utilized for the pre-dechlorination and decomposition of chlorine-containing organic wastes(COWs) including trichlorobenzene(TCB),perchloroethylene, hexachlorobenzene and chlordane. The results showed that a eutectic mixture of caustic sodium and potassium hydroxides(41 wt.% NaOH and 59 wt.% KOH) led to a low melting point below 300°C and a relatively high chlorine retention efficiency(CRE) with TCB as a representative COWs. The amounts of hydroxides, reaction time, and temperature all had notable influence on CRE. When the mass ratio of hydroxides to TCB reached 30:1,approximately 98.1% of the TCB was destroyed within 2.5 hr at 300°C with CRE of 71.6%.According to the residue analysis, the shapes of reaction residues were irregular with particles becoming swollen and porous. The benzene ring and C–Cl bonds disappeared, while carboxyl groups formed in the residues. The stripped chlorine was retained and condensed to form chloride salts, and the relative abundance of the chloride ions associated with the mass of TCB in residues increased from 0 to 75.0% within the 2.5 hr reaction time. The observed concentration of dioxins in residues was 5.6 ngTEQ/kg. A reaction pathway and possible additional reactions that occur in this dechlorination system were proposed. Oxidizing agents may attack TCB and facilitate hydrogenation/dechlorination reactions, making this process a promising and environmentally friendly approach for chlorine-containing organic waste treatment.     

不同氧化剂辅助光催化反应对提高木质纤维素酶解效果的影响

木质纤维素以其可再生、丰富等优点成为可替代能源的理想选择,然而木质纤维素的致密结构使得后续的酶解过程极其困难,因此木质纤维素的预处理显得尤为重要.为了探讨氧化剂对光催化反应预处理木质纤维素的影响,在TiO₂/UV体系中添加不同种类的氧化剂对稻秆进行预处理,考察TiO₂/UV体系中影响光催化的因素〔ρ（TiO₂）、溶液pH及光催化时间〕,并进一步探讨在TiO₂/UV体系中添加O₃、SPC（过碳酸钠）、K₂S₂O₈及KIO₄等氧化剂对稻秆酶解效果的影响.结果表明:在TiO₂/UV体系中,当光催化时间为3 h、ρ（TiO₂）为10 g/L、pH为8时,稻秆的酶解效果最佳（310.17 mg/g）.TiO₂/UV/O₃光催化体系对稻秆的预处理效果强于TiO₂/UV/氧化剂体系,TiO₂/UV/O₃体系预处理稻秆酶解后产生的w（还原糖）最高,达到356.40 mg/g.TiO₂/UV/O₃体系预处理稻秆成分分析显示,木质素去除率为15.52%.FE-SEM（场发射扫描电镜）、FT-IR（红外光谱）及PXRD（X-射线粉末衍射）等表征分析结果表明,TiO₂/UV/O₃体系预处理能够对稻秆结构进行破坏.研究显示,TiO₂/UV/O₃光催化体系对稻秆进行预处理能够有效提高酶解效率.      

汾河底泥耗氧速率测试

以汾河运城段几个县界断面底泥和水质为实验目标,采用实验室测定方法,分别对在平水期、枯水期的底泥耗氧(SOD)速率进行测试,并对测试条件进行优化,对结果进行分析。研究表明,无论枯水期还是平水期,SOD总体变化趋势与河流水质污染(化学需氧量、氨氮)趋势基本一致。     

Modelling the Transport of Oil–Mineral-Aggregates (OMAs) in the Marine Environment and Assessment of Their Potential Risks

Spilled oil can interact with suspended particles in marine environments and form oil–mineral aggregates (OMAs). Some OMAs with densities higher than seawater density can settle to the seedbed to pose potential risks to benthic organisms. To understand the transport and fate of oil associated with OMAs and evaluate their potential risks, an integrated hydrodynamic and fate/transport model has been used in a hypothetical case study of 1,000 tonnes of South Louisiana oil spilled in the Bristol Channel. Several scenarios have been simulated under different wave and current conditions. By using OMA properties derived from laboratory measurements reported in literature, it has been found that the risk to the benthos is unlikely for the two hypothetical cases with strong currents, but it is likely for the wave only (weak current) case. The effects of other factors such as OMA properties and sediment concentration were also examined in terms of their effects on the transport process and risks.     

Assessment of heavy metals in sediments from a typical catchment of the Yangtze River, China

An intensive investigation was conducted to study the accumulation, speciation, and distribution of various heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in sediments from the Yangtze River catchment of Wuhan, China. The potential ecological risks posed by these heavy metals also were estimated. The median concentrations of most heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were higher than the background values of soils in Wuhan and were beyond the threshold effect level (TEL), implying heavy metal contamination of the sediments. Carbonate-bound Cd and exchangeable Cd, both of which had high bioavailability, were 40.2% and 30.5% of the total for Cd, respectively, demonstrating that Cd poses a high ecological risk in the sediments. The coefficients of the relationship among Pb, Hg, and Cu were greater than 0.797 using correlation analysis, indicating the highly positive correlation among these three elements. Besides, total organic carbon content played an important role in determining the behaviors of heavy metals in sediments. Principal component analysis was used to study the distribution and potential origin of heavy metals. The result suggested three principal components controlling their variability in sediments, which accounted for 36.72% (factor 1: Hg, Cu, and Pb), 28.69% (factor 2: Cr, Zn, and Ni), and 19.45% (factor 3: As and Cd) of the total variance. Overall, 75% of the studied sediment samples afforded relatively low potential ecological risk despite the fact that generally higher concentrations of heavy metals relative to TEL were detected in the sediments.     

Land Degradation Evaluation in North Hebei Province Based on Remote Sensing and GIS

Land degradation is one of the serious environmental problems that can lead to poverty, and is especially prominent in eco-fragile areas in developing countries and increases the risk of environmental safety. North Hebei Province belongs to an ecologically fragile region in North China, which has great impact on the eco-safety of Beijing and Tianjin. Using Landsat TM data and GIS, this paper evaluates land degradation in North Hebei province of China from the the 1960＇s to 1987 and 2000. Land use/cover change pattern from 1987 to 2000, its regional difference and forest change characteristics will also be analyzed; soil erosion intensity and arable land suitability were also evaluated. Results revealed that land use/cover pattern in this study area did not change greatly from 1987 to 2000. The structure and function of regional land ecosystem was at a level of local improvement and integral deterioration. Land above medium soil erosion intensity reached 21 percent, which was also the area with a serious soil erosion and land degradation problem. Soil erosion and land degradation intensity of grassland was the biggest. For the present arable land, the proportion of high suitability was 13 percent.     

英国防止虐待动物协会

<正>英国防止虐待动物协会(RSPCA)成立于1824年。当时一位伦敦的牧师亚瑟·布容邀约一些同样关怀动物的人士,召开了一个聚会,同声谴责当时斗牛及斗鸡等的残忍行为。会议中大家取得了共识,成立了世界第一个防止虐待动物协会(Society for the Prevention ofCruelty To Animals)。在他们的推动下,动物福利的立法正式开始并得     

瑞尔保护协会

瑞尔（RARE）保护协会（以下简称瑞尔）创立于1973年,RARE是英语Rare Animal Relief Effort（珍稀动物拯救行动）的首字母缩写。创始人David Hill少尉是美国人,他热爱观鸟活动,曾在飞虎队担任飞行员。在一次驾车穿越中美洲的旅途中,他萌发要创立一个组织来保护中美洲地区脆弱和特有动物的想法。起初,他想与美国奥杜邦协会（NationalAudubon Society）合作。当时,