Trends in the development of Estonian coastal land cover and landscapes caused by natural changes and human impact

The structure of coastal land cover in Estonia is intricate and exhibits considerable differences from site to site. The diverse geomorphology of the seashores is one of the key factors affecting the speed and magnitude of land cover changes. Likewise, the history of human inhabitance on the coast has also shaped the character of land cover. The Estonian coastal zone has experienced abrupt and radical changes in land ownership and its related land use during the last century. The main objectives of this paper are: 1) to give an overview of land use and the trends of development of land cover pattern along different parts of the Estonian coast; and 2) to analyze the relationships of natural and human processes and their cumulative impact on the evolution of coastal land cover pattern in Estonia. This study is based on results obtained during fieldwork in the study areas and on the analysis of large-scale (1:10,000) historical maps. In agriculturally dominant coastal areas, the traditional open landscape of fields and grassland at the beginning of the 20th century had been replaced by woodland and grasslands with shrubs by the start of the 21st century. Expansion of reed beds in areas of former seashore grasslands is another striking phenomenon. The structure of land cover on forested coasts has been fairly stable during the last 100 years. Areas of urban sprawl are characterised by dramatic changes in land cover structure. Rapidly increasing population and expanding settlements imposes on the ecological balance of the fragile dune forests in the coastal zone.     

CFD Investigation of Particle Deposition in a Horizontal Looped Turbulent Pipe Flow

This paper presents comprehensive 3D numerical investigations on depositions of particles flowing through a horizontal pipe loop consisting of four bends. The multiphase mixture model available in FLUENT 6.2 was used in this study. In this numerical simulation, five different particle sizes have been used as secondary phases to calculate real multiphase effect in which inter-particle interaction has been considered. The deposition of particles along the periphery of the pipe wall was investigated as a function of particle size and fluid velocity. The simulations showed that near the upstream of the bends, maximum particle concentration occurred at the bottom of the pipe. However, downstream the bends, the maximum particle concentration occurred at an angle of 60° from the bottom. The larger particles clearly showed deposition near the bottom wall except downstream. As expected, the smaller particles showed less tendency of deposition and lesser at higher velocity. This numerical investigation showed qualitative agreement with the experiments conducted by Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Melbourne team for similar conditions.     

Alternative amendment for soluble phosphorus removal from poultry litter

Background, aim, and scope  

Alum (aluminum sulfate) is the currently preferred chemical amendment for phosphorus (P) treatment in poultry litter (PL). Aluminum-based drinking-water treatment residuals (Al-WTRs) are the waste by-product of the drinking-water treatment process and have been effectively used to remove P from aqueous solutions, but their effectiveness in PL water extracts has not been studied in detail. Elevated cost associated with alum could be minimized by using the equally effective WTRs to remove soluble P from PL, and they can be obtained at a minimal cost from drinking-water treatment plants.     

Chitosan-polypropylene imine dendrimer hybrid: a new ecological biomordant for cochineal dyeing of wool

The classical use of synthetic dyes is causing issues of environmental pollution and heath risk. As a consequence natural dyes are gaining interest, but the use of natural dyes still includes toxic reagents such as metals as mordants and acids to enhance color and yield. Therefore, we designed a new chitosan-polypropylene imine dendrimer hybrid at 0–2000 mg/L to treat wool before dyeing with cochineal. We compared dye exhaustion, color depth, color characteristics, and color fastness of the new process with dyed pristine and metal mordanted wool. Results show that wool pretreatment improved dye exhaustion from 48 to 88 %, shifted saturation point toward lower dye concentration from 3000 to 1000 mg/L, and improved color depth from 13.68 for pristine wool and 15.17 for metal mordanted wool to 23.89 for the new process.     

International Environmental Agreements: Design of Optimal Transfers Under Heterogeneity

International environmental agreements (IEAs) can coordinate abatement of transboundary pollutants. This paper investigates how heterogeneous countries facing a stock pollutant might structure such an agreement. In particular, we examine how an IEA might be implemented with a set of monetary transfers. The focus is on transfers that are time invariant, linear in emissions, and consistent with budget balance. There is a range of such schemes that would induce efficient emissions. We provide a simple and intuitive characterization of these penalties and describe how specific proposals might be chosen in order to facilitate compliance and implementation. Our proposals are illustrated with a simple example. We show that heterogeneity reduces the scope for penalty schemes to jointly satisfy desirable properties.     

Using geographically temporally weighted regression to assess the contribution of corruption governance to global PM2.5

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In the face of the global haze crisis, exploring the driving force of political factors for controlling minute atmospheric particles has become...     

Desorption of CO2, SO2, and NH3 in the vacuum evaporation of desulfurization wastewater

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Mechanical vapor compression and multi-effect evaporation have been widely used in achieving zero discharge of desulfurization wastewater as they are...     

氧化镁基生物质炭高效去除水体中磷的特性

利用花生壳为前驱体,在高温限氧条件下,将氧化镁(MgO)负载于生物质炭(BC)表面制备出氧化镁基生物质炭(MgOBC)复合材料.系统研究了MgO-BC对水体中P的吸附特性,并探讨了溶液pH值、接触时间、竞争离子等因素对P的吸附效果的影响.结果表明,P的最佳吸附初始pH为7~9,过酸过碱的环境均不利于P的吸附;P的吸附过程可在540 min内达到平衡,且动力学曲线较好地符合伪一级和伪二级动力学模型,拟合系数可达97.3%和99.0%;当Cl~-、HCO_3~-、NO_3~-等共存离子的量浓度达到P的10倍时,MgO-BC对P仍具有较强的吸附能力;P的吸附过程较好地符合Langmuir等温模型,拟合系数达99%,理论最大吸附容量为138.07 mg·g~(-1),远高于其它未经改性或改性的生物质炭和几种典型P吸附剂的吸附容量.此外,吸附P后的复合材料可作为肥料施入土壤,可有效实现P的再利用.综上所述,该MgO-BC复合材料在净化实际P污染水体中有着广阔的应用前景.     

原子吸收法测定海水中铁含量的不确定度评定

为了保证海水中铁元素含量的检测质量,更好地深入了解铁在整个海水体系的生物地球化学中扮演的角色,需科学地评定检测结果的分散性。文章依据《测量不确定度的评定与表示》(JJF1059-1999)的理论,以浙江近海海水为例,评定原子吸收法测定海水中铁含量的不确定度。测得浙江近海样品中铁的浓度为5.2μg/L,扩展不确定度U=0.8μg/L(k=2)。通过对各不确定度分量进行评定发现,利用该方法测定海水中铁含量时,对其合成标准不确定度的主要贡献来自于样品制备过程,尤其是萃取过程。     

赣州市地质灾害分布特征及孕灾环境分析

赣州市地质灾害发生率和发生强度日益增高,对赣州市经济社会的发展造成了深远的影响,并对该地区的自然环境和人类生命财产安全构成了严重的威胁。通过对赣州市地质灾害孕育环境、发育规模、时空分布等进行实地调查以及对各种类型地质灾害发生数量进行数据统计与分析,开展了赣州市地质灾害的孕育、形成与防治研究。结果表明:赣州市地质灾害发生密度较高的地区主要是西部、南部、东南部以及东北部岩性较脆弱、地面变形严重的低山丘陵区;赣州市地质灾害的发生与该地区复杂的地形地貌、特殊的地层岩性、岩土体类型以及频繁的人类工程活动呈正相关关系。该研究可为该市的防灾救灾、人类工程建设提供理论依据。