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.     

Modeling the spatial pattern of farmland using GIS and multiple logistic regression: a case study of Maotiao River Basin, Guizhou Province, China

Land use change is an important topic in the field of global environmental change and sustainable development. Land use change modeling has attracted substantial attention because it helps researchers understand the mechanisms of land use change and assists regulatory bodies in formulating relevant policies. Maotiao River Basin is located in the province of Guizhou, China, which has a developed agricultural industry in the karst mountain areas. This paper selected biophysical and social–economic factors as independent variables, and constructed a multiple logistic regression of farmland spatial distribution probability by random sampling. Then, by using GIS technology and integrating the 2000 data, this study predicted the farmland spatial pattern. When the predicted map was compared with the actual farmland map for 2000, we noted that 71% of the simulation is in accordance with the 2000 farmland pattern. The result satisfactorily proves the reasonability and applicability of our model.     

中国北方干旱地区沙尘矿物特征研究

为了开展对我国沙暴传输规律的研究,了解我国北方干旱地区沙尘矿物特征有重要意义。本文对我国新疆塔克拉玛干沙漠区,内蒙腾格里沙漠区,贺兰山及银川等处的沙尘样品用X射线粉末衍射法进行矿物分析鉴定,并用原子吸收法作了特征元素的分析对比,根据矿物的X射线粉末衍射结果,结合元素分析,对沙漠源区及其以东地区沙尘矿物特征作了比较,判析了两个源区的矿物组成,讨论了它们的传输过程。     

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.     

沙湾荒漠区生态环境的植物监测

利用植物生态学常规方法进行了荒漠植被种群生物量和数量特证调查,以植物为监测对象,并就群落地上部分生物量,Shannon-Wiener多样性指数,群落均匀度,生态优势度等指标探讨了在荒漠生态环境监测和评价中的具体应用。     

湖泊水体中硫酸盐增高的环境效应研究

通过对高原３个硫酸盐浓度差异的湖泊沉积物水界面硫的形态分布、扩散通量和碎屑有机硫通量等估算，揭示了湖泊水体硫酸盐增加以后的环境效应和自然反馈机制．研究认为：水体向沉积物内部扩散和界面硫酸盐还原作用是高硫酸盐浓度水体硫酸盐的主要清除作用，随硫酸盐浓度的增加，它在水体清除硫酸盐作用的贡献逐渐增大，而低硫酸盐含量湖泊水体生物同化吸收作用是水体硫酸盐的主要清除机制，它在硫酸盐浓度不同的水体没有差异．     

微电解-水解酸化/接触氧化工艺处理染化废水的研究

采用微电 解 Ｈ／ Ｏ 工艺对染 料化 工 废水 进行 了 处理 研究 ，结 果表 明 以微 电解 和 水解 酸 化作预处理 ，可使废 水的 Ｂ Ｏ Ｄ５／ Ｃ Ｏ Ｄ Ｃｒ 的比由 ０２５ 提高 到０５ ０ 左 右，平 均 增加 ５０ ％ 。通 过加 酸， 可提高微电 解的去除 效果，在 进水 Ｃ Ｏ Ｄ Ｃｒ 为４ １００ ～４ ３００ ｍ ｇ／ Ｌ，色度 为３ ４００ ～３ ６００（ 倍） 范围内 ，系统对 Ｃ Ｏ Ｄ Ｃｒ 和色度 的去除效 果分别 可达到９７ ５ ％ 和９８３ ％     

寻找紧缺的银矿资源——地质工作者的急迫使命

由于近二十年来全世界工业的快速发展 ,银的用途益发广泛 ,白银需求量迅猛增加 ,它不仅是我国紧缺的矿产资源 ,而且已成为世界市场上的走俏商品 ,全世界已连续九年需大于供 ,九年累计缺银 1 0亿盎司 ,并且缺口越来越大。专家们预测 :到 1 998年底全世界库存的银锭消耗殆尽。我国前几年有 1 / 2 -1 / 3的白银靠进口 ,1 997年还进口白银 1 55吨。因而 ,银价剧烈上扬 ,从 1 996年的 4美元 /盎司 ,涨到 1 998年 2月份的 7.81美元 /盎司。与白银相反 ,近两年黄金供远过于求 ,1 997年全世界多出 3 93吨 ,故金价急剧下跌 ,从 1 996年的 3 87.87美元 /盎司 ,降到 1 998年 6月份的 2 87.9美元/盎司。由于银需求量增大 ,加之有色金属工业的不景气 ,银产量不仅不能增长 ,而且反而下降。因而人们提出寻找能根据需要而生产的、具有独立开采价值的银矿床 ,即独立银矿床。全世界有三大巨型成矿带 ,我国有四大银成矿区。这些成矿区带的核心是火山 -岩浆活动带。银成矿区带都受巨型或区域深大断裂带控制 ,独立银矿床多产于区域深大断裂带旁侧的次级断层交汇处或附近。独立银矿床的直接围岩可以是火成岩、沉积岩和变质岩 ,但是它们位于火山岩浆活动带中 ,而且以火山岩为主。