Are denser cities greener? Evidence from China, 2000–2010

Whether a city develops into a more compact one with a higher density or a more sprawling one may affect multiple aspects of the urban environment, including ecosystem health, greenhouse gas emissions, and quality of life. Using panel data gathered from China's cities from 2000 to 2010, we take advantage of the significant variation in the temporal change of density across cities to estimate the relationship between gross urban population density and multiple indicators of urban greenness. Fixed‐effects estimates support the widely held belief that density improves air quality and reduces the per capita carbon footprint. Results also suggest that higher density reduces the growth of road infrastructure and vehicle ownership and promotes walking. While density often translates into proximity and accessibility, higher density does reduce a city's per capita urban park and green space. This study strengthens the urban policy and planning literature with much needed longitudinal evidence. Our overall findings support higher density as opposed to lower density urban development in China.     

Variable-density flow in heterogeneous porous media — Laboratory experiments and numerical simulations

Konz, M., Ackerer, P., Younes, A., Huggenberger, P., Zechner, E., 2009a. 2D Stable Layered Laboratory-scale Experiments for Testing Density-coupled Flow Models. Water Resources Research, 45. doi:10.1029/2008WR007118., a series of laboratory-scale 2D tank experiments were conducted and accurately simulated for density driven flow problems on homogeneous porous media. In the present work, we extended the numerical and experimental studies to heterogeneous problems. The heterogeneous porous medium was constructed with a low permeability zone in the centre of the tank and had well-defined parameters and boundary conditions. Concentration distributions were measured in high resolution using a photometric method and an image analysis technique. The numerical model used for the simulations was based on efficient advanced approximations for both spatial and temporal discretizations. The Method Of Lines (MOL) was used to allow higher-order temporal discretization. Three different boundary conditions, corresponding to different localizations of the inflow and the outflow openings at the opposite edges of the tank, were applied to investigate different flow scenarios in the heterogeneous porous medium flow tank. Simulation results of all three density coupled experiments revealed a density-dependent behavior of dispersion. Thus, a reduction of dispersivites was required to obtain a good matching of the experimental data. The high quality of the experiments enabled a detailed testing of numerical variable-density flow codes under heterogeneous conditions. Therefore, the experiments were considered to be reliable benchmark tests.     

Genotoxic effect of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre, Brazil, evaluated by Helix aspersa (Müller, 1774)

The purpose of this study was to biomonitor metropolitan areas of Porto Alegre (Brazil) for PAHs associated with atmospheric particles and check their effects on the DNA of the land mollusk Helix aspersa. The sampling sites are located in an urban area with heavy traffic: (i) Canoas, (ii) Sapucaia do Sul, and (iii) FIERGS/Porto Alegre. The samples were collected during a continuous period of 24 hours during 15 days using Stacked Filter Units (SFU) on polycarbonate filters (two separated size fractions: PM_10-2.5 and PM_<2.5). The concentrations of 16 major PAHs were determined according to EPA. Comet assay on H. aspersa hemolymph cells was chosen for genotoxicity evaluation. This evaluation shows that, in general, the smaller PM-size fractions (PM_<2.5) have the highest genotoxicity and contain higher concentrations of extractable organic matter. In addition, associations between chemical characteristics and PM carcinogenicity tend to be stronger for the smaller PM-size fractions.     

Probabilistic distribution coefficients (Kds) in freshwater for radioisotopes of Ag,Am, Ba,Be, Ce,Co, Cs,I, Mn,Pu, Ra,Ru, Sb,Sr and Th – implications for uncertainty analysis of models simulating the transport of radionuclides in rivers

The objective of this study was to provide operational probability density functions (PDFs) for distribution coefficients (K_ds) in freshwater, representing the partition of radionuclides between the particulate and the dissolved phases respectively. Accordingly, the K_d variability should be considered in uncertainty analysis of transport and risk assessment models. The construction of PDFs for 8 elements (Ag, Am, Co, Cs, I, Mn, Pu and Sr) was established according to the procedure already tested in Durrieu et al. [2006. A weighted bootstrap method for the determination of probability density functions of freshwater distribution coefficients (K_ds) of Co, Cs, Sr and I radioisotopes. Chemosphere 65 (8), 1308–1320]: (i) construction of a comprehensive database where K_ds values obtained under various environments and parametric conditions were collected; (ii) scoring procedure to account for the ‘quality’ of each datapoint (according to several criteria such as the presentation of data (e.g. raw data vs mean with or without replicates), contact time, pH, solid-to-liquid ratio, expert judgement) in the construction of the PDF; (iii) weighted bootstrapping procedure to build the PDFs, in order to give more importance to the most relevant datapoints. Two types of PDFs were constructed: (i) non-conditional, usable when no knowledge about the site of concern is available; (ii) conditional PDFs corresponding to a limited range of parameters such as pH or contact time; conditional PDFs can thus be used when some parametric information is known on the site under study. For 7 other radionuclides (Ba, Be, Ce, Ra, Ru, Sb and Th), a simplified procedure was adopted because of the scarcity of data: only non-conditional PDFs were built, without incorporating a scoring procedure.     

Changes in the structure of chortobiont invertebrate community exposed to emissions from a copper smelter

The aboveground phytomass of meadow plants and the density of chortobiont invertebrates in secondary upland meadows were estimated using a biocenometer in three areas differing in the level of pollution with emissions from the Middle Ural Copper Smelter (Revda, Sverdlovsk oblast) in 2006 and 2007. As the smelter is approached, the total amount of phytomass (dry weight) decreases by a factor of 1.3–1.9, with the proportion of grasses reaching 100%; the total abundance of invertebrates increases two-to threefold due to sucking phytophages, which account for up to 80% of the invertebrate community. The abundance of gnawing phytophages near the smelter is reduced, with some taxa entirely missing (e.g., mollusks and phalangiid harvestmen). Rearrangements in chortobiont community structure are attributable to changes in the physiological state of plants and in the species diversity and architecture of the herbaceous layer, with consequent modification of hydrothermal conditions in it, as well as by the direct toxic effect of heavy metals.     

高温高饵料密度对萼花臂尾轮虫实验种群休眠卵动态的影响

探讨了在较高温度和饵料密度下实验室小批量培养萼花臂尾轮虫（Brachionuscalyciflorus）休眠卵产生的时间及变动规律.结果表明,在本实验条件下,该轮虫高温较低温时休眠卵产生得早;未见饵料密度对休眼卵的产生时间有影响;前期培养于适宜温度和饵料密度条件下的轮虫种群,产生休眠卵的数时大．     

气溶胶灭火剂燃速影响因素的研究

针对同一配方的不同条件下的灭火剂,从灭火剂的初温、药柱密度、原料粒度等方面入手,考察了不同因素对灭火剂燃速的影响,总结出各个因素对灭火剂燃烧速度的影响规律.     

Adaptation of Nitraria sphaerocarpa to wind-blown sand environments at the edge of a desert oasis

This study addresses the adaptation of Nitraria sphaervcarpa to blown sand at the edge of a desert oasis with regard to the aspects of soil seed banks, seedlings, and population. Horizontally, the total number of seeds per unit area decreased from the shrub canopy center to intershrub areas, and most seeds were found under shrub canopies. Vertically, the highest proportion of seeds was found at depths of 5-10 cm. The emergence percentage, seedling mass, and seedling height, which were significantly affected by both burial depth and seed size, were highest at the optimal burial depth of 2 cm, and decreased with increasing burial depth in each seed size-class. Although seedling mass was usually greatest for large seeds and least for small seeds at each burial depth, little difference was observed in seedling height at shallow burial depths of 0-3 cm. The population shows a patchy and discontinuous distribution pattern. Population height increases with increasing sand depth. Also the density increases with increasing depth of sand in the desert; however, there is a steady decrease when the depth of sand is more than 100 cm. This result indicates that the depth of sand that is most suitable for the growth of Nitraria sphaervcarpa is 100 cm. The size of the population is significantly correlated with the sand depth, which increases with increasing depth in the desert.     

Effect of Sb dopant amount on the structure and electrocatalytic capability of Ti/Sb-SnO2 electrodes in the oxidation of 4-chlorophenol

Ti/Sb-SnO_2 anodes were prepared by thermal decomposition to examine the influence',of the amount of Sb dopant on the structure and electrocatalytic capability of the electrodes in the oxidation of 4-chlorophenol.The physicochemical properties of the Sb-SnO_2 coating were markedly influenced by different amounts of Sb dopant.The electrodes,which contained 5% Sb dopant in the coating, presented a much more homogenous surface and much smaller mud-cracks,compared with Ti/Sb-SnO_2 electrodes containing 10% or 15% Sb dopant,which exibited larger mud cracks and pores on the surface.However,the main microstructure remained unchanged with the addition of the Sb dopant.No new crystal phase was observed by X-ray diffraction(XRD).The electrochemical oxidation of 4-chlorophenol on the Ti/SnO_2 electrode with 5% Sb dopant was inclined to electrochemical combustion;while for those containing more Sb dopant,intermediate species were accumulated.The electrodes with 5% Sb dopant showed the highest efficiency in the bulk electrolysis of 4-chlorophenol at a current density of 20 mA/cm~2 for 180 min;and the removal rates of 4-chlorophenol and COD were 51.0% and 48.9%,respectively.     

低温等离子体与催化剂联用降解空气中低浓度的苯

采用介质阻挡放电(DBD)与催化剂(MnO2,TiO2)联用降解空气中低浓度的苯(C6H6)。考察了苯的转化率、产物选择性、能量效率随能量密度的变化关系。研究发现,苯的转化率随能量密度的增加而增加,当注入DBD反应器的能量密度为1200J/L时,等离子体协同催化剂MnO2氧化苯的转化率达到了92%。苯的氧化产物为一氧化碳(CO)和二氧化碳(CO2),进而阐述了其氧化机理。当能量密度为430J/L时,在催化剂MnO2,TiO2存在的条件下,能量效率分别达到了0.062与0.043mol/kWh。