Developing a method for assessing environmental sustainability based on the Google Earth Engine platform

Environmental sustainability is the foundation and of great significance for the sustainable development of urban agglomerations. Taking the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration as an example, we developed a method to effectively assess long-term regional environmental sustainability based on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. We used the GEE to obtain 5206 Landsat remote sensing images in the region from 1983 to 2016 and developed the comprehensive environmental index (CEI) to assess regional environmental sustainability based on the theme-oriented framework proposed by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. We found that the environmental sustainability of the urban agglomeration showed a trend of first rising, then falling, and then rising again in the past 30 years. The average CEI increased from 0.621 to 0.631 from 1985 to 1990, dropped to the lowest value of 0.618 in 2000, and then rose to the highest value of 0.672 in 2015. In particular, the extent of areas in which environmental sustainability improved (56% of the region) was greater than the extent of areas in which environmental deterioration occurred. The environmental sustainability of Hengshui, Xingtai, and Cangzhou in the southeast of the region has been significantly improved. The method proposed in this study provides an automatic, rapid, and extensible way to assess regional environmental sustainability and provides a scientific reference for improving the sustainability of the regional environment.

     

Factorial design analysis for COD removal from landfill leachate by photoassisted Fered-Fenton process

The Fered-Fenton process has been shown to be an effective method for leachate treatment, but it still faces problems of inadequate regeneration of ferrous ion. However, the use of the photoassisted Fered-Fenton process could overcome this difficulty and improve the efficiency of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal since photoassisted Fered-Fenton process induces the production of hydroxyl radicals from the regeneration of ferrous ions and the reaction of hydrogen peroxide with UV light. As there are so many operating parameters in photoassisted Fered-Fenton process, it is necessary to develop a mathematical model in order to produce the most economical process. In the present study, a factorial design was carried out to evaluate leachate treatment by photoassisted Fered-Fenton process. The influence of the following variables: H₂O₂ concentration, Fe²⁺ concentration, current density, and initial pH in the photoassisted Fered-Fenton process was investigated by measuring COD removal efficiencies after 60-min reaction. The relationship between COD removal and the most significant independent variables was established by means of an experimental design. The H₂O₂ concentration, Fe²⁺ concentration, initial pH, and the interaction effect between current density and initial pH were all significant factors. The factorial design models were derived based on the COD removal efficiency results and the models fit the data well.     

湖南地区不同集约化栽培模式下双季稻稻田CH4和N2O的排放规律

采用静态暗箱-气相色谱法研究了湖南双季稻稻田不施氮(NN)、当地常规(FP)、高产高效(YE)、再高产(HY)、再高效(HE)5种不同栽培模式下温室气体(CH4、N2O)的排放规律.结果表明:水稻生长季CH4累积排放量变化为(206.5±37.5) kg· hm-2(FP,早稻)～(490.5±65.7) kg·hm-2(HE,晚稻),N2O-N累积排放量变化为(0.08±0.05) kg·hm-2(NN,早稻)～(0.326±0.15) kg·hm-2(HY,晚稻).不同栽培模式对CH4和N2O的排放都有显著影响(p＜0.05).HE模式CH4排放显著高于其他模式62％～ 87％(p＜0.05),尤其是晚稻季节;除NN模式外,其他4种模式间N2O排放差异不显著.冬季休闲期也是CH4和N2O排放的重要时期,分别占全年排放量的9.7％～19.7％和42％～ 62％.CH4主导了稻田不同栽培模式下的综合温室效应,在各模式中均占95％以上.施氮肥提高了作物产量,降低了温室气体强度(GHGI).在5种模式中,YE和HY模式温室气体强度较小,HY模式下仅为(0.97±0.16) kg·kg-1(以每kg产量排放的CO2当量计).因此,与FP模式相比,YE和HY模式既能提高产量和氮肥利用率,也能减缓温室效应;但HE模式排放的温室气体较高,在实际应用前尚需进一步研究.