Search Results (189)

Overburden rock massifs resulting from open-pit coal mining are very common objects in the world’s mining regions. These locations pose a significant challenge as the global mining industry expands. These dumps are capable of self-burning for quite a long time. The displacement and sliding of these massifs can cause catastrophic consequences. In addition, these objects emit a significant amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Therefore, it is necessary to manage such objects and implement appropriate measures to limit their impact on the environment. In this work, we studied soil radon volume activity (VAR) and radon flux density (RFD) on the surface of the overburden rock massif of coal-bearing mining rocks and also made visual fixation of disturbances in the body of the massif, which appeared in the process of its movement. We found anomalies of VAR and RFD on the surface of the overburden extending from north to south. These anomalies were extended along the strike of the faults found in the body of the massif. Additionally, the radon anomalies coincided with the anomalies of methane gas emission previously measured for this object. Thus, we determined that the exit of gases from the body of the massif is carried out through fault (weakened) zones in the body of the massif. According to the results of the study, we propose to carry out radon monitoring in order to detect the spontaneous ignition process of the massif or the increase of its mobility. This will also allow us to take appropriate measures to stabilize the massif or to extinguish the dump before or simultaneously with the biological stage of reclamation. Full article

Climate change and its impact are being acknowledged through extensive media coverage. Knowledge gaps between mental health and climate change have been highlighted, which is an increasingly prevalent issue. Furthermore, mental health impacts such as climate anxiety and its implications on behaviour remain unclear. The study aimed to investigate the effect of climate change exposure on affect and pro-environmental behavioural intentions in a randomised controlled trial. An online survey was completed by 100 adult participants and included measures of affect and pro-environmental behavioural intentions pre- and post-exposure. Participants were randomly allocated to a group that saw a climate change video (n = 55) or a group that saw a non-climate change video (n = 45). The findings were that participants in the climate change group showed a significant increase in negative affect and pro-environmental behavioural intention scores post-video exposure compared to the non-climate change video group. This suggests that climate change video exposure negatively influences affect but also potentially increases the intention to act pro-environmentally. These findings have the potential to support policies and societal change; however, further investigation into the type of contents, actual behaviour change, and impacts on diverse populations (e.g., minority groups) is needed. Full article

Large-scale land use/land cover changes have occurred in Mato Grosso State (hereafter MT), Brazil, following the introduction of extensive mechanized agriculture and pastoral activities since the 1980s. Author investigated what kind of agro-pastoral activities which are both cattle ranching and top five crops (soybean, sugarcane, corn, cotton and rice) that are closely related to land use change on lands experiencing conversion land use change (such as deforestation and the increase in deeply anthropogenically influenced areas) at each municipal district in MT. Then, this study identifies the volume of exports including contribution ratio by municipal districts where land use changed due to agro-pastoral activities. The patterns of vegetation change indicated that cattle ranching, corn, cotton, rice croplands in the northwest, and soybean and sugarcane fields in the central areas are the main contributors to deforestation. It is shown that land use change due to soybean or corn cultivation occurs mainly in the west and the southeast, respectively. Corn cultivation is associated with a greater increase in anthropogenically influenced areas than soybean cultivation. The municipal districts that export each agro-pastoral product with land use change are limited. Exports of soybeans, corn, and cotton in the municipal districts associated with deforestation had increased dramatically after experienced land use change. For example, Sapezal, which has experienced deforestation, was the only municipal district associated with export of corn to only Switzerland. Since 2007, the number of export partners has increased to 56 countries with the export volume increased 2300 times. These findings highlight the overall non-sustainability of environmental resource development activities in MT. Full article

The Sivrice earthquake (Mw 6.8) occurred on 24 January 2020 along the East Anatolian Fault (EAF) zone of Türkiye, and epicentral information and focal mechanism solutions were published by two national and six international seismic stations. Here, we analyzed epicentral locations and the major fault trace using aerial photogrammetric images taken two days after, and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry. Although the focal mechanism solutions were similar, the epicenters were largely displaced. Several bright lineaments with a stair-like geometry were observed in aerial images of the Euphrates River channel along the fault trace. These lineaments, also called en echelon fractures in structural geology, are like right-lateral segments of a fault plane aligning the river channel, cut and offset by those similar in trend with the EAF and with alignments of a left lateral sense, as is the EAF motion sense. We interpret that the river local channel follows a right-lateral fault structure. The traces were lost a few days later, which proves the essentiality of remote sensing technologies for obtaining precise information in large regions. The time series analysis for one year period from Sentinel-1 SAR data also illustrated the displacements in the region sourced from the earthquake. Full article

In developing countries like Tanzania, groundwater studies are essential for water resource planning, development, and management. Limited hydrogeological information on groundwater occurrence, availability, and distribution in Urambo District is termed a key factor that hinders groundwater development. This research was aimed at the evaluation of groundwater potential zones in a granitic gneiss aquifer in Urambo District by integrating six indicators (transmissivity, specific capacity, static water level, yield, total dissolved solids, and geology) that were developed and applied in the study area. The indicators were further combined, and a groundwater potential index map (GWPIM) was prepared using relative weights derived from the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The results show that 67% and 27% of the study area are categorized as moderate and high groundwater potential zones, respectively. Groundwater is controlled by both Quaternary sediments (sands and gravels) and weathered to fractured granitic gneiss. Quaternary sediments host the major shallow aquifers (<35 m) with relatively high transmissivity, specific capacity, and yield (1.5 m²/day, 16.36 m²/day, and 108 m³/day, respectively). Granitic gneiss is not strongly fractured/weathered and forms an aquifer with a relatively low yield of about 10.08 m³/day. The findings were validated using three boreholes, and the results are consistent with the developed GWPIM. Such findings are of great importance in groundwater development as the techniques applied can be extended to other areas in Tanzania as well as other countries that experience similar geological environments. Full article

The wide acceptance that Climate Change (CC) is a reality, often taking extreme forms, has led to the development of strategies to mitigate climate change and the need to adapt to the new climate conditions. Greece has already developed a National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change (NSACC), which has started to be implemented in 2016 in the 13 regions of the state by implementing relevant projects. The Primary Sector of Agriculture (PSA) is one of the most vulnerable sectors to CC in Greece. This analysis describes the main points of the national strategy for mitigation and adaptation, focusing on the adaptation strategy for the PSA. Most of the information included in the analysis comes from a multidisciplinary study organized by the Bank of Greece (BoG), which was used as a guide for the formulation of the NSACC. The analysis includes a comprehensive summary of the PSA adaptation policy to CC, an assessment of climate evolution in Greece with emphasis on the characteristics related to the PSA, estimations of the CC impact on plant and animal production, and the whole organization of the national effort for adaptation to CC. The entire organization of the work followed the framework of the BoG study and the methodologies used in this paper. Full article

In a 36-year period that coincides with my lifetime, Great Salt Lake, one of the world’s largest terminal lakes and a critical ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere, went from its largest to its smallest recorded size. In this opinion piece, I argue that the fundamental problem is that we Utahns and other stakeholders have treated Great Salt Lake as an afterthought instead of an asset. I describe the conditions that led to this point, some transformations now taking place, and the new hope that the lake will recover. Full article

The main aim of this study is to comprehensively analyze the dynamics of land use and land cover (LULC) changes in the Bathinda region of Punjab, India, encompassing historical, current, and future trends. To forecast future LULC, the Cellular Automaton–Markov Chain (CA) based on artificial neural network (ANN) concepts was used using cartographic variables such as environmental, economic, and cultural. For segmenting LULC, the study used a combination of ML models, such as support vector machine (SVM) and Maximum Likelihood Classifier (MLC). The study is empirical in nature, and it employs quantitative analyses to shed light on LULC variations through time. The result indicates that the barren land is expected to shrink from 55.2 km² in 1990 to 5.6 km² in 2050, signifying better land management or increasing human activity. Vegetative expanses, on the other hand, are expected to rise from 81.3 km² in 1990 to 205.6 km² in 2050, reflecting a balance between urbanization and ecological conservation. Agricultural fields are expected to increase from 2597.4 km² in 1990 to 2859.6 km² in 2020 before stabilizing at 2898.4 km² in 2050. Water landscapes are expected to shrink from 13.4 km² in 1990 to 5.6 km² in 2050, providing possible issues for water resources. Wetland regions are expected to decrease, thus complicating irrigation and groundwater reservoir sustainability. These findings are confirmed by strong statistical indices, with this study’s high kappa coefficients of Kno (0.97), Kstandard (0.95), and Klocation (0.97) indicating a reasonable level of accuracy in CA prediction. From the result of the F1 score, a significant issue was found in MLC for segmenting vegetation, and the issue was resolved in SVM classification. The findings of this study can be used to inform land use policy and plans for sustainable development in the region and beyond. Full article

Understanding how climatic variables impact the reference evapotranspiration (ETo) is essential for water resource management, especially considering potential fluctuations due to climate change. Therefore, we used the Sobol’ method to analyze the spatiotemporal variations of Penman–Monteith ETo sensitivity to the climatic variables: downward solar radiation, relative humidity, maximum and minimum air temperature, and wind speed. The Sobol’ indices variances were estimated by Monte Carlo integration, with sample limits set to the 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles of the daily data of 33 automatic weather stations located in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. The results of the Sobol’ analysis indicate considerable spatiotemporal variations in the sensitivity of ETo to climatic variables and their interactions. The dominant climatic variable responsible for ETo fluctuations in Mato Grosso is incident solar radiation (53% to 93% of annual total sensitivity—S_tot), which has a more significant impact in humid environments (70% to 90% of S_tot), as observed in the areas of the Amazon biome in the state. Air relative humidity and wind speed have higher sensitivity indices during the dry season in the Cerrado biome (savanna) areas in Mato Grosso (20% and 30% of the S_tot, respectively). Our findings show that changes in solar radiation, relative humidity, and wind speed are the main driving forces that impact the reference evapotranspiration. Full article

Landslides are among the most relevant and potentially damaging natural risks, causing material and human losses. The department of Aube in France is well known for several major landslide occurrences. This study focuses on the assessment of Landslide Susceptibility (LS) using the Frequency Ratio (FR) as a statistical method, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) as a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) method, and Random Forest (RF) and k-Nearest Neighbor (kNN) as machine learning methods in the Aube department, northeast of France. Subsequently, the thematic layers of eight landslide causative factors, including distance to hydrography, density of quarries, elevation, slope, lithology, distance to roads, distance to faults, and rainfall, were generated in the geographic information system (GIS) environment. The thematic layers were integrated and processed to map landslide susceptibility in the study area. On the other hand, an inventory of landslides was carried out based on the database created by the French Geological Survey (BRGM), where 157 landslide occurrences were selected, and then RF and kNN models were trained to generate landslide maps (LSMs) of the study area. The generated maps were assessed by using the Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (ROC AUC). Subsequently, the accuracy assessment of the FR model revealed more accurate results (AUC = 66.0%) than AHP, outperforming the latter by 6%, while machine learning models results showed that RF gave better results than kNN (<7.3%) with AUC = 95%. Following the analysis of LS mapping results, lithology, distance to the hydrographic network, distance to roads, and elevation were the four main factors controlling landslide susceptibility in the study area. Future mitigation and protection activities within the Aube department can benefit from the present study mapping results, implicating an optimized land management for decision-makers. Full article

The integration of soil into ecology in the current climate crisis is essential for correct environmental management. Soil is a part of ecosystems; above all, it is a component of the biosphere. It is necessary to establish a definition of soil that integrates biota and biodiversity without losing sight of the historical development of edaphology, the science that studies soil. In this opinion article, we proposes a definition for all soils grouped together in the edaphosphere, which is, in fact, a subsystem of the biosphere. In addition, we highlight the importance of the definition of soil provided by Vasily Dokuchaev, the founder of edaphology, with respect to the integration of soil into the biosphere and the differences between the concepts of pedosphere and edaphosphere. Full article

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 12, states that young people should be able to participate in issues that affect them. In this study, the indigenous Orang Rimba community examines the natural resources of their area through mapping so that the community can be more aware of environmental changes and at the same time their culture can be preserved. This research employs participatory resource mapping (PRM) to gather information about how young Orang Rimba view the forest in relation to customs. The study includes workshops on using GPS and GIS as well as resource mapping activities in the forest ecosystem. Through the participatory resource mapping, the study successfully maps 12 sacred places, 6 animal sites, and 14 medicinal plants in a short survey. The young Orang Rimba were also capable of addressing current environmental issues, including deforestation events, and simultaneously protecting the forest through local cultural practices. The study recommends involving indigenous communities in natural resource protection and awareness through mapping activities from a young age. Full article

Groundwater availability in the Zakho Basin faces significant challenges due to political issues, border stream control, climate change, urbanization, land use changes, and poor administration, leading to declining groundwater quantity and quality. To address these issues, this study utilized the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and geospatial techniques to identify potential groundwater sites in Zakho. The study assigned weights normalized through the AHP eigenvector and created a final index using the weighted overlay method and specific criteria such as slope, flow accumulation, drainage density, lineament density, geology, well data, rainfall, and soil type. Validation through the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC = 0.849) and coefficient of determination (R² = 0.81) demonstrated the model’s accuracy. The results showed that 17% of the area had the highest potential as a reliable groundwater source, 46% represented high-to-moderate potential zones, and 37% had low potential. Flat areas between rivers and high mountains displayed the greatest potential for groundwater development. Identifying these potential sites can aid farmers, regional planners, and local governments in making precise decisions about installing hand pumps and tube wells for a regular water supply. Additionally, the findings contribute to the development of a sustainable groundwater management plan, focusing on improving water usage and protecting water-related ecosystems in the region. Identification of the optimum influencing factors, arrangement of the factors in a hierarchy, and creation of a GWPI map will allow further planning for groundwater preservation and sustainability. This project can be conducted in other areas facing droughts. Full article

A high concentration of fluoride (F⁻) in drinking water is harmful and is a serious concern worldwide due to its toxicity and accumulation in the human body. There are various sources of fluoride (F⁻) and divergent pathways to enter into groundwater sources. High F⁻ incidence in groundwater was reported in Raigarh district of Central India in a sedimentary (Gondwana) aquifer system. The present study investigates the hydrogeochemistry of groundwater in the Tamnar area of Raigarh district to understand the plausible cause(s) of high F⁻ concentration, especially the source(s) and underlying geochemical processes. Groundwater samples, representing pre-monsoon (N = 83), monsoon (N = 20), and post-monsoon (N = 81) seasons, and rock samples (N = 4) were collected and analyzed. The study revealed that (i) groundwater with high F⁻ concentration occurs in the Barakar Formation, which has a litho-assemblage of feldspathic sandstones, shales, and coal, (ii) high F⁻ concentration is mainly associated with Na-Ca-HCO₃, Na-Ca-Mg-HCO₃, and Na-Mg-Ca-HCO₃ types of groundwater, (iii) the F⁻ concentration increases as the ratio of Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ increases (Na⁺: Ca²⁺, concentration in meq/l), (iv) F⁻ has significant positive correlation with Na⁺ and SiO₂, and significant negative correlation with Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, HCO₃⁻, and TH, and (v) high F⁻ concentration in groundwater is found in deeper wells. Micas and clay minerals, occurring in the feldspathic sandstones and intercalated shale/clay/coal beds, possibly form an additional source for releasing F⁻ in groundwater. Feldspar dissolution coupled with anion (OH⁻ or F⁻) and cation (Ca²⁺ for Na⁺) exchange are probably the dominant geochemical processes taking place in the study area. The higher residence time and temperature of groundwater in deeper aquifers also play a role in enhancing the dissolution of fluorine-bearing minerals. Systematic hydrogeochemical investigations are recommended in the surrounding area having a similar geologic setting in view of the potential health risk to a large population. Full article

Spatio-temporal analysis of rainfall trends in a watershed is an effective tool for sustainable water resources management, as it allows for an understanding of the impacts of these changes at the watershed scale. The objective of the present study is to analyze the impacts of climate change on the availability of surface water resources in the Nakanbe–Wayen watershed over the period from 1981 to 2020. The analysis was conducted on in situ rainfall data collected from 14 meteorological stations distributed throughout the watershed and completed with CHIRPS data. Ten precipitation indices, recommended by the ETCCDI (Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices), were calculated using the RClimDex package. The results show changes in the distribution of annual precipitation and an increasing trend in annual precipitation. At the same time, a trend towards an increase in the occurrence and intensity of extreme events was also observed over the last 4 decades. In light of these analyses, it should be emphasized that the increase in precipitation observed in the Nakanbe–Wayen watershed is induced by the increase in the occurrence and intensity of events, as a trend towards an increase in persistent drought periods (CDD) is observed. This indicates that the watershed is suffering from water scarcity. Water stress and water-related hazards have a major impact on communities and ecosystems. In these conditions of vulnerability, the development of risk-management strategies related to water resources is necessary, especially at the local scale. This should be formulated in light of observed and projected climate extremes in order to propose an appropriate and anticipated management strategy for climate risks related to water resources at the watershed scale. Full article