The principle and technique were reported here to produce lignin-based sand stabilizing material （LSSM） using extracted lignin from black liquor of straw paper mills. Field tests using LSSM to stabilize and green sa...The principle and technique were reported here to produce lignin-based sand stabilizing material （LSSM） using extracted lignin from black liquor of straw paper mills. Field tests using LSSM to stabilize and green sand dunes were started in 2002. The field experiment was carded out in August 2005 when the newly formed plant community was 3 years old. The results from the comprehensive field experiment demonstrated that unlike polyvinyl acetate or foamed asphalt commonly used for dune stabilization, LSSM was plant- friendly material and could be used in combination with seeding and planting of desert species. With the help of LSSM, the desert species （i.e., Agriophyllum squarrosum （L.） Moq. and Artemisia desertorum Spreng. etc.） could be used to form community in 2-3 yeas and to stabilize sand dune effectively. The newly formed community was sustainable under an extremely dry climate condition. The organic matter and total nitrogen in the soil increased significantly as the community were formed, while the change in P and K contents in the soil was negligible.展开更多
Mercury is one of the primary contaminants of global concern.As anthropogenic emissions of mercury are gradually placed under control,evidence is emerging that biotic mercury levels in many aquatic ecosystems are incr...Mercury is one of the primary contaminants of global concern.As anthropogenic emissions of mercury are gradually placed under control,evidence is emerging that biotic mercury levels in many aquatic ecosystems are increasingly driven by internal biogeochemical processes,especially in ecosystems that have been undergoing dramatic environmental changes.Here we review the unique properties of mercury that are responsible for the exceptional sensitivity of its biogeochemical cycles to changes in climatic,geochemical,biological and ecological processes.We show that,due to rapid climate warming,a shift from sources-driven to processes-driven mercury bioaccumulation is already happening in the Arctic marine ecosystem.We further suggest that such a shift might also be operating in the Three Gorges Reservoir due to changes in these biogeochemical processes induced by the damming.As a result,the effectiveness of mercury emission control is expected to be followed by long delays before ensuing reduction is seen in food-web levels,making it all the more pressing to control and reduce mercury emissions to the reservoir.Long-term monitoring and targeted studies are urgently needed to understand how biotic mercury levels in the reservoir are responding to changes in mercury emissions and in biogeochemical processes.展开更多
Climate change and human activities have changed a number of characteristics of river flow in the Taihu Basin.Based on long-term time series of hydrological data from 1986 to 2015,we analyzed variability in precipitat...Climate change and human activities have changed a number of characteristics of river flow in the Taihu Basin.Based on long-term time series of hydrological data from 1986 to 2015,we analyzed variability in precipitation,water stage,water diversion from the Yangtze River,and net inflow into Taihu Lake with the Mann-Kendall test.The non-stationary relationship between precipitation and water stage was first analyzed for the Taihu Basin and the Wuchengxiyu(WCXY)sub-region.The optimized regional and urban regulation schemes were explored to tackle high water stage problems through the hydrodynamic model.The results showed the following:(1)The highest,lowest,and average Taihu Lake water stages of all months had increasing trends.The total net inflow into Taihu Lake from the Huxi(HX)sub-region and the Wangting Sluice increased significantly.(2)The Taihu Lake water stage decreased much more slowly after 2002;it was steadier and higher after 2002.After the construction of Wuxi urban flood control projects,the average water stage of the inner city was 0.16e0.40 m lower than that of suburbs in the flood season,leading to the transfer of flooding in inner cities to suburbs and increasing inflow from HX into Taihu Lake.(3)The regional optimized schemes were more satisfactory in not increasing the inner city flood control burden,thereby decreasing the average water stage by 0.04e0.13 m,and the highest water stage by 0.04e0.09 m for Taihu Lake and the sub-region in the flood season.Future flood control research should set the basin as the basic unit.Decreasing diversion and drainage lines along the Yangtze River can take an active role in flood control.展开更多
On average, long-haul trucks in the U.S. use approximately 667 million gallons of fuel each year just for idling. This idling primarily facilitates climate control operations during driver rest periods. To mitigate th...On average, long-haul trucks in the U.S. use approximately 667 million gallons of fuel each year just for idling. This idling primarily facilitates climate control operations during driver rest periods. To mitigate this, our study explored ways to diminish the electrical consumption of climate control systems in class 8 trucks through innovative load reduction technologies. We utilized the CoolCalc software, developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which integrates heat transfer principles with extensive weather data from across the U.S. to mimic the environmental conditions trucks face year-round. The analysis of the CoolCalc simulations was performed using MATLAB. We assessed the impact of various technologies, including white paint, advanced curtains, and Thinsulate insulation on reducing electrical demand compared to standard conditions. Our findings indicate that trucks operating in the eastern U.S. could see electrical load reductions of up to 40%, while those in the western regions could achieve reductions as high as 55%. Such significant decreases in energy consumption mean that a 10 kWh battery system could sufficiently manage the HVAC needs of these trucks throughout the year without idling. Given that many long-haul trucks are equipped with battery systems of around 800 Ah (9.6 kWh), implementing these advanced technologies could substantially curtail the necessity for idling to power air conditioning systems.展开更多
Land evapotranspiration(ET) is an important process connecting soil, vegetation and the atmosphere, especially in regions that experience shortage in precipitation.Since 1999, the implementation of a large-scale veget...Land evapotranspiration(ET) is an important process connecting soil, vegetation and the atmosphere, especially in regions that experience shortage in precipitation.Since 1999, the implementation of a large-scale vegetation restoration project has significantly improved the ecological environment of the Loess Plateau in China.However, the quantitative assessment of the contribution of vegetation restoration projects to long-term ET is still in its infancy.In this study, we investigated changes in land ET and associated driving factors from 1982 to 2014 in the Loess Plateau using Budyko-based partial differential methods.Overall, annual ET slightly increased by 0.28 mm/a and there were no large fluctuations after project implementation.An attribution analysis showed that precipitation was the driving factor of inter-annual variability of land ET throughout the study period;the average impacts of precipitation, potential evapotranspiration, and vegetation restoration on ET change were 61.5%, 11.5% and 26.9%, respectively.These results provide an improved understanding of the relationship between vegetation condition change and climate variation on terrestrial ET in the study area and can support future decision-making regarding water resource availability.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40675040, 30771687, and90302015)the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2006CB400505)
文摘The principle and technique were reported here to produce lignin-based sand stabilizing material （LSSM） using extracted lignin from black liquor of straw paper mills. Field tests using LSSM to stabilize and green sand dunes were started in 2002. The field experiment was carded out in August 2005 when the newly formed plant community was 3 years old. The results from the comprehensive field experiment demonstrated that unlike polyvinyl acetate or foamed asphalt commonly used for dune stabilization, LSSM was plant- friendly material and could be used in combination with seeding and planting of desert species. With the help of LSSM, the desert species （i.e., Agriophyllum squarrosum （L.） Moq. and Artemisia desertorum Spreng. etc.） could be used to form community in 2-3 yeas and to stabilize sand dune effectively. The newly formed community was sustainable under an extremely dry climate condition. The organic matter and total nitrogen in the soil increased significantly as the community were formed, while the change in P and K contents in the soil was negligible.
基金supported by the Natural Science and Engineering Council(NSERC) of Canada (F.W.)the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (2012AA101405)
文摘Mercury is one of the primary contaminants of global concern.As anthropogenic emissions of mercury are gradually placed under control,evidence is emerging that biotic mercury levels in many aquatic ecosystems are increasingly driven by internal biogeochemical processes,especially in ecosystems that have been undergoing dramatic environmental changes.Here we review the unique properties of mercury that are responsible for the exceptional sensitivity of its biogeochemical cycles to changes in climatic,geochemical,biological and ecological processes.We show that,due to rapid climate warming,a shift from sources-driven to processes-driven mercury bioaccumulation is already happening in the Arctic marine ecosystem.We further suggest that such a shift might also be operating in the Three Gorges Reservoir due to changes in these biogeochemical processes induced by the damming.As a result,the effectiveness of mercury emission control is expected to be followed by long delays before ensuing reduction is seen in food-web levels,making it all the more pressing to control and reduce mercury emissions to the reservoir.Long-term monitoring and targeted studies are urgently needed to understand how biotic mercury levels in the reservoir are responding to changes in mercury emissions and in biogeochemical processes.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Project(Grants No.2018YFC0407900 and 2017YFC1502403)the Special Public Sector Research Program of the Ministry of Water Resources of China(Grant No.201501014)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grants No.51779071 and 51579065).
文摘Climate change and human activities have changed a number of characteristics of river flow in the Taihu Basin.Based on long-term time series of hydrological data from 1986 to 2015,we analyzed variability in precipitation,water stage,water diversion from the Yangtze River,and net inflow into Taihu Lake with the Mann-Kendall test.The non-stationary relationship between precipitation and water stage was first analyzed for the Taihu Basin and the Wuchengxiyu(WCXY)sub-region.The optimized regional and urban regulation schemes were explored to tackle high water stage problems through the hydrodynamic model.The results showed the following:(1)The highest,lowest,and average Taihu Lake water stages of all months had increasing trends.The total net inflow into Taihu Lake from the Huxi(HX)sub-region and the Wangting Sluice increased significantly.(2)The Taihu Lake water stage decreased much more slowly after 2002;it was steadier and higher after 2002.After the construction of Wuxi urban flood control projects,the average water stage of the inner city was 0.16e0.40 m lower than that of suburbs in the flood season,leading to the transfer of flooding in inner cities to suburbs and increasing inflow from HX into Taihu Lake.(3)The regional optimized schemes were more satisfactory in not increasing the inner city flood control burden,thereby decreasing the average water stage by 0.04e0.13 m,and the highest water stage by 0.04e0.09 m for Taihu Lake and the sub-region in the flood season.Future flood control research should set the basin as the basic unit.Decreasing diversion and drainage lines along the Yangtze River can take an active role in flood control.
文摘On average, long-haul trucks in the U.S. use approximately 667 million gallons of fuel each year just for idling. This idling primarily facilitates climate control operations during driver rest periods. To mitigate this, our study explored ways to diminish the electrical consumption of climate control systems in class 8 trucks through innovative load reduction technologies. We utilized the CoolCalc software, developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which integrates heat transfer principles with extensive weather data from across the U.S. to mimic the environmental conditions trucks face year-round. The analysis of the CoolCalc simulations was performed using MATLAB. We assessed the impact of various technologies, including white paint, advanced curtains, and Thinsulate insulation on reducing electrical demand compared to standard conditions. Our findings indicate that trucks operating in the eastern U.S. could see electrical load reductions of up to 40%, while those in the western regions could achieve reductions as high as 55%. Such significant decreases in energy consumption mean that a 10 kWh battery system could sufficiently manage the HVAC needs of these trucks throughout the year without idling. Given that many long-haul trucks are equipped with battery systems of around 800 Ah (9.6 kWh), implementing these advanced technologies could substantially curtail the necessity for idling to power air conditioning systems.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFC0401300)the Basic Research Project of China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (WR0145B342019)the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (51625904)
文摘Land evapotranspiration(ET) is an important process connecting soil, vegetation and the atmosphere, especially in regions that experience shortage in precipitation.Since 1999, the implementation of a large-scale vegetation restoration project has significantly improved the ecological environment of the Loess Plateau in China.However, the quantitative assessment of the contribution of vegetation restoration projects to long-term ET is still in its infancy.In this study, we investigated changes in land ET and associated driving factors from 1982 to 2014 in the Loess Plateau using Budyko-based partial differential methods.Overall, annual ET slightly increased by 0.28 mm/a and there were no large fluctuations after project implementation.An attribution analysis showed that precipitation was the driving factor of inter-annual variability of land ET throughout the study period;the average impacts of precipitation, potential evapotranspiration, and vegetation restoration on ET change were 61.5%, 11.5% and 26.9%, respectively.These results provide an improved understanding of the relationship between vegetation condition change and climate variation on terrestrial ET in the study area and can support future decision-making regarding water resource availability.
