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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1183.v1

The Associations between the Quantity and Quality of Urban Green Spaces and Health: Enlightenment from the Case of Hangzhou, China

Shanfeng Zhang, Ming Fang, Jiayun Hu

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Ecology Keywords: urban green space; health benefit; multivariate regression analysis; physical activity

Online: 18 April 2024 (17:06:40 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1244.v1

Oil-Coated Ammonium Sulfate Improve Maize Nutrient Uptake and Prevent Nitrogen Leaching Rates in Sandy Soil

Shuangdui Yan, Xinyu Dong, Huishu Jiang, Yu Liu, Ying Han, Tanwen Guo, Yanhui Zhang, Juan Li, Qiuyan Yan

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Soil Science Keywords: ammonium sulfate; nitrogen leaching rate; nitrogen uptake; maize yield

Online: 18 April 2024 (14:11:57 CEST)

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Ammonium sulfate has been utilized in agriculture; however, there is a dearth of research on its application in maize cultivation subsequent to the implementation of nitrification inhibitors or coating. This study aims to analyze the impacts of various combinations of ammonium sulfate fertilizers on soil nutrients, plant nutrient uptake, yield, and fertilizer utilization efficiency in maize cultivation to ascertain the optimal and stabilized disposal method for ammonium sulfate. A completely randomized design was employed with five treatments (AU, the control using urea; AS, treatment using ammonium sulfate; ASN, treatment using ammonium sulfate with a nitrification inhibitor; ASG, treatment using oil-coated ammonium sulfate; ASD, treatment using oil-humic acid-coated ammonium sulfate). Results showed that: (1) Compared with AU and AS, ASN, ASG and ASD decreased the leaching rates of TN, NH4+-N and NO3-N to the 10-20 cm soil layer, and more residual N was obtained in 0-10 cm soil layer. The first-order kinetic equation Nt=N0(1-e-kt) can better fit the process of nitrogen accumulation and release, and the N release rate constant is AU>CK>AS>ASH>ASN>ASD; (2) Compared with AU and AS treatments, the plant dry weight, grain dry weight, spike width, spike length, and yields of maize increased by 8.85-11.08%, 12.98-14.15%, 2.95-3.52%, 5.50-5.65%, and 43.21-51.10% under ASG treatment respectively. The impact of effective spike number on maize yield was found to be significant, as demonstrated by the path analysis conducted in this study. Furthermore, the accumulation levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium within above-ground plants significantly increased under the ASG treatment compared to the AU and AS treatments. The partial productivity of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium increased by 1.43-1.51-fold under ASG treatment, while grain nitrogen balance, grain phosphorus balance, and grain potassium balance increased by 1.41-1.58-fold, 1.51-1.95-fold, and 1.15-l.96-fold respectively. The oil-coated ammonium sulfate, therefore, exhibited the optimal slow-release effect of nutrients, thereby achieving superior performance in enhancing maize production and efficiency.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1250.v1

Xiaowei Liu, Carmen De Jong

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Geophysics And Geology Keywords: Low flow; Hydrological drought identification; Low mountain catchment

Online: 18 April 2024 (13:57:38 CEST)

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Climate change is increasing air temperatures and altering the precipitation and hydrological re-gime on a global scale. Challenges arise when assessing the impacts of climate change on the local scale for water resources management proposes, especially for low mountain headwater catch-ments that not only serve as important water towers for local communities, but also have distinct hydrological characteristics. Until now, no low flow or hydrological drought studies have been carried out on the Lauter River. This study is unique in that it compares the Lauter River, a transboundary Rhine tributary with a nearby station on the River Rhine just below its confluence at the French-German border. The Lauter catchment is a mostly natural, forested catchment, however, its water course has been influenced by past and present cultural activities. Climate change disturbances cascade through the hydrologic regime right down to the local scale. As we are expecting more low flow events, the decrease in water availability could cause conflicts be-tween different water user groups in the Lauter catchment. However, the choice of different methods for identifying low flow periods may cause confusion for local water resources manag-ers. Using flow rate time series of the Lauter River between 1956 and 2022 we compare for the first time three low flow identification methods: the variable threshold method (VT), the fixed threshold method (FT), and the Standardized Streamflow Index (SSI). Similar analyses are applied and compared to the adjacent Maxau station on the Rhine River for the same time period. This study aims at 1) interpreting the differences amongst the various low flow identification methods and 2) revealing the differences in low flow characteristics of the Lauter catchment compared to the Rhine River. It appears that the FT reacts faster to direct climate or anthropogenic impacts whereas VT is more sensitive to indirect factors such as decreasing subsurface flow which is typical for small headwater catchments, such as the Lauter where flow dynamics react faster to flow disturbances. Abnormally low flow during the early Spring in tributaries such as the Lauter can help predict low flow conditions of the Rhine River during the following half year and espe-cially for the summer. The results could facilitate Early Warning of hydrological droughts and drought management for water users in the Lauter catchment and further downstream along some of the Rhine.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1253.v1

The Roles Played by Environmental Sustainability and Innovation in the Rehabilitation of Abandoned Mining Sites

Viorel Gligor, Emanuela-Adina Nicula, Remus Cretan

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: environmental sustainability; mining sites; GIS; innovation; rehabilitation; mountain areas; Romania

Online: 18 April 2024 (13:56:03 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1259.v1

An Overlooked Group of Citizen Scientists in NIS Information: Shell Collectors and Their Contribution to Molluscan NIS Diversity

Argyro Zenetos, Cristiane DELONGUEVILLE, Roland SCAILLET

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: Alien species; Mediterranean Sea; mollusca; citizen science; amateur malacologists

Online: 18 April 2024 (12:30:12 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1189.v1

Research on The Heat Transfer Model of Double U-pipe Ground Heat Exchanger Based on In-Situ Testing

Ruifeng Wang, Mingchuan Shi, Jun Yu, Wei Ren, Guohong Yan, Ke Zhu, Zhiqiang Yin, Shujie Gao

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Geophysics And Geology Keywords: In-situ testing; Double U-pipe ground heat exchanger; Heat transfer model; Shallow geothermal energy

Online: 18 April 2024 (11:06:32 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1215.v1

Evaluating the VIIRS Imagery for Developing Near Real-Time Nationwide Vegetation Cover Monitoring in Indonesia

Yudi Setiawan, Kustiyo Kustiyo, Sahid Agustian Hudjimartsu, Judin Purwanto, Riva Rovani, Anna Tosiani, Basyiruddin Usman, Tatik Kartika, Novie Indriasari, Lilik Budi Prasetyo, Belinda Arunarwati Margono

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Remote Sensing Keywords: change detection; temporal vegetation dynamics; open area index; multi temporal VIIRS

Online: 18 April 2024 (10:57:27 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1236.v1

Improving The Spatiotemporal Transferability of Hyperspectral Remote Sensing for Estimating Soil Organic Matter by Minimizing The Coupling Effect of Soil Physical Properties on The Spectrum

Yuanyuan Sui, Ranzhe Jiang, Nan Lin, Haiye Yu, Xin Zhang

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Soil Science Keywords: soil organic matter; soil physical properties; hyperspectral imagery; spectrum correction; model migration

Online: 18 April 2024 (09:15:57 CEST)

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Soil organic matter (SOM) is important for the global carbon cycle, and hyperspectral remote sensing has proven a promising method for fast SOM content estimation. However, soil physical properties significantly affect the sensitivity of satellite hyperspectral imaging to SOM, leading to poor generalization ability of the estimation model. This study aims to improve the spatiotemporal transferability of the SOM prediction model by alleviating the coupling effect of soil physical properties on the spectra. Based on satellite hyperspectral images and soil physical variables, including soil moisture (SM), soil surface roughness (root mean squared height, RMSH), and soil bulk weight (SBW), a soil spectral correction strategy was established based on the information unmixing method. Two important grain-producing areas in Northeast China were selected as study areas to verify the performance and transferability of the spectral correction model and SOM content prediction model. The results showed that soil spectral corrections based on fourth-order polynomials and the XG-Boost algorithm had excellent accuracy and generalization ability, with residual predictive deviations (RPD) exceeding 1.4 in almost all bands. In addition, when the soil spectral correction strategy was adopted, the accuracy of the SOM prediction model and the generalization ability after model migration were significantly improved. The SOM prediction accuracy based on the XG-Boost corrected spectrum was the highest, with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.76, root mean square error (RMSE) of 5.74 g/kg, and RPD of 1.68. The prediction accuracy, R2, RMSE, and RPD of the model after migration were 0.72, 6.71 g/kg, and 1.53, respectively. Compared with the direct migration prediction of the model, adopting the soil spectral correction strategy based on fourth-order polynomials and XG-Boost reduced the RMSE of the SOM prediction results by 57.90% and 60.27%, respectively. The performance comparison highlighted the advantages of considering soil physical properties in regional-scale SOM prediction.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1229.v1

The Coupling Interaction of Soil Water and Soil Organic Carbon after Vegetation Restoration on China’s Loess Plateau

Yali Ma, Kun Qi, Na Feng, Jinmei Guo, Jiangbo Qiao, Chuangchun Shi

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: Afforestation; Deep soil profile; Semi-arid area; Soil water content; Soil organic carbon

Online: 18 April 2024 (09:12:02 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1198.v1

Instrumental Analysis of Aquatic Organic Pollutants and Its Association with the Spread of Multi-drug Resistant Bacteria

YUNXUAN XIE, Mohammad Elsheikh

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Oceanography Keywords: multi-drug resistant bacteria; microbial treatment; coastal organic waste; Pseudomonadale; marine microorganisms

Online: 18 April 2024 (08:10:05 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1098.v1

Effects of Defoliation Frequency on Biomass Production on Selected Drought Tolerant Forage Legumes Intercropped with (Chloris gayana): Drought Mitigation Strategy and Solutions Review

Nkosikhona Madolo, Wandile Mashece, Charles Petrus Laubscher, Ndumiso Mnukwa

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Other Keywords: Defoliation frequency; biomass production; forage; legumes; intercropping

Online: 17 April 2024 (14:49:11 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1165.v1

Determinants of Butterfly Community Structure and Composition at the Local Habitat Level: Importance of Neighbouring Vegetation and Management Status

Masahiko Kitahara, Taisuke Yasuda

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Ecology Keywords: butterflies; community structure and composition; determinants; management; MRT; neighboring plant community

Online: 17 April 2024 (14:45:54 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1161.v1

Stability and Composting Behaviour of Pla-Starch Laminates Containing Active Extracts and Cellulose Fibres from Rice Straw

Pedro A. V. Freitas, Chelo González-Martínez, Amparo Chiralt

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Sustainable Science And Technology Keywords: biodegradable materials; phenolic compounds; cellulose fibres; valorisation of residues; bilayer films

Online: 17 April 2024 (12:36:21 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1143.v1

3D Prospectivity Modeling of the Nibao Carlin-Type Gold Deposit, China: Insights into Mineralization Localization and Gold Exploration

Hui Guo, Xiancheng Mao, Juexuan Huang

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Geophysics And Geology Keywords: Spatial Analysis; Mineral Prospectivity Modeling; Carlin-type Gold Deposit; Nibao Gold Deposit

Online: 17 April 2024 (12:36:10 CEST)

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Existing research indicates that mineralization of Carlin-type gold deposit is related to geological structures, but current studies mostly focus on the qualitative association, and lack quantitative analysis of the relationship between mineralization and structural features, which limits the potential for predictive mineral exploration. In this study, the Nibao Carlin-type gold deposit was selected as the research area to conduct three-dimensional geological modeling, spatial analysis, and three-dimensional prospectivity modeling. Spatial analysis revealed that the majority of gold ore bodies are situated near the main fault, with gold mineralization primarily occurring within a spatial range of approximately -80 meters to 20 meters from the main fault plane. This spatial distribution predominantly aligns in a SW-NE direction. Spatial characteristic extraction of fault slope indicators suggests that the slope angles are conducive to the migration and accumulation of ore-forming hydrothermal fluids, with ore body metal content rapidly increasing within an angle range of approximately 20° to 60°. The shape analysis of the mainfault indicates that the principal spaces of mineralization enrichment are within -10m to 20m of the fault plane undulations, where gold resources are concentrated in a relatively flat area. However, the degree of mineralization is more pronounced in the protruding sections than in the depressed areas. The areas with significant dip changes in faults display higher variations in orebody attitudes, with mineralization noticeably weaker in areas where the fault steepness changes markedly. Ore-bearing units exhibit significantly higher grades within the -17° to 3° interval of fault steepness transition. This interval also sees a rapid accumulation of gold resources. The Nibao gold mine's mineralization is derived from deep, ore-bearing hydrothermal fluids ascending along major fractures, precipitating, and accumulating in favorable ore-hosting spaces (faults, anticline cores) and lithological combinations (sedimentary tuffs, tuffs). Three deep potential gold targets were identified, highlighting the deep western edge of the F1 fault and the deep southeast-trending lower plate as prospective areas for future exploration. This study underscores the effectiveness of 3D prospective modeling as an indispensable tool for elucidating the spatial distribution of fault-controlled Carlin-type gold deposits and their tectonic determinants.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1137.v1

PlanetiQ Radio Occultation: Preliminary Comparative Analysis of Neutral Profiles vs. COSMIC and NWP Models

Ibrahim F. Ahmed, Mohammed Alheyf, Mohamed S. Yamany

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Space And Planetary Science Keywords: GNSS Radio Occultation; PlanetiQ; COSMIC; GFS; ECMWF

Online: 17 April 2024 (11:54:41 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1132.v1

Dry and Wet Spells in Poland in the Period 1966–2023

Joanna Wibig

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Atmospheric Science And Meteorology Keywords: dry day; wet day; precipitation; interannual variability; trend; atmospheric circulation

Online: 17 April 2024 (11:52:31 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1121.v1

Regenerative Cattle Farming in Latin America and the Caribbean, Far beyond the Oxymoron

Ricardo Abramovay, Alessandra Matte, Estela Catunda Sanseverino, Adrieli Luisa Ritt, Marina Walder Galiano

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Sustainable Science And Technology Keywords: animal welfare; deforestation; moderate intensification; pastures; cattle farming

Online: 17 April 2024 (08:28:10 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1120.v1

Geology and Metallogeny of Shu-Ile Ore Zone Intrusive Complexes (Kazakhstan)

Adilkhan B. Baibatsha, Yuriy V. Vyazovetsky, Maxat K. Kembayev, Sayat E. Rais, Gulzada M. Koishina, Aibolat N. Talgatbek

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Geophysics And Geology Keywords: Kazakhstan tectonics; Shu-Ile belt; intrusive complexes; metallogeny Jalaiyr-Naiman suture

Online: 17 April 2024 (08:20:03 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1085.v1

Preparation and hydration properties of sodium silicate-activated municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash composite slag cementitious materials

Juan Deng, Guoxiong Wu, Yuchao Xia, Li Liu

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Sustainable Science And Technology Keywords: MSWIBA, sodium silicate-activated, hydration properties, equivalent age modeling

Online: 17 April 2024 (08:06:01 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1109.v1

Impact of Cumulus Options from WRF-Chem in Atmospheric Modeling in the Andean Region of Southern Ecuador

Rene Parra

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Atmospheric Science And Meteorology Keywords: Cuenca; convective parameterization; cumulus convective; rainfall

Online: 17 April 2024 (07:53:19 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1078.v1

Solar Energetic Particles Propagation Under 3D Corotating Interaction Regions With Different Characteristic Parameters

Yuji Zhu, Fang Shen

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Space And Planetary Science Keywords: solar energetic particles (SEP); corotating interaction regions (CIR); magnetohydrody- 19 namic (MHD)

Online: 16 April 2024 (17:28:40 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1011.v1

biSAMNet: A Novel Approach in Maritime Data Completion Using Deep Learning and NLP Techniques

Yong Li, Zhishan Wang

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Other Keywords: Deep learning; Natural language processing; Automatic identification system data; Word embedding; trajectory classification

Online: 16 April 2024 (11:38:48 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1045.v1

More than 30 Years of PVC Recycling – Need for Regulation

Uwe Lahl, Barbara Zeschmar-Lahl

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Waste Management And Disposal Keywords: PVC stock; material recycling; chemical recycling; chlorine cycle; economy

Online: 16 April 2024 (10:49:07 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202308.1017.v2

Review of Nature-Based Echo-Hydraulic Aqua-Forest Technology for Coastal Resilience and Sea Level Rise Climate-Induced Adaptation

Olanrewaju Oladokun, Unberto Lazzaro

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: Nature-based solution; seaweed; seagrass; platform; coastal protection

Online: 16 April 2024 (10:46:22 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.1023.v1

A Contribution to the Integration of International, National and Local Cultural Heritage Protection through a Multilevel Approach to Planning: A Case Study of the Djerdap Area

Ana Niković, Božidar Manić, Nataša Čolić Marković, Nikola Krunić

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: Djerdap; Danube; spatial plan; protected area; cultural heritage; multilevel approach

Online: 16 April 2024 (10:27:34 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202312.1052.v4

Innovative Cloud Quantification: Deep Learning Classification and Finite Sector Clustering for Ground-Based All Sky Imaging

Jingxuan Luo, Yubing Pan, Debin Su, Jinhua Zhong, Lingxiao Wu, Wei Zhao, Xiaoru Hu, Zhengchao Qi, Daren Lu, Yinan Wang

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Atmospheric Science And Meteorology Keywords: cloud quantification; deep neural networks; adaptive segmentation; finite element clustering; whole sky image

Online: 16 April 2024 (02:39:14 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0929.v1

Substitution of Inorganic Fertilizers with Organic Fertilizers Influences Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Content and Enzyme Activity under Rubber Plantation

Qiu Yang, Jiale Li, Wenxian Xu, Jingjing Wang, Yamin Jiang, Waqar Ali, Wenjie Liu

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Ecology Keywords: Organic fertilizers substitution; soil fertility; soil carbon; nitrogen; soil enzymes; rubber plant.

Online: 15 April 2024 (18:06:47 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0920.v1

Microbial Detoxification of Sediments Underpins Persistence of Zostera marina Meadows

Yuki Nakashima, Takumi Sonobe, Masashi Hanada, Goushi Kitano, Yoshimitsu Sonoyama, Katsumi Iwai, Takashi Kimura, Masataka Kusube

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Oceanography Keywords: Zostera marina; Eelgrass meadows; Blue carbon; H2S detoxification; Sulfur-oxidizing bacteria; Sulfur-reducing bacteria; Chromatiales

Online: 15 April 2024 (18:05:04 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0910.v1

A Green Pharmacy: Quantifying Medicinal Plant Use in the Sohagi Wildlife Sanctuary

Anju K Ojha, Santosh K Pandey

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: Ethnomedicine; Medicinal Plants; Traditional Knowledge; Biodiversity Conservation; Sustainable Healthcare; Sohagi; Tarai; India

Online: 15 April 2024 (18:00:28 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0874.v1

Analysis of Land Use Changes in the Sado Estuary (Portugal) from the 19th to the 21st Century, Based on Historical Maps, Fieldwork, and Remote Sensing

Neise Mare de Souza Alves, Nuno Pimentel, Débora Barbosa da Silva, Miguel Inácio, Ana Graça Cunha, Maria da Conceição Freitas

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Geography Keywords: land use; multi-temporal analysis; geoprocessing; environmental impacts; Sado estuary

Online: 15 April 2024 (11:47:03 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0941.v1

A Method for Identifying Proper Noun Derivative Semantic Relationships for Geographic Entities

Liu Hanyou, Wang Jizhou

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Geography Keywords: derivation relationship of proper nouns between toponyms; proper nouns derive toponym; extraction of derivatives of proper nouns; the morphological characteristics of toponym; spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of toponym

Online: 15 April 2024 (10:45:56 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0945.v1

Coastal Copper Tailings Dispersal: 3D Mapping And Shoreline Impacts, Particle Migration, Leaching, And Toxicity

W. Charles Kerfoot, Gary Swain, Robert Regis, Varsha K. Raman, Colin N. Brooks, Chris Cook, Molly Reif

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Remote Sensing Keywords: Coastal Mine Tailings, Keweenaw Peninsula, LiDAR 3D Bathymetry, UAS drone studies, Particle Dispersal, Specific Gravity, Copper Concentrations, Buffalo Reef, Mohawkite Arsenic, Toxicity, Daphnia

Online: 15 April 2024 (10:32:22 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0891.v1

Seed Coat Pigmentation Plays a Crucial Role in Partner Selection and N2 Fixation in Legume Root-Microbe Associations in African Soils

Sanjay K. Jaiswal, Felix D Dakora

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Soil Science Keywords: flavonoids; anthocyanin; pigmentation; soil microbes; disease resistance; nodulation and nitrogen fixation

Online: 15 April 2024 (08:46:05 CEST)

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The legume-rhizobia symbiosis is one of the most important plant-microbe interactions in sustainable agriculture due to its ability to provide much needed N to cropping systems. This interaction is mediated by the mutual recognition of signaling molecules from the two partners, namely legumes and rhizobia. With legumes, these molecules are in the form of flavonoids and anthocyanins, which are responsible for the pigmentation of plants parts, such as seeds, flowers, fruits and even leaves. Seed coat pigmentation in legumes is a dominant factor influencing gene expression relating to N2 fixation, and may be responsible for the different N2-fixing abilities observed among legume genotypes under field conditions in African soils. Cowpea, Kersting’s bean and Bambara groundnut landraces with black seed coat color are reported to release higher concentrations of nod-gene-inducing flavonoids and anthocyanins when compared to the Red and Cream landraces, hence the black seed coat pigmentation is considered a biomarker for enhanced nodulation and N2 fixation. Cowpea, Bambara groundnut and Kersting’s bean with differing seed coat colors are known to attract different native soil rhizobia, confirmable by PCR-RFLP analysis of bacterial DNA from root nodules of these legumes. Even when seeds of the same legume with diverse seed coat colors were planted together in one hole, the nodulating bradyrhizobia clustered differently in the PCR-RFLP dendrograms. In one study, Kersting’s groundnut, Bambara groundnut and cowpea with differing seed coat colors were selectively nodulated by different bradyrhizobial species. Multilocus sequence analysis showed that different Bradyrhizobium species nodulated the Kersting's bean based on seed coat color. Phylogenetic analysis also placed the bradyrhizobial isolates in close proximity to different Bradyrhizobium species such as B. vignae 7-2T, B. subterraneum 58 2-1T, B. kavangense 14-3T, B. liaoningense 2281 (USDA 3622)T, B. yuanmingense LMG 21827T, B. huanghuaihaiense CCBAU 23303T, B. pachyrhizi PAC48T, and a reference type strain of B. elkanii according to seed coat color. Using 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing, we also found significant selective influences of seed coat pigmentation on microbial community structure in the rhizosphere of five Kersting’s groundnut landraces. For example, the rhizosphere of Belane Mottled landrace was dominated by Proteobacteria, while Bacteroidetes dominated the rhizospheres of the other landraces. With legumes, seed coat pigmentation therefore plays a dominant role in the selection of the bacterial symbiotic partner.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0883.v1

Diets, Condition, and Reproductive Fitness of Slimy Sculpin (Uranidea cognata) after Catastrophic Flooding in Trout Streams in Southeastern Minnesota, USA

Neal D. Mundahl

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Ecology Keywords: flooding; benthic macroinvertebrates; sculpin; Fulton condition

Online: 15 April 2024 (04:39:39 CEST)

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Slimy sculpin (Uranidea cognata) inhabitat coldwater streams in southeastern Minnesota, USA, many of which were subjected to probable 2000-year flood events in August 2007. Floods scoured streambeds, created new stream channels, and greatly reduced benthic invertebrate communities that serve as the primary food resource for sculpin. Diets and Fulton condition of sculpin in Gilmore Creek (with moderate flooding) and Garvin Brook (with very severe flooding) had been examined just prior to flooding, and were re-examined two weeks after flooding to assess possible diet and condition changes. Diets, condition, and reproductive fitness of sculpin were examined seven months post-flood in these same two streams, plus nearby Trout run (also experienced very severe flooding). Sculpin condition declined significantly post-flood in Garvin Brook, but improved in Gilmore Creek. Prior to spring spawning, condition of Garvin Brook sculpin had improved, but Gilmore Creek fish condition worsened. Sculpin diets were more diverse before and after flooding in Gilmore Creek than in Garvin Brook, although diets of fish from both streams were dominated (>55%) by midge (Diptera: Chironomidae) larvae. Diets differed significantly before versus after flooding in the more severely flooded Garvin Brook, but not in Gilmore Creek. Prey number per sculpin stomach declined post-flood in Gilmore Creek, but not in Garvin Brook, although dry mass of prey/fish wet mass declined post-flood in both streams. Pre-spawn sculpin displayed no patterns in reproductive fitness (gonadosomatic index, hepatosomatic index, oocyte number) among the three streams that may have been related to flooding severity the previous summer. Although sculpin diets and condition were altered significantly immediately post-flood in the more severely flooded stream, food resource recovery apparently was rapid enough to prevent longer-term impacts on sculpin condition and reproductive fitness.

Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0880.v1

The Role of Legume Cover Crops in Enhancing Climate Resilience and Water Use Efficiency in South African Grassland Systems. A Review

Wandile Mashece, Nkosikhona Madolo, Charles Petrus Laubscher, Bongani Ncube

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Ecology Keywords: Legume cover crops; Climate resilience; Water use efficiency; South African grassland systems

Online: 15 April 2024 (04:20:08 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0850.v1

Green Synthesis of Cobalt-Doped CeFe2O5 Nanocomposites Using Waste Gossypium arboreum L. Stalk and Its Application in the Removal of Toxic Water Pollutants

Saloni Koul, Mamata Singhvi, Beom Soo Kim

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Water Science And Technology Keywords: green synthesis; co-precipitation; adsorption; dye removal; pollutant removal; cotton stalk; wastewater treatment; adsorption capacity

Online: 12 April 2024 (12:22:49 CEST)

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Currently, there is a tenacious need to find new ways to purify water by eliminating bacterial biofilms, textile dyes, and toxic water pollutants. These contaminants pose significant risks to both human health and the environment. To address this issue, in this study, we have developed an eco-friendly approach that involves synthesizing Cobalt-doped Cerium Iron Oxide (CCIO) nanocomposite (NC) using an aqueous extract of Gossypium arboreum L. stalks. The resulting nanoparticles can be used to effectively purify water and tackle the challenges associated with these harmful pollutants. Nanoparticles excel in water pollutant removal by providing high surface area for efficient adsorption, versatile design for simultaneous removal of multiple contaminants, catalytic properties for organic pollutant degradation, and magnetic features for easy separation, offering cost-effective and sustainable water treatment solutions. CCIO nanocomposite has been synthesized by green co-precipitation method due to biomolecules and co-enzymes present in the aqueous extract of Gossypium arboreum L. stalk; a single-step procedure completed in 5 h reaction time. Further, the synthesis of nanocomposites was confirmed by various characterization techniques such as Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Dynamic light scattering (DLS), and Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX). CCIO NCs were discovered to have a spherical shape and an average size of 40 nm. Based on DLS zeta potential analysis, CCIO NCs were found to be anionic. Also, CCIO NCs showed significant antimicrobial and antioxidant activity. Overall, considering the physical and chemical properties, the application of CCIO NCs in the adsorption of various dyes (~91 %) and water pollutants (chromium = ~ 60 %) has been considered since they exhibit great adsorption capacity owing to their microporous structure which can be a step forward in water purification.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0843.v1

Assessing the Impact of Brackish Water on Soil Salinization Using Time-Lapse Electromagnetic Induction Inversion

Lorenzo De Carlo, Mohammad Farzamian

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Soil Science Keywords: soil salinization; apparent electrical conductivity; electromagnetic induction measurements; time-lapse inversion

Online: 12 April 2024 (09:51:18 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0834.v1

A Multi-Temporal Analysis on the Dynamics of the Impact of Land Use and Land Cover on NO₂ and CO Emissions in Argentina for Sustainable Environmental Management

Viviana Fernández-Maldonado, Ana Laura Navas, María Paula Fabani, Germán Mazza, Rosa Rodriguez

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: atmospheric pollution; remote sensing data; land uses and land cover; gases; environmental management

Online: 12 April 2024 (05:28:49 CEST)

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Air quality is a topic of growing relevance on the global agenda. Two key indicators of air quali-ty, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO), represent significant hazards to human health and the environment putting the sustainability of natural resources at risk. Therefore, it is imperative to regularly monitor and reduce atmospheric pollutant concentrations to mitigate their harmful consequences. This study presents an analysis of NO2 total and CO emissions in Argentina, utilizing remote sensing data. The research aims to determine the spatiotemporal distribution of NO2 and CO emissions in Argentina from 2019 to 2021. Subsequently, it seeks to establish the influence of land uses and land cover on the emission of NO2 and CO through dif-ferent climatic, anthropic, and natural indicators. The study was carried out in Argentina during the period 2019-2021, where random points were placed for the different land covers with a total of 800 points surveyed. The year with the highest CO concentration (mol/m-2) was 2020. The values were highest for tree covers and herbaceous wetland coverage in the northern part of the country. For total NO2, the highest concentrations were reached during the years 2020 and 2021. Regarding its distribution, throughout the evaluated period, the highest concentrations of total NO2 were found in the built-up and cropland coverages, with the capital of the country and the northern region of the Buenos Aires province being the most affected areas. In addition, the concentration of CO was influenced by climatic variables (atmospheric pressure, wind speed, maximum environment temperature, Palmer index), natural (height, humidity, NDVI), and ur-ban variables (distances to mining extraction, airports, power plants, urban index) for the differ-ent uses and land covers. Finally, the concentrations of total NO2 were influenced by climatic variables (Palmer index and wind speed), natural (height and NDVI), and urban variables (dis-tance to airports, power plants, industries, service stations, and open dumpsites) for the differ-ent uses and land cover. This study contributes to sustainable environmental management, ena-bling the formulation of effective strategies for mitigating emissions and promoting the long-term health and well-being of communities.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0757.v1

Fluid Chemical and Isotopic Signatures Insighting the Hydrothermal Control of the Wahongshan-Wenquan Fracture Zone (WWFZ), NE Tibetan Plateau

Tingxin Li, Rui Lu, Wenping Xie, Jinshou Zhu, Lingxia Liu, Wenjing Lin

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Other Keywords: Hydrogeochemistry; geothermal gas isotopes; geothermal systems; NE Tibetan Plateau

Online: 11 April 2024 (12:53:40 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0797.v1

The Effect of Climate Change on Organic Honey Efficiency in Türkiye via Machine Learning

Ayca Nur Sahin Demirel

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Sustainable Science And Technology Keywords: Climate Change; Organic Beekeeping; Sustainable Agriculture; Natural Source Management

Online: 11 April 2024 (11:30:33 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0790.v1

Comparison of Evapotranspiration Values Calculated with Empirical Methods and ETgage Measurements

Fatih cem Kuzucu, İsmail Taş

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: thornthwaite; Blaney-Criddle; cropwat (FAO Penman Monteith); Jensen-Haise; ASCE standardize Penman Monteith.

Online: 11 April 2024 (11:26:15 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0806.v1

Changes of Species Composition, Diversity, and Biomass of Secondary Dry Grasslands After Long-Term Mowing, a Case Study in Hungary

Judit Házi, Dragica Purger, Károly Penksza, Sándor Bartha

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Ecology Keywords: Calamagrostis epigejos L. Roth; conservation management; grassland management, land abandonment; dry grassland, loes steppe, long-term data; nature conservation

Online: 11 April 2024 (10:38:56 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0803.v1

Feasibility of Using SWIR Transformed Reflectance (STR) in Place of Surface Temperature (Ts) for the Mapping of Irrigated Landcover

Mohammad Abuzar, Kathryn Sheffield, Andy McAllister

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Remote Sensing Keywords: Irrigated landcover; thresholding method; Central Goulburn District

Online: 11 April 2024 (10:03:23 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0787.v1

A Highly Homogeneous Airborne Fungal Community Around a Copper Open-Pit Mine Reveals a Poor Contribution by the Local Aerosolization of Particles

Sebastián Fuentes-Alburquenque, Victoria Olivencia Suez, Omayra Aguilera, Blanca Águila, Luis Rojas Araya, Dinka Mandakovic

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Ecology Keywords: microbial community; diversity; air; fungi; bioaerosol

Online: 11 April 2024 (08:03:29 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0782.v1

Designing Retirement Strategies for Coal-Fired Power Plants to Mitigate Air Pollution and Health Impacts

Carla Campos, Emily L. Pakhtigian, Wei Peng, Joel R. Landry, Hannah Wiseman, An T. Pham

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Pollution Keywords: coal retirement; air quality; human health; environmental justice

Online: 11 April 2024 (07:43:21 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0724.v1

Detecting Co-Seismic Landslides in GEE using Machine-Learning Algorithms on combined Multispectral and RADAR Imagery

Stefan Peters, Jixue Liu, Gunnar Keppel, Anna Wendleder, Peiliang Xu

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Remote Sensing Keywords: landslide detection; satellite remote sensing; machine learning; classification; Google Earth Engine; transfer learning

Online: 11 April 2024 (04:12:10 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0737.v1

Identifying and Dealing with Interdependencies and Conflicts of Goals in Manufacturing Companies’ Sustainability Measures

David Koch, Alexander Sauer

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Sustainable Science And Technology Keywords: sustainability; trade-off; interdependency; decision tool; sustainable production; production

Online: 11 April 2024 (02:55:30 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0705.v1

A Comparative Study of PP-LiteSeg, Dual Attention Network, DeeplabV3p and Asymmetric Neural Network for Rooftop Detection in UAV Images

Zeenat Khadim Hussain, Jiang Congshir, Yuan Xin Xin, Muhammad Raza e Mustafa

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Remote Sensing Keywords: Deep Learning; Remote Sensing; PaddlePaddle; Rooftop; Semantic Segmentation; EISeg; Asymmetric Neural Network; PP-LiteSeg; Deeplab3; Dual Attention Network

Online: 10 April 2024 (12:10:22 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0704.v1

Climate Change Reduces the Effectiveness of Myanmar’s Protected Area Network

Weiming Chen, Mingbo Wu

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Ecology Keywords: climate change; protected area network; biodiversity; cross-boundary range shift; Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot

Online: 10 April 2024 (09:44:57 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0713.v1

Machine-Learning Algorithms for Mapping LULC of the uMngeni Catchment Area, KwaZulu-Natal

Orlando Bhungeni, Ashadevi Ramjatan, Michael Gebreslasie

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Remote Sensing Keywords: uMngeni River Catchment; Machine learning; LULC; Landsat 8; Remote sensing

Online: 10 April 2024 (08:18:12 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0668.v1

Multi-elemental Characterization of Soils in the Vicinity of Siderurgical Industry: Levels, Depth Migration and Toxic Risk

Antoaneta Ene, Florin Sloată, Marina V. Frontasyeva, Octavian G. Duliu, Alina Sion, Steluta Gosav, Diana Persa

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: soils; siderurgy; metals; trace elements; contamination; INAA; toxic risk

Online: 10 April 2024 (06:47:36 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0674.v1

Microneedles Patch: Design, Fabrication and Applications

Cristiana Oliveira, José A. Teixeira, Nelson Oliveira, Sónia Ferreira, Cláudia Botelho

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Other Keywords: Microneedles; Bioactive molecules; Transdermal drug delivery system; Design parameters; Manufacturing techniques; Usage

Online: 9 April 2024 (14:52:30 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0681.v1

The Variation in the Thermal Low-Pressure Location Index over the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and Its Relationship with Summer

Xie qing Xia, Mingfei Zhou, Yulei Zhu, Hongzhong Tang, Jing Yang, Qingbing Pang

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Atmospheric Science And Meteorology Keywords: Qinghai–Tibet Plateau; thermal low pressure; the location indexes; precipitation

Online: 9 April 2024 (14:29:33 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0187.v2

Factors Influencing Rental Investments in Paphos, Cyprus: Comparing Short and Long-Term Rental Strategies

Sam Martin, Thomas Dimopoulos, Martha Katafygiotou

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Other Keywords: AirDNA; Airbnb; Random Forest; K-Nearest Neighbour; Multiple Linear Regression; Geographic Information System

Online: 9 April 2024 (11:52:38 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0642.v1

Near-Surface Dispersion and Current Observations by Dye, Drifter, and HF Radar in Coastal Water

Keunyong Kim, Tran Thi My Hong, Kyu‐Min Song, Yeong Baek Son, Young-Gyu Park, Geun-Ho Kwak, Jun Myoung Choi

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Remote Sensing Keywords: Surface current; contaminant dispersion; dye; drifter; HF radar

Online: 9 April 2024 (11:51:13 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0666.v1

Remotely Sensed Changes in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Wetland Ecosystems and Their Response to Drought

Aodi Fu, Wenzheng Yu, Bashar Bashir, Xin Yao, Yawen Zhou, Jiwei Sun, Abdullah Alsalman, Karam Alsafadi

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Remote Sensing Keywords: remote sensing; Qinghai-Tibet plateau; wetland ecosystems; climate warming; landsat; SPEI

Online: 9 April 2024 (11:47:44 CEST)

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Wetland ecosystems in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are pivotal for global ecology and regional sustainability, contributing significantly to terrestrial ecosystems by regulating runoff, mitigating floods, and enhancing water quality. This study investigates the dynamic changes in wetland ecosystems within the Chaidamu Basin and their response to drought, aiming to foster sustainable wetland utilization in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Using Landsat TM/ETM/OLI data on the Google Earth Engine platform, we employed a random forest method for annual long-term land cover classification. Meteorological drought conditions were assessed using SPEI3, SPEI6, SPEI9, and SPEI12, derived from monthly precipitation and evapotranspiration data. Pearson correlation analysis examined the relationship between wetland changes and various SPEI scales. The BFASAT method evaluated the impact of SPEI12 trends on wetlands, while cross-wavelet analysis explored teleconnections between SPEI12 and atmospheric circulation factors. Our findings revealed that the land cover dataset of the Chaidamu Basin (1990-2020) exhibited diverse categories with high classification accuracy (OA: 90.27%, Kappa: 88.34%). Wetlands, including lake, glacier, and marsh types, exhibited a noticeable increasing trend. Wetland expansion occurred during specific periods (1990-1997, 1998-2007, 2008-2020), featuring extensive conversions between wetland and other types, notably from other types to wetlands. Spatially, lake and marsh wetlands predominated in the low-latitude basin, while glacier wetlands were situated at higher altitudes. The study identified significant negative correlations between SPEI at various scales and total wetland area and types, with SPEI12 exhibiting the most substantial effect between September and December (r <-0.75) on wetlands. SPEI12 displayed a decreasing trend with non-stationarity and distinct breakpoints in 1996, 2002, and 2011, indicating heightened drought severity. Atmospheric circulation indices (ENSO, NAO, PDO, AO, WP) exhibited varying resonance with SPEI12, with NAO, PDO, AO, and WP demonstrating longer resonance times and pronounced responses.The continuous growth of wetlands amidst increasing aridification emphasizes the need for thoughtful wetland development to establish a sustainable "forest-lake-grass-field-river" ecological community. These findings underscore the significance of comprehending wetland changes and drought dynamics for effective ecological management in the Chaidamu Basin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0593.v1

Spatial Data Infrastructure for Remote Sensing: A Comprehensive Analysis

Paola Carrara, Gloria Bordogna, Giacomo De Carolis

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Remote Sensing Keywords: spatial data infrastructure; remote sensing

Online: 9 April 2024 (11:15:37 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0649.v1

EV Battery Recycling: Opportunities to Foster Circular Economy

Rohan Jayaraman

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Waste Management And Disposal Keywords: recycling; lithium; India; EV; circular; hydrometallurgy; pyrometallurgy ;

Online: 9 April 2024 (10:25:02 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0607.v1

Microplastics from the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Functional and Clinical Endocrine Exposure to Human Health. Systematic Review.

José Antonio Latorre, Javier Conde-Pipó, Alba Diaz, Alejandro Lopez-Moro, Nuria Gimenez-Blasi, Nicolas Olea, Fatima Olea-Serrano, Miguel Mariscal-Arcas

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: Microplastics; endocrine disruptors; endocrine exposure; plastics; Mediterranean Sea; human health.

Online: 9 April 2024 (08:56:10 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0606.v1

Mapping Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) Using Seasonal Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 Composite Imagery across the Southern Rockies, USA

Maxwell Cook, Teresa Chapman, Sarah Hart, Asha Paudel, Jennifer Balch

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Remote Sensing Keywords: Forest species classification; Sentinel-1; Sentinel-2; seasonal imagery; phenology; spatial block cross-validation; Random Forests; Southern Rockies; landscape patch dynamics; Google Earth Engine

Online: 9 April 2024 (08:49:48 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0613.v1

On the Cloud to Ground Lightning Flash Current Estimates of the Lightning Detection Sensor Network (LDSN)

Venkatesh Degala, Suryavanshi Arun, Alok Taori, G. Srinivasa Rao, Sunil Pawar, M. Mallikarjun

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Sustainable Science And Technology Keywords: climate; lightning; society; environment

Online: 9 April 2024 (08:04:33 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0599.v1

Long-Term and seasonal changes in Emission Sources of Atmospheric Particulate-Bound Pyrene and 1-Nitropyrene in Selected Four Cities in the Western Pacific

Kazuichi Hayakawa

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: Western Pacific; vehicle; coal combustion; source contribution; pyrene; 1-nitropyrene

Online: 9 April 2024 (07:46:44 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0550.v1

Techno-Economic Evaluation on Solar-Assisted Post-Combustion CO₂ Capture in Hollow Fiber Membrane Contactors

Junkun Mu, Jinpeng Bi, Yuexia Lv, Yancai Su, Wei Zhao, Hui Zhang, Tingting Du, Fuzhao Li, Hongyang Zhou

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Sustainable Science And Technology Keywords: solar thermal energy; membrane gas absorption; hollow fiber membrane contactor; technical feasibility; economic assessment

Online: 9 April 2024 (07:19:49 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0624.v1

Rock Particle Segmentation Using Mask R-CNN

Fiyinfoba Ogunkeye, Liqun Shan, Xiali Hei

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Geophysics And Geology Keywords: rock segmentation; Mask R-CNN; Detectron2; instance segmentation; deep learning

Online: 9 April 2024 (07:12:57 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0594.v1

A Deep Learning Classification Scheme for PolSAR Image Based on Polarimetric Features

Shuaiying Zhang, Lizhen Cui, Zhen Dong, Wentao An

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Remote Sensing Keywords: Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PolSAR); Reflection Symmetric Decomposition (RSD); Data Input Scheme; Land Classification; Polarimetric Scattering Characteristics.

Online: 9 April 2024 (00:29:24 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0477.v1

Case Studies of the Impact of Sea Temperature and Salinity on the Strength of Tropical Cyclones over the Western North Pacific and the South China Sea

P.W. Chan, C.C. Lam, T.W. Hui, Z.G. Gao, H.L. Fu, C.J. Sun, H. Su

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Atmospheric Science And Meteorology Keywords: tropical cyclone; sea surface temperature; salinity; intensification

Online: 8 April 2024 (16:41:06 CEST)

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With increasing air and sea temperatures, the thermodynamic environments over the oceans become more favourable for the development of intense tropical cyclones (TCs) with rapid intensification (RI). In fact, the number of TCs undergoing RI is rising (Zhao, et al., 2018; Bhatia, et al., 2019; Song, et al., 2020; Hong & Wu, 2021; Liu, et al., 2022). RI over coastal sea areas before landfalling is particularly impactful and threatening to coastal lives and properties. There have been studies showing that offshore areas within 400 km of the coastline have experienced a significant increase in RI events with the count tripling from 1980 to 2020 (Li et al., 2023). The south China coastal region consists of highly densely populated cities especially the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region. Intense TCs maintaining its strength or RI of TCs close to the coastal region presents substantial forecasting challenges. This study investigates the effect of sea surface and subsurface temperature and salinity on the intensification of five TCs, namely Super Typhoons Hato in 2017 and Mangkhut in 2018, Typhoon Talim, Super Typhoon Saola and Severe Typhoon Koinu in 2023, which significantly affected the south China coastal region and triggered high TC warning signals in Hong Kong. The analysis utilized the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) TC track and intensity data, along with the sea temperature and salinity profiles generated using the China Ocean ReAnalysis version 2 (CORA2) of the National Marine Data and Information Service (NMDIS) of China. While high sea surface temperature (SST) of 30°C or above, low surface sea surface salinity (SSS) of 34 psu or below, and strong salinity stratification of at least 0.8 psu per 100 m depth may offer useful hints for predicting RI, they are part of a broader set of contributing factors. This study represents the initial documentation of sub-surface salinity's impact on intense TCs over the South China Sea (SCS) in recent years and will encourage further research to refine forecasting RI of TCs before making landfall near PRD taking into account the effect of freshwater from the Pearl River.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0553.v1

Surface-Coated PVDF@TAPEG Selective Ultrafiltration Membranes: An Investigation on Membranes’ Hydrophilicity and Antifouling Characteristics for Effective Humic Acid Removal from Wastewater

Leila Emadinezhad, Bita Ayati

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Water Science And Technology Keywords: wastewater treatment; tannic acid coating; polyvinylidene fluoride membrane; hydrophilicity; Humic acid separation.

Online: 8 April 2024 (16:04:58 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0569.v1

A Review: Tree Species Classification Based on Remote Sensing Data and Classic Deep Learning-based Methods

Lihui Zhong, Zhengquan Dai, Panfei Fang, Yong Cao, Leiguang Wang

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Remote Sensing Keywords: remote sensing; tree species classification; unimodal and multimodal remote sensing data; classic deep learning-based methods

Online: 8 April 2024 (15:05:04 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0532.v1

Natural Hydrogen in North Perth Basin, WA Australia: Detection in Soil Gas for Early Exploration

Vitaly Vidavskiy, Reza Rezaee, Nikolay Larin, Rance Dorrington, Martin Spivey, Vladimir Vidavskiy

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Geochemistry And Petrology Keywords: Natural hydrogen; White hydrogen; Primordially Hydridic Earth; Clean Energy; Hydrogen exploration

Online: 8 April 2024 (11:42:01 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0533.v1

Factors Governing Site and Charge Density of Dissolved Natural Organic Matter

Rolf David Vogt, Øyvind A. Garmo, Kari Austnes, Øyvind Kaste, Ståle Leif Haaland, James Sample, Jan-Erik Thrane, Liv Bente Skancke, Cathrine Brecke Gundersen, Heleen A. De Wit

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: Dissolved Natural Organic Matter; Organic charge; Site density; Charge density; Oliver model; Hru&scaron; ka model

Online: 8 April 2024 (11:39:03 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0522.v1

Are Indexes of Ecological Risk Associated with Trace Metals Relevant for the Characterization of Mine Tailings and Polluted Soils in the Katangese Copperbelt (DR Congo) and for Assessment of the Performance of Remediation Trials

Serge Langunu, Jacques Kilela Mwanasomwe, Gilles Colinet, Mylor Ngoy Shutcha

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Pollution Keywords: trace metals; mining waste; phytoremediation; ecological risk indices; Katangese Copperbelt

Online: 8 April 2024 (11:14:32 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0496.v1

The Kerch Peninsula in Transition: A Comprehensive Analysis of Land Use and Land Cover Changes Over Thirty Years

Denis Krivoguz

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Geography Keywords: land use and land cover change; Kerch Peninsula; convolutional neural networks; satellite imagery; urban expansion; sustainable land management

Online: 8 April 2024 (07:02:13 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0500.v1

Identification of Convection as a Source for the Gravity Waves Observed in the Upper Mesosphere during Indo-French Campaign on Coupling of Lower and Middle Atmospheres

M. Pramitha, M. Venkat Ratnam, Alok Taori

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Atmospheric Science And Meteorology Keywords: Gravity waves; GROGRAT model; ray tracing; convection; airglow ;

Online: 8 April 2024 (05:06:42 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0447.v1

Soil Extracellular Enzyme Activities and Microbial Nutrient Limitation during the Primary Succession of Lava Platform in Wudalianchi, China

Hongbin Yin, Mingyi Xu, Qingyang Huang, Hongjie Cao, Lihong Xie, Fan Yang, Chao Zhang, Gang Sha, Yingnan Liu

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Ecology Keywords: soil extracellular enzyme activities; enzymatic stoichiometry; microbial nutrient limitation; primary succession; lava platform

Online: 5 April 2024 (16:55:16 CEST)

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Soil extracellular enzyme activity (EEAs) and enzymatic stoichiometry (ES) can provide a crucial indication of changes in soil ecosystem's nutrient availability and the microbial resource limitations. However, the changing characteristics of soil EEAs and ES at different stages of the native succession process and their key drivers are unclear. In order to investigate the soil EEAs, ES and driving factors of soil under vegetation at different succession stages, we adopted the "spatio-temporal substitution" method to collect the surface soil of bryophyte community, herbaceous community, shrub community and tree community in the new volcanic lava platform of Wudalianchi Volcanic Nature Reserve. We measured seven soil EEA, including carbon(C)-acquiring enzyme (β-1,4-glucosidase (BG)), N-acquiring enzymes (β-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase (NAG) and leucine aminopeptidase (LAP)) and phosphorus (P)-acquiring enzyme (acid phosphatase (AP)) activities. The length and angle of vectors defined by ratios of enzyme activities (BG/(NAG + LAP) vs. BG/AP) were used to indicate relative microbial investments in C- (length), and N- and P- (angle) acquiring enzymes. Our results showed that the contents of TC, TN, TP, MBC, DOC and NO3-N in shrub community soil were significantly higher than those in bryophyte, herb and tree communities, and increased by 441%, 246%, 137%, 5570%, 12% and 484%, respectively. The highest soil EEA of C-, N- and P-acquiring were found in shrub community, and the soil EEAs/MBC of C-, N- and P-acquiring were the highest in bryophyte community. Enzyme C:N, C:P and N:P ratios increased progressively in the order of bryophyte, herb and shrub community, but the enzyme C:N, C:P and N:P ratios of tree community were both far less than shrub community. Vector lengths increased progressively in the order of bryophyte (1.16), herb (1.27), tree (1.29) and shrub (1.40), and Vector angles decreased progressively in the order of bryophyte (49.15°), herb (45.65°), Tree (45.31°) and shurb (44.54°), suggested that as succession progresses, soil microbial nutrients transforms from P limitation (angle＞45°) to N limitation (angle＜45°). Redundancy analysis showed that TC, TN, EC and C:N were important drivers of variation in soil EEAs and ES in vegetation at different succession stages. Our findings highlight that the primary succession process cause nutrient limitation transformation. Soil ES might be a sensitive indicator mediated by soil microorganisms to the relative resource limitation at different stages of the primary succession process.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0439.v1

Phytoplankton Bloom Localized by Sentinel-2 Images and Hydrodynamic Modelling – Sulejów Reservoir, Pilica River, Poland

Peshang Hama Karim, Monika Kalinowska, Aleksandra Zieminska-Stolarska, Artur Magnuszewski

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Pollution Keywords: eutrophication; phytoplankton blooms; Sentinel-2; hydrodynamic modelling; Pilica River; Sulejow Reservoir; NDCl; CCHE2D

Online: 5 April 2024 (12:09:49 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0399.v1

Selective Isolation and Identification of Microorganisms with Dual Capabilities: Leather Biodegradation and Heavy Metal Resistance for Industrial Applications

Manuela Bonilla-Espadas, Basilio Zafrilla, Irene Lifante-Martínez, Mónica Camacho, Elena Orgilés-Calpena, Francisca Arán-Aís, Marcelo Bertazzo, María-José Bonete

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: heavy metal reduction; leather biodegradation; microbial strain characterization; tannery wastewater

Online: 5 April 2024 (11:01:54 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0431.v1

Twenty-Year Climatology of Solar UV and PAR in Cyprus: Integrating Satellite Earth Observations with Radiative Transfer Modeling

Konstantinos Fragkos, Ilias Fountoulakis, Georgia Charalampous, Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Argyro Nisantzi, Diofantos Gl. Hadjimitsis, Stelios Kazadzis

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Atmospheric Science And Meteorology Keywords: Ultraviolet Radiation; Erythema; UV-Index; Photosynthetically Active Radiation

Online: 5 April 2024 (10:44:07 CEST)

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In this study, we present comprehensive climatologies of effective ultraviolet (UV) quantities and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) over Cyprus for the period 2004 to 2023, leveraging the synergy of earth observation (EO) data and radiative transfer model simulations. The EO dataset, encompassing satellite and re-analysis data for aerosols, total ozone column, and water vapor, alongside cloud modification factors, to capture the nuanced dynamics of Cyprus's atmospheric conditions. With a temporal resolution of 15 minutes and a spatial of 0.05°x0.05°, these climatologies undergo rigorous validation against established satellite datasets and are further evaluated through comparisons with ground-based global horizontal irradiance measurements provided by the Meteorological Office of Cyprus. This dual-method validation approach not only underscores the models' accuracy but also highlights their proficiency in capturing intra-daily cloud coverage variations. Our analysis extends to investigating the long-term trends of these solar radiation quantities, examining their interplay with changes in cloud attenuation, aerosol optical depth (AOD), and total ozone column (TOC). Significant decreasing trends in the noon ultraviolet index (UVI), of -2 to -4% per decade have been found in Autumn, especially marked on the island’s Northeastern part, mainly originating from the (significant) positive trends in TOC. The significant decreasing trends in TOC, of -2 to -3% per decade that were found in Spring do not result in correspondingly significant positive trends in the noon UVI since variations in cloudiness and aerosols also have a strong impact on the UVI in this season. The seasonal trends in the Daylight Integral (DLI) were generally not significant. These insights provide a valuable foundation for further studies aimed at developing public health strategies and enhancing agricultural productivity, highlighting the critical importance of accurate and high-resolution climatological data.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0428.v1

Estimation Method of Chlorophyll Concentration Distribution Based on UAV Aerial Images considering Turbid Water Distribution in a Reservoir

Mitsuteru Irie, Yugen Manabe, Masafumi Yamashita

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: Algae; Chlorophyll-a; Turbidity; Reservoir; Machine learning; UAV; Insolation

Online: 5 April 2024 (10:10:23 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0417.v1

Spatial Distribution Mechanism of Soil Water-Salt Coupling Effect in Arid Saline-Alkali Farmland

Zengming Ke, Lihui Ma, Nan Shen

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Soil Science Keywords: coupling effect; multifractal method; spatial distribution; soil water; soil salt

Online: 5 April 2024 (07:51:27 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0326.v1

Cellulose-based waste in a close loop: adsorbent for dyes removal from textile industry wastewater

Marija Vukčević, Marina Maletić, Biljana Pejić, Ana Kalijadis, Mirjana Kostić, Katarina Trivunac, Aleksandra Perić Grujić

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: cotton yarn; cotton/polyester yarn; textile waste; adsorption; organic dyes; wastewater

Online: 4 April 2024 (17:47:55 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0390.v1

Supervised Statistical Optimization of Interfaced Geophysical–Geotechnical Datasets for Holistic Surface–Subsurface Modeling

Adedibu Sunny Akingboye, Andy Anderson Bery, Muslim Babatunde Aminu, Mbuotidem David Dick, Gabriel Abraham Bala, Temitayo Olamide Ale

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Geophysics And Geology Keywords: Geophysical– geotechnical modeling; regression statistics; surface– subsurface characterization; soil-rock mapping, environmental studies; Penang Malaysia

Online: 4 April 2024 (17:47:38 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0370.v1

Hepatic and Gill Effects of Heavy Metals in Cichlid Fishes: A Systematic Review Based on In Situ Studies

Letícia Valadares Ballotin, Ana Luiza Fonseca Destro, Christiano Demétrio de Lima Ribeiro, Mariaurea Matias Sarandy, Rômulo Dias Novaes, Sirlene Souza Rodrigues Sartori, Reggiani Vilela Gonçalves

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Pollution Keywords: Toxicology; Aquatic ecosystem; Bioaccumulation; Histopathology; Fish

Online: 4 April 2024 (15:10:33 CEST)

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Environmental pollution is one of today's main ecological and social concerns. Among these pollutants are the heavy metals present in the burning of fossil fuels, mining, smelting of metallic minerals, fertilizers and pesticides. Billions of tons of heavy metals are emitted every year from industrial chimneys and sewers, contaminating the hydrosphere and polluting rivers, lakes and seas. In this context, freshwater fish are the most affected due to their proximity to the source of contamination and are therefore used as bioindicators in assessing environmental impact following exposure to metals. However, our understanding of the effects of heavy metals on detoxification organs - such as the liver and gills - in freshwater fish in situ is still limited. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review to determine the main changes and mechanisms involved in morphological modifications in the liver and gills of cichlid fish following exposure to heavy metals in situ. Based on a structured search, 36 original articles were selected from the PubMed and SCOPUS databases. The selection of studies and the identification of duplicates were identified by Rayyan, and the study selection process was presented in the PRISMA statement diagram. Bias analysis was carried out using the Software Review Mananger (RevMan) 5.3, from the Cochrane Collaboration. Thirty-six studies were selected which showed negative effects attributed to environmental contamination by heavy metals, ranging from bioaccumulation to morphophysiological alterations. Almost all the heavy metals analyzed were found in the liver and gill tissues, especially cadmium, copper, lead, zinc, iron and manganese. In view of the continuous morphophysiological changes identified in the liver and gill studies, it is possible to state that bioaccumulation analyses, combined with these configurations, are emerging as crucial tools for assessing and guiding environmental monitoring. This approach aims not only to preserve but also to strengthen the integrity of the aquatic ecosystem and the ichthyofauna.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0377.v1

The Role of Sudden Stratospheric Warmings on the Development of Ionospheric Storms

Galina Gordiyenko, Artur Yakovets, Yuriy Litvinov, Alexey Andreev

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Atmospheric Science And Meteorology Keywords: solar flares; geomagnetic storms; ionospheric disturbances; sudden stratospheric warming; law atmosphere-upper ionosphere coupling

Online: 4 April 2024 (13:25:22 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202402.1179.v2

Use of Soil Moisture as an Indicator for Climate Change, Using the SUPer System

Josicleda Galvincio, Rodrigo Miranda, Gabrielly Luz

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: Monitoring; modeling; natural disaster; water balance; SWAT model

Online: 4 April 2024 (12:59:04 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0382.v1

Fertilizers Impact on Grassland in North-eastern Romania Studied by Nuclear and Related Analytical Techniques

Otilia A. Culicov, Doina Tarcau, Inga Zinicovscaia, Octavian G. Duliu, Mihai Stavarache, Vasile Vintu

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: organic fertilizers; mineral fertilizers; grassland; dietary cation-anion difference; instrumental neutron activation analysis

Online: 4 April 2024 (12:54:22 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0336.v1

The Effect of Climate on the Regeneration Capacity of Strongly Disturbed Vegetation in a Central European Lower Montane Zone, Hungary

Katalin Rusvai, Judit Házi, Szilárd Czóbel

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Ecology Keywords: bait site; degradation; climate change; plant invasion

Online: 4 April 2024 (05:58:06 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0309.v1

Relative Importance of Carbon Dioxide and Water in the Greenhouse Effect: Does the Tail Wag the Dog?

Demetris Koutsoyiannis

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Other Keywords: greenhouse effect; longwave radiation; water vapour; carbon dioxide; evaporation

Online: 4 April 2024 (05:40:11 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0206.v1

Temporal and Spatial Response of Ecological Environment Quality to Land Use Transfer in Nanling Mountain Region, China Based on RSEI

Qiulin Xiong, Qingwen Hong, Wenbo Chen

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Ecology Keywords: Remote sensing ecological index; Land use transfer flow; Land use transfer matrix; Spatial autocorrelation; Geographic detector; Nanling mountain

Online: 4 April 2024 (02:25:25 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0263.v1

A Framework Using Applied Process Analysis Methods to Assess Water Security in the Vu Gia – Thu Bon River Basin, Vietnam

Nguyen Mai Dang, Le Ngoc Vien, Ahad Hasan Tanim, Alexandre S. Gagnon, Phong Thanh Nguyen, Duong Anh Tran

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Water Science And Technology Keywords: Water security framework; Climate change; Vu Gia - Thu Bon River basin

Online: 3 April 2024 (16:39:49 CEST)

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Preprint COMMUNICATION | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0242.v1

Environmental Law Reform Needed to Manage Trade of Australia’s Threatened Marine Species

Rosa Mar Dominguez-Martinez, Leslie Roberson, Jessica Gephart, Chris Wilcox, Glenn Sant, Carissa Klein

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: seafood sustainability; marine policy; biodiversity conservation; seafood trade; international trade; threatened species

Online: 3 April 2024 (16:31:03 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0248.v1

AI/ML Technology for Water Treatment in Oil and Gas Industry: A Review Paper

Kevin Rotan, Quinn Goettel, Krystal Smith, Alex Gonzalez, Ubadire Onyemaobi, Mesut Yurukcu

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Water Science And Technology Keywords: Artificial intelligence; machine learning; produced water; oil and gas industry

Online: 3 April 2024 (16:13:58 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0307.v1

40-Year Fire History Reconstruction from Landsat Data in a Mediterranean Area of North Africa Following International Standards

Mostefa E. Kouachi, Amin Khairoun, Aymen Moghli, Souad Rahmani, Florent Mouillot, M. Jaime Baeza, Hassane Moutahir

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Remote Sensing Keywords: Algeria; BA products; Mediterranean Basin; Landsat; BAMTs; Google Earth Engine.

Online: 3 April 2024 (14:45:28 CEST)

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Algeria, the main fire hotspot on the southern rim of the Mediterranean Basin, lacks complete fire dataset with official fire perimeters, and the existing one contains inconsistencies. Preprocessed global and regional burned area (BA) products provide valuable insights into fire patterns, characteristics and dynamics over time and space, and into their impact on climate change. Nevertheless, they exhibit certain limitations linked with their inherent spatio-temporal resolutions. To address the need for reliable BA information in Algeria, we systematically reconstructed, validated and analyzed a 40-year (1984–2023) BA product (NEALGEBA; North Eastern ALGeria Burned Area) at 30-m spatial resolution in the typical Mediterranean Ecosystems of this region, following international standards. We used Landsat data and the BA Mapping Tools (BAMTs) in the Google Earth Engine (GEE) to map BAs. The spatial validation of NEALGEBA, performed for 2017 and 2021 using independent 10-m spatial resolution Sentinel-2 reference data, showed overall accuracies > 98.10 %; commission and omission errors < 8.20 %; Dice coefficients > 91.90 %, and relative biases < 3.44 %. The temporal validation, however, using MODIS and VIIRS active fire hotspots, emphasized the limitation of Landsat-based BA products in temporal fire reporting accuracy terms. The intercomparison with five readily available BA products for 2017, by using the same validation process, demonstrated the overall outperformance of NEALGEBA. Furthermore, our BA product exhibited the highest correspondence with the ground-based BA estimates. NEALGEBA currently represents the most extensive and reliable time series of BA history at fine spatial resolution for NE Algeria, offering a significant contribution for further national and international fire hazard and impact assessments and acts as a reference dataset for contextualizing future weather extremes, such as the 2023 exceptional heat wave, which we show not to have led to the most extreme fire year over the last four decades.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0244.v1

Supplementary Dam Site Selection Using GIS-Remote Sensing Approach: A Case Study of Wivenhoe Dam

Aseel Zytoon, Zahra Gharineiat, Omar Alajarmeh

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Remote Sensing Keywords: Climate Change; Flooding; Dam Surveying; GIS, DEM; Selection criteria

Online: 3 April 2024 (11:06:53 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0252.v1

Trends in Air and Water Temperatures at the Confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers in Belgrade, Serbia

Ognjen Bonacci, Ana Žaknić-Ćatović, Tanja Roje-Bonacci, Stevan Prohaska, Duje Bonacci, Samir Ćatović

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Atmospheric Science And Meteorology Keywords: air temperature; water temperature; time series; trend analysis; climate change; Sava River; Danube River; confluence; Belgrade; Serbia

Online: 3 April 2024 (11:06:33 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0278.v1

Opportunistic Pathogens in Drinking Water Distribution Systems—A Review

Mark LeChevallier, Toby Prosser, Melita Stevens

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Water Science And Technology Keywords: opportunitic pathgoens; drinking water; Legionella; Mycobacterium; Pseudomonas; disinfection

Online: 3 April 2024 (10:32:28 CEST)

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In contrast to “frank” pathogens, like Salmonella entrocolitica, Shigella dysenteriae, and Vibrio cholerae, that always have a probability of disease, “opportunistic” pathogens are organisms that cause an infectious disease in a host with a weakened immune system and rarely in a healthy host. Historically, drinking water treatment has focused on control of frank pathogens, particularly those from human or animal sources (like Giardia lamblia, Cryptosporidium parvum, or Hepatitis A virus), but in recent years outbreaks from drinking water have increasingly been due to opportunistic pathogens. Characteristics of opportunistic pathogens that make them problematic for water treatment include: 1) they are normally present in aquatic environments, 2) they grow in biofilms that protect the bacteria from disinfectants, and 3) under appropriate conditions in drinking water systems (e.g., warm water, stagnation, low disinfectant levels, etc.) these bacteria can amplify to levels that can pose a public health risk. The three most common opportunistic pathogens in drinking water systems include Legionella pneumophila, Mycobacterium avium, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This report focuses on these organisms to provide information on their public health risk, occurrence in drinking water systems, susceptibility to various disinfectants and other operational practices (like flushing and cleaning of pipes and storage tanks). In addition, information is provided on a group of nine other opportunistic pathogens that are less commonly found in drinking water systems, including Aeromonas hydrophila, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens, Burkholderia pseudomallei, Acinetobacter baumannii, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Arcobacter butzleri, and several free-living amoebae including Naegleria fowleri and species of Acanthamoeba. The public health risk for these microbes in drinking water is still unclear, but in most cases, efforts to manage Legionella, mycobacteria, and Pseudomonas risks will also be effective for these other opportunistic pathogens. The approach to managing opportunistic pathogens in drinking water supplies focuses on controlling the growth of these organisms. Many of these microbes are normal inhabitants in biofilms in water, so the attention is less on eliminating these organisms from entering the system and more on managing their occurrence and concentrations in the pipe network. With anticipated warming trends associated with climate change, the factors that drive the growth of opportunistic pathogens in drinking water systems will likely increase. It is important, therefore, to evaluate treatment barriers and management activities for control of opportunistic pathogen risks. Controls for primary treatment, particularly for turbidity management and disinfection, should be reviewed to ensure adequacy for opportunistic pathogen control. However, the major focus for the utility’s opportunistic pathogen risk reduction plan is the management of biological activity and biofilms in the distribution system. Factors that influence the growth of microbes (primarily in biofilms) in the distribution system include, temperature, disinfectant type and concentration, nutrient levels (measured as AOC or BDOC), stagnation, flushing of pipes and cleaning of storage tank sediments, and corrosion control. Pressure management and distribution system integrity are also important to the microbial quality of water but are related more to the intrusion of contaminants into the distribution system – rather than directly related to microbial growth. Summarizing the identified risk from drinking water, the availability and quality of disinfection data for treatment, and guidelines or standards for control showed that adequate information is best available for management of L. pneumophila. For L. pneumophila the risk for this organism has been clearly established from drinking water, cases have increased worldwide, and it is one of the most identified causes of drinking water outbreaks. Water management best practices (e.g., maintenance of a disinfectant residual throughout the distribution system, flushing and cleaning of sediments in pipelines and storage tanks, among others) that have been shown to be effective for control of L. pneumophila in water supplies. In addition, there are well documented management guidelines available for the control of the organism in drinking water distribution systems. By comparison, management of risks for Mycobacteria from water are less clear than for L. pneumophila. Treatment of M. avium is difficult due to its resistance to disinfection, the tendency to form clumps and attachment to surfaces in biofilms. Additionally, there are no guidelines for management of M. avium in drinking water and one risk assessment study suggested a low risk of infection. The role of tap water in the transmission of the other opportunistic pathogens is less clear and in many cases actions to manage L. pneumophila (e.g., maintenance of a disinfectant residual, flushing, cleaning of storage tanks, etc.) will also be beneficial in helping to manage these organisms as well.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0236.v1

Prediction of Suitable Habitat of Alien Invasive Plant Ambrosia trifida in Northeast China under Various Climatic Scenarios

Shengjie Chen, Xuejiao Bai, Ji Ye, Weiwei Chen, Guanghao Xu

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Ecology Keywords: Ambrosia trifida; MaxEnt; Kuenm; Preventive measures

Online: 3 April 2024 (09:30:21 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202312.1052.v3

Innovative Cloud Quantification: Deep Learning Classification and Finite Sector Clustering for Ground-Based All Sky Imaging

Jingxuan Luo, Yubing Pan, Debin Su, Jinhua Zhong, Lingxiao Wu, Wei Zhao, Xiaoru Hu, Zhengchao Qi, Daren Lu, Yinan Wang

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Atmospheric Science And Meteorology Keywords: cloud quantification; deep neural networks; adaptive segmentation; finite element clustering; whole sky image

Online: 3 April 2024 (08:30:57 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0214.v1

Calcium-Based Biochar Loaded with Paenibacillus mucilaginosus Acted as an Eco-Friendly Strategy to Enhance Soil Nutrients and Plant Biomass

BO Zhang, Linshan Wang, Long Cao, Yanjiao Qi, Yamin Zhao, Zifan Wang, Hong Zhang, Huining Lu, Peer Mohamed Abdul

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Soil Science Keywords: Paenibacillus mucilaginosus; Biochar; Release mechanism; RDA analyses; Microbial diversity

Online: 2 April 2024 (16:18:18 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0213.v1

Microbial Protein Production using Lignocellulosic Biomass and Nitrogen Fixation

Tawakalt Ayodele, Kudirat Alarape, Ibrahim Adebayo Bello, Abodunrin Tijani, Liadi Musiliu, Ademola Hammed

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Sustainable Science And Technology Keywords: Microbial protein; Lignocellulosic biomass; switchgrass hydrolysate; Klebsiella oxytoca M5A1; Fermentation, Organic acids.

Online: 2 April 2024 (15:41:22 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202404.0148.v1

Quantitative Analysis of Urban Microplastic Dissemination and Accumulation in Marine Ecosystems: Pathways, Processes, and Impacts

Areej Alqarni

Subject: Environmental And Earth Sciences, Environmental Science Keywords: Microplastic Pollution; Urban Sources; Marine Ecosystems; Environmental Impact; Waste Management; Riverine Transport; Polymer Types; Seasonal Variations; Ecological Consequences; Mitigation Strategies

Online: 2 April 2024 (15:38:18 CEST)

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Environmental and Earth Sciences