Journal of Environmental & Earth Sciences

Design and Effectiveness of Coastal Protection Structures: Case Studies and Modelling Approaches

Leo C. van Rijn — 2025-04-22

Beach groynes are structures for erosion protection along sandy coasts near inlets and can reduce the coastal erosion substantially, but open groynes cannot stop erosion completely because sand can be removed from the groyne compartments by cross-shore processes. Beach groynes should be designed with sufficient bypassing of sand to minimise erosion. Regular beach maintenance is required to keep a sufficient beach width for recreational purposes. The effectiveness of groyne compartments can be significantly improved by using T-head groynes or by using a submerged sill or breakwater in between the groynes. An economic evaluation shows that the beach maintenance costs over 50 years may be substantially higher than the construction costs of a submerged breakwater. An important parameter to be studied is the longshore transport, which requires detailed information of the wave climate, preferably based on measured data (offshore buoys) in combination with deep water wave modelling. Various models have been used to determine the net longshore sand transport and coastline changes. The design of groynes to reduce coastal erosion is illustrated by three field cases (Atlantic coast near Soulac, France; Lagos coast, Nigeria and Black Sea coast, Romania). These example cases show that beach groynes are effective structures, but sufficient bypassing of longshore sand transport is essential to minimise erosion. Regular beach fills in the groyne compartments may be required at high-energy (exposed) coasts. A submerged or emerged breakwater can be built between the groynes to protect the beach in the groyne compartments against erosion by cross-shore processes.

Banana Peel and Beyond: Transforming Agricultural Waste into Eco-Friendly, Biodegradable Plastics

Nageswara Rao Lakkimsetty — 2025-04-17

The management of agricultural wastes is essential for resource conservation and environmental sustainability. Due to escalating worries regarding plastic pollution and the surging expenses linked to petroleum-based plastics, there has been a notable transition towards the creation of biodegradable alternatives sourced from natural materials. Biofibres and bioplastics, especially those derived from agricultural waste, have garnered significant attention for their prospective uses in food packaging, biomedical sciences, and sustainable manufacturing. This study examines the viability of employing banana peel as a natural and environmentally sustainable raw material for the production of biodegradable bioplastic sheets. Due to its abundant polysaccharides and lignocellulosic fibers, banana peel presents advantageous structural and mechanical characteristics for bioplastic manufacturing. Experimental findings demonstrate that bioplastic derived from banana peels has enhanced biodegradability and environmental compatibility relative to traditional synthetic plastics, positioning it as a feasible alternative to mitigate the worldwide plastic waste epidemic. An optimal formulation was constructed using Design Expert software, comprising 55.38 g of banana peel, 27.63 g of fish scales, and 20 g of chitosan powder. This formulation improves the film’s tensile strength, flexibility, and degradation rate, ensuring its efficacy in industrial applications including food packaging and molding. The study’s results highlight the promise of bioplastics made from banana peels as an economical and sustainable alternative, decreasing dependence on petroleum-based plastics and alleviating environmental pollution.

Eco-Driven Leadership in Pharmaceutical Industry: The Impact of Knowledge Sharing, Innovation, and Shared Vision on Environmental Performance

Mohammad Nurul Alam — 2025-04-22

Corporate environmental sustainability has become a critical concern, particularly in resource-intensive industries such as pharmaceuticals, where regulatory pressures and stakeholder expectations continue to rise. Despite increasing attention to green leadership, limited research has explored how environmentally responsible leadership (ERL) influences corporate environmental performance (CEP) through employee-driven sustainability behaviors. This study addresses this gap by examining the mediating roles of green knowledge-sharing behavior (GKSB), green innovative behavior (GIB), and voluntary green behavior (VGB), as well as the moderating role of green shared vision (GSV) in the ERL-CEP relationship. The study is grounded in Resource-Based View (RBV), Knowledge-Based View (KBV), Environmental-Based View (EBV), and Triple Bottom Line (TBL) theories, which collectively explain how leadership-driven sustainability efforts create long-term competitive advantages, drive environmental responsibility, and balance economic, social, and environmental sustainability. A quantitative research design was employed, using survey data from 384 employees in Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical sector. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in Smart-PLS 4.0 to assess direct, indirect, and moderating effects. The results confirm that ERL has a significant positive impact on CEP, with GKSB, GIB, and VGB acting as mediators, while GSV strengthens the ERL-CEP relationship. This study provides novel empirical evidence on the mechanisms linking green leadership to corporate sustainability, extending the application of RBV, KBV, EBV, and TBL to leadership-driven environmental management. The findings emphasize the importance of leadership training programs, sustainability-focused organizational cultures, and shared environmental visions. Policymakers should consider incentives for companies adopting ERL practices, ensuring that sustainability becomes a strategic, rather than compliance-driven, priority. This study contributes to leadership and sustainability literature by offering a comprehensive framework for integrating ERL into corporate governance and environmental strategies.

Comprehensive Utilization of Borehole AFET and Logging Method Detecting Goaf Area in Coal Mines

Zipeng Guo — 2025-04-17

China, as the world's largest coal producer and consumer, faces increasingly severe challenges from coal mine goaf areas formed through decades of intensive mining. These underground voids, resulting from exhausted resources or technical limitations, not only cause environmental issues like land subsidence and groundwater contamination but also pose critical safety risks for ongoing mining operations, including water inrushes, gas outbursts, and roof collapses. Conventional geophysical methods such as seismic surveys and electromagnetic detection demonstrate limited effectiveness in complex geological conditions due to susceptibility to electrical heterogeneity, electromagnetic interference, and interpretation ambiguities.This study presents an innovative integrated approach combining the Audio-Frequency Electrical Transillumination (AFET) method with multi-parameter borehole logging to establish a three-dimensional detection system. The AFET technique employs 0.1-10 kHz electromagnetic waves to identify electrical anomalies associated with goafs, enabling extensive horizontal scanning. This is complemented by vertical high-resolution profiling through borehole measurements of resistivity, spontaneous potential, and acoustic velocity. Field applications in Shanxi Province's typical coal mines achieved breakthrough results: Using a grid-drilling pattern (15m spacing, 300m depth), the method successfully detected three concealed goafs missed by conventional approaches, with spatial positioning errors under 0.5m. Notably, it accurately identified two un-collapsed water-filled cavities. This surface-borehole synergistic approach overcomes single-method limitations, enhancing goaf detection accuracy to over 92%. The technique provides reliable technical support for safe mining practices and represents significant progress in precise detection of hidden geological hazards in Chinese coal mines, offering valuable insights for global mining geophysics.

Hydrological Regime Variability between the Tien and Hau Rivers under the Impact of Anthropogenic Activities and Climate Change

Nguyen Dam Quoc Huy — 2025-04-23

The distribution of flow discharge between the Tien and Hau Rivers in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) plays an important role in Vietnam’s agricultural and aquaculture production activities. However, recent variations in water levels and flow patterns, driven by both human activities and climate change (CC), have posed significant challenges for water resource management. This study evaluates the impacts of unsustainable exploitation and CC on the hydrological regime of the Tien and Hau Rivers using non-parametric statistical methods. Long-term water level data (1978–2023) from Tan Chau, Chau Doc, and Vam Nao observation stations were analyzed using the Mann-Kendall test (MK), Sen’s Slope (SS) estimator, and Pettitt’s test to detect trends, quantify change magnitudes, and identify abrupt shifts. The results indicate a significant decline in flood-season water levels, with annual decrease rates ranging from 41.5 to 72.9 mm in September and November. Conversely, a slight increasing trend in water levels was observed in the dry season (DS) during the studied time. Additionally, findings reveal that the upstream Tien River exerts greater control over the hydrological regime in the Vam Nao River. These insights contribute to disaster risk assessment, sustainable water resource planning, and ecological risk evaluation. Furthermore, the results contribute to providing a foundation for applying hydrological and hydraulic models to forecast hydrodynamics, thereby supporting effective water management strategies and mitigating flood and dry risks in the VMD.

Enhancing Organizational Sustainability through Green HRM: A Conceptual Review

Md. Abu Issa Gazi — 2025-04-21

This study delves into Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) as well as its link with organizational sustainability. Through a review of literature, this research hopes to fathom the place of eco-sustainability in employee involvement and enhancing environmental responsibility via Green HRM. The main aim of this study is to thoroughly examine the literature on GHRM and its contribution to improving organizational sustainability through employee engagement and diminished environmental impact. The PRISMA guidelines were utilized in this conceptual review in order to investigate the impact that Green HRM has on the sustainability of organizations. The results show that Green HRM is vital for organizational sustainability since it reduces their ecological footprint, raises employee morale, and improves reputation. Additionally, the study emphasizes the significance of including Green HRM practices into organizational strategies and operations so as to achieve long-term sustainability. Findings indicate that through implementing green HRM practices organizations can record increased employee engagement levels, reduced turnover rates and improved customer satisfaction. Moreover, there are lower costs associated with green human resource management practices because of less waste and a better image for the brand. Nonetheless, some challenges and constraints towards change have been observed in relation to the implementation of these practices by companies. This study therefore gives an overview of how green HRM enhances organizational sustainability, thereby urging firms to adopt sustainable HR practices for successful operations in the future. These findings are important for human resource professionals, policymakers, or organizations who want to embed sustainability into their business strategy.