Journal of Environmental & Earth Sciences

Nature-based Natural-hazard Preparedness: A Cross Section of Categorized Examples

Kyoo-Man Ha — 2024-03-01

Despite prevailing interests, no rigorous research has been conducted to examine the role of nature in natural-hazard preparedness. This systematic review aimed to describe how nature can reduce the impacts of natural hazards during the preparedness stage. The study focuses on the land, water, and air systems and on three types of stakeholders: international organizations, developed countries, and developing countries. Further, it provides supplementary strategies, such as immediate actions, local engagement, and research and development, that the stakeholders should apply to enhance their nature-based natural-hazard preparedness. We suggest integrating costs and benefits analysis, local culture, societal challenges, and environmental justice into the implementation of nature-based solutions. Finally, this review outlines the framework of nature-based natural-hazard preparedness by discussing the relationship between nature and society.

Effect of No Tillage and Conventional Tillage on Wheat Grain Yield Variability: A Review

Kadiri Hassani Kenza — 2024-04-22

Conservation Agriculture (CA) covers more than 205 million hectares in the world. This made it possible to face and mitigate the challenges of climate change, reducing soil erosion and providing multiple ecosystem services. The first elementary factor influenced is the yield evaluation. It has a direct effect on farmers' choices for sustainable production. The present article records a review focused on wheat yield average positive change compared between conventional tillage (CT) and no tillage (NT) systems. The international database collected showed that NT is adaptable everywhere. The results of wheat yield differentiation showed the influence of crop rotation depending on stations located in different climatic zones. In more than 40 years of research, specialists have succeeded in demonstrating the importance of crop productivity like wheat. The whole integrates also experimentations where the initiation starts more than ten years.

Irrigation and Thermal Buffering Using Mathematical Modeling

Yara Yasser Elborolosy — 2024-01-27

Two methods of irrigation, drip, and sprinkler were studied to determine the response of the Javits green roof to irrigation. The control study was dry unirrigated plots. Drip irrigation consisted of irrigation tubes running through the green roof that would water the soil throughout and sprinkler irrigation used a sprinkler system to irrigate the green roof from above. In all cases, the irrigated roofs had increased the soil moisture, reduced temperatures of both the upper and lower surfaces, reduced growing medium temperatures and reduced air temperatures above the green roof relative to the unirrigated roof. The buffered temperature fluctuations were also studied via air conditioner energy consumption. There was a 28% reduction in air conditioner energy consumption and a 33% reduction in overall energy consumption between dry and irrigated plots. Values of thermal resistance or S were determined for accuracy and for this study, there was little change which is ideal. A series of infra-red and thermal probe measurements were used to determine temperatures in the air and sedum. It was determined that the sprinkler irrigation did a better job than the drip irrigation in keeping cooler temperatures within the green roof. A Mann-Whitney U test was performed to verify the variation in moisture temperatures buffering energy consumption. By getting a p-value < 0.05, it indicates that the model is accurate for prediction and medium temperatures were statistically different.

About Some Aspects of Use of Optical Sensors for Monitoring the Aquatic Environment

Ferdenant Mkrtchyan — 2023-11-28

Multi-channel polarization optical technology is increasingly used for prompt monitoring of water systems. Optical devices during the assessment of water quality determine the intensity of light through the studied aquatic environment. Spectrophotometric devices measure the spectrum of weakening of light through the aquatic environment. Spectroellipsometric devices receive spectra in vertical and horizontal polarizations. The presented article develops an adaptive optical hardware and image system for monitoring water bodies. The system is combined. It consists of 2 parts: 1) automated spectrophotometer-refractometer, and 2) adaptive spectroellipsometer. The system is equipped with a corresponding algorithmic and software, including algorithms for identifying spectral curves, databases and knowledge of spectral curves algorithms for solving reverse problems. The presented system is original since it differs from modern foreign systems by a new method of spectrophotometric and spectroellipsometric measurements, an original elemental base of polarization optics and a comprehensive mathematical approach to assessing the quality of a water body. There are no rotating polarization elements in the system. Therefore, this makes it possible to increase the signal-to-noise ratio and, as a result, improve measurement stability and simplify multichannel spectrophotometers and spectroellipsometers. The proposed system can be used in various water systems where it is necessary to assess water quality or identify the presence of a certain set of chemical elements.

Exploring Variability in Sea Level at a Tide Gauge Station through Control Charts

H. Bâki İz — 2023-12-28

Monitoring temporal changes in sea level is important in assessing coastal risk. Sea level anomalies at a tide gauge station, if kinematically conceived, include systematic variations such as trend, acceleration, periodic oscillations, and random disturbances. Among them, the non-stationary nature of the random sea level variations of known or unknown origin at coastal regions has been long recognized by the sea level community. This study proposes the analyses of subgroups of random residual statistics of a rigorously formulated kinematic model solution of tide gauge variations using X-bar and S control charts. The approach is demonstrated using Key West, Florida tide gauge records. The mean and standard errors of 5-year-long subgroups of the residuals revealed that sea level changes at this location have been progressively intensifying from 1913 to the present. Increasing oscillations in sea level at this locality may be attributed partly to the thermal expansion of seawater with increasing temperatures causing larger buoyancy-related sea level fluctuations as well as the intensification of atmospheric events including wind patterns and the impact of changes in inverted barometer effects that will alter coastal risk assessments for the future.

Environmental Impact Assessment of Onshore Wind Farms in the Region of Central Greece Using a Modified RIAM Method

Olga Korozi — 2024-04-26

Wind energy is one of the most basic forms of renewable energy, which shows an increasing rate of development worldwide and also at the European level. However, this rapid deployment of wind farms makes the need for an impact assessment of this type of projects on the natural and man-made environment imperative. The present paper aims to identify and assess the environmental impacts of wind farm projects in the Region of Central Greece. A modified Rapid Impact Assessment Matrix (RIAM) method is used for this purpose. The methodology includes the identification of the existing onshore wind farm projects in the study area, the appropriate modifications of the RIAM method to respond to the characteristics of the projects and the study area, the qualitative assessment of their potential impacts during construction and operational phases and the computation of the Environmental Performance Grade (EPG) of projects based on the pro-posed modified RIAM method. The results reveal that although there are some slight negative impacts on the natural environment of the study area, the examined wind farms contribute positively both to the atmosphere and to the socio-economic environment of the study. This study extends the potential for using RIAM as a tool in environmental impact assessment studies of renewable energy projects.

Stochastic Analysis and Modeling of Velocity Observations in Turbulent Flows

Evangelos Rozos — 2024-03-07

Highly turbulent water flows, often encountered near human constructions like bridge piers, spillways, and weirs, display intricate dynamics characterized by the formation of eddies and vortices. These formations, varying in sizes and lifespans, significantly influence the distribution of fluid velocities within the flow. Subsequently, the rapid velocity fluctuations in highly turbulent flows lead to elevated shear and normal stress levels. For this reason, to meticulously study these dynamics, more often than not, physical modeling is employed for studying the impact of turbulent flows on the stability and longevity of nearby structures. Despite the effectiveness of physical modeling, various monitoring challenges arise, including flow disruption, the necessity for concurrent gauging at multiple locations, and the duration of measurements. Addressing these challenges, image velocimetry emerges as an ideal method in fluid mechanics, particularly for studying turbulent flows. To account for measurement duration, a probabilistic approach utilizing a probability density function (PDF) is suggested to mitigate uncertainty in estimated average and maximum values. However, it becomes evident that deriving the PDF is not straightforward for all turbulence-induced stresses. In response, this study proposes a novel approach by combining image velocimetry with a stochastic model to provide a generic yet accurate description of flow dynamics in such applications. This integration enables an approach based on the probability of failure, facilitating a more comprehensive analysis of turbulent flows. Such an approach is essential for estimating both short- and long-term stresses on hydraulic constructions under assessment.