Accurate estimation of earthwork material volume is essential for achieving circular and resource-efficient urban development, enabling material reuse in construction planning. Traditional survey techniques cannot efficiently cover large areas, while grid-based approaches often overlook terrain curvature. This study presents a novel and scalable framework for earthwork volume estimation across five cities over eleven years. We introduce a curvature-aware methodology using sub-meter digital terrain models (DTMs) derived from Maxar stereo imagery. DTMs were validated against commercial datasets (RMSE 1.12–2.10 m) and literature benchmarks. Our approach combines adaptive grid refinement with spline-based volume integration, yielding 20.6% lower error than grid-based methods. Pre-earthwork terrain surfaces were reconstructed using Natural Neighbor Interpolation (RMSE 0.06 m in Astana). Temporal analysis reveals diverse urban development trajectories, including volume decline in Astana, stable growth in Almaty and Porto, and seasonal drops in Prague. These findings support sustainable construction strategies through precise city-scale earthwork volume estimation.
This study redefines the borders, extent, and internal subdivisions of the Altai Mountains - one of the principal mountain systems in western Mongolia - by addressing longstanding inconsistencies in previous geographical and geological interpretations. A two-stage geomorphometric approach was applied to delineate the boundaries of the range. First, geomorphon classification was used to identify key terrain features, followed by the application of the Topographic Position Index (TPI) to refine boundary transitions based on relative elevation gradients. This combined methodology enabled the accurate differentiation of mountain extents from surrounding depressions, plains, and low-relief areas. Results indicate that the Altai Mountains extend approximately 2,400 km in a straight line from the Tigirig Range at the Russia–Kazakhstan border to the Khuut Mountain Range in Mongolia, with a cumulative watershed length of about 3,820 km. The total area covered by the range is estimated at 485,000 km2. Additionally, the study suggests that the low-relief mountain ridges in southwestern Mongolia likely represent the easternmost extension of the Tian Shan mountain system. By integrating recent neotectonic evidence with quantitative geomorphometric techniques, this research provides new insights into the structural geography of Central Asia and contributes to the refinement of regional mountain classification schemes.
<p>Reconstructions of palaeo-ice-stream activity provide insight into the processes governing ice stream evolution over millennial timescales. The northwestern sector of the Laurentide Ice Sheet experienced a period of rapid retreat driven by warming during the Bølling–Allerød (14.7–12.9 ka) that may have contributed significantly to global mean sea level rise during this time. Therefore, the northwestern Laurentide Ice Sheet provides an opportunity to investigate ice sheet dynamics during a phase of rapid ice sheet retreat. Here, we classify coherent groups of ice-flow-parallel lineations into 326 flowsets and then categorise them as ice stream, deglacial, inferred deglacial or event flowsets. Combined with ice-marginal landforms and a new ice margin chronology (Dalton et al., 2023), we present the first reconstruction of ice flow dynamics of the northwestern Laurentide Ice Sheet at 500-year time steps through the last deglaciation (17.5–10.5 ka). At the local Last Glacial Maximum (17.5 ka), the ice stream network was dominated by large, marine-terminating ice streams (<span class="inline-formula"><i>></i></span> 1000 km long) that were fed by the Cordilleran–Laurentide ice saddle to the south and the Keewatin Dome to the east. As the ice margin retreated onshore, the drainage network was characterised by shorter, land-terminating ice streams (<span class="inline-formula"><i><</i></span> 200 km long), with the exception of the Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake ice streams (<span class="inline-formula">∼</span> 600 km long) that terminated in large glacial lakes. Rapid reorganisation of the ice drainage network, from predominantly northerly ice flow to westerly ice flow, occurred over <span class="inline-formula">∼</span> 2000 years, coinciding with a period of rapid ice sheet surface lowering in the ice saddle region. We note a peak in ice stream activity during the Bølling–Allerød that we suggest is a result of increased ablation and a steepening of the ice surface slope in ice stream onset zones and the increase in driving stresses that contributed to rapid ice drawdown. The subsequent cessation of ice stream activity by the end of the Bølling–Allerød was a result of ice drawdown lowering the ice surface profile, reducing driving stresses and leading to widespread ice stream shutdown.</p>
Quamrul Alam, Liton Chandra Voumik, Md. Hasanur Rahman
et al.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of globalisation, tourism, renewable energy, education, population, and GDP on load capacity factors (LCF) in 14 selected Indo-Pacific nations. The research employed data from 1991 to 2022 to estimate the long-term relationships. The research considered Generalized Least Squares (GLS) and Quantile Regression as the baseline models. To check the robustness, the research applied fully modified ordinary least squares, dynamic ordinary least squares, and canonical cointegrating regression. The findings show that GDP, renewable energy, tourism, and education improve LCF significantly in the Indo-Pacific region. Conversely, population and globalisation significantly deteriorate LCF. The GLS method states that the GDP and tourism coefficients are 0.074 and 0.043, meaning a 1% increase in GDPPC and tourism raises LCF by 0.074% and 0.043%, respectively. Similarly, a 1% increase in renewable energy and education increases LCF by 0.223% and 0.414%, respectively. Contrarily, the coefficients of population and globalisation show a 1% increase in population and globalisation reduces LCF by 0.062% and 0.1111%. The robustness checks fully validate the baseline regression results. This study contributes to the body of the literature by emphasising the multifaceted effects of socioeconomic, demographic, and environmental factors on LCF in the Indo-Pacific region.
Babak Ghazi, Rajmund Przybylak, Piotr Oliński
et al.
Study region: Poland, with the regions of Baltic Coast and Pomerania, Masuria-Podlasie, Greater Poland, Masovia, Silesia, and Lesser Poland located in the basins of the Baltic Coast rivers, the Vistula River and the Oder River. Study focus: This study focused on completing the documentation of historical floods in Poland before the 19th century and providing a valuable source for historical hydrology studies in Europe. To this end, a comprehensive database of all floods for the 17th–18th centuries was used, that was based on documentary evidence from 293 sources and 978 weather notes describing all flood occurrences. New hydrological insights for the region: The finding of this study revealed the occurrences of 678 floods, including 37 new cases that have been discovered and documented only in this research. Spatial analysis of the results revealed that most of the floods occurred in the Vistula River basin. The number of floods by season was greatest for summer (JJA) (47 %) and smallest for autumn (7 %). Investigation of the origin of floods indicated that rain was the main factor contributing to occurrences of floods in Poland (38 %). The estimation of the intensity of floods showed that most of the floods were “smaller, regional floods” (257 cases) based on the Brázdil et al. (2006b) classification and “extraordinary” (501 cases) in the Barriendos & Coeur (2004) classification.
Inna Semenova, Valery Mansarliysky, Natalia Mishchenko
et al.
Introduction. Almost every year, the territory of Ukraine is affected by drought of different intensity and duration, what is a favorable condition for wildfires. In the forest areas of the country arose about 106.8 thousand fires with a total area of 139.2 thousand hectares during 1990-2017. An analysis of the long-term dynamics shows that wildfires in Ukraine are a sustainable phenomenon. In 2020, under the severe drought conditions, 209 forest fires occurred, the most significant of them were in the Chernobyl zone and in the Lugansk region.
Formulation of the problem. There is still no universally accepted method to describe all drought related processes due to complexity of drought phenomena. Although drought indices and fire weather indices usually have different time scales, their combination can be a basis in the prediction scheme in which the drought index acts as a background indicator, which enhances or decreases the current fire weather index.
The purpose of this study is evaluate informativeness of a new fire weather index HDW (Hot-Dry-Windy Index) for the territory of Ukraine, which takes into account the main meteorological parameters necessary to describe the degree of wildfire danger due to weather conditions, so this index may become a component of the drought and fire monitoring system.
Data and methods. The HDW index has a physical justification as the atmosphere affects the fire, namely, the combination of three atmospheric parameters characterizes the current conditions for the ignition and distribution of fire: wind, temperature, humidity. For the calculation of the HDW index, the data of GFS global numerical model with grid step 0.25 degrees is used. The calculation of the daily fields of the HDW index was carried out for the territory of Ukraine and for local areas. To localize areas of wildfires, in the study were used daily hotspots data provided by the web-resource Firms (https://firms2.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/), which are determined using satellite instruments MODIS (AQUA and Terra Satellites) and VIIRS (S-NPP and NOAA-20 satellites).
Research results. Comparison of the calculated HDW fields in Ukraine with the position of hotspots showed that the maximum values of the HDW index are generally concentrated in fire areas. Comparison with the synoptic situation showed that the maximum values of the HDW are located in the zones of advection of warm and dry air in the lower troposphere and zones of strong surface winds, which usually correspond to the periphery of anticyclone or the warm sector of cyclone. The analysis of the time courses of the HDW index showed the typical feature, which expressed in the fact that in all cases there was an increase in the index values in the period before the wildfire, maximum of the HDW is fixed at the time of ignition and after that the index values sharply decreases.
Scientific novelty and practical significance. The fields of new HDW index reflects the weather conditions typical for wildfires periods in the territory of Ukraine. The presence of specific features and extreme values in the index time course can be used to track the process of increase of fire danger under changing weather conditions to make short- and medium-range fire danger forecasts with evaluation of fire danger classes.
The interannual variability of rainfall caused by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) results in significant changes in hydrologic conditions. Forecasting ENSO and its impacts are mainly based on Central Pacific Sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies which satisfactorily correlate with timing and, to a lesser extent, the intensity of drought conditions in the Philippines and the Western Pacific during the El Niño phase. Changes in sea surface height (SSH) are also brought upon by ENSO through seawater density changes with temperature and oceanographic processes. Here, we report that the associative nature of SSH and drought, as measured by surface runoff, has a better correlation (r > 0.693, p < 0.05) in terms of the expected timing (1 to 3 month lag) and intensity compared to using SST indices. Furthermore, since SSH is co-located with its corresponding forecasted decrease in runoff, a localised prediction can be made which further increases the accuracy of this predictive tool and can be used in tandem with SST-based ENSO indices. In the wake of a changing climate, the ability to forecast the timing and volume of rainfall and surface water availability is of utmost importance, especially within the context of food and water security.
Spatial and temporal characteristics of surface water resources (e.g., extension, connectivity, seasonality) are key elements in water allocation, climate and hydrological regulation, ecosystem functioning, and the food-energy-water nexus. Changes in surface water area due to losses/gains to land could strongly affect these processes on different scales. Previous findings on changes in the Earth’s surface water area are contradictory. Based on water–land year classification datasets, we estimated global surface water area changes between 1985–2000 and 2001–2015. We found a net global gain in surface water of 100,454 km<sup>2</sup>, attributable to a large net gain in seasonal water (83,329 km<sup>2</sup>) and a small net gain in permanent water (17,125 km<sup>2</sup>). In general, net changes were highly heterogeneous in space, with local exceptions of clear drying and wetting trends, e.g., the Aral Sea and Quill Lakes, respectively. These findings raise multiple questions as to why seasonal water gains dominate and how different intertwined drivers (e.g., hydroclimate and human-induced water–land use changes) shape the distribution of the Earth’s surface water. Understanding these long-term changes is essential to predicting water-related pressures and prioritizing management decisions.
Carlos Y. B. Oliveira, Cicero D. L. Oliveira, Ayanne J. G. Almeida
et al.
The temporal phytoplankton biomass variation at two Neotropical reservoirs during an extreme drought season were analyzed. Here we sought to evaluate the main abiotic factors involved in dynamics of phytoplankton during this drought period. The main difference between the reservoirs was the intensive fish and shrimp farming in one of the reservoirs. For quantitative analysis, sampling with bottles were carried out at an average depth of 0.5m. Water temperature, pH and electrical conductivity parameters were measured in situ and water samples were collected for dissolved inorganic nitrogen and soluble reactive phosphorus analyses. Aquaculture was probably one among the causes for the reservoirs were so different in the physical and chemical variables, as shown by the principal components analysis. The results showed specific groups dominance in both reservoirs. In the Cachoeira II reservoir, an invasive dinoflagellate, Ceratium furcoides, was present in all analyzed months, while, in the Saco I reservoir, cyanobacteria group represented more than 50% of phytoplankton biomass, mainly Microcystis aeruginosa and Dolichospermum sp. In two reservoirs precipitation, soluble reactive phosphorus and electrical conductivity were positively related with phytoplankton. Phytoplankton biomass was considerably larger in the Cachoeira II reservoir, due to the greater size and biovolume of the dominant dinoflagellate. These findings suggest that species dominance in extreme drought events may be favored.
Luis D. Caro Gonzalez, João Graciano Mendonça Filho, Sinda Beatriz Cavalhal Gomes
et al.
A Bacia de São Luís, localizada no Noroeste do Brasil, está preenchida por sedimentos correspondentes à Formação
Pimenteira (Devoniano) e às Formações Bragança, Grajaú, Codó e Itapecuru (Cretáceo). A Formação Itapecuru, alvo da presente
pesquisa, é a unidade sedimentar de maior espessura com 2.469 m na parte centro-oeste da Bacia. O presente trabalho apresenta os
resultados do estudo dos componentes orgânicos particulados e fácies orgânicas dos sedimentos da formação. O material de estudo
compreende um total de 41 amostras de calha e 3 de amostras laterais coletadas do Poço 2-ANP-5-MA e submetidas às seguintes
análises: Carbono Orgânico Total (COT), Resíduo Insolúvel (RI) e Palinofácies. Os dados obtidos da contagem das Palinofácies foram submetidos a análise multivariada de agrupamento (modo-Q e modo-R) e diagramas de extremos e quartis. O material analisado
apresentou baixos conteúdos de COT (menores que 0,5 %) refletindo tanto a quantidade de matéria orgânica depositada quanto no
baixo grau de preservação e também o alto grau de oxidação; os altos valores de Resíduo insolúvel (> 85%) sugerem a deposição siliciclástica. Verificou-se uma correlação positiva do COT com as cutículas, resinas e palinomorfos continentais. As integrações desses
resultados indicam que as condições deposicionais variaram de um corpo de água rasa, doce, por vezes com influência marinha e
influência fluvial, próximo da área fonte para um corpo de água semi-restrito com variações na coluna de água e regime de energia do
sistema, típico em sistemas fluviais como meandros abandonados, canais e depósitos de inundação. O regime paleoclimático aponta
para condições quentes e áridas, com pequenas variações locais mais úmidas. O reconhecimento de palinomorfos do Devoniano
apontam que estratos da Formação Pimenteira estavam expostos durante a deposição dos estratos da Formação Itapecuru. De acordo
com a classificação das Fácies Orgânicas (sensu Jones, 1987) estabelece-se a Fácies Orgânica D, que corresponde à deposição de
matéria orgânica retrabalhada e altamente oxidada, para a Formação Itapecuru
The aim of the article is to present and characterize the collection of flint axes made of Cretaceous flint from the interfluve of the Bug River and Neman that morphologically resemble the forms from the Neolithic cultures of the Polish Lowland (the Funnel Beaker Culture, Globular Amphorae Culture and Corded Ware Cultures). This group of objects consists of 10 items found in the Podlasie region. The presented axes are a small part of a large collection (50 flint axes) exhibited in the Museum of Podlasie in Bialystok. A new term for local Cretaceous flint has been introduced for the purpose of this study. Until now, this type of flint was known as Northeastern Flint, and although research to define this term has been done, it has never been fully finalized. Because of that, the author of this study has coined a new and more suitable term: Cretaceous flint from the interfluve of the Bug River and Neman. This includes a group of Cretaceous flints from the Podlasie area and contains all the local variations of it: Mielnik flint, Rybniki flint, flint from the Cretaceous beds and marls and Krasne Siolo flint
This article deals with winter outdoor recreation and the use of mountain wilderness areas in the Hautes-Bauges massif. The study aims to define outdoor recreation profiles of users of the areas according to socio-demographic data, recreational practices, and perceptions of the wilderness environment. The results show four (4) different recreation profiles. For all of them bonding with the natural environment is really important. Most users want to conserve and protect the wilderness areas. Nevertheless, this majority also claims the right to have access to this natural environment preferring above all that it remains a place for recreation. Thus, even if the natural setting of the mountains is the main component of their outdoor activities, these elements are mainly apprehended to the prism of their bodily experience.
Water is a fundamental resource for life on earth and its quality defines its various uses. Water quality is known as the result from human actions and from its interaction with the physical environment. Thus water has physical, chemical and biological characteristics because of its solvent properties and its ability to carry particles. Among the chemical characteristics is the carbonate hardness that represents the ion concentration such as calcium and magnesium in solution. These ions are present in groundwater through of chemical weathering processes that depended on the contact time between water and rock, temperature, available CO2 and presence of organic and inorganic. At high levels of carbonate hardness the water has a different flavor that may be unpleasant to people. The aim of this paper is to verify the decreased concentration of calcium and magnesium carbonates by the dissolution of carbon dioxide and calcium hydroxide, changing the balance of the carbonate system. Carbonated water, carbonated and aerated water, and natural water were tested with five concentrations of calcium hydroxide (0, 25, 50, 75 e 150 mg L-1). The evaluated parameter was the carbonate hardness. The experiments were set up in factorial with two factors; the Tukey test was applied at a 1% significance level. The results showed that the water factor and the hydroxide concentration factor were significant at 1% of significance, but not the interaction of both factors. However the best result in the hardness removal was the concentration of 150 mg L-1 of calcium hydroxide in carbonated and aerated water.
River, lake, and water-supply engineering (General), Physical geography
A área deste trabalho envolve a região da cidade de Sinop, no centro norte do estado de Mato Grosso, onde o principal reservatório de água é subterrâneo. O abastecimento público e as atividades econômicas dependem exclusivamente dessas águas e seus conhecimentos são limitados. Neste cenário este estudo tem como objetivo geral fazer a caracterização hidrogeológica do Sistema Aquífero Parecis na região de Sinop – MT. Foram estimadas a espessura e profundidade ao topo das unidades geológicas que ocorrem na área, foram determinados os parâmetros hidrodinâmicos dos aquíferos Utiariti e Salto das Nuvens e estimadas as reservas de águas subterrâneas do Sistema Aquífero Parecis (SAP). Para estimar a espessura e profundidade ao topo foi utilizando a técnica de sondagem elétrica vertical (SEV), com abertura máxima de AB/2 de 1.000m. Foram realizadas vinte SEV, cujos resultados mostram que a cobertura pedológica tem espessura variando de 1,6 m a 6,0 m. A Formação Utiariti tem espessura média de 76m e profundidade média ao topo de 4,3m. A Formação Salto das Nuvens tem espessura média de 195 m e profundidade ao topo de 81 m. Os parâmetros hidrodinâmicos estimados para o Aquífero Utiariti são: transmissividade de 2,65x10-2m²/s, condutividade hidráulica de 3,49x10-4m e coeficiente de armazenamento de 3,54x10-3. A capacidade específica para os poços do SAP varia de 1,06m²/h a 4,17m²/h. As reservas de água subterrânea estimadas para o SAP foram: permanente de 226,9x108m³, reguladora de 18,58x107m³/ano, total de 228,74x108m³ e explotável de 4,6x107m³/ano. A potencialidade do SAP é de 32,3x107m³/ano. Estes dados mostram que o SAP é um bom sistema aquífero capaz de suprir grande explotações de água. Os resultados deste trabalho contribuem para o melhor conhecimento hidrogeológico da área, para a elaboração de plano de gestão das águas subterrâneas e para a avaliação de vulnerabilidade e risco à contaminação dessas águas.
River, lake, and water-supply engineering (General), Physical geography
A contaminação de solos e águas subterrâneas por compostos orgânicos constituise em sérios e preocupantes problemas à saúde do homem e ao meio ambiente. Atualmente, dentre os processos de descontaminação in situ, destacam-se os Processos Oxidativos Avançados (POAs), que se baseiam na produção de radicais hidroxil ( OH ). O uso destas técnicas de descontaminação, entretanto, ocasiona efeitos indesejáveis como alterações nos fenômenos de controle da mobilidade iônica. Visando determinar a melhor proporção do reagente Fenton para remediação de áreas impactadas por BTEX, bem como estudar a mobilização iônica de Fe e Pb resultante da aplicação destas técnicas, utilizou-se, neste trabalho, amostras de solo representativo do Estado de São Paulo (Latossolos) para realização de experimentos.
River, lake, and water-supply engineering (General), Physical geography
Ensaios de laboratório realizados no Instituto Tecnológico de Pernambuco permitiram
identificar uma mistura de bentonita com cimento que supera todos os inconvenientes da pasta de
cimento puro, para obstrução de poços abandonados com risco de contaminação e para isolamento
dos novos em fase de conclusão. Os ensaios comprovaram que esta pasta é mais satisfatória,
principalmente devido a ausência de retração, ao baixo coeficiente de permeabilidade, ao aumento
considerável do tempo de pega e a sensível redução de temperatura proveniente do calor da reação
do cimento com a água. O estudo também permitiu definir, para o percentual de 20% da pasta de
bentonita na massa final, as proporções para diluição do cimento e da bentonita com a água. É
proposta ainda uma metodologia para preparação da mistura no canteiro de obra. Os autores
aceitam sugestões para torná-la mais prática.
River, lake, and water-supply engineering (General), Physical geography
Alexandra M. AVDONINA, Roberto BERTOLANI, Lorena REBECCHI
et al.
The ultrastructure of the digestive system of tardigrades was already described in some species, but it has never been studied in relationship to diet. We performed ultrastructural analyses of the midgut and hindgut of phytophagous Ramazzottius tribulosus and zoophagous Macrobiotus richtersi. In addition, the foregut of R. tribulosus was analyzed. New ultrastructural details have been observed. Among them are: (a) distinct transverse pillar-like structures, lacking in electron-dense and compact cuticle of the buccal tube; (b) a hole or groups of holes sometimes present in the buccal tube; (c) a large cavity within each of the salivary glands where secreted mucus accumulates; and (d) already found in zoophagous Isohypsibius prosostomus, one valve, formed by folds of the pharynx and located at the transition from pharynx to esophagus. In both analyzed species the increase of midgut surface is identified by two orders of folds of the gut wall and by microvilli. In R. tribulosus there are many first-order folds and few second-order folds, whereas in M. richtersi the opposite pattern is found. A peritrophic membrane and microvilli with a well developed glycocalyx are found only in the midgut lumen of R. tribulosus. The density of microvilli and the ratio between the real surface with microvilli and the hypothetical surface without microvilli is lower in zoophagous M. richtersi and I. prosostomus than in phytophagous R. tribulosus. All of these data represent an indirect indication of differences in digestive physiology between phytophagous and zoophagous tardigrade species. The shape of the hindgut is similar in both species and the lumen of the hindgut looks like a heartshaped cavity with some narrow cell evaginations.
This paper is an assessment of the changing properties of Lake Orta phytoplankton in the period 1984-1998, which includes the large-scale liming carried out in the lake in 1989 and 1990. The phytoplankton is analysed first in its general properties (abundance, biovolume, chlorophyll-a concentration, average cell size, diversity) by means of time courses of the mentioned variables based on monthly data through the entire period, and by correlations between the same variables. Moreover, through clustering techniques, the evolution of the species composition has been studied, showing the gradual decrease of chlorophytes after the liming and the noticeable increase of the diatom population, both as biovolume and diversity. Although the assemblage of the dominant species still mirrors the presence of some residual toxic compounds into the lake water, in the most recent period the evolution of the algal populations showed a clear trend towards a species assemblage more similar to those observed in the other deep italian subalpine lakes. After the improving of the chemical environment, the main abiotic factor that in the next years could play a major role in modifying the species assemblage is probably the phosphorus supply, whose in-lake concentration is low, despite the high annual load from the basin. A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the phosphorus dynamics represent the basis to make reliable hypotheses about the future evolution of the phytoplankton assemblage.