Publications by authors named "Yubao Xia"
Microplastic records from lake cores can reconstruct the plastic pollution history. However, the associations between anthropogenic activities and microplastic accumulation are not well understood. Huguangyan Maar Lake (HML) is a deep-enclosed lake without inlets and outlets, where the sedimentary environment is ideal for preserving a stable and historical microplastic record.
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- Sedimentary analysis in Huguangyan Maar Lake, China reveals that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and phthalates reflect historical energy and industrial changes from 1900 to 2020.
- Concentrations of PAHs and phthalates showed significant variations, with higher levels of heavier PAHs linked to increased coal and petroleum use, especially post-1980, while lighter PAHs declined due to a shift towards natural gas.
- Changes in the types of phthalates used were observed, with traditional plasticizers decreasing as alternatives increased, highlighting the role of energy optimization and product updates in reducing aquatic pollution.
Article Synopsis
- Lake sediment serves as a natural sink for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), but past assessments of PAH sedimentation in Chinese lakes have been mostly qualitative rather than quantitative.
- Researchers analyzed historical PAH sedimentation data from 51 lakes in China and around the world, finding that PAH concentrations in Chinese lakes (478 ng/g) were significantly lower than those in North America and Europe.
- Between 1900 and 2015, most Chinese lakes experienced increasing PAH sedimentation, with a notable decrease in Southeastern China from 2001-2015, while factors like population growth and coal consumption emerged as key influences on PAH levels.
Microcontaminants in the water environment have received increasing attention due to their adverse effects on human health and wildlife. However, iodinated X-ray contrast media (ICM), a type of microcontaminants, have not yet been systematically documented in source and tap water. This study investigated ICM in water samples via a sampling activity from 25 drinking water sources and their corresponding 30 household taps in south-central Jiangsu Province, China.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo scenarios were selected to simulate the situation before the closure of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) in 1996 (Scenario 1) and after the completion of the Three Gorges Project in 2010 (Scenario 2). A modified polar co-ordinated segmented quantification method was proposed to quantify the heavy metal footprint excursion in Scenarios 1 and 2 and further evaluate their influence on the six sensitive targets in the Yangtze Estuary. Scenario 3 was utilised to analyse the negative effects of the footprint range on the spatio-temporal overlap of the Chinese sturgeon juveniles arriving in the estuarine reserve, set in the TGD-altered biological rhythm.
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