Comparing the variation and influencing factors of CO emission from subsidence waterbodies under different restoration modes in coal mining area.

Subsidence waterbodies play an important role in carbon cycle in coal mining area. However, little effort has been made to explore the carbon dioxide (CO) release characteristics and influencing factors in subsidence waterbodies, especially under different restoration modes. Here, we measured CO release fluxes (F(CO)) across Anguo wetland (AW), louts pond (LP), fishpond (FP), fishery-floating photovoltaic wetland (FFPV), floating photovoltaic wetland (FPV) in coal mining subsidence area, with unrestored subsidence waterbodies (SW) and unaffected normal Dasha river (DR) as the control area.

Stability of Drinking Water Distribution Systems and Control of Disinfection By-Products.

The stability of drinking water distribution systems and the management of disinfection by-products are critical to ensuring public health safety. In this paper, the interrelationships between corrosion products in the network, microbes, and drinking water quality are elucidated. This review also discusses the mechanisms through which corrosive by-products from the piping network influence the decay of disinfectants and the formation of harmful disinfection by-products.

Provincial and regional analysis of carbon neutrality policy and the environmental Kuznets curve: examining their effect on CO emissions in China.

China is making a challenging effort to achieve its ambitious goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2060. Therefore, the Chinese government should develop effective policy tools to improve its carbon neutrality plan. Due to this importance, an empirical study is required to examine the comprehensive effect of the carbon neutrality policy on CO emissions in China.

Assessment of heavy metal pollution and ecological risk in river water and sediments in a historically metal mined watershed, Northeast Japan.

Mining legacies continue to impact the geochemical cycles in historically mined watersheds after mine closure. The Hokuroku District in Northeast Japan is a famous metal mining area with a long mining history; however, studies on the distribution mechanisms and pollution characteristics of heavy metals in these historically mined watersheds after the boom period of mining activities are lacking. This study aims to provide fundamental insights into the effects of the mining activities and hydrological conditions on heavy metal pollution in the Kosaka watershed, Hokuroku District.

Effects of Climate Change on Land Cover Change and Vegetation Dynamics in Xinjiang, China.

Since the Silk-road Economic belt initiatives were proposed, Xinjiang has provided a vital strategic link between China and Central Asia and even Eurasia. However, owing to the weak and vulnerable ecosystem in this arid region, even a slight climate change would probably disrupt vegetation dynamics and land cover change. Thus, there is an urgent need to determine the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Land-use/Land-cover (LULC) responses to climate change.

A POI and LST Adjusted NTL Urban Index for Urban Built-Up Area Extraction.

Nighttime light (NTL) images have been broadly applied to extract urban built-up areas in recent years. However, the typical NTL images provided by Defense Meteorological Satellite Program/Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS) and National Polar-Orbiting Partnership's Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (NPP/VIIRS) have the drawbacks of low resolution and blooming effect, which bring difficulty for the application of them in urban built-up area extraction. Therefore, this paper proposes the POI (point of interest) and LST (land surface temperature) adjusted NTL urban index (PLANUI) to extract the urban built-up areas with high accuracy.

Geographic distribution of heavy metals and identification of their sources in soils near large, open-pit coal mines using positive matrix factorization.

Mining activities are considered the most important factor causing heavy metal accumulation in surface soil and it is important to understand the spatial distribution and source of heavy metals in typical steppes. In this study, the contents, spatial distribution, and sources of heavy metals were determined using geostatistical analyses, multivariate statistical analyses, and a positive matrix factorization (PMF) model using 152 soil samples collected from a grassland near the Sheng-Li coal base. The results shows that the mean concentration of heavy metals is low and does not threaten the quality of the local soil.

Hydrotransport-Oriented Zn, Cu, and Pb Behavior Assessment and Source Identification in the River Network of a Historically Mined Area in the Hokuroku Basin, Northeast Japan.

Aquatic ecosystems continuously receive potentially hazardous heavy metals from natural and anthropogenic sources. Focusing on the origin of heavy metals, this study aims to estimate the load contribution of tributaries from individual watershed and human drainage and to dissect the source of heavy metals, as commonly required for environmental impact assessment. Using integrated water dynamics, Geographic Information System (GIS), and chemical analysis, we identified and evaluated the heavy metal sources of the Kosaka river system in Hokuroku basin, which is a historically mined area in Northeast Japan, both in the high-water and low-water seasons.

Assessment of Landscape Ecological Health: A CaseStudy of a Mining City in a Semi-Arid Steppe.

The ecological status of the semi-arid steppes in China is fragile. Under the long-term and high-intensity development of mining, the ecological integrity and biodiversity of steppe landscapes have been destroyed, causing soil pollution, grassland degradation, landscape function defect, and so on. Previous studies have mainly focused on ecosystem health assessment in mining areas.

Feasibility Study on S-Band Microwave Radiation and 3D-Thermal Infrared Imaging Sensor-Aided Recognition of Polymer Materials from End-of-Life Vehicles.

With the increase the worldwide consumption of vehicles, end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) have kept rapidly increasing in the last two decades. Metallic parts and materials of ELVs can be easily reused and recycled, but the automobile shredder residues (ASRs), of which elastomer and plastic materials make up the vast majority, are difficult to recycle. ASRs are classified as hazardous materials in the main industrial countries, and are required to be materially recycled up to 85⁻95% by mass until 2020.

Study on Impact Acoustic-Visual Sensor-Based Sorting of ELV Plastic Materials.

This paper concentrates on a study of a novel multi-sensor aided method by using acoustic and visual sensors for detection, recognition and separation of End-of Life vehicles' (ELVs) plastic materials, in order to optimize the recycling rate of automotive shredder residues (ASRs). Sensor-based sorting technologies have been utilized for material recycling for the last two decades. One of the problems still remaining results from black and dark dyed plastics which are very difficult to recognize using visual sensors.

Evaluation of a Cubature Kalman Filtering-Based Phase Unwrapping Method for Differential Interferograms with High Noise in Coal Mining Areas.

Differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar has been shown to be effective for monitoring subsidence in coal mining areas. Phase unwrapping can have a dramatic influence on the monitoring result. In this paper, a filtering-based phase unwrapping algorithm in combination with path-following is introduced to unwrap differential interferograms with high noise in mining areas.

The challenges of reusing mining and mineral-processing wastes.

Mining and mineral-processing wastes are one of the world's largest chronic waste concerns. Their reuse should be included in future sustainable development plans, but the potential impacts on a number of environmental processes are highly variable and must be thoroughly assessed. The chemical composition and geotechnical properties of the source rock determine which uses are most appropriate and whether reuse is economically feasible.