scholarly journals Ecohydrologie urbaine et changement climatique

Author(s):  
Pascal Breil ◽  
Abdoulaye Faty ◽  
Didier Orange

Abstract. Due to global change, cities of the future will have to deal with more intense runoff and longer drought sequences, in addition to a growing urban and peri-urban population. French Mediterranean cities, such as Toulon, are already densely urbanised and exposed to the effects of global warming. The adaptation of their infrastructures is problematic. Cities with high development potential, such as Dakar, offer the opportunity to imagine other solutions for the management of water resources and its extremes in the context of global change. In particular, it is a question of managing the flows of water and substances linked to intense runoff events according to an ecohydrological logic that makes it possible to reduce environmental risks and increase social and economic benefits. To do this, we use a hydrologically-based geomatics model (IRIP) that produces predictive maps of areas of generation, transfer and accumulation of intense runoff and associated nutrients. This allows us to target effective intervention areas to reduce risks and increase water resources, for example by simulating land use change in appropriate locations and at the same time stimulating specific biological processes. The fundamental principle of ecohydrology is to balance energy flows with biological metabolic flows at the sub-catchment scale. The mapping of intense runoff processes is a first step illustrated in this article for the cities of Toulon and Dakar. This first step is part of the Dakar'2030 project, which aims to rethink urban development and adapt it to climate change.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
XIANGBO YIN ◽  
Christine Martineau ◽  
Isabelle Demers ◽  
Nathan Basiliko ◽  
Nicole J. Fenton

The development of rare earth element (REE) production in Canada could generate significant economic benefits, but also poses serious potential risks to the environment. Rare earth elements have been widely used in modern life and industries, and even are indispensable in some crucial advanced technologies (e.g. permanent magnets). Increasing demand and the context of current US-China trade tensions provide a commercial economic development opportunity for Canada, which has rich resources of REEs, to develop its own sector. However, environmental and health issues caused by REE production are challenges Canada has to face, given that significant environmental impacts have been reported elsewhere (e.g. China). Little literature is available on the potential environmental risks associated with the development of REE production in Canada. It is important to know what environmental issues, particularly those generated by REEs themselves, may happen in Canada in the future. Therefore, three major aspects are evaluated and summarized from multidisciplinary perspectives in this paper: 1) a general conceptual model of the transport of REEs as a group in the environment is established; 2) toxicity levels, biochemical mechanisms, and physiological effects of REEs on different organisms are reviewed, and case-studies from existing REE mining areas are briefly highlighted; and 3) considering specific environmental condition and risk factors, environmental risks Canada may face in future REE developments are identified and discussed. This review concludes with a macro-identification of potential environmental risks associated with the development of REE production in Canada considering both human and ecological health. We note that ingestion, inhalation and dermal exposure for workers and surrounding residents (including potentially indigenous communities), and sub-arctic/arctic climate conditions could increase the risks to human and ecological health in future REE production development in Canada. Finally, future research directions are proposed that could be applied to both Canadian and other geographical contexts.


2015 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dato’ Ir. Syed Muhammad Shahabudin

It is said tluit civilization began and prospered when humans could control water; and that same civilization declined and vanished when that control is lost. Dams and other river flow barriers were built to harness and control water in the early days of civilisation in order to secure the benefits for human basic needs and comfort. Centuries later, more dams were built to cater for increasing population, especially in arid and semi-arid areas. But it is really in the past two centuries that many large-sized dams have been built to satisfy a wider range of development demands — hydropower, treated water supply, irrigation, flood control and environmental needs.Towards the second half of the last century, society came to realise that dams can cause significant negative social and environmental impacts that could outweigh the original economic benefits. Opponents of dams protest vehemently world-wide against the development of more dams whilst proponents are convinced tluit the y are a necessary feature to support growth and prosperity. It is these contradicting beliefs in mind tluit the public must be engaged to facilitate a better understanding of the views of both the proponents and the opponents of dam development before deciding on a long-term strateg y. In the meantime, more effort may have to be made for water and energ y conservation strategies and to realize the potential applications of low impact and non-structural solutions that complement existing dams and defer new dam development to as far into the future as possible.This paper aims to provoke a critical debate amongst engineers and the public to look at the longer term future ofdams in water resources development that could possibl y reduce the fundamental demand for services that dam provides. In other words, to try and answer the question “Why should a country rich in water, as Malaysia is, need to construct dams and even plan for more?”


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Hao Hao ◽  
Yichen Sun ◽  
Xueyun Mei ◽  
Yanjun Zhou

In 2018-2019, the recall scale of electric vehicles (EVs) in China reached 168,700 units; recalls account for approximately 6.9% of sales volume. There are imperative reasons for electric vehicle batteries (EVBs) recalls, such as mandatory laws or policies, safety and environmental pollution risks, and the high value of EVB echelon use, and thus, it has become increasingly important to reasonably design a reverse logistics (RL) network for an EVB recall. In this study, a multiobjective and multiperiod recall RL network model is developed to minimize safety and environmental risks, maximize the social responsibility and economic benefits, and consider the characteristics of EVBs, including the configuration of key recall facilities and the control of recall flows. The results of this study will help EVB practitioners, relevant departmental policymakers, and others to comprehensively understand the recall of EVBs, strengthen the safety and environmental protection issues in the EVB recall process, and promote the establishment of a safe, green, and sustainable EVB recall RL network.


2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (3A) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Thinh Xuan Le ◽  
Hien Xuan Dang

Pangasius (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) is a popular food in many countries around the world as well as Vietnam, at the same time, Pangasius (catfish) also brings great economic benefits from the exportation. However, unplanned catfish farming leads to environmental degradation. Fish farming is more susceptible to disease and consumes more water. Feed for fish is only partially used, the rest is released into the environment. The industrial feeds with high nutrient content, especially those rich in nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P), are the strongest contributors to the water index. Thus, within high volume and high pollution levels of wastes from catfish pond which has had a great impact on the water environment, negatively affecting the catfish farming and the community. Modeling is a solution that helps to better control the biological processes in the pond, optimizes feed supply and water use. Modeling has many advantages compares to the real research because the cost is too expensive; requires too long time; does not affect to production or endangers to persons and equipment. In some cases, it is not possible to do experiments on real systems. Therefore, the application of the modelling is a suitable way to identify and control biological processes in catfish ponds. This research will study the plankton development processes taking place in catfish ponds by modeling using Matlab software to simulate the nutrition and development processes of fish in catfish ponds. These equations were solved by the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method and coded in the Matlab programming language.As a result, the plankton development processes of pangasius pond is simulated includes (green algae, cyanobacteria, diatoms), (the ratio of nitrogen content in green algae, cyanobacteria, diatoms), (the ratio of phosphorus content in green algae, cyanobacteria, diatoms) at different temperatures 28, 30oC.


Author(s):  
Ge Sun ◽  
Xiaoming Feng ◽  
Jingfeng Xiao ◽  
Alex Shiklomanov ◽  
Shengping Wang ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Jitao Zhang ◽  
Zengchuan Dong ◽  
Tian Chen

With the rapid development of society and the economy, the demand for water resources is increasing. This, combined with the increasing competition for water resources between current and future generations, hinders the sustainable development of society. To alleviate prominent water resources problems, achieve sustainable utilization of water resources and the sustainable development of society and economy, a multi-objective optimal water resources allocation model is proposed, in which different water sources and different water departments are considered to achieve the maximum social and economic benefits of the study area on the premise of water resources sustainability. To meet the needs of future generations, the discount value is introduced to measure intergenerational equity. A case study from seven cities in the upper and middle reaches of the Huaihe River Basin is given to verify the practicality and viability of the model. The non-dominated sorting Genetic Algorithms-2(NSGA-2) was used to find optimal water resources allocation schemes in 2020 and 2050 under the condition of a hydrological drought year (inflow guarantee rate p = 75%). Compared with previous models, the intergenerational equity model considers the sustainability of water resources, has higher social and economic benefits, and ensures the fair distribution of water resources among generations. According to the results, under balanced weight, the water shortage ratio of the seven cities will decrease from 5.24% in 2050 to 1.58% in 2020, and the economic benefit will increase from 79.46(1010CNY) to 168.3(1010CNY), respectively. In addition, the discount value of economic benefit in 2050 is 80.23(1010CNY), which is still higher than that in 2020. This shows that the water resource allocation scheme can eliminate the disparity between supply and demand for water resources and achieve intergenerational equity. Therefore, the intergenerational equity model can alleviate the contradiction of water resources and realize intergenerational equity.


Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1790 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Afzal ◽  
Ragab Ragab

Although the climate change projections are produced by global models, studying the impact of climatic change on water resources is commonly investigated at catchment scale where the measurements are taken, and water management decisions are made. For this study, the Frome catchment in the UK was investigated as an example of midland England. The DiCaSM model was applied using the UKCP09 future climate change scenarios. The climate projections indicate that the greatest decrease in groundwater recharge and streamflow was projected under high emission scenarios in the 2080s. Under the medium and high emission scenarios, model results revealed that the frequency and severity of drought events would be the highest. The drought indices, the Reconnaissance Drought Index, RDI, Soil Moisture Deficit, SMD and Wetness Index, WI, predicted an increase in the severity of future drought events under the high emission scenarios. Increasing broadleaf forest area would decrease streamflow and groundwater recharge. Urban expansion could increase surface runoff. Decreasing winter barley and grass and increasing oil seed rape, would increase SMD and slightly decrease river flow. Findings of this study are helpful in the planning and management of the water resources considering the impact of climate and land use changes on variability in the availability of surface and groundwater resources.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kun Cheng ◽  
Shuai Wei ◽  
Qiang Fu ◽  
Wei Pei ◽  
Tianxiao Li

Abstract Adaptive management is currently an important method to optimize the management of complex water resources systems. Regional water resources adaptive management was conducted based on the advanced theory of a complex system multi-agent model; the state of an agent was tracked and modified by information entropy theory, which was improved by using individual standard deviations. With the goal of optimizing the adaptation of each agent of the region, water resources in the major grain production area of China were managed under the constraints of the total annual available water resources and water use efficiency requirements for 2015 and 2030. By introducing the adaptive water resources management in 2015, the domestic benefits and economic benefits increased by 2.90% and 14.81%, respectively, with respect to observed values. The ecological benefits declined by 3.63%, but ecological water demand was fully satisfied, and the ecological water environment was improved. Given the water use efficiency targets in 2030, applying adaptive management resulted in an increase of domestic, economic, and ecological benefits of 34.29%, 21.14%, and 1.78%, respectively. The results show that the adaptive management method presented can help managers to balance the benefits of various agents to determine the direction of water resources management decisions.


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