Applications in remote sensing and environmental analysis

The present study aims to describe the morphologic and geographic structuring and report a relief morphometric analysis in a cutout of the environmental planning. To do so, geoprocessing techniques were widely used and supported by systemic theory. The main objective is to process relief data in Geographic Information System (GIS) and contribute to the database of characteristics from different local geomorphometric variables. Thus, the theorical basis of the research suggests the use of General System Theory based on their concepts to understand the morphologic structure of the relief at different levels, also the condition of the relief shapes and their classification. This case study occurs methodologically, defining the relief category as an environmental component of direct and vital interaction with other resources and dynamic components, considering mainly the whole environmental system. In this study, the environmental system is the Sucuriú River watershed. Therefore, to get the environmental analysis of the relief, the methodology consists of pre-processing and processing of digital land modeling data based on Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) records. Those can obtain different characteristics by using the methodology of geomorphometric variables extraction, which are the set of variables subject to land measuring. The results should cartographically reveal the dynamics and structural morphology of the relief, observing important parameters of relief configuration and concluding with the presentation and correlation of the relief shapes dynamics in all the considered environmental system.

Thermalization of small quantum systems: From the zeroth law of thermodynamics

Thermalization of isolated quantum systems has been studied intensively in recent years and significant progresses have been achieved. Here, we study thermalization of small quantum systems that interact with large chaotic environments under the consideration of Schrödinger evolution of composite systems, from the perspective of the zeroth law of thermodynamics. Namely, we consider a small quantum system that is brought into contact with a large environmental system; after they have relaxed, they are separated and their temperatures are studied. Our question is under what conditions the small system may have a detectable temperature that is identical with the environmental temperature. This should be a necessary condition for the small quantum system to be thermalized and to have a well-defined temperature. By using a two-level probe quantum system that plays the role of a thermometer, we find that the zeroth law is applicable to quantum chaotic systems, but not to integrable systems.

The paradigm of systemic complexity and the sustainability of Homeland Earth: an epistemological view of the Brazilian reality according to the ideas of Edgar Morin

The environmental issue has been built on numerous epistemological and paradigmatic biases, which now reflect the concern with the perpetuation of environmental autopoiesis, and now evidence the asymmetries revealed by the contradictions of stateless capitalism. Edgar Morin, in his various works, exposed the profound nature of the environmental system, based on a careful analysis centered on the principles of reparadigmatization. Starting from this context, the objective of this article was to understand the bases of sustainability by integrating the structuring concepts of eco-organization and environmental complexity, traced by the Moranian paradigm, and their relationship with Brazilian environmental policies. Based on the profound content analysis of the works of this epistemic protagonist, it can be inferred that the paradigm of systemic complexity is not only essential for rethinking the environmental issue in contemporary times, but it is also absolutely possible, as attested by case studies of rural peoples and communities in the State of Amazonas, located in the Brazilian Amazon, here presented. Nevertheless, this article concludes that in order to overcome the supposed dichotomy between economics and the environment and to carry out another ‘via’ on Homeland Earth, it will be necessary to build a network of solidarity and cooperation between the different actors/subjects/institutions.

Does Distributive Justice Improve Welfare Outcomes in Climate Adaptation? An Exploration Using an Agent-Based Model of a Stylized Social–Environmental System

Scholars increasingly propose distributive justice as a means to foster effective and fair outcomes in climate adaptation. To advance the discussion on its place in climate policy, it is desirable to be able to quantitatively assess the effects of different principles of distribution on the well-being of unequally vulnerable individuals and groups. Here, we present an agent-based model of a stylized social–environmental system subject to an external stress such as a climate change impact, in which individuals with unequal access to resources attempt to fulfil an essential need through resource consumption. This causes environmental damage, and a balance must be found between the processes of resource consumption and environmental degradation to achieve well-being for people and stability for the environment. We operationalize different principles for redistributing resource access as interaction rules in the model and compare their tendency to allow such a balance to emerge. Our results indicate that while outcome patterns and effectiveness may vary among principles, redistribution generally improves well-being and system stability. We discuss some implications of our findings as they pertain to addressing the climate crisis and end by outlining the next steps for the research.

Synthesis of typical sulfonamide antibiotics with [14C]- and [13C]-labelling on phenyl ring for environmental studies

Background As a kind of widely used antibiotics, sulfonamide antibiotics (SAs) has become ubiquitous environmental contaminants that caused public concerns. The behavior of SAs in complex environmental system need to be elucidated, which is hampered by unavailability or high cost of isotope-labelled SAs. Results Using commercially available uniformly [l4C]- and [l3C]-labelled aniline as starting material, we synthesized [phenyl-ring-14C]- and [phenyl-ring-l3C]-labelled sulfamethoxazole (SMX), sulfamonomethoxine (SMM), and sulfadiazine (SDZ) using four-step (via condensation of labelled N-acetylsulfanilyl chloride and aminoheterocycles) or five-step (via condensation of labelled N-acetylsulfonamide and chloroheterocycles) reactions in good yields (5.0−22.5% and 28.1−54.1% for [14C]- and [13C]-labelled SAs, respectively) and high purities (> 98.0%). Conclusion The synthesis of [l4C]-labelled SAs could be completed on milligram-level, being feasible for preparation of labelled SAs with high specific radioactivity. This study provides efficient and maneuverable methods to obtain a variety of [14C]- or [13C]-labelled SAs for studies on their environmental behavior, such as fate, transformation, and bioaccumulation.

Nature, Labour and Agriculture: Towards Common Ground in New Histories of Capitalism

Goods developed and exchanged in the production of capital value are commodified nature that is acted upon by humans. Yet new histories of capitalism have for the most part ignored nature as impacted by this economic, social, and environmental system, and the agency of nature in commodification processes. This article responds to the call from a leading historian of capitalism to consider “the countryside” as a neglected geography of human-nature relations that is integral to generating capital value. It asks whether co-exploitation of “the soil and the worker,” as Marx stated of industrialising agriculture in Britain, also occurred in Australia. To answer this, I have drawn together histories of environment, economy, and labour that are concerned with soils and labour for agriculture, which has resulted in a twofold conclusion. First, it is a feature of capitalist production in Australia that the tenacity of “yeoman” or family farming as the model for Australian market-based agriculture did not exploit labour. Farming has, however, transformed Australian soils in many places from their natural state. This transformation is viewed as necessary from a resource perspective but damaging from an ecological view. Second, Australian historians of labour and environment do not participate in international debates about whether or how to consider the historical intersection of nature and labour, or, indeed, nature, labour, and capitalism. The reasons for this are historical and methodological. The environment-labour divide among historians is relevant as global environmental and social crises motivate the search for new sources and relational methods to historicise these connected crises.

Does geosite interpretation lead to conservation? A case study of the Sićevo Gorge (Serbia)

People have appreciated the beauty of natural landscapes, the result of the interplay of different natural processes, for at least three hundred years in Europe. Many have been inspired by this beauty to promote such places for visits by others. Some have understood the importance of individual places visited within the local or regional environmental system. This has led to definitions and the establishment of protected areas with special visitor rules and regulations. This article presents a case study of Sićevo Gorge Nature Park in Serbia and an opportunity to transform it into a geoheritage site, underpinned by developing its interpretation based on the results of a study using the analytical-hierarchy process (AHP) method.