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Topic Review
Groundwater Withdrawal-Induced Land Subsidence
Land subsidence is probably one of the most evident environmental effects of groundwater pumping. Globally, freshwater demand is the leading cause of this phenomenon. Land subsidence induced by aquifer system drainage can reach total values of up to 14.5 m. The spatial extension of this phenomenon is usually extensive and is often difficult to define clearly. Aquifer compaction contributes to many socio-economic effects and high infrastructure-related damage costs. Currently, many methods are used to analyze aquifer compaction. These include the fundamental relationship between groundwater head and groundwater flow direction, water pressure and aquifer matrix compressibility. Such solutions enable satisfactory modelling results. However, further research is needed to allow more efficient modelling of aquifer compaction. Recently, satellite radar interferometry (InSAR) has contributed to significant progress in monitoring and determining the spatio-temporal land subsidence distributions worldwide. Therefore, implementation of this approach can pave the way to the development of more efficient aquifer compaction models. This entry presents a comprehensive review of models used to predict land surface displacements caused by rock mass drainage, as well as (2) recent advances and (3) a summary of InSAR implementation over recent years to support the aquifer compaction modelling process. Therefore, the study presented would be of benefit to readers who are interested in the topic of interaction between the human population and the hydrogeological system in different regions. The research presented allows readers to better understand the factors, developments and effects of groundwater drainage and thus facilitate large - scale risk assessment and preventive planning.
  • 4.8K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Economic Complexity
Economic complexity, which links the productive structure of a country with its knowledge, labour, and sophistication, seems to raise new challenges for the environment’s preservation and quality. The relationship between economic complexity and the environment is multi-faced and creates unimagined challenges for humanity in its path toward social and economic progress. 
  • 4.7K
  • 22 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Spilled Oil in Marine Environment
Oil spill is a widespread environmental problem with significant ecological impacts. When oil is spilled in the sea,  it undergoes different  degradation processes such as dispersion, photooxidation, evaporation, dissolution, emulsion, biodegradation and other weathering processes. The most important among these processes is biodegradation, which is facilitated by naturally occurring oil-degrading bacteria.  The interaction of bacteria with hydrocarbons in oil is affected by different environmental factors.  Several studies have evaluated the effects of each factor on the biodegradation of the oil by bacterial, but none has taken all these factors together.
  • 4.7K
  • 06 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Municipal Solid Waste Management in Cambodia
Municipal solid waste (MSW) management is one of the utmost challenges for Cambodia’s city and district centers. The unsound management of MSW has detrimentally affected the environment and human health.
  • 4.5K
  • 09 Aug 2022
Topic Review
PragerU
PragerU, short for Prager University, is an American non-profit organization that creates videos on various political, economic and philosophical topics from an American conservative or right-wing perspective. The organization was co-founded by talk show host and writer Dennis Prager and Allen Estrin. The videos are posted on YouTube and usually feature a speaker who lectures for about five minutes. The organization relies on donations, and much of its early funding came from fracking billionaires Dan and Farris Wilks. PragerU is not a university or academic institution. It does not hold classes, does not grant certifications or diplomas, and is not accredited by any recognized body.
  • 4.5K
  • 11 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Coal Fly Ash Use in Cement and Concrete
Nowadays, coal is increasingly being used as an energy source in some countries. This coal-fired generation process, however, has the disadvantage that produces large quantities of coal fly ash. Its characteristics differ depending on the combustion conditions and the coal source. Fineness will influence early compressive strength in cement-based materials. The finer the binding material, the higher the early compressive strength. They can be used to produce high-volume fly ash (HVFA) concrete, self-compacting concrete (SCC), concrete for marine infrastructures, pervious concrete, roller compacted concrete (RCC) and so on.
  • 4.5K
  • 14 Dec 2021
Topic Review
The Heart of Borneo
The HoB is situated in Borneo, the third-largest island in the world next to Greenland and New Guinea. It is shared by Indonesia (Kalimantan) covering an area of 745,567 square kilometers (km2), Borneo Malaysia, comprising the states of Sarawak and Sabah with an area of 124,449 km2 and 73,711 km2, respectively, and a small-nation sate, Brunei Darussalam (5765 km2). The rainforests in Borneo, which evolved between 100 and 150 million years ago, are among the most biologically diverse on Earth. Representing just one percent of the earth’s terrestrial surface, the island of Borneo holds about six percent of the world’s plant and animal species. There are approximately 15,000 flowering plants and 3000 species of trees found in Borneo’s forest, including 6000 endemic species. The biologically diverse island is recognized as a globally significant biodiversity ‘hotspot’. In addition, the uplands of Borneo are a source of at least 14 of the 20 major rivers on the island. Thus, environmentally sustainable resource management is critically important in maintaining the ecological health of riverine systems, which underpin the socio-economic progress of 17 million people in Borneo.
  • 4.5K
  • 23 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Tropical Rainforest Climate
File:Koppen-Geiger Map Af present.svgA tropical rainforest climate is a tropical climate usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator, and has at least 60 millimetres (2.4 in) of rainfall every month of the year. Regions with this climate are typically designated Af by the Köppen climate classification. A tropical rainforest climate is typically hot, very humid, and wet.
  • 4.4K
  • 31 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Impact of Wildfires on Ecosystems and Wildlife
Wildfires are common occurrences worldwide that can destroy vast forest areas and kill numerous animals in a few hours. The researchers describe how the different species are expected to behave during a wildfire and the impacts on the ecosystem. 
  • 4.4K
  • 10 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Modified Starch-Based Adhesives
Consumer trends towards environmentally friendly products are driving plastics industries to investigate more benign alternatives to petroleum-based polymers. In the case of adhesives, one possibility to achieve sustainable production is to use non-toxic, low-cost starches as biodegradable raw materials for adhesive production. While native starch contains only hydroxyl groups and has limited scope, chemically modified starch shows superior water resistance properties for adhesive applications. Esterified starches, starches with ester substituents, can be feasibly produced and utilized to prepare bio-based adhesives with improved water resistance. Syntheses of esterified starch materials can involve esterification, transesterification, alkylation, acetylation, succinylation, or enzymatic reactions.
  • 4.4K
  • 31 May 2022
Topic Review
Degradation of Antibiotics
Antibiotics are the therapeutic option for countless infections treatment; unfortunately, they are the second most common group of drugs in wastewaters worldwide due to failures in industrial waste treatments and their irrational use in humans and animals. Several techniques have been assayed for the degradation and mineralisation of antibiotics to reduce the environmental impact; strategies focused on physical, chemical, biological, and combined process design for degradation.
  • 4.4K
  • 25 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Pakistan’s Heritage Management
Improving archaeology policies means fostering search and exploration of ancient sites, promoting protection and preservation actions of architectural remains, and management of cultural heritage.
  • 4.4K
  • 19 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Snow Line
The climatic snow line is the boundary between a snow-covered and snow-free surface. The actual snow line may adjust seasonally, and be either significantly higher in elevation, or lower. The permanent snow line is the level above which snow will lie all year.
  • 4.3K
  • 16 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Land Use and Land Cover Mapping
The volume of collected or archived geospatial data for land use and land cover (LULC) mapping including remotely sensed satellite imagery and auxiliary geospatial datasets is increasing. Innovative machine learning, deep learning algorithms, and cutting-edge cloud computing have also been developed. While new opportunities are provided by these geospatial big data and advanced computer technologies for LULC mapping, challenges also emerge for LULC mapping from using these geospatial big data.
  • 4.3K
  • 17 Oct 2022
Topic Review
IoT-Cloud-Based Earthquake Early Warning Systems
Earthquake early warning systems (EEWS) are crucial for saving lives in earthquake-prone areas. Earthquake early warning systems rely on a variety of advanced signal processing techniques and specific parameters to detect and analyze seismic waves in real time. 
  • 4.3K
  • 11 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Seawater
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) is a term used to represent petroleum (crude oil) that consists of a blend of thousands of compounds. They are referred to as hydrocarbons because almost all consist of hydrogen and carbon. A crude oil spill is a common issue during offshore oil drilling, transport and transfer to onshore. Second, the production of petroleum refinery effluent is known to cause pollution due to its toxic effluent discharge. Sea habitats and onshore soil biota are affected by TPH as a pollutant in their natural environment. Crude oil pollution in seawater, estuaries and beaches requires an efficient process of cleaning. To remove crude oil pollutants from seawater, various physico-chemical and biological treatment methods have been applied worldwide. A biological treatment method using bacteria, fungi and algae has recently gained a lot of attention due to its efficiency and lower cost.
  • 4.2K
  • 23 Apr 2021
Topic Review
List of Cities by Sunshine Duration
The following is a list of cities by sunshine duration. Sunshine duration is a climatological indicator, measuring duration of sunshine in given period (usually, a day or a year) for a given location on Earth, typically expressed as an averaged value over several years. It is a general indicator of cloudiness of a location, and thus differs from insolation, which measures the total energy delivered by sunlight over a given period. Sunshine duration is usually expressed in hours per year, or in (average) hours per day. The first measure indicates the general sunniness of a location compared with other places, while the latter allows for comparison of sunshine in various seasons in the same location. Another often-used measure is percentage ratio of recorded bright sunshine duration and daylight duration in the observed period. An important use of sunshine duration data is to characterize the climate of sites, especially of health resorts. This also takes into account the psychological effect of strong solar light on human well-being. It is often used to promote tourist destinations.
  • 4.2K
  • 03 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Applications of Chitin in Agricultural Industries
Chitin can play a key role in the agricultural industry due to its water-soluble nature. The different applications of chitin in the agricultural industry have been well documented with even more novel processes still in development. Some of those would include, but are not limited to, being used as fertilizers, soil conditioning agents, plant disease control agents, antitranspirants, fruit retardants, and seed coatings. Furthermore, chitin can increase the natural defense mechanisms in plants by upregulating plant growth regulators, growth stimulants, anti-stress agents, and elicitors for the production of secondary metabolites.
  • 4.1K
  • 24 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Climate Change Denial
File:Former Senator Tom Coburn- Paris Climate Agreement Was 'Poorly Negotiated'.webm Climate change denial, or global warming denial is denial, dismissal, or unwarranted doubt that contradicts the scientific consensus on climate change, including the extent to which it is caused by humans, its effects on nature and human society, or the potential of adaptation to global warming by human actions. Many who deny, dismiss, or hold unwarranted doubt about the scientific consensus on anthropogenic global warming self-label as "climate change skeptics", which several scientists have noted is an inaccurate description. Climate change denial can also be implicit, when individuals or social groups accept the science but fail to come to terms with it or to translate their acceptance into action. Several social science studies have analyzed these positions as forms of denialism, pseudoscience, or propaganda. The campaign to undermine public trust in climate science has been described as a "denial machine" organized by industrial, political and ideological interests, and supported by conservative media and skeptical bloggers to manufacture uncertainty about global warming. The politics of global warming have been affected by climate change denial and the political global warming controversy, undermining the efforts to act on climate change or adapting to the warming climate. Those promoting denial commonly use rhetorical tactics to give the appearance of a scientific controversy where there is none. Organised campaigning to undermine public trust in climate science is associated with conservative economic policies and backed by industrial interests opposed to the regulation of CO2 emissions. Climate change denial has been associated with the fossil fuels lobby, the Koch brothers, industry advocates and conservative think tanks, often in the United States. More than 90% of papers sceptical on climate change originate from right-wing think tanks. Since the late 1970s, oil companies have published research broadly in line with the standard views on global warming. Despite this, oil companies organized a climate change denial campaign to disseminate public disinformation for several decades, a strategy that has been compared to the organized denial of the hazards of tobacco smoking by the tobacco industry.
  • 4.1K
  • 18 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Instrumental Temperature Record
The instrumental temperature record provides the temperature of Earth's climate system from the historical network of in situ measurements of surface air temperatures and ocean surface temperatures. Data are collected at thousands of meteorological stations, buoys and ships around the globe. The longest-running temperature record is the Central England temperature data series, which starts in 1659. The longest-running quasi-global record starts in 1850. In recent decades, more extensive sampling of ocean temperatures at various depths allows estimates of ocean heat content, but these samples do not form part of the global surface temperature datasets.
  • 4.1K
  • 25 Nov 2022
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