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Topic Review
Khatt Shebib
The Khatt Shebib is an ancient wall in Southern Jordan. The remains of the wall are 150 km long, making it the longest linear archaeological site in Jordan. The archaeological ruins were first identified by British diplomat Sir Alec Kirkbride in 1948. Ever since, a range of disciplines, including archaeologists, scientists and anthropologists, have studied the wall. The date of the Khatt Shebib's construction is still unknown, however, it has been widely debated by archaeologists. This is evident as some archaeologists argue that the wall was built in the Iron Age, whilst others argue it was constructed in the Nabataean period. The Khatt Shebib was built and used by the semi-nomadic Bedouin people, whose livelihoods consisted of herding and farming in the harsh, arid environment of the Jordan desert. The Khatt Shebib was not used for military purposes rather the ancient wall served as a border. At the time of its construction, the wall was approximately no taller than a meter and a half high. Due to various threats to the integrity of the wall, including climatic issues and growing population pressures, the wall is significantly smaller. The Khatt Shebib has gained increasing attention amongst archaeologists. The leading method of studying the wall is aerial archaeology and multiple international archaeological organisation have established projects in order to understand and discover more about the wall.
  • 561
  • 27 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Variability of Vertical Wind Shear
Vertical wind shear is caused by a wind of different speed or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere.
  • 560
  • 17 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Blue Carbon Ecosystems
Blue carbon was established as a metaphor to highlight that, apart from terrestrial ecosystems, coastal ecosystems also contribute significantly to carbon sequestration. Apart from being recognized as a helpful carbon sink, blue carbon ecosystems provide various other services, including shelter for different migratory birds, fishes, and crabs. It is also vital in minimizing net carbon emissions. 
  • 560
  • 10 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Climate Change with Everest Region
The Himalayas, especially the Everest region, are highly sensitive to climate change. Although there are research works on this region related to cryospheric work, the ecological understandings of the alpine zone and climate impacts are limited. This study aimed to assess the changes in surface water including glacier lake and streamflow and the spatial and temporal changes in alpine vegetation and examine their relationships with climatic factors (temperature and precipitation) during 1995–2019 in the Everest region and the Dudh Koshi river basin. In this study, Landsat time-series data, European Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC) surface water data, ECMWF Reanalysis 5th Generation (ERA5) reanalysis temperature data, and meteorological station data were used. It was found that the glacial lake area and volume are expanding at the rates of 0.0676 and 0.0198 km3/year, respectively; the average annual streamflow is decreasing at the rate of 2.73 m3/s/year. Similarly, the alpine vegetation greening as indicated by normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is increasing at the rate of 0.00352 units/year. On the other hand, the annual mean temperature shows an increasing trend of 0.0329 °C/year, and the annual precipitation also shows a significant negative monotonic trend. It was also found that annual NDVI is significantly correlated with annual temperature. Likewise, the glacial lake area expansion is strongly correlated with annual minimum temperature and annual precipitation. Overall, we found a significant alteration in the alpine ecosystem of the Everest region that could impact on the water–energy–food nexus of the Dudh Koshi river basin. 
  • 559
  • 06 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Sources of Microplastic Pollution in Soil
Microplastics (MPs) are the most versatile, inexpensive, and non-biodegradable materials widely used in daily life. Regardless of their enormous applications, MPs have developed into a critical ecological issue. Major sources of MPs in soil ecosystems are sewage sludge, mulching plastic films, inappropriate dumping of plastic waste, agricultural amendments, etc. which pose a severe environmental threat to the different ecosystems of the earth. Soil has become the reservoir of various micropollutants released from several potential sources over decades of applications, harming the soil and the environment.
  • 559
  • 14 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Modern Flats in London Due to Climate Change
Since the UK government is scaling up its efforts towards net zero, resilient higher adaptation goals should be implemented against heatwaves. The UK’s average surface temperature has increased by 1.2 °C since the pre-industrial era (1850–1900). As per UKCP18, which is largely in connection with prior predictions of UKCP09, by the end of the 21st century, the UK climate will continue to warm, and the sea levels will continue to increase. With the increase in global temperatures, a significant threat of overheating has been reported due to more frequent and severe heatwaves in the UK housing stock.
  • 559
  • 02 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Gulf of Mexico Basin
The formation of the Gulf of Mexico, an oceanic rift basin located between North America and the Yucatan Block, was preceded by the breakup of the Supercontinent Pangaea in the Late-Triassic, weakening the lithosphere. Rifting between the North and South American plates continued in the Early-Jurassic, approximately 160 million years ago, and formation of the Gulf of Mexico, including subsidence due to crustal thinning, was complete by 140 Ma. Stratigraphy of the basin, which can be split into several regions, includes sediments deposited from the Jurassic through the Holocene, currently totaling a thickness between 15 and 20 kilometers.
  • 558
  • 17 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Climate-Change Impact on Florida’s Water Resources
Emerging changes in water availability in the U.S. state of Florida have been recognized as a combined result of human perturbations, natural variability, and climate change. Florida is particularly susceptible to the impacts of the sea level rise due to its extensive coastline, low elevation, and lack of topographic relief to promote drainage. Owing to the porous nature of the state’s aquifer systems, saltwater intrusion into coastal areas is an evolving threat. Additionally, anthropogenic intervention has increased the contribution of nutrients and sediments to many lakes, reservoirs, and rivers, subsequently causing eutrophication and sedimentation problems. 
  • 558
  • 07 Aug 2023
Topic Review
LCA&MFA for E-Waste Management
The complexity in WEEE management has prompted the need for suitable tools to understand the generation of e-waste as well as to assess the associated environmental impacts. Two such tools that are frequently used in waste management in general and also associated with WEEE are material flow analysis (MFA) and life cycle assessment (LCA). Both of these tools are frequently referred to in literature as useful in assisting decision-making in WEEE management.
  • 556
  • 22 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Environmental Microplastics
Environmental microplastics are gaining interest due to their ubiquity and the threat they pose to environmental and human health. Critical studies have revealed the abundance of microplastics in nature, while others have tested the impacts of these small plastics on organismal health in the laboratory. Yet, there is often a mismatch between these two areas of research, resulting in major discrepancies and an inability to interpret certain findings. Here, we focus on several main lines of inquiry. First, even though the majority of environmental microplastics are plastic microfibers from textiles, laboratory studies still largely use spherical microbeads. There are also inconsistencies between the measurements of microplastics in the environment as compared to the concentrations that tend to be used in experimental studies. Likewise, the period of exposure occurring in experimental studies and in the environment are vastly different. Lastly, although experimental studies often focus on a particular subset of toxic chemicals present on microplastics, textile microfibers carry other dyes and chemicals that are understudied. They also cause types of physical damage not associated with microspheres. 
  • 556
  • 11 Oct 2021
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