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Topic Review
Mechanism of the Phytoremediation Technique
A natural ecosystem can become contaminated due to the excessive release of toxic substances by various anthropogenic and natural activities, which necessitates rehabilitation of the environmental contamination. Phytoremediation is an eco-friendly and cost-efficient method of biotechnological mitigation for the remediation of polluted ecosystems and revegetation of contaminated sites.
  • 941
  • 25 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Soil Constraints in an Arid Environment
Arid environments are characterized by a higher evaporation than precipitation, as well as persistent water shortages, frequent droughts, high climate variability, and high wind velocity. These soil constraints can be ameliorated and the crop yields increased through case-specific optimization of irrigation and drainage management, enhancing the native beneficial soil microbes, and combinations of soil amendments, conditioners, and residue management.
  • 939
  • 18 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Environmental Impacts of Livestock Production
Livestock production, as one of the oldest and most significant human activities, plays a vital role in fulfilling the global demand for human nutrition and other animal-related products while contributing to poverty reduction. However, it is also important to address the environmental impact of livestock animals.
  • 936
  • 22 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Fermented Plant Biomass in Pigs Feeding
The demand for animal-based food production is increasing mainly due to the rapid growth of the human population. The effective production of high-quality agricultural products promotes and protects the natural environment, human health, and animal welfare. Sustainable processing involves minimizing the waste stream. One way to use agricultural plant-based waste, which is often rich in bioactive substances, is to produce fermented feed in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. Corn, yellow lupins, and narrow-leaved lupins are rich in nutrients, and are suitable for fermentation and use in pig feed. They are also safe for weaned piglets. Used as a feed additive, fermented plant biomass has a positive effect on the health of pigs, increasing their weight and improving the taste and appearance of the meat. The fermentation of plant biomass reduces antinutritional substances that are abundant in feed components.
  • 935
  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Core-Mantle Differentiation
Core-mantle differentiation is the set of processes that took place during the accretion stage of Earth's evolution (or more generally, of rocky planets) that results in the separation of iron-rich materials that eventually would conform a metal core, surrounded by a rocky mantle. According to the Safronov's model, protoplanets formed as the result of collisions of smaller bodies (planetesimals), which previously condensed from solid debris present in the original nebula. Planetesimals contained iron and silicates either already differentiated or mixed together. Either way, after impacting the Proto-Earth their materials very likely became homogenized. At this stage, the Proto-Earth was probably the size of Mars. Next followed the separation and stratification of the Proto-Earth's constituents, chiefly driven by their density contrasts. Factors such as pressure, temperature, and impact bodies in the primordial magma ocean have been involved in the differentiation process. The differentiation process is driven by the higher density of iron compared to silicate rocks, but the lower melting point of the former constitutes an important factor. In fact, once iron has melted, differentiation can take place whether silicate rocks are completely melted or not. On the premises of these plausible scenarios, several models have been proposed to account for the core-mantle differentiation following the stage of nebular formation of the solar system. They can be summarized into three mechanisms: 1) Percolation of iron alloy through silicate crystals; 2) Separation of metal from rock in a primordial magma ocean; 3) Migration of iron diapirs or dikes through the mantle.
  • 934
  • 08 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Coquina
Coquina (/koʊˈkiːnə/) is a sedimentary rock that is composed either wholly or almost entirely of the transported, abraded, and mechanically-sorted fragments of the shells of mollusks, trilobites, brachiopods, or other invertebrates. For a sediment to be considered to be a coquina, the particles composing it should average 2 mm (0.079 in) or greater in size. Coquina can vary in hardness from poorly to moderately cemented. Incompletely consolidated and poorly-cemented coquinas are considered grainstones in the Dunham classification system for carbonate sedimentary rocks. A well-cemented coquina is classified as a biosparite (fossiliferous limestone) according to the Folk classification of sedimentary rocks. Coquinas accumulate in high-energy marine and lacustrine environments where currents and waves result in the vigorous winnowing, abrasion, fracturing, and sorting of the shells that compose them. As a result, they typically exhibit well-developed bedding or cross-bedding, close packing, and good orientation of the shell fragments. The high-energy marine or lacustrine environments associated with coquinas include beaches, shallow submarine raised banks, swift tidal channels, and barrier bars.
  • 933
  • 10 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Electrodialysis Bipolar Membrane for Reverse-Osmosis Concentrate Recovery
Electrochemical processes such as electrodialysis (ED) and electrodialysis bipolar membrane (EDBM) can contribute to soft-water production and the evaluation of waste fluxes. EDBM is a new technology that combines the separation function of electrodialysis with water separation at the bipolar membrane interface, which can convert salts into corresponding acids and bases without adding external components. In this system, anions and cations are separated from wastewater separately and combined with H+ and OH− ions via bipolar membranes to form acidic and alkaline solutions.
  • 933
  • 14 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Martian Atmospheric Noble Gas Measurements
Martian Atmospheric Noble Gas Measurements refer to technologies to measure Martian atmospheric noble gases in situ by entry probes and in laboratory in Martian meteorites.  
  • 932
  • 02 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Tungurahua Volcano (Ecuador)
Since April of 2015, the ash dispersion and ash fallout due to Vulcanian eruptions at Tungurahua, one of the most active volcanoes in Ecuador, have been forecasted daily. For this purpose, our forecasting system uses the meteorological Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) and the FALL3D models. Previously, and based on field data, laboratory, and numerical studies, corresponding eruption source parameters (ESP) have been defined. We analyzed the historically forecasted results of the ash fallout quantities over four years (April 2015 to March 2019), in order to obtain the average isomass and probability maps for three-month periods: February–March–April (FMA), May–June–July (MJJ), August–September–October (ASO), and November–December–January (NDJ). Our results indicate similar ash fallout shapes during MJJ and ASO, with a clear and defined tendency toward the west of the volcano; this tendency is less defined during NDJ and FMA. The proximal region west of the volcano (about 100 km to the west) has the highest probability (>70%) of being affected by ash fallout. The distant region to the west (more than 100 km west) presented low to medium probabilities (10%–70%) of ash fallout. The cities of Guaranda (W, 60% to 90%), Riobamba (SW, 70%), and Ambato (NW, 50% to 60%) have the highest probabilities of being affected by ash fallout. Among the large Ecuadorian cities, Guayaquil (SW, 10% to 30%) has low probability, and Quito (N, ≤5%) and Cuenca (SSE, <5%) have very low probabilities of being affected by ash fallout. High ash clouds can move in different directions, compared to wind transport near the surface. Therefore, it is possible to detect ash clouds by remote sensing which, in Ecuador, is limited to the layers over the meteorological clouds, which move in a different direction than low wind; the latter produces ash fallout over regions in different directions compared to the detected ash clouds. In addition to the isomass/probability maps and detected ash clouds, forecasting is permanently required in Ecuador.
  • 930
  • 21 Aug 2020
Topic Review
Geobiology
Geobiology is a field of scientific research that explores the interactions between the physical Earth and the biosphere. It is a relatively young field, and its borders are fluid. There is considerable overlap with the fields of ecology, evolutionary biology, microbiology, paleontology, and particularly soil science and biogeochemistry. Geobiology applies the principles and methods of biology, geology, and soil science to the study of the ancient history of the co-evolution of life and Earth as well as the role of life in the modern world. Geobiologic studies tend to be focused on microorganisms, and on the role that life plays in altering the chemical and physical environment of the pedosphere, which exists at the intersection of the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and/or cryosphere. It differs from biogeochemistry in that the focus is on processes and organisms over space and time rather than on global chemical cycles. Geobiological research synthesizes the geologic record with modern biologic studies. It deals with process - how organisms affect the Earth and vice versa - as well as history - how the Earth and life have changed together. Much research is grounded in the search for fundamental understanding, but geobiology can also be applied, as in the case of microbes that clean up oil spills. Geobiology employs molecular biology, environmental microbiology, organic geochemistry, and the geologic record to investigate the evolutionary interconnectedness of life and Earth. It attempts to understand how the Earth has changed since the origin of life and what it might have been like along the way. Some definitions of geobiology even push the boundaries of this time frame - to understanding the origin of life and to the role that humans have played and will continue to play in shaping the Earth in the Anthropocene.
  • 929
  • 04 Nov 2022
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