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Topic Review
Aquatic Ecology of Southern African Watersheds
Southern Africa (SA) is rich in large river basin networks, from the over 1.4 million km2 Zambezi River Basin in the upper parts and extending further to the 0.4 million km2 Limpopo and 0.9 million km2 Orange River Basin systems southwards. Given that most SA river basins hold vast mineral deposits, the mining waste generated by artisanal and mechanised mining industries has significantly affected the health of its aquatic ecosystems.
  • 771
  • 17 Feb 2022
Topic Review Video
Arsenic Contamination of Groundwater
At a great many locations worldwide, the safety of drinking water is endangered by pollution with arsenic. Arsenic toxicity is a matter of both systems chemistry and systems biology: it is determined by complex and intertwined networks of chemical reactions in the inanimate environment, in microbes in that environment, and in the human body.
  • 149
  • 31 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Arsenic Exposure via Contaminated Water and Food Sources
Arsenic poisoning constitutes a major threat to humans, causing various health problems. The presence of arsenic in ecosystems can originate from several natural or anthropogenic activities. Arsenic can be then gradually accumulated in different food sources, such as vegetables, rice and other crops, but also in seafood, etc., and in water sources (mainly in groundwater, but also to a lesser extent in surface water), potentially used as drinking-water supplies, provoking their contamination and therefore potential health problems to the consumers. 
  • 448
  • 24 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Assessing the Role of Water Resources Protection Globally
Water resource protection is central to sustainable water supply management for human wellbeing and for the ecological ecosystem to flourish. Water resources protection plays a critical role in policy practice to mitigate water resources challenges and in mitigating social wellbeing. Such practice is central to sustainable water supply management for human wellbeing and for the ecological ecosystem to flourish. Appropriate implementation and monitoring of water resources protection practice has received much attention on the international agenda. Approaches such as results-oriented policy monitoring are seen as appropriate methodologies for monitoring policy implementation practice to assess policy impacts.
  • 549
  • 20 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Astrooceanography
Astrooceanography is the study of oceans outside planet Earth. Unlike other planetary sciences like astrobiology, astrochemistry and planetary geology, it only began after the discovery of underground oceans in Saturn's Titan and Jupiter's Ganymede. This field remains speculative until further missions reach the oceans beneath the rock or ice layer of the moons. There are many theories about oceans or even ocean worlds of celestial bodies in the Solar System, from oceans made of diamond in Neptune to a gigantic ocean of liquid hydrogen that may exist underneath Jupiter's surface. Early in their geologic histories, Mars and Venus are theorized to have had large water oceans. The Mars ocean hypothesis suggests that nearly a third of the surface of Mars was once covered by water, and a runaway greenhouse effect may have boiled away the global ocean of Venus. Compounds such as salts and ammonia dissolved in water lower its freezing point so that water might exist in large quantities in extraterrestrial environments as brine or convecting ice. Unconfirmed oceans are speculated beneath the surface of many dwarf planets and natural satellites; notably, the ocean of the moon Europa is estimated to have over twice the water volume of Earth. The Solar System's giant planets are also thought to have liquid atmospheric layers of yet to be confirmed compositions. Oceans may also exist on exoplanets and exomoons, including surface oceans of liquid water within a circumstellar habitable zone. Ocean planets are a hypothetical type of planet with a surface completely covered with liquid. Astrooceanography is closely related to Astrobiology, as oceans are expected to have higher chances to house simple forms of life.
  • 796
  • 01 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Bacterial Markers for Fecal Pollution Detection
The goals of fecal pollution detection include fecal waste source tracking and identifying the presence of pathogens, therefore assessing potential health risks. 
  • 320
  • 30 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Bathing Water Quality (Croatia/Region/EU)
Bathing water management in the European Union (EU) is regulated by Bathing Water Directive (BWD) 2006/7/EC. The first Directive came into force in 1976 (76/160/EEC) and set the standards for designated bathing waters to be met by all EU Member States. Its main objective was to safeguard public health and protect the aquatic environment in coastal and inland areas from pollution. The Directive was repealed in 2006 by the new, revised BWD 2006/7/EC. The purpose of the new BWD is to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment and to protect human health. It lays down provisions for the monitoring and classification of bathing water quality, the management of bathing water quality and the procedures for informing the public about bathing water quality. All Member States were required to transpose the revised BWD into national law by 2008, with full implementation due by December 2014.
  • 528
  • 22 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Bathymetric Chart
A bathymetric chart is a type of isarithmic map that depicts the submerged topography and physiographic features of ocean and sea bottoms. Their primary purpose is to provide detailed depth contours of ocean topography as well as provide the size, shape and distribution of underwater features. Topographic maps display elevation above ground and are complementary to bathymetric charts. Charts use a series of lines and points at equal intervals to showcase depth or elevation. A closed shape with increasingly smaller shapes inside of it can indicate an ocean trench or a seamount, or underwater mountain, depending on whether the depths increase or decrease going inward.Bathymetric surveys and charts are associated with the science of oceanography, particularly marine geology, and underwater engineering or other specialized purposes. thumb|Bathymetric Map of Medicine Lake, CABathymetric data used to produce charts can also be converted to bathymetric profiles which are vertical sections through a feature.thumb|right|Bathymetric chart of Bear Lake
  • 605
  • 03 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Bauxite Tailings
Bauxite tailings, also known as bauxite residue, red mud, red sludge, or alumina refinery residues (ARR), is a highly alkaline waste product composed mainly of iron oxide that is generated in the industrial production of alumina (aluminium oxide, the principal raw material used in the manufacture of aluminium metal and also widely used in the manufacture of ceramics, abrasives and refractories). It is important to differentiate between the alkaline waste generated in the Bayer process and the tailings generated during the mining of bauxite. This article specifically covers the alkaline waste generated when operating the Bayer process. The scale of production makes the waste product an important one, and issues with its storage are reviewed and every opportunity is explored to find uses for it. Over 95% of the alumina produced globally is through the Bayer process; for every tonne of alumina produced, approximately 1 to 1.5 tonnes of bauxite tailings/residue are also produced. Annual production of alumina in 2018 was approximately 126 million tonnes resulting in the generation of over 160 million tonnes of bauxite tailings/residue.
  • 1.5K
  • 02 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Best Management Practices and Water Use Efficiency
Rice is a water-guzzling crop cultivated mostly through inefficient irrigation methods which leads to low water use efficiency and many environmental problems. Additionally, the export of virtual water through rice trading and the looming water crisis poses significant threats to the sustainability of rice production and food security. There are several alternative rice production methods to improve water use efficiency. These include aerobic rice, direct-seeded rice (DSR), alternate wetting and drying (AWD), saturated soil culture (SSC), drip-irrigated rice, a system of rice intensification (SRI), and smart irrigation with sensors and the Internet of Things (IoT). However, each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, drip-irrigated rice and IoT-based automated irrigation are not feasible for poor farmers due to the high production costs associated with specialized machinery and tools. Similarly, aerobic rice, drip-irrigated rice, and the SRI are labor-intensive, making them unsuitable for areas with a shortage of labor. On the other hand, DSR is suitable for labor-scarce areas, provided herbicides are used to control weeds.
  • 241
  • 05 Jun 2023
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