Environments — Open Access Journal

Forest areas in Portugal are often affected by fires. The objective of this work was to analyze the most fire-affected areas in Portugal in the summer of 2016 for two municipalities considering data from Landsat 8 OLI and Sentinel 2A MSI (prefire and postfire data). Different remote sensed data-derived indices, such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR), could be used to identify burnt areas and estimate the burn severity. In this work, NDVI was used to evaluate the area burned, and NBR was used to estimate the burn severity. The results showed that the NDVI decreased considerably after the fire event (2017 images), indicating a substantial decrease in the photosynthesis activity in these areas. The results also indicate that the NDVI differences (dNDVI) assumes the highest values in the burned areas. The results achieved for both sensors regarding the area burned presented differences from the field data no higher than 13.3% (for Sentinel 2A, less than 7.8%). We conclude that the area burned estimated using the Sentinel 2A data is more accurate, which can be justified by the higher spatial resolution of this data. Full article

The occupational exposure to airborne fine and ultrafine particles (UFPs) and noise in aircraft personnel employed in airport taxiway was investigated. Stationary samplings and multiple personal sampling sites and job tasks were considered. Size distribution, particle number concentrations, lung dose surface area were measured by personal particle counters and by means of an electric low pressure impactor (ELPI+^TM). Morphological and chemical characterization of UFPs were performed by transmission and scanning electron microscopy, the latter together with energy dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy based spatially resolved compositional mapping. A-weighted noise exposure level A-weighted noise exposure level normalized to an 8 h working day and Peak Sound C-weighted Pressure Level was calculated for single worker and for homogeneous exposure groups. Our study provides evidence on the impact of aviation-related emissions on occupational exposure to ultrafine particles and noise exposure of workers operating in an airport taxiway. Main exposure peaks are related to pre-flight operations of engine aircrafts. Although exposure to ultrafine particles and noise appears to not be critical if compared with other occupational scenarios, the coincidence in time of high peaks of exposure to ultrafine particles and noise suggest that further investigations are warranted in order to assess possible subclinical and clinical adverse health effects in exposed workers, especially for cardiovascular apparatus. Full article

The Kuro-dake Campsite in Daisetsuzan National Park is situated in a fragile alpine setting. Since it opened in 1992, it has not been under formal management. With camping increasingly affecting the Kuro-dake Campsite, this study aims to gain deeper insights into the soil erosion and overcrowding at the campsite and to suggest a corresponding strategy for future management. A detailed topographic map was created using pole photogrammetry to understand the ground surface condition of the campsite in 2017. Aerial photographs taken in 2012 and 2017 were used to understand the long-term changes in the ground surface. Furthermore, questionnaire surveys with campers, interview surveys with organizations related to the park management and secondary data collection were conducted. Two gullies were identified on the topographic map of the campsite. From 2012 to 2017, the campsite size increased by 48 m². The daily-use level on busy days is nearly seven times the mean daily-use level for the year. Some campers illegally pitch tents on nearby trails on such busy days. The questionnaire surveys in 2017 and 2018 (n = 346) show that most respondents oppose a future closure of the campsite and two-thirds oppose a use limit. The 2018 survey (n = 210) shows that 71% of respondents were not aware of the reservation system in national parks elsewhere; however, 76% agreed to a reservation system to secure their tent space. Introducing formal management oversight, along with a reservation system, is urgently needed. Full article

Soil columns have been utilized in hydrology to study vertical solute transfer through porous material for decades. Soil columns are typically designed as open tubes with soil held in place with meshing. While this open design is sufficient for non-hazardous particles, it is not ideal for hazardous biological contaminants that may be harmful to humans. The design of this study features a closed soil column system for use with potentially hazardous biological components. The apparatus is comprised of a mist nozzle, flow-reducing cap, and meshing to simulate rainfall on each soil column. After percolating through the soil, water and contaminants pass through a funnel coupling and discharge tube into a collection container. For additional safety, the soil column design fits within a standard biosafety cabinet for use with hazardous contaminants. Its modular design allows for simple maintenance, water flowrate adjustment, and versatility that encourages use in multiple applications. These soil columns were created to study the vertical flow of pathogens, pesticides, and other biological agents. Further experimentation with various hazardous components will develop a better understanding of their fate and transport in soil. This paper details the construction processes and testing methods to validate the system’s ability to replicate a desired flowrate, which is a precursor to studying the vertical transport of pathogens and other agents through soil. Full article

Gas-permeable membrane technology is a new strategy to minimize ammonia losses from manure, reducing pollution and recovering N in the form of an ammonium salt fertilizer. In this work, a new operational configuration to recover N using the gas-permeable membrane technology from swine manure was tested in a semi-continuous mode. It treated swine manure with a total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) concentration of 3451 mg L⁻¹. The system was operated with low aeration rate (to raise pH), and with hydraulic retention times (HRT) of seven days (Period I) and five days (Period II) that provided total ammonia nitrogen loading rate (ALR) treatments of 491 and 696 mg TAN per L of reactor per day, respectively. Results showed a uniform TAN recovery rate of 27 g per m² of membrane surface per day regardless of the ALR applied and the manure TAN concentration in the reactor. TAN removal reached 79% for Period I and 56% for Period II, with 90% of recovery by the membrane in both periods. Water capture in the acidic solution was also uniform during the experimental period. An increase in temperature of 3 °C of the acidic solution relative to the wastewater reduced 34% the osmotic distillation and water dilution of the product. These results suggested that the gas-permeable membrane technology operating in a semi-continuous mode has a great potential for TAN recovery from manure. Full article

After the European Environmental Noise Directive prescribed noise maps and action plans, wide scientific literature and a consistent number of mitigation strategies emerged for road, railway, airport, and industrial noise. Unfortunately, very little attention has been paid to the noise produced by ports in their surroundings, even though there could be many areas affected by it. At present, more attention seems to be paid to noise produced underwater, mostly for military and security reasons and for its interference with wildlife, rather than airborne noise and its influence on human health. In the framework of a project aiming to shed more light on a topic so far under-investigated, this paper presents an acoustical characterization of different small vessels at various speeds that move around on a daily basis in every type of port, produced by means of short- and long-term measurements. The new information acquired was used to produce a map of noise generated by vessels moving in Livorno’s canals, which branch off in a densely inhabited area. The simulations were validated using long-term measurement. The number of citizens exposed was also estimated and used to calculate the number of highly annoyed people according to the recent curve for road traffic noise proposed by Guski et al. In order to prevent citizen exposure to noise and possible complaints about small boats, different scenarios and possible future situations such as various vessel speeds, limited flow, restricted areas for some categories, or new residential areas were studied. Full article

Forest fires are a critical environmental problem facing current societies, with serious repercussions at ecological, economic and personal safety levels. Detailed maps enabling identification of areas liable to be affected is an indispensable first step allowing different prevention and protection measures vis-à-vis this kind of phenomenon. These maps could be especially valuable for use in land management and emergency planning at a municipality scale. A methodology is shown for producing local maps of mid- and short-term forest fire risk, integrating both natural and human factors. Among natural factors, variables normally used in hazard models are considered as fuel models, slopes or vegetation moisture stress. From the human perspective, more novel aspects have been evaluated, meant either to assess human-induced hazard (closeness to forestland of causative elements or the ability of people to penetrate the forest environment), or to assess vulnerability, considering the population’s location in urban centres and scattered settlements. The methodology is applied in a municipality of Andalusia (Spain) and obtained results were compared to burned areas maps. Full article

This work examines if chaos and long memory exist in PM₁₀ concentrations recorded in Athens, Greece. The algorithms of Katz, Higuchi, and Sevcik were employed for the calculation of fractal dimensions and Rescaled Range (R/S) analysis for the calculation of the Hurst exponent. Windows of approximately two months’ duration were employed, sliding one sample forward until the end of each utilized signal. Analysis was applied to three long PM₁₀ time series recorded by three different stations located around Athens. Analysis identified numerous dynamical complex fractal time-series segments with patterns of long memory. All these windows exhibited Hurst exponents above 0.8 and fractal dimensions below 1.5 for the Katz and Higuchi algorithms, and 1.2 for the Sevcik algorithm. The paper discusses the importance of threshold values for the postanalysis of the discrimination of fractal and long-memory windows. After setting thresholds, computational calculations were performed on all possible combinations of two or more techniques for the data of all or two stations under study. When all techniques were combined, several common dates were found for the data of the two combinations of two stations. When the three techniques were combined, more common dates were found if the Katz algorithm was not included in the meta-analysis. Excluding Katz’s algorithm, 12 common dates were found for the data from all stations. This is the first time that the results from sliding-window chaos and long-memory techniques in PM₁₀ time series were combined in this manner. Full article

Biofilms are important components of the mercury (Hg) biogeochemical cycle. However, Hg effects on biofilm communities are overlooked. Here, we present results of a pilot study on the chronic effects of Hg on biofilms, notably on the potential change of their taxonomic composition. Biofilms were cultivated in microcosms enriched with three different Hg concentrations (11 ± 2 pM, 121 ± 9 pM and 1454 ± 54 pM) for 55 days and examined for their accumulated Hg concentrations and composition. Bioaccumulated Hg concentrations were representative of those encountered in natural environments. Despite the lack of influence on the ash free dry weight and chlorophyll content, the surface coverage of the substrata of biofilms grown in Hg decreased. Algal community were strongly affected by Hg, with a decrease in their richness with Ochrophyta found as the most sensitive phyla. The diversity and richness of bacterial communities did not change upon cultivation in Hg but the presence of Proteobacteria increased with Hg, whereas Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Verrumicrobia, and Cyanobacteria were negatively impacted. Overall, the above findings suggest that the examination of the algal community composition might be used as a potential biomonitoring tool to assess the impacts of environmental Hg concentrations on aquatic systems, which would merit further investigation. Full article

Traffic noise is considered by people as one of the most important sources of environmental discomfort. A way to limit the traffic noise is to reduce the noise emission, for example, by using specific low noise pavements, particularly in suburban areas. However, in real situations, it can be difficult to evaluate the impact of a given pavement, because it depends, for example, on the road geometry, the meteorological conditions, or the distance of the receiver position. Finally it can be difficult to select the most appropriate pavement for a given noise reduction objective. In this paper, a simple method is proposed to evaluate the noise impact of a pavement, in typical road geometries and environmental conditions. The proposed approach uses two databases, the first one based on measurements of emission spectra of road vehicles on several typical pavements, the second one made of pre-calculations of noise propagation for typical road configurations. Finally, the method is implemented in an interactive web tool, called DEUFRABASE, which allows one to obtain a fast estimation of the $L_{\mathrm{Aeq}}$ (1 h or 24 h) and $L_{\mathrm{den}}$ noise levels for various pavements and road configurations, as functions of the traffic flow and composition. By comparing the method with measurements, it is showed that the tool, although based on a restricted number of pavements and on several simplifications, can predict the noise impact of typical road configurations, with an acceptable error, most often less than 2 dB. Full article

Antifouling compounds are widely used in paints applied on ship hulls to prevent attachment of fouling organisms. However, a certain amount of these chemicals could leach from the painted surface, enter seawater, and pose deleterious effects on various marine biotas. The present study aimed to determine the concentration of organotin (OT) compounds and booster biocides in sediments collected from the seagrass area of Sungai Pulai estuary, Malaysia. The sediment samples were collected from three points on the seagrass bed, brought back to the laboratory, extracted using standard extraction procedure, and the analytes were analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method. The results showed that tributyltin (TBT) concentrations in sediments were within the range of 8.1 ± 0.4 to 10.6 ± 0.5 µg/kg, whereas the values of triphenyltin (TPT) were between 17.1 ± 0.9 and 19.4 ± 1.0 µg/kg. The range of concentration of booster biocides, namely diuron, dichlofluanid chlorothalonil, Irgarol 1051, M1, and Sea-Nine 211, were from <0.1 to 22.9 ± 1.1, 48.7 ± 2.4 to 800 ± 40, <0.1 to 6.2 ± 0.3, <0.1 to 1.4 ± 0.1, 44 ± 2.2 to 877 ± 44, and 9.1 ± 0.5 to 170 ± 8.5 µg/kg, respectively. The concentration of organotin was much lower than the previous study conducted in southern Johor. Meanwhile, the increased concentration of booster biocides proves the use of these compounds as antifouling paints in shipping systems nowadays. Full article

Convolutional neural networks (CNN) have been used increasingly in several land-use classification tasks, but there is a need to further investigate its potential. This study aims to evaluate the performance of CNN methods for land classification and to identify land-use (LU) change. Eight transferred CNN-based models were fully evaluated on remote sensing data for LU scene classification using three pre-trained CNN models AlexNet, GoogLeNet, and VGGNet. The classification accuracy of all the models ranges from 95% to 98% with the best-performed method the transferred CNN model combined with support vector machine (SVM) as feature classifier (CNN-SVM). The transferred CNN-SVM model was then applied to orthophotos of the northeastern Cloverdale as part of the City of Surrey, Canada from 2004 to 2017 to perform LU classification and LU change analysis. Two sources of datasets were used to train the CNN–SVM model to solve a practical issue with the limited data. The obtained results indicated that residential areas were expanding by creating higher density, while green areas and low-density residential areas were decreasing over the years, which accurately indicates the trend of LU change in the community of Cloverdale study area. Full article

Noise pollution is a critical factor and it has an important impact on public health, with the relationship between road traffic noise (RTN) and several illnesses in urban areas of particular concern. Andorra is currently developing a national strategy regarding noise pollution in their urban environments. The Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and Sustainability is trying to to identify, monitor, map and model the effects of noise pollution and design mitigation policies to reduce the impact in certain priority areas. This analysis should take into account the existence of different types of anomalous noise events (ANEs) present in the street, e.g., horns, people talking, music, and other events that coexist with RTN, to characterize the soundscape of each of the locations. This paper presents a preliminary analysis considering both the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) and the duration of the ANEs to evaluate their presence in urban areas in the three different locations in Andorra la Vella and Escaldes-Engordany. The experiments conducted required a 10-h recording campaign distributed in the three locations under study, which was evaluated on two different days, one during the week and the other on the weekend. Afterwards, the data were carefully labeled and the SNR of each event was evaluated to determine the potential impact of the four categories under study: vehicles, works, city life and people. Full article

Sustainable access to safe drinking water remains a global problem as more people in the world still consume water from unimproved sources. This study was carried out to evaluate the quality of 12 different water sources and 2 treated water used by a peri-urban town in the Southwest region of Nigeria to assess their suitability for drinking and domestic use. Water quality parameters studied include pH, temperature, acidity, total alkalinity, chloride content and total CO₂. A Flame Atomic Absorption spectrophotometer was used to determine the concentrations of Ca, Mg, Cu, Cr, and Pb in the water samples. The total coliform was determined using the most probable number technique while a qualitative method was used to detect the presence of faecal coliform and E. coli in the water samples. All the physicochemical water quality parameters complied with regulatory standards. Similarly, most of the heavy metals also complied except for some sites. Faecal coliform and E. coli tested positive for all the samples except one of the tap water sample. Majority of the water samples (86%) were rated as excellent based on the physicochemical parameters. One sample each was rated as having poor and good water quality, respectively. All the samples tested positive for faecal coliform bacteria and E. coli except one (treated water). It is recommended that Microbial water quality parameters be included in all Water Quality Index (WQI) analyses in order to give the true status of the quality of a water resource. Full article

In this paper, we propose a new approach—understood as a whole-of-community approach—to address a dualistic and dysfunctional human/nature relationship. Of particular concern is the decline in health and numbers of the insects that pollinate an estimated 90 percent of the Earth’s flora and an estimated 35 percent of global crop volume. Specifically, bees provide the majority of biotic pollination and play a critical role in food crop pollination. Multiple factors are contributing to this growing problem including a changing climate. In 2016, the International Commission on Stratigraphy agreed that the concept of the Anthropocene—the human epoch—is of sufficient scale to be considered part of the geological time scale. This indicates that these crises are not random or passive—they are largely the direct result of human activities. Despite decades of awareness of these socio-ecological issues, they continue to worsen. In addition, the growing awareness of the critical role of pollinators is creating a new understanding of our interconnectedness with the “natural” world. We introduce the Bee City movement as a way to operationalize a whole-of-community approach. Individual action is critical, but addressing pollinator health in these forums legitimizes and provides an institutional space for otherwise fringe, or even marginalized, activities and more coherent spaces for habitat creation. Full article

In order to understand the distribution characteristics of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in PM_2.5 in Changchun; China; PM_2.5 samples were collected from April 2017 to December 2017 using the KC-120H particulate matter sampler; and the NIOSH 5040 method was used for determination. The results showed that the average concentration of PM_2.5 in Changchun was 45.92 µg/m³ (45.92 ± 50.17), and the annual average concentrations of OC and EC ranged from 15.69 to 24.32 µg/m³ and from 1.38 to 2.33 µg/m³; respectively. The annual OC/EC ratio range was 8.08–15.44; with an average of 11.70. OC and EC concentrations in spring were the lowest; whereas higher levels of both OC and EC were found in winter. Significant correlations between OC and EC were found in the non-heating period; indicating that there was a consistent or similar source; whereas OC was non-significantly correlated with EC in the heating period; suggesting that contributions of OC were from unrelated combustion sources. Full article

Best Management Practices (BMPs) are commonly used to control pollution in the river basins. Prioritization of BMPs helps improve the efficiency and effectiveness of pollution reduction, especially in Critical Source Areas (CSAs) that produce the highest pollution loads. Recently, the Dez River in Khuzestan, Iran, has become highly eutrophic from the overuse of fertilizers and pesticides. In this basin, dry and irrigated farming produce 77.34% and 6.3% of the Total Nitrogen (TN) load, and 83.56% and 4.3% of the Total Phosphorus (TP) load, respectively. In addition, residential, pasture, and forest land uses together account for 16.36% of the TN and 12.14% of the TP load in this area. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was implemented to model the Dez River basin and evaluate the applicability of several BMPs, including point source elimination, filter strips, livestock grazing, and river channel management, in reducing the entry of pollution loads to the river. Sensitivity analysis and calibration/validation of the model was performed using the SUFI-2 algorithm in the SWAT Calibration Uncertainties Program (SWAT-CUP). The CSAs were identified using individual (sediment, TN, TP) and combined indices, based on the amount of pollution produced. Among the BMPs implemented, the 10 m filter strip was most effective in reducing TN load (42.61%), and TP load (39.57%). Full article

Most of the municipalities in the Gulf region are facing performance-related issues in their municipal solid waste management (MSWM) systems. They lack a deliberate inter-municipality benchmarking processes. Instead of identifying the performance gaps for their key components (e.g., personnel productivity, operational reliability, etc.) and adopt proactive measures, the municipalities primarily rely on an efficient emergency response. A novel hierarchical modeling framework, based on deductive reasoning, is developed for the performance assessment of MSWM systems. Fuzzy rule-based modeling using Simulink-MATLAB was used for performance inferencing at different levels, i.e., component, sub-components, etc. The model is capable of handling the inherent uncertainties due to limited data and an imprecise knowledge base. The model’s outcomes can exclusively assist the managers working at different levels of organizational hierarchy for effective decision-making. Performance of the key components assists the senior management in assessing the overall compliance level of performance objectives. Subsequently, operations management can home in the sub-components to acquire useful information for intra-municipality performance management. Meanwhile, individual indicators are useful for inter-municipality benchmarking. The model has been implemented on two municipalities operating in Qassim Region, Saudi Arabia. The results demonstrate the model’s pragmatism for continuous performance improvement of MSWM systems in the country and elsewhere. Full article

River deltas boast ecosystem richness, but their efficient conservation and management require consideration of the full spectrum of natural phenomena, including those which are geological. Few specialists have explored the issue of deltaic geological heritage (geoheritage), and the relevant knowledge remains scarce and non-systematised. This paper proposes the first classification of this geoheritage. Five categories are distinguished: entire-delta geological phenomenon, delta-associated “purely” geological features, delta-associated features resulting from geology–ecosystem interactions, geological features occasional to deltas, and geoarchaeological localities in deltas. Chosen as a case example, the Don River delta in the southwestern part of Russia possesses geoheritage of these categories, except for the latter. The relevant unique geological features differ by their types and ranks. Of particular interest is the phenomenon of a self-cleaning environment which prevents mercury concentration in the soil despite pollution from natural and anthropogenic sources. The complexity of the deltaic geoheritage, its co-existence with the rich biodiversity, and the aesthetical issues make geopark creation in river deltas a sensible venture. Relevant proposals have been made for Malaysia and the Netherlands–Belgium border, and the Don River delta in Russia also presents an appropriate location for geopark creation. Full article