Search Results (677)

Urban informality in amphibious territories represents a critical yet understudied dimension of contemporary urbanisation in the Global South. This article analyses the interrelations between spatial transformation, social equity, and environmental change in Las Flores, an informal settlement located between the Mallorquín Lagoon and the Magdalena River in Barranquilla, Colombia. Drawing on a mixed-methods approach combining GIS interpretation, participatory mapping, and in-depth interviews, the study examines how processes of informal territorialisation have reshaped both the physical landscape and the social fabric of this amphibious environment. Results indicate that the settlement has expanded progressively over the past two decades, occupying areas of the wetland previously covered by mangroves and natural vegetation. This expansion has been accompanied by environmental degradation, soil infilling, and declining water quality. Residents face persistent infrastructural deficits, limited access to education and healthcare, and increasing social fragmentation between the formal and informal sectors. Yet, the community also exhibits strong organisational capacity, adaptive livelihoods, and a deep sense of place that sustains local identity and resilience. These dynamics exemplify the paradox of amphibious life: coexistence with water as both a resource and a source of vulnerability. Building on these findings, the study develops an urban socio-ecological conceptualisation of Amphibious Justice, a framework for interpreting equity, recognition, and governance in hybrid territories where urbanisation and land–water dynamics intersect. The article proposes a framework of equitable amphibious urbanism that integrates environmental restoration, social inclusion, and participatory governance. The findings suggest that sustainability in such territories cannot be achieved through technocratic restoration or forced resettlement, but through co-produced strategies that recognise local knowledge, tenure security, and ecological stewardship. Ultimately, the case of Las Flores offers insights into how cities in the Global South can pursue just and adaptive coexistence with water amid growing climate and urban pressures. Full article

Population growth is increasing food demand, while watershed food systems face intense pressure from land-use/land-cover (LULC) change. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the critical threshold for food sufficiency in the Cimanuk Watershed. The methods used include dynamic analysis and prediction of LULC changes in line with four scenarios using Support Vector Machine (SVM)–Markov model, ecosystem service-based food production modeling through Crop Production module in Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) model, food demand estimation based on population projections, and calculation of Food Sufficiency Index (FSI) to identify the critical threshold at which the food system shifts from surplus to deficit. The results showed that paddy rice production is projected to continue meeting food demand across all scenarios through 2042. However, food demand is expected to increase as the population grows, specifically in the Accelerated Population Growth (APGS) scenario. FSI analysis indicated that the Cimanuk Watershed remained in food surplus (FSI > 1) up to 2042. The watershed may transition to a food-deficit condition after 2062 in the absence of intervention measures. Therefore, this study recommends protecting productive paddy fields, conserving forests, and managing population growth to maintain long-term food sufficiency. Full article

Peatlands, critical global carbon sinks, are facing increasing threats from climate change-driven heatwaves and droughts. These threats can cause a midday depression in carbon uptake through photosynthetic inhibition. Using high-temporal-resolution solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF; ~30 s) and chamber-based CO₂ flux measurements, we investigated the coupling between SIF and gross primary production (GPP) during extreme events (air temperature > 25 °C and vapour pressure deficit > 15 hPa) in a northern peatland. Our results show that SIF tracks GPP closely under non-stress conditions (daily R² = 0.86–0.96). However, during combined heat and drought stress, midday correlations collapsed (Case A: R² = 0.04 on 27 June; Case B: R² = 0.15 and 0.01 on 29 and 30 June, respectively), indicating severe decoupling. Importantly, we discovered legacy effects from multi-day heat exposure: on 26 June, vegetation with prior cumulative stress (Case A) showed weak morning coupling (R² = 0.07), while vegetation without prior stress history (Case B) maintained strong coupling (R² = 0.93). This suggests that cumulative stress alters baseline physiology and can exacerbate midday mismatches; therefore, not just current condition controls photosynthetic regulation. These findings highlight limitations of SIF-based GPP estimation at sub-daily timescales during stress, particularly in heterogeneous peatland systems where canopy composition and physiological responses could vary among plant functional types. Full article

In the mining process of shallow-buried and close-distance coal seam groups in western China, the interconnected collapse fractures between the overlying goaf and the surface form large-area composite goafs, which aggravate surface air leakage and elevate oxygen levels within the goaf. This, in turn, leads to hazardous conditions such as CO over-limits and O₂ deficiency at the working face’s return air corner, which seriously threatens the respiratory health of underground operators and the safe production of mines. Taking the 104 working face of a coal mine in Shenfu-Dongsheng Mining Area as the engineering background, this paper comprehensively adopts SF₆ tracer gas test, fuzzy cluster analysis, and CFD numerical simulation methods to systematically study the distribution characteristics of three-dimensional air leakage channels in composite goafs and their influence mechanism on gas migration in goafs, and proposes a dynamic pressure equalization ventilation (PEV) regulation technology system. The research results show that a multi-dimensional three-dimensional air leakage channel of “surface-interlayer-own layer-roadway” exists in the research area, in which the surface fracture air leakage velocity is about 0.068 m/s, and the interlayer and internal goaf air leakage velocity is about 0.384 m/s. The atmospheric pressure difference between the working face and the surface is the main controlling factor inducing the O₂ deficiency disaster of the working face. Every 100 Pa change in atmospheric pressure difference causes an O₂ concentration fluctuation of about 0.30% at the return air corner, and the critical pressure difference for activating PEV is determined to be 300 Pa. Setting the PEV regulation point at the return air outlet of the working face and adopting the combined dynamic regulation system of fans and air windows can realize accurate pressure balance between the working face and the overlying composite goaf. Full article

Green finance has emerged as a critical mechanism for aligning capital markets with climate and sustainability objectives, particularly as economies face mounting pressure to transition away from carbon-intensive growth models. In hydrocarbon-dependent regions such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), this transition poses distinctive challenges that require integrated institutional, policy, and financial frameworks. The global transition toward sustainable finance has gathered significant momentum, with green capital markets emerging as a central mechanism for channeling investment toward climate and development objectives. Hydrocarbon-dependent economies face a distinctive challenge in this transition, as they must reconcile resource-based growth models with rising pressures for environmental accountability and low-carbon diversification. This study develops an integrated theoretical framework to examine how Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) financial systems are transitioning toward green capital markets, drawing on institutional theory, environmental policy pathway analysis, and climate-finance alignment models. Using descriptive statistics from regional stock exchanges covering 2015–2024, the study maps key trends in sustainable asset growth, institutional investor preferences, and regulatory evolution across the GCC. Findings indicate progressive alignment with global ESG norms; sustainable asset valuations grew at 23.5% CAGR (UAE) and 18.7% CAGR (Saudi Arabia). A fixed-effects panel regression with panel-corrected standard errors is estimated across all six GCC economies; regulatory framework maturity emerges as the strongest predictor of green bond issuance (β = 0.47, p < 0.01). Cumulative green bond issuances reached USD 52.6 billion (2015–2024), with renewable energy accounting for 58.1% of the sectoral allocation and green transportation recording a 55.9% CAGR (2020–2024). Policy recommendations focus on GCC-wide harmonization of mandatory ESG disclosure, adoption of a unified green bond taxonomy, and expansion of concessional green financing mechanisms. Substantial cross-country heterogeneity is documented, driven by differences in energy policy commitment, financial market maturity, and institutional capacity. The proposed framework offers specific policy guidance to accelerate green financial integration in the GCC, emphasizing regulatory harmonization, institutional capacity-building, and alignment with SDG targets 7 and 13. The study contributes to the limited evidence base on green finance in hydrocarbon-dependent economies and provides a foundation for future empirical research. Given the small panel dimensions (N = 6 cross-sectional units; T = 10 years), this study is positioned as exploratory rather than confirmatory: the panel-regression estimates and the hypothesized institutional-to-policy-to-finance sequence are interpreted as associational patterns consistent with the proposed framework rather than as definitive causal tests, and the reported coefficients are offered as indicative magnitudes to be re-examined as longer GCC green-finance time series become available. Full article

The textile and clothing value chain faces increasing pressure to improve reuse and recycling rates, particularly in post-consumer scenarios, where garments must be rapidly assessed, classified, and routed toward appropriate end-of-life pathways. Post-consumer garment sorting must preserve reusable items while directing non-reusable textiles toward appropriate recycling or inspection pathways. This article presents a two-stage image-only decision-support framework that combines YOLO-based image classification, a locally executed vision–language model (VLM), two ConvNeXt-Tiny textile classifiers, and deterministic routing rules. In Stage 1, YOLO classifiers estimate garment type and dominant color, while Qwen2.5-VL-3B-Instruct VLM assesses visible stains, holes, pilling or lint, tags, dirt or discoloration, intentional distressing, condition, and supporting evidence. The backend validates these outputs and applies explicit precedence and uncertainty rules to assign categories A (resale), B (donation/reuse), C (recycling-oriented pre-sorting), or D (critical review). Stage 2 is triggered only for C/D garments and aggregates predictions from multiple RGB crops to estimate broad material-family hints and visible fabric structure before proposing an initial route, container, color group, recycling mechanism, and validation requirement. The YOLO garment-type classifier achieved 78.6% top-1 and 99.2% top-5 accuracy on the test set. The ConvNeXt-Tiny fabric-structure classifier achieved 78.55% accuracy and 78.64% macro-F1, whereas the material-family classifier achieved 56.39% accuracy and 55.83% macro-F1. In a controlled Stage 1 pilot test, binary reuse-oriented versus additional-processing routing achieved 80.0% accuracy, 75.0% precision, 75.0% recall, and an F1-score of 0.75. A Stage 2 end-to-end pilot test achieved 66.7% correctly recommended final routes, with macro-F1 of 0.767. These results provide evidence that complementary models and explicit validation rules can support preliminary explainable garment triage. However, RGB imagery cannot confirm exact fiber composition, blend percentages, or chemical contamination. Full article

For high-performance chips with escalating power densities and localized hot spots, liquid-cooled microchannel heat sinks face a critical trade-off between thermal performance and flow resistance. This paper presents a multi-objective topology optimization framework that minimizes average temperature and fluid dissipation while incorporating a high-temperature penalty to suppress extreme local overheating. The model is evaluated under uniform heating and a realistic non-uniform source (AMD EPYC 9965 MCM Chiplet CPU). Results show that the penalty term effectively drives channel evolution toward hot spots, reducing peak temperatures with modest pressure-drop increases. Under uniform heating, optimized channels achieve cooling comparable to serpentine designs but with flow resistance near that of parallel or pin-fin arrays. Under non-uniform heating, the topology adaptively narrows inlet-side channels to redirect coolant to distal CCDs, attaining a peak temperature of 139 °C and a pressure drop of 519 Pa—while conventional parallel and array channels exceed 200 °C due to distal cooling deficiency. This study confirms that topology optimization with localized hot-spot penalties effectively mitigates extreme temperatures, offering a viable path for engineering liquid cold plates in next-generation heterogeneous processors. Full article

Great Wall villages are living cultural landscapes within a linear heritage corridor, yet they face growing pressures from population decline, rural hollowing, uneven development, and tourism-related transformation. This study evaluates the cultural landscape resilience of 20 Great Wall villages in Chicheng County, China. A Cultural Landscape Resilience Index (CLRI) was constructed from three dimensions: resistance, recovery, and learning capacity. The AHP-CRITIC method was used to determine indicator weights, while spatial autocorrelation analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) were applied to identify the spatial pattern of CLRI and the multiscale effects of its influencing factors. The results show that CLRI was generally low and spatially uneven. Villages with relatively high resilience were mainly concentrated near the county seat and major transportation corridors, whereas many villages along the Great Wall corridor showed lower resilience levels. MGWR results revealed clear spatial heterogeneity in the influencing factors. Heritage revitalization and social development features, heritage preservation and protection, tourism development and utilization, and village patterns and collaborative heritage protection were positively associated with CLRI. In contrast, the diversity of rural village landscapes and the strength of the human-land relationship showed negative associations with CLRI. Heritage revitalization and social development features and rural village landscape diversity operated at relatively broad spatial scales, whereas heritage preservation and protection and tourism development and utilization exhibited stronger local variation. The findings demonstrate that improving the resilience of Great Wall village cultural landscapes requires spatially differentiated conservation and development strategies, including strengthened heritage protection, coordinated conservation of village patterns and heritage elements, context-sensitive tourism development, and improved public services and development opportunities in less resilient villages. Full article

Shansha Bay, southeastern China, is a typical semi-enclosed bay facing intense anthropogenic pressure, with mariculture production reaching approximately 660,000 tons annually, predominantly driven by the large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) industry. To assess how these pressures influence biodiversity detection, we employed eDNA metabarcoding targeting the 12S rRNA gene to survey fish diversity across 10 sites, integrating both surface water and sediment matrices. A total of 40 species belonging to 16 orders, 27 families and 32 genera, were identified. Among them, L. crocea, Bostrychus sinensis, Clupanodon thrissa and Siganus fuscescens are the dominate species, which comprised over half of all OTUs. Comparison with historical trawl surveys revealed 30 newly recorded species, including the Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica) and oarfish (Regalecus glesne). Alpha diversity was low (Shannon: 0.69–1.93), with significant spatial disparities driven by freshwater runoff and hydrodynamics. While eDNA effectively captured the dominance of cultured species like L. crocea, the extreme biomass signal poses challenges for detecting wild populations. Our findings underscore that a multi-matrix eDNA approach is crucial for accurate biodiversity assessments in aquaculture-dominated coastal ecosystems, although distinguishing wild stocks from aquaculture-derived DNA remains a critical methodological hurdle. Full article

Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) makes a significant contribution to Canada’s heavy oil production. Yet, it faces notable efficiency challenges during late-life stages, characterized by increased Steam–Oil Ratios and environmental concerns. Non-condensable gas (NCG) injection has emerged as a promising strategy to address these issues, particularly in late-life and post-steam SAGD phases. This review systematically examines the mechanisms, phase behavior, thermochemical interactions, field applications, and operational impacts of injecting NCGs such as methane, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. This work exclusively synthesizes the application of NCG injections in mature SAGD reservoirs while outlining existing challenges. It delivers a unified perspective on this domain, introducing practical insights to improve NCG injection efficiency. Critical analysis of the existing literature reveals key benefits, including reservoir pressure maintenance, steam chamber stabilization, and viscosity reduction. However, literature gaps persist regarding long-term field-scale validation, complex drive mechanisms at the steam chamber flanks, thermochemical reactions, interactions with geological heterogeneity, and detailed thermodynamic modeling under non-equilibrium conditions. Emphasizing these gaps underscores the importance of further research and integrated modeling to optimize NCG utilization, thus enhancing recovery efficiency, reducing environmental footprints, and extending reservoir life. Full article

Deep coalbed methane (CBM) resources are abundant and represent a critical component of future energy supply and carbon reduction strategies. However, deep coal seams are characterized by well-developed cleat systems and high Poisson’s ratios, rendering the mechanisms of hydraulic fracture initiation, propagation, and complex fracture network development insufficiently understood. In this study, deep coal rock at a burial depth of 2700 m is investigated. A finite element–based hydraulic fracturing model incorporating complex face-cleat and end-cleat networks is established by explicitly representing cleat geometry, mechanical properties, fluid leak-off behavior, and hydraulic loading conditions. Using this model, the effects of cleat inclination angle, horizontal stress difference, and displacement on fracture evolution are systematically analyzed. The results indicate that when face cleats are orthogonal to the maximum horizontal principal stress, fractures preferentially penetrate cleats and propagate along the maximum stress direction. In contrast, when face cleats form acute angles with the maximum horizontal stress, pronounced branching fractures develop along both face and end cleats, with propagation increasingly dominated by face cleats as the angle decreases. Increasing horizontal stress difference suppresses fracture branching, leading to simpler fracture networks but greater total fracture length and maximum fracture width. Moreover, under identical injection pressures, the equal-pressure fracture length increases, indicating enhanced fracture propagation capacity. With increasing displacement, fracture networks evolve from simple to complex patterns, accompanied by accelerated propagation and enlarged fracture widths; however, excessive displacement intensifies fluid leak-off, ultimately reducing the equal-pressure fracture length. Full article

Tourism is an activity that contributes positively to economic growth. Although tourism should be supported because of its benefits for a region’s development, it can place a strain on the environment. Integrating the principles of sustainable development into tourism is essential to ensuring its long-term viability while protecting natural and cultural resources. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent of tourism pressure, its trends, and its impact on sustainable development in three major rural tourist regions of Romania, namely Humor, Câmpulung Moldovenesc, and Dorna, located in the historical province of Bucovina, Suceava County. An analysis of the trends in the three evaluation indicators (density, duration, and pressure level) at the rural region level (Humor Region, Câmpulung Moldovenesc Region, and Dorna Region) is warranted, as these regions are the main centers of attraction and development for rural tourism in Suceava County. Between 2001 and 2023, the density indicator (arrivals/km²) showed significant increases in all three rural regions analyzed—over 6000% in Humor, 2200% in Dorna, and 2000% in Câmpulung Moldovenesc, significantly amplifying the pressure on these three areas; the duration indicator (overnight stays/km²) recorded considerable increases of over 7400% in Humor, 2400% in Dorna, and 2250% in Câmpulung Moldovenesc, proving to be a much more severe pressure indicator than the density indicator; and the pressure level indicator (arrivals/resident population) increased substantially, by over 8000% in Humor, 2100% in Dorna, and 2000% in Câmpulung Moldovenesc, indicating profound sociocultural pressure on the rural communities analyzed. The importance of this research and the originality of this study are closely linked to an understanding of the evolution and intensity of tourism pressure in the three regions analyzed, with a view to informing future strategies for sustainable rural development. An analysis of the environmental pressure caused by tourism in the three regions of Bucovina for the period 2001–2023 reflects a shift from a localized and negligible impact to an increasingly significant pressure. Currently, the regions face the challenge of balancing rapid economic development with the critical need to preserve their unique heritage. Identifying increases in tourist pressure can facilitate the implementation of effective mitigation measures, which are essential for ensuring the sustainability of tourism-related activities in the most popular tourist regions of Bucovina. Full article

Sandy beaches in the Central Region of Veracruz (CRV) face constant anthropogenic pressure from port and urban activities. This study aimed to evaluate total hydrocarbon (TH) concentrations in the intertidal interstitial water of five beaches in the CRV, analyzing their variability by depth (15 and 30 cm) and seasonality (northerly winds, dry, and rainy seasons). TH determination was performed using gas chromatography (GC-FID), following the NMX-AA-117-SCFI-2001 and NOM-138-SEMARNAT/SSA1-2012 standards. Results showed concentrations ranging from 0.86 to 6.53 µg L⁻¹. Significant spatial differences were identified (p < 0.05); Antepuerto beach presented the highest levels due to its proximity to the port, while Farallón showed the lowest concentrations, confirming its role as a reference site. No significant variations were detected by depth or season (p > 0.05), indicating temporal stability associated with continuous anthropogenic inputs. Although levels comply with Mexican regulations, the continuous presence of TH represents a potential risk to benthic biota and the integrity of the Veracruz Reef System (SAV). This study provides a critical baseline for strengthening coastal ecosystem management strategies in the Gulf of Mexico. Full article

Environmental practices are now a strategic necessity as firms face accelerating regulatory, market, and societal pressures to operate sustainably. Yet evidence remains mixed on whether and how these practices translate into superior organizational performance in manufacturing. This study examines how environmental management practices improve organizational performance in the manufacturing sector and clarifies two unresolved issues in prior research: the relationship between environmental management practices (EMPs) and organizational performance (ORP). It further investigates the mediating role of lean management (LM) and the moderating role of environmental transformational leadership (ETL). This study used a quantitative method and cross-sectional data. A self-report questionnaire was used with 260 participating employees from all levels in the manufacturing sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Structural equation modeling (SME) was employed to test the hypothesis. The results of this study showed that environmental management practices have significant and positive effects on organizational performance. In addition, this study revealed that lean management exhibited a significant positive impact on organizational performance and was a crucial element in the developed model. Nevertheless, environmental transformational leadership was not significant and did not support the relationship between environmental management practices and organizational performance. Theoretically, these findings advance the literature by (a) specifying lean management as a central mechanism that connects environmental practices to performance and (b) delineating boundary conditions by showing that environmental transformational leadership may not amplify these effects in this context. Practically, the results suggest that managers seeking performance gains from environmental initiatives should prioritize the systematic integration of lean management routines—such as waste reduction, process standardization, and continuous improvement—alongside environmental programs. Organizations should also evaluate leadership development efforts critically, because general transformational behaviors oriented toward environmental stewardship may be insufficient on their own to enhance the impact of environmental practices on performance. Full article

Measuring the water table level is a critical factor in irrigated agriculture in arid regions, as it can significantly influence the exchange of water and nutrients with crops. This work presents the design, implementation, and field validation of an open-source, solar-powered IoT device for autonomous groundwater level monitoring, combining long-range low-power LoRa communication, a non-contact pressure-based level sensor using the trapped-air capillary method, and an efficient power management stage that seamlessly switches between solar and battery power. Unlike existing commercial leveloggers, which are costly and lack integrated wireless telemetry and solar-based autonomy, the proposed platform is presented as a fully open-source, low-cost alternative purpose-built for unattended deployment in areas without grid power or cellular coverage. The system was validated through a multi-day field trial and dedicated communication tests, demonstrating a stable power conversion efficiency of 84–90%, a five-day autonomous operation without any deep-discharge event, high linearity ($R^2$ = 0.9998) of the level module over a 0–2 m range with a resolution of approximately 1.94 mm per ADC count, and a reliable LoRa link of up to 8.51 km in an urban/suburban environment despite non-line-of-sight conditions. With an estimated hardware cost of approximately $100 USD per unit, the device represents a low-cost, low-maintenance tool capable of generating knowledge about water resources to optimize irrigation and crop management in the face of climate change. Full article