Critical Landscape Planning during the Belt and Road Initiative

This open access book traces the development of landscapes along the 414-kilometer China–Laos Railway, one of the first infrastructure projects implemented under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and which is due for completion at the end of 2021. Written from the perspective of landscape architecture and intended for planners and related professionals engaged in the development and conservation of these landscapes, this book provides history, planning pedagogy and interdisciplinary framing for working alongside the often-opaque planning, design and implementation processes of large-scale infrastructure. It complicates simplistic notions of development and urbanization frequently reproduced in the Laos–China frontier region. Many of the projects and sites investigated in this book are recent “firsts” in Laos: Laos’s first wildlife sanctuary for trafficked endangered species, its first botanical garden and its first planting plan for a community forest. Most often the agents and accomplices of neoliberal development, the planning and design professions, including landscape architecture, have little dialogue with either the mainstream natural sciences or critical social sciences that form the discourse of projects in Laos and comparable contexts. Covering diverse conceptions and issues of development, including cultural and scientific knowledge exchanges between Laos and China, nature tourism, connectivity and new town planning, this book also features nine planning proposals for Laos generated through this research initiative since the railway's groundbreaking in 2016. Each proposal promotes a wider "landscape approach" to development and deploys landscape architecture’s spatial and ecological acumen to synthesize critical development studies with the planner's capacity, if not naive predilection, to intervene on the ground. Ultimately, this book advocates the cautious engagement of the professionally oriented built-environment disciplines, such as regional planning, civil engineering and landscape architecture, with the landscapes of development institutions and environmental NGOs

Integrated groundwater quantity and quality management for the middle region of Libya using hydrochemical and numerical modelling approaches

Libya is a country of desert and the arid climate makes it in extreme lack of surface water. Groundwater then becomes a very important resource to meet the economical and agricultural demand in the northern coastal areas. Groundwater has been over-exploited and some problems occurred such as saline deterioration and aquifer deterioration since 1960s. To better understand these problems for a proper management solution, this project was setup for groundwater investigations aiming better management strategy in Wadi Baye as a case study based upon the governmental water management requirement. Based on systematic literature review and data collection on geology, hydrogeology and other related environmental aspects, the groundwater systems were studied in terms of recharge and discharge, boundary and recharge and hydraulic characteristics using field based, hydrochemical/isotopic analysis and numerical modelling approaches. A series of techniques were employed to study the spatial and temporal variations of the groundwater flow field and hydrochemistry in the shallow and deep aquifer systems. The isotope signature was also used to understand the hydrochemical evolution of groundwater in Wadi Baye. It is found that the shallow groundwater is mainly influenced by the palaeo-saline hydro-environment, the deep groundwater geochemistry is impacted by mixture with the modern water around 50 km off the coastal line. A 3D groundwater numerical model was built using ModFlow based on proper calculation and calibration of the major hydraulic parameters. Calculation of groundwater budgets shows that total annual averaged recharge is 167K m3/d in Wadi Baye; the exploitable resources for shallow and deep aquifers are 33.7K and 15.6K m3/d respectively. Groundwater exploitation potential indicates that both shallow and deep groundwater systems are under over-exploitation. Sensitivity analysis of hydraulic conductivity, specific yield (storitivity) and precipitation recharge shows that hydraulic conductivity poses the greatest impact to the model in Wadi Baye. Three groundwater utilisation plans were proposed for further prediction in the future 10 years using the calibrated groundwater model. Modelling scenarios show that shallow and deep groundwater field will draw down under existing and increasing abstraction plans; drawdown in shallow groundwater will be greatly reduced if abstraction reduces to exploitable level and the overall flow field can remain stable or recover. However water level around the concentrated abstraction area will still drop down due to the localised negative balance by pumping. The best management strategy was proposed based on the modelling scenarios, to achieve a sustainable water management for the Wadi Baye area

Geometallurgical Evaluation of the Nkout (Cameroon) and Putu (Liberia) Iron Ore Deposits

The Nkout (Cameroon) and Putu (Liberia) oxide facies iron ore deposits comprise fresh magnetite banded iron formation (BIF) at depth, which weathers towards the surface, forming high grade martite–goethite ores. This study aimed to improve the mineralogical understanding of these deposits in order to predict their metallurgical responses. It concentrated on developing the QEMSCAN® technique and testing its application to these ore types, but also used a variety of other analysis methods. The QEMSCAN® species identification protocol was developed to include three goethite entries: goethite/limonite, phosphorus-bearing and aluminium-bearing goethite. QEMSCAN® was also used to distinguish between the iron oxides using their backscattered electron signals. To test the correlation between the mineralogy and metallurgical characteristics, magnetic separations were carried out. The samples were divided into 4 main groups based on their whole rock Fe content, determined by XRF analysis, and their degree of weathering: enriched material, weathered magnetite itabirite, transitional magnetite itabirite and magnetite itabirite. Quartz and Al oxide and hydroxide minerals such as gibbsite are the major gangue minerals in the magnetite BIF and martite–goethite ores respectively. From the QEMSCAN® analysis it was concluded that the iron oxides are closely associated and liberation of them individually is poor. Liberation increases when they are grouped together as iron oxide. Chamosite concentrations > 6 wt. % significantly lower liberation of the iron oxides. From the metallurgical testing, it was concluded that iron oxide modal mineralogy gives an indication of iron recovery but other QEMSCAN® data such as mineral association and liberation could be important especially if the iron oxide minerals are not liberated. Grain size and instrument characteristics also affect recovery of iron minerals. There is no evidence to show that there is any structural control on the BIF mineralisation at Nkout because metamorphism has significantly affected the lithological characteristics. The BIF mineralised zones occur as stacks with no particular stratigraphic relationship. Alteration and stratigraphy are the main controls on the martite–goethite ores. These results are applicable to most other BIFs so that as direct shipping ores are exhausted, the approach used here can help to develop the lower grade portions of the deposits.Association of Commonwealth Universitie

Evaluation of the leachate chemistry and contaminants attenuation in acid mine drainage by fly ash and its derivatives

Philosophiae Doctor - PhDThe mining industry in South Africa has a huge potential to impact negatively on the environment. Negative impacts include generation of reactive tailings and acid mine drainage (AMD). AMD is highly acidic (pH 2-4), sulphate-rich and frequently carries a heavy metal burden. South Africa uses more than 100 million tonnes of low grade bituminous coal annually to produce cheap electricity. The associated mining operations result in millions of tonnes of polluted water and in turn coal burning power stations produce vast amounts of waste ash such as fly ash. The highly soluble CaO occurring as sub-micron fragments on the fly ash particles is highly reactive and can be utilized in the neutralization of acid mine drainage. Acid mine drainage (AMD) was reacted with two different South African fly ashes in a batch setup in an attempt to evaluate their neutralization and inorganic contaminants removal capacity. The concentrations of major constituents in the AMD were found to determine the final pH attained in the reaction mixture and the reaction time of breakthrough to circum-neutral and alkaline pH. Efficiency of elemental removal in the AMD by the FA was directly linked to the amount of FA in the reaction mixture and to the final pH attained. Most elements attained ≈ 100 % removal only when the pH of minimum solubility of their hydroxides was achieved. In the second part of the study, Acid mine drainage (AMD) was reacted with coal fly ash in a 24 hour equilibration time using 1:3 and 1:1.5 FA: AMD ratios by weight to produce neutral and alkaline process waters. The capacity of the fly ash to remove the major inorganic contaminants from AMD was examined with time. The geochemical computer software PHREEQC and WATEQ4 database were used for geochemical modeling of the process water chemistry at selected reaction times. The collected solid residues were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). At both ratios the reaction mixture was at saturation or oversaturated with alunite, basaluminite, jurbanite, boehmite, gibbsite, diaspore, gypsum, barite, K, Na-jarosites, ettringite, amorphous Fe (OH)3 and goethite at specific contact times. The precipitation of the many inorganic contaminants was established in terms of the mineral phases at saturation or over-saturation. Sequential extraction revealed the amorphous fraction to be the most important in retention of the major and minor inorganic contaminants at pH > 6.32 which implies that the concentration of total Fe and Al in the AMD being treated has a direct effect on the clean-up efficiency of the process. In the third part of the study, a column leaching of the solid residues (SR) blended with varying amounts of fly ash (5 %, 25 %, 40 %) and 6 % Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) was carried out to assess the contaminant attenuation with time. The columns were drained with synthetic acid mine drainage (SAMD) over a period of 165 days. In addition the solid residues were modified with 1-6% OPC and their strength development monitored over a period of 365 days. The column solid cores were observed to acidify in a stepwise fashion, exhibiting three buffer zones. The SR alone and SR blended with fly ash exhibited strong buffering capacity at pH (7.5-9) for an extended period of time (97-110 days). Encapsulation of solid residue particles by the calcium silicate hydrate gels (CSH) in OPC blended solid residues obscured the appearance of the sustained buffering at pH 7-9.5. The fly ash and OPC blend solid residues exhibited decontamination efficiencies of (82-99 %) for Al, Fe, Mn and SO4 2- over the study period. However the OPC blend SR exhibited high attenuation efficiency even as the pH dropped to below 4. SR + 6 % OPC core was observed to be the most efficient interms of retention of highly mobile elements such as B and Mo. pH was observed to be the main determining factor in contaminants attenuation. Geochemical modeling results revealed that pH and SO42- concentrations in the leachate had a significant impact on the mineral phases controlling Fe and Al concentration in the leachates. In the SR + 6 % OPC solid cores, EDX analysis revealed that CSH gels and calcium aluminate hydrate gels were being precipitated. These gels were either incorporating Fe, Mg, Mn in their matrix or encapsulating the solid residue particles that were rich in these elements. Sequential extractions of the leached solid cores revealed the amorphous fraction to be the most important in retention of the major contaminants and were most enhanced in the OPC blend solid residues. The OPC blend solid residue slurries developed unconfined compressive strength (UCS) (2-3 Mpa) comparable to paste formulated from sulphidic rich mine tailings confirming that the solid residues can be used for backfilling. Therefore the solid residues (SR) can successively be applied for a dual purpose in mined out areas namely, to remediate acid mine drainage waters and also provide support for the overburden. Keywords: Acid Mine Drainage; Fly Ash; Neutralization; Sulphates; Metal ions; Solid Residues (SR); Column Leaching; Geochemical Modeling; Sequential Extraction; Buffering.South Afric

Computer-based tools for supporting forest management. The experience and the expertise world-wide

Report of Cost Action FP 0804 Forest Management Decision Support Systems (FORSYS)Computer-based tools for supporting forest management. The experience and the expertise world-wide answers a call from both the research and the professional communities for a synthesis of current knowledge about the use of computerized tools in forest management planning. According to the aims of the Forest Management Decision Support Systems (FORSYS) (http://fp0804.emu.ee/) this synthesis is a critical success factor to develop a comprehensive quality reference for forest management decision support systems. The emphasis of the book is on identifying and assessing the support provided by computerized tools to enhance forest management planning in real-world contexts. The book thus identifies the management planning problems that prevail world-wide to discuss the architecture and the components of the tools used to address them. Of importance is the report of architecture approaches, models and methods, knowledge management and participatory planning techniques used to address specific management planning problems. We think that this synthesis may provide effective support to research and outreach activities that focus on the development of forest management decision support systems. It may contribute further to support forest managers when defining the requirements for a tool that best meets their needs. The first chapter of the book provides an introduction to the use of decision support systems in the forest sector and lays out the FORSYS framework for reporting the experience and expertise acquired in each country. Emphasis is on the FORSYS ontology to facilitate the sharing of experiences needed to characterize and evaluate the use of computerized tools when addressing forest management planning problems. The twenty six country reports share a structure designed to underline a problem-centric focus. Specifically, they all start with the identification of the management planning problems that are prevalent in the country and they move on to the characterization and assessment of the computerized tools used to address them. The reports were led by researchers with background and expertise in areas that range from ecological modeling to forest modeling, management planning and information and communication technology development. They benefited from the input provided by forest practitioners and by organizations that are responsible for developing and implementing forest management plans. A conclusions chapter highlights the success of bringing together such a wide range of disciplines and perspectives. This book benefited from voluntary contributions by 94 authors and from the involvement of several forest stakeholders from twenty six countries in Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia over a three-year period. We, the chair of FORSYS and the editorial committee of the publication, acknowledge and thank for the valuable contributions from all authors, editors, stakeholders and FORSYS actors involved in this project

Course Catalog 2020-2021

https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/csusb-catalog/1056/thumbnail.jp

Course Catalog 2022-2023

https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/csusb-catalog/1058/thumbnail.jp