A decreasing glacier mass balance gradient from the edge of the Upper Tarim Basin to the Karakoram during 2000-2014

In contrast to the glacier mass losses observed at other locations around the world, some glaciers in the High Mountains of Asia appear to have gained mass in recent decades. However, changes in digital elevation models indicate that glaciers in Karakoram and Pamir have gained mass, while recent laser altimetry data indicate mass gain centred on West Kunlun. Here, we obtain results that are essentially consistent with those from altimetry, but with two-dimensional observations and higher resolution. We produced elevation models using radar interferometry applied to bistatic data gathered between 2011 and 2014 and compared them to a model produced from bistatic data collected in 2000. The glaciers in West Kunlun, Eastern Pamir and the northern part of Karakoram experienced a clear mass gain of 0.043 ± 0.078~0.363 ± 0.065 m w.e. yr−1. The Karakoram showed a near-stable mass balance in its western part (−0.020 ± 0.064 m w.e. yr−1), while the Eastern Karakoram showed mass loss (−0.101 ± 0.058 m w.e. yr−1). Significant positive glacier mass balances are noted along the edge of the Upper Tarim Basin and indicate a decreasing gradient from northeast to southwest

Northern Eurasia Future Initiative (NEFI): facing the challenges and pathways of global change in the 21st century

During the past several decades, the Earth system has changed significantly, especially across Northern Eurasia. Changes in the socio-economic conditions of the larger countries in the region have also resulted in a variety of regional environmental changes that can have global consequences. The Northern Eurasia Future Initiative (NEFI) has been designed as an essential continuation of the Northern Eurasia Earth Science Partnership Initiative (NEESPI), which was launched in 2004. NEESPI sought to elucidate all aspects of ongoing environmental change, to inform societies and, thus, to better prepare societies for future developments. A key principle of NEFI is that these developments must now be secured through science-based strategies co-designed with regional decision makers to lead their societies to prosperity in the face of environmental and institutional challenges. NEESPI scientific research, data, and models have created a solid knowledge base to support the NEFI program. This paper presents the NEFI research vision consensus based on that knowledge. It provides the reader with samples of recent accomplishments in regional studies and formulates new NEFI science questions. To address these questions, nine research foci are identified and their selections are briefly justified. These foci include: warming of the Arctic; changing frequency, pattern, and intensity of extreme and inclement environmental conditions; retreat of the cryosphere; changes in terrestrial water cycles; changes in the biosphere; pressures on land-use; changes in infrastructure; societal actions in response to environmental change; and quantification of Northern Eurasia's role in the global Earth system. Powerful feedbacks between the Earth and human systems in Northern Eurasia (e.g., mega-fires, droughts, depletion of the cryosphere essential for water supply, retreat of sea ice) result from past and current human activities (e.g., large scale water withdrawals, land use and governance change) and potentially restrict or provide new opportunities for future human activities. Therefore, we propose that Integrated Assessment Models are needed as the final stage of global change assessment. The overarching goal of this NEFI modeling effort will enable evaluation of economic decisions in response to changing environmental conditions and justification of mitigation and adaptation efforts

WATER AND HYGIENE IN THE KHARAA RIVER BASIN, MONGOLIA: CURRENT KNOWLEDGE AND RESEARCH NEEDS

The Kharaa River Basin has some of the highest densities of population, agricultural and industrial activities in Mongolia. This puts the naturally limited water resources under pressure in both a quantitative and qualitative perspective. Besides mining, key sources of surface water contamination include large numbers of livestock in riverine floodplains and the discharge of untreated or poorly treated waste waters, both into rivers and by soil infiltration. Since both shallow groundwater and river water are used by people and for livestock, there are at least theoretical risks related to the transmission of water-borne pathogens. Only a very limited number of studies on water and hygiene have so far been conducted in Mongolia, all indicating (potential) risks to water users. However, a lack of current and reliable water microbiology data leads to the need of systematic screening of water hygiene in order to derive conclusions for public health and drinking water management at the local and regional scale

Automatic extraction of large-scale aquaculture encroachment areas using Canny Edge Otsu algorithm in Google Earth Engine – the case study of Kolleru Lake, South India

The aquaculture expansion has made significant contributions to global food security, socio-economic development and, if implemented sustainably, can help preserve stable coastal environments. This study explicitly details the rapid expansion of large-scale aquaculture growth across the Kolleru and Upputeru regions of South India. We developed a novel classification method for automated extraction of aquaculture ponds in the Kolleru zone using the Canny Edge-Otsu algorithm to segment and extract the ponds applied to SAR-VV images in Google Earth Engine. This approach enables the area estimation of dense aquaculture ponds are essential for monitoring and management purposes. The results indicated that this method could effectively map the aquaculture ponds and the overall accuracy achieved in 2020 for the Kolleru and Upputeru areas by 90.6% and 95.7%, respectively. The aquaculture maps of this study can help government organizations, resource managers, stakeholders, and decision-makers understand the dynamics and plan sustainable measures in this area

C-Src is required for complex formation between the hepatitis C virus–encoded proteins NS5A and NS5B: A prerequisite for replication

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a leading cause of chronic liver disease worldwide and establishes a persistent infection in more than 60% of infected individuals. This high frequency of persistent infection indicates that HCV has evolved efficient strategies to interfere with the adaptive and innate immune response and to occupy and use host cell infrastructure. The present study provides evidence that c-Src, a member of the Src family kinases that participates in many signal transduction pathways, represents an essential host factor exploited for viral replication. c-Src directly interacts with the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (NS5B) via its SH3 domain and with the nonstructural phosphoprotein NS5A via its SH2 domain. Both interactions are required to maintain the protein-protein interaction of NS5A and NS5B, which has been previously demonstrated to be essential for viral replication. Accordingly, HCV genome replication and production of the viral proteins was strongly reduced upon small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of c-Src or in the presence of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor herbimycin A. This effect could not be rescued by supplementation of the two other ubiquitously expressed Src family kinases Fyn or Yes. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that c-Src participates in the formation of an NS5A/NS5B protein complex that is required for efficient replication of HCV