Dynamic characteristics and drivers of the regional household energy-carbon-water nexus in China

Being a node of the energy-water consumer and carbon dioxide (CO2) emitter, the household is one key sector to pilot integrated energy-carbon-water (ECW) management. This study developed an integrated framework to explore China’s provincial household ECW nexus as well as their drivers from the years 2000 through 2016. The absolute amount and growth rate of household energy use (HEU), household CO2 emissions (HCE), and household water use (HWU) were abstracted to reveal the dynamic characteristics of the household ECW nexus. Efficiency advance, income growth, urbanization, family size, and household number were defined to explain the changes in the household ECW nexus. This study revealed that there is a huge regional heterogeneity in China’s household ECW nexus. Developed regions such as Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Shanghai are the most important household ECW nexus nodes with larger amounts and growth rates of household ECW. Income growth overwhelmingly increases ECW, while efficiency advance effectively curbs its growth. Comparatively, household number, family size, and urbanization have small effects. Therefore, implementing differentiated management and focusing on the synergy of socioeconomic factors are the keys to achieving integrated household ECW management. And the analytical framework can be used to analyze ECW nexus from a sector, city, or country perspective

Field measurement of the erosion threshold of silty seabed in the intertidal flat of the Yellow River Delta with a newly-developed annular flume

Accurately measuring the critical shear stress is crucial for numerous applications, such as sediment transport modeling, erosion prediction, and the design of sustainable coastal engineering structures. However, developing reliable and precise in-situ measurement devices faces significant challenges due to the harsh and dynamic nature of aquatic environments. Factors like turbulence and waves introduce complexities that must be considered when designing and calibrating these devices. The newly developed Openable Underwater Carousel In-situ Flume (OUC-IF) was used to determine the critical shear stress (τc) and quantify erosion rates. Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) was employed to measure 3D near-bottom velocities, which were then used to estimate and pre-calibrate bed shear stress (τ) applied on the seabed in the annular flume. Three computation methods of shear stress were evaluated: turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), direct covariance (COV), and log profile (LP). In-situ erosion experiments were conducted for the first time at two sites in the tidal flat of the Yellow River Delta (site 1 with a water depth of 1.32 m and site 2 with a water depth of 0.75 m). The critical shear stress was found to be 0.10 Pa at site 1 and 0.19 Pa at site 2, and the erosion rates of the sediments were successfully measured. The effect of wave-seabed interactions on erosion resistance was explored by theoretically estimating the wave-induced pore pressure of the seabed based on the observed data. The max liquefaction degree of the seabed at site 1 and site 2 was 0.035 and 0.057, respectively, and the average erosion coefficient Me was 2.63E-05 kg m-2s-1 at site 1 and 3.48E-05 kg m-2s-1 at site 2

Laboratory study on nitrate removal and nitrous oxide emission in intact soil columns collected from nitrogenous loaded riparian wetland, Northeast China.

Nitrate [Formula: see text] pollution of surface and groundwater systems is a major problem globally. For some time now wetlands have been considered potential systems for improving water quality. Nitrate dissolved in water moving through wetlands can be removed through different processes, such as the denitrification process, where heterotrophic facultative anaerobic bacteria use [Formula: see text] for respiration, leading to the production of nitrogen (N2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) gases. Nitrate removal and emission of N2O in wetlands can vary spatially, depending on factors such as vegetation, hydrology and soil structure. This study intended to provide a better understanding of the spatial variability and processes involved in [Formula: see text] removal and emission of N2O in riparian wetland soils. We designed a laboratory experiment simulating surface water flow through soil columns collected from different sites dominated by different plant species within a wetland. Water and gas samples for [Formula: see text] and N2O analyses were collected every 5 days for a period of 30 days. The results revealed significant removal of [Formula: see text] in all the soil columns, supporting the role of riparian wetland soils in removing nitrogen from surface runoff. Nitrate removal at 0 and 10cm depths in sites dominated by Phragmites australis and Carex schnimdtii was significantly higher than in the site dominated by Calamagrostis epigeio. Nitrous oxide emissions varied spatially and temporally with negative flux observed in sites dominated by P. australis and C. schnimdtii. These results reveal that in addition to the ability of wetlands to remove [Formula: see text], some sites within wetlands are also capable of consuming N2O, hence mitigating not only agricultural nitrate pollution but also climate change

Research on deformation of submarine slope in Zhoushan Islands by in-situ observation

Instability of submarine slopes in Zhoushan Islands is widespread. Frequent submarine landslides pose a great threat to offshore facilities such as submarine optical cables, reclamation projects, ports and docks. In this paper, a self-developed in-situ observation system is used to observe the deformation of submarine slopes on the southwest side of Zhujiajian Island in Zhoushan Islands for 75 days. The results show that the deformation characteristics of sediments at different depths of the submarine slope are different, and the lateral deformation of bottom sediments is about 0.75 mm, which is three times as much as the deformation of overlying sediments. The deformation process presents a step-like change, and the deformation direction is consistent with the trend of submarine slope

Design and application of cone penetration test equipment in shoal water

1373-1375In order to provide the academic and industry with a cost-effective cone penetration test (CPT) equipment with particular emphasis on testing in shoal water, we designed the shoal-water CPT equipment. The buoyancy system distinguishes the shoal-water CPT equipment from others. Before the test, the shoal-water CPT equipment can be towed by a small boat with the buoyancy system charged. Having reached the scheduled site, we bleed the buoyancy system. The shoal-water CPT equipment sink to the seafloor with no enough buoyancy. We conducted a test at the Yellow River subaqueous delta, China. The CPT equipment works well

Trend and Abrupt Regime Shift of Temperature Extreme in Northeast China, 1957–2015

Trend and an abrupt regime shift of temperature extremes were investigated based on diurnal data at 116 meteorological stations in the Northeast China region during 1957–2015. A total of 10 temperature indices divided into two categories: extremely cold and warm indices, were used in this study. The Mann–Kendall (MK) test was employed to evaluate the trend in temperature while changepoint, an R package for changepoint analysis, was used to detect changes in the mean levels of temperature extreme data series. The results of this study reveal that occurrence frequencies of the extreme cold night (TN10p) and extreme warm night (TN90p) have decreased and increased by −1.67 and 1.79 days/decade, respectively. Moreover, variations in temperature extremes have not been uniform with warming trends in minimum temperature being rapidly compared to maximum temperature extremes. The diurnal temperature range (DTR) depicted a remarkable decrease as a result of rapid warming in the minimum temperature. Warming in the region led to a reduction in the number of frost days (FD) and icing days (ID) and an increase in the number of growing season length (GSL) and tropical nights (Tr). Seasonally, TN10p largely decreased in winter and spring, while TNn and TN90p largely increased in winter and summer, respectively. Spatially, most of the stations with a significant warming trend in minimum temperatures were located in the Changbai Mountain, Greater Khingan Range, and Lesser Khingan Range. This implies that the mountainous regions are more sensitive and vulnerable to warming than the plain regions. On the contrary, most stations located in the Songnen Plain, Sanjiang Plain, and Liao River Plain displayed significant positive trend GSL and Tr. These climate extreme trends show that the region is experiencing warming which may have an impact on the hydrological process, ecological process, and agricultural production capacity

Research on Submarine landslide monitoring and early warning system

Monitoring and early warning of submarine landslides could provide instant predictions for landslides, which is to avoid the destructive damage of submarine facilities such as pipelines and optical cable, etc effectively. However, researches on submarine landslide focus on numerical simulation and laboratory test, lacking support of in-situ observation data. This paper established the submarine landslide monitoring and early warning system by combining real-time monitoring data with web network platform and database technique. Based on the computational analysis of key monitoring parameters in the process of seabed deformation and sliding, the system has realized the accurate prediction and early warning of submarine landslides. The system has been applied to the submarine landslide monitoring in Zhoushan sea area, Zhejiang province, China, which has ensured the safety of offshore platforms and submarine projects in this area. The establishment of this system provides a new idea and method for submarine landslide warning

Giant Submarine Landslide in the South China Sea: Evidence, Causes, and Implications

Submarine landslides can be tremendous in scale. They are one of the most important processes for global sediment fluxes and tsunami generation. However, studies of prodigious submarine landslides remain insufficient. In this review paper, we compile, summarize, and reanalyze the results of previous studies. Based on this reanalysis, we discover the giant Baiyun−Liwan submarine slide in the Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea. We describe three concurrent pieces of evidence from ~23 Ma to 24 Ma, the Oligocene−Miocene boundary, for this landslide: the shoreward shift of the shelf break in the Baiyun Sag, the slump deposition to the southeast, and the abrupt decrease in the accumulation rate on the lower continental slope. This landslide extends for over 250 km, and the total affected area of the slide is up to ~35,000−40,000 km2. The scale of the landslide is similar to that of the Storegga slide, which has long been considered to be the largest landslide on earth. We suggest that strike−slip movement along the Red River Fault and ridge jump of the South China Sea caused the coeval Baiyun−Liwan submarine slide. The identification of the giant landslide will promote the understanding of not only its associated geohazards but also the steep rise of the Himalayan orogeny and marine engineering. More attention needs to be paid to areas with repeated submarine landslides and offshore installations