Major Drainage Research Articles

CHARACTERISTICS OF LOCAL PUMP SCHEMES REUSING DRAINAGE WATER IN A MAJOR RICE-BASED IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE AREA IN THE RED RIVER BASIN, VIETNAM

A comprehensive study was undertaken in a major rice-based irrigation and drainage area, with the objective of assessing the characteristics and importance of the wide-spread use of drainage water from canal irrigation schemes by local schemes. The irrigated area of 18,308 ha consisted of the public managed Cau Son canal scheme and 208 electric-powered pump schemes, of which 109 were classified as drainage reuse schemes using drainage water from the canal scheme. The reuse pump schemes covered 27% of the irrigated area, including 6 public and 103 local managed pump stations, the latter with about 21,000 households engaged in reuse irrigation. The local schemes were typically 25 years old and showed a high degree of variability in irrigated area, total dynamic head, design capacity, and energy use. The seasonal irrigation delivery ranged by a factor 10 with about 65% “lost” in return flow mostly as surface drainage. The use of electric power was excessive, associated with low pumping and irrigation efficiencies related to poor maintenance, inadequate water management and capacity overdesign. A significant scope was identified for improved use of water and energy and for integrating local reuse schemes in performance evaluations and water management frameworks in canal-irrigated areas.

The Early Holocene archaeology of Florida: geospatial approaches to understanding Bolen mobility

ABSTRACT Three of the most influential archaeological models in the southeastern US have argued that early foragers organized their lifeways via seasonal movement along major drainage basins; around access to raw material sources, crossing drainage basins; or around group foraging needs, following central place foraging models. We examine the distribution of Early Holocene Bolen sites in Florida in light of these models by combining Florida Master Site File data with avocational collection data and conducting spatial analyses. It is not clear to what extent the models are applicable to this low-relief area with comparatively ubiquitous toolstone, little data on seasonality, and rivers that likely were not flowing. Our analyses suggest that Bolen site distribution is highly patterned, with a few extremely large sites clustered around water sources and numerous single artifact finds in more remote areas. Our interpretation is that Bolen represents a population increase coincident with greater surface water availability that facilitated regular aggregations. The spacing of large sites indicates to us local-group territories, each of which had toolstone resources and reliable water. North Florida may present a more general organizing principle that applies throughout the Southeast: water, seasonal variation, and toolstone availability.

An analysis of the effects of urbanization on urban drainage systems in Ankpa, Dekina and Oguma Towns of Kogi State in North Central Nigeria

Managing complex environmental problems such as flood disaster require up to date technology. Much of these disasters can be prevented and reduced through the use of technology such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing as well as questionnaire administration. The spatial analytic capacity of GIS is employed to carryout hydrological analysis such as drainage network, DEM, Slope, flow direction and accumulation, stream order. Also land use and land cover analysis was done to examine the changes in land cover pattern across the study area. Different datasets were extracted from satellite imagery (landsat TM and OLI) of the Study area. ArcGIS 10.8 and Idrisi Terrset were used for the land cover change spatial analyses. The results from image analysis revealed that built-up area have been increasing significantly in the area due to increasing population pressure, it increases from 11.70%, 9.74% and 13.15% in 1990 to 18.12%, 16.05% and 19.37% in 2021 for Ankpa, Bassa and Oguma (Dekina) respectively. The flood risk vulnerability map reveals that about 15.44% (835.73 km2) and 15.81% (856.25 km2) of the study area have very high and high susceptibility to flooding inundation, respectively. The vulnerable zones are located on the lowest part of the plain which is responsible for the high flood vulnerability experienced in this area. It can be deduced that the magnitude of the flood hazard of a given area is a function of both the distance to the river and the elevation of the area in question. The result of the questionnaire analysis indicates that 67.55%,65.96% and 61.48% strongly agreed that shallow drainage channels in Ankpa, Dekina and Oguma are the major drainage challenges in the study area while 65.70%, 56.73% and 56.46%, strongly agree that several homes are destroyed when drainage fail and 56.20%, 63.32%, and 57.26% strongly agree that availability of social services is responsible for the increase population upsurge to urban centers. It is believed that the result of this research can be used as a means of regulating development along the plain and also serve as a decision support when making policies relating to drainage and flood management around urban centres.

Historical development of subsurface drainage in Quebec from 1850 to 1970

Despite its beginning in the 1850’s and being first in Canada to purchase a tile drainage trencher, subsurface drainage of agricultural lands in Quebec is poorly documented, which the present paper will try to document from 1850 to 1970. In Quebec, Catholic priests and monks played an important role in educating rural communities by establishing French agricultural schools throughout the province. For the English rural communities, Macdonald College (Macdonald Campus of McGill University) played a major role especially in preparing plans, besides promoting the technology. The Quebec Ministry of Agriculture encouraged subsurface drainage early in 1912 but would prefer investing in land clearing and watercourse deepening to establish more farms, from the employment needs created by WWI, the great 1930 depression and WWII. This work mostly completed in the early 1960’s, the Quebec Government would then initiate a major subsurface drainage program, allowing private enterprises to take over shortly after 1967. Although the Ministry changed names several times even after 1967, the term ‘Ministry of Agriculture’ will be used throughout this article. To compare trencher performance, a 15 m average spacing is presumed. This paper is limited to the main events and persons involved, without being able to cover them all.

Tidal Effect on Coastal Municipal Drainage System: Case Study of Bandar Maharani, Muar

Flash flood atBandar Maharani, Muaris a common occurrence. Although,numerous studies and continual improvement todrainagesystems havebeencarriedout, flash flood atBandar Maharani still persists. Aim ofthisstudyis toassess tidaleffect oneffectiveness of Bandar Maharani drainage system.80% of the 12.25 km area of Bandar Maharani consists of residentialsand commercial buildings.Capacity ofdrainage systemalong 15 major roads in Bandar Maharani has been evaluated.Peak flows due to 5, 10, 50 and 100-year ARI rainfall were considered. Hightide which occurred in 1999 has been used to investigate the effect of tideson capacity of drainalongJalan Bakri.Ithas been shown that high tidehasreducedas much as32% of capacity of drains alongJalanBakri, a major drainage system ofBandar Maharani.The effectof tides can reach as far as 3.687 km upstream. This means that whenhigh tides and heavy rainoccurconcurrently, capacity of drains alongJalanBakriwill be affected, thus leadto flash floods.

Composition of terrestrial mammal assemblages and their habitat use in unflooded and flooded blackwater forests in the Central Amazon.

Several forest types compose the apparently homogenous forest landscape of the lowland Amazon. The seasonally flooded forests (igapós) of the narrow floodplains of the blackwater rivers of the Amazon basin support their community of animals; however, these animals are required to adapt to survive in this environment. Furthermore, several taxa are an important source of seasonal resources for the animals in the adjacent unflooded forest (terra firme). During the low-water phase, the igapó becomes available to terrestrial species that make use of terra firme and igapó forests. Nonetheless, these lateral movements of terrestrial mammals between hydrologically distinct forest types remain poorly understood. This study tested the hypothesis that the attributes of the assemblages (abundance, richness, evenness, and functional groups) of the terrestrial mammals in both these forest types of the Cuieiras River basin, which is located in the Central Amazon, are distinct and arise from the ecological heterogeneity induced by seasonal floods. After a sampling effort of 10,743 camera trap days over four campaigns, two for the terra firme (6,013 trap days) and two for the igapó forests (4,730 trap days), a total of 31 mammal species (five were considered eventual) were recorded in both forest types. The species richness was similar in the igapó and terra firme forests, and the species abundance and biomass were greater in the terra firme forest, which were probably due to its higher primary productivity; whereas the evenness was increased in the igapós when compared to the terra firme forest. Although both forest types shared 84% of the species, generally a marked difference was observed in the composition of the terrestrial mammal species. These differences were associated with abundances of some specific functional groups, i.e., frugivores/granivores. Within-group variation was explained by balanced variation in abundance and turnover, which the individuals of a given species at one site were substituted by an equivalent number of individuals of a different species at another site. However, the occupancy was similar between both forest types for some groups such as carnivores. These findings indicate that seasonal flooding is a relevant factor in structuring the composition of terrestrial mammal assemblages between terra firme and floodplain forests, even in nutrient-poor habitats such as igapós. The results also highlight the importance of maintaining the mosaic of natural habitats on the scale of the entire landscape, with major drainage basins representing management units that provide sufficiently large areas to support a range of ecological processes (e.g., nutrient transport, lateral movements and the persistence of apex predators).

Experimental and numerical investigation of flow distribution pattern at a T-shape roadway crossing under extreme storms

ABSTRACT A major drainage systemwhich uses urban roadways as flood passages during extreme storm events has been proven to be effective and low-cost. However, to date, the amount of flow diverted at a bifurcating road crossing still could not be accurately assessed. Previous studies mainly focused on diversion flat bottom channels with no turning radius. Results from these studies are not applicable to the road crossing due to the significant discrepancies between the two flow fields. In this study, the flow distribution pattern at a roadway crossing with a T-shape was studied experimentally and numerically. The three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was constructed using FLUENT. The numerical model was validated using the experimental results and showed satisfying agreements. Results of the 2k factorial design experiments show that the flow distribution ratio is sensitive to turning radius, longitude slope, flowrate and downstream boundary conditions. Detailed numerical studies were conducted to reveal the relationship between the flow distribution ratio and the individual impacting factor. Findings from this research could provide more accurate flowrate predictions to guide the design of the road crossings to improve the performance of the major drainage system during extreme storms.

Glycosaminoglycans Influence Extracellular Matrix of Human Trabecular Meshwork Cells Cultured on 3D Scaffolds.

Glaucoma is a multifactorial progressive optic neuropathy characterized by the loss of retinal ganglion cells leading to irreversible blindness. It is the leading cause of global irreversible blindness and is currently affecting over 70 million people. Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is considered the only modifiable risk factor and is a target of numerous treatment modalities. Researchers have assigned this elevation of IOP to accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) components in the aqueous humor (AH) outflow pathway. The major drainage structure for AH outflow is the trabecular meshwork (TM). The ECM of the TM is important in regulating IOP in both normal and glaucomatous eyes. In this work, we have studied the role of exogeneous glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), glucocorticoids, and culture conditions on the expression of the ECM gene and proteins by human TM (hTM) cells cultured on biomaterial scaffolds. Gene and protein expression levels of elastin, laminin, and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) were evaluated using quantitative PCR and immunohistochemistry. Pressure gradient changes in cell-laden scaffolds in perfusion cultures were also monitored. Our findings show that GAGs and dexamethasone play an influencing role in hTM ECM turnover at both transcriptional and translational levels by altering expression levels of elastin, laminin, and MMP-2. Understanding the role of exogeneous factors on hTM cell behavior is helpful in gaining insights on glaucoma pathogenesis and ultimately pivotal in development of novel therapeutics against the disease.

Topographic evidence of long wavelength active folding in the New Madrid seismic zone, intraplate North America

The northeast-striking Axial and Bootheel faults (AF and BHF) in the central USA are components of the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ) fault complex, source of M > 7 earthquakes in 1811–1812. Previous work shows Holocene displacement of the AF and BHF to be primarily right-lateral strike-slip movement west and south of the NMSZ restraining bend. In this study, treads of two Late Pleistocene alluvial terraces of the Mississippi River, the 14–16 ka Kennett and the 12 ka Morehouse terraces, were used as structural datums to assess any long-wavelength vertical component of deformation across these two faults. Using 10 m-resolution LiDAR, we constructed a best-fit polynomial trend surface of these terrace treads. Our results reveal a subtle ≤4 m-deep, 40 km-wide, 190 km-long, topographic trough. In the south, it corresponds to the southern segment of the AF and parallels the BHF for 50 km. Farther north it corresponds to a syncline in subsurface Paleozoic strata 10 to 20 km northwest of and parallel to the BHF.The trough axis crosses obliquely down-valley from the younger Morehouse terrace to the older Kennett terrace and does not correspond to major drainages. Significantly, the Malden-Bernie fluvial scarp separating the two terraces continues into the trough but is down-warped, inconsistent with an erosional origin of the trough. Along the southern segment of the trough, the older Kennett tread is topographically lower than the Morehouse tread, but relict Kennett braided channels were not buried during deposition of younger Morehouse alluvium. This suggests the Kennett terrace tectonically subsided along the trough after Morehouse terrace deposition. We interpret this trough as a subtle syncline along the western margin of the NMSZ restraining bend that developed in response to down-on-the-northwest fault movement after deposition of Morehouse alluvium.

Late Cenozoic deepening of Yosemite Valley, USA

Although Yosemite Valley, USA, catalyzed the modern environmental movement and fueled foundational debates in geomorphology, a century of investigation has failed to definitively determine when it formed. The non-depositional nature of the landscape and homogeneous bedrock have prevented direct geological assessments. Indirect assumptions about the age of downcutting have ranged from pre-Eocene to Pleistocene. Clarity on this issue would not only satisfy public interest but also provide a new constraint for contentious debates about the Cenozoic tectonic and geomorphologic history of the Sierra Nevada in California. Here we use thermochronometric analysis of radiogenic helium in apatite crystals, coupled with numerical models of crustal temperatures beneath evolving topography, to demonstrate significant late Cenozoic deepening of Tenaya Canyon, Yosemite’s northeastern branch. Approximately 40%−90% of the current relief has developed since 10 Ma and most likely since 5 Ma. This coincides with renewed regional tectonism, which is a long-hypothesized but much debated driver of Sierran canyon development. Pleistocene glaciation caused spatially variable incision and valley widening in Yosemite Valley, whereas little contemporaneous erosion occurred in the adjacent upper Tuolumne watershed. Such variations probably arise from glacial erosion’s dependence on opographic focusing of ice discharge into zones of rapid flow, and on the abundance of pre-existing fractures in the substrate. All available data, including those from our study, are consistent with a moderately high and slowly eroding mid-Cenozoic Sierra Nevada followed by significant late Cenozoic incision of some, but not all, west-side canyons. A likely driver of this event was range-crest uplift accompanied by fault-induced beheading of some major drainages, although other mechanisms such as drainage reorganization following volcanic deposition are plausible.

Flow regime evolution of a major cave system in the Eastern Alps (Hirlatzhöhle, Dachstein)

The 116 km-long and 1560 m-deep Hirlatzhöhle is one of the major cave systems in the Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA; Austria). It is located in the NW part of the Dachstein, an extensive karst massif encompassing 576 km² with its highest point at 2995 m a.s.l. In contrast to most other caves in the NCA, Hirlatzhöhle comprises old (epi)phreatic passages located up to 1 km above the base level as well as two modern major drainage systems. The aim of this study is to define the palaeo- and the active flow conditions in combination with speleogenesis, and the age of the cave levels of Hirlatzhöhle. We use morphological as well as sedimentological studies and correlations with other caves. Another difference from cave systems in the NCA is that the majority of passages in Hirlatzhöhle are not developed within the so-called Giant Cave Level between 1200 and 1800 m a.s.l., but deeper between 800 and 1300 m. Most parts of Hirlatzhöhle developed under epiphreatic conditions as indicated by rills and condensation corrosion cupolas, which is the case for much other cave systems in the NCA. In contrast, paragenetic features like canyons and ceiling channels are relatively rare as are insoluble sediments. Elongated scallops indicate that flow velocities were high and abrasive sediments were abundant. Opposite to the nearby Dachstein-Mammuthöhle and other caves east of it that show a west-directed palaeo-flow, scallops in Hirlatzhöhle indicate a NE-directed palaeo-flow and an autogenic recharge. Modern drainage is autogenic and N- to NE-directed as well. Even though burial age dating did not give reasonable results for Hirlatzhöhle yet, the correlation with other adjacent caves suggests a Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene age of the main palaeo-phreatic level. This is supported by an infinite U-Th age (>0.6 Ma) of a flowstone.

Reorganization of continent‐scale sediment routing based on detrital zircon and rutile multi‐proxy analysis

AbstractThe duration and extent of sediment routing systems are intrinsically linked to crustal‐ to mantle‐scale processes. Therefore, distinct changes in the geodynamic regime may be captured in the detrital record. This study attempts to reconstruct the sediment routing system of the Canning Basin (Western Australia) during the Early Cretaceous to decipher its depositional response to Mesozoic‐Cenozoic supercontinent dispersal. Specifically, we reconstruct source‐to‐sink relationships for the Broome Sandstone (Dampier Peninsula) and proximal modern sediments through multi‐proxy analysis of detrital zircon (U–Pb, Lu–Hf and trace elements) and detrital rutile (U–Pb and trace elements). Multi‐proxy comparison of detrital signatures and potential sources reveals that the majority of the detrital zircon and rutile grains are ultimately sourced from crystalline basement in central Australia (Musgrave Province and Arunta region) and that proximal sediment supply (i.e., Kimberley region) is negligible. However, a significant proportion of detritus might be derived from intermediate sedimentary sources in central Australia (e.g., Amadeus Basin) rather than directly from erosion of crystalline basement. Broome Sandstone data are consistent with a large‐scale drainage system with headwaters in central Australia. Contextualization with other broadly coeval drainage systems suggests that central Australia acted as a major drainage divide during the Early Cretaceous. Importantly, reorganization after supercontinent dispersal is characterized by the continuation of a sediment pathway remnant of an earlier transcontinental routing system originating in Antarctica that provided a template for Early Cretaceous drainage. Review of older Canning Basin strata implies a prolonged denudation history of central Australian lithologies. These observations are consistent with the long‐lived intracontinental tectonic activity of central Australia governing punctuated sediment generation and dispersion more broadly across Australia and emphasize the impact of deep Earth processes on sediment routing systems.

Compiling forty years of guppy research to investigate the factors contributing to (non)parallel evolution

Examples of parallel evolution have been crucial for our understanding of adaptation via natural selection. However, strong parallelism is not always observed even in seemingly similar environments where natural selection is expected to favour similar phenotypes. Leveraging this variation in parallelism within well-researched study systems can provide insight into the factors that contribute to variation in adaptive responses. Here we analyse the results of 36 studies reporting 446 average trait values in Trinidadian guppies, Poecilia reticulata, from different predation regimes. We examine how the extent of predator-driven phenotypic parallelism is influenced by six factors: sex, trait type, rearing environment, ecological complexity, evolutionary history, and time since colonization. Analyses show that parallel evolution in guppies is highly variable and weak on average, with only 24.7% of the variation among populations being explained by predation regime. Levels of parallelism appeared to be especially weak for colour traits, and parallelism decreased with increasing complexity of evolutionary history (i.e., when estimates of parallelism from populations within a single drainage were compared to estimates of parallelism from populations pooled between two major drainages). Suggestive - but not significant - trends that warrant further research include interactions between the sexes and different trait categories. Quantifying and accounting for these and other sources of variation among evolutionary 'replicates' can be leveraged to better understand the extent to which seemingly similar environments drive parallel and nonparallel aspects of phenotypic divergence.

Morphometric assessment of the left inferior phrenic vein in patients with portal hypertension

The left inferior phrenic vein (LIPV) is a major drainage vessel of gastric varices and serves as an important conduit in endovascular treatment for gastric varices. The narrowing of LIPV has been empirically demonstrated and sometimes hinders catheter insertion for the treatment of gastric varices. We herein investigated the morphology of narrowed LIPV in patients with portal hypertension. Venograms of LIPV on 25 patients with gastric varices (15 males; 10 females; age range, 45–79 years with a mean of 67 years) were retrospectively reviewed, the following four parameters were measured: the diameter of LIPV, the diameter of narrowed LIPV, the narrowing rate, and the distance to narrowed LIPV from the left renal vein. On all 25 venograms, a narrowing was detected just above the common trunk with the left adrenal vein. The diameter of LIPV was 9.0 ± 4.2 mm, the diameter of narrowed LIPV was 5.1 ± 2.3 mm, the narrowing rate was 40.6 ± 16.0%, and the distance to narrowed LIPV from the left renal vein was 20.0 ± 7.4 mm. This anatomical information about the narrowing of LIPV may contribute to the safe and efficacious treatment of gastric varices.

Developmental Venous Anomalies and Arteriovenous Malformations Coordinately Drained by the Internal Cerebral Vein: Clues to Pathogenesis.

An intimate understanding of dynamic angioarchitectural development of vascular malformations involving the intracranium may provide mechanistic insight into the incipient pathogenesis of these lesions. The authors report two patients harboring cerebral developmental venous anomaly (DVA) and three patients harboring sporadically developing cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVM) in whom the internal cerebral vein (ICV) represented the chief venous egress route. Onyx embolization successfully achieved complete obliteration in all patients harboring cerebral AVMs. Two female patients presenting with a chief complaint of chronic headaches was found to harbor deeply situated DVA draining via the lateral group of direct lateral vein (DLV) egress via the ICV. Three female patients presenting with chronic headaches or intraparenchymal hemorrhage were found to possess cerebral AVMs deriving arterial feeders from the anterior cerebral arteries, with major venous drainage into the ICV via the direct lateral veins or terminal vein. Common drainage of DVAs and AVMs may indicate a common originate genesis. This pattern of venous drainage in the context of seeking to develop a cohesive and coherent model illumining our understanding of the mechanistic incipient pathogenesis of AVMs.

Mid-Cretaceous drainage reorganization and exorheic to endorheic transition in Southeast Tibet

To understand the early topographic growth of the Tibetan Plateau and the causes and effects of climate change in this region, it is important to reconstruct the drainage evolution across Southeast Tibet. Based on age constraints provided by detrital zircons in the fluvial sandstones in the Khorat Plateau Basin, we identified a major Early Cretaceous drainage disruption and reorganization event. The ages and Hf isotope compositions of the detrital zircons in the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Phu Kradung to Phu Phan formations (166–122 Ma) suggest the existence of an exorheic continental-scale paleo-Mekong River with headwaters in the Songpan-Garze and Qiangtang terranes. This paleo-river flowed southwards across the Khorat Plateau to what is presently the offshore Phuquoc Basin, which was then part of the Neo-Tethys Ocean. In contrast, the U-Pb-Hf compositions of the detrital zircons in the Lower Cretaceous Khok Kruat Formation (122–113 Ma) indicate that a prominent detrital supply from the Sibumasu magmatic rocks was transported by the paleo-Salween River. This major change reflects the occurrence of ancestral transcontinental river disruption at around 122 Ma, which was driven by the final collision between the Lhasa and Qiangtang and Woyla Arc and Sibumasu terranes. The tectonic uplift and ensuing arid climate corresponded to the reorganization of the ancestral Mekong drainage system during the Mid-Cretaceous (113–94 Ma).

Continent‐scale sediment dispersal for the Proterozoic Baraboo Interval quartzites in the Laurentian midcontinent

AbstractThe well‐known Baraboo Interval quartzites in the Laurentian midcontinent are a succession of mature red siliciclastic strata, locally more than 1.5 km thick, and covering an area >300,000 km2, much if not all of which was deposited after the Mazatzal orogeny (<1.63 Ga), and before the Baraboo Orogeny (~1.47 Ga). Ca. 1,300 new LA‐ICPMS detrital zircon ages from six Baraboo Interval inliers in Wisconsin and the Sioux Quartzite in South Dakota, USA attest to significant distal provenances not previously recognized. The principal ~1.8–1.9 Ga and >2.5 Ga age peaks represent local, southern Superior province sediment source areas. Yet more than 30% of our dataset includes ages between 1.9 and 2.5 Ga which are essentially absent from the region. We interpret these non‐locally derived zircons to have been transported ~2,500 km southeast to the Columbian supercontinental margin. The subsequent accretion of the Mazatzal terrane caused a major drainage reorganization, and transport of sediment for the uppermost Baraboo interval strata was north rather than south‐directed.

Late Cenozoic topographic growth of the South Tianshan Mountain Range: Insights from detrital apatite fission-track ages, northern Tarim Basin margin, NW China

• Rocks with Mesozoic fission track ages were resided in the paleo-partial annealing zone for a long time. • The deformation commenced in the late Oligocene-early Miocene in South Tianshan. • The provenance of the Tarim Basin changed at 10 Ma due to rapid uplift of the South Tianshan Mountain Range. The Cenozoic deformation of the Tianshan Mountain Range within the framework of the India-Eurasia collision has been extensively studied. Previous thermochronologic studies of bedrocks in this range suggest a complex Triassic-Early Cretaceous tectonic evolution and subsequent tectonic quiescence in the Late Cretaceous-Palaeogene. Thus, constraining the exhumation and topographic growth of the Tianshan Mountain Range during the Cenozoic remains a challenge. In this study we report new detrital apatite fission-track ages for a Cenozoic sedimentary succession on the northern margin of the Tarim Basin (Kuqa River section). Thermochronologic age trends along the analyzed succession reveal two major age-shifts in sediments deposited at ∼ 23 Ma and ∼ 10 Ma, which we ascribe to major drainage reorganizations in response to uplift of the South Tianshan Mountain Range, an interpretation corroborated by published detrital zircon U-Pb and heavy mineral data. By comparing detrital apatite fission-track data with existing bedrock data, we infer that both North Tianshan, Yili-Central Tianshan and South Tianshan provided detritus to the Tarim Basin during the early and middle Miocene. At ∼ 10 Ma, the South Tianshan Mountain Range experienced rapid uplift and started forming a topographic barrier that blocked sediments flowing from North Tianshan and Yili-Central Tianshan into the Tarim Basin. We suggest that progressive topographic growth of the South Tianshan Mountain Range favored the aridification of the Tarim region by acting as a barrier to westerly winds.

Financial exposure to environmental liabilities in Lake Huron drainage area farmlands: a GIS and hedonic pricing approach

PurposeThis paper aims to quantify the impact of environmental contamination on farmland valuation. It applies data fusion and hedonic pricing approaches to quantify the contribution of nitrogen and phosphorus loading on farmland sales transactions. It further suggests approaches to improve internalization of environmental cost in valuation approaches using shadow pricing. The work informs the field of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing by fusing environmental data with financial transactions.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is an empirical study implementing hedonic pricing of farmland in the Lake Huron major drainage area. Data sources and fusion were derived from AcreValue, the United States Department of Agriculture's Gridded Soil Survey Geographic database (gSSURGO) and the United States Geological Survey's Spatially Referenced Regression on Watershed Attributes database (SPARROW).FindingsThe results suggest that environmental contamination has statistically significant positive determination power on farmland prices such that prices increase with contamination. Conventional metrics such as percentage of cultivated land in the parcel, root zone depth, whether the parcel is designated by the Natural Resource Conservation Service as prime farmland, and the size of the farmland parcel contribution to farmland value as well. The results indicate that environmental impacts are not accurately accounted for in farmland transactions.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper points to inaccurate valuation of environmental contamination in farmland value. While geocoding allowed for positioning of farmland sales transactions relative to modeled areas of contaminant loading in the Lake Huron drainage area, the interpretation indicates that value is driven by cultivation. Hence, generalization to other areas needs a cautious approach. Empirical testing across locations and drainage areas with diverse farmland features will serve to verify the modeled data used in this study.Practical implicationsThe lack of integration of externalities in land valuation has implications on lending and disclosure practices, as financial service providers increasingly seek to account for ESG risk on their loan books and broader investment portfolios. The impact of farmland accounting practices for contamination such as shadow pricing may impact land valuation based on future cash flows, and may serve to inform sustainability-linked lending practices to farm operations.Originality/valueThis is the first paper to fuse data from AcreValue, gSSURGO and SPARROW to discover the explanatory power of nutrient contamination in farmland value in the Lake Huron major drainage area.

Fish types, breeding grounds and migratory routes in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Akwa Ibom State is one of the six maritime states in Nigeria and has a shoreline of approximately 129km. Three important rivers (Cross, Imo and Kwa Ibo) transiting through some Nigerian states, terminally pass through the state before discharging into the Atlantic Ocean. Despite the extensive drainage systems and huge fisheries potentials of the state, very little is known about her role in the sustainable productivity of major fish populations. This study was undertaken to bridge information gap on fish type, migratory path and breeding sites of some fish fauna in order to protect fish populations and diversity. The study revealed that Characidae, Cyprinidae, Cichlidae, Clariidae, Schilbeidae and Bagridae dominated the freshwater fauna, while Clupeidae, Carangidae and Ariidae dominated marine piscifauna. Mbo, Udung Uko, Oron Urbuan and Itu in the state serve as major migratory path for several diadromous fishes. The floodplains of the major rivers at Itu, Uruan, Okobo and Ibiono (Cross River), Oruk Anam, Ikot Abasi and Ukanafun (Imo River) and Eket, Onna Nsit Ubium and Etinan Local Government Areas (Kwa Ibo River) serve as major breeding sites. Consequently, the state hosts hundreds of fishermen that depend solely on fishing for their livelihood. However, fish diversity and productivity are threatened by pollution, unorthodox fishing techniques, over exploitation, deforestation and replacement of mangrove plants with exotic nypa palm. This study shows that Akwa Ibom State occupies a prime position in the sustainable fish productivity and biodiversity of the entire Niger Delta region and Nigeria. It is suggested that a well-coordinated strategy that should involve fishers, community leaders, researchers, non-governmental organizations (NGO) and governmental agencies be adopted to protect fish productivity and diversity of the major drainage systems that pass through the state.