Varanus Gouldii Research Articles

Multi-layer, torsional, highly-integrated yarn with outstanding orientation selective sensing ability for vertical-stress detected intelligent fabric

The multi-scale structure of yarns and fabrics is expected to provide unlimited possibilities for the integration of different performances and functions, which is expected to open up new opportunities for more complex and variable intelligent scenarios in the future. However, how to customize multi-functions through effective regulation and stabilization of several different units and composites in a highly integrated way still remains a great challenge. Herein, a torsional highly-integrated yarn with outstanding orientation selective sensing ability and robustness was achieved through a large-scale multi-unit friction spinning technology. Owing to the cooperative torsion structure of core layer (highly-stretchable spandex), middle layer (tight helical conductive metal wire) and the shell layer (polyester microfiber network massively composite with carbon nanotubes), the integrated yarn possesses outstanding orientation selective sensing ability. Different from directly coating strategies, the multilayer yarns with tight helical metal wire could be reversibly stretched up to 300 % with an almost consistent resistance (only varies 2.11 %), while which is highly sensitive to the vertical stress (5 kPa with 98.4 %) owing to the series–parallel behaviors between different layers. The sensitivity of the developed yarn in wind and sand monitoring and friction collision sensing endows it with a broad application prospect for protecting and early warning of human body and precision equipment. This work may provide a valuable integrated-solution for future intelligent fabric design for complex scenes.

High nest failure in a zebra finch population and persistent nest predation by a monitor lizard.

Predation is well known to have substantial effects on behaviour and fitness in many animals. In songbirds, nest predation is rarely observed directly, so that research focusses primarily on the consequences of predation and less on the behaviour of the predator. Here, we report predation data in a zebra finch (Taeniopygia catanosis) nest box population, highlighting a 22-min-long sequence, captured on video, of a sand goanna (Varanus gouldii) predating a zebra finch nest in the wild. This monitor lizard appeared to be extremely persistent with climbing and jumping up to the next box nine times, including three successive unsuccessful attempts that lead to a change in approach strategy. It removed all six nestlings from the nest box during those repeated approaches and consumed them. In combination with overall high predation rates in the study population we document here, the findings highlight the role that a single predator species can have on nest success and, thus potentially also breeding decisions and social organisation of the prey population. Specifically so in a species like the zebra finch which synchronises reproductive attempts through the use of social information acquired through nest inspections and which uses social hotspots where they could gather information on changes in local social composition due to the individualised signals they use.

Research on the analysis of Yellow River water and sand monitoring data based on ARIMA model

The article uses hydrological data from a hydropothe paperr station in Xiaolangdi Reservoir spanning six years. the paper use mutability analysis, seasonal decomposition method, and ARIMA model to reveal hydrological change trends and cyclic characteristics. the paper also use the CUSUM algorithm to identify the water-sand flux mutation points. The study's findings demonstrate that ARIMA(1,2,1) can be used to predict trends in total water flux and total sand content. It also reveals that there is significant seasonality and periodicity in the water-sand fluxes. These results offer a solid scientific foundation for decision-making and have substantial implications for the management and control of the region's water resources.

Integrated sand management: modeling of sand erosion in a mature oil field in Malaysia

Sand production can lead to various problems, including erosion in production flow lines that may lead to total production loss for extended periods and costly workover operations. The extent of erosive damage is determined by many factors, among which the flow and sand rates are the most significant. Three main issues must be addressed to ensure an efficient production operation: Sand erosion estimation, Sand monitoring (settling and deposition), and maintaining optimum production rates. If sand production exceeds certain levels, i.e., allowable sand rate, the erosion in the production network becomes problematic. Sand production has been problematic in some wells in Reservoir X. Core, and historical production data was used to build a comprehensive model using Schlumberger PIPESIM™ hydraulic modelling. The software allows for detailed modelling of the production network by which erosion rate, erosion hotspots, and deposition of the produced sand can be quantitatively analyzed. Considering an allowable erosion rate of 0.3 mm/year, the model outcomes indicate that sand erosion is critical in wells J-1, J-2, and L-2. The next step was identifying the hotspots where the produced sand is deposited in the abovementioned wells. The modelling results indicated that sand deposition is primarily severe in the teeline between the platforms. Moreover, the gas-oil ratio was identified as the most influential factor in the sand deposition. Lastly, a sensitivity analysis was conducted on the allowable flow rates and maximum (technical) allowable sand production and erosion rates to find optimum production rates from reservoir X.

Yellow River Water and Sand Monitoring Data Model based on SARIMAX Rediction

With the evolution of history, the problems faced by the Yellow River Basin have been an important research topic in hydrology. In this paper, for the problems in the monitoring of water and sand in the Yellow River, a seasonal time series model of the monitoring data is established based on the time series prediction model, and the CUSUM algorithm is used to test the model. First, the data are processed to calculate the spearman correlation for each pair of categories. Then, for analyzing the description of single dimensional data, data descriptive analysis was used. Next, the data were forecasted using a seasonal time series forecasting model. Finally, the seasonal time series prediction model was used to predict water fluxes and solved using double interpolation to obtain the predicted effect plots for the next ten years. The proposed model is close to the reality, can reasonably solve the proposed problem, and is characterized by high practicality and high efficiency of the algorithm.

A Multi-Stream Attention-Aware Convolutional Neural Network: Monitoring of Sand and Dust Storms from Ordinary Urban Surveillance Cameras

Sand and dust storm (SDS) weather has caused several severe hazards in many regions worldwide, e.g., environmental pollution, traffic disruptions, and human casualties. Widespread surveillance cameras show great potential for high spatiotemporal resolution SDS observation. This study explores the possibility of employing the surveillance camera as an alternative SDS monitor. Based on SDS image feature analysis, a Multi-Stream Attention-aware Convolutional Neural Network (MA-CNN), which learns SDS image features at different scales through a multi-stream structure and employs an attention mechanism to enhance the detection performance, is constructed for an accurate SDS observation task. Moreover, a dataset with 13,216 images was built to train and test the MA-CNN. Eighteen algorithms, including nine well-known deep learning models and their variants built on an attention mechanism, were used for comparison. The experimental results showed that the MA-CNN achieved an accuracy performance of 0.857 on the training dataset, while this value changed to 0.945, 0.919, and 0.953 in three different real-world scenarios, which is the optimal performance among the compared algorithms. Therefore, surveillance camera-based monitors can effectively observe the occurrence of SDS disasters and provide valuable supplements to existing SDS observation networks.

Dissolved polycyclic aromatic compounds in Canada’s Athabasca River in relation to Oil Sands from 2013 through 2019

The Canada-Alberta Oil Sands Monitoring (OSM) Program began long-term surface water quality monitoring on the lower Athabasca River in 2012. Sampling of low level, bio-accumulative polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) targeted a suite of parent and alkylated compounds in the Athabasca River (AR) mainstem using semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs). Samples were collected along a gradient from upstream reference near Athabasca, Alberta, through exposure to the Athabasca oil sands deposit (AOSD), various tributary inflows, and mining activities within the OSMA, to downstream recovery near Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP) and reference on the Slave River. The program adapted over the years, shifting in response to program review and environmental events. The AOSD chemical fingerprint was present in samples collected within the AOSD, through the oil sands mineable area (OSMA), downstream to recovery from 2013 to 2019. PACs were dominated by alkylated phenanthrenes/anthracenes (PAs) and dibenzothiophenes (Ds), with elevated levels of alkylated fluorenes (Fs), naphthalenes (Ns), fluoranthenes/pyrenes (FlPys) and benzo[a]anthracenes/chrysenes (BaACs), increasing in concentration from C1 < C2 < C3 < C4. Concentrations of these petrogenic PACs were at their highest within the OSMA and downstream of tributaries. The AOSD fingerprint was absent from sites located outside of the influence of the AOSD and downstream of the Peace-Athabasca Delta on the Slave River. PAC concentrations in the AR increased with mainstem discharge and loadings from tributaries, were moderated by the PAD, and diluted by the Peace River. This work bolsters the baseline PAC information previously reported for the Athabasca River and waters downstream, reporting 7 years of data, from all sites within the mainstem monitoring program, and exploring potential regional and hydrological drivers of these between sites and over time.

Oil Sands Wetland Ecosystem Monitoring Program Indicators in Alberta, Canada: Transitioning from Pilot to Long-Term Monitoring

Boreal wetlands within the oil sands region of Alberta, Canada, are subject to natural and anthropogenic pressures, resulting in the need for monitoring these sensitive ecosystems to ensure their protection. This study presents results from Canada’s pilot Oil Sands Monitoring (OSM) Wetland Program. This study is part of a project that seeks to assess and determine which of a selection of wetland indicators is suitable for identifying changes to wetland ecosystem “states” within a regional wetland monitoring program resulting from the effects of oil sands development. Specifically, this study seeks to identify indicators that can detect changes in a wetland ecosystem “state” using data from a 3-year pilot of the OSM Wetland Program and identify potential high-level oil sands-related pathways through which changes in states may occur, where appropriate. The monitoring data acquired during the pilot program are synthesized to identify preliminary trends and programmatic knowledge gaps, and future recommendations for an improved long-term “core” monitoring program are discussed. This study does not seek to attribute changes in wetland states measured via indicators to specific oil sands pressures but focuses on identifying those indicators that are sensitive enough to identify change over time. The results suggest that water quality, benthic invertebrates, and vegetation indicators can identify changes in wetland states over time, whereas wildlife indicators are inconclusive. Further, it is recommended that hydrometeorology data are acquired in parallel to other indicator data for contextualizing climate conditions. The findings from this work provide insights for developing and transitioning the OSM Wetland Program to a long-term effort, in addition to providing information for other regional wetland monitoring programs.

The influence of claw morphology on gripping efficiency.

This paper considers the effects of claw morphology on the gripping efficiency of arboreal (Varanus varius) and burrowing (Varanus gouldii and Varanus panoptes) lizards. To ensure a purely morphological comparison between the lizards, we circumvent the material effects of claws from different species, by modelling and testing claw replicates of the same material properties. We correlate climbing efficiency to critical morphological features including; claw height (hc), width (wc), length (lc), curvature () and tip angle (γ), which are expressed as ratios to normalise mechanically beneficial claw structures. We find that there is strong correlation between the static grip force Fsg and the claw aspect and the cross-sectional rigidity ratio , and milder correlation (i.e. higher scatter) with the profile rigidity ratio . These correlations are also true for the interlocking grip force Fint over different shaped and sized protuberances, though we note that certain protuberance size-shape couplings are of detriment to the repeatability of Fint. Of the three lizard species, the claws of the arboreal (V. varius) are found to be superior to those of the burrower lizards (V. gouldii and V. panoptes) as a result of the V. varius claws having a smaller aspect, a higher cross-sectional rigidity ratio and a small profile rigidity ratio, which are deemed noteworthy morphological parameters that influence a claw's ability to grip effectively.

Strategies for Monitoring Microbial Life in Beach Sand for Protection of Public Health.

The 2021 revised guidelines of the World Health Organization recommend monitoring the quality of sand in addition to water at recreational beaches. This review provides background information about the types of beaches, the characteristics of sand, and the microbiological parameters that should be measured. Analytical approaches are described for quantifying fungi and fecal indicator bacteria from beach sand. The review addresses strategies to assess beach sand quality, monitoring approaches, sand remediation, and the proposed way forward for beach sand monitoring programs. In the proposed way forward, recommendations are provided for acceptable levels of fungi given their distribution in the environment. Additional recommendations include evaluating FIB distributions at beaches globally to assess acceptable ranges of FIB levels, similar to those proposed for fungi.

Analyzing Gradual Vegetation Changes in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region Using Landsat Data

Oil sand mining in northern Alberta/Canada in the Athabasca region is a major intrusion into the otherwise pristine natural environment. The various types of oil sands mining, transport, and processing are causing large-scale discharge of pollutants. Accordingly, this study examined the gradual changes in the physically undisturbed vegetation, that occurred from 1984 to 2021 in the Athabasca oil sands monitoring region. First, the abrupt changes were masked out with the help of auxiliary and Landsat data. Subsequently, a normalized burn ratio Landsat time-series was applied to the LandTrendr algorithm on the Google Earth Engine. In order to interpret gradual changes, measurement criteria were used to describe vegetation development, vulnerability, and variability. In addition, the spatial and temporal relationship of these to oil sand opencast mines, processing facilities, and steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) mines was examined. The results showed that a major part of the vegetation in the Athabasca oil sand monitoring region underwent a positive development (65.9%). However, around the opencast mines a negative vegetation development and stability within a radius of 10 km could be observed. In the surroundings of processing facilities, the development and stability of vegetation was disturbed within a radius of 2 km. Thereby the analysis of land cover classes showed that deciduous, coniferous, and mixed forest are disproportionately affected. Conversely, no negative influences on neighboring vegetation could be detected around SAGD mines. The temporal analysis showed that vegetation disturbance was most pronounced between 1990 and 2000, but recovered in recent years.

Normalized Sand Index for Identification of Bare Sand Areas in Temperate Climates Using Landsat Images, Application to the South of Romania

The expansion of bare sand surfaces indicates a tendency towards desertfication in certain periods as a result of the improper agricultural use of sand soils and of the significant changes in the climate in the past 30 years. The Normalised Sand Index (NSI) is a new index used to identify bare sand areas and their spatio-temporal evolution in SW Romania. Landsat scenes (1988, 2001, 2019), spectral and soil texture analysis (36 samples), covariates (e.g., soil map), and field observations allowed for the validation of the results. The performance of the NSI was compared with indices from the sand index family (e.g., Normalized Differential Sand Areas Index) and supervised classifications (e.g., Maximum Likelihood Classification) based on 47 random control square areas for which the soil texture is known. A statistical analysis of the NSI showed 23.6% (27,310.14 hectares) of bare sands in 1988, followed by an accelerated increase to 47.2% (54,737.73 hectares) in 2001 because of economic and land-use changes, and a lower increase by 2019, which reached 52.5% (60,852.42 hectares) due to reforestation programs. Compared to the NSI, the bare sand areas obtained with the tested indicator were almost 20% higher. The traditional classification shows smaller areas of bare sands but uses a higher complexity of land use classes, while the producer accuracy values are lower than those of the NSI. The new index has achieved a correct spatial delimitation of soils in the interdune-dune and major riverbed-interfluvial areas, but it is limited to the transition Arenosols-Chernozems by humus content and agrotechnical works. The new spectral index favours bare sand monitoring and is a fast and inexpensive method of observing the desertification trend of temperate sandy agroecosystems in the context of climate change.

Study on Durability and Piezoresistivity of Cement-Based Piezoelectric Materials Mixed with Carbon Fiber and Iron Tailings under Salt-Freezing Erosion

Under the complex working conditions in cold areas, in order to achieve health monitoring of engineering structures, carbon fiber and iron tailings sand were added to ordinary cement-based materials to prepare cement-based piezoelectric composites, and the deterioration of their pressure-sensitive properties and mechanical properties under the action of the sulfate-freeze-thaw cycle was studied. Six groups of specimens and a set of benchmark specimens were prepared according to different contents of carbon fiber and iron tailings sand, and the specimens of each group were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively after 50, 100, and 150 freeze-thaw cycles. Based on the external damage analysis, it was concluded that with the increase in the number of freeze-thaw cycles, the apparent morphology of the specimens in each group continued to deteriorate. After 150 freeze-thaw cycles, the addition of a certain proportion of carbon fiber and iron tailings can improve the compactness of cement-based composites, effectively inhibit the development of cracks, maintain the integrity of the apparent morphology of the specimen, and the quality loss rate of the specimen does not exceed 5%. Based on the internal damage analysis, it is concluded that the specimen mixed with carbon fiber and iron tailings has undergone the freeze-thaw cycles, and its relative dynamic elastic modulus generally shows a trend of first rising and then falling, and after 150 freeze-thaw cycles, the relative dynamic elastic modulus of C04T30 specimen is 85.5%, and its compressive strength loss rate is 20.2%, indicating that its freeze resistance is optimal. The compressive stress and resistivity change rate of each group of cement-based piezoelectric composite specimens that have not undergone freeze-thaw cycles are approximately consistent with the linear attenuation relationship. Those that have undergone 150 freeze-thaw cycles approximately conform to the polynomial attenuation relationship. The correlation coefficient between the compressive stress and the resistivity rate of the change fitting curve are all above 0.9, and the correlation is high; therefore, the deterioration of the structural mechanical properties after freeze-thaw cycles can be reflected by the resistivity change rate. After 150 freeze-thaw cycles, the pressure sensitivity coefficient of the C04T30 specimen is 0.007294, which has good pressure sensitivity. So, cement-based piezoelectric composite material can be embedded as an impedance sensor to monitor the health of engineering structures.

Spatio-Temporal Evolution of Sandy Land and its Impact on Soil Wind Erosion in the Kubuqi Desert in Recent 30 Years

Continuous remote-sensing monitoring of sand in desert areas and the exploration of the spatio–temporal evolution characteristics of soil–wind erosion has an important scientific value for desertification prevention and ecological restoration. In this study, the Kubuqi Desert was selected as the study area, and the Landsat series satellite remote sensing data, supplemented by satellite remote sensing data such as GE images, SPOT-5, ZY-3, GF-1/2/6, etc., integrated object-oriented, decision tree, and auxiliary human–computer interaction interpretation methods, developed the Kubuqi Desert area dataset from 1990 to 2020, and established a soil erosion intensity database of the past 30 years based on the soil–wind erosion correction equation. The results show that the application of the training samples obtained by a high-score collaborative ground sampling to land use/cover classification in desert areas can effectively improve the efficiency of remote-sensing mapping of sand changes and the accuracy of change information identification, and the overall accuracy of the classification results is 95%. In general, the sandy area of the Kubuqi Desert area has decreased year by year, during which the mobile sand in the hinterland of the desert has expanded in a scattered distribution. The overall soil–wind erosion intensity showed a downward trend, especially since 2000; the ecological improvement trend after the implementation of desertification control projects is obvious. Changes in the sand type contributed the most to the reduction of soil–wind erosion intensity (contribution 81.14%), ecological restoration played a key role in reducing the soil–wind erosion intensity (contribution 14.42%), and the increase of forest and grass vegetation covers and agricultural oases played a positive role in solidifying the soil- and wind-proof sand fixation. The pattern of sandy land changes in desert areas is closely related to the national ecological civilization construction policy and the impact of climate change.

Microbial Source Tracking as a Method of Determination of Beach Sand Contamination.

Beach sand may act as a reservoir for numerous microorganisms, including enteric pathogens. Several of these pathogens originate in human or animal feces, which may pose a public health risk. In August 2019, high levels of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) were detected in the sand of the Azorean beach Prainha, Terceira Island, Portugal. Remediation measures were promptly implemented, including sand removal and the spraying of chlorine to restore the sand quality. To determine the source of the fecal contamination, during the first campaign, supratidal sand samples were collected from several sites along the beach, followed by microbial source tracking (MST) analyses of Bacteroides marker genes for five animal species, including humans. Some of the sampling sites revealed the presence of marker genes from dogs, seagulls, and ruminants. Making use of the information on biological sources originating partially from dogs, the municipality enforced restrictive measures for dog-walking at the beach. Subsequent sampling campaigns detected low FIB contamination due to the mitigation and remediation measures that were undertaken. This is the first case study where the MST approach was used to determine the contamination sources in the supratidal sand of a coastal beach. Our results show that MST can be an essential tool to determine sources of fecal contamination in the sand. This study shows the importance of holistic management of beaches that should go beyond water quality monitoring for FIB, putting forth evidence for beach sand monitoring.

Odour-mediated Interactions Between an Apex Reptilian Predator and its Mammalian Prey

An important but understudied modality for eavesdropping between predators and prey is olfaction, especially between non-mammalian vertebrate predators and their prey. Here we test three olfactory eavesdropping predictions involving an apex reptilian predator, the sand goanna Varanus gouldii, and several species of its small mammalian prey in arid central Australia: 1) small mammals will recognize and avoid the odour of V. gouldii; 2) V. gouldii will be attracted to the odour of small mammals, especially of species that maximize its energetic returns; and 3) small mammals will be less mobile and will show higher burrow fidelity where V. gouldii is absent compared with where it is present. As expected, we found that small mammals recognized and avoided faecal odour of this goanna, feeding less intensively at food patches where the odour of V. gouldii was present than at patches with no odour or a pungency control odour. Varanus gouldii also was attracted to the odour of small mammals in artificial burrows and dug more frequently at burrows containing the odour of species that were energetically profitable than at those of species likely to yield diminishing returns. Our third prediction received mixed support. Rates of movement of three species of small mammals were no different where V. gouldii was present or absent, but burrow fidelity in two of these species increased as expected where V. gouldii had been removed. We conclude that olfaction plays a key role in the dynamic interaction between V. gouldii and its mammalian prey, with the interactants using olfaction to balance their respective costs of foraging and reducing predation risk. We speculate that the risk of predation from this apex reptilian predator drives the highly unusual burrow-shifting behaviour that characterizes many of Australia's small desert mammals.

Suitability Assessment of Weather Networks for Wind Data Measurements in the Athabasca Oil Sands Area

The Athabasca Oil Sands Area (AOSA) in Alberta, Canada, is considered to have a high density of weather stations. Therefore, our objective was to determine an optimal network for the wind data measurement that could sufficiently represent the wind variability in the area. We used available historical data records of the weather stations in the three networks in AOSA, i.e., oil sands monitoring (OSM) water quantity program (WQP) and Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA) edge sites (ES) and meteorological towers (MT) of the air program. Both graphical and quantitative methods were implemented to find the correlations and similarities in the measurements between weather stations in each network. The graphical method (wind rose diagram) was found as a functional tool to understand the patterns of wind directions, but it was not appropriate to quantify and compare between wind speed data of weather stations. Therefore, we applied the quantitative method of the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) and absolute average error (AAE) in finding a relationship between the wind data of station pairs and the percentage of similarity (PS) method in quantifying the closeness/similarity. In the correlation analyses, we found weak to strong correlations in the wind data of OSM WQP (r = 0.04–0.69) and WBEA ES (r = 0.32–0.77), and a strong correlation (r = 0.33–0.86) in most of the station pairs of the WBEA MT network. In the case of AAE, we did not find any acceptable value within the standard operating procedure (SOP) threshold when logically combining the values of the u and v components together. In the similarity analysis, minor similarities were identified between the stations in the three networks. Hence, we presumed that all weather stations would be required to measure wind data in the AOSA.

Spatial-temporal dynamic monitoring of sand dredging activities based on GF-1 WFV in Lake Poyang during 2013-2020

鄱阳湖是目前我国最大的淡水湖，采砂活动对湖泊水质影响明显，但对采砂活动进行全面的现场监管较为困难.不过，采砂船工作时会明显改变附近水体悬浮泥沙的浓度，这一易于被遥感技术检测到的信息为解决这一问题提供了思路.本研究使用2013—2020年共133景GF-1 WFV影像对鄱阳湖采砂活动进行监测，并总结鄱阳湖采砂活动变化的时、空间规律.结果表明，1）2013年以来，鄱阳湖的年平均采砂船检测数呈先增多后减少的趋势，2016年是采砂活动的顶峰，年平均检测数为9.85艘，2019年后采砂船的年平均检测数锐减至3艘左右，其中监管政策是最主要的影响因素；2）鄱阳湖采砂活动向南湖扩展的趋势在2016年得到了有效的遏制，并在2018年后一直维持在很低的水平；3）在2019年全面禁止采砂后，仍然在松门山岛、星子县及笔架山附近监测到了零星的采砂船作业点.本研究不仅可以评估近年来鄱阳湖采砂活动监管的成效，也能给相似水域采砂活动的监管及其效果评估提供参考.;Lake Poyang is the largest freshwater lake in China, whose water quality is easily affected by sand dredging activities, and it is difficult to conduct comprehensive on-site supervision on the lake. However, the concentration of suspended sediment in nearby water will be changed when the sand dredgers are working, the above information which can be detected by remote sensing technology provides ideas for solving this problem. In this study, we use 133 GF-1 WFV data from 2013 to 2020 to monitor the sand dredging activities in Lake Poyang and then summarize the spatial-temporal patterns of sand dredging activities in Lake Poyang. The results are as follows:1) Since 2013, the annual average number of sand dredgers detected in Lake Poyang has shown the trend of increasing first and then decreasing, which peaked at 9.85 per scene in 2016. After 2019, it sharply decreased to about 3, and the supervisory policy is the most important factor in this case; 2) The expansion trend of sand dredging from Lake Poyang to South Lake has been effectively curbed after 2016, and has remained at a very low level since 2018; 3) Sporadic sand dredging operations can still be detected near Songmenshan Island, Xinzi County and Bijia Mountain even after the total ban on sand dredging in 2019. Our study not only evaluates the supervision effect of sand dredging activities in Lake Poyang in recent years but also provides a guideline for the supervision and effect evaluation of sand dredging activities in similar basins.

Climate change: A Wumpurrarni‐kari and Papulanyi‐kari shared problem

Climate change: A <i>Wumpurrarni‐kari</i> and <i>Papulanyi‐kari</i> shared problem

Evaluating Lower Athabasca River Sediment Metal Concentrations from Alberta Oil Sands Monitoring Programs Using Predevelopment Baselines.

Since 1997, sediment metal concentrations have been monitored in the Alberta Oil Sands Region (AOSR) of the Lower Athabasca River by the Regional Aquatics Monitoring Program (RAMP; 1997-2002), the Joint Oil Sands Monitoring Program (JOSM; 2012-2014), and the Oil Sands Monitoring Program (OSM; 2015-present). However, it has remained difficult to differentiate industrial sources from natural sources and quantify the extent of pollution due to inadequate knowledge of predevelopment reference conditions. Here, baselines were constructed using predevelopment (i.e., pre-1967) sediment concentrations of US EPA priority pollutants (Be, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb) and V, an element elevated in bitumen and associated waste materials, normalized to Al concentration in cores from floodplain and upland lakes within the AOSR to characterize the natural range of variability. The Lower Athabasca River sediment metal monitoring data were examined in the context of the predevelopment baselines. Most metals are below the threshold for minimal enrichment (<1.5x baseline) except for chromium (up to 4.8x) in some RAMP samples. The predevelopment baselines for sediment metal concentrations will be of particular importance as the oil sands industry potentially shifts from a no-release policy to the treatment and release of oil sands process waters directly to the Lower Athabasca River.