Sea Water Level Research Articles

Changes in the Water Surface Level of the Baltic Sea from Satellite Altimetry and Gravity Missions

ABSTRACT Satellite altimetry provides high-accuracy geometrical measurements of sea level changes. We analyze altimetry time series representing sea surface height anomalies over the mean sea surface provided by the TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, Jason-2, and Jason-3 satellite missions to estimate the annual rate of sea level rise. Then, we compare the results with satellite gravimetric data from GRACE and GRACE Follow-On missions and surface water temperature data, employing statistical analyses to examine the interrelationships and correlations between them. We carry out the main analyses for the period 2001–2021 with a division into 5-year periods for six different areas of the Baltic Sea. The altimetric results show that between 2001 and 2021, the water level of the Baltic Sea rose by 5.8 mm/year on average. About 72% of the changes detected by altimetry missions can be explained by satellite gravimetry from GRACE and GRACE Follow-On, which means that the mass component is responsible for most of the observed sea level change, whereas the remaining 28% can be greatly explained by thermal expansion due to the water temperature rise.

Significant effect of salinity on zinc adsorption on tropical coastal and floodplain soils

AbstractRising sea levels due to climate change are causing increased salinisation of low‐lying coastal and floodplain soils, and the impact of this process on the bioavailability of plant nutrients needs to be understood as mitigation strategies are adapted. Zinc (Zn) is an element of particular importance due to its function as a micronutrient for plants including rice and other staple foods. In the current study, our aim was to investigate the effects of salinisation on zinc adsorption onto soils representing at‐risk coastal and floodplain environments, addressing in particular our knowledge gap concerning the roles that solution chemistry and soil composition play. To this end, we conducted batch adsorption experiments in the laboratory and ran geochemical models in saline solutions up to 0.7 mol L−1 ion strength incorporating both (i) a multi surface model (MSM) for surface reactions containing three phases, that is iron hydroxides, organic matter and phyllosilicate clays, and (ii) aqueous‐phase complexation to dissolved organic and inorganic ligands. Surface reactions were modelled using the diffuse double layer model, the NICA–Donnan model and an ion exchange model using the Gaines–Thomas convention. We combined the experimentally determined mass composition of surface phases with generic modelling parameters taken from the literature. We first show that increasing salinity enhances the formation of aqueous Zn‐chloride complexes in the presence of dissolved organic matter and bicarbonate, thereby decreasing the availability of free Zn2+ and supressing the partitioning of zinc to the adsorbed phase. We demonstrate using batch adsorption experiments with a calcareous hydraquent and a tropaquept, that salinity decreases zinc adsorption strongly in the pH range between 3 and 6. Satisfactory agreement between experiments and model calculations was achieved with root‐mean‐square errors ranging for different salinities between 2.88% and 2.92% for the hydraquent and between 4.59% and 2.74% for the tropaquept soil. Model predictions of adsorption were slightly inferior at low salinity for the hydraquent soil and at high salinity for the tropaquept soil, pointing possibly to an incomplete geochemical model or to a need to parametrise surface adsorption models at higher ionic strengths. Present surface models have been largely parametrised at lower ionic strength. We lastly apply the MSM to examine zinc adsorption in five endoaquepts soils, representing soil series from Bangladesh. We show that increasing salinity decreases zinc adsorption to the soil organic matter and the clay fractions. We conclude from our findings that increased soil salinity due to rising sea levels and climate change will have a significant impact on zinc cycling and possibly other micronutrients in areas where coastal soils and floodplain soils overlap, such as deltas and estuaries. In particular, we predict a decrease in zinc adsorption in acidic to neutral soils. The availability of zinc for biouptake through the roots of crop plants including rice will be significantly disturbed following salinisation, most likely affecting crop production. Our study demonstrates the potential that geochemical modelling combined with experimental data has to improve our capability to assess the effects of salinity due to rising seawater levels in vulnerable regions of the world.

Adaptability and nutritional analysis of a newly isolated Chlorella sp. NeZha in brackish and marine environments with potential bioeconomic impacts.

The microalga Chlorella sp. NeZha, recently isolated from a balcony environment, shows significant adaptability across various salinity conditions, including seawater (SeaW), freshwater (FreshW), and high salinity levels (45‰). This study investigates its potential for sustainable aquaculture and biotechnological applications. Morphological and genetic identification were conducted using optical microscopy and DNA sequencing. The microalga was cultivated in a 400 L outdoor photobioreactor, and its biochemical composition, including chlorophyll a, carbohydrate, protein, and lipid content, was analyzed. Its compatibility with zooplankton and growth in aquaculture wastewater were also evaluated. Chlorella sp. NeZha produced chlorophyll a at concentrations exceeding seaweed and Spirulina by 10- and 5-fold, respectively, with a dry weight chlorophyll a content of 34.25 mg/g and 25 pg./cell. The microalga also contained carbohydrate (~33%), protein (~20%), and lipids (~14%). It was compatible with zooplankton species, such as rotifers and brine shrimp, and showed promising growth in aquaculture wastewater. The findings suggest that Chlorella sp. NeZha is a viable candidate for sustainable aquaculture and biotechnological applications, offering high nutritional value and environmental resilience. Its adaptability to diverse salinity conditions and ability to thrive in wastewater highlight its potential for bioremediation and use as feedstock for zooplankton. Further research is recommended to optimize its cultivation and explore broader applications.

A novel system based on a series of ORCs to recover cryogenic energy from the LNG regasification process for power and freshwater production

Seawater desalination emerges as a feasible solution to solve the issues related to the freshwater scarcity generated by climate change. In the meantime, the energy transition promotes using Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) as a cleaner fuel. Usually, it is stored near marine areas at 113 K, therefore the recovery of part of the exergetic cold potential for freshwater production appears very appealing. In light of this, this study evaluates the energy and exergy performances of an innovative seawater desalination plant supplied by the cryogenic power released in the LNG regasification process. Specifically, three Organic Rankine Cycles (ORCs) arranged in series, operating between the seawater (hot source) and LNG (cold source) thermal levels, are investigated. Seawater releases heat to promote the evaporation of proper low-boiling fluids, cooling down to −5.62 °C and forming a two-phase mixture consisting of 50 wt% of pure ice and brine, so that the same liquid phase is employed for ice transportation in post-treatment devices. Simultaneously, the LNG is preheated by the low-boiling fluids’ condensation heat, allowing for the limitation of the thermal energy required for the phase change. Power generation is obtained by turboexpanders located between vaporizers and condensers. Eighteen different ORC configurations using diverse working fluids were analysed assuming steady-state conditions and ideal transformations. Considering a regasification terminal with a capacity of 8 billion Sm³ per year, the maximum power production amounts to 11.24 MW, recovering 13.33% of thermal exergy and producing 137.5 kg/s of freshwater. When desalination is privileged, 149.9 kg/s of freshwater can be produced, generating a power output of 7.02 MW with an exergetic recovery efficiency of 8.32%.

Spatially variable seismic underground motions in layered porous seabed medium induced plane wave

In ocean engineering anti-seismic filed, the marine environment is usually regarded as the coupling field of seawater-layered porous seabed-elastic bedrock. This paper presents a theoretical method to study the spatially variable seismic underground motions in stratified seabed system. Based on the potential flow theory, Biot's porous model and random vibration theory, the transfer function and coherence function model of the underground seismic motions in the marine coupling field are derived. On the basis of the above theoretical derivation, the program of the spatial variability seismic underground motions of the coupling field is simulated and developed, and its accuracy and effectiveness are verified. Moreover, the effects of soil stiffness and overlying seawater level on the seismic response are also analyzed. Numerical results show that spatially variable seismic underground motions are significantly different from those on the ocean bottom. The simulation of spatially variable seismic underground motions for layered seabed field is significant for both theoretical study and ocean engineering application.

The Extent to Which the Available Water Resources in Upper Egypt Can Be Affected by Climate Change

Over the past two decades, rapid climate change has severely impacted people’s lives globally, affecting their safety and sustainability. Water, a vital human resource, has been severely affected, with drought and high temperatures leading to desertification, the drying up of rivers and lakes, spontaneous fires in forests, and massive floods and torrents due to melting ice and rising sea and ocean surface water levels. The expected impacts of climate change on the Nile, Egypt’s primary water source, are significant. These impacts can vary across regions, depending on factors like local climate, socio-economic dynamics, topography, and environmental nature. Upper Egypt, characterized by arid and semi-arid regions, faces water scarcity and socio-economic development challenges. Climate change exacerbates these issues, posing significant threats to the region’s ecological sustainability and socio-economic development. Therefore, it is crucial to address these impacts to ensure the Nile’s continued vitality and sustainability. The study aims to analyze the climate change data over the past few decades, analyze its characteristics, and model its effects on Upper Egypt’s water sources. The study expected a big decrease in the water resources of the Nile. While what is currently occurring in terms of fluctuating rainfall rates between scarcity and severity contradicts the results of those studies, that is the best evidence of the need for further research and studies to obtain more reliable and consistent results with the reality that it may help decision-makers to develop scenarios to manage climate change effectively, preventing or reducing negative effects, and finding suitable alternatives. Studies predict a 10% decrease in Nile revenue at Aswan High Dam Lake by 2095, with some predicting a 30% increase. This lack of credibility underscores the need for more comprehensive studies.

Simulating sea level extremes from synthetic low-pressure systems

Abstract. In this article we present a method for numerical simulations of extreme sea levels using synthetic low-pressure systems as atmospheric forcing. Our simulations can be considered to be estimates of the high sea levels that may be reached when a low-pressure system of high intensity and optimal track passes the studied region. We test the method using sites located along the Baltic Sea coast and simulate synthetic cyclones with various tracks. To model the effects of the cyclone properties on sea level, we simulate internal Baltic Sea water level variations with a numerical two-dimensional hydrodynamic model, forced by an ensemble of time-dependent wind and air-pressure fields from synthetic cyclones. The storm surges caused by the synthetic cyclones come on top of the mean water level of the Baltic Sea, for which we used a fixed upper estimate of 100 cm. We find high extremes in the northern Bothnian Bay and in the eastern Gulf of Finland, where the sea level extreme due to the synthetic cyclone reaches up to 3.5 m. In the event that the mean water level of the Baltic Sea has a maximal value (1 m) during the cyclone, the highest sea levels of 4.5 m could thus be reached. We find our method to be suitable for use in further studies of sea level extremes.

Fungal and Prokaryotic Communities in Soil Samples of the Aral Sea Dry Bottom in Uzbekistan

Due to the falling water level in the Aral Sea and Muynak Lake, the content of salts dissolved in the water has gradually increased, and toxic elements have been deposited at the lake’s bottom and subsequently washed into the Aral region by the river. Bacteria, archaea and fungi are crucial for the cycling of several important inorganic nutrients in soils. From 15 genera and 31 species of recovered microscopic filamentous fungi, a big group was melanized, of which most of them were also phytopathogenic. The second group consisted of keratinophilic species. Isolated bacteria mainly included members of the genera Arthrobacter, Bacillus, Massilia, Rhodococcus and Nocardiopsis. High-throughput sequencing analysis permitted a better view of the mycobiome and prokaryotic communities (comprising archaea). The cultivation and sequencing approaches were shown to be complementary. The aim of the work was to identify soil microorganisms, including the order Halobacteriales, and to discover the differences in species diversity depending on soil salinity and the presence of PTEs in soil.

Coping with salinity extremes: Gill transcriptome profiling in the black-chinned tilapia (Sarotherodon melanotheron)

Steeper and sometimes extreme salinity gradients increasingly affect aquatic organisms because of climate change. Hypersalinity habitats demand powerful physiological adaptive strategies. Few teleost species have the capacity to spend their whole life cycle in salinities way over seawater levels. Focusing on the multifunctional gill, we unraveled the tilapia S. melanotheron key strategies to cope with different environmental conditions, ranging from freshwater up to hypersaline habitats. De novo transcriptome assembly based on RNAseq allowed for the analysis of 40,967 annotated transcripts among samples collected in three wild populations at 0, 40 and 80 ‰. A trend analysis of the expression patterns revealed responses across the salinity gradient with different gene pathways involved. Genes linked to ion transport, pH regulation and cell surface receptor signaling were mainly upregulated in the high salinity habitat. We identified tight junction proteins that were critical in high salinity habitats and that were different from the well-known tightening junctional proteins identified and expressed in fresh water. Expression profiles also suggest a change in the vascular tone that could be linked to an osmorespiratory compromise not only in fresh water, but also in high salinity environments. A striking downregulation of genes linked to the immune system and to the heat shock response was observed suggesting an energetic trade-off between immunity and acclimation/adaptation in the hypersaline habitat. The high expression of transcripts coding for immune and heat shock response in the freshwater habitat suggests the establishment of powerful mechanisms to protect gills from environmental threats and to maintain protein integrity. Non-directional expression trends were also detected with an upregulation of genes only in the hypersaline habitat (80 ‰) or only in the marine habitat (40 ‰). Unravel physiological strategies in S. melanotheron populations will help to better understand the molecular basis of fish euryhalinity in salinity-contrasted environments.

Evaluation of the performance of SVR and ANN Models in Sea Water Level Prediction for the Izmir Coast of the Aegean Sea

Prediction of sea water level is a very important phenomenon for making future projections for flood control, human living conditions and coastal planning. However, it is not easy to estimate sea water level due to the influence of atmospheric conditions. Thus, Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Support Vector Regression (SVR) methods are used for the prediction of seawater level of Izmir Coast based on the time series data. Coefficient of determination (R2 ) and root mean square error (RMSE) are applied as model evaluation criteria in this study. 19 months of seawater level data in the time series were used in this study. The results show that the ANN model can predict the water level with R2 of 0.84 and 0.68 for 1st and 2nd days, respectively, while the SVR model can predict the water level with R2 of 0.83 and 0.69 for 1st and 2nd days, respectively.

Comparison of ANN and SVR based models in sea level prediction for the Black Sea coast of Sinop

Seawater level oscillations are very critical to coastal construction, flood prevention and human living conditions. However, it is difficult to accurately project the daily future for seawater level due to the effects of wind, precipitation and other atmospheric conditions. For this reason, in this paper, artificial intelligence (AI) based Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Support Vector Regression (SVR) methods are applied for the estimation of seawater level in Sinop Coast. In addition, Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) is used as a benchmarking model. In this study, coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean square error (RMSE) were applied as model evaluation criteria. Besides, 15 minutes (approximately 22 months) sea water level data of Sinop Station were collected and used as is. The findings revealed that the ANN model can predict the water level for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th days with correlation coefficients (R2) of 0.84, 0.67, 0.64, 0.63, respectively, and the SVR model can predict for 1st, 2nd days with correlation coefficients (R2) of 0.86, 0.66, respectively.

Synergizing environmental and technological advances: Discarded transmission oil and paraffin wax as a phase change material for energy storage in solar distillation as a step towards sustainability

The increasing demand for water desalination technologies in coastal areas with high seawater levels but limited freshwater resources calls for innovative solutions. This research delves into the effectiveness of a new double-slope solar still with bottom fins (DSSS-BF) and a groundbreaking Composite Energy Storage Material (CESM). This study addresses productivity challenges in traditional solar stills, focusing on cost-effectiveness and adaptability. This investigation also aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and utilizes eco-friendly materials such as discarded transmission oil, presenting a unique waste-to-energy approach. This research offers a sustainable and efficient energy storage material by repurposing discarded automotive transmission oil as an energy storage medium by mixing various volume proportions in paraffin wax. Experimental findings demonstrate that the CESM composed of 80 % wax and 20 % oil shows a striking 35.34 % boost in thermal conductivity compared to pure paraffin wax. Moreover, incorporating a finned absorber basin into the energy storage material significantly improves heat transfer, water evaporation, and production of safe drinking water, outperforming traditional solar stills. The DSSS-BF-CESM shows a significant increase in water and absorber temperatures compared to CSS, leading to high productivity. The DSSS-BF-CESM displays an impressive 46.57 % increase in productivity over conventional solar stills, directly contributing towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6 and 7. Moreover, a careful examination of the economics reveals that the DSSS-BF-CESM had a 16.67 % decrease in CPL and a 15.38 % decrease in the payback period compared to CSS. This extensive research further promotes the development of solar desalination technology and highlights its viability in addressing both water scarcity and sustainability concerns.

Enterococci pathways to coastal waters and implications of sea level rise

Highly urban coastal communities in low lying areas and with high water tables are vulnerable to sea-level rise and to corresponding increases in coastal groundwater levels. Stormwater conveyance systems are under increased risk. Rising groundwater levels affect the hydraulics of the stormwater system thereby increasing contaminant transport, for example the fecal indicator bacteria enterococci, to coastal waters. This study offers a unique opportunity to evaluate the impacts of increased contaminant transport on marine coastal environments. Here we assessed historic and recent coastal water quality, stormwater sampling data, groundwater monitoring and tidal elevations near the coastline, in the context of altered hydraulics within the system. Two pathways of enterococci to marine waters were identified. Direct discharge of contaminated stormwater runoff via the stormwater outfalls and tidally driven contaminated groundwater discharge. As sea level continues to rise, we hypothesize that a diminished unsaturated zone coupled with altered hydraulic conditions at the coastal groundwater zone will facilitate the transport of enterococci from urban sediments to the study site (Park View Waterway in Miami Beach, FL USA). We recommend improvements to the stormwater conveyance system, and maintenance of the sanitary sewer system to mitigate these impacts and minimize transport of enterococci, and other stormwater pollutants to coastal waters. The results of this study can be useful to interpret high enterococci levels in low lying coastal areas where groundwater is influenced by rising sea water levels.

Anzali Wetland Crisis: Unraveling the Decline of Iran's Ecological Gem

AbstractThe wetland loss rate in Iran is faster than the global average. Comprehending the shrinkage rate in Iranian wetlands and identifying the underlying drivers of these changes is essential for safeguarding their ecosystems' health and services. This study proposes a novel gray‐box modeling framework to quantify the effects of climate change and anthropogenic activities on the wetlands, by combining process‐based and machine learning models. The developed model is utilized to project the Anzali coastal wetland shrinkage by simulating the complex interaction between the meteorological, hydrological, anthropogenic and sea water level characteristics, and the changes in wetland water surface area. Our framework aggregates Soil and Water Assessment Tool model, the 12 General Circulation Models of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6, Landsat imagery, and the Long Short‐Term Memory model to project the shrinkage of the wetland till 2100. A comprehensive range of climate and Land Use/Cover change scenarios are analyzed. The results show that wetland will seasonally desiccate in 2058, mainly due to increasing air temperature, reduction in precipitation and inflow, excessive sediment loading to the wetland, and decline in the Caspian Sea level. For optimistic scenarios, where no changes in the Caspian Sea level is considered, the wetland will gradually diminish and become a seasonal waterbody by 2100. The outcomes of this study highlight that the Anzali wetland desiccation has profound implications for the regional‐scale ecological balance, ecosystem health and function, public health, and local economy. Robust environmental interventions and sustainable development strategies are urgently needed to mitigate the detrimental impacts of climate and anthropogenic drivers on the wetland.

Mercury Biogeochemistry and Biomagnification in the Mediterranean Sea: Current Knowledge and Future Prospects in the Context of Climate Change

In the 1970s, the discovery of much higher mercury (Hg) concentrations in Mediterranean fish than in related species of the same size from the Atlantic Ocean raised serious concerns about the possible health effects of neurotoxic monomethylmercury (MMHg) on end consumers. After 50 years, the cycling and fluxes of the different chemical forms of the metal between air, land, and marine environments are still not well defined. However, current knowledge indicates that the anomalous Hg accumulation in Mediterranean organisms is mainly due to the re-mineralization of organic material, which favors the activity of methylating microorganisms and increases MMHg concentrations in low-oxygen waters. The compound is efficiently bio-concentrated by very small phytoplankton cells, which develop in Mediterranean oligotrophic and phosphorous-limited waters and are then transferred to grazing zooplankton. The enhanced bioavailability of MMHg together with the slow growth of organisms and more complex and longer Mediterranean food webs could be responsible for its anomalous accumulation in tuna and other long-lived predatory species. The Mediterranean Sea is a “hotspot” of climate change and has a rich biodiversity, and the increasing temperature, salinity, acidification, and stratification of seawater will likely reduce primary production and change the composition of plankton communities. These changes will likely affect the accumulation of MMHg at lower trophic levels and the biomagnification of its concentrations along the food web; however, changes are difficult to predict. The increased evasion of gaseous elemental mercury (Hg°) from warming surface waters and lower primary productivity could decrease the Hg availability for biotic (and possibly abiotic) methylation processes, but lower oxygen concentrations in deep waters, more complex food webs, and the reduced growth of top predators could increase their MMHg content. Despite uncertainties, in Mediterranean regions historically affected by Hg inputs from anthropogenic and geogenic sources, such as those in the northwestern Mediterranean and the northern Adriatic Sea, rising seawater levels, river flooding, and storms will likely favor the mobilization of Hg and organic matter and will likely maintain high Hg bioaccumulation rates for a long time. Long-term studies will, therefore, be necessary to evaluate the impact of climate change on continental Hg inputs in the Mediterranean basin, on air–sea exchanges, on possible changes in the composition of biotic communities, and on MMHg formation and its biomagnification along food webs. In this context, to safeguard the health of heavy consumers of local seafood, it appears necessary to develop information campaigns, promote initiatives for the consumption of marine organisms at lower trophic levels, and organize large-scale surveys of Hg accumulation in the hair or urine of the most exposed population groups.

Saltwater Intrusion and Agricultural Land Use Change in Nga Nam, Soc Trang, Vietnam

Under the effects of saltwater intrusion from rising sea water levels, climate change, and socioeconomic issues, the Nga Nam district in Vietnam has suffered damage to its agriculture and changes in agricultural land use. This study aimed to investigate the factors that influenced land use changes and to propose approaches to limit the changes in agricultural land use. The damage caused by saltwater intrusion on agricultural production was evaluated via the use of secondary data collected from the Department of Infrastructure Economics of the Nga Nam district in the period of 2010–2021. The results show that during the 2010–2015 period, agricultural production areas were affected in 2010, 2012, and 2015. In the period of 2015–2021, the trend of saltwater intrusion along the damaged area remarkably decreased due to the work of saltwater-preventing structures. In this period, the area of annual plants increased, while that of fruit trees decreased. In the area comprising annual plants, the area using the triple rice land use type converted into an area using the double rice and double rice–fish ones. Lands for fruit trees transitioned from mixed farming to specialized farming to raise the economic efficiency for farmers. These changes were affected by four main factors: the physical factor, the economy, society, and the environment. The environmental and economic factors were seen to play the most important role as drivers of changes in land use. The factors of saltwater intrusion and acid-sulfate-contaminated soil, consumer markets, floods, drought, profit, and investments were noted to be significant drivers in agricultural land use change. Thus, both structural and non-structural approaches are suggested to inhibit the safeguard changes in the future.

The Effect of Using a Geopedological Approach in Determining Land Quality Indicators, Land Degradation, and Development (Case Study: Caspian Sea Coast)

This study addresses the escalating global concern surrounding land degradation (LD) and its far-reaching implications on water and nutrient availability, as well as on human health and well-being. Focused on the southeastern Caspian Sea region, this research employs a novel remote sensing geo-pedological methodology to comprehensively assess soil and land quality dynamics, particularly influenced by salts, and investigates the intricate relationship between LD and soil development. The study area, marked by a susceptibility to seawater level fluctuations and diverse landforms (lagoons, barriers, and coastal plains) offers a unique opportunity for geopedologic analysis. Utilizing particle size distribution data, six distinct landforms are identified, providing insights into the region’s complex sedimentary history. A soil quality assessment is conducted remotely through the calculation of two indexes—the Integrated Quality Index (IQI) and the Nemoro Quality Index (NQI)—employing both Total Data Set (TDS) and Minimum Data Set (MDS) methodologies. The investigation highlights the role of soluble salts in shaping soil quality, thereby influencing LD and development dynamics. The differentiation of landforms significantly enhances classification accuracy, providing a more nuanced understanding of the multifaceted factors governing LD. The study’s implications extend beyond the southeastern Caspian Sea region, and demonstrate that the potential for incorporating a geopedologic approach when assessing soil and land quality dynamics in arid regions globally. Our analytic approach can inform policymakers and land managers when making decisions to combat LD and foster sustainable land development. This research also contributes towards advancing knowledge in geopedology by providing a robust foundation for future studies aimed at enhancing land management practices in the face of ongoing environmental challenges.

Reclaimed seawater discharge – Desalination brine treatment and resource recovery system

With the proliferation of reverse osmosis technology, seawater reverse osmosis desalination has been heralded as the solution to water scarcity for coastal regions. However, the large volume of desalination brine produced may pose an adverse environmental impact when directly discharged into the sea and result in energy wastage as the seawater pumped out is dumped back into the sea. Recently, zero liquid discharge has been extensively studied as a way to eliminate the aquatic ecotoxicity impact completely, despite being expensive and having a high carbon footprint. In this work, we propose a new strategy towards the treatment of brine to seawater level for disposal, dubbed reclaimed seawater discharge (RSD). This process is coupled with existing resource recovery techniques and waste alkali CO2 capture processes to produce an economically viable waste treatment process with minimal CO2 emissions. In this work, we placed significant focus on the electrolysis of brine, which simultaneously lowers the salinity of the desalination brine (56.0 ± 2.1 g/L) to seawater level (32.0 ± 1.4 g/L), generates alkali brine from seawater (pH 13.6) to remove impurities in brine (Mg2+ and Ca2+ to below ppm level), and recovers magnesium hydroxide, calcium carbonate, chlorine, bromine, and hydrogen gas as valuable resources. The RSD is further chemically dechlorinated and neutralised to pH 7.3 to be safe to discharge into the sea. The excess alkali brine is used to capture additional CO2 in the form of bicarbonates, achieving net abatement in climate change impact (9.90 CO2 e/m3) after product carbon abatements are accounted.

A new aspect of the ApEn application to improve the PSO-ANFIS model to forecast Caspian Sea levels

Short-term forecasting of sea levels at the Caspian Sea plays an important issue for coastal planning. Therefore, a new aspect of the Approximate Entropy (ApEn) method application is studied to improve the Combined Particle Swarm Optimization and the Adaptive Network-based Fuzzy Inference System (PSO-ANFIS), Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) models and Back Propagation Neural Networks (BP-NN). To evaluate the idea, seawater levels from 1961 to 2021 are categorized as training, validation (from 1961 to 2007 at Anzali station), and testing data (from 2008 to 2021 at Amirabad station). Results show the PSO-ANFIS model performance for forecasting the seawater level changes for four randomly selected time intervals and three critical periods. In addition, it is concluded that there are no considerable changes in the PSO-ANFIS model accuracy for embedding dimensions greater than 13 in forecasting of sea water level in the Caspian Sea. At the same time, the employed ApEn shows that there are no significant changes in approximate entropy values for block numbers more than 13 for the Caspian Sea levels. This shows the ApEn method performance to determine embedding dimensions for the forecaster models of time series. In addition, it resulted that the Caspian Sea water levels are on a decreasing trend on average by 5.495 cm every year until 2024 and the PSO-ANFIS model is reliable for 36 months as a short-term forecaster model. Comparing the developed PSO-ANFIS model with Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks shows the PSO-ANFIS model significant superiority to the LSTM.

Factors affecting environmental pollution for green economy: The case of ASEAN countries

Although environmental pollution affects the earth's atmosphere and increases the seawater level, these issues get little attention from policymakers and scientists. This academic paper explores the multifaceted factors contributing to environmental pollution in the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Environmental pollution is a growing concern globally, and ASEAN, a region undergoing rapid economic development, faces unique challenges in mitigating its impact. Therefore, there needs to be more research in analyzing the factors that affect environmental pollution. This paper aims to test the determinants affecting ecological pollution for the green and sustainable economy in the ASEAN countries. This paper used the data from Word Bank for the period 2000–2020 in 09 ASEAN countries such as Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei and Singapore. The paper uses the unrestricted fixed and random panel data method. The STATA software 17.0 is used in the research and processes the regression model. The article reviews existing literature, statistical data, and case studies to identify and analyze key factors influencing environmental pollution in ASEAN countries. The new contribution of this research is that ASEAN countries are paying more attention to importing green products to develop a green and sustainable economy. The study considers various dimensions: industrialization, urbanization, agricultural practices, policy effectiveness, and socioeconomic factors. By understanding these factors, policymakers and stakeholders can develop targeted strategies to address and mitigate the environmental pollution crisis in the ASEAN region.