Cascading response mechanisms of multi-aquifer groundwater levels and land deformation driven by precipitation and anthropogenic disturbances: Insights from the Beijing Plain, China

Environmental sustainability is a major priority in modern anaesthesia [1]. Currently, total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) is often considered more environmentally friendly than volatile inhalational anaesthesia because it has reduced greenhouse gas emissions. However, this view ignores the potential water pollution caused by intravenous drugs. Propofol, used widely in TIVA, is a phenol derivative that is detected frequently in hospital wastewater due to significant clinical wastage [2]. As a lipophilic compound, propofol may accumulate in aquatic organisms, posing a risk to the ecosystem. The introduction of remimazolam, an ultra-short-acting benzodiazepine, offers a potential alternative for TIVA. Unlike propofol, remimazolam is hydrolysed rapidly by tissue esterases into a carboxylic acid metabolite (CNS 7054) [3]. The environmental impact of this metabolite is not well understood. The aim of this study was to utilise in-silico quantitative structure–activity relationship modelling to compare the predicted aquatic toxicity of propofol and the remimazolam metabolite, providing a more complete ecological assessment. Aquatic toxicity was evaluated using the Ecological Structure Activity Relationships Class Program (Version 2.2; United States Environmental Protection Agency) [4]. This in-silico methodology aligns with ‘replacement, reduction and refinement’ principles, offering an ethical alternative to in-vivo animal testing for risk assessment [5]. We retrieved the chemical structures of propofol and the remimazolam metabolite (CNS 7054) from the PubChem database and converted them into Simplified Molecular Input Line Entry System codes. The model predicts toxicity based on structure-specific regression equations derived from measured data. We analysed the octanol–water partition coefficient (LogKow) to estimate bioaccumulation potential and calculated standard acute toxicity endpoints (LC50 and EC50) for fish, daphnids and green algae. Propofol is characterised by a high octanol–water partition coefficient (LogKow 3.79), classifying it as a lipophilic substance with significant bioaccumulation potential. In contrast, CNS 7054 exhibits a low LogKow of 1.25, indicating high water solubility and minimal risk of bioaccumulation. In terms of acute toxicity, propofol was predicted to be toxic to aquatic organisms, with 96-h LC50 values of 4.6 mg.l-1 for fish and 48-h LC50 values of 0.85 mg.l-1 for daphnids. Conversely, CNS 7054 was predicted to be practically non-toxic across all trophic levels, with estimated lethal concentrations exceeding 100 mg.l-1 (Table 1). While propofol is favoured for its lack of greenhouse gas emissions, our data suggest it poses a persistent threat to aquatic ecosystems due to its lipophilic nature and potential for bioaccumulation. In recent years, remimazolam has emerged as a valuable drug for procedural sedation and general anaesthesia [6, 7]. As its clinical use expands, its environmental profile becomes increasingly relevant. Remimazolam appears to exemplify the principles of ‘benign-by-design’ pharmaceuticals. Its rapid hydrolysis into a highly polar, hydrophilic metabolite ensures that the excreted compound does not accumulate in aquatic organisms and is virtually non-toxic. We acknowledge several limitations in this study. First, the results are based on in-silico predictions rather than in-vivo biological assays. However, the quantitative structure–activity relationship is a validated tool for initial risk screening [5]. Second, we focused solely on the excretion phase. A complete life-cycle assessment is necessary to determine the total carbon footprint. Crucially, such future comparisons must ensure clinical equipotency. Since remimazolam often exhibits higher bispectral index values than propofol at equivalent sedation levels [7], strictly adhering to traditional bispectral index targets may lead to overdosing and an unfair inflation of its environmental impact. We recommend that future comparative studies standardise anaesthetic depth using multiparametric monitoring to ensure a fair ecological comparison. In conclusion, while propofol remains a cornerstone of TIVA, its environmental footprint extends into the water cycle. Remimazolam offers a promising alternative with a significantly more favourable aquatic safety profile. Future ‘green anaesthesia’ strategies should adopt a holistic view, balancing carbon mitigation with the protection of water resources. No external funding or competing interests declared.

The present research was carried out to retrieve dissolved oxygen (DOX) using the Copernicus Marine Services products from the Irish transitional and coastal waters. To achieve the research goal, the study developed and validated 2101 machine learning (ML)/artificial intelligence (AI) (supervised learning, stacking-ensembles, equations, and voting-based ensembles) and statistical models using multi-level (Level-3 and Level-4) Sentinel-3 OLCI (S3-OLCI) and Multi-sensor (MS) remote sensing (RS) datasets in conjunction with in-situ and modelled DOX datasets. While supervised models (e.g., K-nearest neighbours, Gradient boosting, and Extra decision trees) excelled in the training phase (EPA: MSE ≤ 0.03 with CI ± 0.02; Modelled: MSE ≈ 0 with CI ± 0) but showed limited generalizability on independent validation datasets (2022-2023), indicating poor model accuracy and sensitivity (EPA-2022: R2 = -0.03 - 0.16; EPA-2023: R2 = -0.09 - 0.1; Modelled-2022: R2 = 0.37 - 0.53; Modelled-2023: R2 = -1.39 - -0.26). In terms of product, S3-OLCI outperformed MS data with low uncertainty, whereas spatio-temporal analysis showed the highest DOX in inshore/semi-enclosed bays and the lowest offshore. Overall, the results underscore that model performance is determined by methodological characteristics rather than model quantity. Despite the validation challenges, the results highlight key difficulties in retrieving optically inactive water quality (WQ) indicators like DOX using RS and ML/AI approaches. The findings of the research could be effective for supporting the mapping of baseline oxygen conditions, the application of ML/AI techniques to retrieve WQ indicators from RS products and their further technological advancement, such as managing the anthropogenic water cycle (i.e., human-altered hydrological and nutrient dynamics).

Integrating water and energy sustainability: A poly-generation system for desalination, zero liquid discharge, and green fuel

Global water cycle changes in a warming climate: Projection from CMIP6 multi-model ensemble mean

Groundwater is a vital component of the hydrological cycle, and understanding its dynamics is crucial for water resource management under climate change. This study employs GRACE-FO satellite data to assess groundwater storage (GWS) dynamics in Hunan Province during the 2024 flood season (April-September). Given the abundant surface water resources in this region, we explicitly incorporate the water storage of Dongting Lake and 28 large reservoirs when calculating surface water storage anomaly (SWSA), which is crucial for estimating the GWS anomaly (GWSA). Accordingly, GWSA is obtained by subtracting the soil moisture storage anomaly (SMSA) and SWSA from the GRACE-FO-derived terrestrial water storage anomaly (TWSA). Furthermore, correlation coefficients and contribution of each water storage component to TWSA are calculated to reveal inter-component interactions and response mechanisms to precipitation. Results show that original TWSA, SWSA, and GWSA increase markedly from March to July 2024. After detrending and deseasonalizing, SWSA and GWSA exhibit a complementary relationship (correlation coefficient: -0.20), with changes of -3.08 km3 and -1.12 km3 over the flood season, largely attributed to anthropogenic flood control operations. In contrast, SMSA and GWSA are weakly positively correlated (0.29), reflecting limited direct recharge efficiency. TWSA is strongly correlated with both SMSA (0.78) and GWSA (0.71), reflecting synergistic variation among water storage components. Consistently, GWSA contributes the most (44.52%) to TWSA fluctuations, followed by SMSA (31.80%) and SWSA (23.68%), highlighting the critical role of groundwater in the regional water cycle. These findings provide a valuable scientific basis for sustainable water resource management and regulation in Hunan Province.

Combined toxicity of nanoplastics and microcystin-LR to sulfate-reducing bacteria and the underlying mechanisms.

Mapping per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances contamination in England's surface waterbodies: Urban water cycle pathways and governance challenges.

Understanding runoff changes in the Yarlung Zangbo (YZ) basin is crucial for water resource management on the Tibetan Plateau (TP), but has been hindered by sparse data. This study provides a comprehensive hydrometeorological dataset for the YZ basin spanning 1961-2024, including both daily meteorological variables and hydrological components. The dataset integrates observations from 26 meteorological stations, 15 hydrological stations, and hydrological model simulations. Specifically, it includes: (1) daily meteorological variables (precipitation, mean, maximum, and minimum temperature, and wind speed) at both 26 meteorological stations and a 10-km gridded scale; and (2) daily total runoff and its components (snowmelt, glacier runoff, and rainfall runoff) at the 10-km gridded scale, derived from a physically based hydrological model. The meteorological fields were extended using a random forest-based machine learning approach combined with ERA5 reanalysis data, while the hydrological variables were generated from physically based hydrological model simulations. To facilitate direct application of hydrological station data, the gridded daily hydrological data for 1961-2024 were further routed to 15 hydrological stations. The generated dataset was validated against in situ meteorological at different scales and hydrological observations and compared with other meteorological products, demonstrating good applicability in the YZ. This dataset is available at the National Tibetan Plateau Data Center. The dataset enables basin-wide simulations of hydrological processes across multiple scales and provides a valuable resource for assessing water cycle dynamics and their responses to climate and cryospheric changes in the YZ basin.

Covering more than 40% of Earth’s vegetated surface, grasslands critically regulate terrestrial carbon and water cycles. Their ecosystem water use efficiency (WUEeco), the ratio of carbon uptake to water loss, governs drought resilience in these water-limited ecosystems. While global terrestrial wind speed declined substantially from the 1960s to 2000s followed by a recovery in the subsequent decade, the extent and mechanisms of its influence on grassland WUEeco remain poorly understood. Using site observations, satellite data, Earth system models, and wind manipulation experiments, we found a consistent negative sensitivity of grassland WUEeco to wind speed. Mechanistically, declining winds reduce evaporative water loss, improve soil moisture, and promote stomatal opening, thereby enhancing carbon uptake. Wind speed changes accounted for 7.7 to 25.7% of WUEeco increases under historical and future climates, making wind the second most important climatic driver after atmospheric carbon dioxide. Since Earth system models underestimate observed wind speed declines, future WUEeco increases and drought resilience may exceed current projections for global grassland.

Abstract Moisture transport is a key driver of mass and energy transfer in the climate system, and its role is increasingly amplified under global warming as enhanced atmospheric moisture alters source–sink dynamics. Yet, the mechanisms by which the atmospheric hydrological cycle controls summer precipitation in the densely populated and disaster-prone monsoon region of China (MRC) remain poorly understood. Here, we apply the Lagrangian model FLEXPART to quantify changes in the atmospheric water cycle associated with MRC summer precipitation from 1979 to 2020. Evaporation from MRC contributes ~35% of summer rainfall on average due to dense air parcel convergence, strong uptake, and relatively low transport loss. Long-term trends indicate a strengthening of the summer water cycle, with total precipitation increasing at a rate of 2.5% per decade, and the moisture originating from MRC accounting for ~71% of this increase. This intensification is closely caused by increased atmospheric moisture uptake of air parcels during transport, which is associated with both higher air parcel density and intensified surface evaporation. The higher parcel density over the northern MRC and Northeast Asia is tied to an anomalous anticyclonic circulation over Northeast Asia that favors southward transport, partially compensating for the weakened oceanic moisture influx from the south. Intensified surface evaporation over the MRC is linked to vegetation-controlled evapotranspiration. These findings highlight the importance of integrating moisture transport dynamics and land–surface interactions to understand regional hydrological variability under a warming climate.

Efficient removal of microplastics from aqueous environment by magnetic MOFs: Performance & mechanism.

The discovery of new mineral phases capable of transporting water into the Earth's mantle via subduction zones is essential for understanding the deep Earth water cycle and its influence on mantle dynamics. Recent experimental and computational studies have proposed that certain hydrated oxyhydroxides may remain stable under deep mantle conditions, particularly within cold subducting slabs. Here, we report an advanced synchrotron multi-technique study on a natural complex iron oxyhydroxide mineral preserved within a Juína diamond, which may offer new evidence on water transport via cold subducted slabs and highlights the potential role of iron oxyhydroxides as carriers of volatiles into Earth's interior.

ABSTRACT Groundwater is a vital component of the global water cycle and plays a critical role in ecological security and sustainable development. Groundwater storage anomalies (GWSA) are jointly driven by climate change and human activities. However, existing studies on GWSA mainly rely on the quantitative characteristics of explanatory variables, while the investigation of spatial data patterns remains limited despite their increasing importance. This study develops a geocomplexity-heterogeneity model to identify spatial drivers of GWSA by integrating spatially local complexity with robust stratified heterogeneity. The geocomplexity-heterogeneity model was used to identify both national-scale patterns of GWSA and the dominant climatic and anthropogenic explanatory factors in two representative regions, including the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain and the southeastern Tibetan Plateau, over the period 2002–2022. The results indicate that national GWSA in China decreased at a rate of 1.89 mm yr−1 during 2002–2022. The most significant decline occurred in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain (10.68 mm yr−1), while the Sichuan Basin and surrounding regions showed moderate recovery. In the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, GWSA variability reflects the combined effects of climatic water processes and intensive human water use, with temperature playing a leading role and irrigation exerting a strong influence primarily through its interaction with climatic conditions. In contrast, GWSA in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau was primarily shaped by natural climate processes, particularly precipitation and vegetation dynamics. The geocomplexity-heterogeneity model enhances the spatial interpretation of GWSA by combining local complexity with stratified heterogeneity, thereby improving the robustness of region-specific driver identification.

Changes in climate are altering plant growth patterns and associated phenological events like the Start of Season (SOS), End of Season (EOS), and Length of the Growing Season (LGS). However, there is limited research quantifying the impact of these changes on key vegetation-atmospheric interaction processes such as the carbon and water cycles. This study uses 914 site years of data across 132 flux tower sites in the FLUXNET2015 dataset to explore the relationships between carbon sequestration, expressed by Gross Primary Productivity (GPP), and multiple phenological variables, including LGS, changes in SOS (ΔSOS), and changes in EOS (ΔEOS). LGS explains 23% of the variability in GPP across all sites. Significant correlations were found in deciduous broadleaf forests (R² = 0.5) and evergreen needleleaf forests (R² = 0.44), while ecosystems such as shrublands, savannas, and wetlands displayed weaker connections. Changes in the SOS also affected GPP, with an earlier SOS increasing the total annual GPP. Deciduous Broadleaf Forests (R² = 0.54), Evergreen Needleleaf Forests (R² = 0.5), Grasslands (R² = 0.47) showed a significant negative association between ΔSOS and ΔGPP, whereas Croplands showed weaker correlations. Conversely, EOS variations had little impact on GPP. Upscaled to global vegetated land area these relationships suggest that each additional day in the growing season could increase carbon uptake by 1.035 Gt C yr- 1, while an earlier SOS by 0.93 Gt C yr- 1 and a one-day delay in EOS by approximately 0.65 Gt C yr- 1. These findings underscore the need to account for seasonal shifts and phenological changes in global carbon models.

The westerlies moisture transport underpins water security for over two billion people dependent on the Asian water towers (AWTs). However, the mechanisms by which large-scale westerlies-advected moisture is integrated into the AWTs' atmospheric water budget remain poorly understood due to observational gaps. Here, we combine three-dimensional observations of atmospheric water vapor stable isotopes with isotope-enabled modeling. We identify the conveyor mechanism that regulates the vertical moisture transport under calm conditions during the winter-spring period when the westerlies are dominant. Sharp vertical isotopic gradients show that large-scale westerlies-advected moisture is predominantly confined aloft, while local residual moisture persists near the surface. Our results show the interplay of the westerlies' subsidence at night with thermodynamically distinct local residual air, yielding thermal inversions and condensation that suppresses vertical mixing and decouples moisture between the free troposphere and the atmospheric boundary layer. This process constitutes a primary pathway for integrating westerlies-advected moisture into the local moisture budget without precipitation, sustaining near-surface moisture accumulation. Our results provide critical benchmarks for improving atmospheric models, refining climate projections of the intensifying water cycle over the AWTs, and advancing interpretations of isotopic records in regional climatic archives.

Aromatic amine fingerprints of human activities from indoor environments - Insights from textile analysis.

The environmental fate of phosphorus in shallow aquatic systems is closely linked to the properties of iron (oxyhydr)oxide minerals such as goethite, which can bind phosphate and influence its mobility. This study investigates how light exposure during mineral formation affects goethite crystal habit and subsequent phosphate adsorption behavior. Humic-acid (humic acid)-mediated transformation of siderite or dissolved Fe(II/III) was conducted under simulated shallow-water irradiance (113 mW·cm-2) or under dark conditions. We found sunlight-driven changes in the crystal habit of goethite (α-FeOOH) were quantitatively linked to a 33% reduction in phosphate (P) sequestration capacity compared with dark-formed phases. In the dark, oriented attachment along the c-axis yielded (100)-faceted nanorods (100-500 nm, surface energy 1.22 J·m-2) that adsorbed 1.5-fold more P (5 mg P·L-1, 24 h) than light-exposed crystals. Light generated •OH/•O2- radicals that lowered the electron density of the (100) plane, redirected growth along the a-axis, and produced highly crystalline (001)-terminated rods (1-2 μm). XANES fingerprinting showed that dark phases formed predominantly bidentate Fe-PO4 complexes (pre-edge intensity 0.25), whereas light phases favored monodentate coordination (pre-edge 0.15). These results suggest that diel irradiation cycles in oxic surface waters may influence goethite reactivity and phosphorus mobility, although extrapolation to natural systems requires consideration of additional environmental complexities.

Abstract. Soil moisture is an important part of the land water cycle. It affects ecosystem health, agricultural output, and climate regulation. Several factors influence its variability, especially land use and land cover (LULC). This study looked at how LULC relates to changes in soil moisture in Zaria, Nigeria. The study area is experiencing urban growth and agricultural expansion. Soil moisture data was retrieved from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). LULC maps were created from satellite images taken from 2000 to 2020. Partial correlation analysis was employed to determine the relationship between various land cover types and soil moisture. The results show strong positive correlations between soil moisture and vegetated areas (r = 0.9801) and also with water bodies (r = 0.9232). These results indicate that thick vegetation and nearby water bodies help retain soil moisture by reducing evaporation, improving infiltration, and increasing water-holding capacity. On the other hand, soil moisture has a strong negative correlation with built-up areas (r = −0.8723) and bare soil (r= −0.997). The study shows that LULC characteristics greatly impact soil moisture changes. The study finally demonstrated the vital role of vegetation and water features in maintaining soil moisture, while also highlighting the negative effects of urban expansion and land degradation in semi-arid areas like Zaria.

Comprehensive identification of emerging contaminants in drinking water from 12 countries combining supramolecular solvent extraction and suspect screening analysis.