Macrolitter budget and spatial distribution in a groyne field along the Waal river

Current research on riverine macrolitter does not yet provide a theoretic framework on the dynamics behind its accumulation and distribution along riverbanks. In an attempt to better understand these dynamics a detailed field survey of three months was conducted in which location of macrolitter items within a single groyne field along the...

Nitrate Pollution in the Northern Cartago Region

Growing concerns about elevated nitrate levels in natural springs on the southern slope of the Irazu Volcano, Cartago province in Costa Rica, were the driving force for a multi-disciplinary study on the problem. The region is characterized by its high agricultural output and steep slopes. More than sixty springs located in the area are managed...

Preferred reporting items in green space health research. Guiding principles for an interdisciplinary field.

The relationship between green spaces and health is attracting more and more societal and research interest. The research field is however still suffering from its differing monodisciplinary origins. Now in a multidisciplinary environment on its way to a truly interdisciplinary field, there is a need for a common understanding, precision in...

Maximizing diesel removal from contaminated sand using Scirpus mucronatus and assessment of rhizobacteria addition effect

Phytoremediation is one of the green technologies that is friendly to nature, utilizes fewer chemicals, and exhibits good performance. In this study, phytoremediation was used to treat diesel-contaminated sand using a local aquatic plant species, Scirpus mucronatus, by analyzing the amount of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs). Optimization...

Deep learning for detecting macroplastic litter in water bodies: A review

Plastic pollution in water bodies is an unresolved environmental issue that damages all aquatic environments, and causes economic and health problems. Accurate detection of macroplastic litter (plastic items >5 mm) in water is essential to estimate the quantities, compositions and sources, identify emerging trends, and design preventive...

Investigate past polluting activities on public health and land uses

Port regions are hubs connecting a nation and its hinterland to the rest of the world. Port cities' authorities and actors have always dealt with pressures and compromises in the sharing of space between agriculture, tourism, industry, and urban developments. The limited availability of land created conflicting uses over time especially when...

Solar Powered Weather Station: Sensors and Control

Increasing concerns surrounding the influence of urban climate on the livability of cities and the health of citizens lead to a need for environmental data on a more localized scale. Self-powered weather stations that use the many WiFi networks spanning the city to transmit their data are a promising solution to increase the amount of data on...

Pollution and accuracy of solutions of the Helmholtz equation: A novel perspective from the eigenvalues

In researching the Helmholtz equation, the focus has either been on the accuracy of the numerical solution (pollution) or the acceleration of the convergence of a preconditioned Krylov-based solver (scalability). While it is widely recognized that the convergence properties can be investigated by studying the eigenvalues, information from the...

Towards accuracy and scalability: Combining Isogeometric Analysis with deflation to obtain scalable convergence for the Helmholtz equation

Finding fast yet accurate numerical solutions to the Helmholtz equation remains a challenging task. The pollution error (i.e. the discrepancy between the numerical and analytical wave number k) requires the mesh resolution to be kept fine enough to obtain accurate solutions. A recent study showed that the use of Isogeometric Analysis (IgA)...

Potential health and well-being implications of autonomous vehicles

Transportation's effects on health and well-being are widely recognized. In the near future, autonomous vehicles (AVs) are expected to revolutionize transportation options and ways of travel. Consequently, the effect of AVs on population health and well-being is a crucial topic of interest for transportation policymaking, one that has...

The impact of scrubber discharge on the water quality in estuaries and ports

Background: The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set limits on sulphur content in fuels for marine transport. However, vessels continue to use these residual high-sulphur fuels in combination with exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS or scrubbers). Next to high sulphur, combustion of these fuels also results in higher emissions of...

Game Theory of Pollution: National Policies and their International Effects

In this paper we put forward a simple game-theoretical model of pollution control, where each country is in control of its own pollution, while the environmental effects of policies do not stop at country borders. In our noncooperative differential game, countries as players minimize the present value of their own costs defined as a linear...

DWIP - Durban Water Improvement Project

The water quality at the beachfront of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, is currently insufficient to meet the Blue Flag standard, leading to health issues for the beach users. Since Durban can be recognised by its busy port and attractive beachfront, it is a major centre for tourism. This means that research on the source of this poor water quality and...

(Re)claimed Land, Scenario of democratic landscape in contaminated territories

In the city of Taranto located in south Italy, industrial foul-up is one of the biggest contributors of the high percentage of cancer death. The case of Ilva factory in Taranto is an example of how a wrong interaction among stakeholders became the cause for ecological and social problem. The factory is an integral cycle steel plant, where all...

The effects of floods and flood-induced pollution on ecosystem health

Flooding not only induces a risk which is related to direct loss of life for humans, animals and plants. During flooding, toxicants which are normally stored or otherwise unavailable might be released. The spreading of these pollutants during the flooding or, often more important, the persistent presence of toxicants in the soil or sediment...