Earth and Environmental Science

THIS IS NATURE SIGNALING THE END OF DUALITY 
THIS IS HUGE - CHANGE THE ENTIRETY OF CREATION - NO DUALITY ANYWHERE.
IT IS VERY CLEARLY A PREDETERMINED ADVANCEMENT OF HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS - THIS BUBBLE IS TOO WELL DESIGNED - EUPHORIA CANCELS KARMA

A brief account of certain celestial events and their contribution in opening the 'Galactic Energetic Window' is explicated. In particular, it is explained that full or super moons, Mercury Retrograde, Summer-Winter Solstice as well as occasions of Galactic Alignment are auspicious moments in which certain energetic portals open within the Milky Way Galaxy, rushing a high quanta of divine energies in, which will inevitably lead to light-time acceleration that will aid our genetic evolution and ascension. These events are particularly potent when they occur together within a certain window of time, accentuating one another's energetic effects. These, in turn, present humanity with highly intense moments like never seen or experienced before in the history of mankind's existence. However, these are very unusual and special times in which humanity is ordained to ascend within their current bodies when certain genetic evolution has taken place. In turn, such intense energetic events introduce certain ascension maladies that appear to be unusual by humanity's physical standard. However, they are to be tolerated with utmost perseverance, adhering to the divine principle of unconditional love and compassion. Certain suggestions have been tendered with regard to how to make the most of such transformative 'Energetic Window,' including an offer for meditation and prayer that would hopefully alleviate the pain and discomforts usually experienced during such potent energetic times.

The article is devoted to reconstruction of the Polar Wander (i.e. changes of the rotation axis relative to the Earth’s surface) in the postglacial period based on studies of orientation of ancient cultic objects. The timespan covered by the article is 9th - 5th millennia BC. Evidence come from circular enclosures of Central Europe, whose orientation to sunrise and sunset at winter solstice makes it possible not only to determine direction to the pole, but also the ancient geographical latitude.

This paper discusses the advance of the speleothem luminescence
research.  Potential,  resolution  and  limitations  of  high  resolution  luminescence  speleothem  proxy  records  of
Paleotemperature, Solar Insolation, Solar Luminosity, Glaciations, Sea Level advances, Past Precipitation, Plants
Populations, Paleosoils, Past Karst Denudation, Chemical Pollution, Cosmic Rays Flux variations, Cosmogenic
Isotopes production and Supernova Eruptions in the Past, Advances of Hydrothermal Waters, and Techtonic Uplift are
discussed. It is demonstrated that speleothems allow extremely high resolution (higher than in any other paleoclimatic
terrestrial archives) and long duration of records. Some speleothems can be used as natural climatic stations for
obtaining of quantitative proxy records of Quaternary climates with annual resolution.

Aquatic plants fulfil a wide range of ecological roles, and make a substantial contribution to the structure, function and service provision of aquatic ecosystems. Given their well-documented importance in aquatic ecosystems, research into aquatic plants continues to blossom. The 14th International Symposium on Aquatic Plants, held in Edinburgh in September 2015, brought together 120 delegates from 28 countries and six continents. This special issue of Hydrobiologia includes a select number of papers on aspects of aquatic plants, covering a wide range of species, systems and issues. In this paper, we present an overview of current trends and future directions in aquatic plant research in the early twenty first century. Our understanding of aquatic plant biology, the range of scientific issues being addressed and the range of techniques available to researchers have all arguably never been greater; however, substantial challenges exist to the conservation and management of both aquatic plants and the ecosystems in which they are found. The range of countries and continents represented by conference delegates and authors of papers in the special issue illustrates the global relevance of aquatic plant research in the early twenty first century but also the many challenges that this burgeoning scientific discipline must address.

https://www.ijert.org/tiny-microbeads-threat-to-human-life-threat-to-environment

https://www.ijert.org/research/tiny-microbeads-threat-to-human-life-threat-to-environment-IJERTV10IS010233.pdf

Microbeads are small, solid, manufactured plastic particles that are less than five millimeter in diameter and do not degrade or dissolve in water. They are often added to act as an exfoliant or application enhancer in personal hygiene products such as rinse-off cosmetics, personal care and cleaning products. The overuse of plastic results in accumulation of plastic waste in our ecosystems. Microbeads are not captured by most of the wastewater treatment systems. If they are washed down the drains after use, they can end up in rivers, lakes and oceans. The Netherlands was the first country to ban cosmetic microbeads in followed by Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium and Sweden. The United States enacted a legislative ban in December one year later. Although ban of microbeads in some developed countries has proven effective, but many countries do not take any legal actions. They are very small but collectively have a huge surface area. In the marine environment microbeads can both release and absorb toxins, which can then move throughout the food chain. In human beings plastic ingested causes internal bleeding, abrasion, ulcers and blockage of digestive tract. A recent review highlighted the bioaccumulation of microbeads via the food chain and its adverse effect on environment.

Physicochemical and ionic characteristics of groundwater aquifers have been of tremendous importance in water applications. Groundwater in selected coastal communities (Badagry, Epe, Ikorodu, and Ilaje/ese-odo) of south-western Nigeria was assessed for domestic and irrigation suitability. One hundred and ninety-two (192) groundwater samples were obtained and analyzed for chemical composition and major ionic ratio over a period of four seasons using standard methods. Results indicated abundance of ions in the order HCO3– > Cl–> SO42– for anions, and K+ > Na+ > Ca2+> Mg2+ for cations. Piper's diagram revealed calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) as the dominant cations, while sulphate and chloride were the dominant anions with a mixture of two major groundwater types: Ca–Cl water and mixed Ca–Mg–Cl. The presence of Ca–Cl facies water type suggests potential ion exchange (Na2+ with Ca2+) reaction in these coastal aquifers. Cation exchangeable values (CEV), and molar ratios of Mg/Ca, HCO3/Cl, and Na/Cl, showed high values (>1) across all locations indicating the occurrence of saline water ingression in groundwater samples, especially during the dry spell. The increasing K+, Na+, and Cl– characteristics of the groundwater and calculated ionic indices values indicated the influence of seawater intrusion. However, total hardness values showed that the samples were very soft in nature. Irrigation water quality suitability, as indicated by sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), permeability index (PI), and percentage sodium (PS) varied with seasons and location, showing that water will cause soil deterioration and poor crop performance if intensively used for irrigation without proper precautions.

The seabed in the ports needs to be regularly cleaned from the marine sediments for safe navigation. Sediments contaminated by tributyltin (TBT) are environmentally harmful and require treatment before recycling. Treatment methods include leaching, stabilisation and solidification to remove toxic chemicals from the sediments and improve their strength for reuse in the construction works. This study evaluated the effects of adding three different binder components (cement, cement kiln dust (CKD) and slag) to treat sediment samples collected in the port of Gothenburg. The goal of this study is to assess the leaching of TBT from the dredged marine sediments contaminated by TBT. The various methods employed for the treatment of sediments include the application of varied ratios of binders. The project has been performed by the Swedish Geotechnical Institute (SGI) on behalf of the Cementa (HeidelbergCement Group) and Cowi Consulting Group, within the framework of the Arendal project. An experiment has been designed to evaluate the effects of adding CKD while reducing cement and slag for sediment treatment. Methods that have been adopted include laboratory processing of samples for leaching using different binder combinations, followed by statistical data processing and graphical plotting. The results of the experiment on leaching of TBT for all samples are tested with a varied ratio of cement, slag, CKD and water. Specimens with added binders 'cement/CKD' have demonstrated higher leaching compared to the ratio 'cement/slag/CKD' and 'cement/slag'. The 'CKD/slag' ratio has presented the best results followed by the ‘cement/slag/CKD’, and can be used as an effective method of s/s treatment of the sediments. The results have shown that the replacement of cement and slag by CKD is effective at TBT leaching for the treatment of toxic marine sediments contaminated by TBT.

The objective of this study was to ascertain textile and garments effluents’ quality parameters and suitability for irrigation and aquaculture. Concentration of different parameters i.e. pH, temperature, color, odor, electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen (DO), total dissolved solids (TDS) and concentration of ionic constituents viz. Na+, K+, Ca2+ and PO42- of effluents were investigated in Bhaluka industrial area of Mymensingh, Bangladesh during August to November, 2013. Study revealed that there were distinct variations in values of different parameters. Among the samples, pH values ranged from 7.5 to 9.8 indicating alkalinity of water. Temperature (26.8-30.2oC) was found within permissible expelling limits. Observed color and odor of the effluents indicated poor quality to use for irrigation and aquaculture purposes. EC value (94.87-365.58 µScm-1) indicated low salinity level of the effluents. DO was within the range of 0.30 to 1.3 mg/L indicating aquatic life was under stress. Considering TDS (53.68 to 267.05 mg/L), all the samples were rated as fresh water (<1000 mg/L). Ratios of mean concentrations to background values were ranked in this sequence: Na+> K+> PO43-> Ca2+. Overall study revealed that due to imbalance in values of different water quality parameters all of the samples were unsuitable for irrigation and aquaculture.

"""Khalashpir coal field, the 3rd largest coal field of Bangladesh where proved reserve of about 143 million tons and probable reserve of about 685 million tons is estimated, has been decided for underground mining and artificial ground freezing (AGF) technique has been proposed as shaft sinking method after feasibility study. This method has been used in mining industry over the past 125 years for support of shaft sinking, tunneling and foundation excavation. To run the process brine solution is chilled between -25oC and -35oC in large refrigerant plant. The brine is then circulated through freezing tubes in required pattern to remove hit from the ground and thus freeze the soil to achieve soil strength and decrease the mobility of liquid water. This process results in a frozen earth barrier which gives strength to loose soil and bars water from inrushing excavation work for sinking a shaft. In this paper structural design of frozen ground works has been proposed to achieve a vertical cylindrical ice-wall for shaft sinking in Khalashpir coal field.
""""

When illuminated  by ultraviolet  light, many  calcite speleothems  (stalagmites, stalactites,
flowstones)  display luminescence caused  by the presence of organic  (humic) substances  oc-
cluded  in the calcite.  The amplitude of luminescence varies  in a banded  pattern  parallel  to
growth layering. Through  laC and thermal ionization  mass spectrometry  uranium-series  dat-
ing, we show that cyclical oscillations in the luminescence  have periodicities  ranging  from a few
days to t10t yr. A well-defined  annual  cycle  is present in many vadose-zone  speleothems  and
can be used to define  the chronolory of short-term events.  This cycle is pmbably  a response to
hydrological events in the recharge  to the cave. Longer term oscillations  are inferred  to be
controlled by clirnaten  through  its effect on organic  activity  in the overlying soil

Physicochemical and ionic characteristics of groundwater aquifers have been of tremendous importance in water applications. Groundwater in selected coastal communities (Badagry, Epe, Ikorodu, and Ilaje/ese-odo) of south-western Nigeria was assessed for domestic and irrigation suitability. One hundred and ninety-two (192) groundwater samples were obtained and analyzed for chemical composition and major ionic ratio over a period of four seasons using standard methods. Results indicated abundance of ions in the order HCO3– &gt; Cl–&gt; SO42– for anions, and K+ &gt; Na+ &gt; Ca2+&gt; Mg2+ for cations. Piper&#39;s diagram revealed calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) as the dominant cations, while sulphate and chloride were the dominant anions with a mixture of two major groundwater types: Ca–Cl water and mixed Ca–Mg–Cl. The presence of Ca–Cl facies water type suggests potential ion exchange (Na2+ with Ca2+) reaction in these coastal aquifers. Cation exchangeable values (CEV), and molar r...

The classification of a new epoch in planetary history as the 'Anthropocene' is fundamentally changing the way we understand our political systems. Given the inherently political nature of human societies, the Anthropocene also has to be understood as a global political phenomenon. The paper elaborates on how the Anthropocene is changing societal interdependence relationships, and sketches foundations of an emerging new paradigm in the social sciences, 'Earth System' governance. The notion of Earth System governance is developed as both an analytical and a normative research problem that is of fundamental relevance for the disciplines of political science and governance studies.

The endogenous evolution of the Earth, controlled by impulses of fluid degassing from the liquid core, is responsible for a special evolutionary direction, which may be called “hydrogen–hydrocarbon–organic”. It starts with the appearance of hydrocarbon features of deep-seated magma chambers, the evolution of which is combined with the formation of the Earth’s crust depressions. Such features result from the development of
alkali trends in the magmatism as indicated by hydrocarbon inclusions in earlygeneration minerals of alkali rocks. Their formation is controlled by the disproportionation reactions in fluids accompanying magmatism. Upward migration of hydrocarbons from magma chambers causes their access to the surface and accumulation in the Earth’s crust including gas and oil deposits in sedimentary basins on the continental frames of the oceans and marginal seas. Oxidizing environments of nearsurface structures provide separation of water from them, and the formation of their types depleted in hydrogen: acetylene, benzene, and their derivates.
Reactions of the formation and transformation of hydrocarbons are accompanied by dehydration, which is an endothermic endogenous process. With cooling, there is not enough energy for its proceeding. This results in the development of the opposite processes of hydration and oxidation of hydrocarbon leading to abiogenic generation of organic compounds. Organic compounds and hydrocarbons are correlated by their
hydrogen numbers illustrating their common origin. The differences in oxygen concentration reflect the distribution of organic compounds by oxidizing facies. The main regularity of the entrance of organic compounds in the C–H–O system is illustrated by their position on crossing of connodes connecting the compositions of primitive compounds with each other and hydrocarbons. This reflects their mutual relations, because their compositions are formed and duplicated by successive joining of reaction products to the earlier formed matter with the formation of polymers. They outline reactions between the components of fluids, successive joining of which produces multicarbonic organic compounds. Thus, the formation of ethylene glycol results from the combination of the reactions of ethane oxidation and benzene (acetylene) hydration. The systems of organic substance generation differ in the type of components acting on the hydrocarbon compounds: oxygen (C–H–O), nitrogen (C–H–N), oxygen–nitrogen (C–H–O–N), and water and phosphoric (C–HN–H2O–P2O5). There are also concepts on prebiological peptide nucleic acids. This suggests that qualitatively new “complexes of
life” may appear during interaction of abiotic inorganic precursors with organic nucleic acids and peptides (nucleotides and amino acids). This allows us to pay special attention to it considering the problem of origin and evolution of the biosphere, which, in our opinion, was formed and developed because of the influence of uprising hydrocarbon–organic plumes on the hydrosphere.

Post-closure management of landfill in Malaysia does not include assessment of the contaminant level in abiotic and biotic factors that inhabit the aged topsoil of closed landfills. Considering  the bioaccumulation effect in the ecosystem, post-closure classification with the status of contaminant concentration below the permitted level does not promise safe closure to the ecosystem as time passes. Thus, substantial and constant qualitative analysis of contaminant concentration needs to be developed for sustainable management of landfill post-closure. In this work, heavy metals in common constituents (abiotic  and biotic factors) of closed landfills were selected; that is, soil, stagnant water, and common communities of plant species in closed landfills in Selangor, both sanitary and non-sanitary, were studied. The results of the  analysis demonstrated that the concentration of Cd was not detected in the soil of both landfills but the highest concentration was present in the leaves of Ageratum conyzoides compared to other plant species at  both study sites. A parallel situation was discovered for the non-detection of Cd concentration in stagnant  water at Ampar Tenang landfill, but the leaves of A. conyzoides contained this element. The sensitivity and  affinity of A. conyzoides for accumulating heavy metals in this study were revealed particularly for Cd. Hence, this study suggests the use of A. conyzoides as a promising trace metals contamination indicator for closed urban landfills. Additionally, Guess-Field Kriging is believed to be a useful geostatistical tool to interpolate potential contamination area by utilising the abiotic and biotic factors as assistant variable to the target variable i.e. soil.

The scope of activities of University Center for Space Research and Technologies (UCSRT) includes fundamental and applied research in the field of theoretical and experimental physics, space physics, geophysics, atmospheric physics, space, astrophysics, cosmology, space- materials science, development of mathematical models of processes in the near and distant space. At the Center, research and educational activities are performed in the field of space research and technologies, which have applications in electronics, telecommunications, geophysics, meteorology, ecology, archeology and other fields. The Center performs also research on properties of materials for space technologies.
Main educational activities of the Center are master's Program on “Space research” and Module 1 “Aerospace engineering” (small aero-spacecraft) of the master’s Program “Aerospace engineering and communications”, but its members lead also many courses of undergraduate programs in physics and engineering physics.
University Center for Space Research and Technologies is an independent research and educational unit of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", founded in 1987 and reorganized in 1992 into Unit of the Faculty of Physics. University Centre for Space Research and Technology has its own Rules of Operation, which is approved by decision of the Academic Council of Sofia University. According to the Council, UCSRT represents Sofia University and the Physics Faculty before the national and international bodies and organizations for Space Research.
UCSRT coordinates and manages the efforts of scientists from various departments of Sofia University and Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in temporary research teams, which accomplish scientific tasks related to Space Research and Technologies. Therefore, the Center has associated one internationally recognized observatory (IAU - А79), companies (such as O&K), active student workshop on astronomy, as well as individual professionals. The Center forms temporary laboratories on different scientific high-priority hot topics.
Applied research fields of the Centre include development of IR, UV and visible imaging systems and photometry for remote sensing observations from aircrafts, UAVs and satellites, research of Solar and Space Impacts on the Environment and applications of Space Research and Technologies in Archaeological research and prospecting. It includes also research and location of asteroids and dangerous Near- Earth Objects (NEO) and assessment of the damage which they can produce in result of potential collisions.
The Center has a highly qualified teaching staff, and its scientific production is published in journals, monographs and encyclopedias, some of which are issued by world-known academic publishers such as Elsevier and Thompson company issuing also ISI Citation index. Two of these monographs are awarded by an International Union of UNESCO Prize for the best publication in the relevant scientific field during the year.
The scientific outcome of the Center is significantly higher than the average production of the departments in the Faculty of Physics, despite its smaller staff: the results of the research activities of the members of the Center are published in 750 publications in scientific journals, monographs (mostly international), and conference proceedings, from which 560 publications in journals with impact factor.
Their results are presented in 167 reports at international congresses, conferences, symposia and schools, as 23 of them are invited or plenary talks.
They are cited worldwide 31290 times from foreign scientists, and research teams. 89 from the papers are cited more than 89 times, each (h-factor 89).
Specialists of the Center lead national and international research projects and programs. They have participated in one European, 10 international, 3 Italian and two Canadian research projects. At the moment they are leading two international research programs of one international scientific union. They review articles in prestigious international journals; are members of the editorial boards of international journals, editors of foreign monographs; evaluate Italian research projects in the fields of physics, astrophysics and Earth sciences; and participate in the appraisal of Italian universities. They chaired scientific organizing committees of five international scientific schools and conferences, and 6 sessions of other international conferences.
Specialists from UCSRT participate in large international collaborations and experiments in elementary particle physics, such as ATLAS, CHORUS, DELPHI, HARP, OPERA and H1.
The only Archaeo-geophysics laboratory in Bulgaria operates at the UCSRT.
The Center has intensive international collaborations with Universities and scientific institutions in Australia,  Austria,  Belgium,  Brazil,  Canada, China,  Croatia,  Czech  republic,  Egypt,  France,  Germany,  Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Serbia, Spain, Swisszerland, UK, USA and other countries.

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Two important issues characterize the design of bootstrap methods to construct confidence intervals for the correlation between two time series sampled (unevenly or evenly spaced) on different time points: (i) ordinary block bootstrap methods that produce bootstrap samples have been designed for time series that are coeval (i.e., sampled on identical time points) and must be adapted; (ii) the sample Pearson correlation coefficient cannot be readily applied, and the construction of the bootstrap confidence intervals must rely on alternative estimators that unfortunately do not have the same asymptotic properties. In this paper it is argued that existing proposals provide an unsatisfactory solution to issue (i) and ignore issue (ii). This results in procedures with poor coverage whose limitations and potential applications are not well understood. As a first step to address these issues, a modification of the bootstrap procedure underlying existing methods is proposed, and the asympto...

Research into the issues of increasing the sustainability and productivity of the agroindustrial complex is becoming more and more in demand. The agro-industrial complex acts as a point of concentration of resources in the sphere of material production, a catalyst for economic development, and ensures an increase in the quality of life. This article discusses the issue of measures to increase the sustainability and productivity of the agro-industrial complex as part of strategic planning, ensuring continuous economic growth and the formation of food security, including using methods of effective human resource management. The authors analyzed the problematic aspects of the internal and external environment that affect the productivity of the agro-industrial complex, and also formulated relevant proposals to overcome pressing problems. FULL TEXT --> https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/723/2/022104/pdf

This work summarizes the main results of the operation of the International Program
“Luminescence of Cave Minerals” of the commission on Physical Chemistry and
Hydrogeology of Karst of UIS of UNESCO in the field of activators of speleothem lumi-
nescence. It discusses Activators of Luminescence in Speleothems as a source of major
mistakes in the interpretation of luminescent paleoclimatic records. It demonstrates the
existence of 6 types of luminescence of speleothems and cave minerals in dependence of
the type of the luminescence center and its incorporation in the mineral. 24 different acti-
vators of photoluminescence of speleothem calcite and 11 of aragonite are studied. This
paper demonstrates that it is impossible to produce reliable Paleotemperature or Past
Precipitation records from luminescence of speleothems without establishing the organ-
ic origin of the entire luminescence of the particular sample.
Keywords: luminescence, speleothems, paleoclimate.

Wood ash found at archaeological sites is the most direct evidence of the presence of combustion features. The preservation of wood ash within archaeological deposits is often poor due to diagenetic processes and therefore its identification requires the use of spectroscopic methods. FTIR spectrometry is able to detect the main calcite component of wood ash, unless this is mixed with other calcitic phases of geologic origin. Using FTIR spectrometry we identified non-biogenic aragonite in archaeological heat-altered sediments and lime plasters. The presence of aragonite in such conditions is unusual, as it is unlikely to crystallize at ambient temperatures and pressures or in absence of Mg. The experimental conditions which favor the nucleation of this aragonite phase were investigated with FTIR spectrometry, XRPD and SEM imaging of modern lime plaster and quicklime samples prepared in the laboratory using different calcium carbonate starting materials. We show that aragonite forms at ambient temperatures and pressures upon carbonation of calcium oxide and calcium hydroxide together with calcite and its nucleation and growth are influenced by environmental parameters, such as carbon dioxide partial pressure, relative humidity and temperature. This pyrogenic aragonite is a reliable indicator for calcareous materials exposed to temperatures above 600 °C, and therefore it can be used to determine the presence of heat-altered sediments and ash in the absence of structured combustion features. This mineral phase could have applications in radiocarbon dating as well.