Morseteague9164

The transboundary Tigris-Euphrates Basin (TEB) is prone to water-scarcity disputes. Water scarcity is related to aridity, climate extremes, limited supplies, upstream reservoir storage, rising water demand, and population growth. Understanding the water budget and storage changes in the basin in relation to hydrological extremes is fundamental to mitigate the drought and flood impacts and the key to efficient water resources management. This study evaluated the water budget related to drought occurrences in the TEB over four decades (1979-2020) based on GRACE/GRACE-FO, and altimetry satellites data, in situ observations, and hydrological modeling using a Bayesian model averaging (BMA) approach. Results show that severe droughts occurred at about decadal timescales with increasing recovery times. Severe and exceptional droughts dominated from (1998 to 2000, 2007 to 2009). Mild to moderate droughts occurred in 1983-1984, 1989-1992, 2011-2013, and 2018. The most severe drought occurred in 2007-2009, with the largest decline (-80 km3) in GRACE total water storage (TWS). Depletion in TWS was dominated by depletion in reservoir storage. In contrast, groundwater (GW) depletion accounted for only 25-30% of TWS decline. Storage depletion was amplified by human intervention (e.g., irrigation and GW abstraction) by at least 50% during drought. Marked recovery in TWS occurred in 2019 and 2020 (totaling ~144 km3 by July 2020, representing ~2× total depletion between 2007 and 2018) in response to regional flooding. Applying the BMA approach to the estimates of water cycle fluxes improved the accuracy and similarity of storage change, but not variability relative to GRACE. In summary, prolonged droughts are the norm rather than the exception in the TEB over the past four decades. The frequency and severity of droughts have substantial implications for water scarcity for countries sharing the TEB and underscore riparian countries' needs to expand their water management portfolio to mitigate drought impacts.The broad application of strobilurin fungicide led to pathogen resistance, and toxic effects have been reported for several species. Benzene kresoxim-methyl (BKM) is a novel strobilurin fungicide mainly used to control the cucumber powdery mildew. However, information about the fate of BKM in agrofood systems and related human exposure is limited. selleck kinase inhibitor In this study, greenhouse experiments were conducted to investigate the distribution, translocation, and residual of the 10% suspension concentrate (SC) commercial BKM formulations on mature cucumber plants using 14C tracer technology. After foliage and fruit application, 25.84% of the applied 14C-labeled BKM can be absorbed into mature cucumber plants at 21 days after treatment. The absorbed BKM transferred throughout the plant acropetally and basipetally, although over 81.13% of absorbed BKM remained in the labeled leaves. In the edible parts, 14.35% of the absorbed BKM remained in the pericarp of labeled fruits, only 0.027 mg kg-1 accumulated in the sarcocarp. The concentration of BKM in newborn fruits was 0.005 mg kg-1, indicating low dietary exposure. These findings develop a better understanding of the fate of BKM in the cucumber plants, provide guidance in the rational use of BKM and can be incorporated into food and environmental assessments of BKM.Non-exhaust emissions (NEE) of particulate matter (PM) from brake, tyre, road pavement and railway wear, as well as resuspension of already deposited road dust, account for up to 90% by mass of total traffic-related PM emitted. This review aims at analysing the current knowledge on road traffic NEE regarding sources, particle generation processes, chemical and physical characterization, and mitigation strategies. The literature on this matter often presents highly variable and hardly comparable results due to the heterogeneity of NEE sources and the absence of standardized sampling and measurement protocols. As evidence, emission factors (EFs) were found to range from 1 mg km-1 veh-1 to 18.5 mg km-1 veh-1 for brake wear, and from 0.3 mg km-1 veh-1 to 7.4 mg km-1 veh-1 for tyre wear. Resuspended dust, which varies in even wider ranges (from 5.4 mg km-1 veh-1 to 330 mg km-1 veh-1 for cars), is considered the prevailing NEE source. The lack of standardized monitoring approaches resulted in the impossibility of setting international regulations to limit NEE. Therefore, up until now the abatement of NEE has only been achieved by mitigation and prevention strategies. However, the effectiveness of these measures still needs to be improved and further investigated. As an example, mitigation strategies, such as street washing or sweeping, proved effective in reducing PM levels, but only in the short term. The replacement of internal combustion engines vehicles with electric ones was instead proposed as a prevention strategy, but there are still concerns regarding the increase of NEE deriving from the extra weight of the batteries. The data reported in this review highlighted the need for future studies to broaden their research area, and to focus not only on the standardization of methods and the introduction of regulations, but also on improving already existing technologies and mitigating strategies.Seasonal hydrological variation and chemical pollution represent two main drivers of freshwater biodiversity change in Mediterranean rivers. We investigated to what extent low flow conditions can modify the effects of chemical pollution on macroinvertebrate communities. To that purpose, we selected twelve sampling sites in the upper Tagus river basin (central Spain) having different sources of chemical pollution and levels of seasonal hydrological variation. The sites were classified as natural (high flow variation, low chemical impact), agricultural (high flow variation, high agricultural chemical inputs) and urban (limited flow variation, high urban chemical inputs). In these sites, we measured daily water discharge, nutrients, and contaminant concentrations, and we sampled benthic macroinvertebrates, in spring, summer and autumn. Significant differences related to toxic pressure and nutrient concentrations were observed between the three groups of sites. Seasonal patterns were found for some water quality parameters (e.