Earth and Environmental Sciences

Abstract Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is a critical source of livelihood for millions of people globally who lack alternative economic opportunities. However, ASGM operates as a largely informal sector where hazardous working conditions and exposure to toxic chemicals pose serious threats to the health and wellbeing of miners and surrounding communities. Drawing on ecosocial theory’s rejection of single-cause explanations for health outcomes, this umbrella review aimed to characterize the health impacts associated with ASGM across the life course and examine the multi-level pathways through which ASGM affects health. A systematic search of Scopus, Web of Science, and Medline identified 22 English-language review articles meeting inclusion criteria. Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, health impacts were analyzed across four domains: toxicological, occupational, infectious, and psychosocial. Results indicate that ASGM-related health impacts occur across multiple scales, ranging from neurological disorders associated with mercury contact to serious injury and death from occupational hazards. Mining-related environmental changes, including stagnant water at mining sites that can facilitate infectious disease transmission, together with broader societal impacts such as disputes over land, represent additional threats affecting ASGM communities. Distinct health risks were also identified across the life course, including fetal and early postnatal exposure to potentially toxic elements, as well as psychosocial harms and opportunity costs resulting from child labour and adolescent school dropout. By framing ASGM as a part of deeply interconnected and multi-scalar social, economic, and environmental pressures, this umbrella review documents the complex factors shaping health in ASGM contexts and may be used to inform policy, practice, and future research.

Abstract The mechanism driving ion outflow from Jupiter's auroras remains to be determined. outflow has been observed with highly field‐aligned pitch angles consistent with acceleration by high‐altitude electrostatic potential structures. However, the cold ionospheric ions require a pre‐acceleration mechanism to reach Jupiter's large escape speed and access the potential structures. Here we present case studies of outflow coincident with intense ion cyclotron waves (ICWs). We invoke resonant wave heating to suggest a causality between the two phenomena. We further investigate Landau resonance with auroral electron beams as a plausible source of free energy using cold plasma theory, finding that electron energies between 10 and 100 keV produce results consistent with ICW observations. and ICWs are likewise present, which we suggest indicates that Jovian ion outflow is a multi‐species process.

Abstract Juno observations have revealed that Jupiter's polar cusps are displaced toward dusk and even the nightside, contradicting the Earth‐derived paradigm that is confined to narrower ranges near noon. These findings underscore the overlooked influence of planetary rotation on magnetospheric dynamics, exposing a critical gap in current theoretical frameworks. Using global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations, we show that high‐altitude cusps reside on the dusk hemisphere at both Saturn and Jupiter, consistent with Juno data at Jupiter and distinct from Earth's near‐noon‐centered cusps. Controlled experiments with artificially increased Earth rotation rates demonstrate a systematic duskward shift of cusp local time, transitioning from noon to afternoon (Saturn‐like) and dusk (Jupiter‐like) sectors. We propose the corotation‐to‐convection speed ratio as a unifying parameter that captures this duskward displacement across different planets. This unified framework explains gas‐giant magnetospheres, offering potential applications to other rapidly rotating systems, such as ice giants, early Earth, and exoplanets.

Introduction Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is a necessary component of limiting global warming to 2 °C by 2,100. Marine enhanced rock weathering (mERW) with minerals like olivine is a CDR strategy with the potential to capture atmospheric carbon dioxide and mitigate ocean acidification, which threatens calcifying organisms including those essential for global aquaculture such as oysters. mERW could benefit these species through the local addition of alkalinity, although olivine also releases trace metals like nickel which may bioaccumulate. Methods This study presents findings from the world’s first field trial of mERW conducted in New York, USA. Olivine sand was applied to an intertidal beach, where juvenile oysters were exposed over a one-year period. Oyster biomass and trace metal accumulation were subsequently assessed. Results On short (2 month) timescales, Eastern oysters exposed to olivine demonstrated a positive, but non-significant, increase in biomass as compared to control treatments. After a year of exposure, there was no significant difference in oyster biomass or mean metal accumulations between olivine and control treatments (mean for all treatments 2.18 ± 2.71 μg g dw−1 for Ni; <1 μg g dw−1 for Cr and Co). Discussion Metals concentrations were below US Food and Drug Administration warning thresholds and within global natural ranges. Our findings suggest that mERW with olivine has a limited effect on oysters and that olivine-derived metals did not result in oyster safety concerns for human health.

Abstract. The Increasing Earthquake Awareness in Switzerland project set out to connect students, teachers, and the wider public with earthquake science by reviving and extending the nationwide seismo@school initiative. Supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) AGORA programme, the project developed a suite of multilingual teaching resources, deployed near real-time seismic sensors in schools, and created hands-on activities such as the Lambda Slinky Seismometer kit to engage 12- to 18-year-olds. Although Switzerland is exposed to only moderate seismic hazard, earthquakes remain the natural hazard with the highest damage potential. Because most residents have never experienced a damaging earthquake, educational programmes play a crucial role in raising awareness and strengthening preparedness. Moreover, seismo@school initiatives can inspire younger generations to pursue geosciences by helping them appreciate the relevance of the field. This article presents the rationale, implementation, and impact of the project, and may serve as a guide for other countries seeking to develop similar initiatives. It examines how experiential, data-driven educational approaches can improve earthquake awareness and preparedness in moderate-hazard regions, how school-based seismometers benefit both teaching and scientific monitoring while considering the practical challenges of installation and operation, and what institutional and policy conditions are required to sustain such efforts over the long term.

Subway systems, integral to urban transit, are perceived as clean yet pose unique health challenges from elevated particulate matter (PM) in enclosed spaces. This comprehensive Review synthesizes global research on the characteristics, health risks, and control strategies of subway PM. Findings indicate that subway PM concentrations consistently exceed ambient levels with fine particles (PM2.5) dominating the profile. Key components are iron-rich particles from mechanical wear, soluble metals, carbonaceous matter, microplastics, and biological agents, which confer distinct properties and heightened bioactivity. Major sources encompass internal processes such as wheel-rail friction, brake wear, material release, and passenger activities and infiltration of outdoor air pollutants. Exposure to subway PM triggers multifaceted health effects via oxidative stress, inflammation, genotoxicity, immune dysregulation, and vascular dysfunction, affecting respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological systems in both commuters and occupational workers. Mitigation focuses on source control, engineering interventions, and personal protection. However, critical challenges persist, including incomplete composition characterization, limited epidemiological evidence, elusive toxicity mechanisms, and insufficient health risk-based standards. Future research should prioritize advanced compositional analysis, large-scale prospective health studies, mechanistic insights into key toxic components, and the development of integrated exposure-control frameworks. This Review underscores the urgency of addressing subway air quality to ensure public health and sustainable urban mobility.

Abstract Urban clusters are the result of concentrated economic activity and can drive economic development in surrounding areas. However, this rapid development is often accompanied by significant ecological challenges. Therefore, evaluating the ecological security of urban agglomerations holds both theoretical relevance and practical importance. This study focuses on the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, using the DPSIR framework to multiple natural and socioeconomic indicators to assess ecological security. A combined approach involving the comprehensive index method and a random forest algorithm was employed for the evaluation. The results indicate that the AUC values for the random forest model exceeded 0.9 for all three years studied (2010, 2015, and 2020), demonstrating high model accuracy. Overall, ecological security across the region showed an upward trend over the decade, with both the safe and relatively safe zones expanding in spatial extent. In contrast, most parts of the central and eastern regions exhibited above-average ecological security values. Among the 14 indicators, Net Primary Productivity (NPP) and green space coverage ranked highest in importance as positive contributors across all three time points. In contrast, PM2.5 concentrations and industrial SO₂ emissions were the leading negative factors. Socioeconomic indicators such as GDP and population density had relatively limited influence, and natural condition variables like elevation and terrain undulation also ranked lower in importance. Overall, the evaluation framework and modeling approach adopted in this study demonstrate promising potential for application in ecological security assessment.

Abstract The study investigated the impacts of LULC changes on forest ES over 33 years in the District Swat of Pakistan. Landsat images from 1988, 1998, 2010, 2018, and 2023 were used to analyze spatio-temporal LULC changes through supervised classification employing a maximum likelihood classifier. The economic impacts was assessed by calculating the total Ecosystem Services Value (ESV) using ESVs coefficients of the respective LULC types for the year 1988, 1998, 2010, 2018 and 2023. orests and bare rocks were the dominant land cover classes during this period. In 1998, forests accounted for the largest portion of land cover at 32.8%, followed by bare rocks at 23%. However, the final assessment in 2023 revealed a decrease in forest cover to 26.8%, while bare rocks covered 21.3% of the land. Furthermore, forests, glaciers, and agriculture make significant contributions to the overall ecosystem service value (ESV) of the study area, with forests being the most dominant contributing land cover. In 1988, ESV of forests accounted for 48% (USD 1504 million) of the total ESV. By 2023, this share had decreased to 43% (USD 1230 million), reflecting an 18.2% decline in forest ESV over the 33-year period. Conversely, there was an increase in the ESV of settlements, rising from 4% to 7%, and agriculture, which grew from 9% to 19% during the study period. Overall, the total ESV of the study area declined by 7.89% from 3134 million USD in 1988 to 2887 million USD in 2023. Likewise, out of the 15 individual ESVs, 12 exhibited negative changes over the study period. LULC changes have had negative impacts on all individual forest ecosystem services, leading to significant declines, particularly in carbon sequestration (-53.3 million USD), recreational values (-30.7 million USD), climate regulation (-22.9 million USD), habitat for biodiversity (-19.9 million USD), and genetic resources

Abstract Despite global efforts to mitigate climate change, disparities in CO2 emission efficiency persist.
Understanding these disparities and convergence trends is vital for effective climate policy. This
study examines whether environmental policy stringency (EPS) is associated with CO2 emission
efficiency convergence across 38 OECD countries from 1990 to 2023. Our empirical strategy
proceeds in three steps. First, we estimate CO2 emission efficiency performance using a directional
distance function within a non-radial Data Envelopment Analysis framework. Second, we apply
a club convergence algorithm to identify whether countries form distinct clubs converging toward
similar efficiency levels. Finally, we use a probit model to assess how EPS and other factors
are associated with convergence-club membership. Our results reveal two distinct convergence
clubs. Importantly, stricter environmental policies are strongly associated with higher emission
efficiency: a one-unit increase in the EPS index raises the probability that a country belongs to the
top-performing club by approximately 62.4 percentage points, whereas greater energy intensity
acts as a barrier to such progress. Overall, these results suggest that well-designed environmental
policies may help narrow efficiency gaps and support the achievement of global climate goals.

Abstract The ecological restoration of rock slopes has long been a challenging endeavor. The success of rock slope recovery largely depends on the artificial ecological substrate layer. This study presents a new ecological substrate developed by combining enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP) and phosphogypsum (PG). To determine the optimal substrate composition and evaluate the influence of each component, the mechanical properties and water stability were systematically investigated using an orthogonal experimental design. Range analysis was then used to evaluate the contribution of each component. Subsequently, the vegetative performance of the proposed substrate was validated through experimentation. Based on the analysis of the mechanisms of modification, it was concluded that the incorporation of EICP and PG significantly enhanced the substrate's mechanical strength, with the cohesion and internal friction angle increasing by approximately two-fold and 1.7-fold, respectively, compared to the untreated samples. Water stability improved markedly, as evidenced by a reduction in the permeability coefficient by a factor of ten and a significant delay in the disintegration process. The substrate provides a favorable growth environment for ryegrass and meets slope protection requirements within one month of seeding. This strengthening is attributed to the multiphase synergy within the 'plant–urease–stabilizer' system. The optimal formulation was found to be a mixture containing 0.2% water-retaining agent, 6% rice husk charcoal, 3% adhesive, 20% phosphogypsum and 20% EICP solution.

Amine-functionalized solid sorbents are a class of sorbent materials proposed for direct air capture (DAC) of CO2, yet their long-term performance is susceptible to degradation under realistic operating conditions. Many amines are not thermodynamically stable in air, and amine sorbents oxidize while in use during DAC temperature swing adsorption processes. In this study, we investigate the role of transition metal ion contaminants, specifically Cu2+, Fe2+, and Ni2+, on the oxidative degradation of poly(ethylenimine) (PEI)-impregnated SBA-15 sorbents. By introducing metal ions via different modes mimicking both synthesis-related impurities and impurities derived from environmental exposure, we systematically evaluate sorbent stability after exposure to dry air at an elevated temperature. Thermogravimetric CO2 uptake measurements reveal that even trace levels of Cu and Fe (as low as ∼4 ppm) can lead to measurable sorbent deactivation after oxidative aging, despite negligible loss in the performance of the control samples. In situ infrared, UV–vis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies indicate that these metals catalyze radical-driven oxidation pathways, altering the chemical structure of the sorbent and accelerating degradation. Our findings underscore the need to account for trace metal contamination during DAC sorbent synthesis and deployment and highlight the importance of environmental contamination pathways.

Abstract Producers enroll their highly erodible and other environmentally sensitive lands in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for conservation purposes in exchange for an annual rental payment. We employ a binomial logit model to investigate the impact of socio-demographics, willingness to participate in conservation programs, motivations for environmental conservation, and trust in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) expertise on Continuous CRP enrollment compared to General CRP enrollment in the southeastern United States. We selected 5,000 agricultural producers using a stratified random sampling method from six states. Out of 941 surveys that were returned, 184 observations were retained for the logit model. Compared to male producers, female producers show a higher likelihood of enrolling in Continuous CRP over General CRP. Furthermore, producers who are motivated by the enhancement of wildlife habitat and improvements in water quality when deciding to enroll in CRP demonstrate a greater likelihood of participating in Continuous CRP. Additionally, producers who express a willingness to participate in government-sponsored conservation programs are significantly more likely to enroll in Continuous CRP compared to General CRP. Trust in the USDA NRCS staff is positively but non-significantly associated with producers’ enrollment in Continuous CRP over General CRP. Our findings highlight the need for targeted outreach programs specifically designed for female producers, promoting motivations for environmental conservation among producers, and strengthening institutional relationships to enhance Continuous CRP enrollment.

Accurate characterization of salt caverns is a prerequisite for evaluating the feasibility of Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES), yet high-noise urban environments pose challenges for conventional active-source geophysical methods. To address this, our study utilized Microtremor Array Measurements (MAMs) based on the Spatial Autocorrelation (SPAC) method to characterize deep salt caverns for a CAES project in Yunnan, China. The results reveal dissolution features and morphological asymmetry within the caverns: the upper sections are conical and brine-filled, whereas the lower sections are cylindrical, containing both brine and sediment. The identified caverns range from 45 to 190 m in height and 30–120 m in width, with an estimated total volume of approximately 4.6 × 10 6 m 3 . Additionally, localized wave velocity anomalies helped map connecting channels between four brine extraction wells, which were formed by differential dissolution and piping. By delineating cavern morphology and identifying fracture zones, joint networks, and hydraulic conduits that could potentially compromise sealing integrity, the MAMs approach provides critical geophysical insights for the safety evaluation and engineering design of CAES gas storage under complex geological conditions.

Abstract Applying the necessary types and quantities of plant nutrients in balanced amounts according to crop demand is crucial for increasing and sustaining crop production. This study was conducted to identify yield-limiting nutrients for bread wheat in the Lasta district during the 2022 main season. The treatments included: All (NPKSZnB), boron omitted (NPKSZnB-B), zinc omitted (NPKSZnB-Zn), sulfur omitted (NPKSZnB-S₁), potassium omitted (NPKSZnB-K), phosphorus omitted (NPKSZnB-P), nitrogen omitted (NPKSZnB-N), RNP (recommended nitrogen and maintenance phosphorus rate), control (unfertilized), and RNP + S₂. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications across five farmers' fields. The collected data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) with R software version 4.5.3. and mean separation was performed using Tukey's Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) test at the 0.05 significance level. The results revealed that, except for the unfertilized and nitrogen-omitted treatments, all treatments yielded statistically similar results. Further research across multiple locations and years is suggested to increase confidence in identifying yield-limiting nutrients.