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Site selection is a key factor to the success of ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) project. It is a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) problem with a series of conflicting criteria involved. However, limited studies were found concerning this area and problems existing in classical MCDM methods tended to fail OTEC site selection decisions. Therefore, this paper proposes an extended MCDM method and establishes a new decision-making framework to select the optimal location. First, a comprehensive evaluation criteria system for OTEC site selection from the view of sustainability with 16 criteria involved is established. Second, feasible alternative sites for OTEC project are identified by PEST analysis. Third, an extended PROMETHEE (Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation) under intuitionistic fuzzy environment is proposed to avoid compensation assumptions. During the decision process, seven groups of experts shared the work and cooperated with each other according to their backgrounds. Finally, a real case is studied and sensitive analysis is conducted, demonstrating the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed method. This study can effectively improve OTEC site selection decision making quality and also extends the domains of intuitionistic fuzzy PROMETHEE applications. • A novel multi-criteria decision-making framework for site selection is proposed. • The criteria system for ocean thermal energy conversion site selection is constructed. • A case study is carried out in areas of Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mineral resource extraction is often accompanied by severe environmental pollution and ecological damage, hindering mining economies from achieving sustainable development. This paper aims to promote the goal of cleaner production in extractive industries from the perspective of environmental management through a more accurate understanding of how human activities affect the extractive industries. This requires more granular data for environmental damage in mining. The article proposes an ecological threat assessment framework for mining to support sustainable processes in the extractive industry. It integrates biophysical variables, technical indicators, and human activity data. The study is based on data at the mine level with 17 indicators used to evaluate the ecological impact of 13960 mines in Guangxi, China, from 2008-to 2018 in four dimensions: economic and technical indicators of mines themselves, surrounding economic activity, geological and environmental vulnerability, and ecological status of mining sites. Data from multiple sources were used to assess, map, and monitor ecological impacts in mining areas, such as high-resolution satellite images, interview data, environmental assessment reports, and mining rights data. We evaluated the ecological impact level of each mine and the extent to which spatial heterogeneity of regional economic and environmental preferences affected the degree of ecological impact. The results show that growth in population income has changed environmental preferences and driven down environmental disturbances in mines. Reduced dependence of regional economies on the industrial sector has also contributed to environmental improvements. In addition, increasing environmental regulation has limited the ecological impacts of mining, but these environmental regulation impacts are regionally heterogeneous. The effect of laws and rules is lower in cities and regions dependent on mineral resources, where resource extraction companies have more bargaining power. The results of this study will inform environmental management in the mining sector and support sustainable development in the region. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phaeocystis globosa (P.glo) has become a common harmful species of red tide algae in coastal waters. Developing an efficient monitoring method for the P.glo is what one would expect. In this way, the study attempts to indicate the abnormal proliferation of P.glo from the perspective of algae species competition and Phycocyanin (PC) concentration change in seawater. A high-precision PC concentration inversion model is crucial to ensure the accuracy of the risk prediction results. Therefore, we compared different atmospheric correction processes of 6S and FLAASH to obtain a reliable reflectance of sea surface water, and the empirical statistical model and machine learning model were used together to screen out the optimal PC inversion model. Based on the GF-1 satellite spectrum and the automatic monitoring data of Qinzhou Bay seawater from 2013 to 2019, the spectral index sensitive to PC concentration was further found. Finally, the independent variable input and model selection of the optimal PC inversion model for different GF-1 WFV images were obtained as follows: (1) WFV1: B4, SVR; (2) WFV2: B3/B2- B4 /B2, XGBoost; (3) WFV3: lnB2/(lnB3 + lnB4), LR; (4) WFV4: B3-B2 and B2*B2/(B1*B1), LR. The results showed that the occurrence of extremely low PC concentration was closely related to the abnormal proliferation of P.glo. However, the abnormal proliferation of P.glo is not the only condition leading to the reduction of PC concentration. Low temperature, low tide may also promote the reduction of PC concentration. In this paper, we proposed a preliminary evaluation method for abnormal proliferation of P.glo based on PC concentration threshold and PC spatial morphology. The PC regions with different concentrations have certain shape characteristics. These shapes are the results of nutrients, algae and other substances moving with the seawater, which may confirm the succession of algae from another perspective. This method can also be combined with pollution diffusion simulation of hydrodynamic models to enhance the tracking and monitoring of the red tide occurrence process. In addition, meteorological factors such as cloud cover and solar radiation intensity are also important factors affecting the occurrence and duration of P.glo bloom. Integrating the PC concentration inversion model and meteorological observations, it is expected to understand the abnormal proliferation of P.glo from the perspective of remote sensing. [Display omitted] • Proliferation of P.glo usually resulted in a decrease of PC concentration. • Low temperature or low tide may also lead to the decrease of PC concentration. • P.glo blooms usually occurred with more cloud cover and lower solar radiation. • P.glo probably first developed in the deep waters of the harbor. • Floating raft culture may inhibit the proliferation of P.glo to a certain extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Trace elements in sphalerite and pyrite distributed in the form of solid solutions or micro-inclusions. • The mineralization in the Beishan Pb-Zn ore district was under a low-temperature condition. • The Pb-Zn deposits in the Beishan Pb-Zn ore district are MVT deposits. The Beishan Pb-Zn ore district, located in northern Guangxi, China, is a giant carbonate-hosted Pb-Zn ore district. In-situ trace element analysis was performed using LA-ICP-MS on sphalerite and pyrite from three representative Pb-Zn deposits in the Beishan Pb-Zn ore district. The analysis of these trace elements reveals the trace element compositions of the sulfides, the distributions and the substitution mechanisms of trace elements, physicochemical characteristics of the ore-forming fluids, and ore genesis. Sphalerite is enriched in Mn, Fe, Ge, and Cd, while it is poor in Co, Ni, Ga, As, In. Pyrite is enriched in Co, Ni, As, Tl, Sb, and Pb, but poor in Mn, Ga, Ge, Cd, In, Sn. Mn, Fe, Cd, Ga, Ge, Sb, Ag, and As in sphalerite enter the mineral lattice mainly by simple or coupled substitution mechanisms, while Cu and Pb can enter the mineral lattice in the form of solid solution or micro-inclusions. Mn, Co, Ni, As, Tl, and Sb in pyrite substituted Fe2+ by simple or coupled mechanisms, while Pb can enter the mineral lattice in the form of solid solution or micro-inclusions. Studies of trace elements related to temperature (e.g., Mn, Fe, Ga, Ge, In) in sphalerite and pyrite indicated that mineralization in the Beishan Pb-Zn ore district occurred under a low-temperature condition. And according to the sphalerite GGIMFis geothermometer, the mineralization temperature of the Beishan Pb-Zn ore district was 55–268 °C (average 153 °C), of which 110–230 °C(average 153 °C) in Duchuan, 92–268 °C (average 149 °C) in Beishan, and 55–243 °C (average 167 °C) in Dongyong. The Mn, Fe, Ga, Ge, and In contents of sphalerite are similar to those of MVT deposits. The combination of some binary pattern diagrams, principal component analysis (PCA), and Co/Ni ratios of pyrite, with the geological features and physicochemical properties of the ore-forming fluids, indicates that the Beishan Pb-Zn ore district is an MVT district. This paper, combined with previous studies, shows that the Co/Ni ratio of pyrite has some guiding significance for mineral exploration of this kind of Pb-Zn deposit, with Co/Ni values around 0.1 indicating that the deposit has a better prospect of developing into a large deposit, and Co/Ni much less than 0.1 indicating that the deposit may not have a good prospect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Time series and nonlinear relationship of load data are simultaneously considered. • The multi-temporal-spatial-scale method is introduced into the proposed method. • A multi-temporal-spatial-scale temporal convolutional network is proposed. • The proposed method can grasp the trends and laws of load data of power systems. • Short-term load forecasting can be solved by the proposed method with high accuracy. With the advancement of power market reform, accurate load forecasting can ensure the stable operation of power systems increasingly. The randomness of feature change such as climate and day type increases the complexity of short-term load forecasting. To simplify the data processing process to facilitate the practical application and predict short-term loads more accurately, this paper takes the past load data as a feature and considers the time series characteristics of load data simultaneously. The multi-temporal-spatial-scale method is applied to process the load data by reducing the load data noise error and enhancing the time series characteristics. Then, a novel short-term load forecasting model, which is named a multi-temporal-spatial-scale temporal convolutional network, is applied to load forecasting tasks in this paper. The proposed approach can learn the nonlinear feature and time series characteristics of load data simultaneously. To predict the power load of a city in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (China) in the next day and the next week, the forecasting model is trained by the historical feature load of 7 days, 21 days, 99 days, and 199 days. Compared with 22 artificial intelligent short-term load forecasting models, such as backpropagation neural network and bagging regression, the simulation results show that the proposed multi-temporal-spatial-scale temporal convolutional network can obtain higher accuracy for the short-term load forecasting of power systems than other compared methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) forest projects are perceived as an attractive way to both help mitigate climate change and transfer income to rural poor. However, to engender participation of small-scale producers, a CDM forest project must offer sufficient incentives, while minimizing their costs of participation, all the while respecting the need for additionality. Property rights, social capital and contractual rules are critical in the success of CDM forest projects. In this paper, we ask what factors affect participation in the world's first CDM project, established in Guangxi Province, China. Using village-level surveys, we find that although the project facilitates participation through carbon pooling and a share-holding system, much of the project land remains unforested. We find that the primary reasons for the unforested regions are constrained contractual rules, property rights allocation disputes and low levels of social capital in some villages. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Photovoltaic poverty alleviation project (PPAP) is initiated to reduce rural poverty and pursue cleaner production, but the lack of reasonable sustainability evaluation has become a challenge. This study evaluates the sustainability of PPAP in order to improve the poverty alleviation performance and efficiency considering an integrated multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method combining benefits, opportunities, costs, risks (BOCR) theory, analytic hierarchy process (AHP), interval type-2 fuzzy numbers (IT2FNs), and technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS). First of all, this paper identifies 16 criteria based on BOCR theory from the perspectives of benefits, opportunities, costs, risks and constructs the criteria system. Second, an integrated BOCR-AHP-IT2FTOPSIS method is proposed and applied in processing ambiguous information and comprehensive sustainability evaluation. Third, an empirical case in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China, a comparative analysis and a sensitivity analysis are used to rank the alternative PPAPs and verify the effectiveness and robustness of proposed method. The results show that the integrated MCDM method is capable to evaluate and rank the sustainability levels of PPAPs with the contribution of BOCR theory-based criteria system. The work offers a novel sustainability evaluation angle for PPAPs and has potential applications in providing understandings and making decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The relation between urbanization and eco-environment in SREB was explored. • Coupling coordination degree model between UAEE of SREB was established. • The negative interaction effect of UAEE is mainly focused on the northwest regions. • Advocate sustainable development, realize the balance between UAEE. Rapid urbanization in China in recent decades has given rise to increasingly serious ecological and environmental problems. Specifically, the provinces along the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) in China have experienced rapid urbanization, and need to take pro-active action in balancing urbanization development with eco-environment conservation. This paper aims to develop comprehensive urbanization and eco-environment (UAEE) evaluation models to explore UAEE development of SREB in China from 2004 to 2018. In terms of methodology, these evaluation models are subsequently combined with CCDM (Coupling coordination degree model) and GTWR (Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression) models to measure and analyze coupling degree and spatio-temporal heterogeneity of UAEE. The results show that: Firstly, from 2004 to 2018 in all regions of the SREB, the urbanization showed a gradual upward trend. Among them, comprehensive urbanization index (CUI) of Guangxi increased by 3.067%. Secondly, the comprehensive eco-environment index (CEI) of Chongqing, Sichuan, Guangxi, Shaanxi and Gansu has improved; while the eco-environment quality of Yunnan, Qinghai, Ningxia and Xinjiang has deteriorated during this period, with the rate of decrease in Xinjiang reaching a significant 2%; Thirdly, in 2018, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guangxi, Shaanxi and Gansu are in a state of high coordination level with the eco-environment under the rapid urbanization process, while Yunnan, Qinghai, Ningxia and Xinjiang are at a moderate coordination level. Since 2011, these areas are in a state of lagging development of the eco-environment. Finally, the interactive relationship between UAEE tends to converge. There is heterogeneity in time and space among SREB regions. The negative interaction effect of UAEE is mainly focused on the northwest regions. In conclusion, this research will provide a basis of scientific evaluation for the coordinated degree of UAEE, promote regional urbanization vis-à-vis the improvement in environmental policy making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Being located between Eurasia continent and the western Pacific Ocean, the coastal area of China (hereafter as CAC) is vulnerable to climate change and prone to climate-related disasters. Based on the daily meteorological dataset of 156 stations, variations of consecutive dry days (CDD) and consecutive wet days (CWD) and their relationships with local and remote climate drivers from 1961 to 2017 over CAC were investigated. Results showed that the multi-year averages in CDD and CWD were 22.5–93.7 and 3.4–11.8 days, generally presenting a "high north and low south" and "low north and high south" spatial pattern, respectively. The decadal trend rates in CDD and CWD were − 4.5–2.7 and − 0.7–0.6 days per decade, respectively, both showing universal insignificant change trends over CAC. There was a significant negatively correlation between CDD and precipitation at partial of meteorological stations clustered in Guangxi autonomous region, and a predominantly significant positive relationship between CWD and precipitation over CAC. Both CDD and CWD correlated significantly with Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI) and Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) in parts of northern coastal areas close to the sea, while a common insignificant linkage was detected between CDD/CWD and large-scale circulation indices such as North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Northern Oscillation Index (NOI), Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) over CAC. Results from this paper are anticipated to provide insights into the drought/flood disaster risk mitigation and prevention as well as water resources management in the coastal area of China. • Coastal area of China (CAC) witnessed an obvious north-south difference in consecutive dry days (CDD) and consecutive wet days (CWD). • CDD and CWD varied insignificantly with a - trend rate of − 4.5–2.7 and − 0.7–0.6 days per decade, respectively. • A predominantly significant positive linkage was found between CWD and precipitation over CAC. • CDD and CWD correlated significantly with ENSO in parts of northern coastal areas close to the sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a case study of curtain grouting to prevent water and mud inrush disasters for a weathered granite tunnel in Guangxi, China. First, the basic information of the Junchang tunnel is given, including ground conditions, water and mud inrush disasters, and the subsequent prevention countermeasures. Then, we present the original grouting design and procedure, and the field operation of 25 grouting cycles and excavations for the evaluation of the grouting effect and suggestion for future grouting work. Based on the field investigation, the values of the major grouting parameters are suggested, including grouting thickness of 5– 8 m, grouting length of 15– 18 m (3– 3.6 times of thickness), and per-meter grouting volume of 34.2 m3. Furthermore, the guidelines for composite materials selection are proposed for the various flowing water environments. Moreover, the space positions and water quality of the inspection boreholes and the original water richness of the ground should be taken into consideration in the grouting evaluation criteria. The optimized grouting parameters, materials selection and evaluation criteria provide important references for disasters prevention in similar projects. • A weathered granite tunnel with five groundwater and mud inrush disasters was presented as a case study. • Twenty-five grouting cycles conducted in the project were applied to discuss the grouting optimization in the completely weathered granite formation. • Improved grouting parameters and evaluation criteria were proposed for grouting work. • The guidelines for materials selection were established for the various flowing water environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives: China is actively promoting the reform of its economic structure and industrial upgrade, and the integration of the cultural industry and the tourism industry is an important approach. It is necessary to explore the degree of coordination and coupling between the cultural industry and the tourism industry in ethnic minority areas and find ways to promote the coordinated development of the two industries. Methods/Statistical Analysis: This study selected Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region as the sample, collected data from 2010 to 2018, and analyzed it based on the coupling coordination theory. Findings: The results revealed that the comprehensive development evaluation index of the cultural industry and the tourism industry basically showed a year-on-year upward trend, and the development speed of the cultural industry is slightly higher than that of the tourism industry; the coupling degree of the regional cultural industry and tourism industry was at a high level; the coordination degree of the two industries increased gradually from 0.3971 in 2010 to 0.9425 in 2018. It indicated that the coupling development of the two industries continues to improve. However, the development speed of tourism industry slightly was slower than the development speed of the cultural industry. Improvements: This study attempts to develop an index to evaluate the tourism and cultural industries in an ethnic minority region and assess the coupling and coordination degree through an empirical analysis. This study emphasizes the need to better understand the integration of the cultural industry and the tourism industry as a process to complement each other, which can produce a positive synergy effect to benefit both the economy and the environment. This paper also provides development suggestions for the culture and tourism industry stakeholders in other areas of the world from the perspective of open innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of search and graphical display of hazardous blocks on roadway roofs is of great importance to the safe excavation and long-term utility of roadways. In this paper, the GeneralBlock program was used to carry out preliminary analyses of blocks, which were developed based on the General block method. Following this, the removability and stability of the buried and fixed blocks under engineering disturbances were analysed according to the minimum fixed area of the blocks. In addition, accurate positioning and three-dimensional graphical displays of hazardous blocks were carried out through the coupling of GeneralBlock and 3DMine. Finally, a technology for searching and displaying hazardous blocks on roadway roofs in underground mines was developed, and it was subsequently applied to the production roadway in #92 ore body and the development roadway in Zinc polymetallic ore body of the Tongkeng mine, Guangxi, China. One hundred and twenty hazardous blocks were found on the test site during the production process of #92 ore body. These blocks were mainly located in the segments of 0–3 m and 12–20 m on the Y -axis; a total of 31 hazardous blocks were found in the development roadways of the levels 255 and 305 in Zinc polymetallic ore body, and the volume of the largest hazardous block located in the B5 roadway was 1.44 m3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]