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• Different dimensions of wellbeing present heterogeneous trends, encouraging to resort to a multidimensional index for an inclusive overview on Chinese development based on household microdata. • Between 2011 and 2015 the average level of multidimensional wellbeing stagnated. Although a slight decrease in well-being is nominally recorded, the overall trend is stable when controlling for other phenomenon (such as the ageing of the sample). • Individual characteristics (such as age and gender) and residence matter in terms of multidimensional wellbeing. As expected, wellbeing decreases in old age following a non-linear trend, and women record lower outcomes too. Inhabitants of coastal provinces and urban citizens (provided they possess an urban hukou) have higher than average scores. The impact of these characteristics is not homogeneous across the distribution of wellbeing. • Heilongjiang province, an emblematic case of economic stagnation in the north-east, reports a significantly worsening well-being trend, significantly different from the remaining "pooled" data. On the contrary, the catching-up Guizhou province records faster growth in the multidimensional wellbeing index. After many years of outstanding GDP growth and structural changes, China is now facing an economic slowdown. This paper aims to analyse the effects of this slowdown on individual well-being, from a multidimensional and provincial perspective. The empirical analysis is based on data obtained from the China Health and Nutrition Survey, for the 2011 and 2015 waves. The notions of moderate prosperity, harmony and balanced growth pursued by the Chinese Government are used to select nine dimensions. These dimensions – based on 56 variables – are aggregated into an individual well-being index using the Multidimensional Synthesis of Indicators technique. The econometric results reveal that, in the 2011–2015 period, individual multidimensional well-being stagnated; moreover, some dimensions were affected much more than others, according to individual characteristics (e.g. age, gender) and geographical differences (e.g. urban/rural, east/west provinces). This creates new challenges for the central and provincial governments of China, in their pursuit of a more 'harmonious' and balanced development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early or in-season crop type mapping using remote sensing data is important for crop managements to maximize crop yield. Existing remote sensing-based approaches in the literature rely mainly on the timing and temporal frequency of satellite data acquisition during a growing season to obtain optimal identification feature (OIF) to complete crop mapping. At present, the optimal features for mapping crop types are commonly generated by using different feature selection methods, and thereby are not generic in nature. In this paper, a novel approach based on the OIF knowledge graph is proposed for identification of crop types within the crop growing season. The concept of OIF was proposed based on the one-class classification and optimization theory, which relates a specific crop type to its OIF. The OIF knowledge graph can be created to describe the seasonal trend of OIF in a season. Eventually, the OIF knowledge graphs can be incorporated into the moment-preserving segmentation method to automatically identify crop types within the growing season. To evaluate the performance of the new method, crop mapping was conducted using 2019 Sentinel-2 data in Heilongjiang province, China, and Illinois, USA, respectively. Results demonstrate that integrating the OIF knowledge graph and moment-preserving thresholding method is effective in identifying crop types without ground-truth data. The overall accuracy higher than 90 % (Kappa coefficient greater than 0.90), and the producer's accuracies for corn, soybean, and rice are generally greater than 93 % in Heilongjiang province. The proposed approach has the advantage of simplifying crop identification process while maintaining a satisfactory identification accuracy in shorter time than conventional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Heilongjiang Province is the largest commodity grain producing area and modern agricultural reform pilot area, its agricultural modernization still has a long way to go. According to the actual situation of 34 regions in Heilongjiang Province, this paper evaluates the agricultural development of Heilongjiang Province from four main aspects: input level, output level, social development ability and sustainable ability. An index system of four first-level indicators and ten second-level indicators has been established. Analytic hierarchy process method and entropy weight method were used to calculate the weight of each index layer. Secondly, the least square method was used to fit the three-dimensional nonlinear value, and the extreme value standardization method was used to evaluate each index. Finally, based on the longitude and latitude data of 34 regions in Heilongjiang Province, the Moran index is calculated and the comprehensive evaluation results of the development level index of agricultural modernization in each region were given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The ISP method allows for gathering a large number of historical training samples. • The SRVI values of the same crop planted in neighboring years range from 0.91 and 1.2. • A distinct northward expansion trend is evident for all four major crops, in Heilongjiang Province, China. Mapping agricultural information such as cropping area and type is of great significance for land use and food security and a common method to retrieve such information is satellite imagery classification. The current image classification techniques require a statistically large number of training samples to obtain representative spectral signatures, ideally collected during the satellite overpass time/date. Although this prerequisite sounds simple and easy in principle, it is extremely challenging and sometimes impossible when classifying historical satellite images, as one simply cannot go back in time to collect training datasets or ground truthing. In this paper, we introduce an iterative and subsequent proximation (ISP) method to circumvent this problem for historical image classifications for historical crop mapping. This method assumes that the same crops grown two years apart have similar spectral properties within the same growing season, with limited variation. This allows the use of the crop information classified in any given year (n) to be used as training samples for the next year (n + 1) or the previous year (n-1). Iteratively repeating n-1, n-2... process leads to the mapping of historical cropping information without a priori ground truthing data. To demonstrate the ISP feasibility, we first used the historical Landsat time-series data to map four major stable crops (rice, maize, soybean, and wheat) in Hailun County, Heilongjiang Province, China, and then further expanded the ISP application to the entire Heilongjiang Province to map cropping areas from 1982 to 2020, using the classification and regression trees (CART) algorithm. The results were validated for those years when actual cropping measurement data were available and further verified with statistical data for other years. The results indicated that the proposed ISP method was appropriate for the historical mapping of four major crops, with a mapping accuracy of approximately 80 % when validated with field data, and correlation coefficients of 0.86, 0.85, 0.91, and 0.94, respectively when compared with historical statistical cropping data. The crop mapping results showed distinct trends of northward expansion in each of the four crops in Heilongjiang Province, which agreed well with previous studies. In conclusion, the ISP method is quick, easy, and convenient for historical crop mapping, which is important in understanding the agricultural production history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To define the complicated driving mechanisms of virtual water flow (VWF) in China's main grains production, this study firstly uses the entropy method and a K-means clustering approach to classify the driving types of VWF based on the data from 31 provinces in the mainland of China, and then applies the PLS structural equation model to analyze the driving mechanisms of VWF in four representative provinces or municipalities(Zhejiang, Heilongjiang, Xinjiang and Shanghai)selected by the classified driving types. The results show that the driving types of VWF can be divided into four types, namely, ecology-economy, ecology-environment, ecology-water use, and comprehensive type. In the four typical regions at provincial level, the social factors directly affect the VWF, and reversely it has a direct impact on the nature, environment and economy of the above four regions. In particular, the water use has a direct impact on the VWF in Heilongjiang attached to the ecologic-environmental type. The findings of this paper manifest that the social indicators rather than the indicators in water use play an important role in the VWF, that is, our findings further testify the status quo of China's VWF: the regions with rich water resources import the virtual water while the regions with poor water resources export the virtual water. Finally, for promoting the rational flow of virtual water we propose some corresponding adjustment countermeasures and suggestions that provide a theoretical basis for the rational allocation and management of water resources. • The application of PLS structural equation model reveals the complex driving mechanism of virtual water flow. • Reveals the social indicators play an important role in China's virtual water flow. • Proposed targeted countermeasures and suggestions to promote the rational flow of virtual water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A multi-attribute group decision method based on the interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy set is proposed. • A sustainability evaluation of an agricultural water-land-energy-carbon nexus is provided. • Multidimensional indicators are combined through stability, coordinativity and connectivity. • The water, land, energy and carbon subsystems of the agricultural system are quantified based on dual uncertainty. • The model is shown to solve real-world relationship management problems. The interactions between agricultural subsystems, resource scarcity and ecological degradation increase the need for agricultural sustainability assessments in relation to water, land, energy and carbon emissions. In addition, uncertainties caused by natural factors and human activities complicate sustainability assessments. Therefore, this study proposes a regional agricultural sustainability assessment method based on the water-land-energy-carbon (WLEC) nexus system under high uncertainty. This method couples the interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy set (IVIFS) and multi-attribute group decision making (MAGDM) methods to quantitatively characterise and assess element management and corresponding relationships within the agricultural WLEC nexus system in a multidimensional manner. The paper is able to (1) clarify the role of the coupled agricultural "water-land-energy-carbon" nexus and (2) address the double ambiguity and uncertainty in the indicators and more objectively reflect the interval fluctuations of natural resources and social activities in both positive and negative scenarios. (3) Sustainability management of agricultural resources is carried out according to different regional conditions. The method was applied to Heilongjiang Province in northeast China, and the coupling of agricultural WLEC nexus system in 13 administrative regions of the study area was quantitatively analysed. The degree of agroecological sustainability from a multidimensional perspective is higher in Daxinganling and lower in the provincial capital, Harbin. The recommended range of groundwater use in the study area is [16%,28%] to ensure ecological sustainability when total agricultural output fluctuates between 285,395.18 and 404,495.33 billion yuan. This methodology helps policy makers understand the overall dynamics of agricultural sustainability in an environment of multiple uncertainties and gives suggestions for better assessing management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bupleurum scorzonerifolium (BS) is one of the sources of Bupleuri Radix, which was first recorded in Shennong's classic of materia medica. It has a medicinal history of 2000 years and is now widely used for the treatment of depression clinically. However, the material basis of antidepressant effects is unclear, and the quality evaluation method is lacking. The paper aims to investigate the antidepressant quality markers (Q-markers) of BS by electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS). Firstly, the rat depression model was established by using chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) combined with the solitary confinement method to evaluate the pharmacodynamics of BS. After verification of the antidepressant effect of BS, UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS was used to analyze BS and the blood components of BS. A total of 34 components were identified in BS, in which 8 components, including saikosaponin a (SSa), saikosaponin c (SSc), saikosaponin d (SSd), saikosaponin b 1 (SSb 1), saikosaponin b 2 (SSb 2), glycyrrhetinic acid, nootkatone and valerenic acid, were detected in serum. SSa, SSc, SSd, SSb 1 and SSb 2 were found as metabolites, and glycyrrhetinic acid, nootkatone and valerenic Acid were identified as the prototypes in the blood. The depression model of zebrafish was established with reserpine to verify the antidepressant effect of the potential eight active components. The results showed that all these components could markedly improve the depressive behavior of zebrafish, increase the content of 5-HT and reduce the cortisol content. Finally, according to the principles of effectiveness, accessibility and measurability for Q-markers, SSa, SSc, and SSd were confirmed as Q-markers of BS, and the contents of 3 Q-markers in 10 batches of BS from different origins were determined to be 0.0728–1.465%. In addition, the total contents of 3 Q-markers in BS produced in Lindian, Heilongjiang Province, were higher than those in other origins. This paper provided a reliable method for the quality evaluation of BS for depression treatment. [Display omitted] • Eight antidepressant components of BS have been discovered. • 34 components of BS have been analyzed and identified. • SSa, SSc and SSd have been identified as anti-depression Q-markers of BS. • HPLC-ELSD detection method for anti-depression Q-markers have been established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extraordinarily severe coal mine accidents (ESCMAs) are characteristized by thirty fatalities or more in one accident. In this paper, such ESCMAs are analyzed using 188 cases which occurred in Chinese underground coal mines. The analysis shows that the number of ESCMAs and the death toll have decreased steadily over time. Gas explosions, mine water inrushes, and coal dust explosions are the three major types of ESCMAs. Among the causes of ESCMAs, inadequate implementation of safety measures, deliberate violations and electromechanical equipment faults are the three top causes of ESCMAs, accounting for 27.13 %, 21.81 %, and 15.96 % of incidences, respectively. Meanwhile, ESCMAs frequently occur in the heading face, especially gas explosions, mine water inrushes and coal and gas outbursts. Furthermore, ESCMAs reoccur often in certain provinces, such as Shanxi, Henan and Heilongjiang, and mostly during November and December in each year. The results of statistical studies have presented useful information for the prevention of ESCMAs in order to reduce the probability of such disastrous accidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the perspective of sustainable development in irrigation areas, imperfect constraints, which have negatively impacted previous agricultural planting structure optimization models, tend to produce unreasonable optimization results. Thus, in this paper, attempts are made to incorporate the resilience of water resource systems into the constraint set and explore the optimal layout of agricultural planting structures in irrigation areas. We selected 12 sample irrigation areas in Heilongjiang Province, China, including Chahayang, Fuyu, and Tailai, as the research areas and considered their actual situations. Then, we established a multiobjective optimization model for an agricultural planting structure with rice, soybean, and corn planting areas as decision variables; socioeconomic benefits, agricultural production benefits, ecological benefits, and water resource benefits as objective functions; and water resource system resilience and net crop output value and other factors as constraints. Fifteen scenarios were assessed through the combination of objective functions, and the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm III (NSGA-III) was used to optimize and analyze the agricultural planting structure of typical irrigation areas in Heilongjiang Province and to determine the optimal planting plan. The research results found that the function values adjusted by planting area have significantly improved compared to those before optimization. The adjustment trend of agricultural planting area is to increase the planting area of rice and soybean and reduce the planting area of corn. The introduction of constraints on water resource system resilience ensures that other benefits remain basically unchanged; thus, the water resource objective function is significantly better with resilience constraints than without them. Therefore, water resource system resilience can act as an effective constraint; this finding enriches and expands the theoretical and methodological system for optimizing the management of agricultural planting structures in irrigation areas and thus provides important technological support for ensuring regional food security, ecological security, and water security, which has substantial practical significance. • Exploring the feasibility and implementation path of embedding the resilience of water resource systems. • Seeking the optimal adjustment plan for agricultural planting structure in irrigation areas based on the NSGA-III algorithm. • Analyzing the constraint effect of water resource system resilience on the optimization of agricultural planting structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the key synoptic-scale factors that affected the forecasting of mesoscale rainfall and snowfall and their associated uncertainties in a heavy rain–snow event in northeastern China on 18–20 November 2020, using ensemble-based sensitivity analysis based on global ensemble forecasts from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. The heavy precipitation event was attributed to an extratropical cyclone and experienced two stages, with the snowfall stage having a better precipitation forecast skill than the rainfall stage. The mesoscale rainfall and snowfall were caused by a mesoscale rainband over Liaoning Province and two mesoscale snowbands over Heilongjiang Province, respectively, and they showed some differences with respect to their forecast skill and related key synoptic-scale factors contributing to the precipitation centers. The precipitation amount in the two different stages was correlated significantly with the midlevel trough and sensitive to the location and intensity of the low-level vortex (surface cyclone), and particularly the low-level jets and the associated water vapor transport. However, some differences were confirmed in the two different stages: the weaker midlevel trough and accompanying weaker low-level temperature trough in the rainfall stage were related to increased precipitation because the midlevel trough was far away from the control area, while the stronger midlevel trough and accompanying stronger low-level temperature trough were associated with increased precipitation in the snowfall stage. In addition to the synoptic-scale low-level jet (SLLJ), the precipitation in the rainfall stage was also affected by a boundary layer jet (BLJ) over the ocean, while only SLLJs were present in the snowfall stage. The uncertainty of the precipitation forecast was derived mainly from the uncertainty in the strength and location of the SLLJs and BLJ. Notably, the intensity of northeasterly winds west of the low-level vortex may affect the predictability of heavy snowfall. • Ensemble sensitivity analysis was conducted on mesoscale rainfall and snowfall. • Differences in key factors for mesoscale rainfall and snowfall were confirmed. • The precipitation is closely related to many weather systems and temperature. • Low-level jets affect mesoscale rainfall and snowfall in different ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Along with the expanding regional logistics network, the area''s logistics competition is very important because it enhances the entire area''s economy. This paper is based on both the domestic and foreign theories and methods used with related subjects to study the content of the area''s logistics competition. According to the level of economic development in Northeast region, the scale of logistics demand, the situation of logistics supply as well as the level of development of information, all establish the urban logistics competitiveness index system using the factor analysis method through the SPSS system to evaluate the competitiveness of the urban logistics which is very representative of the Northeast economic area. Finally, this paper uses the fore mentioned system to calculate the scores of 27 city''s separated into 3 categories: The first including 4 cities (Shenyang, Harbin, Dalian, Changchun), the second having 3 cities (Jilin, Daqing, Anshan) and the final category has 20 cities (Fushun, Songyuan, Qiqihar, Baotou etc.). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents new zircon U-Pb ages and whole-rock geochemical data for Triassic granitoids in the Duobaoshan ore field, in the eastern Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). Dating results reveal that the Triassic granitoids in the Duobaoshan ore field were emplaced ca. 244–223 Ma. These samples are typical subduction-related arc magmatic rocks that are enriched with large-ion lithophile elements (LILEs), depleted in high field strength elements (HFSEs), and have relatively high Sr (average 1036 ppm) and low Y (average 10 ppm) and Yb (average 1 ppm) contents that exhibit adakite-like geochemical properties. The samples feature a juvenile whole rock average initial 87Sr/86Sr ratio of 0.70394 and an average ɛ Nd (t), zircon ɛ Hf (t), and two-stage Hf model age of 4.62, 10.29, and 766 Ma respectively. These geochemical features reveal a thickened lower crust source. Comprehensive analyses of the early Paleozoic, Triassic, and early Jurassic granitoids in the Duobaoshan ore field indicate that the magmatism of these three stages was related to the melting of the juvenile lower continental crust materials. The early Paleozoic was the primary period of vertical crust growth, during which time the juvenile lower continental crust was formed. The Triassic granitoids derived from magma were generated by partial melting of the thickened juvenile lower crust and the Jurassic granitoids derived from the partial melting of the delaminated juvenile lower crust. Geological observation and tectonic setting analyses reveal that the Paleo-Asian Ocean tectonic regime in the Duobaoshan ore field switched to the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean in the Mesozoic after its closure. The early Paleozoic granitoids were formed in a subduction setting related to the northwestward subducted Paleo-Asian Oceanic slab underlying the Erguna-Xing'an composite block. The Triassic granitoids were formed under a supra-subduction extensional regime related to the southward subduction of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean, and the Jurassic granitoids were generated under a slab rollback setting related to the late stage subduction of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean. Unlabelled Image • The Triassic granitoids emplaced ca. 244–223 Ma. • They were all related to the melting of juvenile lower crust materials. • The regime switched from the Paleo-Asian Ocean to Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean in Mesozoic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: At present there is the different level in China''s circular economy development. To better measure the level of regional circular economy development, this paper builds the evaluation system of regional circular economy development, reflected the characteristic of resources recycling specially, and put forward the Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Method to analysis circular economy development level in single region and Comparison Evaluation Method to analysis circular economy development level in different regions, so that enhance the evaluate ability in evaluation model and evaluation method of circular economy developing level. On this basis, this paper makes the empirical study on regional differences evaluation in circular economy development level through three typical provinces, Jiangsu, Heilongjiang, Qinghai Province. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper applies the method of factor analysis to construct the indicator system of low carbon economy and evaluates the performance of development of low carbon economy of 15 resource-based cities. The paper documents that the development performance of low carbon economy of Daqing ranks No. 3 among 15 cities, performance of inter-industry adjustment ranks No.14, energy efficiency ranks No.3, effectiveness of environmental improvement ranks No.1, and performance of secondary industry adjustment ranks No.10. The results show that Daqing has advantages in energy efficiency and effectiveness on environmental improvement, and but needs to improve its performance of in inter-industry adjustment and secondary industry adjustment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, we will study the temporal-spatial landscape change from 1978 to 2001 in Daqing City, based on the multi spectral scanner (MSS) and thematic mapper (TM) images of remote sensing (RS) of 1978, 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2001. In order to explain the effects of the component change on the whole landscape, we make a statistic analysis about the transfer probability matrix of the component types of the landscape by using the ARCGIS platform through the overlay analysis of different landscape components. Based on the transfer probability matrix, we calculate the in-transfer ratio, the out-transfer ratio and the contributor ratio of the special transfer process of the main landscape components. The results illustrate that the cultivated-land, grassland, swamp, and alkaline land are the main contributors resulting in the landscape change: the out-transfer ratios of grassland and swamp are much higher than the in-transfer ones; the in-transfer ratio of alkaline land is much higher than the out-transfer one; the in-transfer ratio of the land-lot is always higher than its out-transfer with the highest rate per year, although there is a small difference among the in-transfers and the out-transfers per year. The main landscape changing processes are the salination of cultivated-land, salination or desertification of grassland, salination and degeneration of swamp. Results in this paper can provide scientific basis for investigating the landscape change mechanism of resources-based city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Using intelligent algorithms to forecast wind sequences in wind-fire coupling scenario. • Using the VMD technology to reduce the complexity of the wind speed sequence. • The optimal parameter combination of the VMD method is obtained by HS algorithm. In this study, an effective model for wind speed prediction in a coupled wind-fire scenario is proposed. (a) The original wind speed sequence is decomposed using the variational mode decomposition (VMD) algorithm to describe the different scales of perturbations to the wind speed caused by various physicochemical processes in terms of the decomposed modal components. (b) To avoid the limitations of VMD decomposition caused by manual parameter settings, the optimal parameter combinations [ k , α ] for VMD are determined by using the harmony search (HS) algorithm. (c) Train k attention mechanism-long short-term memory (AM-LSTM) models to predict each subsequence separately, and finally obtain the predicted value of the original wind speed by reconstructing the prediction results of each subsequence. To train the HS-VMD-AM-LSTM model and verify its validity, a medium-scale point-burning experiment was conducted in Heilongjiang Province, China, and the corresponding dataset was established. In comparing the models, five error statistics are used, and box-and-line plots, Taylor diagrams, and ANOVA tests are employed to compare the model performance from multiple perspectives. The experimental results show that the average absolute percentage error of the model proposed in this paper is 8.08% on the test set data, which is a great advantage over other models. This study can guide the multi-time step prediction of fire spread and fire control decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, as drought intensifies and agricultural water consumption increases, it is of great significance to optimize the irrigation schedule to ensure regional food security. This paper constructs the distributed AquaCrop model and multi-objective genetic algorithm (NSGA - Ⅱ) simulation - optimization (MGSO) model to facilitate the development of a rational irrigation schedule. The distributed AquaCrop model considers the spatial variability of soil, climate, crops, and management practices, which can be batch calibrated using the XGBoost method. The MGSO model is for irrigation schedules under the combination of different Precipitation and ET 0. In this paper, crop yield, ET, and water use efficiency (WUE) were simulated and analyzed in 13 irrigation zones in Northeast China, where the existing irrigation schedules were analyzed and optimized. The results showed that the distributed AquaCrop model could simulate regional crops well. Crop yields in the study area ranged from 3 to 10ton/hm2. The western part of Heilongjiang province and the northern part of Jilin province has a higher yield. The simulation results of Heilongjiang Province are more accurate, and the relative error is minor. The joint distribution model constructed by the Frank Copula function can describe the joint probability distribution characteristics of precipitation and ET 0. According to the simulation results, each typical station has a different performance under the existing irrigation schedule under different situations. The crop yield and WUE of some stations changed significantly. The maximum and minimum yield difference was 22% for Harbin, 32% for Heihe, and 21% for Dunhua. It is mainly due to the irrigation amount in some scenarios that do not meet crop water requirements. Under the optimized irrigation schedule, the crop yield and WUE in different scenarios have been improved by the MGSO model in the Harbin station [Display omitted] • Distributed AquaCrop model was established based on batch parameter calibration processing. • Use a copula based joint probability of precipitation and ET 0 to define climate conditions. • New irrigation schedule considering both precipitation and ET 0 can improve yield and WUE of Crop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study mainly focuses on extraordinarily severe gas explosion accidents (ESGEAs) in Chinese coal mines. • Disorganized ventilation fan management and illegal blasting were the most prominent causes of ESGEAs. • ESGEAs are linked with the operating locations, occurrence time, regions and ownership of the coal mines. Extraordinarily severe gas explosion accidents (ESGEAs) (thirty fatalities or more in one accident) have a high occurrence frequency in Chinese coal mines. There are 126 ESGEAs that occurred in China from 1950 to 2015, and they were investigated through statistical methods in this study to review the overall circumstances and to provide quantitative information on ESGEAs. Statistical characteristics about accident-related factors, such as gas accumulation, ignition sources, operating locations, accident time, coal mine regions and coal mine ownership, were assessed in this paper. The statistical analysis shows that disorganized ventilation fan management was the most frequent cause of gas accumulation in ESGEAs, while illegal blasting was the most prominent cause of the ignition source in ESGEAs. Furthermore, ESGEAs were found to occur frequently in certain provinces (e.g., Shanxi, Henan and Heilongjiang) and during November and December of the year. Moreover, most accidents and the largest death tolls generally occur in state-owned coal mines. Based on the results of statistical studies, some countermeasures were proposed in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heilongjiang Province, China, has been facing a perennial water shortage problem, and the demand for water is increasing year by year, leading to water supply difficulties and reduced water carrying capacity, which restricts the sustainable development of the region. In this paper, a water footprint (WF) sustainability evaluation system was constructed based on three dimensions: environmental, social, and economic. The correlation was used to calculate the weights of the indicators, reducing the influence of human subjectivity on the weights, and the matter element model was used to determine the sustainability of the different indicators and the ease of development to a high sustainability level. The results showed that the WF was unsustainable in 2000, 2001, 2007, and 2008 due to factors such as dry water years and low water use efficiency. The main factors affecting the sustainability of the WF in Heilongjiang Province were the per capita WF, WF composition, and regional social situation. The sustainability level of the WF in Heilongjiang Province in 2018 was at Level II, with a trend toward Level III, and the unsustainable WF in the cities of Harbin, Jixi, Hegang, Qitaihe, and Suihua was the main reason for the unsustainable WF in Heilongjiang Province. The results of this study provide a reference for the rational allocation of water resources and the sustainable use of the WF in Heilongjiang Province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indiscriminate carbon emissions have resulted in severe ecological problems and have highlighted the need for the coal-fired power industry to pursue sustainable development. As a carbon-neutral energy resource, biomass is regarded as a promising substitute of coal to reduce carbon emissions in power generation. For the purposes of low-carbon power generation, this paper develops a bi-level programming approach to seek an optimal biomass-coal co-firing method under a carbon emissions allowance allocation scheme, in which the local government on the upper level determines the carbon emissions allowance scheme based on economic and environmental targets as the leader, and the power plants on the lower level develop power generation plans to maximize profits under the upper-level restrictions. Different from previous papers, this optimization approach fully considers the hierarchy of multiple decision makers and environmental-economic equilibrium for global optimization. A practical case in Heilongjiang Province is presented to verify the efficiency and practicality of the proposed optimization method in carbon emissions control and biomass fuel utilization. The calculation results under various scenarios are analyzed, and the analysis indicates that power plants with lower biomass utilization are more sensitive to carbon emissions constraints. It is also found that relaxed carbon emissions constraints could encourage the utilization of biomass, but strict constraints will cause adverse effects on economic development. The management recommendations derived from this method are presented to provide valuable strategy guidance for policymakers and practitioners in future planning for co-firing power generation. • A bi-level biomass-coal co-firing method is applied for carbon emissions control. • Hierarchical relationship between government and multiple power plants is analyzed. • A carbon emission allowance allocation mechanism is established. • Real case under different scenarios is presented to demonstrate the method practicality and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Eastern Heilongjiang Basins (EHBs) are the assemblage of a series of meso-Cenozoic residual basins located in the northeastern corner of China. The deformation pattern of the EHBs has significant implications for the history of the Pacific Plate subduction beneath the Eurasia since the Late Mesozoic. In this paper, research on the characteristics and structural styles of the meso-Cenzoic faults in the EHBs has been conducted on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of field geology, drilling data and seismic reflection profiles. As a result, five different stages of the meso-Cenozoic faults in the EHBs have been recognized. These are in accordance with the time and relevant characteristics of fault movements, i.e. the early-stage of the Early Cretaceous normal fault, the early-stage of the Late Cretaceous thrust fault, the late-stage of the Late Cretaceous thrust fault, the Cenozoic synsedimentary normal fault and the late-stage Cenozoic shear fault. A regional geological section has been generated across the EHBs by linking four local seismic profiles together. A step-by-step reconstruction has been made to help better understand the Mesozoic-Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the EHBs. Two phases of extension (rifting) in the early Cretaceous Period and the Paleogene, respectively, are demonstrated to be interfered with two phases of regional uplift (compression) and erosion in the Late Cretaceous Period. The complicated development of multiple fault systems within the EHBs has reflected the evolution of a complex tectonic subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the Eurasia since the Cretaceous Period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Constructing a three-layer large system for irrigation water allocation. • Balancing water supply and demand between farmland, irrigation areas and regions. • Farmer income, allocation equity, engineering and regional economy coordination. • Optimal water allocations for crops, canals and large irrigation areas. • Fluctuations in water supply affect water distribution of different scales. Reasonable and optimal allocation of irrigation water is of great significance to improve agricultural water use efficiency for large-area agricultural irrigation systems. To solve the problems of large agricultural production scale, unreasonable water distribution structure, many rivers in the region and large changes in runoff volume, this paper takes the Sanjiang Plain in Heilongjiang Province, China, as the research object to develop an efficient and accurate water optimal allocation method. First, the runoff volume of many rivers in the region was obtained through the ARIMA-SVM-BP combined runoff prediction model, based on which a 'regional-irrigation district-farmland' multilayer multiobjective water resource cooperative deployment system model was established to achieve the synergistic enhancement of farmers' interests and the economic-social and regional economic-engineering volume of the irrigation district. The joint optimization method, fuzzy mathematical planning, and large system decomposition-coordination coupling were used to solve the multilayer multiobjective regulation system. The results show that the optimal agricultural water allocation volumes for the current year (2020) and the forecast year (2025) of 37 irrigation districts in the Sanjiang Plain are 3.61 × 109 m3 and 3.89 × 109 m3, saving 17% of water and resulting in a 24% decrease in the agricultural water use ratio compared with the actual situation, respectively. In the process of repeated coordination of the large system, the water distribution error is controlled within 1%. The fairness of water distribution in the multilayer system was improved by 34.7% while obtaining high economic benefits. The method proposed in this study helps the coordinated regulation and planning of multiple water sources in large agricultural irrigation areas, improves the ability of water distribution in irrigation areas to cope with different levels of incoming water, and promotes the sustainable development of regional irrigated agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The time frame and detailed tectonic processes during the transition from the Paleo-Asian Ocean to the Paleo-Pacific Ocean regimes have long been controversial. The Jiamusi Block, which is located in the eastern margin of the Eurasia, is a transitional zone between the Paleo-Asian Ocean and the Paleo-Pacific Ocean regimes. The Jiamusi Block has been considered to be the last unit collaged to the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) but also influenced by subsequent westward subduction and accretion of the Paleo-Pacific plate. Abundant geological units in the Jiamusi Block provide key insights into the final amalgamation of the CAOB and the onset of the Paleo-Pacific Ocean regime. This paper presents a review on the tectonic affinity and origin linkage of the Jiamusi Block based on detailed characterization of both the granulite facies basement and the Phanerozoic sedimentary cover, as well as the surrounding Mesozoic accretionary complexes. From these analyses, we develop an integral tectonic model for the Jiamusi Block aiming to better constraining the evolution history from the final amalgamation of the eastern CAOB to the onset of the Paleo-Pacific Ocean regime. We found that the tectonic history of the Jiamusi Block can be divided into at least four stages: (1) prior to the Early Paleozoic, the Jiamusi Block was conterminous with the other mirco-continents in NE China as a large combined block, which originated from the Sayang–Baikal orogenic belt within the Siberia Craton and experienced the Pan-African metamorphism (ca. 500 Ma); (2) along the tectonic evolution of the CAOB, those blocks in NE China drifted south to the eastern CAOB in some time after ca. 500 Ma; (3) during the Late Paleozoic, the subduction of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean or the Panthalassa induced back-arc extension and eventually the opening of the Heilongjiang Ocean, which ripped off the Jiamusi Block and drove it eastward away from the CAOB; (4) during the period from the Late Triassic to the Early Jurassic, following the closure of the Heilongjiang Ocean and the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Ocean in the east, the Jiamusi Block was reunited with the contiguous CAOB, marking the final amalgamation of the CAOB and tectonic shift to a dominance by the Paleo-Pacific Ocean tectonic regime in the region. • Jiamusi Block is a hinge of tectonic transition between the Paleo-Asian Ocean and the Paleo-Pacific Ocean regimes. • Jiamusi Block together with the other parts of NE China was more likely originated from the Sayang–Baikal orogenic belt. • Jiamusi Block experienced eastward rift away during the Early Permian and reunion to the CAOB during the Late Triassic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In disaster management, material reserves are defined by uncertain demand. Overstock may lead to wasted funds, while shortages increase purchase pressures in the post-disaster environment. The funding allocation for pre disaster reserve and post disaster procurement is a dilemma. Catastrophe insurance is intended to moderate this dilemma. The relief organization is intended to insure against the surge in demand that accompanies disaster, which may require it to purchase a large amount of materials urgently post disaster. This study develops a funding allocation optimization model for disaster response planning and preparedness, with the added leverage of catastrophe insurance. The goal of this paper is to determine the relief organization's optimal allocation of funds for material reserve, insurance premiums and possible post-disaster purchases to minimize long-term total relief costs. We model the problem as a two-stage robust optimization model designed to minimize the overall costs, and adopt an efficient column and constraint generation algorithm to calculate it. Using data from the flood disasters of Heilongjiang, China, some of the scenarios indicate a reduction in the government's relief costs by adopting insurance instead of applying option contract or just returning unused relief supplies. Our study confirms the advantages of catastrophe insurance in leveraging capital, and reducing disaster material overstocks and insufficient risks. • Catastrophe insurance is incorporated into the disaster preparedness optimization problem for the first time.. • The moderate conservative characteristics of the two-stage robust optimization are used. • In some cases, integrating insurance into pre-positioning could be more effective in reducing costs than the other common strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this study was to through monitoring the 1st industrial scale garage-type dry fermentation (GTDF) MSW biogas plant in Bin County, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, China, to investigate its anaerobic digestion (AD) performance and the stability of process. After a monitoring period of 180 days, the results showed that the volumetric biogas production of the digesters and percolate tank was 0.72 and 2.22 m 3 (m 3 d) −1 , respectively, and the specific biogas yield of the feedstock was about 270 m 3 CH 4 t VS −1 , which indicated that the GTDF is appropriate for the Chinese MSW. This paper also raised some problems aimed at improving the process stability and AD efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cropping patterns are essential for the sustainable development of regional agriculture and land conservation. To solve the complex system problems of the multidimensional coordination of water resources, society, economy, environment and ecology, and dynamics in the decision-making of cropping pattern adjustment, this paper proposes a multidimensional cooperative optimization modeling method for cropping patterns based on system dynamics. The system association and dynamic evolution trends of the driving elements are simulated and coupled to the multidimensional multitarget planning model, which can realize the multidimensional optimization and dynamic prediction of cropping patterns in different regions. The proposed method is applied to empirical research in Heilongjiang Province. The results showed that optimization of the cropping pattern contributed to an increase in the cooperative development of the system in 2016, 2025, and 2030 by 24.14 %, 42.36 % and 51.36 %, respectively, evolving from a state of barely cooperative to a state of high-quality cooperative. This indicates that the model helps to promote the sustainable use of cultivated land. The optimization improved the crop diversity, with a variety of food crops planted in most regions. The optimization results of the spatial network consisting of 182 irrigation areas show that the resource utilization efficiency, economic benefits, environmental pollution situation, and resource allocation fairness improved by approximately 20 % in different partitions. The model can reflect the dynamics, balance conflicts of the multidimensional targets of cropping patterns, and promote the sustainable use of cultivated land. It can be used as a general model and is applicable to most areas where other cultivation occupies an important place. [Display omitted] • A system dynamics-based multidimensional regulated model for crop patterns is proposed. • Trade-offs between water resources, the economy, society, the environment and ecology dimensions are optimized. • The dynamics and relevance of multidimensional target-driven elements are quantified through simulation. • Agricultural sustainability reflected in water resource use efficiency, equity, and eco-environment effects is improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports new zircon LA–ICP–MS and SIMS U–Pb ages and Hf isotope data, and whole-rock major and trace element data for Late Triassic igneous rocks of eastern Heilongjiang Province, NE China. These data provide new insights into the timing of the initiation of subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate beneath the Eurasian continent. The zircon U–Pb age data indicate that a suite of Late Triassic (228–202 Ma) igneous rocks is present within the Songnen–Zhangguangcai Range Massif and within the western margin of the Khanka Massif. The Late Triassic igneous rocks within the Songnen–Zhangguangcai Range Massif consist of basalts, basaltic andesites, gabbro-diabases, and rhyolites, whereas coeval igneous rocks in the western margin of the Khanka Massif consist of hornblende gabbros and syenogranitic porphyries. These Late Triassic rocks constitute a geochemically bimodal igneous rock association that contains mafic rocks enriched in light rare earth elements (LREE) and large ion lithophile elements (LILE), and depleted in heavy rare earth elements (HREE) and high field strength elements (HFSE) such as Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf, and Ti. Zircons from these mafic rocks have ε Hf ( t ) values and T DM1 ages of +2.8 to +9.8 and 477–733 Ma, respectively, suggesting that they formed from a primary magma generated by the partial melting of depleted lithospheric mantle material that had been previously modified by subduction-related fluids. The coeval felsic rocks are characterized by enrichments in LREEs and LILEs, and depletions in HREEs and HFSEs (including Nb, Ta, and Ti), and their zircons have ε Hf ( t ) values and T DM2 ages of +0.6 to +7.9 and 766 to 1461 Ma, respectively, implying that these rocks were generated during the partial melting of juvenile crustal material. The Late Triassic bimodal igneous rocks in eastern Heilongjiang Province, combined with the regional geologic information, therefore record a post-orogenic extensional environment related to the final late Permian–Early Triassic closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. In addition, the presence of Late Triassic bimodal igneous rocks within the eastern margin of the Eurasian continent suggests that the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate beneath the Eurasian continent began after the Late Triassic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In a remote part of Northeast China, thousands of villages have disappeared from the map. Their inhabitants, more than 600,000 farmers, have been instructed by the government to relocate to nearby towns and commute to their farms to work. By concentrating the dispersed rural population in a small number of urban cores, the government hopes to improve housing conditions and accessibility to services, stimulate economic development, and free up more land for farming. This paper analyzes this kind of urbanization, which is distinct from the much-studied city-centered urbanization and in situ urbanization in coastal China. In addition to the resettlement program, this urbanization process is driven by agricultural modernization and economic liberalization. Urbanization has produced a rural–urban hybrid settlement system where urban construction coexists with a mostly agrarian economy. Urbanization has also improved the livelihood of many rural households, but there are significant social, economic, and environmental challenges. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sustainability is the core concept of modern agricultural planning. Existing studies lack quantitative research on the dynamic effects of the optimal use of agricultural water and land resources (AWLR) on agricultural sustainability. This paper constructs a simulation-optimization-assessment-based modeling framework for the dynamic correlation between agricultural sustainability and the water-land nexus under uncertainty. The framework includes uncertainty simulation of the water supply and demand, development of an optimization model for synergistic regulation of AWLR, and construction of a two-layer dynamic response relationship function between integrated water and land resource use and agricultural sustainability. This framework provides the following advantages: (1) the synergistic allocation of AWLR can be optimized to achieve synergistic development of the five dimensions of resources, economy, society, ecology and environment; (2) the dynamic probability distribution of AWLR and the corresponding response to each dimensional objective and agricultural sustainability can be generated; and (3) the response of agricultural sustainability and AWLR use to changing environments can be obtained. The framework was quantified and analyzed via stochastic simulation, multi-objective nonlinear optimization and fuzzy C-means clustering and applied to the Heilongjiang area of the Songhua River Basin in China. The results indicate that when the irrigation water volume is reduced by 10% and the planted area is increased by 5% in the study area, the economic efficiency increases by 10.49%, the social and ecological effects increase by 10%, and the agricultural sustainability increases by 10.07%. The initial surface water and groundwater irrigation amounts should be regulated within the ranges of [600,800] 107 m3 and [400,600] 107 m3, respectively, and the total amount should not exceed 1150,107 m3. The proposed framework can help reveal the intrinsic linkages between agricultural sustainability and AWLR allocation considering different environmental change scenarios, which can provide authorities with AWLR management decisions in response to changing environments. [Display omitted] • A simulation-optimization-evaluation modeling framework for AWLR is developed. • Probability distributions of AWLR are optimized under changing environment. • Balance conflicts between resource, economy, society, ecology, and environment. • Bilayer dynamic correlations for sustainable use of AWLR are built. • The performance of the framework is evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evaluation of the coordination of regional water and soil resources and ecological environment systems from the perspective of speed characteristics is more conducive to decision-makers to understand the development status of water and soil resources and ecosystems in a timely manner. In this paper, taking Heilongjiang Province, the main grain producing area of China, as an example, 25 main indices are screened based on agricultural production factors and the weight of each index is determined by the information entropy, the speed characteristics of each index is characterized by the average annual growth rate. The coupling-coordination index of system development is determined by the vector angle and projection, and compare and analyze the coupling-coordination index between the result and the original data. The results show that the water and soil resources ecological environment system was in a relatively weak coupling stage of barely coordination, the coordinated development level of the system is low during the study period. In comparison with the original data results, the coupling and coordination of the system are better reflected by the calculation method using speed characteristics, and the calculation results of speed characteristics are ahead of time, which is more conducive to the timely assessment of the development of the water and soil resources ecological-environment system. • To conduct an evaluation of the coordination of environment from the perspective of development rate characteristics. • To use annual growth rate to characterize the development rate characteristics of various indicators. • To use vector included angle and projection to determine the coupling and coordination indices of the system's development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper we present U–Pb age data of detrital and magmatic zircons from sedimentary and volcanic rocks in the Zhangguangcailing Group (ZG), NE China, to constrain the tectonic evolution of the region as a whole. The ZG consists of slightly metamorphosed volcanic and sedimentary rocks, and from bottom to top is divided into the Zhenggou, Hongguang, and Xinxing suites. Zircons from three schists in the Zhenggou suite give 12 main groups of age populations (from 226 to 861Ma), whereas zircons from a basaltic andesite give a Late Triassic age (211±2Ma). In the Hongguang suite, zircons from two schists and a greywacke give 6 main groups, 5 main groups, and 3 main groups of age populations (from 262 to 916Ma), respectively, whereas zircons from a gabbro–diorite and two volcanic rocks give ages of 259, 219, and 317Ma, respectively. Zircons from a schist in the Xinxing suite give 12 main groups of age populations (from 284 to 1837Ma). These results, together with the field relationships of the rocks, indicate (1) that the sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the ZG have diverse ages (from Early Paleozoic to Early Mesozoic), (2) that the rocks do not lie in a logical stratigraphic sequence, and (3) that the rocks represent a tectonic mélange. Based on the youngest age (211Ma) for volcanic rocks within the ZG, and the age of deformation (174–184Ma) of the Heilongjiang Complex, we propose that the tectonic mélange formed during the Late Triassic–Early Jurassic. Furthermore, the occurrence of detrital zircons with ages of 0.8–0.9, 1.8, and 2.4–2.5Ga implies the existence of Neoproterozoic magmatism and the remnants of a Precambrian basement in the Songnen–Zhangguangcai Range Massif, NE China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, in order to increase the efficiency of solar energy collection in winter, a method to set the semi-fixed collector was proposed. The best angle of the quasi-fixed solar collector have be calculated and given in Daqing region. According to comparison and analysis, we find that the efficiency improved 8.3%; it will collect solar energy 410.46MJ per square more than fixed collectors every year. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Dynamic collapses of deeply mined coal rocks are severe threats to miners. In order to predict the collapses more accurately using electromagnetic radiation (EMR), this paper researched the energy conversion mechanism in the damage process of coal rock mass, analysed its EMR and dissipated energy, and a relationship between which was established using the voltage amplitude of EMR signal and hysteresis loop generated in the loading and unloading cycles as a bridge; then a series of cyclic loading experiments using coal samples of Junde and Xinlu coal mines from Heilongjiang province were carried out, and EMR signal released during these cycles were collected. Results show that during a whole damage process of a sample, the cumulative values of EMR energy and corresponding dissipated energy (hysteresis loop area) well subject to the form of , whose correlation coefficients are above 0.90, and EMR signals received by different frequency antenna seldom impacted on this relationship; the total EMR energy released from the whole failure process of the samples obtained from adjacent sampling point in same mining area are different to some extent, so are the dissipated energy; compared with cyclic loading for coal rock mass orderly with the peak loads of 5kN and 10kN previously, the dissipated energy of direct using that of 15kN increase 17.8%, and EMR signal is more abundant; EMR energy received in each cycle increase steadily with the improvement of load level, and in a single loading and unloading cycle, sometimes it is very rich in the unloading phase, even more than the loading one. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Long-term deforestation and over-harvesting directly led to serious soil erosion and sharp forest deterioration, and the Eco-Environment in Mudanjiang became worse and worse. So the government there took the Returning Farmland to Forest Project (RFFP) firstly in Heilongjiang Province in China in 1999. On the basis of deeply understanding the Eco-Environmental problem of soil erosion and the Ecological Risk Definition, this paper put forward an Ecological Risk Assessment Model with Landscape Indexes and Eco-Environment Resilience. This model firstly calculated the landscape indexes of every sample by fragstats and then obtained the spatial distribution of Ecological Risk by ordinary Kruger interpolation. The results showed that: the landscape fragmentation improved after the RFFP, the Eco-Environment Resilience increased significantly because the forest area increased obviously and the serious soil erosion was controlled by the high vegetation cover, which in the end made the Ecological Risk drop down rapidly, from 0.003-0.952 to 0.003-0.310. The area proportion of minor, slight and moderate risk increased separately from 7.65%, 13.71% and 21.39% to 18.85%, 33.04% and 33.24%, while the intense and server declined respectively from 31.46% and 25.79% to 14.88% and 0%. In a word, the model possessed advantages of intuition and simplicity and could descript the regional ecological risk quantitatively and its spatial distribution intuitively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Farm-forest ecotone proves to be ecologically sensitive areas, where there is obvious change from environmental gradient. The landscape characteristic is mainly influenced by elevation, slope and human activities. Taking Mudanjiang in Heilongjiang Province as an example, this paper analyzes spatial-temporal distribution of ecological potential power in elevation and slope b y the technology of GIS and RS, and the method of trend surface analysis. The results showed that dynamic process of land for agriculture and forestry had a direct impact on the change rate and direction of landscape characteristics in Mudanjiang. Trend surface analysis on ecological potential power can conclude that gradient change of landscape was concentrated in low-altitude and high-slope region from 1976 to 1986, on the contrary, mainly concentrated in the high-altitude and low-slope region from 1986 to 1996 and concentrated in the medium-altitude and medium-slope region in 1996-2006.Thus, the prominence of landscape gradient change distributed in the regions where there are frequent human activities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The investigation takes the configuration status of science and technology resource in the coal industry of Heilongjiang province as study object, and through data collection, questionnaire, interview and other methods, investigates the fund investment, human resource input, and output including patents, papers, technology achievement awards, mortality rate of million tons of science and technology research in coal industry of Heilongjiang province. On the basic of comparative and analysis these data, the investigation finds the configuration of technology resources in the coal industry of Heilongjiang province is unreasonable. Then the investigation put forward proposals that Heilongjiang province should increase the input to science and technology research in coal industry, and should optimize the configuration structure of science and technology resources. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we report on zircon U–Pb dating, Hf isotopes, major and trace elements, and Sr–Nd isotope data, with the aim of constraining the petrogenesis and regional tectonic evolution of late Paleozoic volcanic rocks in the Zhangguangcai Range of eastern Heilongjiang Province, NE China. Located in the eastern segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), between the Siberian and North China cratons, the late Paleozoic volcanic rocks in the Zhangguangcai Range are composed mainly of basalt, basaltic andesite, rhyolite, and minor dacite. The results of LA–ICP–MS zircon U–Pb dating for two basaltic rocks, three rhyolites, and one dacite indicate that they formed in the early Permian (ca. 292Ma). The mafic rocks have SiO2 =50.13–53.80wt.%, K2O=0.98–2.28wt.%, Mg#=0.51–0.71, Cr=144–541ppm, Ni=74–260ppm, (87Sr/86Sr)i =0.7044, and ε Nd (t)=+4.28, whereas the felsic rocks have SiO2 =69.12–77.98wt.%, K2O=3.09–5.33wt.%, Mg#=0.17–0.36, (87Sr/86Sr)i =0.7032, and ε Nd (t)=+4.32. These data are typical of bimodal volcanism. The mafic volcanic rocks are characterized by a strong enrichment in large ion lithophile elements (LILEs) such as Rb, Ba, Sr, and Pb, depletion in high field-strength elements (HFSEs) such as Nb, Ta, and Ti, depletion in heavy rare-earth elements (HREEs), and weak negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* =0.88–0.94). On the other hand, the felsic rocks show a strong depletion in Nb, Ta, Sr, P, and Ti, enrichment in Th, U, and K, and relatively large negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* =0.28–0.95). Taken together, these data suggest that the mafic magma was derived from the partial melting of a depleted lithospheric mantle, modified by subducted slab-derived fluids, and that the felsic magma originated by partial melting of newly accreted crust. The early Permian bimodal volcanic rocks, together with the coeval A-type granites, indicate an extensional environment, similar to a back-arc basin. Such a setting was possibly related to subduction of the Paleo-Asian oceanic plate beneath the Jiamusi and Songnen–Zhangguangcai Range massifs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: During the past decades, land use land cover change (LUCC) has taken place around most Chinese cities at unprecedented rates. During this process, many rural lands, such as forests and wetlands, have transformed to human settlements. Taking Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, China as the case study area, this paper analyzed the long-term (from 1977 to 2007) land use land cover change, and modeled the change using a system dynamic model. In particular, land use land cover maps in 1977, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2001, and 2007 were derived from Landsat multi-spectral Scanner (MSS) and Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery. Through analyzing the trend of land use land cover change, three groups of driving forces, including land use management, population growth, and economic and social policies, have been identified to model LUCC in the Daqing City. Finally, future land use change scenarios were simulated under three socio-economic policies: 1) current economic growth, 2) rapid economic growth, and 3) sustainable development. Analysis of results suggests that Daqing City has expanded significantly at the cost of forests and wetlands from 1977 to 2007. Moreover, systems dynamic modeling results suggest that three identified groups of driving forces can effectively explain past land use change in the study area. Finally, simulation results indicate that 1) under current and rapid economic growth policies, built-up land in Daqing City increase significantly, while the areas of grassland and wetlands decrease remarkably, and 2) under the sustainable development policy, the conflict between population expansion and land resource shortage can be alleviated to some extent. These results provide an important decision-making reference for land use planning and sustainable development in Daqing City. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Chinese-Russian Oil Pipeline (CROP), from Mohe to Daqing has a length of about 965km and traverses the Da Hinggan Mountains and part of Song(hua)-Nen(jiang) Plain in Northeastern China. This paper attempts to estimate some of the important elements concerning the environmental hazards and contingency plans along the pipeline. The first part reviews the potential impacts of the Mohe-Daqing Pipeline on the cold regions environment. It includes 1) the major environmental characteristics such as complicated permafrost, rugged terrain, harsh weather, and the diverse flora and fauna, vegetation the pipeline passes through; 2) the consideration of route selection; 3) potential environmental impacts of the CROP on the environmental factors; 4) countermeasures to alleviate changes to the local environment during the design, construction and operation stages. The second part presents the risk of oil spills, the subsequent environmental challenges after the start of operation of CROP, and contingency plans in response to potential oil spills. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The China–Russia Crude Oil Pipeline (CRCOP), 813mm in diameter, is designed to transport 603,000 barrels of Siberian crude oil per day across 1030km of frozen-ground. About 500 boreholes, with depths of 5 to 20m, were drilled and cored for analyses, and the frozen-ground conditions were evaluated. After detailed surveys and analyses of the permafrost conditions along the pipeline route, a conventional burial construction mode at a nominal depth of 1.5m was adopted. This paper discusses the principles and criteria for the zonation and assessment of the frozen-ground environments and conditions of engineering geology for the design, construction, and operation of the pipeline system based on an extensive and in-depth summary and analysis of the survey and exploration data. The characteristics of pipelining crude oil at ambient temperatures in the permafrost regions and the interactive processes between the pipeline and foundation soils were taken into account. Two zones of frozen-ground environment and conditions of engineering geology, i.e., seasonally-frozen-ground and permafrost, were defined on the basis of the regional distribution and differentiations in frozen-ground environments and conditions. Then, four subzones of the permafrost zone were classified according to the areal extent, taking into consideration the temperatures and thicknesses of permafrost, as well as changes in vegetation coverage. In the four subzones, 151 sections of engineering geology were categorized according to the ice/moisture contents of the permafrost, as well as the classes of frost-heaving and thaw-settlement potentials. These 151 sections are comprehensively summarized into four types for engineering construction and operation: good, fair, poor, and very poor, for overall conditions of engineering geology. The zonation, assessment principles and criteria have been applied in the design of the pipeline. They have also been used as the scientific bases for the construction, environmental management, operation and maintenance/contingency plans. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The coal-bearing Longzhaogou and Jixi Groups in eastern Heilongjiang, northeast China, consist of alternating marine and non-marine deposits containing abundant marine animal and plant fossils. The Jixi Group also yields members of the Johel Fauna that is widely distributed in northern and eastern China. The two groups have been considered as Jurassic or mainly Jurassic in age for a long time. However, recent studies documented that the ammonites, bivalves, dinoflagellates, angiosperms and sporopollens are all of Early Cretaceous rather than Jurassic age. It has been demonstrated that: (1) the Longzhaogou and Jixi Groups and their equivalents, the Johel Group of China and the Transbaikalian Group of Russia, are of Early Cretaceous age, (2) the Barremian-Albian was also a very important period of coal accumulation in northeastern China and perhaps in all of eastern Asia, (3) there existed a large shallow embayment connecting with the Palaeo-Pacific in eastern Heilongjiang, and it was the climate of the embayment that controlled the origin and development of the animal and plant communities of northeastern China during the Early Cretaceous. Correlation between formations in the Jixi and Longzhaogou Groups has also been revised in this paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The change of cultivated land pattern (CLP) has a significant impact on cultivated land system security (CLSS), and is the foundation of ensuring adequate provision of cultivated land, and the premise of achieving sustainable development of the society. While there is a lack of research on the CLP optimization with the goal of achieving CLSS, particularly lacking research that taking the main grain production areas at the provincial scale as a study area. Hence, taking Heilongjiang Province in China as the study area, this paper uses the regional interpolation of ArcGIS spatial analysis and Auto-Logistics method to diagnose the common driving factors of CLSS and CLP change, and further sets up different development scenarios with the goal of CLSS to carry out the study of CLP optimization through the introduction of Future Land Use Simulation (FLUS) model. The results showed that: Firstly , the dynamic changes of paddy field, dryland and cultivated land were the most intense in the eastern Sanjiang Plain, the second in the western Songnen Plain, the weakest in the north-south axis, and the changes of paddy field and dryland were more intense in the later period (2010–2015) than in the earlier period (1995–2010); Secondly , regional interpolation in ArcGIS and Auto-Logistics method can effectively and reasonably spatialize, and diagnose the key factors (terrain and geomorphology including elevation and slope, socio-economic (distance to residential area, agricultural three wastes index) and farmland productivity potential) which affect the change of CLSS and CLP; Thirdly , the Kappa test coefficient of CLP optimization based on FLUS model is 0.898, with good simulation accuracy, meaning the combination of Auto-logistic and FLUS can achieve high-precision simulation of CLP. The simulation results that under the integrated control scenarios of food security, ecological protection and economic development, the regional food security, ecological protection and economic development are considered comprehensively, and the contradictions among the three are coordinated, which is more reasonable and conducive to the improvement of CLSS. Fourthly , the policies on controlling the growth rate of paddy fields, rationally reducing rural residential areas and decreasing agricultural three wastes should be strengthened to implement the optimal CLP and improve CLSS. The results bestow convincing insights on decision-making for the implementation of the optimal distribution of cultivated land resources and the compilation of the national land space plan, and also provide an important reference for the study area to improve CLSS by optimizing CLP. • Regional interpolation in ArcGIS and Auto-Logistics method can detect spatial factors that affect CLSS and CLP change. • Auto-logistic based on FLUS can achieve high-precision simulation of CLP. • Simulated CLPs well reflect the conflicts among regional food security, ecological protection, and economic development. • Optimal CLP can provide insights on decision-making for the improvement of the CLSS in major grain production areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• GHG emissions and crop water demand under various scenarios were evaluated. • Changes in planting structure in the study area increased water demand and GHG emissions. • The expansion of the planting area is the main reason for increasing water demand and GHG emissions. • Rice has the greatest impact on GWP during the study period in Heilongjiang. The agriculture sector is one of the largest users of water and a significant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The development of low-GHG-emission and water-conserving agriculture will inevitably be the trend in the future. Because of the physiological differences among crops and their response efficiency to external changes, changes in planting structure, climate and input of production factors will have an impact on regional agricultural water use and GHG emissions. This paper systematically analyzed the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics of crop planting structure, climate, and production factor inputs in Heilongjiang Province, the main grain-producing region of China, from 2000 to 2015, and quantified the regional agricultural water use and GHG emissions characteristics under different scenarios by using the Penman-Monteith formula and the Denitrification-Decomposition (DNDC) model. The results showed that the global warming potential (GWP) increased by 15% due to the change in planting structure. A large increase in the proportion of rice and corn sown was the main reason. During the study period, regional climate change had a positive impact on the water-saving and emission reduction of the agricultural industry. The annual water demand per unit area decreased by 19%, and the GWP decreased by 12% compared with that in 2000. The input of fertilizer and other means of production will have a significant impact on GHG emissions from farmlands. The increase in N fertilizer input significantly increased N 2 O emissions, with a 5% increase in GWP. Agricultural water consumption and carbon emissions are affected by changes in climate, input of means of production, and planting structure. Therefore, multiple regulatory measures should be taken in combination with regional characteristics to realize a new layout of planting structure with low emissions, water conservation, and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While tailings wastes have attracted public concern in China, the knowledge of their numbers, distribution, land occupation, perimeter, and altitude is incomplete. Based on statistics and geographic information system (GIS) method, the present study investigated 5189 of tailings ponds (TPs) in order to understand the present situation of tailings in China. Overall, this study revealed that the occupied land of TPs is about 1884.0 km2, average altitude is 699.4 m, and the strip between the tailings wastes and soil accumulated to 14,674.4 km. This is harmful to the security of closed biomes community. Besides, TPs are widely scattered, especially, the distribute density which ranges from 0.009 to 0.05/km2 are located in the northern Hebei Province, Liaodong Peninsula, Shandong Peninsula and western Henan province. In terms of watershed for TPs, the ascending order is Huaihe River, Heilongjiang River, Pearl River, Liaohe River, Yellow River, Yangtze River, Haihe River; and the land usage is Huaihe River < Pearl River < Liaohe River < Heilongjiang River < Yangtze River < Haihe River < Yellow River. In a nutshell, tailings wastes should be considered a huge environmental threat in China. • 5189 tailings ponds in China have been discussed in this paper. Especially, average altitude of tailings ponds is 699.4 m, the occupied land is 1884.0 km2, and the strip between the tailings wastes and soil are accumulated to 14674.4 km. • The tailings ponds were widely distributed throughout the country, especially, highest horizontal distribution density occurs in north Hebei province, with a mean density of >0.02/per km2. • The horizontal and vertical distribution of tailings ponds in the watershed was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The following research questions are specifically addressed in this paper. • Which temporal window can capture the crucial phenological stages most effectively? • What spectral feature is most discriminative? • Whether the red edge bands of Sentinel-2 are important for accurate crop identification? Crop type mapping visualizes the spatial distribution patterns and proportions of the cultivated areas with different crop types, and is the basis for subsequent agricultural applications. Understanding the effectiveness of different temporal and spectral features in detailed crop classification can help users optimize temporal window selection and spectral feature space construction in crop type mapping applications. Therefore, in this study, we used time-series Sentinel-2 image data from Yi'an County, Heilongjiang province, China, to analyze the effectiveness of the temporal and spectral features used in three common machine learning classification methods: classification and regression tree (CART) decision tree, Support Vector Machine (SVM), and random forest (RF). For CART and SVM classifiers, the relative importance of the features was reflected by the order and frequency of attributes selected as the node and the square of the model weight. In RF, the change in prediction error as calculated by out of bag data is taken as the measure of feature importance. The standard deviation of the average value of all labeled pixels was used to evaluate the correctness of the unanimous conclusions drawn by these three methodologies. The quantitative evaluation results given by the confusion matrix show that random forest achieved the best overall accuracy, while support vector machine ranked second, and the decision tree algorithm yielded the least accurate classification results. From the perspective of feature importance, making full use of the discriminative information between different crops, and constructing a rational feature space, can help to improve classification accuracy significantly. In detail, the discriminative information between the different crop types is as follows: 1) images at the peak of the crop growth period are crucial in the classification of different crops; 2) the short-wave infrared bands are particularly suitable for fine crop classification; and 3) the red edge bands can effectively assist classification. Finally, our study achieved crop type mapping in the study area with an overall accuracy of 97.85% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.95. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Periods of accretionary growth happened between 305 Ma-195 Ma and 112 Ma-101 Ma. • A period of subduction erosion affected the Songliao Block from 195 Ma to 142 Ma. • The Jiamusi and Songliao Blocks were together amalgamated in the early Cretaceous. • A Jurassic-early Cretaceous extrusion event disturbed the orogenic architecture. The high-pressure Heilongjiang Complex records a long and complicated evolution from the late Paleozoic to Mesozoic in NE China, which is still subject to controversy. In this paper we present a new detailed study including structural, geochemical and geochronological analyses (Ar–Ar dating on metamorphic minerals, U-Pb SIMS dating on zircons). Two main periods of oceanward accretionary growth are identified between 305 Ma and 195 Ma and around 112–101 Ma. These periods of accretionary growth were associated with the emplacement of voluminous magmatism, slab roll-back with continental back-arc extension, and growth of a forearc accretionary prism. Between these periods of accretionary growth, a major phase of regional subduction erosion took place between 195 Ma and 142 Ma at the eastern edge of the Songliao Block. The main effects of this subduction erosion phase were that regional Jurassic-early Cretaceous extrusion overlapped with Mesozoic accretion and erosion in NE China, which disturbed the initial orogenic architecture. With a review of relevant zircon ages of this accretionary orogen, we unravel the complicated geodynamic history of accretion, subduction erosion and tectonic extrusion that shaped NE China from the late Paleozoic to Mesozoic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study presented in this paper thoroughly investigated factors influencing driver injury severity in freeway single-vehicle crashes. Crash data from 2013 to 2017 for freeways in Heilongjiang Province, China was used. Elements of driver characteristics, environmental factors, roadway attributes and crash characteristics were considered. A heterogeneity-in-means mixed logit model was developed as an alternative to the frequently used multinomial logit model and mixed logit model to fully account for unobserved heterogeneity, particularly the heterogeneity resulting from driver characteristics. Results indicated that the mixed logit model with heterogeneity-in-means can provide a superior goodness-of-fit and offer more insights into factors of driver injury severities. By allowing means of random parameters in mixed logit model to be estimated functions of driver characteristics, a more general model structure for deeply tracking unobserved heterogeneity was constructed, and thereby the interactive effects between driver characteristics and other factors on driver injury severity were uncovered, such as: (1) female and senior drivers, darkness without lighting, collision with barriers or piers, lane-changing or merging maneuvers tend to increase the injury severity of drivers; (2) an experienced driver was associated with low probability of severe injuries; (3) low visibility could reduce injury severity, especially for experienced drivers; (4) a concrete barrier could aggravate the injury severity for senior drivers in particular. This study provided an insightful knowledge of mechanism of driver injury severity in single-vehicle crashes, and should be beneficial to develop corresponding effective countermeasures for protect drivers from being severely injured. • Factors affecting driver injury severity were fully investigated. • A mixed logit model with heterogeneity-in-means was developed. • Interactive effects of factors on crash severity were obtained. • Method for tracking individual heterogeneity was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]