Author
Sergey Chalov
Other affiliations: Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz
Bio: Sergey Chalov is an academic researcher from Moscow State University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Sediment & Drainage basin. The author has an hindex of 21, co-authored 103 publications receiving 1492 citations. Previous affiliations of Sergey Chalov include Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz.
Topics: Sediment, Drainage basin, Erosion, Tributary, River delta
Papers
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University of Florida1, Universidade Nova de Lisboa2, University of Bergen3, Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt4, Moscow State University5, University of Strasbourg6, Geological Survey of Slovenia7, Academy of Military Medical Sciences8, Istanbul University9, Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests10
TL;DR: In this paper, a spatio-temporal distribution of deadly landslides is presented for 27 European countries over the last 20 years (1995-2014) and a total of 1370 deaths and 784 injuries were reported resulting from 476 landslides.
Abstract: Landslides are a major hazard causing human and large economic losses worldwide. However, the quantification of fatalities and casualties is highly underestimated and incomplete, thus, the estimation of landslide risk is rather ambitious. Hence, a spatio-temporal distribution of deadly landslides is presented for 27 European countries over the last 20 years (1995–2014). Catastrophic landslides are widely distributed throughout Europe, however, with a great concentration in mountainous areas. In the studied period, a total of 1370 deaths and 784 injuries were reported resulting from 476 landslides. Turkey showed the highest fatalities with 335. An increasing trend of fatal landslides is observed, with a pronounced number of fatalities in the latest period from 2008 to 2014. The latter are mostly triggered by natural extreme events such as storms (i.e., heavy rainfall), earthquakes, and floods and only minor by human activities, such as mining and excavation works. Average economic loss per year in Europe is approximately 4.7 billion Euros. This study serves as baseline information for further risk mapping by integrating deadly landslide locations, local land use data, and will therefore help countries to protect human lives and property.
212 citations
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TL;DR: Wetlands are often considered as nature-based solutions that can provide a multitude of services of great social, economic and environmental value to humankind as discussed by the authors, and they can provide great social and economic benefits to humans.
198 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide a comprehensive overview about the current state of knowledge about water resources and their management in Central Asia and present case studies looking at the Selenga-Baikal-Angara Basin, the Lake Aral Basin including the Syr Darya and Amu Darya river systems, the Tarim and the Illi River Basins.
Abstract: Large parts of Central Asia are characterized by a semiarid to arid climate. Therefore, areas close to shallow groundwater, rivers and lakes are characterized by unique water-dependent ecosystems and human societies which have developed over millennia in close interaction with the naturally limited water resources. In the early 21st century, global climate change, population growth, river damming, large-scale water abstractions and rising levels of pollution exert multiple pressures on the region’s water resources, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems at historically high levels. Water scarcity threatens the livelihood of populations locally and in transboundary settings by a growing competition over a limited resource. This context is of particular importance since all major rivers of the region cross at least one international border. The complexity and character of water-related challenges in the region mean that management approaches need to be integrative, taking into account the natural resource basis, environmental limits and the socio-cultural and geopolitical dimension. This paper frames the thematic issue of Environmental Earth Sciences and provides a comprehensive overview about the current state of knowledge about water resources and their management in Central Asia. There is a focus on case studies looking at the Selenga–Baikal–Angara Basin, the Lake Aral Basin including the Syr Darya and Amu Darya river systems, the Tarim and the Illi River Basins. Aiming to be an up-to-date interdisciplinary scientific reference on the region’s water-related challenges, this thematic issue gives theoretical and practical insights into solutions and best practice examples of water management.
142 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors considered the unregulated Selenga River and its basin, located in Russia and Mongolia, and showed that peak flow events during spring and summer contribute to the main part (70-80%) of the annual sediment and pollution loads in upstream parts of the basin.
Abstract: Many Asian rivers have been intensively used to boost economic growth, resulting in sudden and drastic changes in sediment transport patterns. However, a few rivers are still undisturbed. The present paper considers the unregulated Selenga River and its basin, located in Russia and Mongolia. The river contributes to 50 % of the total inflow to Lake Baikal. Pending scientific challenges include the quantification of sediment loads and erosion–deposition patterns along the Selenga River system, the understanding of suspended particulate matter composition and the importance of peak flow events for total sediment discharge and heavy metal transport. Field data and hydraulic modeling converge on showing that peak flow events during spring and summer contribute to the main part (70–80 %) of the annual sediment and pollution loads in upstream parts of the basin. The Selenga River carries mostly silt and sand. The average particle size differs by a factor of four between summer floods and base flow periods. The low amount of particulate organic matter (ranging between 1 and 16 % in the studied rivers) is consistent with the significant role of sediments originating from mining areas and in-channel sources. The bed load transport in the downstream part of the river basin is high (up to 50 % of the total transport), and channel storage plays an important role in the total sediment transport to Lake Baikal. Reported statistically significant multi-decadal declines in sediment fluxes in the downstream Selenga River can be attributed to the abandonment of cultivated lands and (most likely) to changing hydroclimatic factors.
105 citations
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TL;DR: It is suggested that local to regional transformation and enrichment processes in combination with suspended sediment transport from numerous existing upstream mining areas contribute to high concentrations of dissolved heavy metals in downstream parts of the Selenga River, including its delta area at Lake Baikal.
Abstract: Mining and ore excavation can cause the acidification and heavy metal pollution of downstream water systems. It can be difficult to assess the load contributions from individual mining areas, which is commonly required for environmental impact assessments. In the current study, we quantified the net impact of the unmonitored mining activities in the Zaamar Goldfield (Mongolia) on heavy metal transport in the downstream Tuul River–Selenga River–Lake Baikal water systems. We also noted that the Zaamar site shares the conditions of limited monitoring with many rapidly developing regions of the world. The heavy metal concentrations and flow data were obtained from historical measurement campaigns, long-term monitoring, and a novel field campaign. The results indicate that natural mass flows of heavy metals in dissolved form increased by an order of magnitude because of mining. Prevailing alkaline conditions in the vicinity of Zaamar can limit the dissolution, maintaining the on-site concentrations below health-risk based guideline values. However, suspended river concentrations are much higher than the dissolved concentrations. The placer gold mining at the Zaamar site has increased the total riverine mass flows of Al, As, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn by 44.300, 30.1, 65.7, 47.800, 1.480, 76.0 and 65.0 tonnes per year respectively. We suggest that local to regional transformation and enrichment processes in combination with suspended sediment transport from numerous existing upstream mining areas contribute to high concentrations of dissolved heavy metals in downstream parts of the Selenga River, including its delta area at Lake Baikal. Furthermore, single hydrological events can increase the suspended load concentrations by at least one order of magnitude. Overall, the Selenga River Basin, which drains into Lake Baikal, should be recognised as one of the world's most impacted areas with regard to heavy metal loads, and it contributes to 1% and 3% of the world flux of dissolved Fe and Pb, respectively.
91 citations
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TL;DR: The conversion of waste products into effective adsorbents and their application for water treatment and the possible mechanism of adsorption on these adsorbent has been included in this article.
1,080 citations
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TL;DR: The sources of various types of pollutants, their effects on aquatic organisms, ecosystems and man, are described, using case histories where appropriate and techniques for assessing the effects of pollution are introduced.
Abstract: The pollution of rivers and lakes is of concern because of the threat to public water supplied and because of the damage caused to natural ecosystems. Waterborne diseases remain rife in the Third World, while in developed countries there has been a decline in the quality of water. It has also become apparent that pollutants may destroy ecosystems hundreds of miles from their source. Some of these toxic materials such as lead and PCBs also pose threats to public health. This text describes the sources of various types of pollutants, their effects on aquatic organisms, ecosystems and man, using case histories where appropriate. Ways of mitigating the effects of pollutants by control and ecosystem manipulation are described. Techniques for assessing the effects of pollution, both in field and laboratory, are introduced. The role of the biologist in pollution assessment and control and in the wider sphere of mangement of acquatic resources is also examined.
494 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors introduce four concepts that are conducive to realizing Land Degradation Neutrality in a more integrated way: systems thinking, connectivity, nature-based solutions, and regenerative economics.
Abstract: In the effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to food, health, water, and climate, an increase in pressure on land is highly likely. To avoid further land degradation and promote land restoration, multifunctional use of land is needed within the boundaries of the soil-water system. In addition, awareness-raising, a change in stakeholders’ attitudes, and a change in economics are essential. The attainment of a balance between the economy, society, and the biosphere calls for a holistic approach. In this paper, we introduce four concepts that we consider to be conducive to realizing LDN in a more integrated way: systems thinking, connectivity, nature-based solutions, and regenerative economics. We illustrate the application of these concepts through three examples in agricultural settings. Systems thinking lies at the base of the three others, stressing feedback loops but also delayed responses. Their simultaneous use will result in more robust solutions, which are sustainable from an environmental, societal, and economic point of view. Solutions also need to take into account the level of scale (global, national, regional, local), stakeholders’ interests and culture, and the availability and boundaries of financial and natural capital. Furthermore, sustainable solutions need to embed short-term management in long-term landscape planning. In conclusion, paradigm shifts are needed. First, it is necessary to move from excessive exploitation in combination with environmental protection, to sustainable use and management of the soil-water system. To accomplish this, new business models in robust economic systems are needed based on environmental systems thinking; an approach that integrates environmental, social, and economic interests. Second, it is necessary to shift from a “system follows function” approach towards a “function follows system” one. Only by making the transition towards integrated solutions based on a socio-economical-ecological systems analysis, using concepts such as nature-based solutions, do we stand a chance to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality by 2030. To make these paradigm shifts, awareness-raising in relation to a different type of governance, economy and landscape and land-use planning and management is needed.
431 citations
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TL;DR: The most recent papers published in scientific journals are reviewed, highlighting significant advances and critical issues and the definition of standard procedures for the identification of rainfall events and for the objective definition of the thresholds.
Abstract: The topic of rainfall thresholds for landslide occurrence was thoroughly investigated, producing abundance of case studies at different scales of analysis and several technical and scientific advances. We reviewed the most recent papers published in scientific journals, highlighting significant advances and critical issues. We collected and grouped all the information on rainfall thresholds into four categories: publication details, geographical distribution and uses, dataset features, threshold definition. In each category, we selected descriptive information to characterize each one of the 115 rainfall threshold published in the last 9 years. The main improvements that stood out from the review are the definition of standard procedures for the identification of rainfall events and for the objective definition of the thresholds. Numerous advances were achieved in the cataloguing of landslides too, which can be defined as one of the most important variables, together with rainfall data, for drawing reliable thresholds. Another focal point of the reviewed articles was the increased definition of thresholds with different exceedance probabilities to be employed for the definition of warning levels in landslide early warning systems. Nevertheless, drawbacks and criticisms can be identified in most part of the recent literature on rainfall thresholds. The main issues concern the validation process, which is seldom carried out, and the very frequent lack of explanations for the rain gauge selection procedure. The paper may be used as a guide to find adequate literature on the most used or the most advanced approaches followed in every step of the procedure for defining reliable rainfall thresholds. Therefore, it constitutes a guideline for future studies and applications, in particular in early warning systems. The paper also aims at addressing the gaps that need to be filled to further enhance the quality of the research products in this field. The contribution of this manuscript could be seen not only as a review of the state of the art, but also an effective method to disseminate the best practices among scientists and stakeholders involved in landslide hazard management.
335 citations
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University of Hawaii1, Cornell University2, United States Forest Service3, National Institute for Environmental Studies4, University of Reading5, Shibaura Institute of Technology6, Lund University7, Massachusetts Institute of Technology8, University of Southampton9, Princeton University10, University of Wisconsin-Madison11
TL;DR: In this article, traceable evidence for 467 pathways by which human health, water, food, economy, infrastructure and security have been recently impacted by climate hazards such as warming, heatwaves, precipitation, drought, floods, fires, storms, sea-level rise and changes in natural land cover and ocean chemistry.
Abstract: The ongoing emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) is triggering changes in many climate hazards that can impact humanity. We found traceable evidence for 467 pathways by which human health, water, food, economy, infrastructure and security have been recently impacted by climate hazards such as warming, heatwaves, precipitation, drought, floods, fires, storms, sea-level rise and changes in natural land cover and ocean chemistry. By 2100, the world’s population will be exposed concurrently to the equivalent of the largest magnitude in one of these hazards if emmisions are aggressively reduced, or three if they are not, with some tropical coastal areas facing up to six simultaneous hazards. These findings highlight the fact that GHG emissions pose a broad threat to humanity by intensifying multiple hazards to which humanity is vulnerable.
311 citations