Many of already existing roads cross wetland river valleys. Also the roads nowadays planned are cutting through valuable wetlands. It is necessary to evaluate the range of their impact on the natural environment. This paper focuses only on the analysis of the road crossing impact on the groundwater level. Two options of crossing the wetlands were analyzed, building the road on embankments and in the bridge. It was assumed that the valley is filled with organic material under laid by permeable sands. Calculation results showed that building a road in the valley affects groundwater level only to the slight extend. Water conditions in the valley may be affected only during the construction of the road. Calculation results were confirmed by field observations.

It should be stressed that the object of this paper is the evaluation of water conditions. Environment might be influenced by other factors.

Quaternary paleoclimatic signals from the Levant have been frequently correlated with the most widely used stratigraphic divisions of high latitudes. In this article, relevant data, underlying concepts and new information are critically reviewed to highlight sources of uncertainty. Comparison between four sites from the Bekaa Valley demonstrate the problem of correlations and paleoenvironmental diversity of the region.

Soil-plant conditions in selected valleys typical for Bellsund Region are varying from hardly favourable (Skilvika), to favourable (Calypsostranda) and medium (Lyellstranda). Plant growth and development of a soil cover are favoured by grain size composition (loamy sands and light loams), quick warming-up of a soil, relative stability of a ground, location and shape of valleys, etc. Unfavourable soil-plant conditions result from too light or too heavy grain size composition, considerable dynamics of ground mechanical features and high compactness of a soil. Varying contents of carbonates and alkaline reaction (except for almost neutral reaction in organic horizons) were typical for the studied soils. Thickness of humus horizons as well as contents of organic C vary at the three studied sites. Significant is high concentration of easily available Ca and Mg, sometimes also of Na.

The Polish Geophysical Expedition to West Antarctica in 1979-1980 was carried out by the Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences. Beside deep seismic soundings, 12 multi-channel seismic profiles, with a total length of ca 1000 km have been recorded north and east of the South Shetland Islands and in the Bransfield Strait, but they have never before been completely interpreted and published. All profiles have been processed with modern processing flow including time migration. Profiles crossing the South Shetland Trench revealed distinct reflector inside continental slope, which has been interpreted as border between buried accretionary prism and overlying slope sediments of glacial-marine origin. Profiles in the Bransfield Strait show traces of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the form of glacial foreground valleys, with some of them used as weak spots for young age volcanic intrusions. This paper is the first comprehensive geological interpretation of collected dataset and differences between results from other expeditions are discussed.

The abundance of water has certainly been a very important resource for the development of the Po Valley and has necessitated, more than once, interventions of regulation and drainage that have contributed strongly to imprint a particular conformation on the land. Already in Roman times there were numerous projects of canalisation and intense and diligent commitment to the maintenance of the canals, used for navigation, for irrigation and for the working of the mills. The need to control the excessive amount of water present was the beginning of the exploitation of this great font of richness that was constantly maintained in subsequent eras. In the early Middle Ages, despite the conditions of political instability and great economic and social difficulty, the function of the canals continued to be of great importance, also because the paths of river communication often substituted land roads, then left abandoned. After the 11th century A.D. the resumption of agricultural activity was conducive to the intense task of land reclamation of the Lombardian countryside and of commitment by the cities to amplify their waterways with the construction of new canals and the improvement of those already existing. The example given by Milan, a city lacking a natural river, that equipped itself with a dense network of canal, used in various ambits of the city life (defence, hygiene, agriculture, transport, milling systems) and for connections with the surrounding territory, can be considered as emblematic. In the surrounding countryside, the activity of the Cistercian monks of Chiaravalle represents one of the situations more indicative of how land reclamation and waterways contributed fundamentally to the organisation of the territory over the span of the ages.

The study area of the Nida valley was examined to investigate variations in groundwater and surface water levels, as well as the interaction between them. In the valley, there were three branches. The two actives were the Nida River itself and the Smuga Umianowicka branch while the Stara Nida branch was dry during the measurement session. Over a 12-month period from June 2021 to June 2022, 7 monitoring points were equipped with piezometers, comprising 5 groundwater points and 2 surface water points. The monitoring frequency was set to 30 minutes. The results of this research indicate that there are significant differences in the water level at the same observed point at different times. This study demonstrates seasonal changes in both surface water and groundwater levels with higher levels in autumn and winter and lower levels in spring and summer, which are closely tied to the changes in meteorological conditions during the research period, such as precipitation and air temperature. The study results also indicate that during summer and winter at the Nida River and its riparian area, losing stream is the primary process occurring in the studied reach. Conversely, during autumn and spring, the main process is gaining stream. At the human-maintained Smuga Umianowicka branch and in its riparian area, losing stream is the main process during summer and autumn, and gaining stream is the main process during spring. During winter, losing stream and gaining stream processes can occur simultaneously, and neither process takes place mainly.

In Algeria, modern agriculture was introduced in the Saharan region through the implementation of the law n° 83–18 of August 13, 1983, relating to access to agricultural land ownership (Fr. Accession à la Propriété Foncière Agricole (APFA) in French). This law was hugely successful and sparked a real enthusiasm for this type of activity, which resulted in an expansion of agricultural areas at the M’Zab level, similar to that observed in other Saharan regions. Over the past decades, the agricultural area has declined markedly (–0.4%), which was due to multiple causes, including ecological problems, such as urban discharges and the rise in the water level. So far, little research has been done to assess the agricultural situation and irrigation in this region. The objective of this work is to analyse and discuss the constraints and impacts of water and agricultural management on sustainability of the ecosystem in the Saharan environment. This work is based on extensive research, which has been carried out in the M’Zab region on the oasis system and its evolution. It was enriched with dozens of direct surveys, performed among farmers working in agricultural areas. The results show that agricultural development and the sustainability of farms in this region face several technical and social constraints, the most important of which are the workforce-related problems and water management. Several measures have been recommended to be taken not only to preserve the ecosystem but also to give significance to the large investments made by the public authorities.

Ditches and drainage canals are an important element in the post-bog meadows. Their basic function is to regulate air-water relations in ecosystems, mainly in agrocenoses. The environmental functions of ditches and canals consist of maintaining a large diversity of flora and fauna species due to high humidity of these ecosystems. The study of plant communities in the ditches in the post-bog meadows habitat of the Supraśl Dolna valley structure in 2010–2020 was carried out. There were 23–27 species of plants in the ditches. Species diversity did not change significantly during this period, while changes in individual species’ coverage and viability were found. The species were classified into two rush communities: reed rush ( Phragmitetum australis) and rush ( Phalaridetum arundinaceae). As a result of the lack of maintenance of the ditches, an invasive species of flapped barbed ( Echinocystis lobata) was found. The natural valorization carried out by the Oświt method showed that plant communities in the drainage ditches are in the lowest valorization classes.

According to the current state of research five sand-gravel accumulation levels of Quaternary age are visible in the morphology of the western part of the Holy Cross Mountains, within the Wierna Rzeka, Hutka and Bobrza river valley systems and the lower stretches of the Biała Nida and Czarna Nida river valleys. Two upper levels (V and IV) correspond to valleys formed during the Odranian Glaciation-Saalian, MIS6 and its reccesional phases under the influence of proglacial and extraglacial waters beyond the extent (to the east) of the maximal ice-sheet limit of this glaciation, reaching to the present-day Leśnica-Gnieździska-Łopuszno line. Two lower levels (III and II) are terraces that were typically formed during the climatic conditions thatprevailed during Vistulian stadials. Sands and gravels of the three upper levels (V−III) contain numerous debris flow deposits and cryoturbation structures documenting periglacial conditions during their accumulation. The lowermost level (I) is a typical Holocene floodplain.

Analysis of groundwater quality in the alluvial aquifer of the lower Soummam Valley, North-East of Algeria, was realised through the application of multivariate statistical methods: hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) in Q and R modes, factorial correspondence analysis (FCA), and principal component analysis (PCA), to hydrochemical data from 51 groundwater samples, collected from 17 boreholes during periods of June, September 2016 and March 2017. The objectives of this approach are to characterise the water quality and to know the factors which govern its evolution by processes controlling its chemical composition. The Piper diagram shows two hydrochemical facies: calcium chloride and sodium bicarbonate. Statistical techniques HCA, PCA, and FCA reveal two groups of waters: the first (EC, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl–, SO42– and NO3–) of evaporitic origin linked to the dissolution processes of limestone rocks, leaching of saliferous soils and anthropogenic processes, namely contamination wastewater and agricultural activity, as well marine intrusion; and the second group (Na+, K+, and HCO3–) of carbonated origin influenced by the dissolution of carbonate formations and the exchange of bases. The thermodynamic study has shown that all groundwater is undersaturated with respect to evaporitic minerals. On the other hand, it is supersaturated with respect to carbonate minerals, except for water from boreholes F9, F14, and F16, which possibly comes down to the lack of dissolution and arrival of these minerals. The results of this study clearly demonstrate the utility of multivariate statistical methods in the analysis of groundwater quality.

The groundwater of the Nida valley was investigated to assess the quality of water source and monthly variations of the physicochemical parameters. A total of 70 water samples were collected from 7 sampling sites during a 10 months period from June 2021 to March 2022. Sampling frequency was once per month. The parameters such as temperature ( T), electrical conductivity ( EC), dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, total dissolved solids (TDS) were measured in-situ by using handheld device. Meanwhile, total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), chloride (Cl ^–), sulphate (SO42–), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), chemical oxygen demand (COD) were analysed in the laboratory. According to the classification of Ministry of Marine Economy and Inland Navigation in Poland (2019), some investigated parameters are classified as unsatisfactory quality waters (class 4) and poor-quality waters (class 5) for a few specific months. Such as, TP concentrations obtained in June and January are classified as class 4, SO ₄ ^2– concentrations corresponded to classes 4 and 5 in June, July and August, and Mn concentrations (except in January) are settled in class 5. The high values of Fe in November are arranged in class 5 and in June, July to September and March are classified in class 4. Statistical methods were used as: Shapiro–Wilk test (α = 0.05), ANOVA test and post-hoc Tukey test (α = 0.05), Kruskal–Wallis test and Wilcoxon (Mann–Whitney) rank sum test (α = 0.05) estimated the significant differences in sampling months. Pearson correlation analysis (α = 0.01 and 0.05), principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis showed correlation between the parameters and sampling months.

Aiming to address power consumption issues of various equipment in metro stations and the inefficiency of peak shaving and valley filling in the power supply system, this study presents an economic optimization scheduling method for the multi-modal “source-network-load-storage” system in metro stations. The proposed method, called the Improved Gray Wolf Optimization Algorithm (IGWO), utilizes objective evaluation criteria to achieve economic optimization. First, construct a mathematical model of the “sourcenetwork- load-storage” joint system with the metro station at its core. This model should consider the electricity consumption within the station. Secondly, a two-layer optimal scheduling model is established, with the upper model aiming to optimize peak elimination and valley filling, and the lower model aiming to minimize electricity consumption costs within a scheduling cycle. Finally, this paper introduces the IGWO optimization approach, which utilizes meta-models and the Improved Gray Wolf Optimization Algorithm to address the nonlinearity and computational complexity of the two-layer model. The analysis shows that the proposed model and algorithm can improve the solution speed and minimize the cost of electricity used by about 5.5% to 8.7% on the one hand, and on the other hand, it improves the solution accuracy, and at the same time effectively realizes the peak shaving and valley filling, which provides a proof of the effectiveness and feasibility of the new method.