Temporal and Spatial Distribution Characteristics of Lightning Activity in the Pan-Pearl River Delta

Based on the lightning data acquired by a lightning imaging sensor(LIS)carried on the TRMM satellite from 1998 to 2013,the spatial distribution,seasonal,monthly,and diurnal characteristics of lightning activity in the Pan-Pearl River Delta were analyzed.The results show that in the Pan-Pearl River Delta,lightning activity was more in the south and less in the north.Near 23°N,lightning density was high from Guangdong and Guangxi to the southern edge of Yunnan.Lightning density weakened continuously as the latitude increased.Among the provinces in the Pan-Pearl River Delta,the maximum and average of lightning density in Hainan Province was greater than that of other provinces.Besides,the lightning activity showed obvious seasonal changes.In the whole year,lightning activity was the weakest in November and next February.Lightning activity in most areas of the Pan-Pearl River Delta was the strongest in August.The peak of lightning activity in most areas of the Pan-Pearl River Delta occurred from 12:00 to 20:00.Lightning activity was the weakest between 07:00 and 10:00 in most areas.

Numerical study on local scour characteristics around submarine pipelines in the Yellow River Delta silty sandy soil under waves and currents

Due to their high reliability and cost-efficiency,submarine pipelines are widely used in offshore oil and gas resource engineering.Due to the interaction of waves,currents,seabed,and pipeline structures,the soil around submarine pipelines is prone to local scour,severely affecting their operational safety.With the Yellow River Delta as the research area and based on the renormalized group(RNG)k-εturbulence model and Stokes fifth-order wave theory,this study solves the Navier-Stokes(N-S)equation using the finite difference method.The volume of fluid(VOF)method is used to describe the fluid-free surface,and a threedimensional numerical model of currents and waves-submarine pipeline-silty sandy seabed is established.The rationality of the numerical model is verified using a self-built waveflow flume.On this basis,in this study,the local scour development and characteristics of submarine pipelines in the Yellow River Delta silty sandy seabed in the prototype environment are explored and the influence of the presence of pipelines on hydrodynamic features such as surrounding flow field,shear stress,and turbulence intensity is analyzed.The results indicate that(1)local scour around submarine pipelines can be divided into three stages:rapid scour,slow scour,and stable scour.The maximum scour depth occurs directly below the pipeline,and the shape of the scour pits is asymmetric.(2)As the water depth decreases and the pipeline suspension height increases,the scour becomes more intense.(3)When currents go through a pipeline,a clear stagnation point is formed in front of the pipeline,and the flow velocity is positively correlated with the depth of scour.This study can provide a valuable reference for the protection of submarine pipelines in this area.

Landsat Image-Based Spatiotemporal Variation Analysis of Erosion and Deposition off the Qingshuigou of the Yellow River Delta from 1984 to 2021

Owing to climate change and human activity,the Qingshuigou of the Yellow River Delta(YRD)has undergone dynamic changes in erosion and deposition.Therefore,studying these changes is important to ensure ecological protection and sustainable development.In this study,the trend of erosion-deposition evolution in the Qingshuigou was investigated based on 38 coastline phases extracted from Landsat series images of the YRD at one-year intervals from 1984 to 2021.The periodicity of the scouring and deposition evolution was also analyzed using wavelet analysis.Results showed that the total area of the Qingshuigou was affected by deposition and erosion and that the fluctuation first increased and then decreased.The total area reached a maximum in 1993.The depositional area first increased and then decreased,whereas the overall erosion area decreased.Deposition and erosion areas showed periodic changes to some extent;however,the periodic signal intensity decreased.Furthermore,factors including channel morphological evolution and variations in water and sediment discharge affect the spatiotemporal dynamics of erosion and deposition processes.The application of nonconsistency tests finally revealed that deposition area and flushing magnitude exhibited non-stationarities,which are potentially attributed to impacts from climatic change drivers.

Occurrence,Spatial Distribution,Sources and Risk Assessment of Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Surface Sediments of the Yellow River Delta Wetland

Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances(PFASs)are emerging persistent organic pollutants(POPs).In this study,47 surface sediment samples were collected from the Yellow River Delta wetland(YRDW)to investigate the occurrence,spatial distribution,potential sources,and ecological risks of PFASs.Twenty-three out of 26 targeted PFASs were detected in surface sediment samples from the YRDW,with totalΣ23PFASs concentrations ranging from 0.23 to 16.30 ng g^(-1) dw and a median value of 2.27 ng g^(-1) dw.Perfluorooctanoic acid(PFOA),perfluorobutanoic acid(PFBA)and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid(PFOS)were the main contaminants.The detection frequency and concentration of perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids(PFCAs)were higher than those of perfluoroal-kanesulfonic acids(PFSAs),while those of long-chain PFASs were higher than those of short-chain PFASs.The emerging PFASs substitutes were dominated by 6:2 chlorinated polyfluoroalkyl ether sulfonic acid(6:2 Cl-PFESA).The distribution of PFASs is significantly influenced by the total organic carbon content in the sediments.The concentration of PFASs seems to be related to human activities,with high concentration levels of PFASs near locations such as beaches and villages.By using a positive matrix factorization model,the potential sources of PFASs in the region were identified as metal plating mist inhibitor and fluoropolymer manufacturing sources,metal plating industry and firefighting foam and textile treatment sources,and food packaging material sources.The risk assessment indicated that PFASs in YRDW sediments do not pose a significant ecological risk to benthic organisms in the region overall,but PFOA and PFOS exert a low to moderate risk at individual stations.

Examining the evolution of tidal creeks in the Huanghe River delta using multi-temporal Landsat images

Coastal tidal creeks are important channels for exchanges of material and energy between sea and land,and play an important role in the ecological protection of tidal flats.Although tidal creeks have evolved differently in various regions,the evolutionary process of tidal creeks in the Huanghe(Yellow)River delta of China,one of the most active deltas worldwide,is not entirely clear.Therefore,the evolution of tidal creeks in the delta from 1981 to 2021 was investigated by quantitatively analysing the tidal creeks and developing a standard for dividing their evolution periods.Visual interpretation and supervised classification methods were applied to the Landsat images to extract the tidal creek network,and 17 groups of tidal creek systems were selected.Results indicate that Creek S 1 was the most developed creek for having 113 tidal creeks totaling 65.8 km in length,while Creek E 3 had the fastest growth rate for having average annual increase of 1.9 km.Meanwhile,the level of tidal creeks increased,the average and median lengths of tidal creeks increased,and the number of tidal creeks decreased since 1981.The evolution of the tidal creek system could be divided into four stages,namely,rising,developing,stabilizing,and degrading.Analyses of a representative tidal creek show that there was no degenerated tidal creek during the rising period,with an increase in the number of 50 and a length increase of 57.9 km between 1981 and 1989.The proportion of new tidal creeks in the developing period was more than 50%and the new tidal creeks in the stabilizing period were equal to the degraded tidal creeks.Extinct tidal creeks were greater than 50%during the degrading period.There was no fixed order of tidal creek evolution in each period,and there may be a skip in evolution.Our findings provided a reference for studying the evolution of tidal creeks.

Activity Pattern and Habitat Use of Shorebirds in an Artificial Wetland Complex:A Case Study of Breeding Pied Avocet in the Yellow River Delta,China

With the loss of substantial natural wetlands in coastal zones,artificial wetlands provide alternative habitats for many shorebirds.Scientific management of artificial wetlands used by shorebirds plays an important role in maintaining the stability of shorebird population.Satellite tracking technique can obtain high-precision location information of individuals day and night,providing a good technical support for the study of quantitative relationship between waterfowls and their habitats.In this study,satellite tracking method,Remote Sensing(RS)and Geographic Information System(GIS)technology were used to analyze the activity pattern and habitat utilization characteristics of Pied Avocet during breeding period in an artificial wetland complex in the Yellow River Delta(YRD),China.The results showed that the breeding Pied Avocets had a small range of activity,with a total core and main home range of 33.10 km^(2) and 216.30 km^(2),respectively.This species tended to forage in the pond and salt pan during the day and night,respectively,with an unfixed staying time in the breeding ground.The distance between breeding ground and feeding ground was less than 6 km.It is emphasized that in addition to improving the conditions of the remaining natural habitats,effective managing artificial habitats is a priority for shorebird conservation.This research could provide reference for the management of artificial wetlands in coastal zones and supply technique support for the protection of shorebirds and their habitats,and alleviate human-bird conflicts and sustainable development of coastal zones.

City Network Evolution Characteristics of Smart Industry: Evidence from Yangtze River Delta, China

The dual-path model of industrial evolution and spatial progression has been widely acknowledged and incorporated into the strategic planning to promote the development of urban industries and regional collaborations.However,current research on inter-enter-prise city networks mainly focuses on the single sector of flows on all enterprise branches,such as product value chains and production factors,but neglects that of particular industry department.Built upon the new economic geography and city networks theory,this paper develops a methodological framework that focuses on the analysis of city network evolution characteristics of smart industry.Particu-larly,a conceptual model of smart industry enterprise-industry-city is proposed and then applied to a case study of smart industry in the Yangtze River Delta Region,China.Using enterprise supplier-customer data,a city network of smart industry is constructed and sub-sequently analyzed with the proposed model.Findings indicate that the smart industry network in Yangtze River Delta Region exhibits a hierarchical structure and the expansion of the network presents a small-world network characteristic.The study not only makes a meth-odological contribution for revealing the industrial and spatial evolution path of the current smart industry,but also provides empirical support for the formulation of new economic development policies focused on smart industries,demonstrating the role of city clusters as carriers of regional synergistic development.

Coupling relationship and genetic mechanisms of shelf-edge delta and deep-water fan source-to-sink:A case study in Paleogene Zhuhai Formation in south subsag of Baiyun Sag,Pearl River Mouth Basin,China

The coupling relationship between shelf-edge deltas and deep-water fan sand bodies is a hot and cutting-edge field of international sedimentology and deep-water oil and gas exploration.Based on the newly acquired high-resolution 3D seismic,logging and core data of Pearl River Mouth Basin(PRMB),this paper dissected the shelf-edge delta to deep-water fan(SEDDF)depositional system in the Oligocene Zhuhai Formation of Paleogene in south subsag of Baiyun Sag,and revealed the complex coupling relationship from the continental shelf edge to deep-water fan sedimentation and its genetic mechanisms.The results show that during the deposition of the fourth to first members of the Zhuhai Formation,the scale of the SEDDF depositional system in the study area showed a pattern of first increasing and then decreasing,with deep-water fan developed in the third to first members and the largest plane distribution scale developed in the late stage of the second member.Based on the development of SEDDF depositional system along the source direction,three types of coupling relationships are divided,namely,deltas that are linked downdip to fans,deltas that lack downdip fans and fans that lack updip coeval deltas,with different depositional characteristics and genetic mechanisms.(1)Deltas that are linked downdip to fans:with the development of shelf-edge deltas in the shelf area and deep-water fans in the downdip slope area,and the strong source supply and relative sea level decline are the two key factors which control the development of this type of source-to-sink(S2S).The development of channels on the continental shelf edge is conducive to the formation of this type of S2S system even with weak source supply and high sea level.(2)Deltas that lack downdip fans:with the development of shelf edge deltas in shelf area,while deep water fans are not developed in the downdip slope area.The lack of“sources”and“channels”,and fluid transformation are the three main reasons for the formation of this type of S2S system.(3)Fans that lack updip coeval deltas:with the development of deep-water fans in continental slope area and the absence of updip coeval shelf edge deltas,which is jointly controlled by the coupling of fluid transformation at the shelf edge and the“channels”in the continental slope area.

Impact of Hinterland Manufacturing on the Development of Container Ports: Evidence from the Pearl River Delta, China

Container ports and hinterland manufacturing are two important forces of the local participation in economic globalization.This study,taking the Pearl River Delta(PRD),China with an export-oriented economy as an example,applies Huff and panel regres-sion models to evaluate the impact of hinterland manufacturing on the development of container ports during the period of 1993–2019.The results show that 1)the spatial patterns of hinterlands for hub ports help to determine the distribution range and scale of economic variables that affect port throughput;2)the hinterland’s gross manufacturing output has universally positive influence on port through-put,wherein export-oriented processing and the entire manufacturing industry have significantly positive impact on port throughput in 1993–2011 and 2001–2019,respectively;3)the two internal structural factors related to an export-oriented economy,labor-intensive sectors and foreign-funded terminals,have positively moderate the direct influence of hinterland manufacturing on port throughput.Our results highlight the importance of local context in understanding port-manufacturing relationship in developing economies.Based on our findings,policy implications are further proposed to enhance port network organization in PRD.

Impacts of multi-scenario land use change on ecosystem services and ecological security pattern: A case study of the Yellow River Delta

The Yellow River Delta(YRD), a critical economic zone along China's eastern coast, also functions as a vital ecological reserve in the lower Yellow River. Amidst rapid industrialization and urbanization, the region has witnessed significant land use/cover changes(LUCC), impacting ecosystem services(ES) and ecological security patterns(ESP). Investigating LUCC's effects on ES and ESP in the YRD is crucial for ecological security and sustainable development. This study utilized the PLUS model to simulate 2030 land use scenarios, including natural development(NDS), economic development(EDS), and ecological protection scenarios(EPS). Subsequently, the InVEST model and circuit theory were applied to assess ES and ESP under varying LUCC scenarios from 2010 to 2030. Findings indicate:(1) Notable LUCC from 2010 to 2030, marked by decreasing cropland and increasing construction land and water bodies.(2) From 2010 to 2020, improvements were observed in carbon storage,water yield, soil retention, and habitat quality, whereas 2020–2030 saw increases in water yield and soil retention but declines in habitat quality and carbon storage. Among the scenarios, EPS showed superior performance in all four ES.(3) Between 2010 and 2030, ecological sources, corridors, and pinchpoints expanded, displaying significant spatial heterogeneity. The EPS scenario yielded the most substantial increases in ecological sources,corridors, and pinchpoints, totaling 582.89 km^(2), 645.03 km^(2),and 64.43 km^(2), respectively. This study highlights the importance of EPS, offering insightful scientific guidance for the YRD's sustainable development.

Structural Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Carbon Emission Spatial Association Network:A Case Study of Yangtze River Delta City Cluster,China

City cluster is an effective platform for encouraging regionally coordinated development.Coordinated reduction of carbon emissions within city cluster via the spatial association network between cities can help coordinate the regional carbon emission management,realize sustainable development,and assist China in achieving the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals.This paper applies the improved gravity model and social network analysis(SNA)to the study of spatial correlation of carbon emissions in city clusters and analyzes the structural characteristics of the spatial correlation network of carbon emissions in the Yangtze River Delta(YRD)city cluster in China and its influencing factors.The results demonstrate that:1)the spatial association of carbon emissions in the YRD city cluster exhibits a typical and complex multi-threaded network structure.The network association number and density show an upward trend,indicating closer spatial association between cities,but their values remain generally low.Meanwhile,the network hierarchy and network efficiency show a downward trend but remain high.2)The spatial association network of carbon emissions in the YRD city cluster shows an obvious‘core-edge’distribution pattern.The network is centered around Shanghai,Suzhou and Wuxi,all of which play the role of‘bridges’,while cities such as Zhoushan,Ma'anshan,Tongling and other cities characterized by the remote location,single transportation mode or lower economic level are positioned at the edge of the network.3)Geographic proximity,varying levels of economic development,different industrial structures,degrees of urbanization,levels of technological innovation,energy intensities and environmental regulation are important influencing factors on the spatial association of within the YRD city cluster.Finally,policy implications are provided from four aspects:government macro-control and market mechanism guidance,structural characteristics of the‘core-edge’network,reconfiguration and optimization of the spatial layout of the YRD city cluster,and the application of advanced technologies.

Analysis of factors influencing carbon emissions in the Yangtze River Delta region and projections of carbon peak scenarios

Based on the supply-side perspective,the improved STIRPAT model is applied to reveal the mechanisms of supply-side factors such as human,capital,technology,industrial synergy,institutions and economic growth on carbon emissions in the Yangtze River Delta(YRD)through path analysis,and to forecast carbon emissions in the YRD from the baseline scenario,factor regulation scenario and integrated scenario to reach the peak.The results show that:(1)Jiangsu's high carbon emission pattern is the main reason for the YRD hindering the synergistic regulation of carbon emissions.(2)Human factors,institutional factors and economic growth factors can all contribute to carbon emissions in the YRD region,while technological and industrial factors can generally suppress carbon emissions in the YRD region.(3)Under the capital regulation scenario,the YRD region has the highest level of carbon emission synergy,with Jiangsu reaching its peak five years earlier.Under the balanced regulation scenario,the YRD region as a whole,Jiangsu,Zhejiang and Anhui reach the peak as scheduled.

Evaluation of Ecological Sustainable Development in the Yangtze River Delta Region Based on Ecological Footprint Theory

The ecological footprint was employed as a quantitative indicator of resource inputs,enabling a detailed account of the structure of biological resources and energy occupancy,as well as the variation of resource productivity in the Yangtze River Delta(YRD)Region.From 2004 to 2018,there were notable variations in the ecological productivity of different types of land on basis of China’s equilibrium factor across the three provinces and one city in the YRD region.Jiangsu Province exhibited the highest ecological productivity of arable land,while Anhui Province exhibited the highest ecological productivity of forest land.Shanghai City exhibited the highest ecological productivity of pasture land,while Zhejiang Province exhibited the highest ecological productivity of water area.In 2018,the proportion of arable land within the total ecological carrying capacity of the YRD region reached 74.35%.Furthermore,the contribution of Jiangsu and Anhui provinces to the YRD’s total ecological carrying capacity was 41.36%and 41.26%,respectively.In the construction of a new development pattern in the YRD region,which is dominated by the domestic cycle as the main body and mutually reinforced by domestic and international double-cycle,the YRD region should combine the utilization of natural forces with innovation in science,technology and cooperation mechanisms.Furthermore,the government should guide the concentration of social capital towards green industries.It is also recommended that the moderate reduction of ecological footprints should be encouraged,and that the security of biological resources and energy,the leadership in the field of cutting-edge science and technology should be ensured in YRD region.This will facilitate the formation of a new development pattern of higher-quality integration at the national level firstly.

Spatially Heterogeneous Response of Carbon Storage to Land Use Changes in Pearl River Delta Urban Agglomeration, China

Carbon storage of terrestrial ecosystems plays a vital role in advancing carbon neutrality. Better understanding of how land use changes affect carbon storage in urban agglomeration will provide valuable guidance for policymakers in developing effective regional conservation policies. Taking the Pearl River Delta Urban Agglomeration(PRDUA) in China as an example, we examined the heterogeneous response of carbon storage to land use changes in 1990–2018 from a combined view of administrative units and physical entities. The results indicate that the primary change in land use was due to the expansion of construction land(5897.16 km2). The carbon storage in PRDUA decreased from 767.34 Tg C in 1990 to 725.42 Tg C in 2018 with a spatial pattern of high wings and the low middle. The carbon storage loss was largely attributed to construction land expansion(55.74%), followed by forest degradation(54.81%). Changes in carbon storage showed significant divergences in different sized cities and hierarchical boundaries. The coefficients of geographically weighted regression(GWR) reveal that the alteration in carbon storage in Guangzhou City was more responsive to changes in construction land(-0.11) compared to other cities, while that in Shenzhen was mainly affected by the dynamics of forest land(8.32). The change in carbon storage was primarily influenced by the conversion of farmland within urban extent(5.05) and the degradation of forest land in rural areas(5.82). Carbon storage changes were less sensitive to the expansion of construction land in the urban center, urban built-up area, and ex-urban built-up area, with the corresponding GWR coefficients of 0.19, 0.04, and 0.02. This study necessitates the differentiated protection strategies of carbon storage in urban agglomerations.

Evaluation of the water conservation function in the Ili River Delta of Central Asia based on the InVEST model

The Ili River Delta(IRD)is an ecological security barrier for the Lake Balkhash and an important water conservation area in Central Asia.In this study,we selected the IRD as a typical research area,and simulated the water yield and water conservation from 1975 to 2020 using the water yield module of the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs(InVEST)model.We further analyzed the temporal and spatial variations in the water yield and water conservation in the IRD from 1975 to 2020,and investigated the main driving factors(precipitation,potential evapotranspiration,land use/land cover change,and inflow from the Ili River)of the water conservation variation based on the linear regression,piecewise linear regression,and Pearson's correlation coefficient analyses.The results indicated that from 1975 to 2020,the water yield and water conservation in the IRD showed a decreasing trend,and the spatial distribution pattern was"high in the east and low in the west";overall,the water conservation of all land use types decreased slightly.The water conservation volume of grassland was the most reduced,although the area of grassland increased owing to the increased inflow from the Ili River.At the same time,the increased inflow has led to the expansion of wetland areas,the improvement of vegetation growth,and the increase of regional evapotranspiration,thus resulting in an overall reduction in the water conservation.The water conservation depth and precipitation had similar spatial distribution patterns;the change in climate factors was the main reason for the decline in the water conservation function in the delta.The reservoir in the upper reaches of the IRD regulated runoff into the Lake Balkhash,promoted vegetation restoration,and had a positive effect on the water conservation;however,this positive effect cannot offset the negative effect of enhanced evapotranspiration.These results provide a reference for the rational allocation of water resources and ecosystem protection in the IRD.

Measurement of Digital Economy Development Level in Yangtze River Delta and Its Influence on Ecological Efficiency

Based on the panel data of 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta from 2007 to 2018,this paper empirically tests the impact of digital economy development on urban ecological efficiency in the Yangtze River Delta.The results show that the development level of digital economy in Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration is fluctuating and rising;the development of digital economy has a significant positive role in promoting the improvement of urban ecological efficiency;there is significant regional heterogeneity in the promotion of ecological efficiency by digital economy,especially in central cities.

Controlled drainage in the Nile River delta of Egypt:a promising approach for decreasing drainage off-site effects and enhancing yield and water use efficiency of wheat

North Africa is one of the most regions impacted by water shortage.The implementation of controlled drainage(CD)in the northern Nile River delta of Egypt is one strategy to decrease irrigation,thus alleviating the negative impact of water shortage.This study investigated the impacts of CD at different levels on drainage outflow,water table level,nitrate loss,grain yield,and water use efficiency(WUE)of various wheat cultivars.Two levels of CD,i.e.,0.4 m below the soil surface(CD-0.4)and 0.8 m below the soil surface(CD-0.8),were compared with subsurface free drainage(SFD)at 1.2 m below the soil surface(SFD-1.2).Under each drainage treatment,four wheat cultivars were grown for two growing seasons(November 2018–April 2019 and November 2019–April 2020).Compared with SFD-1.2,CD-0.4 and CD-0.8 decreased irrigation water by 42.0%and 19.9%,drainage outflow by 40.3%and 27.3%,and nitrate loss by 35.3%and 20.8%,respectively.Under CD treatments,plants absorbed a significant portion of their evapotranspiration from shallow groundwater(22.0%and 8.0%for CD-0.4 and CD-0.8,respectively).All wheat cultivars positively responded to CD treatments,and the highest grain yield and straw yield were obtained under CD-0.4 treatment.Using the initial soil salinity as a reference,the soil salinity under CD-0.4 treatment increased two-fold by the end of the second growing season without negative impacts on wheat yield.Modifying the drainage system by raising the outlet elevation and considering shallow groundwater contribution to crop evapotranspiration promoted water-saving and WUE.Different responses could be obtained based on the different plant tolerance to salinity and water stress,crop characteristics,and growth stage.Site-specific soil salinity management practices will be required to avoid soil salinization due to the adoption of long-term shallow groundwater in Egypt and other similar agroecosystems.

Factors Influencing the Thermal Conductivity of Silt in the Yellow River Delta

The thermal conductivity of marine sediments is an important thermophysical parameter in the study of seafloor heat flow and marine engineering construction.Understanding the effect of thermal conductivity of marine sediments in the environment has a major engineering value and theoretical significance.In this work,a modified test method was used to measure the thermal conductivity of silt in the Yellow River Delta under different void ratios,moisture contents,temperatures,and salinities.Results showed that the thermal conductivity of silt in the Yellow River Delta decreased with the increase in the void ratio and increased with the water content.Compared with sand and clay,silt in the Yellow River Delta was the least affected by the void ratio and moisture content.Under low temperatures,the heat transfer of soil was controlled by the average velocity of the phonons;therefore,the thermal conductivity of silt in the Yellow River Estuary increased with temperature.The thermal conductivity of pore water decreased with increasing salinity.Moreover,certain salinity levels resulted in a phenomenon known as the‘compressing twin electrical layer’,which led to an increase in the contact area between soil particles.With the increase in salinity,the thermal conductivity of silt in the Yellow River Delta experiences an initial decline and a subsequent increase.The proposed thermal conductivity test method is more accurate than the existing technique,and the findings provide a basis for further study on the thermal characteristics of submarine sediments.

Leave or Stay?Antecedents of High-level Talent Migration in the Pearl River Delta Megalopolis of China:from a Perspective of Regional Differentials in Housing Prices

Rapid urbanization and population growth have triggered an increase in urban housing demand and rising housing prices,which can influence the migration intention of high-level talents.Much work within the literature has focused more on the migration of the general public.However,antecedents of migration intention and the impact of housing prices on the migration of high-level talents remain unclear.Therefore,based on the push-pull theory,this study investigates the influencing factors of talent migration intention and explores the role of housing prices.This study reveals a complex mechanism underlying migration decisions by using logistic regression models and survey data of high-level talents in the Pearl River Delta(PRD)megalopolis of China.The results indicate that:1)in high house-price regions,social integration is the primary push factor,and the main factors for retaining talents are the expectation of future work and intimate family relationships;2)in medium house-price regions,the main factors that attract talents are the current salary level and close family ties;3)in low house-price regions,living convenience is a determining factor in retaining talents.This study provides a new perspective for talent mobility research and offers valuable inputs for retaining and attracting talents in different economic development regions.Findings are of great significance for formulating talent introduction policies and forming a new pattern of rational spatial docking and effective allocation of human resources.

Study on strength properties and soil behaviour type classification of Huanghe River Delta silts based on variable rate piezocone penetration test

Fine-grained silt is widely distributed in the Huanghe River Delta(HRD)in China,and the sedimentary structure is complex,meaning that the clay content in the silt is variable.The piezocone penetration test(CPTu)is the most widely approved in situ test method.It can be used to invert soil properties and interpret soil behavior.To analyse the strength properties of surface sediments in the HRD,this paper evaluated the friction angle and its inversion formula through the CPTu penetration test and monotonic simple shear test and other soil unit experiments.The evaluation showed that the empirical formula proposed by Kulhawy and Mayne had better prediction and inversion effect.The HRD silts with clay contents of 9.2%,21.4%and 30.3%were selected as samples for the CPTu variable rate penetration test.The results show as follows.(1)The effects of the clay content on the tip resistance and the pore pressure of silt under different penetration rates were summarized.The tip resistance Q_t is strongly dependent on the clay content of the silt,the B_(q)value of the silt tends to 0 and is not significantly affected by the change of the CPTu penetration rate.(2)Five soil behavior type classification charts and three soil behavior type indexes based on CPTu data were evaluated.The results show that the soil behavior type classification chart based on soil behavior type index ISBT,the Robertson 2010 behavior type classification chart are more suitable for the silty soil in the HRD.