Evaluation and Influencing Factors on Particle Agglomeration in RAP

Asphalt extraction test and scanning electron microscopy(SEM) were used for analysis of agglomerations of reclaimed asphalt pavement(RAP) particles. In order to quantify the agglomeration degree of RAP, the fineness modulus ratio(FMR) and the percentage loss index(PLI) were proposed. In addition, grey correlation analysis was conducted to discuss the relationship between particle agglomerations and RAP size,asphalt content(AC), and surface area. Two indexes indicate that the agglomeration degree increases in general as the RAP size reduces. This can be attributed to that particles are prone to agglomeration in the case of higher AC. Based on the SEM images and the material composition of RAP, the particle agglomeration in RAP can be classified into weak agglomeration and strong agglomeration. Grey correlation analysis shows that AC is the crucial factor affecting the agglomeration degree and RAP variability. In order to produce consistent and stable reclaimed mixtures, disposal measures of RAP are suggested to lower the AC of RAP.

The Effect of Urban Agglomeration Expansion on PM_(2.5) Concentrations: Evidence from a Quasi-natural Experiment

This study constructs a quasi-natural experiment based on the expansion of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration(YRDUA) of China in 2010 to investigate the impact and inner mechanism of urban agglomeration expansion on fine particulate matter(PM_(2.5)) concentrations through propensity scores in difference-in-differences models(PSM-DID) using panel data from 286 prefecturelevel cities in China from 2003 to 2016. The results show that 1) urban agglomeration expansion contributes to an overall decrease in PM_(2.5)concentration, which is mainly achieved from the original cities. For the new cities, on the other hand, the expansion significantly increases the local PM_(2.5)concentration. 2) In the long term, the significant influence of urban agglomeration expansion on PM_(2.5)concentration lasts for three years and gradually decreases. A series of robustness tests confirm the applicability of the PSM-DID model.3) Cities with weaker government regulation, a better educated population and higher per capita income present stronger PM_(2.5)reduction effects. 4) Urban agglomeration expansion affects the PM_(2.5)concentration mainly through industrial transfer and population migration, which cause a decrease in the PM_(2.5)concentration in the original cities and an increase in the PM_(2.5)concentration in the new cities.Corresponding policy suggestions are proposed based on the conclusions.

Urban Agglomerations in China: Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Population Agglomeration

Urban agglomeration(UA)is an advanced spatial economic form formed and developed in the process of rapid industrialization and urbanization,and an important carrier of urbanization and economic development.The economy has developed rapidly in the recent decades of China,and the UAs have also developed rapidly.However,as a large population country,the population distribution and changes of UAs in China has unique characteristics.Using the fifth,sixth and seventh population census data,spatial auto-correlation and spatial econometric models,we analyzed the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics and influencing factors of population agglomeration in China’s UAs.Results revealed that:1)from 2000 to 2020,the population gradually converged into UAs,and the characteristics of population agglomeration in different development degree of UAs differ.The higher the development degree of UA,the higher the population agglomeration degree.Besides,UAs are the main area with the most significant population agglomeration degree,and the spatial autocorrelation show that the cities with similar degree tend to be concentrated in space.The urban population gathering in UAs has a certain positive spillover effect on population size of neighboring cities.2)Economic development and social conditions factors are important factors affecting population agglomeration degree in UAs.The main factors of population gather into UAs are similar with the outside UAs,but the positive promotion of urbanization rate and proportion of tertiary industry in GDP on population agglomeration of UAs in China are enhancing from 2000 to 2020.Meanwhile,the other factors,such as high-quality public services,good urban living environment conditions,high-quality medical and educational resources,are also important factors to promote urban population gather into UAs.This study provides a basis for formulating the development planning of UAs in China,and enriches the relevant theoretical research of population evolution and influencing factors of UAs.

Multi-scenario Simulation for 2060 and Driving Factors of the Eco-spatial Carbon Sink in the Beibu Gulf Urban Agglomeration, China

Since China announced its goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2060, carbon neutrality has become a major target in the development of China's urban agglomerations. This study applied the Future Land Use Simulation(FLUS) model to predict the land use pattern of the ecological space of the Beibu Gulf urban agglomeration, in 2060 under ecological priority, agricultural priority and urbanized priority scenarios. The Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs(In VEST) model was employed to analyse the spatial changes in ecological space carbon storage in each scenario from 2020 to 2060. Then, this study used a Geographically Weighted Regression(GWR) model to determine the main driving factors that influence the changes in land carbon sinking capacity. The results of the study can be summarised as follows: firstly, the agricultural and ecological priority scenarios will achieve balanced urban expansion and environmental protection of resources in an ecological space. The urbanized priority scenario will reduce the carbon sinking capacity. Among the simulation scenarios for 2060, carbon storage in the urbanized priority scenario will decrease by 112.26 × 10^(6) t compared with that for 2020 and the average carbon density will decrease by 0.96 kg/m^(2) compared with that for 2020. Carbon storage in the agricultural priority scenario will increase by 84.11 × 10^(6) t, and the average carbon density will decrease by 0.72 kg/m^(2). Carbon storage in the ecological priority scenario will increase by 3.03 × 10^(6) t, and the average carbon density will increase by 0.03 kg/m^(2). Under the premise that the population of the town will increases continuously, the ecological priority development approach may be a wise choice.Secondly, slope, distance to river and elevation are the most important factors that influence the carbon sink pattern of the ecological space in the Beibu Gulf urban agglomeration, followed by GDP, population density, slope direction and distance to traffic infrastructure.At the same time, urban space expansion is the main cause of the changes of this natural factors. Thirdly, the decreasing trend of ecological space is difficult to reverse, so reasonable land use policy to curb the spatial expansion of cities need to be made.

Experimental study of Al agglomeration on solid propellant burning surface and condensed combustion products

Aluminum(Al) particles are commonly added to energetic materials including propellants,explosives and pyrotechnics to increase the overall energy density of the composite,but aluminum agglomeration on the combustion surface may lower the combustion efficiency of propellants,resulting in a loss in twophase flow.Therefore,it is necessary to understand the agglomeration mechanism of aluminum particles on the combustion surface.In this paper,a high-pressure sealed combustion chamber is constructed,and high-speed camera is used to capture the whole process of aluminum accumulation,aggregation and agglomeration on the combustion surface,and the secondary agglomeration process near the combustion surface.The microscopic morphology and chemical composition of the condensed combustion products(CCPs) are then studied by using scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive(SEM-EDS) method.Results show that there are three main types of condensed combustion products:small smoke oxide particles oxidized by aluminum vapor,usually less than 1 μm;typical agglomerates formed by the combustion of aluminum agglomerates;carbonized agglomerates that are widely distributed,usually formed by irregular movements of aluminum agglomerates.The particle size of condensed combustion products is measured by laser particle size meter.As the pressure increases from 0.5 MPa to 1.0 MPa in nitrogen,the mass average particle size of aluminum agglomerates decreases by 49.7%.As the ambient gas is changed from 0.5 MPa nitrogen to 0.5 MPa air,the mass average particle size of aluminum agglomerates decreases by 67.3%.Results show that as the ambient pressure increases,the higher oxygen content can improve combustion efficiency and reduce the average agglomeration size of aluminum particles.

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.

Surface Regional Heat(Cool) Island Effect and Its Diurnal Differences in Arid and Semiarid Resource-based Urban Agglomerations

With the rapid development of urban agglomerations in northwest arid and semiarid regions of China, the scope of the urban heat island(UHI) effect has gradually expanded and gradually connected, and has formed a regional heat island(RHI) with a larger range of impact to the regional environment. However, there are few studies on the heat island effect of urban agglomerations in arid and semiarid regions, so this paper selects the urban agglomeration of Hohhot, Baotou and Ordos(HBO) of Inner Mongolia, China as the study area. Based on the 8-day composite Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) surface temperature data(156scenes in all) and land use maps for 2005, 2010, and 2015, we analyze the spatiotemporal distributions of regional heat(cool) islands(RH(C)I) and the responses of surface temperatures to land-use changes in the diurnal and interannual surface cities. The results showed that: 1) from 2005 to 2015, urban areas showed the cold island effect during the day, with the area of the cold island showing a shrinking feature;at night, they showed the heat island effect, with the area of the heat island showing a first decrease and then an increase.2) From 2005 to 2015, the land development(unutilized land to building land) brings the greatest temperature increase(ΔT = 1.36°C)during the day, while the greatest temperature change at night corresponds to the conversion of cultivated land to building land(ΔT =0.78°C) exhibited the largest changes at night. From 2010 to 2015, the land development(grassland to building land) bring the greatest temperature increase(ΔT = 0.85°C) during the day, while the great temperature change at night corresponds to the conversion of water areas to building land(ΔT = 1.38°C) exhibited the largest changes at night. Exploring the spatial and temporal evolution of surface urban heat(cool) islands in urban agglomerations in arid and semiarid regions will help to understand the urbanization characteristics of urban agglomerations and provide a reference for the formulation of policies for the coordinated and healthy development of the region and co-governance of regional environmental problems.

Spatio-temporal Evolution of Urban Expansion Based on a Novel Adjusted Index and GEE: A Case Study of Central Plains Urban Agglomeration, China

It is crucial to investigate the urban agglomerations spatio-temporal evolution patterns and driving factors for analyzing the urban spatial structure-functional division and promoting the coordinated development of urban agglomerations.In this study,a novel vegetation-building-nighttime light-adjusted index(VBNAI)was established for rapid and effective mapping of urban construction land(UCL)in Central Plains Urban Agglomeration(CPUA),China during 2000–2020 based on Google Earth Engine(GEE)platform.Compared with traditional indices,VBNAI can significantly decrease the blooming effect,Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI)saturation,and soil background of nighttime light data.In addition,the urban expansion indices and standard deviation ellipse model were synthetically adopted to analyze the spatio-temporal evolution pattern of urban expansion.The gravity model and the geographically weighted regression model were employed to determine the spatial interaction forces and drivers of urban expansion,respectively.The results showed that the VBNAI index has obvious advantages in efficiency and accuracy to extract UCL with the overall accuracy of more than 91%.The UCL of CPUA had increased by 4489.84 km2 during 2000–2020 with the gravity center moving towards southeast continuously.From 2000 to 2010,the urban expansion was in a‘center-hinterland’pattern which had benefit from the favorable effect of the traffic shaft belt.During 2010–2020,the urban network structure had basically established.Urban expansion had been influenced by a variety of socio-economic and demographic factors,and the impact degree varied from region to region.This study could provide scientific references for facilitating the intensive utilization of urban resources and optimizing the spatial development pattern of urban agglomeration.

NDVI characteristics and precipitation sensitivity of urban agglomeration in Central Shanxi Basin

The overall NDVI characteristics and precipitation sensitivity in the study area from 2000 to 2018 were investigated using NDVI images of urban agglomeration in central Shanxi basin in 2000,2005,2010,and 2018 as well as the climate data of China’s surface cumulative annual value data set(1981-2010)in accordance with the method such as the geographically weighted regression model.As can be seen from the results,first,the overall NDVI pattern of urban agglomeration in central Shanxi basin,China has been changed and distributed along the topography in the shape of strip.Second,the spatial evolution of NDVI in the study area is varied significantly with the trend of expansion as a whole and a shrinking trend in some areas.Third,the overall precipitation in the study area presents a declining trend from the west to the east,while the NDVI precipitation sensitivity shows a decreasing trend from west to east.To be specific,the west and the east have a positive value of 1.3129 with strong sensitivity and a negative value of-1.0908 with weak sensitivity,respectively.The study results are expected to provide a scientific basis for restoring vegetation and formulating disaster prevention policies for urban agglomeration in Central Shanxi Basin.

Assessing the impact of manufacturing agglomeration on environmental pollution in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region using spatial panel data model

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is the vanguard of economic development in northern China.Its manufacturing industry is more and more developed,but environmental pollution is also more serious.Based on the data of 13 cities in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region from 2017 to 2021,the paper verifies the impact of manufacturing agglomeration on environmental pollution.Both manufacturing agglomeration and environmental pollution are dependent on spatial distribution.Therefore,the paper selects spatial econometric model to study.First,the spatial lag model and spatial error model are constructed,and then the spatial lag model is selected through the results of OLS regression,LM Test and Hausman test,and the empirical process is carried out.Finally,the empirical results are analyzed and the conclusion is drawn.

Analysis on the Spatial Agglomeration and Coupling of Socioeconomic Factors in Qinghai Tourism Under the Background of“Belt and Road”

Qinghai is the strategic base and important fulcrum of the Belt and Road Initiative while tourism is a strategic pillar industry in Qinghai Province.Due to its rich tourism resources and unique ecological environment,the integration of tourism in Qinghai into the Belt and Road has attracted great attention of the Asian Development Bank(ADB).With the spatial data of tourism elements POI and the statistical data of 44 counties in Qinghai to analyze the characteristics and influencing factors of the spatial agglomeration of tourism in Qinghai,the paper conducts research on spatial coupling and concludes with the following results:The spatial agglomeration of tourism in Qinghai presents the distribution pattern of“one circle and one belt”;economic density and population density play an important role in the formation of the spatial agglomeration pattern of tourism with some spatial spillovers;Belt and Road has a significant impact on the promotion of tourism agglomeration in Qinghai.The paper suggests that tourism in Qinghai should fully integrate into the Belt and Road,giving full play to the guiding role of Belt and Road in the allocation of social and economic resources,and optimizing the spatial layout.

Spatial Distribution and Influencing Factors of Urban Shrinkage from the Perspective of Factor Flow - A Case Study of National Urban Agglomerations

This paper examines national urban agglomerations by taking factor flows as the focal point as the research subject.By dividing the stages of urban agglomeration development,a comprehensive framework of urban shrinkage is constructed,encompassing economic,population,and social shrinkage.The study explores the spatial distribution characteristics of urban shrinkage during different stages of urban agglomeration and investigates the influencing factors using a geographic detector model.The findings reveal that urban shrinkage within urban agglomerations is widely spread,predominantly in peripheral areas.During the diffusion stage,urban shrinkage is scattered,with population shrinkage concentrated in peripheral regions,economic shrinkage concentrated on old industrial cities,and social shrinkage concentrated on the northeast.The outcomes of the geographic detector model indicate that traffic flow,capital flow,information flow,node importance,network connectivity,government investment,openness,and environmental regulations all play significant roles in shaping the spatial distribution of urban shrinkage.

鼠三毛滴虫(Tritrichomonas muris)凝块Agglomeration)现象探讨

鼠三毛滴虫是大、小鼠及地鼠共通的肠道寄生原虫类,在开放条件下饲养的鼠群中,其感染率高达100％。本虫的确切诊断方法是粪检原虫,作为辅助诊断方法,在藤原公策等(1977)编辑的《实验小动物传染病》一书中,曾简要提到本虫与感染小鼠血清混合时,其后鞭毛相互缠绕在一起形成凝块,同时附有反应初期(5＇)和中期(30＇)的图片,这意味着凝块现象系一种特异性免疫反应。本文就此作了如下探讨。

Agglomeration rate and action forces between atomized particles of agglomerator and inhaled-particles from coal combustion

In order to remove efficiently haled-particles emissions from coal combustions, a new way was used to put forward the process of agglomeration and the atomization was produced by the nozzle and then sprayed into the flue before precipitation devices of power station boiler in order to make inhaled-particles agglomerate into bigger particles, which can be easily removed but not change existing running conditions of boiler. According to this idea, a model is set up to study agglomeration rate and effect forces between fly ash inhaled-particles and atomized agglomerator particles. The developed agglomeration rate was expressed by relative particle number decreasing speed per unit volume. The result showed that viscosity force and flow resistance force give main influences on agglomeration effect of inhaled-particles, while springiness force and gravity have little effect on agglomeration effect of theirs. Factors influencing the agglomeration rate and effect forces are studied, including agglomerator concentration, agglomerator flux and agglomerator density, atomized-particles diameters and inhaled-particles diameter and so on.

Spatiotemporal Variations and Regional Transport of Air Pollutants in Two Urban Agglomerations in Northeast China Plain

Characteristics of air pollution in Northeast China(NEC) received less research attention in the past comparing to other heavily polluted regions in China.Spatiotemporal variations of six criteria air pollutants(PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, O3 and CO) in Central Liaoning Urban Agglomeration(CLUA) and Harbin-Changchun Urban Agglomeration(HCUA) in NEC Plain were analyzed in this study based on three-year hourly observations of air pollutants and meteorological variables from 2015 to 2017.The results indicated that the annual mean concentrations of air pollutants are generally higher in the middle and southern regions in NEC Plain and lower in the northern region.Megacities such as Shenyang, Harbin and Changchun experience severe air pollution, with a three-year averaged air quality index(AQI) larger than 80, far exceeding the daily AQI standard at the first-level of 50 in China.The annual mean PM and SO2 concentrations decrease most significantly in NEC urban agglomerations from 2015 to 2017, followed by CO and NO2, while O3 shows a slight increasing trend.All the six pollutants exhibit obvious seasonal and diurnal variations, and these variations are dictated by local emission and meteorological conditions.PM2.5 and O3 concentrations in NEC urban agglomerations strongly depend on wind conditions.High O3 concentrations at different cities usually occur in presence of strong winds but are independent on wind direction(WD), while high PM2.5 is usually accompanied by weak winds and poor dispersion condition, and sometimes also occur when the northerly or southerly winds are strong.Regional transport of air pollutants between NEC urban agglomerations is common.A severe haze event on November 1–4, 2017 is examined to demonstrate the role of regional transport on pollution.

Bipolar charged aerosol agglomeration and collection by a two-zone agglomerator

In older to collect fine particles more efficiently, a new-type electrostatic agglomerator with two zones was developed. The distinguishing feature of this electrostatic agglomerator is that the particles are bipolarly charged and coagulated in the same alternating electric field simultaneously. The silica flour with 2 fun mass median diameter and the smoke from burning wood powder were used as test aerosol. The comparison experimental results have shown that when the mean electric field is 4 kV/cm the collection efficiency of the new electrostatic agglomerator was 98.2% for silica flour and 67.4% for wood powder smoke, Under the same experimental condition. the collection efficiency of the electrostatic agglomerator with three zones was 97.4% for collecting silica flour and the collection efficiency of the electrostatic precipitator was 56.3% for wood powder smoke.

Hydrate agglomeration modeling and pipeline hydrate slurry flow behavior simulation

Dynamic modeling and numerical simulation of hydrate slurry flow behavior are of great importance to offshore hydrate management.For this purpose, a dynamic model of hydrate agglomeration was proposed in this paper.Based on population balance equation, the frame of the dynamic model was established first, which took both hydrate agglomeration and hydrate breakage into consideration.Then, the calculating methods of four key parameters involved in the dynamic model were given according to hydrate agglomeration dynamics.The four key parameters are collision frequency, agglomeration efficiency, breakage frequency and the size distribution of sub particles resulting from particle breakage.After the whole dynamic model was built, it was combined with several traditional solid–liquid flow models and then together solved by the CFD software FLUENT 14.5.Finally, using this method, the influences of flow rate and hydrate volume fraction on hydrate particle size distribution, hydrate volume concentration distribution and pipeline pressure drop were simulated and analyzed.

Gas-hydrate formation,agglomeration and inhibition in oil-based drilling fluids for deep-water drilling

One of the main challenges in deep-water drilling is gas-hydrate plugs,which make the drilling unsafe.Some oil-based drilling fluids（OBDF） that would be used for deep-water drilling in the South China Sea were tested to investigate the characteristics of gas-hydrate formation,agglomeration and inhibition by an experimental system under the temperature of 4 ？C and pressure of 20 MPa,which would be similar to the case of 2000 m water depth.The results validate the hydrate shell formation model and show that the water cut can greatly influence hydrate formation and agglomeration behaviors in the OBDF.The oleophobic effect enhanced by hydrate shell formation which weakens or destroys the interfacial films effect and the hydrophilic effect are the dominant agglomeration mechanism of hydrate particles.The formation of gas hydrates in OBDF is easier and quicker than in water-based drilling fluids in deep-water conditions of low temperature and high pressure because the former is a W/O dispersive emulsion which means much more gas-water interfaces and nucleation sites than the later.Higher ethylene glycol concentrations can inhibit the formation of gas hydrates and to some extent also act as an anti-agglomerant to inhibit hydrates agglomeration in the OBDF.

Impact of Anthropogenic Heat Release on Regional Climate in Three Vast Urban Agglomerations in China

We simulated the impact of anthropogenic heat release （AHR） on the regional climate in three vast city agglomerations in China using the Weather Research and Forecasting model with nested high-resolution modeling.Based on energy consumption and high-quality land use data,we designed two scenarios to represent no-AHR and current-AHR conditions.By comparing the results of the two numerical experiments,changes of surface air temperature and precipitation due to AHR were quantified and analyzed.We concluded that AHR increases the temperature in these urbanized areas by about 0.5℃-1℃,and this increase is more pronounced in winter than in other seasons.The inclusion of AHR enhances the convergence of water vapor over urbanized areas.Together with the warming of the lower troposphere and the enhancement of ascending motions caused by AHR,the average convective available potential energy in urbanized areas is increased.Rainfall amounts in summer over urbanized areas are likely to increase and regional precipitation patterns to be altered to some extent.

Using ecosystem service supply and ecosystem sensitivity to identify landscape ecology security patterns in the Lanzhou-Xining urban agglomeration, China

The construction of an ecological security pattern(ESP)is an important way to ensure regional ecological security and to achieve sustainable regional development.It is also one of the hotspot topics of landscape ecology research.This paper identifies the ecological source through the evaluation of the ecosystem service and ecosystem sensitivity of the Lanzhou-Xining(Lan-Xi)urban agglomeration.The minimum cumulative resistance(MCR)model modified by night light data NPP/VIIRS(National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project/Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite)was used to measure the relative resistance of the materials and energy circulation between the source areas,and to establish the resistance surface of the ecological source area expansion.Then ecological corridors were identified based on ecological sources and resistance surface.The ecological strategic node is the ecological fragile point in the ecological corridors.The ecological strategic node is identified with hydrological module by superimposing the"ridge line"of cumulative ecological resistance with the ecological corridor.Combined with ecological sources,corridors and strategic nodes,the ESP of the Lan-Xi urban agglomeration can be constructed.The ecological source of the Lan-Xi urban agglomeration accounts for 28.42%of the total area,most of which is distributed within Qinghai Province.The nature reserves in the area are all located within the ecological source area.A total of 41 potential ecological corridors have been identified in the study area.The total length of the potential corridors is 1201.03 km,comprising 23 source corridors and 18 radiation corridors.There are 30 strategic nodes identified in the Lan-Xi urban agglomeration.These locations are the most vulnerable areas of the ecological corridors.Ecological engineering should be applied in the construction of corridors.Affected by the ecological source,the potential ecological corridor extends from the northwest to the southeast,which is basically consistent with the direction trend of the mountains in the region.