Saline water treatment has become increasingly important for drinking water supplies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of the electrocoagulation (EC) process with combined aluminum electrodes in removing various types of salt from water samples collected at Sawa Lake, Al-Muthanna, Iraq. The targeted types of salt include total dissolved solids (TDS), chloride salt (Cl⁻), bromine (Br⁻), and sulphate (SO₄²⁻). A bench scale consisting of combined EC configurations with static electrodes was employed under combined electrical connections. The effect of the six variables factors, such as applied current density (I), reaction time (RT), pH, temperature (T), stirring speed (M_rpm) and inter electrode distance (IED) were observed to achieve a higher removal of TDS, Cl⁻, Br⁻ and SO₄²⁻. Initial results showed the following optimum operating conditions: I = 2 mA/cm², RT = 80 min, pH = 8, T = 25 °C, IED = 1 cm and M_rpm = 500. The maximum removal efficiency of TDS, Cl⁻, Br⁻ and SO₄²⁻ were 91%, 93%, 92% and 90%, respectively. It can be concluded that the EC method applied in the present study was effective to removing salts from lake water.

An uncontrolled sediment influx from the watershed upstream is a known threat to dam stability, while the pattern and amount of sediment yield are influenced by the predominant upstream land-use and land cover (LULC) types, precipitation amount, and intensity. Hence, the need to monitor sediment yield accumulation and its controlling factors in dam operation becomes crucial. In this paper, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to assess the roles of land-use change, land cover area, and runoff on watershed’s sediment yield based on change detection analysis between 1975 and 2013 in the Kaduna Watershed (Nigeria), Western Africa. The SWAT standard procedures for the simulation of hydrological characteristics and sediment yields prediction were adopted. The datasets were calibrated for a period of 46 years and validated using 2015–2017 measured flow data, and suspended sediments concentration (SSC) acquired between March and October 2018. The model function was statistically determined using the Nash-Sutcliffe (NS), the coefficient of determination (r²) and the percentage of observed data (p-factor). The evaluation results of the SWAT model yielded NS, r² and p-factor of 0.71, 0.80, and 0.86, respectively. These data suggest that the model performed satisfactorily for streamflow and sediment yield predictions. Findings suggest that the extinction of evergreen forests and a significant change in land-use from range grasses and forest to agriculture generic and residential types between 1975 and 2013, which resulted in surface runoff, sediment yield, and flow alteration. Evapotranspiration increased by 22.40% between 1975 and 2013. These changes have negatively impacted the watershed runoff by 56.00% and model sediment yield by 68.00% at the end of 2013. Thus, these variations can influence various human activities in the watershed, such as food security, livestock, energy production and water supply. It is hypothesized from the presented data that land use types exact a more dominant control on runoff and sediment yield than land cover area, although climatic influence may not be ruled out.

This study examines the benefits and drawbacks of autonomous public transit vehicles among 210 Indonesians. Some 25% of respondents knew nothing about driverless vehicles, whereas 14% did. The average 5-point Likert scale response was 3.12 (SD = 1.05), indicating intermediate expertise. Some 42% of respondents used autonomous vehicle sources such as public transport, 47% had no experience, and 11% were doubtful. The survey items’ Cronbach’s alpha score is 0.873, indicating strong internal consistency and reliability. Most respondents supported the deployment of autonomous road vehicles for public transportation and said they would improve public transportation quality and accessibility. Technical issues and legal liabilities worried responders. The mean scores for the seven autonomous car benefits were similar, showing that respondents did not strongly prefer any benefit. After assessing the socioeconomic status and concerns, the study indicated that people who saw greater benefits were more tolerant of autonomous vehicles. Most respondents also wanted a clearer explanation of their legal responsibilities in case of an accident, thought human operators should play a major role in the future, and supported government trials of autonomous vehicles before their widespread usage. The study’s findings can help policymakers and stakeholders increase public acceptance of new transportation solutions such as autonomous vehicles, and improve future mobility safety and sustainability.

Climate change has often led to severe impact on the environment. This study aimed to investigate the monthly trends and linearity of meteorological parameters at four locations during the period from 1970 to 2016. These locations represent the south, north, east, and west of Peninsular Malaysia. The meteorological parameters used were monthly total precipitation (mm) and monthly average temperature (°C). To illustrate the methodology, the Mann–Kendall (MK) trend test and a non-parametric regression model were used. The MK trend test did not indicate significant trends in precipitation, but indicated a trend in temperature for all locations. The Sen value gives the amount of fluctuation of precipitation and temperature for every year. The results of the linearity test exhibited a linear trend for precipitation and temperature for most of the months throughout the study period. Thus, this study gives insights into the monthly trends of meteorological parameters, especially in Peninsular Malaysia.

Lakes may take a while to respond to management interventions because of the management implications of incremental development and degradation issues. This includes the requirement for the ongoing participation of key lake basin management institutions and their operations. This study’s objective is to assess the impacts of land use activities along the Kenyir Lake Basin based on the sedimentation problem level. There are a few hydrological methods that are necessary indicators to measure the level of sediment production, such as Total Suspended Solid (TSS), area of sub-catchment, river discharge measurement, and annual sediment load production. The results showed that the sub-catchment of Besar River released the lowest annual average estimation at 3833.70 kg/km²/year, and the sub-catchment of Kenyir River produced the highest annual average estimation at 128,070.86 kg/km²/year for annual sediment load flow produced from tributary rivers into Kenyir Lake. Kenyir Lake Basin’s downstream and midstream regions had higher sediment load values than its upstream regions. This study highlighted the significance of the effects of anthropogenic factors, hydrological, geomorphological, growth, and developmental factors, and climate changes as the key variables attributing to the sedimentation phenomenon along the Kenyir Lake Basin. The construction of a long-term lake or reservoir catchment development and management plan, combined with the formation of a vision and comprehensive strategic plan, are vital components of sound management practice. The efficient implementation of the suggested watershed management programmes depends on the active involvement of all significant catchment stakeholders.