On July 27, 2013, EZON outdoor sports watches signed a strategic partnership agreement with the China Southern Hills and African Water Environment Expedition Team from the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and held the official signing ceremony at the EZON booth during the Asia Outdoor Show in Nanjing.
Introduction to the Water Environment and Water Resources Survey of China’s Southern Hills Region
The southern hills region is an important base for agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, and fisheries in China. The area enjoys abundant rainfall and heat, and is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. However, its high weathering rate, strong leaching capacity, heavy reliance on material and biological cycles, and intense human interference have made its ecosystem fragile and unstable. The southern hills are crisscrossed with rivers and dotted with numerous lakes and reservoirs, making it rich in water resources. These water bodies play a significant role in water conservation, flood regulation, climate moderation, environmental purification, and biodiversity preservation, and they greatly support the region’s social and economic development as well as industrial and agricultural production. However, since the 1980s, with the rapid development of modern agriculture, industry, and urbanization, large amounts of pollutants such as nitrogen and phosphorus have been discharged into water bodies, leading to widespread concerns over water pollution, eutrophication, and water scarcity due to water quality issues. Over the past 20 years, the water quality at typical monitoring sites of major rivers in the southern hills, such as the Gan River and Xiang River, has generally declined by one to two grades. Small and medium-sized river basins, including the Yili River and the Le’an River, have shown clear upward trends in nitrogen and phosphorus pollution levels. Lakes and reservoirs such as Dongting Lake and Gutian Reservoir have also experienced significant declines in water quality. In recent years, the increasing frequency of extreme weather events has further exacerbated the risks of water scarcity and pollution in the southern hills region.
The rivers and lakes in China’s southern hills are vital components of the regional ecosystem. Water environment safety is of great importance to maintaining ecosystem stability and functionality. Given the current intensification of human interference, conducting surveys on the region’s water resources and environment, and understanding the status and dynamic trends of water quantity and environmental conditions in major rivers and lakes, holds significant meaning for the sustainable development and long-term strategic planning of the region’s socio-economy.
The southern hills region is an important base for agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, and fisheries in China. The area enjoys abundant rainfall and heat, and is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. However, its high weathering rate, strong leaching capacity, heavy reliance on material and biological cycles, and intense human interference have made its ecosystem fragile and unstable. The southern hills are crisscrossed with rivers and dotted with numerous lakes and reservoirs, making it rich in water resources. These water bodies play a significant role in water conservation, flood regulation, climate moderation, environmental purification, and biodiversity preservation, and they greatly support the region’s social and economic development as well as industrial and agricultural production. However, since the 1980s, with the rapid development of modern agriculture, industry, and urbanization, large amounts of pollutants such as nitrogen and phosphorus have been discharged into water bodies, leading to widespread concerns over water pollution, eutrophication, and water scarcity due to water quality issues. Over the past 20 years, the water quality at typical monitoring sites of major rivers in the southern hills, such as the Gan River and Xiang River, has generally declined by one to two grades. Small and medium-sized river basins, including the Yili River and the Le’an River, have shown clear upward trends in nitrogen and phosphorus pollution levels. Lakes and reservoirs such as Dongting Lake and Gutian Reservoir have also experienced significant declines in water quality. In recent years, the increasing frequency of extreme weather events has further exacerbated the risks of water scarcity and pollution in the southern hills region.
The rivers and lakes in China’s southern hills are vital components of the regional ecosystem. Water environment safety is of great importance to maintaining ecosystem stability and functionality. Given the current intensification of human interference, conducting surveys on the region’s water resources and environment, and understanding the status and dynamic trends of water quantity and environmental conditions in major rivers and lakes, holds significant meaning for the sustainable development and long-term strategic planning of the region’s socio-economy.
Introduction to the African Water Environment and Water Resources Survey
Aiming to address the urgent needs of less-developed African countries for water environment monitoring and water resource management, the survey focuses on the transboundary and renowned Lake Tanganyika within the East African Rift Valley region, along with its basin’s current water environment and water resource status. Scientific expeditions and surveys of the lake and its basin are being carried out.
Aiming to address the urgent needs of less-developed African countries for water environment monitoring and water resource management, the survey focuses on the transboundary and renowned Lake Tanganyika within the East African Rift Valley region, along with its basin’s current water environment and water resource status. Scientific expeditions and surveys of the lake and its basin are being carried out.
Lake Tanganyika is the world’s second oldest lake, formed 1 million years ago. It is a classic rift valley lake, with its north-south elongation resulting from crustal faulting and subsidence. This faulting also created the steep cliffs around the lake. Stretching 670 kilometers in length, Lake Tanganyika is the world’s longest and narrowest lake. It is 48 to 70 kilometers wide, with a surface area of 32,900 square kilometers, making it the second largest lake in Africa after Lake Victoria. The lake surface sits at an elevation of 774 meters, and its deepest point reaches 1,470 meters, making it the deepest lake in Africa and the second deepest in the world after Russia’s Lake Baikal. With a water volume of 18,900 cubic kilometers—second only to Lake Baikal’s 23,600 cubic kilometers—its freshwater reserves account for about one-fifth of the world’s available total.