Today's competitive environment has forced buyers to do all they can to stand out from the crowd, including getting pre approved for their mortgage financing. This makes the entire selling process much faster and much simpler as buyers know exactly what they can afford before home shopping. According to Ellie Mae's latest Origination Insights Report, the time to close a loan has dropped to 44 days, after seeing a 12-month high of 48 days in January.
Prices are projected to appreciate by 4.7% over the next year according to Core-logic. If you are moving to a higher-priced home, it will wind up costing you more in raw dollars (both in down payment and mortgage payment) if you wait.


text:
15+ U2 Trivia Questions
Print questions Show all answers
How many of these U2 Trivia quiz questions can you answer?
Quiz Questions
Who was U2's "Angel of Harlem" written in honor of?
Entertainment , Music , U2
Which U2 band member almost quit the band after missing a concert in Australia?
What year was the U2 album "War" released?
What was the name of the high school in Dublin where the members of U2 met?
Mount Tempe
What was the name of the first album released by U2?
What U2 song contains the lyrics, "a freeway like a river cuts through this land"?
What U2 lyric reads "....Have you come to raise the dead"?
What lead singer of U2 wrote the lyrics to their song "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"?
What is U2's Bono's real name?
Paul Hewson
What DJ played before U2's "Zoo TV" shows?
B.P. Fallon
What decade is the hit single "Mysterious Ways" by U2 from?
What decade is the hit single "Desire" by U2 from?
The U2 movie "Rattle and Hum" was released in which year?
The movie "Reality Bites" features which touching U2 song?
Complete this U2 song title, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me..."?
Kill Me

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Manute Bol, the former NBA basketball player has reportedly died. Despite being among the tallest people in the world, he never became the basketball force his height suggested he might be. And that's OK, because upon his death, we can define him by other yardsticks as the Kansas City Star's Sam Mellinger did recently.
The Heat once fined Bol $25,000. He missed two exhibition games, so the fine wasn't out of line, except this: he was in Washington D.C. for Congress-sponsored peace talks between rebel leaders from Sudan.
The team donated the money to Bol's charity, but he was still annoyed, hinting out loud that trying to bring peace to a war-torn country might be a decent excuse for missing a couple preseason games.
You could do worse than that for an anecdote of Bol's place in this world. According to reports, he made nearly $6 million in his career, and, aside from a few American comforts, spent it all trying to save lives and educate children back home. He has given so much and received little in comparison.
He was once lured back to his home country with the promise of a cabinet post, only to find out he would be required to convert to Islam. When he refused, he was stranded for nearly five years. His trust and good intentions have been abused so many times.
In the Sunday papers, you'll probably find his obituary on the back pages.


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text:
Persia White (ur. 25 października 1972 w Miami w stanie Floryda) – amerykańska aktorka filmowa i telewizyjna, występowała między innymi w roli Denise Williams w amerykańsko-kanadyjskim serialu komediowym  "Liceum na morzu" (Breaker High) oraz Lynn Ann Searcy w serialu komediowym "Przyjaciółki" (Girlfriends), a także piosenkarka.

Filmografia

Seriale telewizyjne
 1993-2005: Nowojorscy gliniarze (NYPD Blue) jako Margie (gościnnie)
 1994-1999: Jak dwie krople czekolady (Sister, Sister) jako Anya (gościnnie)
 1994-1997: Dziewczyna z komputera (Weird Science) jako Kim (gościnnie)
 1995-1997: The Parent 'Hood  jako Alexia (gościnnie)
 19967: Plaże Malibu (Malibu Shores) jako (gościnnie)
 1996: Goode Behavior jako Trish (gościnnie)
 1996-2000: Malcolm & Eddie jako Sharon (gościnnie)
 1996-2002: The Steve Harvey Showt jako Monique (gościnnie)
 1996-1997: Strefa Zagrożenia (The Burning Zone) jako(gościnnie)
 1997-1998: Brooklyn South jako Cinnamon (gościnnie)
 1997-2003: Buffy: Postrach wampirów (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) jako Aura (gościnnie)
 1997-1998: Liceum na morzu (Breaker High) jako Denise Williams
 1999-2004: Anioł ciemności (Angel) jako Agnes 'Aggie' Belfleur (gościnnie)
 2000-2008: Przyjaciółkit (Girlfriends) jako Lynn Ann Searcy
 2009: Pamiętniki wampirów (The Vampire Diaries) jako Abby Bennett (gościnnie)

Filmy
 1994: Drużyna asów  (Blue Chips)
 1996:	Frankie D.
 1996:	Grom z jasnego nieba (Suddenly) jako Trina
 1999:	Blood Dolls	jako Black Baby
 2000:	Operation Sandman
 2000:	Stalled jako Leanne
 2000:	Dowód nienawiści (Red Letters) jako Vanessa Cody
 2005:	Earthlings
 2007:	The Fall of Night jako Dawn
 2007:	Everyday Joe jako Gina
 2009:	Spoken Word	jako Shea
 2011:	Kiss the Bride jako Trina
 2011:	Mafia	Mel
 2012:	Dysfunctional Friends jako Trenyce
 2012:	The Marriage Chronicles jako Marcia Anson
 2012:	Guardian of Eden jako Clarke
 2012:	Black November jako Tracey
 2012:	No Mo Games	jako Morgan
 2014:	Unity jako narrator

Dyskografia
 "Mecca" (2009).
 1. "Wanting" – 3:58
 2. "Perfect" – 3:15
 3. "Receive" (featuring Saul Williams) – 4:15
 4. "Pressed Against Gods Thoughts" – 2:02
 5. "Haunt" – 3:02
 6. "2 Sea" – 1:23
 7. "Danger" (featuring Saul Williams) – 3:25
 8. "Salvation" – 4:57
 9. "Tease" (featuring Tricky) – 3:22
 10. "Choices" (Girlfriends season finale song) – 2:47
 11. "Past Mistakes" (featuring Tricky) – 4:10

Przypisy

Bibliografia

Amerykańskie aktorki
Amerykańskie wokalistki
Urodzeni w 1972
Ludzie urodzeni w Miami

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Catch Me Now is a TVB modern action series broadcast in April 2008.
Skådespelare: Damian Lau, Idy Chan, Joe Ma
Längd: - min
Nätverk: undefined
Naimbag nga Morning Kapamilya
Naimbag nga Morning Kapamilya is the regional morning news and talk show of ABS-CBN Northern Luzon that dishes out the daily dose of fresh news, upbeat discussions of the excellent…
乡村爱情
연애의 발견
Han Yeo-reum is a furniture designer who owns a workshop space that she shares with other designers. For the past three years, she's been dating Nam Ha-jin, a plastic surgeon…
ファイ・ブレイン 神のパズル
Phi Brain: Puzzle of God is a 2011 Japanese anime television series produced by Sunrise. The first two series aired on NHK Educational TV between October 2011 and September 2012,…
Genre: Aktion & Äventyr, Animerat, Komedi
Tattoo Age
Tattoo Age is the story of modern tattooing told through the lives of different tattoo artists.
Gavilan is an American 1982 TV series directed by Corey Allen that aired on NBC.
Genre: Aktion & Äventyr
Unriddle 2
Unriddle 2 is a Singaporean Chinese drama which was telecasted on Singapore's free-to-air channel, MediaCorp Channel 8. It made its debut on 5 March 2012. This drama serial consists of…
Chrome Shelled Regios
Chrome Shelled Regios is a Japanese light novel series by Shūsuke Amagi, with illustrations by Miyū. A short story light novel series is serialized in Dragon Magazine. A manga adaptation…
Genre: Aktion & Äventyr, Animerat, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Sea of Souls
Sea of Souls is a BBC paranormal drama series, based around the fictional activities of a group of investigators into psychic and other paranormal events. Produced in-house by BBC Scotland,…
Genre: Drama, Mystik
The Last Furlong
The Last Furlong is a short-lived Irish comedy-drama television series which was aired on RTÉ from November 14 to December 19, 2005. Originally created by Simon Delaney and co-written with…
Genre: Drama, Komedi
The Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast was a British light entertainment television show shown on Channel 4 and S4C each weekday morning from 28 September 1992 until 29 March 2002 during which period…
Genre: Nyheter
Mr. Student Body President
TMDb: 100%
Student body president Tyler Prendergast runs Berenger High like a slick politician.


text:
require 'chef/knife/core/text_formatter'
require 'chef/knife/core/generic_presenter'

class Chef
  class Knife
    module Core

      # This module may be included into a knife subcommand class to automatically
      # add configuration options used by the NodePresenter
      module NodeFormattingOptions
        # :nodoc:
        # Would prefer to do this in a rational way, but can't be done b/c of
        # Mixlib::CLI's design :(
        def self.included(includer)
          includer.class_eval do
            option :medium_output,
              :short   => '-m',
              :long    => '--medium',
              :boolean => true,
              :default => false,
              :description => 'Include normal attributes in the output'

            option :long_output,
              :short   => '-l',
              :long    => '--long',
              :boolean => true,
              :default => false,
              :description => 'Include all attributes in the output'
          end
        end
      end

      #==Chef::Knife::Core::NodePresenter
      # A customized presenter for Chef::Node objects. Supports variable-length
      # output formats for displaying node data
      class NodePresenter < GenericPresenter

        def format(data)
          if parse_format_option == :json
            summarize_json(data)
          else
            super
          end
        end

        def summarize_json(data)
          if data.kind_of?(Chef::Node)
            node = data
            result = {}

            result["name"] = node.name
            if node.policy_name.nil? && node.policy_group.nil?
              result["chef_environment"] = node.chef_environment
            else
              result["policy_name"] = node.policy_name
              result["policy_group"] = node.policy_group
            end
            result["run_list"] = node.run_list
            result["normal"] = node.normal_attrs

            if config[:long_output]
              result["default"]   = node.default_attrs
              result["override"]  = node.override_attrs
              result["automatic"] = node.automatic_attrs
            end

            Chef::JSONCompat.to_json_pretty(result)
          else
            Chef::JSONCompat.to_json_pretty(data)
          end
        end

        # Converts a Chef::Node object to a string suitable for output to a
        # terminal. If config[:medium_output] or config[:long_output] are set
        # the volume of output is adjusted accordingly. Uses colors if enabled
        # in the ui object.
        def summarize(data)
          if data.kind_of?(Chef::Node)
            node = data
            # special case ec2 with their split horizon whatsis.
            ip = (node[:ec2] && node[:ec2][:public_ipv4]) || node[:ipaddress]

            summarized=<<-SUMMARY
#{ui.color('Node Name:', :bold)}   #{ui.color(node.name, :bold)}
SUMMARY
            show_policy = !(node.policy_name.nil? && node.policy_group.nil?)
            if show_policy
              summarized << <<-POLICY
#{key('Policy Name:')}  #{node.policy_name}
#{key('Policy Group:')} #{node.policy_group}
POLICY
            else
              summarized << <<-ENV
#{key('Environment:')} #{node.chef_environment}
ENV
            end
            summarized << <<-SUMMARY
#{key('FQDN:')}        #{node[:fqdn]}
#{key('IP:')}          #{ip}
#{key('Run List:')}    #{node.run_list}
SUMMARY
            unless show_policy
              summarized << <<-ROLES
#{key('Roles:')}       #{Array(node[:roles]).join(', ')}
ROLES
            end
            summarized << <<-SUMMARY
#{key('Recipes:')}     #{Array(node[:recipes]).join(', ')}
#{key('Platform:')}    #{node[:platform]} #{node[:platform_version]}
#{key('Tags:')}        #{node.tags.join(', ')}
SUMMARY
            if config[:medium_output] || config[:long_output]
              summarized +=<<-MORE
#{key('Attributes:')}
#{text_format(node.normal_attrs)}
MORE
            end
            if config[:long_output]
              summarized +=<<-MOST
#{key('Default Attributes:')}
#{text_format(node.default_attrs)}
#{key('Override Attributes:')}
#{text_format(node.override_attrs)}
#{key('Automatic Attributes (Ohai Data):')}
#{text_format(node.automatic_attrs)}
MOST
            end
            summarized
          else
            super
          end
        end

        def key(key_text)
          ui.color(key_text, :cyan)
        end

      end
    end
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Diamond trinity ring: 3 in-line diamonds crown this 1mm 14k yellow gold band.
The center stone (2-2.2mm in size) is slightly larger than the two others (1.7-1.9mm) on each of its flanks.
The elegance and subtlety of this ring define a unique style of understated chic.
The diamonds are graded SI GH.


A charming terraced period cottage in a quiet country lane in this lovely village just outside Abingdon with convenient access to Oxford, Milton Business Park, Didcot Parkway Station, & A34. The cottage includes a cosy sitting room with wood stripped floor & open fire, modern kitchen with washer/dryer, fridge, freezer, dishwasher & wine chiller, conservatory, modern ground floor bathroom with shower, 2 bedrooms, pretty garden & parking. Pets considered.
Pretty garden with shed & parking.
Convenient access to Abingdon, Milton Park, Didcot Parkway Train station & A34.
This is £27,150.00 for this property. If your annual income is below this figure, talk to us.


text:
Posts Tagged 'Sloe Gin'
Tim Curry has done it all: actor on screen and stage, singer and cartoon voice. His career has never made him a household name, but it's been remarkable for it's versatility and longevity.
His movie VC is long and varied: Rocky Horror Picture Show; Three Men in a Boat; The Hunt for Red October; Muppet Treasure Island. He has appeared on sitcoms, and done voices in Scooby Doo, Phineas and Ferb, A Sesame Street Christmas Carol and Garfield.
On Broadway he played in Rocky Horror, was Mozart in Amadeus, Scrooge in A Christmas Carol and King Arthur in Monty Python's Spamalot.
In 1979 he had a top 40 hit with I Do The Rock, a fun song complete with quick rap verses.
For all that, there's nothing there to make me mention Tim Curry.
In 1978 Curry released his first album, Read My Lips. On it, was the saddest, most depressing blues song you've ever heard. Angst runs through every word, every guitar line in Sloe Gin. It's chorus, making liberal use of the F-word made sure it was never mainstream, but was more intense than any other rock song. Rock music sometimes rises out of ordinary, into true art. Sloe Gin is one of those moments.
So for Sloe Gin, Happy 65th Birthday Tim Curry.
Language Warning.
Birthday Wishes I do the Rock, Sloe Gin, Tim Curry


text:
George Washington DeLong (Nova Iorque, 22 de Agosto de 1844 – Sibéria, 31 de Outubro de 1881) foi um explorador e oficial de marinha dos Estados Unidos.

Expedição ao Ártico do Jeannette

Nascido em Nova Iorque, De Long fez a sua educação na Academia Naval dos Estados Unidos de Newport, Rhode Island. Em 1879, apoiado por James Gordon Bennett, Jr., dono do jornal New York Herald, e pela Marinha norte-americana, o capitão-de-corveta DeLong rumou de São Francisco, no USS Jeannette, com o objetivo de encontrar um caminho para o Polo Norte através do Estreito de Bering.

Para além da recolha de dados científicos e de espécimenes animais, DeLong descobriu três ilhas (no arquipélago atualmente designado ilhas De Long), em 1881.

O navio onde seguiam ficou preso no gelo tendo, mais tarde, sido esmagado e afundando-se de seguida. DeLong e a sua tripulação abandonaram o navio e partiram para a Sibéria em três pequenos barcos. Depois de chegarem a mar aberto, ficaram separados, e um dos barcos, comandado por Charles W. Chipp, desapareceu. O barco de DeLong alcançou terra, e apenas dois dos homens que partiram em busca de ajuda sobreviveram. O terceiro barco, liderado pelo enhenheiro-chefe George W. Melville, chegou ao delta do rio Lena e foi salvo.

DeLong morreu de fome perto de Matvay Hut, Iacútia, na Sibéria. Melville regressou um ano mais tarde e encontrou o corpo de DeLong e a sua tripulação. No total, pereceram dezenove membros da expedição, tal como outros homens das operações de busca e salvamento.

DeLong e cinco dos seus homens encontram-se sepultados no Cemitério de Woodlawn, no Bronx, Nova Iorque.

Publicações
 DeLong, The Voyage of the Jeannette, inclui diários editados pela sua viúva, Mrs. Emma J. (Wotton) DeLong (1883)
 Emma Wotton DeLong, Explorer's wife, introdução por Vilhjalmur Stefansson, (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1938)
 Leonard F. Guttridge, Icebound: The Jeannette Expedition's Quest for the North Pole (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1986) ISBN 0-87021-330-X.
 Michael Robinson, The Coldest Crucible: Arctic Exploration and American Culture (Chicago, 2006)
 John Wilson Danenhower, The Narrative of the Jeannette (Boston, 1882)
 Melville, In the Lena Delta (Boston, 1885)
 Edward Ellsberg, Hell on Ice: the Saga of the Jeannette (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1938)

Ligações externas
 Expedição Expedição ao Árctico Jeannette (1879-1881)
 Biografia em The 1911 Classic Encyclopedia

Exploradores dos Estados Unidos
Exploradores do Ártico
Oficiais da Marinha dos Estados Unidos
Alunos da Academia Naval dos Estados Unidos
Mortes por fome


I am trying to create a questionnaire that has a sound background with on-screen scale items. I want the entire sound byte to play before the subject can move to the next question, even if he/she answered the on-screen scale item. I put (d3) after the backsound file name, so the sound would play out its three second duration.
Last edited by jarvis24; 04-25-2006 at 08:45 AM.
Can't use the d parameter after a background sound. You can create a fixed time for the item as a whole by adding d3 to the general item parameters but I'm guessing you want the subjects to have more time if they need it, no?
Yes, I would like the participants to have as much time as they need. With that said, I really don't think participants will need more than the 2-5 seconds of the sound clip.
The participants will respond to simple scale item on the screen while listening to a different small sound byte per question. In most cases, the scale item question will take less time to answer than the soundbyte. The MediaLab manual says the background sound will continue to play until it has finished. I am not finding this to be the case. I have a different sound byte for each question and as soon as the scale question is answered, it cuts off the sound byte and moves on to the next one.
When I set the parameter to last for the duration of the sound byte, if the respondent doesn't answer soon enough, a pop-up window appears. I can't seem to get that window to stop showing up either.
Ah but read on--it will play to completion or until another backsound is encountered. I'm guessing that the sound byte on your next question starts up as the previous one is ending, yes? As far as that prompt goes, take a look at the section in the guide on "message.txt" and "substitute.txt" in the Preferences section. Using a replacement prompt of "" will usually inhibit the message.
Getting rid of messages that pop up?


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Persian Rug Living Room,persian rug living room,Kind of Home: Oriental Persian Rugs – Yes or No?


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Google works on pushing out Android security patches every month which OEMs struggle to push out to their devices. While phone manufacturers have their excuses to compromise on customer security, Google appears to be implementing a change which will change all that.
According to a contract obtained and reported by The Verge, Google's latest contract will require OEMs to supply Android security updates for two years and provide at least four updates within the first year of a device's release. Phone vendors will also have to release patches within 90 days of Google identifying a vulnerability.
Updates are mandated in the second year as well, but their no minimum number laid down by Google.
The new contract was obtained after Google announced, last week that it would completely revamp how it monetises Android in the European Economic Area (EEA) because of new regulations associated with a $5 billion fine the company received for violating European antitrust laws.
The key takeaway from the announcement at the time was the fact that Google would be charging up to $40 for Google apps for every unit sold, but this contract does show that there was more to it.
The contract does apply to EEA member nations only but it is quite likely that Google's global rules will also be reworked to enforce it.
While it definitely is a step in the right direction from a consumer standpoint, we don't know what penalties will be levied against vendors who fail to meet the contract requirements.


text:
Earth Surface Dynamics
Journal subject areas
ESurf, 9, 1323–1334, 2021
Articles | Volume 9, issue 5
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 1323–1334, 2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1323-2021
Sand mining far outpaces natural supply in a large alluvial river
Sand mining far outpaces natural supply in a large alluvial river Sand mining far outpaces natural supply in a large alluvial river Christopher R. Hackney et al.
Christopher R. Hackney1, Grigorios Vasilopoulos2, Sokchhay Heng3, Vasudha Darbari2, Samuel Walker2, and Daniel R. Parsons2 Christopher R. Hackney et al. Christopher R. Hackney1, Grigorios Vasilopoulos2, Sokchhay Heng3, Vasudha Darbari2, Samuel Walker2, and Daniel R. Parsons2
1School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
2Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull, Hull, HU6 7RX, UK
3Institute of Technology of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Correspondence: Christopher R. Hackney (christopher.hackney@ncl.ac.uk)
Received: 27 Apr 2021 – Discussion started: 05 May 2021 – Revised: 12 Aug 2021 – Accepted: 30 Aug 2021 – Published: 30 Sep 2021
The world's large rivers are facing reduced sediment loads due to anthropogenic activities such as hydropower development and sediment extraction. Globally, estimates of sand extraction from large river systems are lacking, in part due to the pervasive and distributed nature of extraction processes. For the Mekong River, the widely assumed estimate of basin-wide sand extraction is 50 Mt per year. This figure is based on 2013 estimates and is likely to be outdated. Here, we demonstrate the ability of high-resolution satellite imagery to map, monitor, and estimate volumes of sand extraction on the Lower Mekong River in Cambodia. We use monthly composite images from PlanetScope imagery (5 m resolution) to estimate sand extraction volumes over the period 2016–2020 through tracking sand barges. We show that rates of extraction have increased on a yearly basis from 24 Mt (17 to 32 Mt) in 2016 to 59 Mt (41 to 75 Mt) in 2020 at a rate of ∼8 Mt yr−1 (6 to 10 Mt yr−1), where values in parentheses relate to lower and upper error bounds, respectively. Our revised estimates for 2020 (59 Mt) are nearly 2 times greater than previous best estimates for sand extraction for Cambodia (32 Mt) and greater than current best estimates for the entire Mekong Basin (50 Mt). We show that over the 5-year period, only 2 months have seen positive (supply exceeds extraction) sand budgets under mean scenarios (5 months under the scenarios with the greatest natural sand supply). We demonstrate that this net negative sand budget is driving major reach-wide bed incision with a median rate of −0.26 m a−1 over the period 2013 to 2019. The use of satellite imagery to monitor sand mining activities provides a low-cost means to generate up-to-date, robust estimates of sand extraction in the world's large rivers that are needed to underpin sustainable management plans of the global sand commons.
Hackney, C. R., Vasilopoulos, G., Heng, S., Darbari, V., Walker, S., and Parsons, D. R.: Sand mining far outpaces natural supply in a large alluvial river, Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 1323–1334, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1323-2021, 2021.
The world's rivers transport ∼37 000 km3 of water (Dai and Trenberth, 2002) and ∼19×109 t of sediment and minerals (Milliman and Farnsworth, 2011) to the global oceans each year. Over the past century, anthropogenic pressures associated with population growth, urbanisation, and economic development have seen an increase in the demand for the natural resources river systems provide (Best, 2019; Best and Darby, 2020). In particular, the demand for sand and gravel from rivers has seen unprecedented growth since the 1970s (Peduzzi, 2014; Miatto et al., 2017; Torres et al., 2017), with demand now outstripping supply (Bendixen et al., 2019). Estimates indicate that today, at a minimum, between 32 and 50×109 t of aggregates are extracted globally every year (Koehnken and Rintoul, 2018). The environmental impacts of such high extraction rates are being felt around the world (Koehnken et al., 2020), with impacts manifest as river bank instability (Hackney et al., 2020), changes in riverine biodiversity (Bhattacharya et al., 2019), increased tidal incursion (Vasilopoulos et al., 2021), and saline intrusion in deltaic environments (Eslami et al., 2019), amongst others (Koehneken et al., 2020; Bisht, 2021). Yet, our inability to monitor levels of extraction, or the locations in which extraction occurs, routinely and accurately currently hinders our ability to assess the sustainability of global sand extraction and provide effective environmental impact assessments for regions undergoing extensive mining.
In order to effectively and sustainably manage riverine sand resources, accurate and regular monitoring of the locations and rates of sediment extraction are required (Peduzzi, 2014; Bendixen et al., 2019). Yet the pervasive and diffuse nature of the riverine extraction process means that it often occurs at spatial scales (spread across many square kilometres of river surface area) and in remote locations that make on-site monitoring difficult. The advent of regular, high-resolution satellite imagery technologies (now often up to 3 m ground pixel resolution and at sub-weekly return periods) permits the remote monitoring of the locations and extent of sediment mining in riverine and lacustrine environments (Duan et al., 2019; Xin and Park, 2021). As such, it is now possible to provide a synoptic overview of the locations and rates of sediment mining across large (basin- and sub-catchment-scale) areas.
The Lower Mekong River (LMR) is currently experiencing levels of sand mining that exceed natural sediment supply by up to a factor of 7 (Hackney et al., 2020). This is resulting in net reach-wide incision (Hackney et al., 2020; Jordan et al., 2019; Vasilopoulos et al., 2021) with associated impacts on tidal extent (Vasilopoulos et al., 2021) and saline intrusion rates (Eslami et al., 2019; Loc et al., 2021), changing flood frequencies (Park et al., 2020), impacts on regional fish stocks (Nuon et al., 2020), and alterations to the hydrology of the Tonle Sap Lake (Xin and Park, 2021). The current existing estimates of rates of sand extraction for the Mekong Basin are placed at around 50 Mt yr−1 (31×106 m3 yr−1 assuming a density of sand of 1600 kg m−3 following Bravard et al., 2013). This estimate is based on questionnaire data at mining sites carried out in 2011 and 2012 (Bravard et al., 2013). Since then, however, the demand for aggregates is likely to have increased, and so these estimates may be considerable underestimates of current extraction rates. Recent work has quantified one component of the LMR's sand budget: that of the incoming sediment load (Hackney et al., 2020). However, tighter constraints on the locations and rates of extraction, and exactly how these have changed since the estimates of Bravard et al. (2013), are lacking.
Here, we detail the application of high-resolution (∼5 m) PlanetScope satellite imagery to map and monitor the locations and extraction activity throughout the Lower Mekong River (Fig. 1) in Cambodia over the period 2016–2020. We detail how this methodology permits, for the first time, the identification of extraction hotspots, and we provide revised estimates of the volumes of sand extracted through the LMR in Cambodia. We combine these estimates of extracted volume with estimates of sand transport through the LMR and demonstrate the level of sand deficit (the volume of sand naturally transported by the LMR minus volume extracted) being experienced throughout the LMR. Furthermore, we combined satellite image analysis and targeted bathymetric surveys to highlight the morphological impact of ongoing sand mining in the LMR.
Figure 1(a) Established sediment extraction rates (Mt yr−1) across the Mekong River basin in 2013. The composition and volume of material extracted are disaggregated by country, taken from Bravard et al. (2013). The size of the pie charts scales with the volume extracted. (b) Location of the study reach in Cambodia (dashed box) from Kampong Cham to the Vietnamese border. Major river channels and lakes are highlighted by blue lines.
2 Study site and methods
2.1 The Mekong River
The Mekong River is one of the most intensely studied large river reaches in the world due to its combination of development needs and human interference with its natural system (Bussi et al., 2021; Darby et al., 2016; Hackney et al., 2020; Räsänen et al., 2017; Schmitt et al., 2017). Draining the Tibetan Plateau, the Mekong delivers 450 km3 yr−1 of water (MRC, 2009) and 87 Mt yr−1 of sediment (Darby et al., 2016) to the South China Sea (Fig. 1a). Of that incoming suspended-sediment load only 6 Mt yr−1 is sand (Hackney et al., 2020) due in part to extensive sediment trapping upstream in the Mekong catchment, with hydropower development retaining up to 96 % of the catchment sediment load (Kondolf et al., 2014, 2018; Schmitt et al., 2017). This trapping effect is compounded by climatic changes altering the monsoon-driven hydrology of the LMR, resulting in reduced suspended-sediment loads (Darby et al., 2016; Walling and Fang, 2003) and driving changes to the morphology and flows of the river (Anthony et al., 2015; Brunier et al., 2014; Eslami et al., 2019; Ha et al., 2018; Vasilopoulos et al., 2021). Prior estimates based on the study by Bravard et al. (2013) suggest that annually 35×106 m3 (56 Mt) of sand, gravel, and pebbles are removed from the Mekong River in its entirety every year. Of this volume, sand accounts for 90 % (31×106 m3 or 50 Mt per year). At the time, Cambodia accounted for 60 % of the Mekong's sand extraction (18.7×106 m3 or 32 Mt per year; Fig. 1a) with the 18.1×106 m3 (29 Mt) being extracted between Kampong Cham and the Vietnamese border (Fig. 1b; Bravard et al., 2013). In the years since this initial estimate, Phnom Penh (along with many other cities in Cambodia and within the LMR basin) has seen rapid urban development (Mialhe et al., 2019) with widespread infilling of floodplain lakes and land reclamation projects, all of which are expected to have increased local demand for sand. As such, there is a vital need for more up to date estimates of sand extraction for the Mekong to account for changes over the past decade.
2.2 Identification of mining vessels from satellite imagery
Monthly composite images from the Planet labs PlanetScope Surface Reflectance (Planet Team, 2018) product were used to identify boat activity on the Mekong River in Cambodia south of Kampong Cham to the Vietnamese border for the period January 2016 to December 2020 (Fig. 1). These monthly composites provide high-resolution (4.77 m at the Equator) red (590–670 nm), green (500–590 nm), and blue (455–515 nm) images with minimal cloud cover projected in WGS84 Mercator (Fig. 2a). This product was chosen to ensure that cloud cover effects were minimised throughout the monsoon periods (June–October), and we thus avoid seasonal bias in our extraction estimates (see below). The resolution of the composite images (4.77 m) is suitable for identifying sand mining vessels as these are typically ∼60 m in length and ∼10 m wide, thereby covering multiple pixels within the composite images (Fig. 2). Smaller vessels such as fishing vessels and ferries were too small to be consistently identified within the composite scene, whilst larger shipping and container vessels are clearly visible yet distinguishable due to their larger size and location. The main trading port is located south of Phnom Penh and this container traffic is limited to the areas downstream of the port. As such, we can say with confidence that the majority of water-borne traffic identifiable from the composite images within the area of interest is related to mining activity (Figs. 1 and 2).
Figure 2(a) Example PlanetScope monthly composite image of a stretch of the Mekong River from December 2018 (Planet Team, 2018). The square highlights the area depicted in (b). (b) Zoomed in area of PlanetScope imagery (Planet Team, 2018) for the Mekong showing how mining vessels are identifiable within the satellite imagery. (c) Dimensions of mining vessels recorded including the boat length (Lb), the boat width (Wb), the hold length (Lh), and the hold width (Wh). These latter two dimensions are important for the calculation of extraction volumes as they define the volume of sand each boat can transport when fully laden. Image is the authors own. (d) Estimated dimensions of the mining vessels active on the Mekong taken from Google Earth imagery © Google Earth. In total, 50 boats were measured and dimensions were recorded as depicted in (c) (μ: mean; σ: standard deviation).
2.3 Estimation of extraction volumes
Within each monthly composite the centre of each vessel visible is identified based on their colour and shape (Fig. 2b) and recorded in QGIS. For each monthly time step, the total number of boats visible is counted. All vessels within a 100 m buffer from the riverbanks are removed from the monthly count as it is assumed these boats are moored and are deemed inactive. As the vessels may have a length of up to ∼75 m (Fig. 2) and visual observations suggest that active mining operations do not occur along the near-bank zone, the 100 m buffer was chosen to ensure that if moored perpendicular to the bank, vessels would be fully contained within the buffer whilst ensuring active operations remained outside it. Along the study reach, the channel width varies between 600 m at its narrowest to 2500 m at its widest – although typically channel widths are around 900 m. A 100 m buffer on each bank, therefore, accounts for between 8 % and 33 % (though typically 22 %) of the channel width ensuring the majority of the channel, and the areas that are actively mined, remain accounted for in our subsequent analysis. Of those boats deemed active (i.e. more than 100 m away from the riverbank), it is assumed that each vessel is filled and emptied once a day. This assumption is based on visual observations of the time it takes for a vessel to be completely filled by a dredging platform (approximately 3 h) meaning it is unlikely that the same boat is filled more than once a day. The price of sand currently limits supply chains to local sources, as large distance supply chains are not economically viable. Therefore, we assume that each filled boat transits only a relatively short distance (i.e. to Phnom Penh and a maximum distance of 50 km) before unloading, allowing for the filling and unloading cycle to be completed in 1 d.
Using high-resolution satellite imagery available in Google Earth (provided by CNES/Airbus on 24 September 2019, which covered the entire study area), the dimensions of sand mining vessels were constrained. Across 50 vessels, the vessel length (m), Lb, vessel width (m), Wb, the length of the vessel hold (m), Lh, and the width of the vessel hold (m), Wh, were recorded (Fig. 2c). Google Earth imagery was used to constrain the vessel dimension as its higher spatial resolution permits greater confidence in providing robust dimensions compared to the PlanetScope imagery. Field observations of vessel height (Hv) were taken of vessels in dry dock for maintenance. We estimate the volume each mining vessel can hold as 2100 m3 (Lh×Wh×Hv; 29.3 m × 8.1 m × 7 m). A sand density of 1600 kg m−3 is used to convert this volume into a tonnage applying a compaction factor of 0.5 to account for the space left between grains due to the unconsolidated nature of the sand being dredged. We use the same density value used by Bravard et al. (2013) to permit direct comparison with their estimates of tonnage extracted. We note here that using the density for quartz sand (2650 kg m−3) would result in a 65 % increase in our subsequent estimates of tonnage extracted. In determining sand transport on the riverbed from multibeam echo surveys, Nittrouer et al. (2008) and Hackney et al. (2020) use a bed compaction factor (Cb) of 0.35. The value used here is higher as the force of the disturbance of suction dredging sand, its deposition in the mining vessels, and the subsequent draining of water from the material are likely to reduce pore spaces and increase compaction. As there is no other compaction aside from gravity but less water within the deposited material, we assume a reduced pore space between sand grains within the vessel compared to the riverbed. To account for uncertainty we vary Cb with an upper value of 0.65 and the lower limit of 0.35. We subsequently report all values using a central estimate of Cb of 0.5 with upper and lower bounds in parentheses. For each month, the daily tonnage values calculated from the active vessel count are multiplied by the number of days in each calendar month, assuming vessels are active 7 d a week. These are then summed across the year to provide annual estimates of sand extraction.
2.4 Estimation of sediment transport rates for 2016–2020
Suspended- and bedload-sand transport was estimated for the LMR for the period 2016 to 2020 using ratings curves published in Darby et al. (2016) and Hackney et al. (2020). These estimates are derived for the monitoring station at Kratie (Fig. 1), which is approximately 250 km upstream from Phnom Penh. Daily water levels (d, m) and discharge (Q, m3 s−1) for Kratie are available for the period 2016–2020 and 2016–2018, respectively, from the Mekong River Data Portal (https://portal.mrcmekong.org/home, last access: 20 January 2021; station identifier 014901). To extend Q up to 2020, a ratings curve (r2=0.96, p<0.05) is derived for the period of data overlap (2016–2018), where
(1) Q = 29.149 d 2.4059 .
Suspended-sediment flux (Qs, kg s−1) was then calculated using the ratings curve for Kratie from Darby et al. (2016), where
(2) Q s = 0.0001298 Q 1.763 .
Of this total suspended-sediment flux, only 7 % is composed of the sand fraction (Hackney et al., 2020). As such, the suspended-sediment fluxes are multiplied by 0.07 to derive a suspended-sand flux. Prior fieldwork across a range of discharges (14 500 to 55 000 m3 s−1) and a range of study sites located within the study region (Hackney et al., 2020) shows that the range of sand fraction within the water column does range from 1 % to 14 % (averaging out across the study area at 7 %). Thus it is likely that the sand fraction varies spatially and temporally (as discharge varies). We acknowledge that this variation will lead to substantial changes in the estimates of the sand deficit (natural transport vs. extraction) and that locally, sand deficits may be greater and lower depending on the availability of sand in suspension.
Bedload transport (Qb) was calculated using the bedload ratings curve of Hackney et al. (2020):
(3) Q b = 0.0049233 ω 0 1.4252 ,
where ω0 is the critical stream power calculated as
(4) ω 0 = 290 D 50 3 2 log 12 d D 50 ,
where D50 is the median grain size (m) reported as being 500 µm, defined by bed sediment samples collected with an Ekman-style grab sampler. Each sample was dry-sieved for grains >75 µm, while finer grains were analysed using a Saturn DigiSizer to estimate the full grain-size distribution of each sample. The development of the empirical bedload function employed is reported in detail in Hackney et al. (2020), but for brevity here, the method is based on that of Bagnold (1980). Statistically, the model has an r2 consistent with that of Bagnold's (1980) model (r2=0.22, P<0.1) based on 12 observations across a range of discharges covering 78 % of all bedload transport events during the period 1980–2015. As such, given the ever difficult nature of characterising bedload sediment transport, we have confidence that the model used here is appropriate for the study reach. Bedload transport has been shown to be a small component of the overall sand transport in the Mekong, contributing 0.18±0.07 Mt yr−1 (Hackney et al., 2020); as such the greatest uncertainty in estimating the natural transport of sand within the Mekong comes from the estimates of the suspended-sand load, which is estimated to contribute 6.18±2.01 Mt yr−1 (Hackney et al., 2020).
2.5 Bathymetric change detection
To highlight bathymetric change resulting from sand mining activities, riverbed bathymetry from 2013 and 2019 is compared. A set of single-beam echo sounding (SBES) surveys of the Mekong River from Neak Loeung to Kratie (Fig. 1) was conducted between September and November 2013. A Garmin Fishfinder was connected to a Trimble differential-GPS unit and bathymetry was recorded at a rate of 1 Hz. Survey lines were designed in a saw-tooth pattern, completing a cross section of the channel at one channel width spacing. Water elevation was calculated based on the water surface slope between the two Mekong River Commission (MRC) gauges and the water level at the closest MRC gauge at the date of the survey. Daily gauge readings for each site were obtained over the survey period. The daily values were then interpolated to hourly values using a cubic spline interpolant. The water surface slope between the two closest gauges for each hour was calculated assuming a linear change in water surface slope between gauges. Distances between each gauge were calculated along the river centreline. For each hour, the water surface slope was applied to the closest gauges' water level reading to generate a variable water level for each survey date. To convert water depths to channel bed elevations, the zero gauge height at Kampong Cham was used referenced to the WGS84 ellipsoid. All water depth readings were adjusted to the Kampong Cham zero gauge height, determined from a dGPS survey of the Kampong Cham gauge conducted in November 2013. Depending upon which MRC gauge was closest, different offsets were applied (Kratie = +0.15 m, Neak Loeung = −0.6 m). The elevation data were used to generate a raster DEM (digital elevation model) using a Kriging interpolant at 5 m resolution.
Additionally, a bathymetry survey of the Mekong River at Rokar Korng (see Fig. 1) was conducted in June 2019. A Sontek M9 acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) equipped with real-time kinematic GPS (RTK-GPS) was used to collect riverbed elevation (below water surface), whilst differential GPS was used to collect riverbank elevation including islands (above water surface). The bathymetry at each survey point was obtained by subtracting water depth recorded on the M9s 1 MHz vertical beam from water surface elevation measured by the RTK-GPS. The reference datum of the RTK-GPS (WGS84) was used to register the water surface elevation recorded nearest to the river bank. The point elevation dataset was kriged to a 5 m raster for comparison with the 2013 dataset.
Figure 3The number of active vessels (vessels greater than 100 m from the riverbank) identified in each monthly composite image over the period January 2016 to December 2020 (red) and the maximum water level (m) at Kratie in each month over the same period, highlighting that higher water levels are associated with reduced river vessel traffic due to difficult navigation conditions and faster-flowing water in monsoon periods.
Figure 4Volume of sand extracted each year for the period 2016 to 2020 (blue bars) for the study reach in Cambodia between Kampong Cham and the Vietnamese border. Error bars represent annual volumes calculated under varying levels of the compaction factor, Cb, from 0.35 to 0.65 (see Sect. 2.3 for details). Orange bars represent the annual volume of sand supply transported naturally by riverine processes at Kratie, Cambodia. Error bars represent annual volumes calculated under varying levels of the proportion of suspended-sediment flux that is sand (ranging from 0 % to 14 %). The mass of sand extracted from Cambodia in 2013 as estimated by Bravard et al. (2013) is demarked by the dash–dot line at 32 Mt; similarly the estimated mass of sand extracted from the entire Mekong Basin in 2013 is demarked by the dashed line (56 Mt).
3.1 Temporal variations in sand extraction (2016–2020)
Over the period of 2016–2020 the number of sand mining vessels operational and active (i.e. more than 100 m from the river bank) on the Mekong varied from 12 in May 2016 to 143 in November 2020 (Fig. 3). An increase in the number of vessels in operation is evident over the 5-year period, with superimposed seasonal changes in boat activity mapping onto periods of high flow. During periods of high water levels (blue line in Fig. 3) corresponding drops in boat numbers are observed, for example during the periods of August 2018 and August 2019, as conditions become unfavourable for boat travel on the river during the high-flow monsoon periods.
Converting the number of active vessels observed each month to a volume of sand (see Sect. 2.3) and integrating these estimates over the calendar year reveals a year-on-year increase in the volume of extracted sand from the Mekong River between Kampong Cham and the Vietnamese border (Fig. 4). Estimates of sand extracted for 2016 reveal that 24 Mt (17 to 32 Mt) of sand was removed, with numbers in parentheses representing upper and lower bounds (see Sect. 2.3). Our 2016 estimate is consistent with the estimate of Bravard et al. (2013), who placed the extraction levels in Cambodia for 2013 at 30 Mt yr−1. However, in the subsequent years, the volume of sand extracted from this reach of the Mekong has risen significantly to an estimated 59 Mt (41 to 75 Mt) in 2020 (Fig. 4), at an increase of ∼8 Mt yr−1 (6 to 10 Mt yr−1). The 2020 extraction volume is nearly double that reported by Bravard et al. (2013) for Cambodia and is comparable to the extraction rates estimated for the entire Mekong Basin in 2013 (50 Mt yr−1).
Over the same period, however, the natural supply of sediment within the Mekong River has not kept pace with extraction rates (Figs. 4 and 5). The greatest annual volume of sand transported by the river in the period of observation was in 2018, when it reached an estimated 10.9 Mt (0.8 to 30 Mt). Comparing an extraction volume of 50 Mt (35 to 65 Mt) for 2018 to the natural supply, nearly 5 (2 to 43) times the volume of sand supply is being removed. Moreover, natural sand supply is observed to have dropped off in the years 2019 and 2020 to 5.6 (0.5 and 10.7 Mt) and 3.7 Mt (0.3 and 7.1 Mt), respectively, due to periods of lower flows (Fig. 3). In 2020, the volume of sand removed, 59 Mt (41 to 75 Mt), was 16 (range of estimate from 7 to 82) times the volume of sand naturally supplied by the basin and riverine transport processes: 3.7 Mt (0.3 and 7.1 Mt).
Figure 5Monthly volumes of sand extraction (Mt) estimated from the number of vessels visible in the satellite imagery over the period 2016 to 2020 (blue) with error estimates defined by adjusting the compaction coefficient, Cb, between 0.35 and 0.65 (blue shaded area). Monthly natural sand transport (Mt) at Kratie (see Sect. 2.4 for details) for the same period (orange) with error estimates derived by adjusting the percentage of suspended-sand fraction from 0 % to 14 % (around a mean of 7 % – orange area).
The balance between sand extraction and natural replenishment is key to ensuring the sustainability of mining practices and to dampening the negative environmental impacts on the morphology and stability of the river channel (Hackney et al., 2020; Vasilopoulos et al., 2021). By calculating the natural sand transport of the Mekong River (see Sect. 2.4) we identify temporal variations in this balance at monthly timescales. A monthly timescale is more relevant than a yearly-averaged snapshot because of the seasonality in sediment transport governed by the monsoon that generates distinct periods of increased natural sand supply. Plotting monthly extraction rates alongside rates of sand transport (Fig. 5) demonstrates clearly that natural supply is dwarfed by sand extraction, with supply only exceeding removal during 2 months of the entire 5-year period (August 2018 and September 2019) under the best estimates of extraction. At these times, there is a sand surplus of 1.46 Mt, for both months under this scenario, whilst under the upper bound estimates the supply exceeds removal by 0.6 and 0.8 Mt, respectively. Assuming the lower bound of extraction, sand supply exceeds extraction rate in September 2016 (0.4 Mt), August 2017 (0.2 Mt), August and September 2018 (2.7 Mt combined), and September 2019 (2.1 Mt). Under the upper bound of natural sediment supply, sediment surpluses are still infrequent, occurring within just 5 months over the 5-year period.
3.2 Spatial variations in sand extraction
To generate heat maps of mining activity, a kernel density estimate (KDE) was applied to the shapefiles created during the process of identifying active mining vessels. The KDE was calculated with a kernel radius of 1 km and plotted at a resolution of 100 m. Figure 6 shows examples of the heat maps produced for each year between 2016 and 2020 (we provide heat maps of June here as exemplars of the patterns observed; the full collection of monthly maps is provided in the supplementary information).
Figure 6Annual heat maps for June for the period 2016–2020 of the Mekong River around Phnom Penh showing the locations of mining activity and the density of boats (boats per square kilometre) showing changes in the spatial distribution of mining activity over the 5-year period.
A gradual expansion of mining activity is observed throughout the study reach (Fig. 6), with patchy, distinct areas of activity seen in June 2016, compared to more continuous activity across the study reach in June 2020. Over this period the area of channel that is actively mined has increased from 54 km2 (15 % of the total channel area) to 81 km2 (23 % of the total channel area). Throughout the 5-year period there are areas of the river that consistently appear as areas of high activity with boat densities of 6–8 boats per square kilometre. The two prominent hotspots are at the apex of the Mekong Delta at Phnom Penh, at the confluence–diffluence of the Mekong, Tonle Sap, and Bassac rivers, and around a large island complex at Rokar Korng, located 30 km upstream from Phnom Penh. The latter location saw mining operations begin in 2017 and has since seen consistently high levels of activity. The area around Phnom Penh has been identified by previous research as a hotspot of mining activity and one which has had significant morphological impact on the riverbed as a result (Hackney et al., 2020). These new data reveal that such alterations to the riverbed were not a one-off event, and the resulting bed incision (estimated at 0.13 m yr−1; Hackney et al., 2020) will have been persistent over a period of at least 7 years (noting the date of the survey reported in Hackney et al. (2020) was from 2014). Figure 6 also reveals that areas of high activity (both persistent and intermittent) are focussed on areas at the head of islands or at confluences, geomorphic units that are characterised by slower, shallower flows which promote sediment deposition (Bridge, 1993). Despite being areas of the river channel that may see rapid replenishment of sand due to their morphological characteristics, the excessive rates of extraction, combined with the previously reported sand deficit observed in the Mekong (Sect. 3.1) means that the morphological impact of mining in these locations may result in changes to local hydrodynamics (Ashraf et al., 2011; Barman et al., 2018) and hence local channel stability. Such alterations to the morphological and hydrodynamical behaviour of the river channel will have attendant consequences for infrastructure stability (for example, loss of housing and road networks and undermining of bridge piers and foundations) as well as wildlife habitat and agricultural land provision.
3.3 Morphological impacts
To highlight the impacts of persistent mining on sections of the Mekong River, a comparison of bathymetric surveys around the island complex at Rokar Korng located 30 km upstream of Phnom Penh (Fig. 6) from 2013 and 2019 was undertaken. Over that period bed elevations have incised at a median rate of −0.26 m yr−1, whilst mean incision over the same period is −0.16 m yr−1 (Fig. 7; negative values represent a loss of riverbed sediment due to incision). Incision is predominantly centred on two locations at the upstream and downstream regions of the island complex in the centre of the large meander where incision rates of up to −5 m yr−1 are observed (Fig. 5a). Prior work has shown that river banks may destabilise if the riverbed is incised by >3 m (Hackney et al., 2020). The rates of incision observed here suggest that over the 6-year period 2013–2019, median (mean) incision is 1.56 m (0.96 m). As such, river banks in this reach are at risk of imminent transition to a period of enhanced erosion resulting from reach-scale mining activities. Integrating out the elevation change presented in Fig. 7 reveals that 101 Mt of sediment has been lost within this reach over the period 2013–2019. This equates to 17 Mt yr−1 of sediment being eroded by a combination of natural and anthropogenic activity. Overlaying the locations of mining vessels identified from satellite imagery within this reach over the period 2016–2020 reveals that sand extraction is clustered around the locations which have the highest rates of incision (Fig. 7b). Thus, it is evident that the major driver of bed incision within this reach is that of sand extraction operating both through the mechanisms of head cut erosion observed by Kondols (1993) and through diffusional morphodynamics redistributing sediment around the reach as mining pits infill. It is noted that the period of satellite image analysis (2016 to 2020) is shorter than the period between the bathymetric surveys (2013 to 2019). However, as rates of extraction have been shown to increase over the period 2016–2020 (Figs. 3 and 5), it is expected that the morphological impacts observed in Fig. 7 reflect more recent mining activity and so would be reflected by the vessel activity observed during the period of satellite image analysis.
Figure 7(a) Rate of elevation change between 2013 and 2019 of the Mekong River near Rokar Korng highlighting areas of erosion (blue) and deposition (yellow). (b) Overlain on the map depicted in (a) are the locations of all observed mining vessels during the period 2016 to 2020 demonstrating that the zones of greatest erosion observed in (a) correspond to areas of high mining activity. (c) Histogram of elevation changes for this reach between 2013 and 2019. The median rate of bed elevation change is −0.25 m yr−1 (mean elevation change is −0.16 m yr−1). The dashed line demarks zero net change in elevation. Image background in panels (a) and (b) are PlanetScope monthly composite scenes from December 2020 (Planet Team, 2018).
Providing robust and up-to-date estimates of sediment extraction in riverine and deltaic environments is fundamental to underpin sustainable management of the sand commons. This is especially important in basins such as the Lower Mekong River where the impacts of sand mining are likely to be felt across national borders. The basin-wide impacts of riverbed incision resulting from sand mining are manifested in the LMR as increased river bank instability (Hackney et al., 2020), landward extension of the tidal dominance (Vasilopoulos et al., 2021), saline intrusion (Eslami et al., 2019), and alterations to natural flow regimes (Park et al., 2020; Xin and Park, 2021). Current understanding of the impacts of sand mining on the LMR and its delta are underpinned by the estimates of Bravard et al. (2013). Although the values reported in Bravard et al. (2013) highlight the negative sand budget the LMR has been experiencing over the past decade or so, the findings presented here suggest that they have significantly underestimated the magnitude of this deficit. Indeed, the findings reported above (Fig. 5) demonstrate that just 2 months in the past 6 years have seen positive sand budgets under best-estimate scenarios (5 months under the lowest estimates). This not only highlights the need to ensure higher flows are preserved throughout the LMR basin to ensure natural sediment transport is able to replenish sand deposits, but offers potential sustainable management options that focus on limiting activity at times when sand transport is greatest.
Revised rates of sand extraction are reported here for Cambodia alone. In 2020 these are 2 times that reported by Bravard et al. (2013) and greater than prior estimates for the entire Mekong Basin (50 Mt; Fig. 4). It is likely that similar (if not greater) increases in the rates of extraction have been seen in both Laos and Vietnam, and thus we can expect that the current basin-wide extraction volumes are likely to be an order of magnitude greater than those provided by Bravard et al. (2013). For example, Vasilopoulos et al. (2021) quantified a mean channel deepening of 1.6 m between 2008 and 2018 for the principal channels of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta, which correspond to a sediment loss of approximately 184±39 Mt a−1. It has widely been reported that globally official estimates of sand are limited and frequently underestimated (Bendixen et al., 2019; UNEP, 2019). Indeed, official records for 2019 reported in Haffner (2020) place extraction rates in Cambodia at 9×106 m3 (14.4 Mt). Our analysis suggests that in 2019, ∼50 Mt was extracted (35 to 65 Mt), which is 3.5 times (2.4 to 4.5 times) the official reported volumes. Such under-representations of sand extraction in official statistics can have significant implications for local and basin-wide management plans that are underpinned by official records. Existing and future plans for the sustainable management of the Mekong and other large river systems need to be informed by up-to-date, robust, and accurate estimates of sand extraction. The use of high-resolution satellite imagery as detailed here can provide a low-cost, widely accessible, means of providing this underpinning data across a range of environments and at high resolutions and across large spatial and temporal extents.
Figures 6 and 7 highlight the spatial extent of sand mining across the LMR in Cambodia. Hotspots of activity are evident near Phnom Penh and the island complex near Rokar Korng. The former location confirms similar analysis reported in Xin and Park (2021), which identifies areas of high activity at Phnom Penh. Previous work has also highlighted the morphological impact of sand mining in this location revealing large areas of bed disturbance and widespread incision at rates of 0.13 m a−1 (Hackney et al., 2020). Similar work throughout the Mekong Delta has shown incision rates can be in the order of 0.59 m yr−1 over a 10-year period (Brunier et al., 2014). This corresponds to rates of incision reported here (0.26 m yr−1; Fig. 7), which sit between these two previous estimates, and strengthens the evidence that sand mining is having major impacts on lowering riverbed elevations in the LMR. Importantly, the present research demonstrates that significant riverbed incision is being felt 30 km upstream of the apex of the Mekong Delta located at Phnom Penh. The implications of this are significant for the fluxes and the routing of sediment to the apex of the Mekong Delta and further downstream where such sediment fluxes are the only counter and offset to eustatic sea-level rise across the delta. Given that it has already been demonstrated that sand mining is impacting the hydrology of the Tonle Sap Lake system (Xin and Park, 2021), it is likely that similar impacts are already being felt along the Mekong and Bassac rivers downstream of the delta apex potentially impacting downstream flood risk and channel stability in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta into the future.
5 Conclusion
This research provides robust and up-to-date estimates of the volumes of sand removed from the bed of the Mekong River in Cambodia over the period 2016–2020. Using monthly composite images derived from high-resolution PlanetScope satellite imagery, the number and location of mining vessels active on the river are identified. We show that rates of extraction have increased year on year from 24 Mt (17 to 32 Mt) in 2016 to 59 Mt (41 to 75 Mt) in 2020 at a rate of ∼8 Mt yr−1 (6 to 10 Mt yr−1), where values in parentheses relate to lower and upper error bounds, respectively. Our revised extraction estimates for 2020 (59 Mt) are 2 times greater than previous best estimates for sand extraction for Cambodia (32 Mt) and greater than current best estimates for the entire Mekong Basin (50 Mt). We show that areas of high vessel activity are correlated to areas of major bed incision resulting from mining activities and demonstrate median bed incision of −0.26 m yr−1 over the period 2013 to 2016. Our revised estimates highlight the need for regular monitoring of sand mining activity and advocate for local and basin management plans to be updated to better reflect the current situation. The tools developed herein provide a low-cost, robust method to provide regular up-to-date estimates of the volume and location of mining activity in the world's rivers and deltas, and offer a step change in the insight into the environmental and biophysical implications of the sand extraction industry.
All shapefiles produced from PlanetScope imagery are available on request from the corresponding author. Hydrological data for the gauging stations in Cambodia are available from the Mekong River Commission Data Portal:
discharge: https://portal.mrcmekong.org/data-catalogue?q=17c0ffe74e224b50a9e3142fc404262b&size=n_20_n (Mekong River Commission, 2021a),
water level: https://portal.mrcmekong.org/data-catalogue?q=fca7bee14dcf43a59263158f18a88509&size=n_20_n (Mekong River Commission, 2021b).
The supplement related to this article is available online at: https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1323-2021-supplement.
CRH, GV, and DRP conceptualised the study and developed the methodology. CRH, SW, VD, and SH undertook the data analysis and collection. CRH drafted the original version with the help of GV, which SW, VD, SH, and DRP then edited.
Some authors are members of the editorial board of Earth Surface Dynamics. The peer-review process was guided by an independent editor, and the authors have also no other competing interests to declare.
Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Christopher R. Hackney was supported by a NUAcT Fellowship from Newcastle University and the UKRI GCRF Living Deltas Hub (grant NE/S008926/1). Christopher R. Hackney and Daniel R. Parsons acknowledge funding from NERC (NE/JO21970/1 and NE/JO21881/1 to Southampton and Hull, respectively). Grigorios Vasilopoulos, Vasudha Darbari, and Samuel Walker were supported by the University of Hull's GCRF funding and an Energy and Environment Institute scholarship. Daniel R. Parsons acknowledges funding from the EU Horizon 2020 Programme (ERC GEOSTICK, 725955). We extend our thanks to the Department of Hydrology and River Works, Cambodia, for their help and field assistance in collecting the bathymetry data in 2013. We thank the Mekong River Commission for their help in accessing and providing water level and discharge data used in this study.
This research has been supported by UK Research and Innovation (grant nos. NE/S008926/1, NE/JO21970/1, and NE/JO21881/1) and the European Research Council, H2020 (grant no. GEOSTICK (725955)).
This paper was edited by Robert Hilton and reviewed by two anonymous referees.
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Study site and methods
Unsustainable sand mining poses a threat to the stability of river channels. We use satellite imagery to estimate volumes of material removed from the Mekong River, Cambodia, over the period 2016–2020. We demonstrate that current rates of extraction now exceed previous estimates for the entire Mekong Basin and significantly exceed the volume of sand naturally transported by the river. Our work highlights the importance of satellite imagery in monitoring sand mining activity over large areas.
Unsustainable sand mining poses a threat to the stability of river channels. We use satellite...


Another article about the operational risk generated by the usage of spreadsheets within the financial markets (see earlier posts), appeared in the April issue of Waters Magazine.
The articles highlights how spreadsheets are largely used within financial institutions and suggests that the current regulation requirements for more transparency and ad-hoc risk management might push the proliferation of spreadsheets even further. The articles also refers to the progress and improvements made by Microsoft in recent versions of Excel to increase the security of spreadsheets.
Xenomorph has worked closely with Microsoft on hosting its time series database within SQL Server 2008. The case study we have written together describes how SQL Server 2008 offers integration within Office Excel 2007 so that whilst the spreadsheet is still the end-user viewing tool, operational risk is reduced by engaging Excel 2007 as an analytics and reporting tool and not as a mean of storing data.
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Capital requirements for Asset Managers Fight-back by the OTC Market?


Donna Cercone is a musician, speaker, and educator–specializing in improving education through advanced learning techniques. She has developed strategies using color, movement, music, vocal pacing and more to improve learning and even increase intelligence. Donna has taught every type of subject to students from elementary to adult. She is the kind of teacher every student dreams of having but seldom does. Now, you can take advantage of Donna's revolutionary learning techniques and start improving right away.


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Love to travel but I always find that I have too many places that I want to visit & not enough time.
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TORONTO - The Lads' incredible seven-game winning streak is over, after the soaring 1st-place team dropped a 5-2 decision to the Jokers this past Saturday night at Upper Canada College. Also Saturday night, the Beau's Beer Hack edged the Brockton Rockets 2-1 to claim sole possession of 2nd place in the UUHA standings.
Veteran Hack forward Aaron Foster combined with Chris and Stefan Barkley just four minutes into the opening frame to put the Beau's Boys up 1-0 in a game that would see the winner either take or retain 2nd place overall in the league standings. For most of the match, despite consistently outshooting their opponent, the Rockets found themselves in catch-up mode chasing the single goal deficit. But with 4:40 on the 3rd period clock, and with the Hack shorthanded due to a hooking infraction, Rockets scoring leader Dustin Harris made good on a play involving Daniel Wilcox and James Neilson to pot his second power-play goal of the campaign, drawing his team even in the process. The celebration on the Rockets bench would be short-lived, though, as just a minute-and-change later Foster found Chris Barkley on his way to the Brockton net where he coaxed the puck past goaltender Jonathan Dickson to retain the lead. The next three-and-a-half minutes saw plenty of Rockets offence (they were back on the power-play for two minutes of it) but no additional scoring as goalie Aaron Brophy held the Hack line (earning 2nd Star of the Game honours as a result).
The Beau's Beer Hack's next action will take place Saturday, Dec. 15 when they face off against the Wheatfield Souldiers at UCC. The Rockets, meanwhile, will have another shot at reclaiming 2nd place this coming Saturday, Dec. 8 when they go up against the Lads. The puck drop on that one is scheduled for 9:00 pm at UCC.
The Jokers went up early and often in the first 15 minutes-or-so of their contest with the unbeaten Parkdale Lads on Saturday night. Gary Rideout Jr. solved Lads goalie Luis Freitas just 90 seconds into the game, combining with Kyle Dooley and Derek Thompson for just his second goal of the season. Charlie Rishor made it 2-0 Jokers five minutes later, this time with Rideout and Mike Takacs picking up assists. Then, on the first shift of the 2nd period, Derek Scott got the monkey off his back with help from Thompson and Joel Lacoursiere, putting the Funniest Team on Ice up 3-0 over the Winningest Team of the Season thus far. Lads superstar Kyle Welton would activate in the 3rd, though, teaming up with usual suspect Ian Seeton (2), Fabian Ruzic and Dave Ball to shatter Burke Lawrence's shutout dreams with a power-play tally and an even-strengthed goal just over five minutes apart. However, Scott's second of the game (assisted by Thompson and Sean Cullen) would bisect those Lads' markers to maintain a healthy cushion for the Jokers. Scott then completed the hat-trick with a classic buzzer-beater (one second remaining on the clock) and the Lads net empty for the extra attacker.
Next up for the Jokers is the Humiliation with whom they'll face off this coming Saturday, Dec. 8 at 8:00 pm. The Gas Station Islanders and Wheatfield Souldiers will return to action this coming Saturday as well, taking to the UCC ice at 7:00 pm. Lads and Rockets will close things out with the late game.


Producing a fundraising video for your organization can be a very expensive and complicated process. Here are ten pitfalls to avoid when creating your video.
Great administrators don't always make great spokespersons. Don't let ego play a role in deciding who is included in your video. Advise colleagues, donors and community partners that being interviewed doesn't mean they'll make the final cut. Trust your video producer to make the hard choices.
Tell the story of your organization through the eyes and experiences of the people you serve. This is much more effective than simply a bunch of experts talking about the great work you do. Show your organization in action and the impact it's having on the community.
Your budget, within reason, shouldn't affect the impact of your final video, only the scope in which it's produced. For example, if you can't afford the travel costs to interview staff at regional offices, focus production around your AGM or a national conference. Same result, but at drastically reduced costs.
This seems obvious, but I don't know how many times I've arrived to film at an organization and staff are shocked that we want to film them. Your staff should not only know there's a camera crew coming, but be enthusiastic about participating. Staff enthusiasm makes all the difference in telling the story of your organization.
It's very trendy now to make fundraising videos über-hip, using super-fast editing and kinetic text. While this style does appeal to young viewers, it can turn off seniors. And while seniors are about as likely as most other Canadians to donate, they tend to give more. Slowing down the pace and using larger fonts for text are just a couple of ways to keep your video accessible and enjoyable for seniors.
Because budgets are limited, many organizations make the mistake of trying to create one video that covers everything that they do. This really waters down the message you're trying to convey. Your video only has to capture the essence of your organization - those accomplishments that make you stand out to potential donors.
Computers in many workplaces don't have speakers, or the workplaces have a policy about the use of sound. This is meant to discourage watching videos, since without sound they are totally inaccessible. Including captions in your fundraising video makes it accessible to everyone, everywhere. YouTube is now beta-testing automatic captioning for all its videos. You can upload a video and try it yourself.
If your audience is the general public, they most likely know very little about the work you do. Avoid making assumptions and using acronyms. Clients often comment that I am "using very simplistic language to describe what we do." My answer? Yes, it is simplistic - to you. But to the average person, it's clear and concise.
Canadian fundraising videos often fail to let viewers know exactly how they can help. Perhaps it's our Canadian politeness, but if you don't tell viewers how to help, they're less likely to do anything. Whether you need donations, volunteers or community partners, keep your ask simple and make it easy for the viewer to act.
Did you know that YouTube is the second biggest search engine after Google? Don't just embed your video on your website. Post it on YouTube, Facebook, Google + and Vimeo. Add a link to your video to your staff's email signature. Have your staff tweet or post about it on their personal Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. The more often your video is posted or mentioned, the more chance it has of being seen by donors.
Peter G. Reynolds is a documentary filmmaker and video producer. Peter specializes in working with nonprofit organizations and disability groups, creating fundraising, advocacy and public awareness videos. He also works closely with the Deaf community, developing video content in sign language for all levels of government.
Contact Peter or visit www.ftrp.ca.


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Tax and Benefits Challenges
South Dakota v. Wayfair Update: Quick congressional action appears unlikely
DAVID KALL, DAVID EBERSOLE TAX AND BENEFITS CHALLENGES AUG 02, 2018
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on July 24, 2018 concerning how states may tax online retailers following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair in June. The court's decision in Wayfair holds that states may require online and direct mail sellers to collect sales tax from their consumers, whether they have a physical presence in the state or not. Longstanding law had previously held that remote sellers must have a physical presence in the taxing state for a state to require the seller to collect sales tax from its customers.
We mentioned when Wayfair was decided that the power of Congress to act in this area is somewhat uncertain following the Wayfair case. Though Congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce, they do not have unfettered powers to strike down state taxes that allegedly interfere with interstate commerce. States have a competing interest as separate sovereigns to raise tax revenue to provide essential public services. In discussing to what extent Congress may "limit[] the lawful prerogatives of the states" to impose and collect sales tax, Justice Kennedy's majority opinion in Wayfair states that "Congress cannot change the constitutional default rule."
However, as a practical matter, Congress may not act in the near term because the issue is controversial and other congressional priorities are likely to be addressed first. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash) is one member of the House Judiciary Committee who told Bloomberg Tax that congressional action is unlikely, as follows: "Congress is not acting on so many critical issues that we need to address … I think in this Congress it feels unlikely that Congress is going to take action, but I think that the Supreme Court gave us a really strong foundation and now if there are pieces that we need to plug in, that could be possible."
Some witnesses expressed concern about the effect that the Wayfair case would have on small online businesses struggling to get off the ground. Others focused their testimony on the potential for states to retroactively require remote seller's to collect tax from their customers, for periods prior to the court's decision in June.
Most tax practitioners, however, do not expect to see retroactivity issues because states are expected to follow South Dakota's lead in requiring remote sellers to collect tax. The South Dakota law that the court upheld in Wayfair does not apply retroactively and would apply to sellers who, on an annual basis, deliver more than $100,000 of goods or services into South Dakota or engage in 200 or more separate transactions for the delivery of goods or services in the state. Legal challenges to state laws that mirror South Dakota's are not likely to succeed.
At least for now, the focus on legislative action in this area may be in state capitals across the country rather than the halls of Congress. Rather than encourage uniform state sales and use tax laws through congressional action, we may see more states voluntarily joining the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement (SSUTA) to achieve the same result through a multistate pact. South Dakota is a member of the SSUTA, of which 23 states currently belong.
For business owners, the focus may be on proactive efforts to comply with the law in the states where they operate. The tailwinds from the Wayfair case could result in additional state tax enforcement proceedings including sales and use tax audits. Our recent alert, "What the biggest sales tax case in 25 years means for your business," discusses strategies to avoid costly penalties associated with non-compliance.
DAVID KALL
DAVID EBERSOLE
I am a recognized tax advisor who takes a team approach to working with clients to achieve business goals. I leverage my public sector background to understand all perspectives and leave no tax planning or tax controversy stone unturned.
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Current team: Celtic
Nationality: Scotland
Date of birth: 25 June, 1985 (35 years)
Place of birth: Dunfermline, Scotland
Weight: 158.7 lb
2020/21 Celtic Scottish Premiership 1056 16 12 4 5 6 0 5 0 0
2018/19 Celtic Scottish Premiership 2554 30 29 1 1 2 1 11 1 0
2007/08 Celtic Scottish Premiership 3 3
2006/07 Hibernian Scottish Premiership 30 5
2020/21 Celtic Scottish League Cup 90 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2019/20 Celtic Scottish League Cup 208 3 2 1 0 1 2 0 0 0
2020/21 Celtic UEFA Champions League 152 2 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
2020/21 Celtic UEFA Europa League 529 7 7 0 5 1 0 2 0 0
2017/18 Celtic UEFA Champions League 1060 12 12 0 1 0 0 2 0 0
2014/15 Celtic UEFA Champions League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2012/13 Celtic UEFA Champions League 831 10 10 0 4 0 0 3 0 0
2018 Scotland WC Qualification Europe 450 5 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
2018 Scotland Friendly 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2016 Scotland UEFA Euro Qualifying 769 9 9 0 3 0 0 1 0 0
2016 Scotland Friendly 90 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2014 Scotland Friendly 226 3 3 0 1 0 1 2 0 0
Scotland - Scottish Premiership Winner 10 2019/2020, 2018/2019, 2017/2018, 2016/2017, 2015/2016, 2014/2015, 2013/2014, 2012/2013, 2011/2012, 2007/2008
Scotland - Scottish Premiership 2nd Place 3 2010/2011, 2009/2010, 2008/2009
Scotland - FA Cup Winner 6 2019/2020, 2018/2019, 2017/2018, 2016/2017, 2012/2013, 2010/2011
Scotland - Scottish League Cup Winner 7 2019/2020, 2018/2019, 2017/2018, 2016/2017, 2014/2015, 2008/2009, 2006/2007
Scotland - Scottish League Cup 2nd Place 3 2011/2012, 2010/2011, 2003/2004
Europe - Nations Cup 2nd Place 1 2011
17.07.07 Hibernian Celtic € 6.6M
Napoli Jan 17
6:30am Fiorentina
Aston Villa Jan 17
7:00am Everton