Search results for "Ability"
showing 10 items of 18559 documents
Analysis of drought and vulnerability in the North Darfur region of Sudan
2018
North Darfur of Sudan is located on the edge of the Sahara Desert and endures frequent droughts due to water shortages and high summer temperatures. Monitoring and understanding drought characteristics are essential for integrated drought risk mitigation and prevetion of land degradation. This study evaluates drought conditions in North Darfur by analyzing the spatiotemporal distribution of drought using three drought indices (Standardized Precipitation Index, Vegetation Condition Index, and Soil Moisture Content Index) and their combined drought index (CDI) from 2004 to 2013. Biophysical and socioeconomic indicators are further used to measure vulnerability to drought risk and its three co…
Controlled treatment of a high velocity anisotropic aquifer model contaminated by hexachlorocyclohexanes
2020
International audience; Xanthan gels were assessed to control the reductive dechlorination of hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and trichlorobenzenes (TCBs) in a strong permeability contrast and high velocity sedimentary aquifer. An alkaline degradation was selected because of the low cost of NaOH and Ca(OH)2. The rheology of alkaline xanthan gels and their ability to deliver alkalinity homogeneously, while maintaining the latter, were studied. Whereas the xanthan gels behaved like non-Newtonian shear-thinning fluids, alkalinity and Ca(OH)2 microparticles had detrimental effects, yet, the latter decreased with the shear-rate. Breakthrough curves for the NaOH and Ca(OH)2 in xanthan solutions, ca…
Climate change: A driver of future conflicts in the Persian Gulf Region?
2021
Ongoing global change and its direct environmental impacts, in addition to securing economic transition to the post-oil era, could trigger complex socio-economic and political crises in oil-dependent economies of the Persian Gulf Region (PGR). To evaluate the role of climate change and related policies in degrading the environment and its socio-economic impacts in the PGR, we have used a variety of available global datasets and published data. The results show that the countries of the PGR pursue some types of socio-economic reforms to alleviate the impacts of climate change. However, it seems that these attempts are not compatible with the environment's capacity. The main problem stems fro…
Occurrence of fossil organic matter in modern environments: optical, geochemical and isotopic evidence
2011
International audience; This study relates to the input and fate of fossil organic matter (FOM) in the modern environment, and focuses on two experimental watersheds overlying Jurassic marls: Le Laval and Le Brusquet (1 km(2) in area), located near Digne, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France. Considering that FOM delivery is mainly a result of different processes affecting sedimentary rocks [(bio)chemical and mechanical weathering], samples from different pools were collected: bedrocks, weathering profiles, soils and riverine particles. The samples were examined using complementary techniques: optical (palynofacies methods), geochemical (Rock-Eval 6 pyrolysis, C/N ratio), molecular (gas chromato…
Simulating future trends in hydrological regime of a large Sudano-Sahelian catchment under climate change
2012
Summary This paper assesses the future variability of water resources in the short, medium and long terms over a large Sudano-Sahelian catchment in West Africa. Flow simulations were performed with a daily conceptual model. A period of nearly 50 years (1952–2000) was chosen to capture long-term hydro-climatic variability. Calibration and validation were performed on the basis of a multi-objective function that aggregates a variety of goodness-of-fit indices. The climate models HadCM3 and MPI-M under SRES-A2 were used to provide future climate scenarios over the catchment. Outputs from these models were used to generate daily rainfall and temperature series for the 21st century according to:…
Soil moisture modelling of a SMOS pixel: interest of using the PERSIANN database over the Valencia Anchor Station
2010
In the framework of Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) Calibration/Validation (Cal/Val) activities, this study addresses the use of the PERSIANN-CCS<sup>1</sup>database in hydrological applications to accurately simulate a whole SMOS pixel by representing the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the soil moisture fields over a wide area (50×50 km<sup>2</sup>). The study focuses on the Valencia Anchor Station (VAS) experimental site, in Spain, which is one of the main SMOS Cal/Val sites in Europe. <br><br> A faithful representation of the soil moisture distribution at SMOS pixel scale (50×50 km<sup>2</sup>) requires an accurate estimation…
Influence of microporosity distribution on the mechanical behavior of oolithic carbonate rocks.
2015
Abstract The mechanical behavior of oolithic carbonate rocks was investigated for selected rocks with two different microstructural attributes: uniform (UP) and rimmed (RP) distribution of microporosity within ooids. These oolithic carbonate rocks are from the Oolithe Blanche formation, a deep saline aquifer in the Paris Basin, and a possible target for CO2 sequestration and geothermal production. Samples of similar physical properties (porosity, grain diameter, cement content) but different microporosity textures were deformed under triaxial configuration, in water saturated conditions, at 28 MPa of confining pressure, 5 MPa of pore pressure and at a temperature of 55 °C. During the experi…
Personal Exposure to Ultrafine Particles According to Different Environments and Modes of Transport in Schoolchildren: Results from a Spanish Cohort …
2017
Background Combustion, especially in diesel engines, emits a complex mixture of gases and particles that could be harmful for the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Daily personal exposure to the smallest particulate matter (less than 0.1 µm and usually called nanoparticles or ultrafine particles – UFP) has been studied to a lesser extent compared to coarser particles. In this study we aim to assess personal exposure to UFP in different environments and transport modes among schoolchildren from a Spanish birth-cohort in the province of Valencia. Methods The study population consisted of 114 children aged 10-11 years. For each of them, personal exposure to UFP was measured continuously …
Characterization of a Newly Developed Aircraft-Based Laser Ablation Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (ALABAMA) and First Field Deployment in Urban Pollution…
2011
We present here the development and first field deployment of a novel Aircraft-based Laser ABlation Aerosol MAss spectrometer (ALABAMA), which is capable of measuring the chemical composition and size of individual ambient aerosol particles in the size range between 150 and 900 nm. The instrument uses a continuous wave 532 nm laser to size and detect the particles, a pulsed 266 nm laser to ablate and ionize the particles, and a bipolar, Z-shaped time-of-flight mass spectrometer to detect positive and negative ions. The ALABAMA fits into a 19"-aircraft rack of 150 cm height and has a total weight of 140 kg, thus currently being one of the smallest and lightest-weight instruments of its type.…
A New Network for the Advancement of Marine Biotechnology in Europe and Beyond
2020
Marine organisms produce a vast diversity of metabolites with biological activities useful for humans, e.g., cytotoxic, antioxidant, anti-microbial, insecticidal, herbicidal, anticancer, pro-osteogenic and pro-regenerative, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant, cholesterol-lowering, nutritional, photoprotective, horticultural or other beneficial properties. These metabolites could help satisfy the increasing demand for alternative sources of nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, cosmeceuticals, food, feed, and novel bio-based products. in addition, marine biomass itself can serve as the source material for the production of various bulk commodities (e.g., biofuels, bioplastics, biomateria…