Search results for "Climate"
showing 10 items of 4934 documents
Revisiting cosmological bounds on sterile neutrinos
2014
We employ state-of-the art cosmological observables including supernova surveys and BAO information to provide constraints on the mass and mixing angle of a non-resonantly produced sterile neutrino species, showing that cosmology can effectively rule out sterile neutrinos which decay between BBN and the present day. The decoupling of an additional heavy neutrino species can modify the time dependence of the Universe's expansion between BBN and recombination and, in extreme cases, lead to an additional matter-dominated period; while this could naively lead to a younger Universe with a larger Hubble parameter, it could later be compensated by the extra radiation expected in the form of neutri…
Recent Borexino results and prospects for the near future
2015
The Borexino experiment, located in the Gran Sasso National Laboratory, is an organic liquid scintillator detector conceived for the real time spectroscopy of low energy solar neutrinos. The data taking campaign phase I (2007 - 2010) has allowed the first independent measurements of 7Be, 8B and pep fluxes as well as the first measurement of anti-neutrinos from the earth. After a purification of the scintillator, Borexino is now in phase II since 2011. We review here the recent results achieved during 2013, concerning the seasonal modulation in the 7Be signal, the study of cosmogenic backgrounds and the updated measurement of geo-neutrinos. We also review the upcoming measurements from phase…
Agricultural and Biotechnology Patents as an Adaptation Strategy to Climate Change: A Regional Analysis of European Farmer’s Efficiency
2022
This chapter analyses the effect of innovation encouraged by climate change challenges on European farmers’ technical efficiency. Using the stochastic frontier approach, we estimate the impact of agri-cultural patents on farmers’ technical efficiency by taking into account both unobservable heterogeneity and heteroscedasticity in the inefficiency term. Our findings suggest that European farmers remain quite far from the maximum frontier and irrespective of the country in which they reside; farmers who innovate are more efficient than those who do not. Thus, the inefficiency of agricultural agents in the European context leaves space for policies that incentivise firms to adopt climate chang…
Spatio-temporal behaviour of the deep chlorophyll maximum in Mediterranean Sea: Development of a stochastic model for picophytoplankton dynamics
2013
In this paper, by using a stochastic reaction-diffusion-taxis model, we analyze the picophytoplankton dynamics in the basin of the Mediterranean Sea, characterized by poorly mixed waters. The model includes intraspecific competition of picophytoplankton for light and nutrients. The multiplicative noise sources present in the model account for random fluctuations of environmental variables. Phytoplankton distributions obtained from the model show a good agreement with experimental data sampled in two different sites of the Sicily Channel. The results could be extended to analyze data collected in different sites of the Mediterranean Sea and to devise predictive models for phytoplankton dynam…
Optimization and Multicriteria Evaluation of District Heat Production and Storage
2019
Climate change mitigation policy requires reducing dependence on fossil fuels and transition to low carbon energy production in district heating (DH). We study here inclusion of two kinds of renewable energy to a CHP based DH system in Finland: solar heat and ground source heat. In addition, we apply heat storages to balance the gap between production and fluctuating demand. The optimal operation of the extended systems is determined by a simulation and optimization model to minimize the operating costs. We evaluate the different possible extensions in terms of multiple economic, technical and environmental criteria using Stochastic Multicriteria Acceptability Analysis (SMAA). The results s…
Effects of elevated ozone on physiological, anatomical and ultrastructural characteristics of four common urban tree species in China
2016
Fast urbanization has led to ozone (O3) being the main pollutant in summer in most of China. To assess future ground-level O3 effects on the service of urban greening species and clarify the underlying mechanism of O3 damage, four common urban greening species, Ailanthus altissima (AA), Fraxinus chinensis(FC), Platanus orientalis (PO) and Robinia pseudoacacia (RP) were exposed to non-filtered air (NF) and to elevated O3 (E-O3) in open-top chambers. E-O3 induced visible injury in all species as well as microscopic alterations such as collapse of the palisade parenchyma cells, callose accumulation, or chloroplast and mitochondrial accelerated senescence. E-O3 significantly reduced light-satur…
Evaluating the climate SWOT as a tool for defining climate strategies for business
2014
Abstract Climate change is often referred to as the next major force shaping the business environment in which companies operate. This study aims at contributing to the needs of businesses for quicker and cost-efficient ways to strategically plan for the future uncertainty of climate change. When structuring the intertextual field around the underlying study, there are two main fields of contribution: (1) the systematical approach to the complex uncertainty related to climate change and its communication from a strategic perspective; and (2) developing novel approaches to life-cycle-based methodologies. The study includes the life-cycle perspective through a new, simplified method of repres…
A sustainable replacement for TiO2 in photocatalyst construction materials: Hydroxyapatite-based photocatalytic additives, made from the valorisation…
2018
The use of waste materials and by-products in building materials is of increasing importance to improve sustainability in construction, as is the incorporation of photocatalytic materials to both combat atmospheric pollution and protect the structures and façades. This work reports the innovative use of photocatalytic hydroxyapatite (HAp) based powders, derived from Atlantic codfish bone wastes, as an additive to natural hydraulic lime mortars. HAp is the main component of bone, and hence is non-toxic and biocompatible. This is the first time that such a calcium phosphate-based photocatalyst, or indeed any fish/marine derived wastes, have been added to building materials. A key factor is th…
Methane-derived carbonate conduits from the late Aptian of Salinac (Marne Bleues, Vocontian Basin, France): Petrology and biosignatures
2015
Abstract Peculiar carbonate bodies occur in distinct marl layers of the Marnes Bleues Formation (Aptian–Albian, Vocontian Basin, Southern France). The carbonate conduits exhibit pipe- or sausage-like forms and a central channel. Their sizes range between 30 and 60 cm in length and 5–10 cm in diameter. The conduit carbonates consist of automicrite authigenically formed within the sediment. Millimeter-sized aggregates of framboidal pyrite are abundant within the conduit automicrites, probably representing former colonies of sulfate reducing bacteria. The central channel reflects former pathways of reduced fluids in the carbonate conduit. Ni-enrichments at the margins of the central cavity are…
The Organizational Climate for Sustainable Commuting: An Italian Validation Study in the Academic Sector
2021
Promoting sustainable commuting represents a valuable contribution to tackle the climate crisis, and organizations could act as frontrunners in this regard. Accordingly, conceptualizing and measuring how organizational environments contribute to sustainable commuting has become relevant. This study aims to conceptualize and operationalize the construct of Organizational Climate for Sustainable Commuting (OCSC) and validate the OCSC scale in the Italian language. Data were gathered in an Italian university from 8542 participants. The validation was based on EFA and CFA, reliability, and aggregation indices analyses. To validate the scale, convergent, discriminant, internal construct, and cri…