Search results for "Environmental technology"
showing 10 items of 81 documents
THE POSSIBILITY OF DISPOSING OF SPENT COFFEE GROUND WITH ENERGY RECYCLING
2015
The current policy of waste management requires, above all, a gradual reduction of waste amount and, to a larger extent, forces us to seek new methods of waste disposal. Recycling the energy contained in biomass waste is a more and more universally applied method of thermal converting. Biomass combustion allows saving fossil fuels which fits into sustainable development. This paper checks the possibility of using spent coffee ground (SCG) in energy recycling using a combustion process. This particular biomass type up to now has not been widely examined, which inclines to consider its usage as a potential additive to alternative fuels. In the study, we examined the quality of fuel, which was…
Monitoring and prediction in early warning systems for rapid mass movements
2015
Rapid mass movements (RMM) pose a substantial risk to people and infrastructure. Reliable and cost-efficient measures have to be taken to reduce this risk. One of these measures includes establishing and advancing the state of practice in the application of early warning systems (EWSs). EWSs have been developed during the past decades and are rapidly increasing. In this paper, we focus on the technical part of EWSs, i.e., the prediction and timely recognition of imminent hazards, as well as on monitoring slopes at risk and released mass movements. Recent innovations in assessing spatial precipitation, monitoring and precursors of the triggering and deformation of RMM offer new opportunities…
Towards automatic calibration of 2-D flood propagation models
2010
Abstract. Hydraulic models for flood propagation description are an essential tool in many fields and are used, for example, for flood hazard and risk assessments, evaluation of flood control measures, etc. Nowadays there are many models of different complexity regarding the mathematical foundation and spatial dimensions available, and most of them are comparatively easy to operate due to sophisticated tools for model setup and control. However, the calibration of these models is still underdeveloped in contrast to other models like e.g. hydrological models or models used in ecosystem analysis. This has two primary reasons: first, lack of relevant data against which the models can be calibr…
Ground instability in the old town of Agrigento (Italy) depicted by on-site investigations and Persistent Scatterers data
2012
We combine on-site investigations with the interpretation of satellite Persistent Scatterers (PS) to analyse ground instability in the historic town of Agrigento, Italy. Geological and geomorphologic surveys, together with geostructural and kinematic analyses, depict the deformational patterns of the northwestern sector of the town, previously documented by extensive literature available for the neighbouring Valley of the Temples. The geological and geomorphologic maps are reconstructed by combining bibliographic studies, field surveys and aerial stereo-interpretation. ERS-1/2 PS data reveal deformation velocities up to 18–20 mm yr<sup>−1</sup> in 1992–2000 over the Addolorata l…
Human activity and damaging landslides and floods on Madeira Island
2011
Abstract. Over the last few decades, the island of Madeira has become an important offshore tourism and business center, with rapid economic and demographic development that has caused changes to the landscape due to human activity. In Madeira's recent history, there has been an increase over time in the frequency of occurrence of damaging landslide and flood events. As a result, the costs of restoration work due to damage caused by landslide and flood events have become a larger and larger component of Madeira's annual budget. Landslides and floods in Madeira deserve particular attention because they represent the most serious hazard to human life, to property, and to the natural environme…
Discharges of past flood events based on historical river profiles
2008
Abstract. This paper presents a case study on the estimation of peak discharges of extreme flood events during the 19th century of the Neckar River located in south-western Germany. It was carried out as part of the BMBF (German Federal Ministry of Education and Research) research project RIMAX (Risk Management of Extreme Flood Events). The discharge estimations were made for the 1824 and 1882 flood events, and are based on historical cross profiles. The 1-D model Hydrologic Engineering Centers River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) was applied with different roughness coefficients to determine these estimations. The results are compared (i) with contemporary historical calculations for the 1824 a…
Magnetic Susceptibility in the Soils Along Communication Routes in the Town of Opole
2019
Magnetic susceptibility measurements were taken in eight selected streets of Opole, with diversified vehicle traffic intensity. The experiment surfaces were marked on every street, with two separate zones: A – a strip directly adjacent to the road and B – a strip 1 m away from the road edge. The carried out research indicated considerable influence of communication-generated pollution, with simultaneous influence of other local emission sources. The relation of magnetic anomalies was indicated, which may be the result of ferromagnetic materials aggregation, originating mainly from combustion processes. The road structure, including the surface condition, the main construction material and s…
WATER MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS AT THE BUKÓWKA DRINKING WATER RESERVOIR’S CROSS-BORDER BASIN AREA IN TERMS OF ITS ESTABLISHED FUNCTIONS
2015
The paper covers the analysis of water management problems in the cross-border reservoir basin of Bukówka, located at the Bóbr river, at 271+540 km of its course, below the Czech-Polish border, in Dolnośląskie Voivodeship. The problems of water management in the context of the reservoir’s functions have been analyzed; these are: flood control, the provision of water during low water level periods for the Water Treatment Plant in Marciszów, the provision of drinking water for the city of Wałbrzych as well as the provision of proper flow in the Bóbr river bed downstream from the reservoir. Due to its localization right below the border with the Czech Republic, the reservoir is exposed to a nu…
Sequential and joint hydrogeophysical inversion using a field-scale groundwater model with ERT and TDEM data
2013
Abstract. Increasingly, ground-based and airborne geophysical datasets are used to inform groundwater models. Recent research focuses on establishing coupling relationships between geophysical and groundwater parameters. To fully exploit such information, this paper presents and compares a joint hydrogeophysical inversion (JHI) approach and sequential hydrogeophysical inversion (SHI) approach to inform a field-scale groundwater model with Time Domain Electromagnetic (TDEM) and Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) data. The implemented SHI coupled inverted geophysical models with groundwater parameters, where the strength of the coupling was based on geophysical parameter resolution. To t…
Sensitivity of a mesoscale model to different convective parameterization schemes in a heavy rain event
2011
Abstract. The Valencia region, on the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula, is propitious to heavy precipitation, especially the area encompassing the South of Valencia province and the North of the Alicante province. In October 2007 a torrential rain affected the aforementioned area, producing accumulated rainfall values greater than 400 mm in less than 24 h and flash-floods that caused extensive economic losses and human casualties. This rain event has been studied in numerical experiments using the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System. The present paper deals with the effect of using the different convective parameterizations (CP) currently implemented in the Regional Atmospheric…