Search results for "FOSS"

The spatial dynamics of atmospheric pollution in Latvia and the Baltic Republics, as measured in mosses, topsoil and precipitation

1994

Atmospheric pollution in the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania has been mapped using measurements of pollutant concentrations in mosses, topsoil and precipitation. Air masses from western Europe deposit industrial pollutants in the Baltic region and concentrations depend on meteorological conditions. Superimposed on this background is the pattern of deposits from local sources. Large areas receive neutral to basic precipitation due to cement industries and fly ash emissions from fossil fuel combustion. The burning of oil-shale in NE Estonia results in precipitation with pH values over 7.0, and high concentrations of V, Fe, and Cd. Heavy metal concentrations in the topsoil a…

Evaluation of energy performance of drinking water treatment plants: Use of energy intensity and energy efficiency metrics

2018

Abstract One of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is to provide access to safe and clean drinking water. However, treating raw water in facilities currently involves using a non-negligible amount of energy, and the fossil fuels used are both expensive and emit greenhouse gases when combusted. Previous studies have evaluated the energy performance of drinking water treatment plants by estimating the amount of energy consumed per volume of water. However, such studies have not accounted for differences between treatment technologies and have assumed a common standard water treatment technology. To overcome these limitations, this study employed metafrontier data envelopment ana…

Pollution patterns in the upper troposphere over Europe and Asia observed by CARIBIC

2014

Abstract Between May 2005 and March 2008 the CARIBIC (Civil Aircraft for the Regular Investigation of the atmosphere Based on an Instrument Container) observatory was deployed to make atmospheric observations on 42 flights between Frankfurt, Germany and Manila, the Philippines. This nearly 3 year flight series provides information about atmospheric composition in the upper troposphere over Europe and Asia during all seasons and was used to investigate seasonal and regional differences in trace gas distributions and the influence of long range transport and local convection on composition. The flight route was separated into three different regions having characteristic differences in transp…

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry study of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in grass and milk from urban and rural farms

2000

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) levels were studied in grass and milk sampled at two farms, one located in a non-contaminated, rural area, and another located in a urban area close to PAH sources such as highways, busy roads, fuel-powered trains and a steel plant. PAH concentration were measured by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) using internal deuterated standards. In grasses, unexpectedly, although the sum of PAH concentrations was only slightly higher at the urban farm (83.1 ± 16.1 ng g−1) than the rural farm (51.8 ± 10.6 ng g−1), this difference was not observed for all PAH members. This absence of a striking difference of PAH levels between urban and rura…

Possible further evidence of low denetic diversity in the El Sidrón (Asturias, Spain) Neandertal Group: congenital clefts of the atlas

2015

Received: June 12, 2015; Accepted: August 5, 2015; Published: September 29, 2015

Ancient proteins resolve the evolutionary history of Darwin's South American ungulates.

2015

No large group of recently extinct placental mammals remains as evolutionarily cryptic as the approximately 280 genera grouped as 'South American native ungulates'. To Charles Darwin, who first collected their remains, they included perhaps the 'strangest animal[s] ever discovered'. Today, much like 180 years ago, it is no clearer whether they had one origin or several, arose before or after the Cretaceous/Palaeogene transition 66.2 million years ago, or are more likely to belong with the elephants and sirenians of superorder Afrotheria than with the euungulates (cattle, horses, and allies) of superorder Laurasiatheria. Morphology-based analyses have proved unconvincing because convergences…

Conflicting coccolithophore and geochemical evidence for productivity levels in the Eastern Mediterranean sapropel S1

2011

Abstract The cyclic development of anoxic conditions in the eastern Mediterranean deep sea waters is one of the most fascinating research topics in paleoceanographic studies. In combination with bottom water stagnation, enhanced primary production is a common explanation for the deposition of organic-rich layers (sapropels). This is supported by extensive evidence from both geochemical and micropaleontological studies. The correspondence of recent sapropel layers with peaks of the lower photic zone coccolithophore species Florisphaera profunda has been interpreted as a proxy for the development of a deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM), due to the pycnocline/nutricline shallowing into the lower p…

Head and Neck Cancers

2005

Holocene vegetation and fire dynamics in the supra-mediterranean belt of the Nebrodi Mountains (Sicily, Italy).

2012

High-resolution pollen, macrofossil and charcoal data, combined with accelerator mass spectrometry 14C dating and multivariate analysis, were used to reconstruct Holocene vegetation and fire dynamics at Urio Quattrocchi, a small lake in the supra-mediterranean belt in the Nebrodi Mountains of Sicily (Italy). The data suggest that after 10 000 cal a BP increasing moisture availability supported closed forests with deciduous (Quercus cerris, Fagus sylvatica and Fraxinus spp.) and evergreen (Quercus ilex) species. Species-rich closed forest persisted until 6850 cal a BP, when Neolithic activities caused a forest decline and affected plant diversity. Secondary forest with abundant Ilex aquifoli…

Evaluation des impacts environnementaux des Techniques Culturales Sans Labour (TCSL) en France

2007

L’attrait des techniques culturales sans labour pour les agriculteurs français est croissant. Près du tiers des surfaces de grandes cultures est implanté avec ces techniques aujourd’hui, essentiellement pour des raisons d’organisation de chantier et de coût. Mais leur intérêt vis-à-vis de l’environnement, souvent mis en avant à l’étranger, est il confirmé dans les situations françaises ? Huit organismes de recherche et de développement se consacrent depuis deux ans à une vaste étude pour évaluer les impacts des techniques sans labour sur le sol, la biodiversité, l’eau, l’air et les ressources fossiles. Cette étude présente l’état de l’art, les avantages et les limites des Techniques cultura…