Search results for "Global warming"
showing 10 items of 283 documents
Influence of carbon to nitrogen ratio on nitrous oxide emission in an Integrated Fixed Film Activated Sludge Membrane BioReactor plant
2018
Abstract In this study a University of Cape Town (UCT) Integrated Fixed Film Activated Sludge (IFAS) Membrane BioReactor (MBR) wastewater treatment plant was monitored in terms of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. The short term effect on the N2O emission due to the influent carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio variation (C/N ratios of 2, 5 and 10 gCOD/gN) was evaluated. Since in a previous study, the effect of the C/N ratio was studied in the same system without biofilm (UCT-MBR configuration) the main aim here was to investigate the role of biofilms on N2O emissions. Under all the investigated C/N ratios, the N2O fluxes and the average emission factors were lower than that of previous studies with…
Economic analysis of the scale-up and implantation of a hollow fibre membrane contactor plant for nitrogen recovery in a full-scale wastewater treatm…
2021
[EN] Nitrogen recovery technologies such as the hollow fibre membrane contactor are now being developed. However, an economic analysis is needed prior to their full-scale application in wastewater treatment plants. The aim of this study was to analyse the economic and environmental aspects of scaling-up this method. To achieve it, a full-scale 40,000 m3·day¿1-wastewater treatment plant influent flow rate was simulated jointly with a membrane contactor plant to evaluate the minimum costs of optimum operating conditions of membrane contactors (pH, feed flow rate and membrane surface). The optimum conditions for treating 600 m3·day¿1 of reject water was found to be 10 pH, 0.08 m3·s¿1 feed flow…
Infrared monitoring of underground CO2 storage using chalcogenide glass fibers
2009
International audience; An optical-fiber-based system suitable for monitoring the presence of carbon dioxide, so-called "greenhouse gas", is investigated. Since each pollutant gas shows a characteristic optical absorption spectrum in the mid-infrared (mid-IR), it is possible to detect selectively and quantitatively the presence of gases in a given environment by analysing mid-IR spectra. The main infrared signature of carbon dioxide gas is a double absorption peak located at 4.2 μm. Chalcogenide optical fibers, which can transmit light in the 1-6 μm range, are well-adapted for CO2 analysis. In this wavelength range, they show attenuation losses that compare favourably with other types of fi…
Long-term climate variability in continental subarctic Canada: A 6200-year record derived from stable isotopes in peat
2010
The rapid warming of arctic regions during recent decades has been recorded by instrumental monitoring, but the natural climate variability in the past is still sparsely reconstructed across many a ...
Plastic adjustments of biparental care behavior across embryonic development under elevated temperature in a marine ectotherm
2021
Abstract Phenotypic plasticity in parental care investment allows organisms to promptly respond to rapid environmental changes by potentially benefiting offspring survival and thus parental fitness. To date, a knowledge gap exists on whether plasticity in parental care behaviors can mediate responses to climate change in marine ectotherms. Here, we assessed the plasticity of parental care investment under elevated temperatures in a gonochoric marine annelid with biparental care, Ophryotrocha labronica, and investigated its role in maintaining the reproductive success of this species in a warming ocean. We measured the time individuals spent carrying out parental care activities across three…
Changes in the Breeding Bird Fauna, Waterbird Populations in Particular, on Lake Engure (Latvia) over the Last 50 Years
2005
The nesting bird fauna (186 species) of Lake Engure and its surroundings has changed considerably over the last 50 years: 18 species have appeared as newcomers (among them 56% of southern, 6% of northern origin), 10 species have ceased nesting (among them 60% of northern, 10% of southern origin). These changes might be explained by global warming. Dramatic changes recorded in all waders can be accounted for by the local habitat loss and a general decline in wider geographic ranges. The Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus) population increased from 200 pairs in 1940s to 34,000 pairs in 1986, and then declined to 4,200 pairs in 2002. Nesting duck (all species combined) numbers and their nesti…
The challenge of contemporary society on science education: The case of global warming.
2014
The big problems that contemporary society needs to address (e.g. climate change) challenge our traditional idea of education and require to revise the goals of science education research. Such problems are indeed so complex as to require a wide range of competencies to be engaged in producing and implementing solution strategies. Science education is forced to take into account the many dimensions that characterize contemporary science and to face the task of bringing together the potential of all the different perspectives (Tasquier & Nonni, 2011). An example of this kind of research, concerning environmental problems, will be briefly described and its first encouraging results illustrate…
Environmental and economic profile of six typologies of wastewater treatment plants
2011
The objective of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is to prevent pollution. However, it is necessary to assess their sustainability in order to ensure that pollution is being removed, not displaced. In this research, the performance of 24 WWTPs has been evaluated using a streamlined Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with Eutrophication Potential (EP) and Global Warming Potential (GWP) as environmental indicators, and operational costs as economic indicators. WWTPs were further classified in six typologies by their quality requirements according to their final discharge point or water reuse. Moreover, two different functional units (FU), one based on volume (m(3)) and the other on eutrophication…
Climate advocacy among Italian pediatric pulmonologists: A national survey on the effects of climate change on respiratory allergies.
2022
Climate change (CC) is expected to negatively impact respiratory health due to air pollution and increased aeroallergen exposure. Children are among the most vulnerable populations due to high ventilation rates, small peripheral airways, and developing respiratory and immunological systems. To assess the current knowledge among Italian pediatric pulmonologists on the potential effects of CC on pediatric respiratory allergic diseases, a national survey was launched online from February 2020 to February 2021. The members of the Italian Pediatric Respiratory Society (SIMRI) were contacted by email and 117 questionnaires were returned (response rate 16.4%). 72.6% of respondents were females, 53…
Long-term phenological data set of multi-taxonomic groups, agrarian activities, and abiotic parameters from Latvia, northern Europe
2021
A phenological data set collected by citizen-scientists from 1970 to 2018 in Latvia is presented, comprising almost 47,000 individual observations of eight taxonomical groups, in addition to agrarian activities and abiotic parameters, covering in total 159 different phenological phases. These original data published offline in annual issues of the Nature and History Calendar (in Latvian, Dabas un vēstures kalendārs) have been digitized, harmonized and geo-referenced. Overall, the possible use of such data is extensive, as phenological data are excellent bioindicators for characterising climate change and can be used for the elaboration of adaptation strategies in agriculture, forestry, and …