Search results for "environmental technology"
showing 10 items of 81 documents
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…
Economic and Life Cycle Analysis of Passive and Active Monitoring of Ozone for Forest Protection
2021
At forest sites, phytotoxic tropospheric ozone (O3) can be monitored with continuously operating, active monitors (AM) or passive, cumulative samplers (PM). For the first time, we present evidence that the sustainability of active monitoring is better than that of passive sensors, as the environmental, economic, and social costs are usually lower in the former than in the latter. By using data collected in the field, environmental, social, and economic costs were analyzed. The study considered monitoring sites at three distances from a control station in Italy (30, 400, and 750 km), two forest types (deciduous and Mediterranean evergreen), and three time windows (5, 10, and 20 years of moni…
Fruit Trees and Bushes as a Biodiversity Element in the “Górażdże” Quarry Reclaimed Areas
2019
The assumption of biological land reclamation in the forest direction is to introduce trees and shrubs on the reclaimed area so as to bring it as close as possible to the natural state based on the species characteristic for forest communities. While assessing the concept of biodiversity resulting from the naturalistic approach to the forest as a timeless good, it is necessary to take into account the diversity of plantings used and their multifunctionality. One of the functions is to designate crops for utility purposes, by creating a natural undergrowth, birdhouses, forest fringe plantings and enclaves of edible fruit plants. As part of the research, implementing the biodiversity of midfo…
Computation of vertically averaged velocities in irregular sections of straight channels
2015
Abstract. Two new methods for vertically averaged velocity computation are presented, validated and compared with other available formulas. The first method derives from the well-known Huthoff algorithm, which is first shown to be dependent on the way the river cross section is discretized into several subsections. The second method assumes the vertically averaged longitudinal velocity to be a function only of the friction factor and of the so-called "local hydraulic radius", computed as the ratio between the integral of the elementary areas around a given vertical and the integral of the elementary solid boundaries around the same vertical. Both integrals are weighted with a linear shape f…
The impact of in-canopy wind profile formulations on heat flux estimation in an open orchard using the remote sensing-based two-source model
2010
Abstract. For open orchard and vineyard canopies containing significant fractions of exposed soil (>50%), typical of Mediterranean agricultural regions, the energy balance of the vegetation elements is strongly influenced by heat exchange with the bare soil/substrate. For these agricultural systems a "two-source" approach, where radiation and turbulent exchange between the soil and canopy elements are explicitly modelled, appears to be the only suitable methodology for reliably assessing energy fluxes. In strongly clumped canopies, the effective wind speed profile inside and below the canopy layer can strongly influence the partitioning of energy fluxes between the soil and vegetation co…
Crystal Reorientation and Amorphization Induced by Stressing Efficient and Stable P–I–N Vacuum‐Processed MAPbI 3 Perovskite Solar Cells
2021
Herein, the long-term stability of vacuum-deposited methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI(3)) perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of around 19% is evaluated. A low-temperature atomic layer deposition (ALD) Al2O3 coating is developed and used to protect the MAPbI(3) layers and the solar cells from environmental agents. The ALD encapsulation enables the MAPbI(3) to be exposed to temperatures as high as 150 degrees C for several hours without change in color. It also improves the thermal stability of the solar cells, which maintain 80% of the initial PCEs after aging for approximate to 40 and 37days at 65 and 85 degrees C, respectively. However, room-temperature…
Predicting breakthrough of vanadium in fixed-bed absorbent columns with complex groundwater chemistries: A multi-component granular ferric hydroxide−…
2020
Granular ferric hydroxide (GFH) is often used for fixed bed adsorbent (FBA) columns in groundwater purification units around the world to remove arsenate contaminations. Groundwater can contain also other toxic (e.g., antimonite and vanadate) and non-toxic oxo-anions (phosphate and silicic acid) that are known to affect FBA lifetimes. Therefore, understanding the breakthrough of toxic compounds intended for removal by FBA is essential to their design, and is important to predict accurately breakthrough curves (BTCs) for FBAs in waterworks to plan future operating costs. Rapid small-scale column tests (RSCCT) and pilot-scale FBA were used to simulate vanadate BTCs for complex groundwater che…
The role of freshwater copepods in the environmental risk assessment of caffeine and propranolol mixtures in the surface water bodies of Spain
2019
In this study we aimed at assessing: (i) the environmental risk posed by mixtures of caffeine and propranolol to the freshwater ecosystems of Spain; (ii) the sensitivity of freshwater copepod species to the two compounds; (iii) if the toxicity of caffeine and propranolol to freshwater copepods contributes to the environmental risk posed by the two compounds in the freshwater bodies of Spain. The environmental risk was computed as the ratio of MECs (i.e. the measured environmental concentrations) to PNECs (i.e. the respective predicted no-effect concentrations). The effects of caffeine and propranolol on the freshwater cyclopoid Diacyclops crassicaudis crassicaudis were tested both individua…
The Influence of Urban Agglomeration on the Accumulation of Certain Heavy Metal Ions in Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.)
2020
Different compounds including toxic heavy metals ions have been used in various industrial branches for ages. Therefore, these compounds are nowadays often identified in the natural environment. Plants usually function like indirect transporters through which heavy metals, in the form of ions, infiltrate from the environment into the human and animals’ food chains. The present paper studied the influence of urban agglomeration on the accumulation of certain heavy metals in tansy. The content of heavy metals ions (Cr, Ni, Cd and Pb) was marked in the tansy leaves. Depending on the location of sampling, large variations in the heavy metal content were observed in the plant material. The resea…
Multi-rogue waves solutions to the focusing NLS equation and the KP-I equation
2011
Abstract. We construct a multi-parametric family of quasi-rational solutions to the focusing NLS equation, presenting a profile of multiple rogue waves. These solutions have also been used by us to construct a large family of smooth, real localized rational solutions of the KP-I equation quite different from the multi-lumps solutions first constructed in Bordag et al. (1977). The physical relevance of both equations is very large. From the point of view of geosciences,the focusing NLS equation is relevant to the description of surface waves in deep water, and the KP-I equation occurs in the description of capillary gravitational waves on a liquid surface, but also when one considers magneto…