Current scientific knowledge of climate change and its global impact is summarized in the first four chapters. The earth's natural climate, greenhouse gases, climate prediction models, and impact of a warmer world on natural terrestrial ecosystems, agricultural ecosystems, and coastal regions are discussed. The possible impacts on Canada are described in chapter five, which considers forests, agriculture, water resources, fisheries, coastal zones, transportation, human health and well being, energy production and use, and global security. Chapter six considers ways to respond to climate change. These include enhancing knowledge of climate change, working toward a consensus on the need for action, global political response, the Canadian response, and the role of the individual. 15 refs., 35 figs.
In recent decades, it has become increasingly clear that the global climate is becoming warmer and that regional climates are changing. This report summarizes the results of an integrated assessment of vulnerability to climate change and adaptation options in the Netherlands carried out between July 2000 and July 2001 within the framework of the Dutch National Research Program on Global Air Pollution and Climate Change (NRP-2). The project's main aims were: - to provide an overview of scientific insights, expert judgements and stakeholders' perceptions of current and future impacts (positive and negative) of climate change for several economic sectors, human health, and natural systems in the Netherlands, considering various cross-sectoral interactions, - to develop a set of adaptation options for these sectors through a participatory process with the main ...
The market potential for the fan atomized burner (FAB) in water and space heating applications was examined. The major findings of the study are as follows. (1). The FAB`s low-input capability allows development of oil-fired room heaters and wall furnaces, a new market area for oil heat. (2). Among conventional oil-fired products, furnaces will benefit most from the burner`s low input capability due to (1) their quick delivery of heat and (2) their more prevalent use in warmerclimates and smaller homes. (3). The greatest potential for increased product sales or oil sales exists in the use of the burner with new products (i.e., room heaters). Sales of boilers and direct-fired water heaters are not likely to increase with the use of the burner. (4). Acceptance of the burner will be dependent on proof of reliability. Proof of better reliability than conventional burners would accelerate acceptance.
Greenland is the world's largest island, with an area of 2.2 million square kilometres, 80 % of which is covered by the ice sheet. The climate is Arctic, but as Greenland stretches 2600 km from north to south, there is a huge variability in climate, with temperature decreasing from south to north. Due to the influence of oceanic currents, the west coast is slightly warmer than the east coast. Precipitation also decreases strongly from the south to the north, and also with distance from the coast. Kangerlussuaq is located in the dry, continental area of central west Greenland. The bedrock of Greenland is dominated by Precambrian gneisses, with sedimentary rocks occurring in some areas of East and North Greenland, and smaller areas of basalts. All of Greenland has been glaciated several times and has thus been eroded and shaped by the ice, as it still is at the ice margin. Soils are generally thin, and especially in the ...
This book summarizes the research that has been conducted in Canada over the past five years on the issue of climate change impacts on key sectors such as water resources, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, coastal zones, transportation, and human health and well-being. The book refers to the growing evidence that climate change is occurring. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) believes that these changes have already contributed to increases in annual precipitation, cloud cover and extreme temperatures over the last 50 years. It suggests that it in order to develop an effective strategy for adaptation, it is necessary to understand the vulnerability of each sector to climate change in terms of the nature of climate change, the climatic sensitivity of the region being considered, and the capacity to adapt to the changes. Adaptation will require a ...
Owing to exceptional biomolecule preservation, fossil avian eggshell has been used extensively in geochronology and palaeodietary studies. Here, we show, to our knowledge, for the first time that fossil eggshell is a previously unrecognized source of ancient DNA (aDNA). We describe the successful isolation and amplification of DNA from fossil eggshell up to 19 ka old. aDNA was successfully characterized from eggshell obtained from New Zealand (extinct moa and ducks), Madagascar (extinct elephant birds) and Australia (emu and owl). Our data demonstrate excellent preservation of the nucleic acids, evidenced by retrieval of both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA from many of the samples. Using confocal microscopy and quantitative PCR, this study critically evaluates approaches to maximize DNA recovery from powdered eggshell. Our quantitative PCR experiments also demonstrate that moa eggshell has approximately 125 times lower bacterial load than bone, making it a highly suitable substrate for ...
A study was conducted to determine the impacts of climate change on the transportation sector in a regional context. The purpose was to analyze potential climate change impacts on demand for freight transportation in Atlantic Canada through its association with other sectors of the regional economy. Freight transportation is designed to meet transportation demands of commodity producers who must deliver their goods to final users. Since it is a by-product of profit maximization and cost minimization by producers of all types of commodities in various sectors of the economy, this study modelled climate change impacts as productivity shocks in relevant sectors of the economy. A computerized simulation was then used to determine how the consequences of these shocks influence the demand for freight transportation. This was accomplished by collecting climate related data in Atlantic Canada as well as ...
During the next 100 years, the mean annual temperature is expected to be 1-6 deg C higher than at present. It is also expected to be accompanied by a lengthening of the thermal growing season and increased precipitation. Consequently, climatic change will increase the uncertainty of the management of forest ecosystems in the future. In this context, this research project aimed to outline the ecological and silvicultural implications of climatic change with regard to (1) how the expected climatic change might modify the functioning and structure of the boreal forest ecosystem, and (2) how the silvicultural management of the forest ecosystem should be modified in order to maintain sustainable forest yield under changing climatic conditions. The experimental component of the project concerned first the effect that elevating temperature and elevating concentration of atmospheric carbon have on the ...
The importance of temperature in the determination of the yield of an annual crop (groundnut; Arachis hypogaea L. in India) was assessed. Simulations from a regional climate model (PRECIS) were used with a crop model (GLAM) to examine crop growth under simulated current (1961-1990) and future (2071-2100) climates. Two processes were examined: the response of crop duration to mean temperature and the response of seed-set to extremes of temperature. The relative importance of, and interaction between, these two processes was examined for a number of genotypic characteristics, which were represented by using different values of crop model parameters derived from experiments.The impact of mean and extreme temperatures varied geographically, and depended upon the simulated genotypic properties....
An analysis on landscape level was performed to investigate the growth of Scots pine stands (Pinus sylvestris L.) in the research area of 'Duebener Heide' under the impact of rapidly changing pollution loads and to evaluate their further development. Central to the work was a spatial database, installed using a geographic information system (GIS). This database enabled the statistical analysis of relationships and correlations between the growth of the pine stands, the influence of pollution impacts and the natural site characteristics. The results of emission and immission modelling gave detailed evaluation of the pollution load over the investigated area. The spatial information database was linked with a process-based growth model called FORSANA. The resulting regional model was used to simulate forest growth on stand level for variable time periods. The plausibility of the ...
Abstract Aim- Two alternative hypotheses attempt to explain the upper elevation limit of tree lines world-wide, the carbon-limitation hypothesis (CLH) and the growth-limitation hypothesis (GLH); the altitudinal decrease of temperature is considered the driver constraining either carbon gain or growth. Using a widely distributed tree line species (Nothofagus pumilio) we tested whether tree line altitude is explained by the CLH or the GLH, distinguishing local from global effects. We elaborated expectations based on most probable trends of carbon charging with altitude according to both hypotheses, considering the alternative effects of drought. Location- Two climatically contrasting tree line ecotones in the southern Andes of Chile: Mediterranean (3654- S) and Patagonia (4604- S). Methods- ...
Olive tree (Olea european L.) cultivation, the major tree crops in Mediterranean countries is being extended to irrigated lands. However, the limited water availability, the severe climatic conditions and the increased need for good water quality for urban and industrial sector uses are leading to the urgent use of less water qualities (brackish water and recycled wastewater) for olive tree irrigation. The aim of this work was to asses the effects of long term irrigation with treated waste water (TWW) on the soil chemical properties, on olive tree growth and on oil quality characteristics. (Author)
The impacts of the expected climate change on Finnish lake ecosystems were studied with the biota of the mesohumic Lake Paeaejaervi, southern Finland. Experimental conditions, from small-scale experiments on single species level to a large-scale ecosystem manipulation, were established to simulate directly the future climate and/or loading of nutrients and dissolved organic matter (DOM) from the drainage area. The experimental studies were accomplished by modelling the carbon flow in the pelagic food web as well as the growth of littoral macrophytes. The main hypothese tested were as follows: As a consequence of the climate change (rising temperature and increasing precipitation) the loading of nutrients and dissolved organic matter (DOM) from the drainage area to the lake will increase. In the pelagic zone this will be first reflected i higher productivity of primary producers and bacteria, but will ...
Nearly 3 billion additional urban dwellers are forecasted by 2050, an unprecedented wave of urban growth. While cities struggle to provide water to these new residents, they will also face equally unprecedented hydrologic changes due to global climate change. Here we use a detailed hydrologic model, demographic projections, and climate change scenarios to estimate per-capita water availability for major cities in the developing world, where urban growth is the fastest. We estimate the amount of water physically available near cities and do not account for problems with adequate water delivery or quality. Modeled results show that currently 150 million people live in cities with perennial water shortage, defined as having less than 100 L per person per day of sustainable surface and groundwater flow within their urban extent. By 2050, demographic growth will increase this figure to ...
The aim of this research project, funded jointly by SILMU and by the Agricultural Research Centre of Finland, was to evaluate the possible effects of changes in climate and carbon dioxide concentration on the growth, development and yield of field crops and on crop pests and diseases in Finland. The study focused on two cereal crops (spring wheat and spring barley), a grass species (meadow fescue), some common pathogens of cereals and potato, insect pests of small fruits and nematode risk of potato and sugar beet. The results of this study indicate the following effects on crop production of the `best guess` climate change anticipated for Finland by 2050: A lengthening of the potential growing season of 3-5 weeks. A northward expansion of about 250-500 km in suitability for cereal production. Increased yields of adapted spring cereals. New, longer-season cultivars would benefit from both higher temperatures and elevated ...
Abstract Global mean temperature is predicted to increase by 2 7 C and precipitation to change across the globe by the end of this century. To quantify climate effects on ecosystem processes, a number of climate change experiments have been established around the world in various ecosystems. Despite these efforts, general responses of terrestrial ecosystems to changes in temperature and precipitation, and especially to their combined effects, remain unclear. We used meta analysis to synthesize ecosystem level responses to warming, altered precipitation, and their combination. We focused on plant growth and ecosystem carbon (C) balance, including biomass, net primary production (NPP), respiration, net ecosystem exchange (NEE), and ecosystem photosynthesis, synthesizing results from 85 studi...
Ground level ozone concentrations, in combination with the prevailing climate, at the estate Oestads Saeteri in southwestern Sweden were estimated to reduce the yield of wheat and potato ranging between 5% and 10%. Occasionally, in years with the highest ozone concentrations and/or climatic conditions favoring high rates of ozone uptake to the leaves, yield loss levels above 10% may occur. Based on simple extrapolation, these ozone-induced reductions of crop yields at Oestads Saeteri represent a potential total annual yield loss in Sweden in the range of 24.5 million Euro for wheat and 7.3 million Euro for potato, respectively. A simulation of forest growth at Oestads Saeteri predicted that prevailing mean ozone exposure during 1993-2003 had the potential to reduce forest growth by 2.2% and the economic return of forest production by 2.6%. Using this value for extrapolation to the national level, the ...
This report presents the results of the BMBF-sponsored project Fundamentals and models for assessing the effect of climate changes on soil, plant development and the crops of an economically significant range of farm products. Its aim was to study, by means of the results obtained for winter wheat, the dependence of plant growth on temperature, radiation and water as well as nutrient supply for other economically important crop types. Building on this, process-oriented, climate-sensitive agricultural ecosystem models for winter rye, winter barley, sugar-beet and winter intercrops were developed, verified and, in some sites, validated. First scenario calculations served to demonstrate the climate sensitivity of these models. (orig./KW) [Deutsch] Im vorliegenden Bericht werden die Ergebnisse des BMBF - Vorhabens `Grundlagen und Modelle zur Abschaetzung von Klimaaenderungen auf den Boden, die ...
Bangladesh, it is by now well-known, is at the receiving end, in the literal sense of the term, of the global climate change and its potential impacts. She contributes very little to the current global emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The Emission Inventory under the present umbrella project, Bangladesh Climate Change Study (BCCS), has found that her annual emission of carbon has been only 3.99 mn metric tons per year. An earlier study arrived at exactly the same figure. The figures for estimated release of methane is far less firm. The estimated methane emission in 1990 could be anywhere between 1 million and 6 million metric tons. In any case the total emission is unlikely to be more than one-half of one percent of the global total. On the other hand, however, she faces specter of widespread and more frequent floods, more frequent droughts, cyclones and above all sea-level rise (SLR) which may inundate a substantial part of the country ...
Aerosol particles are ubiquitous in the troposphere and exert an important influence on global climate and the environment. They affect climate through scattering, transmission, and absorption of...Full Text Available
The large girth and immense size of the baobab has caused many to speculate about its age. Unfortunately reliable age estimates cannot be determined from growth rates as the girth varies in response to different moisture regimes. In a similar way, ages cannot be determined from ring-width measurements or X-ray densitometry as the absorbent nature of the soft fibrous wood and distortion upon drying prevent the application of these techniques. The Southern Hemisphere bomb radiocarbon curve was used to demonstrate that the rings of a recently-fallen baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) from Kruger National Park appear to be annual. The detrended C isotope values of finely-ground wholewood from another baobab specimen were found to be highly associated with January precipitation (r = 0.72; p < 0.01). This study demonstrates that high resolution information about past climates may be obtained by analysing the C isotope values from baobab samples ...
The large girth and immense size of the baobab has caused many to speculate about its age. Unfortunately reliable age estimates cannot be determined from growth rates as the girth varies in response to different moisture regimes. In a similar way, ages cannot be determined from ring-width measurements or X-ray densitometry as the absorbent nature of the soft fibrous wood and distortion upon drying prevent the application of these techniques. The Southern Hemisphere bomb radiocarbon curve was used to demonstrate that the rings of a recently-fallen baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) from Kruger National Park appear to be annual. The detrended C isotope values of finely-ground wholewood from another baobab specimen were found to be highly associated with January precipitation (r = 0.72; p < 0.01). This study demonstrates that high resolution information about past climates may be obtained by analysing the C isotope values from baobab samples even ...
It is currently unclear if the potential for West Nile virus transmission by mosquito vectors in the eastern United States is related to landscape or climate factors or both. We compared abundance of vector species between urban and suburban neighborhoods of Henrico County, VA, in relation to the following factors: temperature, precipitation, canopy cover, building footprint, and proximity to drainage infrastructure. Mosquitoes were collected throughout the 2005, 2006, and 2007 seasons and tested for West Nile virus (WNV) in pools of 10-50. Test results of mosquito pools were compared to average site abundance from 37 sites in Henrico County, VA; abundance was then examined in relation to ecological variables. Urban infrastructure was positively correlated with the abundance of Culex pipiens L./Cx. restuans, and our findings implicate combined sewer overflow systems as large contributors to Culex vector populations. No measure of urbanization examined in our study ...
In recent years the modelling of interannual climate variability has been studied, the atmospheric energy and water cycles, and climate simulations with the ECHAM3 model. In addition, the climate simulations of several models have been compared with special emphasis in the area of northern Europe
The conference was organized to bring together scientific and business people from Canada, United States, and Mexico to foster the protection and improvement of the environment and to promote sustainable development in the three NAFTA countries. The sessions are international cooperation and partnerships (panel discussion), markets, market access, economic instruments, venture and capital growth, economic instruments versus regulations, international financial institutions, partnerships and networks, government support programs (panel), acid rain, stratospheric ozone, smog and ground level ozone, innovative measurement methods, hazardous air pollutants, respirable fine particulates, climate change prevention technologies, pollution prevention technologies, indoor air technology, and posters. Selected papers have been abstracted separately.
We present an innovative approach to estimating residential irrigation water demand for a large metropolitan area using GIS data, weather station data, and a water budget modeling approach commonly used by plant scientists and landscape management professionals. An important question addressed by our study is how a growing urban forest affects the overall irrigation water demand of a semiarid metropolitan area. To estimate the amount of water required by residential landscaping, we consider water demand to be a function of the areal extent of residential landscaping (i.e. tree/shrub or turf grass), the water-loss rate for different landscaping types, the efficiency with which the landscape is irrigated, and local climatic factors (i.e. reference evapotranspiration and precipitation). We es...
Through their grazing activities limpets have an important role in controlling macroalgal abundance and as a result the structure and dynamics of rocky shore assemblages. Using two congeneric limpet species, with different biogeographic distributions, and whose ranges are expected to alter with climatic warming, we separated the magnitude of their grazing activity over time and the subsequent consequence for macroalgal growth.The northern/boreal limpet, Patella vulgata (L.), consistently grazed more than the southern/lusitanian limpet, P. depressa (Pennant), particularly during spring and summer when P. depressa was reproductively active. Individuals of Fucus vesiculosus (L.) that settled during this time were able to grow to a size where they escaped the grazing activities of P. depressa,...
The project is focusing on the formation and growth mechanisms of atmospheric aerosol and cloud droplets. Both aerosol particles and cloud droplets affect strongly on the atmospheric radiation fluxes by scattering and absorption. The droplet formation results from physical and chemical processes occurring simultaneously. The studies concerning the tropospheric cloud droplet formation, laboratory experiments with a cloud chamber and stratospheric cloud formation are summarized. The recent studies summarized in this presentation indicate that both aerosol particles and cloud droplets have a significant role in climatic change and ozone depletion problems. The anthropogenic emissions of gaseous and particulate pollutants change the properties of atmospheric aerosols and cloud droplets. The research in this field will be continued and more quantitative understanding based both experimental and theoretical studies is required
This research programme has been under way since 1990 to study the long-term synergistic effects of air pollutants and changing climatic conditions on the northern forest ecosystem and to increase the knowledge of climatic change and its consequences for the fragile northern nature. Ecological, physiological, morphological and biochemical methods have been used to study the responses of forest trees, dwarf shrubs, lichens and soil biology to environmental changes. The research programme is divided into four subprojects concentrating on different ecosystem levels. The subprojects are: (1) life, growth and survival strategies of northern dwarf shrubs under the pressure of a changing environment, (2) forest trees under the impact of air pollutants, increasing CO{sub 2} and UV-B, (3) susceptibility of lichens to air pollution and climatic change and (4) impact of elevated atmospheric CO{sub 2} and O{sub 3} ...
Oestfold Research has trough the project 'Climate accounts for disposal' for Waste Norway developed a model for calculation of net greenhouse gas emissions at the disposal of various waste types. The model is based on life cycle methodology according to the standard IS014044. This model has been used for plastic packaging in the project by adapting the basic values of specific conditions in the municipality of Fredrikstad. Oestfold Research has made an assessment of greenhouse gas emissions for the recycling and material recovery of plastic packaging from households in the district on assignment from Fredrikstad municipality and compared with the current solution where plastic packaging together with residual waste is used for energy utilisation. Based on the population in Fredrikstad and estimated amount of plastic packaging waste arising per household per year the difference in climate impact was analyzed and these scenarios ...
The basic feature in the functional ecology of any mire ecosystem is retardation of the effective decay of organic material resulting in a conspicuous accumulation of plant debris as peat overtime. The carbon accumulation process is slow, and climatic change may have an impact on the carbon cycle of peatlands, therefore, it has been of interest to study the rate of carbon accumulation by geological methods from dated peat strata. The approach is hampered by several facts. First, the mires vary enormously as to their vegetation and hydrology and hence their production and decay properties. It follows that a great number of study sites are needed. Second, the peat in mires expands both vertically and laterally, and this requires a spatial reconstruction of carbon accumulation within a mire basin. Third, simple geological methods cannot account for the actual rate of carbon accumulation in peat, and finally, an additional carbon sink in the mire ecosystems can be the ...
Quantitative trait loci (QTL) for growth traits, water use efficiency and tolerance/resistance against metals and herbivores have been identified. A hybrid F2 population originating from a cross between a Salix dasyclados-clone (SW901290) and a S. viminalis-clone ('Jorunn') was used for the different studies in this project. The growth response was analyzed in a greenhouse experiment with two water treatments, normal and drought. In addition, three field experiments with contrasting soils and climates were established. QTL specific for each treatment or field environment but also QTL stable over the treatments or field environments were detected. Each QTL explained from 8 to 29 % of the phenotypic variation depending on trait, treatment or field environment. Clusters of QTL for different traits were mapped indicating a common genetic base or tightly-linked QTL. Stable QTL identified for dryweight can be ...
The impacts of climate change on crop productivity are often assessed using simulations from a numerical climate model as an input to a crop simulation model. The precision of these predictions reflects...Full Text Available
Records of past climates contained in ice cores, ocean sediments, and other archives show that large, abrupt, widespread climate changes have occurred repeatedly in the past. These changes were especially...Full Text Available
The paper presents a review of the current state of knowledge on the likely impacts of extreme weather and climate events on coastal zones and small islands in the context of climate change. Possible response options, including prevention, preparedness and adaptation, are indicated.
Understanding the mechanisms by which climate and predation patterns by top predators co-vary to affect community structure accrues added importance as humans exert growing influence over both climate...Full Text Available
This dissertation evaluates recent proposals to include tropical deforestation into international climate change mitigation strategies. The research ... ...
... Top Ten Things You Need to Know About Global Warming and a note about why there is so ... create your own unit on climate change and global warming."...
An overview of climatic factors and impact relative to river ice engineering and science is presented. An explanation of the fundamentals of climatic change is followed by a review of direct and indirect climatic influences that govern river ice breakup and related trends. Known responses of river ice to climatic change and potential future changes to ice breakup processes are described along with the probable ecological and socio-economic consequences of these changes. Changes in engineering approaches to accommodate the present ice regime and predicted changes in climatic variables that affect river ice processes and reduce the vulnerability of infrastructure and ecosystems to climatic change are examined. Future research on the links between river ice and stream ecology is suggested to identify ecological concerns that may result from changes in river ice ...
'Energy Nation Norway' looks at Norway as an energy nation from both a national and an international perspective. Its purpose is to provide a basis for political and industrial decisions relating to the petroleum industry. The report is particular concerned with the petroleum sector, besides considering the Norwegian energy cluster from a broader perspective. The energy cluster has been and will continue to be a crucial vehicle for economic growth and the development of wealth in Norway. These are the report's main conclusions: The petroleum industry has played a significant part in Norway's economic development, the side-effects of which have benefited the country's entire population. The world's economic growth and wealth development require energy. In the next few decades oil and gas will continue to form a large part of the world's energy consumption. Norway has great ...
Selection of suitable species, which will survive the severe environment of low light, cool temperatures, and high winds, poses serious problems to revegetation programs in the Aleutian Islands. Selection must be based on adaptability of plants to the extremes of the Aleutian climate and, as realized more recently, on lack of disruption of the natural ecosystem. This places the emphasis on use of native species in revegetation. Elymus mollis Trin., American dunegrass, a dominant of the Aleutian dune community, was studied to better understand its potential for use in reclamation work. As the species occupies both beach and inland sites, an emphasis was placed on documenting its wide latitude of habitat occurrence. Community composition, dispersal, growth response, ecotypic variation, and nutrient relations were studied at two beach sites and two inland sites on Adak Island in the central Aleutian Islands in the 1977 and 1978 growing seasons. ...
Conventional methods of financing power generation, transmission and distribution in India cannot keep pace with the ever-growing demand. Alternative methods are discussed. Given the vast growth potential, funding can be by equity or debt capital or a hybrid of these. There is an urgent necessity to develop local capital markets as a source of funds since there are limits to how much can be derived from foreign investors, multilaterals and export credit agencies. The domestic financial institutions have raised large amounts for private investment in other sectors. With the creation of a proper climate and power companies set up with an attractive rate of return, sufficient capital could be forthcoming from both domestic and external markets for the power sector. In other sectors, Indian companies have been able to attract investment through Global Depository Receipts and Euroconvertible Bonds, for example. A key requirement for the power sector ...
Greenhouse gas mitigation strategies are generally considered costly with world leaders often engaging in debate concerning the costs of mitigation and the distribution of these costs between different countries. In this paper, the analyses and results of the design of a 100% renewable energy system by the year 2050 are presented for a complete energy system including transport. Two short-term transition target years in the process towards this goal are analysed for 2015 and 2030. The energy systems are analysed and designed with hour-by-hour energy system analyses. The analyses reveal that implementing energy savings, renewable energy and more efficient conversion technologies can have positive socio-economic effects, create employment and potentially lead to large earnings on exports. If externalities such as health effects are included, even more benefits can be expected. 100% Renewable energy systems will be technically possible in the future, and may even be economically ...
This book contains the Proceedings of the Conference on Climate and Water under the following groupings: Impacts of climatic variability and change-resulting from the changes in hydrological variables; Aquatic environment; Terrestrial environment; Coastal zones and navigation; Urban and industrial water supply and drainage; Energy production; Intropogenic changes of climate and water management problems; Flood potential; Irrigation and land drainage.
This book contains the Proceedings of the Conference on Climate and Water under the following groupings: Impacts of climatic variability and change-resulting from the changes in hydrological variables; Aquatic environment; Terrestrial environment; Coastal zones and navigation; Urban and industrial water supply and drainage; Energy production; Intropogenic changes of climate and water management problems; Flood potential; Irrigation and land drainage.
We tested two approaches to forecast species distributions while balancing the impact of climate change against the inertia promoted by other influential factors that have been forecast as not changing. Given that mountain species are presumed to be more at risk due to climate warming, we selected an amphibian, a reptile, a bird, and a mammal species present in the Spanish mountains, to model their distributional response to climate change during this century. The climatic forecasts were made according to the general circulation models CGCM2 and ECHAM4 and to the A2 and B2 emission scenarios. We modelled the response of the species to spatial, topographic, human, and climatic variables separately. In our first approach, we compared each of these single-factor models using the Akaike Inform...
The report examines the scientific progress which has been made over the past years on the climate change issue. It examines shifts in emphasis on climate change debates and the implications of scientific uncertainty for the policy maker. Information on the impact of climate on various sectors, such as agriculture and coastal zones is also provided, as well as a case study on the UK. Regional impacts of climate change and associated economic implications are considered. The report also documents some different considerations for a climate change policy in the context of the latest meeting of contracting parties to the Un Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Kyoto in December 1997. The report is divided into five sections: Introduction; Scientific progress; Climate change policy - the dilemma with implementation; Summary and ...
Analyzing various SBLOCA with high pressure safety injection (HPSI) at VVER-440/213, we met a surprising phenomenon - a 'natural' circulation post SG heat transfer reversal. This is not usual, because normal natural circulation (NC) in primary circuit is connected with positive heat transfer at SG. If there is reverse heat transfer at SG (as soon as the break enthalpy outflow is sufficient for removal of reactor decay heat), it should obstruct any natural circulation. The question was, what is the driving force of this 'non-standard natural circulation'. After all we revealed that force - it is the density difference between the colder water in reactor downcomer (cold water from HPSI) and warmer water in inner reactor (lower plenum, core, upper plenum). This phenomenon could be confusing for operating personal, because there would be an opposite temperature difference at the loop than by normal natural circulation (under ...
Analyzing various SBLOCA with high pressure safety injection (HPSI) at VVER-440/213, we met a surprising phenomenon - a 'natural' circulation post SG heat transfer reversal. This is not usual, because normal natural circulation (NC) in primary circuit is connected with positive heat transfer at SG. If there is reverse heat transfer at SG (as soon as the break enthalpy outflow is sufficient for removal of reactor decay heat), it should obstruct any natural circulation. The question was, what is the driving force of this 'non-standard natural circulation'. After all we revealed that force - it is the density difference between the colder water in reactor downcomer (cold water from HPSI) and warmer water in inner reactor (lower plenum, core, upper plenum). This phenomenon could be confusing for operating personal, because there would be an opposite temperature difference at the loop than by normal natural circulation (under non-standard NC conditions water is heated ...
As recently as 1950, 30% of the world's population lived in urban areas. By the year 2030, 60% of the world's population will live in cities, according to the United Nations 'World Population Prospects Revision Report' (2001). Urbanization is quickly transitioning communities from natural rural vegetation to man-made urban engineered infrastructure. This anthropogenic-induced change has manifested itself in microscale and mesoscale increases in temperatures in comparison to adjacent rural regions which is known as the Urban Heat Island Effect. The resultant change causes potentially adverse consequences for local and global communities. One of the great challenges facing our current generation of scientists and engineers is how to support the growth of new and existing urban centers in a sustainable manner. This is even more pronounced in arid regions, which will sustain the greatest rate of urbanization. This article is focused ...
Studies have indicated that many people misunderstand climate change. Equipped with a limited mental model they inappropriately use a pattern matching heuristics to analyze climate change and mistakenly believe that we can stabilize atmospheric CO2 by keeping anthropogenic emissions at current rates. Drawing on the findings from cognitive and developmental psychology, I argue that the widespread misunderstanding of climate change may arise from an error in people?s ontological assumptions. The pattern matching heuristics highlights correlations in shape and associates with a static mental model, both of which are effective for understanding objects. When people adopt the pattern matching heuristics, they may have implicitly treated climate change as an object. However, climate change belon...
An uncomfortable thermal climate, draft complaints and a bad airquality are often related to the climate installation. To avoid badfunctioning of the system a number of preconditions has to be fulfilledwith regard to design, planning and execution, adjustments, completion,control, maintenance and management of the installations. First threetypes of health problems in buildings are shortly discussed: buildingrelated illness, sick building syndrome and building or installationrelated complaints. Then some functions of the climate installationsare described: air filtration, filter classes and filter quality, aswell as investment costs for better filters. Next the causes for thecomplaints are dealt with: air conditioning, ventilation, air quality,and temperatures. Subsequently health affecting aspects in relation tothe climate systems are discussed: outdoor air pollution,microorganisms, bacteria (legionella ...
ObjectivesThe overall aim of this proposal is to make use of the unique opportunity afforded by the 2010 Amazonian Drought in order to quantify the basin-wide impacts of an intense forest fire season on above and below-ground carbon stocks and ecophysiological changes in forest functioning. The specific objectives relating to our research questions are: O1. Assess the causes and spatial extent of the 2010 drought in terms of basin-wide rainfall anomalies and water deficits and their relationship wi [continued...]DescriptionDespite an 82% decline in deforestation rates in Amazonia, fires are still on the rise. 2010 has been a year of severe drought and fire in Amazonia. Over the last months (July and August) the number of fire counts has reached 80% of the 2005 values, which was characterized as the drought of the century. Through the beginning of September, fire outbreaks have intensified in southwest Amazonia, including Brazil, Peru and Bolivia. This drought has been associated with ...
Stream temperature is an important physical characteristic of headwater streams that plays a critical role in the presence and health of juvenile salmonids. Headwater stream temperature was documented in two geomorphic settings on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, focusing on the variation in temperature induced by diffuse groundwater discharge and variable air temperature. Eighteen headwater stream reaches were studied in four watersheds, with 11 drainageway sites and seven discharge-slope sites. In drainageway sites, low-gradient streams flow through broad valleys with groundwater-fed fen wetlands; in discharge-slope sites, high-gradient streams flow through narrow valleys with groundwater-fed slope wetlands. At all 18 sites, hourly stream temperatures were measured for one year. At one drainageway and one discharge-slope site, groundwater temperatures, stream stages, and groundwater heads in the local groundwater flow systems were also measured hourly for a year. A process-based, ...
One of the main objectives of the Finnish Research Programme on Climate Change (SILMU) has been to assess the possible impacts of future changes in climate due to the enhanced greenhouse effect on natural systems and human activities in Finland. In order to address this objective, it was first necessary to specify the types of climate changes to be expected in the Finnish region. Estimates of future climate are conventionally obtained using numerical models, which simulate the evolution of the future climate in response to radiative forcing due to changes in the composition of the atmosphere (i.e. of greenhouse gases and aerosols). However, there are large uncertainties in the model estimates because current knowledge and understanding of atmospheric processes remains incomplete. Since accurate predictions of climate change are not available, an alternative ...
This is the final report of the Finnish Research Programme on Climate Change (SILMU). This report includes the final results and conclusions made by the individual research groups. The aim of this report is to lay out the research work, and to present the main results and conclusions obtained during the six-year work. The Finnish Research Programme on Climate Change (SILMU) was a multidisciplinary national research programme on climate and global change. The principal goals of SILMU were: (1) to increase our knowledge on climate change, its causes, mechanisms and consequences, (2) to strengthen the research on climate change in Finland, (3) to increase the participation of Finnish researchers in international research programmes, and (4) to prepare and disseminate information for policy makers on adaptation and mitigation. The key areas of the research were: (1) quantification of ...
Foreward: Preface; Introduction; The natural science of global climate change; Land and water use; Coastal zones and oceans; Energy and industry; Energy and social systems; Technological change; and Sponsoring organizations, International Advisory Board, and project participants.
This report examines the concept of climate surprise and its implications for environmental policymaking. Although most integrated assessment models of climate change deal with average values of change, it is usually the extreme events or surprises that cause the most damage to human health and property. Current models do not help the policymaker decide how to deal with climate surprises. This report examines the literature of surprise in many aspects of human society: psychology, military, health care, humor, agriculture, etc. It draws together various ways to consider the concept of surprise and examines different taxonomies of surprise that have been proposed. In many ways, surprise is revealed to be a subjective concept, triggered by such factors as prior experience, belief system, and level of education. How policymakers have reacted to specific instances of climate change or ...
To significantly improve the simulation of climate by general circulation models (GCMs), systematic errors in representations of relevant processes must first be identified, and then reduced. This endeavor demands that the GCM parameterizations of unresolved processes, in particular, should be tested over a wide range of time scales, not just in climate simulations. Thus, a numerical weather prediction (NWP) methodology for evaluating model parameterizations and gaining insights into their behavior may prove useful, provided that suitable adaptations are made for implementation in climate GCMs. This method entails the generation of short-range weather forecasts by a realistically initialized climate GCM, and the application of six-hourly NWP analyses and observations of parameterized variables to evaluate these forecasts. The behavior of the parameterizations in such a weather-forecasting framework can ...
In this college-level introductory text the authors outline the fundamental principles of meteorology. The text is divided into three sections: meteorology, regionalization of climate, and climate change. Numerous charts, graphs, and photographs are displayed with each subject. A glossary of terms is also provided at the end of the book.
To sensitize the public opinion and change the energy consumption habits, the ADEME (french Agency for the environment and the energy mastership) published a document on the climatic change problem and its consequences. A state of the art of the situation, the international agreements and solutions are provided. (A.L.B.)
Climate change is reshaping biological communities and has already generated novel ecosystems. The functioning of novel ecosystems could depart markedly from that of existing systems and therefore obscure...Full Text Available
The objectives for the financial sector with regard to climate change investments are to regard to sustainability policies, not just for itself, but also for borrowers and investment portfolios, and to assist in developing frameworks and products that will enable shareholders and clients to invest in commercial solutions to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Only half of the carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels stays in the atmosphere. It is thought that the oceans absorb the rest. To understand the world's climate it is necessary to know how the atmosphere, ocean and biosphere interact.
We investigated the deep-sea fossil record of benthic ostracodes during periods of rapid climate and oceanographic change over the past 20,000 years in a core from intermediate depth in the northwestern...Full Text Available
A conceptual climate model describing regional two-way atmosphere-vegetation interaction has been extended by a simple qualitative scheme of ecosystem adaptation to drought stress. The results of this explorative study indicate that the role of terrestrial vegetation under different forcing scenarios depends crucially on the rate of the ecosystems adaptation to drought stress. The faster the adaptation of important ecosystems such as forests the better global climate is protected from abrupt climate changes. (author) 1 fig., 3 refs.
...Climate Change : News Categories : Department of Energy and Climate Change Articles in Smart energy meters Results There are 2 articles listed in Smart energy ... meters DECC lays foundations for smart meters rollout A crucial step in delivering the UK's energy security and low carbon future was taken today ...Nuclear Prices Renewable energy Renewable Heat Incentive Saving energy and CO2 Science Smart energy meters Statistics Statistics and projections Transparency Wave and tidal Wind ...
Jim Rogers, president and chief executive officer of Duke Energy Corporation, examines how coal and climate change regulations can co-exist. He addresses the need for economically sound choices for future energy needs, which is complicated by what he refers to as 'the elephant in the room'climate change. He observes that new CO{sub 2} regulations would increase the USA's cost of generating electricity over time and result in higher prices for customers, and he advocates that a gradual, economy-wide, market-based U.S. climate policy is the best option. 1 ref., 1 fig.
The Conference on Building Design and Architecture organized by Swedish Council for Building Research Contents included articles on building physics, thermal-climate technology, and building location and planning.
Papers presented at a meeting on indoor and outdoor climates on sites polluted with volatile organic chemicals. The papers deal with the subject of evaporation of organic chemicals on the polluted sites in relation to the influence on indoor and outdoor climates. Themes dealt with are diffusion through soils and transport of pollutants from the soil into buildings. (AB).
''Climates of the Oceans'' deals with the atmosphere over the world oceans and provides a treatment not only of the climatic elements such as temperature, pressure, wind, precipitation etc., but also of the circulation of the atmosphere and its changes throughout the year. The connection between sea and overlying air is examined through studies of the water and heat balance. Numerous maps and tables illustrate the elements and their fluctuations over the water and on islands and coasts.
Understanding climate development in the central Andes is important in determining the relationship between mountain range uplift and climate change. Recent work along the western margin of the central Andes has led to the development of two competing hypotheses: 1) that climate change is directly responsible for uplift or 2) that uplift controls climate change. In the first scenario, uplift results from increased friction at the plate boundary due to sediment-starvation of the trench which is a function of decreased run-off (particularly post 14 Ma) due to global cooling. In the second scenario progressive uplift of the Andean Cordillera during the Miocene resulted in a strong orographic effect with a concomitant rainshadow west of the Andes. To determine the relationship between climate change and uplift it is necessary to ascertain precisely, when the climate ...
This document exposes the results of the fourth evaluation report of the working group II of the inter government experts group on the climatic change. This evaluation presents the today scientific understanding of the climatic change impacts on the humans and their adaptation ability and vulnerability. It is based on the GIEC evaluations and new knowledge added since the third evaluation report. (A.L.B.)
Abstract The potential impact of climate change on areas of strategic importance for water resources remains a concern. Here, river flow projections for the River Medway, above Teston in southeast England are presented, which is just such an area of strategic importance. The river flow projections use climate inputs from the Hadley Centre Regional Climate Model (HadRM3) for the time period 1960 2080 (a subset of the early release UKCP09 projections). River flow predictions are calculated using CATCHMOD, the main river flow prediction tool of the Environment Agency (EA) of England and Wales. In order to use this tool in the best way for climate change predictions, model setup and performance are analysed using sensitivity and uncertainty analysis. The model's representation of hydrological ...
Multi-millennial climate changes were relatively minor over the mid-late Holocene in the British Isles, because orbitally forced insolation changes were smaller than those at higher latitudes. Centennial climate variability is thus likely to have exerted a greater influence on the environment and human society of the region. Proxy-climate records from the British Isles covering the last 4500years are assembled and re-evaluated with the aim of identifying centennial climate variability reflected by multi-proxy indicators. The proxies include bog oak populations, peatland surface wetness, flooding episodes from fluvial deposits, speleothem annual band width and oxygen isotopes, chironomids from lake sediments and sand and dune deposition. Most proxies reflect water balance rather than temper...
One of the aims of SILMU, the Finnish Research Programme for Climate Change, was to produce information for decision-makers concerning climate change and its mitigation. One integrative project for this purpose was PAATE, an inquiry into the present state and future possibilities of interaction between researchers and decision-makers. The aims of the PAATE project can be summarised as follows: (1) to conduct a survey of the state of climate change research and climate policy in Finland, (2) to develop the interaction between climate research, policy makers and different societal organisations, (3) to acquire methodological experiences on the realisation of projects of this type, (4) to provide material for the final report of the SILMU project and for further action, and (5) to promote the rational development of climate policy. Methodologically, the PAATE ...
Nowadays climate change is one of the environmental problems in the global policy agenda. However, in countries like United States and United Kingdom the media started to report regularly on this issue in 1988. Since then many researches have been carrying out focused on how the media influence, along with other factors, public understanding of climate change through the media construction of the problem in several countries. Given the implications of social acceptance for design and implementation of public policies on mitigation and adaptation to climate change, the overall aim of this report is to review the status of the issue from a qualitative and quantitative approach. Qualitatively, media construction of climate change is described as the result of different processes taking place at macro and micro scales. Interactions among scientists, politicians, industry, the media themselves and the social ...
As a financial institution o the European Union, The European Investment Bank is working and to add substance to the commitments made by the Union and its Member States at Kyoto and subsequently at Johannesburg. Over the last two years, renewable energy sources have attracted funding of more than 1.1 billion from the bank, equivalent to 14% of the total loans granted to the energy sector 7.8 billion), compared to an average o 7.9 % over the previous five years. In order to obviate the detrimental characteristics presented by these investments from a financial viewpoint, in March, 2004 the bank set up a 'CCFF' (Climate Change Financing Facility) of 500 million. Additionally, along with the other financial institutions, the EIB is looking into he possibility of supporting the establishment of European carbon credit trading hubs. Where the economic assessment of these projects is concerned, the bank has decided to take account of external ...
The long-term aim of our research is to develop humidification-dehumidification desalination technology for farms in arid coastal regions that are suffering from salt-infected soils and shortages of potable groundwater. The specific aim of our current study was to determine the influence of greenhouse-related parameters on a process, called Seawater Greenhouse, which combines fresh water production with growth of crops in a greenhouse system. A thermodynamic model was used based on heat and mass balances. The dimension of the greenhouse had the greatest overall effect on the water production and energy consumption. A wide shallow greenhouse, 200 m wide by 50 m deep gave 125 m{sup 3} d{sup -1} of fresh water. This was greater than a factor of two compared to the worst-case scenario with the same area (50 m wide by 200 m deep), which gave 58 m{sup 3} d{sup -1}. Low power consumption went hand-in-hand with high efficiency. The wide shallow greenhouse consumed 1.16 kW ...
Interest in renewable and clean energies such as hydrogen has increased because of the high level of polluting emissions, increasing costs associated with petroleum and the escalating problems of global climate change. In the presence of a light source, a microbial photosynthetic process provides a system for the conversion of some organic compounds into biomass and hydrogen. Using Rhodopseudomonas palustris as a cell-factory, hydrogen photo-evolution was investigated in a photobioreactor (PBR) irradiated either from one or two opposite sides. Irradiating the photobioreactor from only one side, in the presence of malic acid, a reactor hydrogen production of 2.786 l(H{sub 2}) PBR{sup -1} was achieved. When the PBR was irradiated from two opposite sides, hydrogen photo-evolution increased to 3.162 l(H{sub 2}) PBR{sup -1}. Experiments were carried out using inoculum from either the retardation or the exponential growth phases. Using the latter, ...
Dams and reservoirs are among one of the most sensitive of all development Project, in terms of pervasiveness of their influence in altering the environmental conditions and resources. In the present study, major dams and reservoir projects are reviewed, from the environmental point of view. Dams and Reservoir projects bring about major changes in the immediate environment, thus affecting public health, settlements, farmlands, roads and historical sites. Impacts on human population and wildlife may be profound. Tropical diseases, involving fresh-water hosts or vectors in their transmission, are often common around new reservoirs. Large lakes create limnological changes, excessive evaporation, seepage, disturbance in water-table and increased tendencies of landslides and earthquakes. Micro climatic changes are possible, such as fog formation, increased cloudiness and modified rainfall-patterns. Retention of sediment results in silting up of reservoirs. Water ...
There are several concerns which bring to consider natural gas as a viable alternative to liquid fuels in transport. First, natural gas allows the curbing of global pollution in this steadily growing industry. Indeed, decoupling greenhouse gas emissions from transport growth has become a major issue in tackling climate change. Second, a more extensive use of natural gas would relieve city air quality, which is presently at levels harmful of human health. Nonetheless, this is just one side of the coin. The other side entails building a refuelling station network, and this carries financial requirements. The financing fraction holds a pivotal role in deciding whether natural gas for automotive purposes is an efficient solution. The final aim of this work is, therefore, to compare the natural gas advantages, stemming from avoided global and local emission, with the economic rationale of engaging in supplementary model network investments. A system ...
This paper presents efforts to date and prospective goals towards development of a modelling and analysis framework which is comprehensive enough to address the global climate crisis, and detailed enough to provide policymakers with concrete targets and achievable outcomes. In terms of energy efficiency policy, this requires coverage of the entire world, with emphasis on countries and regions with large and/or rapidly growing energy-related emissions, and analysis at the 'technology' level-building end use, transport mode or industrial process. These elements have not been fully addressed by existing modelling efforts, which usually take either a top-down approach, or concentrate on a few fully industrialized countries where energy demand is well-understood. Inclusion of details such as appliance ownership rates, use patterns and efficiency levels throughout the world allows for a deeper understanding of the demand for energy today and, more ...
During outbreaks, Microdiprion pallipes (Fall.) is the most destructive of the pine sawflies in Sweden. Its distribution includes most provinces, but damaging outbreaks have until recently occurred only in two inland areas in northern Sweden. These areas are characterised by high elevation, a harsh climate, and slow tree growth. The four recorded outbreak periods showed a 10 year periodicity. Outside these areas, a lesser outbreak occurred in 1988 to 1990, on the east coast (province of Uppland). Outbreak patterns, life history variation, and mortality factors were studied. Factors that may explain the distribution of outbreaks and the population patterns were identified.Experimental and observational evidence on the potential of various factors to influence fecundity, dispersal, and survival was evaluated. In the outbreak areas, there were few major population factors. Parasitism by Rhorus substitutor (Thunb.) was the largest cause of larval ...
Before large-scale anthropogenetic emissions the environmental factors have been rather stable for thousands of years, varying yearly, seasonally and daily in rather regular manners around some mean values. In this century the emissions of CO{sub 2}, sulphur and nitrogen from society to atmosphere are changing both atmospheric and soil environment at rates not experienced before. The fluxes to soil affect the contents of plant available nutrients and solubility of toxic compounds in the forest soil. Additionally, the chemical state of soil environment is coupled to tree growth, litter production and nutrient uptake as well as to the activity of biological organisms in soil, which decompose litter and release nutrients from it. Trees have developed effective regulation systems to cope with the environment during the evolution. The resulting acclimations improve the functioning of the trees if the environmental factors remain within their range of variation during ...
We describe the development of a fully coupled climate model configuration where the Community Climate System Model (CCSM) has been coupled with the VERDE (Visualizing Energy Resources Dynamically on the Earth) analysis modules that compute the response of the electric grid to temperature drivers. The VERDE model includes datasets characterizing the 26,500 sub-stations and 6,000 power generation stations fuel mix, efficiency, service areas, and future performance and these have been geo-located on a 1.4 degree latitude by 1.4 degree longitude CCSM grid (T85). The total electric customers have been computed using conversions derived from economic structure and population data. The carbon emissions per customer and the power generation in megawatts electric (MWe) have also been placed on reconciled 1 km, 4 km and the T85 climate model grid. The CCSM temperature for the present and future have been extracted from the ...
The extracellular domain of human fibroblast growth factor receptor (XC-FGF-R) was expressed in Escherichia coli. The protein was purified to homogeneity and the interaction with basic fibroblast growth...Full Text Available
This project employs multi-disciplinary teams to accelerate development of the Community Climate System Model (CCSM), based at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). A consortium of eight Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratories collaborate with NCAR and the NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO). The laboratories are Argonne (ANL), Brookhaven (BNL) Los Alamos (LANL), Lawrence Berkeley (LBNL), Lawrence Livermore (LLNL), Oak Ridge (ORNL), Pacific Northwest (PNNL) and Sandia (SNL). The work plan focuses on scalablity for petascale computation and extensibility to a more comprehensive earth system model. Our stated goal is to support the DOE mission in climate change research by helping ... To determine the range of possible climate changes over the 21st century and beyond through simulations using a more accurate climate system model that includes the full range of human ...
Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, the three Prairie provinces of Canada, and their economies strongly depend on the petroleum industry. However, climate change may have potential impacts on the sector that could reverberate onto the socio-economic fabric of the provinces. The petroleum industry in the Prairies is faced with a big challenge: how to adapt to the changing climatic conditions so that they maintain or improve their economic and environmental efficiencies. The attitudes of the different stakeholders concerning climate change and the appropriate measures to be implemented by the petroleum industry were obtained through a questionnaire-based survey conducted between February and June 2001. Based on the responses received, a Chi-square statistical test was applied to look at the complex interactions in the results. An analysis of a number of petroleum-related processes and activities vulnerable to ...
If climate changes are expected, their regional impacts are of special interest. Up to now (and in the near future) global climate models have been unable to deliver applicable results to describe the climate situation within a selected region (IPCC, 1995). That is why the description of the climate development in such an area must be realised by another possibility of creating meteorological data. Of importance besides is that the consistency in space and time and also between all meteorological parameters is not infracted. The used method proceeds on the assumption that the large scale changes of several meteorological parameters for a defined region calculated by a GCM can be regarded as correct as regards their tendencies. Based on such an assumption, long-term observed time series are prepared by statistical methods in such a way that they reflect the GCM-calculated changes by a scenario. The ...
Leading abstract. The goals of the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences (NTVA) are to promote research, education and development within technological and related sciences, for the benefit of the Norwegian society and for the development of Norwegian industry. Future energy policy and Global climate change are major issues in the Norwegian discussion today. The answers given have great influence on our industry and involve huge technological challenges. In the current situation NTVA wishes to contribute to the development of new technology. In 1998 the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences organized the seminar ''Do We Understand Global Climate Change''. NTVA have now followed this up with a seminar on the Energy System, one of the major sources of manmade greenhouse gases. The world's demand for energy increases with improvements in our standards of living. The cleaning of emissions ...
In the framework of the negotiations on the climatic changes, beginning at Rio in 1992, the France received an UN conference from the 4 to 15 of september 2000. This conference determined the necessary actions for the Kyoto protocol validation. This document presents in two part the program of these days. The first part is devoted to the world government policy and the second part defines the french actions decided to fight against the climatic change. A glossary of the main terms adapted to the climatic change domain, is also provided. (A.L.B.)
... Areas of Consultation: All Areas About DECC Bioenergy Carbon capture & storage Carbon Reduction Commitment Climate Change Agreements CRC energy efficiency scheme Development, consents and planning reform Electricity Electricity network Emissions Emissions trading Energy markets Energy network Energy security Feed-in Tariffs Fuel poverty Funding and support Gas Governance Green Deal Hydroelectricity International climate change International energy Legislation Low-carbon Microgeneration News Nuclear Oil Renewable energy Saving energy and CO2 Site Wide Footer Smart ...
The thawing of permafrost regions is supposed to increase climatic change processes due to the released methane. During the last decades the temperature of permafrost soils has increased by several tenths of degree up to 2 deg C. It is supposed that 10 to 20% of the permafrost regions will thaw during the next 100 years. The southern boundary of the permafrost region will move several hundred kilometers toward the north. Besides the increased risk for the climate system there will also be disadvantageous consequences for the ecosystems. Negative economic consequences are already observed and will be enhanced in the futures with significant cost for the public.
In 2009, the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program and the Climate Change Prediction Program (CCPP) have been asked to produce joint science metrics. For CCPP, the second quarter metrics are reported in Evaluation of Simulated Precipitation in CCSM3: Annual Cycle Performance Metrics at Watershed Scales. For ARM, the metrics will produce and make available new continuous time series of radiative fluxes based on one year of observations from Barrow, Alaska, during the International Polar Year and report on comparisons of observations with baseline simulations of the Community Climate System Model (CCSM).
Information about the greenhouse effect, the role of greenhouse gases in global climate change, levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and references....
The agricultural sector is probably the one that will suffer most directly from the climatic variations expected at the global level. In particular, the analysis of the changes expected in water availability and demand is fundamental in order to correctly establish both the present water resource management and the definition of new strategies. In this paper the time series of some climatic and agro-climatic indices in the Region of Umbria (Central Italy) have been analyzed with the aim of finding signs of climate changes and identifying the potential impacts on the agricultural water balance. The aforesaid indices include the precipitation, the mean maximum and minimum temperatures (Tmin, Tmax), the mean temperature range (DT), the reference evapotranspiration (ET0) and two drought indice...
Programs & Services Technical Resources Land Use Soils Water Snow Survey & Water Supply Water Management Water Quality Watersheds Wetlands Air Plants & Animals Energy Climate...
Climex climate-matching and inferential-modelling was used to examine the naturalisation potential of genetically modified and non-transgenic Upland Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum variety hirsutum) in Australia north of latitude 22degreeS. The Climate-Match (CM) function was used to identify locations in north-east Australia where climate matches (CM Index>0.7) the experimental sites of Eastick [Eastick, R., 2002. The Potential Weediness of Transgenic Cotton in Northern Australia. Northern Territory Department of Business, Industry and Resource Development Technical Bulletin No. 305 (Internet resource: http://cotton.pi.csiro.au/Assets/PDFFiles/TB3051.pdf)] in north-west Australia. Most of Australia north of 22degreeS had climate matching one or more of the sites of Eastick (2002), locations wh...
...policy issues global warming global climate change ? there's a famous hockey ...global warming the greatest hopes for betray them and kind of forgotten ...
Estimates of climate change impacts are plague with uncertainties from many physical, biological, and social-economic processes. Among the urgent research priorities, more comprehensive assessments of impacts that better represent the uncertainties are needed. Here, we develop a new super-ensemble-based probabilistic projection approach to account for the uncertainties from CO2 emission scenarios, climate change scenarios, and biophysical processes in impact assessment model. We demonstrate the approach in addressing the probabilistic changes of maize production in the North China Plain in future. The new process-based general crop model, MCWLA [Tao, F., Yokozawa, M. Zhang, Z., 2009. Modelling the impacts of weather and climate variability on crop productivity over a large area: a new proc...
The national energy research programme LVIS-2000: Future Building Services is concerned with the control of energy use and indoor climate in buildings of the future. The projects were presented at a one day seminar arranged by the Laboratory of Heating and Ventilation of the Technical Research Centre in Finland which is coordinating the programme. The presentations at the seminar were: Impurity emission from materials, Building materials and indoor air quality, analysis of organic compounds in indoor air, effect of the return air, effect of the return air on health and comfort, electric heating as an indoor climate factor, calculations of air flows in ventilated rooms, effect of energy saving measures on hospital hygiene, application of modern aerosol measurement technique on indoor climate research.
activities, including the combustion of diesel fuel in heavy-duty vehicles and jet fuel in aircrafts. Current details on emissions from the transportation and other...
... 2. Help women become accepted by providing job-related training, creating flexible work groups with good climates, and encourage supervisors to ...
Report) A Screening Assessment of the Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Mitigation in the Great Lakes and New England Regions (Final Report)...
Wildlife Refuge, CA Rare and endangered endemic plants Diana Anderson Northern Arizona University Geomorphology Kathryn Thomas USGS, Flagstaff, AZ Vegetation dynamics John...
Climate variability greatly affects animals through direct and indirect effects. Animals with slow reproductive adaptation to ecological changes such as large mammals are likely to have evolved mechanisms to anticipate early such impacts of climate variability on the environment. One of the adaptive mechanisms between reproductive costs and benefits in mammals affects parental investment through biases in sex ratio. Deer might be likely to show an early detection of climate variability because conception takes place in early autumn, but the main raising cost in deer concerns lactation, which takes place at the end of the following spring. The aim of this paper is to assess whether there is a relationship between global indices of climate variability such as El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (EN...
... Using a weighted linear regression on randomly selected coincident SSM/I-buoy pairs from each of the climate m codes, it was possible to produce ...
A parallel event to the eleventh Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change was held to demonstrate examples of adaptation from around the world in the areas of food security, water resources, coastal zones, and communities/infrastructure. Panels on each theme presented examples from developing countries, countries in economic transition, and developed countries. These 4 themes were chosen because both mitigation and adaptation are essential to meeting the challenge of climate change. The objective of the event was to improve the knowledge of Canada's vulnerabilities to climate change, identify ways to minimize the negative effects of future impacts, and explore opportunities that take advantage of any positive impacts. This third session focused on how coastal communities are adapting to climate change in such places as Quebec, the Caribbean, and ...
The study has analysed the effects of various factors on hydroelectric power generation potential to include climate change/variability, water demand, and installation of proposed hydroelectric power schemes in the Zambezi River Basin. An assessment of historical (1970?2000) power potential in relation to climate change/variability at existing hydro electric power schemes(Cahora Bassa, Kariba, Kafue Gorge and Itezhi-Tezhi) in the Zambezi River Basin was conducted. The correlation of hydroelectric power potential with climate change/variability aimed at observing the link and extent of influence of the latter on the former was investigated. In order to predict the future outlook of hydro electric power potential, General Circulation Models (GCM) were used to generate projected precipitation...
...that the term global warming is actually misleading because ...global warming here ...a global warming of point seven four degrees in a hundred-years ...
After the introduction Chapter 2 presents details of the ecological-economic analysis based on the FAO/IIASA agro-ecological zones (AEZ) approach for evaluation of biophysical limitations and agricultural production potentials, and IIASA's Basic Linked System (BLS) for analyzing the world's food economy and trade system. The BLS is a global general equilibrium model system for analyzing agricultural policies and food system prospects in an international setting. BLS views national agricultural systems as embedded in national economies, which interact with each other through trade at the international level. The combination of AEZ and BLS provides an integrated ecological-economic framework for the assessment of the impact of climate change. We consider climate scenarios based on experiments with four General Circulation Models (GCM), and we assess the four basic socioeconomic development pathways and emission scenarios as ...
The Canadian wind energy industry is experiencing rapid and unprecedented growth. The year 2006 saw the installation of 534 MW of wind energy across Canada, representing approximately $1 billion in new investment. It is anticipated that the wind energy industry will help to create jobs and training opportunities for many Canadians, as well as provide ongoing economic benefits to local communities through municipal tax and land lease payments. However, many challenges remain if Canada is to meet, or exceed, its objective of a total of 10,000 MW in installed wind energy by 2015. This conference provided a forum for wind industry member, academics and representatives of both governmental and non-governmental agencies to discuss issues related to wind energy development. The conference was divided into 3 streams. The policy stream examined issues related to the Canadian Wind Power Production Incentive (WPPI) program, as well as various federal policies regarding ...
This paper examines the role that carbon dioxide capture and storage technologies could play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions if a significant unconventional fuels industry were to develop within the United States. Specifically, the paper examines the potential emergence of a large scale domestic unconventional fuels industry based on oil shale and coal-to-liquids (CTL) technologies. For both of these domestic heavy hydrocarbon resources, this paper models the growth of domestic production to a capacity of 3 MMB/d by 2050. For the oil shale production case, we model large scale deployment of an in-situ retorting process applied to the Eocene Green River formation of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming where approximately 75% of the high grade oil shale resources within the United States lies. For the CTL case, we examine a more geographically dispersed coal-based unconventional fuel industry. This paper examines the performance of these industries under two ...
This current world population has significantly added to the pressures placed upon our finite resources and our resulting ability to feed ourselves. In order to cope with current and future demands, the two established lines of action, that is, reduced population growth and expansion of agricultural production, must be supplemented with the parallel activity of reducing food losses during and after harvest. For developing countries in particular, enormous post-harvest losses result from spillage, contamination, pests and physiological deterioration during storage. Studies in these countries indicate that post-harvest losses are enormous and amount to tens of millions of tons per year valued at billions of dollars. Programs to reduce post-harvest losses, if applied properly, can result in realistic yield increases between 10 and 30%, which can be directly converted into increased consumption for humans. Post-harvest losses vary greatly and are a function of the crop ...
The report shows that in Europe mountain regions, coastal zones, wetlands and the Mediterranean region are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Although there could be some positive effects, many impacts are likely to be adverse. Existing adaptive measures are concentrated in flood defence, so there is considerable scope for adaptation planning and implementation in other areas, such as public health, water resources and management of ecosystems. (au)
In this work, the thermodynamic behaviour of single-stage horizontal spray coolers with one or more spray levels is experimentally examined. Further, a spray cooler calculation model was developed, in order to describe the processes and to make a comparison of the results of calculation and measurement. The state of the mine climate and the cold water are taken as the thermodynamic reference. (orig.).
The climate modeling community has focused recently on improving our understanding of certain processes, such as cloud feedbacks and ocean circulation, that are deemed critical to climate-change prediction. Although attention to such processes is warranted, emphasis on these areas has diminished a general appreciation of the role played by the large-scale dynamics of the extratropical atmosphere. Lack of interest in extratropical dynamics may reflect the assumption that these dynamical processes are a non-problem as far as climate modeling is concerned, since general circulation models (GCMs) calculate motions on this scale from first principles. Nevertheless, serious shortcomings in our ability to understand and simulate large-scale dynamics exist. Partly due to a paucity of standard GCM diagnostic calculations of large-scale motions and their transports of heat, momentum, potential vorticity, and moisture, a comprehensive ...
... Carbon capture and storage Waste Prevention and Recycling EU clean air strategy Environmental liability: Applying the 'polluter pays' principle What goes around ...comes around: Recycling and climate change Behind closed doors: Air quality in buildings Keeping cool with refrigerants: The F-gas review Regions fighting climate ...
...Simplification of the scheme - Department of Energy and Climate Change simplification, crc energy efficiency scheme Simplification of the scheme Simplification of the CRC Energy ...Efficiency Scheme The Government is considering the simplification of the CRC in the light of experience since the scheme began in April 2010. ...will take into account feedback from stakeholders including: the effectiveness of the CRC framework for driving energy efficiency in large private and public sector ... The perceived complexity of the CRC scheme and hence the administrative burden on: - those organisations that are subject to ...
The study reported was conducted to evaluate water source community heat pump systems for possible installation to serve a number of homes which are to be constructed in the northeast section of Radisson, New York. Although specific sites and facilities have been evaluated, it is the intent of this study to be site specific only to the extent of climatic conditions. In other words, the results of this study should apply to any area with similar climate.
Most prior climate change assessments for U.S. agriculture have focused on major world food crops such as wheat and maize. While useful from a national and global perspective, these results are not particularly relevant to the Northeastern U.S. agriculture economy, which is dominated by dairy milk production, and high-value horticultural crops such as apples (Malus domestica), grapes (vitis vinifera), sweet corn (Zea mays var. rugosa), cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata), and maple syrup (sugar maple, Acer saccharum). We used statistically downscaled climate projections generated by the HadCM3 atmosphere-ocean general circulation model, run with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change future emissions scenarios Alfi (higher) and B1 (lower), to evaluate several climate thresholds of direct relevance to agriculture in the region. A longer (frostfree) growing season could create new opportunities ...
Since the oil prices decreased during June 2008, many uncertainties drive the energy markets. The author aims to analyze the future battles around the the dying resources, taking into account that the alternatives sources will need time to develop. The author analyzes also the relation energy and climate in the preservation of the fundamental equilibrium. (A.L.B.)
This study was undertaken to determine the scope and focus for an integrated assessment of climate change impacts on, and adaptation options for, the Cairns Great Barrier Reef (CGBR) region. To achieve this, the authors employed both technical expertise and regional stakeholder input. This document describes the study objectives and the process used to meet these objectives, and provides an overview of the CGBR region, the views of technical experts on potential climate change impacts, stakeholder prioritisation of impacts and adaptation options, a list of perceived knowledge gaps, and a recommended structure for a future integrated assessment in the region. The aim of the study was to determine the scope and focus for an integrated regional assessment of climate change impacts on, and adaptation options for, the CGBR region. The key objectives of the study were: Define and describe the study region; Develop a process for ...
In the safety assessment of a high-level radioactive waste (HLW) disposal system, it is required to estimate radiological impacts on future human beings arising from potential radionuclide releases from a deep repository into the surface environment. In order to estimate the impacts, a biosphere model is developed by reasonably assuming radionuclide migration processes in the surface environment and relevant human lifestyles. Releases from the repository might not occur for many thousands of years after disposal. Over such timescales, it is anticipated that the considerable climatic change, for example, induced by the next glaciation period expected to occur in around ten thousand years from now, will have a significant influence on the near surface environment and associated human lifestyles. In case of taking these evolution effects into account in modeling, it is reasonable to develop several alternative models on biosphere evolution systems consistent with ...
This critical review with 28 references examines absorption and emission in the v2 band of the carbon dioxide molecule at around the 15micron wavelength. The argument for additional infrared absorption, the enhanced greenhouse effect due to increased carbon dioxide concentrations, and radiation transport and increased emissions are discussed. Experiments studying the transmission spectra of pure carbon dioxide and carbon dioxide in nitrogen, and comparing them with the results of climate modelling using the HITRAN and GEISA databases, are described.
Studies have shown that Canada's national parks are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. A wide range of biophysical climate change impacts could affect the integrity of conservation lands in each region of Canada. This report examines the potential impact of climate change on landscape alterations and vegetation distribution in Canada's wide network of conservation lands. It also presents several ways to integrate climate change into existing conservation policy and adaptation strategies. Canada's conservation lands include provincial parks, migratory bird sanctuaries, national wildlife areas and wildlife protected areas. This is the first study to examine biome changes by applying an equilibrium Global Vegetation Model (GVM) to Canada's network of national park systems. Some of the policy and planning challenges posed by changes in landscape level vegetation ...
Cooperation for low carbon and energy efficient development is a high priority for France, in line with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. France contributes to tackling climate change by working with its partners on all continents to implement projects both to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to climate change. Within the framework of the Marrakech Accords, France also encourages the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol Clean Development Mechanism, in particular between French business and non-Annex I countries; this mechanism will facilitate the financing of mitigation projects and contribute to the sustainable development of host countries in the South. At multilateral level, France is a major donor. At a bilateral level, an initial analysis of cooperation projects which are strongly linked to tackling climate change identified public support of 136 millions ...
Climate change, and more specifically the carbon emissions from energy production and use, is one of the more vexing problems facing society today. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has just completed its latest assessment on the state of the science of climate change, on the potential consequences related to this change, and on the mitigation steps that could be implemented beginning now, particularly in the energy sector. Few people now doubt that anthropogenic climate change is real or that steps must be taken to deal with it. The World Energy Council has long recognized this serious concern and that in its role as the world's leading international energy organization, it can address the concerns of how to provide adequate energy for human well-being while sustaining our overall quality of life. It has now performed and published 15 reports and working papers on this ...
Maps of wind resources were used to develop a method of evaluating climatic changes and their potential impacts on wind energy resources. Global IPCC climate change scenarios were used to predict climatic conditions for the future, while past wind resource availability was simulated and validated using NCEP and NCAR reanalysis data as well as observed meteorological data from Environment Canada. The simulations were used to compare each 5-year period with a 50-year reference period. Regional scale climate change impacts were evaluated using a statistical dynamic down-scaling method. Advanced meteorological models were used to predict wind flow patterns across specific landscapes. The evolution of past wind resource availability was then simulated. Five-year wind resource simulations for a 50-year period were simulated at 25 km"2 wind speeds at 80 m above the ground. Average wind speed variations were ...
This paper explores the potential implications of climate change for the use and management of water resources in Britain. It is based on a review of simulations of changes in river flows, groundwater recharge and river water quality. These simulations imply, under feasible climate change scenarios, that annual, winter and summer runoff will decrease in southern Britain, groundwater recharge will be reduced and that water quality - as characterised by nitrate concentrations and dissolved oxygen contents - will deteriorate. In northern Britain, river flows are likely to increase throughout the year, particularly in winter. Climate change may lead to increased demands for water, over and above that increase which is forecast for non-climatic reasons, primarily due to increased use for garden watering. These increased pressures on the water resource base will impact not only upon the reliability of water ...
Remote sensing of vegetation phenology is an important method with which to monitor terrestrial responses to climate change, but most approaches include signals from multiple forcings, such as mixed phenological signals from multiple biomes, urbanization, political changes, shifts in agricultural practices, and disturbances. Consequently, it is difficult to extract a clear signal from the usually assumed forcing: climate change. Here, using global 8 km 1982 to 1999 Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data and an eight-element monthly climatology, we identified pixels whose wavelet power spectrum was consistently dominated by annual cycles and then created phenologically and climatically self-similar clusters, which we term phenoregions. We then ranked and screened each phenoregion as a function of landcover homogeneity and consistency, evidence of human impacts, and political diversity. Remaining phenoregions ...
Growth hormone (GH) has an important role in the regulation of hepatic LDL receptor expression and plasma lipoprotein levels. This investigation was undertaken to evaluate if these effects of GH on...Full Text Available
Target of rapamycin (TOR) kinases control cell growth through two functionally distinct multiprotein complexes. TOR complex 1 (TORC1) controls temporal cell growth and is sensitive to rapamycin, whereas...Full Text Available
Growth of the malolactic bacterium Leuconostoc oenos was improved with respect to both the specific growth rate and the biomass yield during the fermentation of glucose-malate mixtures as compared with...Full Text Available
Mice homozygous for the recessive gene achondroplasia (cn) aged 16 and 17 days and some homozygotes aged 22-34 days have disruptions in the growth of the proximal tibial growth plate which are due solely...Full Text Available
Background and AimsSecondary growth via successive cambia has been intriguing researchers for decades. Insight into the mechanism of growth layer formation is, however, limited to...Full Text Available
This book proposed that a post-2012 climate regime will need to balance the needs of all countries while aiming to prevent the potentially serious economic and social consequences of the impacts of climate change. Four elements were presented to support the emergence of an internationally acceptable approach: (1) the need to ensure sustainable economic development; (2) the effective development and penetration of clean technologies; (3) the establishment of an effective international carbon market over the long term; and (4) the integration of adaptation in development and natural resource management decision-making. A series of discussion papers were presented which reviewed options on how best to create an effective and inclusive international climate regime that will achieve large reductions in global emissions and equitably reflect the diverse circumstances of countries while promoting sustainable economic development. ...
In developing countries with rapidly growing economies, energy consumption will more than triple by 2030. This will require more than 8 trillion euros in investments in energy in these countries. The way these investments are made will be crucial in determining whether greenhouse gas emissions will rise proportionately. By creating a worldwide, lucrative market for clean technologies, countries can use the money they set aside for fighting climate change to stimulate large-scale private investment in clean energy production and efficient energy consumption. A well-functioning market ensures that money is invested where it will be the most cost-effective and will have the greatest impact in helping to solve a generally recognised problem. This also means making sure that innovations get to the market, so as to take advantage of economies of scale. The conference on 16 and 17 October 2006 in Amsterdam was the official start of the collaboration of governments, ...
The growth and development of rice (Oryzae sativa) seedlings was shown to be regulated epigenetically by a fungal endophyte. In contrast to un-inoculated (nonsymbiotic) plants, endophyte...Full Text Available
To express growth-related changes in physiologic or other functions in forms usable for kinetic modeling, we are interested in identifying regular relationships that take the form of simple mathematical...Full Text Available
Insect growth regulators (IGRs) are a class of new chemicals that interfere with maturation and reproduction in insects. Proposed hypotheses on the biochemical mechanism of action are presented herein....Full Text Available
6-Mercaptopurine (6-MP) inhibits the growth of. Escherichia coli B. Growth inhibition is ... reversed by subculture of the cells in 6-mercaptopurine- ...
There is conflicting evidence about the effect of parental consanguinity on fetal growth. Previous studies have not always allowed for other factors that are known to affect birth weight, in particular,...Full Text Available
Political leaders in numerous nations argue for an upper limit of the global average surface temperature of 2 K above the pre-industrial level, in order to attempt to avoid the most serious impacts of climate change. This paper analyzes what this limit implies in terms of radiative forcing, emissions pathways and abatement costs, for a range of assumptions on rate of ocean heat uptake and climate sensitivity. The primary aim is to analyze the importance of ocean heat uptake for radiative forcing pathways that temporarily overshoot the long-run stabilization forcing, yet keep the temperature increase at or below the 2 K limit. In order to generate such pathways, an integrated climate-economy model, MiMiC, is used, in which the emissions pathways generated represent the least-cost solution o...
In the study, wind data from the Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (COADS) are used to determine atmospheric circulation changes which are empirically associated with the air temperature changes. Some understanding of the natural processes which produce climate change is anticipated from the study of these associations. Systematic changes of wind in US coastal regions with periods of climate warming and cooling suggest circulation changes, in addition to carbon dioxide-controlled radiation effects, could produce the climate changes indicated by air temperature. A statistical procedure for analyses of COADS was used to determine decade-period vector wind-field differences from the COADS record period. The statistical procedure for these analyses is explained and the wind differences are compared to summaries of mid-Atlantic coast island-station observations.
Greenhouse-effect induced climate change repercussions will, via the catchment areas of big rivers, eventually arrive in amplified form at the far downstream coastal zones of the world. In the coastal zone these imported problems will add to the locally exerted climate change effects, while the climate change induced sea-level rise will attack the coastal zone from the other side, both by flooding and by saline groundwater intrusion. These multiple problems will hit the coastal zone, which is already under increasing stress. The combined threats require fast and massive support for national Coastal Zone Management capabilities, which could help to limit the damage and to support planning for sustainable development. Recommendations are presented to facilitate implementation of Coastal Zone Management units in all coastal countries by the year 2000.
The spectre of major climate change caused by the greenhouse effect has generated intensive research, heated scientific debate and a concerted international effort to draft agreements for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. This report of Scientific Perspectives on the greenhouse problem explains the technical issues in the debate in language readily understandable to the non-specialist. The inherent complexities of attempts to simulate the earth's climate are explained, particularly with regard to the effects of clouds and the circulation of the oceans, which together represent the largest factors of uncertainty in current global warming forecasts. Results of the search for the 'greenhouse signal' in existing climate records aredescribed in chapter 3 (part two). Chapter 5 (part two) develops a projection of 21st-century warming based on relatively firm evidence of the earth's actual response to known increases in ...
Ozone is the most important regional-scale air pollutant causing risks for vegetation and human health in many parts of the world. Ozone impacts on yield and quality of crops and pastures depend on precursor emissions, atmospheric transport and leaf uptake and on the plant?s biochemical defence capacity, all of which are influenced by changing climatic conditions, increasing atmospheric CO2 and altered emission patterns. In this article, recent findings about ozone effects under current conditions and trends in regional ozone levels and in climatic factors affecting the plant?s sensitivity to ozone are reviewed in order to assess implications of these developments for future regional ozone risks. Based on pessimistic IPCC emission scenarios for many cropland regions elevated mean ozone lev...
The possible physical linkage between galactic cosmic rays intensity and the Earth's cloud cover is discussed using the analysis of the first indirect aerosol effect (Twomey effect) and its experimental representation as the dependence of average cloud droplet effective radius on aerosol index characterizing the aerosol concentration in the atmospheric air column of unit section. It is shown that the basic kinetic equation of the Earth's climate energy-balance model is described by the bifurcation equation (with respect to the temperature of the Earth's surface) in the form of fold catastrophe with two governing parameters defining the variations of insolation and Earth's magnetic field (or galactic cosmic rays intensity in the atmosphere), respectively. The principle of hierarchical climatic models construction, which consists in the structural invariance of balance equations of these models evolving on the different time scales, is described. ...
Understanding the impacts of climate change on viticulture is especially essential in those areas producing high-quality wines. In this work, we create an operational framework to investigate climate change impact on viticulture in the Tuscany region (central Italy) the viticulture industry of which relies on producing high-quality wines to compete in a global market. The framework includes (i) statistical downscaling of General Circulation Model (GCM) outputs for the period 1975?2099 to a local scale; (ii) the use of downscaling outputs as driving variables in specific simulation models; (iii) the spatial interpolation of model outputs to feed an economic and (iv) a quality model. The results show that as a consequence of a progressive increase in temperature and a decrease in rainfall, (...
During the past few decades, the basic assumption of agroclimatic zoning, i.e., that agroclimatic conditions remain relatively stable, has been shattered by ongoing climate change. The first aim of this study was to develop a tool that would allow for effective analysis of various agroclimatic indicators and their dynamics under climate change conditions for a particular region. The results of this effort were summarized in the AgriClim software package, which provides users with a wide range of parameters essential for the evaluation of climate-related stress factors in agricultural crop production. The software was then tested over an area of 114,000?km2 in Central Europe. We have found that by 2020, the combination of increased air temperature and changes in the amount and distribution ...
The research project started in April, 2008 before adoption of the cabinet report of the Federal Government to the German strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change. The German Strategy for Adaptation emphasizes the meaning of information about requirements for adaptation and the active involvement of all social groups in the other process of the strategy. For this the research project has made concrete proposals for the information, communication and participation of social groups. These proposals are based in the essentials on an interest analysis about interviews with stakeholders and the economy to their demands and expectations to the German strategy for Adaptation. Besides we have researched international examples for the adaptation to the climate change for the public relations. For the interactive development of the Internet platform www.anpassung.net concrete proposals were developed. (orig.)
Abstract The baobab tree, with more than 300 uses and commercial value in EU and United States, has been identified as one of the most important trees to be conserved and domesticated in Africa. A decline in baobab populations because of changes in climate could have a negative effect on African livelihoods. Therefore, it is important to study the potential future distribution of this species and determine strategies for conservation. We used Maxent, 480 geo-referenced records, present and future climatic and soil layers. Different general circulation models and scenarios were selected. Models were simulated for (i) All records, (ii) East Africa and (iii) West Africa species records. For each combination, the proportion of the present habitat that might remain suitable in the future was de...
Forest gap models have been used widely in the study of forest dynamics, including predicting long-term succession patterns and assessing the potential impacts of climate change on forest structure and composition. However, little effort is devoted to predict forest dynamics in the high elevation areas, although they have the sensitive response to global climate change. In the present study, based on a modified height-diameter function, we developed a new version (FAREAST-GFSM) of the forest patch model, FAREAST for simulating the changes of subalpine forests. The observed data from the Gongga Mt. Alpine Station were also used to test model precision. With the improved performance of FAREAST-GFSM, we explored the impact of three warming scenarios on subalpine forest on the eastern Tibetan ...
A fast multipole transformation is adapted to the evaluation of summations that occur in global climate calculations when transforming between spatial and spherical harmonic representations. For each summation, the timing of the fast multipole transformation scales linearly with the number of latitude gridpoints, but the timing for direct evaluations scales quadratically. In spite of a larger computational overhead, this scaling advantage renders the fast multipole method faster than direct evaluation for transformations involving greater than approximately 300 to 500 gridpoints. Convergence of the fast multipole transformation is accurate to machine precision. As the resolution in global climate calculations continues to increase, an increasingly large fraction of the computational work involves the transformation between spatial and spherical harmonic representations. The fast multipole transformation offers a significant reduction in ...
Most households in low and middle income countries, including in India, use solid fuels (coal/coke/lignite, firewood, dung, and crop residue) for cooking and heating. Such fuels increase child mortality, chiefly from acute respiratory infection. There are, however, few direct estimates of the impact of solid fuel on child mortality in India. Methods: We compared household solid fuel use in 1998 between 6790 child deaths, from all causes, in the previous year and 609 601 living children living in 1.1 million nationally-representative homes in India. Analyses were stratified by child's gender, age (neonatal, post-neonatal, 1-4 years) and colder versus warmer states. We also examined the association of solid fuel to non-fatal pneumonias. Solid fuel use was very common (87% in households with child deaths and 77% in households with living children). After adjustment for demographic factors and living conditions, solid-fuel use significantly increase child ...
CLIMATE CHANGE Copenhagen: seal the deal ...2 OUR PLANET SEAL THE DEAL UNEP promotes environmentally sound practices globally and in its own activities. ...PaGE 30OUR PLANET SEAL THE DEAL 3
BackgroundDinoflagellates are unicellular, often photosynthetic protists that play a major role in the dynamics of the Earth's oceans and climate. Sequencing of dinoflagellate nuclear...Full Text Available
When faced with a harsh climate or inadequate food, some mammals enter a state of suspended animation known as torpor. A major goal of torpor research is to determine mechanisms that integrate...Full Text Available
BackgroundPlasmodium falciparum morbid and fatal risks are considerably higher in areas supporting parasite prevalence ≥25%, when compared with low transmission...Full Text Available
The Coastal Zone Sector of the Canadian Climate Impact and Adaptation Research Network (C-CIARN) was established to address concerns regarding climate change in coastal areas. Coastal zones are sensitive to increases in air, sea and ground temperatures as well as to variations in sea level, precipitation, ice thickness, and storm intensity. This report presents the results of a workshop which focused on how coastal communities will be affected by climate induced water level changes, particularly sea-level rise on ocean coasts and decreasing lake levels in the Great Lakes. The workshop addressed issues such as the effects of changing water levels on coastal infrastructure, utilities, community development, and the implications of changing water levels to human safety, cultural resources, tourism, and insurance. The workshop reviewed the current state of understanding on water level fluctuations resulting from ...
The article presents measures for the solution of construction-biological problems and for reducing the pollutant load of buildings. (HW) [Deutsch] Der Artikel berichtet ueber Massnahmen ueber Sanierung von baubiologischen Schwachstellen und Schadstoffbelastungen in Gebaeuden. (HW)
El Niño/Southern Oscillation related climate anomalies were analyzed by using a combination of satellite measurements of elevated sea-surface temperatures and subsequent elevated rainfall and...Full Text Available
Conference paper regarding research in freeze-protection methods that could extend market acceptance for passive solar domestic water heating systems in more northern climates if the U.S.
Glacier fluctuations exclusively due to internal variations in the climate system are simulated using downscaled integrations of the ECHAM4/OPYC coupled general circulation model (GCM). A process-based modeling approach using a mass balance model of intermediate complexity and a dynamic ice flow model considering simple shearing flow and sliding are applied. Multi-millennia records of glacier length fluctuations for Nigardsbreen (Norway) and Rhonegletscher (Switzerland) are simulated using auto-regressive processes determined by statistically downscaled GCM experiments. Return periods and probabilities of specific glacier length changes using GCM integrations excluding external forcings such as solar irradiation changes, volcanic or anthropogenic effects are analyzed and compared to historical glacier length records. Preindustrial fluctuations of the glaciers as far as observed or reconstructed, including their advance during the ''Little Ice ...
...this pathway study the following two focus modules (in addition to the six core modules) and carry out a research investigation within this theme: Agricultural Production Systems Considers the type of farming systems that have evolved globally in relation to the prevailing agro-climatic zones, the influences of economic factors ...
Approximately 400 people die from extreme heat each year in the United States, and the risk of heat waves may increase as a result of global climate change. Despite the risk of heat-related morbidity...Full Text Available
In the IEEE Marine Technology Society OCEANS 2009 Conference, Biloxi. October 26-29, 2009. Biloxi, MS. Al-Hamdan, M.; Estes, M.; Quattrochi, D.; Thom, R.; ...
There is general consensus that climate change has contributed to the observed decline, and extinction, of many amphibian species throughout the world. ... ...
provides global ocean-surface wind fields with more structures than numerical weather prediction (Geophys. Res. Lett., Vol 25, No. 6, 761-764). The NSCAT data sets was produced...
Each meteorological measurement reflects the conditions under which it was obtained, e.g. site, weather, and instrumentation. It is shown how the VOTALP Intensive Observation Periods (IOPs) were embedded in the climatic context of the summer months of 1996. (author) 1 fig., 2 refs.
Protected areas (PAs) dominate conservation efforts. They will probably play a role in future climate policies too, as global payments may reward local reductions of loss of natural land cover. We estimate...Full Text Available
Climate change-induced sea-level rise will have a disproportionate effect along the Gulf Coast shoreline for a number of reasons. This document describes ... ...
Increasing evidence of links between climate change, anthropogenic stress and coral disease underscores the importance of understanding the mechanisms by which reef-building corals resist infection...Full Text Available
The terrestrial biosphere can significantly affect the exchange of water and energy at the biosphere-atmosphere interface. Additionally, the land cover type can affect regional atmospheric chemistry and climate via biogenic volatile organic carbon (VOC) emissions and their formation of secondary organic aerosols. The broad goal of this study is to investigate the impact of land cover and vegetation changes on these specific chemistry and climate effects. The Common Land Model (CLM) is used to parameterize the biosphere-atmosphere interface over the Shanghai region in China. Phase 1 of this study, described in this report, generates input parameters for this model based on a time series of actual and derived parameters. Atmospheric forcing data are generated on an hourly temporal resolution based on a 20-year series of monthly and daily averages. Surface data, including land cover/land use and soil information, are generated for two scenarios: ...
...Goods: promote the protection of ldquo;natural parks and reserves, mangroves, reefs and lagoons,rdquo; and ldquo;expanding forest cover and tree integration with agricultural production systems rdquo;; climate change will be reduced through the trading of pollution permits under the Kyoto Protocol. Enhancing Disaster Management Capabilities:...
The current discussion on worldwide climate change suggests that the current situation is unusual or extreme, and that climate changes never - or hardly ever - occurred in the centuries before. The author discusses whether this is really the case, and whether air pollution abatement measures can really help. His answers are based on the findings of palaeoclimatology. [German] Verfolgt man die Diskussion um den derzeitigen Klimawandel, so gewinnt man den Eindruck, Aussergewoehnliches und Extremes wuerde geschehen, und man bekommt zudem ueber Beratungsgremien und Medien vermittelt, dass sich in den Jahrhunderten vor dem heutigen Klimawandel das Klima nicht oder nur wenig geaendert hat. Es wird auch der Eindruck erweckt, man koenne das Klima stabilisieren und durch Emissionsminderungsmassnahmen das Klima schuetzen. Ist Klimaschutz eine loesbare Herausforderung oder ueberschaetzen wir Menschen unsere Moeglichkeiten? Man kann versuchen, sich an die ...
The report was prepared for the IPCC by Working Group II. The remit of Working Group II was to describe the environmental and socioeconomic implications of possible climate changes over the next decades caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases. The scenarios used include the following features: an effective doubling of atmospheric CO{sub 2} between now and 2025-2050; a consequent increase of global mean temperature of 1.5-4.5{degree}C; an unequal global distribution of the temperature increase; a sea level rise of 0.3 to 0.5m by 2050. The impacts of possible climate change were assessed for the following: agriculture and forestry; natural terrestrial ecosystems; hydrology and water resources; human settlements including the energy, transport and industrial sectors; human health; air quality and changes in UV-B radiation; oceans and coastal zones; seasonal snow cover; ice and permafrost. Further action is recommended. 1015 refs., ...
It was recently reported that the proportion of dark-coloured Soay sheep (Ovis aries) in the Hebrides has decreased, despite the fact that dark sheep tend to be larger than lighter...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe southern African tick shell, Nassarius kraussianus (Dunker, 1846), has been identified as being the earliest known ornamental object used by human...Full Text Available
The German state of Sachsen is a synonym for brown coal production. The elections to the state parliament will decide the future of this echnology and of climate protection strategies like renewable energy sources. A renewables fraction of 82 percent of renewables-derived electric power may be possible by 2020. (orig.)
The issue of global warming was discussed with particular reference to the changes that may occur in the hydrological regime within the coming decades in response to predicted changes in climate. Flood events for the 2050 time horizon were investigated along with the consequences on water management and dam safety. Dams operated by Hydro-Quebec are used for flood control, water supply, recreational activities and hydroelectricity. As such, the electric utility relies on methods to evaluate the adaptability of current management plans to climate change. This paper presented the results of a study conducted at the Moisie River watershed, located in northern Quebec. The HSAMI hydrologic model was used to evaluate and compare the occurrences where stream flows and water levels exceed critical values in order to assess the effectiveness of management plans in both current and climate change scenarios. The study considered two ...
This article briefly comments on some stumbling-blocks to climatic change modelling accuracy - in assessments of the greenhouse effect, 25% (missing link) of atmospheric carbon dioxide absorption is still unaccounted for; 1989 World Bank estimates of the Amazon rain forest deforestation rate have since proven to be inaccurate; there are difficulties in assessing the movement of the earth's crust relative to variations in sea level; and different studies vary in results relative to global temperature measurement and trend assessment. The need for an assessment of the economic impacts of increased atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide is also pointed out.
For years, the writing has been on the wall about the impact of climate change on the people, plants, animals, and habitats of Latin America and the Caribbean. Now, day-to-day experiences and eye-witness accounts from leading environmental and development groups are proving predictions to be correct. In the late 1990s, the world's pre-eminent group of climate scientists gathered under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and predicted a devastating range of impacts, including an increase in the intensity and number of extreme weather events exacerbating natural disasters, forest die-off, melting glaciers, and the drying out of temperate grasslands. The region's huge geographical diversity means that patterns of vulnerability to climate change are extremely varied. It also makes modelling difficult, although this is constantly improving. To avoid misunderstanding, it is ...
The purpose of the project was to evaluate the potential influence of global warming on the Finnish economy and well-being during the next 50 to 100 years. In order to achieve this goal a cost-benefit analysis was conducted which produced a quantitative estimate of the economic and partially non-economic effects of the climate change projected to happen in Finland. The analysis utilised the natural scientific evidence produced by other SILMU projects in partial sector models. Also a broader view of the phenomena and the possibilities for restricting greenhouse gas emissions was briefly discussed and surveyed. Two of the more important side-goals were to develop the methodology for country analysis and study the possibilities for adaptation
This paper explores the feasibility of integrating energyefficiency program evaluation with the emerging need for the evaluationof programs from different "energy cultures" (demand response, renewableenergy, and climate change). The paper reviews key features andinformation needs of the energy cultures and critically reviews theopportunities and challenges associated with integrating these withenergy efficiency program evaluation. There is a need to integrate thedifferent policy arenas where energy efficiency, demand response, andclimate change programs are developed, and there are positive signs thatthis integration is starting to occur.
Both the nature of international climate policy architectures and the development and diffusion of new energy technologies could dramatically influence future costs of reducing global emissions of greenhouse gases. This paper explores the implications of interactions between technology availability and performance and international policy architectures for technology choice and the social cost of limiting atmospheric CO2 concentrations to 500 ppm by the year 2095. Key issues explored in the paper include the role of bioenergy production with CO2 capture and storage (CCS), overshoot concentration pathways, and the sensitivity of mitigation costs to policy and technology.
If trends from the past continue into the future, the major increase in the use of energy will come from the developing nations. If the industrialization of the Third World continues to be based on the burning of fossil fuels, the impact on the global climate from these sources alone will be substantial. Statistical information supporting the above statements is presented. The conclusion is reached that improving the efficiency of energy use is not sufficient to avert climatic changes. The accelerated and worldwide use of nuclear power is essential and, if prudently used, can become, contrary to the recommendations of the Brundtland Commission, the basic energy source fuelling future sustainable developments of the world. (author).
... For example, one study used aerial photographs and on-ground observation to determine that Kenai Peninsula in Alaska has been losing wetlands to a dryer, wooded landscape since at least 1950, which has also meant a reduction in habitat for migratory birds, many of which are favorites for birdwatchers (National Research Council of Canada, 2005). In the Arctic, important breeding and nesting areas for migratory birds may be lost, affecting bird watching opportunities at various latitudes in the U.S. (Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, ...
...Fransman - University of Edinburgh Patents: The next battleground for climate change - 07 May 2008 - Alison Brimelow - European Patents Office (EPO) Rethinking the EU budget - 23 Apr 2008 - Daniel Gros - Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) US needs a 'Science White House' - 23 Apr 2008 - David Baltimore - American Association for the Advancement of Science Addressing consumer concerns about climate change - 14 Apr 2008 - Various Authors - McKinsey Why the internal market needs ...
Air conditioning is getting maximum attention these days when building new offices. For the new office building of the assurance company Zwitserleven in Amstelveen, Netherlands, a new air conditioning concept is applied, based on four existing air conditioning methods: cold storage and heat storage in the soil, heat pump, double-wall facades with integrated climate control, and radiant heating combined with a cooling system in the ceiling. The integration of these methods not only provides complete climate comfort for the employees but also substantial energy savings. 3 figs.,1 ills.
Renewable energy systems (RES) are unique among energy supply systems because their performance and design depends entirely on the location and climatic conditions. As a result of design options, user requirements and local climatic conditions, there are enormous variations between RES. This paper describes a method how to evaluate the data on monitored renewable energy systems (RES) in such a way that the operating conditions and performance of individual components and the system as a whole can be analysed and compared. It shows how categories of similar use can be defined and recommendations for each category can be made to assist in the selection of the most suitable products. (orig.)
The paper discusses the Intergovernment Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on Aviation and the Global Atmosphere (published in 1999). It was considered necessary to treat air transport on its own since aircraft are unique in delivering emissions into the upper atmosphere rather than at ground level. The study was commissioned at the request of the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the Montreal Protocol. More than 300 experts contributed and the report has quantified the effect of aviation on the atmosphere on a world wide basis and highlighted areas where improved data are required. (UK)
Herbivores and pathogens impact the species composition, ecosystem function, and socioeconomic value of forests. Herbivores and pathogens are an integral part of forests, but sometimes produce undesirable effects and a degradation of forest resources. In the United States, a few species of forest pests routinely have significant impacts on up to 20 million ha of forest with economic costs that probably exceed $1 billion/year. Climatic change could alter patterns of disturbance from herbivores and pathogens through: (1) direct effects on the development and survival of herbivores and pathogens; (2) physiological changes in tree defenses; and (3) indirect effects from changes in the abundance of natural enemies (e.g. parasitoids of insect herbivores), mutualists (e.g. insect vectors of tree pathogens), and competitors. Because of their short life cycles, mobility, reproductive potential, and physiological sensitivity to temperature, even modest ...
Transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta isoforms (TGF-beta 1, -beta 2, and -beta 3) regulate cell growth and differentiation and have critical regulatory roles in the process of tissue repair and remodeling....Full Text Available
Decadal-scale climate variations over the Pacific Ocean and its surroundings are strongly related to the so-called Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) which is coherent with wintertime climate over North America and Asian monsoon, and have important impacts on marine ecosystems and fisheries. In a near-term climate prediction covering the period up to 2030, we require knowledge of the future state of internal variations in the climate system such as the PDO as well as the global warming signal. We perform sets of ensemble hindcast and forecast experiments using a coupled atmosphere-ocean climate model to examine the predictability of internal variations on decadal timescales, in addition to the response to external forcing due to changes in concentrations of greenhouse gases and aerosols, volcanic activity, and solar cycle variations. Our results highlight that an initialization of ...
This paper gives a brief review about the state of knowledge on the distributional aspects of climate change impacts. The paper is largely limited to the distribution of impacts between countries (in Section 2). Although there are virtually no estimates reported in the literature, the distribution of impacts within countries is also important. Impact estimates for different sectors (agriculture, health, sea level rise) provides little guidance for estimating differential impacts within countries. It is even harder to find estimates based on social classes. The paper restricts itself to equity about the consequences of climate change. Equity issues about the consequences of emission reduction are ignored here, but should of course be part of a policy analysis. Equity issues about procedures for decision making are also ignored. The paper is organised as follows. Section 2 reviews recent estimates of the regional impacts of ...
Single crystal cubic boron nitride (cBN) was heteroepitaxially grown on a seed crystal of diamond under static high pressure and high temperature at 5.5GPa and 1,600--1,700 C, respectively, for 10--100 hour. A temperature gradient method was employed for the crystal growth by using lithium boron nitride as a solvent. Initial growth feature of cBN crystal was found on the diamond seed surface after the growing time of 10 minutes. The nucleation sites of the crystals seem to be near the etch pits on the diamond surface which were introduced by the surface dissolution by the solvent for cBN growth. Two types of growth features, island and step growth were typically shown on the surface. It can be seen that grown crystal appearing as a (111) nitrogen face was exhibited with the step growth feature, while the (11n) face exhibited the island ...
This report summarises nearly 20 biosphere reports and gives a synthesis of the work performed within the SR-Site Biosphere project, i.e. the biosphere part of SR-Site. SR-Site Biosphere provides the main project with dose conversion factors (LDFs), given a unit release rate, for calculation of human doses under different release scenarios, and assesses if a potential release from the repository would have detrimental effects on the environment. The intention of this report is to give sufficient details for an overview of methods, results and major conclusions, with references to the biosphere reports where methods, data and results are presented and discussed in detail. The philosophy of the biosphere assessment was to make estimations of the radiological risk for humans and the environment as realistic as possible, based on the knowledge of present-day conditions at Forsmark and the past and expected future development of the site. This was achieved by using the best available ...
Various chemical, physical, and mechanical methods to prevent unwanted deposition of mineral scale are described. The suitability of the different methods, which largely depends on the specific features and requirements of the system involved, is discussed. Special emphasis is placed upon the threshold treatment, where the growth process is retarded by the addition of trace amounts of growth inhibitors. Growth experiments have been performed on barium sulfate and calcium sulfate dihydrate seed crystals, suspended in a supersaturated solution with and without organic bisphosphonates as inhibitors. Two methods are selected for the analysis of the growth data. A degree of inhibition is defined to obtain a quantitative description of the influence of a growth inhibitor on the growth rate of the crystals. In addition the influence of the molecular structure of ...
Fatigue crack growth tests of three ferrite-pearlite steels with different size and spacing of pearlite particles, which were uniformly distributed in the ferrite matrix, were carried out to investigate the effect of microstructure on fatigue crack growth behavior in the Paris regime. The fatigue crack growth rates for the three materials did not coincide with each other, even when the crack growth curves were arranged by the effective stress intensity factor range. From in situ observations, crack tip stress shielding phenomena, such as interlocking and branching, were found on the crack wake, which enhanced fatigue crack growth resistance. A small size and spacing of pearlite particle seemed to induce small but frequent crack deflections, which resulted in crack closure phenomena. On the...
Naturally-occurring wetlands perform such functions as flood control, pollution filtration, nutrient recycling, sediment accretion, groundwater recharge and water supply, erosion control, and plant and wildlife preservation. A large concentration of wetlands is located in Eastern Europe. A significant amount of Eastern European wetlands has been converted to agricultural use in the past, and remaining wetlands are subject to agricultural drainage. Drained wetlands are used as prime agriculture lands for a variety of food crops. Other agricultural uses of wetlands range from growing Phragmites australis (common reed) for thatch and livestock feed, to collecting peat for heating and cooking fuel. Altered hydrologic regimes due to global climate change could further exacerbate encroachment of agricultural land use into wetlands. The vulnerability and adaptation studies of the US Country Studies Program are used to analyze where climate change ...
Geological carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) is currently seriously considered for addressing, in the near term, the problem of climate change. CCS technology is available today and is expected to become an increasingly affordable CO2 abatement alternative. Whereas the rapidly growing scientific literature on CCS as well as experimental and commercial practice demonstrate the technological and economic feasibility of implementing this clean fossil fuel option on a large scale, relatively little attention has been paid so far to the risks and environmental externalities of geological storage of CO2. This paper assesses the effects of including CCS damage costs in a long-term energy scenario analysis for Europe. An external cost sensitivity analysis is performed with a bottom-up energy technology model that accounts not only for CCS technologies but also for their external costs. Our main conclusion is that in a business-as-usual scenario (i.e. without ...
AIM: To investigate the effects of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) on the differentiation of colonic lamina propria fibroblasts (CLPF) into myofibroblasts in vitro.METHODS:...Full Text Available
Background and AimsIn spatially heterogeneous environments, a trade-off between seedling survival and relative growth rate may promote the coexistence of plant species. In temperate...Full Text Available
Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is an adverse pregnancy outcome associated with significant perinatal and paediatric morbidity and mortality, and an increased risk of chronic disease later in adult life....Full Text Available
The growth regulating factor CTGF/CCN-2 is an integral factor in growth and development, connective tissue maintenance, wound repair and cell cycle regulation. It has recently been reported that CTGF/CCN-2...Full Text Available
Norepinephrine stimulates the growth of a range of bacterial species in nutritionally poor SAPI minimal salts medium containing 30% serum. Addition of size-fractionated serum components to SAPI...Full Text Available
Objective. To determine relative influences of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and preterm birth on risks of cardiovascular, renal, or metabolic dysfunction in adolescent...Full Text Available
SummaryThe Hippo tumor-suppressor pathway controls tissue growth in Drosophila and mammals by regulating cell proliferation and apoptosis. The Hippo pathway includes...Full Text Available
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-specific monoclonal antibodies predominantly inhibit colorectal cancer (CRC) growth by interfering with receptor signaling. Recent analyses have shown that patients...Full Text Available
If bone strength was the only requirement of skeleton, it could be achieved with bulk, but bone must also be light. During growth, bone modelling and remodelling optimize strength, by depositing bone...Full Text Available
Staphylococcus aureus preferentially catabolizes glucose, generating pyruvate, which is subsequently oxidized to acetate under aerobic growth conditions. Catabolite repression of the...Full Text Available
During embryonic development, cells are instructed which position to occupy, they interpret these cues as differentiation programmes, and expand these patterns by growth. Sonic hedgehog...Full Text Available
Recent histological studies suggest relatively rapid growth in dinosaurs. However, the timing of reproductive maturity (RM) in dinosaurs is poorly known because unambiguous indicators of RM are rare....Full Text Available
Many growth factors and hormones modulate the reproductive status in mammals. Among these, insulin and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) regulate the development of gonadal tissues. SH2-B has been...Full Text Available
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) kinase domain mutations hyperactivate the kinase and confer kinase addiction of the non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumor...Full Text Available
Binding of epidermal growth factor (EGF) to the EGF receptor (EGFR) initiates signal transduction, ultimately leading to altered gene expression. Ligand-activated EGFR is also rapidly internalized...Full Text Available
Minoxidil induces hair growth in male pattern baldness and prolongs the anagen phase. All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) has been reported to act synergistically with minoxidil in vivo:...Full Text Available
Rat somatotropin (growth hormone) was labelled biosynthetically by incubating anterior pituitary lobes with radioactive amino acids for 24 h in a simple buffered salts medium containing glucose. The...Full Text Available
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) related therapies – mainly tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) such as erlotinib and gefitinib, but also monoclonal antibodies targeting EGFR, for example,...Full Text Available
BackgroundAlthough some previous studies have suggested that posttraumatic growth (PTG) is comprised of several factors with different properties, few have examined both the association...Full Text Available
BackgroundPolymorphisms in Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) gene may influence EGFR production and/or activity, thereby modulating susceptibility to lung...Full Text Available
Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is a potent moderator of soft tissue repair through induction of the inflammatory phase of repair and subsequent enhanced collagen deposition. We examined the effect...Full Text Available
Up-flow anaerobic attached-growth bioreactors filled with pre-treated coir fibres ...coir-fibre arranged in bottle-brush configuration bounded by a novel plastic binding technique ...-three anaerobic filter reactors in series -coir fibre as the bacteria growth media a sedimentation
The receptors for IGF-I (IGF-IR) and insulin (IR) have been implicated in physiological cardiac growth, but it is unknown whether IGF-IR or IR signaling are critically required. We generated mice with...Full Text Available
Insect growth regulators (IGRs) of the juvenile hormone type alter physiological processes essential to insect development and appear to act specifically on insects. Three natural juvenile hormones...Full Text Available
OBJECTIVE: We studied 22 dogs to examine the effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) alone, in comparison with omental or muscular wrapping on airway healing in a tracheal autotransplantation...Full Text Available
The effect of growth phase on expression of virulence-associated factors was studied by Northern hybridization in an M1T1 clinical isolate of Streptococcus pyogenes. Expression of M...Full Text Available
Bacteria have the ability to adapt to different growth conditions and to survive in various environments. They have also the capacity to enter into dormant states and some bacteria form spores when...Full Text Available
Growth of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis biovar diacetylactis was observed on media with citrate as the only energy source. At pH 5.6, steady state was achieved in...Full Text Available
Various factors affecting the aggregation of Actinomyces naeslundii strain 12104 were studied. When the pH of glucose-supplemented growth medium fell below 5.5, the cells aggregated and formed microbial...Full Text Available
This study explored posttraumatic growth (PTG), positive change resulting from struggling with trauma, among 7- to 10-year-olds impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Analyses focused on child self-system...Full Text Available
In the CNS, there are widespread and diverse interactions between growth factors and estrogen. Here we examine the interactions of estrogen and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), two...Full Text Available
Both deficiency and excess of growth hormone (GH) are associated with increased mortality and morbidity. GH replacement in otherwise healthy subjects leads to complications, whereas individuals with...Full Text Available
The electrical parameters that affect young seedling growth were investigated. Voltages ranging from 5 to 40 volts were applied longitudinally along the mesocotyl region of 4-day old Zea mays...Full Text Available
... Gastrointestinal Tract On the Growth and Development of Hymenolepis DiminutaKerry L. Dwinell, Paul Bass, Gordon L. Telford, ... central (CNS) nervous systems in the development of Hymenolepis diminuta usi...
We studied the dynamics of microbial communities attached to model aggregates (4-mm-diameter agar spheres) and the component processes of colonization, detachment, growth, and grazing mortality. Agar...Full Text Available
To determine the relative importance of different metabolites of vitamin D in bone growth and development, weanling male rat pups suckled by vitamin D-deficient mothers were given either calcitriol...Full Text Available
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a critical role in normal development as well as retinal vasculature disease. During retinal vascularization, VEGF is most strongly expressed by not yet...Full Text Available
The generation of available potential energy (APE) in the space-time domain in January and July in a present-day climate simulation with a general circulation model (GCM) is compared with observations. An attempt is made to explain the differences. The generation is computed from the fields of diabatic heating and temperature. The heating is computed with the residual method, using UKMO (United Kingdom Meteorological Office) Unified Model GCM circulation data and ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) initialized analyses for the period 1989-1992. The global value of the generation of APE is about 35% larger in the GCM climate than the value computed from the analyses. This is mainly because the generation of transient eddy APE in the GCM is too large, due to the more than 40% too large generation of transient eddy kinetic energy by baroclinic processes. In most of the extratropics the local contribution to the generation of ...
Johnson & Johnson has had a formal energy program since the early 1970`s. A corporate energy department was formed as a result of the disruption of energy supplies and rising energy costs. Johnson & Johnson is a decentralized company with many independent operating companies throughout the world. The corporate energy department cuts across the different levels of management to delivery energy related information to the actual implementers at all of our locations worldwide. Like many other energy programs, Johnson & Johnson`s program had highs and lows depending on worldwide energy activities. Unlike many other corporate programs that were disbanded in the late 1980`s, our program remained in place, although there was not a high level of interest or attention. In the early 1990`s, the link was made between electricity generation and greenhouse gas emissions, initially by the Green Lights program and strongly reinforced by the United Nations agreement and the U.S. ...
ObjectivesIn the long term, we aim to improve understanding of the relationships between ecosystem services, water resources, food production and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, we seek to understand how local communities deal with climate-related risk and uncertainty and the opportunities they have - or could have - in shaping adaptation planning around pro-poor, small-scale irrigation and to identify priorities for ecosystem management, particularly in terms of pro-poor water allocation. In [continued...]DescriptionIncreased food production is widely considered to be a fundamental step toward the reduction of poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Although the agricultural sector account for two-thirds of the labour force, SSA is the only region in the world where per capita food production declined over the latter half of the 20th century. It also remains highly vulnerable to extreme climate variability and future ...
The analyses were carried out using real climate data for the years 1987 and 1989. The course of the indoor climate for year-round free ventilation with a constant flow volume is discussed. Numerous diagrams inform on ambient temperature, water vapour content, the condition of space air, and temperature drops below dew point. For the event of heating of the central part of the church, space air condition, the annual air humidification requirement, and the temperature field in this part of the building are described. (MSK) [Deutsch] Die Untersuchungen wurden mit aktuellen Klimadaten fuer die Jahre 1987 und 1989 durchgefuehrt. Der Verlauf des Raumklimas bei ganzjaehrig freier Klimatisierung mit konstantem Foerderstrom wird erlaeutert. Dabei wird die Raumlufttemperatur, der Wasserdampfgehalt, der Raumluftzustand sowie die Taupunktunterschreitung in zahlreichen Diagrammen aufgezeigt. Weiter werden fuer den Fall der Beheizung des Hauptraums der ...
The working hypothesis of the research was that the soil of boreal forests is a large carbon store and the amount of C is still increasing in young soils, like in the forest soils of Finland, which makes these soils important sinks for atmospheric CO{sub 2}. Since the processes defining the soil C balance, primary production of plants and decomposition, are dependent on environmental factors and site properties, it was assumed that the organic carbon pool in the soil is also dependent on the same factors. The soil C store is therefore likely to change in response to climatic warming. The aim of this research was to estimate the C balance of forest soil in Finland and predict changes in the balance in response to changes in climatic conditions. To achieve the aim (1) intensive empirical experimentation on the density of C in different pools in the soil and on fluxes between the pools was done was done, (2) the effect of site fertility and ...
In the first part of the nineties many office buildings were equipped with indoor climate installations which do not meet present standards. Several options are available to improve such installations for ventilation capacity, cooling capacity, thermal comfort and air quality. One of the options concern the installation of an air conditioner in combination with heat recovery. In this article attention is paid to the renovation of the air conditioning system in the Printer house, an office building in Zwolle, Netherlands. [Dutch] Begin jaren negentig zijn veel kantoorpanden gebouwd waarvan de klimaatinstallatie tegenwoordig niet meer voldoet. De ventilatiecapaciteit is ontoereikend en koeling is mondjesmaat aanwezig, of slechts als topkoeling. Het comfort en de luchtkwaliteit zijn dan ook onder de maat. Er zijn verschillende mogelijkheden om dit te verbeteren. Plaatsing van een nieuwe luchtbehandelingskast met warmteterugwinning is daar een van. In dit artikel wordt ...
This paper will discuss initial studies of thin-film GaAs grown by molecular-beam epitaxy for use in developing a thin-film GaAs solar cell. Photocurrent and photoluminescence intensity are related to the material morphology as a function of growth conditions. Growth temperature and V/III ratio have a dramatic effect on the photocurrent. However, it seems likely that even after optimizing such growth parameters, it will be necessary to provide substrates that can provide templates to enhance grain size from the start of thin-film growth. {copyright} {ital 1997 American Institute of Physics.}
DescriptionAbstract of Research Proposal The root environment has a major effect on crop growth, both directly through the supply of water and nutrients to the shoot, and indirectly through root to shoot signalling. Better management of crop root systems through agronomic and genetic means has the potential to improve the efficiency of water and nutrient uptake, and limit root restrictions to crop growth. However, progress in this area is currently limited by the lack of sensors for in situ estimates of [continued...
We study the growth of colonies of the yeast Pichia membranaefaciens on agarose film. The growth conditions are controlled in a setup where nutrients are supplied through an agarose film suspended over a solution of nutrients. As the thickness of the agarose film is varied, the morphology of the front of the colony changes. The growth of the front is modeled by coupling it to a diffusive field of inhibitory metabolites. Qualitative agreement with experiments suggests that such a coupling is responsible for the observed instability of the front.
Roots of maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings continue to grow at low water potentials that cause complete inhibition of shoot growth. In this study, we have investigated the role of abscisic...Full Text Available
In order to better understand the molecular mechanisms of human hair growth control and to test hair growth-modulatory drugs, appropriate in vitro models are required. Here, we report the long-term...Full Text Available
Growth differentiation factor-9 (GDF-9), an oocyte-secreted member of the transforming growth factor β superfamily, progesterone receptor, cyclooxygenase 2 (Cox2; Ptgs2), and the EP2 prostaglandin...Full Text Available
Whether the lusitropic potential of short-term exercise in aged rats is linked to an augmentation in the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor-1 (GH/IGF-1) axis and an alteration in the...Full Text Available
The effect of WC particle size with the addition of VC as a grain growth inhibitor was investigated during the liquid phase sintering of WC-Co system. With increasing WC particle size at the same VC content, the effect of grain growth inhibition was increased. Also, with increasing the VC content, the grain shape of WC was changed from the faceted shape to the distorted shape, and the step density of the WC grain was increased. (orig.)
An interface-marker technique has been used to investigate the relative rates of diffusion of Si and of metal atoms during the growth of metal silicide films. The technique enables recognition of a reference plane in thin film diffusion using Rutherford backscattering, while minimizing any perturbation of the diffusion process. Examples are drawn from studies of the growth of silicides of W, Mo, Ta, Nb, Pd and Pt. (orig.).
Climate change represents the largest social dilemma humans have ever faced, where individual actors maximise their personal gain by emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere even though this is detrimental to the collective global good. Cooperation on a global scale is urgently required if we are to overcome this problem. However, this is difficult to achieve because cooperators pay the cost of reducing emissions while any benefits are shared between cooperators and free-riders alike. In a risk-free, rational world cooperative behaviour can be promoted through mechanisms that increase the benefit of cooperating relative to free-riding, such as rewards or sanctions. In reality, however, outcomes are seldom certain and humans rarely behave rationally when confronted with risky prospects...
This report presents estimates of the annual anthropogenic UK emissions of greenhouse gases for the years 1990-93 for submission under the Framework Convention on Climate Change. The gases considered are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and non-methane volatile organic compounds. Emissions of all the gases have declined since 1990. In particular, those of carbon dioxide have fallen by 4%; those of methane by 8% and those of nitrous oxide by 28%. Emission estimates are reported in the IPCC Standard Tables format disaggregated by source category and fuel. The methodology used for the estimates and how they relate to the UK National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory is discussed in an appendix. (author)
The need for alternative energy increases steadily???especially due to the climate change and the limited availability of fossil fuels. Geothermal power uses the intrinsic heat which is stored in the accessible part of the Earth???s crust. Its importance among the renewable energy resources originates from the almost unlimited energy supply of the Earth and its independence from external influences such as seasonal or even daily climatic variability. Nevertheless, there are risks which have to be assessed. From a mathematical point of view there are four building blocks of the characterization of deep geothermal systems: seismic exploration, gravimetry, modeling transport processes, and modeling the stress field. In particular, local depletion poses a significant risk during the industrial...
The need to operate electric vehicles in warm, summer conditions and also provide for long periods of standby in cold climates is a challenging problem for any battery system. All advanced batteries of high specific energy require active cooling systems because adiabatic heating will raise the temperature to a level that is deleterious to cycle life. This cooling requires efficient paths for escape of heat to cooled surfaces; cooling the exterior of modules is insufficient. If a battery is heated by its own energy, and insulated to withstand exposure to a cold climate, only vacuum insulation will afford an appreciable reduction (>10{degrees}C) in the ambient temperature that can be tolerated. Standard insulations are of little use for this purpose because the heat loss rate causes too high a drain on the battery energy even for near-ambient temperature batteries.
Energy in general is essential for economic and social development, prosperity, health and security of citizens. of the other hand, world population over the last 10 years has increased by more than 12%, and now it is exactly about 6.4 billion people and it means more demand for energy. Meanwhile, global primary energy consumption has seen an increase of 20%. Energy supply has some sources and unfortunately most of them have impact on life cycle in biosphere. However, the developed countries, that are only 16% in the population in 2000, consume the energy of 80%. This article deals with the threat of global climate change and its implications throughout the world.
There is now a scientific consensus that current rates of accumulation of greenhouses gases in the atmosphere will result in significant global warming and climate change. These changes are likely to have important impacts on a wide range of human activities and the natural environment. There has now been a considerable weight of literature published on the impacts of global warming, much of it very recent. This report seeks to summarise the important results, to analyse the uncertainties and to make a preliminary analysis of the feasibility of monetarising these environmental costs. The impacts of global warming are divided into ten major categories: agriculture, forests and forestry, terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity, hydrology and water resources, sea level rise and coastal zones, energy, infrastructure/transport/industry, human health and air quality, oceans, and cryospheric impacts. The results of major summary reports are analysed, notably the report of ...
Environmental assessment in an arid coal mining area requires an understanding of the influences of coal mining, the arid climate and ecological remediation. To that end, we selected vegetation as the key environmental factor to observe. Remote sensing approaches to monitoring the spatio-temporal variation of vegetation caused by mining activities, the arid climate and ecological remediation in the Shengdong coal mining area are described. Over a large regional scale it was found that the vegetation was improved as a result of ecological remediation activities. At the local scale, however, the vegetation coverage and soil moisture in the mined areas were slightly lower than those in un-mined areas due to mining subsidence. These differences are partly attributed to ground fissures that inj...
Abstract A large remaining source of uncertainty in global model predictions of future climate is how ecosystem carbon (C) cycle feedbacks to climate change. We conducted a field manipulative experiment of warming and nitrogen (N) addition in a temperate steppe in northern China during two contrasting hydrological growing seasons in 2006 [wet with total precipitation 11.2% above the long-term mean (348 mm)] and 2007 (dry with total precipitation 46.7% below the long-term mean). Irrespective of strong intra- and interannual variations in ecosystem C fluxes, responses of ecosystem C fluxes to warming and N addition did not change between the two growing seasons, suggesting independence of warming and N responses of net ecosystem C exchange (NEE) upon hydrological variations in the temperate ...
Abstract Elevated temperatures resulting from climate change pose a clear threat to reef-building corals; however, the traits that might influence corals- survival and dispersal during climate change remain poorly understood. Global gene expression profiling is a powerful hypothesis-forming tool that can help elucidate these traits. Here, we applied a novel RNA-Seq protocol to study molecular responses to heat and settlement inducers in aposymbiotic larvae of the reef-building coral Acropora millepora. This analysis of a single full-sibling family revealed contrasting responses between short- (4-h) and long-term (5-day) exposures to elevated temperatures. Heat shock proteins were up-regulated only in the short-term treatment, while the long-term treatment induced the down-regulation of rib...
Abstract Aim- To explore whether the subspecific genetic entities of Acacia saligna occupy different bioclimatic niches in their native and introduced ranges and whether these niches are predictable using species distribution models (SDMs). Location- Australia, South Africa and the Mediterranean Basin. Methods- Species distribution models were developed in MAXENT using six climatic variables to calculate the climatic suitability of the ranges of A.saligna. We assessed (1) the subspecific niche differences identified by SDMs using measures of niche overlap and model performance; (2) the ability of SDMs to predict the most likely subspecific genetic entities present in South Africa based on comparisons to genetic data; and (3) the ability of SDMs to predict the most likely subspecific geneti...
A prerequisite for a sensible estimate of moisture induced stresses in timber members is an accurate prediction of the members' moisture states during their service life. There are, however, an infinite number of possible moisture states for an arbitrary timber member in a natural varying climate. The naturally varying humidity is possible to describe as harmonic cycles, with different periods, superimposed. This work presents realizations of envelop curves over the possible moisture states in a timber member for some carefully chosen harmonic humidity variations. The calculations, on which the realizations were made, are based on a fully coupled transport model including a model for the influential sorption hysteresis of wood. A format containing required information suitable for assessin...
Several studies on individual control of the thermal indoor climate and indoor air quality are discussed. A distinction is made between the effect on health, the effect on comfort and the effect on performance. The underlying mechanisms are examined more closely, and concrete recommendations are made for future design norms. [Dutch] Een aantal studies op het gebied van beinvloeding van thermisch binnenklimaat en binnenluchtkwaliteit wordt besproken. Hierbij wordt onderscheid gemaakt tussen invloed op gezondheid, comfort en prestaties. Vervolgens wordt dieper ingegaan op achterliggende mechanismen en worden concrete aanbevelingen gedaan voor toekomstige ontwerpen.
Over 170 participants from 60 countries met for three days in Copenhagen from 7 to 9 June 1994 to discuss howe the aims of the United Nations Framework convention on Climate Change can be translated into practical action. The Conference was organised by the UNEP collaborating Centre on Energy and Environment (UCCEE), with financial support from the Danish International Development Agency (Danida), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Risoe National Laboratory, Denmark. The main objective of the conference was to identify common approaches to national mitigation analysis for countries to use in meeting their commitments under the FCCC, and in setting priorities for national actions. Although addressing a broader theme, the conference marked the completion and publication of the second phase on UNEP Greenhouse Gas Abatement Costing Study. (au)
We model coral community response to bleaching and mass mortality events which are predicted to increase in frequency with climate change. The model was parameterized for the Arabian/Persian Gulf, but is generally applicable. We assume three species groups (Acropora, faviids, and Porites) in two life-stages each where the juveniles are in competition but the adults can enter a size-refuge in which they cannot be competitively displaced. An aggressive group (Acropora species) dominates at equilibrium, which is not reached due to mass mortality events that primarily disadvantage this group (compensatory mortality, >90% versus 25% in faviids and Porites) roughly every 15 years. Population parameters (N individuals, carrying capacity) were calculated from satellite imagery and in situ transect...
An experiment lasting a number of hours was carried out with 6 men under standardised climate chamber conditions to find out to what extent wallpaper that reflects about 65-75% in the infra-red range by comparison with normal wallpaper that reflect only 3-5% of heat, has measurable positive effects on the thermoregulation of the human body and the human sensation of temperature. The measurements of skin temperature and heat flow intensity in the deeper areas of the body and the periphery, and metabolic heat conversion measurements (indirect calorimetry) confirm that infra-red reflection of the heat irradiated from the body lead to a measurable heat recovery on the body surface with a reduction of metabolic conversion. It was proved that it is possible to reduce the average room temperature by up to 4 K whilst maintaining the same degree of thermal comfort, which corresponds to a 20% saving in heating energy. (orig./BWI).
The modeling and optimizing processes of a Ground Coupled Heat Pump (GCHP) with closed Horizontal Ground Heat eXchanger (HGHX) are presented in this paper. After thermal modeling of GCHP including HGHX, the optimum design parameters of the system were estimated by minimizing a defined objective function (total of investment and operation costs) subject to a list of constraints. This procedure was performed applying Genetic Algorithm technique. For given heating/cooling loads and various climatic conditions, the optimum values of saturated temperature/pressure of condenser and evaporator as well as inlet and outlet temperatures of the water source in cooling and heating modes were predicted. Then, for our case study, the design parameters as well as the configuration of HGHX were obtained. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis of change in the total annual cost of the system and optimum design parameters with the climatic conditions, ...
Inverse and direct methods have been used to analyze a large number of borehole temperature logs in order to infer past climatic changes. Results indicate a warming of 1-2[degree]C in eastern and central Canada during the past 150 years. A period of cooling between 500 and 200 years before present, corresponding to the time of the Little Ice Age, has also been identified in the same areas. A regional ground temperature history is estimated for eastern and central Canada from the simultaneous inversion of several temperature logs. The inferred temperature changes appear correlated with the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide as reported from a Greenland ice core, and agree with existing meteorological and dendrochronological records for the area.
Canada has undertaken to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000. To achieve that objective, a voluntary challenge registry (VCR) plan was initiated by the federal and provincial governments to encourage industry, governments, and public sector to take voluntary actions that would contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The initiatives that CAPP member companies have taken were outlined in CAPP's 1995 Action Plan: Climate Change Voluntary Challenge, which was included with this report. The measures reported to date resulted in CO_2 reductions of 812,722 tonnes per year. The report provided a chronological review of CAPP actions in the field of climate changes since 1989, a summary of member action plans, and a listing of new technologies and their impact on greenhouse gas emissions.
In the PV system with storage batteries, as a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) device is used to enhance battery charging, the enhancement must be greater than the internal loss of the device itself, or there will be no net gain at all. To evaluate the MPPT device benefits under different climate, the theoretical calculation models have been constructed. By simulation, a comparative study between two types of PV charge controllers with and without a MPPT device under different atmospheric conditions was presented. The comparison was made by means of the energy production obtained from the PV generator of each system. The climatic conditions of Beijing and Guangzhou in China have been regarded. From the results obtained it can be concluded that the effectiveness of the MPPT device in Guangzhou is not very obvious, however the MPPT device did greatly enhance the output in Beijing in the winter. (author)
Temperature variations due to climate changes are a major cause of movements in a concrete structure, both in the longitudinal and transversal directions and between different parts of the structure. If these movements are restrained, stresses will be induced which may contribute to cracking. The movements are caused by complex interactions of several factors such as solar radiation, air temperature, long-wave heat radiation and wind speed. To predict the varying thermal conditions in a concrete structure a finite element model has been used. A validation of the model has been performed using field measurements in a concrete slab together with climate data from the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute to be able to use the model for simulations over long time periods and for s...
Abstract The present study makes use of a detailed water balance to investigate the hydrological status of a peatland with a basal clay-rich layer overlying an aquifer exploited for drinking water. The aim is to determine the influence of climate and groundwater extraction on the water balance and water levels in the peatland. During the two-year period of monitoring, the hydrological functioning of the wetland showed a hydric deficit, associated with a permanent unsaturated layer and a deep water table. At the same time, a stream was observed serving as a recharge inflow instead of draining the peatland, as usually described in natural systems. Such conditions are not favourable for peat accumulation. Field investigations show that the clay layer has a high hydraulic conductivity (from 11...
'Regional climate change: hydrology and land-use' is a topic that is being intensively discussed for quite a while already. At the same time, this topic demands consequences both on the level of politics and other decision makers. We scientists bear a particular responsibility for the analysis of existing data, targeted additional research to fill information gaps, and the critical evaluation and interpretation of the obtained results. The currently gathered sub-population of the scientific community is, albeit small, quite representative of a wide spectrum of activities and can very well offer a deeper insight into the current state-of-the-art. We deliberately organized the contributions such as to offer both overviews and results from detailed projects, as well as a close proximity of very well founded results with rather provocative hypotheses. (orig.)
This study evaluates the trends of meteorological and agrometeorological indices computed at different sites in the Region of Umbria (Central Italy). The indices were selected on the basis of whether they enable the evaluation of the potential effects of climatic changes on agricultural water requirements and management. The meteorological stations were preliminarily selected considering the length and entirety of the data series and a homogeneous spatial coverage of the region under study. The daily rainfall and minimum and maximum temperature data collected at the stations were elaborated to calculate meteorological and agrometeorological indices (for corn, widespread irrigated crop in Central Italy).The results of the analysis show that rainfall has decreased generally everywhere and th...
Abstract In many places in the world the effects of common floods are increased by climate change. In the area around the Indonesian city of Semarang, the number and effects of tidal flooding are becoming more and more severe. We found that the inhabitants used different strategies against the impact of flooding. In both the existing and the predicted flood prone areas, most people appear not to intend to leave the area, even when the floods become everyday routine. People are connected to their dwellings in a way that abandoning is not a realistic scenario. This study provides relevant information about the way people in the affected areas perceive flood risks and adaptation opportunities. Governmental policy-makers and urban planners could base their strategies and actions on this inform...
Human impacts such as eutrophication, overexploitation and climate change currently threaten future global food and drinking water supplies. Consequently, it is important that we understand how anthropogenic resource (bottom-up) and consumer (top-down) manipulations affect aquatic food web structure and production. Future climate changes are predicted to increase the inputs of terrestrial dissolved organic carbon to lakes. These carbon subsidies can either increase or decrease total basal production in aquatic food webs, depending on bacterial competition with phytoplankton for nutrients. This study examines the effects of carbon subsidies (bottom-up) on a pelagic community exposed to different levels of top-down predation. We conducted a large scale mesocosm experiment in an oligotrophic ...
This paper provides both a detailed history of environmental change in the Sierra Nevada over the past 1,800?years and evidence for climate teleconnections between the Sierra Nevada and Greenland during the late Holocene. A review of Greenland ice core data suggests that the magnitudes of abrupt changes in temperature and precipitation increased beginning c. 3,700 and 3,000?years ago, respectively. Precipitation increased abruptly 1,300?years ago. Comparing paleotemperature data from Cirque Peak, CA with paleoprecipitation data from Pyramid Lake, NV suggests that hot temperatures occurred at the beginnings of most severe droughts in the Sierra Nevada over the past 1,800?years. Severe fires and erosion also occurred at Coburn Lake, CA at the beginning of all severe droughts in the Sierra Ne...
Vermicompost preparations are increasingly used in agricultural practice. There is a possibility, that crop plants are sensitive to negative effect of vermicompost at early stages of development. The aim of the present study was to test the effects of vermicompost on seed germination and seedling growth of different vegetable crop species. Vermicompost substitution inhibited seed germination and seedling growth with almost linear decrease of growth with increasing concentration of vermicopost in the substrate. However, both leaf chlorophyll content and photochemical activity of photosynthesis increased in all crop species with the exception of pea seedlings. Vermicompost extract as a watering solution showed positive effect on growth of bean and pea seedlings. Germination response of vermi...
Serum growth hormone (GH) was suppressed in female rats bearing mammary tumors induced by 7, 12, dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) or N-nitrosomethylurea(NMU). Serum GH was suppressed due to treatment with a human GH analog produced by the plerocercoid stage of the tapeworm Spirometra mansonoides. Rats treated with plerocercoid growth factor (PGF) via plerocercoid infection had accelerated growth rates despite marked reductions in GH levels. Approximately two-thirds of the mammary tumors induced by either DMBA or NMU regressed during three weeks of exposure to PGF while most of the control tumors continued to grow. The data support an important regulatory role for GH in growth of mammary tumors in rats. PMID:3019224
Young rats were given a single irradiation dose (0.5, 2, 5 or 8 Gy) to the left knee-joint. The right unexposed knee-joint served as control. The animals were decapitated 1.5, 3, 7, 14 or 30 days after the irradiation. Longitudinal bone growth in the tibial epiphysis was established using tetracycline as an intravital marker. During the first 1.5 days after irradiation with 5 and 8 Gy, the growth was slightly inhibited (6-7%). Maximum growth retardation (20%) was found 7 to 14 days after irradiation with 5 and 8 Gy. No consistent effect occurred after 0.5 and 2 Gy. Between 14 to 30 days following irradiation growth was normalized.
The power?time curves of mice splenic lymphocytes growth at 37??C affected by ginsenoside Rh2 were determined by microcalorimetry using a 3114/3236 TAM air bioactivity monitor with ampoule mode. Then, the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Rh2 on splenic lymphocytes growth was determined by serial dilution method. From factor analysis (FA) on six quantitative thermokinetic parameters from the power?time curves, the activity of Rh2 on splenic lymphocytes could be quickly evaluated by analyzing the changes in the two main parameters: growth rate constant k, and maximum heat-output power, P m. The results showed that Rh2 had strong inhibitory activity on splenic lymphocytes growth, and this inhibitory activity was strengthened with increasing concentration of Rh2 in the concentration r...
A novel technique is proposed for the growth of an InN film on a GaN/Al2O3(0001) template by radio-frequency plasma-excited molecular beam epitaxy (RF-MBE). The method involves 1) InN growth under an In-rich condition and 2) additional nitrogen radical irradiation after the InN growth under an In-rich condition. Excess In that appeared on the InN surface in the InN growth under an In-rich condition is transformed to InN by the additional nitrogen radical irradiation. The effective V/III ratio is easily controlled by monitoring the intensity in a reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) pattern. The growth of the InN film by repeating the InN growth under an In-rich condition and the additional nitrogen radical irradiation is also demonstrated. (copyright 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)
The thiazolidinedione (TZD) or glitazone class of peroxisome proliferator-activated-#gamma# (PPAR-#gamma#) ligands not only induce adipocyte differentiation and increase insulin sensitivity, but also exert growth inhibitory effects on several carcinoma cell lines in vitro as well as in vivo. In the current study the in vitro effect of four PPAR-#gamma# agonists (ciglitazone, pioglitazone, troglitazone, rosiglitazone) on the cell growth of seven human neuroblastoma cell lines (Kelly, LAN-1, LAN-5, LS, IMR-32, SK-N-SH, SH-SY5Y) was investigated. Growth rates were assessed by a colorimetric XTT-based assay kit. Expression of PPAR-#gamma# protein was examined by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. All glitazones inhibited in vitro growth and viability of the human neuroblastoma cell lines in a dose-dependent manner showing considerable effects only at high concentrations (10 #mu#M and 100 ...
Postresection villus hyperplasia is a major compensatory mechanism in the short-bowel patient. Substances capable of augmenting postresection mucosal hyperplasia could have therapeutic implications. Human growth hormone (hGH) and human growth hormone releasing factor (hGHRF) stimulate growth of the gastrointestinal tract; however, the diabetogenic actions of growth hormone limit its usefulness in clinical practice. Plerocercoid larvae of the tapeworm Spirometra mansonoides produce an analog of hGH void of diabetogenic side effects. We assessed effects of plerocercoid growth factor (PGF) on mucosal adaptation following 70% proximal jejunoileal resection in young rats. Mucosal weight, DNA, protein, and total sucrase activity per centimeter of bowel were increased in resected PGF-treated animals compared to resected controls. We conclude PGF augments intrinsic postresection mucosal ...
Finland has some 10 million hectares of peatland, accounting for almost a third of its total area. Macroclimatic conditions have varied in the course of the Holocene growth and development of this peatland, and with them the habitats of the peat-forming plants. Temperatures and moisture conditions have played a significant role in determining the dominant species of mire plants growing there at any particular time, the resulting mire types and the accumulation and deposition of plant remains to form the peat. While in a natural state the mires of Finland have functioned as carbon dioxide sinks throughout the post-glacial period, but the ditching of peatland for forestry and agriculture, amounting to some 5,7 million hectares in Finland, has affected their water balance, especially over the last hundred years, and has thereby altered the quantity and species composition of the mire vegetation. The invasion of trees and woody plants to replace the typical mire plants ...
A robust fusion of the agricultural, industrial biotechnology, and energy industries can create a new strategic national capability for energy independence and climate protection. In his State of the Union Address (Bush 2006), President George W. Bush outlined the Advanced Energy Initiative, which seeks to reduce our national dependence on imported oil by accelerating the development of domestic, renewable alternatives to gasoline and diesel fuels. The president has set a national goal of developing cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable alternative energy sources to substantially replace oil imports in the coming years. Fuels derived from cellulosic biomass - the fibrous, woody, and generally inedible portions of plant matter - offer one such alternative to conventional energy sources that can dramatically impact national economic growth, national energy security, and environmental goals. Cellulosic biomass is an attractive energy feedstock ...
The article surveys studies into the global warming which have found that the OECD countries are responsible for less than half of the total registered warming. Calculation and analysis methods for estimating the global contributions from the blocks of OECD, Africa/America/Middle East, Asia and former Soviet Union/Eastern Europe are presented. The results and some pollution abatement measures are discussed.
The International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics reports on activities undertaken in the study of global climate change. Some of these activities are a part of the overall International Geosphere Biosphere Program but others predate that program. The organization has been solely responsible for five of ten permanent global data services and jointly responsible for three others. Workshops and meetings devoted to issues of global change are also reported.
... This is an amount less that the measurement accuracy of even the best meteorological instruments . So, is it really worth committing to 40 years of drastic carbon emissions reductions (which necessarily involves increasing the cost of hydrocarbon fuels in order to reduce fuel consumption, and force an industry-wide conversion to much more expensive alternative energy sources), all so that after nearly all of us are ...
This User`s Guide has been prepared to provide recommendations for the selection and application of climatic scenarios in the Finnish Research Programme on Climate Change (SILMU). These scenarios are required for conducting impact studies in SILMU. They should reflect the current range of estimates of future climate in the Finnish region. In addition, they should be consistent with other projections of importance in impact studies, such as future atmospheric composition and sea level. Section 2 provides some background information about the types of scenarios required in SILMU and Section 3 offers a general description of the scenarios. In Section 4 there is some advice on applying sensitivity studies to complement the use of scenarios. Section 5 explains the installation of the SILMUSCEN program and Section 6 guides the user through some examples to illustrate how SILMUSCEN can be used. Section 7 offers some ...
Soil placed over any sealant/barrier system can provide a protective mantle if the soil is not lost by erosion. Vegetation is an attractive choice for controlling erosion because it can provide an economical self-renewing cover that serves to reduce erosion by both wind and water. The objective of this research and development effort is to select and test vegetation strategies, including the choice of species and methods for revegetation that are compatible with sealant/barrier systems and are suited to soils and climates at inactive uranium mill tailings sites.
Aimed at post-graduate and post-doctoral researchers in geochemistry, this book reflects the rapid changes in the applications of radioactive and stable isotope analysis to a range of geological and geochemical problems. Isotropic chemistry and methods used in mass spectroscopy are discussed initially. The second section deals with radiometric dating methods. The role of isotopes in climate and environmental research is also explored. The book closes with a section on extra-terrestrial matter, geothermometry and the isotopic geochemistry of the Earth`s lithosphere. (UK).
Crop water demand in the Okanagan Basin was determined for 1961 to 1990, 2010 to 2039, 2040 to 2069, and 2070 to 2099. Daily station temperature data were spatially interpolated to a 1 x 1 km grid and adjusted for elevation. Daily precipitation data were estimated across four climatic regions. Output from three global climate models (GCM), CGCM2, CSIROMk2 and HadCM3 was used to create future daily climate. Daily potential evapo-transpiration (grass reference) was estimated from an empirical relationship between Bellani-plate atmometer readings, temperature and extra-terrestrial solar radiation, and then modified by crop coefficients for all crops except pasture. Depending on GCM, projected water demand increased by 12-20% (2010 to 2039), 24-38% (2040 to 2069) and 40-61% (2070 to 2099). Possible elevated CO{sub 2} effects on stomatal conductance which may reduce water demand were not accounted for. Comparisons with modeled ...
...this page document analysis carried out during the policy development of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme. policy, background, carbon, reduction,...commitment, energy efficiency, CRC, Policy background Spending Review Announcement In the October 2010 Spending Review, the UK Government announced that the CRC ... Revenue from the sale of CRC allowances, totalling ٟ billion a year by 2014/15, will be used to support ... The implications of this announcement for CRC are: In order to clarify the price signal to participants and to support the public ...
A petrographic comparison of Triassic, fluvial sandstones from the Deep River Basin in the eastern piedmont of North Carolina with nearby Holocene stream sands (1) indicates that he Triassic climate was more arid than today's and (2) distinguishes an eastern, more plutonic terrane from a western, more metamorphic source terrane. The paleoclimatic interpretation is based on differences in framework composition between modern and ancient sands of the same grain size, derived from the same rock type, transported similar distances and deposited in similar settings. The Triassic sandstones contain more lithic-fragments but less quartz than otherwise equivalent, modern sand in the Deep River Basin. Feldspar content is more complex, controlled by both source-rock composition and climate. Sand from the more plutonic terrane contains more feldspar and plutonic lithic-fragments than sand from the more metamorphic terrane, which contains more ...
Designing efficient policies for curbing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is of particular interest for todays policy makers, in view of global climate change threats. This paper analyses the options Switzerland has for curbing its CO{sub 2} emissions. Using MARKAL and MARKAL-NACRO models, it investigates, in particular effects of national and international carbon taxes. (author) 3 figs., 1 tab., 6 refs.
... Beltaos, J. T. Gardner, J. J. Gibson, R. J. Granger, R. Leconte, D. L. Peters, A. Pietroniro, L. A. Romolo and B. Toth Published: Feb 01, 2006 View all Articles from this Magazine »MOST POPULAR RELATED SEARCHES climate change, risk assessments, biodiversity, forestry, remote sensing, natural resource, fisheries, information systems, Environmental - Monitoring, environmental monitoring, exposure assessments, natural resource ...
... Possibilities for summer activities become better, but socioeconomic factors such as age-structure may weaken the positive impact. Several research needs related to recreation and tourism were identified. The Finnish tourism industry seems to need more detailed and spatially informed scenarios concerning climate change and more information on its impacts on the different activities in the tourism sector. Also communication channels seem to need more attention. More information is ...
...in your blue fuller says global warming summit on the top general information ...this because a lot of times when we talk about global warming and climate change we really focus on the ice ...site ? one organization is called global warming one-on-one and it's run by ...can actually go to global warming one-on-one and and ...something to ? slow global warming but sometimes you feel alone so the big deal if i changed my life ...
The proliferation of 'botnets,' phishing schemes, denial-of-service attacks, root kits, and other cyber attack schemes designed to capture a system or network creates a climate of concern for system administrators, especially for those managing accelerator and large experimental-physics facilities, as they are very public targets. This paper will describe the steps being taken at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) to protect the infrastructure of the overall network with emphasis on security for the APS control system.
This paper very briefly outlines hazardous waste management issues, including regulations, in Mongolia. Air, water, and soil pollutants are identified and placed in context with climatic, social, and economic circumstances. The primary need identified is technology for the collection and disposal of solid wastes. Municipal waste problems include rapid urbanization and lack of sanitary landfills. Industrial wastes of concern are identified from the mining and leather industries. 4 refs., 2 tabs.
Space HVAC systems are to provide hygienical room air. Air change is necessary because of pollutants released from materials or production processes but also because of the presence of humans or animals who consume oxygen. Poor room climate and/or poor air hygiene do not only reduce the felt comfort but may also result in a loss or profitability and higher sickness rates. (orig.)
The Conference on Building Design and Architecture organized by Swedish Council for Building Research Contents included articles on building physics, thermal-climate technology, indoor-air-quality technology, construction materials, quality assurance, and building policy and regulation.
Scenario analyses are described here using the Global MARKAL-Macro Trade (GMMT) model to study the economic implications of the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Convention on Climate change. Some conclusions are derived in terms of efficient implementations of the post-Kyoto extensions of the Protocol. (author) 2 figs., 5 refs.
Three algal bioassay experiments were conducted from March 1992 through September 1993 in an area of Lake Mead that has experienced problems associated with severe nutrient enrichment. The first experiment determined the effects of elevated CO2 (700 ppm) (2xCO2), vs ambient CO2 on the natural algal assemblage without nutrient enrichment. The second experiment determined the effects of 2xCO2 on nutrient enriched bioassays and if nutrients were limiting. The third experiment examined elevated temperatures and 2xCO2. Nested climate models were used to predict changes in water temperatures and thermocline development in Las Vegas Bay. The lake model predicted an increase in mean water temperatures of 1.8 deg under a 2xCO2 scenario. A thermocline definition of 1 deg. C change per 2-m depth was applied to water temperatures developed by a lake model coupled to nested general circulation and regional-scale atmospheric models in 3-year simulations of the current and ...
The data on the multilayer operation of the objects, located in the climatic conditions of the central area of Russia and equipped with the geothermal heat-pumping systems of the heat supply are presented. The results of the analytical studies on evaluating the geothermal heat-pumping systems of the heat supply integration efficiency into the structure of the energy supply system, prevailing in the country, are presented
In the next few decades, the probable strengthening of the greenhouse effect may bring about considerable changes in energy production and consumption, which depend on climate. It is presumed that some of the changes will occur even if the rise in greenhouse gas concentration will be reduced. Because the investments in energy production have a long-term influence, decision-makers should have an idea about the impact of the strengthening of the greenhouse effect on energy production and consumption in Finland. According to the results of this study, the effects of climate change on the total consumption and production of electricity will be limited. The structure of both electricity consumption and production will remain rather similar, the most important changes applying to hydro power. The consumption of heating electricity will decrease substantially. Because the non- climate-dependent sectors of electricity consumption ...
Climate change is not only dangerous but also expensive. On the other hand, air pollution abatement measures are costly as well. Scientists of the Microeconomics Department investigated how air pollution abatement and cost efficiency can best be combined. (orig.)
The report examines common ventilation and air conditioning systems and strategies for both domestic and commercial buildings; and covers issues such as energy conservation, indoor air quality and occupant comfort. Drawing data from many countries in Europe and the United States of America, various natural, mechanical and air conditioning systems were compared using criteria such as climate, level of occupant interaction, and level of system comfort. This classification system is evaluated and seen as a valuable framework for further research. (U.K.)
Geological, geophysical, and engineering-geological research conducted at the 'Yeniseisky' site obtained data on climatic, geomorphologic, geological conditions, structure and properties of composing rock, and conditions of underground water recharge and discharge. These results provide sufficient information to make an estimate of the suitability of locating a radioactive waste (R W) underground isolation facility at the Nizhnekansky granitoid massif
The metabolism of organic matter in the coastal regions of the ocean may significantly affect the oceanic carbon budget. This paper describes the high percentage (30%) of oceanic oxidation that occurs in coastal areas and the impact of this metabolism on the carbon cycle and climate of earth. Organic metabolism in the ocean appears to be a source of carbon dioxide release into the atmosphere. Oxidation in the coastal zone is of special interest, as it is likely influenced by anthropogenic activity. Recommendations for future research on this topic are proposed. 129 refs., 2 figs., 6 tabs.
DescriptionCEH - Quest CCMAP see http://quest.bris.ac.uk/research/themes/CCMAP.html CCMAP (Climate-carbon modelling, assimilation and prediction) Leader: Dr. Eleanor Blyth (CEH, Wallingford) Overview and Goals CCMAP is one of QUEST's Theme 1 projects and is about to be commissioned to the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology at Wallingford. The Principal Investigator will be Dr. Eleanor Blyth, with subcontracts to the Universities of Bristol (Dr. Wolfgang Knorr, Earth Sciences and QUEST; Andy Ridgw [continued...
This paper assesses the effects of including carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) damage costs in a long-term energy scenario analysis for Europe. An external cost sensitivity analysis is performed with a bottom-up energy technology model that accounts not only for CCS technologies but also for their external costs. Our main conclusion is that in a business-as-usual scenario (i.e. without climate change intervention or externality internalisation), CCS technologies are likely to be deployed at least to some extent, mainly in the power generation sector, given the economic benefits of opportunities such as enhanced coal bed methane, oil and gas recovery. Under a strict climate (CO{sub 2} emissions) constraint, CCS technologies are deployed massively. With the simultaneous introduction of both CO{sub 2} and CCS taxation in the power sector, designed to internalise the external atmospheric and geological effects of CO{sub 2} emissions and ...
While hydropower industry finds great profit opportunities in increased effective production, the host municipals have anxiety for great environmental damages. Regulations of water reservoirs. Differences between highest and lowest planned water level are specified in regulations for water reservoirs. The background for these regulations are both esthetic and environmental. (AG)
This issue of Exploratorium Magazine focuses on Antarctica. Antarctica has one of the most extreme climates in the world with an untouched environment inviting researchers with great opportunities for study. This issue describes the journey of four Exploratorium staff members to frozen Antarctica. Chapters include: (1) "Life at the Bottom of the World"; (2) "Try This! Dress the Scientist"; (3) "South Pole Astronomy"; and (4) "Ground Truth." (YDS)
... Boreal Forest and Climate Change Pertti Hari, Liisa Kulmala, 160.45 EUR; 209.00 USD; 135.00 GBP... Global Atmospheric Change and its Impact on... Ian Barnes 145.00 USD; 128.35 EUR; 95.00 GBP... More Journals » MAGAZINES & JOURNALS Journal of Water Supply: Research &Technology -... Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technolog... ...
... Boreal Forest and Climate Change Pertti Hari, Liisa Kulmala, 160.45 EUR; 209.00 USD; 135.00 GBP... More Journals » MAGAZINES & JOURNALS Journal of Water and Health The journal represents a joint commitment to pr... Environmental Quarterly - 2009 Fall Trinity`s Environmental Quarterly (EQ) magazine co... ...
Nutrient elements contained in litter fall flux, that of uptake flux and turnover rate had generally tended to increase with the increase in the Warmth Index, while the amount of nutrient in the A[sub 0] horizon and nutrient use efficiency did not. However, it is suggested that topographic and climatic aridity, and the amount of available and exchangeable phosphorus, calcium and magnesium greatly affect the nutrient dynamics in a each forest ecosystem as the Warmth Index increases. (J.P.N.).
Norepinephrine stimulates the growth of a range of bacterial species in nutritionally poor SAPI minimal salts medium containing 30% serum. Addition of size-fractionated serum components to SAPI medium indicated that transferrin was required for norepinephrine stimulation of growth of Escherichia coli. Since bacteriostasis by serum is primarily due to the iron-withholding capacity of transferrin, we considered the possibility that norepinephrine can overcome this effect by supplying transferrin-bound iron for growth. Incubation with concentrations of norepinephrine that stimulated bacterial growth in serum-SAPI medium resulted in loss of bound iron from iron-saturated transferrin, as indicated by the appearance of monoferric and apo- isoforms upon electrophoresis in denaturing gels. Norepinephrine also caused the loss of iron from lactoferrin. The pharmacologically inactive metabolite norepinephrine ...
A factor produced by plerocercoids of the tapeworm Spirometra mansonoides is similar to human growth hormone (hGH) in that it stimulates body growth, binds to hGH receptors, cross-reacts with anti-hGH antibodies, and has lactogenic and insulin-like activities. The purpose of this study was to determine whether plerocercoid growth factor (PGF) is similar to hGH in expressing diabetogenic activity in the genetically obese (ob/ob) mouse. To determine an effective dose for use in the obese mice, the ability of daily injections of PGF to stimulate growth of phenotypically normal mice of the same strain was assessed in a 10-day weight gain assay. Injections of PGF stimulated a dose-dependent weight gain (r = 0.83) and 25 ng eq/day of PGF stimulated a response not significantly different from that produced by 100 micrograms of bovine growth hormone/day. Diabetogenicity was assessed using ...
Macrocephaly was defined as a head measuring larger than 98th percentile. We have evaluated CT findings and head growth curves in 25 infants with large heads. Ten (40%) of 25 infants with large heads were normal developmentally and neurologically. Five (20%) of those were mentally retarded. The other 10 infants (40%) included hydrocephalus (4 cases), malformation syndrome (3 cases), brain tumor (1 case), metabolic disorder (1 case) and degenerative disorder (1 case). Their head growth curves were typed as (I), (II) and (III): Type (I) (excessive head growth curve to 2 SDs above normal); Type (II) (head growth curve gradually approached to 2 SDs above normal); Type (III) (head growth curve parallel to 2 SDs above normal). Ten of macrocephaly with normal psychomotor development were studied clinically and radiologically in details. They were all male. CT pictures of those showed ...
Abstract. Objective: Lapatinib (Tykerb, GW572016), a potent inhibitor of the catalytic activities of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) (ErbB2), inhibits population growth of selected EGFR and HER2 overexpressing cell lines. Previous studies with a small number of cell lines suggest a correlation between overexpression of EGFR and/or HER2 and sensitivity to growth inhibition by lapatinib; however, the precise determinants of lapatinib selectivity for tumour and/or other cells remain unclear. Materials and methods: To clarify the determinants of its selectivity in cultured cells, lapatinib-induced cell population growth inhibition and relative EGFR and HER2 protein expression were quantified in 61 different human tumour cell lines fro...
This work is concentrated on growth, spectroscopy and laser performance of thulium-doped vanadate crystals. At the beginning the growth techniques are analyzed and then the matrix of vanadates crystal, its structure and physicochemical properties are explained together with the rare earth activators influence. Detailed spectroscopy of the thulium-doped vanadate crystals then follows. On the background of this theoretical analysis and state of the art of the subject the description of thulium vanadate lasers (especially Tm:YVO"4, Tm:GdVO"4, and Tm:LuVO"4) together with their generated output radiation characteristics are presented.
The solar energy industry experienced unprecedented growth in the eight years from 2000 to 2007, with explosive growth occurring in the latter half of this period. From 2004 to 2007, global private sector investment in solar energy increased by almost twenty-fold, marking a dramatic increase in the short span of four years. This paper examines the timing, magnitude, focus and location of various forms of investment in the solar energy sector. It analyzes their trends to provide an understanding of the growth of the solar industry during the past eight years and to identify emerging themes in this rapidly evolving industry.
The crack growth behavior and fracture toughness of two laminated metal composites (6090/SiC/25p laminated with 5182 and ultrahigh-carbon steel laminated with brass) have been studied in both ``crack arrester`` and ``crack divider`` orientations. The mechanisms of crack growth were analyzed and extrinsic toughening mechanisms were found to contribute significantly to the toughness. The influence of laminate architecture (layer thickness and component volume function), component material properties and residual stress on these mechanisms and the resulting crack growth resistance are discussed.
The inelastic scattering of the beam and the residual gas molecules in RHIC could represent one of the limitations on the beam life time and emittance growth. This report covers the dominant central nuclear collisions influence on the beam lifetime and transverse emittance growth. The cross sections for the beam-gas electron radiative captures are an order of magnitude smaller. The capture cross sections include the radiative and non-radiative capture, and the capture from the electron-positron pair creation from the 'vacuum capture'.
BACKGROUNDHirsutism is the presence of excess body or facial terminal (coarse) hair growth in females in a male-like pattern, affects 5–15% of women, and is an important...Full Text Available
Triacontanol (TRIA) has been realized as a potent plant growth promoting substance for a number of agricultural and horticultural crops. Out of a large number of essential oil bearing plants, mint (Mentha arvensis L.) constitutes the most important source of therapeutic agents used in the alternative systems of medicine. The mint plant has marvelous medicinal properties. In view of enhancing growth, yield and quality of this medicinally important plant, a pot experiment was conducted according to simple randomized block design. The experiment was aimed at studying the effect of four concentrations of TRIA (10?0, 10?7, 10?6 and 10?5?M) on the performance of mint with regard to growth and other physiological attributes, crop yield and quality attributes and the yield and contents of active c...
The growth power-time curves of a strain of petroleum bacteria, B-2, in various kinds of cultures containing different kinds of carbon sources, glucose, n-tetradecane, n-hexadecane and n-octadecane, and different kinds of microemulsions have been determined by using a 2277 Thermal Activity Monitor. The curves showed a single peak for cultures containing a single carbon source, glucose, and two peaks for cultures containing two kinds of carbon sources, glucose and one of the n-alkanes. The first peak indicated that bacteria grew by consuming glucose and the second peak indicated that bacteria grew by consuming n-alkane. The curves were complex when the bacterium grows in a microemulsion culture. According to a kinetic equation of bacterial growth under limited conditions, the rate constants of bacterial growth were obtained. The results showed that the microemulsion culture was more appropriate to bacteria to grow on ...
The author reviews the growth of the insecticide-resistance problem throughout the world during the period between July 1956 and November 1957, and the developments in research on the subject during...Full Text Available
We report the influence of a small quantity of Cl[sub 2], which enhanced the selectivity of silicon-selective epitaxial growth (Si-SEG) in UHV-CVD using Si[sub 2]H[sub 6], on both the epitaxial growth rate and the B-doping properties for each Si and Si[sub 1-x]Ge[sub x] film. The small quantity of Cl[sub 2] inhibited the Si, Ge and B incorporation, while the selectivity was enhanced. However, it was found, in the case of Si[sub 1-x]Ge[sub x]-SEG using Cl[sub 2], that the reduction ratio of both the growth rate and the B incorporation were smaller than those of Si-SEG with the selectivity still more enhanced. (orig.)
In this study, the thermodynamic stability of the grain boundaries and the grain growth of nanocrystalline Palladium (Pd) at various temperatures were investigated. For this purpose, the Gibbs free energy curves of grain boundaries were plotted in terms of the excess volume by the use of the equation of state (EOS) and Song's thermodynamic models. The results showed that, according to the prediction of these models, the nanocrystalline growth in metals was stopped at the grain sizes less than the critical grain size. Also, the results of the temperature variations and its effect on the Gibbs free energy curves showed that by the increase of the temperature, the possibility for the stoppage of grain growth is facilitated and the critical grain size is increased. To investigate the validity ...
Axon outgrowth and guidance to the proper target requires the coordination of filamentous (F)-actin and microtubules (MTs), the dynamic cytoskeletal polymers that promote shape change and locomotion....Full Text Available
... After formation of the monolayer (usually in 48 hours), the growth medium was poured off, and the cells washed twice with a Henkes solution and ...
The ras oncogenes function by indirectly controlling expression of a subset of yet-undefined genes that are crucial for cell growth and differentiation. In a differential display strategy, numerous...Full Text Available
The effect of different media and pH on the formation of amylase by Aspergillus oryzae EI 212 is described. Depending upon the composition of the medium and growth...Full Text Available
... growth hormone-like factor from plerocercoids of the tapeworm Spirometra mansonoides is a multifunctional protein. In Parasites and pathogens: ... ...
In the formation of A-15 superconducting compounds by solid state diffusion, the time exponent in the growth law under different experimental conditions varies widely from about 0.25 to 1.0. Specific models of growth for different operative rate-controlling conditions are proposed. When the diffusion of B atoms in the matrix is rate-controlling, the thickness of the reacted compound layer increases as tsup(1/2) or tsup(2/3). When the diffusion of B atoms through the compound layer is rate controlling, a tsup(1/2) dependence both for bulk diffusion and grain-boundary diffusion is predicted. When substantial grain growth occurs in the reacted layer during the diffusion anneal, the time exponent observed could be as low as 1/4. Experimental data in support of the predictions of the proposed models are presented. (author).
Photoautotrophic and mixotrophic growth of Lemna paucicostata Hegelm. 6746 (formerly Lemna perpusilla Torr. 6746) was investigated to establish standardized conditions...Full Text Available
This final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) presents the results of studies made on the regulation of the growth of Legionella Pneumophila bacteria in biofilms and amoebae. In a first project, the formation of biofilms by Legionella Pneumophila bacteria was analysed in static and dynamic systems using a complex growth medium. Under static and dynamic clinical and environmental conditions, the adherence of the biofilms on polystyrene tissue was studied. This was also examined under dynamic flow conditions. In a second part of the project, the regulation of growth of Legionella Pneumophila in amoebae was examined in that changes were made to the genome of the bacteria. The importance of the work for the de-activation of Legionella Pneumophila bacteria in biofilms is noted in the conclusions of the report.
The trifluoroacetate metal-organic decomposition route to YBa_2Cu_3O_7 film growth was investigated in order to bring new insights in the growth mechanism and its dependence on processing conditions and critical current density. Precursor films were processed on LaAlO_3 substrates at different total pressure, oxygen partial pressure, water vapor partial pressure, and volume gas flow rate keeping the growth temperature at 740 "0C. The influence of these various experimental parameters on the film growth rate, which was evaluated by in situ electrical resistance measurements, was studied thoroughly. It was found that the growth rate is nearly independent of the oxygen pressure and proportional to the square root of the water pressure. Additionally, the growth rate increases with a decrease of the total pressure or an increase of the gas flow rate. An empirical ...
Single crystals of ytterbium tartrate trihydrate have been grown by gel method using silica and agar-agar gels as media of growth. The medium of growth influences the morphology of grown crystals, silica gel yielding single and polycrystalline in the form of spherulites whereas agar-agar gel leading to growth of single and twinned crystals. Materials grown as single crystals have been characterized by using optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), EDAX, XRD, FT-IR, CHN and thermogravimetric techniques. The stoichiometry of the grown single crystals is suggested to be Yb(C4H4O6) (C4H5O6).3H2O. The FT-IR spectrum shows the presence of singly as well as doubly ionized tartrate ligands. Results of thermal analysis indicate that the material is thermally stable up to a temperature of 200...
Growth mechanisms and thermal stability of ion-beam-induced epitaxial Pd/sub 2/Si films are investigated using Rutherford backscattering and channelling techniques. Epitaxial growth of Pd/sub 2/Si films was observed at room temperature by argon ion implantation into as-deposited Pd/Si(111) structures and furnace-annealed Pd/sub 2/Si(polycrystalline)/Pd/sub 2/Si(epitaxial)/Si(111) structures. Some additional experiments to check the growth mechanisms are also presented, in which the implantation energies, substrate orientations and dose rates were changed. Finally, the stability of the ion-beam-induced epitaxial Pd/sub 2/Si films on subsequent furnace annealing is studied.
Growth mechanisms and thermal stability of ion-beam-induced epitaxial Pd/sub 2/Si films are investigated using Rutherford backscattering and channelling techniques. Epitaxial growth of Pd/sub 2/Si films was observed at room temperature by argon ion implantation into as-deposited Pd/Si(111) structures and furnace-annealed Pd/sub 2/Si(polycrystalline)/Pd/sub 2/Si(epitaxial)/Si(111) structures. Some additional experiments to check the growth mechanisms are also presented, in which the implantation energies, substrate orientations and dose rates were changed. Finally, the stability of the ion-beam-induced epitaxial Pd/sub 2/Si films on subsequent furnace annealing is studied.
Nanoscale islands of Cu2O have been synthesized on single-crystal SrTiO3 (100) substrates using oxygen plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy (OPA-MBE). Island growth location has been controlled by using an ex-situ Ga+ focused ion beam (FIB) to modify the growth surface in discrete locations prior to island synthesis. Analysis of Cu2O dot growth on unmodified substrate regions revealed an evolution of dot size and array density. Atomic force microscopy studies show that certain FIB substrate modification and MBE growth condition combinations lead to directed self-assembly of islands. Islands initially formed in the FIB-generated surface topography and filled those features before nucleating on neighboring unmodified surface regions.
Nanoscale islands of Cu_2O have been synthesized on single-crystal SrTiO_3 (100) substrates using oxygen plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE). Island growth location has been controlled by using an ex situ Ga"+ focused ion beam (FIB) to modify the growth surface in discrete locations prior to island synthesis. The FIB modifications have generated surface topography with lateral dimensions of 150-200 nm. Ex situ atomic force microscopy study after island growth reveals that certain FIB substrate modification and MBE growth condition combinations lead to directed self-assembly of metal oxide islands at the edges of the FIB modified zones.
Nanoscale islands of Cu?O have been synthesized on single crystal SrTiO? (100) substrates using oxygen plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Island growth location has been controlled by using an ex-situ Ga? focused ion beam (FIB) to modify the growth surface in discrete locations prior to island sythesis. The FIB modifications have generated surface topography with lateral dimensions of 150-200 nm. Ex-situ AFM study after island growth reveals that certain FIB substrate modification and MBE growth condition combinations lead to directed self-assembly of metal oxide islands at the edges of the FIB modified zones.
Regular fuel reduction burning is an important management strategy for reducing the scale and intensity of wildfires in south-west Australian native forests, but the long term effects of this on tree and stand growth are not well understood. Five fire treatments, including application of frequent and infrequent low intensity burns, and 25?years of fire exclusion, were applied to small (4?ha) experimental plots in a low rainfall mixed jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) and marri (Corymbia calophylla) forest to investigate the effects of these treatments on tree stem diameter growth, stand basal area increment and tree mortality. Mean tree stem growth measured over 20?years was lowest in the long unburnt treatment compared with the burn treatments, although surface soil nutrient levels were gener...
Cell cultures were prepared from lung tumors occurring in beagles following exposure to inhaled plutonium. Morphologic and growth characteristics of two of these cell lines are described.
The phytochrome photoreceptors and the circadian clock control many of the same developmental processes, in all organs and throughout the growth of Arabidopsis plants. Phytochrome A (phyA) provides...Full Text Available
Changes in soil properties and vegetable growth were quantified on a low-fertility tropical soil. Four treatments (two composts, urea, and control) were applied to an Oxisol (Rhodic Haplustox, Wahiawa series) in a field on Oahu, Hawaii. Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa, Chinensis group) and eggplant (Solanum melongena) were grown sequentially as test crops. Soil quality as measured by hot-water-soluble carbon, dehydrogenase activity, and cation exchange capacity (CEC) increased by compost amendments. Total organic carbon or carbon dioxide (CO2) respiration rate did not correlate with the soil amendments. Nitrogen (N) nutrition was the main factor that improved growth and carotenoid content in cabbage. The urea treatment promoted better growth in cabbage, whereas good-quality compost, made of...
The authors present an investigation of structural changes occurring in bilayer stacks with crystalline columnar growth when one of the layers is substituted by layers known to grow amorphous. In Co/Cu multilayers the Co layers were substituted by CoZr layers of varying Zr content and layer thickness. Structural characterization was performed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). They show that the amorphization of the CoZr layers leading to a destruction of the columnar growth depends both on the Zr content and on the thickness of the CoZr layers. Additionally a change to textured growth with a normal to the substrate occurs with increasing Zr content. They explain their observations by a simple picture based on the hard sphere model.
Root growth is a highly dynamic process influenced by genetic background and environment. This paper reports the development of R scripts that enable root growth kinematic analysis that complements a new motion analysis tool: PlantVis. Root growth of Arabidopsis thaliana expressing a plasma membrane targeted GFP (C24 and Columbia 35S:LTI6b-EGFP) was imaged using time-lapse confocal laser scanning microscopy. Displacement of individual pixels in the time-lapse sequences was estimated automatically by PlantVis, producing dense motion vector fields. R scripts were developed to extract kinematic growth parameters and report displacement to ?0.1 pixel. In contrast to other currently available tools, Plantvis-R delivered root velocity profiles without interpolation or averaging across the root s...
From the beginning of the 90s the analysis of the relationships between economic growth and environmental pressures has been influenced by the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis or inverted-U shaped relationship between environmental pressure and per capita income. Following this hypothesis, once achieved certain income level, more economic growth is followed by environmental quality improvement. In this paper, we analyse and discuss the theories that support this hypothesis as well as the empirical evidence on this subject. Further on we analyse the relationship between per capita income and the main environmental pollutants for the case does not support the hypothesis. The empirical evidence shows that economic growth, by itself, does not entail a pollution reduction. (Author) 35 refs.
Sep 1, 2011 ... Title: Application of chloropicrin to Douglas-fir stumps to control laminated root rot does not affect infection or growth of regeneration 16 growing ...
The growth of the Pd{sub 2}Si thin fllms on Si(111) substrates has been monitored by an {ital in} {ital situ} x-ray diffraction technique in vacuum and in helium atmosphere from 160 to 250 {degree}C. A familiar parabolic growth rate was found, confirming the diffusion-controlled film growth process. The activation energies were found to be 1.34 and 1.37 eV for the measurements performed in vacuum and helium environment, respectively. Stress relaxation in the growing Pd{sub 2}Si fllm was observed when the reaction temperature exceeds 200 {degree}C. The relaxed films showed a higher degree of texture as evidenced by the rocking curve measurements.
The growth of the Pd{sub 2}Si thin fllms on Si(111) substrates has been monitored by an {ital in} {ital situ} x-ray diffraction technique in vacuum and in helium atmosphere from 160 to 250 {degree}C. A familiar parabolic growth rate was found, confirming the diffusion-controlled film growth process. The activation energies were found to be 1.34 and 1.37 eV for the measurements performed in vacuum and helium environment, respectively. Stress relaxation in the growing Pd{sub 2}Si fllm was observed when the reaction temperature exceeds 200 {degree}C. The relaxed films showed a higher degree of texture as evidenced by the rocking curve measurements.
Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae is considered an emerging veterinary pathogen causing pneumonia in sheep and goats worldwide. Currently it has not been possible to define a growth medium that yields the maximum growth of M. ovipneumoniae within a short incubation period. Growth yields of M. ovipneumoniae in Eatons medium are variable and not as consistently high as those seen with other Mycoplasma spp. This study investigated the ability of different M. ovipneumoniae field strains to grow in various media formulations, where PPLO broth was replaced by a vegetable protein source, and comparisons were made in terms of strain viability in Eatons medium. Studies were also conducted to determine the optimal carbohydrate source for use in the M. ovipneumoniae medium. Generally, it was found that differ...
Large scale production of monoclonal antibodies has been accomplished using bioreactors with different length to diameter ratios, and diverse impeller and sparger designs. The differences in these physical attributes often result in dissimilar mass transfer, mechanical stresses due to turbulence and mixing inside the bioreactor that may lead to disparities in cell growth and antibody production. A rational analysis of impeller design parameters on cell growth, protein expression levels and subsequent antibody production is needed to understand such differences. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of Rushton turbine and marine impeller designs on Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell growth and metabolism, and antibody production and quality. Experiments to evaluate mass transfer...
Gaseous Nitrogen Dewar apparatus developed by Dr. Alex McPherson of the University of California, Irvine for use aboard Mir and the International Space ...
...Events Archive Worldwide Africa Programme Arab Programme Asia and Pacific Programme Europe and NIS Programme Latin American and Caribbean Programme Least-Developed Countries South-South Cooperation Human Security Directory of Offices Research & Statistics Publications Research and Statistics Subsites Annual Report Evaluation Group Investment and Technology Promotion Policymaking Organs Legal Resources Goodwill Ambassadors Industrial Competitiveness and Trade Private Sector Development Environmental Management Energy and Climate Change Research and Statistics Financial Institutions Partnerships Thematic ...Events Archive Worldwide Africa Programme Arab Programme Asia and Pacific Programme Europe and NIS Programme Latin American and Caribbean Programme Least-Developed Countries South-South Cooperation Human Security Directory of Offices Research & Statistics Publications Research and Statistics Subsites Annual Report Evaluation Group Investment and ...
ObjectivesTo extend a set of work carried out previously at Royal Holloway, the Natural History Museum and elsewhere, and instigated, to a considerable extent, by the PI to determine~%~~%~1. whether there is any significant difference in the performance of clay minerals in the presence of leachates generated by wastes from different cultures and/or deposited in different climates;~%~~%~2. what causes some, if not all, clay minerals to aggregate after reaction with landfill Ieachate;~%~~%~3. the permeabili [continued...]DescriptionAround 1995 it was shown that that interactions between clay minerals and landfill leachate destroy the clay mineral lattice, leading to reduced liner permeability. Recent work indicates that the effect may be caused by dissolution of silica and deposition of amorphous alumina. Most work to date has been done using synthetic and natural 'British' teachates. The research in Melbourne ...
This study uses a multi-part, split-sample contingent valuation method (CVM) and fair share (FS) survey to better understand the public's valuation of mitigating global climate change through its willingness to pay for biomass or 'cellulosic' ethanol. In addition to a basic CVM question, a related scenario was developed that asked half of the survey respondents to state their fair share cost to lessen a potential food shortage in the next decade, also through the expanded use of cellulosic ethanol. Three alternative biomass feedstocks were assessed: farming residues, forestry residues and paper mill wastes, and municipal solid wastes. Overall a slightly larger proportion of respondents were WTP extra for cellulosic ethanol in the basic CVM scenario than in the FS scenario, though no significant differences were found in the WTP for the different feedstocks. Bid curve lognormal regression results for the two models were similar, supporting ...
Solar ultraviolet radiation is damaging for living organisms due to its high energy pro each photon. The UV radiation is often separated into three regions according to the wavelength: UVC (200-280 nm), UVB (280-320 nm) and UVA (320-400 nm). The most hazardous part, UVC is absorbed completely in the upper atmosphere by molecular oxygen. UVB radiation is absorbed by atmospheric ozone partly, and it is reaching Earth`s surface, as UVA radiation. Besides atmospheric ozone, very important factors in determining the intensity of UVB radiation globally are the solar zenith angle and cloudiness. It may be calculated from global ozone changes that the clear-sky UVB doses may have enhanced by 10-15 % during spring and 5-10 % during summer at the latitudes of Finland, following the decrease of total ozone between 1979-90. The Finnish ozone and UV monitoring activities have become a part of international activities, especially the EU Environment and Climate Programme`s ...
During the past few years, the dual role that ozone plays in climate change has been becoming increasingly obvious. First, continuous thinning of the ozone layer has been evident, even in the high and middle latitudes in the northern hemisphere. Secondly, ozone is also a greenhouse gas, affecting radiative transfer. Increases in tropospheric ozone have a positive forcing, whereas decreases in stratospheric ozone cause a negative forcing. During the last six years, measurements on total ozone and the vertical distribution of ozone have been performed at the Sodankylae Observatory. At Jokioinen Observatory, measurements on total ozone have been performed since 1990 and measurements on the vertical distribution of ozone since 1993. The overall project has focused on extending the national data series on total ozone and the vertical distribution of ozone. At the same time, the study has contributed to the study of interannual variability of the ozone layer. This SILMU ...
The electricity sector is Canada's largest single source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This paper discussed electricity and carbon pricing approaches to reducing GHG emissions in the electricity sector. An overview of the links between electricity pricing and climate change was presented, and current and emerging trends in electricity pricing related to encouraging energy conservation were reviewed. Market prices and failures were discussed. Approaches to pricing electricity included an increase in block prices; time-of-use prices; demand-side management and energy efficiency; and carbon pricing in Canada and electricity pricing signals. The study showed that several provincial utilities in Canada are experimenting with market-based pricing approaches for electricity and carbon that may help to reduce GHG emissions over time. Concerns over electricity supply and the negative environmental impacts of electricity production may lead to the full social pricing of ...
The electricity sector is Canada's largest single source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This paper discussed electricity and carbon pricing approaches to reducing GHG emissions in the electricity sector. An overview of the links between electricity pricing and climate change was presented, and current and emerging trends in electricity pricing related to encouraging energy conservation were reviewed. Market prices and failures were discussed. Approaches to pricing electricity included an increase in block prices; time-of-use prices; demand-side management and energy efficiency; and carbon pricing in Canada and electricity pricing signals. The study showed that several provincial utilities in Canada are experimenting with market-based pricing approaches for electricity and carbon that may help to reduce GHG emissions over time. Concerns over electricity supply and the negative environmental impacts of electricity production may lead to the full social ...
ObjectivesThe overall scientific aim of this project is, through development of an appropriate numerical modelling tool, to identify and investigate the mechanisms that control the current observed rapid thinning and acceleration of Greenland outlet glaciers and to investigate their likely future behaviour in the context of climate warming. This aim is addressed through the four major specific objectives below. These objectives build on each and therefore the order of priority is driven by the order in wh [continued...]DescriptionCurrently, the Greenland ice sheet is undergoing rapid changes in the coastal regions which have been attributed to a general warming trend to the regions climate over the last decade. Several of the narrow and fast flowing outlet glaciers that drain the ice sheet into the sea are observed to have accelerated their flow and thinned. For instance, Jakobshavn Isbrae on the West coast of Greenland has almost doubled its ...
A 2007 report compiled by members of the armed services indicates that climate change presents a serious security threat to the American public as well as to United States military operations. It is likely that climate change will increase global tensions and competition for resources. This presentation discussed advanced research and technology programs conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Scientists and engineers at NASA have developed a number of technologies that may contribute to American energy security. Advanced energy research and development programs initiated by the organization include advanced heat engines; wind turbines; batteries and electric cars; solar photovoltaics; and fuel cell technologies. NASA's aeronautics and space exploration program has several capabilities relevant to advanced wind power systems. A collaborative program is currently underway to develop airborne wind turbines designed ...
European research in green energy production from crops has resulted in the development of full scale bioreactors that use energy crops as feedstock. Switchgrass has been touted as one of the most promising crops for energy production among several perennial grass species grown under moderate to hot climates. However, few studies have been conducted in colder climate conditions. This study examined the mesophilic methane yield of switchgrass grown under the cooler growing conditions that exist in northeastern North America. In 2007, switchgrass was harvested in late July, August and September and conserved as silage. The regrowth of plots harvested in late July was also harvested in late September as a two-cut strategy. A 30 L small-scale laboratory digester was used to anaerobically digest the switchgrass silage samples. Specific methane yield decreased considerably with advancing plant development, but was similar between the first harvest in ...
By joining the `climate association of European cities`, Frankfurt has agreed to reduce its CO{sub 2}-emissions by 50% by the year 2010. The so-called `climate offense 1991` was the first regulatory paper to be set up by a community to reach this goal over a long term. This report now represents the present level of the project. Main points are the development of houses with low entropy, the retrofitting of heating systems, water saving measures and energy management. (BWI) [Deutsch] Durch den Beitritt zum `Klima-Buendnis der Europaeischen Staedte` hat sich die Stadt Frankfurt/M. verpflichtet, die CO{sub 2}-Emissionen bis zum Jahr 2010 um 50% zu senken. Mit der sog. `Klimaoffensive 1991` wurde dann erstmals von einer Kommune in Deutschland ein detailliertes Regelwerk aufgestellt, um dieses Ziel langfristig erreichen zu koennen. Der vorliegende Bericht stellt den aktuellen Stand des Projektes dar. Kernpunkte sind die Entwicklung von ...
The cost of transporting biogas digestate can be decreased by reducing its water content. However, the digestate emits volatile compounds during drying. This study investigated the drying behaviour and the change of digestate composition. Drying took place in a hybrid solar/waste-heat dryer that used solar energy as well as waste heat from a combined heat and power unit (CHP) and the exhaust air of a microturbine. The experiment involved the use of 60 t of liquid digestate. Climatic conditions were measured inside and outside the drying hall. Dry matter (DM) and organic dry matter (ODM) were also measured on a daily basis. In addition, the energy consumption of waste and solar heat were recorded and related to the quantity of dried feedstock. The total nitrogen, ammonium, phosphate, potassium oxide, magnesium oxide and calcium oxide in the digestate were subjected to chemical analysis before and after the drying process. Losses of nitrogen were calculated. Specific ...
Simple correlations and corresponding nomographs are presented, which express the maximum useful heat received from salt-gradient solar ponds throughout the year or during a specified season of the year, and the corresponding optimum depth of the nonconvective zone in terms of the thickness of the upper convective zone and the temperature under which the maximum useful heat is received. The correlations are valid for the Athens (Greece) area or for regions with a similar climate, because solar radiation and ambient temperature values for Athens have been employed, obtained by a statistical process of hourly measurements over a period of about 20 years. For other climates, it is easy to develop similar correlations using the same methodology, Development of the proposed correlations is based on a method, which simulates the transient operation of the salt-gradient pond using finite-differences, and calculates the useful heat received hourly ...
Human resource competence building and continued enhancement of performance is the most vital input for safe and reliable operations of a Nuclear Power Plant. Integrated planning leading to the decision of timely selection of optimum number of fresh people and deployment of experienced manpower with desired lead time is inevitable to achieve the above objective. For safe and reliable plant operation human performance analysis followed by suggestive measures to improve the same is needed. Corrective or strengthening input may be in terms of training, work environment, motivations, organizational culture and climate, leadership and prevailing environmental force and bio-rhythm of individuals with critical days are to be worked out The adequacy in training and development not only gives safe and reliable plant operations but results in greater employee satisfaction and self esteem as well. As of date, in the present vibrant global scenario, only the organization which ...
The collision of the Earth with extra-terrestrial ice-volatile bodies is proposed as a mechanism to produce rapid changes in the geologic record. These bodies would be analogs of the ice satellites found for the Jovian planets and suspected for comets and certain low density bodies in the Asteroid belt. Five generic end-members are postulated: (1) water ice; (2) dry ice: carbon-carbon dioxide rich, (3) oceanic (chloride) ice; (4) sulfur-rich ice; (5) ammonia hydrate-rich ice; and (6) clathrate: methane-rich ice. Due to the volatile nature of these bodies, evidence for their impact with the Earth would be subtle and probably best reflected geochemically or in the fossil record. Actual boloids impacting the Earth may have a variable composition, generally some admixture with water ice. However for discussion purposes, only the effects of a dominant component will be treated. The general geological effects of such collisions, as a function of the dominant component would be: (1) rapid sea ...
During the course of a fiscal year, Oak Ridge National Laboratory`s Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) distributes thousands of specialty publications-numeric data packages (NDPs), computer model packages (CMPs), technical reports, public communication publications, newsletters, article reprints, and reference books-in response to requests for information related to global environmental issues, primarily those pertaining to climate change. CDIACs staff also provides technical responses to specific inquiries related to carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}), other trace gases, and climate. Hundreds of referrals to other researchers, policy analysts, information specialists, or organizations are also facilitated by CDIAC`s staff. This report provides an account of the activities accomplished by CDIAC during the period October 1, 1991 to September 30, 1992. An organizational overview of CDIAC and its staff is supplemented by a detailed ...
This document describes the contents of a digital climatological data set that may be used by raster or vector geographic information systems (GISs). The primary focus of the data set is the quantification of the occurrence of synoptic storms and other climatological factors that affect coastlines. However, recent demands for new and/or improved climatologies of storm events as well as an increase in the availability of source data have made it useful to extend the domain of most of the data variables to that of regional and/or global coverage. The expansion of the data makes the data set applicable in several areas of climatic research. The data set contains eight data groups. Spatial coverage of data varies by data group. All data groups except one are referred to 1{degree} {times} 1{degree} or 5{degree} {times} 5{degree} grid cells of latitude and longitude. (Data group (3) is referenced by state.) 19 refs., 12 figs., 26 tabs.
The relationships between soil salinization and the zonal and provincial bioclimatic conditions, the lithological composition of the sediments, and the geomorphic features of the territory have been analyzed for the Southern federal okrug of Russia. It is shown that the lithological and geomorphic conditions (relief, salinity of parent materials, degree of drainage, and the depth of saline groundwater) play an important role in the distribution of salt-affected soils against the background of the more general regularities specified by the climate. The participation of salt-affected soils in the soil cover of the Southern federal okrug increases in the eastward direction from the forest-steppe zone to the semidesert zone in agreement with an increase in the aridity and continentality of the...
Yucca Mountain in Nevada represents the proposed solution to what has been a lengthy national effort to dispose of high-level radioactive waste, waste which must be isolated from the biosphere for tens of thousands of years. This chapter reviews the background of that national effort and includes some discussion of international work in order to provide a more complete framework for the problem of waste disposal. Other chapters provide the regional geologic setting, the geology of the Yucca Mountain site, the tectonics, and climate (past, present, and future). These last two chapters are integral to prediction of long-term waste isolation.
Current projections of the response of the biosphere to global climatic change indicate as much as 50% to 90% spatial displacement of extratropical biomes. The mechanism of spatial shift could be dominated by either (1) competitive displacement of northern biomes by southern biomes, or (2) drought-induced dieback of areas susceptible to change. The current suite of global biosphere models cannot distinguish between these two processes, thus determining the need for a mechanistically based biome model. The model is in an early stage of development and will require several enhancements, including explicit simulation of potential evapotranspiration, extension to boreal and tropical biomes, a shift from steady-state to transient dynamics, and validation on other continents.
The universe is full of exotic particles and waves. Some, such as neutrinos, pass through our neighbourhood unnoticed; others, such as extreme uv radiation, are absorbed by the upper atmosphere before they are able to do too much damage. For a long time, any systematic attempt to understand how our weather can be affected by extra-terrestrial sources other than solar visible and infrared radiation has been a lively and often controversial diversion from mainstream research. But recent scientific and technological breakthroughs and concern over long-term climate change have brought this subject into the spotlight.
A troubling reality in today's political climate is that many political leaders actually believe that the best way to change schools is through an "end of a gun barrel" approach, rather than by building consensus. In this article, the author examines the reality of high-stakes testing from several perspectives, including the politics of coercion, politics of performance, and the politics of perception. The author discusses that high-stakes testing is a politically charged issue that has had a tremendous impact on the way schools operate; however, teachers must not be afraid to keep their perspective and must encourage a healthy, honest dialogue about the role of testing and engage in political debate.
The power industry is undergoing major changes. Deregulation and a competitive climate demand effective solutions. Costs and losses must be reduced, and overall efficiency must be raised. Industrial options connected to energy market and environmental considerations are discussed. Themes discussed in this paper are environmental challenges, the fuel factor, power plants in use today, the Norwegian power system, the European system, power exchange across borders, the transmission system, the future European system, and options for Norwegian industry. 27 figs.
This book contains the results of an architectural evaluation of building examples with integrated photovoltaic. Danish Building and Urban Research and Danish Technological Institute conducted the work within the framework of Solar Energy Centre Denmark. Seven examples are selected to inspire Danish architects and building owners to use PV in the building environment. The examples come from Denmark and countries (the Netherlands and Germany) with similar building traditions, climate and solar conditions. All the examples demonstrate architectural concepts that integrate photovoltaic as a natural part of the building envelope. (BA)
This document is a progress report to the USDOE Atmospheric Radiation and Measurement Program (ARM). The overall project goal is to relate subgrid-cumulus-cloud formation, coverage, and population characteristics to statistical properties of surface-layer air, which in turn are modulated by heterogeneous land-usage within GCM-grid-box-size regions. The motivation is to improve the understanding and prediction of climate change by more accurately describing radiative and cloud processes.
The operation of buildings can be temporarily modified to use much less electricity. These actions may be necessary during regional electricity shortages lasting anywhere from days to months. The electricity conservation measures typically involve a combination of technical modifications, temporary changes in occupant behavior, and greatly increased vigilance. At the same time, attempts to drastically reduce a building's electricity use may have unexpected consequences affecting energy use, the indoor environment, and the performance of building materials and equipment. Electricity shortfalls such as those described in this paper may occur more often as a result of climate change and liberalized electricity markets. (author)
...Publications Consultations Application forms Vacancies Contact us About us Air Climate change Flooding Live flood warnings Flood map How to use it About the ...map View the map FAQs Contact us & Feedback Flooding: who does what? Flood warning - what we do Floodline Warnings Direct Flood ...risk Being prepared FAQs Floodline kids Flooding publications External links Business & Flood Risk Seminar Contact us Land Planning Radioactive substances Waste Water ... You are here: Home Page Flooding Flood map View the map View the map: terms and conditions Important information about ...
The Marine Technology Society 1994 conference was held in Washington, D.C., September 7-9, 1994. Titled Challenges and Opportunities in the Marine Environment, the conference offered a wide variety of presentations. State-of-the-art technology, government policies and regulations, and environmental concerns were addressed. Offshore mining, coastal zone management, marine engineering, oceanographic research, educational issues, and global climate change were also well represented in the presentations. The conference proceedings are organized around the daily sessions and roughly 70% of the papers are included.
Understanding the link between the Sun and climate is vital in the current incidence of global climate change, and 10Be in natural archives constitutes an excellent tracer for this purpose. As cosmic rays enter the atmosphere, cosmogenic isotopes like 10Be and 14C are formed. Variations in solar activity modulate the amount of incoming cosmic rays, and thereby cosmogenic isotope production. Atmospherically produced 10Be enters natural archives such as sediments and glaciers by wet and dry deposition within about a year of production. 10Be from natural archives therefore provides information on past solar activity, and because these archives also contain climate information, solar activity and climate can be linked. One remaining question is to what degree 10Be in natural archives reflects production, and to what extent the local and regional environment overprints the production signal. To explore this, ...
Increased use of natural gas has positive effects for the environment and the climate, because it primarily replaces petroleum products. Moreover, the natural gas does not pose a threat to bio fuel in Norway. But introducing CO2 taxes on natural gas will significantly increase the emission of greenhouse gases, concludes a report conducted by Norsk Energi (Norwegian Energy) on behalf of Norsk Naturgassforening (Norwegian Natural Gas Association) and Norsk Gassforum (Norwegian Gasforum). A brief presentation of the main conclusions in the report (ml)
A synthesis of papers based on the United Nations Environment Programme meeting on the ozone layer, Washington DC, this book contains valuable information on ongoing and planned activities concerned with stratospheric ozone problems, and presents the recommendations for further action resulting from the meeting. Possible changes in the characteristics of the ozone layer are discussed, together with the environmental, ecological, climatic, economic, and health implications of stratospheric ozone depletion. A comprehensive survey of current research in five European countries, the USA, Canada, and Australia is included and the volume is concluded by the UNEP report of the meeting and a world plan of action.
Unmanaged pollutants from putrescible farm, industrial, and municipal wastes degrade in the environment, and methane emitted from their decomposition may contribute to global climate change. Under modern environmental regulations, these wastes are becoming difficult to dispose of using traditional means. One waste management system, anaerobic digestion or AD, not only provides pollution prevention but can also convert a disposal problem into a new profit center. This report is drawn from a special session of the Second Biomass Conference of the Americas. Selected papers are indexed separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.
Florida posseses climatic, land, and water resources favorable for abundant biomass production. Therefore, a statewide program has been initiated to determine adapted species for the available array of production sites. Plant resources under investigation include woody, aquatic, grasses, hydrocarbon, and root crop species. The goal is to produce a continuous stream of biomass for the various biofuel conversion options. Preliminary yields from energy cropping experiments range from about 10 to nearly 90 metric tons per hectare per year, depending on the crop and the production systems employed. (Refs. 15).
Hypoxia causes abnormal neonatal pulmonary artery remodeling (PAR) and inhibition of alveolar development (IAD). Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β is an important regulator of lung development...Full Text Available
The Myc oncoprotein is a potent inducer of cell growth, cell cycle progression, and apoptosis. While many direct Myc target genes have been identified, the molecular determinants of Myc’s transcriptional...Full Text Available
The present study is aiming at the visualization of the boiling structures for various pool boiling and flow boiling conditions by applying multiple visualization techniques simultaneously. The bubble growth rate and microlayer behavior were simultaneously visualized for an isolated boiling regime of a water by using a shadow graph and a total reflection technique, respectively
Spatial distributions of turgor and longitudinal growth were compared in primary roots of maize (Zea mays L. cv FR27 × FRMo 17) growing in vermiculite at high (−0.02...Full Text Available
Interchangeable technology from Flexicon Liquid Filling, a business division of Watson-Marlow Pumps Group, has helped family-run diagnostic reagent manufacturer, Hart Biologicals Ltd, to accommodate business growth with the recent upgrade to a tabletop bottle filling and capping machine. A peristaltic dispensing pump is crucial for succes
Smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation and migration are key processes that occur in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and post-angioplasty restenosis. In the present study, we designed locked nucleic...Full Text Available
An Escherichia coli B strain, B834 galU56, has been isolated which supports growth of bacteriophage T4 with cytosine in its DNA while restricting growth of T4 with hydroxymethylcytosine. This host is...Full Text Available
The discovery of a specific high-affinity growth hormone (GH) binding protein (GH-BP) in plasma adds complexity to the dynamics of GH secretion and clearance. Intuitive predictions are that such a protein...Full Text Available
This paper reports the results of in situ observation of fatigue crack growth in a ferrite?pearlite steel. Stress intensity factor range (?K) decreasing/increasing and constant-?K fatigue tests have been carried out. In banded pearlite orientation, intense crack branching was observed which leads to fatigue crack retardation. Crack closure during the test was monitored to understand the fatigue crack growth behaviour.
A growth model of pitting corrosion of carbon steel in cooling water systems was developed on microscopic observations of pits and electrochemical studies. Results of pitting corrosion measurements in laboratory and field conditions with the model, using a newly developed electrochemical device, are discussed. For an actual heat exchanger up to a year operation, the values of pitting depth estimated were in good agreement with the measured values.
C14, C15, and C16 alkyl nitriles, and C16 and C18 alkyl acetylenes at 10 to 105 micromolar concentrations promote the growth of stem sections from...Full Text Available
Tow experiments were carried out in 1981 and 1982 growth seasons at the greenhouse of the department of agriculture for soils and water researches, atomic energy authority, at inshas, to investigate the responses of two mutation derived lines of sesame and the local cultivar giza 25 to the application of micro nutrients. The possible effect of radiation on germination and growth of sesame seed was also studied in a separate experiment conducted in 1985 season, at inshas.
The three mammalian transforming growth factor (TGF)-β isoforms (TGF-β1, TGF-β2, and TGF-β3) differ in their putative roles in radiation-induced fibrosis in intestine...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe ability of catecholamines to stimulate bacterial growth was first demonstrated just over a decade ago. Little is still known however, concerning the nature of the putative...Full Text Available
Clostridium thermoaceticum ATCC 39073 converted vanillate to catechol. Although carboxylated aromatic compounds which did not contain methoxyl groups were not by themselves growth supportive, protocatechuate...Full Text Available
The objective of the present study was to test the hypothesis that circulating levels of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) are inversely associated with inflammatory processes in an elderly background population.
Epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulates adenylyl cyclase in the heart via activation of the stimulatory GTP-binding protein Gs. Therefore, employing peptides corresponding to regions in the cytosolic...Full Text Available
Growing of PV for electricity generation is one of the highest in the field of the renewable energies and this tendency is expected to continue in the next years. Due to the various seasonal, hourly and daily changes in climate, it is relatively difficult to find a suitable analytic model for predicting the performance of a grid-connected photovoltaic (GCPV) plant. In this paper, an artificial neural network is used for modelling and predicting the power produced by a 20 kWp GCPV plant installed on the roof top of the municipality of Trieste (latitude 45 deg. 40'N, longitude 13 deg. 46'E), Italy. An experimental database of climate (irradiance and air temperature) and electrical (power delivered to the grid) data from January 29th to May 25th 2009 has been used. Two ANN models have been developed and implemented on experimental climate and electrical data. The first one is a multivariate model based on the solar irradiance ...
Climates at regional scale are strongly dependent on the interaction between atmosphere and its lower boundary, the oceans and the land surface mosaic. Land surfaces influence climate through their albedo, and the aerodynamic roughness, the processes of the biosphere and many soil hydrological properties; all these factors vary considerably geographically. Land surfaces receive a certain portion of the solar irradiance depending on the cloudiness, atmospheric transparency and surface albedo. Short-wave solar irradiance is the source of the heat energy exchange at the earth`s surface and also regulates many biological processes, e.g. photosynthesis. Methods for estimating solar irradiance, atmospheric transparency and surface albedo were reviewed during the course of this project. The solar energy at earth`s surface is consumed for heating the soil and the lower atmosphere. Where moisture is available, evaporation is one of the key components of ...
In front of the risks linked with the increase of the greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, the decision makers must take into consideration first, the scientific advice of climatic change experts, and second, the considerable inertia of the climatic system. Thus, any action implemented so far will have an impact all along the 21. century and later whatever the future human activities. The aim of this memento is to sensibilize the decision makers about the possible consequences of their choice in terms of volume of greenhouse gases and of medium- and long-term evolution: 1 - stakes, role of local decision-makers (greenhouse effect and climatic change, France's international commitment, stakes, liabilities of local decision makers, decentralization laws, local plans of fight against greenhouse effect, public information and dialogue); 2 - urbanism and transports (urban displacements, alternatives to individual ...
Climate change is no longer questioned. Meeting growing global energy needs - while limiting the rate of climate change over the long term - will require both developed and developing countries to move to fuels with lower emissions of greenhouse gases and to adopt more energy-efficient technologies. Investment decisions made today will be pivotal in determining the path of global energy consumption for decades to come. Energy markets, financial markets, and the markets in which greenhouse gas emissions are traded - the so-called 'carbon markets' - together determine which technologies are adopted, and how quickly. Over the next half-century, energy demand will grow almost four times as rapidly in developing countries as in developed countries. Consequently, finding ways to increase investment in cleaner energy technologies in rapidly-growing economies in the developing world will be an essential component of global efforts to ...
A method of Kelvin-day function for climatic solar heating design is presented. The long term temperature distribution is used to find the solar fraction for building heating. A solar heating system is considered to provide heat needed up to an auxiliary heater cut-in temperature which is determined by both heat gain of solar heating system and overall heat loss coefficient of the building. The amount of auxiliary heat needed is calculated from a Kelvin-day value at this cut-in temperature. The cut-in temperature will change from different solar heating system designs, and the Kelvin-day value at this cut-in temperature will be varied. By using the numerical curve-fitting method, the Kelvin-day value at any temperature base can be expressed into a second order algebraic equation, thus, the whole data need not be put into computer storage. It will be very convenient to determine the Kelvin-day value at any base in the design of small heating buildings for ...
The author blows the whistle about what he considers as a worldwide environmental crisis. He brings a fresh outlook to the crises of destabilizing climate change and rising competition for energy - both of which could poison our world if we do not act quickly and collectively. His argument speaks to all of us who are concerned about the state of America in the global future. The author proposes that an ambitious national strategy - which he calls 'Geo-Greenism' - is not only what we need to save the planet from overheating; it is what we need to make America healthier, richer, more innovative, more productive, and more secure. He explains a new era - the Energy-Climate era - through an illuminating account of recent events. He shows how 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the flattening of the world by the Internet (which brought 3 billion new consumers onto the world stage) have combined to bring climate and energy issues to Main ...
Anthropogenic sulfate aerosol, together with particles from biomass burning, may significantly reduce the climatic warming due to man-made greenhouse gases. The radiative forcing of aerosol particles is based on their ability to scatter and absorb solar radiation (direct effect), and on their influences on cloud albedos and lifetimes (indirect effect). The direct aerosol effect depends strongly on the size, number and chemical composition of particles, being greatest for particles of 0.1-1 {mu}m in diameter. The indirect aerosol effect is dictated by the number of particles being able to act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). For sulfate particles, the minimum CCN size in tropospheric clouds is of the order of 0.05-0.2 {mu}m. To improve aerosol parameterizations in future climate models, it is required that (1) both primary and secondary sources of various particle types will be characterized at a greater accuracy, and (2) the influences of ...
To utilize solar energy effectively, a method has been developed by which daily clearness indexes can be estimated from phrase of general weather condition, and it has been examined at four places located at different typical climatic divisions in Japan. Successive results of extra-terrestrial solar insulation and measured solar insulation were illustrated at each place. It was found that the envelope of maximal value among measured values is in proportion to the extra-terrestrial solar insulation. Based on the basic clearness index and the meaning of term expressing general weather condition defined by the Meteorological Agency, the general weather condition was quantitated using the clearness index. This value was defined as weather index. Relationship between the measured clearness index at each place and the weather index was analyzed regressively. Correlation between the both was highly close, proportionally. Accordingly, the clearness index can be estimated ...
A large portion of terrestrial carbon (C) resides in soil organic carbon (SOC). The dynamics of this large reservoir depend on many factors, including climate. Measurements of {sup 13}C:{sup 12}C ratios, C concentrations, and C:N ratios at six forest sites in the Southern Appalachian Mountains (USA) were used to explore several hypotheses concerning the relative importance of factors that control soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition and SOC turnover. Mean {delta}{sup 13}C values increased with soil depth and decreasing C concentrations along a continuum from fresh litter inputs to more decomposed soil constituents. Data from the six forest sites, in combination with data from a literature review, indicate that the extent of change in {delta}{sup 13}C values from forest litter inputs to mineral soil (20 cm deep) is significantly associated with mean annual temperature. The findings support a conceptual model of vertical changes in forest soil {delta}{sup 13}C ...
The effect of aerosol on clouds poses one of the largest uncertainties in estimating the anthropogenic contribution to climate change. Small human-induced perturbations to cloud characteristics via aerosol pathways can create a change in the top-of-atmosphere radiative forcing of hundreds of Wm-2. Here we focus on links between aerosol and deep convective clouds of the Atlantic and Pacific Intertropical Convergence Zones, noting that the aerosol environment in each region is entirely different. The tops of these vertically developed clouds consisting of mostly ice can reach high levels of the atmosphere, overshooting the lower stratosphere and reaching altitudes greater than 16 km. We show a link between aerosol, clouds and the free atmosphere wind profile that can change the magnitude and sign of the overall climate radiative forcing. We find that increased aerosol loading is associated with taller cloud towers and anvils. The taller clouds ...
This paper presents a study on the crystallization and growth mechanism of selenium nanowires induced by silver nanoparticles at ambient conditions with special reference to the effects of factors such as the shapes and size of silver nanoparticles, the induced reaction time, and the molar ratio of Ag{sup 0} to SeO{sub 3}{sup 2-} ions. The synthesis approach is conducted with no need of any stabilizers, and with no sonochemical process and/or templates. It is found that whether silver spherical particles or colloids can lead to the formation of nanowires with average diameter of 25 nm and lengths up to a few micrometers, and silver nanoplates lead to the formation of flat Se nanostructures. In particular, Au, Cu, Pt, and Pd particles cannot induce the growth of selenium nanowires in aqueous solution at room temperature. The results indicate that silver particles play a critical role in determining the growth of selenium ...