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Sample records for similar annual cycle

  1. Trends and annual cycles in soundings of Arctic tropospheric ozone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christiansen, Bo; Jepsen, Nis; Kivi, Rigel; Hansen, Georg; Larsen, Niels; Smith Korsholm, Ulrik

    2017-08-01

    Ozone soundings from nine Nordic stations have been homogenized and interpolated to standard pressure levels. The different stations have very different data coverage; the longest period with data is from the end of the 1980s to 2014. At each pressure level the homogenized ozone time series have been analysed with a model that includes both low-frequency variability in the form of a polynomial, an annual cycle with harmonics, the possibility for low-frequency variability in the annual amplitude and phasing, and either white noise or noise given by a first-order autoregressive process. The fitting of the parameters is performed with a Bayesian approach not only giving the mean values but also confidence intervals. The results show that all stations agree on a well-defined annual cycle in the free troposphere with a relatively confined maximum in the early summer. Regarding the low-frequency variability, it is found that Scoresbysund, Ny Ålesund, Sodankylä, Eureka, and Ørland show similar, significant signals with a maximum near 2005 followed by a decrease. This change is characteristic for all pressure levels in the free troposphere. A significant change in the annual cycle was found for Ny Ålesund, Scoresbysund, and Sodankylä. The changes at these stations are in agreement with the interpretation that the early summer maximum is appearing earlier in the year. The results are shown to be robust to the different settings of the model parameters such as the order of the polynomial, number of harmonics in the annual cycle, and the type of noise.

  2. Trends and annual cycles in soundings of Arctic tropospheric ozone

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Christiansen

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Ozone soundings from nine Nordic stations have been homogenized and interpolated to standard pressure levels. The different stations have very different data coverage; the longest period with data is from the end of the 1980s to 2014. At each pressure level the homogenized ozone time series have been analysed with a model that includes both low-frequency variability in the form of a polynomial, an annual cycle with harmonics, the possibility for low-frequency variability in the annual amplitude and phasing, and either white noise or noise given by a first-order autoregressive process. The fitting of the parameters is performed with a Bayesian approach not only giving the mean values but also confidence intervals. The results show that all stations agree on a well-defined annual cycle in the free troposphere with a relatively confined maximum in the early summer. Regarding the low-frequency variability, it is found that Scoresbysund, Ny Ålesund, Sodankylä, Eureka, and Ørland show similar, significant signals with a maximum near 2005 followed by a decrease. This change is characteristic for all pressure levels in the free troposphere. A significant change in the annual cycle was found for Ny Ålesund, Scoresbysund, and Sodankylä. The changes at these stations are in agreement with the interpretation that the early summer maximum is appearing earlier in the year. The results are shown to be robust to the different settings of the model parameters such as the order of the polynomial, number of harmonics in the annual cycle, and the type of noise.

  3. Comparison of methods for extracting annual cycle with changing amplitude in climate science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Q.; Fu, Z.

    2017-12-01

    Changes of annual cycle gains a growing concern recently. The basic hypothesis regards annual cycle as constant. Climatology mean within a time period is usually used to depict the annual cycle. Obviously this hypothesis contradicts with the fact that annual cycle is changing every year. For the lack of a unified definition about annual cycle, the approaches adopted in extracting annual cycle are various and may lead to different results. The precision and validity of these methods need to be examined. In this work we numerical experiments with known monofrequent annual cycle are set to evaluate five popular extracting methods: fitting sinusoids, complex demodulation, Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD), Nonlinear Mode Decomposition (NMD) and Seasonal trend decomposition procedure based on loess (STL). Three different types of changing amplitude will be generated: steady, linear increasing and nonlinearly varying. Comparing the annual cycle extracted by these methods with the generated annual cycle, we find that (1) NMD performs best in depicting annual cycle itself and its amplitude change, (2) fitting sinusoids, complex demodulation and EEMD methods are more sensitive to long-term memory(LTM) of generated time series thus lead to overfitting annual cycle and too noisy amplitude, oppositely the result of STL underestimate the amplitude variation (3)all of them can present the amplitude trend correctly in long-time scale but the errors on account of noise and LTM are common in some methods over short time scales.

  4. The impact of inter-annual variability of annual cycle on long-term persistence of surface air temperature in long historical records

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Qimin; Nian, Da; Fu, Zuntao

    2018-02-01

    Previous studies in the literature show that the annual cycle of surface air temperature (SAT) is changing in both amplitude and phase, and the SAT departures from the annual cycle are long-term correlated. However, the classical definition of temperature anomalies is based on the assumption that the annual cycle is constant, which contradicts the fact of changing annual cycle. How to quantify the impact of the changing annual cycle on the long-term correlation of temperature anomaly variability still remains open. In this paper, a recently developed data adaptive analysis tool, the nonlinear mode decomposition (NMD), is used to extract and remove time-varying annual cycle to reach the new defined temperature anomalies in which time-dependent amplitude of annual cycle has been considered. By means of detrended fluctuation analysis, the impact induced by inter-annual variability from the time-dependent amplitude of annual cycle has been quantified on the estimation of long-term correlation of long historical temperature anomalies in Europe. The results show that the classical climatology annual cycle is supposed to lack inter-annual fluctuation which will lead to a maximum artificial deviation centering around 600 days. This maximum artificial deviation is crucial to defining the scaling range and estimating the long-term persistence exponent accurately. Selecting different scaling range could lead to an overestimation or underestimation of the long-term persistence exponent. By using NMD method to extract the inter-annual fluctuations of annual cycle, this artificial crossover can be weakened to extend a wider scaling range with fewer uncertainties.

  5. Annual reconstruction of the solar cycle from atmospheric 14C variations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murphy, J.O.

    1990-01-01

    Initially, the rise and fall components of the 11-year solar sunspot cycle are approximated by separate least-squares polynomials for four cycle classifications, which are determined by the magnitude of the average of the annual sunspot numbers per cycle. Following a method is formulated to generate detailed reconstruction of the annual variation of a solar cycle based on this cycle average, and the results obtained for cycles -4 through to 21 are compared with the annual Zurich values. This procedure is then employed to establish annual sunspot numbers using published average cycle values obtained from atmospheric carbon 14 variations, which have been derived from the chemical analysis of tree ring sections. The reconstructed sequences are correlated with the observed cycle values and with tree ring width index chronologies which exhibit a significant 11-year periodicity. It is anticipated that the long carbon 14 records and parallel dendrochronological data could be employed to obtain a more detailed portrayal of previous periods of strong solar activity than that given by current estimates based on historical records. 17 refs., 2 tabs., 9 figs

  6. Satellite Global and Hemispheric Lower Tropospheric Temperature Annual Temperature Cycle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael A. Brunke

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Previous analyses of the Earth’s annual cycle and its trends have utilized surface temperature data sets. Here we introduce a new analysis of the global and hemispheric annual cycle using a satellite remote sensing derived data set during the period 1979–2009, as determined from the lower tropospheric (LT channel of the MSU satellite. While the surface annual cycle is tied directly to the heating and cooling of the land areas, the tropospheric annual cycle involves additionally the gain or loss of heat between the surface and atmosphere. The peak in the global tropospheric temperature in the 30 year period occurs on 10 July and the minimum on 9 February in response to the larger land mass in the Northern Hemisphere. The actual dates of the hemispheric maxima and minima are a complex function of many variables which can change from year to year thereby altering these dates.Here we examine the time of occurrence of the global and hemispheric maxima and minima lower tropospheric temperatures, the values of the annual maxima and minima, and the slopes and significance of the changes in these metrics.  The statistically significant trends are all relatively small. The values of the global annual maximum and minimum showed a small, but significant trend. Northern and Southern Hemisphere maxima and minima show a slight trend toward occurring later in the year. Most recent analyses of trends in the global annual cycle using observed surface data have indicated a trend toward earlier maxima and minima.

  7. Annual energy and environment analysis of solarized steam injection gas turbine (STIG) cycle for Indian regions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Selwynraj, A. Immanuel; Iniyan, S.; Suganthi, L.; Livshits, Maya; Polonsky, Guy; Kribus, Abraham

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Study on the influence of local climatic conditions on solar STIG cycle is presented. • The annual solar to electricity efficiency ranges between 11.2 and 17.1% and the solar fraction ranges 9.3–41.7%. • The range of annual specific CO_2 emission is 312–408 kg/MWh and incremental CO_2 avoidance is 4.2–104 kg/MWh. • The levelized tariff (LT) is 0.2–0.23 $/kWh, and the solar levelized tariff (SLT) ranges from 0.11 to 0.27 $/kWh. - Abstract: The solarized steam injection gas turbine (STIG) cycle uses both the fuel and solar heat simultaneously for power generation. The annual thermodynamic performances of the cycle for sites in India with local climatic conditions such as ambient temperature, relative humidity and availability of direct normal irradiance (DNI) to the solar concentrators under two modes of constant and variable power are presented in this paper. The results reveal that the solar to electricity efficiency of solar hybrid STIG plant with a simple parabolic trough collector (PTC) is similar to existing solar thermal technologies, and also higher solar share is obtained. The study also reveals that the annual CO_2 emission is similar to combined cycle plants and lower than gas turbine technologies. The incremental CO_2 avoidance is also computed due to solar participation. The annual values of exergetic solar fraction and exergetic efficiency at Indore are higher than Jaipur. Results of an improved economic assessment show that the levelized tariff (LT) of solar hybrid STIG plant is 0.2–0.23 $/kWh and the levelized tariff (solar only) or solar levelized tariff (SLT) of solar STIG plant ranges from 0.11 to 0.27 $/kWh for both constant and variable power scenarios.

  8. Dynamical diagnostics of the SST annual cycle in the eastern equatorial Pacific: part I a linear coupled framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ying-Ying; Jin, Fei-Fei

    2018-03-01

    The eastern equatorial Pacific has a pronounced westward propagating SST annual cycle resulting from ocean-atmosphere interactions with equatorial semiannual solar forcing and off-equatorial annual solar forcing conveyed to the equator. In this two-part paper, a simple linear coupled framework is proposed to quantify the internal dynamics and external forcing for a better understanding of the linear part of the dynamics annual cycle. It is shown that an essential internal dynamical factor is the SST damping rate which measures the coupled stability in a similar way as the Bjerknes instability index for the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. It comprises three major negative terms (dynamic damping due to the Ekman pumping feedback, mean circulation advection, and thermodynamic feedback) and two positive terms (thermocline feedback and zonal advection). Another dynamical factor is the westward-propagation speed that is mainly determined by the thermodynamic feedback, the Ekman pumping feedback, and the mean circulation. The external forcing is measured by the annual and semiannual forcing factors. These linear internal and external factors, which can be estimated from data, determine the amplitude of the annual cycle.

  9. Annual cycle of Scots pine photosynthesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Hari

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Photosynthesis, i.e. the assimilation of atmospheric carbon to organic molecules with the help of solar energy, is a fundamental and well-understood process. Here, we connect theoretically the fundamental concepts affecting C3 photosynthesis with the main environmental drivers (ambient temperature and solar light intensity, using six axioms based on physiological and physical knowledge, and yield straightforward and simple mathematical equations. The light and carbon reactions in photosynthesis are based on the coherent operation of the photosynthetic machinery, which is formed of a complicated chain of enzymes, membrane pumps and pigments. A powerful biochemical regulation system has emerged through evolution to match photosynthesis with the annual cycle of solar light and temperature. The action of the biochemical regulation system generates the annual cycle of photosynthesis and emergent properties, the state of the photosynthetic machinery and the efficiency of photosynthesis. The state and the efficiency of the photosynthetic machinery is dynamically changing due to biosynthesis and decomposition of the molecules. The mathematical analysis of the system, defined by the very fundamental concepts and axioms, resulted in exact predictions of the behaviour of daily and annual patterns in photosynthesis. We tested the predictions with extensive field measurements of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L. photosynthesis on a branch scale in northern Finland. Our theory gained strong support through rigorous testing.

  10. Annual cycle of Scots pine photosynthesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hari, Pertti; Kerminen, Veli-Matti; Kulmala, Liisa; Kulmala, Markku; Noe, Steffen; Petäjä, Tuukka; Vanhatalo, Anni; Bäck, Jaana

    2017-12-01

    Photosynthesis, i.e. the assimilation of atmospheric carbon to organic molecules with the help of solar energy, is a fundamental and well-understood process. Here, we connect theoretically the fundamental concepts affecting C3 photosynthesis with the main environmental drivers (ambient temperature and solar light intensity), using six axioms based on physiological and physical knowledge, and yield straightforward and simple mathematical equations. The light and carbon reactions in photosynthesis are based on the coherent operation of the photosynthetic machinery, which is formed of a complicated chain of enzymes, membrane pumps and pigments. A powerful biochemical regulation system has emerged through evolution to match photosynthesis with the annual cycle of solar light and temperature. The action of the biochemical regulation system generates the annual cycle of photosynthesis and emergent properties, the state of the photosynthetic machinery and the efficiency of photosynthesis. The state and the efficiency of the photosynthetic machinery is dynamically changing due to biosynthesis and decomposition of the molecules. The mathematical analysis of the system, defined by the very fundamental concepts and axioms, resulted in exact predictions of the behaviour of daily and annual patterns in photosynthesis. We tested the predictions with extensive field measurements of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) photosynthesis on a branch scale in northern Finland. Our theory gained strong support through rigorous testing.

  11. Ocean Color and the Equatorial Annual Cycle in the Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammann, A. C.; Gnanadesikan, A.

    2012-12-01

    The presence of chlorophyll, colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and other scatterers in ocean surface waters affect the flux divergence of solar radiation and thus the vertical distribution of radiant heating of the ocean. While this may directly alter the local mixed-layer depth and temperature (Martin 1985; Strutton & Chavez 2004), non-local changes are propagated through advection (Manizza et al. 2005; Murtugudde et al. 2002; Nakamoto et al. 2001; Sweeny et al. 2005). In and coupled feedbacks (Lengaigne et al. 2007; Marzeion & Timmermann 2005). Anderson et al. (2007), Anderson et al. (2009) and Gnanadesikan & Anderson (2009) have performed a series of experiments with a fully coupled climate model which parameterizes the e-folding depth of solar irradiance in terms of surface chlorophyll-a concentration. The results have so far been discussed with respect to the climatic mean state and ENSO variability in the tropical Pacific. We extend the discussion here to the Pacific equatorial annual cycle. The focus of the coupled experiments has been the sensitivity of the coupled system to regional differences in chlorophyll concentration. While runs have been completed with realistic SeaWiFS-derived monthly composite chlorophyll ('green') and with a globally chlorophyll-free ocean ('blue'), the concentrations in two additional runs have been selectively set to zero in specific regions: the oligotrophic subtropical gyres ('gyre') in one case and the mesotrophic gyre margins ('margin') in the other. The annual cycle of ocean temperatures exhibits distinctly reduced amplitudes in the 'blue' and 'margin' experiments, and a slight reduction in 'gyre' (while ENSO variability almost vanishes in 'blue' and 'gyre', but amplifies in 'margin' - thus the frequently quoted inverse correlation between ENSO and annual amplitudes holds only for the 'green' / 'margin' comparison). It is well-known that on annual time scales, the anomalous divergence of surface currents and vertical

  12. The annual cycle of African climate and its variability | Jury | Water SA

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    low) annual cycle correspond with La Nina (El Nino) and increased (decreased) inter-annual fluctuations of the African climate. A composite analysis shows that the South Atlantic Hadley cell and standing waves in the subtropical jet may connect ...

  13. Predicting the start and maximum amplitude of solar cycle 24 using similar phases and a cycle grouping

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Jialong; Zong Weiguo; Le Guiming; Zhao Haijuan; Tang Yunqiu; Zhang Yang

    2009-01-01

    We find that the solar cycles 9, 11, and 20 are similar to cycle 23 in their respective descending phases. Using this similarity and the observed data of smoothed monthly mean sunspot numbers (SMSNs) available for the descending phase of cycle 23, we make a date calibration for the average time sequence made of the three descending phases of the three cycles, and predict the start of March or April 2008 for cycle 24. For the three cycles, we also find a linear correlation of the length of the descending phase of a cycle with the difference between the maximum epoch of this cycle and that of its next cycle. Using this relationship along with the known relationship between the rise-time and the maximum amplitude of a slowly rising solar cycle, we predict the maximum SMSN of cycle 24 of 100.2 ± 7.5 to appear during the period from May to October 2012. (letters)

  14. An algorithm for finding a similar subgraph of all Hamiltonian cycles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wafdan, R.; Ihsan, M.; Suhaimi, D.

    2018-01-01

    This paper discusses an algorithm to find a similar subgraph called findSimSubG algorithm. A similar subgraph is a subgraph with a maximum number of edges, contains no isolated vertex and is contained in every Hamiltonian cycle of a Hamiltonian Graph. The algorithm runs only on Hamiltonian graphs with at least two Hamiltonian cycles. The algorithm works by examining whether the initial subgraph of the first Hamiltonian cycle is a subgraph of comparison graphs. If the initial subgraph is not in comparison graphs, the algorithm will remove edges and vertices of the initial subgraph that are not in comparison graphs. There are two main processes in the algorithm, changing Hamiltonian cycle into a cycle graph and removing edges and vertices of the initial subgraph that are not in comparison graphs. The findSimSubG algorithm can find the similar subgraph without using backtracking method. The similar subgraph cannot be found on certain graphs, such as an n-antiprism graph, complete bipartite graph, complete graph, 2n-crossed prism graph, n-crown graph, n-möbius ladder, prism graph, and wheel graph. The complexity of this algorithm is O(m|V|), where m is the number of Hamiltonian cycles and |V| is the number of vertices of a Hamiltonian graph.

  15. Annual reproductive cycle in two free living populations of three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.: patterns of ovarian and testicular development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ewa Sokołowska

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available The annual reproductive cycle in two wild populations of three-spinedstickleback was studied. Sticklebacks from the Dead Vistula River(Martwa Wisła (brackish water and the Oliva Stream (Potok Oliwski(freshwater were exposed to annual environmental changes in their naturalhabitats. Ovaries and livers (females, and testes and kidneys (males werecollected during 1-2 years. The gonadosomatic IG, hepatosomaticIH, nephrosomatic IN indices, kidney epithelium height(KEH and size of oocytes were calculated.The number of mature oocytes andpercentage of ovulating females were determined during the spawning season.Histological changes in the ovaries and testes were described throughouta year. Annual reproductive cycles were similar in both populations ofsticklebacks. This is the first histological and morphological study carriedout throughout a year, simultaneously in two wild populations of three-spinedsticklebacks inhabiting different environments. An improved scale of gonadaldevelopment in conjunction with the determined indices and fecundity givea comprehensive description of the reproductive cycle. These new observations,in combination with previously reported features, provide a universal scalethat can be successfully used to distinguish all phases of gametogenesis insticklebacks in different habitats.

  16. Theory and design of an Annual Cycle Energy System (ACES) for residences

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nephew, E.A.; Abbatiello, L.A.; Ballou, M.L.

    1980-05-01

    The basic concept of the Annual Cycle Energy System (ACES) - an integrated system for supplying space heating, hot water, and air conditioning to a building - and the theory underlying its design and operation are described. Practical procedures for designing an ACES for a single-family residence, together with recommended guidelines for the construction and installation of system components, are presented. Methods are discussed for estimating the life-cycle cost, component sizes, and annual energy consumption of the system for residential applications in different climatic regions of the US.

  17. Optimizing conservation of migratory species over their full annual cycle in the Western Hemisphere

    OpenAIRE

    Bennett, Joseph; Auer, Tom; Fink, Daniel; Arcese, Peter; Rodewald, Amanda; Wilson, Scott; Schuster, Richard

    2018-01-01

    Strategic plans to conserve migratory species require detailed knowledge on species distribution, abundance, and habitat use over the annual cycle, but such data are lacking for most species. We developed a hemispheric approach to planning using spatiotemporally explicit species abundance models to prioritize land needed to conserve ≥17% of the global populations of 109 species of Neotropical migratory birds. The efficiency of annual cycle plans was evaluated in comparisons to single-season p...

  18. Satellite observations of an annual cycle in the Agulhas Current

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Krug, Marjolaine, J

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available years of along-track altimetry and merged altimetry and close to 7 years of high frequency Sea Surface Temperature (SST) observations. While the position and width of the Agulhas Current’s dynamical core do not display an annual cycle, the geostrophic...

  19. Changes in the Amplitude and Phase of the Annual Cycle: quantifying from surface wind series in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Tao

    2013-04-01

    Climate change is not only reflected in the changes in annual means of climate variables but also in the changes in their annual cycles (seasonality), especially in the regions outside the tropics. Changes in the timing of seasons, especially the wind season, have gained much attention worldwide in recent decade or so. We introduce long-range correlated surrogate data to Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition method, which represent the statistic characteristics of data better than white noise. The new method we named Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Long-range Correlated noise (EEMD-LRC) and applied to 600 station wind speed records. This new method is applied to investigate the trend in the amplitude of the annual cycle of China's daily mean surface wind speed for the period 1971-2005. The amplitude of seasonal variation decrease significantly in the past half century over China, which can be well explained by Annual Cycle component from EEMD-LRC. Furthermore, the phase change of annual cycle lead to strongly shorten of wind season in spring, and corresponding with strong windy day frequency change over Northern China.

  20. Seasonal Redistribution of Immune Function in a Migrant Shorebird : Annual-Cycle Effects Override Adjustments to Thermal Regime

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Buehler, Deborah M.; Piersma, Theunis; Matson, Kevin D.; Tieleman, B. Irene; Demas, Greg (associate); Geber, Monica A.

    2008-01-01

    Throughout the annual cycle, demands on competing physiological systems change, and animals must allocate resources to maximize fitness. Immune function is one such system and is important for survival. Yet detailed empirical data tracking immune function over the entire annual cycle are lacking for

  1. The Annual Reproductive Cycle of Silurus microdorsalis, a Korean Endemic Species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ki, Se-Un; Lee, Won-Kyo

    2018-01-01

    ABSTRACT The annual reproductive cycle of the Korean endemic slender catfish, Silurus microdorsalis, was examined histologically regarding water temperature and day length of habitat, gonadosomatic index (GSI), and development characteristics of female and male gonads. The maximum GSI value was found in May, 1.23±0.33 and 11.77±3.23 for male and female respectively (habitat water temperature 21.5°C/13.59hr day length). On the other hand, the minimal level was 0.63±0.10 in July (26.5°C/14.17) for male and 1.36±0.08 in October (20°C/11.2hr) for female. We compared and calculated the stages of testis and ovary development process in order to determine the germ cell development characteristics and the reproductive cycle. According to results, we classified the annual reproductive cycle of the slender catfish into five stages: Growing phase (December-February), Mature phase (March-April), Ripe and spawning phase / Releasing phase in male (May-June), Degenerative phase (July-August), and Resting phase (September-November).

  2. Semi-annual Sq-variation in solar activity cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pogrebnoy, V.; Malosiev, T.

    The peculiarities of semi-annual variation in solar activity cycle have been studied. The data from observatories having long observational series and located in different latitude zones were used. The following observatories were selected: Huancayo (magnetic equator), from 1922 to 1959; Apia (low latitudes), from 1912 to 1961; Moscow (middle latitudes), from 1947 to 1965. Based on the hourly values of H-components, the average monthly diurnal amplitudes (a difference between midday and midnight values), according to five international quiet days, were computed. Obtained results were compared with R (relative sunspot numbers) in the ranges of 0-30R, 40-100R, and 140-190R. It was shown, that the amplitude of semi-annual variation increases with R, from minimum to maximum values, on average by 45%. At equatorial Huancayo observatory, the semi-annual Sq(H)-variation appears especially clearly: its maximums take place at periods of equinoxes (March-April, September-October), and minimums -- at periods of solstices (June-July, December-January). At low (Apia observatory) and middle (Moscow observatory) latitudes, the character of semi-annual variation is somewhat different: it appears during the periods of equinoxes, but considerably less than at equator. Besides, with the growth of R, semi-annual variation appears against a background of annual variation, in the form of second peaks (maximum in June). At observatories located in low and middle latitudes, second peaks become more appreciable with an increase of R (March-April and September-October). During the periods of low solar activity, they are insignificant. This work has been carried out with the support from International Scientific and Technology Center (Project #KR-214).

  3. Sympatric breeding auks shift between dietary and spatial resource partitioning across the annual cycle.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jannie Fries Linnebjerg

    Full Text Available When species competing for the same resources coexist, some segregation in the way they utilize those resources is expected. However, little is known about how closely related sympatric breeding species segregate outside the breeding season. We investigated the annual segregation of three closely related seabirds (razorbill Alcatorda, common guillemot Uriaaalge and Brünnich's guillemot U. lomvia breeding at the same colony in Southwest Greenland. By combining GPS and geolocation (GLS tracking with dive depth and stable isotope analyses, we compared spatial and dietary resource partitioning. During the breeding season, we found the three species to segregate in diet and/or dive depth, but less in foraging area. During both the post-breeding and pre-breeding periods, the three species had an increased overlap in diet, but were dispersed over a larger spatial scale. Dive depths were similar across the annual cycle, suggesting morphological adaptations fixed by evolution. Prey choice, on the other hand, seemed much more flexible and therefore more likely to be affected by the immediate presence of potential competitors.

  4. KWIKPLAN: a computer program for projecting the annual requirements of nuclear fuel cycle operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salmon, R.; Kee, C.W.

    1977-06-01

    The computer code KWIKPLAN was written to facilitate the calculation of projected nuclear fuel cycle activities. Using given projections of power generation, the code calculates annual requirements for fuel fabrication, fuel reprocessing, uranium mining, and plutonium use and production. The code uses installed capacity projections and mass flow data for six types of reactors to calculate projected fuel cycle activities and inventories. It calculates fissile uranium and plutonium flows and inventories after allowing for an economy with limited reprocessing capacity and a backlog of unreprocessed fuel. All calculations are made on a quarterly basis; printed and punched output of the projected fuel cycle activities are made on an annual basis. Since the punched information is used in another code to determine waste inventories, the code punches a table from which the effective average burnup can be calculated for the fuel being reprocessed

  5. Influence of Sea Surface Temperature, Tropospheric Humidity and Lapse Rate on the Annual Cycle of the Clear-Sky Greenhouse Effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, H.; Liu, W.

    2000-01-01

    The implication of this work will provide modeling study a surrogate of annual cycle of the greenhouse effect. For example, the model should be able to simulate the annual cycle before it can be used for global change study.

  6. Wrist activity in a woman: daily, weekly, menstrual, lunar, annual cycles?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Binkley, S

    1992-09-01

    Wrist activity was monitored continuously for one year in a woman who went about her normal life. The year of data were analyzed for changes and rhythms--daily, weekly, menstrual, lunar, annual. For each day, average motions/5 minutes, activity onset, activity offset, alpha (duration of activity), and acrophase were measured. Periodograms and average daily wave forms were calculated. Well-defined, entrained, daily rest-activity cycles were observed throughout the year with periods close to 24 hours. There was weekend delay (0.7 hours) in onset, weekend decrease in alpha (1.0 hours), and weekend advance of acrophase (0.4 hours). Motions/5 minutes decreased 9%, onsets were 0.3 hours later, and alphas were 0.4 hours shorter on menstrual cycle days 8 through 18 which should have encompassed the time of ovulation. Lunar phase had no effect. Annual changes in onset (1.1 hours), offset (1.2 hours), and acrophase (1.1 hours) were attributed to the 1-hour change between standard and daylight savings time.

  7. Atmospheric mercury cycles in northern Wisconsin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watras, C. J.; Morrison, K. A.; Rubsam, J. L.; Rodger, B.

    Total gaseous mercury (TGM) in the lower atmosphere of northern Wisconsin exhibits strong annual and diurnal cycles similar to those previously reported for other rural monitoring sites across mid-latitude North America. Annually, TGM was highest in late winter and then gradually declined until late summer. During 2002-04, the average TGM concentration was 1.4 ± 0.2 (SD) ng m -3, and the amplitude of the annual cycle was 0.4 ng m -3 (˜30% of the long-term mean). The diurnal cycle was characterized by increasing TGM concentrations during the morning followed by decreases during the afternoon and night. The diurnal amplitude was variable but it was largest in spring and summer, when daily TGM oscillations of 20-40% were not uncommon. Notably, we also observed a diurnal cycle for TGM indoors in a room ventilated through an open window. Even though TGM concentrations were an order of magnitude higher indoors, (presumably due to historical practices within the building: e.g. latex paint, fluorescent lamps, thermometers), the diurnal cycle was remarkably similar to that observed outdoors. The indoor cycle was not directly attributable to human activity, the metabolic activity of vegetation or diurnal atmospheric dynamics; but it was related to changes in temperature and oxidants in outdoor air that infiltrated the room. Although there was an obvious difference in the proximal source of indoor and outdoor TGM, similarities in behavior suggest that common TGM cycles may be driven largely by adsorption/desorption reactions involving solid surfaces, such as leaves, snow, dust and walls. Such behavior would imply a short residence time for Hg in the lower atmosphere and intense recycling - consistent with the "ping-pong ball" or "multi-hop" conceptual models proposed by others.

  8. Diagnostic of annual cycle and effects of the ENSO about the maximum intensity of duration rains between 1 and 24 hours at the Andes of Colombia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poveda, German; Mesa, Oscar; Toro, Vladimir; Agudelo, Paula; Alvarez, Juan F; Arias, Paola; Moreno, Hernan; Salazar, Luis; Vieira, Sara

    2002-01-01

    We study the distribution of maximum rainfall events during the annual cycle, for storms ranging from 1 to 24-hour in duration; by using information over 51 rain gauges locate at the Colombian Andes. Also, the effects of both phases of ENSO (El Nino and La Nina) are quantified. We found that maximum rainfall intensity events occur during the rainy periods of march-may and September-November. There is a strong similarity between the annual cycle of mean total rainfall and that of the maximum intensities of rainfall over the tropical Andes. This result is quite consistent throughout the three ranges of the Colombian Andes. At inter annual timescales, we found that both phases of ENSO are associated with disturbances of maximum rainfall events; since during La Nina there are more intense precipitation events than during El Nino, overall, for durations longer than 3 hours, rainfall intensity gets reduced by one order of magnitude with respect to shorter durations (1-3 hours). The most extreme recorded rainfall events are apparently not associated with the annual and inter annual large scales forcing and appear to be randomly generated by the important role of the land surface atmosphere in the genesis and dynamics of intense storm over central Colombia

  9. Activity and migratory flights of individual free-flying songbirds throughout the annual cycle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bäckman, Johan; Andersson, Arne; Alerstam, Thomas

    2017-01-01

    the sampling events. Activity levels were stored on an hourly basis throughout the annual cycle, allowing periods of resting/sleep, continuous flight and intermediate activity (foraging, breeding) to be distinguished. Measurements from a light sensor were stored from preprogrammed key stationary periods during...... the year to provide control information about geographic location. Successful results, including annual actogram, were obtained for a red-backed shrike Lanius collurio carrying out its annual loop migration between northern Europe and southern Africa. The shrike completed its annual migration by performing...... > 66 (max. 73) nocturnal migratory flights (29 flights in autumn and > 37, max. 44, in spring) adding up to a total of > 434 (max. 495) flight hours. Migratory flights lasted on average 6.6 h with maximum 15.9 h. These flights were aggregated into eight travel episodes (periods of 4-11 nights when...

  10. Absolute consistency: individual versus population variation in annual-cycle schedules of a long-distance migrant bird.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jesse R Conklin

    Full Text Available Flexibility in scheduling varies throughout an organism's annual cycle, reflecting relative temporal constraints and fitness consequences among life-history stages. Time-selection can act at different scales, either by limiting the range of alternative strategies in the population, or by increasing the precision of individual performance. We tracked individual bar-tailed godwits Limosa lapponica baueri for two full years (including direct observation during non-breeding seasons in New Zealand and geolocator tracking of round-trip migrations to Alaska to present a full annual-cycle view of molt, breeding, and migration schedules. At both population and individual scales, temporal variation was greater in post-breeding than pre-breeding stages, and greater in molts than in movements, but schedules did not tighten across successive stages of migration toward the breeding grounds. In general, individual godwits were quite consistent in timing of events throughout the year, and repeatability of pre-breeding movements was particularly high (r = 0.82-0.92. However, we demonstrate that r values misrepresent absolute consistency by confounding inter- and intra-individual variation; the biological significance of r values can only be understood when these are considered separately. By doing so, we show that some stages have considerable tolerance for alternative strategies within the population, whereas scheduling of northbound migratory movements was similar for all individuals. How time-selection simultaneously shapes both individual and population variation is central to understanding and predicting adaptive phenological responses to environmental change.

  11. Planning the annual cycle in groups of cadet combat sports perfection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ananchenko Konstantin

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Within a large training cycle in conditions of high general level of stress the authors recommend optimal implementation of planning undulating dynamics of cadets’ combat exercise stress. The article proves the efficiency of one-cycle construction of training highly- qualified single-combat cadets at the stage of maximal realization of sporting possibilities, which includes both features of traditional cycles (preparatory, competitional, transitional and module-sectional composition of training. It scientifically substantiates, that the choice of those or other types of microcycles which present the structure of mesocycles is determined by a few basic factors which must be necessarily taken into account while planning the training process of sportsmen of different qualification. It is suggested to use certain varieties of microcycles in the practice of preparation of single combat cadets. It is substantiated that accounting in planning the annual cycle in groups of sporting perfection of students of the educed types of microcycles for every type of single combats is an actual task of further scientific research.

  12. Hovering hummingbird wing aerodynamics during the annual cycle. I. Complete wing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Achache, Yonathan; Sapir, Nir; Elimelech, Yossef

    2017-08-01

    The diverse hummingbird family (Trochilidae) has unique adaptations for nectarivory, among which is the ability to sustain hover-feeding. As hummingbirds mainly feed while hovering, it is crucial to maintain this ability throughout the annual cycle-especially during flight-feather moult, in which wing area is reduced. To quantify the aerodynamic characteristics and flow mechanisms of a hummingbird wing throughout the annual cycle, time-accurate aerodynamic loads and flow field measurements were correlated over a dynamically scaled wing model of Anna's hummingbird ( Calypte anna ). We present measurements recorded over a model of a complete wing to evaluate the baseline aerodynamic characteristics and flow mechanisms. We found that the vorticity concentration that had developed from the wing's leading-edge differs from the attached vorticity structure that was typically found over insects' wings; firstly, it is more elongated along the wing chord, and secondly, it encounters high levels of fluctuations rather than a steady vortex. Lift characteristics resemble those of insects; however, a 20% increase in the lift-to-torque ratio was obtained for the hummingbird wing model. Time-accurate aerodynamic loads were also used to evaluate the time-evolution of the specific power required from the flight muscles, and the overall wingbeat power requirements nicely matched previous studies.

  13. Annual cycles of metabolic rate are genetically determined but can be shifted by phenotypic flexibility

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Versteegh, M. A.; Helm, B.; Gwinner, E.; Tieleman, B. I.

    2012-01-01

    Birds have adjusted their life history and physiological traits to the characteristics of the seasonally changing environments they inhabit. Annual cycles in physiology can result from phenotypic flexibility or from variation in its genetic basis. A key physiological trait that shows seasonal

  14. Annual cycle of the microzooplankton communities in the waters surrounding the Palm Island Nature Reserve (north Lebanon, with special attention to tintinnids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. ABBOUD-ABI SAAB

    2002-12-01

    Full Text Available The distribution, abundance and annual cycle of microzooplankton communities have been studied monthly at five sampling stations in the north Lebanon, covering both neritic and oceanic waters in the vicinity of small islands situated 5 km offshore.In general, the density of microprotozoans, except for ciliates, increased from the coastal towards the offshore area, with stations situated near the islands being similar to the offshore rather than to the coastal ones. The microprotozoan species showed their highest numbers in late autumn and early winter. Foraminifera abundance ranged from 20 to 3390 inds.m -3 (mean= 549 whereas Acantharia abundance was highest in spring and ranged from 0 to 2608 inds.m -3 (mean 259. The Polycistina had their highest numbers in late winter, which ranged from 0 to 6024 inds.m -3 (mean= 740. The Heliozoa were abundant in late autumn with numbers ranging from 0 to 5165 inds.m -3 (mean= 555. The annual cycle of Tintinnids at all the stations was bimodal with a principal peak in October-November and another one in May, while minimum numbers were recorded in August-September. A succession of populations was observed all year round with a density ranging between 344 and 38986 inds.m -3 (mean = 10878. Ninety different species of Tintinnids were recorded. The diversity index varied between 0.19 and 4.15. It was concluded that there was a large-scale gradient in seasonal diversity which could be related to the annual average sea surface temperature and to the development of the vertical thermic structure.

  15. Annual, semi-annual and ter-annual variations of gravity wave momentum flux in 13 years of SABER data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Dan; Preusse, Peter; Ern, Manfred; Strube, Cornelia

    2017-04-01

    In this study, the variations at different time scales such as the annual cycle, the semiannual oscillation (SAO), the ter-annual cycle (about four monthly) and the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) in zonal mean GW amplitudes and GW momentum flux (GWMF) have been investigated using satellite observations from 2002-2014 and combining ECMWF high resolution data with the GORGRAT model. The global distribution (patterns) of spectral amplitudes of GW momentum flux in stratosphere and mesosphere (from 30 km to 90 km) show that the annual cycle is the most predominant variation, and then are SAO, ter-annual cycle and QBO. For annual components, two relatively isolated amplitude maxima appear in each hemisphere: a subtropical maximum is associated with convective sources in summer, a mid and high latitude maximum is associated with the polar vortex in winter. In the subtropics, GWs propagate upward obliquely to the higher latitudes. The winter maximum in the southern hemisphere has larger momentum flux than that one in the northern hemisphere. While on the SH the phase (i.e. time corresponding to the maximum GWMF) continuously descends with the maximum in July in the upper mesosphere and in September in the lower stratosphere, on the northern hemisphere, the phase has no visible altitude dependence with a maximum in December. For semiannual variations, in the MLT (70-80 km) region, there is an obvious enhancement of spectral amplitude at equatorial latitudes which relate to the dissipation of convectively forced GWs. The SAO in absolute momentum flux and the annual cycle in zonal momentum flux indicated that the variations at mid-latitudes (about from 30°-40°) are not a SAO signals but rather an annual cycle when the direction of GWMF is considered. The ter-annual cycle may be related to the duration of active convection in subtropical latitudes (from June to Sep. in north hemisphere) Indications for QBO are found latitude extension to mid-latitudes in stratosphere of

  16. Replication of Annual Cycles in Mn in Hudson River Cores: Mn Peaks During High Water Flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbott, D. H.; Hutson, D.; Marrero, A. M.; Block, K. A.; Chang, C.; Cai, Y.

    2017-12-01

    Using the results from an ITRAX, XRF scanner, we previously reported apparent annual cycles in Mn in a single, high sedimentation rate Hudson River core, LWB1-8, taken off Yonkers, NY (Carlson et al., 2016). We replicated these results in three more high sedimentation rate cores and found stratigraphic markers that verify our inferences about the annual nature of the Mn cycles. The three new cores are LWB4-5 taken off Peekskill, NY, and LWB3-44 and LWB3-25, both taken in Haverstraw Bay. The cores are from water depths of 7-9 meters and all have high magnetic susceptibilities (typically > 30 cgs units) in their upper 1 to 2 meters. The high susceptibilities are primarily produced by magnetite from modern industrial combustion. One core, LWB1-8, has reconnaissance Cs dates that verify the annual nature of the cycles. More Cs dates are expected before the meeting. We developed several new methods of verifying the annual nature of our layer counts. The first is looking at the grain size distribution and age of layers with unusually high Mn peaks. Peaks in Si, Ni and Ti and peaks in percentage of coarse material typically accompany the peaks in Mn. Some are visible as yellow sandy layers. The five highest peaks in Mn in LWB1-8 have layer counted ages that correspond (within 1 year in the top meter and within 2 years in the bottom meter) to 1996, 1948, 1913, 1857 and 1790. The latter three events are the three largest historical spring freshets on the Hudson. 1996 is a year of unusually high flow rate during the spring freshet. Based on our work and previous work on Mn cycling in rivers, we infer that the peaks in Mn are produced by extreme erosional events that erode sediment and release pore water Mn into the water column. The other methods of testing our chronology involve marine storms that increase Ca and Sr and a search for fragments of the Peekskill meteorite that fell in October 1992. More information on the latter will be available by the meeting.

  17. ENHANCED MODELING OF REMOTELY SENSED ANNUAL LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURE CYCLE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z. Zou

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Satellite thermal remote sensing provides access to acquire large-scale Land surface temperature (LST data, but also generates missing and abnormal values resulting from non-clear-sky conditions. Given this limitation, Annual Temperature Cycle (ATC model was employed to reconstruct the continuous daily LST data over a year. The original model ATCO used harmonic functions, but the dramatic changes of the real LST caused by the weather changes remained unclear due to the smooth sine curve. Using Aqua/MODIS LST products, NDVI and meteorological data, we proposed enhanced model ATCE based on ATCO to describe the fluctuation and compared their performances for the Yangtze River Delta region of China. The results demonstrated that, the overall root mean square errors (RMSEs of the ATCE was lower than ATCO, and the improved accuracy of daytime was better than that of night, with the errors decreased by 0.64 K and 0.36 K, respectively. The improvements of accuracies varied with different land cover types: the forest, grassland and built-up areas improved larger than water. And the spatial heterogeneity was observed for performance of ATC model: the RMSEs of built-up area, forest and grassland were around 3.0 K in the daytime, while the water attained 2.27 K; at night, the accuracies of all types significantly increased to similar RMSEs level about 2 K. By comparing the differences between LSTs simulated by two models in different seasons, it was found that the differences were smaller in the spring and autumn, while larger in the summer and winter.

  18. Thermochemical water-splitting cycle, bench-scale investigations and process engineering. Annual report, October 1, 1978-September 30, 1979

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Caprioglio, G.; McCorkle, K.H.; Besenbruch, G.E.; Rode, J.S.

    1980-03-01

    A program to investigate thermochemical water splitting has been under way at General Atomic Company (GA) since October 1972. This document is an annual progress report of Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored process development work on the GA sulfur-iodine thermochemical water splitting cycle. The work consisted of laboratory bench-scale investigations, demonstration of the process in a closed-loop cycle demonstrator, and process engineering design studies. A bench-scale system, consisting of three subunits, has been designed to study the cycle under continuous flow conditions. The designs of subunit I, which models the main solution reaction and product separation, and subunit II, which models the concentration and decomposition of sulfuric acid, were presented in an earlier annual report. The design of subunit III, which models the purification and decomposition of hydrogen iodide, is given in this report. Progress on the installation and operation of subunits I and II is described. A closed-loop cycle demonstrator was installed and operated based on a DOE request. Operation of the GA sulfur-iodine cycle was demonstrated in this system under recycle conditions. The process engineering addresses the flowsheet design of a large-scale production process consisting of four chemical sections (I through IV) and one helium heat supply section (V). The completed designs for sections I through V are presented. The thermal efficiency of the process calculated from the present flowsheet is 47%.

  19. The annual cycle of nitrate and net community production in surface waters of the Southern Ocean observed with SOCCOM profiling floats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, K. S.; Plant, J. N.; Sakamoto, C.; Coletti, L. J.; Sarmiento, J. L.; Riser, S.; Talley, L. D.

    2016-12-01

    Sixty profiling floats with ISUS and SUNA nitrate sensors have been deployed in the Southern Ocean (south of 30 degrees S) as part of the SOCCOM (Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling) program and earlier efforts. These floats have produced detailed records of the annual cycle of nitrate concentration throughout the region from the surface to depths near 2000 m. In surface waters, there are clear cycles in nitrate concentration that result from uptake of nitrate during austral spring and summer. These changes in nitrate concentration were used to compute the annual net community production over this region. NCP was computed using a simplified version of the approach detailed by Plant et al. (2016, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 30, 859-879, DOI: 10.1002/2015GB005349). At the time the abstract was written 41 complete annual cycles were available from floats deployed before the austral summer of 2015/2016. After filtering the data to remove floats that crossed distinct frontal boundaries, floats with other anomalies, and floats in sub-tropical waters, 23 cycles were available. A preliminary assessment of the data yields an NCP of 2.8 +/- 0.95 (1 SD) mol C/m2/y after integrating to 100 m depth and converting nitrate uptake to carbon using the Redfield ratio. This preliminary assessment ignores vertical transport across the nitracline and is, therefore, a minimum estimate. The number of cycles available for analysis will increase rapidly, as 32 of the floats were deployed in the austral summer of 2015/2016 and have not yet been analyzed.

  20. The Plight of Migrant Birds Wintering in the Caribbean: Rainfall Effects in the Annual Cycle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph M. Wunderle, Jr.

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Here, we summarize results of migrant bird research in the Caribbean as part of a 75th Anniversary Symposium on research of the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, International Institute of Tropical Forestry (IITF. The fate of migratory birds has been a concern stimulating research over the past 40 years in response to population declines documented in long-term studies including those of the IITF and collaborators in Puerto Rico’s Guánica dry forest. Various studies indicate that in addition to forest loss or fragmentation, some migrant declines may be due to rainfall variation, the consequences of which may carry over from one stage of a migrant’s annual cycle to another. For example, the Guánica studies indicate that rainfall extremes on either the temperate breeding or tropical wintering grounds affect migrant abundance and survival differently depending on the species. In contrast, IITF’s collaborative studies of the migrant Kirtland’s Warbler (Setophaga kirtlandii in the Bahamas found that late winter droughts affect its annual survival and breeding success in Michigan. We review these IITF migrant studies and relate them to other studies, which have improved our understanding of migrant ecology of relevance to conservation. Particularly important is the advent of the full annual cycle (FAC approach. The FAC will facilitate future identification and mitigation of limiting factors contributing to migrant population declines, which for some species, may be exacerbated by global climate change.

  1. Solar cycle signatures in the NCEP equatorial annual oscillation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayr, H. G.; Mengel, J. G.; Huang, F. T.; Nash, E. R.

    2009-08-01

    Our analysis of temperature and zonal wind data (1958 to 2006) from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) reanalysis (Re-1), supplied by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), shows that the hemispherically symmetric 12-month equatorial annual oscillation (EAO) contains spectral signatures with periods around 11 years. Moving windows of 44 years show that, below 20 km, the 11-year modulation of the EAO is phase locked to the solar cycle (SC). The spectral features from the 48-year data record reveal modulation signatures of 9.6 and 12 years, which produce EAO variations that mimic in limited altitude regimes the varying maxima and minima of the 10.7 cm flux solar index. Above 20 km, the spectra also contain modulation signatures with periods around 11 years, but the filtered variations are too irregular to suggest that systematic SC forcing is the principal agent.

  2. Solar cycle signatures in the NCEP equatorial annual oscillation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. G. Mayr

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Our analysis of temperature and zonal wind data (1958 to 2006 from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR reanalysis (Re-1, supplied by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP, shows that the hemispherically symmetric 12-month equatorial annual oscillation (EAO contains spectral signatures with periods around 11 years. Moving windows of 44 years show that, below 20 km, the 11-year modulation of the EAO is phase locked to the solar cycle (SC. The spectral features from the 48-year data record reveal modulation signatures of 9.6 and 12 years, which produce EAO variations that mimic in limited altitude regimes the varying maxima and minima of the 10.7 cm flux solar index. Above 20 km, the spectra also contain modulation signatures with periods around 11 years, but the filtered variations are too irregular to suggest that systematic SC forcing is the principal agent.

  3. Annual cycle solar energy utilization with seasonal storage. Part 8. Study on periodic steady state of the annual cycle energy system at a practical operation; Kisetsukan chikunetsu ni yoru nenkan cycle taiyo energy riyo system ni kansuru kenkyu. 8

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tanaka, H; Okumiya, M [Nagoya University, Nagoya (Japan)

    1997-11-25

    A study was made of the periodic steady state of the annual cycle solar energy system with seasonal heat storage at a practical operation. Cold heat in winter and warm heat in summer are stored in the seasonal storage tank, and these are each used in shift until when demand for cold/warm heat appears. Moreover, gap in quantity of cold/warm heat going in/out of the heat storage tank during a year is filled by natural energy such as solar energy, so that the system can be operated in annual cycles. Studies were conducted of the periodic unsteady term and the problem on lowering of performance during the term such as the periodic unsteady term of water temperature inside the seasonal heat storage tank and temperature of the soil around the storage tank, and the level of lowering of performance during the term, necessity of additional operation/control at the start of operation and aged deterioration of the system. Within the assumption, even if starting operation in any time of the year, the system could show the performance almost expected from the first operation year with no additional system operation and control required only at the start of operation. It is thought that the heat source selection control of heat pump largely contributes to this. 4 refs., 5 figs., 3 tabs.

  4. A process-level attribution of the annual cycle of surface temperature over the Maritime Continent

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yana; Yang, Song; Deng, Yi; Hu, Xiaoming; Cai, Ming

    2017-12-01

    The annual cycle of the surface temperature over the Maritime Continent (MC) is characterized by two periods of rapid warming in March-April and September-October, respectively, and a period of rapid cooling in June-July. Based upon an analysis of energy balance within individual atmosphere-surface columns, the seasonal variations of surface temperature in the MC are partitioned into partial temperature changes associated with various radiative and non-radiative (dynamical) processes. The seasonal variations in direct solar forcing and surface latent heat flux show the largest positive contributions to the annual cycle of MC surface temperature while the changes in oceanic dynamics (including ocean heat content change) work against the temperature changes related to the annual cycle. The rapid warming in March-April is mainly a result of the changes in atmospheric quick processes and ocean-atmosphere coupling such as water vapor, surface latent heat flux, clouds, and atmospheric dynamics while the contributions from direct solar forcing and oceanic dynamics are negative. This feature is in contrast to that associated with the warming in September-October, which is driven mainly by the changes in solar forcing with a certain amount of contributions from water vapor and latent heat flux change. More contribution from atmospheric quick processes and ocean-atmosphere coupling in March-April coincides with the sudden northward movement of deep convection belt, while less contribution from these quick processes and coupling is accompanied with the convection belt slowly moving southward. The main contributors to the rapid cooling in June-July are the same as those to the rapid warming in March-April, and the cooling is also negatively contributed by direct solar forcing and oceanic dynamics. The changes in water vapor in all three periods contribute positively to the change in total temperature and they are associated with the change in the location of the center of

  5. Transcription Through The Eye Of A Needle: Daily And Annual Cycles Of Gene Expression Variation In Douglas-Fir Needles

    OpenAIRE

    Dolan, Peter; Cronn, Richard; Denver, Dee; Clair, J.; Neale, David; Wegrzyn, Jill; Jogdeo, Sanjuro

    2017-01-01

    Background: Perennial growth in plants is the product of interdependent cycles of daily and annual stimuli that induce cycles of growth and dormancy. In conifers, needles are the key perennial organ that integrates daily and seasonal signals from light, temperature, and water availability. To understand the relationship between seasonal rhythms and seasonal gene expression responses in conifers, we examined diurnal and circannual needle mRNA accumulation in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)...

  6. Similar acute physiological responses from effort and duration matched leg press and recumbent cycling tasks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James Steele

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The present study examined the effects of exercise utilising traditional resistance training (leg press or ‘cardio’ exercise (recumbent cycle ergometry modalities upon acute physiological responses. Nine healthy males underwent a within session randomised crossover design where they completed both the leg press and recumbent cycle ergometer conditions. Conditions were approximately matched for effort and duration (leg press: 4 × 12RM using a 2 s concentric and 3 s eccentric repetition duration controlled with a metronome, thus each set lasted  60 s; recumbent cycle ergometer: 4 × 60 s bouts using a resistance level permitting 80–100 rpm but culminating with being unable to sustain the minimum cadence for the final 5–10 s. Measurements included VO2, respiratory exchange ratio (RER, blood lactate, energy expenditure, muscle swelling, and electromyography. Perceived effort was similar between conditions and thus both were well matched with respect to effort. There were no significant effects by ‘condition’ in any of the physiological responses examined (all p > 0.05. The present study shows that, when both effort and duration are matched, resistance training (leg press and ‘cardio’ exercise (recumbent cycle ergometry may produce largely similar responses in VO2, RER, blood lactate, energy expenditure, muscle swelling, and electromyography. It therefore seems reasonable to suggest that both may offer a similar stimulus to produce chronic physiological adaptations in outcomes such as cardiorespiratory fitness, strength, and hypertrophy. Future work should look to both replicate the study conducted here with respect to the same, and additional physiological measures, and rigorously test the comparative efficacy of effort and duration matched exercise of differing modalities with respect to chronic improvements in physiological fitness.

  7. Annual cycle of methane emission from a boreal fen measured by the eddy covariance technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rinne, Janne.; Pihlatie, Mari; Haapanala, Sami; Vesala, Timo; Riutta, Terhi; Tuittila, Eeva-Stiina; Aurela, Mika; Tuovinen, Juha-Pekka

    2007-01-01

    The northern wetlands are one of the major sources of methane into the atmosphere. We measured annual methane emission from a boreal minerotrophic fen, Siikaneva, by the eddy covariance method. The average wintertime emissions were below 1 mg/m 2 /h, and the summertime emissions about 3.5 mg/m 2 /h. The water table depth did have any clear effect on methane emissions. During most of the year the emission depended on the temperature of peat below the water table. However, during the high and late summer the emission was independent on peat temperature as well. No diurnal cycle of methane flux was found. The total annual emission from the Siikaneva site was 12.6 g/m 2 . The emissions of the snow free period contributed 91% to the annual emission. The emission pulse during the snow melting period was clearly detectable but of minor importance adding only less than 3% to the annual emission. Over 20% of the carbon assimilated during the year as carbon dioxide was emitted as methane. Thus methane emission is an important component of the carbon balance of the Siikaneva fen. This indicates need of taking methane into account when studying carbon balances of northern fen ecosystems

  8. Load training athletes specializing in race to 100 meter hurdles in its annual training cycle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Radosław Muszkieta

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to provide an annual macrocycle preparation of athletes specializing in the 100 meters hurdles. A detailed discussion of the structure and analyze loads in individual periods of the annual training cycle. And the analysis and discussion of the variables of training athletes Marlene Morton, who allowed her to win the bronze medal Polish Youth Championships in Bialystok. The study was conducted based on a detailed analysis of the training diary kept by the athlete, the coach and the daily interview with the coach conducting Arthur Kohutek. They were presented various training periods and analyzed periods and sub-periods. In the summary they presented the conclusions that can be helpful when planning the burden for athletes who specialize in racing gossip.

  9. Dynamical diagnostics of the SST annual cycle in the eastern equatorial Pacific: Part II analysis of CMIP5 simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ying-Ying; Jin, Fei-Fei

    2017-12-01

    In this study, a simple coupled framework established in Part I is utilized to investigate inter-model diversity in simulating the equatorial Pacific SST annual cycle (SSTAC). It demonstrates that the simulated amplitude and phase characteristics of SSTAC in models are controlled by two internal dynamical factors (the damping rate and phase speed) and two external forcing factors (the strength of the annual and semi-annual harmonic forcing). These four diagnostic factors are further condensed into a dynamical response factor and a forcing factor to derive theoretical solutions of amplitude and phase of SSTAC. The theoretical solutions are in remarkable agreement with observations and CMIP5 simulations. The great diversity in the simulated SSTACs is related to the spreads in these dynamic and forcing factors. Most models tend to simulate a weak SSTAC, due to their weak damping rate and annual harmonic forcing. The latter is due to bias in the meridional asymmetry of the annual mean state of the tropical Pacific, represented by the weak cross-equatorial winds in the cold tongue region.

  10. Annual cycle energy system (ACES). Performance report, November 1977-September 1978

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Holman, A.S.; Abbatiello, L.A.

    1980-05-01

    A single-family residence near Knoxville, Tennessee, is being used to demonstrate the energy-conserving features of the annual cycle energy system (ACES), an integrated heating and cooling system that utilizes a unidirectional heat pump and low-temperature thermal storage. A second house, the control house, is being used to compare the performance of the ACES with that of an electric-resistance heating and hot-water system combined with a central air conditioning system. The results of one year's operation, from November 1977 through mid-September 1978, showed that the ACES consumed 9012 kWhr of electricity and delivered 40.8 x 10/sup 6/ Btu (43.03 x 10/sup 9/J) of heating, 19.8 x 10/sup 6/ Btu (20.89 x 10/sup 9/J) of hot water, and 24.8 x 10/sup 6/ Btu (26.17 x 10/sup 9/J) of cooling; the annual coefficient of performance (COP) was 2.78. The control house consumed 20,523 kWhr of electricity and delivered 41.3 x 10/sup 6/ Btu (43.57 x 10/sup 9/J) of heating, 14.8 x 10/sup 6/ Btu (15.61 x 10/sup 9/J) of hot water, and 23.2 x 10/sup 6/ Btu (24.41 x 10/sup 9/J) of cooling; the annual COP was 1.13. These loads were delivered in a test year in which the heating season was one of the most severe in the past 20 years and the cooling season was normal. In addition, the ACES reduced peak utility system demands significantly: a reduction from 11.7 to 3.1 kW was achieved in the winter and from 4.1 to 0.7 kW in the summer. The only problems encountered were a heat leak into the storage bin that was twice the calculated value and control logic errors that produced excessive hot water in the winter, requiring extensive use of the night heat-rejection mode in the summer. These problems are currently being corrected.

  11. Environmental drivers of heterogeneity in the trophic-functional structure of protozoan communities during an annual cycle in a coastal ecosystem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Guangjian; Yang, Eun Jin; Xu, Henglong

    2017-08-15

    Trophic-functional groupings are an important biological trait to summarize community structure in functional space. The heterogeneity of the tropic-functional pattern of protozoan communities and its environmental drivers were studied in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea during a 1-year cycle. Samples were collected using the glass slide method at four stations within a water pollution gradient. A second-stage matrix-based analysis was used to summarize spatial variation in the annual pattern of the functional structure. A clustering analysis revealed significant variability in the trophic-functional pattern among the four stations during the 1-year cycle. The heterogeneity in the trophic-functional pattern of the communities was significantly related to changes in environmental variables, particularly ammonium-nitrogen and nitrates, alone or in combination with dissolved oxygen. These results suggest that the heterogeneity in annual patterns of protozoan trophic-functional structure may reflect water quality status in coastal ecosystems. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  12. Changes in Muscle Strength in U19 Soccer Players During an Annual Training Cycle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lehnert Michal

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to investigate the seasonal variation in isokinetic strength of the knee flexors and extensors, and conventional (H/QCONV and functional (H/QFUNC hamstring to quadriceps strength ratios in highly trained adolescent soccer players. The players (n=11; age 17.8±0.3 were measured at the end of the competitive season (autumn, at the beginning and the end of pre-season (winter and during the sixth week of a new competitive season. Isokinetic peak torque (concentric and eccentric was measured at 60°•s-1 in a sitting position with the hip flexed at 100°. The testing range of motion was set from 10 - 90° of knee flexion. The players performed a set of five maximum repetitions for both the dominant and non-dominant leg. Statistically significant differences (p<0.001 between the four seasonal measurements were noted for peak torque of the dominant leg knee flexors in concentric muscle action only. A post hoc analysis revealed a statistically significant increase in peak torque from the 1st to the 4th measurement (p<0.001; d=0.692 and from the 2nd to the 4th (p<0.01; d=0.564. The differences in the changes of peak torque of the knee flexors and extensors depending on type of muscle action and tendencies found in the H/Q ratios throughout the annual training cycle indicate that strength assessment of the knee flexors and extensors and their balance throughout the annual training cycle could be beneficial for elite male adolescent soccer players both in terms of performance and risk of injury.

  13. Castration and testosterone induced changes in the pinealocytes of roseringed parakeet, Psittacula krameri, during different phases of the annual testicular cycle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maitra, S K; Dey, M

    1994-08-01

    The pinealocytes in male roseringed parakeets (Psittacula krameri) were studied following bilateral castration and/or therapeutic administration of testosterone during the preparatory (June-July), progressive (Nov.-Dec.), pre-breeding (Jan.-Feb.) and breeding (March-April) phases of the annual testicular cycle. The responses of the pineal to either treatment were found to be almost identical throughout the investigation. In each reproductive phase, the pineal appeared to be hypertrophied following castration and the effect was reversed by therapeutic administration of testosterone, while hormonal treatment to the intact parakeets induced regressive changes in the pinealocytes. Collectively, the results of the current study support the hypothesis that the testis through its hormone testosterone exerts inhibitory influences on the activity of pineal, and may thus be considered as being involved in the determination of an inverse relationship between the pineal and the testis during the annual cycle of free-living parakeets.

  14. The annual cycle of satellite derived sea surface temperature on the western South Atlantic shelf

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos A. D. Lentini

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available In this article, thirteen years of weekly sea surface temperature (SST fields derived from NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer global area coverage infrared satellite data, from January 1982 to December 1994, are used to investigate spatial and temporal variabilities of SST seasonal cycle in the Southwest Atlantic Oceano This work addresses large scale variations over the eastem South American continental shelf and slope regions limited offshore by the 1000-m isobath, between 42° and 22°S. SST time series are fit with annual and semi-annual harmonics to describe the annual variation of sea surface temperatures. The annual harmonic explains a large proportion of the SST variability. The coefficient of determination is highest (> 90% on the continental shelf, decreasing offshore. The estimated amplitude of the seasonal cycle ranges between 4° and 13°e throughout the study area, with minima in August­September and maxima in February-March. After the identification and removal of the dominant annual components ofSST variability, models such as the one presented here are an attractive tool to study interannual SST variability.Neste artigo, treze anos de imagens semanais da temperatura da superfície do mar (TSM obtidas através do sensor infravermelho Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer a bordo dos satélites NOAA, de janeiro de 1982 a dezembro de 1994, são utlilizadas para investigar as variabilidades espacial e temporal do cicIo sazonal de TSM no Oceano Atlântico Sudoeste. Este trabalho objetiva as variações de larga escala sobre a plataforma continental e o talude leste da América do Sul limitados ao largo pela isóbata de 1000 metros, entre 42°5 e 22°S. As séries temporais de TSM são ajustadas aos .harmônicos anual e sem i-anual para descrever a variação anual das temperaturas da superfície do mar. O harmônico anual explica a maior parte da variabilidade da TSM. O coeficiente de determinação é alto (> 90

  15. The annual cycle of plutonium in the water column of a warm, monomictic reservoir

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pinder, J.E. III; Alberts, J.J.; Bowling, J.W.; Nelson, D.M.; Orlandini, K.A.

    1992-01-01

    An annual cycle occurs in the 239,240 Pu inventories of the water column of Pond B, an 87-ha warm monomictic reservoir on the US Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in Barnwell Co., South Carolina. The pond has elevated concentrations of 238 Pu and 239,240 Pu in sediments due to releases from former reactor operations and continues to receive additional Pu input from atmospheric deposition. For surface waters, the 239,240 Pu inventory increases following turnover in November to a maximum in March followed by a decline until later summer when minimum inventories occur. For deeper waters, the 239,240 Pu inventories increase rapidly following turnover and reach maximum values in March. The inventories in deeper waters remain large from March until turnover. Maximum inventories for the entire water column occur in March with minimum inventories at turnover in October and November. Turnover results in a redistribution of Pu across water depth but no measurable Pu loss from the water column. Ratios of 238 Pu: 239,240 Pu indicate that the cycle involves primarily Pu from sediment sources with little influence from atmospheric sources. Thus, the cycle represents net remobilization of 239,240 Pu from the sediments to the water column during the oxic, holomictic portion of the year followed by a net loss of Pu from the water column once stratification occurs. (author)

  16. Transparency associated with the nuclear fuel cycle; Transparence associee au cycle du combustible nucleaire

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2009-07-01

    This document presents the different fuel cycle stages with which the CEA is associated, the annual flow of materials and wastes produced at these different stages, and the destiny of these produced materials and wastes. These information are given for the different CEA R and D activities: experimentation hot laboratories (activities, fuel cycle stages, list of laboratories, tables giving annual flows for each of them), research reactors (types of reactors, fuel usage modes, annual flows of nuclear materials for each reactor), spent fuel management (different types of used materials), spent fuels and radioactive wastes with a foreign origin (quantities, processes)

  17. Annual nitrate drawdown observed by SOCCOM profiling floats and the relationship to annual net community production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Kenneth S.; Plant, Joshua N.; Dunne, John P.; Talley, Lynne D.; Sarmiento, Jorge L.

    2017-08-01

    Annual nitrate cycles have been measured throughout the pelagic waters of the Southern Ocean, including regions with seasonal ice cover and southern hemisphere subtropical zones. Vertically resolved nitrate measurements were made using in situ ultraviolet spectrophotometer (ISUS) and submersible ultraviolet nitrate analyzer (SUNA) optical nitrate sensors deployed on profiling floats. Thirty-one floats returned 40 complete annual cycles. The mean nitrate profile from the month with the highest winter nitrate minus the mean profile from the month with the lowest nitrate yields the annual nitrate drawdown. This quantity was integrated to 200 m depth and converted to carbon using the Redfield ratio to estimate annual net community production (ANCP) throughout the Southern Ocean south of 30°S. A well-defined, zonal mean distribution is found with highest values (3-4 mol C m-2 yr-1) from 40 to 50°S. Lowest values are found in the subtropics and in the seasonal ice zone. The area weighted mean was 2.9 mol C m-2 yr-1 for all regions south of 40°S. Cumulative ANCP south of 50°S is 1.3 Pg C yr-1. This represents about 13% of global ANCP in about 14% of the global ocean area.Plain Language SummaryThis manuscript reports on 40 annual cycles of nitrate observed by chemical sensors on SOCCOM profiling floats. The annual drawdown in nitrate concentration by phytoplankton is used to assess the spatial variability of annual net community production in the Southern Ocean. This ANCP is a key component of the global carbon cycle and it exerts an important control on atmospheric carbon dioxide. We show that the results are consistent with our prior understanding of Southern Ocean ANCP, which has required decades of observations to accumulate. The profiling floats now enable annual resolution of this key process. The results also highlight spatial variability in ANCP in the Southern Ocean.

  18. Financing Strategies for Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    David Shropshire; Sharon Chandler

    2005-01-01

    To help meet our nation's energy needs, reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel is being considered more and more as a necessary step in a future nuclear fuel cycle, but incorporating this step into the fuel cycle will require considerable investment. This report presents an evaluation of financing scenarios for reprocessing facilities integrated into the nuclear fuel cycle. A range of options, from fully government owned to fully private owned, was evaluated using a DPL (Dynamic Programming Language) 6.0 model, which can systematically optimize outcomes based on user-defined criteria (e.g., lowest life-cycle cost, lowest unit cost). Though all business decisions follow similar logic with regard to financing, reprocessing facilities are an exception due to the range of financing options available. The evaluation concludes that lowest unit costs and lifetime costs follow a fully government-owned financing strategy, due to government forgiveness of debt as sunk costs. Other financing arrangements, however, including regulated utility ownership and a hybrid ownership scheme, led to acceptable costs, below the Nuclear Energy Agency published estimates. Overwhelmingly, uncertainty in annual capacity led to the greatest fluctuations in unit costs necessary for recovery of operating and capital expenditures; the ability to determine annual capacity will be a driving factor in setting unit costs. For private ventures, the costs of capital, especially equity interest rates, dominate the balance sheet; the annual operating costs dominate the government case. It is concluded that to finance the construction and operation of such a facility without government ownership could be feasible with measures taken to mitigate risk, and that factors besides unit costs should be considered (e.g., legal issues, social effects, proliferation concerns) before making a decision on financing strategy

  19. Transmission of influenza reflects seasonality of wild birds across the annual cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Nichola J.; Ma, Eric J.; Meixell, Brandt W.; Lindberg, Mark S.; Boyce, Walter M.; Runstadler, Jonathan A.

    2016-01-01

    Influenza A Viruses (IAV) in nature must overcome shifting transmission barriers caused by the mobility of their primary host, migratory wild birds, that change throughout the annual cycle. Using a phylogenetic network of viral sequences from North American wild birds (2008–2011) we demonstrate a shift from intraspecific to interspecific transmission that along with reassortment, allows IAV to achieve viral flow across successive seasons from summer to winter. Our study supports amplification of IAV during summer breeding seeded by overwintering virus persisting locally and virus introduced from a wide range of latitudes. As birds migrate from breeding sites to lower latitudes, they become involved in transmission networks with greater connectivity to other bird species, with interspecies transmission of reassortant viruses peaking during the winter. We propose that switching transmission dynamics may be a critical strategy for pathogens that infect mobile hosts inhabiting regions with strong seasonality.

  20. CHANGES IN THE ANAEROBIC THRESHOLD IN AN ANNUAL CYCLE OF SPORT TRAINING OF YOUNG SOCCER PLAYERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Śliwowski

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to assess changes in the anaerobic threshold of young soccer players in an annual training cycle. A group of highly trained 15-18 year old players of KKS Lech Poznań were tested. The tests included an annual training macrocycle, and its individual stages resulted from the time structure of the sports training. In order to assess the level of exercise capacities of the players, a field exercise test of increasing intensity was carried out on a soccer pitch. The test made it possible to determine the 4 millimolar lactate threshold (T LA 4 mmol · l-1 on the basis of the lactate concentration in blood [LA], to establish the threshold running speed and the threshold heart rate [HR]. The threshold running speed at the level of the 4 millimolar lactate threshold was established using the two-point form of the equation of a straight line. The obtained indicators of the threshold running speed allowed for precise establishment of effort intensity used in individual training in developing aerobic endurance. In order to test the significance of differences in mean values between four dates of tests, a non-parametric Friedman ANOVA test was used. The significance of differences between consecutive dates of tests was determined using a post-hoc Friedman ANOVA test. The tests showed significant differences in values of selected indicators determined at the anaerobic threshold in various stages of an annual training cycle of young soccer players. The most beneficial changes in terms of the threshold running speed were noted on the fourth date of tests, when the participants had the highest values of 4.01 m · s-1 for older juniors, and 3.80 m · s-1 for younger juniors. This may be indicative of effective application of an individualized programme of training loads and of good preparation of teams for competition in terms of players’ aerobic endurance.

  1. The pineal gland, but not melatonin, is associated with the termination of seasonal testicular activity in an annual reproductive cycle in roseringed parakeet Psittacula krameri.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sengupta, Anamika; Kumar Maitra, Saumen

    2006-01-01

    The role of the pineal gland and its hormone melatonin in the regulation of annual testicular events was investigated for the first time in a psittacine bird, the roseringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri). Accordingly, the testicular responsiveness of the birds was evaluated following surgical pinealectomy with or without the exogenous administration of melatonin and the experimental manipulations of the endogenous levels of melatonin through exposing the birds to continuous illumination. An identical schedule was followed during the four reproductive phases, each characterizing a distinct testicular status in the annual cycle, namely, the phases of gametogenic quiescence (preparatory phase), seasonal recovery of gametogenesis (progressive phase), seasonal initiation of sperm formation (pre-breeding phase), and peak gametogenic activity (breeding phase). In each reproductive phase, the birds were subjected to various experimental conditions, and the effects were studied comparing the testicular conditions in the respective control birds. The study included germ cell profiles of the seminiferous tubules, the activities of steroidogenic enzymes 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17beta-HSD), and Delta(5)3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (Delta(5)3beta- HSD) in the testis, and the serum levels of testosterone and melatonin. An analysis of the data reveals that the pineal gland and its hormone melatonin may play an inhibitory role in the development of the testis until the attainment of the seasonal peak in the annual reproductive cycle. However, in all probability, the termination of the seasonal activity of the testis or the initiation of testicular regression in the annual reproductive cycle appears to be the function of the pineal gland, but not of melatonin.

  2. Similarities and life cycle distributions of floras of 22 national parks in the midwestern United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, James P.

    1996-01-01

    Twenty-two midwestern U.S. national parks were studied to examine the similarities of their floras and analyses of the floras in each national park were used to construct groupings of these smaller sample areas at various similarity levels in order to classify larger floristic areas. The parks were not on average very similar based on Jaccard's similarity index. The maximum average park similarity was 21% (St. Croix National Scenic Riverway), and the maximum park pair similarity was just over 55% for Isle Royale National Park and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The average similarity of parks increased with park area and numbers of native species, and weakly decreased with the percentage of non-native species. Weak trends were observed with latitude and negative trends with longitude. Four park groups were partitioned by cluster analysis of species relative abundance data: 7 prairie parks, 6 northern parks, 4 intermediate parks and 5 southern parks. The average percentage of non-native species was ~33% in the prairie and southern park clusters, while percentage of evergreen perennials was 2 to 4 times greater in the northern parks (8%) compared with other clusters. Deciduous perennials approached 80% in the northern and intermediate park clusters, compared with about 70% for the prairie and southern clusters. Percentage of annuals was almost double in the prairie and southern clusters (average 24%) compared with the northern and intermediate clusters (average 13%).

  3. Scavengers on the move: behavioural changes in foraging search patterns during the annual cycle.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pascual López-López

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Optimal foraging theory predicts that animals will tend to maximize foraging success by optimizing search strategies. However, how organisms detect sparsely distributed food resources remains an open question. When targets are sparse and unpredictably distributed, a Lévy strategy should maximize foraging success. By contrast, when resources are abundant and regularly distributed, simple brownian random movement should be sufficient. Although very different groups of organisms exhibit Lévy motion, the shift from a Lévy to a brownian search strategy has been suggested to depend on internal and external factors such as sex, prey density, or environmental context. However, animal response at the individual level has received little attention. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used GPS satellite-telemetry data of Egyptian vultures Neophron percnopterus to examine movement patterns at the individual level during consecutive years, with particular interest in the variations in foraging search patterns during the different periods of the annual cycle (i.e. breeding vs. non-breeding. Our results show that vultures followed a brownian search strategy in their wintering sojourn in Africa, whereas they exhibited a more complex foraging search pattern at breeding grounds in Europe, including Lévy motion. Interestingly, our results showed that individuals shifted between search strategies within the same period of the annual cycle in successive years. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Results could be primarily explained by the different environmental conditions in which foraging activities occur. However, the high degree of behavioural flexibility exhibited during the breeding period in contrast to the non-breeding period is challenging, suggesting that not only environmental conditions explain individuals' behaviour but also individuals' cognitive abilities (e.g., memory effects could play an important role. Our results support the growing

  4. The distribution of the annual and semiannual cycles in the tropics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sumathipala, W.L.

    1992-06-01

    The distributions of annual and semiannual cycles in the tropics are studied using outgoing long-wave radiation (OLR), and FGGE level III b wind data. Amplitudes and variances of first and second harmonics (in the time domain) of low level zonal wind (U) are largest over monsoon regions of the eastern hemisphere and account for more than 80% of the variance. The first harmonic of OLR shows largest amplitudes over the continental regions between 10-15 degrees from the equator. The first harmonics of both low-level wind and OLR show standing character. The second and third harmonics of U are characterized by cross equatorial and clockwise phase propagation. All three harmonics are ''phase locked'' in the monsoon region of the eastern hemisphere during summer. Amplitude of the first harmonic of low level meridonal wind (V) is prominent at the Somalia coast and Malaysia. Amplitude variations of first and second harmonics of upper level zonal wind exhibit the response of subtropical jet streams to monsoon and inter-monsoon convective activity. Fairly strong amplitudes of OLR are found over the equatorial land areas where rainfall is maximum during the transition periods. (author). 15 refs, 7 figs

  5. The Brazilian business and growth cycles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chauvet Marcelle

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper uses several produceres to date and analyse the Brazilian business and growth cycles. In particular, a Markov switching model is fitted to quarterly and annual real production data. The smoothed probabilities of the Markov states are used as predictive rules to define different phases of cyclical fluctuations of real Brazilian production. The results are compared with different non-parametric rules. All methods implemented yield similar dating and reveal asymmetries across the different states of the Brazilian business and growth cycles, in which slowdowns and recessions are short and abrupt, while high growth phases and expansions are longer and less steep. The resulting dating of the Brazilian economic cycles can be used as a reference point for construction and evaluation of the predictive performance of coincident, leading, or lagging indicators of economic activity. In addition, the filtered probabilities obtained from the Markov switching model allow early recognition of the transition to a new business cycle phase, wich can be used, for example, for evaluation of the adequate strength and timing of countercyclical policies, for reassessment of projected sales or profits by businesses and investors, or for monitoring of inflation pressures.

  6. Annual report 2003

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-01-01

    Delivering products and services to nuclear power plants operators, AREVA operates in every sector of the civilian nuclear power and fuel cycle industry. This annual report 2003 provides, in seven chapters, information on persons responsible for the annual report and for auditing the financial statements, general information on the company and share capital (statute, capital, share trading, dividends), information on company operations, changes and future prospects, assets, financial position and financial performance, corporate governance, recent developments and future prospects. (A.L.B.)

  7. Emissions from photovoltaic life cycles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fthenakis, V.M.; Kim, H.C.; Alsema, E.A.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/073416258

    2008-01-01

    Photovoltaic (PV) technologies have shown remarkable progress recently in terms of annual production capacity and life cycle environmental performances, which necessitate timely updates of environmental indicators. Based on PV production data of 2004–2006, this study presents the life-cycle

  8. Transparency associated with the nuclear fuel cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2009-01-01

    This document presents the different fuel cycle stages with which the CEA is associated, the annual flow of materials and wastes produced at these different stages, and the destiny of these produced materials and wastes. These information are given for the different CEA R and D activities: experimentation hot laboratories (activities, fuel cycle stages, list of laboratories, tables giving annual flows for each of them), research reactors (types of reactors, fuel usage modes, annual flows of nuclear materials for each reactor), spent fuel management (different types of used materials), spent fuels and radioactive wastes with a foreign origin (quantities, processes)

  9. Benefits of cycle stretchout in pressurized water reactor extended-burnup fuel cycles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matzie, R.A.; Leung, D.C.; Liu, Y.; Beekmann, R.W.

    1981-01-01

    Nuclear reactors are inherently capable of operating for a substantial period beyond their nominal end of cycle (EOC) as a result of negative moderator and fuel temperature coefficients and the decrease in xenon poisoning with lower core power levels. This inherent capability can be used to advantage to reduce annual uranium makeup requirements and cycle energy costs by the use of planned EOC stretchout. This paper discusses the fuel utilization efficiency and economics of both the five-batch, extended-burnup cycle and the three-batch, standard-burnup cycle, which can be improved by employing planned EOC (end of cycle) stretchout. 11 refs

  10. Variation of crack intensity factor in three compacted clay liners exposed to annual cycle of atmospheric conditions with and without geotextile cover.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Safari, E; Jalili Ghazizade, M; Abduli, M A; Gatmiri, B

    2014-08-01

    Performance of compacted clay liners commonly used as landfill barrier systems can be subject to decline in terms of hydraulic conductivity if left exposed to atmospheric conditions for an extended period of time prior to placement of overlaying layers. The resulting desiccation cracking can lead to increased hydraulic conductivity. Desiccation crack intensity was studied for three clayey soils commonly used for construction of landfill barrier system in a relatively large scale test setup exposed to real time atmospheric conditions over a complete annual cycle. A white separator geotextile cover was presumed to be capable of reducing the intensity of desiccation cracking through absorbing and maintaining higher amounts of moisture and reducing the temperature of the soil surface in comparison to a directly exposed soil surface. Desiccation cracking was monitored using a digital imaging technique for three compacted clay liners in two sets, one open to air and the second covered with the white geotextile. Crack intensity factor approached a relatively stable phase after certain cycles corresponding to atmospheric dry wet cycles. The results indicated that the white separator geotextile was capable of reducing the crack intensity factor by 37.4-45.9% throughout the experiment including the cyclic phase of desiccation cracking. During the stable phase, the maximum reduction in crack intensity factor of 90.4% as a result of applying geotextile cover was observed for the soil with the lowest plastic index and clay content and therefore the lowest magnitude of crack intensity factor. The other two soils with similar clay content but different plastic index showed 23.6% and 52.2% reductions in crack intensity factor after cyclic phase when covered with geotextile. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. High prevalence of cestodes in Artemia spp. throughout the annual cycle: relationship with abundance of avian final hosts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez, Marta I.; Nikolov, Pavel N.; GEorgieva, Darina D.; Georgiev, Boyko B.; Vasileva, Gergana P.; Pankov, Plamen; Paracuellos, Mariano; Lafferty, Kevin D.; Green, Andy J.

    2013-01-01

    Brine shrimp, Artemia spp., act as intermediate hosts for a range of cestode species that use waterbirds as their final hosts. These parasites can have marked influences on shrimp behavior and fecundity, generating the potential for cascading effects in hypersaline food webs. We present the first comprehensive study of the temporal dynamics of cestode parasites in natural populations of brine shrimp throughout the annual cycle. Over a 12-month period, clonal Artemia parthenogenetica were sampled in the Odiel marshes in Huelva, and the sexual Artemia salina was sampled in the Salinas de Cerrillos in Almería. Throughout the year, 4–45 % of A. parthenogenetica were infected with cestodes (mean species richness = 0.26), compared to 27–72 % of A. salina (mean species richness = 0.64). Ten cestode species were recorded. Male and female A. salina showed similar levels of parasitism. The most prevalent and abundant cestodes were those infecting the most abundant final hosts, especially the Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber. In particular, the flamingo parasite Flamingolepis liguloides had a prevalence of up to 43 % in A. parthenogenetica and 63.5 % in A. salina in a given month. Although there was strong seasonal variation in prevalence, abundance, and intensity of cestode infections, seasonal changes in bird counts were weak predictors of the dynamics of cestode infections. However, infection levels of Confluaria podicipina in A. parthenogenetica were positively correlated with the number of their black-necked grebe Podiceps nigricollis hosts. Similarly, infection levels of Anomotaenia tringae and Anomotaenia microphallos in A. salina were correlated with the number of shorebird hosts present the month before. Correlated seasonal transmission structured the cestode community, leading to more multiple infections than expected by chance.

  12. Shorter Harvest Cycles Counteract Increasing Annual Productivity in Industrial Plantation Forests: Trends from Three Decades of Remote Sensing in Southeastern Brazil

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMahon, D.; Jackson, R. B.

    2017-12-01

    Plantation forestry can produce woody biomass many times faster than native vegetation, particularly in the tropical regions where plantations have expanded rapidly in the past three decades. However, activists and practitioners have raised concerns over the sustainability of intensive plantations, suggesting that changes to soil properties may inhibit vegetation growth after multiple harvest cycles. We use a 32-year time series of remotely sensed vegetation indices derived from Landsat data, coupled with recent geospatial and wood volume data from plantation companies, to identify trends in management and vegetation productivity in thousands of individual eucalyptus plantation stands. We find that peak vegetation index values at canopy closure, which are correlated with annual wood volume increment, increase over successive harvest cycles, while the length of each cycle decreases. These opposing trends suggest that the number of harvests required to produce a given wood volume peaks around the second harvest cycle and then declines, likely due to refinement of management practices. Across the region, vegetation index data do not support the hypothesized decrease in productivity over multiple harvest cycles. Additional field data and ongoing soil analyses will complement the remote sensing approach to quantifying plantations' long-term effects on the land they occupy.

  13. On the annual cycle of the sea surface temperature and the mixed layer depth in the Gulf of Mexico

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mendoza, V.M.; Villanueva, E.E.; Adem, J. [Centro de Ciencias de la Atmosfera, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, UNAM, Mexico, D.F. (Mexico)

    2005-04-01

    Using an integrated mixed layer model, we carry out a simulation of the annual cycle of the sea surface temperature (SST) and of the mixed layer depth (MLD) in the Gulf of Mexico. We also compute the annual cycle of the entrainment velocity in the deepest region of the Gulf of Mexico. The model is based on the thermal energy equation and on an equation of mechanical and thermal energy balance based on the Kraus-Turner theory; both equation are coupled and are vertically integrated in the mixed layer. The model equations are solved in a uniform grid of 25 km in the Gulf of Mexico, the northwestern region of the Caribbean Sea and the eastern coast of Florida. The surface ocean current velocity and the atmospheric variables are prescribed in the model using observed values. We show the importance of the Ekman pumping in the entrainment velocity. We found that the upwelling plays an important role in increasing the entrainment velocity, producing an important reduction in the SST and diminishing the depth of the mixed layer in the Campeche Bay. In the rest of the Gulf of Mexico the downwelling tends to reduce the entrainment velocity, increasing the SST and the MLD. Comparison of the computed annual cycle of the SST and the MLD with the corresponding observations reported by Robinson (1973) shows a good agreement. In the deepest region of the Gulf of Mexico, the photosynthetic pigment concentration data obtained from the Mexican Pacific Cd-Rom of environmental analysis shows significant correlation with the computed annual cycle of the computed entrainment velocity only in January, April, May, June and September. [Spanish] Usando un modelo integrado en la capa de mezcla hemos obtenido una simulacion del ciclo anual de la temperatura de la superficie del mar (SST), de la profundidad de la capa de mezcla (MLD) en el Golfo de Mexico, asi como el ciclo anual de la velocidad de penetracion vertical turbulenta a traves de la termoclina en la region mas profunda del golfo de

  14. Pseudomonas fluorescens strains selectively suppress annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.) is a cool-season annual grass that is a major weed species in turf, turfgrass-seed production, sod production, and golf courses of the western United States. There are few selective herbicides available for the management of annual bluegrass. While the life cycles o...

  15. Increased resiliency and activity of microbial mediated carbon cycling enzymes in diversified bioenergy cropping systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Upton, R.; Bach, E.; Hofmockel, K. S.

    2017-12-01

    Microbes are mediators of soil carbon (C) and are influenced in membership and activity by nitrogen (N) fertilization and inter-annual abiotic factors. Microbial communities and their extracellular enzyme activities (EEA) are important parameters that influence ecosystem C cycling properties and are often included in microbial explicit C cycling models. In an effort to generate model relevant, empirical findings, we investigated how both microbial community structure and C degrading enzyme activity are influenced by inter-annual variability and N inputs in bioenergy crops. Our study was performed at the Comparison of Biofuel Systems field-site from 2011 to 2014, in three bioenergy cropping systems, continuous corn (CC) and two restored prairies, both fertilized (FP) and unfertilized (P). We hypothesized microbial community structure would diverge during the prairie restoration, leading to changes in C cycling enzymes over time. Using a sequencing approach (16S and ITS) we determined the bacterial and fungal community structure response to the cropping system, fertilization, and inter-annual variability. Additionally, we used EEA of β-glucosidase, cellobiohydrolase, and β-xylosidase to determine inter-annual and ecosystem impacts on microbial activity. Our results show cropping system was a main effect for microbial community structure, with corn diverging from both prairies to be less diverse. Inter-annual changes showed that a drought occurring in 2012 significantly impacted microbial community structure in both the P and CC, decreasing microbial richness. However, FP increased in microbial richness, suggesting the application of N increased resiliency to drought. Similarly, the only year in which C cycling enzymes were impacted by ecosystem was 2012, with FP supporting higher potential enzymatic activity then CC and P. The highest EEA across all ecosystems occurred in 2014, suggesting the continued root biomass and litter build-up in this no till system

  16. Reproductive cycles of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) in a cooling reservoir

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bennett, D.H.; Gibbons, J.W.

    1975-01-01

    Annual reproductive cycles of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) collected in the heated area of a 1120-hectare reservoir receiving thermal effluent from the Savannah River Plant were similar to cycles from bass collected in unheated waters during 1969 and 1970. Average maximum monthly temperatures at the heated area exceeded those in unheated waters by greater than 10 0 C for the 2 years. Few monthly differences in gonosomatic indices were found between heated and unheated areas. Earlier attainment of maximum gonadal size and the presence of significantly larger juvenile bass at the heated area suggested that reproduction might be accelerated by thermal discharge. However, gonadal condition indicated that the reproductive period started in March and continued through April in both areas. Reproduction may have been advanced in some heated-area bass, although this was not obvious from overall changes in the reproductive cycles of bass from unheated areas. (auth)

  17. Recurrent epidemic cycles driven by intervention in a population of two susceptibility types

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Juanico, Drandreb Earl O

    2014-01-01

    Epidemics have been known to persist in the form of recurrence cycles. Despite intervention efforts through vaccination and targeted social distancing, infectious diseases like influenza continue to appear intermittently over time. I have undertaken an analysis of a stochastic epidemic model to explore the hypothesis that intervention efforts actually drive epidemic cycles. Time series from simulations of the model reveal oscillations exhibiting a similar temporal signature as influenza epidemics. The power-spectral density indicates a resonant frequency, which approximately corresponds to the apparent annual seasonality of influenza in temperate zones. Asymptotic solution to the backward Kolmogorov equation of the dynamics corresponds to an exponentially-decaying mean-exit time as a function of the intervention rate. Intervention must be implemented at a sufficiently high rate to extinguish the infection. The results demonstrate that intervention efforts can induce epidemic cycles, and that the temporal signature of cycles can provide early warning of imminent outbreaks

  18. Role of Mineral Deposits in Global Geochemical Cycles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kesler, S.; Wilkinson, B.

    2009-12-01

    Mineral deposits represent the most extreme degree of natural concentration for most elements and their formation and destruction are important parts of global geochemical cycles. Quantitative estimates of the role that mineral deposits play in these geochemical cycles has been limited, however, by the lack of information on actual amounts of elements that are concentrated in these deposits, and their rates of formation and destruction at geologic time scales. Recent use of a “tectonic diffusion” model for porphyry copper deposits, the most important source of world copper, in conjunction with estimates of their copper content (Kesler and Wilkinson, 2008), allows an assessment of the role of copper deposits in Earth’s global copper cycles. These results indicate that ~4.5*10^8 Gg of Cu have been concentrated in porphyry copper deposits through Phanerozoic time, that deposits containing ~2.8*10^8 Gg of Cu have been removed by uplift and erosion over the same time period, and that deposits containing ~1.7*10^8 Gg remain in Earth’s crust. If styles of formation and destruction of other copper-bearing mineral deposits are similar, then all crustal deposits contain ~3*10^8 Gg of copper. This constitutes about 0.03% of the copper that resides in crustal rocks and provides a first-ever estimate of the rate at which natural geochemical cycles produce the extreme concentrations that constitute mineral deposits. Another ~8*10^8 Gg of copper have been destroyed during the uplift and erosion of mineral deposits over Phanerozoic time, a flux amounting to an annual contribution of about 1.5 Gg of copper to the near-surface environment. This amount is similar in magnitude to copper released by volcanic outgassing, but only ~2.5% of the 56 Gg of copper estimated to be released annually by weathering of average crustal rocks (Rauch and Graedel, 2007). The amount of copper removed from mineral deposits by mining, 1.1*10^4 Gg/year, is much larger than any natural

  19. The Annual Cycle of Water Vapor on Mars as Observed by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Michael D.; Vondrak, Richard R. (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    Spectra taken by the Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) have been used to monitor the latitude, longitude, and seasonal dependence of water vapor for over one full Martian year (March 1999-March 2001). A maximum in water vapor abundance is observed at high latitudes during mid-summer in both hemispheres, reaching a maximum value of approximately 100 pr-micrometer in the north and approximately 50 pr-micrometer in the south. Low water vapor abundance (water vapor. The latitudinal and seasonal dependence of the decay of the northern summer water vapor maximum implies cross-equatorial transport of water to the southern hemisphere, while there is little or no corresponding transport during the decay of the southern hemisphere summer maximum. The latitude-longitude dependence of annually-averaged water vapor (corrected for topography) has a significant positive correlation with albedo and significant negative correlations with thermal inertia and surface pressure. Comparison of TES results with those retrieved from the Viking Orbiter Mars Atmospheric Water Detectors (MAWD) experiments shows some similar features, but also many significant differences. The southern hemisphere maximum observed by TES was not observed by MAWD and the large latitudinal gradient in annually-averaged water vapor observed by MAWD does not appear in the TES results.

  20. Annual report 2003; Rapport annuel 2003

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2003-07-01

    Delivering products and services to nuclear power plants operators, AREVA operates in every sector of the civilian nuclear power and fuel cycle industry. This annual report 2003 provides, in seven chapters, information on persons responsible for the annual report and for auditing the financial statements, general information on the company and share capital (statute, capital, share trading, dividends), information on company operations, changes and future prospects, assets, financial position and financial performance, corporate governance, recent developments and future prospects. (A.L.B.)

  1. FY 1999 annual work plan for infrastructure program WBS 6

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Donley, C.D.

    1998-08-27

    The Fiscal Year (FY) 1999 DynCorp Annual Work Plan (AWP) relates DOE-RL work breakdown structure (WBS) to Cost Accounts and to Organizational Structure. Each Cost Account includes a workscope narrative and justification performance and service standards, goals, and deliverables. Basis of estimates are included within each Cost Account to demonstrate the relationship of budget to defined workscope. The FY 1999 AWP reflects the planning assumptions and initiatives that are included in the PHMC Strategic Plan for Infrastructure Optimization which was established in FY 1998. Development of the FY 1999 AWP was in accordance with a sequential series of events and efforts described in the Infrastructure Annual Work Planning and Budget Cycle which was developed and established in conjunction with the Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan covers a rolling five year span of time and is updated at the start of each fiscal year as the beginning of the annual work planning and budget cycle for the following fiscal year. Accordingly the planning for the FY 1999 AWP began in January 1998. Also included in the annual work planning and budget cycle, and the basis for the budget in this AWP, is the development of a requirements-based budget.

  2. Estimation of optimal biomass fraction measuring cycle formunicipal solid waste incineration facilities in Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Seongmin; Cha, Jae Hyung; Hong, Yoon-Jung; Lee, Daekyeom; Kim, Ki-Hyun; Jeon, Eui-Chan

    2018-01-01

    This study estimates the optimum sampling cycle using a statistical method for biomass fraction. More than ten samples were collected from each of the three municipal solid waste (MSW) facilities between June 2013 and March 2015 and the biomass fraction was analyzed. The analysis data were grouped into monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual intervals and the optimum sampling cycle for the detection of the biomass fraction was estimated. Biomass fraction data did not show a normal distribution. Therefore, the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test was applied to compare the average values for each sample group. The Kruskal-Wallis test results showed that the average monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual values for all three MSW incineration facilities were equal. Therefore, the biomass fraction at the MSW incineration facilities should be calculated on a yearly cycle which is the longest period of the temporal cycles tested. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Eastern equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature annual cycle in the Kiel climate model: simulation benefits from enhancing atmospheric resolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wengel, C.; Latif, M.; Park, W.; Harlaß, J.; Bayr, T.

    2018-05-01

    A long-standing difficulty of climate models is to capture the annual cycle (AC) of eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) sea surface temperature (SST). In this study, we first examine the EEP SST AC in a set of integrations of the coupled Kiel Climate Model, in which only atmosphere model resolution differs. When employing coarse horizontal and vertical atmospheric resolution, significant biases in the EEP SST AC are observed. These are reflected in an erroneous timing of the cold tongue's onset and termination as well as in an underestimation of the boreal spring warming amplitude. A large portion of these biases are linked to a wrong simulation of zonal surface winds, which can be traced back to precipitation biases on both sides of the equator and an erroneous low-level atmospheric circulation over land. Part of the SST biases also is related to shortwave radiation biases related to cloud cover biases. Both wind and cloud cover biases are inherent to the atmospheric component, as shown by companion uncoupled atmosphere model integrations forced by observed SSTs. Enhancing atmosphere model resolution, horizontal and vertical, markedly reduces zonal wind and cloud cover biases in coupled as well as uncoupled mode and generally improves simulation of the EEP SST AC. Enhanced atmospheric resolution reduces convection biases and improves simulation of surface winds over land. Analysis of a subset of models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) reveals that in these models, very similar mechanisms are at work in driving EEP SST AC biases.

  4. Transpiration efficiency over an annual cycle, leaf gas exchange and wood carbon isotope ratio of three tropical tree species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cernusak, Lucas A; Winter, Klaus; Aranda, Jorge; Virgo, Aurelio; Garcia, Milton

    2009-09-01

    Variation in transpiration efficiency (TE) and its relationship with the stable carbon isotope ratio of wood was investigated in the saplings of three tropical tree species. Five individuals each of Platymiscium pinnatum (Jacq.) Dugand, Swietenia macrophylla King and Tectona grandis Linn. f. were grown individually in large (760 l) pots over 16 months in the Republic of Panama. Cumulative transpiration was determined by repeatedly weighing the pots with a pallet truck scale. Dry matter production was determined by destructive harvest. The TE, expressed as experiment-long dry matter production divided by cumulative water use, averaged 4.1, 4.3 and 2.9 g dry matter kg(-1) water for P. pinnatum, S. macrophylla and T. grandis, respectively. The TE of T. grandis was significantly lower than that of the other two species. Instantaneous measurements of the ratio of intercellular to ambient CO(2) partial pressures (c(i)/c(a)), taken near the end of the experiment, explained 66% of variation in TE. Stomatal conductance was lower in S. macrophylla than in T. grandis, whereas P. pinnatum had similar stomatal conductance to T. grandis, but with a higher photosynthetic rate. Thus, c(i)/c(a) and TE appeared to vary in response to both stomatal conductance and photosynthetic capacity. Stem-wood delta(13)C varied over a relatively narrow range of just 2.2 per thousand, but still explained 28% of variation in TE. The results suggest that leaf-level processes largely determined variation among the three tropical tree species in whole-plant water-use efficiency integrated over a full annual cycle.

  5. The annual cycle of stratospheric water vapor in a general circulation model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mote, Philip W.

    1995-01-01

    The application of general circulation models (GCM's) to stratospheric chemistry and transport both permits and requires a thorough investigation of stratospheric water vapor. The National Center for Atmospheric Research has redesigned its GCM, the Community Climate Model (CCM2), to enable studies of the chemistry and transport of tracers including water vapor; the importance of water vapor to the climate and chemistry of the stratosphere requires that it be better understood in the atmosphere and well represented in the model. In this study, methane is carried as a tracer and converted to water; this simple chemistry provides an adequate representation of the upper stratospheric water vapor source. The cold temperature bias in the winter polar stratosphere, which the CCM2 shares with other GCM's, produces excessive dehydration in the southern hemisphere, but this dry bias can be ameliorated by setting a minimum vapor pressure. The CCM2's water vapor distribution and seasonality compare favorably with observations in many respects, though seasonal variations including the upper stratospheric semiannual oscillation are generally too small. Southern polar dehydration affects midlatitude water vapor mixing ratios by a few tenths of a part per million, mostly after the demise of the vortex. The annual cycle of water vapor in the tropical and northern midlatitude lower stratosphere is dominated by drying at the tropical tropopause. Water vapor has a longer adjustment time than methane and had not reached equilibrium at the end of the 9 years simulated here.

  6. Mixed-layer carbon cycling at the Kuroshio Extension Observatory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fassbender, Andrea J.; Sabine, Christopher L.; Cronin, Meghan F.; Sutton, Adrienne J.

    2017-02-01

    Seven years of data from the NOAA Kuroshio Extension Observatory (KEO) surface mooring, located in the North Pacific Ocean carbon sink region, were used to evaluate drivers of mixed-layer carbon cycling. A time-dependent mass balance approach relying on two carbon tracers was used to diagnostically evaluate how surface ocean processes influence mixed-layer carbon concentrations over the annual cycle. Results indicate that the annual physical carbon input is predominantly balanced by biological carbon uptake during the intense spring bloom. Net annual gas exchange that adds carbon to the mixed layer and the opposing influence of net precipitation that dilutes carbon concentrations make up smaller contributions to the annual mixed-layer carbon budget. Decomposing the biological term into annual net community production (aNCP) and calcium carbonate production (aCaCO3) yields 7 ± 3 mol C m-2 yr-1 aNCP and 0.5 ± 0.3 mol C m-2 yr-1 aCaCO3, giving an annually integrated particulate inorganic carbon to particulate organic carbon production ratio of 0.07 ± 0.05, as a lower limit. Although we find that vertical physical processes dominate carbon input to the mixed layer at KEO, it remains unclear how horizontal features, such as eddies, influence carbon production and export by altering nutrient supply as well as the depth of winter ventilation. Further research evaluating linkages between Kuroshio Extension jet instabilities, eddy activity, and nutrient supply mechanisms is needed to adequately characterize the drivers and sensitivities of carbon cycling near KEO.

  7. Is That Fiscal Convergence Provides Business Cycles Synchronization

    OpenAIRE

    Alimi, Nabil; Garbaa, Radhouan

    2014-01-01

    Using a panel of annual data for 29 ODCE countries over the period 1996 2010, we empirically examine if fiscal convergence make business cycles more closely linked. The results suggest that a reduction in fiscal divergence tend to raise the business cycle correlation between a pair of ODCE countries.

  8. The role of water ice clouds in the Martian hydrologic cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    James, Philip B.

    1990-01-01

    A one-dimensional model for the seasonal cycle of water on Mars has been used to investigate the direction of the net annual transport of water on the planet and to study the possible role of water ice clouds, which are included as an independent phase in addition to ground ice and water vapor, in the cycle. The calculated seasonal and spatial patterns of occurrence of water ice clouds are qualitatively similar to the observed polar hoods, suggesting that these polar clouds are, in fact, an important component of water cycle. A residual dry ice in the south acts as a cold trap which, in the absence of sources other than the caps, will ultimately attract the water ice from the north cap; however, in the presence of a source of water in northern midlatitudes during spring, it is possible that the observed distribution of vapor and ice can be in a steady state even if a residual CO2 cap is a permanent feature of the system.

  9. The predicted CLARREO sampling error of the inter-annual SW variability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doelling, D. R.; Keyes, D. F.; Nguyen, C.; Macdonnell, D.; Young, D. F.

    2009-12-01

    The NRC Decadal Survey has called for SI traceability of long-term hyper-spectral flux measurements in order to monitor climate variability. This mission is called the Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) and is currently defining its mission requirements. The requirements are focused on the ability to measure decadal change of key climate variables at very high accuracy. The accuracy goals are set using anticipated climate change magnitudes, but the accuracy achieved for any given climate variable must take into account the temporal and spatial sampling errors based on satellite orbits and calibration accuracy. The time period to detect a significant trend in the CLARREO record depends on the magnitude of the sampling calibration errors relative to the current inter-annual variability. The largest uncertainty in climate feedbacks remains the effect of changing clouds on planetary energy balance. Some regions on earth have strong diurnal cycles, such as maritime stratus and afternoon land convection; other regions have strong seasonal cycles, such as the monsoon. However, when monitoring inter-annual variability these cycles are only important if the strength of these cycles vary on decadal time scales. This study will attempt to determine the best satellite constellations to reduce sampling error and to compare the error with the current inter-annual variability signal to ensure the viability of the mission. The study will incorporate Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) (Monthly TOA/Surface Averages) SRBAVG product TOA LW and SW climate quality fluxes. The fluxes are derived by combining Terra (10:30 local equator crossing time) CERES fluxes with 3-hourly 5-geostationary satellite estimated broadband fluxes, which are normalized using the CERES fluxes, to complete the diurnal cycle. These fluxes were saved hourly during processing and considered the truth dataset. 90°, 83° and 74° inclination precessionary orbits as

  10. The carbon cycle and hurricanes in the United States between 1900 and 2011.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahal, Devendra; Liu, Shuguang; Oeding, Jennifer

    2014-06-06

    Hurricanes cause severe impacts on forest ecosystems in the United States. These events can substantially alter the carbon biogeochemical cycle at local to regional scales. We selected all tropical storms and more severe events that made U.S. landfall between 1900 and 2011 and used hurricane best track database, a meteorological model (HURRECON), National Land Cover Database (NLCD), U. S. Department of Agirculture Forest Service biomass dataset, and pre- and post-MODIS data to quantify individual event and annual biomass mortality. Our estimates show an average of 18.2 TgC/yr of live biomass mortality for 1900-2011 in the US with strong spatial and inter-annual variability. Results show Hurricane Camille in 1969 caused the highest aboveground biomass mortality with 59.5 TgC. Similarly 1954 had the highest annual mortality with 68.4 TgC attributed to landfalling hurricanes. The results presented are deemed useful to further investigate historical events, and the methods outlined are potentially beneficial to quantify biomass loss in future events.

  11. Sex Difference in Draft-Legal Ultra-Distance Events - A Comparison between Ultra-Swimming and Ultra-Cycling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salihu, Lejla; Rüst, Christoph Alexander; Rosemann, Thomas; Knechtle, Beat

    2016-04-30

    Recent studies reported that the sex difference in performance in ultra-endurance sports such as swimming and cycling changed over the years. However, the aspect of drafting in draft-legal ultra-endurance races has not yet been investigated. This study investigates the sex difference in ultra-swimming and ultra-cycling draft-legal races where drafting - swimming or cycling behind other participants to save energy and have more power at the end of the race to overtake them, is allowed. The change in performance of the annual best and the annual three best in an ultra-endurance swimming race (16-km 'Faros Swim Marathon') over 38 years and in a 24-h ultra-cycling race ('World Cycling Race') over 13 years were compared and analysed with respect to sex difference. Furthermore, performances of the fastest female and male finishers ever were compared. In the swimming event, the sex difference of the annual best male and female decreased non-significantly (P = 0.262) from 5.3% (1976) to 1.0% (2013). The sex gap of speed in the annual three fastest swimmers decreased significantly (P = 0.043) from 5.9 ± 1.6% (1979) to 4.7 ± 3.1% (2013). In the cycling event, the difference in cycling speed between the annual best male and female decreased significantly (P = 0.026) from 33.31% (1999) to 10.89% (2011). The sex gap of speed in the annual three fastest decreased significantly (P = 0.001) from 32.9 ± 0.6% (1999) to 16.4 ± 5.9% (2011). The fastest male swimmer ever (swimming speed 5.3 km/h, race time: 03:01:55 h:min:s) was 1.5% faster than the fastest female swimmer (swimming speed 5.2 km/h, race time: 03:04:09 h:min:s). The three fastest male swimmers ever (mean 5.27 ± 0.13 km/h) were 4.4% faster than the three fastest female swimmers (mean 5.05 ± 0.20 km/h) (P swimming and cycling, the sex difference in the annual top and annual top three swimmers and cyclists decreased (i.e. non-linearly in swimmers and linearly in cyclists) over the years. The sex difference of the

  12. Soil respiration at mean annual temperature predicts annual total across vegetation types and biomes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Bahn

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Soil respiration (SR constitutes the largest flux of CO2 from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere. However, there still exist considerable uncertainties as to its actual magnitude, as well as its spatial and interannual variability. Based on a reanalysis and synthesis of 80 site-years for 57 forests, plantations, savannas, shrublands and grasslands from boreal to tropical climates we present evidence that total annual SR is closely related to SR at mean annual soil temperature (SRMAT, irrespective of the type of ecosystem and biome. This is theoretically expected for non water-limited ecosystems within most of the globally occurring range of annual temperature variability and sensitivity (Q10. We further show that for seasonally dry sites where annual precipitation (P is lower than potential evapotranspiration (PET, annual SR can be predicted from wet season SRMAT corrected for a factor related to P/PET. Our finding indicates that it can be sufficient to measure SRMAT for obtaining a well constrained estimate of its annual total. This should substantially increase our capacity for assessing the spatial distribution of soil CO2 emissions across ecosystems, landscapes and regions, and thereby contribute to improving the spatial resolution of a major component of the global carbon cycle.

  13. Interconnectedness during high water maintains similarity in fish assemblages of island floodplain lakes in the Amazonian Basin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Edwar de C. Freitas

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available We conducted a study to test the hypothesis that interconnectedness among island floodplain lakes and the adjacent Solimões River during the flood stage of the hydrologic cycle is enough to maintain similarity in fish species assemblages. Gill net samples were collected during high and low water periods for three consecutive years (July 2004 to July 2006 in four lakes on Paciência Island. Two lakes, Piranha and Ressaca, are connected to the river all year, and the other two, Preto and Cacau, which are in the center of the island, are isolated during low water periods. The abundance, species richness and evenness of the fish assemblages in these lakes did not differ according to their relative positions or the season of the hydrological cycle, which confirmed our hypothesis. However, fish abundance during the dry season was greater than in the flood season. Apparently, the short period of full connection between the lakes is enough to allow the colonization of all fish species, but not to cause similar abundances. Our study indicates that persistence of the species composition of island floodplain lakes is primarily due to the annual replenishment of fish to the lakes during the flood season.

  14. MUREX: a land-surface field experiment to study the annual cycle of the energy and water budgets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J.-C. Calvet

    1999-06-01

    Full Text Available The MUREX (monitoring the usable soil reservoir experimentally experiment was designed to provide continuous time series of field data over a long period, in order to improve and validate the Soil-vegetation-Atmosphere Transfer (SVAT parameterisations employed in meteorological models. Intensive measurements were performed for more than three years over fallow farmland in southwestern France. To capture the main processes controlling land-atmosphere exchanges, the local climate was fully characterised, and surface water and energy fluxes, vegetation biomass, soil moisture profiles, surface soil moisture and surface and soil temperature were monitored. Additional physiological measurements were carried out during selected periods to describe the biological control of the fluxes. The MUREX data of 1995, 1996, and 1997 are presented. Four SVAT models are applied to the annual cycle of 1995. In general, they succeed in simulating the main features of the fallow functioning, although some shortcomings are revealed.Key words. Hydrology (evapotranspiration; soil moisture; water-energy interactions.

  15. Similar below-ground carbon cycling dynamics but contrasting modes of nitrogen cycling between arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal forests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Guigang; McCormack, M Luke; Ma, Chengen; Guo, Dali

    2017-02-01

    Compared with ectomycorrhizal (ECM) forests, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) forests are hypothesized to have higher carbon (C) cycling rates and a more open nitrogen (N) cycle. To test this hypothesis, we synthesized 645 observations, including 22 variables related to below-ground C and N dynamics from 100 sites, where AM and ECM forests co-occurred at the same site. Leaf litter quality was lower in ECM than in AM trees, leading to greater forest floor C stocks in ECM forests. By contrast, AM forests had significantly higher mineral soil C concentrations, and this result was strongly mediated by plant traits and climate. No significant differences were found between AM and ECM forests in C fluxes and labile C concentrations. Furthermore, inorganic N concentrations, net N mineralization and nitrification rates were all higher in AM than in ECM forests, indicating 'mineral' N economy in AM but 'organic' N economy in ECM trees. AM and ECM forests show systematic differences in mineral vs organic N cycling, and thus mycorrhizal type may be useful in predicting how different tree species respond to multiple environmental change factors. By contrast, mycorrhizal type alone cannot reliably predict below-ground C dynamics without considering plant traits and climate. © 2016 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2016 New Phytologist Trust.

  16. Extracting the annual signal from Greenland ice-core chemistry and isotopic records

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Sune Olander; Andersen, Katrine K.; Andersen, Marie Louise Siggaard

    2002-01-01

    Stratigraphic dating of ice cores by identification and counting of annual cycles in, for example, chemical measurements requires skill and experience. The work presented here investigates a method of data enhancement which is a first step towards an automated and more objective method of annual...

  17. 2016 Annual Technology Baseline (ATB)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cole, Wesley; Kurup, Parthiv; Hand, Maureen; Feldman, David; Sigrin, Benjamin; Lantz, Eric; Stehly, Tyler; Augustine, Chad; Turchi, Craig; O' Connor, Patrick; Waldoch, Connor

    2016-09-01

    Consistent cost and performance data for various electricity generation technologies can be difficult to find and may change frequently for certain technologies. With the Annual Technology Baseline (ATB), National Renewable Energy Laboratory provides an organized and centralized dataset that was reviewed by internal and external experts. It uses the best information from the Department of Energy laboratory's renewable energy analysts and Energy Information Administration information for conventional technologies. The ATB will be updated annually in order to provide an up-to-date repository of current and future cost and performance data. Going forward, we plan to revise and refine the values using best available information. The ATB includes both a presentation with notes (PDF) and an associated Excel Workbook. The ATB includes the following electricity generation technologies: land-based wind; offshore wind; utility-scale solar PV; concentrating solar power; geothermal power; hydropower plants (upgrades to existing facilities, powering non-powered dams, and new stream-reach development); conventional coal; coal with carbon capture and sequestration; integrated gasification combined cycle coal; natural gas combustion turbines; natural gas combined cycle; conventional biopower. Nuclear laboratory's renewable energy analysts and Energy Information Administration information for conventional technologies. The ATB will be updated annually in order to provide an up-to-date repository of current and future cost and performance data. Going forward, we plan to revise and refine the values using best available information.

  18. 2002 annual report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-01-01

    Delivering products and services to nuclear power plants operators, AREVA operates in every sector of the civilian nuclear power and fuel cycle industry. This annual report 2002 provides information on financial highlights, corporate governance, organization of the Group, share, sustainable development policy (integration into the management practices, financial and environmental responsibility, responsibility to the employees and to the society), nuclear power (front end division, reactors and services division, back end division), connectors division, equity interests and financial report. (A.L.B.)

  19. SEASONALITY OF ANNUAL PLANT ESTABLISHMENT INFLUENCES THE INTERACTIONBETWEEN THE NON-NATIVE ANNUAL GRASS BROMUS MADRITENSIS SSP. RUBENS AND MOJAVE DESERT PERENNIALS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    L A. DEFALCO; G. C. FERNANDEZ; R. S. NOWAK

    2004-01-01

    Competition between native and non-native species can change the composition and structure of plant communities, but in deserts the timing of non-native plant establishment can modulate their impacts to native species. In a field experiment, we varied densities of the non-native annual grass Bromus madritensis ssp. rubens around individuals of three native perennials--Larrea iridentata, Achnatherum hymenoides, and Pleuraphis rigida--in either winter or spring. Additional plots were prepared for the Same perennial species and seasons, but with a mixture of native annual species. Relative growth rates of perennial shoots (RGRs) declined with increasing Bromus biomass when Bromus that was established in winter had 2-3 mo of growth and high water use before perennial growth began. However, this high water use did not significantly reduce water potentials for the perennials, suggesting Bromus that established earlier depleted other soil resources, such as N, otherwise used by perennial plants. Spring-established Bromus had low biomass even at higher densities and did not effectively reduce RGRs, resulting in an overall lower impact to perennials than when Bromus was established in winter. Similarly, growth and reproduction of perennials with mixed annuals as neighbors did not differ from those with Bromus neighbors of equivalent biomass, but densities of these annuals did not support the high biomass necessary to reduce perennial growth. Thus, impacts of native Mojave Desert annuals to perennials are expected to be lower than those of Bromus because seed dormancy and narrow requirements for seedling survivorship produce densities and biomass lower than those achieved by Bromus. In comparing the effects of Bromus among perennial species, the impact of increased Bromus biomass on RGR was lower for Larrea than for the two perennial grasses, probably because Lurrea maintains low growth rates throughout the year, even after Bromus has completed its life cycle. This contrasts

  20. An Improved Multi-Evaporator Adsorption Desalination Cycle for GCC Countries

    KAUST Repository

    Shahzad, Muhammad Wakil

    2017-03-29

    In Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, cogeneration based desalination processes consume almost 25% of the total annual energy and it is increasing at 2.2% annually. The high fresh water demand is attributed to high gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate, 24%, and the high water languishes, more than 10%. Over the past two decades, GCC countries have spent tens of billion dollars to expand their present and planned desalination capacities. It is foreseeable that with business-as-usual scenario, the domestic oil consumption of Saudi Arabia may exceed its production capacity by 2040. Innovative and sustainable water production solutions are needed urgently for future water supplies without environment impact. In this paper, a hybrid desalination cycle is proposed by integrating multi cascaded-evaporators (CE) with an adsorption cycle (AD). In this new innovative cycle, AD desorbed vapors are supplied to the CE to exploit the latent condensation energy within the evaporators arranged in both pressures-temperatures cascaded manner to improves the performance ratio (PR) of the cycle. Hybrid cycle shows more than 10 folds water production improvement as compared to conventional AD cycle due to synergetic effect. This concept is demonstrated in a laboratory pilot plant using a 3 cascaded evaporators pilot and simulation of 8 evaporators hybrid cycle.

  1. Reproductive status of opisthoteuthis sp . Over an annual cycle ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The reproductive biology of deepwater cephalopods has received relatively little attention. The cirrate octopus Opisthoteuthis sp. is a regular bycatch in deep benthic trawls from 800 to 1 200 m deep west of Scotland. Specimens were sampled throughout the seasonal cycle. Mature females occurred over a broad size range ...

  2. Predictions of Solar Cycle 24: How are We Doing?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pesnell, William D.

    2016-01-01

    Predictions of solar activity are an essential part of our Space Weather forecast capability. Users are requiring usable predictions of an upcoming solar cycle to be delivered several years before solar minimum. A set of predictions of the amplitude of Solar Cycle 24 accumulated in 2008 ranged from zero to unprecedented levels of solar activity. The predictions formed an almost normal distribution, centered on the average amplitude of all preceding solar cycles. The average of the current compilation of 105 predictions of the annual-average sunspot number is 106 +/- 31, slightly lower than earlier compilations but still with a wide distribution. Solar Cycle 24 is on track to have a below-average amplitude, peaking at an annual sunspot number of about 80. Our need for solar activity predictions and our desire for those predictions to be made ever earlier in the preceding solar cycle will be discussed. Solar Cycle 24 has been a below-average sunspot cycle. There were peaks in the daily and monthly averaged sunspot number in the Northern Hemisphere in 2011 and in the Southern Hemisphere in 2014. With the rapid increase in solar data and capability of numerical models of the solar convection zone we are developing the ability to forecast the level of the next sunspot cycle. But predictions based only on the statistics of the sunspot number are not adequate for predicting the next solar maximum. I will describe how we did in predicting the amplitude of Solar Cycle 24 and describe how solar polar field predictions could be made more accurate in the future.

  3. Greenhouse Gas Induced Changes in the Seasonal Cycle of the Amazon Basin in Coupled Climate-Vegetation Regional Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Flavio Justino

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Previous work suggests that changes in seasonality could lead to a 70% reduction in the extent of the Amazon rainforest. The primary cause of the dieback of the rainforest is a lengthening of the dry season due to a weakening of the large-scale tropical circulation. Here we examine these changes in the seasonal cycle. Under present day conditions the Amazon climate is characterized by a zonal separation of the dominance of the annual and semi-annual seasonal cycles. This behavior is strongly modified under greenhouse warming conditions, with the annual cycle becoming dominant throughout the Amazon basin, increasing differences between the dry and wet seasons. In particular, there are substantial changes in the annual cycle of temperature due to the increase in the temperature of the warmest month, but the lengthening of the dry season is believed to be particularly important for vegetation-climate feedbacks. Harmonic analysis performed to regional climate model simulations yields results that differ from the global climate model that it is forced from, with the regional model being more sensitive to changes in the seasonal cycle.

  4. Audit of Major Defense Acquisition Programs Cycle Time

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Ugone, Mary

    2001-01-01

    ... (GPRA) as indicated in the FY 2000 Annual Report of the Secretary of Defense. Specifically, we assessed whether the process and factors, used to establish the metric goal of MDAP cycle time, were valid...

  5. Health impact assessment of cycling network expansions in European cities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mueller, Natalie; Rojas-Rueda, David; Salmon, Maëlle; Martinez, David; Ambros, Albert; Brand, Christian; de Nazelle, Audrey; Dons, Evi; Gaupp-Berghausen, Mailin; Gerike, Regine; Götschi, Thomas; Iacorossi, Francesco; Int Panis, Luc; Kahlmeier, Sonja; Raser, Elisabeth; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark

    2018-04-01

    We conducted a health impact assessment (HIA) of cycling network expansions in seven European cities. We modeled the association between cycling network length and cycling mode share and estimated health impacts of the expansion of cycling networks. First, we performed a non-linear least square regression to assess the relationship between cycling network length and cycling mode share for 167 European cities. Second, we conducted a quantitative HIA for the seven cities of different scenarios (S) assessing how an expansion of the cycling network [i.e. 10% (S1); 50% (S2); 100% (S3), and all-streets (S4)] would lead to an increase in cycling mode share and estimated mortality impacts thereof. We quantified mortality impacts for changes in physical activity, air pollution and traffic incidents. Third, we conducted a cost-benefit analysis. The cycling network length was associated with a cycling mode share of up to 24.7% in European cities. The all-streets scenario (S4) produced greatest benefits through increases in cycling for London with 1,210 premature deaths (95% CI: 447-1,972) avoidable annually, followed by Rome (433; 95% CI: 170-695), Barcelona (248; 95% CI: 86-410), Vienna (146; 95% CI: 40-252), Zurich (58; 95% CI: 16-100) and Antwerp (7; 95% CI: 3-11). The largest cost-benefit ratios were found for the 10% increase in cycling networks (S1). If all 167 European cities achieved a cycling mode share of 24.7% over 10,000 premature deaths could be avoided annually. In European cities, expansions of cycling networks were associated with increases in cycling and estimated to provide health and economic benefits. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Testing Self-Similarity Through Lamperti Transformations

    KAUST Repository

    Lee, Myoungji

    2016-07-14

    Self-similar processes have been widely used in modeling real-world phenomena occurring in environmetrics, network traffic, image processing, and stock pricing, to name but a few. The estimation of the degree of self-similarity has been studied extensively, while statistical tests for self-similarity are scarce and limited to processes indexed in one dimension. This paper proposes a statistical hypothesis test procedure for self-similarity of a stochastic process indexed in one dimension and multi-self-similarity for a random field indexed in higher dimensions. If self-similarity is not rejected, our test provides a set of estimated self-similarity indexes. The key is to test stationarity of the inverse Lamperti transformations of the process. The inverse Lamperti transformation of a self-similar process is a strongly stationary process, revealing a theoretical connection between the two processes. To demonstrate the capability of our test, we test self-similarity of fractional Brownian motions and sheets, their time deformations and mixtures with Gaussian white noise, and the generalized Cauchy family. We also apply the self-similarity test to real data: annual minimum water levels of the Nile River, network traffic records, and surface heights of food wrappings. © 2016, International Biometric Society.

  7. Hybrid nuclear cycles for nuclear fission sustainability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Piera, M.; Martinez-Val, M. M.

    2007-01-01

    Nuclear fission can play and must play an important role in paving the road to Energy Sustainability. Nuclear Fission does not produce CO 2 emissions, and it is already exploited at commercial level with the current NPP (Nuclear Power Plants). Most of them are based on LWR reactors, which have a very good safety record. It must be noted, however, that all LWR (including the advanced or evolutionary ones) have some drawbacks, particularly their very poor efficiency in exploiting the natural resources of nuclear fuels. In this paper, an analysis is presented on how to maximize the energy actually generated from the potential contents of fission natural resources. The role of fertile-to-fissile breeding is highlighted, as well as the need of attaining a very high safety performance in the reactors and other installations of the fuel cycle. The proposal presented in this paper is to use advanced and evolutionary LWR as energy producing reactors, and to use subcritical fast assemblies as breeders. The main result would be to increase by two orders of magnitude the percentage of energy effectively exploited from fission natural resources, while keeping a very high level of safety standards in the full fuel cycle. Breeders would not be intended for energy production, so that safety standards could rely on very low values of the thermal magnitudes, so allowing for very large safety margins for emergency cooling. Similarly, subcriticality would offer a very large margin for not to reach prompt criticality in any event. The main drawback of this proposal is that a sizeable fraction of the energy generated in the cycle (about 1/3, maybe a little more) would not be useful for the thermodynamic cycle to produce electricity. Besides that, a fraction of the generated electricity, between 5 and 10 %, would have to be recirculated to feed the accelerator activating the neutron source. Even so, the overall result would be very positive, because more than 50 % of the natural

  8. Petroleum supply annual 1998: Volume 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1999-06-01

    The ``Petroleum Supply Annual`` (PSA) contains information on the supply and disposition of crude oil and petroleum products. The publication reflects data that were collected from the petroleum industry during 1998 through annual and monthly surveys. The PSA is divided into two volumes. This first volume contains three sections: Summary Statistics, Detailed Statistics, and Refinery Statistics; each with final annual data. The second volume contains final statistics for each month of 1998, and replaces data previously published in the PSA. The tables in Volumes 1 and 2 are similarly numbered to facilitate comparison between them. 16 figs., 59 tabs.

  9. Petroleum supply annual, 1997. Volume 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-06-01

    The Petroleum Supply Annual (PSA) contains information on the supply and disposition of crude oil and petroleum products. The publication reflects data that were collected from the petroleum industry during 1997 through annual and monthly surveys. The PSA is divided into two volumes. This first volume contains three sections: Summary Statistics, Detailed Statistics, and Refinery Statistics; each with final annual data. The second volume contains final statistics for each month of 1997, and replaces data previously published in the Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM). The tables in Volumes 1 and 2 are similarly numbered to facilitate comparison between them. 16 figs., 48 tabs.

  10. Petroleum supply annual 1992: Volume 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-01-01

    The Petroleum Supply Annual (PSA) contains information on the supply and disposition of crude oil and petroleum products. The publication reflects data that were collected from the petroleum industry during 1992 through annual and monthly surveys. The PSA is divided into two volumes. This first volume contains four sections: Summary Statistics, Detailed Statistics, Refinery Capacity and Oxygenate Capacity each with final annual data. The second volume contains final statistics for each month of 1992, and replaces data previously published in the Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM). The tables in Volumes 1 and 2 are similarly numbered to facilitate comparison between them

  11. Petroleum supply annual 1998: Volume 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-06-01

    The ''Petroleum Supply Annual'' (PSA) contains information on the supply and disposition of crude oil and petroleum products. The publication reflects data that were collected from the petroleum industry during 1998 through annual and monthly surveys. The PSA is divided into two volumes. This first volume contains three sections: Summary Statistics, Detailed Statistics, and Refinery Statistics; each with final annual data. The second volume contains final statistics for each month of 1998, and replaces data previously published in the PSA. The tables in Volumes 1 and 2 are similarly numbered to facilitate comparison between them. 16 figs., 59 tabs

  12. Petroleum supply annual, 1997. Volume 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-06-01

    The Petroleum Supply Annual (PSA) contains information on the supply and disposition of crude oil and petroleum products. The publication reflects data that were collected from the petroleum industry during 1997 through annual and monthly surveys. The PSA is divided into two volumes. This first volume contains three sections: Summary Statistics, Detailed Statistics, and Refinery Statistics; each with final annual data. The second volume contains final statistics for each month of 1997, and replaces data previously published in the Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM). The tables in Volumes 1 and 2 are similarly numbered to facilitate comparison between them. 16 figs., 48 tabs

  13. Economics of trees versus annual crops on marginal agricultural lands

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gupta, T.; Mohan, D.

    1982-01-01

    The results of a study conducted by the CMA in Rajasthan, selected as one of the major problem states because of its hot, arid and drought-prone character, and its present declining agricultural, livestock and fuelwood production coupled with an expansion of the area under annual crops. The present situation in Rajasthan is described and estimates made of returns from current land based enterprises (annual crops and livestock rearing) in comparison with the expected costs and returns of establishing suitable tree crops in the area. The financial and social feasibility of changing land use from annual to tree crops (while maintaining livestock production) is discussed, together with a consideration of some management and policy issues. Six tree species (Acacia tortilis, Albizzia (Albizia) lebbek, Prosopis cineraria, P. juliflora, Zizyphus species and Leucaena leucocephala) were identified as adaptable for the region and the economics of raising each over 1 felling cycle calculated. Depending on the species and cycle length, net annual returns were Rs 360-3270/ha (using a discount factor of 11%), with an expected return of Rs1680/ha if the species were allocated equally; this is considerably better than the expected returns from annual crops and standing farm trees (Rs-40 to Rs30/ha, with or without including the costs of family labor). Fifteen tables in the text and 9 in appendices give detailed breakdowns of costs and returns. 104 references.

  14. Long term variability of the annual hydrological regime and sensitivity to temperature phase shifts in Saxony/Germany

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renner, M.; Bernhofer, C.

    2011-01-01

    The timing of the seasons strongly effects ecosystems and human activities. Recently, there is increasing evidence of changes in the timing of the seasons, such as earlier spring seasons detected in phenological records, advanced seasonal timing of surface temperature, earlier snow melt or streamflow timing. For water resources management there is a need to quantitatively describe the variability in the timing of hydrological regimes and to understand how climatic changes control the seasonal water budget of river basins on the regional scale. In this study, changes of the annual cycle of hydrological variables are analysed for 27 river basins in Saxony/Germany. Thereby monthly series of basin runoff ratios, the ratio of runoff and basin precipitation are investigated for changes and variability of their annual periodicity over the period 1930-2009. Approximating the annual cycle by the means of harmonic functions gave acceptable results, while only two parameters, phase and amplitude, are required. It has been found that the annual phase of runoff ratio, representing the timing of the hydrological regime, is subject to considerable year-to-year variability, being concurrent with basins in similar hydro-climatic conditions. Two distinct basin classes have been identified, whereby basin elevation has been found to be the delimiting factor. An increasing importance of snow on the basin water balance with elevation is apparent and mainly governs the temporal variability of the annual timing of hydrological regimes. Further there is evidence of coincident changes in trend direction (change points in 1971 and 1988) in snow melt influenced basins. In these basins the timing of the runoff ratio is significantly correlated with the timing of temperature, and effects on runoff by temperature phase changes are even amplified. Interestingly, temperature effects may explain the low frequent variability of the second change point until today. However, the first change point can

  15. Diurnal and annual variations of meteor rates at the arctic circle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W. Singer

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Meteors are an important source for (a the metal atoms of the upper atmosphere metal layers and (b for condensation nuclei, the existence of which are a prerequisite for the formation of noctilucent cloud particles in the polar mesopause region. For a better understanding of these phenomena, it would be helpful to know accurately the annual and diurnal variations of meteor rates. So far, these rates have been little studied at polar latitudes. Therefore we have used the 33 MHz meteor radar of the ALOMAR observatory at 69° N to measure the meteor rates at this location for two full annual cycles. This site, being within 3° of the Arctic circle, offers in addition an interesting capability: The axis of its antenna field points (almost towards the North ecliptic pole once each day of the year. In this particular viewing direction, the radar monitors the meteoroid influx from (almost the entire ecliptic Northern hemisphere. We report on the observed diurnal variations (averaged over one month of meteor rates and their significant alterations throughout the year. The ratio of maximum over minimum meteor rates throughout one diurnal cycle is in January and February about 5, from April through December 2.3±0.3. If compared with similar measurements at mid-latitudes, our expectation, that the amplitude of the diurnal variation is to decrease towards the North pole, is not really borne out. Observations with the antenna axis pointing towards the North ecliptic pole showed that the rate of deposition of meteoric dust is substantially larger during the Arctic NLC season than the annual mean deposition rate. The daylight meteor showers of the Arietids, Zeta Perseids, and Beta Taurids supposedly contribute considerably to the June maximum of meteor rates. We note, though, that with the radar antenna pointing as described above, all three meteor radiants are close to the local horizon but all three radiants were detected.

  16. Annual report 2000. Department of wastes disposal and storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    This annual report presents the missions, the organization, the researches progress, the events, the publications and the personnel formation of the Department of wastes disposal and storage in the year 2000, one of the CEA fuel cycle Direction. (A.L.B.)

  17. Design comparisons of TRU burner cores with similar sodium void worth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sang Ji, Kim; Young Il, Kim; Young Jin, Kim; Nam Zin, Cho

    2001-01-01

    This study summarizes the neutronic performance and fuel cycle behavior of five geometrically-different transuranic (TRU) burner cores with similar low sodium void reactivity. The conceptual cores encompass core geometries for annular, two-region homogeneous, dual pin type, pan-shaped and H-shaped cores. They have been designed with the same assembly specifications and managed to have similar end-of-cycle sodium void reactivities and beginning-of-cycle peak power densities through the changes in the core size and configuration. The requirement of low sodium void reactivity is shown to lead each design concept to characteristic neutronics performance and fuel cycle behavior. The H-/pan-shaped cores allow the core compaction as well as higher rate of TRU burning. (author)

  18. Petroleum supply annual 1992

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-01-01

    The Petroleum Supply Annual (PSA) contains information on the supply and disposition of crude oil and petroleum products. The publication reflects data that were collected from the petroleum industry during 1992 through annual and monthly surveys. The PSA is divided into two volumes. The first volume contains four sections: Summary Statistics, Detailed Statistics, Refinery Capacity, and Oxygenate Capacity each with final annual data. This second volume contains final statistics for each month of 1992, and replaces data previously published in the Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM). The tables in Volumes 1 and 2 are similarly numbered to facilitate comparison between them. Explanatory Notes, located at the end of this publication, present information describing data collection, sources, estimation methodology, data quality control procedures, modifications to reporting requirements and interpretation of tables. Industry terminology and product definitions are listed alphabetically in the Glossary

  19. 1997 annual report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-01-01

    This 1997 issue of the annual report of the French Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique (CEA) gives a general overview of the CEA organization, activities, human resources, international relations and communication with some budgetary information. The main activities described concern the national defence, the fuel cycle, the nuclear reactors, the nuclear protection and safety, the advanced technologies, the quasi-particles, the effects of ionizing radiations on humans, the medical imagery, the transfer of technology, the protection and valorization of knowledge, the radioactive wastes and spent fuels management, the training and teaching, the scientific prizes, the committees, councils and commissions. (O.M.)

  20. 1996 annual report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-01-01

    This 1996 issue of the annual report of the French Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique (CEA) gives a general overview of CEA organization, activities, human resources, international relations and external communication with some budgetary informations. The main activities described concern the national defence, the fuel cycle, the nuclear reactors, the condensed matter and life sciences, the advanced technologies, the protection and transfer of knowledge and technologies, the environmental activities, the management and processing of nuclear wastes, the nuclear protection and safety, the technical and scientific information, the teaching and training, the scientific prizes, the committees, councils and commissions. (J.S.)

  1. Annual progress report 1981

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1982-01-01

    This annual progress report of the CEA Protection and Nuclear Safety Institut outlines a brief description of the progress made in each section of the Institut. Research activities of the Protection department include, radiation effects on man, radioecology and environment radioprotection techniques. Research activities of the Nuclear Safety department include, reactor safety analysis, fuel cycle facilities safety analysis, safety research programs. The third section deals with nuclear material security including security of facilities, security of nuclear material transport and monitoring of nuclear material management [fr

  2. Quantifying uncertainties of climate signals related to the 11-year solar cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kruschke, T.; Kunze, M.; Matthes, K. B.; Langematz, U.; Wahl, S.

    2017-12-01

    Although state-of-the-art reconstructions based on proxies and (semi-)empirical models converge in terms of total solar irradiance, they still significantly differ in terms of spectral solar irradiance (SSI) with respect to the mean spectral distribution of energy input and temporal variability. This study aims at quantifying uncertainties for the Earth's climate related to the 11-year solar cycle by forcing two chemistry-climate models (CCMs) - CESM1(WACCM) and EMAC - with five different SSI reconstructions (NRLSSI1, NRLSSI2, SATIRE-T, SATIRE-S, CMIP6-SSI) and the reference spectrum RSSV1-ATLAS3, derived from observations. We conduct a unique set of timeslice experiments. External forcings and boundary conditions are fixed and identical for all experiments, except for the solar forcing. The set of analyzed simulations consists of one solar minimum simulation, employing RSSV1-ATLAS3 and five solar maximum experiments. The latter are a result of adding the amplitude of solar cycle 22 according to the five reconstructions to RSSV1-ATLAS3. Our results show that the climate response to the 11y solar cycle is generally robust across CCMs and SSI forcings. However, analyzing the variance of the solar maximum ensemble by means of ANOVA-statistics reveals additional information on the uncertainties of the mean climate signals. The annual mean response agrees very well between the two CCMs for most parts of the lower and middle atmosphere. Only the upper mesosphere is subject to significant differences related to the choice of the model. However, the different SSI forcings lead to significant differences in ozone concentrations, shortwave heating rates, and temperature throughout large parts of the mesosphere and upper stratosphere. Regarding the seasonal evolution of the climate signals, our findings for short wave heating rates, and temperature are similar to the annual means with respect to the relative importance of the choice of the model or the SSI forcing for the

  3. How Ocean Color Influences the Interplay Between Annual and Interannual Tropical Pacific Variability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammann, A. C.; Gnanadesikan, A.

    2010-12-01

    While the basic mechanisms responsible for ENSO have long been known, many details still evade our understanding. Since the behavior of the real climate system appears to be highly sensitive to such details, however, our ability to model, let alone predict it with any confidence has so far been rather restricted. Not only can small perturbations in many state variables lead to strongly amplified responses, but also do spatial and temporal scales of variability rarely occur in isolation from each other. Both points are born out in the study by Anderson et al. (2009), who removed surface chlorophyll in different regions of the tropical (but mostly off-equatorial) Pacific in a coupled ocean-atmosphere-land-ice model. Different removal patterns lead to large differences in the amplitudes of both ENSO and the equatorial annual cycle. Anderson et al.’s analysis focuses on ENSO and reveals that the transmission of off-equatorial perturbations to the equator happens mainly through a changed atmospheric response to SST anomalies. Here, we analyze the same data with respect to the annual cycle and how it interacts with ENSO. Guilyardi (2006) reports that observations and models alike show a zero-sum-type behavior of annual and ENSO-scale variability; increased spectral power in the annual band means decreased power in the ENSO band and vice versa. This is not the case for the different patterns of chlorophyll removal in our model, and hence it appears that this removal changes a fundamental part of its mean state. The dynamics of the annual cycle are likely influenced by oceanic meridional temperature advection, which provides another possible route for off-to-equatorial signal propagation. A common aspect of the tropical annual cycle in most coupled climate models is the presence of a double ITCZ instead of a single north-shifted one. Even though this appears to be unrelated to (albeit influenced by) the changes in ocean color, our model exhibits a much improved

  4. Internal cycle modeling and environmental assessment of multiple cycle consumer products

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsiliyannis, C.A.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Dynamic flow models are presented for remanufactured, reused or recycled products. ► Early loss and stochastic return are included for fast and slow cycling products. ► The reuse-to-input flow ratio (Internal Cycle Factor, ICF) is determined. ► The cycle rate, which is increasing with the ICF, monitors eco-performance. ► Early internal cycle losses diminish the ICF, the cycle rate and performance. - Abstract: Dynamic annual flow models incorporating consumer discard and usage loss and featuring deterministic and stochastic end-of-cycle (EOC) return by the consumer are developed for reused or remanufactured products (multiple cycle products, MCPs), including fast and slow cycling, short and long-lived products. It is shown that internal flows (reuse and overall consumption) increase proportionally to the dimensionless internal cycle factor (ICF) which is related to environmental impact reduction factors. The combined reuse/recycle (or cycle) rate is shown capable for shortcut, albeit effective, monitoring of environmental performance in terms of waste production, virgin material extraction and manufacturing impacts of all MCPs, a task, which physical variables (lifetime, cycling frequency, mean or total number of return trips) and conventional rates, via which environmental policy has been officially implemented (e.g. recycling rate) cannot accomplish. The cycle rate is shown to be an increasing (hyperbolic) function of ICF. The impact of the stochastic EOC return characteristics on total reuse and consumption flows, as well as on eco-performance, is assessed: symmetric EOC return has a small, positive effect on performance compared to deterministic, while early shifted EOC return is more beneficial. In order to be efficient, environmental policy should set higher minimum reuse targets for higher trippage MCPs. The results may serve for monitoring, flow accounting and comparative eco-assessment of MCPs. They may be useful in identifying

  5. Cycling Time Trial Performance 4 Hours After Glycogen-Lowering Exercise Is Similarly Enhanced by Recovery Nondairy Chocolate Beverages Versus Chocolate Milk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Upshaw, Adam U; Wong, Tiffany S; Bandegan, Arash; Lemon, Peter W

    2016-02-01

    Postexercise chocolate milk ingestion has been shown to enhance both glycogen resynthesis and subsequent exercise performance. To assess whether nondairy chocolate beverage ingestion post-glycogen-lowering exercise can enhance 20-km cycling time trial performance 4 hr later, eight healthy trained male cyclists (21.8 ± 2.3y, VO2max = 61.2 ± 1.4 ml·kg-1·min-1; M ± SD) completed a series of intense cycling intervals designed to lower muscle glycogen (Jentjens & Jeukendrup, 2003) followed by 4 hr of recovery and a subsequent 20-km cycling time trial. During the first 2 hr of recovery, participants ingested chocolate dairy milk (DAIRYCHOC), chocolate soy beverage (SOYCHOC), chocolate hemp beverage (HEMPCHOC), low-fat dairy milk (MILK), or a low-energy artificially sweetened, flavored beverage (PLACEBO) at 30-min intervals in a double-blind, counterbalanced repeated-measures design. All drinks, except the PLACEBO (247 kJ) were isoenergetic (2,107 kJ), and all chocolate-flavored drinks provided 1-g CHO·kg body mass-1·h-1. Fluid intake across treatments was equalized (2,262 ± 148 ml) by ingesting appropriate quantities of water based on drink intake. The CHO:PRO ratio was 4:1, 1.5:1, 4:1, and 6:1 for DAIRYCHOC, MILK, SOYCHOC, and HEMPCHOC, respectively. One-way analysis of variance with repeated measures showed time trial performance (DAIRYCHOC = 34.58 ± 2.5 min, SOYCHOC = 34.83 ± 2.2 min, HEMPCHOC = 34.88 ± 1.1 min, MILK = 34.47 ± 1.7 min) was enhanced similarly vs PLACEBO (37.85 ± 2.1) for all treatments (p = .019) These data suggest that postexercise macronutrient and total energy intake are more important for same-day 20-km cycling time trial performance after glycogen-lowering exercise than protein type or protein-to-carbohydrate ratio.

  6. Changes in CO2 during Ocean Anoxic Event 1d indicate similarities to other carbon cycle perturbations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richey, Jon D.; Upchurch, Garland R.; Montañez, Isabel P.; Lomax, Barry H.; Suarez, Marina B.; Crout, Neil M. J.; Joeckel, R. M.; Ludvigson, Greg A.; Smith, Jon J.

    2018-06-01

    Past greenhouse intervals of the Mesozoic were repeatedly punctuated by Ocean Anoxic Events (OAEs), major perturbations to the global carbon cycle and abrupt climate changes that may serve as relevant analogs for Earth's greenhouse gas-forced climate future. The key to better understanding these transient climate disruptions and possible CO2-forced tipping-points resides in high-resolution, precise, and accurate estimates of atmospheric CO2 for individual OAEs. Here we present a high-temporal resolution, multi-proxy pCO2 reconstruction for the onset of mid-Cretaceous (Albian-Cenomanian Boundary) OAE1d. Coupling of pCO2 estimates with carbon isotopic compositions (δ13C) of charcoal, vitrain, and cuticle from the Rose Creek Pit (RCP), Nebraska, reveals complex phasing, including a lag between the well-documented negative δ13C excursion defining the onset of OAE1d and the CO2 increase. This lag indicates that increased CO2 or other C-based greenhouse gases may not have been the primary cause of the negative excursion. Our study reveals a pCO2 increase within the interval of the negative δ13C excursion, reaching a maximum of up to ∼840 ppm (95% confidence interval -307 ppm/+167 ppm) toward its end. The reconstructed magnitude of CO2 increase (∼357 ppm) is similar to that of Late Cretaceous OAE2 but of smaller magnitude than that of other major carbon cycle perturbations of the Mesozoic assessed via stomatal methods (e.g., the Toarcian OAE [TOAE], Triassic-Jurassic boundary event, Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary event). Furthermore, our results indicate a possible shared causal or developmental mechanism with OAE1a and the TOAE.

  7. THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE, UNIDIRECTIONAL CHARTER OF THE DISSOLVED SALTS AND SUSPENDED LOAD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicolae Florea

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper it is underlined that the hydrologic cycle in nature, reversible and regenerating of fresh water, carries out also an unidirectional and irreversible circulation – by means of a fragment of the hydrologic cycle – of the dissolved salts and stream’s suspended load, entailed by the water drained from continents to ocean. The trend is to transfer soluble salts from land to ocean in the same time with the running water on land in the portion of the hydrologic cycle which refers to the water transfer from continents to ocean in order to equilibrate the annual water balance of the hydrologic cycle. But, one can realize here and there some local salt accumulations in salt soils or in salt lakes within areas without drainage in arid climate; these salts accumulations are cases of local hydrologic cycles „grafted” along the way of water on land (to ocean. The energy necessary to the hydrologic cycle in nature is delivered by the Sun, and the entropy remains at a low level as a consequence of the elimination in this cycle of water vapors with high entropy, and of the receiving of liquid or solid water with low entropy, so that the annual level of entropy is maintained at a low level.

  8. Life cycle emissions from renewable energy technologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bates, J.; Watkiss, P.; Thorpe, T.

    1997-01-01

    This paper presents the methodology used in the ETSU review, together with the detailed results for three of the technologies studied: wind turbines, photovoltaic systems and small, stand-alone solar thermal systems. These emissions are then compared with those calculated for both other renewables and fossil fuel technology on a similar life cycle basis. The life cycle emissions associated with renewable energy technology vary considerably. They are lowest for those technologies where the renewable resource has been concentrated in some way (e.g. over distance in the case of wind and hydro, or over time in the case of energy crops). Wind turbines have amongst the lowest emissions of all renewables and are lower than those for fossil fuel generation, often by over an order of magnitude. Photovoltaics and solar thermal systems have the highest life cycle emissions of all the renewable energy technologies under review. However, their emissions of most pollutants are also much lower than those associated with fossil fuel technologies. In addition, the emissions associated with PV are likely to fall further in the future as the conversion efficiency of PV cells increases and manufacturing technology switches to thin film technologies, which are less energy intensive. Combining the assessments of life cycle emissions of renewables with predictions made by the World Energy Council (WEC) of their future deployment has allowed estimates to be made of amount by which renewables could reduce the future global emissions of carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. It estimated that under the WEC's 'Ecologically Driven' scenario, renewables might lead to significant reductions of between 3650 and 8375 Mt in annual CO 2 emissions depending on the fossil fuel technology they are assumed to displace. (author)

  9. Coccolithophore populations and their contribution to carbonate export during an annual cycle in the Australian sector of the Antarctic zone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rigual Hernández, Andrés S.; Flores, José A.; Sierro, Francisco J.; Fuertes, Miguel A.; Cros, Lluïsa; Trull, Thomas W.

    2018-03-01

    The Southern Ocean is experiencing rapid and relentless change in its physical and biogeochemical properties. The rate of warming of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current exceeds that of the global ocean, and the enhanced uptake of carbon dioxide is causing basin-wide ocean acidification. Observational data suggest that these changes are influencing the distribution and composition of pelagic plankton communities. Long-term and annual field observations on key environmental variables and organisms are a critical basis for predicting changes in Southern Ocean ecosystems. These observations are particularly needed, since high-latitude systems have been projected to experience the most severe impacts of ocean acidification and invasions of allochthonous species. Coccolithophores are the most prolific calcium-carbonate-producing phytoplankton group playing an important role in Southern Ocean biogeochemical cycles. Satellite imagery has revealed elevated particulate inorganic carbon concentrations near the major circumpolar fronts of the Southern Ocean that can be attributed to the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi. Recent studies have suggested changes during the last decades in the distribution and abundance of Southern Ocean coccolithophores. However, due to limited field observations, the distribution, diversity and state of coccolithophore populations in the Southern Ocean remain poorly characterised. We report here on seasonal variations in the abundance and composition of coccolithophore assemblages collected by two moored sediment traps deployed at the Antarctic zone south of Australia (2000 and 3700 m of depth) for 1 year in 2001-2002. Additionally, seasonal changes in coccolith weights of E. huxleyi populations were estimated using circularly polarised micrographs analysed with C-Calcita software. Our findings indicate that (1) coccolithophore sinking assemblages were nearly monospecific for E. huxleyi morphotype B/C in the Antarctic zone waters in 2001-2002; (2

  10. Effects of dairy manure management in annual and perennial cropping systems on soil microbial communities associated with in situ N2O fluxes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunfield, Kari; Thompson, Karen; Bent, Elizabeth; Abalos, Diego; Wagner-Riddle, Claudia

    2016-04-01

    Liquid dairy manure (LDM) application and ploughing events may affect soil microbial community functioning differently between perennial and annual cropping systems due to plant-specific characteristics stimulating changes in microbial community structure. Understanding how these microbial communities change in response to varied management, and how these changes relate to in situ N2O fluxes may allow the creation of predictive models for use in the development of best management practices (BMPs) to decrease nitrogen (N) losses through choice of crop, plough, and LDM practices. Our objectives were to contrast changes in the population sizes and community structures of genes associated with nitrifier (amoA, crenamoA) and denitrifier (nirK, nirS, nosZ) communities in differently managed annual and perennial fields demonstrating variation in N2O flux, and to determine if differences in these microbial communities were linked to the observed variation in N2O fluxes. Soil was sampled in 2012 and in 2014 in a 4-ha spring-applied LDM grass-legume (perennial) plot and two 4-ha corn (annual) treatments under fall or spring LDM application. Soil DNA was extracted and used to target N-cycling genes via qPCR (n=6) and for next-generation sequencing (Illumina Miseq) (n=3). Significantly higher field-scale N2O fluxes were observed in the annual plots compared to the perennial system; however N2O fluxes increased after plough down of the perennial plot. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMS) indicated differences in N-cycling communities between annual and perennial cropping systems, and some communities became similar between annual and perennial plots after ploughing. Shifts in these communities demonstrated relationships with agricultural management, which were associated with differences in N2O flux. Indicator species analysis was used to identify operational taxonomic units (OTUs) most responsible for community shifts related to management. Nitrifying and denitrifying soil

  11. Activity cycle of the pollen wasp, Trimeria howardi (Hymenoptera: Vespidae in Southeastern Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Rita Mech

    1999-12-01

    Full Text Available Among the wasps, the Masarinae are a peculiar subfamily. It is the only group of wasps that provisions brood cells with pollen and nectar. The studied species Trimeria howardi Bertoni, 1911, was until recently abundant in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. This paper deals with plant species visited by T. howardi, in relation to the species’ annual cycle of activity, based on periods of nest foundation, flight activity, and development stages of immatures present in the cells. During the study period (five years T. howardi visited four species of plants in two botanical families: Bidens pilosa L.(Asteraceae; Xanthium spinosum L. (Asteraceae; Stylosanthes guianensis (Aulb. Sw. (Leguminosae, and Zornia diphylla (L. Pers. (Leguminosae. Based on the number of visited families, T. howardi can be considered a narrow polylectic species. In general, the species annual activity cycle consists of three phases: Active phase: January to July; Inactive phase: August - September; Active phase: October to December. The annual cycle is bivoltine or multivoltine and the diapause is facultative, because it occurs in a single generation during the year.

  12. Sex steroid levels in XY males and sex-reversed XX males, of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), during the reproductive cycle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espinosa, E; Josa, A; Gil, L; González, N

    2011-02-01

    In this study, the annual cycle of the gonadal steroids testosterone (T), 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT), 17β-oestradiol (E2) and 17α, 20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (DHP) was determined using radioimmunoassay and then compared, for XY males (n=35) and sex-reversed XX males (n=27) rainbow trout, to establish possible endocrinology differences. Both in XY males and sex-reversed XX males, significant correlation was shown between body weight and T (r=0.5046 and 0.34078, respectively; psex-reversed XX males were similar and showed an intense seasonal variation. The highest levels for T and 11-KT were detected from December to April with a peak in January (51.67 ± 5.11 and 61.95 ± 4.25 ng/ml, for XY males and 57.1 ± 5.82 and 59.27 ± 4.84 ng/ml, respectively, for XX males). In addition, there was a positive correlation (psex-reversed XX males (r=0.6019). Concentrations of DHP in XY males also showed seasonal variation with a peak in February (25.18 ± 12.99 ng/ml). However, DHP levels in sex-reversed XX males were undetectable (sex-reversed XX males were similar to those observed in XY males. The only difference in the annual gonadal steroid cycle between XY and sex-reversed XX males was in the DHP profile. © 2009 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

  13. 1985. Annual progress report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-01-01

    This annual progress report of the CEA Protection and Nuclear Safety Institut outlines a description of the progress made in each sections of the Institut Research activities of the different departments include: reactor safety analysis, fuel cycle facilities analysis; and associated safety research programs (criticality, sites, transport ...), radioecology and environmental radioprotection techniques; data acquisition on radioactive waste storage sites; radiation effects on man, studies on radioprotection techniques; nuclear material security including security of facilities, security of nuclear material transport, and monitoring of nuclear material management; nuclear facility decommissioning; and finally the public information [fr

  14. ANNUAL AND DIURNAL CYCLES OF THE INVERSE RELATION BETWEEN PLANT TRANSPIRATION AND CARBON SEQUESTRATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hernán Alonso Moreno

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available Understanding biogeochemical cycles and especially carbon budgets is clue to validate global change models in the present and near future. As a consequence, sinks and sources of carbon in the world are being studied. One of those sinks is the non-well known behavior of the planet vegetation which involves the processes of photosynthesis and respiration. Carbon sequestration rates are highly related to the transpiration through a molecular diffusion process occurring at the stomatal level which can be recorded by an eddy covariance micrometeorological station. This paper explores annual and diurnal cycles of latent heat (LE and CO2 net (FC fluxes over 6 different ecosystems. Based on the physics of the transpiration process, different time-scale analysis are performed, finding a near-linear relation between LE and CO2 net fluxes, which is stronger at the more vegetated areas. The North American monsoon season increases carbon up taking and LE-CO2 flux relation preserves at different time scales analysis (hours to days to months.El conocimiento de los ciclos biogeoquímicos y, en especial, de los balances de carbono es clave para la validación de los modelos de cambio global para el presente y el futuro cercano. Como consecuencia, en el mundo se estudian las fuentes y los sumideros de carbono. Uno de esos sumideros es la vegetación del planeta, que involucra los procesos de respiración y fotosíntesis y cuyo comportamiento se empieza a estudiar. Las tasas de captura del carbono están muy ligadas a la transpiración mediante un proceso de difusión molecular en los estomas, que puede registrarse por un sistema micrometeorológico de eddy covarianza. Este artículo explora los ciclos anuales y diurnos de los flujos netos de CO2 y calor latente de seis ecosistemas diferentes. Se desarrollan diversos análisis de escala temporal, basados en la física de la transpiración, y se halla una relación cuasilineal entre los flujos netos de calor

  15. Annual and solar cycle dependencies of SuperDARN scatter occurrence and ionospheric convection measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lester, M.; Imber, S. M.; Milan, S. E.

    2012-12-01

    The Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) provides a long term data series which enables investigations of the coupled magnetosphere-ionosphere system. The network has been in existence essentially since 1995 when 6 radars were operational in the northern hemisphere and 4 in the southern hemisphere. We have been involved in an analysis of the data over the lifetime of the project and present results here from two key studies. In the first study we calculated the amount of ionospheric scatter which is observed by the radars and see clear annual and solar cycle variations in both hemispheres. The recent extended solar minimum also produces a significant effect in the scatter occurrence. In the second study, we have determined the latitude of the Heppner-Maynard Boundary (HMB) using the northern hemisphere SuperDARN radars. The HMB represents the equatorward extent of ionospheric convection for the interval 1996 - 2011. We find that the average latitude of the HMB at midnight is 61° magnetic latitude during solar the maximum of 2003, but it moves significantly poleward during solar minimum, averaging 64° latitude during 1996, and 68° during 2010. This poleward motion is observed despite the increasing number of low latitude radars built in recent years as part of the StormDARN network, and so is not an artefact of data coverage. We believe that the recent extreme solar minimum led to an average HMB location that was further poleward than the previous solar cycle. We have also calculated the Open-Closed field line Boundary (OCB) from auroral images during a subset of the interval (2000 - 2002) and find that on average the HMB is located equatorward of the OCB by ~7o. We suggest that the HMB may be a useful proxy for the OCB when global images are not available. The work presented in this paper has been undertaken as part of the European Cluster Assimilation Technology (ECLAT) project which is funded through the EU FP7 programme and involves groups at

  16. Drivers and environmental responses to the changing annual snow cycle of northern Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cox, Christopher J.; Stone, Robert S.; Douglas, David C.; Stanitski, Diane; Divoky, George J.; Dutton, Geoff S.; Sweeney, Colm; George, J. Craig; Longenecker, David U.

    2017-01-01

    On the North Slope of Alaska, earlier spring snowmelt and later onset of autumn snow accumulation are tied to atmospheric dynamics and sea ice conditions, and result in environmental responses.Linkages between atmospheric, ecological and biogeochemical variables in the changing Arctic are analyzed using long-term measurements near Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska. Two key variables are the date when snow disappears in spring, as determined primarily by atmospheric dynamics, precipitation, air temperature, winter snow accumulation and cloud cover, as well as the date of onset of snowpack in autumn that is additionally influenced by ocean temperature and sea ice extent. In 2015 and 2016 the snow melted early at Utqiaġvik due mainly to anomalous warmth during May of both years attributed to atmospheric circulation patterns, with 2016 having the record earliest snowmelt. These years are discussed in the context of a 115-year snowmelt record at Utqiaġvik with a trend toward earlier melting since the mid- 1970s (-2.86 days/decade, 1975-2016). At nearby Cooper Island, where a colony of seabirds, Black Guillemots, have been monitored since 1975, timing of egg laying is correlated with Utqiaġvik snowmelt with 2015 and 2016 being the earliest years in the 42-year record. Ice-out at a nearby freshwater lagoon is also correlated with Utqiaġvik snowmelt. The date when snow begins to accumulate in autumn at Utqiaġvik shows a trend towards later dates (+4.6 days/decade, 1975-2016), with 2016 the latest on record. The relationships between the lengthening snow-free season and regional phenology, soil temperatures, fluxes of gases from the tundra, and to regional sea ice conditions are discussed. Better understanding of these interactions is needed to predict the annual snow cycles in the region at seasonal to decadal scales, and to anticipate coupled environmental responses.

  17. [Simulation of carbon cycle in Qianyanzhou artificial masson pine forest ecosystem and sensitivity analysis of model parameters].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yuan; Zhang, Na; Yu, Gui-rui

    2010-07-01

    By using modified carbon-water cycle model EPPML (ecosystem productivity process model for landscape), the carbon absorption and respiration in Qianyanzhou artificial masson pine forest ecosystem in 2003 and 2004 were simulated, and the sensitivity of the model parameters was analyzed. The results showed that EPPML could effectively simulate the carbon cycle process of this ecosystem. The simulated annual values and the seasonal variations of gross primary productivity (GPP), net ecosystem productivity (NEP), and ecosystem respiration (Re) not only fitted well with the measured data, but also reflected the major impacts of extreme weather on carbon flows. The artificial masson pine forest ecosystem in Qianyanzhou was a strong carbon sink in both 2003 and 2004. Due to the coupling of high temperature and severe drought in the growth season in 2003, the carbon absorption in 2003 was lower than that in 2004. The annual NEP in 2003 and 2004 was 481.8 and 516.6 g C x m(-2) x a(-1), respectively. The key climatic factors giving important impacts on the seasonal variations of carbon cycle were solar radiation during early growth season, drought during peak growth season, and precipitation during post-peak growth season. Autotrophic respiration (Ra) and net primary productivity (NPP) had the similar seasonal variations. Soil heterotrophic respiration (Rh) was mainly affected by soil temperature at yearly scale, and by soil water content at monthly scale. During wet growth season, the higher the soil water content, the lower the Rh was; during dry growth season, the higher the precipitation during the earlier two months, the higher the Rh was. The maximum RuBP carboxylation rate at 25 degrees C (Vm25), specific leaf area (SLA), maximum leaf nitrogen content (LNm), average leaf nitrogen content (LN), and conversion coefficient of biomass to carbon (C/B) had the greatest influence on annual NEP. Different carbon cycle process could have different responses to sensitive

  18. Deutsche Umwelthilfe. Annual report 2012; Deutsche Umwelthilfe. Jahresbericht 2012

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Finus, Oliver; Fischer, Thomas; Fokken, Ulrike [and others

    2012-12-01

    Within the annual report 2012 under consideration, the German Environmental Relief (Radolfzell, Federal Republic of Germany) describes its currents activities in the following areas: Energy and climate protection; traffic and air purification; nature protection; municipal environmental protection; ecologic consumer protection; cycle waste management; environment and development.

  19. Petroleum supply annual 1994. Volume 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-01-01

    The Petroleum Supply Annual (PSA) contains information on the supply and disposition of crude oil and petroleum products. The publication reflects data that were collected from the petroleum industry during 1994 through annual and monthly surveys. The PSA is divided into two volumes. This first volume contains four sections: Summary Statistics, Detailed Statistics, Refinery Capacity, and Oxygenate Capacity each with final annual data. The second volume contains final statistics for each month of 1994, and replaces data previously published in the Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM). The tables in Volumes 1 and 2 are similarly numbered to facilitate comparison between them. Below is a description of each section in Volume 1 of the PSA

  20. Intercomparison of the seasonal cycle of tropical surface stress in 17 AMIP atmospheric general circulation models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Saji, N.H.; Goswami, B.N. [Indian Inst. of Sci., Bangalore (India). Centre for Atmos. and Oceanic Sci.

    1997-08-01

    The mean state of the tropical atmosphere is important as the nature of the coupling between the ocean and the atmosphere depends nonlinearly on the basic state of the coupled system. The simulation of the annual cycle of the tropical surface wind stress by 17 atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs) is examined and intercompared. The models considered were part of the atmospheric model intercomparison project (AMIP) and were integrated with observed sea surface temperature (SST) for the decade 1979-1988. Several measures have been devised to intercompare the performance of the 17 models on global tropical as well as regional scales. Within the limits of observational uncertainties, the models under examination simulate realistic tropical area-averaged zonal and meridional annual mean stresses. This is a noteworthy improvement over older generation low resolution models which were noted for their simulation of surface stresses considerably weaker than the observations. The models also simulate realistic magnitudes of the spatial distribution of the annual mean surface stress field and are seen to reproduce realistically its observed spatial pattern. Similar features are observed in the simulations of the annual variance field. The models perform well over almost all the tropical regions apart from a few. Of these, the simulations over Somali are interesting. Over this region, the models are seen to underestimate the annual mean zonal and meridional stresses. There is also wide variance between the different models in simulating these quantities. 44 refs.

  1. Washington Meets Wall Street: A Closer Examination of the Presidential Cycle Puzzle

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kraeussl, R.G.W.; Lucas, A.; Rijsbergen, D.R.; van der Sluis, P.J.; Vrugt, E.B.

    2014-01-01

    We show that the annual excess return of the S&P 500 is almost 10 percent higher during the last two years of the presidential cycle than during the first two years. This pattern cannot be explained by business-cycle variables capturing time-varying risk premia, differences in risk levels, or by

  2. Annual and semiannual variations of the cosmic radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khor, H.P.; Kwok, W.K.; Owens, A.J.

    1979-01-01

    We determine the annual and semiannual harmonics in the Deep River Neutron Monitor counting rate for the years 1960--1975. A new Fourier analysis technique is used to eliminate solar cycle variations, an we discuss the statistical errors in the determination of the harmonics. The annual and semiannual waves changed markedly from year to year. The yearly harmonic has an average amplitude approx.0.6% with a maximum in early March, corresponding to a southward anisotropy of approx.5%/AU perpendicular to the solar equatorial plane. The semiannual harmonic shows no phase coherence and its average amplitude is only marginally significant, < or approx. =0.2%

  3. Methodology of fuel cycles long-term safety assessment of SNF/HLW geological disposal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pritrsky, J.

    2008-01-01

    Methodology for the long-term safety assessment of nuclear fuel cycles is given in the presented doctoral thesis. The aim of work was to develop a geological repository model for disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high level waste (HLW) using an appropriate software code able to calculate the influence of partitioning and transmutation in advanced fuel cycles. The first step in this process was specifying of indicators which can be used to quantify the radiological impact of each fuel cycle. Indicators such as annual effective dose and radiotoxicity of inventory have been quantitatively analysed to determine the potential risk and radiological consequences associated with production of SNF/HLW. Advanced fuel types bring a number of advantages in comparison to uranium oxide fuel UO 2 used worldwide nowadays in terms of safety improvement due to minor actinides transmutation and non-proliferation aspects as well. Within the scope of work, three different fuel cycles are compared from the point of view of long-term safety of deep geological repository. The first considered fuel cycle is the currently used open fuel cycle (UOX) which uses only U-FA (Uranium Fuel Assembly). The second assessed cycle is a closed fuel cycle (MOX) with MOX-FA (Mixed OXides Fuel Assembly) and the third considered one is a partially closed fuel cycle (IMF) with IMC-FA (Inert Matrix Combined Fuel Assembly). Description and input data of advanced fuel cycles have been gained by participation in the EC project RED-IMPACT. Results were calculated using code AMBER, which is a flexible software tool that allows building dynamic compartmental models to represent the migration and fate of contaminants in a system, for example in the surface and sub-surface environment. Contaminants in solid, liquid and gaseous phases can be considered. AMBER gives the user the flexibility to define any number of compartments; any number of contaminants and associated decays; deterministic, probabilistic and

  4. Methodology of fuel cycles long-term safety assessment of SNF/HLW geological disposal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pritrsky, J.

    2008-02-01

    Methodology for the long-term safety assessment of nuclear fuel cycles is given in the presented doctoral thesis. The aim of work was to develop a geological repository model for disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high level waste (HLW) using an appropriate software code able to calculate the influence of partitioning and transmutation in advanced fuel cycles. The first step in this process was specifying of indicators which can be used to quantify the radiological impact of each fuel cycle. Indicators such as annual effective dose and radiotoxicity of inventory have been quantitatively analysed to determine the potential risk and radiological consequences associated with production of SNF/HLW. Advanced fuel types bring a number of advantages in comparison to uranium oxide fuel UO 2 used worldwide nowadays in terms of safety improvement due to minor actinides transmutation and non-proliferation aspects as well. Within the scope of work, three different fuel cycles are compared from the point of view of long-term safety of deep geological repository. The first considered fuel cycle is the currently used open fuel cycle (UOX) which uses only U-FA (Uranium Fuel Assembly). The second assessed cycle is a closed fuel cycle (MOX) with MOX-FA (Mixed OXides Fuel Assembly) and the third considered one is a partially closed fuel cycle (IMF) with IMC-FA (Inert Matrix Combined Fuel Assembly). Description and input data of advanced fuel cycles have been gained by participation in the EC project RED-IMPACT. Results were calculated using code AMBER, which is a flexible software tool that allows building dynamic compartmental models to represent the migration and fate of contaminants in a system, for example in the surface and sub-surface environment. Contaminants in solid, liquid and gaseous phases can be considered. AMBER gives the user the flexibility to define any number of compartments; any number of contaminants and associated decays; deterministic, probabilistic and

  5. [Nitrogen and water cycling of typical cropland in the North China Plain].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pei, Hong-wei; Shen, Yan-jun; Liu, Chang-ming

    2015-01-01

    Intensive fertilization and irrigation associated increasing grain production has led to serious groundwater depletion and soil/water pollution in the North China Plain (NCP). Intensive agriculture changes the initial mass and energy balance, and also results in huge risks to the water/soil resources and food security regionally. Based on the research reports on the nitrogen cycle and water cycle in typical cropland (winter wheat and summer corn) in the NCP during the past 20 years, and the meteorological data, field experiments and surveys, we calculated the nitrogen cycle and water-cycle for this typical cropland. Annual total nitrogen input were 632 kg N . hm-2, including 523 kg N . hm-2 from commercial fertilizer, 74 kg N . hm-2 from manure, 23 kg N . hm-2 from atmosphere, and 12 kg N . hm-2 from irrigation. All of annual outputs summed to 532 kg N . hm-2 including 289 kg N . hm-2 for crop, 77 kg N . hm-2 staying in soil profile, leaching 104 kg N . hm-2, 52 kg N . hm-2 for ammonia volatilization, 10 kg N . hm-2 loss in nitrification and denitrification. Uncertainties of the individual cases and the summary process lead to the unbalance of nitrogen. For the dominant parts of the field water cycle, annual precipitation was 557 mm, irrigation was 340 mm, while 762 mm was for evapotranspiration and 135 mm was for deep percolation. Considering uncertainties in the nitrogen and water cycles, coupled experiments based on multi-disciplines would be useful for understanding mechanisms for nitrogen and water transfer processes in the soil-plant-atmosphere-continuum (SPAC) , and the interaction between nitrogen and water, as well as determining the critical threshold values for sustainability of soil and water resources in the NCP.

  6. Inter-annual variability of the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations as simulated with global terrestrial biosphere models and an atmospheric transport model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fujita, Daisuke; Saeki, Tazu; Nakazawa, Takakiyo [Tohoku Univ., Sendai (Japan). Center for Atmospheric and Oceanic Studies; Ishizawa, Misa; Maksyutov, Shamil [Inst. for Global Change Research, Yokohama (Japan). Frontier Research System for Global Change; Thornton, Peter E. [National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States). Climate and Global Dynamics Div.

    2003-04-01

    Seasonal and inter-annual variations of atmospheric CO{sub 2} for the period from 1961 to 1997 have been simulated using a global tracer transport model driven by a new version of the Biome BioGeochemical Cycle model (Biome-BGC). Biome-BGC was forced by daily temperature and precipitation from the NCEP reanalysis dataset, and the calculated monthly-averaged CO{sub 2} fluxes were used as input to the global transport model. Results from an inter-comparison with the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach model (CASA) and the Simulation model of Carbon CYCLE in Land Ecosystems (Sim-CYCLE) model are also reported. The phase of the seasonal cycle in the Northern Hemisphere was reproduced generally well by Biome-BGC, although the amplitude was smaller compared to the observations and to the other biosphere models. The CO{sub 2} time series simulated by Biome-BGC were compared to the global CO{sub 2} concentration anomalies from the observations at Mauna Loa and the South Pole. The modeled concentration anomalies matched the phase of the inter-annual variations in the atmospheric CO{sub 2} observations; however, the modeled amplitude was lower than the observed value in several cases. The result suggests that a significant part of the inter-annual variability in the global carbon cycle can be accounted for by the terrestrial biosphere models. Simulations performed with another climate-based model, Sim-CYCLE, produced a larger amplitude of inter-annual variability in atmospheric CO{sub 2}, making the amplitude closer to the observed range, but with a more visible phase mismatch in a number of time periods. This may indicate the need to increase the Biome-BGC model sensitivity to seasonal and inter-annual changes in temperature and precipitation.

  7. Inter-annual variability of the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations as simulated with global terrestrial biosphere models and an atmospheric transport model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fujita, Daisuke; Saeki, Tazu; Nakazawa, Takakiyo; Ishizawa, Misa; Maksyutov, Shamil; Thornton, Peter E.

    2003-01-01

    Seasonal and inter-annual variations of atmospheric CO 2 for the period from 1961 to 1997 have been simulated using a global tracer transport model driven by a new version of the Biome BioGeochemical Cycle model (Biome-BGC). Biome-BGC was forced by daily temperature and precipitation from the NCEP reanalysis dataset, and the calculated monthly-averaged CO 2 fluxes were used as input to the global transport model. Results from an inter-comparison with the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach model (CASA) and the Simulation model of Carbon CYCLE in Land Ecosystems (Sim-CYCLE) model are also reported. The phase of the seasonal cycle in the Northern Hemisphere was reproduced generally well by Biome-BGC, although the amplitude was smaller compared to the observations and to the other biosphere models. The CO 2 time series simulated by Biome-BGC were compared to the global CO 2 concentration anomalies from the observations at Mauna Loa and the South Pole. The modeled concentration anomalies matched the phase of the inter-annual variations in the atmospheric CO 2 observations; however, the modeled amplitude was lower than the observed value in several cases. The result suggests that a significant part of the inter-annual variability in the global carbon cycle can be accounted for by the terrestrial biosphere models. Simulations performed with another climate-based model, Sim-CYCLE, produced a larger amplitude of inter-annual variability in atmospheric CO 2 , making the amplitude closer to the observed range, but with a more visible phase mismatch in a number of time periods. This may indicate the need to increase the Biome-BGC model sensitivity to seasonal and inter-annual changes in temperature and precipitation

  8. Environment annual report 1993

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-01-01

    In the 1993 Environment Annual Report for BNFL, data are presented for radioactive discharges to the environment and their associated doses to the criteria group members of the public in the vicinity of Sellafield, Drigg, Chapelcross, Springfields and Capenhurst. Similarly, data are also presented for non-radioactive discharges to water and air for each site. (UK)

  9. Transpiration efficiency of three Mediterranean annual pasture species and wheat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolger, T P; Turner, N C

    1998-06-01

    Attempts to improve water use efficiency in regions with Mediterranean climates generally focus on increasing plant transpiration relative to evaporation from the soil and increasing transpiration efficiency. Our aim was to determine if transpiration efficiency differs among key species occurring in annual pastures in southern Australia. Two glasshouse experiments were conducted with three key pasture species, subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.), capeweed [Arctotheca calendula (L.) Levyns] and annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum Gaudin), and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Transpiration efficiency was assessed at the levels of␣whole-plant biomass and water use (W), leaf gas exchange measurements of the ratio of CO 2 assimilation to leaf conductance to water vapour (A/g), and carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) in leaf tissue. In addition, Δ was measured on shoots of the three pasture species growing together in the field. In the glasshouse studies, annual ryegrass had a consistently higher transpiration efficiency than subterranean clover or capeweed by all methods of measurement. Subterranean clover and capeweed had similar transpiration efficiencies by all three methods of measurement. Wheat had W values similar to ryegrass but A/g and Δ values similar to subterranean clover or capeweed. The high W of annual ryegrass seems to be related to a conservative leaf gas exchange behaviour, with lower assimilation and conductance but higher A/g than for the other species. In contrast to the glasshouse results, the three pasture species had similar Δ values when growing together in mixed-species swards in the field. Reasons for these differing responses between glasshouse and field-grown plants are discussed in terms of the implications for improving the transpiration efficiency of mixed-species annual pasture communities in the field.

  10. Modeling the element cycle of aquatic plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asaeda, Takashi

    2007-01-01

    Aquatic plants play an important role in element cycles in wetlands and the efficiency of the process is extremely related to their proportional biomass allocation to above- and belowground organs. Therefore, the framework of most macrophyte productivity models is usually similar with a mass-balance approach consisting of gross production, respiration and mortality losses and the translocation between organs. These growth models are incorporated with decomposition models to evaluate the annual cycle of elements. Perennial emergent macrophytes with a relatively large biomass have a particularly important role in element cycles. Their phenological stages, such as the beginning of hibernation of belowground rhizome systems, emergence of new shoots in spring with resources stocked in the rhizomes, flowering, downward translocation of photosynthetic products later on and then the mortality of the aboveground system in late autumn, depend on the environmental conditions, basically the nutrients, water depth, climatic variations, etc. Although some species retain standing dead shoots for a long time, dead shoots easily fall into water, starting to decompose in the immediate aftermath. However, their decomposition rates in the water are relatively low, causing to accumulate large amounts of organic sediments on the bottom. Together with the deposition of allochthonous suspended matters in the stand, this process decreases the water depth, transforming wetlands gradually into land. The depth of penetration of roots into the sediments to uptake nutrients and water is extremely site specific, however, in water-logged areas, the maximum penetrable depth may be approximately estimated by considering the ability of oxygen transport into the rhizome system. The growth of perennial submerged plants is also estimated by a process similar to that of emergent macrophytes. However, compared with emergent macrophytes, the root system of submerged macrophytes is weaker, and the nutrient

  11. Reconstructing Century-Scale Changes in Nitrogen Cycling in Forests Throughout the United States using Tree-Ring δ15N Chronologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerhart-Barley, L.; McLauchlan, K. K.; Battles, J. J.; Craine, J. M.; Higuera, P. E.; Mack, M. C.; McNeil, B. E.; Nelson, D. M.; Pederson, N.; Perakis, S. S.

    2016-12-01

    In recent decades, human perturbation of the global nitrogen (N) cycle has been immense with reactive nitrogen supply to ecosystems from anthropogenic sources now exceeding that of natural fixation. The impact of these perturbations on ecosystem nutrient cycling and plant communities is limited by the lack of long-term `baseline' assessments of N cycling prior to anthropogenic influences. Stable N isotope analysis (δ15N) of dendrochronological records have the potential to provide this baseline data, but to date have focused on short term, regional assessments. Here, we address this question with a data set incorporating 311 individual trees and 7,661 δ15N measurements from 50 sites throughout the contiguous United States. These sites represent the diversity of US forest types, climate conditions, N deposition, soil types, and disturbance histories. The chronologies span, on average, the last 162 calendar years, with the oldest chronology dating back to 1572 C.E. Consequently, this study is the first century- and continental-scale assessment of ecosystem N cycling using tree-ring chronologies. When aggregated, the chronologies show a consistent decline from 1825 C.E. to present, indicating declining N availability in US forests, despite global increases in N supply. Environmental factors such as mean annual precipitation (MAP), mean annual temperature (MAT), and mean annual nitrogen deposition (Ndep) did not contribute to average site δ15N values; however, MAP and MAT significantly affected temporal trajectories in tree-ring δ15N, with more negative slopes toward present occurring in regions with low MAT and high MAP. Quantity of atmospheric N deposition had no discernible impact on mean δ15N values or on the temporal slope. This lack of response is either because levels of N deposition are too low to produce a discernible response in any meaningful aspects of the N cycle, and/or the δ15N signature of depositional N is similar enough to ecosystem N pools that

  12. Biomass cycles, accumulation rates and nutritional characteristics of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Annual biomass cycles, accumulation rates and nutritional characteristics of forage and non-forage species groups were determined in the canopied and open, uncanopied subhabitats of the herbaceous layer in Burkea africana savanna. The total amount of biomass of all species over the season was significantly greater in ...

  13. Modern Estimates of Global Water Cycle Fluxes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodell, M.; Beaudoing, H. K.; L'Ecuyer, T. S.; Olson, W. S.

    2014-12-01

    The goal of the first phase of the NASA Energy and Water Cycle Study (NEWS) Water and Energy Cycle Climatology project was to develop "state of the global water cycle" and "state of the global energy cycle" assessments based on data from modern ground and space based observing systems and data integrating models. Here we describe results of the water cycle assessment, including mean annual and monthly fluxes over continents and ocean basins during the first decade of the millennium. To the extent possible, the water flux estimates are based on (1) satellite measurements and (2) data-integrating models. A careful accounting of uncertainty in each flux was applied within a routine that enforced multiple water and energy budget constraints simultaneously in a variational framework, in order to produce objectively-determined, optimized estimates. Simultaneous closure of the water and energy budgets caused the ocean evaporation and precipitation terms to increase by about 10% and 5% relative to the original estimates, mainly because the energy budget required turbulent heat fluxes to be substantially larger in order to balance net radiation. In the majority of cases, the observed annual, surface and atmospheric water budgets over the continents and oceans close with much less than 10% residual. Observed residuals and optimized uncertainty estimates are considerably larger for monthly surface and atmospheric water budget closure, often nearing or exceeding 20% in North America, Eurasia, Australia and neighboring islands, and the Arctic and South Atlantic Oceans. The residuals in South America and Africa tend to be smaller, possibly because cold land processes are a non-issue. Fluxes are poorly observed over the Arctic Ocean, certain seas, Antarctica, and the Australasian and Indonesian Islands, leading to reliance on atmospheric analysis estimates. Other details of the study and future directions will be discussed.

  14. First annual report on nuclear non-proliferation: supplement to annual report to Congress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1979-01-01

    Section 602 of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978 (NNPA) requires that DOE's Annual Report include views and recommendations regarding non-proliferation policies and actions for which the Department is responsible. The Act also requires a detailed analysis of the proliferation implications of advanced enrichment and reprocessing techniques, advanced reactors, and alternative fuel cycles, including an unclassified summary and a comprehensive version containing relevant classified information. The goals of United States non-proliferation policy are to minimize the spread of nuclear weapons and to create a stable international environment for the peaceful use of nuclear energy

  15. Annual report 1999

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-01-01

    This 1999 annual report of the Authorities of Nuclear Safety presents the main technical topics of the year: time evolution of nuclear installations, crisis and particular plan of intervention, impacts of the nuclear activities on the human and the environment, the criticality risk, EdF, the EPR project, the ANDRA, transportation events and the nuclear safety at the East. It provides also information on nuclear safety, organization of nuclear safety supervision, BIN regulatory provisions, plant supervision, information of the public, international relations, emergency response, radiation protection, radioactive material transportation, radioactive waste, PWR reactors, research reactors and other installations, nuclear fuel cycle installations and final shutdown and dismantling of nuclear installations. (A.L.B.)

  16. Transcription through the eye of a needle: daily and annual cyclic gene expression variation in Douglas-fir needles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cronn, Richard; Dolan, Peter C; Jogdeo, Sanjuro; Wegrzyn, Jill L; Neale, David B; St Clair, J Bradley; Denver, Dee R

    2017-07-24

    Perennial growth in plants is the product of interdependent cycles of daily and annual stimuli that induce cycles of growth and dormancy. In conifers, needles are the key perennial organ that integrates daily and seasonal signals from light, temperature, and water availability. To understand the relationship between seasonal cycles and seasonal gene expression responses in conifers, we examined diurnal and circannual needle mRNA accumulation in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) needles at diurnal and circannual scales. Using mRNA sequencing, we sampled 6.1 × 10 9 reads from 19 trees and constructed a de novo pan-transcriptome reference that includes 173,882 tree-derived transcripts. Using this reference, we mapped RNA-Seq reads from 179 samples that capture daily and annual variation. We identified 12,042 diurnally-cyclic transcripts, 9299 of which showed homology to annotated genes from other plant genomes, including angiosperm core clock genes. Annual analysis revealed 21,225 circannual transcripts, 17,335 of which showed homology to annotated genes from other plant genomes. The timing of maximum gene expression is associated with light intensity at diurnal scales and photoperiod at annual scales, with approximately half of transcripts reaching maximum expression +/- 2 h from sunrise and sunset, and +/- 20 days from winter and summer solstices. Comparisons with published studies from other conifers shows congruent behavior in clock genes with Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria), and a significant preservation of gene expression patterns for 2278 putative orthologs from Douglas-fir during the summer growing season, and 760 putative orthologs from spruce (Picea) during the transition from fall to winter. Our study highlight the extensive diurnal and circannual transcriptome variability demonstrated in conifer needles. At these temporal scales, 29% of expressed transcripts show a significant diurnal cycle, and 58.7% show a significant circannual cycle. Remarkably

  17. Global Changes of the Water Cycle Intensity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bosilovich, Michael G.; Schubert, Siegfried D.; Walker, Gregory K.

    2003-01-01

    In this study, we evaluate numerical simulations of the twentieth century climate, focusing on the changes in the intensity of the global water cycle. A new diagnostic of atmospheric water vapor cycling rate is developed and employed, that relies on constituent tracers predicted at the model time step. This diagnostic is compared to a simplified traditional calculation of cycling rate, based on monthly averages of precipitation and total water content. The mean sensitivity of both diagnostics to variations in climate forcing is comparable. However, the new diagnostic produces systematically larger values and more variability than the traditional average approach. Climate simulations were performed using SSTs of the early (1902-1921) and late (1979- 1998) twentieth century along with the appropriate C02 forcing. In general, the increase of global precipitation with the increases in SST that occurred between the early and late twentieth century is small. However, an increase of atmospheric temperature leads to a systematic increase in total precipitable water. As a result, the residence time of water in the atmosphere increased, indicating a reduction of the global cycling rate. This result was explored further using a number of 50-year climate simulations from different models forced with observed SST. The anomalies and trends in the cycling rate and hydrologic variables of different GCMs are remarkably similar. The global annual anomalies of precipitation show a significant upward trend related to the upward trend of surface temperature, during the latter half of the twentieth century. While this implies an increase in the hydrologic cycle intensity, a concomitant increase of total precipitable water again leads to a decrease in the calculated global cycling rate. An analysis of the land/sea differences shows that the simulated precipitation over land has a decreasing trend while the oceanic precipitation has an upward trend consistent with previous studies and the

  18. Annual report - Industrias Nucleares do Brasil S A - 1998

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-01-01

    The annual report of 1998 of Industrias Nucleares do Brasil S A - Brazilian company responsible for the industrial activities of the nuclear fuel cycle - introduces the next main topics: mineral resource directory main actions; industrial directory main actions; finance and administration directory main actions; transparency; environment, safety and quality; the company; and financial statements

  19. The annual report for 1992

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-07-01

    The most significant achievements of the International Atomic Energy Agency during 1992 are summarized in the Introduction. The following topics are considered in detail: (i) nuclear power; (ii) nuclear fuel cycle; (iii) radioactive waste management; (iv) comparative assessment of nuclear power and other energy sources; (v) food and agriculture; (vi) human health; (vii) industry and earth science; (viii) physical and chemical sciences; (ix) radiation protection; (x) safety of nuclear installations; and (xi) safeguards. The annual report ends with a description of the direction and support, statistical appendices, a list of abbreviations, and an organization chart

  20. Growth patterns and annual growth cycle of Acacia karroo Hayne in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... karroo; alice; botany; compensatory growth; condition; development; eastern cape; emergence; environmental conditions; field study; growth cycle; growth initiation; growth patterns; growth strategy; leaf growth; plant growth; savanna; shoot growth; soil depth; soil moisture; south africa; university of fort hare; water stress ...

  1. Training-induced annual changes in red blood cell profile in highly-trained endurance and speed-power athletes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciekot-Sołtysiak, Monika; Kusy, Krzysztof; Podgórski, Tomasz; Zieliński, Jacek

    2017-10-24

    An extensive body of literature exists on the effects of training on haematological parameters, but the previous studies have not reported how hematological parameters respond to changes in training loads within consecutive phases of the training cycle in highly-trained athletes in extremely different sport disciplines. The aim of this study was to identify changes in red blood cell (RBC) profile in response to training loads in consecutive phases of the annual training cycle in highly-trained sprinters (8 men, aged 24 ± 3 years) and triathletes (6 men, aged 24 ± 4 years) who competed at the national and international level. Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), RBC, haemoglobin (Hb), haematocrit (Ht), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) and RBC distribution width (RDW) were determined in four characteristic training phases (transition, general subphase of the preparation phase, specific subphase of the preparation phase and competition phase). Our main findings are that (1) Hb, MCH and MCHC in triathletes and MCV in both triathletes and sprinters changed significantly over the annual training cycle, (2) triathletes had significantly higher values than sprinters only in case of MCH and MCHC after the transition and general preparation phases but not after the competition phase when MCH and MCHC were higher in sprinters and (3) in triathletes, Hb, MCH and MCHC substantially decreased after the competition phase, which was not observed in sprinters. The athletes maintained normal ranges of all haematological parameters in four characteristic training phases. Although highly-trained sprinters and triathletes do not significantly differ in their levels of most haematological parameters, these groups are characterized by different patterns of changes during the annual training cycle. Our results suggest that when interpreting the values of haematological parameters in speed-power and endurance

  2. Gap filling strategies and error in estimating annual soil respiration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soil respiration (Rsoil) is one of the largest CO2 fluxes in the global carbon (C) cycle. Estimation of annual Rsoil requires extrapolation of survey measurements or gap-filling of automated records to produce a complete time series. While many gap-filling methodologies have been employed, there is ...

  3. Comparative life cycle assessment of standard and green roofs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saiz, Susana; Kennedy, Christopher; Bass, Brad; Pressnail, Kim

    2006-07-01

    Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used to evaluate the benefits, primarily from reduced energy consumption, resulting from the addition of a green roof to an eight story residential building in Madrid. Building energy use is simulated and a bottom-up LCA is conducted assuming a 50 year building life. The key property of a green roof is its low solar absorptance, which causes lower surface temperature, thereby reducing the heat flux through the roof. Savings in annual energy use are just over 1%, but summer cooling load is reduced by over 6% and reductions in peak hour cooling load in the upper floors reach 25%. By replacing the common flat roof with a green roof, environmental impacts are reduced by between 1.0 and 5.3%. Similar reductions might be achieved by using a white roof with additional insulation for winter, but more substantial reductions are achieved if common use of green roofs leads to reductions in the urban heat island.

  4. Modelling the pelagic nitrogen cycle and vertical particle flux in the Norwegian sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haupt, Olaf J.; Wolf, Uli; v. Bodungen, Bodo

    1999-02-01

    A 1D Eulerian ecosystem model (BIological Ocean Model) for the Norwegian Sea was developed to investigate the dynamics of pelagic ecosystems. The BIOM combines six biochemical compartments and simulates the annual nitrogen cycle with specific focus on production, modification and sedimentation of particles in the water column. The external forcing and physical framework is based on a simulated annual cycle of global radiation and an annual mixed-layer cycle derived from field data. The vertical resolution of the model is given by an exponential grid with 200 depth layers, allowing specific parameterization of various sinking velocities, breakdown of particles and the remineralization processes. The aim of the numerical experiments is the simulation of ecosystem dynamics considering the specific biogeochemical properties of the Norwegian Sea, for example the life cycle of the dominant copepod Calanus finmarchicus. The results of the simulations were validated with field data. Model results are in good agreement with field data for the lower trophic levels of the food web. With increasing complexity of the organisms the differences increase between simulated processes and field data. Results of the numerical simulations suggest that BIOM is well adapted to investigate a physically controlled ecosystem. The simulation of grazing controlled pelagic ecosystems, like the Norwegian Sea, requires adaptations of parameterization to the specific ecosystem features. By using seasonally adaptation of the most sensible processes like utilization of light by phytoplankton and grazing by zooplankton results were greatly improved.

  5. Strategic Grassland Bird Conservation throughout the Annual Cycle: Linking Policy Alternatives, Landowner Decisions, and Biological Population Outcomes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ryan G Drum

    Full Text Available Grassland bird habitat has declined substantially in the United States. Remaining grasslands are increasingly fragmented, mostly privately owned, and vary greatly in terms of habitat quality and protection status. A coordinated strategic response for grassland bird conservation is difficult, largely due to the scope and complexity of the problem, further compounded by biological, sociological, and economic uncertainties. We describe the results from a collaborative Structured Decision Making (SDM workshop focused on linking social and economic drivers of landscape change to grassland bird population outcomes. We identified and evaluated alternative strategies for grassland bird conservation using a series of rapid prototype models. We modeled change in grassland and agriculture cover in hypothetical landscapes resulting from different landowner decisions in response to alternative socio-economic conservation policy decisions. Resulting changes in land cover at all three stages of the annual cycle (breeding, wintering, and migration were used to estimate changes in grassland bird populations. Our results suggest that successful grassland bird conservation may depend upon linkages with ecosystem services on working agricultural lands and grassland-based marketing campaigns to engage the public. With further development, spatial models that link landowner decisions with biological outcomes can be essential tools for making conservation policy decisions. A coordinated non-traditional partnership will likely be necessary to clearly understand and systematically respond to the many conservation challenges facing grassland birds.

  6. Strategic Grassland Bird Conservation throughout the annual cycle: Linking policy alternatives, landowner decisions, and biological population outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drum, Ryan G.; Ribic, Christine; Koch, Katie; Lonsdorf, Eric V.; Grant, Edward C.; Ahlering, Marissa; Barnhill, Laurel; Dailey, Thomas; Lor, Socheata; Mueller, Connie; Pavlacky, D.C.; Rideout, Catherine; Sample, David W.

    2015-01-01

    Grassland bird habitat has declined substantially in the United States. Remaining grasslands are increasingly fragmented, mostly privately owned, and vary greatly in terms of habitat quality and protection status. A coordinated strategic response for grassland bird conservation is difficult, largely due to the scope and complexity of the problem, further compounded by biological, sociological, and economic uncertainties. We describe the results from a collaborative Structured Decision Making (SDM) workshop focused on linking social and economic drivers of landscape change to grassland bird population outcomes. We identified and evaluated alternative strategies for grassland bird conservation using a series of rapid prototype models. We modeled change in grassland and agriculture cover in hypothetical landscapes resulting from different landowner decisions in response to alternative socio-economic conservation policy decisions. Resulting changes in land cover at all three stages of the annual cycle (breeding, wintering, and migration) were used to estimate changes in grassland bird populations. Our results suggest that successful grassland bird conservation may depend upon linkages with ecosystem services on working agricultural lands and grassland-based marketing campaigns to engage the public. With further development, spatial models that link landowner decisions with biological outcomes can be essential tools for making conservation policy decisions. A coordinated non-traditional partnership will likely be necessary to clearly understand and systematically respond to the many conservation challenges facing grassland birds.

  7. The Annual Glaciohydrology Cycle in the Ablation Zone of the Greenland Ice Sheet: Part 1. Hydrology Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colgan, William; Rajaram, Harihar; Anderson, Robert; Steffen. Konrad; Phillips, Thomas; Zwally, H. Jay; Abdalati, Waleed

    2012-01-01

    We apply a novel one-dimensional glacier hydrology model that calculates hydraulic head to the tidewater-terminating Sermeq Avannarleq flowline of the Greenland ice sheet. Within a plausible parameter space, the model achieves a quasi-steady-state annual cycle in which hydraulic head oscillates close to flotation throughout the ablation zone. Flotation is briefly achieved during the summer melt season along a approx.17 km stretch of the approx.50 km of flowline within the ablation zone. Beneath the majority of the flowline, subglacial conduit storage closes (i.e. obtains minimum radius) during the winter and opens (i.e. obtains maximum radius) during the summer. Along certain stretches of the flowline, the model predicts that subglacial conduit storage remains open throughout the year. A calculated mean glacier water residence time of approx.2.2 years implies that significant amounts of water are stored in the glacier throughout the year. We interpret this residence time as being indicative of the timescale over which the glacier hydrologic system is capable of adjusting to external surface meltwater forcings. Based on in situ ice velocity observations, we suggest that the summer speed-up event generally corresponds to conditions of increasing hydraulic head during inefficient subglacial drainage. Conversely, the slowdown during fall generally corresponds to conditions of decreasing hydraulic head during efficient subglacial drainage.

  8. Greenhouse Gas Induced Changes in the Seasonal Cycle of the Amazon Basin in Coupled Climate-Vegetation Regional Model

    OpenAIRE

    Flavio Justino; Frode Stordal; Edward K. Vizy; Kerry H. Cook; Marcos P. S. Pereira

    2016-01-01

    Previous work suggests that changes in seasonality could lead to a 70% reduction in the extent of the Amazon rainforest. The primary cause of the dieback of the rainforest is a lengthening of the dry season due to a weakening of the large-scale tropical circulation. Here we examine these changes in the seasonal cycle. Under present day conditions the Amazon climate is characterized by a zonal separation of the dominance of the annual and semi-annual seasonal cycles. This behavior is strongly ...

  9. NIRE annual report 1996

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-12-31

    The National Institute for Resources and Environment (NIRE) has a R & D concept of `ecotechnology` that aims to protect the environment from degradation whilst promoting sustainable development. This annual report presents summaries of 32 recent research efforts on such topics as: emission control of sulfur and nitrogen oxides from advanced coal combustors; catalysts for diesel NO{sub x} removal; measuring dust from stationary sources; software for life cycle assessment; marine disposal of CO{sub 2}; emissions of greenhouse gases from coal mines in Japan; structural changes in coal particles during gasification; solubilization and desulfurization of high sulfur coal with trifluoromethane sulfuroic acid; and oxidation mechanisms of H{sub 2}S.

  10. GNPS 18-months fuel cycles core thermal hydraulic design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Changwen; Zhou Zhou

    2002-01-01

    GNPS begins to implement the 18-month fuel cycles from the initial annual reload at cycle 9, thus the initial core thermal hydraulic design is not valid any more. The new critical heat flux (CHF) correlation, FC, which is developed by Framatome, is used in the design, and the generalized statistical methodology (GSM) instead of the initial deterministic methodology is used to determine the DNBR design limit. As the AFA 2G and AFA 3G are mixed loaded in the transition cycle, it will result that the minimum DNBR in the mixed core is less than that of AFA 3G homogenous core, the envelop mixed core DNBR penalty is given. Consequently the core physical limit for mixed core and equilibrium cycles, and the new over temperature ΔT overpower ΔT are determined

  11. Decadal Changes in Global Ocean Annual Primary Production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregg, Watson; Conkright, Margarita E.; Behrenfeld, Michael J.; Ginoux, Paul; Casey, Nancy W.; Koblinsky, Chester J. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) has produced the first multi-year time series of global ocean chlorophyll observations since the demise of the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) in 1986. Global observations from 1997-present from SeaWiFS combined with observations from 1979-1986 from the CZCS should in principle provide an opportunity to observe decadal changes in global ocean annual primary production, since chlorophyll is the primary driver for estimates of primary production. However, incompatibilities between algorithms have so far precluded quantitative analysis. We have developed and applied compatible processing methods for the CZCS, using modern advances in atmospheric correction and consistent bio-optical algorithms to advance the CZCS archive to comparable quality with SeaWiFS. We applied blending methodologies, where in situ data observations are incorporated into the CZCS and SeaWiFS data records, to provide improvement of the residuals. These re-analyzed, blended data records provide maximum compatibility and permit, for the first time, a quantitative analysis of the changes in global ocean primary production in the early-to-mid 1980's and the present, using synoptic satellite observations. An intercomparison of the global and regional primary production from these blended satellite observations is important to understand global climate change and the effects on ocean biota. Photosynthesis by chlorophyll-containing phytoplankton is responsible for biotic uptake of carbon in the oceans and potentially ultimately from the atmosphere. Global ocean annual primary decreased from the CZCS record to SeaWiFS, by nearly 6% from the early 1980s to the present. Annual primary production in the high latitudes was responsible for most of the decadal change. Conversely, primary production in the low latitudes generally increased, with the exception of the tropical Pacific. The differences and similarities of the two data records provide evidence

  12. International Synchronisation of the Pork Cycle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    HOLST

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available The development of pork prices has been analysed since the 1920s. Well known economic concepts such as Hanaus pork cycle or Ezekiels cobweb theorem are based on the empirical analysis of pork markets. We analyze whether pork price developments in different countries have become more synchronised over time. In a first stage of our analysis, annual pork price data collected by the FAO reveals much heterogeneity of pork price developments across countries. However, for some groups of countries the observed price patterns are very similar or even identical. This is especially the case for neighbouring countries with integrated pork markets, such as the members of the European Union (EU. We then compare pork price developments in Germany and the USA based on 36 years of monthly producer prices for slaughter pigs. Since the middle of the 1990s cyclical pork price movements in the USA and Germany have become increasingly synchronous. We attribute this to two developments: the fact that the USA has become a large net exporter of pork over this period, and policy reform in the EU that has strengthened the link between international and EU feed prices.

  13. The effectiveness of community-based cycling promotion: findings from the Cycling Connecting Communities project in Sydney, Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Merom Dafna

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Encouraging cycling is an important way to increase physical activity in the community. The Cycling Connecting Communities (CCC Project is a community-based cycling promotion program that included a range of community engagement and social marketing activities, such as organised bike rides and events, cycling skills courses, the distribution of cycling maps of the area and coverage in the local press. The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of this program designed to encourage the use of newly completed off-road cycle paths through south west Sydney, Australia. Methods The evaluation used a quasi-experimental design that consisted of a pre- and post-intervention telephone survey (24 months apart of a cohort of residents (n = 909 in the intervention area (n = 520 (Fairfield and Liverpool and a socio-demographically similar comparison area (n = 389 (Bankstown. Both areas had similar bicycle infrastructure. Four bicycle counters were placed on the main bicycle paths in the intervention and comparison areas to monitor daily bicycle use before and after the intervention. Results The telephone survey results showed significantly greater awareness of the Cycling Connecting Communities project (13.5% vs 8.0%, p Conclusion Despite relatively modest resources, the Cycling Connecting Communities project achieved significant increases in bicycle path use, and increased cycling in some sub-groups. However, this community based intervention with limited funding had very limited reach into the community and did not increase population cycling levels.

  14. Petroleum supply annual 1994, Volume 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-06-01

    The Petroleum Supply Annual (PSA) contains information on the supply and disposition of crude oil and petroleum products. The publication reflects data that were collected from the petroleum industry during 1994 through annual and monthly surveys. The PSA is divided into two volumes. This first volume contains four sections: Summary Statistics, Detailed Statistics, Refinery Capacity, and Oxygenate Capacity each with final annual data. The second volume contains final statistics for each month of 1994, and replaces data previously published in the Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM). The tables in Volumes 1 and 2 are similarly numbered to facilitate comparison between them. Explanatory Notes, located at the end of this publication, present information describing data collection, sources, estimation methodology, data quality control procedures, modifications to reporting requirements and interpretation of tables. Industry terminology and product definitions are listed alphabetically in the Glossary

  15. Annual report 1999

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1999-07-01

    The resources of international co-operation, notably through the Nuclear Energy Agency, can substantially help 'keep the nuclear option open' in a sustainable development perspective, for example by helping preserve and develop scientific and technical know-how, maintaining adequate human resources both in quantity and quality, contributing to greater cost-effectiveness of nuclear operations, and improving stakeholder confidence in radioactive waste management solutions. The 1999 Annual Report of the Nuclear Energy Agency illustrates various facets of the international co-operation made available to Member governments which assists them in rising to these challenges: Nuclear Development and the Fuel Cycle, Nuclear Safety and Regulation, Radiation Protection, Radioactive Waste Management, Nuclear Science, Data Banks, Legal Affairs, Joint Projects and Other Co-operative Projects. (author)

  16. Annual report 1999

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-01-01

    The resources of international co-operation, notably through the Nuclear Energy Agency, can substantially help 'keep the nuclear option open' in a sustainable development perspective, for example by helping preserve and develop scientific and technical know-how, maintaining adequate human resources both in quantity and quality, contributing to greater cost-effectiveness of nuclear operations, and improving stakeholder confidence in radioactive waste management solutions. The 1999 Annual Report of the Nuclear Energy Agency illustrates various facets of the international co-operation made available to Member governments which assists them in rising to these challenges: Nuclear Development and the Fuel Cycle, Nuclear Safety and Regulation, Radiation Protection, Radioactive Waste Management, Nuclear Science, Data Banks, Legal Affairs, Joint Projects and Other Co-operative Projects. (author)

  17. Annual report 2001

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-07-01

    Article VI.J of the Agency's Statute requires the Board of Governors to submit 'an annual report to the General Conference concerning the affairs of the Agency and any projects approved by the Agency'. This report covers the period 1 January to 31 December 2001. The report outlines the IAEA activities in the following fields: nuclear power, nuclear fuel cycle and waste management technology, comparative assessment for sustainable energy development; food and agriculture, human health, marine environment and water resources, applications of physical and chemical sciences, nuclear safety, radiation safety, radioactive waste safety, co-ordination of safety activities, safeguards, security of material, verification in Iraq pursuant to UNSC resolutions, management of technical co-operation for development, policy-making, management and support

  18. Annual report 1998

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-01-01

    Associated to the CEA, the CEA-Industry subsidiaries and the whole Group submit a very satisfying financial, economic and technological accounting which able to play a major role in international cooperations and to satisfy the shareholders. To illustrate these results, this annual report presents the activities of the CEA-Industry group during the year 1998. It is divided in eight chapters. The first six chapters gives general information and main financial data on respectively the CEA-Industry Group profile, economics, the fuel cycle, the nuclear power plants, the nuclear medicine and the semiconductors. The chapter 7 deals with the financial results of the fiscal year 1998 and the last chapter is devoted to the management report of the administration council. (A.L.B.)

  19. Further results on the WIMP annual modulation signature by DAMA/NaI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bernabei, R.; Belli, P.; Cappella, F.

    2005-01-01

    The ≅ 100 kg highly radiopure NaI(Tl) set-up of the DAMA project (DAMA/NaI) has investigated the model- independent WIMP annual modulation signature over seven annual cycles for a total exposure of 107731 kg x day, obtaining a model-independent evidence for the presence of a dark matter particle component in the galactic halo at 6.3 σ C.L.. Some of the many possible corollary model-dependent quests for the candidate particle have been investigated with the total exposure as well

  20. Annual Precipitation Fluctuation and Spatial Differentiation Characteristics of the Horqin Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liangxu Liu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Precipitation is the main water source for vegetation survival in arid and semi-arid areas. However, previous studies always focus on the effects of precipitation in different time scales, but ignore the effects of precipitation in different spatial scales. To further study the effects of precipitation fluctuation in different spatial scales, we used the wavelet analysis method to analyze its temporal and spatial change based on data from eighteen meteorological stations during 1961–2015 in Horqin region. Results showed that: (1 from the overall tendency of precipitation changes, the precipitation inter-annual variations in Horqin region had the tendency of gradually decreasing from the southeast (District IV to the northwest; (2 the precipitation anomalies of District I–IV between 1960 and 1980 were small and approximate to the normal value; (3 in the time scale of 23–32 years, the cyclical fluctuations were very significant and the annual precipitation underwent two cyclical fluctuations from a period of low precipitation to a period of high precipitation; and (4 as results of analyzing the spatial wavelet variance of sub-region, the main cycle of precipitation in District I, District II and District III was between 10 and 11 years, while the main cycle of precipitation in District IV was 25 years. The main conclusions include the following. (1 This region tended to be arid, and the precipitation gradually decreased from the southeast (District IV to northwest (District I. (2 The influence of spatial differentiation characteristics on precipitation fluctuation in this region was cyclical fluctuation, which gradually decreased from the southeast to the northwest. The length of the cyclical change period gradually shortened. In the first main cycle, whose annual precipitation changes were most significant, the changing characteristic was District IV and District I decreased from 25 years to 10 years. (3 Predicated from the cyclical

  1. Radiation exposure of German aircraft crews under the impact of solar cycle 23 and airline business factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frasch, Gerhard; Kammerer, Lothar; Karofsky, Ralf; Schlosser, Andrea; Stegemann, Ralf

    2014-12-01

    The exposure of German aircraft crews to cosmic radiation varies both with solar activity and operational factors of airline business. Data come from the German central dose registry and cover monthly exposures of up to 37,000 German aircraft crewmembers that were under official monitoring. During the years 2004 to 2009 of solar cycle 23 (i.e., in the decreasing phase of solar activity), the annual doses of German aircraft crews increased by an average of 20%. Decreasing solar activity allows more galactic radiation to reach the atmosphere, increasing high-altitude doses. The rise results mainly from the less effective protection from the solar wind but also from airline business factors. Both cockpit and cabin personnel differ in age-dependent professional and social status. This status determines substantially the annual effective dose: younger cabin personnel and the elder pilots generally receive higher annual doses than their counterparts. They also receive larger increases in their annual dose when the solar activity decreases. The doses under this combined influence of solar activity and airline business factors result in a maximum of exposure for German aircrews for this solar cycle. With the increasing solar activity of the current solar cycle 24, the doses are expected to decrease again.

  2. The life cycle of a gorgonian: Eunicella singularis (Esper, 1794)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Weinberg, Steven; Weinberg, Francisca

    1979-01-01

    The life cycle of the gorgonian Eunicella singularis has been studied with emphasis on larval behaviour, metamorphosis and annual growth. Planulae are found to have a mobile phase lasting from several hours to several days. Once settled, they metamorphose into a complete primary polyp in

  3. Assessing Cycling Participation in Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chris Rissel

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Planning and evaluating cycling programs at a national or state level requires accurate measures of cycling participation. However, recent reports of cycling participation have produced very different estimates. This paper examines the reported rates of cycling in five recent population surveys of cycling. Three surveys (one national and two from Sydney asking respondents when they last rode a bicycle generated cycling participation (cycled in the past year estimates of 29.7%, 34.1% and 28.9%. Two other national surveys which asked participants to recall (unprompted any physical activity done for exercise, recreation or sport in the previous 12 months, estimated cycling in the past year as 11.1% and 6.5%. While unprompted recall of cycling as a type of physical activity generates lower estimates of cycling participation than specific recall questions, both assessment approaches produced similar patterns of cycling by age and sex with both approaches indicating fewer women and older adults cycling. The different question styles most likely explain the substantial discrepancies between the estimates of cycling participation. Some differences are to be expected due to sampling variability, question differences, and regional variation in cycling.

  4. Yearly variation and annual cycle of total column ozone over New ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    wave-like propagation of disturbances of rotational temperature of OH(8, 3). .... such as gravity waves, planetary waves, tides and ..... But, in case of Halley Bay, the most identical sea- ...... spheric water vapour; J. Geophys. Res. ... Greet P A, French W J R, Burns G B, Williams P F B, Lowe ... cycle; Indian J. Radio Space Phys.

  5. Environmental Sciences Division annual progress report for period ending September 30, 1983

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1984-04-01

    This annual report summarizes activities in the Aquatic Ecology, Earth Sciences, Environmental Analyses, and Terrestrial Ecology sections, as well as in the Fossil Energy, Biomass, Low-Level Waste Research and Management, and Global Carbon Cycle Programs. Separate abstracts have been prepared for each section. (ACR)

  6. Environmental Sciences Division annual progress report for period ending September 30, 1983

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1984-04-01

    This annual report summarizes activities in the Aquatic Ecology, Earth Sciences, Environmental Analyses, and Terrestrial Ecology sections, as well as in the Fossil Energy, Biomass, Low-Level Waste Research and Management, and Global Carbon Cycle Programs. Separate abstracts have been prepared for each section

  7. Characterizing the annual cycle of African dust transport to the Caribbean Basin and South America and its impact on the environment and air quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prospero, Joseph M.; Collard, François-Xavier; Molinié, Jack; Jeannot, Alexis

    2014-07-01

    Decades of aerosol measurements on Barbados have yielded a detailed picture of African mineral dust transport to the Caribbean Basin that shows a strong seasonal cycle with a maximum in boreal summer and a minimum in winter. Satellite aerosol products suggest that in spring, there is a comparable transport to northeastern South America. Here we characterize the complete annual cycle of dust transport to the western Atlantic by linking the Barbados record to multiyear records of airborne particulate matter less than 10 µm diameter (PM10) measured in air quality programs at Cayenne (French Guiana) and Guadeloupe. Comparisons of PM10 at these sites with concurrent dust measurements at Barbados demonstrate that high PM10 levels are almost entirely due to dust. Cayenne PM10 peaks in spring in a cycle which is consistent with satellite aerosol optical depth and suggests that the Sahel is the dominant source. The persistent transport of dust during much of the year could impact a wide range of environmental processes over a broad region that extends from the southern United States to the Amazon Basin. Finally, the average 24 h PM10 concentrations at Cayenne and Guadeloupe frequently exceed the World Health Organization air quality guideline. Thus soil dust PM10 could be a significant, but generally unrecognized, health factor at western Atlantic sites and also in other relatively remote regions affected by long-range dust from Africa. Because dust emissions and transport are highly sensitive to climate variability, climate change in coming decades could greatly affect a wide range of biogeochemical processes and human health in this region.

  8. Fuel Cycle of VVER-1000: technical and economic aspects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kosourov, E.; Pavlov, V.; Pavlovichev, A.

    2009-01-01

    The paper contains estimations of dependences of technical and economic characteristics of VVER-1000 fuel cycle on number of charged FAs and their enrichment. In the study following restrictions were used: minimum quantity of loaded fresh FAs is equal 36 FAs, a maximum one - 78 (79) FAs and fuel enrichment is limited by value 4,95 %. The following technical and economic characteristics are discussed: cycle length, average burnup of spent fuel, specific consumption of natural uranium, specific quantity of separative work, annual production of thermal energy, fuel component of electrical energy cost, electricity generation cost. Results of estimations are presented as dependences of researched characteristics on cycle length, quantity of loaded FAs and their enrichments. The presented information allows to show tendencies and ranges of technical and economic characteristics at change of fuel cycle parameters. This information can be useful for definition of the fuel cycle parameters which satisfy the requirements of power system and exploiting organizations. (authors)

  9. Emissions from photovoltaic life cycles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fthenakis, Vasilis M; Kim, Hyung Chul; Alsema, Erik

    2008-03-15

    Photovoltaic (PV) technologies have shown remarkable progress recently in terms of annual production capacity and life cycle environmental performances, which necessitate timely updates of environmental indicators. Based on PV production data of 2004-2006, this study presents the life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions, criteria pollutant emissions, and heavy metal emissions from four types of major commercial PV systems: multicrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon, ribbon silicon, and thin-film cadmium telluride. Life-cycle emissions were determined by employing average electricity mixtures in Europe and the United States during the materials and module production for each PV system. Among the current vintage of PV technologies, thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) PV emits the least amount of harmful air emissions as it requires the least amount of energy during the module production. However, the differences in the emissions between different PV technologies are very small in comparison to the emissions from conventional energy technologies that PV could displace. As a part of prospective analysis, the effect of PV breeder was investigated. Overall, all PV technologies generate far less life-cycle air emissions per GWh than conventional fossil-fuel-based electricity generation technologies. At least 89% of air emissions associated with electricity generation could be prevented if electricity from photovoltaics displaces electricity from the grid.

  10. Incidence of Vibrio cholerae and related vibrios in a coastal lagoon and seawater influenced by lake discharges along an annual cycle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garay, E; Arnau, A; Amaro, C

    1985-08-01

    Most probable numbers of Vibrio cholerae and related vibrios were determined in Albufera Lake, Valencia, Spain, and in coastal waters under the influence of the lake discharges over the course of an annual cycle. The influence of temperature, kind of water, and characteristics of the different sampling sites on the numbers of vibrios recovered was evaluated. Maximum recovery of vibrios reached 10(3)/ml in both types of waters analyzed. V. cholerae numbers reached 10(3)/ml in the lake and 10(2) in one of the coastal sites. Frequently during the warm season, all vibrios isolated were identified as V. cholerae. Occasionally, no V. cholerae was recovered. The recovery of vibrios was significantly influenced by the temperature of the water and the type of water analyzed. Most of the V. cholerae isolates were included in Heiberg groups I and II, and nearly 50% of the strains used chitin as sole carbon source. Indole was not produced by 100% of the strains. All strains tested were non-O1 serovars.

  11. Health and safety annual report 1992

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-01-01

    BNFL operates 6 sites in the United Kingdom concerned with the nuclear fuel cycle. The annual report on occupational health and safety gives information on all aspects of health and safety within BNFL with special reference to radiation doses received by the workforce and radiation protection measures taken by the company. BNFL's safety policy is set out. Radiation doses to all workers have remained low. Other industrial accidents are also listed and its safety measures for transport, radioactive effluents and in the event of an incident, are mentioned briefly. (UK)

  12. Annual and inter-annual variations of 6.5-day-planetary-waves in MLT observed by TIMED/SABER

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yingying; Li, Huijun; Li, Chongyin; Zhang, Shaodong

    2017-04-01

    Annual and inter-annual variations of 6.5DWs in 20-110 km, 52°S-52°N, 2002-2016 are studied by using v2.0 TIMED/SABER kinetic temperature data. Firstly, global annual variations of 6.5DW's spectral power and amplitudes are obtained. Strong wave amplitudes emerge in 30°S/N-50°S/N, and peaks in altitude separate in stratosphere (40-50 km), mesosphere (80-90 km) and the lower thermosphere (100-110 km), respectively. Their annual variations are similar in both hemispheres, but different in altitude. In 40-50 km, the annual maximums emerge mostly in winters: Dec.-Jan. in the NH and Jul.-Aug. in the SH. In MLT, annual peaks arise twice in each half of year. In 80-90 km, they're mainly in equinoctial seasons and winters: May, Aug.-Sep. and Jan. in the NH and Feb., Nov. and May in the SH. In 100-110 km, they emerge mainly in equinoctial seasons: Apr.-May and Aug.-Sep. in the NH and Feb.-Mar. and Oct.-Nov. in the SH. Then, inter-annual variations of 6.5DW amplitudes during the 14-year period are studied. Frequency spectra of monthly-mean amplitudes show that, main dynamics in long-term variations of 6.5DWs are AO and SAO in both hemispheres. Besides, QBO are visible in both hemispheres and 4-month period signals are noticed in the NH in MLT. Amplitudes of SAO, AO and QBO are obtained by bandpass filter. Their amplitudes are comparable in stratosphere and mesosphere, and QBO signals are weaker than the others in the LT. Vertical variations both of SAO and AO amplitudes are very stable. AO structures have little inter-annual changes, while inter-annual variations of SAO are significant and are related with 6.5DW. It means that annual and inter-annual variations of 6.5DW are mainly controlled by AO and SAO, respectively. Although QBO signals are weaker and their variations are less regular than AO and SAO, their phases seems to relate with inter-annual variations of 6.5DW as well.

  13. Canadian Fusion Fuels Technology Project annual report 93/94

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1994-12-31

    The Canadian Fusion Fuels Technology Project exists to develop fusion technologies and apply them worldwide in today`s advanced fusion projects and to apply these technologies in fusion and tritium research facilities. CFFTP concentrates on developing capability in fusion fuel cycle systems, in tritium handling technologies and in remote handling. This is an annual report for CFFTP and as such also includes a financial report.

  14. Canadian Fusion Fuels Technology Project annual report 93/94

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-01-01

    The Canadian Fusion Fuels Technology Project exists to develop fusion technologies and apply them worldwide in today's advanced fusion projects and to apply these technologies in fusion and tritium research facilities. CFFTP concentrates on developing capability in fusion fuel cycle systems, in tritium handling technologies and in remote handling. This is an annual report for CFFTP and as such also includes a financial report

  15. The nuclear fuel cycle, an overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ballery, J.L.; Cazalet, J.; Hagemann, R.

    1995-01-01

    Because uranium is widely distributed on the face of the Earth, nuclear energy has a very large potential as an energy source in view of future depletion of fossil fuel reserves. Also future energy requirements will be very sizeable as populations of developing countries are often growing and make the energy question one of the major challenges for the coming decades. Today, nuclear contributes some 340 GWe to the energy requirements of the world. Present and future nuclear programs require an adequate fuel cycle industry, from mining, refining, conversion, enrichment, fuel fabrication, fuel reprocessing and the storage of the resulting wastes. The commercial fuel cycle activities amount to an annual business in the 7-8 billions of US Dollars in the hands of a large number of industrial operators. This paper gives details about companies and countries involved in each step of the fuel cycle and about the national strategies and options chosen regarding the back end of the fuel cycle (waste storage and reprocessing). These options are illustrated by considering the policy adopted in three countries (France, United Kingdom, Japan) versed in reprocessing. (J.S.). 13 figs., 2 tabs

  16. On the seasonal cycles and variability of Florida Straits, Ekman and Sverdrup transports at 26° N in the Atlantic Ocean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. P. Atkinson

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Since April 2004 the RAPID array has made continuous measurements of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC at 26° N. Two key components of this system are Ekman transport zonally integrated across 26° N and western boundary current transport in the Florida Straits. Whilst measurements of the AMOC as a whole are somewhat in their infancy, this study investigates what useful information can be extracted on the variability of the Ekman and Florida Straits transports using the decadal timeseries already available. Analysis is also presented for Sverdrup transports zonally integrated across 26° N.

    The seasonal cycles of Florida Straits, Ekman and Sverdrup transports are quantified at 26° N using harmonic analysis of annual and semi-annual constituents. Whilst Sverdrup transport shows clear semi-annual periodicity, calculations of seasonal Florida Straits and Ekman transports show substantial interannual variability due to contamination by variability at non-seasonal frequencies; the mean seasonal cycle for these transports only emerges from decadal length observations. The Florida Straits and Ekman mean seasonal cycles project on the AMOC with a combined peak-to-peak seasonal range of 3.5 Sv. The combined seasonal range for heat transport is 0.40 PW.

    The Florida Straits seasonal cycle possesses a smooth annual periodicity in contrast with previous studies suggesting a more asymmetric structure. No clear evidence is found to support significant changes in the Florida Straits seasonal cycle at sub-decadal periods. Whilst evidence of wind driven Florida Straits transport variability is seen at sub-seasonal and annual periods, a model run from the 1/4° eddy-permitting ocean model NEMO is used to identify an important contribution from internal oceanic variability at sub-annual and interannual periods. The Ekman transport seasonal cycle possesses less symmetric structure, due in part to different seasonal transport

  17. Projected Changes in the Annual Cycle of Precipitation over Central Asia by CMIP5 Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, X.; Zhao, Y.

    2017-12-01

    Future changes in the annual cycle of the precipitation in central Asia (CA) were estimated based on the historical and Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5) experiments from 25 models of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5). Compared with the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) observations, the historical (1979-1999) experiments showed that most models can capture the migration of rainfall centers, but remarkable discrepancies exist in the location and intensity of rainfall centers between simulations and observations. Considering the skill scores of precipitation and pattern correlations of circulations, which are closely related to the precipitation for each month, for the 25 models, the four best models (e.g., CanESM2, CMCC-CMS, MIROC5 and MPI-ESM-LR) with relatively good performance were selected. The four models' ensemble mean indicated that the migration and location of the precipitation centers were better reproduced, except the intensity of the centers was overestimated, compared with the result that only considered precipitation. Based on the four best models' ensemble mean under RCP8.5 scenarios, precipitation was projected to increase dramatically over most of the CA region in the boreal cold seasons (November, December, January, February, March, April and May) with the maximum in December in the end of twenty-first century (2079-2099), and several positive centers were located in the Pamirs Plateau and the Tianshan Mountains. By contrast, the precipitation changes were weak in the boreal warm seasons (June, July, August, September and October), with a wet center located in the northern Himalayas. Furthermore, there remain some uncertainties in the projected precipitation regions and periods obtained by comparing models' ensemble results of this paper and the results of previous studies. These uncertainties should be investigated in future work.

  18. Spatiao – Temporal Evaluation and Comparison of MM5 Model using Similarity Algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Siabi

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction temporal and spatial change of meteorological and environmental variables is very important. These changes can be predicted by numerical prediction models over time and in different locations and can be provided as spatial zoning maps with interpolation methods such as geostatistics (16, 6. But these maps are comparable to each other as visual, qualitative and univariate for a limited number of maps (15. To resolve this problem the similarity algorithm is used. This algorithm is a simultaneous comparison method to a large number of data (18. Numerical prediction models such as MM5 were used in different studies (10, 22, and 23. But a little research is done to compare the spatio-temporal similarity of the models with real data quantitatively. The purpose of this paper is to integrate geostatistical techniques with similarity algorithm to study the spatial and temporal MM5 model predicted results with real data. Materials and Methods The study area is north east of Iran. 55 to 61 degrees of longitude and latitude is 30 to 38 degrees. Monthly and annual temperature and precipitation actual data for the period of 1990-2010 was received from the Meteorological Agency and Department of Energy. MM5 Model Data, with a spatial resolution 0.5 × 0.5 degree were downloaded from the NASA website (5. GS+ and ArcGis software were used to produce each variable map. We used multivariate methods co-kriging and kriging with an external drift by applying topography and height as a secondary variable via implementing Digital Elevation Model. (6,12,14. Then the standardize and similarity algorithms (9,11 was applied by programming in MATLAB software to each map grid point. The spatial and temporal similarities between data collections and model results were obtained by F values. These values are between 0 and 0.5 where the value below 0.2 indicates good similarity and above 0.5 shows very poor similarity. The results were plotted on maps by MATLAB

  19. Radon continuous monitoring in Altamira Cave (northern Spain) to assess user's annual effective dose

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lario, J.; Sanchez-Moral, S.; Canaveras, J.C.; Cuezva, S.; Soler, V.

    2005-01-01

    In this work, we present the values of radon concentration, measured by continuous monitoring during a complete annual cycle in the Polychromes Hall of Altamira Cave in order to undertake more precise calculations of annual effective dose for guides and visitors in tourist caves. The 222 Rn levels monitored inside the cave ranges from 186 Bq m -3 to 7120 Bq m -3 , with an annual average of 3562 Bq m -3 . In order to more accurately estimate effective dose we use three scenarios with different equilibrium factors (F=0.5, 0.7 and 1.0) together with different dose conversion factors proposed in the literature. Neither effective dose exceeds international recommendations. Moreover, with an automatic radon monitoring system the time remaining to reach the maximum annual dose recommended could be automatically updated

  20. Cardiac hypertrophy and structural and metabolic remodeling related to seasonal dormancy in the first annual cycle in tegu lizards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Silveira, Lilian Cristina; do Nascimento, Lucas Francisco R; Colquhoun, Alison; Abe, Augusto S; de Souza, Silvia Cristina R

    2013-07-01

    Morpho-functional adjustments in the heart of juvenile tegu lizards (Tupinambis merianae) were analyzed at distinct seasonal periods to investigate how the demands of growth and of energy saving are reconciled during the first annual cycle. The relative ventricular mass (Mv) was 31% and 69% larger in late autumn and winter dormancy, respectively, compared to early autumn. This effect did not persist during unfed arousal, suggesting that protein accumulates in the heart during hypometabolism and is degraded on arousal. Both the hypertrophy and the atrophy were disproportionate in the largest individuals. In contrast, Mv was smaller in lizards that were starved during spring activity compared to fed lizards, this effect being larger in smaller individuals. In late autumn and winter dormancy the spongy myocardium had 8% of the section area covered by lacunary spaces, which expanded after food intake during arousal and reached 29% in spring activity together with higher density of cardiomyocytes. Total and soluble proteins per mass unity were unchanged, and maximum activities of selected enzymes suggest sustained glycolytic and aerobic capacities during hypometabolism. Results indicate that important structural adjustments occur in the heart in anticipation of dormancy, and that the protein balance in the tissue is maintained at winter temperatures ~17°C. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. World nuclear capacity and fuel cycle requirements, November 1993

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-01-01

    This analysis report presents the current status and projections of nuclear capacity, generation, and fuel cycle requirements for all countries in the world using nuclear power to generate electricity for commercial use. Long-term projections of US nuclear capacity, generation, fuel cycle requirements, and spent fuel discharges for three different scenarios through 2030 are provided in support of the Department of Energy's activities pertaining to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (as amended in 1987). The projections of uranium requirements also support the Energy Information Administration's annual report, Domestic Uranium Mining and Milling Industry: Viability Assessment

  2. Improvement to the pattern of control rods of the equilibrium cycle of 18 months for the CLV using bio-inspired algorithms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perusquia, R.; Ortiz, J.J.; Montes, J.L.

    2003-01-01

    Nowadays in the National Institute of Nuclear Research are carried out studies with some bio-inspired optimization techniques to improve the performance of the fuel cycles of the boiling water reactors of the Laguna Verde power plant (CLV). In the present work two bio-inspired techniques were applied with the purpose of improving the performance of a balance cycle of 18 months developed for the CLV: genetic algorithms (AG) and systems based on ants colonies (SCH). The design of the reference cycle it represents in several aspects an optimal cycle proposed starting from the experience of several operation decades with the boiling water reactors (BWR initials for Boiling Water Reactor) in the world. To try to improve their performance is beforehand a difficult challenge and it puts on test the feasibility of the optimization methods in the reloads design. The study of the bio-inspired techniques was centered exclusively on the obtaining of the control rod patterns (PBC) trying to overcome the capacity factor reached in the design of the reference cycle. It was fixed the cycle length such that the decrease of the coast down period would represent an increase of the capacity factor of the cycle; so that, it diminishes the annual cost associated with the capital cost of the plant. As consequence of the study, was found that the algorithm based on the ants colonies reaches to diminish the coast down period in five and half days respect to the original balance cycle, what represents an annual saving of $US 74,000. Since the original cycle was optimized, the above-mentioned, shows the ability of the SCH for the optimization of the cycle design. With the AG it was reach to approach to the original balance cycle with a coast down period greater in seven days estimating an annual penalization of $US 130,000. (Author)

  3. Inter-annual precipitation variabiity inferred from late Holocene speleothem records from Fiji: implications for SPCZ localisation and ENSO behaviour

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mattey, D.; Stephens, M.; Hoffmann, D.; Brett, M.

    2015-12-01

    The modern tropical Fiji climate is characterised by seasonal rainfall controlled by the position of the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ). Interannual rainfall is strongly modulated on decadal timescales by ENSO with higher rainfall associated with La Nina events. Voli Voli cave near Sigatoga (Viti Levu) is a stream passage that has been monitored since 2009. A U-Th dated laminated speleothem spans a 1500 year interval across the transition from the Medieval Warm Period into the Little Ice Age marked by a fabric change from finely laminated calcite with thin clay layers, to white well-laminated calcite. The older record is characterised by rising δ13C values followed by a rapid decrease in δ13C around 1200 AD. Evidence from cave monitoring shows that cave air CO2 levels are strongly seasonal as a result of greater ventilation by winter trade winds and high resolution δ13C record shows regularly spaced peaks correlated with paired laminae and cycles in P and S which provide annual markers driven by rainfall and seasonal ventilation. δ18O values remain relatively unchanged throughout the record but micromilling at sub-annual resolution reveals systematic cycles in δ18O that span groups of paired laminae with an inferred periodicity of 3-7 years i.e. a similar frequency to modern ENSO. The presence of these sub-decadal cycles in δ18O may be a result of a combination of factors. The amplitude of 2-3‰ would be equivalent to an amount-effect related change in annual precipitation of around 50% but an additional smoothing process, perhaps a result of aquifer storage, is required to attenuate interannual variance in precipitation. The Voli Voli record provides evidence of an underlying climatic change to more frequent La Niña conditions from 1200 AD and may be associated with increased conflict, shifts in settlements and changes in subsistence strategies on the island. Coeval speleothem isotope records from tropical Pacific Islands provide a provide a

  4. Modeling the nitrogen cycling and plankton productivity in the Black Sea using a three-dimensional interdisciplinary model

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Grégoire, M.; Soetaert, K.E.R.; Nezlin, N.; Kostianoy, A.

    2004-01-01

    A six-compartment ecosystem model defined by a simple nitrogen cycle is coupled with a general circulation model in the Black Sea so as to examine the seasonal variability of the ecohydrodynamics. Model results show that the annual cycle of the biological productivity of the whole basin is

  5. Annual cycle of solar radiation in a deciduous forest

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hutchison, B.A.; Matt, D.R.

    1977-01-01

    Periodic solar radiation measurements within and above an east Tennessee Liriodendron forest and continuous records of insolation from a nearby NOAA weather station were used to derive an approximation of the animal radiation regime within and above the deciduous forest. The interaction of changing solar elevations, insolation, and forest phenology are shown to control the radiation climate within the forest. Maximum radiation penetrates the forest in early spring as solar paths rise higher in the sky each day just prior to leaf expansion. After leaf expansion begins, average radiation received within the forest decreases rapidly despite continued increases in solar elevations and daily insolation. This forest attains full leaf in early June and from then until the advent of leaf abscission near the autumnal equinox, forest structure remains relatively static. Solar elevations and daily insolation decline following the summer solstice, however, and as a result, average radiation penetrating the forest slowly declines throughout the summer reaching an annual minimum in early autumn. With leaf fall, slightly increased amounts of radiation penetrate the forest but as within-forest solar paths continue to lengthen, radiation within the forest again declines. Minimum amounts of solar radiation penetrate the leafless forest around the winter solstice

  6. Adopting Technology: Using Student Qualitative Data and Gartner's Hype Cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grundmeyer, Trent

    2014-01-01

    Technology is changing education. School leaders are charged with purchasing and leveraging technology to maximize an ever-changing landscape of teaching and learning. They have many factors to consider as they make decisions about what specific technologies to purchase for their schools. Gartner's Hype Cycle is an annually published report that…

  7. Seasonal and annual heat budgets offshore the Hanko Peninsula, Gulf of Finland

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Merkouriadi, I.; Lepparanta, M. [Helsinki Univ. (Finland). Dept. of Physics], Email: ioanna.merkouriadi@helsinki.fi; Shirasawa, K. [Hokkaido Univ., Sapporo (Japan). Pan-Okhotsk Research Center, Inst. of Low Temperature Science

    2013-06-01

    A joint Finnish-Japanese sea-ice experiment 'Hanko-9012' carried out offshore the Hanko Peninsula included seasonal monitoring and intensive field campaigns. Ice, oceanographic and meteorological data were collected to examine the structure and properties of the Baltic Sea brackish ice, heat budget and solar radiation transfer through the ice cover. Here, the data from two years (2000 and 2001) are used for the estimation of the seasonal and annual heat budgets. Results present the surface heat balance, and the heat budget of the ice sheet and the waterbody. The ice cover acted as a good control measure of the net surface heat exchange. Solar radiation had a strong seasonal cycle with a monthly maximum at 160 and a minimum below 10 W m{sup -2}, while net terrestrial radiation was mostly between -40 and -60 W m{sup -2}. Latent heat exchange was much more important than sensible heat exchange, similar the net terrestrial radiation values in summer and autumn. A comparison between the latent heat flux released or absorbed by the ice and the net surface heat fluxes showed similar patterns, with a clearly better fit in 2001. The differences can be partly explained by the oceanic heat flux to the lower ice boundary. (orig.)

  8. How well do CMIP5 Climate Models Reproduce the Hydrologic Cycle of the Colorado River Basin?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gautam, J.; Mascaro, G.

    2017-12-01

    The Colorado River, which is the primary source of water for nearly 40 million people in the arid Southwestern states of the United States, has been experiencing an extended drought since 2000, which has led to a significant reduction in water supply. As the water demands increase, one of the major challenges for water management in the region has been the quantification of uncertainties associated with streamflow predictions in the Colorado River Basin (CRB) under potential changes of future climate. Hence, testing the reliability of model predictions in the CRB is critical in addressing this challenge. In this study, we evaluated the performances of 17 General Circulation Models (GCMs) from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase Five (CMIP5) and 4 Regional Climate Models (RCMs) in reproducing the statistical properties of the hydrologic cycle in the CRB. We evaluated the water balance components at four nested sub-basins along with the inter-annual and intra-annual changes of precipitation (P), evaporation (E), runoff (R) and temperature (T) from 1979 to 2005. Most of the models captured the net water balance fairly well in the most-upstream basin but simulated a weak hydrological cycle in the evaporation channel at the downstream locations. The simulated monthly variability of P had different patterns, with correlation coefficients ranging from -0.6 to 0.8 depending on the sub-basin and the models from same parent institution clustering together. Apart from the most-upstream sub-basin where the models were mainly characterized by a negative seasonal bias in SON (of up to -50%), most of them had a positive bias in all seasons (of up to +260%) in the other three sub-basins. The models, however, captured the monthly variability of T well at all sites with small inter-model variabilities and a relatively similar range of bias (-7 °C to +5 °C) across all seasons. Mann-Kendall test was applied to the annual P and T time-series where majority of the models

  9. Transcription through the eye of a needle: daily and annual cyclic gene expression variation in Douglas-fir needles

    OpenAIRE

    Cronn, Richard; Dolan, Peter C.; Jogdeo, Sanjuro; Wegrzyn, Jill L.; Neale, David B.; St. Clair, J. Bradley; Denver, Dee R.

    2017-01-01

    Background Perennial growth in plants is the product of interdependent cycles of daily and annual stimuli that induce cycles of growth and dormancy. In conifers, needles are the key perennial organ that integrates daily and seasonal signals from light, temperature, and water availability. To understand the relationship between seasonal cycles and seasonal gene expression responses in conifers, we examined diurnal and circannual needle mRNA accumulation in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) n...

  10. Political Budget Cycles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aaskoven, Lasse; Lassen, David Dreyer

    2017-01-01

    The political budget cycle—how elections affect government fiscal policy—is one of the most studied subjects in political economy and political science. The key theoretical question is whether incumbent governments can time or structure public finances in ways that improve their chances of reelec......The political budget cycle—how elections affect government fiscal policy—is one of the most studied subjects in political economy and political science. The key theoretical question is whether incumbent governments can time or structure public finances in ways that improve their chances...... on political budget cycles have recently focused on conditions under which such cycles are likely to obtain. Much recent research focuses on subnational settings, allowing comparisons of governments in similar institutional environments, and a consensus on the presences of cycles in public finances...

  11. The convergence of European business cycles 1978-2000

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ormerod, Paul; Mounfield, Craig

    2002-05-01

    The degree of convergence of the business cycles of the economies of the European Union (EU) is a key policy issue. In particular, a substantial degree of convergence is needed if the European Central Bank is to be capable of setting a monetary policy which is appropriate to the stage of the cycle of the Euro zone economies. We consider the annual rates of real GDP growth on a quarterly basis in the large core economies of the EU (France, Germany and Italy, plus The Netherlands) over the period 1978Q1-2000Q3. An important empirical question is the degree to which the correlations between these growth rates contain true information rather than noise. The technique of random matrix theory is able to answer this question, and has been recently applied successfully in the physics journals to financial markets data. We find that the correlations between the growth rates of the core EU economies contain substantial amounts of true information, and exhibit considerable stability over time. Even in the late 1970s and early 1980s, these economies moved together closely over the course of the business cycle. There was a slight loosening at the time of German re-unification, but the economies are now, if anything, even more closely correlated. As a benchmark for comparison, we add a series to the EU core data set which by construction is uncorrelated with these business cycles. We then analyse the EU core plus Spain, a country which has attached great importance to greater integration with Europe. In the early part of the period examined, the results are very similar to those obtained with the data set of the EU core plus the random series. However, there is a clear trend in the results, which provide strong evidence to support the view that the Spanish economy has now become closely converged with the core EU economies in terms of its movements over the business cycle. In contrast, the results obtained with a data set of the EU core plus the UK show no such trend. In the

  12. 1997 annual report; Rapport annuel 1997

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-12-31

    This 1997 issue of the annual report of the French Commissariat a l`Energie Atomique (CEA) gives a general overview of the CEA organization, activities, human resources, international relations and communication with some budgetary information. The main activities described concern the national defence, the fuel cycle, the nuclear reactors, the nuclear protection and safety, the advanced technologies, the quasi-particles, the effects of ionizing radiations on humans, the medical imagery, the transfer of technology, the protection and valorization of knowledge, the radioactive wastes and spent fuels management, the training and teaching, the scientific prizes, the committees, councils and commissions. (O.M.)

  13. 1997 annual report; Rapport annuel 1997

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-12-31

    This 1997 issue of the annual report of the French Commissariat a l`Energie Atomique (CEA) gives a general overview of the CEA organization, activities, human resources, international relations and communication with some budgetary information. The main activities described concern the national defence, the fuel cycle, the nuclear reactors, the nuclear protection and safety, the advanced technologies, the quasi-particles, the effects of ionizing radiations on humans, the medical imagery, the transfer of technology, the protection and valorization of knowledge, the radioactive wastes and spent fuels management, the training and teaching, the scientific prizes, the committees, councils and commissions. (O.M.)

  14. Annual report ''nuclear safety in France''

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    This document is the 2001 annual report of the French authority of nuclear safety (ASN). It summarizes the highlights of the year 2000 and details the following aspects: the nuclear safety in France, the organization of the control of nuclear safety, the regulation relative to basic nuclear facilities, the control of facilities, the information of the public, the international relations, the organisation of emergencies, the radiation protection, the transport of radioactive materials, the radioactive wastes, the PWR reactors, the experimental reactors and other laboratories and facilities, the nuclear fuel cycle facilities, and the shutdown and dismantling of nuclear facilities. (J.S.)

  15. 1996 annual report; Rapport annuel 1996

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1996-12-31

    This 1996 issue of the annual report of the French Commissariat a l`Energie Atomique (CEA) gives a general overview of CEA organization, activities, human resources, international relations and external communication with some budgetary informations. The main activities described concern the national defence, the fuel cycle, the nuclear reactors, the condensed matter and life sciences, the advanced technologies, the protection and transfer of knowledge and technologies, the environmental activities, the management and processing of nuclear wastes, the nuclear protection and safety, the technical and scientific information, the teaching and training, the scientific prizes, the committees, councils and commissions. (J.S.).

  16. The evolving nuclear fuel cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gale, J.D.; Hanson, G.E.; Coleman, T.A.

    1993-01-01

    Various economics and political pressures have shaped the evolution of nuclear fuel cycles over the past 10 to 15 yr. Future trends will no doubt be similarly driven. This paper discusses the influences that long cycles, high discharge burnups, fuel reliability, and costs will have on the future nuclear cycle. Maintaining the economic viability of nuclear generation is a key issue facing many utilities. Nuclear fuel has been a tremendous bargain for utilities, helping to offset major increases in operation and maintenance (O ampersand M) expenses. An important factor in reducing O ampersand M costs is increasing capacity factor by eliminating outages

  17. Approach to criticality in cold core of the Unit 1 of the cycle 10 of the Laguna Verde power plant with control rods similar in design to the original ones and the advanced ones

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perusquia, R.; Ramirez, J.R.; Ortiz, J.J.; Hernandez, J.L.; Montes, J.L.

    2004-01-01

    In the Laguna Verde power plant (CLV) worn out control bars have been replacing for control rods of advanced design. At the moment of the 109 rods of similar design to the original of the Unit 1 of the CLV, 14 of them have been substituted with two types of different advanced control rods. The same as the original rods the advanced rods use boron carbide as control element for neutrons, but additionally they use hafnium, to achieve a longer useful half life. The rods of similar design to the original are homogeneous axially on the other hand the advanced presenting several zones. In principle the advanced rods were designed to be neutronically compatible to the original rods. However the differences in the design and of constituents assumed to consider a different performance during the operation. Since the one numbers of advanced bars is growing with the number of cycles of the CLV reactor has requested to the National Institute of Nuclear Research (ININ) to evaluate in detailed form the performance of the control rods. Previously the calculations and analysis of cycle design that that were carried out assumed that control rods should be of similar design as the original. Using the HELIOS/CM-LENDS system, the effect of the inclusion of advanced rods was analyzed in the approximation of the criticality in cold (20 C) in the cycle 10 of the Unit 1. Four scenarios were poposed, where the type of the rod of substitution control is varied. The value of reactivity was calculated for the rods similar in design to the original and for the advanced one. By comparison of these values, it was found that the value of reactivity of the control rods of the advanced design was superior to the value for rods similar to the original ones by 7.6% for one of the advanced designs and of 13.6% for the other one. (Author)

  18. Time Scales of the European Surface Air Temperature Variability: The Role of the 7-8 Year Cycle

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Jajcay, Nikola; Hlinka, Jaroslav; Kravtsov, S.; Tsonis, A.A.; Paluš, Milan

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 43, č. 2 (2016), s. 902-909 ISSN 0094-8276 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LH14001 Institutional support: RVO:67985807 Keywords : 7-8 year cycle * air temperature variability * annual cycle amplitude * cross-scale interactions * seasonality * time scales Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sciences, Meteorology Impact factor: 4.253, year: 2016

  19. Fundamental-frequency and load-varying thermal cycles effects on lifetime estimation of DFIG power converter

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, G.; Zhou, D.; Yang, J.

    2017-01-01

    In respect to a Doubly-Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) system, its corresponding time scale varies from microsecond level of power semiconductor switching to second level of the mechanical response. In order to map annual thermal profile of the power semiconductors, different approaches have been ...... adopted to handle the fundamental-frequency thermal cycles and load-varying thermal cycles. Their effects on lifetime estimation of the power device in the Back-to-Back (BTB) power converter are evaluated.......In respect to a Doubly-Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) system, its corresponding time scale varies from microsecond level of power semiconductor switching to second level of the mechanical response. In order to map annual thermal profile of the power semiconductors, different approaches have been...

  20. Annual Technology Baseline (Including Supporting Data); NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Blair, Nate; Cory, Karlynn; Hand, Maureen; Parkhill, Linda; Speer, Bethany; Stehly, Tyler; Feldman, David; Lantz, Eric; Augusting, Chad; Turchi, Craig; O' Connor, Patrick

    2015-07-08

    Consistent cost and performance data for various electricity generation technologies can be difficult to find and may change frequently for certain technologies. With the Annual Technology Baseline (ATB), National Renewable Energy Laboratory provides an organized and centralized dataset that was reviewed by internal and external experts. It uses the best information from the Department of Energy laboratory's renewable energy analysts and Energy Information Administration information for conventional technologies. The ATB will be updated annually in order to provide an up-to-date repository of current and future cost and performance data. Going forward, we plan to revise and refine the values using best available information. The ATB includes both a presentation with notes (PDF) and an associated Excel Workbook. The ATB includes the following electricity generation technologies: land-based wind; offshore wind; utility-scale solar PV; concentrating solar power; geothermal power; hydropower plants (upgrades to existing facilities, powering non-powered dams, and new stream-reach development); conventional coal; coal with carbon capture and sequestration; integrated gasification combined cycle coal; natural gas combustion turbines; natural gas combined cycle; conventional biopower. Nuclear laboratory's renewable energy analysts and Energy Information Administration information for conventional technologies. The ATB will be updated annually in order to provide an up-to-date repository of current and future cost and performance data. Going forward, we plan to revise and refine the values using best available information.

  1. Environmental burdens over the entire life cycle of a biomass CHP plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jungmeier, G.; Spitzer, J.; Resch, G.

    1998-01-01

    To increase the use of biomass for energy production it is important to know the possible and significant environmental effects. A life cycle inventory (LCI) was made on a 1.3 MW el biomass CHP plant located in Reuthe/Vorarlberg/Austria with the purpose of analysing the different environmental burdens over the entire life cycle. The plant is fired with coarse and small fuelwood (10,000 t/yr) from industrial waste and forest residues. The boiler for the steam process has a moving grate burner and a muffle burner. The annual production is 4700 MWh of electricity and 29,000 MWh of district heat. The methodology of the analysis is orientated on the ISO Committee Draft of the Series 13,600. The analysis was carried out for the different sections of the biomass plant over their entire life cycle-construction (1 yr), operation (20 yrs) and dismantling (1 yr). The plant in Reuthe, which is the first cogeneration system of this kind in Austria, is a model for other similar projects. The results are shown as environmental burdens of one year and of the entire life cycle. Some results of the life cycle inventory, like the mass and energy balances, selected emissions to air, allocation results and effects on carbon storage pools are given. The results demonstrate that depending on the stage and the period of life, different environmental burdens become significant, i.e. CO 2 emissions of fossil fuels during construction. NO x emission during operation, emissions to soil during dismantling. The different options for allocation the environmental burdens to electricity and heat show a wide range of possible results, depending on the choice of allocation parameters (energy, exergy, credits for heat or electricity, price) i.e. for the particles emissions: 161 mg/kWh el to minus 566 mg/kWh el , 0 mg/kWh th to 118 mg/kWh th . With the results of the analysis it is thus possible for future similar projects to know when and where significant environmental burdens might be further

  2. Proceedings of the Canadian Nuclear Association 34. annual conference

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Girard, A.M.

    1994-01-01

    The proceedings of the thirty-fourth annual conference of the Canadian Nuclear Association contain 23 complete papers and three speeches organized in the following sessions: opening, plenary, new environmental regulations and their effect on the energy industry, CANDU update, life cycle management of nuclear power plants, evolution of nuclear technology, technologies for tomorrow, nuclear used fuel and disposal of low-level waste, world economics and energy consumption. The complete papers have been abstracted separately

  3. Proceedings of the Canadian Nuclear Association 34. annual conference

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Girard, A M [Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Montreal, PQ (Canada). CANDU Operations

    1994-12-31

    The proceedings of the thirty-fourth annual conference of the Canadian Nuclear Association contain 23 complete papers and three speeches organized in the following sessions: opening, plenary, new environmental regulations and their effect on the energy industry, CANDU update, life cycle management of nuclear power plants, evolution of nuclear technology, technologies for tomorrow, nuclear used fuel and disposal of low-level waste, world economics and energy consumption. The complete papers have been abstracted separately.

  4. Fusion fuel cycle solid radioactive wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gore, B.F.; Kaser, J.D.; Kabele, T.J.

    1978-06-01

    Eight conceptual deuterium-tritium fueled fusion power plant designs have been analyzed to identify waste sources, materials and quantities. All plant designs include the entire D-T fuel cycle within each plant. Wastes identified include radiation-damaged structural, moderating, and fertile materials; getter materials for removing corrosion products and other impurities from coolants; absorbents for removing tritium from ventilation air; getter materials for tritium recovery from fertile materials; vacuum pump oil and mercury sludge; failed equipment; decontamination wastes; and laundry waste. Radioactivity in these materials results primarily from neutron activation and from tritium contamination. For the designs analyzed annual radwaste volume was estimated to be 150 to 600 m 3 /GWe. This may be compared to 500 to 1300 m 3 /GWe estimated for the LMFBR fuel cycle. Major waste sources are replaced reactor structures and decontamination waste

  5. From drought to flooding: understanding the abrupt 2010-11 hydrological annual cycle in the Amazonas River and tributaries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlo Espinoza, Jhan; Ronchail, Josyane; Loup Guyot, Jean; Junquas, Clementine; Drapeau, Guillaume; Martinez, Jean Michel; Santini, William; Vauchel, Philippe; Lavado, Waldo; Ordoñez, Julio; Espinoza, Raúl

    2012-06-01

    In this work we document and analyze the hydrological annual cycles characterized by a rapid transition between low and high flows in the Amazonas River (Peruvian Amazon) and we show how these events, which may impact vulnerable riverside residents, are related to regional climate variability. Our analysis is based on comprehensive discharge, rainfall and average suspended sediment data sets. Particular attention is paid to the 2010-11 hydrological year, when an unprecedented abrupt transition from the extreme September 2010 drought (8300 m3 s-1) to one of the four highest discharges in April 2011 (49 500 m3 s-1) was recorded at Tamshiyacu (Amazonas River). This unusual transition is also observed in average suspended sediments. Years with a rapid increase in discharge are characterized by negative sea surface temperature anomalies in the central equatorial Pacific during austral summer, corresponding to a La Niña-like mode. It originates a geopotential height wave train over the subtropical South Pacific and southeastern South America, with a negative anomaly along the southern Amazon and the southeastern South Atlantic convergence zone region. As a consequence, the monsoon flux is retained over the Amazon and a strong convergence of humidity occurs in the Peruvian Amazon basin, favoring high rainfall and discharge. These features are also reported during the 2010-11 austral summer, when an intense La Niña event characterized the equatorial Pacific.

  6. Annual CO2 budget and seasonal CO2 exchange signals at a high Arctic permafrost site on Spitsbergen, Svalbard archipelago

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Luërs, J.; Westermann, Signe; Piel, K.

    2014-01-01

    -lasting snow cover, and several months of darkness. This study presents a complete annual cycle of the CO2 net ecosystem exchange (NEE) dynamics for a high Arctic tundra area at the west coast of Svalbard based on eddy covariance flux measurements. The annual cumulative CO2 budget is close to 0 g C m-2 yr-1...

  7. Analysis of monthly, winter, and annual temperatures in Zagreb, Croatia, from 1864 to 2010: the 7.7-year cycle and the North Atlantic Oscillation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sen, Asok K.; Ogrin, Darko

    2016-02-01

    Long instrumental records of meteorological variables such as temperature and precipitation are very useful for studying regional climate in the past, present, and future. They can also be useful for understanding the influence of large-scale atmospheric circulation processes on the regional climate. This paper investigates the monthly, winter, and annual temperature time series obtained from the instrumental records in Zagreb, Croatia, for the period 1864-2010. Using wavelet analysis, the dominant modes of variability in these temperature series are identified, and the time intervals over which these modes may persist are delineated. The results reveal that all three temperature records exhibit low-frequency variability with a dominant periodicity at around 7.7 years. The 7.7-year cycle has also been observed in the temperature data recorded at several other stations in Europe, especially in Northern and Western Europe, and may be linked to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and/or solar/geomagnetic activity.

  8. Regulation of annual variation in heterotrophic bacterial production in the Schelde estuary (SW Netherlands)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Goosen, N.K.; Van Rijswijk, P.; Kromkamp, J.C.; Peene, J.

    1997-01-01

    Heterotrophic bacterioplankton production (H-3-thymidine incorporation rate) and abundance in the surface water of the Schelde estuary (The Netherlands) were studied during an annual cycle in 1991 along the salinity gradient (0.8 to 33 psu). Bacterial production and numbers increased from the lower

  9. Rapid-Cycling Bubble-Chamber, details

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN PhotoLab

    1980-01-01

    Parts of the hydraulic expansion system of the Rapid-Cycling Bubble-Chamber (RCBC). RCBC was the largest of 3 rapid-cycling bubble-chambers (the others were LEBC and HOLEBC), used as target- and vertex-detectors within the European Hybrid Spectrometer (EHS) in the SPS North Area (EHN1). RCBC contained 250 l of liquid hydrogen and was located inside a 3 T superconducting magnet. It was designed for 30 expansions/s (100 times faster than BEBC), the system shown here allowed 50 expansions/s. RCBC operated from 1981 to 1983 for experiments NA21, NA22 and NA23 at a rate of 15 expansions/s, clocking up a total of over 4 million. In the rear, at left, is bearded Lucien Veillet; Augustin Didona is at the right. See also 8001009. The installation of the piston assembly in the RCBC chamber body is shown in the Annual Report 1980, p.65.

  10. Development and comparison of different advanced absorption cycles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arh, S; Gaspersic, B [Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Ljubjana (YU)

    1990-01-01

    A method for the calculation of the coefficient of performance for any absorption cycle is described. This method was used for the evaluation of different advanced absorption cycles working between four temperature and two or three pressure levels. Similar cycles were compared in the same temperature range with regard to the coefficient of performance, exergy efficiency and two working fluid pairs, NH{sub 3}-H{sub 2}O and H{sub 2}O-LiBr. Cycles and numerical results are presented and a computer-aided absorption cycle development system described. (author).

  11. 2008 annual meeting on nuclear technology. Pt. 1. Section reports

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dagan, Ron; Sanchez Espinoza, Victor Hugo; Faber, Wolfgang; Berlepsch, Thilo v.; Spann, Holger; Schaffrath, Andreas; Schubert, Bernd; Rieger, Udo; Christ, Bernhard G.; Gulden, Werner; Bogusch, Edgar

    2008-01-01

    Summary report on these 5 - out of 11 - Sections of the Annual Conference on Nuclear Technology held in Hamburg on May 27-29, 2008: - Reactor Physics and Methods of Calculation - Thermodynamics and Fluid Dynamics - Safety of Nuclear Installations - Methods, Analysis, Results - Front End and Back End of the Fuel Cycle, Radioactive Waste, Storage - Fusion Technology. Other Sections will be covered in reports in further issues of atw. (orig.)

  12. Financing Strategies For A Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    David Shropshire; Sharon Chandler

    2006-01-01

    To help meet the nation's energy needs, recycling of partially used nuclear fuel is required to close the nuclear fuel cycle, but implementing this step will require considerable investment. This report evaluates financing scenarios for integrating recycling facilities into the nuclear fuel cycle. A range of options from fully government owned to fully private owned were evaluated using DPL (Decision Programming Language 6.0), which can systematically optimize outcomes based on user-defined criteria (e.g., lowest lifecycle cost, lowest unit cost). This evaluation concludes that the lowest unit costs and lifetime costs are found for a fully government-owned financing strategy, due to government forgiveness of debt as sunk costs. However, this does not mean that the facilities should necessarily be constructed and operated by the government. The costs for hybrid combinations of public and private (commercial) financed options can compete under some circumstances with the costs of the government option. This analysis shows that commercial operations have potential to be economical, but there is presently no incentive for private industry involvement. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) currently establishes government ownership of partially used commercial nuclear fuel. In addition, the recently announced Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) suggests fuels from several countries will be recycled in the United States as part of an international governmental agreement; this also assumes government ownership. Overwhelmingly, uncertainty in annual facility capacity led to the greatest variations in unit costs necessary for recovery of operating and capital expenditures; the ability to determine annual capacity will be a driving factor in setting unit costs. For private ventures, the costs of capital, especially equity interest rates, dominate the balance sheet; and the annual operating costs, forgiveness of debt, and overnight costs dominate the costs computed for the

  13. 2012 NEA Annual Report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2013-01-01

    After a message from the Director-General of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA, a semi-autonomous body within the OECD) and an overview of the Fukushima accident and NEA follow-up, this annual report presents the various technical programmes in which the NEA is committed. These programmes deal with nuclear development and the fuel cycle, nuclear safety and regulation, radioactive waste management, radiological protection, nuclear science, data bank, legal affairs, joint projects and other cooperative projects. The report then presents activities of the technical secretariat (Generation IV International Forum or GIF, Multinational Design Evaluation Programme or MDEP), and some general information about the NEA (organisational structure, publications in 2012) and about its activities of information and communication activities, and regarding the relationship between nuclear energy and civil society

  14. Annual report 1998-1999

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1999-07-01

    This is the Annual Report of the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited for the year ending March 31, 1999 and summarizes the activities of AECL during the period 1998-1999. The Activities covered in this Report include the CANDU Reactor Business, with excellent progress reported on the construction of two 700 MWe-class CANDU reactors in Qinshan, China. In the Republic of Korea, Wolsong Unit entered into commercial operation and Wolsong Unit 4 achieved sustained nuclear reaction. The Report also covers AECL's R and D and Waste Management programs. In the R and D section, the report outlines the development of the CANFLEX fuel bundle, Fuel Channels, Reactor Safety, Code Validation, Fuels and Fuel Cycles as well as Heavy Water production. Progress in the Waste Management program is also discussed.

  15. NEA annual report 2000

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-01-01

    In this 2000 annual report, the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), notes that in the medium and long term, the evolution of the nuclear energy programs in OECD countries is likely to be influenced by the implementation of sustainable development policies integrating economic, environmental and socials goals. This report is divided in four chapters. The first one gives general information on nuclear industry. The chapter 2 deals with trends in nuclear power. The chapter 3 gathers technical programs in nuclear development and fuel cycle, nuclear safety and regulation, radiation protection, radioactive waste management, nuclear science and data bank, legal affairs, joint projects and other co-operative projects. The last chapter gathers general information on information program, NEA publications, main workshops and seminar and organisation charts of the NEA. (A.L.B.)

  16. Annual report 1998-1999

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-01-01

    This is the Annual Report of the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited for the year ending March 31, 1999 and summarizes the activities of AECL during the period 1998-1999. The Activities covered in this Report include the CANDU Reactor Business, with excellent progress reported on the construction of two 700 MWe-class CANDU reactors in Qinshan, China. In the Republic of Korea, Wolsong Unit entered into commercial operation and Wolsong Unit 4 achieved sustained nuclear reaction. The Report also covers AECL's R and D and Waste Management programs. In the R and D section, the report outlines the development of the CANFLEX fuel bundle, Fuel Channels, Reactor Safety, Code Validation, Fuels and Fuel Cycles as well as Heavy Water production. Progress in the Waste Management program is also discussed

  17. Life cycle implications of urban green infrastructure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spatari, Sabrina; Yu Ziwen; Montalto, Franco A.

    2011-01-01

    Low Impact Development (LID) is part of a new paradigm in urban water management that aims to decentralize water storage and movement functions within urban watersheds. LID strategies can restore ecosystem functions and reduce runoff loadings to municipal water pollution control facilities (WPCF). This research examines the avoided energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of select LID strategies using life cycle assessment (LCA) and a stochastic urban watershed model. We estimate annual energy savings and avoided GHG emissions of 7.3 GJ and 0.4 metric tons, respectively, for a LID strategy implemented in a neighborhood in New York City. Annual savings are small compared to the energy and GHG intensity of the LID materials, resulting in slow environmental payback times. This preliminary analysis suggests that if implemented throughout an urban watershed, LID strategies may have important energy cost savings to WPCF, and can make progress towards reducing their carbon footprint. - Highlights: → LCA methods can identify environmental tradeoffs for urban low impact development. → Energy and GHG payback time is sensitive to LID construction material choice. → LCA of LID upscaled from street to watershed level is expected to be nonlinear. - The benefits of low impact development and green infrastructure in cities can be modeled using life cycle assessment to understand and guide decisions for meeting sustainability goals.

  18. Effects of solar activity and galactic cosmic ray cycles on the modulation of the annual average temperature at two sites in southern Brazil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frigo, Everton; Antonelli, Francesco; da Silva, Djeniffer S. S.; Lima, Pedro C. M.; Pacca, Igor I. G.; Bageston, José V.

    2018-04-01

    Quasi-periodic variations in solar activity and galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) on decadal and bidecadal timescales have been suggested as a climate forcing mechanism for many regions on Earth. One of these regions is southern Brazil, where the lowest values during the last century were observed for the total geomagnetic field intensity at the Earth's surface. These low values are due to the passage of the center of the South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly (SAMA), which crosses the Brazilian territory from east to west following a latitude of ˜ 26°. In areas with low geomagnetic intensity, such as the SAMA, the incidence of GCRs is increased. Consequently, possible climatic effects related to the GCRs tend to be maximized in this region. In this work, we investigate the relationship between the ˜ 11-year and ˜ 22-year cycles that are related to solar activity and GCRs and the annual average temperature recorded between 1936 and 2014 at two weather stations, both located near a latitude of 26° S but at different longitudes. The first of these stations (Torres - TOR) is located in the coastal region, and the other (Iraí - IRA) is located in the interior, around 450 km from the Atlantic Ocean. Sunspot data and the solar modulation potential for cosmic rays were used as proxies for the solar activity and the GCRs, respectively. Our investigation of the influence of decadal and bidecadal cycles in temperature data was carried out using the wavelet transform coherence (WTC) spectrum. The results indicate that periodicities of 11 years may have continuously modulated the climate at TOR via a nonlinear mechanism, while at IRA, the effects of this 11-year modulation period were intermittent. Four temperature maxima, separated by around 20 years, were detected in the same years at both weather stations. These temperature maxima are almost coincident with the maxima of the odd solar cycles. Furthermore, these maxima occur after transitions from even to odd solar cycles, that is

  19. Solar cycle variations in IMF intensity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    King, J.H.

    1979-01-01

    Annual averages of logarithms of hourly interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) intensities, obtained from geocentric spacecraft between November 1963 and December 1977, reveal the following solar cycle variation. For 2--3 years at each solar minimum period, the IMF intensity is depressed by 10--15% relative to its mean value realized during a broad 9-year period contered at solar maximum. No systematic variations occur during this 9-year period. The solar minimum decrease, although small in relation to variations in some other solar wind parameters, is both statistically and physically significant

  20. Detecting inter-annual variability in the phenological characteristics of southern Africa’s vegetation using satellite imagery

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Wessels, Konrad J

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available provides consistent measurements of vegetation greenness which captures phenological cycles and vegetation function. Understanding the inter-annual variability in phenology is imperative, as phenological changes will be one of the first signs of the impact...

  1. Annual report on occupational safety 1983

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1984-08-01

    The 1983 Annual Report on occupational safety at BNFL is presented. Data for whole-body radiation doses and skin and extremity doses are given for BNFL employees together with 1982 data for comparison. Similarly, accidental deaths and major injuries are recorded. Finally information on the frequency of both nuclear and non-nuclear incidents reported to the Health and Safety Executive is given. (U.K.)

  2. Performance analysis a of solar driven organic Rankine cycle using multi-component working fluids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baldasso, E.; Andreasen, J. G.; Modi, A.

    2015-01-01

    suitable control strategy and both the overall annual production and the average solar to electrical efficiency are estimated with an annual simulation. The results suggest that the introduction of binary working fluids enables to increase the solar system performance both in design and part-load operation....... cycle. The purpose of this paper is to optimize a low temperature organic Rankine cycle tailored for solar applications. The objective of the optimization is the maximization of the solar to electrical efficiency and the optimization parameters are the working fluid and the turbine inlet temperature...... and pressure. Both pure fluids and binary mixtures are considered as possible working fluids and thus one of the primary aims of the study is to evaluate whether the use of multi-component working fluids might lead to increased solar to electrical efficiencies. The considered configuration includes a solar...

  3. Understanding Solar Cycle Variability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cameron, R. H.; Schüssler, M., E-mail: cameron@mps.mpg.de [Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, D-37077 Göttingen (Germany)

    2017-07-10

    The level of solar magnetic activity, as exemplified by the number of sunspots and by energetic events in the corona, varies on a wide range of timescales. Most prominent is the 11-year solar cycle, which is significantly modulated on longer timescales. Drawing from dynamo theory, together with the empirical results of past solar activity and similar phenomena for solar-like stars, we show that the variability of the solar cycle can be essentially understood in terms of a weakly nonlinear limit cycle affected by random noise. In contrast to ad hoc “toy models” for the solar cycle, this leads to a generic normal-form model, whose parameters are all constrained by observations. The model reproduces the characteristics of the variable solar activity on timescales between decades and millennia, including the occurrence and statistics of extended periods of very low activity (grand minima). Comparison with results obtained with a Babcock–Leighton-type dynamo model confirm the validity of the normal-mode approach.

  4. Similar Transition States Mediate the Q-cycle and Superoxide Production by the Cytochrome bc1 Complex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Forquer, Isaac P.; Covian, Raul; Bowman, Michael K.; Trumpower, Bernard; Kramer, David M.

    2006-01-01

    The cytochrome bc complexes found in mitochondria, chloroplasts and many bacteria catalyze a critical reaction in their respective electron transport chains. The quinol oxidase (Qo) site in this complex oxidizes a hydroquinone (quinol), reducing two one-electron carriers, a low-potential cytochrome b heme and a ''Rieske'' iron-sulfur cluster. The overall electron transfer reactions are coupled to transmembrane translocation of protons via a ''Q-cycle'' mechanism, which generates proton motive force for ATP synthesis. Since semiquinone intermediates of quinol oxidation are generally highly reactive, one of the key questions in this field is: how does the Qo site oxidize quinol without the production of deleterious side reactions including superoxide production? We attempt to test three possible general models to account for this behavior: (1) The Qo site semiquinone (or quinol:imidazolate complex) is unstable and thus occurs at a very low steady-state concentration, limiting O2 reduction; (2) the Qo site semiquinone is highly stabilized making it unreactive towards oxygen; and (3) the Qo site catalyzes a quantum mechanically-coupled two-electron/two proton transfer without a semiquinone intermediate. Enthalpies of activation were found to be almost identical between the uninhibited Q-cycle and superoxide production in the presence of Antimycin A in wild type. This behavior was also preserved in a series of mutants with altered driving forces for quinol oxidation. Overall, the data supports models where the rate-limiting step for both Q-cycle and superoxide production are essentially identical, consistent with model 1 but requiring modifications to models 2 and 3

  5. Quarterly, Bi-annual and Annual Reports

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Quarterly, Bi-annual and Annual Reports are periodic reports issued for public release. For the deep set fishery these reports are issued quarterly and anually....

  6. Has accession to the EU affected business cycles?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Panagiotis EVANGELOPOULOS

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper undertakes to explain the relationship between EU accession and the length of business cycles, focusing specifically on whether participation in a multinational organization has, or has not, altered the length of the cycle. Employing a sample of nine EU countries (Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK we focused initially on annual data for per capita growth in GDP over a period of 59 years (1950-2008. For each country the sample was divided into two parts, one covering the period preceding accession to the EU and one is covering the accession year and succeeding years. Then, eliminating the background noise with the use of a periodogram, we proceeded to examine their spectral density plots. The results indicated that in the first years following accession, the countries tended to experience shorter cycles than they had previously. In the second phase the cycles were of the same duration as previous cycles. Finally, after a period of some years, the length of the cycles increased, as suggested by the J-shaped curve. This J-shaped growth curve applies for the countries that have joined the EU, strongly suggesting a causal relationship between accession to the EU and these specific characterristics of the curve. We cross-checked with a set of four non-EU member countries (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey and found no change in the length of the business cycle in these countries.

  7. The onset of the solar active cycle 22

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahluwalia, H.S.

    1989-01-01

    There is a great deal of interest in being able to predict the main characteristics of a solar activity cycle (SAC). One would like to know, for instance, how large the amplitude (R sub m) of a cycle is likely to be, i.e., the annual mean of the sunspot numbers at the maximum of SAC. Also, how long a cycle is likely to last, i.e., its period. It would also be interesting to be able to predict the details, like how steep the ascending phase of a cycle is likely to be. Questions like these are of practical importance to NASA in planning the launch schedule for the low altitude, expensive spacecrafts like the Hubble Space Telescope, the Space Station, etc. Also, one has to choose a proper orbit, so that once launched the threat of an atmospheric drag on the spacecraft is properly taken into account. Cosmic ray data seem to indicate that solar activity cycle 22 will surpass SAC 21 in activity. The value of R sub m for SAC 22 may approach that of SAC 19. It would be interesting to see whether this prediction is borne out. Researchers are greatly encouraged to proceed with the development of a comprehensive prediction model which includes information provided by cosmic ray data

  8. The onset of the solar active cycle 22

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahluwalia, H. S.

    1989-01-01

    There is a great deal of interest in being able to predict the main characteristics of a solar activity cycle (SAC). One would like to know, for instance, how large the amplitude (R sub m) of a cycle is likely to be, i.e., the annual mean of the sunspot numbers at the maximum of SAC. Also, how long a cycle is likely to last, i.e., its period. It would also be interesting to be able to predict the details, like how steep the ascending phase of a cycle is likely to be. Questions like these are of practical importance to NASA in planning the launch schedule for the low altitude, expensive spacecrafts like the Hubble Space Telescope, the Space Station, etc. Also, one has to choose a proper orbit, so that once launched the threat of an atmospheric drag on the spacecraft is properly taken into account. Cosmic ray data seem to indicate that solar activity cycle 22 will surpass SAC 21 in activity. The value of R sub m for SAC 22 may approach that of SAC 19. It would be interesting to see whether this prediction is borne out. Researchers are greatly encouraged to proceed with the development of a comprehensive prediction model which includes information provided by cosmic ray data.

  9. Economics of radioactive material transportation in the light-water reactor nuclear fuel cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dupree, S.A.; O'Malley, L.C.

    1980-10-01

    This report presents estimates of certain transportation costs, in 1979 dollars, associated with Light-Water Reactor (LWR) once-through and recycle fuel cycles. Shipment of fuel, high-level waste and low-level waste was considered. Costs were estimated for existing or planned transportation systems and for recommended alternate systems, based on the assumption of mature fuel cycles. The annual radioactive material transportation costs required to support a nominal 1000-MW(e) LWR in a once-through cycle in which spent fuel is shipped to terminal storage or disposal were found to be approx. $490,000. Analogous costs for an average reactor operating in a fuel cycle with uranium and plutonim recycle were determined to be approx. $770,000. These results assume that certain recommended design changes will occur in radioactive material shipping systems as a mature fuel cycle evolves

  10. Fuel cycle based safeguards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Montmollin, J.M.; Higinbotham, W.A.; Gupta, D.

    1985-07-01

    In NPT safeguards the same model approach and absolute-quantity inspection goals are applied at present to all similar facilities, irrespective of the State's fuel cycle. There is a continuing interest and activity on the part of the IAEA in new NPT safeguards approaches that more directly address a State's nuclear activities as a whole. This fuel cycle based safeguards system is expected to a) provide a statement of findings for the entire State rather than only for individual facilities; b) allocate inspection efforts so as to reflect more realistically the different categories of nuclear materials in the different parts of the fuel cycle and c) provide more timely and better coordinated information on the inputs, outputs and inventories of nuclear materials in a State. (orig./RF) [de

  11. High performance integrated solar combined cycles with minimum modifications to the combined cycle power plant design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manente, Giovanni

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Off-design model of a 390 MW_e three pressure combined cycle developed and validated. • The off-design model is used to evaluate different hybridization schemes with solar. • Power boosting and fuel saving with different design modifications are considered. • Maximum solar share of total electricity is only 1% with the existing equipment. • The maximum incremental solar radiation-to-electrical efficiency approaches 29%. - Abstract: The integration of solar energy into natural gas combined cycles has been successfully demonstrated in several integrated solar combined cycles since the beginning of this decade in many countries. There are many motivations that drive investments on integrated solar combined cycles which are primarily the repowering of existing power plants, the compliance with more severe environmental laws on emissions and the mitigation of risks associated with large solar projects. Integrated solar combined cycles are usually developed as brownfield facilities by retrofitting existing natural gas combined cycles and keeping the existing equipment to minimize costs. In this work a detailed off-design model of a 390 MW_e three pressure level natural gas combined cycle is built to evaluate different integration schemes of solar energy which either keep the equipment of the combined cycle unchanged or include new equipment (steam turbine, heat recovery steam generator). Both power boosting and fuel saving operation strategies are analyzed in the search for the highest annual efficiency and solar share. Results show that the maximum incremental power output from solar at design solar irradiance is limited to 19 MW_e without modifications to the existing equipment. Higher values are attainable only including a larger steam turbine. High solar radiation-to-electrical efficiencies in the range 24–29% can be achieved in the integrated solar combined cycle depending on solar share and extension of tube banks in the heat recovery

  12. Ciclo anual de la clorofila-α satelital en el archipiélago de Juan Fernández (33°S, Chile Annual cycle of the satellite chlorophyll-a in the Juan Fernandez archipelago (33°S, Chile

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabel Andrade

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available La variabilidad espacial y temporal del ciclo anual de la clorofila-α en el archipiélago de Juan Fernández se analiza usando ocho anos de datos satelitales de clorofila-α, viento, corrientes y nivel del mar. Este archipiélago está conformado por tres islas: Robinson Crusoe-Santa Clara (RC-SC y Alejandro Selkirk (AS. Las islas RC-SC se encuentran en una región de alta energía cinética y mayores concentraciones de clorofila-α definida como Zona de Transición Costera, en cambio la isla AS se encuentra en una región de baja energía cinética y menores concentraciones de clorofila-α denominada Zona Oceánica. RC-SC posee un incremento de las concentraciones de clorofila-a en el lado suroeste, mientras que AS posee sus mayores concentraciones en el lado oeste, indicando la presencia de procesos forzantes diferentes. En ambas islas el ciclo anual de la clorofila es significativo y comienza a incrementar en abril, alcanzando valores relativamente altos entre junio y noviembre, disminuyendo hacia diciembre, hasta alcanzar un mínimo hacia fines de marzo. Este ciclo anual aparece desacoplado con el viento y acoplado con la energía cinética. Incrementos invernales de clorofila-a aparecen vinculados con remolinos de mesoescala provenientes de la zona continental, mientras que incrementos primaverales se podrían asociar a procesos locales vinculados al "efecto masa de isla". En ambas islas existen incrementos significativos de la clorofila-a en la banda anual y cuasi-bianual, pero sólo en AS se encontró una fluctuación significativa en la banda interanual vinculada con el Nino y la Oscilación del Sur.The spatial and temporal variability of the annual cycle of chlorophyll-a in the Juan Fernandez archipelago is analyzed through eight years of satellite data of chlorophyll-a, wind, currents and sea level. This archipelago consists of three islands: Robinson Crusoe-Santa Clara (RC-SC and Alexander Selkirk (AS. The RC-SC islands are in a

  13. Assessing the impact of road traffic on cycling for leisure and cycling to work

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wareham Nicholas J

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background To explore the relationship between leisure and commuter cycling with objectively measured levels of road traffic and whether any relationship was affected by traffic levels directly outside of home or in local neighbourhood. Findings We conducted a secondary analysis of data from the UK European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC Norfolk cohort in 2009. We used a geographical information system (GIS and gender specific multivariate models to relate 13 927 participants' reported levels of cycling with an index of road traffic volume (Road Traffic Volume Index Score - RTVIS. RTVIS were calculated around each participants home, using four distance based buffers, (0.5 km, 1 km, 2 km and 3.2 km. Models were adjusted for age, social status, education, car access and deprivation. Both genders had similar decreases in leisure cycling as traffic volumes increased at greater distances from home (OR 0.42, (95% CI 0.32-0.52, p Conclusions Traffic volumes appear to have greater impact on leisure cycling than commuter cycling. Future research should investigate the importance of traffic on different types of cycling and include psychosocial correlates.

  14. Research of the cost-benefit analysis for FR cycle research and development. The annual report of the FY 2001

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shiotani, Hiroki; Shinoda, Yoshihiko; Hirao, Kazunori

    2002-07-01

    This report is intended to explain the outline of the research and development (R and D) in the FY 2001 on cost-benefit analysis of FR (Fast Reactor) cycle system concepts. The work was conducted as a part of the JNC's Feasibility Study on Commercialized Fast Reactor Cycle Systems (the F/S)'. In the FY 2001, the work conducted in the JNC was summed up as the followings: Conceptual study on cost-benefit analysis for FR cycle R and D. Refinement on the evaluation procedure and improvement over operation efficiency. Cost-benefit analysis of the reference FR cycle and sensitivity analysis with the revised system. Cost-benefit analyses of R and Ds for various FR cycle candidate concepts including FR cycle concepts studied in the F/S phase 1. The work made it possible to evaluate the cost effectiveness of various FR cycle systems efficiently. The cost-benefit analysis, which is often used for the policy evaluation, is considered to be applicable to FR cycle system concepts in the F/S. (author)

  15. Domestic safeguards: annual report to Congress, fiscal year 1978

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1979-01-01

    The annual report includes an assessment of the effectiveness and adequacy of safeguards at facilities and activities licensed by the Commission. The report details NRC's criteria for judging the adequacy of safeguards at fuel cycle facilities; the report also summarizes actions required by NRC at any fuel facility whose safeguards systems are judged to provide less than high assurance protection against our design threat. The report also contains a discussion of NRC's criteria for safeguards adequacy at nuclear reactors and for transportation activities

  16. Nuclear material production cycle vulnerability analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bott, T.F.

    1996-01-01

    This paper discusses a method for rapidly and systematically identifying vulnerable equipment in a nuclear material or similar production process and ranking that equipment according to its attractiveness to a malevolent attacker. A multistep approach was used in the analysis. First, the entire production cycle was modeled as a flow diagram. This flow diagram was analyzed using graph theoretical methods to identify processes in the production cycle and their locations. Models of processes that were judged to be particularly vulnerable based on the cycle analysis then were developed in greater detail to identify equipment in that process that is vulnerable to intentional damage

  17. The roles of vertical mixing, solar radiation, and wind stress in a model simulation of the sea surface temperature seasonal cycle in the tropical Pacfic Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Dake; Busalacchi, Antonio J.; Rothstein, Lewis M.

    1994-01-01

    The climatological seasonal cycle of sea surface temperature (SST) in the tropical Pacific is simulated using a newly developed upper ocean model. The roles of vertical mixing, solar radiation, and wind stress are investigated in a hierarchy of numerical experiments with various combinations of vertical mixing algorithms and surface-forcing products. It is found that the large SST annual cycle in the eastern equatorial Pacific is, to a large extent, controlled by the annually varying mixed layer depth which, in turn, is mainly determined by the competing effects of solar radiation and wind forcing. With the application of our hybrid vertical mixing scheme the model-simulated SST annual cycle is much improved in both amplitude and phase as compared to the case of a constant mixed layer depth. Beside the strong effects on vertical mixing, solar radiation is the primary heating term in the surface layer heat budget, and wind forcing influences SST by driving oceanic advective processes that redistribute heat in the upper ocean. For example, the SST seasonal cycle in the western Pacific basically follows the semiannual variation of solar heating, and the cycle in the central equatorial region is significantly affected by the zonal advective heat flux associated with the seasonally reversing South Equatorial Current. It has been shown in our experiments that the amount of heat flux modification needed to eliminate the annual mean SST errors in the model is, on average, no larger than the annual mean uncertainties among the various surface flux products used in this study. Whereas a bias correction is needed to account for remaining uncertainties in the annual mean heat flux, this study demonstrates that with proper treatment of mixed layer physics and realistic forcing functions the seasonal variability of SST is capable of being simulated successfully in response to external forcing without relying on a relaxation or damping formulation for the dominant surface heat

  18. From drought to flooding: understanding the abrupt 2010–11 hydrological annual cycle in the Amazonas River and tributaries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Espinoza, Jhan Carlo; Ronchail, Josyane; Drapeau, Guillaume; Guyot, Jean Loup; Martinez, Jean Michel; Santini, William; Vauchel, Philippe; Espinoza, Raúl; Junquas, Clementine; Lavado, Waldo; Ordoñez, Julio

    2012-01-01

    In this work we document and analyze the hydrological annual cycles characterized by a rapid transition between low and high flows in the Amazonas River (Peruvian Amazon) and we show how these events, which may impact vulnerable riverside residents, are related to regional climate variability. Our analysis is based on comprehensive discharge, rainfall and average suspended sediment data sets. Particular attention is paid to the 2010–11 hydrological year, when an unprecedented abrupt transition from the extreme September 2010 drought (8300 m 3 s −1 ) to one of the four highest discharges in April 2011 (49 500 m 3 s −1 ) was recorded at Tamshiyacu (Amazonas River). This unusual transition is also observed in average suspended sediments. Years with a rapid increase in discharge are characterized by negative sea surface temperature anomalies in the central equatorial Pacific during austral summer, corresponding to a La Niña-like mode. It originates a geopotential height wave train over the subtropical South Pacific and southeastern South America, with a negative anomaly along the southern Amazon and the southeastern South Atlantic convergence zone region. As a consequence, the monsoon flux is retained over the Amazon and a strong convergence of humidity occurs in the Peruvian Amazon basin, favoring high rainfall and discharge. These features are also reported during the 2010–11 austral summer, when an intense La Niña event characterized the equatorial Pacific. (letter)

  19. Annual monsoon rains recorded by Jurassic dunes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loope, D B; Rowe, C M; Joeckel, R M

    2001-07-05

    Pangaea, the largest landmass in the Earth's history, was nearly bisected by the Equator during the late Palaeozoic and early Mesozoic eras. Modelling experiments and stratigraphic studies have suggested that the supercontinent generated a monsoonal atmospheric circulation that led to extreme seasonality, but direct evidence for annual rainfall periodicity has been lacking. In the Mesozoic era, about 190 million years ago, thick deposits of wind-blown sand accumulated in dunes of a vast, low-latitude desert at Pangaea's western margin. These deposits are now situated in the southwestern USA. Here we analyse slump masses in the annual depositional cycles within these deposits, which have been described for some outcrops of the Navajo Sandstone. Twenty-four slumps, which were generated by heavy rainfall, appear within one interval representing 36 years of dune migration. We interpret the positions of 20 of these masses to indicate slumping during summer monsoon rains, with the other four having been the result of winter storms. The slumped lee faces of these Jurassic dunes therefore represent a prehistoric record of yearly rain events.

  20. Life cycle cost analysis of solar heating and DHW systems in residential buildings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colombo, R.; Gilliaert, D.

    1992-01-01

    Economic Life Cycle Cost Analysis (ELCCA) is an easy and friendly computer program, IBM compatible for economic evaluation of solar energy system which involves comparison of the capital and operating costs of a conventional system. In this section we would like to suggest the ELCCA-PC program as a new tools using life cycle cost analysis for annual and cumulative cash flow methodology that take into account all future expenses. ELCCA-PC program considers fixed and changeable items that are involved in installing the equipment such as interest of money borrowed, property and income taxes, current energy cost for electricity operating system, maintenance, insurance and fuel costs and other economic operating expenses. Moreover fraction of annual heating load supplied from solar system is considered in this analysis. ECC-PC program determines the yearly outflow of money over the period of an economic analysis that can be converted to a series of equal payments in today's money

  1. NIRE annual report 2000

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-07-01

    The National Institute for Resources and Environment (NIRE) has a R & D concept of 'ecotechnology' that aims to protect the environment from degradation whilst promoting sustainable development. This annual report presents summaries of 38 recent research efforts topics including: life cycle assessment; ocean circulation inverse method for the evaluation of fate of sequestered CO{sub 2} in Western-North Pacific; studies on hydrogasification of coal; computational studies on the reactions of N{sub 2}O with O{sup 3}P and CO; and motion control of bucket of wheel loader based on resistance force at scooping; personal exposure to air pollutants; and development of a quantitative type dust generator. NIRE has coal mine safety research centers at Hokkaido and Kyusyn and an experimental coal mine at Usui. Brief details are given of budget and staff for FY 2000.

  2. Future ocean hypercapnia driven by anthropogenic amplification of the natural CO2 cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNeil, Ben I.; Sasse, Tristan P.

    2016-01-01

    High carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in sea-water (ocean hypercapnia) can induce neurological, physiological and behavioural deficiencies in marine animals. Prediction of the onset and evolution of hypercapnia in the ocean requires a good understanding of annual variations in oceanic CO2 concentration, but there is a lack of relevant global observational data. Here we identify global ocean patterns of monthly variability in carbon concentration using observations that allow us to examine the evolution of surface-ocean CO2 levels over the entire annual cycle under increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations. We predict that the present-day amplitude of the natural oscillations in oceanic CO2 concentration will be amplified by up to tenfold in some regions by 2100, if atmospheric CO2 concentrations continue to rise throughout this century (according to the RCP8.5 scenario of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). The findings from our data are broadly consistent with projections from Earth system climate models. Our predicted amplification of the annual CO2 cycle displays distinct global patterns that may expose major fisheries in the Southern, Pacific and North Atlantic oceans to hypercapnia many decades earlier than is expected from average atmospheric CO2 concentrations. We suggest that these ocean ‘CO2 hotspots’ evolve as a combination of the strong seasonal dynamics of CO2 concentration and the long-term effective storage of anthropogenic CO2 in the oceans that lowers the buffer capacity in these regions, causing a nonlinear amplification of CO2 concentration over the annual cycle. The onset of ocean hypercapnia (when the partial pressure of CO2 in sea-water exceeds 1,000 micro-atmospheres) is forecast for atmospheric CO2 concentrations that exceed 650 parts per million, with hypercapnia expected in up to half the surface ocean by 2100, assuming a high-emissions scenario (RCP8.5). Such extensive ocean hypercapnia has detrimental implications for

  3. Petroleum supply annual 1998: Volume 2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1999-06-01

    The Petroleum Supply Annual (PSA) contains information on the supply and disposition of crude oil and petroleum products. The publication reflects data that were collected from the petroleum industry during 1998 through monthly surveys. The PSA is divided into two volumes. The first volume contains three sections: Summary Statistics, Detailed Statistics, and Refinery Statistics; each with final annual data. This second volume contains final statistics for each month of 1998, and replaces data previously published in the Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM). The tables in Volumes 1 and 2 are similarly numbered to facilitate comparison between them. Explanatory Notes, located at the end of this publication, present information describing data collection, sources, estimation methodology, data quality control procedures, modifications to reporting requirements and interpretation of tables. Industry terminology and product definitions are listed alphabetically in the Glossary. 35 tabs.

  4. Petroleum supply annual, 1997. Volume 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-06-01

    The Petroleum Supply Annual (PSA) contains information on the supply and disposition of crude oil and petroleum products. The publication reflects data that were collected from the petroleum industry during 1997 through monthly surveys. The PSA is divided into two volumes. The first volume contains three sections: Summary Statistics, Detailed Statistics, and Refinery Statistics; each with final annual data. The second volume contains final statistics for each month of 1997, and replaces data previously published in the Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM). The tables in Volumes 1 and 2 are similarly numbered to facilitate comparison between them. Explanatory Notes, located at the end of this publication, present information describing data collection, sources, estimation methodology, data quality control procedures, modifications to reporting requirements and interpretation of tables. Industry terminology and product definitions are listed alphabetically in the Glossary. 35 tabs

  5. Petroleum supply annual 1996: Volume 2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-06-01

    The Petroleum Supply Annual (PSA) contains information on the supply and disposition of crude oil and petroleum products. The publication reflects data that were collected from the petroleum industry during 1996 through monthly surveys. The PSA is divided into two volumes. The first volume contains three sections: Summary Statistics, Detailed Statistics, and Refinery Capacity; each with final annual data. The second volume contains final statistics for each month of 1996, and replaces data previously published in the Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM). The tables in Volumes 1 and 2 are similarly numbered to facilitate comparison between them. Explanatory Notes, located at the end of this publication, present information describing data collection, sources, estimation methodology, data quality control procedures, modifications to reporting requirements and interpretation of tables. Industry terminology and product definitions are listed alphabetically in the Glossary. 35 tabs.

  6. Petroleum supply annual, 1997. Volume 2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-06-01

    The Petroleum Supply Annual (PSA) contains information on the supply and disposition of crude oil and petroleum products. The publication reflects data that were collected from the petroleum industry during 1997 through monthly surveys. The PSA is divided into two volumes. The first volume contains three sections: Summary Statistics, Detailed Statistics, and Refinery Statistics; each with final annual data. The second volume contains final statistics for each month of 1997, and replaces data previously published in the Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM). The tables in Volumes 1 and 2 are similarly numbered to facilitate comparison between them. Explanatory Notes, located at the end of this publication, present information describing data collection, sources, estimation methodology, data quality control procedures, modifications to reporting requirements and interpretation of tables. Industry terminology and product definitions are listed alphabetically in the Glossary. 35 tabs.

  7. Petroleum supply annual 1996: Volume 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-06-01

    The Petroleum Supply Annual (PSA) contains information on the supply and disposition of crude oil and petroleum products. The publication reflects data that were collected from the petroleum industry during 1996 through monthly surveys. The PSA is divided into two volumes. The first volume contains three sections: Summary Statistics, Detailed Statistics, and Refinery Capacity; each with final annual data. The second volume contains final statistics for each month of 1996, and replaces data previously published in the Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM). The tables in Volumes 1 and 2 are similarly numbered to facilitate comparison between them. Explanatory Notes, located at the end of this publication, present information describing data collection, sources, estimation methodology, data quality control procedures, modifications to reporting requirements and interpretation of tables. Industry terminology and product definitions are listed alphabetically in the Glossary. 35 tabs

  8. Petroleum supply annual 1995: Volume 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-06-01

    The Petroleum Supply Annual (PSA) contains information on the supply and disposition of crude oil and petroleum products. The publication reflects data that were collected from the petroleum industry during 1995 through monthly surveys. The PSA is divided into two volumes. This first volume contains three sections: Summary Statistics, Detailed Statistics, and selected Refinery Statistics each with final annual data. The second volume contains final statistics for each month of 1995, and replaces data previously published in the Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM). The tables in Volumes 1 and 2 are similarly numbered to facilitate comparison between them. Explanatory Notes, located at the end of this publication, present information describing data collection, sources, estimation methodology, data quality control procedures, modifications to reporting requirements and interpretation of tables. Industry terminology and product definitions are listed alphabetically in the Glossary

  9. Petroleum supply annual 1998. Volume 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-06-01

    The Petroleum Supply Annual (PSA) contains information on the supply and disposition of crude oil and petroleum products. The publication reflects data that were collected from the petroleum industry during 1998 through monthly surveys. The PSA is divided into two volumes. The first volume contains three sections: Summary Statistics, Detailed Statistics, and Refinery Statistics; each with final annual data. This second volume contains final statistics for each month of 1998, and replaces data previously published in the Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM). The tables in Volumes 1 and 2 are similarly numbered to facilitate comparison between them. Explanatory Notes, located at the end of this publication, present information describing data collection, sources, estimation methodology, data quality control procedures, modifications to reporting requirements and interpretation of tables. Industry terminology and product definitions are listed alphabetically in the Glossary. 35 tabs

  10. Temporal settling of holidays and annual customs in villages at the foot of the Avala mountain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivanović-Barišić Milina M.

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The life of rural population in villages at the foot of the Avala Mountain was marked by a constant shift of working days - when the local population had to ensure its existence - and idle days. Various holiday occasions altered the regularities of everyday life. During a holiday celebration the whole village community, as well as individuals, had to adopt a new way of behavior - i.e., to discontinue all work obligations that filled regular working days. In the past, these idle days were equally important for families and their members, and for the rural community in general. On the whole, the holidays appear in an annual cycle, discernible in a parallel mode: 1, Weekly and 2, Annual celebrations. The Weekly cycle is celebrated on Sundays, while the annual cycle celebrated various family' holidays or just days marked as "holidays". During the celebration of holidays participants departed from their everyday existing conditions and attuned to the Holy time, generated during holidays. Various rituals and customs used to be performed that not only added to the holiday ambiance, but also ensured the well-being of the family and rural community, and protected in this way, against misfortune. This period was marked by profound changes in family and community organizations. The changes in rural areas are the result of the rural population mass relocation in search for work and the beginning of urbanization. The process of industrialization along with the influx of the authorities onto traditional folk culture have left permanent consequences in the rural community settings and inherited folk culture.

  11. Belowground Water Dynamics Under Contrasting Annual and Perennial Plant Communities in an Agriculturally-Dominated Landscape

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mora, G.; Asbjornsen, H.; Helmers, M. J.; Shepherd, G. W.

    2005-12-01

    The conversion from grasslands and forests to row-crops in the Midwest has affected soil water cycling because plant characteristics are one of the main parameters determining soil storage capacity, infiltration rates, and surface runoff. Little is known, however, about the extent of modification of soil water dynamics under different plant communities. To address this important issue, we are documenting soil water dynamics under contrasting perennial and annual plant communities in an agriculturally-dominated landscape. Measurements of soil moisture and depths of uptake of source water were obtained for six vegetative cover types (corn and soybean field, brome pasture, degraded savanna, restored savanna, and restored prairie) at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Prairie City, Iowa. The depths of uptake of soil water were determined on the basis of oxygen isotope composition of soil water and stem water. Measurements were performed once a month during an entire growing season. Preliminary results indicate that soil water present under the different vegetation types show similar profiles with depth during the dry months. Soil water in the upper 5 cm is enriched in oxygen-18 by about 5 per mil relative to soil water at 100 cm. Our preliminary results also indicate that the isotopic composition of stem water from annual plants is typically higher by about 2 per mil relative to that of stem water from perennial plants during the dry period. Whereas the oxygen isotopic composition for corn stem water is -5.49 per mil, that for elm and oak stem water is -7.62 and -7.51 per mil, respectively. The higher isotope values for corn suggest that annual crop plants are withdrawing water from shallower soil horizons relative to perennial plants. Moreover, our preliminary data suggest lower moisture content in soil under annual plant cover. We propose that the presence of deeper roots in the perennial vegetation allows these plants to tap into deeper water sources when

  12. World nuclear capacity and fuel cycle requirements 1992

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-12-01

    This analysis report presents the current status and projections of nuclear capacity, generation, and fuel cycle requirements for all countries in the world using nuclear power to generate electricity for commercial use. Long-term projections of US nuclear capacity, generation, fuel cycle requirements, and spent fuel discharges for three different scenarios through 2030 are provided in support of the Department of Energy's activities pertaining to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (as amended in 1987). The projections of uranium requirements also support the Energy Information Administration's annual report, Domestic Uranium Mining and Milling Industry: Viability Assessment for the Lower and Upper Reference case scenarios were obtained from the Office of Integrated Analysis and Forecasting, Energy Information Administration. Most of these projections were developed using the World Integrated Nuclear Evaluation System (WINES) model

  13. Benthic studies in Goa estuaries. Part 3. Annual cycle of macrofaunal distribution, production and trophic relations

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Parulekar, A.H.; Dhargalkar, V.K.; Singbal, S.Y.S.

    and bivalves together contribute 70% of the macrofauna, by number and weight. Biomass production, inspite of large temporal and spatial variations, is high (54.17 g m-2) with proportionately high organic matter production of 4.08 g C m-2 y-1. Estimated annual...

  14. TITAN'S TRANSPORT-DRIVEN METHANE CYCLE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitchell, Jonathan L.

    2012-01-01

    The mechanisms behind the occurrence of large cloud outbursts and precipitation on Titan have been disputed. A global- and annual-mean estimate of surface fluxes indicated only 1% of the insolation, or ∼0.04 W m –2 , is exchanged as sensible and/or latent fluxes. Since these fluxes are responsible for driving atmospheric convection, it has been argued that moist convection should be quite rare and precipitation even rarer, even if evaporation globally dominates the surface-atmosphere energy exchange. In contrast, climate simulations indicate substantial cloud formation and/or precipitation. We argue that the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiative imbalance is diagnostic of horizontal heat transport by Titan's atmosphere, and thus constrains the strength of the methane cycle. Simple calculations show the TOA radiative imbalance is ∼0.5-1 W m –2 in Titan's equatorial region, which implies 2-3 MW of latitudinal heat transport by the atmosphere. Our simulation of Titan's climate suggests this transport may occur primarily as latent heat, with net evaporation at the equator and net accumulation at higher latitudes. Thus, the methane cycle could be 10-20 times previous estimates. Opposing seasonal transport at solstices, compensation by sensible heat transport, and focusing of precipitation by large-scale dynamics could further enhance the local, instantaneous strength of Titan's methane cycle by a factor of several. A limited supply of surface liquids in regions of large surface radiative imbalance may throttle the methane cycle, and if so, we predict more frequent large storms over the lakes district during Titan's northern summer.

  15. Weekly cycle of minor air gases in Moscow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lokoshchenko, Mikhail A.; Elansky, Nikolay F.; Trifanova, Alexandra V.

    2017-04-01

    effect' is a result of the gradual contamination of the urban air after week-end. Any other changes from one working day to another are occasional and non-regular in time, so the average differences between working days are usually insignificant. Usually there is no gradual accumulation of air pollutants during working days in Moscow except only for specific conditions of fires during extremely hot weather (e.g., heat wave in summer of 2010). Weekly and annual cycles of NO, NO2 and CO surface concentrations have nearly the same amplitudes whereas the weekly variability of O3 is less than the annual one for this gas. Average differences between working days and weekend days (Saturday and Sunday), i.e. an amplitude of the weekly cycle, has a tendency to be reduced in time during nine years, but statistical significance of these inter-annual changes remains doubtful due to insufficient length of the row. Unlike other trace gases, sulphur dioxide doesn't demonstrate clear weekly cycle because the urban heating, the main source of it, has the same intensity on any day of the week.

  16. Occupational radiation exposure in nuclear fuel cycle facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1979-01-01

    Full text: This symposium forms an essential part of the continuing tradition of subjecting nuclear energy to periodic review to assess the adequacy of radiation protection practices and experiences and to identify those areas needing further study and development. Specifically, the symposium focused on a review of statistical data on radiation exposure experience to workers in the nuclear fuel cycle through 1978. The technical sessions were concerned with occupational exposures: experienced in Member States; in research and development facilities; in nuclear power plants; in nuclear Fuel reprocessing facilities; in waste management facilities; and techniques to minimize doses. A critical review was made of internal and external exposures to the following occupational groups: uranium miners; mill workers; fuel fabricators; research personnel, reactor workers; maintenance staff; hot cell workers; reprocessing plant personnel; waste management personnel. In particular, attention was devoted to the work activities causing the highest radiation exposures and successful techniques which have been used to minimize individual and collective doses. Also there was an exchange of information on the trends of occupational exposure over the lifespan of individual nuclear power plants and other facilities in the nuclear fuel cycle. During the last session there was a detailed panel discussion on the conclusions and future needs highlighted during the symposium. While past symposia on nuclear power and its fuel cycle have presented data on occupational dose statistics, this symposium was the first to focus attention on the experience and trends of occupational exposure in recent years. The papers presented an authoritative account of the status of the levels and trends of the average annual individual dose as well as the annual collective dose for occupational workers in most of the world up to 1979. From the data presented it became evident that considerable progress has been

  17. Modeling the Nuclear Fuel Cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jacobson, Jacob J.; Dunzik-Gougar, Mary Lou; Juchau, Christopher A.

    2010-01-01

    A review of existing nuclear fuel cycle systems analysis codes was performed to determine if any existing codes meet technical and functional requirements defined for a U.S. national program supporting the global and domestic assessment, development and deployment of nuclear energy systems. The program would be implemented using an interconnected architecture of different codes ranging from the fuel cycle analysis code, which is the subject of the review, to fundamental physical and mechanistic codes. Four main functions are defined for the code: (1) the ability to characterize and deploy individual fuel cycle facilities and reactors in a simulation, while discretely tracking material movements, (2) the capability to perform an uncertainty analysis for each element of the fuel cycle and an aggregate uncertainty analysis, (3) the inclusion of an optimization engine able to optimize simultaneously across multiple objective functions, and (4) open and accessible code software and documentation to aid in collaboration between multiple entities and facilitate software updates. Existing codes, categorized as annualized or discrete fuel tracking codes, were assessed according to the four functions and associated requirements. These codes were developed by various government, education and industrial entities to fulfill particular needs. In some cases, decisions were made during code development to limit the level of detail included in a code to ease its use or to focus on certain aspects of a fuel cycle to address specific questions. The review revealed that while no two of the codes are identical, they all perform many of the same basic functions. No code was able to perform defined function 2 or several requirements of functions 1 and 3. Based on this review, it was concluded that the functions and requirements will be met only with development of a new code, referred to as GENIUS.

  18. Life cycle implications of urban green infrastructure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spatari, Sabrina; Yu, Ziwen; Montalto, Franco A

    2011-01-01

    Low Impact Development (LID) is part of a new paradigm in urban water management that aims to decentralize water storage and movement functions within urban watersheds. LID strategies can restore ecosystem functions and reduce runoff loadings to municipal water pollution control facilities (WPCF). This research examines the avoided energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of select LID strategies using life cycle assessment (LCA) and a stochastic urban watershed model. We estimate annual energy savings and avoided GHG emissions of 7.3 GJ and 0.4 metric tons, respectively, for a LID strategy implemented in a neighborhood in New York City. Annual savings are small compared to the energy and GHG intensity of the LID materials, resulting in slow environmental payback times. This preliminary analysis suggests that if implemented throughout an urban watershed, LID strategies may have important energy cost savings to WPCF, and can make progress towards reducing their carbon footprint. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Seasonal Cycle in German Daily Precipitation Extremes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Madlen Fischer

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The seasonal cycle of extreme precipitation in Germany is investigated by fitting statistical models to monthly maxima of daily precipitation sums for 2,865 rain gauges. The basis is a non-stationary generalized extreme value (GEV distribution variation of location and scale parameters. The negative log-likelihood serves as the forecast error for a cross validation to select adequate orders of the harmonic functions for each station. For nearly all gauges considered, the seasonal model is more appropriate to estimate return levels on a monthly scale than a stationary GEV used for individual months. The 100-year return-levels show the influence of cyclones in the western, and convective events in the eastern part of Germany. In addition to resolving the seasonality, we use a simulation study to show that annual return levels can be estimated more precisely from a monthly-resolved seasonal model than from a stationary model based on annual maxima.

  20. Batu Pahat Driving Cycle for Light Duty Gasoline Engine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zainul Abidin, Zainul Ameerul Ikhsan B.; Faisal Hushim, Mohd; Ahmad, Osman Bin

    2017-08-01

    Driving cycle is a series of data points that represents the vehicle speed versus time. Transient driving cycles involve many changes such as frequent speed changes during typical on-road driving condition [2]. Model driving cycles involve protracted periods at constant speeds. The Batu Pahat Driving Cycle (BPDC) developed to represent the driving pattern of people in a district of Batu Pahat. Based on this driving cycle, it will be a reference to other researchers to study about the gases emission release and fuel consumption by the vehicle on the dynamometer or automotive simulation based on this driving cycle. Existing driving cycles used such as the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC), the Federal Test Procedure (FTP-72/75, and Japan 10-15 Mode Cycle is not appropriate for Batu Pahat district because of different road conditions, driving habits and environmental of developed driving cycle countries are not same [2][14]. Batu Pahat drive cycle was developed for low-capacity gasoline engine under 150 cc and operating on urban roads, rural roads and road around Universiti Tun Hussein Onn. The importance of these driving cycle as the reference for other research to measure and do automotive simulation regarding fuel consumption and gas emission release from the motorcycle for these three type of driving cycle area. Another use for driving cycles is in vehicle simulations [3]. More specifically, they are used in propulsion system simulations to predict the performance of internal combustion engines, transmissions, electric drive systems, batteries, fuel cell systems, and similar components [18]. Data collection methods used in this study is the use of Global Positioning System (GPS). The results obtained are not similar to each other due to differences in congestion on data taken. From the driving cycle graph obtained, such as the average velocity, maximum velocity, the duration and Positive Acceleration Kinetic Energy (PKE) can be determined. In addition, the best

  1. Analysis of alternative light water reactor (LWR) fuel cycles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heeb, C.M.; Aaberg, R.L.; Boegel, A.J.; Jenquin, U.P.; Kottwitz, D.A.; Lewallen, M.A.; Merrill, E.T.; Nolan, A.M.

    1979-12-01

    Nine alternative LWR fuel cycles are analyzed in terms of the isotopic content of the fuel material, the relative amounts of primary and recycled material, the uranium and thorium requirements, the fuel cycle costs and the fraction of energy which must be generated at secured sites. The fuel materials include low-enriched uranium (LEU), plutonium-uranium (MOX), highly-enriched uranium-thorium (HEU-Th), denatured uranium-thorium (DU-Th) and plutonium-thorium (Pu-Th). The analysis is based on tracing the material requirements of a generic pressurized water reactor (PWR) for a 30-year period at constant annual energy output. During this time period all the created fissile material is recycled unless its reactivity worth is less than 0.2% uranium enrichment plant tails

  2. Modelling the CDK-dependent transcription cycle in fission yeast.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sansó, Miriam; Fisher, Robert P

    2013-12-01

    CDKs (cyclin-dependent kinases) ensure directionality and fidelity of the eukaryotic cell division cycle. In a similar fashion, the transcription cycle is governed by a conserved subfamily of CDKs that phosphorylate Pol II (RNA polymerase II) and other substrates. A genetic model organism, the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, has yielded robust models of cell-cycle control, applicable to higher eukaryotes. From a similar approach combining classical and chemical genetics, fundamental principles of transcriptional regulation by CDKs are now emerging. In the present paper, we review the current knowledge of each transcriptional CDK with respect to its substrate specificity, function in transcription and effects on chromatin modifications, highlighting the important roles of CDKs in ensuring quantity and quality control over gene expression in eukaryotes.

  3. Similarity Theory Based Radial Turbine Performance and Loss Mechanism Comparison between R245fa and Air for Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine Organic Rankine Cycles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lei Zhang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Organic Rankine Cycles using radial turbines as expanders are considered as one of the most efficient technologies to convert heavy-duty diesel engine waste heat into useful work. Turbine similarity design based on the existing air turbine profiles is time saving. Due to totally different thermodynamic properties between organic fluids and air, its influence on turbine performance and loss mechanisms need to be analyzed. This paper numerically simulated a radial turbine under similar conditions between R245fa and air, and compared the differences of the turbine performance and loss mechanisms. Larger specific heat ratio of air leads to air turbine operating at higher pressure ratios. As R245fa gas constant is only about one-fifth of air gas constant, reduced rotating speeds of R245fa turbine are only 0.4-fold of those of air turbine, and reduced mass flow rates are about twice of those of air turbine. When using R245fa as working fluid, the nozzle shock wave losses decrease but rotor suction surface separation vortex losses increase, and eventually leads that isentropic efficiencies of R245fa turbine in the commonly used velocity ratio range from 0.5 to 0.9 are 3%–4% lower than those of air turbine.

  4. 2010 ANNUAL MEETING ON NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. Pt. 3. Section reports

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arnold, Uwe; Baumann, Erik; Fischer, Ulrich; Bohnstedt, Angelika; Gehring, Michael; Roedig, Manfred; Willschuetz, Hans-Georg; Goers, Stefan; Schoenfelder, Christian

    2010-01-01

    Summary report on these 6 - out of 12 - Sessions of the Annual Conference on Nuclear Technology held in Berlin on May 3 to 6, 2010: - Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations (Session 7), - Fusion Technology (Session 8), - Energy Industry and Economics (Session 10), - Radiation Protection (Session 11), - New Build and Innovations (Session 12), and - Education, Expert Knowledge, Know-how-Transfer (Session 13). The other Sessions: - Reactor Physics and Methods of Calculation (Session 1), - Thermodynamics and Fluid Dynamics (Session 2), - Safety of Nuclear Installations - Methods, Analysis, Results (Session 3), - Front End and Back End of the Fuel Cycle, Radioactive Waste, Storage (Session 4), - Front End of the Fuel Cycle, Fuel Elements and Core Components (Session 5), - Operation of Nuclear Installations (Session 6) have been covered in atw issues 10 and 11 (2010). (orig.)

  5. World nuclear fuel cycle requirements, 1988

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1988-01-01

    This report contains an analysis of the sensitivities of the nuclear fuel cycle projections to different levels and types of projected nuclear capacity, different enrichment tails assays, higher and lower capacity factors, changes in nuclear fuel burnup levels, and other exogenous assumptions. The projections for the United States generally extend through the year 2020, and the (WOCA) World Outside Centrally Planned Economic Areas projections, which include the United States, are provided through 2010. The report also presents annual projections of spent nuclear fuel discharges and inventories of spent fuel. Appendix E includes aggregated domestic spent fuel projections through the year 2020 for the Lower and Upper References cases and through 2037, the last year in which spent fuel is discharged, for the No New Orders case. Annual projections of spent fuel discharges through the year 2037 for individual US reactors in the No New Orders cases are included for the first time in Appendix H. These disaggregated projections are provided at the request of the Department of Energy's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management

  6. World nuclear fuel cycle requirements 1985

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moden, R.; O'Brien, B.; Sanders, L.; Steinberg, H.

    1985-01-01

    Projections of uranium requirements (both yellowcake and enrichment services) and spent fuel discharges are presented, corresponding to the nuclear power plant capacity projections presented in ''Commercial Nuclear Power 1984: Prospects for the United States and the World'' (DOE/EIA-0438(85)) and the ''Annual Energy Outlook 1984:'' (DOE/EIA-0383(84)). Domestic projections are provided through the year 2020, with foreign projections through 2000. The domestic projections through 1995 are consistent with the integrated energy forecasts in the ''Annual Energy Outlook 1984.'' Projections of capacity beyond 1995 are not part of an integrated energy foreccast; the methodology for their development is explained in ''Commercial Nuclear Power 1984.'' A range of estimates is provided in order to capture the uncertainty inherent in such forward projections. The methodology and assumptions are also stated. A glossary is provided. Two appendixes present additional material. This report is of particular interest to analysts involved in long-term planning for the disposition of radioactive waste generated from the nuclear fuel cycle. 14 figs., 18 tabs

  7. The Geologic Nitrogen Cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, B. W.; Goldblatt, C.

    2013-12-01

    N2 is the dominant gas in Earth's atmosphere, and has been so through the majority of the planet's history. Originally thought to only be cycled in significant amounts through the biosphere, it is becoming increasingly clear that a large degree of geologic cycling can occur as well. N is present in crustal rocks at 10s to 100s of ppm and in the mantle at 1s to perhaps 10s of ppm. In light of new data, we present an Earth-system perspective of the modern N cycle, an updated N budget for the silicate Earth, and venture to explain the evolution of the N cycle over time. In an fashion similar to C, N has a fast, biologically mediated cycle and a slower cycle driven by plate tectonics. Bacteria fix N2 from the atmosphere into bioavailable forms. N is then cycled through the food chain, either by direct consumption of N-fixing bacteria, as NH4+ (the primary waste form), or NO3- (the most common inorganic species in the modern ocean). Some organic material settles as sediment on the ocean floor. In anoxic sediments, NH4+ dominates; due to similar ionic radii, it can readily substitute for K+ in mineral lattices, both in sedimentary rocks and in oceanic lithosphere. Once it enters a subduction zone, N may either be volatilized and returned to the atmosphere at arc volcanoes as N2 or N2O, sequestered into intrusive igneous rocks (as NH4+?), or subducted deep into the mantle, likely as NH4+. Mounting evidence indicates that a significant amount of N may be sequestered into the solid Earth, where it may remain for long periods (100s m.y.) before being returned to the atmosphere/biosphere by volcanism or weathering. The magnitude fluxes into the solid Earth and size of geologic N reservoirs are poorly constrained. The size of the N reservoirs contained in the solid Earth directly affects the evolution of Earth's atmosphere. It is possible that N now sequestered in the solid Earth was once in the atmosphere, which would have resulted in a higher atmospheric pressure, and

  8. NEA activities in 1992. 21. Annual report of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-01-01

    This annual report gives informations on OECD Nuclear Energy Agency activities in 1992. This report is divided into ten chapters: 1 Trends in nuclear power. 2 Nuclear development and the fuel cycle. 3 Reactor safety and regulation. 4 Radiation protection. 5 Radioactive waste management. 6 Nuclear science. 7 Joint projects. 8 Legal affairs. 9 Informations programs. 10 Relations with non-member countries

  9. [Annual blood pressure dynamics and weather sensitivity in women].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varlamova, N G; Zenchenko, T A; Boyko, E R

    To study the annual cycle of blood pressure (BP) and weather sensitivity in normotensive women aged 20-59 years. The same group of 25 non-smoking women who had been living in the European North of Russia (62° N, 51° E) almost since their birth and were engaged in moderate-intensity mental labor was daily examined. During a year, there were 11823 blood pressure measurements using the Korotkoff technique; heart rate was calculated by palpation. These meteorological parameters were taken at the websites: http://meteo.infospace.ru and ftp://ftp.ngdc.noaa.gov/stp/geomagnetic_data/indices/kp_ap. The statistical significance of differences in the indicators was determined using the Fisher's test and the Newman-Keuls test. The study used a correlation analysis with the calculation of the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. The maximum systolic and diastolic BP values were revealed in February and January, respectively. The minimum values of systolic BP were detected in July; those of diastolic BP were in August. An individual-based analysis of sensitivity to environmental variations showed that about 88% of the women responded to atmospheric temperature; nearly 44% did to geomagnetic activity; almost 24% were sensitive to relative air humidity, and about 16% of the women were to atmospheric pressure. The dynamics of systolic and diastolic BP in the annual cycle of women depends on meteorological factors and suggests that there is a change in the priorities of its control in different periods of a year.

  10. JAERI TANDEM annual report 2004. April 1, 2004 - March 31, 2005

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishii, Tetsuro; Takeuchi, Suehiro; Oshima, Masumi; Nagame, Yuichiro; Chiba, Satoshi; Sataka, Masao

    2006-01-01

    This annual report describes research activities, which have been performed with the JAERI tandem accelerator and its energy booster from April 1, 2004 to March 31, 2005. Summary reports of 48 papers, and lists of publication, personnel and cooperative research with universities are contained. The JAERI (Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute) have been unified with JNC (Japan Nuclear Fuel Cycle Development Institute) and became JAEA (Japan Atomic Energy Agency) on October 1st, 2005. (author)

  11. Physical and Biogeochemical Controls of the Phytoplankton Blooms in North Western Mediterranean Sea: A Multiplatform Approach Over a Complete Annual Cycle (2012-2013 DEWEX Experiment)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayot, Nicolas; D'Ortenzio, Fabrizio; Taillandier, Vincent; Prieur, Louis; de Fommervault, Orens Pasqueron; Claustre, Hervé; Bosse, Anthony; Testor, Pierre; Conan, Pascal

    2017-12-01

    The North Western Mediterranean Sea exhibits recurrent and significant autumnal and spring phytoplankton blooms. The existence of these two blooms coincides with typical temperate dynamics. To determine the potential control of physical and biogeochemical factors on these phytoplankton blooms, data from a multiplatform approach (combining ships, Argo and BGC-Argo floats, and bio-optical gliders) were analyzed in association with satellite observations in 2012-2013. The satellite framework allowed a simultaneous analysis over the whole annual cycle of in situ observations of mixed layer depth, photosynthetical available radiation, particle backscattering, nutrients (nitrate and silicate), and chlorophyll-a concentrations. During the year 2012-2013, satellite ocean color observations, confirmed by in situ data, have revealed the existence of two areas (or bioregions) with comparable autumnal blooms but contrasting spring blooms. In both bioregions, the ratio of the euphotic zone (defined as the isolume 0.415 mol photons m-2 d-1, Z0.415) and the MLD identified the initiation of the autumnal bloom, as well as the maximal annual increase in [Chl-a] in spring. In fact, the autumnal phytoplankton bloom might be initiated by mixing of the summer shallowing deep chlorophyll maximum, while the spring restratification (when Z0.415/MLD ratio became >1) might induce surface phytoplankton production that largely overcomes the losses. Finally, winter deep convection events that took place in one of the bioregions induced higher net accumulation rate of phytoplankton in spring associated with a diatom-dominated phytoplankton community principally. We suggest that very deep winter MLD lead to an increase in surface silicates availability, which favored the development of diatoms.

  12. Studying Basin Water Balance Variations at Inter- and Intra-annual Time Scales Based On the Budyko Hypothesis and GRACE Gravimetry Satellite Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, H.

    2017-12-01

    Increasing intensity in global warming and anthropogenic activities has triggered significant changes over regional climates and landscapes, which, in turn, drive the basin water cycle and hydrological balance into a complex and unstable state. Budyko hypothesis is a powerful tool to characterize basin water balance and hydrological variations at long-term average scale. However, due to the absence of basin water storage change, applications of Budyko theory to the inter-annual and intra-annual time scales has been prohibited. The launch of GRACE gavimetry satellites provides a great opportunity to quantify terrestrial water storage change, which can be further introduced into the Budyko hypothesis to reveal the inter- and intra-annual response of basin water components under impacts of climate variability and/or human activities. This research targeted Hai River Basin (in China) and Murray-Darling Basin (in Australia), which have been identified with a continuous groundwater depletion trend as well as impacts by extreme climates in the past decade. This can help us to explore how annual or seasonal precipitation were redistributed to evapotranspiration and runoff via changing basin water storage. Moreover, the impacts of vegetation on annual basin water balance will be re-examined. Our results are expected to provide deep insights about the water cycle and hydrological behaviors for the targeted basins, as well as a proof for a consideration of basin water storage change into the Budyko model at inter- or intra-annual time steps.

  13. Transition from 12 months to 18 months cycles at Krsko in a core physics perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jensen-Tornehed, J.

    2004-01-01

    Krsko has historically been operating in 12 months cycles with an annual outage for refuelling and maintenance work. Krsko is now in a transition from 12 months to 18 months cycles. Cycle 19, June 2002 - May 2003, was the last 12 month cycle. Cycle 20, June 2003 - September 2004 is a 15 month transition cycle and cycle 21, September 2004 - April 2006 will be the first 18 month cycle. This paper will describe the effects of the transition in a core physics perspective. There are big differences in how to design an 18 month cycle in comparison with a 12 month cycle. The required number of feed assemblies increases, as well as the content of burnable absorbers in the fuel. The strategy of the loading pattern has to be changed with the increased number of fresh fuel assemblies. The most limiting margins can be different for different cycle lengths which also affect the fresh assembly design and loading pattern during the transition. During the core design for cycle 21 the Moderator Temperature Coefficient was the main issue, which caused the need for extra amount of burnable absorbers. (author)

  14. A direct estimate of evapotranspiration over the Amazon basin and implications for our understanding of carbon and water cycling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swann, A. L. S.; Koven, C.; Lombardozzi, D.; Bonan, G. B.

    2017-12-01

    Evapotranspiration (ET) is a critical term in the surface energy budget as well as the water cycle. There are few direct measurements of ET, and thus the magnitude and variability is poorly constrained at large spatial scales. Estimates of the annual cycle of ET over the Amazon are critical because they influence predictions of the seasonal cycle of carbon fluxes, as well as atmospheric dynamics and circulation. We estimate ET for the Amazon basin using a water budget approach, by differencing rainfall, discharge, and time-varying storage from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment. We find that the climatological annual cycle of ET over the Amazon basin upstream of Óbidos shows suppression of ET during the wet season, and higher ET during the dry season, consistent with flux tower based observations in seasonally dry forests. We also find a statistically significant decrease in ET over the time period 2002-2015 of -1.46 mm/yr. Our direct estimate of the seasonal cycle of ET is largely consistent with previous indirect estimates, including energy budget based approaches, an up-scaled station based estimate, and land surface model estimates, but suggests that suppression of ET during the wet season is underestimated by existing products. We further quantify possible contributors to the phasing of the seasonal cycle and downward time trend using land surface models.

  15. Climate change influences on the annual onset of Lyme disease in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monaghan, A. J.; Moore, S. M.; Sampson, K. M.; Beard, C. B.; Eisen, R. J.

    2015-12-01

    Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vector-borne illness in the United States. Lyme disease occurrence is highly seasonal and the annual springtime onset of cases is modulated by meteorological conditions in preceding months. A meteorological-based empirical model for Lyme disease onset week in the United States is driven with downscaled simulations from five global climate models and four greenhouse gas emissions scenarios to project the impacts of 21st century climate change on the annual onset week of Lyme disease. Projections are made individually and collectively for the 12 eastern States where >90% of cases occur. The national average annual onset week of Lyme disease is projected to become 0.4-0.5 weeks earlier for 2025-2040 (pLyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi in the eastern United States, may alter the disease transmission cycle in unforeseen ways. The results suggest 21st century climate change will make environmental conditions suitable for earlier annual onset of Lyme disease cases in the United States with possible implications for the timing of public health interventions.

  16. Impact of Precipitation Patterns on Biomass and Species Richness of Annuals in a Dry Steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Hong; Liang, Cunzhu; Li, Zhiyong; Liu, Zhongling; Miao, Bailing; He, Chunguang; Sheng, Lianxi

    2015-01-01

    Annuals are an important component part of plant communities in arid and semiarid grassland ecosystems. Although it is well known that precipitation has a significant impact on productivity and species richness of community or perennials, nevertheless, due to lack of measurements, especially long-term experiment data, there is little information on how quantity and patterns of precipitation affect similar attributes of annuals. This study addresses this knowledge gap by analyzing how quantity and temporal patterns of precipitation affect aboveground biomass, interannual variation aboveground biomass, relative aboveground biomass, and species richness of annuals using a 29-year dataset from a dry steppe site at the Inner Mongolia Grassland Ecosystem Research Station. Results showed that aboveground biomass and relative aboveground biomass of annuals increased with increasing precipitation. The coefficient of variation in aboveground biomass of annuals decreased significantly with increasing annual and growing-season precipitation. Species richness of annuals increased significantly with increasing annual precipitation and growing-season precipitation. Overall, this study highlights the importance of precipitation for aboveground biomass and species richness of annuals. PMID:25906187

  17. Soil physical attributes in forms of sowing the annual winter pasture and intervals between grazing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milton da Veiga

    Full Text Available The sowing of winter pastures in areas used for summer grain production and their management under direct cattle grazing can cause changes in soil physical attributes, whose intensity depends on the degree of soil mobilization, grazing interval, stocking rate and weather. To study these aspects it was conducted over four years an experiment in a randomized block with split plots design and four replications. In the main plots were applied two forms of sowing the annual winter pasture (direct seeding and seeding + harrowing and, in the subplots, four intervals between grazing (7, 14 and 28 days and ungrazed. Undisturbed soil cores were sampled at the end of each grazing cycle, in the 0-0.05 m layer to determine the saturated hydraulic conductivity and aggregate stability and in the layers of 0-0.05, 0.05-0.10, 0.10-0.15 and 0.15-0.20 m depth to determine bulk density and classes of soil pores. The direct seeding of annual winter pasture increases hydraulic conductivity and reduces soil bulk density in relation to seeding + harrowing while dairy cows trampling increases soil density and reduces macroporosity in the most superficial soil layer. The variation in climatic conditions among grazing cycles affects the soil physical attributes more markedly than forms of sowing and intervals between grazing of the annual winter pasture.

  18. Thermodynamic Performance Analysis of a Biogas-Fuelled Micro-Gas Turbine with a Bottoming Organic Rankine Cycle for Sewage Sludge and Food Waste Treatment Plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sunhee Kim

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available In the Republic of Korea, efficient biogas-fuelled power systems are needed to use the excess biogas that is currently burned due to a lack of suitable power technology. We examined the performance of a biogas-fuelled micro-gas turbine (MGT system and a bottoming organic Rankine cycle (ORC. The MGT provides robust operation with low-grade biogas, and the exhaust can be used for heating the biodigester. Similarly, the bottoming ORC generates additional power output with the exhaust gas. We selected a 1000-kW MGT for four co-digestion plants with 28,000-m3 capacity. A 150-kW ORC system was selected for the MGT exhaust gas. We analysed the effects of the system size, methane concentration, and ORC operating conditions. Based on the system performance, we analysed the annual performance of the MGT with a combined heat and power (CHP system, bottoming ORC, or both a bottoming ORC and CHP system. The annual net power outputs for each system were 7.4, 8.5, and 9.0 MWh per year, respectively.

  19. Approach to criticality in cold core of the Unit 1 of the cycle 10 of the Laguna Verde power plant with control rods similar in design to the original ones and the advanced ones; Aproximacion a criticidad en frio de la Unidad 1 del ciclo 10 de la CLV con barras de control de diseno similar al original y avanzadas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Perusquia, R.; Ramirez, J.R.; Ortiz, J.J.; Hernandez, J.L.; Montes, J.L. [ININ, A.P. 18-1027, 11801 Mexico D.F. (Mexico)]. E-mail: rpc@nuclear.inin.mx

    2004-07-01

    In the Laguna Verde power plant (CLV) worn out control bars have been replacing for control rods of advanced design. At the moment of the 109 rods of similar design to the original of the Unit 1 of the CLV, 14 of them have been substituted with two types of different advanced control rods. The same as the original rods the advanced rods use boron carbide as control element for neutrons, but additionally they use hafnium, to achieve a longer useful half life. The rods of similar design to the original are homogeneous axially on the other hand the advanced presenting several zones. In principle the advanced rods were designed to be neutronically compatible to the original rods. However the differences in the design and of constituents assumed to consider a different performance during the operation. Since the one numbers of advanced bars is growing with the number of cycles of the CLV reactor has requested to the National Institute of Nuclear Research (ININ) to evaluate in detailed form the performance of the control rods. Previously the calculations and analysis of cycle design that that were carried out assumed that control rods should be of similar design as the original. Using the HELIOS/CM-LENDS system, the effect of the inclusion of advanced rods was analyzed in the approximation of the criticality in cold (20 C) in the cycle 10 of the Unit 1. Four scenarios were poposed, where the type of the rod of substitution control is varied. The value of reactivity was calculated for the rods similar in design to the original and for the advanced one. By comparison of these values, it was found that the value of reactivity of the control rods of the advanced design was superior to the value for rods similar to the original ones by 7.6% for one of the advanced designs and of 13.6% for the other one. (Author)

  20. A comparative study of the safety and economics of fusion fuel cycles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brereton, S.J.; Kazimi, M.S.

    1988-01-01

    The safety and economic characteristics of the deuterium-tritium (DT), deuterium-deuterium (DD) and deuterium-helium-3 (DHe) fusion fuel cycles have been compared. Representative tokamak designs for each fuel cycle were established based on consistent design criteria, using modest extrapolations of present day technologies. The economic analysis of these designs took into account the possible variation in capital and operating costs, and plant availability. Safety analyses examined tritium inventories, routine tritium releases, inventories of activation products and the level of hazard associated with plant wastes. The annual dose incurred by plant workers was estimated for all fuel cycles. The impact of using a reduced activation steel as a blanket material on the economics and safety during normal conditions for the DD fuel cycle was examined. A loss of coolant accident (LOCA) was investigated to determine the relative safety and economic impact of this event for the various fuel cycles. Finally, a cost/benefit analysis was performed to determine if the increased costs associated with these designs are justified by the improved safety which they provide. (orig.)

  1. Seasonal Changes in Atmospheric Noise Levels and the Annual Variation in Pigeon Homing Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagstrum, J. T.; McIsaac, H. P.; Drob, D. P.

    2015-12-01

    The remarkable navigational ability of homing pigeons (Columba livia) is influenced by a number of factors, an unknown one of which causes the "Wintereffekt"1 or annual variation in homing performance. Minima in homeward orientation and return speeds have been observed in winter, with maxima in summer, during repetitive pigeon releases from single sites near experimental lofts in Wilhelmshaven, Göttingen, and Munich, Germany, and near Pisa, Italy1-4. Overall the annual variation is more pronounced in northern Germany than Italy4, and both mature and juvenile cohorts respond to this seasonal factor. Older, more experienced pigeons are better at compensating for its effects than naïve ones, but are still affected after numerous releases. The narrow low-frequency band of atmospheric background noise (microbaroms; 0.1-0.3 Hz) also varies with an annual cycle that generally has higher amplitudes in winter than in summer depending on location5. In addition, homing pigeons, and possibly other birds, apparently use infrasonic signals of similar frequency as navigational cues6, and a seasonal variation in background noise levels could cause corresponding changes in signal-to-noise ratios and thus in homing performance. The annual variation in homing performance, however, was not observed during long-term pigeon releases at two sites in eastern North America. The annual and geographic variability in homing performance in the northern hemisphere can be explained to a first order by seasonal changes in infrasonic noise sources related to ocean storm activity, and to the direction and intensity of stratospheric winds. In addition, increased dispersion in departure bearings of individual birds for some North American releases were likely caused by additional infrasonic noise associated with severe weather events during tornado and Atlantic hurricane seasons. 1Kramer, G. & von Saint Paul, U., J. Ornithol. 97, 353-370 (1956); 2Wallraff, H. G., Z. Tierpsychol. 17, 82-113 (1960

  2. Annual report 1998; Rapport annuel 1998

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-07-01

    Associated to the CEA, the CEA-Industry subsidiaries and the whole Group submit a very satisfying financial, economic and technological accounting which able to play a major role in international cooperations and to satisfy the shareholders. To illustrate these results, this annual report presents the activities of the CEA-Industry group during the year 1998. It is divided in eight chapters. The first six chapters gives general information and main financial data on respectively the CEA-Industry Group profile, economics, the fuel cycle, the nuclear power plants, the nuclear medicine and the semiconductors. The chapter 7 deals with the financial results of the fiscal year 1998 and the last chapter is devoted to the management report of the administration council. (A.L.B.)

  3. 2010 ANNUAL MEETING ON NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. Pt. 4. Section reports

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berlepsch, Thilo v.; Hering, Wolfgang

    2011-01-01

    Summary report on 2 Sessions of Section: - New Build and Innovations (Section 12) of the ANNUAL MEETING On NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY held in Berlin on May 4 to 6, 2010. The other Sections 'Reactor Physics and Methods of Calculation (Section 1)', 'Thermodynamics and Fluid Dynamics (Section 2)', 'Safety of Nuclear Installations - Methods, Analysis, Results (Section 3)', 'Front End and Back End of the Fuel Cycle, Radioactive Waste, Storage (Section 4)', 'Front End of the Fuel Cycle, Fuel Elements and Core Components (Section 5)', 'Operation of Nuclear Installations (Section 6)', 'Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations (Section 7)', 'Fusion Technology (Section 8)', 'Energy Industry and Economics (Section 10)', 'Radiation Protection (Section 11)', 'New Build and Innovations (Session New Build and Innovations, Section 12)', and 'Education, Expert Knowledge, Know-how-Transfer (Section 13)' have been covered in atw issues 10, 11 and 12 (2010). (orig.)

  4. 2009 annual meeting on nuclear technology. Pt. 1. Section reports

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schaffrath, Andreas; Hartmann, Miks; Hoffmann, Petra Britt; Stieglitz, Robert; Hoehne, Thomas; Weiss, Frank-Peter; Hollands, Thorsten; Sanchez Espinoza, Victor Hugo; Tietsch, Wolfgang; Sonnenburg, H.G.

    2009-01-01

    Summary report on these 3 - out of 13 - Sessions of the Annual Conference on Nuclear Technology held in Dresden on May 12 to 14, 2009: Thermodynamics and Fluid Dynamics (Session 2), Safety of Nuclear Installations - Methods, Analysis, Results (Session 3), and, Front End of the Fuel Cycle, Fuel Elements and Core Components (Session 4). The other Sessions Reactor Physics and Methods of Calculation (Session 1), Front End and Back End of the Fuel Cycle, Radioactive Waste, Storage (Session 5), Operation of Nuclear Installations (Session 6), Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations (Session 7), Fusion Technology (Session 8), Research Reactors, Neutron Sources (Session 9), Energy Industry and Economics (Session 10), Radiation Protection (Session 11), New Build and Innovations (Session 12), and Education, Expert Knowledge, Know How Transfer (Session 13) have be covered in reports in further issues of atw. (orig.)

  5. 2003 annual report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-01-01

    The 2003 issue of the annual report of the French nuclear safety authority (ASR) presents the activities of the ASR in the following domains: 2003 highlights (the project of law relative to the nuclear transparency and safety, the EPR reactor project, the radioprotection priorities, the inspection of radioprotection, the action plan for the monitoring of patients' exposure to ionizing radiations, the 2003 heat wave and the operation of nuclear power plants, the national plan of radioactive wastes management, the behaviour of long living and high level radioactive wastes, and the European 'nuclear package'), nuclear activities, ionizing radiations and health hazards, organisation of nuclear safety control and radioprotection, radioprotection and nuclear facilities regulation, control of nuclear activities, public information and transparency, international relations, radiological emergency situations, radiological and biomedical activities, industrial and research activities, transport of radioactive materials, safety and radioprotection of nuclear power plants, research and other nuclear facilities, fuel cycle centers, safety of the definitive shut-down and dismantling of nuclear facilities, radioactive waste management and cleansing of polluted sites. (J.S.)

  6. Long-term decreases of corticosterone in captive migrant shorebirds that maintain seasonal mass and moult cycles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Piersma, T; Ramenofsky, M

    Two flocks of Red Knots Calidris canutus, belonging to the temperate-wintering subspecies islandica and to the tropical-wintering subspecies canutus, were kept in outdoor cages at north-temperate latitudes over two annual cycles during which their plasma concentrations of corticosterone were

  7. Capturing Inter-Annual Variability of PV Energy Production in South Asia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lopez, Anthony [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Maclaurin, Galen [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Roberts, Billy [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Rosenlieb, Evan [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2017-08-25

    Long-term variability of solar resource is an important factor in planning a utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) generation plant, and annual generation for a given location can vary significantly from year to year. Based on multiple years of solar irradiance data, an exceedance probability is the amount of energy that could potentially be produced by a power plant in any given year. An exceedance probability accounts for long-term variability and climate cycles (e.g., monsoons or changes in aerosols), which ultimately impact PV energy generation. Study results indicate that a significant bias could be associated with relying solely on typical meteorological year (TMY) resource data to capture long-term variability. While the TMY tends to under-predict annual generation overall compared to the P50, there appear to be pockets of over-prediction as well.

  8. Impact of gender and menstrual cycle phase on plasma cytokine concentrations.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    O'Brien, Sinead M

    2012-02-03

    OBJECTIVE: The lifetime prevalence of major depression is twice as high in females as in males. Depression is known to increase at periods where there are changes in gonadal hormones. We examined pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine levels during the normal menstrual cycle of healthy females compared to similar time points in healthy males. METHODS: Plasma concentrations of interleukin (IL)-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) were measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays in healthy females during the normal ovulatory menstrual cycle and also in males at similar time points. RESULTS: The luteal phase of the menstrual cycle is associated with increased production of sIL-6R, IL-4 and TNF-alpha compared to the early follicular phase. No change was observed in IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 concentration throughout the menstrual cycle. We found IL-4 positively correlated with oestrogen while TNF-alpha positively correlated with progesterone. Females were found to have significantly higher concentrations of TNF-alpha and sIL-6R across all phases of the menstrual cycle, compared to males across similar time points. CONCLUSION: The normal menstrual cycle is associated with increased production of sIL-6R, IL-4 and TNF-alpha in the luteal phase compared to the early follicular phase. Females have significantly higher concentrations of sIL-6R and TNF-alpha at all time points across the menstrual cycle than males.

  9. Will business cycles in the euro area converge? A critical survey of empirical research

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Haan, J.; Inklaar, R.; Jong-A-Pin, R.

    This survey of business cycle synchronization in the European monetary union focuses on two issues: have business cycles become more similar, and which factors drive business cycle synchronization. We conclude that business cycles in the euro area have gone through periods of both convergence and

  10. Similarity of Mars and Mercury for terraforming and settling of people

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steklov, A. F.; Vidmachenko, A. P.

    2018-05-01

    We compared the main characteristics of the planets Mars and Mercury in the form normalized on the parameters of the planet Earth. Both planets turned out to be similar and close in terms of terraforming techniques, and conditions of comfortable human habitation in long term endo-planetary stations under the surface of a particular planetoid. Mars and Mercury also turned out to be similar on the vital activity of some other representatives of the Earth's biosphere. Our detailed analysis of the temperature distribution both over the entire surface of these planets, and in the conditions of their diurnal and annual variations on different latitudes and on Mars and on Mercury - showed that each of these planets has its advantages for the first terraforming.

  11. Integrating life-cycle environmental and economic assessment with transportation and land use planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chester, Mikhail V; Nahlik, Matthew J; Fraser, Andrew M; Kimball, Mindy A; Garikapati, Venu M

    2013-01-01

    The environmental outcomes of urban form changes should couple life-cycle and behavioral assessment methods to better understand urban sustainability policy outcomes. Using Phoenix, Arizona light rail as a case study, an integrated transportation and land use life-cycle assessment (ITLU-LCA) framework is developed to assess the changes to energy consumption and air emissions from transit-oriented neighborhood designs. Residential travel, commercial travel, and building energy use are included and the framework integrates household behavior change assessment to explore the environmental and economic outcomes of policies that affect infrastructure. The results show that upfront environmental and economic investments are needed (through more energy-intense building materials for high-density structures) to produce long run benefits in reduced building energy use and automobile travel. The annualized life-cycle benefits of transit-oriented developments in Phoenix can range from 1.7 to 230 Gg CO2e depending on the aggressiveness of residential density. Midpoint impact stressors for respiratory effects and photochemical smog formation are also assessed and can be reduced by 1.2-170 Mg PM10e and 41-5200 Mg O3e annually. These benefits will come at an additional construction cost of up to $410 million resulting in a cost of avoided CO2e at $16-29 and household cost savings.

  12. Annual report and balance 2003

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-01-01

    This annual report presents the CNEA's (National Atomic Energy Commission) activities during the year 2003. The first part is devoted to the general objectives and accomplishments of the Organization. The second part describes the programs and projects in different fields such as reactors and nuclear power plants, fuel cycle, radioactive waste management, radioisotopes and radiation, research and development in basic sciences and engineering, decommissioning of nuclear installations, etc. The evolution of the human resources and the training activities are outlined in the third part of the report. The CNEA's nuclear centers are described in part 4 and the technical assistance services and production activities in part 5. Nuclear safety and safeguards are covered in the 6th section. Parts 7 and 8 present the information on inter institutional affairs and on the CNEA related enterprises respectively. The last part is the financial accounting

  13. Patterns and determinants of business cycle synchronization in the enlarged European Economic and Monetary Union

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iulia SIEDSCHLAG

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides empirical evidence about the degree of business cycle synchronization between the euro area countries and eight new European Union member states. We analyze the direct and indirect effects of similarity of economic structures and trade intensity on the co-movement of fluctuations of economic activity across these countries and find that bilateral similarity of economic structures and trade intensity were positively and significantly associated with business cycle correlations. This result is robust to different estimation techniques. Similarity of economic structures had an additional indirect positive effect on business cycle synchronization via its positive effect on trade intensity. The bilateral business cycle correlations are found to be endogenous with respect to bilateral similarity of economic structures and bilateral trade intensity suggesting that the new European Union countries will better satisfy the Optimum Currency Area criteria after the adoption of the euro.

  14. A Two Dimensional Prediction of Solar Cycle 25

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munoz-Jaramillo, A.; Martens, P. C.

    2017-12-01

    To this date solar cycle most cycle predictions have focused on the forecast of solar cycle amplitude and cycle bell-curve shape. However, recent intriguing observational results suggest that all solar cycles follow the same longitudinal path regardless of their amplitude, and have a very similar decay once they reach a sufficient level of maturity. Cast in the light of our current understanding, these results suggest that the toroidal fields inside the Sun are subject to a very high turbulent diffusivity (of the order of magnitude of mixing-length estimates), and their equatorward propagation is driven by a steady meridional flow. Assuming this is the case, we will revisit the relationship between the polar fields at minimum and the amplitude of the next cycle and deliver a new generation of polar-field based predictions that include the depth of the minimum, as well as the latitude and time of the first active regions of solar cycle 25.

  15. Annual report 1997-1998

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-07-01

    Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) was established in 1952 as a Crown Corporation and reports to parliament through the Minister of Natural Resources. As an annual report, financial statements are an integral element, financial analysis and review are also ongoing. AECL is very active in marketing the science culture which is key to public understanding and acceptance of the nuclear industry. In commercial operations, the CANDU is still the flagship to be marketed in many countries. AECL is the main producer of medical isotopes for the global market. AECL and MDS Nordion signed agreements to secure the ongoing supply of isotopes and to build and operate two MAPLE reactors at the Chalk River site. Activities at AECL are focused on improved economics, further enhanced safety systems and fuel cycle flexibility in the research and product development programs. Waste management and nuclear sciences i e. health and environmental sciences are ongoing studies. Site refurbishment focuses on replacing and refurbishing major facilities to meet business needs.

  16. Annual report 1997-1998

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-01-01

    Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) was established in 1952 as a Crown Corporation and reports to parliament through the Minister of Natural Resources. As an annual report, financial statements are an integral element, financial analysis and review are also ongoing. AECL is very active in marketing the science culture which is key to public understanding and acceptance of the nuclear industry. In commercial operations, the CANDU is still the flagship to be marketed in many countries. AECL is the main producer of medical isotopes for the global market. AECL and MDS Nordion signed agreements to secure the ongoing supply of isotopes and to build and operate two MAPLE reactors at the Chalk River site. Activities at AECL are focused on improved economics, further enhanced safety systems and fuel cycle flexibility in the research and product development programs. Waste management and nuclear sciences i e. health and environmental sciences are ongoing studies. Site refurbishment focuses on replacing and refurbishing major facilities to meet business needs

  17. The glacial cycles and cosmic rays

    CERN Document Server

    Kirkby, Jasper; Müller, R A

    2004-01-01

    The cause of the glacial cycles remains a mystery. The origin is widely accepted to be astronomical since paleoclimatic archives contain strong spectral components that match the frequencies of Earth's orbital modulation. Milankovitch insolation theory contains similar frequencies and has become established as the standard model of the glacial cycles. However, high precision paleoclimatic data have revealed serious discrepancies with the Milankovitch model that fundamentally challenge its validity and re-open the question of what causes the glacial cycles. We propose here that the ice ages are initially driven not by insolation cycles but by cosmic ray changes, probably through their effect on clouds. This conclusion is based on a wide range of evidence, including results presented here on speleothem growth in caves in Austria and Oman, and on a record of cosmic ray flux over the past 220 kyr obtained from the 10Be composition of deep-ocean sediments.

  18. Labeling of lectin receptors during the cell cycle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garrido, J

    1976-12-01

    Labeling of lectin receptors during the cell cycle. (Localizabión de receptores para lectinas durante el ciclo celular). Arch. Biol. Med. Exper. 10: 100-104, 1976. The topographic distribution of specific cell surface receptors for concanavalin A and wheat germ agglutinin was studied by ultrastructural labeling in the course of the cell cycle. C12TSV5 cells were synchronized by double thymidine block or mechanical selection (shakeoff). They were labeled by means of lectin-peroxidase techniques while in G1 S, G2 and M phases of the cycle. The results obtained were similar for both lectins employed. Interphase cells (G1 S, G2) present a stlihtly discontinous labeling pattern that is similar to the one observed on unsynchronized cells of the same line. Cells in mitosis, on the contrary, present a highly discontinous distribution of reaction product. This pattern disappears after the cells enters G1 and is not present on mitotic cells fixed in aldehyde prior to labeling.

  19. Limit cycles in quantum systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Niemann, Patrick

    2015-04-27

    In this thesis we investigate Limit Cycles in Quantum Systems. Limit cycles are a renormalization group (RG) topology. When degrees of freedom are integrated out, the coupling constants flow periodically in a closed curve. The presence of limit cycles is restricted by the necessary condition of discrete scale invariance. A signature of discrete scale invariance and limit cycles is log-periodic behavior. The first part of this thesis is concerned with the study of limit cycles with the similarity renormalization group (SRG). Limit cycles are mainly investigated within conventional renormalization group frameworks, where degrees of freedom, which are larger than a given cutoff, are integrated out. In contrast, in the SRG potentials are unitarily transformed and thereby obtain a band-diagonal structure. The width of the band structure can be regarded as an effective cutoff. We investigate the appearance of limit cycles in the SRG evolution. Our aim is to extract signatures as well as the scaling factor of the limit cycle. We consider the 1/R{sup 2}-potential in a two-body system and a three-body system with large scattering lengths. Both systems display a limit cycle. Besides the frequently used kinetic energy generator we apply the exponential and the inverse generator. In the second part of this thesis, Limit Cycles at Finite Density, we examine the pole structure of the scattering amplitude for distinguishable fermions at zero temperature in the medium. Unequal masses and a filled Fermi sphere for each fermion species are considered. We focus on negative scattering lengths and the unitary limit. The properties of the three-body spectrum in the medium and implications for the phase structure of ultracold Fermi gases are discussed.

  20. Effect of irreversible processes on the thermodynamic performance of open-cycle desiccant cooling cycles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    La, Dong; Li, Yong; Dai, Yanjun; Ge, Tianshu; Wang, Ruzhu

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Effects of irreversible processes on the performance of desiccant cooling cycle are identified. ► The exergy destructions involved are classified by the properties of the individual processes. ► Appropriate indexes for thermodynamic evaluation are proposed based on thermodynamic analyses. - Abstract: Thermodynamic analyses of desiccant cooling cycle usually focus on the overall cycle performance in previous study. In this paper, the effects of the individual irreversible processes in each component on thermodynamic performance are analyzed in detail. The objective of this paper is to reveal the elemental features of the individual components, and to show their effects on the thermodynamic performance of the whole cycle in a fundamental way. Appropriate indexes for thermodynamic evaluation are derived based on the first and second law analyses. A generalized model independent of the connection of components is developed. The results indicate that as the effectiveness of the desiccant wheel increases, the cycle performance is increased principally due to the significant reduction in exergy carried out by exhaust air. The corresponding exergy destruction coefficient of the cycle with moderate performance desiccant wheel is decreased greatly to 3.9%, which is more than 50% lower than that of the cycle with low performance desiccant wheel. The effect of the heat source is similar. As the temperature of the heat source increases from 60 °C to 90 °C, the percentage of exergy destruction raised by exhaust air increases sharply from 5.3% to 21.8%. High heat exchanger effectiveness improves the cycle performance mainly by lowering the irreversibility of the heat exchanger, using less regeneration heat and pre-cooling the process air effectively

  1. Regulation of fuel cycle facilities in the UK

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ascroft-Hutton, H.W.

    2001-01-01

    The UK has facilities for the production of uranium hexafluoride, its enrichment, conversion into fuel and for the subsequent reprocessing of irradiated fuel and closure of the fuel cycle. All of these facilities must be licensed under UK legislation. HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate has delegated powers to issue the licence and to attach any conditions it considers necessary in the interests of safety. The fuel cycle facilities in the UK have been licensed since 1971. This paper describes briefly the UK nuclear regulatory framework and the fuel cycle facilities involved. It considers the regulatory practices adopted together with similarities and differences between regulation of fuel cycle facilities and power reactors. The safety issues associated with the fuel cycle are discussed and NII's regulatory strategy for these facilities is set out. (author)

  2. How can a life cycle inventory parametric model streamline life cycle assessment in the wooden pallet sector?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Niero, Monia; Di Felice, Francesco; Ren, Jingzheng

    2014-01-01

    , as the information required for fulfilling the LCI are standard information about the features of the wooden pallet and its manufacturing process. The contribution analysis on the reference product revealed that the most contributing life cycle stages are wood and nails extraction and manufacturing (positive value......This study discusses the use of parameterization within the life cycle inventory (LCI) in the wooden pallet sector, in order to test the effectiveness of LCI parametric models to calculate the environmental impacts of similar products. Starting from a single case study, the objectives of this paper......; these correlations can be used to improve the design of new wooden pallets.The conceptual scheme for defining the model is based on ISO14040-44 standards. First of all, the product system was defined identifying the life cycle of a generic wood pallet, as well as its life cycle stages. A list of independent...

  3. Sensitivity study on nitrogen Brayton cycle coupled with a small ultra-long cycle fast reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seo, Seok Bin; Seo, Han; Bang, In Cheol

    2014-01-01

    The main characteristics of UCFR are constant neutron flux and power density. They move their positions every moment at constant speed along with axial position of fuel rod for 60 years. Simultaneously with the development of the reactors, a new power conversion system has been considered. To solve existing issues of vigorous sodium-water reaction in SFR with steam power cycle, many researchers suggested a closed Brayton cycle as an alternative technique for SFR power conversion system. Many inactive gases are selected as a working fluid in Brayton power cycle, mainly supercritical CO 2 (S-CO 2 ). However, S-CO 2 still has potential for reaction with sodium. CO 2 -sodium reaction produces solid product, which has possibility to have an auto ignition reaction around 600 .deg. C. Thus, instead of S-CO 2 , CEA in France has developed nitrogen power cycle for ASTRID (Advanced Sodium Technological Reactor for Industrial Demonstration). In addition to inactive characteristic of nitrogen with sodium, its thermal and physical similarity with air enables to easily adopt to existing air Brayton cycle technology. In this study, for an optimized power conversion system for UCFR, a nitrogen Brayton cycle was analyzed in thermodynamic aspect. Based on subchannel analysis data of UCFR-100, a parametric study for thermal performance of nitrogen Brayton cycle was achieved. The system maximum pressure significantly affects to the overall efficiency of cycle, while other parameters show little effects. Little differences of the overall efficiencies for all cases between three stages (BOC, MOC, EOC) indicate that the power cycle of UCFR-100 maintains its performance during the operation

  4. Summary of nuclear power and fuel cycle data in OECD Member countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1983-03-01

    A questionnaire on Electricity Generation, Nuclear Power and Fuel Cycle Data is distributed annually to OECD Member countries. Member countries were asked to provide, where available, various statistics for the previous calendar year (1982) and modified projections up to the year 2000. Tables 1 to 8 are based on the responses received and update the March 1982 issue. Tables 3 to 8 show the revised electricity, nuclear power and fuel cycle supply and demand projections in OECD Member countries to the year 2000. Figure 1 illustrates the contribution of the different fuel sources to the OECD's electricity generation from 1974 to 1982. Figure 2 shows the nuclear share of electricity generation in the OECD countries for 1982 and 1985. Figure 3 gives the fuel cycle supply and demand from the Tables 5, 6 and 8 in the OECD area

  5. The life-cycle research productivity of mathematicians and scientists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diamond, A M

    1986-07-01

    Declining research productivity with age is implied by economic models of life-cycle human capital investment but is denied by some recent empirical studies. The purpose of the present study is to provide new evidence on whether a scientist's output generally declines with advancing age. A longitudinal data set has been compiled for scientists and mathematicians at six major departments, including data on age, salaries, annual citations (stock of human capital), citations to current output (flow of human capital), and quantity of current output measured both in number of articles and in number of pages. Analysis of the data indicates that salaries peak from the early to mid-60s, whereas annual citations appear to peak from age 39 to 89 for different departments with a mean age of 59 for the 6 departments. The quantity and quality of current research output appear to decline continuously with age.

  6. The impact of biotic/abiotic interfaces in mineral nutrient cycling: A study of soils of the Santa Cruz chronosequence, California

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, A.F.; Schulz, M.S.; Vivit, D.V.; Bullen, T.D.; Fitzpatrick, J.

    2012-01-01

    Biotic/abiotic interactions between soil mineral nutrients and annual grassland vegetation are characterized for five soils in a marine terrace chronosequence near Santa Cruz, California. A Mediterranean climate, with wet winters and dry summers, controls the annual cycle of plant growth and litter decomposition, resulting in net above-ground productivities of 280-600gm -2yr -1. The biotic/abiotic (A/B) interface separates seasonally reversible nutrient gradients, reflecting biological cycling in the shallower soils, from downward chemical weathering gradients in the deeper soils. The A/B interface is pedologically defined by argillic clay horizons centered at soil depths of about one meter which intensify with soil age. Below these horizons, elevated solute Na/Ca, Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios reflect plagioclase and smectite weathering along pore water flow paths. Above the A/B interface, lower cation ratios denote temporal variability due to seasonal plant nutrient uptake and litter leaching. Potassium and Ca exhibit no seasonal variability beneath the A/B interface, indicating closed nutrient cycling within the root zone, whereas Mg variability below the A/B interface denotes downward leakage resulting from higher inputs of marine aerosols and lower plant nutrient requirements.The fraction of a mineral nutrient annually cycled through the plants, compared to that lost from pore water discharge, is defined their respective fluxes F j,plants=q j,plants/(q j,plants+q j,discharge) with average values for K and Ca (F K,plants=0.99; F Ca,plants=0.93) much higher than for Mg and Na (F Mg,plants 0.64; F Na,plants=0.28). The discrimination against Rb and Sr by plants is described by fractionation factors (K Sr/Ca=0.86; K Rb/K=0.83) which are used in Rayleigh fractionation-mixing calculations to fit seasonal patterns in solute K and Ca cycling. K Rb/K and K24Mg/22Mg values (derived from isotope data in the literature) fall within fractionation envelopes bounded by inputs from

  7. Frozen-thawed embryo transfer in a natural or mildly hormonally stimulated cycle in women with regular ovulatory cycles: a RCT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peeraer, Karen; Couck, Isabelle; Debrock, Sophie; De Neubourg, Diane; De Loecker, Peter; Tomassetti, Carla; Laenen, Annouschka; Welkenhuysen, Myriam; Meeuwis, Luc; Pelckmans, Sofie; Meuleman, Christel; D'Hooghe, Thomas

    2015-11-01

    Can ovarian stimulation with low dose hMG improve the implantation rate (IR) per frozen-thawed embryo transferred (FET) when compared with natural cycle in an FET programme in women with a regular ovulatory cycle? Both IR and live birth rate (LBR) per FET were similar in the group with mild ovarian stimulation and the natural cycle group. Different cycle regimens for endometrial preparation are used prior to FET: spontaneous ovulatory cycles, cycles with artificial endometrial preparation using estrogen and progesterone hormones, and cycles stimulated with gonadotrophins or clomiphene citrate. At present, it is not clear which regimen results in the highest IR or LBR. More specifically, there are no RCTs in ovulatory women comparing reproductive outcome after FET during a natural cycle and during a hormonally stimulated cycle. A total of 410 women scheduled for FET during 579 cycles (December 2003-September 2013) were enrolled in an open-label RCT to natural cycle (NC FET group, n = 291) or to a cycle hormonally stimulated with s.c. gonadotrophins (hMG FET group, 37.5-75 IU per day, n = 288). A total of 672 embryos were transferred during 434 cycles (332 embryos and 213 cycles in the NC FET group; 340 embryos and 221 cycles in the hMG FET group). Assuming a = 0.05 and 80% power, it was calculated that 219 frozen-thawed embryos were required for transfer in each group to demonstrate a difference of 10% in IR. Women were eligible according to the following inclusion criteria: regular ovulatory cycle, female age ≥21 years and ≤45 years, informed consent. FET cycles with preimplantation genetic screening were excluded. The primary outcome was IR per embryo transferred. Secondary outcomes included IR with fetal heart beat (FHB), LBR per embryo transferred and endometrial thickness on the day of hCG administration. Statistical analysis was by intention to treat and controlled for the presence of multiple measures, as eligible women could be randomized in more than

  8. IPEN (Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares) - annual report - 1997

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-01-01

    The annual activities report of 1997 of IPEN (Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares) - Brazilian organization - introduces the next main topics: mission; permanent goals; year main achievements - health and bioengineering, industry and materials and environmental aspects, nuclear reactor technology and fuel cycle, radiation protection and nuclear assurance, human resources formation, infrastructure and support, administration innovation; more important projects summary developed in 1997; budgetary data summary; products and services commercialization; year evaluation of 1997; perspectives for 1998; projects and researches financed for resources captivated in fomentation agencies; and clients

  9. Life cycle uses of concrete for more sustainable construction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Horvath, A. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering

    2001-07-01

    This paper examined ways in which the environmental burdens of construction in general and concrete production in particular can be reduced. Aggregates for concrete production include sand, gravel and stone. They account for most (80 per cent) of the materials used in the United States. This paper argued that given the fact that environmental concerns are an important social issue, the issue of natural resource conservation should be addressed. Some of the life-cycle assessments and comparative design issues associated with concrete construction were summarized. The author presented the example that often the initial cost of a new pavement application may indicate a lower environmental impact than an equivalent design when asphalt is used over reinforced concrete. However, annualized impacts may result in comparable environmental assessments. The same is true for bridge girders, reinforced concrete also seems to be a better environmental choice than steel. This paper also described end-of-life options that involve the use of waste products and recycled products in concrete and other materials to reduce the overall environmental impacts of a product or facility. This paper was divided into several sections entitled: life cycle assessments; life cycle inventory assessment of concretes and asphalt pavements; and, life cycle inventory assessment of concrete and steel bridge girders. 16 refs., 4 tabs.

  10. Simulated and observed trends in key variables of the Arctic marine carbon cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goris, Nadine; Heinze, Christoph; Lauvset, Siv; Petrenko, Dmitry; Pozdnyakov, Dmitry; Schwinger, Jörg

    2013-04-01

    For the Arctic region, a thorough monitoring of the marine carbon cycle is important, as the general "polar amplification" of climate change also translates into the biogeochemical realm. As compared to the global ocean, the sink for human-produced CO2 is fairly small in the Arctic Ocean itself. Nevertheless, it is important to follow up this Arctic sink as a further control of the regional carbon budget and to record changes in the marine carbon cycle on the way towards a "blue Arctic". Since observations on the Arctic are rare, the EU FP7 MONARCH-A project tries to enable adequate descriptions of the status and evolution of the Arctic region Earth system components by generating time series of observation datasets and model hindcasts. In terms of the marine carbon cycle, this analysis focuses mainly on the key variables pCO2 and primary productivity. For oceanic pCO2, the comprehensive data-sets SOCAT and LDEO were combined, while measurements of atmospheric CO2 were collected from the GLOBALVIEW-CO2 data integration project. Monthly Primary Production fields were retrieved from the sensors MODIS and SeaWiFs. In order to get an overall picture of the behavior and trends of those key variables, in addition the physical-biogeochemical model MICOM-HAMOCC-M was employed. The investigation showed that both oceanic and atmospheric pCO2 are consistent variables which have a regular annual cycle and a similar behaviour all over the Arctic for both model and data. In contrast, primary production shows an irregular annual cycle in both range and form, varying over the Arctic. While a few well distributed measurement stations with continuous observations are sufficient to get a comprehensive picture for consistent variables like pCO2, it is relatively difficult and costly to get a comprehensive record of non-consistent variables. Since the provided data-set for primary production covers a relatively short time-scale, it was neither possible to confidently validate the model

  11. Using molt cycles to categorize the age of tropical birds: an integrative new system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jared D. Wolfe; Thomas B. Ryder; Peter Pyle

    2010-01-01

    Accurately differentiating age classes is essential for the long-term monitoring of resident New World tropical bird species. Molt and plumage criteria have long been used to accurately age temperate birds, but application of temperate age-classification models to the Neotropics has been hindered because annual life-cycle events of tropical birds do not always...

  12. Annual report 1991 TECO Energy Inc

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1992-01-01

    Achievements of TECO energy during 1991 are summarized in the annual report which includes financial statements for the year up to 31 December 1991. Methane production from coal seams in the Black Warrior Basin of Alabama, by TECO Coalbed Methane, increased to 55 million cubic feet per day. The purchase of Gulf-States Paper's interest in two coalbed methane projects brought TECO's total commitment in coalbed methane to 135 million dollars. TECO Coal acquired additional reserves of low-sulphur coal in bringing total holdings to 175 million tons. Work continued on construction of TECO Power Services' combined cycle power plant. Tampa Electric announced plans to build a power plant in Polk County using the latest coal gasification technology TECO Transport ampersand Trade's shipping and transloading companies performed well during the year

  13. Mole sieve cycle optimization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Croteau, P. [Petro-Canada Oil and Gas, Inc., Calgary, AB (Canada)

    2004-07-01

    Maturing gas basins and declining reservoirs have prompted the search for energy and cost reduction initiatives to maintain operation sustainability. This paper discusses the development of an algorithm to improve the efficiency of the Brazeau mole sieve dehydration system. Details of the operating unit and an outline of the system were provided, as well as an operator interface. The main objectives of the research were to reduce the number of corresponding regeneration cycles; reduce annual energy requirements; and extend the life of the dessicant. Reductions were anticipated at 35 per cent, leading towards fuel savings of $45,000 a year, and carbon dioxide reductions of 670 tonnes a year. However, significant barriers were also noted, including operations, maintenance and equipment replacement issues. Equations of state were used to estimate vapor pressure or water content in gases. Approximate water content was measured with gas flow rate. The resulting algorithm was implemented using a basic best fit curve generated for one variable with a correction factor applied as a second variable. Data books were provided to present water content of hydrocarbon gas, with implementation procedures. Benefits of the new system included longer service life and reduced chemical and outside service costs, and reduced lost production during sieve changes. Additional benefits included enhanced distributed computing system (DCS) interfaces within plant operations; extension of the adsorption cycle via the functionality of the algorithm; and the fact that during a plant upset, the algorithm froze cycle sequencing and eliminated the possibility of switching the beds and repeating regeneration. The improved system resulted in savings of $87,000. tabs, figs.

  14. Fuel Cycle Requirements Code (FLYER). Summary report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gift, E.H.; Goode, W.D.

    1976-01-01

    Planning for, and the analysis of, the fuel requirements of the nuclear industry requires the ability to evaluate contingencies in many areas of the nuclear fuel cycle. The areas of nuclear fuel utilization, both uranium and plutonium, and of separative work requirements are of particular interest. The Fuel Cycle Requirements (FLYER) model has been developed to provide a flexible, easily managed tool for obtaining a comprehensive analysis of the nuclear fuel cycle. The model allows analysis of the interactions among the nuclear capacity growth rate, reactor technology and mix, and uranium and plutonium recycling capabilities. The model was initially developed as a means of analyzing nuclear growth contingencies with particular emphasis on the uranium feed and separative work requirements. It served to provide the planning group with analyses similar to the OPA's NUFUEL code which has only recently become available for general use. The model has recently been modified to account for some features of the fuel cycle in a more explicit manner than the NUFUEL code. For instance, the uranium requirements for all reactors installed in a given year are calculated for the total lifetime of those reactors. These values are cumulated in order to indicate the total uranium committed for reactors installed by any given year of the campaign. Similarly, the interactions in the back end of the fuel cycle are handled specifically, such as, the impacts resulting from limitations on the industrial capacity for reprocessing and mixed oxide fabrication of both light water reactor and breeder fuels. The principal features of the modified FLYER code are presented in summary form

  15. Comparing sex steroid levels during the annual cycles of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) diploid female (XX) and triploid female (XXX) genotypic sex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espinosa, E; Josa, A; Gil, L; Malo, C; Mitjana, O

    2013-02-01

    In this study, the annual cycle of the gonadal steroids testosterone (T), 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT), 17β-estradiol (E2) and 17α, 20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (DHP) was determined using radioimmunoassay and then compared for two populations of rainbow trout, XX diploid females (n = 40) and XXX triploid females (n = 15). In females, E2 and DHP levels were found to be significantly related to body weight (r = 0.22513; p 0.001, respectively). In this group, E2 concentrations peaked in November (25.05 ng/ml), while maximum DHP levels, only measurable from October to April, were attained in February (64.14 ng/ml). No significant differences in hormone ranges related to egg output ability were observed. Finally, sex steroid concentrations were low in the triploid female XXX fish compared to the female XX population. Nevertheless, maximum T (33.85 ng/ml) and 11-KT (32.35 ng/ml) levels were recorded in January, for XXX. The levels for these two hormones are relatively high and are also significantly associated (r = 0.8430; p < 0.0001). Diploid females showed significantly higher levels of E2 than triploids over the 12-month study period. The female triploid fish produced the lowest steroid hormone levels, such that these would be the most suitable for human consumption. © 2012 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

  16. Multiparameter Cell Cycle Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobberger, James W; Sramkoski, R Michael; Stefan, Tammy; Woost, Philip G

    2018-01-01

    Cell cycle cytometry and analysis are essential tools for studying cells of model organisms and natural populations (e.g., bone marrow). Methods have not changed much for many years. The simplest and most common protocol is DNA content analysis, which is extensively published and reviewed. The next most common protocol, 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine S phase labeling detected by specific antibodies, is also well published and reviewed. More recently, S phase labeling using 5'-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine incorporation and a chemical reaction to label substituted DNA has been established as a basic, reliable protocol. Multiple antibody labeling to detect epitopes on cell cycle regulated proteins, which is what this chapter is about, is the most complex of these cytometric cell cycle assays, requiring knowledge of the chemistry of fixation, the biochemistry of antibody-antigen reactions, and spectral compensation. However, because this knowledge is relatively well presented methodologically in many papers and reviews, this chapter will present a minimal Methods section for one mammalian cell type and an extended Notes section, focusing on aspects that are problematic or not well described in the literature. Most of the presented work involves how to segment the data to produce a complete, progressive, and compartmentalized cell cycle analysis from early G1 to late mitosis (telophase). A more recent development, using fluorescent proteins fused with proteins or peptides that are degraded by ubiquitination during specific periods of the cell cycle, termed "Fucci" (fluorescent, ubiquitination-based cell cycle indicators) provide an analysis similar in concept to multiple antibody labeling, except in this case cells can be analyzed while living and transgenic organisms can be created to perform cell cycle analysis ex or in vivo (Sakaue-Sawano et al., Cell 132:487-498, 2007). This technology will not be discussed.

  17. The geological carbon cycle and the global warming / climate debate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frank, F.

    2013-01-01

    The extensively cited seasonal carbon cycle describes the size and the annual fluxes between the temporary reservoirs (ocean, atmosphere, biosphere and soils). Compared with these large annual fluxes (approx. 200 GtC/y) the human contribution seems to be of minor amount and is currently (2011) in the range of 4-5%. However, in the geological carbon cycle, which describes the nearly equal amounts of input (volcanoes etc.) and output (sediments) into and from the temporary reservoirs, the human contribution has now reached 30-50 times the average natural level (9.5 Gt C/y versus ca. 0.2-0.3Gt C/y). In the long-term range (1-10x106y), the variable, but much smaller net imbalance between these geological sources und sinks was responsible for the atmospheric CO2-level in the last 400 My (since then comparable temporary reservoirs exist) and influenced via the various feedbacks the climate on earth. In nearly 95% of this long time the climate system was in (nearly) equilibrium conditions and changes occurred extremely slow. Whenever a certain range of higher rate of change of these driving forces were reached, it had - together with other effects - severe influence on the evolution of life, causing 5 large and many minor 'geological accidents'. Based on isotope geochemistry and a fairly good time resolution by orbitally tuned cyclostratigraphy (astrochronology) in the sedimentary record, we are able to quantify these rates of change with reasonable errors. It turns out that the present rate of change - caused by the C-based fossil energy use - is one to two orders of magnitude more rapid than these severe events (impacts excluded) in the earth system. A vast amount of data is available from the ice age cycles. Climate geology (e.g. the group of M. Sarnthein) made considerable progress in understanding the related geological/oceanic processes and proposed a reasonably constrained mass balance of CO2 during the last cycle, which could help us to understand the future

  18. INTERNAL-CYCLE VARIATION OF SOLAR DIFFERENTIAL ROTATION

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, K. J.; Xie, J. L.; Shi, X. J.

    2013-01-01

    The latitudinal distributions of the yearly mean rotation rates measured by Suzuki in 1998 and 2012 and Pulkkinen and Tuominen in 1998 are utilized to investigate internal-cycle variation of solar differential rotation. The rotation rate at the solar equator seems to have decreased since cycle 10 onward. The coefficient B of solar differential rotation, which represents the latitudinal gradient of rotation, is found to be smaller in the several years after the minimum of a solar cycle than in the several years after the maximum time of the cycle, and it peaks several years after the maximum time of the solar cycle. The internal-cycle variation of the solar rotation rates looks similar in profile to that of the coefficient B. A new explanation is proposed to address such a solar-cycle-related variation of the solar rotation rates. Weak magnetic fields may more effectively reflect differentiation at low latitudes with high rotation rates than at high latitudes with low rotation rates, and strong magnetic fields may more effectively repress differentiation at relatively low latitudes than at high latitudes. The internal-cycle variation is inferred as the result of both the latitudinal migration of the surface torsional pattern and the repression of strong magnetic activity in differentiation.

  19. CMIP5 land surface models systematically underestimate inter-annual variability of net ecosystem exchange in semi-arid southwestern North America.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacBean, N.; Scott, R. L.; Biederman, J. A.; Vuichard, N.; Hudson, A.; Barnes, M.; Fox, A. M.; Smith, W. K.; Peylin, P. P.; Maignan, F.; Moore, D. J.

    2017-12-01

    Recent studies based on analysis of atmospheric CO2 inversions, satellite data and terrestrial biosphere model simulations have suggested that semi-arid ecosystems play a dominant role in the interannual variability and long-term trend in the global carbon sink. These studies have largely cited the response of vegetation activity to changing moisture availability as the primary mechanism of variability. However, some land surface models (LSMs) used in these studies have performed poorly in comparison to satellite-based observations of vegetation dynamics in semi-arid regions. Further analysis is therefore needed to ensure semi-arid carbon cycle processes are well represented in global scale LSMs before we can fully establish their contribution to the global carbon cycle. In this study, we evaluated annual net ecosystem exchange (NEE) simulated by CMIP5 land surface models using observations from 20 Ameriflux sites across semi-arid southwestern North America. We found that CMIP5 models systematically underestimate the magnitude and sign of NEE inter-annual variability; therefore, the true role of semi-arid regions in the global carbon cycle may be even more important than previously thought. To diagnose the factors responsible for this bias, we used the ORCHIDEE LSM to test different climate forcing data, prescribed vegetation fractions and model structures. Climate and prescribed vegetation do contribute to uncertainty in annual NEE simulations, but the bias is primarily caused by incorrect timing and magnitude of peak gross carbon fluxes. Modifications to the hydrology scheme improved simulations of soil moisture in comparison to data. This in turn improved the seasonal cycle of carbon uptake due to a more realistic limitation on photosynthesis during water stress. However, the peak fluxes are still too low, and phenology is poorly represented for desert shrubs and grasses. We provide suggestions on model developments needed to tackle these issues in the future.

  20. Fuel management for off-load annual refuelling of the D-HHT 600 MW(e) reference core

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hansen, U

    1973-03-16

    The reference design for the Dragon-HHT reactor has been optimised for on-load continuous refuelling. The possiblity to operate the reactor on a discontinuous annual reloading schedule might prove of interest and/or necessity. In this paper the influence of an annual 4-batch fuel management scheme on the core physics and fuel cycle economics is investigated. The results of the present investigation give a good indication of the relative merits of the two fuel management schemes. Although a broader parameter survey and a more detailed scrutinising of special cases would be desirable, we feel that the main conclusions are correct and that the principle differences have been elicited.

  1. Testing statistical self-similarity in the topology of river networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Troutman, Brent M.; Mantilla, Ricardo; Gupta, Vijay K.

    2010-01-01

    Recent work has demonstrated that the topological properties of real river networks deviate significantly from predictions of Shreve's random model. At the same time the property of mean self-similarity postulated by Tokunaga's model is well supported by data. Recently, a new class of network model called random self-similar networks (RSN) that combines self-similarity and randomness has been introduced to replicate important topological features observed in real river networks. We investigate if the hypothesis of statistical self-similarity in the RSN model is supported by data on a set of 30 basins located across the continental United States that encompass a wide range of hydroclimatic variability. We demonstrate that the generators of the RSN model obey a geometric distribution, and self-similarity holds in a statistical sense in 26 of these 30 basins. The parameters describing the distribution of interior and exterior generators are tested to be statistically different and the difference is shown to produce the well-known Hack's law. The inter-basin variability of RSN parameters is found to be statistically significant. We also test generator dependence on two climatic indices, mean annual precipitation and radiative index of dryness. Some indication of climatic influence on the generators is detected, but this influence is not statistically significant with the sample size available. Finally, two key applications of the RSN model to hydrology and geomorphology are briefly discussed.

  2. Standardized ultrasound templates for diagnosing appendicitis reduce annual imaging costs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nordin, Andrew B; Sales, Stephen; Nielsen, Jason W; Adler, Brent; Bates, David Gregory; Kenney, Brian

    2018-01-01

    Ultrasound is preferred over computed tomography (CT) for diagnosing appendicitis in children to avoid undue radiation exposure. We previously reported our experience in instituting a standardized appendicitis ultrasound template, which decreased CT rates by 67.3%. In this analysis, we demonstrate the ongoing cost savings associated with using this template. Retrospective chart review for the time period preceding template implementation (June 2012-September 2012) was combined with prospective review through December 2015 for all patients in the emergency department receiving diagnostic imaging for appendicitis. The type of imaging was recorded, and imaging rates and ultrasound test statistics were calculated. Estimated annual imaging costs based on pretemplate ultrasound and CT utilization rates were compared with post-template annual costs to calculate annual and cumulative savings. In the pretemplate period, ultrasound and CT rates were 80.2% and 44.3%, respectively, resulting in a combined annual cost of $300,527.70. Similar calculations were performed for each succeeding year, accounting for changes in patient volume. Using pretemplate rates, our projected 2015 imaging cost was $371,402.86; however, our ultrasound rate had increased to 98.3%, whereas the CT rate declined to 9.6%, yielding an annual estimated cost of $224,853.00 and a savings of $146,549.86. Since implementation, annual savings have steadily increased for a cumulative cost savings of $336,683.83. Standardizing ultrasound reports for appendicitis not only reduces the use of CT scans and the associated radiation exposure but also decreases annual imaging costs despite increased numbers of imaging studies. Continued cost reduction may be possible by using diagnostic algorithms. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Fifteenth annual meeting of the International Working Group on Fast Reactors. Summary report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1982-09-01

    The Fifteenth Annual Meeting of the IWGFR was held in accordance with the recommendation of the previous Annual Group Meeting, in Obninsk, USSR, Vienna from 30 March to 2 April 1982. The meeting was attended by the Member States of the group: France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the USA, as well as by representatives from CEC, IAEA and OECD and observer from the USSR. This document includes: review of the IWGFR Activities for the period since the Eleventh Annual Meeting of the Group; preliminary programme of international conference on breeder reactors as a world energy resource and the breeder fuel cycle; list of meetings on atomic energy which may be of interest to the IWGFR Members; IWGFR criteria for supporting some of the international conferences; list of proposed topics for the IWGFR Specialists' Meetings; list of topics for review articles on LMFBR recommended for publication by the IAEA; list of meetings sponsored by the IWGFR; a list of members of the International Working Group on Fast Reactors

  4. Sixteenth annual meeting of the International Working Group on Fast Reactors. Summary report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1983-10-01

    The Sixteenth Annual Meeting of the IWGFR was held in accordance with the recommendation of the previous Annual Meeting Group, in Vienna from 12-15 April 1983. The meeting was attended by the Member States of the group: France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the USA, as well as by representatives from CEC, IAEA and OECD and observer from the USSR. This document includes: review of the IWGFR Activities for the period since the Eleventh Annual Meeting of the Group; preliminary programme of international conference on breeder reactors as a world energy resource and the breeder fuel cycle; list of meetings on atomic energy which may be of interest to the IWGFR Members; IWGFR criteria for supporting some of the international conferences; list of proposed topics for the IWGFR Specialists' Meetings; list of topics for review articles on LMFBR recommended for publication by the IAEA; list of meetings sponsored by the IWGFR; a list of members of the International Working Group on Fast Reactors.

  5. Fifteenth annual meeting of the International Working Group on Fast Reactors. Summary report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1982-09-01

    The Fifteenth Annual Meeting of the IWGFR was held in accordance with the recommendation of the previous Annual Group Meeting, in Obninsk, USSR, Vienna from 30 March to 2 April 1982. The meeting was attended by the Member States of the group: France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the USA, as well as by representatives from CEC, IAEA and OECD and observer from the USSR. This document includes: review of the IWGFR Activities for the period since the Eleventh Annual Meeting of the Group; preliminary programme of international conference on breeder reactors as a world energy resource and the breeder fuel cycle; list of meetings on atomic energy which may be of interest to the IWGFR Members; IWGFR criteria for supporting some of the international conferences; list of proposed topics for the IWGFR Specialists' Meetings; list of topics for review articles on LMFBR recommended for publication by the IAEA; list of meetings sponsored by the IWGFR; a list of members of the International Working Group on Fast Reactors.

  6. Sixteenth annual meeting of the International Working Group on Fast Reactors. Summary report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1983-10-01

    The Sixteenth Annual Meeting of the IWGFR was held in accordance with the recommendation of the previous Annual Meeting Group, in Vienna from 12-15 April 1983. The meeting was attended by the Member States of the group: France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the USA, as well as by representatives from CEC, IAEA and OECD and observer from the USSR. This document includes: review of the IWGFR Activities for the period since the Eleventh Annual Meeting of the Group; preliminary programme of international conference on breeder reactors as a world energy resource and the breeder fuel cycle; list of meetings on atomic energy which may be of interest to the IWGFR Members; IWGFR criteria for supporting some of the international conferences; list of proposed topics for the IWGFR Specialists' Meetings; list of topics for review articles on LMFBR recommended for publication by the IAEA; list of meetings sponsored by the IWGFR; a list of members of the International Working Group on Fast Reactors

  7. Using coral Ba/Ca records to investigate seasonal to decadal scale biogeochemical cycling in the surface and intermediate ocean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    LaVigne, M.; Cobb, K. M.; DeLong, K. L.; Freiberger, M. M.; Grottoli, A. G.; Hill, T. M.; Miller, H. R.; Nurhati, I. S.; Richey, J. N.; Serrato Marks, G.; Sherrell, R. M.

    2016-12-01

    Dissolved barium (BaSW), a bio-intermediate element, is linked to several biogeochemical processes such as the cycling and export of nutrients, organic carbon (Corg), and barite in surface and intermediate oceans. Dynamic BaSW cycling has been demonstrated in the water column on short timescales (days-weeks) while sedimentary records have documented geologic-scale changes in barite preservation driven by export production. Our understanding of how seasonal-decadal scale climate variability impacts these biogeochemical processes currently lacks robust records. Ba/Ca calibrations in surface and deep sea corals suggest barium is incorporated via cationic substitution in both aragonite and calcite. Here we demonstrate the utility of Ba/Ca for reconstructing biogeochemical variability using examples of surface and deep sea coral records. Century-long deep sea coral records from the California Current System (bamboo corals: 900-1500m) record interannual variations in Ba/Ca, likely reflecting changes in barite formation via bacterial Corg respiration or barite saturation state. A surface Porites coral Ba/Ca record from Christmas Island (central equatorial Pacific: 1978-1995) shows maxima during low productivity El Niño warm periods, suggesting that variations in BaSW are driven by biological removal via direct cellular uptake or indirectly via barite precipitation with the decomposition of large phytoplankton blooms at this location. Similarly, a sixteen-year long Siderastera siderea surface coral record from Dry Tortugas, FL (Gulf of Mexico: 1991-2007) shows seasonal Ba/Ca cycles that align with annual chlorophyll and δ13C. Taken together, these records demonstrate the linkages among Corg, nutrient cycling and BaSW in the surface and intermediate ocean on seasonal to decadal timescales. Multi-proxy paleoceanographic reconstructions including Ba/Ca have the potential to elucidate the mechanisms linking past climate, productivity, nutrients, and BaSW cycling in the past.

  8. Economic cycles and their synchronization: Spectral analysis of macroeconomic series from Italy, The Netherlands, and the UK

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sella, Lisa; Vivaldo, Gianna; Ghil, Michael; Groth, Andreas

    2010-05-01

    The present work applies several advanced spectral methods (Ghil et al., Rev. Geophys., 2002) to the analysis of macroeconomic fluctuations in Italy, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. These methods provide valuable time-and-frequency-domain tools that complement traditional time-domain analysis, and are thus fairly well known by now in the geosciences and life sciences, but not yet widespread in quantitative economics. In particular, they enable the identification and characterization of nonlinear trends and dominant cycles --- including low-frequency and seasonal components --- that characterize the behavior of each time series. We explore five fundamental indicators of the real (i.e., non-monetary), aggregate economy --- namely gross domestic product (GDP), consumption, fixed investments, exports and imports --- in a univariate as well as multivariate setting. A single-channel analysis by means of three independent spectral methods --- singular spectrum analysis (SSA), the multi-taper method (MTM), and the maximum-entropy method (MEM) --- reveals very similar near-annual cycles, as well as several longer periodicities, in the macroeconomic indicators of all the countries analyzed. Since each indicator represents different features of an economic system, we combine them to infer if common oscillatory modes are present, either among different indicators within the same country or among the same indicators across different countries. Multichannel-SSA (M-SSA) reinforces the previous results, and shows that the common modes agree in character with solutions of a non-equilibrium dynamic model (NEDyM) that produces endogenous business cycles (Hallegatte et al., JEBO, 2008). The presence of these modes in NEDyM results from adjustment delays and other nonequilibrium effects that were added to a neoclassical Solow (Q. J. Econ., 1956) growth model. Their confirmation by the present analysis has important consequences for the net impact of natural disasters on the

  9. Life cycle, Ecological Characteristics, and Control of Trachys yanoi (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), an Important Pest of Zelkova serrata

    OpenAIRE

    Ohsawa, Masashi

    2017-01-01

    This study was conducted to elucidate the life cycle and the ecological characteristics of Trachys yanoi Y. Kurosawa, an important pest of Zelkova serrata (Thunb.) Makino. Life cycle, mortality rates in developmental stages, annual population dynamics, and early leaf abscission were investigated. Adults emerged from under the bark of Zelkova trees in April and fed on Zelkova leaves. Females laid 49 eggs on average, mainly in May and early June. Eggs hatched after 17 days, and the larvae fed i...

  10. Brucella abortus Cell Cycle and Infection Are Coordinated.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Bolle, Xavier; Crosson, Sean; Matroule, Jean-Yves; Letesson, Jean-Jacques

    2015-12-01

    Brucellae are facultative intracellular pathogens. The recent development of methods and genetically engineered strains allowed the description of cell-cycle progression of Brucella abortus, including unipolar growth and the ordered initiation of chromosomal replication. B. abortus cell-cycle progression is coordinated with intracellular trafficking in the endosomal compartments. Bacteria are first blocked at the G1 stage, growth and chromosome replication being resumed shortly before reaching the intracellular proliferation compartment. The control mechanisms of cell cycle are similar to those reported for the bacterium Caulobacter crescentus, and they are crucial for survival in the host cell. The development of single-cell analyses could also be applied to other bacterial pathogens to investigate their cell-cycle progression during infection. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Seasonal variation in assisted conception cycles and the influence of photoperiodism on outcome in in vitro fertilization cycles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Simon; Quinn, Alison; Troupe, Stephen; Kingsland, Charles; Lewis-Jones, Iwan

    2006-12-01

    The effect of seasonality and daylight length on mammalian reproduction leading to spring births has been well established, and is known as photoperiodism. In assisted reproduction there is much greater uncertainty as to the effect of seasonality. This was a 4-year retrospective analysis of 2709 standardised cycles of IVF/ICSI. Data was analysed with regard to the 1642 cycles occurring during the months of extended daylight (Apr-Sept) and those 1067 cycles during winter months of restricted light length (Oct-Mar). The results showed that there was significant improvement in assisted conception outcomes in cycles performed in summer (lighter) months with more efficient ovarian stimulation 766iu v880iu/per oocyte retrieved (p=0.006). There was similarly a significantly improved implantation rate per embryo transferred 11.42% vs 9.35% (p=0.011) and greater clinical pregnancy rate 20% vs 15% (p=0.0033) during summer cycles. This study appears to demonstrate a significant benefit of increased daylight length on outcomes of IVF/ICSI cycles. Whilst the exact mechanism of this is unclear, it would seem probable that melatonin may have actions at multiple sites and on multiple levels of the reproductive tract, and may exert a more profound effect on outcomes of assisted conception cycles than has been previously considered.

  12. Nitrogen expander cycles for large capacity liquefaction of natural gas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, Ho-Myung; Park, Jae Hoon; Gwak, Kyung Hyun [Hong Ik University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Seoul, 121-791 (Korea, Republic of); Choe, Kun Hyung [Korea Gas Corporation, Incheon, 406-130 (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-01-29

    Thermodynamic study is performed on nitrogen expander cycles for large capacity liquefaction of natural gas. In order to substantially increase the capacity, a Brayton refrigeration cycle with nitrogen expander was recently added to the cold end of the reputable propane pre-cooled mixed-refrigerant (C3-MR) process. Similar modifications with a nitrogen expander cycle are extensively investigated on a variety of cycle configurations. The existing and modified cycles are simulated with commercial process software (Aspen HYSYS) based on selected specifications. The results are compared in terms of thermodynamic efficiency, liquefaction capacity, and estimated size of heat exchangers. The combination of C3-MR with partial regeneration and pre-cooling of nitrogen expander cycle is recommended to have a great potential for high efficiency and large capacity.

  13. Nitrogen expander cycles for large capacity liquefaction of natural gas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Ho-Myung; Park, Jae Hoon; Gwak, Kyung Hyun; Choe, Kun Hyung

    2014-01-01

    Thermodynamic study is performed on nitrogen expander cycles for large capacity liquefaction of natural gas. In order to substantially increase the capacity, a Brayton refrigeration cycle with nitrogen expander was recently added to the cold end of the reputable propane pre-cooled mixed-refrigerant (C3-MR) process. Similar modifications with a nitrogen expander cycle are extensively investigated on a variety of cycle configurations. The existing and modified cycles are simulated with commercial process software (Aspen HYSYS) based on selected specifications. The results are compared in terms of thermodynamic efficiency, liquefaction capacity, and estimated size of heat exchangers. The combination of C3-MR with partial regeneration and pre-cooling of nitrogen expander cycle is recommended to have a great potential for high efficiency and large capacity.

  14. Nitrogen expander cycles for large capacity liquefaction of natural gas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Ho-Myung; Park, Jae Hoon; Gwak, Kyung Hyun; Choe, Kun Hyung

    2014-01-01

    Thermodynamic study is performed on nitrogen expander cycles for large capacity liquefaction of natural gas. In order to substantially increase the capacity, a Brayton refrigeration cycle with nitrogen expander was recently added to the cold end of the reputable propane pre-cooled mixed-refrigerant (C3-MR) process. Similar modifications with a nitrogen expander cycle are extensively investigated on a variety of cycle configurations. The existing and modified cycles are simulated with commercial process software (Aspen HYSYS) based on selected specifications. The results are compared in terms of thermodynamic efficiency, liquefaction capacity, and estimated size of heat exchangers. The combination of C3-MR with partial regeneration and pre-cooling of nitrogen expander cycle is recommended to have a great potential for high efficiency and large capacity

  15. Role of expanders in helium liquefaction cycles: Parametric studies using Collins cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomas, Rijo Jacob; Ghosh, Parthasarathi; Chowdhury, Kanchan

    2011-01-01

    Large scale helium liquefaction/refrigeration plant is a key subsystem of fusion devices. Performance of these plants is dependent on a number of geometric and operating parameters of its constituting components such as compressors, heat exchangers, expanders, valves, etc. Expander has been chosen as the subject matter of analyses in the present study. As the sensible cold of helium vapor is lost in liquefiers, the expanders in liquefaction cycles have to provide more refrigeration than those in refrigeration cycles. The expander parameters such as rate of mass flow, operating pressure, inlet temperature, etc. are inter-dependent, and hence, it is difficult to predict the system behavior with variation of a particular parameter. This necessitates the use of process simulators. Parametric studies have been performed on Collins helium liquefaction cycle using Aspen HYSYS. Collins cycle has all the basic characteristics of a large-scale helium liquefier and the results of this study may be extrapolated to understand the behavior of large scale helium liquefiers. The study shows that the maximum liquid production is obtained when 80% of the compressor flow is diverted through the expanders and it is equally distributed between the two expanders. The relationships between the liquid production and the isentropic efficiency of expanders are almost linear and both the higher and lower temperature expanders exhibit similar trends.

  16. Role of expanders in helium liquefaction cycles: Parametric studies using Collins cycle

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thomas, Rijo Jacob, E-mail: rijojthomas@gmail.com [Cryogenic Engineering Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302 (India); Ghosh, Parthasarathi; Chowdhury, Kanchan [Cryogenic Engineering Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302 (India)

    2011-06-15

    Large scale helium liquefaction/refrigeration plant is a key subsystem of fusion devices. Performance of these plants is dependent on a number of geometric and operating parameters of its constituting components such as compressors, heat exchangers, expanders, valves, etc. Expander has been chosen as the subject matter of analyses in the present study. As the sensible cold of helium vapor is lost in liquefiers, the expanders in liquefaction cycles have to provide more refrigeration than those in refrigeration cycles. The expander parameters such as rate of mass flow, operating pressure, inlet temperature, etc. are inter-dependent, and hence, it is difficult to predict the system behavior with variation of a particular parameter. This necessitates the use of process simulators. Parametric studies have been performed on Collins helium liquefaction cycle using Aspen HYSYS. Collins cycle has all the basic characteristics of a large-scale helium liquefier and the results of this study may be extrapolated to understand the behavior of large scale helium liquefiers. The study shows that the maximum liquid production is obtained when 80% of the compressor flow is diverted through the expanders and it is equally distributed between the two expanders. The relationships between the liquid production and the isentropic efficiency of expanders are almost linear and both the higher and lower temperature expanders exhibit similar trends.

  17. Impact of preimplantation genetic screening on donor oocyte-recipient cycles in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barad, David H; Darmon, Sarah K; Kushnir, Vitaly A; Albertini, David F; Gleicher, Norbert

    2017-11-01

    Our objective was to estimate the contribution of preimplantation genetic screening to in vitro fertilization pregnancy outcomes in donor oocyte-recipient cycles. This was a retrospective cross-sectional study of US national data from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Outcome Reporting System between 2005 and 2013. Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Outcome Reporting relies on voluntarily annual reports by more than 90% of US in vitro fertilization centers. We evaluated pregnancy and live birth rates in donor oocyte-recipient cycles after the first embryo transfer with day 5/6 embryos. Statistical models, adjusted for patient and donor ages, number of embryos transferred, race, infertility diagnosis, and cycle year were created to compare live birth rates in 392 preimplantation genetic screening and 20,616 control cycles. Overall, pregnancy and live birth rates were significantly lower in preimplantation genetic screening cycles than in control cycles. Adjusted odds of live birth for preimplantation genetic screening cycles were reduced by 35% (odds ratio, 0.65, 95% confidence interval, 0.53-0.80; P cycles over the past 9 years, has not been associated with improved odds of live birth or reduction in miscarriage rates. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Annual report 2001[International Atomic Energy Agency

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2002-07-01

    Article VI.J of the Agency's Statute requires the Board of Governors to submit 'an annual report to the General Conference concerning the affairs of the Agency and any projects approved by the Agency'. This report covers the period 1 January to 31 December 2001. The report outlines the IAEA activities in the following fields: nuclear power, nuclear fuel cycle and waste management technology, comparative assessment for sustainable energy development; food and agriculture, human health, marine environment and water resources, applications of physical and chemical sciences, nuclear safety, radiation safety, radioactive waste safety, co-ordination of safety activities, safeguards, security of material, verification in Iraq pursuant to UNSC resolutions, management of technical co-operation for development, policy-making, management and support.

  19. NEA activities in 1991. 20. Annual report of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-01-01

    This annual report gives informations on OECD Nuclear Energy Agency activities in 1991. This report is divided into ten chapters: 1 Trends in nuclear power. 2 Nuclear development and the fuel cycle. 3 Nuclear safety and regulation. 4 Radiation protection. 5 Radioactive waste management and disposal. 6 Nuclear science: Reactor physics, nuclear data, NEA data bank. 7 Joint projects and coordinated research programs. 8 Legal affairs. 9 informations programs. 10 relations with non-member countries

  20. Analysis and Modeling of Time-Correlated Characteristics of Rainfall-Runoff Similarity in the Upstream Red River Basin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiuli Sang

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available We constructed a similarity model (based on Euclidean distance between rainfall and runoff to study time-correlated characteristics of rainfall-runoff similar patterns in the upstream Red River Basin and presented a detailed evaluation of the time correlation of rainfall-runoff similarity. The rainfall-runoff similarity was used to determine the optimum similarity. The results showed that a time-correlated model was found to be capable of predicting the rainfall-runoff similarity in the upstream Red River Basin in a satisfactory way. Both noised and denoised time series by thresholding the wavelet coefficients were applied to verify the accuracy of model. And the corresponding optimum similar sets obtained as the equation solution conditions showed an interesting and stable trend. On the whole, the annual mean similarity presented a gradually rising trend, for quantitatively estimating comprehensive influence of climate change and of human activities on rainfall-runoff similarity.

  1. Summary of nuclear power and fuel cycle data in OECD member countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-04-01

    A questionnaire on Electricity Generation, Nuclear Power and Fuel Cycle Data is distributed annually to OECD Member Countries. In the questionnaire of January 1986, countries were asked to provide historical data for 1984 and 1985 and most likely projections up to the year 2005. The replies to the questionnaire are presented in this Summary. Not all countries have revised or made new projections since the April 1985 issue. Too few countries were able to provide projections beyond 2000 to include data for 2005 in this year's Summary. Data for 1985 are in some cases provisional. Where no data were available the Secretariat made estimates, based on information of IEA, IAEA, the previous Brown Book, OECD/IEA Energy Statistics and other sources. The electricity generation and production data for fuel cycle services refer to those facilities located within the country, and thus exclude imports. The fuel cycle requirements, however, refer to the amounts of fuel cycle services necessary for national nuclear power programmes. The Addendum contains an analysis of the present and past projections for OECD nuclear capacity to 2000

  2. Energy and exergy analysis of a closed Brayton cycle-based combined cycle for solar power tower plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zare, V.; Hasanzadeh, M.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • A novel combined cycle is proposed for solar power tower plants. • The effects of solar subsystem and power cycle parameters are examined. • The proposed combined cycle yields exergy efficiencies of higher than 70%. • For the overall power plant exergy efficiencies of higher than 30% is achievable. - Abstract: Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technology offers an interesting potential for future power generation and research on CSP systems of all types, particularly those with central receiver system (CRS) has been attracting a lot of attention recently. Today, these power plants cannot compete with the conventional power generation systems in terms of Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) and if a competitive LCOE is to be reached, employing an efficient thermodynamic power cycle is deemed essential. In the present work, a novel combined cycle is proposed for power generation from solar power towers. The proposed system consists of a closed Brayton cycle, which uses helium as the working fluid, and two organic Rankine cycles which are employed to recover the waste heat of the Brayton cycle. The system is thermodynamically assessed from both the first and second law viewpoints. A parametric study is conducted to examine the effects of key operating parameters (including solar subsystem and power cycle parameters) on the overall power plant performance. The results indicate that exergy efficiencies of higher than 30% are achieved for the overall power plant. Also, according to the results, the power cycle proposed in this work has a better performance than the other investigated Rankine and supercritical CO_2 systems operating under similar conditions, for these types of solar power plants.

  3. On the daily cycle of the climatological variables in the Municipality of Quibdo

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pabon, Jose Daniel; Reiner Palomino Lemus; William Murillo Lopez

    2005-01-01

    We analyzed the daily cycle of the climatological variables (solar radiation, air temperature, atmospheric pressure, precipitation and wind) in Quibdo, (5.45 degrades N and 76.39 degrades W, 53m), department of Choco. The analysis is based on hourly data recorded during the period 2000-2004 at the meteorological and radiometric station of the technological university of Choco, Diego Luis Cordoba (UTCH). It is shown that the daily cycle of the climatological variables in the city of Quibdo is typical of the tropical areas and the particularities of the daily pattern of precipitation were found: most of the rains occur during the evening. The seasonal variation of the daily cycle was also established. Finally, an approximation was made to the analyses of the effect of extreme phases of inter annual climate variability associated to El Nino and la Nina

  4. Fuel cycle and waste newsletter, Vol. 5, No. 1, April 2009

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2009-04-01

    The articles in this issue of the newsletter of the Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology cover a broad range of activities ranging from support of uranium mining to the disposal of radioactive waste. The lead article discusses the important subject of how to ensure the sustainable management of disused sealed radioactive sources and in particular how to dispose of them. This is a topic that will become important for most Member States. One option is disposal in deep boreholes, a concept that has been developed and evaluated but as yet needs to be implemented in a Member State. Another article concerns a new network that is under preparation, the Environet network on environmental remediation. This follows up on the successful introduction of networks for research for geological disposal, decommissioning and low-level waste disposal. The network concept provides a forum for exchange of information between the countries with experience and for transfer of knowledge to the countries initiating similar work. It is thus a very useful tool to both strengthen capabilities and provide technical cooperation assistance, through hands-on training courses, site visits and fellowships. Further information is provided on the Reactor Conference - RRFM 2009 which was hosted by the IAEA, the International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO); on the repackaging of the degraded spent nuclear fuel currently stored in the fuel basins at the RA research reactor at the Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Belgrade, Serbia; on the international workshop on Disposal of Radioactive Waste at Intermediate Depth which was hosted by the Republic of Korea; on the upsurge in uranium production cycle activity; on national fuel cycle strategies; on experiences and plans of the disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel in the Russian Federation (CEG Meeting); on the 2nd annual TWGRR (Technical Working Group on Research Reactors) meeting; on the EC

  5. Business cycle development in Czech and Slovak economies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Poměnková, J.

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on the business cycle development of Czech and Slovak economies. The main objective is to compare several methodological approaches to identify business cycles with the main theoretical sources of the economic activity movements in the analyzed periods. As both economies are of transition type, the growth business cycle concept will be considered. In this respect, deterministic as well as stochastic methods for obtaining cyclical fluctuations are applied. Czech and Slovak economies fall into the group of transition economies where the problems of insufficient number of observations and structural changes in empirical time series analysis occur. Even if there are many similarities in the institutions of both economies, the authors identified different regular periodicities of the waves. The used frequency analysis is a slightly unique approach of business cycle modeling. The analysis of business cycle movements has significant potential to improve economic policy efficiency.

  6. Simulating carbon and water cycles of larch forests in East Asia by the BIOME-BGC model with AsiaFlux data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Ueyama

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Larch forests are widely distributed across many cool-temperate and boreal regions, and they are expected to play an important role in global carbon and water cycles. Model parameterizations for larch forests still contain large uncertainties owing to a lack of validation. In this study, a process-based terrestrial biosphere model, BIOME-BGC, was tested for larch forests at six AsiaFlux sites and used to identify important environmental factors that affect the carbon and water cycles at both temporal and spatial scales.

    The model simulation performed with the default deciduous conifer parameters produced results that had large differences from the observed net ecosystem exchange (NEE, gross primary productivity (GPP, ecosystem respiration (RE, and evapotranspiration (ET. Therefore, we adjusted several model parameters in order to reproduce the observed rates of carbon and water cycle processes. This model calibration, performed using the AsiaFlux data, substantially improved the model performance. The simulated annual GPP, RE, NEE, and ET from the calibrated model were highly consistent with observed values.

    The observed and simulated GPP and RE across the six sites were positively correlated with the annual mean air temperature and annual total precipitation. On the other hand, the simulated carbon budget was partly explained by the stand disturbance history in addition to the climate. The sensitivity study indicated that spring warming enhanced the carbon sink, whereas summer warming decreased it across the larch forests. The summer radiation was the most important factor that controlled the carbon fluxes in the temperate site, but the VPD and water conditions were the limiting factors in the boreal sites. One model parameter, the allocation ratio of carbon between belowground and aboveground, was site-specific, and it was negatively correlated with the annual climate of annual mean air temperature and total precipitation

  7. Simulating carbon and water cycles of larch forests in East Asia by the BIOME-BGC model with AsiaFlux data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ueyama, M.; Ichii, K.; Hirata, R.; Takagi, K.; Asanuma, J.; Machimura, T.; Nakai, Y.; Ohta, T.; Saigusa, N.; Takahashi, Y.; Hirano, T.

    2010-03-01

    Larch forests are widely distributed across many cool-temperate and boreal regions, and they are expected to play an important role in global carbon and water cycles. Model parameterizations for larch forests still contain large uncertainties owing to a lack of validation. In this study, a process-based terrestrial biosphere model, BIOME-BGC, was tested for larch forests at six AsiaFlux sites and used to identify important environmental factors that affect the carbon and water cycles at both temporal and spatial scales. The model simulation performed with the default deciduous conifer parameters produced results that had large differences from the observed net ecosystem exchange (NEE), gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (RE), and evapotranspiration (ET). Therefore, we adjusted several model parameters in order to reproduce the observed rates of carbon and water cycle processes. This model calibration, performed using the AsiaFlux data, substantially improved the model performance. The simulated annual GPP, RE, NEE, and ET from the calibrated model were highly consistent with observed values. The observed and simulated GPP and RE across the six sites were positively correlated with the annual mean air temperature and annual total precipitation. On the other hand, the simulated carbon budget was partly explained by the stand disturbance history in addition to the climate. The sensitivity study indicated that spring warming enhanced the carbon sink, whereas summer warming decreased it across the larch forests. The summer radiation was the most important factor that controlled the carbon fluxes in the temperate site, but the VPD and water conditions were the limiting factors in the boreal sites. One model parameter, the allocation ratio of carbon between belowground and aboveground, was site-specific, and it was negatively correlated with the annual climate of annual mean air temperature and total precipitation. Although this study substantially

  8. Space Program Annual Report, For Approval

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    TM Schaefer

    2004-01-01

    Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (KAPL) (lead) has been requested by the Reference to create an unclassified report on the Prometheus Program's Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) mission. This report is expected to be issued annually and be similar in level of content and scope to the NR Program's annual report ''The United States Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program'' (referred to as the Grey Book). The attachment to this letter provides a draft of the Prometheus Program report for NR review and approval. As stated in the Reference, a March 2005 issuance is planned following a coordinated NR Headquarter's review. The information contained in the attached report was obtained from open literature sources, NASA documents and Naval Reactors Program literature. The photographs contained in the report are drafts and their quality will be improved in the final version of the report. This report has been reviewed by the KAPL and Bettis Space Power Plant Staff and has been concurred with by the Manager of Space Power Plant (MJ Wollman) and the Manager of Bettis Reactor Engineering (C Eshelman)

  9. Life cycle inventories for bioenergy and fossil-fuel fired cogeneration plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Braennstroem-Norberg, B.M.; Dethlefsen, U.

    1998-06-01

    Life-cycle inventories for heat production from forest fuel, Salix, coal and oil are presented. Data from the Oerebro cogeneration plant are used for the bioenergy and coal cycles, whereas the oil-fired cycle is based on a fictive plant producing 53 MW electricity and 106 MW heat, also located in the town of Oerebro. This life cycle analysis only covers the inventory stage. A complete life cycle analysis also includes an environmental impact assessment. The methods for assessing environmental impact are still being developed and thus this phase has been omitted here. The intention is, instead, to provide an overall perspective of where in the chain the greatest environmental load for each fuel can be found. Production and energy conversion of fuel requires energy, which is often obtained from fossil fuel. This input energy corresponds to about 11% of the extracted amount of energy for oil, 9% for coal, 6% for Salix, whereas it is about 4% for forest fuel. Utilization of fossil fuel in the coal cycle amounts to production of electricity using coal condensation intended for train transports within Poland. In a life cycle perspective, biofuels show 20-30 times lower emissions of greenhouse gases in comparison with fossil fuels. The chains for biofuels also give considerably lower SO 2 emissions than the chains for coal and oil. The coal chain shows about 50% higher NO x emission than the other fuels. Finally, the study illustrates that emission of particles are similar for all sources of energy. The biofuel cycle is assessed to be generally applicable to plants of similar type and size and with similar transport distances. The oil cycle is probably applicable to small-scale cogeneration plants. However, at present there are no cogeneration plants in Sweden that are solely fired with oil. In the case of the coal cycle, deep mining and a relatively long transport distance within Poland have been assumed. If the coal mining had been from open-cast mines, and if the

  10. Atmospheric cycles of nitrogen oxides and ammonia. [source strengths and destruction rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bottger, A.; Ehhalt, D. H.; Gravenhorst, G.

    1981-01-01

    The atmospheric cycles of nitrogenous trace compounds for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres are discussed. Source strengths and destruction rates for the nitrogen oxides: NO, NO2 and HNO3 -(NOX) and ammonia (NH3) are given as a function of latitude over continents and oceans. The global amounts of NOX-N and NH3-N produced annually in the period 1950 to 1975 (34 + 5 x one trillion g NOx-N/yr and 29 + or - 6 x one trillion g NH3-N/yr) are much less than previously assumed. Globally, natural and anthropogenic emissions are of similar magnitude. The NOx emission from anthropogenic sources is 1.5 times that from natural processes in the Northern Hemisphere, whereas in the Southern Hemisphere, it is a factor of 3 or 4 less. More than 80% of atmospheric ammonia seems to be derived from excrements of domestic animals, mostly by bulk deposition: 24 + or - 9 x one trillion g NO3 -N/yr and 21 + or - 9 x one trillion g NH4+-N/yr. Another fraction may be removed by absorption on vegetation and soils.

  11. Annual Cycles of Two Cyanobacterial Mat Communities in Hydro-Terrestrial Habitats of the High Arctic

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Tashyreva, D.; Elster, Josef

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 71, č. 4 (2016), s. 887-900 ISSN 0095-3628 R&D Projects: GA MŠk ME 934; GA MŠk LA341 Institutional support: RVO:67985939 Keywords : Phormidium * Life cycle * Polar Regions Subject RIV: EH - Ecology , Behaviour Impact factor: 3.630, year: 2016

  12. Solar-cycle variation of zonal and meridional flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Komm, R; Howe, R; Hill, F; Hernandez, I Gonzalez; Haber, D

    2011-01-01

    We study the variation with the solar cycle of the zonal and meridional flows in the near-surface layers of the solar convection zone. We have analyzed MDI Dynamics-Program data with ring-diagram analysis covering the rising phase of cycle 23, while the analyzed GONG high-resolution data cover the maximum and declining phase of cycle 23. For the zonal flow, the migration with latitude of the flow pattern is apparent in the deeper layers, while for the meridional flow, a migration with latitude is apparent only in the layers close to the surface. The faster-than-average bands of the zonal flow associated with the new cycle are clearly visible. Similarly, a pattern related to the new cycle appears in the residual meridional flow. We also study the flow differences between the hemispheres during the course of the solar cycle. The difference pattern of the meridional flow is slanted in latitude straddling the faster-than-average band of the torsional oscillation pattern in the zonal flow. The difference pattern of the zonal flow, on the other hand, resembles the cycle variation of the meridional flow. In addition, the meridional flow during the minimum of cycle 23/24 appears to be slightly stronger than during the previous minimum of cycle 22/23.

  13. Evaluation of the energy efficiency of combined cycle gas turbine. Case study of Tashkent thermal power plant, Uzbekistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aminov, Zarif; Nakagoshi, Nobukazu; Xuan, Tran Dang; Higashi, Osamu; Alikulov, Khusniddin

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • The combined cycle power plant (CCPP) has a steam turbine and a gas turbine. • Fossil fuel savings and reduction of the CCGT of was evaluated. • The performance of a three pressure CCGT is modelled under different modes. • Energy efficiency of the combined cycle was 58.28%. • An annual reduction of 1760.18 tNO_x/annum and 981.25 ktCO_2/annum can be achieved. - Abstract: The power generation of Tashkent Thermal Power Plant (TPP) is based on conventional power units. Moreover, the facility suffers from limited efficiency in electricity generation. The plant was constructed during the Soviet era. Furthermore, the power plant is being used for inter-hour power generation regulation. As a result, the efficiency can be reduced by increasing specific fuel consumption. This research focuses on the evaluation of the energy efficiency of the combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) for the Tashkent TPP. Specifically, the objective is an evaluation of fossil fuel savings and reduction of CO_2 and NO_x emissions with the using CCGT technology at conventional power plant. The proposed combined cycle power plant (CCPP) includes an existing steam turbine (ST) with 160 MW capacity, heat recovery steam generator (HRSG), and gas turbine (GT) technology with 300 MW capacity. The performance of a three pressure CCGT is modelled under different modes. As a result, the efficiency of the combined cycle was evaluated at 58.28%, while the conventional cycle had an efficiency of 34.5%. We can achieve an annual reduction of 1760.18 tNO_x/annum and 981.25 ktCO_2/annum.

  14. Western Canada drilling cycle optimization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-06-01

    The oil and gas industry in western Canada operates in annual and seasonal cycles with peak activity periods that require a large skilled labour force for short periods of time. This study examines why seismic and drilling activity is greatest during the first quarter of the year instead of being distributed evenly over the year. The objective of the study was to provide recommendations that would help optimize the industry cycle. The study includes an analysis of historical trends that validate the industry first quarter peaking activity. It also includes interviews with 36 industry representatives and provides insight and validation of trends. The final phase of the report includes recommendations that both industry and governments may wish to implement. The study includes financial, operational and environmental considerations. It was shown that natural gas directed drilling activity is strongly correlated with changes in natural gas prices. In the case of oil drilling activity, peak activity responds to oil prices from the prior quarter. In general, drilling and seismic costs are higher in the winter months because of increased demand for equipment and services. In addition winter drilling operations require a diesel fired boiler to generate steam. 36 refs., 2 tabs., 52 figs

  15. Postural effects when cycling in late pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Neill, Maureen E; Cooper, Karen A; Boyce, E Stewart; Hunyor, Stephen N

    2006-12-01

    This study assessed if upright cycling is preferable to semi-recumbent cycling during pregnancy. Healthy women with low risk singleton pregnancies were tested at 34-38 weeks gestation. They cycled for 12 min, either semi-recumbent (45 degrees, n = 27) or upright (n = 23), at 135-145 beats min(-1). When semi-recumbent, minute ventilation was greater (pposture-independent. All increased with exercise (p0.05). Small post-exercise fetal heart rate increases (by 8 beats min(-1), ppostures (n = 11 in each sub-group), with no adverse changes. Fetal heart rate accelerations and uterine activity (n = 11 in each sub-group) were not influenced by posture or exercise. (1) Neither posture had a distinct advantage. (2) Both postures were safe for short duration cycling. (3) The same target maternal heart rates are suitable for both postures because they resulted in similar oxygen consumptions and fetal heart rates.

  16. An automated approach for annual layer counting in ice cores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winstrup, M.; Svensson, A.; Rasmussen, S. O.; Winther, O.; Steig, E.; Axelrod, A.

    2012-04-01

    The temporal resolution of some ice cores is sufficient to preserve seasonal information in the ice core record. In such cases, annual layer counting represents one of the most accurate methods to produce a chronology for the core. Yet, manual layer counting is a tedious and sometimes ambiguous job. As reliable layer recognition becomes more difficult, a manual approach increasingly relies on human interpretation of the available data. Thus, much may be gained by an automated and therefore objective approach for annual layer identification in ice cores. We have developed a novel method for automated annual layer counting in ice cores, which relies on Bayesian statistics. It uses algorithms from the statistical framework of Hidden Markov Models (HMM), originally developed for use in machine speech recognition. The strength of this layer detection algorithm lies in the way it is able to imitate the manual procedures for annual layer counting, while being based on purely objective criteria for annual layer identification. With this methodology, it is possible to determine the most likely position of multiple layer boundaries in an entire section of ice core data at once. It provides a probabilistic uncertainty estimate of the resulting layer count, hence ensuring a proper treatment of ambiguous layer boundaries in the data. Furthermore multiple data series can be incorporated to be used at once, hence allowing for a full multi-parameter annual layer counting method similar to a manual approach. In this study, the automated layer counting algorithm has been applied to data from the NGRIP ice core, Greenland. The NGRIP ice core has very high temporal resolution with depth, and hence the potential to be dated by annual layer counting far back in time. In previous studies [Andersen et al., 2006; Svensson et al., 2008], manual layer counting has been carried out back to 60 kyr BP. A comparison between the counted annual layers based on the two approaches will be presented

  17. Building technologies program. 1995 annual report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Selkowitz, S.E.

    1996-05-01

    The 1995 annual report discusses laboratory activities in the Building Technology Program. The report is divided into four categories: windows and daylighting, lighting systems, building energy simulation, and advanced building systems. The objective of the Building Technologies program is to assist the U.S. building industry in achieving substantial reductions in building-sector energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions while improving comfort, amenity, health, and productivity in the building sector. Past efforts have focused on windows and lighting, and on the simulation tools needed to integrate the full range of energy efficiency solutions into achievable, cost-effective design solutions for new and existing buildings. Current research is based on an integrated systems and life-cycle perspective to create cost-effective solutions for more energy-efficient, comfortable, and productive work and living environments. Sixteen subprograms are described in the report.

  18. The Evolution and Future of Earth's Nitrogen Cycle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Canfield, Donald Eugene; Glazer, Alexander N.; Falkowski, Paul G.

    2010-01-01

    , the development of new agricultural practices to satisfy a growing global demand for food has drastically disrupted the nitrogen cycle. This has led to extensive eutrophication of fresh waters and coastal zones as well as increased inventories of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). Microbial processes......Atmospheric reactions and slow geological processes controlled Earth's earliest nitrogen cycle, and by similar to 2.7 billion years ago, a linked suite of microbial processes evolved to form the modern nitrogen cycle with robust natural feedbacks and controls. Over the past century, however...... will ultimately restore balance to the nitrogen cycle, but the damage done by humans to the nitrogen economy of the planet will persist for decades, possibly centuries, if active intervention and careful management strategies are not initiated....

  19. Proceedings of the 24th KAIF/KNS Annual Conference

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2009-04-15

    This proceedings contains articles of the 24th KAIF/KNS Annual Conference of the KAIF and Korean Nuclear Society. It was held on Apr. 8-10, 2009 in Seoul, Korea and subject of 24th Conference is the role of nuclear energy: Green enertopia with nuclear. This proceedings is comprised of 8 sessions. The main topic titles of session are as follows: Operation and maintenance of nuclear power plants, Betterment of nuclear power utilization, Enhanced future application of nuclear science and technology, Radioactive waste management, RI production and its utilization, Design, engineering, manufacturing, and construction of NPP in Korea, Nuclear fuel cycle, Nuclear safety and regulation. (Yi, J. H.)

  20. RNA synthesis during meiosis and spermiogenesis in Tylototriton verrucosus anderson - an annual testicular cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roy, R.R.; Ray, D.; Ghosal, S.K.

    1989-01-01

    RNA synthetic activity during various stages of meiosis and spermiogenesis in Tylotatriton verrucosus has been studied throughout the testicular cycle by autoradiographic technique. Meiocytes are 'hot' during breeding months while spermatids as well as spermatozoa has shown RNA synthetic activity during breeding and non breeding months. Continuation of RNA synthetic activity in spermatozoa suggests continued transcription necessary for sperm preservation of this seasonal breeder. (author). 8 refs., 1 tab

  1. Molecular machinery of signal transduction and cell cycle regulation in Plasmodium

    OpenAIRE

    Koyama, Fernanda C.; Chakrabarti, Debopam; Garcia, Célia R.S.

    2009-01-01

    The regulation of the Plasmodium cell cycle is not understood. Although the Plasmodium falciparum genome is completely sequenced, about 60% of the predicted proteins share little or no sequence similarity with other eukaryotes. This feature impairs the identification of important proteins participating in the regulation of the cell cycle. There are several open questions that concern cell cycle progression in malaria parasites, including the mechanism by which multiple nuclear divisions is co...

  2. The role of urbanization in the global carbon cycle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Galina eChurkina

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Urban areas account for more than 70% of CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels. Urban expansion in tropics is responsible for 5% of the annual emissions from land use change. Here I show that the effect of urbanization on the global carbon cycle extends beyond these emissions. I quantify the contribution of urbanization to the major carbon fluxes and pools globally and identify gaps crucial for predicting the evolution of the carbon cycle in the future. Urban residents currently control ~22 (12-40 % of the land carbon uptake (112 PgC/yr and ~24 (15-39 % of the carbon emissions (117 PgC/yr from land globally. Urbanization resulted in the creation of new carbon pools on land such as buildings (~6.7 PgC and landfills (~30 PgC. Together these pools store 1.6 (±0.3 % of the total vegetation and soil carbon pools globally. The creation and maintenance of these new pools has been associated with high emissions of CO2, which are currently better understood than the processes associated with the dynamics of these pools and accompanying uptake of carbon. Predictions of the future trajectories of the global carbon cycle will require a much better understanding of how urban development affects the carbon cycle over the long term.

  3. Basic survey project for joint implementation in fiscal 1998. Study of BFG mono-firing gas turbine combined cycle power plant application for the steel mill of China; 1998 nendo kyodo jisshi nado suishin kiso chosa. Chugoku seitetsu kaishamuke koro gas sensho combined cycle hatsuden setsubi

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1999-03-01

    Discussions were given on application to the steel mills in China of a 1100-degree C class high-efficiency combined cycle power plant (CCPP) exclusively firing blast furnace gas developed jointly by Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan and ABB Corporation of Switzerland. The CCPP can utilize the energy possessed by a fuel without waste from high temperature zones to low temperature zones, being capable of attaining high efficiency that cannot be achieved with the single cycle. The CCPP has the efficiency exceeding that of the BTGP by about 10% or more in absolute value. The investigations and discussions were given on Shougang General Corporation, Anshan Steel Corporation and Wuhan Steel Corporation. As a result, in the plan for the power plant of Shougang General Corporation on which both parties have agreed, the project implementation can be expected to result in electric power generation of 110 MW in annual average, factory air supply of about 100 tons per hour in annual average, and annual reduction of carbon dioxide of 841 kilo tons. Wuhan Steel and Anshan Steel will require implementation of further detailed investigation, but the possibility of realization is considered high (NEDO)

  4. Thermal Stability of Hexamethyldisiloxane (MM for High-Temperature Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Markus Preißinger

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The design of efficient Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC units for the usage of industrial waste heat at high temperatures requires direct contact evaporators without intermediate thermal oil circuits. Therefore, the thermal stability of high-temperature working fluids gains importance. In this study, the thermal degradation of hexamethyldisiloxane (MM is investigated in an electrically heated tube. Qualitative results concerning remarks on degradation products as well as quantitative results like the annual degradation rate are presented. It is shown that MM is stable up to a temperature of 300 °C with annual degradation rates of less than 3.5%. Furthermore, the break of a silicon–carbon bond can be a main chemical reaction that influences the thermal degradation. Finally, it is discussed how the results may impact the future design of ORC units.

  5. Contribution of fine tree roots to the silicon cycle in a temperate forest ecosystem developed on three soil types

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turpault, Marie-Pierre; Calvaruso, Christophe; Kirchen, Gil; Redon, Paul-Olivier; Cochet, Carine

    2018-04-01

    The role of forest vegetation in the silicon (Si) cycle has been widely examined. However, to date, little is known about the specific role of fine roots. The main objective of our study was to assess the influence of fine roots on the Si cycle in a temperate forest in north-eastern France. Silicon pools and fluxes in vegetal solid and solution phases were quantified within each ecosystem compartment, i.e. in the atmosphere, above-ground and below-ground tree tissues, forest floor and different soil layers, on three plots, each with different soil types, i.e. Dystric Cambisol (DC), Eutric Cambisol (EC) and Rendzic Leptosol (RL). In this study, we took advantage of a natural soil gradient, from shallow calcic soil to deep moderately acidic soil, with similar climates, atmospheric depositions, species compositions and management. Soil solutions were measured monthly for 4 years to study the seasonal dynamics of Si fluxes. A budget of dissolved Si (DSi) was also determined for the forest floor and soil layers. Our study highlighted the major role of fine roots in the Si cycle in forest ecosystems for all soil types. Due to the abundance of fine roots mainly in the superficial soil layers, their high Si concentration (equivalent to that of leaves and 2 orders higher than that of coarse roots) and their rapid turnover rate (approximately 1 year), the mean annual Si fluxes in fine roots in the three plots were 68 and 110 kg ha-1 yr-1 for the RL and the DC, respectively. The turnover rates of fine roots and leaves were approximately 71 and 28 % of the total Si taken up by trees each year, demonstrating the importance of biological recycling in the Si cycle in forests. Less than 1 % of the Si taken up by trees each year accumulated in the perennial tissues. This study also demonstrated the influence of soil type on the concentration of Si in the annual tissues and therefore on the Si fluxes in forests. The concentrations of Si in leaves and fine roots were approximately 1

  6. Life cycle versus balanced funds: An emerging market perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elbie Louw

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: Inadequate retirement savings is an international challenge. Additionally, individuals are not cognisant of how asset allocation choices ultimately impact retirement savings. Life cycle and balanced funds are popular asset allocation strategies to save towards retirement. However, recent research is questioning the efficacy of life cycle funds that switch to lower risk asset classes as retirement approaches. Aim: The purpose of this study is to compare the performance of life cycle funds with balanced funds to determine whether either dominates the other. The study compares balanced and life cycle funds with similar starting asset allocations as well as those where the starting asset allocations differ. Setting: The study has a South African focus and constructs funds using historical data for the main local asset classes; that is, equity, fixed income and cash, as well as a proxy for foreign equity covering the period 1986–2013. Method: The study makes use of Monte Carlo simulations and bootstrap with replacement, and compares the simulated outcomes using stochastic dominance as decision-making criteria. Results: The results indicate that life cycle funds fail to dominate balanced funds by first-order or almost stochastic dominance when funds have a similar starting asset allocation. It is noteworthy that there are instances where the opposite is true, that is, balanced funds dominate life cycle funds. These results highlight that while the life cycle funds provide more downside protection, they significantly suppress the upside potential compared to balanced funds. When the starting asset allocations of the balanced and life cycle funds differ, the stochastic dominance results are inconsistent as to the efficacy of the life cycle fund strategies considered. Conclusion: The study shows that whether one fund is likely to dominate the other is strongly dependent on the underlying asset allocation strategies of the funds

  7. Temporal dynamics of flooding, evaporation, and desiccation cycles and observations of salt crust area change at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowen, Brenda B.; Kipnis, Evan L.; Raming, Logan W.

    2017-12-01

    The Bonneville Salt Flats (BSF) in Utah is a dynamic saline playa environment responding to natural and anthropogenic forces. Over the last century, the saline groundwater from below BSF has been harvested to produce potash via evaporative mining, mostly used as agricultural fertilizers, while the surface halite crust has provided a significant recreational site for land speed racing. Perceptions of changes in the salt crust through time have spurred debates about land use and management; however, little is known about the timescales of natural change as the salt crust responds to climatic parameters that drive flooding, evaporation, and desiccation (FED) cycles that control surface salt growth and dissolution. Climate data over the last 30 years are examined to identify annual patterns in surface water balance at BSF to identify annual and seasonal climate constraints on FED cycles. Landsat satellite data from 1986 to the present are used to map the areal extent of the surface halite salt crust at BSF at the end of the desiccation season (between August 15 and October 30) annually. Overall, the observed area of the desiccation-stage BSF halite crust has varied from a maximum of 156 km2 in 1993 to a minimum of 72 km2 in 2014 with an overall trend of declining area of halite observed over the 30 years of analysis. Climatic variables that influence FED cycles and seasonal salt dissolution and precipitation have also varied through this time period; however, the relationship between surface water fluxes and salt crust area do not clearly correlate, suggesting that other processes are influencing the extent of the salt. Intra-annual analyses of salt area and weather illustrate the importance of ponded surface water, wind events, and microtopography in shaping a laterally extensive but thin and ephemeral halite crust. Examination of annual to decadal changes in salt crust extent and environmental parameters at BSF provides insights into the processes driving change and

  8. Ecosystem impacts of exotic annual invaders in the Genus Bromus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Germino, Matthew J.; Belnap, Jayne; Stark, John M.; Allen, Edith B.; Rau, Benjamin M.

    2016-01-01

    An understanding of the impacts of exotic plant species on ecosystems is necessary to justify and guide efforts to limit their spread, restore natives, and plan for conservation. Invasive annual grasses such as Bromus tectorum, B. rubens, B. hordeaceus, and B. diandrus (hereafter collectively referred to as Bromus) transform the structure and function of ecosystems they dominate. Experiments that prove cause-and-effect impacts of Bromus are rare, yet inferences can be gleaned from the combination of Bromus-ecosystem associations, ecosystem condition before/after invasion, and an understanding of underlying mechanisms. Bromus typically establishes in bare soil patches and can eventually replace perennials such as woody species or bunchgrasses, creating a homogeneous annual cover. Plant productivity and cover are less stable across seasons and years when Bromus dominates, due to a greater response to annual climate variability. Bromus’ “flash” of growth followed by senescence early in the growing season, combined with shallow rooting and annual habit, may lead to incomplete use of deep soil water, reduced C sequestration, and accelerated nutrient cycling. Litter produced by Bromus alters nearly all aspects of ecosystems and notably increases wildfire occurrence. Where Bromus has become dominant, it can decrease soil stability by rendering soils bare for months following fire or episodic, pathogen-induced stand failure. Bromus-invaded communities have lower species diversity, and associated species tend to be generalists adapted to unstable and variable habitats. Changes in litter, fire, and soil properties appear to feedback to reinforce Bromus’ dominance in a pattern that portends desertification.

  9. Annual report - Industrias Nucleares do Brasil S A - 1998; Relatorio anual - Industrias Nucleares do Brasil S A - 1998

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1999-07-01

    The annual report of 1998 of Industrias Nucleares do Brasil S A - Brazilian company responsible for the industrial activities of the nuclear fuel cycle - introduces the next main topics: mineral resource directory main actions; industrial directory main actions; finance and administration directory main actions; transparency; environment, safety and quality; the company; and financial statements.

  10. Metabolic Engineering of TCA Cycle for Production of Chemicals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vuoristo, Kiira S; Mars, Astrid E; Sanders, Johan P M; Eggink, Gerrit; Weusthuis, Ruud A

    2016-03-01

    The tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle has been used for decades in the microbial production of chemicals such as citrate, L-glutamate, and succinate. Maximizing yield is key for cost-competitive production. However, for most TCA cycle products, the maximum pathway yield is lower than the theoretical maximum yield (Y(E)). For succinate, this was solved by creating two pathways to the product, using both branches of the TCA cycle, connected by the glyoxylate shunt (GS). A similar solution cannot be applied directly for production of compounds from the oxidative branch of the TCA cycle because irreversible reactions are involved. Here, we describe how this can be overcome and what the impact is on the yield. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Ammonia oxidizer populations vary with nitrogen cycling across a tropical montane mean annual temperature gradient

    Science.gov (United States)

    S. Pierre; I. Hewson; J. P. Sparks; C. M. Litton; C. Giardina; P. M. Groffman; T. J. Fahey

    2017-01-01

    Functional gene approaches have been used to better understand the roles of microbes in driving forest soil nitrogen (N) cycling rates and bioavailability. Ammonia oxidation is a rate limiting step in nitrification, and is a key area for understanding environmental constraints on N availability in forests. We studied how increasing temperature affects the role of...

  12. Environmental Science and Technology Department annual report 1992

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jensen, A.; Gissel Nielsen, G.; Gundersen, V.; Nielsen, O.J.; Oestergaard, H.; Aarkrog, A. [eds.

    1993-03-01

    Through basic and strategic research, the Environmental Science and Technology Department aspires to develop new ideas for industrial and agricultural production thus exerting less stress and strain on the environment. The department endeavours to develop a competent scientific basis for future production technology and management methods in industrial and agricultural production. The research approach in the department in predominantly experimental. Selected department research activities during 1992 are introduced and reviewed in seven chapters: 1. Introduction. 2. The Atmospheric Environment. 3. Plant Genetics and Resistance Biology. 4. Plant Nutrition and Mineral Cycling. 5. Chemistry of the Geosphere. 6. Ecology and Mineral Cycling. 7. Other Activities. The department`s contribution to national and international collaborative research programmes in presented in addition in formation about large research and development facilities used and management by the department. The department`s educational and training activities are included in the annual report along with lists of publications, publications in press, lectures and poster presentations at international meetings. The names of the scientific and technological staff members, visiting scientists, Post. doctoral fellows, Ph.D. students and M.Sc. students are also listed. (au).

  13. Environmental Science and Technology Department annual report 1992

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jensen, A.; Gissel Nielsen, G.; Gundersen, V.; Nielsen, O.J.; Oestergaard, H.; Aarkrog, A.

    1993-03-01

    Through basic and strategic research, the Environmental Science and Technology Department aspires to develop new ideas for industrial and agricultural production thus exerting less stress and strain on the environment. The department endeavours to develop a competent scientific basis for future production technology and management methods in industrial and agricultural production. The research approach in the department in predominantly experimental. Selected department research activities during 1992 are introduced and reviewed in seven chapters: 1. Introduction. 2. The Atmospheric Environment. 3. Plant Genetics and Resistance Biology. 4. Plant Nutrition and Mineral Cycling. 5. Chemistry of the Geosphere. 6. Ecology and Mineral Cycling. 7. Other Activities. The department's contribution to national and international collaborative research programmes in presented in addition in formation about large research and development facilities used and management by the department. The department's educational and training activities are included in the annual report along with lists of publications, publications in press, lectures and poster presentations at international meetings. The names of the scientific and technological staff members, visiting scientists, Post. doctoral fellows, Ph.D. students and M.Sc. students are also listed. (au)

  14. Annual report 1973

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1973-01-01

    The GKSS scientific annual report summarizes the problems and results of the research and development projects of 1973. In contrast to earlier annual reports, a comprehensive description of the research facilities is not included. The annual report was extended by the paragraph 'Financial Report 1973' in the chapter 'Development of Geesthacht Research Centre'. The financial report gives a survey of the financial transactions and the major operations of the year under review. (orig./AK) [de

  15. High temperature gas-cooled reactors - once-through fuel cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1979-03-01

    The HTGR, because of a unique combination of design characteristics, is a resource-efficient and cost-effective reactor. In the HTGR, the low power density core, coated particle fuel design, and gas cooling combine to provide high neutron economy, fuel burnup and thermodynamic efficiency. The uranium resource requirements for the current MEU/Th cycle with annual refueling results in a 30-year net U 3 O 8 requirement of 4280 ST/GWe. The basic design of the HTGR refueling scheme, whereby only selected regions of the core need be accessible during each refueling, makes fuel utilization improvements through semi-annual refueling an acceptable alternative in terms of plant availability. This alternative reduces the 30-year U 3 O 8 requirement by about 9%. Additional resource utilization improvements of 10% could be realized by improved fuel management techniques. In addition to improvements achieved in reactor technology, uranium utilization can also be improved by reducing the U-235 content in the depleted uranium (tails) produced by the isotope separation facility. If the Advanced Isotope Separation Technology program, currently under development by the United States, results in a lowering of the tails assay from 0.20 w/o to 0.05 w/o the uranium feed requirement for MEU/Th cycles would be further reduced by 22%. A total improvement of 41% over the already relatively low 4280 ST/GWe net lifetime U 3 O 8 requirement would result in a 2525 ST/GWe 30-year yet U 3 O 8 requirement if all of the potential improvements were realized

  16. Performance assessment of simple and modified cycle turboshaft gas turbines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barinyima Nkoi

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on investigations encompassing comparative assessment of gas turbine cycle options. More specifically, investigation was carried out of technical performance of turboshaft engine cycles based on existing simple cycle (SC and its projected modified cycles for civil helicopter application. Technically, thermal efficiency, specific fuel consumption, and power output are of paramount importance to the overall performance of gas turbine engines. In course of carrying out this research, turbomatch software established at Cranfield University based on gas turbine theory was applied to conduct simulation of a simple cycle (baseline two-spool helicopter turboshaft engine model with free power turbine. Similarly, some modified gas turbine cycle configurations incorporating unconventional components, such as engine cycle with low pressure compressor (LPC zero-staged, recuperated engine cycle, and intercooled/recuperated (ICR engine cycle, were also simulated. In doing so, design point (DP and off-design point (OD performances of the engine models were established. The percentage changes in performance parameters of the modified cycle engines over the simple cycle were evaluated and it was found that to a large extent, the modified engine cycles with unconventional components exhibit better performances in terms of thermal efficiency and specific fuel consumption than the traditional simple cycle engine. This research made use of public domain open source references.

  17. Effect of variable annual precipitation and nutrient input on nitrogen and phosphorus transport from two Midwestern agricultural watersheds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalkhoff, Stephen J.; Hubbard, Laura E.; Tomer, Mark D.; James, D.E.

    2016-01-01

    Precipitation patterns and nutrient inputs affect transport of nitrate (NO3-N) and phosphorus (TP) from Midwest watersheds. Nutrient concentrations and yields from two subsurface-drained watersheds, the Little Cobb River (LCR) in southern Minnesota and the South Fork Iowa River (SFIR) in northern Iowa, were evaluated during 1996–2007 to document relative differences in timings and amounts of nutrients transported. Both watersheds are located in the prairie pothole region, but the SFIR exhibits a longer growing season and more livestock production. The SFIR yielded significantly more NO3-N than the LCR watershed (31.2 versus 21.3 kg NO3-N ha− 1 y− 1). The SFIR watershed also yielded more TP than the LCR watershed (1.13 versus 0.51 kg TP ha− 1 yr− 1), despite greater TP concentrations in the LCR. About 65% of NO3-N and 50% of TP loads were transported during April–June, and < 20% of the annual loads were transported later in the growing season from July–September. Monthly NO3-N and TP loads peaked in April from the LCR but peaked in June from the SFIR; this difference was attributed to greater snowmelt runoff in the LCR. The annual NO3-N yield increased with increasing annual runoff at a similar rate in both watersheds, but the LCR watershed yielded less annual NO3-N than the SFIR for a similar annual runoff. These two watersheds are within 150 km of one another and have similar dominant agricultural systems, but differences in climate and cropping inputs affected amounts and timing of nutrient transport.

  18. Fatigue during maximal sprint cycling: unique role of cumulative contraction cycles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomas, Aleksandar; Ross, Emma Z; Martin, James C

    2010-07-01

    Maximal cycling power has been reported to decrease more rapidly when performed with increased pedaling rates. Increasing pedaling rate imposes two constraints on the neuromuscular system: 1) decreased time for muscle excitation and relaxation and 2) increased muscle shortening velocity. Using two crank lengths allows the effects of time and shortening velocity to be evaluated separately. We conducted this investigation to determine whether the time available for excitation and relaxation or the muscle shortening velocity was mainly responsible for the increased rate of fatigue previously observed with increased pedaling rates and to evaluate the influence of other possible fatiguing constraints. Seven trained cyclists performed 30-s maximal isokinetic cycling trials using two crank lengths: 120 and 220 mm. Pedaling rate was optimized for maximum power for each crank length: 135 rpm for the 120-mm cranks (1.7 m x s(-1) pedal speed) and 109 rpm for the 220-mm cranks (2.5 m x s(-1) pedal speed). Power was recorded with an SRM power meter. Crank length did not affect peak power: 999 +/- 276 W for the 120-mm crank versus 1001 +/- 289 W for the 220-mm crank. Fatigue index was greater (58.6% +/- 3.7% vs 52.4% +/- 4.8%, P < 0.01), and total work was less (20.0 +/- 1.8 vs 21.4 +/- 2.0 kJ, P < 0.01) with the higher pedaling rate-shorter crank condition. Regression analyses indicated that the power for the two conditions was most highly related to cumulative work (r2 = 0.94) and to cumulative cycles (r2 = 0.99). These results support previous findings and confirm that pedaling rate, rather than pedal speed, was the main factor influencing fatigue. Our novel result was that power decreased by a similar increment with each crank revolution for the two conditions, indicating that each maximal muscular contraction induced a similar amount of fatigue.

  19. The Mars water cycle at other epochs: History of the polar caps and layered terrain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jakosky, Bruce M.; Henderson, Bradley G.; Mellon, Michael T.

    1992-01-01

    The atmospheric water cycle at the present epoch involves summertime sublimation of water from the north polar cap, transport of water through the atmosphere, and condensation on one or both winter CO2 caps. Exchange with the regolith is important seasonally, but the water content of the atmosphere appears to be controlled by the polar caps. The net annual transport through the atmosphere, integrated over long timescales, must be the driving force behind the long-term evolution of the polar caps; clearly, this feeds back into the evolution of the layered terrain. We have investigated the behavior of the seasonal water cycle and the net integrated behavior at the pole for the last 10 exp 7 years. Our model of the water cycle includes the solar input, CO2 condensation and sublimation, and summertime water sublimation through the seasonal cycles, and incorporates the long-term variations in the orbital elements describing the Martian orbit.

  20. The role of accelerators in the nuclear fuel cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, Hiroshi.

    1990-01-01

    The use of neutrons produced by the medium energy proton accelerator (1 GeV--3 GeV) has considerable potential in reconstructing the nuclear fuel cycle. About 1.5 ∼ 2.5 ton of fissile material can be produced annually by injecting a 450 MW proton beam directly into fertile materials. A source of neutrons, produced by a proton beam, to supply subcritical reactors could alleviate many of the safety problems associated with critical assemblies, such as positive reactivity coefficients due to coolant voiding. The transient power of the target can be swiftly controlled by controlling the power of the proton beam. Also, the use of a proton beam would allow more flexibility in the choice of fuel and structural materials which otherwise might reduce the reactivity of reactors. This paper discusses the rate of accelerators in the transmutation of radioactive wastes of the nuclear fuel cycles. 34 refs., 17 figs., 9 tabs

  1. Electricity, nuclear power and fuel cycle in OECD countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1988-01-01

    A questionnaire on Electricity Generation, Nuclear Power and Fuel Cycle Data is distributed annually to OECD Member Countries. In the questionnaire of January 1988, countries were asked to provide data for 1986 and 1987 and most likely projections up to the year 2005. The replies to the questionnaire (or estimates for unavailable data) are presented in this Booklet. Data for 1987 are provisional for several countries. The data on electricity generation and electric capacity are presented to the year 2005, and the data on fuel cycle services to the year 2000. The Addendum contains an analysis of the present and past projections for installed nuclear capacity to 2000. It shows the total capacity of those plants connected to the grid, under construction and firmly planned to be in operation in 2000 as 282 GWe. The new projection of 300 GWe is above this estimate, indicating that some countries are considering further expansion of their nuclear capacities within this time-frame [fr

  2. Fatigue diminishes motoneuronal excitability during cycling exercise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weavil, Joshua C; Sidhu, Simranjit K; Mangum, Tyler S; Richardson, Russell S; Amann, Markus

    2016-10-01

    Exercise-induced fatigue influences the excitability of the motor pathway during single-joint isometric contractions. This study sought to investigate the influence of fatigue on corticospinal excitability during cycling exercise. Eight men performed fatiguing constant-load (80% W peak ; 241 ± 13 W) cycling to exhaustion during which the percent increase in quadriceps electromyography (ΔEMG; vastus lateralis and rectus femoris) was quantified. During a separate trial, subjects performed two brief (∼45 s) nonfatiguing cycling bouts (244 ± 15 and 331 ± 23W) individually chosen to match the ΔEMG across bouts to that observed during fatiguing cycling. Corticospinal excitability during exercise was quantified by transcranial magnetic, electric transmastoid, and femoral nerve stimulation to elicit motor-evoked potentials (MEP), cervicomedullary evoked potentials (CMEP), and M waves in the quadriceps. Peripheral and central fatigue were expressed as pre- to postexercise reductions in quadriceps twitch force (ΔQ tw ) and voluntary quadriceps activation (ΔVA). Whereas nonfatiguing cycling caused no measureable fatigue, fatiguing cycling resulted in significant peripheral (ΔQ tw : 42 ± 6%) and central (ΔVA: 4 ± 1%) fatigue. During nonfatiguing cycling, the area of MEPs and CMEPs, normalized to M waves, similarly increased in the quadriceps (∼40%; P fatiguing cycling. As a consequence, the ratio of MEP to CMEP was unchanged during both trials (P > 0.5). Therefore, although increases in muscle activation promote corticospinal excitability via motoneuronal facilitation during nonfatiguing cycling, this effect is abolished during fatigue. We conclude that the unaltered excitability of the corticospinal pathway from start of intense cycling exercise to exhaustion is, in part, determined by inhibitory influences on spinal motoneurons obscuring the facilitating effects of muscle activation.

  3. Environmental Sciences Division annual progress report for period ending September 30, 1982. Environmental Sciences Division Publication No. 2090

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1983-04-01

    Separate abstracts were prepared for 12 of the 14 sections of the Environmental Sciences Division annual progress report. The other 2 sections deal with educational activities. The programs discussed deal with advanced fuel energy, toxic substances, environmental impacts of various energy technologies, biomass, low-level radioactive waste management, the global carbon cycle, and aquatic and terrestrial ecology

  4. Three-Dimensional Water and Carbon Cycle Modeling at High Spatial-Temporal Resolutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, C.; Zhuang, Q.

    2017-12-01

    Terrestrial ecosystems in cryosphere are very sensitive to the global climate change due to the presence of snow covers, mountain glaciers and permafrost, especially when the increase in near surface air temperature is almost twice as large as the global average. However, few studies have investigated the water and carbon cycle dynamics using process-based hydrological and biogeochemistry modeling approach. In this study, we used three-dimensional modeling approach at high spatial-temporal resolutions to investigate the water and carbon cycle dynamics for the Tanana Flats Basin in interior Alaska with emphases on dissolved organic carbon (DOC) dynamics. The results have shown that: (1) lateral flow plays an important role in water and carbon cycle, especially in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) dynamics. (2) approximately 2.0 × 104 kg C yr-1 DOC is exported to the hydrological networks and it compromises 1% and 0.01% of total annual gross primary production (GPP) and total organic carbon stored in soil, respectively. This study has established an operational and flexible framework to investigate and predict the water and carbon cycle dynamics under the changing climate.

  5. Volume reduction technology development for solid wastes from the nuclear fuel cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oh, Won Zin; Lee, Kune Woo; Song, Kee Chan; Choi, Wang Kyu; Kim, Young Min

    1998-07-01

    A great deal of solid wastes, which have various physical, chemical, and radiological characteristics, are generated from the nuclear fuel cycle facility as well as radioactive gaseous and liquid wastes. The treatment of the large quantity of solid wastes from the nuclear fuel cycle have great technical, economical and social effects on the domestic policy decision on the nuclear fuel cycle, such as operation and maintenance of the facility, waste disposal, etc. Cement immobilization, super compaction, and electrochemical dissolution were selected as the volume reduction technologies for solid wastes, which will generated from the domestic nuclear fuel cycle facility in the future. And the assessment of annual arisings and the preliminary conceptual design of volume reduction processes were followed. Electrochemical decontamination of α-radionuclides from the spent fuel hulls were experimentally investigated, and showed the successful results. However, β/γ radioactivity did not reduce to the level below which hulls can be classified as the low-level radioactive waste and sent to the disposal site for the shallow land burial. The effects of the various process variables in the electrochemical decontamination were experimentally analysed on the process. (author). 32 refs., 32 tabs., 52 figs

  6. Drying/rewetting cycles mobilize old C from deep soils from a California annual grassland

    OpenAIRE

    Schimel, JP; Wetterstedt, JAM; Holden, PA; Trumbore, SE

    2011-01-01

    We measured the 14 C and 13 C signatures of CO 2 respired from surface and deep soils released through multiple dry/rewetting cycles in laboratory incubations. The C respired from surface soils included components fixed before and after the 1960s. However, that respired from deep soils was derived from organic matter with a mean turnover time estimated in the range of 650-850 years. This reinforces previous research suggesting that a substantial amount of deep soil C is chemically labile b...

  7. Risø annual report 2001

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2002-01-01

    In this annual report, we present a small selection of Risø’s achievements in 2001. A more detailed review of Risø’s projects can be found in the Risø Annual Accounts for 2001 as well as in the annual progress reports prepared by the individual researchdepartments.......In this annual report, we present a small selection of Risø’s achievements in 2001. A more detailed review of Risø’s projects can be found in the Risø Annual Accounts for 2001 as well as in the annual progress reports prepared by the individual researchdepartments....

  8. Improving ethanol productivity through self-cycling fermentation of yeast: a proof of concept.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jie; Chae, Michael; Sauvageau, Dominic; Bressler, David C

    2017-01-01

    The cellulosic ethanol industry has developed efficient strategies for converting sugars obtained from various cellulosic feedstocks to bioethanol. However, any further major improvements in ethanol productivity will require development of novel and innovative fermentation strategies that enhance incumbent technologies in a cost-effective manner. The present study investigates the feasibility of applying self-cycling fermentation (SCF) to cellulosic ethanol production to elevate productivity. SCF is a semi-continuous cycling process that employs the following strategy: once the onset of stationary phase is detected, half of the broth volume is automatically harvested and replaced with fresh medium to initiate the next cycle. SCF has been shown to increase product yield and/or productivity in many types of microbial cultivation. To test whether this cycling process could increase productivity during ethanol fermentations, we mimicked the process by manually cycling the fermentation for five cycles in shake flasks, and then compared the results to batch operation. Mimicking SCF for five cycles resulted in regular patterns with regards to glucose consumption, ethanol titer, pH, and biomass production. Compared to batch fermentation, our cycling strategy displayed improved ethanol volumetric productivity (the titer of ethanol produced in a given cycle per corresponding cycle time) and specific productivity (the amount of ethanol produced per cellular biomass) by 43.1 ± 11.6 and 42.7 ± 9.8%, respectively. Five successive cycles contributed to an improvement of overall productivity (the aggregate amount of ethanol produced at the end of a given cycle per total processing time) and the estimated annual ethanol productivity (the amount of ethanol produced per year) by 64.4 ± 3.3 and 33.1 ± 7.2%, respectively. This study provides proof of concept that applying SCF to ethanol production could significantly increase productivities, which will help strengthen the

  9. Preserving prairies: Understanding temporal and spatial patterns of invasive annual bromes in the Northern Great Plains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashton, Isabel; Symstad, Amy J.; Davis, Christopher; Swanson, Daniel J.

    2016-01-01

    Two Eurasian invasive annual brome grasses, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and Japanese brome (Bromus japonicus), are well known for their impact in steppe ecosystems of the western United States where these grasses have altered fire regimes, reduced native plant diversity and abundance, and degraded wildlife habitat. Annual bromes are also abundant in the grasslands of the Northern Great Plains (NGP), but their impact and ecology are not as well studied. It is unclear whether the lessons learned from the steppe will translate to the mixed-grass prairie where native plant species are adapted to frequent fires and grazing. Developing a successful annual brome management strategy for National Park Service units and other NGP grasslands requires better understanding of (1) the impact of annual bromes on grassland condition; (2) the dynamics of these species through space and time; and (3) the relative importance of environmental factors within and outside managers' control for these spatiotemporal dynamics. Here, we use vegetation monitoring data collected from 1998 to 2015 in 295 sites to relate spatiotemporal variability of annual brome grasses to grassland composition, weather, physical environmental characteristics, and ecological processes (grazing and fire). Concern about the impact of these species in NGP grasslands is warranted, as we found a decline in native species richness with increasing annual brome cover. Annual brome cover generally increased over the time of monitoring but also displayed a 3- to 5-yr cycle of reduction and resurgence. Relative cover of annual bromes in the monitored areas was best predicted by park unit, weather, extant plant community, slope grade, soil composition, and fire history. We found no evidence that grazing reduced annual brome cover, but this may be due to the relatively low grazing pressure in our study. By understanding the consequences and patterns of annual brome invasion, we will be better able to preserve and restore

  10. Examining Associations of Environmental Characteristics with Recreational Cycling Behaviour by Street-Level Strava Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Yeran; Du, Yunyan; Wang, Yu; Zhuang, Liyuan

    2017-06-15

    Policymakers pay much attention to effectively increasing frequency of people's cycling in the context of developing sustainable and green cities. Investigating associations of environmental characteristics and cycling behaviour could offer implications for changing urban infrastructure aiming at encouraging active travel. However, earlier examinations of associations between environmental characteristics and active travel behaviour are limited by low spatial granularity and coverage of traditional data. Crowdsourced geographic information offers an opportunity to determine the fine-grained travel patterns of people. Particularly, Strava Metro data offer a good opportunity for studies of recreational cycling behaviour as they can offer hourly, daily or annual cycling volumes with different purposes (commuting or recreational) in each street across a city. Therefore, in this study, we utilised Strava Metro data for investigating associations between environmental characteristics and recreational cycling behaviour at a large spatial scale (street level). In this study, we took account of population density, employment density, road length, road connectivity, proximity to public transit services, land use mix, proximity to green space, volume of motor vehicles and traffic accidents in an empirical investigation over Glasgow. Empirical results reveal that Strava cyclists are more likely to cycle for recreation on streets with short length, large connectivity or low volume of motor vehicles or on streets surrounded by residential land.

  11. Solar cycle modulation of ENSO variability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kodera, Kunihiko; Thiéblemont, Rémi

    2016-04-01

    Inspired by the work of Labitzke and van Loon on solar/QBO modulation in the stratosphere, Barnett (1989) conducted an investigation on the relationship between the the biannual component of the sea surface temperature (SST) in the equatorial eastern Pacific and the solar activity. He found that the amplitude of biannual component of the SST (BO) is modulated by the 11-year solar cycle: the amplitude of the BO is large during a period of low solar activity, but small during high solar activity. More than 25-years or two solar cycle has passed since his finding, but the relationship still holds. In order to get an insight into the mechanism of the solar modulation of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), here we have revisited this problem. Solar cycle modulation of the BO in the tropical SST is discernible since the end of the 19th centuries, but the amplitude modulation is particularly clear after 1960's. The composite analysis of the SST based on the amplitude of the BO during 1958-2012, indicates that the amplitude of BO is larger when the equatorial Pacific temperature anomalies are high in the central Pacific, but low in the eastern Pacific. Central Pacific anomalies extend to the northern hemisphere, while those in the central Pacific spread toward the southern hemisphere. In short, this anomalous SST pattern is similar to the El Niño modoki. In this connection, it should be noted that the solar signal in the tropical SST also exhibits a similar pattern. This suggests that the modulation of the ENSO variability by the solar cycle originates through a modulation of the El Niño Modoki rather than the canonical El Nino.

  12. Annual Report 2010-2011

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    ... 2013-2014 Annual Report 2013-2014 Rapport annuel 2013-2014 Annual Report 2014-2015 Annual Report 2014-2015 Rapport annuel 2014-2015 Investing in Solutions Strategic Plan 2015-2020 Investing in Solutions Strategic Plan 2015-2020 Investir dans des solutions Plan stratégique 2015-2020 Financial statements ...

  13. Moving towards sustainable thorium fuel cycles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hyland, B.; Hamilton, H.

    2011-01-01

    The CANDU reactor has an unsurpassed degree of fuel-cycle flexibility as a consequence of its fuel-channel design, excellent neutron economy, on-power refueling, and simple fuel bundle design. These features facilitate the introduction and full exploitation of thorium fuel cycles in CANDU reactors in an evolutionary fashion. Thoria (ThO 2 ) based fuel offers both fuel performance and safety advantages over urania (UO 2 ) based fuel, due its higher thermal conductivity which results in lower fuel-operating temperatures at similar linear element powers. Thoria fuel has demonstrated lower fission gas release than UO 2 under similar operating powers during test irradiations. In addition, thoria has a higher melting point than urania and is far less reactive in hypothetical accident scenarios owing to the fact that it has only one oxidation state. This paper examines one possible strategy for the introduction of thorium fuel cycles into CANDU reactors. In the short term, the initial fissile material would be provided in a heterogeneous bundle of low-enriched uranium and thorium. The medium term scenario uses homogeneous Pu/Th bundles in the CANDU reactor, further increasing the energy derived from the thorium. In the long term, the full energy potential from thorium would be realized through the recycle of the U-233 in the used fuel. With U-233 recycle in CANDU reactors, plutonium would then only be required to top up the fissile content to achieve the desired burnup. (author)

  14. NUKEM annual report 1981

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    The annual report of this important undertaking in the German nuclear industry informs about its structure, holdings and activities in 1981. The report of the management is followed by remarks on the annual statement of accounts (annual balance, profit-loss accounting) and the report of the Supervisory Board. In the annex the annual balance of NUKEM GmbH/HOBEG mbH as per December 31, 1981, and the profit-loss accounting of NUKEM GmbH/HOBEG mbH for the business year 1981 are presented. (UA) [de

  15. Tradeoffs in fuel cycle performance for most promising options - 15346

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taiwo, T.; Kim, T.K.; Feng, B.; Stauff, N.; Hoffman, E.; Ganda, F.; Todosow, M.; Brown, N.; Raitses, G.; Gehin, J.; Powers, J.; Youinou, G.; Hiruta, H.; Wigeland, R.

    2015-01-01

    A recent Evaluation and Screening (E/S) study of nuclear fuel cycle options was conducted by grouping all potential options into 40 Evaluation Groups (EGs) based on similarities in fundamental physics characteristics and fuel cycle performance. Through a rigorous evaluation process considering benefit and challenge metrics, 4 of these EGs were identified by the E/S study as 'most promising'. All 4 involve continuous recycle of U/Pu or U/TRU with natural uranium feed in fast critical reactors. However, these most promising EGs also include fuel cycle groups with variations on feed materials, neutron spectra, and reactor criticality. Therefore, the impacts of the addition of natural thorium fuel feed to a system that originally only used natural uranium fuel feed, using an intermediate spectrum instead of a fast spectrum, and using externally-driven systems versus critical reactors were evaluated. It was found that adding thorium to the natural uranium feed mixture leads to lower burnup, higher mass flows, and degrades fuel cycle benefit metrics (waste management, resource utilization, etc.) for fuel cycles that continuously recycle U/Pu or U/TRU. Adding thorium results in fissions of 233 U instead of just 239 Pu and in turn results in a lower average number of neutrons produced per absorption (η) for the fast reactor system. For continuous recycling systems, the lower η results in lower excess reactivity and subsequently lower achievable fuel burnup. This in turn leads to higher mass flows (fabrication, reprocessing, disposal, etc.) to produce a given amount of energy and subsequent lower metrics performance. The investigated fuel cycle options with intermediate spectrum reactors also exhibited degraded performance in the benefit metrics compared to fast spectrum reactors. Similarly, this is due to lower η values as the spectrum softens. The best externally-driven systems exhibited similar performance as fast critical reactors in terms of mass flows

  16. Bipolar mood cycles and lunar tidal cycles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wehr, T A

    2018-04-01

    In 17 patients with rapid cycling bipolar disorder, time-series analyses detected synchronies between mood cycles and three lunar cycles that modulate the amplitude of the moon's semi-diurnal gravimetric tides: the 14.8-day spring-neap cycle, the 13.7-day declination cycle and the 206-day cycle of perigee-syzygies ('supermoons'). The analyses also revealed shifts among 1:2, 1:3, 2:3 and other modes of coupling of mood cycles to the two bi-weekly lunar cycles. These shifts appear to be responses to the conflicting demands of the mood cycles' being entrained simultaneously to two different bi-weekly lunar cycles with slightly different periods. Measurements of circadian rhythms in body temperature suggest a biological mechanism through which transits of one of the moon's semi-diurnal gravimetric tides might have driven the patients' bipolar cycles, by periodically entraining the circadian pacemaker to its 24.84-h rhythm and altering the pacemaker's phase-relationship to sleep in a manner that is known to cause switches from depression to mania.

  17. Like father, like son: the intergenerational cycle of adolescent fatherhood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sipsma, Heather; Biello, Katie Brooks; Cole-Lewis, Heather; Kershaw, Trace

    2010-03-01

    Strong evidence exists to support an intergenerational cycle of adolescent fatherhood, yet such a cycle has not been studied. We examined whether paternal adolescent fatherhood (i.e., father of study participant was age 19 years or younger when his first child was born) and other factors derived from the ecological systems theory predicted participant adolescent fatherhood. Data included 1496 young males who were interviewed annually from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997. Cox regression survival analysis was used to determine the effect of paternal adolescent fatherhood on participant adolescent fatherhood. Sons of adolescent fathers were 1.8 times more likely to become adolescent fathers than were sons of older fathers, after other risk factors were accounted for. Additionally, factors from each ecological domain-individual (delinquency), family (maternal education), peer (early adolescent dating), and environment (race/ethnicity, physical risk environment)-were independent predictors of adolescent fatherhood. These findings support the need for pregnancy prevention interventions specifically designed for young males who may be at high risk for continuing this cycle. Interventions that address multiple levels of risk will likely be most successful at reducing pregnancies among partners of young men.

  18. Impact of Life-Cycle Stage and Gender on the Ability to Balance Work and Family Responsibilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higgins, Christopher; And Others

    1994-01-01

    Examined impact of gender and life-cycle stage on three components of work-family conflict using sample of 3,616 respondents. For men, levels of work-family conflict were moderately lower in each successive life-cycle stage. For women, levels were similar in two early life-cycle stages but were significantly lower in later life-cycle stage.…

  19. Concept for fuel-cycle based safeguards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    deMontmollin, J.M.; Higinbotham, W.A.; Gupta, D.

    1985-01-01

    Although the guidelines for NPT safeguards specify that the State's fuel cycle and degree of international independence are to be taken into account, the same model approach and absolute-quantity inspection goals are applied to all similar facilities, irrespective of the State's fuel cycle, and the findings are reported in those terms. A concept whereby safeguards might more effectively and efficiently accomplish the purposes of NPT safeguards is explored. The principal features are: (1) division of the fuel cycle into three zones, each containing material having a different degree of significance for safeguards; (2) closing a verified material balance around each zone, supplementing the present MBA balances for more sensitive facilities and replacing them for others; (3) maintenance by the IAEA of a current book inventory for each facility by means of immediate, abbreviated reporting of interfacility transfers; (4) near real-time analysis of material flow patterns through the fuel cycle; and (5) a periodic statement of the findings for the entire State that takes the form that there is assurance that all nuclear materials under safeguards are accounted for to some stated degree of uncertainty

  20. Nuclear energy development and Kondratiev cycles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brissaud, I.

    2001-01-01

    Searchers from IIASA (international institute for applied system analysis) have considered the spreading of an idea or an innovation among human societies similar to the evolution of an epidemic. This study shows a correlation between the birth of a major invention and the rise of a new source of energy. The invention of computers and nuclear energy seem to be linked in that way. The time interval between 2 major innovations is about 55 years, this value also corresponds to the length of crisis cycles that were discovered by the soviet economist N.D.Kondratiev in 1926. According to Kondratiev capitalist economies have undergone or will undergo cycles between the following dates: 1830, 1885, 1940, 1995 and 2050. After a period of expansion where jobs, wages and prices increase, a crisis happens where unemployment, social trouble and international conflicts develop. The crisis ends with the surge of innovations that feed the system by creating new markets in a modified social context. We are at the beginning of a new cycle, this cycle will see the expansion of nuclear energy, then its predominance and the emergence of a new source of energy in 50 years. (A.C.)

  1. Experimental Study of Dowel Bar Alternatives Based on Similarity Model Test

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chichun Hu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In this study, a small-scaled accelerated loading test based on similarity theory and Accelerated Pavement Analyzer was developed to evaluate dowel bars with different materials and cross-sections. Jointed concrete specimen consisting of one dowel was designed as scaled model for the test, and each specimen was subjected to 864 thousand loading cycles. Deflections between jointed slabs were measured with dial indicators, and strains of the dowel bars were monitored with strain gauges. The load transfer efficiency, differential deflection, and dowel-concrete bearing stress for each case were calculated from these measurements. The test results indicated that the effect of the dowel modulus on load transfer efficiency can be characterized based on the similarity model test developed in the study. Moreover, round steel dowel was found to have similar performance to larger FRP dowel, and elliptical dowel can be preferentially considered in practice.

  2. Economic Analysis of Symbiotic Light Water Reactor/Fast Burner Reactor Fuel Cycles Proposed as Part of the U.S. Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, Kent Alan; Shropshire, David E.

    2009-01-01

    A spreadsheet-based 'static equilibrium' economic analysis was performed for three nuclear fuel cycle scenarios, each designed for 100 GWe-years of electrical generation annually: (1) a 'once-through' fuel cycle based on 100% LWRs fueled by standard UO2 fuel assemblies with all used fuel destined for geologic repository emplacement, (2) a 'single-tier recycle' scenario involving multiple fast burner reactors (37% of generation) accepting actinides (Pu,Np,Am,Cm) from the reprocessing of used fuel from the uranium-fueled LWR fleet (63% of generation), and (3) a 'two-tier' 'thermal+fast' recycle scenario where co-extracted U,Pu from the reprocessing of used fuel from the uranium-fueled part of the LWR fleet (66% of generation) is recycled once as full-core LWR MOX fuel (8% of generation), with the LWR MOX used fuel being reprocessed and all actinide products from both UO2 and MOX used fuel reprocessing being introduced into the closed fast burner reactor (26% of generation) fuel cycle. The latter two 'closed' fuel cycles, which involve symbiotic use of both thermal and fast reactors, have the advantages of lower natural uranium requirements per kilowatt-hour generated and less geologic repository space per kilowatt-hour as compared to the 'once-through' cycle. The overall fuel cycle cost in terms of $ per megawatt-hr of generation, however, for the closed cycles is 15% (single tier) to 29% (two-tier) higher than for the once-through cycle, based on 'expected values' from an uncertainty analysis using triangular distributions for the unit costs for each required step of the fuel cycle. (The fuel cycle cost does not include the levelized reactor life cycle costs.) Since fuel cycle costs are a relatively small percentage (10 to 20%) of the overall busbar cost (LUEC or 'levelized unit electricity cost') of nuclear power generation, this fuel cycle cost increase should not have a highly deleterious effect on the competitiveness of nuclear power. If the reactor life cycle

  3. AIRS retrieved CO2 and its association with climatic parameters over India during 2004–2011

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, K. Ravi; Revadekar, J.V.; Tiwari, Yogesh K.

    2014-01-01

    Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) retrieved mid-tropospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO 2 ) have been used to study the variability and its association with the climatic parameters over India during 2004 to 2011. The study also aims in understanding transport of CO 2 from surface to mid-troposphere over India. The annual cycle of mid-tropospheric CO 2 shows gradual increase in concentration from January till the month of May at the rate ∼ 0.6 ppm/month. It decreases continuously in summer monsoon (JJAS) at the same rate during which strong westerlies persists over the region. A slight increase is seen during winter monsoon (DJF). Being a greenhouse gas, annual cycle of CO 2 show good resemblance with annual cycle of surface air temperature with correlation coefficient (CC) of + 0.8. Annual cycle of vertical velocity indicate inverse pattern compared to annual cycle of CO 2 . High values of mid-tropospheric CO 2 correspond to upward wind, while low values of mid-tropospheric CO 2 correspond to downward wind. In addition to vertical motion, zonal winds are also contributing towards the transport of CO 2 from surface to mid-troposphere. Vegetation as it absorbs CO 2 at surface level, show inverse annual cycle to that of annual cycle of CO 2 (CC-0.64). Seasonal variation of rainfall-CO 2 shows similarities with seasonal variation of NDVI-CO 2 . However, the use of long period data sets for CO 2 at the surface and at the mid-troposphere will be an advantage to confirm these results. - Highlights: • Association of AIRS CO 2 with climate parameters over India • CO 2 show positive correlation with surface temperature • Vertical/horizontal winds contribute towards CO 2 transport • Vegetation and monsoonal rainfall show inverse relationship with CO 2

  4. NASA's Robotics Mining Competition Provides Undergraduates Full Life Cycle Systems Engineering Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stecklein, Jonette

    2017-01-01

    NASA has held an annual robotic mining competition for teams of university/college students since 2010. This competition is yearlong, suitable for a senior university engineering capstone project. It encompasses the full project life cycle from ideation of a robot design to actual tele-operation of the robot in simulated Mars conditions mining and collecting simulated regolith. A major required element for this competition is a Systems Engineering Paper in which each team describes the systems engineering approaches used on their project. The score for the Systems Engineering Paper contributes 25% towards the team's score for the competition's grand prize. The required use of systems engineering on the project by this competition introduces the students to an intense practical application of systems engineering throughout a full project life cycle.

  5. KOH concentration effect on the cycle life of nickel-hydrogen cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, H. S.; Verzwyvelt, S. A.

    1985-01-01

    Effects of KOH concentration on the cycle life of a sintered-type nickel electrode were studied in a boiler plate nickel-hydrogen cell at 23 C using an accelerated 45-min cycle regime at 80 percent depth of discharge. The cycle life improved greatly as the KOH concentration decreased, although the initial capacity of the cell decreased slightly. The cycle life improved by a factor of two or more when the KOH concentration was reduced from 36 to 31 percent and by a similar factor from reductions of 31 to 26 percent. For many applications, this life improvement may outweigh the initial capacity decrease.

  6. Annual report of Kansai Research Establishment 2004. April 1, 2004 - March 31, 2005

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harami, Taikan; Mizuki, Jun'ichiro; Aoki, Katsutoshi; Baba, Yuji; Murakami, Yoichi; Kobayashi, Keisuke; Sakai, Toru; Nagashima, Akira; Yamakawa, Koichi; Nagashima, Keisuke; Daido, Hiroyuki; Koike, Masato; Yamagiwa, Mituru; Bulanov, Sergei V.; Minehara, Eisuke

    2006-01-01

    This report is the sixth issue of the annual report of Kansai Research Establishment, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. It covers status report of R and D and results of experiments conducted at the Advanced Photon Research Center and Synchrotron Radiation Research Center during the period from April 1, 2004 to March 31, 2005. The JAERI (Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute) have been unified with JNC (Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute) and became JAEA (Japan Atomic Energy Agency) on October 1st, 2005. (author)

  7. 2008 annual meeting on nuclear technology. Pt. 1. Section reports; JAHRESTAGUNG KERNTECHNIK 2008. T. 1. Sektionsberichte

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dagan, Ron; Sanchez Espinoza, Victor Hugo [Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH Technik und Umwelt (Germany). Inst. fuer Reaktorsicherheit; Rohde, U.; Kliem, Soeren [Forschungszentrum Rossendorf e.V. (FZR), Dresden (Germany); Faber, Wolfgang; Berlepsch, Thilo v.; Spann, Holger [E.ON Kernkraft GmbH, Hannover (Germany); Schaffrath, Andreas [TUEV Nord SysTec GmbH und Co. KG, Hamburg (Germany); Schubert, Bernd [Vattenfall Europe Nuclear Energy GmbH, Hamburg (Germany); Rieger, Udo [Vattenfall Nuclear Energy GmbH, Hamburg (Germany); Christ,, Bernhard G. [NUKEM Technologies GmbH, Alzenau (Germany); Gulden, Werner [Fusion for Energy, Barcelona (Spain); Bogusch, Edgar [AREVA NP GmbH, Erlangen (Germany)

    2008-08-15

    Summary report on these 5 - out of 11 - Sections of the Annual Conference on Nuclear Technology held in Hamburg on May 27-29, 2008: - Reactor Physics and Methods of Calculation - Thermodynamics and Fluid Dynamics - Safety of Nuclear Installations - Methods, Analysis, Results - Front End and Back End of the Fuel Cycle, Radioactive Waste, Storage - Fusion Technology. Other Sections will be covered in reports in further issues of atw. (orig.)

  8. Reconstruction of three centuries of annual accumulation rates based on the record of stable isotopes of water from Lomonosovfonna, Svalbard

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pohjola, V.; Martma, T.; Meijer, H.A.J.; Moore, J.; Isaksson, E.; Vaikmae, R.; van de Wal, R.S.W.

    2002-01-01

    We use the upper 81 in of the record of stable isotopes of water from a 122 in long ice core from Lomonosovfonna, central Spitsbergen, Svalbard, to construct an ice-core chronology and the annual accumulation rates over the icefield. The isotope cycles are counted in the ice-core record using a

  9. Annual report 2000. Department of wastes disposal and storage; Rapport annuel d'activite 2000. Departement d'Entreposage et de Stockage des Dechets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-07-01

    This annual report presents the missions, the organization, the researches progress, the events, the publications and the personnel formation of the Department of wastes disposal and storage in the year 2000, one of the CEA fuel cycle Direction. (A.L.B.)

  10. Nitrogen and Phosphorus Plant Uptake During Periods with no Photosynthesis Accounts for About Half of Global Annual Uptake

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riley, W. J.; Zhu, Q.; Tang, J.

    2017-12-01

    Uncertainties in current Earth System Model (ESM) predictions of terrestrial carbon-climate feedbacks over the 21st century are as large as, or larger than, any other reported natural system uncertainties. Soil Organic Matter (SOM) decomposition and photosynthesis, the dominant fluxes in this regard, are tightly linked through nutrient availability, and the recent Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project 5 (CMIP5) used for climate change assessment had no credible representations of these constraints. In response, many ESM land models (ESMLMs) have developed dynamic and coupled soil and plant nutrient cycles. Here we quantify terrestrial carbon cycle impacts from well-known observed plant nutrient uptake mechanisms ignored in most current ESMLMs. In particular, we estimate the global role of plant root nutrient competition with microbes and abiotic process at night and during the non-growing season using the ACME land model (ALMv1-ECA-CNP) that explicitly represents these dynamics. We first demonstrate that short-term nutrient uptake dynamics and competition between plants and microbes are accurately predicted by the model compared to 15N and 33P isotopic tracer measurements from more than 20 sites. We then show that global nighttime and non-growing season nitrogen and phosphorus uptake accounts for 46 and 45%, respectively, of annual uptake, with large latitudinal variation. Model experiments show that ignoring these plant uptake periods leads to large positive biases in annual N leaching (globally 58%) and N2O emissions (globally 68%). Biases these large will affect modeled carbon cycle dynamics over time, and lead to predictions of ecosystems that have overly open nutrient cycles and therefore lower capacity to sequester carbon.

  11. Annual mean sea level and its sensitivity to wind climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerkema, Theo; Duran Matute, Matias

    2017-04-01

    Changes in relative mean sea level affect coastal areas in various ways, such as the risk of flooding, the evolution of barrier island systems, or the development of salt marshes. Long-term trends in these changes are partly masked by variability on shorter time scales. Some of this variability, for instance due to wind waves and tides (with the exception of long-period tides), is easily averaged out. In contrast, inter-annual variability is found to be irregular and large, of the order of several decimeters, as is evident from tide gauge records. This is why the climatic trend, typically of a few millimeters per year, can only be reliably identified by examining a record that is long enough to outweigh the inter-annual and decadal variabilities. In this presentation we examine the relation between the annual wind conditions from meteorological records and annual mean sea level along the Dutch coast. To do this, we need reliable and consistent long-term wind records. Some wind records from weather stations in the Netherlands date back to the 19th century, but they are unsuitable for trend analysis because of changes in location, height, surroundings, instrument type or protocol. For this reason, we will use only more recent, homogeneous wind records, from the past two decades. The question then is whether such a relatively short record is sufficient to find a convincing relation with annual mean sea level. It is the purpose of this work to demonstrate that the answer is positive and to suggest methods to find and exploit such a relation. We find that at the Dutch coast, southwesterly winds are dominant in the wind climate, but the west-east direction stands out as having the highest correlation with annual mean sea level. For different stations in the Dutch Wadden Sea and along the coast, we find a qualitatively similar pattern, although the precise values of the correlations vary. The inter-annual variability of mean sea level can already be largely explained by

  12. Sonoran Desert winter annuals affected by density of red brome and soil nitrogen

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salo, L.F.; McPherson, G.R.; Williams, D.G.

    2005-01-01

    Red brome [Bromus madritensis subsp. rubens (L.) Husn.] is a Mediterranean winter annual grass that has invaded Southwestern USA deserts. This study evaluated interactions among 13 Sonoran Desert annual species at four densities of red brome from 0 to the equivalent of 1200 plants ma??2. We examined these interactions at low (3 I?g) and high (537 I?g NO3a?? g soila??1) nitrogen (N) to evaluate the relative effects of soil N level on survival and growth of native annuals and red brome. Red brome did not affect emergence or survival of native annuals, but significantly reduced growth of natives, raising concerns about effects of this exotic grass on the fecundity of these species. Differences in growth of red brome and of the three dominant non nitrogen-fixing native annuals at the two levels of soil N were similar. Total species biomass of red brome was reduced by 83% at low, compared to high, N levels, whereas that of the three native species was reduced by from 42 to 95%. Mean individual biomass of red brome was reduced by 87% at low, compared to high, N levels, whereas that of the three native species was reduced by from 72 to 89%.

  13. Nuclear power, nuclear fuel cycle and waste management: Status and trends, 1993

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-09-01

    This report was jointly prepared by the Division of Nuclear Power and the Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Management as part of an annual overview of both global nuclear industry activities and related IAEA programmes. This year's report focuses on activities during 1992 and the status at the end of that year. The trends in the industry are projected to 2010. Special events and highlights of IAEA activities over the past year are also presented. Refs, figs and tabs

  14. Variability of the western Galician upwelling system (NW Spain) during an intensively sampled annual cycle. An EOF analysis approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrera, J. L.; Rosón, G.; Varela, R. A.; Piedracoba, S.

    2008-07-01

    The key features of the western Galician shelf hydrography and dynamics are analyzed on a solid statistical and experimental basis. The results allowed us to gather together information dispersed in previous oceanographic works of the region. Empirical orthogonal functions analysis and a canonical correlation analysis were applied to a high-resolution dataset collected from 47 surveys done on a weekly frequency from May 2001 to May 2002. The main results of these analyses are summarized bellow. Salinity, temperature and the meridional component of the residual current are correlated with the relevant local forcings (the meridional coastal wind component and the continental run-off) and with a remote forcing (the meridional temperature gradient at latitude 37°N). About 80% of the salinity and temperature total variability over the shelf, and 37% of the residual meridional current total variability are explained by two EOFs for each variable. Up to 22% of the temperature total variability and 14% of the residual meridional current total variability is devoted to the set up of cross-shore gradients of the thermohaline properties caused by the wind-induced Ekman transport. Up to 11% and 10%, respectively, is related to the variability of the meridional temperature gradient at the Western Iberian Winter Front. About 30% of the temperature total variability can be explained by the development and erosion of the seasonal thermocline and by the seasonal variability of the thermohaline properties of the central waters. This thermocline presented unexpected low salinity values due to the trapping during spring and summer of the high continental inputs from the River Miño recorded in 2001. The low salinity plumes can be traced on the Galician shelf during almost all the annual cycle; they tend to be extended throughout the entire water column under downwelling conditions and concentrate in the surface layer when upwelling favourable winds blow. Our evidences point to the

  15. Optimization of low temperature solar thermal electric generation with Organic Rankine Cycle in different areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jing, Li; Gang, Pei; Jie, Ji

    2010-01-01

    The presented low temperature solar thermal electric generation system mainly consists of compound parabolic concentrators (CPC) and the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) working with HCFC-123. A novel design is proposed to reduce heat transfer irreversibility between conduction oil and HCFC-123 in the heat exchangers while maintaining the stability of electricity output. Mathematical formulations are developed to study the heat transfer and energy conversion processes and the numerical simulation is carried out based on distributed parameters. Annual performances of the proposed system in different areas of Canberra, Singapore, Bombay, Lhasa, Sacramento and Berlin are simulated. The influences of the collector tilt angle adjustment, the connection between the heat exchangers and the CPC collectors, and the ORC evaporation temperature on the system performance are investigated. The results indicate that the three factors have a major impact on the annual electricity output and should be the key points of optimization. And the optimized system shows that: (1) The annual received direct irradiance can be significantly increased by two or three times optimal adjustments even when the CPC concentration ratio is smaller than 3.0. (2) Compared with the traditional single-stage collectors, two-stage collectors connected with the heat exchangers by two thermal oil cycles can improve the collector efficiency by 8.1-20.9% in the simultaneous processes of heat collection and power generation. (3) On the use of the market available collectors the optimal ORC evaporation temperatures in most of the simulated areas are around 120 C. (author)

  16. The role of self-similarity in singularities of partial differential equations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eggers, Jens; Fontelos, Marco A

    2009-01-01

    We survey rigorous, formal and numerical results on the formation of point-like singularities (or blow-up) for a wide range of evolution equations. We use a similarity transformation of the original equation with respect to the blow-up point, such that self-similar behaviour is mapped to the fixed point of a dynamical system. We point out that analysing the dynamics close to the fixed point is a useful way of characterizing the singularity, in that the dynamics frequently reduces to very few dimensions. As far as we are aware, examples from the literature either correspond to stable fixed points, low-dimensional centre-manifold dynamics, limit cycles or travelling waves. For each 'class' of singularity, we give detailed examples. (invited article)

  17. The Krebs Uric Acid Cycle: A Forgotten Krebs Cycle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salway, Jack G

    2018-05-25

    Hans Kornberg wrote a paper entitled 'Krebs and his trinity of cycles' commenting that every school biology student knows of the Krebs cycle, but few know that Krebs discovered two other cycles. These are (i) the ornithine cycle (urea cycle), (ii) the citric acid cycle (tricarboxylic acid or TCA cycle), and (iii) the glyoxylate cycle that was described by Krebs and Kornberg. Ironically, Kornberg, codiscoverer of the 'glyoxylate cycle', overlooked a fourth Krebs cycle - (iv) the uric acid cycle. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Numerical Simulation of the Water Cycle Change Over the 20th Century

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bosilovich, Michael G.; Schubert, Siegfried D.

    2003-01-01

    We have used numerical models to test the impact of the change in Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration on the global circulation, particularly focusing on the hydrologic cycle, namely the global cycling of water and continental recycling of water. We have run four numerical simulations using mean annual SST from the early part of the 20th century (1900-1920) and the later part (1980-2000). In addition, we vary the CO2 concentrations for these periods as well. The duration of the simulations is 15 years, and the spatial resolution is 2 degrees. We use passive tracers to study the geographical sources of water. Surface evaporation from predetermined continental and oceanic regions provides the source of water for each passive tracer. In this way, we compute the percent of precipitation of each region over the globe. This can also be used to estimate precipitation recycling. In addition, we are using the passive tracers to independently compute the global cycling of water (compared to the traditional, Q/P calculation).

  19. Effects of Swimming and Cycling Exercise Intervention on Vascular Function in Patients With Osteoarthritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alkatan, Mohammed; Machin, Daniel R; Baker, Jeffrey R; Akkari, Amanda S; Park, Wonil; Tanaka, Hirofumi

    2016-01-01

    Swimming exercise is an ideal and excellent form of exercise for patients with osteoarthritis (OA). However, there is no scientific evidence that regular swimming reduces vascular dysfunction and inflammation and elicits similar benefits compared with land-based exercises such as cycling in terms of reducing vascular dysfunction and inflammation in patients with OA. Forty-eight middle-aged and older patients with OA were randomly assigned to swimming or cycling training groups. Cycling training was included as a non-weight-bearing land-based comparison group. After 12 weeks of supervised exercise training, central arterial stiffness, as determined by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, and carotid artery stiffness, through simultaneous ultrasound and applanation tonometry, decreased significantly after both swimming and cycling training. Vascular endothelial function, as determined by brachial flow-mediated dilation, increased significantly after swimming but not after cycling training. Both swimming and cycling interventions reduced interleukin-6 levels, whereas no changes were observed in other inflammatory markers. In conclusion, these results indicate that regular swimming exercise can exert similar or even superior effects on vascular function and inflammatory markers compared with land-based cycling exercise in patients with OA who often has an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Foliage litter quality and annual net N mineralization: comparison across North American forest sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Neal A; Binkley, Dan

    1997-07-01

    The feedback between plant litterfall and nutrient cycling processes plays a major role in the regulation of nutrient availability and net primary production in terrestrial ecosystems. While several studies have examined site-specific feedbacks between litter chemistry and nitrogen (N) availability, little is known about the interaction between climate, litter chemistry, and N availability across different ecosystems. We assembled data from several studies spanning a wide range of vegetation, soils, and climatic regimes to examine the relationship between aboveground litter chemistry and annual net N mineralization. Net N mineralization declined strongly and non-linearly as the litter lignin:N ratio increased in forest ecosystems (r 2  = 0.74, P mineralization decreased linearly as litter lignin concentration increased, but the relationship was significant (r 2  = 0.63, P mineralization across this range of sites (r 2  litter lignin:N ratio and net N mineralization from forest floor and mineral soil was similar. The litter lignin:N ratio explained more of the variation in net N mineralization than climatic factors over a wide range of forest age classes, suggesting that litter quality (lignin:N ratio) may exert more than a proximal control over net N mineralization by influencing soil organic matter quality throughout the soil profile independent of climate.

  1. Molecular machinery of signal transduction and cell cycle regulation in Plasmodium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koyama, Fernanda C; Chakrabarti, Debopam; Garcia, Célia R S

    2009-05-01

    The regulation of the Plasmodium cell cycle is not understood. Although the Plasmodium falciparum genome is completely sequenced, about 60% of the predicted proteins share little or no sequence similarity with other eukaryotes. This feature impairs the identification of important proteins participating in the regulation of the cell cycle. There are several open questions that concern cell cycle progression in malaria parasites, including the mechanism by which multiple nuclear divisions is controlled and how the cell cycle is managed in all phases of their complex life cycle. Cell cycle synchrony of the parasite population within the host, as well as the circadian rhythm of proliferation, are striking features of some Plasmodium species, the molecular basis of which remains to be elucidated. In this review we discuss the role of indole-related molecules as signals that modulate the cell cycle in Plasmodium and other eukaryotes, and we also consider the possible role of kinases in the signal transduction and in the responses it triggers.

  2. Research and development of thorium fuel cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oishi, Jun.

    1994-01-01

    Nuclear properties of thorium are summarized and present status of research and development of the use of thorium as nuclear fuel is reviewed. Thorium may be used for nuclear fuel in forms of metal, oxide, carbide and nitride independently, alloy with uranium or plutonium or mixture of the compound. Their use in reactors is described. The reprocessing of the spent oxide fuel in thorium fuel cycle is called the thorex process and similar to the purex process. A concept of a molten salt fuel reactor and chemical processing of the molten salt fuel are explained. The required future research on thorium fuel cycle is commented briefly. (T.H.)

  3. Fuel performance annual report for 1991. Volume 9

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Painter, C.L.; Alvis, J.M.; Beyer, C.E.; Marion, A.L.; Kendrick, E.D.

    1994-08-01

    This report is the fourteenth in a series that provides a compilation of information regarding commercial nuclear fuel performance. The series of annual reports were developed as a result of interest expressed by the public, advising bodies, and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for public availability of information pertaining to commercial nuclear fuel performance. During 1991, the nuclear industry's focus regarding fuel continued to be on extending burnup while maintaining fuel rod reliability. Utilities realize that high-burnup fuel reduces the amount of generated spent fuel, reduces fuel costs, reduces operational and maintenance costs, and improves plant capacity factors by extending operating cycles. Brief summaries of fuel operating experience, fuel design changes, fuel surveillance programs, high-burnup experience, problem areas, and items of general significance are provided

  4. Plant Biology and Biogeochemistry Department annual report 1999

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, A.; Gissel Nielsen, G.; Giese, H.

    2000-01-01

    The Department of Plant Biology and Biogeochemistry is engaged in basic and applied research to improve the scientific knowledge of developing new methods and technology for the future environmentally benign industrial and agricultural production, thusexerting less stress and strain...... of Biomass, 3. DLF-Risø Biotechnology, 4. Plant Genetics and Epidemiology, 5. Biogeochemistry and 6. Plant Ecosystems and Nutrient Cycling. This version ofthe annual report from the Plant Biology and Biogeochemistry Department aims to provide information about the progress in our research. Each programme...... on the environment. This knowledge will lead to a greater prosperity and welfare for agriculture, industry and consumers in Denmark. The research approach in the Department is mainly experimental and the projects areorganized in six research programmes: 1. Plant-Microbe Symbioses, 2. Plant Products and Recycling...

  5. Seasonal and annual variability of coastal sulphur plumes in the northern Benguela upwelling system.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Ohde

    Full Text Available We investigated the seasonal and annual variability of surface sulphur plumes in the northern Benguela upwelling system off Namibia because of their significant impacts on the marine ecosystem, fishing industry, aquaculture farming and tourism due to their toxic properties. We identified the sulphur plumes in ocean colour satellite data of the medium resolution imaging spectrometer (MERIS for the 2002-2012 time period using the differences in the spectral properties of Namibian Benguela optical water types. The sulphur events have a strong seasonal cycle with pronounced main and off-seasons forced by local and remote-driven processes. The main peak season is in late austral summer and early austral autumn at the beginning of the annual upwelling cycle caused by increasing equatorwards alongshore winds. The sulphur plume activity is high between February and April during the seasonal oxygen minimum associated with the seasonal reduction of cross-shore ventilation of the bottom waters, the seasonal southernmost position of the Angola Benguela Frontal Zone, the seasonal maximum of water mass fractions of South Atlantic and Angola Gyre Central Waters as well as the seasonal arrival of the downwelling coastal trapped waves. The off-season is in austral spring and early austral summer during increased upwelling intensity and enhanced oxygen supply. The annual variability of sulphur events is characterized by very high activities in years 2004, 2005 and 2010 interrupted by periods of lower activity in years 2002 to 2003, 2006 to 2009 and 2011 to 2012. This result can be explained by the relative contributions or adding effects of local and remote-driven forces (from the equatorial area. The probability for the occurrence of sulphur plumes is enhanced in years with a lower annual mean of upwelling intensity, decreased oxygen supply associated with decreased lateral ventilation of bottom waters, more southern position of the Angola Benguela Frontal Zone

  6. Seasonal and annual variability of coastal sulphur plumes in the northern Benguela upwelling system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohde, Thomas; Dadou, Isabelle

    2018-01-01

    We investigated the seasonal and annual variability of surface sulphur plumes in the northern Benguela upwelling system off Namibia because of their significant impacts on the marine ecosystem, fishing industry, aquaculture farming and tourism due to their toxic properties. We identified the sulphur plumes in ocean colour satellite data of the medium resolution imaging spectrometer (MERIS) for the 2002-2012 time period using the differences in the spectral properties of Namibian Benguela optical water types. The sulphur events have a strong seasonal cycle with pronounced main and off-seasons forced by local and remote-driven processes. The main peak season is in late austral summer and early austral autumn at the beginning of the annual upwelling cycle caused by increasing equatorwards alongshore winds. The sulphur plume activity is high between February and April during the seasonal oxygen minimum associated with the seasonal reduction of cross-shore ventilation of the bottom waters, the seasonal southernmost position of the Angola Benguela Frontal Zone, the seasonal maximum of water mass fractions of South Atlantic and Angola Gyre Central Waters as well as the seasonal arrival of the downwelling coastal trapped waves. The off-season is in austral spring and early austral summer during increased upwelling intensity and enhanced oxygen supply. The annual variability of sulphur events is characterized by very high activities in years 2004, 2005 and 2010 interrupted by periods of lower activity in years 2002 to 2003, 2006 to 2009 and 2011 to 2012. This result can be explained by the relative contributions or adding effects of local and remote-driven forces (from the equatorial area). The probability for the occurrence of sulphur plumes is enhanced in years with a lower annual mean of upwelling intensity, decreased oxygen supply associated with decreased lateral ventilation of bottom waters, more southern position of the Angola Benguela Frontal Zone, increased mass

  7. Annual Properties of Transverse Waves in the Corona over most of Solar Cycle 24

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weberg, M. J.; Morton, R. J.; McLaughlin, J. A.

    2017-12-01

    Waves are an omnipresent feature in heliophysical plasmas. In particular, transverse (or "Alfvénic") waves have been observed at a wide range of spatial and temporal scales within the corona and solar wind. These waves play a key role in transporting energy through the solar atmosphere and are also thought to contribute to the heating and acceleration of the solar wind. Previous studies of low-frequency (automated detection and measurement of low-frequency transverse waves with over 7 years of SDO / AIA data to provide a detailed picture of coronal transverse waves in polar plumes and, for the first time, begin to examine their long-term behaviour. We measure waves at three different heights in each of eight, four-hour periods spanning May 2010 - May 2017. We find that the bulk wave parameters within these 24 regions are largely consistent over most of a solar cycle. However, there is some evidence for smaller-scale variations both with height and over time periods of a few years. We also discuss total energy flux estimations based on the full wave power spectra, which yields a more nuanced picture than previous values based on summary statistics. Overall, this work expands our view of wave processes in the corona and is relevant to both theoretical and modelling considerations of energy transport within the solar atmosphere. Crucially, these initial results suggest that the energy flux provided by the low-frequency transverse waves varies little over the solar cycle, potentially indicating that the waves provide a consistent source of energy to the corona and beyond.

  8. Metadata Life Cycles, Use Cases and Hierarchies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ted Habermann

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The historic view of metadata as “data about data” is expanding to include data about other items that must be created, used, and understood throughout the data and project life cycles. In this context, metadata might better be defined as the structured and standard part of documentation, and the metadata life cycle can be described as the metadata content that is required for documentation in each phase of the project and data life cycles. This incremental approach to metadata creation is similar to the spiral model used in software development. Each phase also has distinct users and specific questions to which they need answers. In many cases, the metadata life cycle involves hierarchies where latter phases have increased numbers of items. The relationships between metadata in different phases can be captured through structure in the metadata standard, or through conventions for identifiers. Metadata creation and management can be streamlined and simplified by re-using metadata across many records. Many of these ideas have been developed to various degrees in several Geoscience disciplines and are being used in metadata for documenting the integrated life cycle of environmental research in the Arctic, including projects, collection sites, and datasets.

  9. Long-term north-south asymmetry in solar wind speed inferred from geomagnetic activity: A new type of century-scale solar oscillation?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mursula, K.; Zieger, B.

    2001-01-01

    A significant and very similar annual variation in solar wind speed and in geomagnetic activity was recently found around all the four solar cycle minima covered by direct SW observations since mid-1960's. We have shown that the phase of this annual variation reverses with the Sun's polarity...... reversal, depicting a new form of 22-year periodicity. The annual variation results from a small north-south asymmetry in SW speed distribution where the minimum speed region is shifted toward the northern magnetic hemisphere. Here we study the very long-term evolution of the annual variation using early...... registrations of geomagnetic activity. We find a significant annual variation during the high-activity solar cycles in mid-19th century and since 1930's. Most interestingly, the SW speed asymmetry in mid-19th century was opposite to the present asymmetry, i.e., the minimum speed region was then shifted toward...

  10. Thermo-economic performance of HTGR Brayton power cycles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Linares, J. L.; Herranz, L. E.; Moratilla, B. Y.; Fernandez-Perez, A.

    2008-01-01

    High temperature reached in High and Very High Temperature Reactors (VHTRs) results in thermal efficiencies substantially higher than those of actual nuclear power plants. A number of studies mainly driven by achieving optimum thermal performance have explored several layout. However, economic assessments of cycle power configurations for innovative systems, although necessarily uncertain at this time, may bring valuable information in relative terms concerning power cycle optimization. This paper investigates the thermal and economic performance direct Brayton cycles. Based on the available parameters and settings of different designs of HTGR power plants (GTHTR-300 and PBMR) and using the first and second laws of thermodynamics, the effects of compressor inter-cooling and of the compressor-turbine arrangement (i.e., single vs. multiple axes) on thermal efficiency have been estimated. The economic analysis has been based on the El-Sayed methodology and on the indirect derivation of the reactor capital investment. The results of the study suggest that a 1-axis inter-cooled power cycle has a similar thermal performance to the 3-axes one (around 50%) and, what's more, it is substantially less taxed. A sensitivity study allowed assessing the potential impact of optimizing several variables on cycle performance. Further than that, the cycle components costs have been estimated and compared. (authors)

  11. The SRTR/OPTN Annual Data Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Annual Data Report The SRTR/OPTN Annual Data Report Statistics on donation and transplantation in the United ... US in 2015. The SRTR/OPTN Annual Data Report SRTR/OPTN Annual Data Report Learn more from ...

  12. Prolonged menstrual cycles in female workers exposed to ethylene glycol ethers in the semiconductor manufacturing industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsieh, G-Y; Wang, J-D; Cheng, T-J; Chen, P-C

    2005-08-01

    It has been shown that female workers exposed to ethylene glycol ethers (EGEs) in the semiconductor industry have higher risks of spontaneous abortion, subfertility, and menstrual disturbances, and prolonged waiting time to pregnancy. To examine whether EGEs or other chemicals are associated with long menstrual cycles in female workers in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Cross-sectional questionnaire survey during the annual health examination at a wafer manufacturing company in Taiwan in 1997. A three tiered exposure-assessment strategy was used to analyse the risk. A short menstrual cycle was defined to be a cycle less than 24 days and a long cycle to be more than 35 days. There were 606 valid questionnaires from 473 workers in fabrication jobs and 133 in non-fabrication areas. Long menstrual cycles were associated with workers in fabrication areas compared to those in non-fabrication areas. Using workers in non-fabrication areas as referents, workers in photolithography and diffusion areas had higher risks for long menstrual cycles. Workers exposed to EGEs and isopropanol, and hydrofluoric acid, isopropanol, and phosphorous compounds also showed increased risks of a long menstrual cycle. Exposure to multiple chemicals, including EGEs in photolithography, might be associated with long menstrual cycles, and may play an important role in a prolonged time to pregnancy in the wafer manufacturing industry; however, the prevalence in the design, possible exposure misclassification, and chance should be considered.

  13. Estimating annualized earthquake losses for the conterminous United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaiswal, Kishor S.; Bausch, Douglas; Chen, Rui; Bouabid, Jawhar; Seligson, Hope

    2015-01-01

    We make use of the most recent National Seismic Hazard Maps (the years 2008 and 2014 cycles), updated census data on population, and economic exposure estimates of general building stock to quantify annualized earthquake loss (AEL) for the conterminous United States. The AEL analyses were performed using the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Hazus software, which facilitated a systematic comparison of the influence of the 2014 National Seismic Hazard Maps in terms of annualized loss estimates in different parts of the country. The losses from an individual earthquake could easily exceed many tens of billions of dollars, and the long-term averaged value of losses from all earthquakes within the conterminous U.S. has been estimated to be a few billion dollars per year. This study estimated nationwide losses to be approximately $4.5 billion per year (in 2012$), roughly 80% of which can be attributed to the States of California, Oregon and Washington. We document the change in estimated AELs arising solely from the change in the assumed hazard map. The change from the 2008 map to the 2014 map results in a 10 to 20% reduction in AELs for the highly seismic States of the Western United States, whereas the reduction is even more significant for Central and Eastern United States.

  14. Endo- and exocytic rate constants for spontaneous and protein kinase C-activated T cell receptor cycling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Menné, Charlotte; Møller Sørensen, Tine; Siersma, Volkert

    2002-01-01

    To determine the rate constants of spontaneous and activated TCR cycling, we examined TCR endo- and exocytosis in the human T cell line Jurkat by three different methods. Using a simple kinetic model for TCR cycling and non-linear regression analyses, we found that the spontaneous endocytic rate...... constant of the TCR was low (approximately 0.012 min(-1)) whereas the spontaneous exocytic rate constant was similar to that of other cycling receptors (approximately 0.055 min(-1)). Following protein kinase C activation (PKC) the endocytic rate constant was increased tenfold (to approximately 0.128 min(-1......)) whereas the exocytic rate constant was unaffected. Thus, the TCR becomes a rapidly cycling receptor with kinetics similar to classical cycling receptors subsequent to PKC activation. This results in a reduction of the half-life of cell surface expressed TCR from approximately 58 to 6 min and allows rapid...

  15. Black sea annual and inter-annual water mass variations from space

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yildiz, H.; Andersen, Ole Baltazar; Simav, M.

    2011-01-01

    influenced by the leakage of hydrological signals from the surrounding land. After applying the corresponding correction, we found a good agreement with water mass variations derived from steric-corrected satellite altimetry observations. Both GRACE and altimetry show significant annual water mass variations......This study evaluates the performance of two widely used GRACE solutions (CNES/GRGS RL02 and CSR RL04) in deriving annual and inter-annual water mass variations in the Black Sea for the period 2003–2007. It is demonstrated that the GRACE derived water mass variations in the Black Sea are heavily...

  16. IAEA specialists' meeting on power ramping and cycling behaviour of water reactor fuel. Summary report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1983-06-01

    At its fourth Annual Meeting, the IAEA International Working Group on Water Reactor Fuel Performance and Technology (IWGFPT) recommended that the Agency should hold a second Specialists' Meeting on 'Power Ramping and Cycling Behaviour of Water Reactor Fuel'. As research activities related to power ramping and cycling of water reactor fuel have been pursued vigorously, it was the objective of this meeting to review and discuss today's State of the Art and current understanding of water reactor fuel behaviour related to this these. Emphasis should be on practical experience and experimental investigations. The meeting was organised in five sessions: Power ramping and power cycling programs in power and and research reactors; Experimental methods; Power ramping and cycling results; Investigations and results of separate effects, especially related to PCI, defect mechanism, mechanical response, fuel design, and specially related to fission gas release; Operational strategies, recommendations and economic implications. The session chairmen, together with the speakers, prepared and presented reports with summary, conclusions and recommendations of the individual sessions. These reports are added to this summary report.

  17. IAEA specialists' meeting on power ramping and cycling behaviour of water reactor fuel. Summary report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1983-06-01

    At its fourth Annual Meeting, the IAEA International Working Group on Water Reactor Fuel Performance and Technology (IWGFPT) recommended that the Agency should hold a second Specialists' Meeting on 'Power Ramping and Cycling Behaviour of Water Reactor Fuel'. As research activities related to power ramping and cycling of water reactor fuel have been pursued vigorously, it was the objective of this meeting to review and discuss today's State of the Art and current understanding of water reactor fuel behaviour related to this these. Emphasis should be on practical experience and experimental investigations. The meeting was organised in five sessions: Power ramping and power cycling programs in power and and research reactors; Experimental methods; Power ramping and cycling results; Investigations and results of separate effects, especially related to PCI, defect mechanism, mechanical response, fuel design, and specially related to fission gas release; Operational strategies, recommendations and economic implications. The session chairmen, together with the speakers, prepared and presented reports with summary, conclusions and recommendations of the individual sessions. These reports are added to this summary report

  18. Plant litter effects on soil nutrient availability and vegetation dynamics: changes that occur when annual grasses invade shrub-steppe communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheel Bansal; Roger L. Sheley; Bob Blank; Edward A. Vasquez

    2014-01-01

    Changes in the quantity and quality of plant litter occur in many ecosystems as they are invaded by exotic species, which impact soil nutrient cycling and plant community composition. Such changes in sagebrush-steppe communities are occurring with invasion of annual grasses (AG) into a perennial grass (PG) dominated system. We conducted a 5-year litter manipulation...

  19. Environmental Sciences Division annual progress report for period ending September 30, 1982. Environmental Sciences Division Publication No. 2090. [Lead abstract

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1983-04-01

    Separate abstracts were prepared for 12 of the 14 sections of the Environmental Sciences Division annual progress report. The other 2 sections deal with educational activities. The programs discussed deal with advanced fuel energy, toxic substances, environmental impacts of various energy technologies, biomass, low-level radioactive waste management, the global carbon cycle, and aquatic and terrestrial ecology. (KRM)

  20. Seasonal cycle of sea level and currents along the coast of India

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Shankar, D.

    on their right (in the northern hemisphere). Their offshore e-folding scale varies with: latitude, but is of the order of 100 km. SPECIAL SECTION: Figure 6. Annual cycle of surface circulation simulated by a 1? -layer dynamical reduced-gravity model of the Indian... FEBRUARY 2000 PERSPECTIVES ON OCEAN RESEARCH IN INDIA e-folding scale of the order of 100 km, and they are not resolved by the gridded altimeter data. Numerical models developed in the 1990s have been fairly successful in simulating the basic features...

  1. Na/Cl molar ratio changes during a salting cycle and its application to the estimation of sodium retention in salted watersheds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Hongbing; Huffine, Maria; Husch, Jonathan; Sinpatanasakul, Leeann

    2012-08-01

    Using soil column experiments and data from natural watersheds, this paper analyzes the changes in Na/Cl molar ratios during a salting cycle of aqueous-soil systems. The soil column experiments involved introducing NaCl salt at various initial concentrations into multiple soil columns. At the start of a salting cycle in the column experiments, sodium was adsorbed more than chloride due to cation exchange processes. As a result, the initial Na/Cl molar ratio in column effluent was lower than 1, but increased thereafter. One-dimensional PHREEQC geochemical transport simulations also were conducted to further quantify these trends under more diverse scenarios. The experimentally determined Na/Cl molar ratio pattern was compared to observations in the annual salting cycle of four natural watersheds where NaCl is the dominant applied road deicing salt. Typically, Na/Cl molar ratios were low from mid-winter to early spring and increased after the bulk of the salt was flushed out of the watersheds during the summer, fall and early winter. The established relationship between the Na/Cl molar ratios and the amount of sodium retention derived from the column experiments and computer simulations present an alternative approach to the traditional budget analysis method for estimating sodium retention when the experimental and natural watershed patterns of Na/Cl molar ratio change are similar. Findings from this study enhance the understanding of sodium retention and help improve the scientific basis for future environmental policies intended to suppress the increase of sodium concentrations in salted watersheds. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Advancing life cycle economics in the Nordic countries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haugbølle, Kim; Hansen, Ernst Jan de Place

    2005-01-01

    Advancing construction and facilities management requires the ability to estimate and evaluate the economic consequences of decisions in a lifetime perspective. A survey of state-of-the-art on life cycle economics in the Nordic countries showed that, despite a number of similarities, no strong...... that the configuration of the roles as client, owner and user is indicative of a client's interest in life cycle economics. Second, a proposal for a common Nordic cost classification was put forward. Third, it was argued that there is a strong need to develop tools and methodologies to depict the cost/value ratio...

  3. 78 FR 64912 - Annual Retail Trade Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-30

    ... collect data covering annual sales, annual e-commerce sales, year-end inventories held inside and outside... provides, on a comparable classification basis, annual sales, annual e-commerce sales, year-end inventories... firms selected will provide, with measurable reliability, statistics on annual sales, annual e-commerce...

  4. Exergic, economic and environmental impacts of natural gas and diesel in operation of combined cycle power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohammadi Khoshkar Vandani, Amin; Joda, Fatemeh; Bozorgmehry Boozarjomehry, Ramin

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Investigating the effect of natural gas and diesel on the power plant performance. • Exergy, economic and environmental evaluation of a combined cycle power plant. • Using life cycle assessment (LCA) to perform the environmental evaluation. • Optimizing the power plant in terms of exergy and economic. • Better performance of natural gas with respect to diesel. - Abstract: Combined cycle power plants (CCPPs) play an important role in electricity production throughout the world. Their energy efficiency is relatively high and their production rates of greenhouse gases are considerably low. In a country like Iran with huge oil and gas resources, most CCPP’s use natural gas as primary fuel and diesel as secondary fuel. In this study, effect of using diesel instead of natural gas for a selected power plant will be investigated in terms of exergy, economic and environmental impacts. The environmental evaluation is performed using life cycle assessment (LCA). In the second step, the operation of the plant will be optimized using exergy and economic objective functions. The results show that the exergy efficiency of the plant with natural gas as fuel is equal to 43.11%, while this efficiency with diesel will be 42.03%. Furthermore, the annual cost of plant using diesel is twice as that of plant using natural gas. Finally, diesel utilization leads to more contaminants production. Thus, environmental effects of diesel are much higher than that of natural gas. The optimization results demonstrate that in case of natural gas, exergy efficiency and annual cost of the power plant improve 2.34% and 4.99%, respectively. While these improvements for diesel are 2.36% and 1.97%.

  5. Improvement to the pattern of control rods of the equilibrium cycle of 18 months for the CLV using bio-inspired algorithms; Mejora del patron de barras de control del ciclo de equilibrio de 18 meses para la CLV empleando algoritmos bio-inspirados

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Perusquia, R.; Ortiz, J.J.; Montes, J.L. [ININ, 52045 Ocoyoacac, Estado de Mexico (Mexico)]. e-mail: rpc@nuclear.inin.mx

    2003-07-01

    Nowadays in the National Institute of Nuclear Research are carried out studies with some bio-inspired optimization techniques to improve the performance of the fuel cycles of the boiling water reactors of the Laguna Verde power plant (CLV). In the present work two bio-inspired techniques were applied with the purpose of improving the performance of a balance cycle of 18 months developed for the CLV: genetic algorithms (AG) and systems based on ants colonies (SCH). The design of the reference cycle it represents in several aspects an optimal cycle proposed starting from the experience of several operation decades with the boiling water reactors (BWR initials for Boiling Water Reactor) in the world. To try to improve their performance is beforehand a difficult challenge and it puts on test the feasibility of the optimization methods in the reloads design. The study of the bio-inspired techniques was centered exclusively on the obtaining of the control rod patterns (PBC) trying to overcome the capacity factor reached in the design of the reference cycle. It was fixed the cycle length such that the decrease of the coast down period would represent an increase of the capacity factor of the cycle; so that, it diminishes the annual cost associated with the capital cost of the plant. As consequence of the study, was found that the algorithm based on the ants colonies reaches to diminish the coast down period in five and half days respect to the original balance cycle, what represents an annual saving of $US 74,000. Since the original cycle was optimized, the above-mentioned, shows the ability of the SCH for the optimization of the cycle design. With the AG it was reach to approach to the original balance cycle with a coast down period greater in seven days estimating an annual penalization of $US 130,000. (Author)

  6. Methodologies for Social Life Cycle Assessment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Andreas; Le Bocq, Agathe; Nazakina, Liudmila

    2008-01-01

    Goal, Scope and Background. In recent years several different approaches towards Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) have been developed. The purpose of this review is to compare these approaches in order to highlight methodological differences and general shortcomings. SLCA has several similarit......Goal, Scope and Background. In recent years several different approaches towards Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) have been developed. The purpose of this review is to compare these approaches in order to highlight methodological differences and general shortcomings. SLCA has several...... similarities with other social assessment tools, but in order to limit the review, only claims to address social impacts from an LCA-like framework is considered. Main Features. The review is to a large extent based on conference proceedings and reports of which some are not easily accessible, since very...... stage in the product life cycle. Another very important difference among the proposals is their position towards the use of generic data. Several of the proposals argue that social impacts are connected to the conduct of the company leading to the conclusion that each individual company in the product...

  7. Carbon cycle

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jaeger, J; Halbritter, G; Neumann-Hauf, G

    1982-05-01

    This report contains a review of literature on the subjects of the carbon cycle, the increase of the atmospheric CO/sub 2/ concentration and the possible impacts of an increased CO/sub 2/ concentration on the climate. In addition to this survey, the report discusses the questions that are still open and the resulting research needs. During the last twenty years a continual increase of the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration by about 1-2 ppm per years has been observed. In 1958 the concentration was 315 ppm and this increased to 336 ppm in 1978. A rough estimate shows that the increase of the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is about half of the amount of carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere by the combustion of fossil fuels. Two possible sinks for the CO/sub 2/ released into the atmosphere are known: the ocean and the biota. The role of the biota is, however, unclear, since it can act both as a sink and as a source. Most models of the carbon cycle are one-dimensional and cannot be used for accurate predictions. Calculations with climate models have shown that an increased atmospheric CO/sub 2/ concentration leads to a warming of the earth's surface and lower atmosphere. Calculations show that a doubling of the atmospheric CO/sub 2/-concentration would lead to a net heating of the lower atmosphere and earth's surface by a global average of about 4 W m/sup -2/. Greater uncertainties arise in estimating the change in surface temperature resulting from this change in heating rate. It is estimated that the global average annual surface temperature would change between 1.5 and 4.5 K. There are, however, latitudinal and seasonal variations of the impact of increased CO/sub 2/ concentration. Other meteorological variables (e.g. precipitation, wind speed etc.) would also be changed. It appears that the impacts of the other products of fossil fuel combustion are unlikely to counteract the impacts of CO/sub 2/ on the climate.

  8. MHR fuel cycle options for future sustainability of nuclear power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baxter, Alan; Venneri, Francesco; Rodriguez, Carmelo; Fikani, Michael

    2005-01-01

    The future sustainability of the nuclear option is not significantly tied to the level of resources. For example, current high quality uranium reserves (∼3.34x10 6 tons) are enough for more than 55 years at present consumption rates (IAEA estimate). Doubling of the present uranium ore price (∼$26/kg) could create about a tenfold increase in resources, providing more than 550 years of supply at present rates (World Nuclear Association estimate). There are also thorium reserves which are estimated to be about three times those of uranium, and would allow for a significant increase in annual consumption levels. The key to a sustainable nuclear future is really tied to the political and technical problems of long term waste disposal, and the perceived risks of nuclear weapons proliferation. Thus fuel cycle options for a sustainable nuclear future must address and solve these issues. High temperature, Gas-Cooled, Graphite Moderated, reactors (MHRs) have nuclear and operational characteristics to provide multiple fuel cycle options to solve these issues. Three fuel cycles for the MHD are described in this paper, and their capabilities for meeting a sustainable nuclear future in terms of nuclear waste minimization and destruction, and reduction of proliferation risk, are discussed. (author)

  9. Reproductive cycles of deer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asher, G W

    2011-04-01

    The cervids are a complex assemblage of taxa showing extreme diversity in morphology, physiology, ecology and geographical distribution. Reproductive strategies adopted by various species are also diverse, and include a range from highly seasonal to completely aseasonal birth patterns. The recent growth in knowledge on cervid reproduction is strongly biased towards the larger-bodied, gregarious mixed grazer-browser species that have adapted well to human management and commercialisation. These species tend to represent 'K-selected' climax species characterised by very productive annual breeding success, singleton births and long breeding life (10+ years). Conversely, we know relatively little about the reproductive patterns of the 'r-selected' smaller-bodied, solitary (and often highly territorial), forest-dwelling browser species, often characterised by great fecundity (twinning) and shorter breeding life (<10 years). This group includes many of the endangered cervid taxa. This review extends earlier reviews to include more recent work on cervid reproductive cycles, particularly in relation to environmental factors influencing gestation length. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Comparative techniques for nuclear fuel cycle waste management systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pelto, P.J.; Voss, J.W.

    1979-09-01

    A safety assessment approach for the evaluation of predisposal waste management systems is described and applied to selected facilities in the light water reactor (LWR) once-through fuel cycle and a potential coprocessed UO 2 -PuO 2 fuel cycle. This approach includes a scoping analysis on pretreatment waste streams and a more detailed analysis on proposed waste management processes. The primary evaluation parameters used in this study include radiation exposures to the public from radionuclide releases from normal operations and potential accidents, occupational radiation exposure from normal operations, and capital and operating costs. On an overall basis, the waste management aspects of the two fuel cycles examined are quite similar. On an individual facility basis, the fuel coprocessing plant has the largest waste management impact

  11. HTGR fuel and fuel cycle technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lotts, A.L.; Homan, F.J.; Balthesen, E.; Turner, R.F.

    1977-01-01

    Significant advances have occurred in the development of HTGR fuel and fuel cycle. These accomplishments permit a wide choice of fuel designs, reactor concepts, and fuel cycles. Fuels capable of providing helium outlet temperatures of 750 0 C are available, and fuels capable of 1000 0 C outlet temperatures may be expected from extension of present technology. Fuels have been developed for two basic HTGR designs, one using a spherical (pebble bed) element and the other a prismatic element. Within each concept a number of variations of geometry, fuel composition, and structural materials are permitted. Potential fuel cycles include both low-enriched and high-enriched Th- 235 U, recycle Th- 233 U, and Th-Pu or U-Pu cycles. This flexibility offered by the HTGR is of great practical benefit considering the rapidly changing economics of power production. The inflation of ore prices has increased optimum conversion ratios, and increased the necessity of fuel recycle at an early date. Fuel element makeup is very similar for prismatic and spherical designs. Both use spherical fissile and fertile particles coated with combinations of pyrolytic carbon and silicon carbide. Both use carbonaceous binder materials, and graphite as the structural material. Weak-acid resin (WAR) UO 2 -UC 2 fissile fuels and sol-gel-derived ThO 2 fertile fuels have been selected for the Th- 233 U cycle in the prismatic design. Sol-gel-derived UO 2 UC 2 is the reference fissile fuel for the low-enriched pebble bed design. Both the United States and Federal Republic of Germany are developing technology for fuel cycle operations including fabrication, reprocessing, refabrication, and waste handling. Feasibility of basic processes has been established and designs developed for full-scale equipment. Fuel and fuel cycle technology provide the basis for a broad range of applications of the HTGR. Extension of the fuels to higher operating temperatures and development and commercial demonstration of fuel

  12. Nitrogen cycle and ecosystem services in the Brazilian La Plata Basin: anthropogenic influence and climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watanabe, M; Ortega, E; Bergier, I; Silva, J S V

    2012-08-01

    The increasing human demand for food, raw material and energy has radically modified both the landscape and biogeochemical cycles in many river basins in the world. The interference of human activities on the Biosphere is so significant that it has doubled the amount of reactive nitrogen due to industrial fertiliser production (Haber-Bosch), fossil fuel burning and land-use change over the last century. In this context, the Brazilian La Plata Basin contributes to the alteration of the nitrogen cycle in South America because of its huge agricultural and grazing area that meets the demands of its large urban centres - Sao Paulo, for instance - and also external markets abroad. In this paper, we estimate the current inputs and outputs of anthropogenic nitrogen (in kg N.km(-2).yr(-1)) in the basin. In the results, we observe that soybean plays a very important role in the Brazilian La Plata, since it contributes with an annual entrance of about 1.8 TgN due to biological nitrogen fixation. Moreover, our estimate indicates that the export of soybean products accounts for roughly 1.0 TgN which is greater than the annual nitrogen riverine exports from Brazilian Parana, Paraguay and Uruguay rivers together. Complimentarily, we built future scenarios representing changes in the nitrogen cycle profile considering two scenarios of climate change for 2070-2100 (based on IPCC's A2 and B2) that will affect land-use, nitrogen inputs, and loss of such nutrients in the basin. Finally, we discuss how both scenarios will affect human well-being since there is a connection between nitrogen cycle and ecosystem services that affect local and global populations, such as food and fibre production and climate regulation.

  13. Nitrogen cycle and ecosystem services in the Brazilian La Plata Basin: anthropogenic influence and climate change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M Watanabe

    Full Text Available The increasing human demand for food, raw material and energy has radically modified both the landscape and biogeochemical cycles in many river basins in the world. The interference of human activities on the Biosphere is so significant that it has doubled the amount of reactive nitrogen due to industrial fertiliser production (Haber-Bosch, fossil fuel burning and land-use change over the last century. In this context, the Brazilian La Plata Basin contributes to the alteration of the nitrogen cycle in South America because of its huge agricultural and grazing area that meets the demands of its large urban centres - Sao Paulo, for instance - and also external markets abroad. In this paper, we estimate the current inputs and outputs of anthropogenic nitrogen (in kg N.km-2.yr-1 in the basin. In the results, we observe that soybean plays a very important role in the Brazilian La Plata, since it contributes with an annual entrance of about 1.8 TgN due to biological nitrogen fixation. Moreover, our estimate indicates that the export of soybean products accounts for roughly 1.0 TgN which is greater than the annual nitrogen riverine exports from Brazilian Parana, Paraguay and Uruguay rivers together. Complimentarily, we built future scenarios representing changes in the nitrogen cycle profile considering two scenarios of climate change for 2070-2100 (based on IPCC's A2 and B2 that will affect land-use, nitrogen inputs, and loss of such nutrients in the basin. Finally, we discuss how both scenarios will affect human well-being since there is a connection between nitrogen cycle and ecosystem services that affect local and global populations, such as food and fibre production and climate regulation.

  14. Alternative ORC bottoming cycles FOR combined cycle power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chacartegui, R.; Sanchez, D.; Munoz, J.M.; Sanchez, T.

    2009-01-01

    In this work, low temperature Organic Rankine Cycles are studied as bottoming cycle in medium and large scale combined cycle power plants. The analysis aims to show the interest of using these alternative cycles with high efficiency heavy duty gas turbines, for example recuperative gas turbines with lower gas turbine exhaust temperatures than in conventional combined cycle gas turbines. The following organic fluids have been considered: R113, R245, isobutene, toluene, cyclohexane and isopentane. Competitive results have been obtained for toluene and cyclohexane ORC combined cycles, with reasonably high global efficiencies. The paper is structured in four main parts. A review of combined cycle and ORC cycle technologies is presented, followed by a thermodynamic analysis of combined cycles with commercial gas turbines and ORC low temperature bottoming cycles. Then, a parametric optimization of an ORC combined cycle plant is performed in order to achieve a better integration between these two technologies. Finally, some economic considerations related to the use of ORC in combined cycles are discussed.

  15. Cell Cycle Inhibition To Treat Sleeping Sickness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Conrad L. Epting

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available African trypanosomiasis is caused by infection with the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei. During infection, this pathogen divides rapidly to high density in the bloodstream of its mammalian host in a manner similar to that of leukemia. Like all eukaryotes, T. brucei has a cell cycle involving the de novo synthesis of DNA regulated by ribonucleotide reductase (RNR, which catalyzes the conversion of ribonucleotides into their deoxy form. As an essential enzyme for the cell cycle, RNR is a common target for cancer chemotherapy. We hypothesized that inhibition of RNR by genetic or pharmacological means would impair parasite growth in vitro and prolong the survival of infected animals. Our results demonstrate that RNR inhibition is highly effective in suppressing parasite growth both in vitro and in vivo. These results support drug discovery efforts targeting the cell cycle, not only for African trypanosomiasis but possibly also for other infections by eukaryotic pathogens.

  16. ANNUAL ACTIVITY OF THE NOBLE CRAYFISH (ASTACUS ASTACUS IN THE ORLJAVA RIVER (CROATIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    FALLER M.

    2006-07-01

    Full Text Available We studied the annual activity of the noble crayfish (Astacus astacus at three sites along the Orljava River, in the continental part of Croatia, between August 2003 and September 2004. Each site represented the typical characteristics of the upper, middle and lower section of the river (5, 24 and 37 km from the spring, respectively. The biggest population size was recorded on the most upstream site, with greatest structural variability of bottom, high biotic index, and the lowest mean water temperature. Males dominated in catch during the whole research period (total sex ratio was 1.77 males: 1 female. The number of caught crayfish fluctuated during the year and their activity was positively correlated with the water temperature. The crayfish catch within the two downstream sites was dramatically lower in the autumn 2004 then the year before. No obvious reason could be found; therefore we concluded that this was probably result of natural fluctuations in population. Males were significantly longer than females on all three sites. Males and females had similar percentages of injuries, mainly on claws and antennae. Crayfish were active during the whole year, even when water temperature was just 1°C. Phases of life cycle (moulting, active cement glands, mating, hatchlings occurred a month later in our population than in the Northern Europe populations, probably as a consequence of differences in the climate.

  17. LEU fuel cycle analyses for the Belgian BR2 Research Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deen, J.R.; Snelgrove, J.L.

    1988-01-01

    Equilibrium fuel cycle characteristics were calculated for reference HEU and two proposed LEU fuel cycles using an 11-group diffusion-theory neutron flux solution in hexagonal-Z geometry. The diffusion theory model was benchmarked with a detailed Monte Carlo core model. The two proposed LEU fuel designs increased the 235 U loading 20% and the fuel meat volume 51%. The first LEU design used 10 B as a burnable absorber. Either proposed LEU fuel element would provide equilibrium fuel cycle characteristics similar to those of the HEU fuel cycle. Irradiation rates of Co control followers and Ir disks in the center of the core were reduced 6 ± 1% in the LEU equilibrium core compared to reference HEU core. 11 refs., 4 figs., 5 tabs

  18. Cycling infrastructure for reducing cycling injuries in cyclists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mulvaney, Caroline A; Smith, Sherie; Watson, Michael C; Parkin, John; Coupland, Carol; Miller, Philip; Kendrick, Denise; McClintock, Hugh

    2015-12-10

    Cycling is an attractive form of transport. It is beneficial to the individual as a form of physical activity that may fit more readily into an individual's daily routine, such as for cycling to work and to the shops, than other physical activities such as visiting a gym. Cycling is also beneficial to the wider community and the environment as a result of fewer motorised journeys. Cyclists are seen as vulnerable road users who are frequently in close proximity to larger and faster motorised vehicles. Cycling infrastructure aims to make cycling both more convenient and safer for cyclists. This review is needed to guide transport planning. To:1. evaluate the effects of different types of cycling infrastructure on reducing cycling injuries in cyclists, by type of infrastructure;2. evaluate the effects of cycling infrastructure on reducing the severity of cycling injuries in cyclists;3. evaluate the effects of cycling infrastructure on reducing cycling injuries in cyclists with respect to age, sex and social group. We ran the most recent search on 2nd March 2015. We searched the Cochrane Injuries Group Specialised Register, CENTRAL (The Cochrane Library), MEDLINE (OvidSP), Embase Classic + Embase(OvidSP), PubMed and 10 other databases. We searched websites, handsearched conference proceedings, screened reference lists of included studies and previously published reviews and contacted relevant organisations. We included randomised controlled trials, cluster randomised controlled trials, controlled before-after studies, and interrupted time series studies which evaluated the effect of cycling infrastructure (such as cycle lanes, tracks or paths, speed management, roundabout design) on cyclist injury or collision rates. Studies had to include a comparator, that is, either no infrastructure or a different type of infrastructure. We excluded studies that assessed collisions that occurred as a result of competitive cycling. Two review authors examined the titles and

  19. Modeling the Hydrological Cycle in the Atmosphere of Mars: Influence of a Bimodal Size Distribution of Aerosol Nucleation Particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaposhnikov, Dmitry S.; Rodin, Alexander V.; Medvedev, Alexander S.; Fedorova, Anna A.; Kuroda, Takeshi; Hartogh, Paul

    2018-02-01

    We present a new implementation of the hydrological cycle scheme into a general circulation model of the Martian atmosphere. The model includes a semi-Lagrangian transport scheme for water vapor and ice and accounts for microphysics of phase transitions between them. The hydrological scheme includes processes of saturation, nucleation, particle growth, sublimation, and sedimentation under the assumption of a variable size distribution. The scheme has been implemented into the Max Planck Institute Martian general circulation model and tested assuming monomodal and bimodal lognormal distributions of ice condensation nuclei. We present a comparison of the simulated annual variations, horizontal and vertical distributions of water vapor, and ice clouds with the available observations from instruments on board Mars orbiters. The accounting for bimodality of aerosol particle distribution improves the simulations of the annual hydrological cycle, including predicted ice clouds mass, opacity, number density, and particle radii. The increased number density and lower nucleation rates bring the simulated cloud opacities closer to observations. Simulations show a weak effect of the excess of small aerosol particles on the simulated water vapor distributions.

  20. Health impact assessment of increasing public transport and cycling use in Barcelona: a morbidity and burden of disease approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rojas-Rueda, D; de Nazelle, A; Teixidó, O; Nieuwenhuijsen, M J

    2013-11-01

    Quantify the health impacts on morbidity of reduced car trips and increased public transport and cycling trips. A health impact assessment study of morbidity outcomes related to replacing car trips in Barcelona metropolitan (3,231,458 inhabitants). Through 8 different transport scenarios, the number of cases of disease or injuries related to physical activity, particulate matter air pollution public transport and cycling trips resulted in annual reductions of 127 cases of diabetes, 44 of cardiovascular diseases, 30 of dementia, 16 minor injuries, 0.14 major injuries, 11 of breast cancer and 3 of colon-cancer, amounting to a total reduction of 302 Disability Adjusted Life Years per year in travelers. The reduction in PM2.5 exposure in the general population resulted in annual reductions of 7 cases of low birth weight, 6 of preterm birth, 1 of cardiovascular disease and 1 of lower respiratory tract infection. Transport policies to reduce car trips could produce important health benefits in terms of reduced morbidity, particularly for those who take up active transportation. © 2013.

  1. Environmental implications of thorium use in selected nuclear fuel cycles. Final

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buckley, D.W.; Simmons, G.L.; Ziskind, R.A.

    1978-01-01

    The objective of this study was to assess the environmental implications of the nuclear fuel cycle associated with the highly enriched uranium concept of the High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor. Model fuel cycles were constructed for the HTGR and a reference light water reactor (LWR) cycle. Mass flows were developed, control technology cases proposed and costed, effluents determined, and population doses calculated. Emphasis was given to the intercomparison of the fuel cycles to delineate areas which show pronounced departure. The dose commitment received by the population both within and outside a radius of 50 miles of each facility was determined. The 100 year population dose commitments due to a single year's plant operation was selected to facilitate intercomparison among fuel cycle components. No account was taken for long term waste sources associated with the fuel cycle such as mill tailing piles or terminal waste storage (study groundrule). The resource utilization and radionuclide activity of various fuel cycle options for using thorium in a Pressurized Water Reactor were studied. These data were contrasted with similar results obtained for a uranium fuel PWR

  2. 16 CFR 305.5 - Determinations of estimated annual energy consumption, estimated annual operating cost, and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... consumption, estimated annual operating cost, and energy efficiency rating, and of water use rate. 305.5... RULE CONCERNING DISCLOSURES REGARDING ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND WATER USE OF CERTAIN HOME APPLIANCES AND... § 305.5 Determinations of estimated annual energy consumption, estimated annual operating cost, and...

  3. Idaho National Laboratory PCB Annual Document Log and Annual Records Report for calendar year 2014

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Layton, Deborah L. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2015-06-01

    The requirements for the reporting of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-related activities are found in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 761 Subpart J, "General Records and Reports." The PCB Annual Document Log is a detailed record of the PCB waste handling activities at the facility. The facility must prepare it each year by July 1 and maintain it at the facility for at least 3 years after the facility ceases using or storing PCBs and PCB items. While submittal of the PCB Annual Document Log to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is not required by regulation, EPA has verbally requested in telephone conversations that this report be submitted to them on an annual basis. The Annual Records are not required to be submitted to EPA and are not considered to be part of the Annual Document Log, but are included to provide the complete disposition history or status of all PCB activities during the year. The Annual Document Log section of this report (Section 2.0) meets the requirements of 40 CFR 761.180(a)(2), as applicable, while the Annual Records section (Section 3.0) meets the requirement of 40 CFR 761.180(a)(1).

  4. Proposed fuel cycle for the Integral Fast Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burris, L.; Walters, L.C.

    1985-01-01

    One of the key features of ANL's Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) concept is a close-coupled fuel cycle. The proposed fuel cycle is similar to that demonstrated over the first five to six years of operation of EBR-II, when a fuel cycle facility adjacent to EBR-II was operated to reprocess and refabricate rapidly fuel discharged from the EBR-II. Locating the IFR and its fuel cycle facility on the same site makes the IFR a self-contained system. Because the reactor fuel and the uranium blanket are metals, pyrometallurgical processes (shortned to ''pyroprocesses'') have been chosen. The objectives of the IFR processes for the reactor fuel and blanket materials are to (1) recover fissionable materials in high yield; (2) remove fission products adequately from the reactor fuel, e.g., a decontamination factor of 10 to 100; and (3) upgrade the concentration of plutonium in uranium sufficiently to replenish the fissile-material content of the reactor fuel. After the fuel has been reconstituted, new fuel elements will be fabricated for recycle to the reactor

  5. Annual safety research report, JFY 2010

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2011-09-01

    In the safety infrastructure research working group report, 'the effective conducting of nuclear safety infrastructure research', published by METI in March 2010, the roles of regulatory agencies and JNES and their cooperation, and the research road map for nuclear safety regulation researches were summarized. As for the regulatory issues the governments or JNES considered necessary, JNES had compiled' safety research plan' in respective research areas necessary for solving the regulatory issues (safety research needs) and was conducting safety research to obtain the results, etc. Safety research areas, subjects and research projects were as follows: design review of nuclear power plant (4 subjects and each subject having several research projects totaled 19), control management of nuclear power plant (3 subjects and each subject having several research projects totaled 11), nuclear fuel cycle (2 subjects and each subject having several research projects totaled 5), nuclear fuel cycle backend (2 subjects and each subject having several research projects totaled 6), nuclear emergency preparedness and response (3 subjects and each subject having several research projects totaled 5) and bases of nuclear safety technology (3 subjects and each subject having several research projects totaled 7). In JFY 2010, JNES worked on the 53 research projects of 17 subjects in 6 areas as safety researches. This annual safety research report summarized respective achievements and stage of regulatory tools necessary for solving regulatory issues according to the safety research plan, JFY 2010 Edition as well as the situation of the reflection for the safety regulations. (T. Tanaka)

  6. 45 CFR 1176.5 - Annual plan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Annual plan. 1176.5 Section 1176.5 Public Welfare... ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES PART-TIME CAREER EMPLOYMENT § 1176.5 Annual plan. (a) An agencywide plan for promoting part-time employment opportunities will be developed annually. This plan will establish annual...

  7. Accumulation and biological cycling of heavy metal in four salt marsh species, from Tagus estuary (Portugal)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Duarte, B., E-mail: baduarte@fc.ul.p [Centro de Oceanografia, Instituto de Oceanografia, Campo Grande, 1749-1016 Lisboa (Portugal); Caetano, M. [INRB/IPIMAR - Instituto Nacional de Recursos Biologicos, Av. Brasilia, 1449-006 Lisboa (Portugal); Almeida, P.R. [Centro de Oceanografia, Instituto de Oceanografia, Campo Grande, 1749-1016 Lisboa (Portugal); Departamento de Biologia, Universidade de Evora, Largo dos Colegiais 2, 7004-516 Evora (Portugal); Vale, C. [INRB/IPIMAR - Instituto Nacional de Recursos Biologicos, Av. Brasilia, 1449-006 Lisboa (Portugal); Cacador, I. [Centro de Oceanografia, Instituto de Oceanografia, Campo Grande, 1749-1016 Lisboa (Portugal)

    2010-05-15

    Pools of Zn, Cu, Cd and Co in leaf, stem and root tissues of Sarcocornia fruticosa, Sarcocornia perennis, Halimione portulacoides and Spartina maritima were analyzed on a bimonthly basis, in a Tagus estuary salt marsh. All the major concentrations were found in the root tissues, being the concentrations in the aboveground organs neglectable for sediment budget proposes, as seen by the low root-aboveground translocation. Metal annual accumulation, root turnovers and cycling coefficients were also assessed. S. maritima showed the higher root turnovers and cycling coefficients for most of the analyzed metals, making this a phytostabilizer specie. By contrast the low root turnover, cycling coefficient and low root necromass generation makes S. perennis the most suitable specie for phytoremediation processes. Although the high amounts of metal return to the sediments, due to root senescence, salt marshes can still be considered sinks of heavy metals, cycling heavy metals mostly between sediment and root. - The efficiency of the phytoremediative processes and metal budgets are greatly influenced by the turnover periods and necromass generation.

  8. Sex-Specific Habitat Utilization and Differential Breeding Investments in Christmas Island Frigatebirds throughout the Breeding Cycle.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janos C Hennicke

    Full Text Available In seabirds, equal bi-parental care is the rule, as it is considered crucial for raising chicks successfully because seabirds forage in an environment with unpredictable and highly variable food supply. Frigatebirds forage in poor tropical waters, yet males reduce and even stop parental care soon after chick brooding, leaving the female to provision the chick alone for an extended fledging period. Using bird-borne tracking devices, male and female Christmas Island Frigatebirds (Fregata andrewsi were investigated during the brooding, late chick rearing and post-fledging period to examine whether sexes exhibit foraging strategies that may be linked to differential breeding investments. During brooding, males and females showed similar foraging behaviour under average marine productivity of oceanic waters close to the colony, but males shifted to more distant and more productive habitats when conditions deteriorated to continue with reduced chick provisioning. During the late chick rearing period, females progressively increased their foraging range to the more distant but productive marine areas that only males had visited during brooding. Birds spent the non-breeding period roosting in highly productive waters of the Sunda Shelf. The sex-specific utilisation of three different foraging habitats with different primary productivity (oceanic, coastal, and shelf areas allowed for temporal and spatial segregation in the exploitation of favourable habitats which seems to enable each sex to optimise its foraging profitability. In addition, post-fledging foraging movements of females suggest a biennial breeding cycle, while limited information on males suggests the possibility of an annual breeding cycle.

  9. Cycle training induces muscle hypertrophy and strength gain: strategies and mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozaki, Hayao; Loenneke, J P; Thiebaud, R S; Abe, T

    2015-03-01

    Cycle training is widely performed as a major part of any exercise program seeking to improve aerobic capacity and cardiovascular health. However, the effect of cycle training on muscle size and strength gain still requires further insight, even though it is known that professional cyclists display larger muscle size compared to controls. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to discuss the effects of cycle training on muscle size and strength of the lower extremity and the possible mechanisms for increasing muscle size with cycle training. It is plausible that cycle training requires a longer period to significantly increase muscle size compared to typical resistance training due to a much slower hypertrophy rate. Cycle training induces muscle hypertrophy similarly between young and older age groups, while strength gain seems to favor older adults, which suggests that the probability for improving in muscle quality appears to be higher in older adults compared to young adults. For young adults, higher-intensity intermittent cycling may be required to achieve strength gains. It also appears that muscle hypertrophy induced by cycle training results from the positive changes in muscle protein net balance.

  10. The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colburn, Jessica L; Nothelle, Stephanie

    2018-02-01

    The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit is an annual preventive health benefit, which was created in 2011 as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The visit provides an opportunity for clinicians to review preventive health recommendations and screen for geriatric syndromes. In this article, the authors review the requirements of the Annual Wellness Visit, discuss ways to use the Annual Wellness Visit to improve the care of geriatric patients, and provide suggestions for how to incorporate this benefit into a busy clinic. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Complementary use of life cycle assessment and risk assessment for engineered nanomaterials: Lessons learned from chemicals?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grieger, Khara D.; Laurent, Alexis; Miseljic, Mirko

    2013-01-01

    Successful strategies to handle the potential health and environmental risks of engineered nanomaterials (ENM) often rely upon the well-established frameworks of life cycle assessment (LCA) and risk assessment (RA). However, current research and specific guidance on how to actually apply these two...... scientific research efforts have taken into account some key lessons learned from past experiences with chemicals at the same time that many key challenges remain to applying these frameworks to ENM. In that setting, two main proposed approaches to use LCA and RA together for ENM are identified: i) LC......-based RA, similar to traditional RA applied in a life cycle perspective, and ii) RA-complemented LCA, similar to conventional LCA supplemented by RA in specific life cycle steps. This study finds that these two approaches for using LCA and RA together for ENM are similar to those made for chemicals...

  12. A prospective study of power cycles based on the expected sodium fast reactor parameters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herranz, L. E.; Linares, J. I.; Moratilla, B. Y.; Perez, G. D.

    2010-01-01

    One of the main issues that has not been solved yet in the frame of Sodium Fast Reactors (SFR) is to choose the most appropriate power conversion system. This paper explores the performance of different power cycles, from traditional to innovative layouts trying to find the optimized solution. Based on the expected reactor parameters (i.e., inlet and outlet coolant temperatures, 395 deg.C and 545 deg.C, respectively), a subcritical Rankine similar to those of fossil power plant cycles has been proposed as a reference layout. Then, alternative layouts based on innovative Rankine and Brayton cycles have been investigated. Two Rankine supercritical layouts have been modeled and analyzed: one of them, adopted from the Supercritical Water Reactor of GIV (one reheater, nine pre-heaters and one moisture separator) and the other similar to some fossil plants (two reheaters, nine pre-heaters with no moisture separator). Simple Brayton cycle configurations based on Helium has been also studied. Several layouts have been modeled to study the effects of: inter-cooling between compression stages, absence of an intermediate loop and coupling of an organic Rankine cycle (ORC). (authors)

  13. The origin, source and cycling of methane in deep crystalline rock biosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Riikka eKietäväinen

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The emerging interest in using stable bedrock formations for industrial purposes, e.g. nuclear waste disposal, has increased the need for understanding microbiological and geochemical processes in deep crystalline rock environments, including the carbon cycle. Considering the origin and evolution of life on Earth, these environments may also serve as windows to the past. Various geological, chemical and biological processes can influence the deep carbon cycle. Conditions of CH4 formation, available substrates and time scales can be drastically different from surface environments. This paper reviews the origin, source and cycling of methane in deep terrestrial crystalline bedrock with an emphasis on microbiology. In addition to potential formation pathways of CH4, microbial consumption of CH4 is also discussed. Recent studies on the origin of CH4 in continental bedrock environments have shown that the traditional separation of biotic and abiotic CH4 by the isotopic composition can be misleading in substrate-limited environments, such as the deep crystalline bedrock. Despite of similarities between Precambrian continental sites in Fennoscandia, South Africa and North America, where deep methane cycling has been studied, common physicochemical properties which could explain the variation in the amount of CH4 and presence or absence of CH4 cycling microbes were not found. However, based on their preferred carbon metabolism, methanogenic microbes appeared to have similar spatial distribution among the different sites.

  14. The origin, source, and cycling of methane in deep crystalline rock biosphere.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kietäväinen, Riikka; Purkamo, Lotta

    2015-01-01

    The emerging interest in using stable bedrock formations for industrial purposes, e.g., nuclear waste disposal, has increased the need for understanding microbiological and geochemical processes in deep crystalline rock environments, including the carbon cycle. Considering the origin and evolution of life on Earth, these environments may also serve as windows to the past. Various geological, chemical, and biological processes can influence the deep carbon cycle. Conditions of CH4 formation, available substrates and time scales can be drastically different from surface environments. This paper reviews the origin, source, and cycling of methane in deep terrestrial crystalline bedrock with an emphasis on microbiology. In addition to potential formation pathways of CH4, microbial consumption of CH4 is also discussed. Recent studies on the origin of CH4 in continental bedrock environments have shown that the traditional separation of biotic and abiotic CH4 by the isotopic composition can be misleading in substrate-limited environments, such as the deep crystalline bedrock. Despite of similarities between Precambrian continental sites in Fennoscandia, South Africa and North America, where deep methane cycling has been studied, common physicochemical properties which could explain the variation in the amount of CH4 and presence or absence of CH4 cycling microbes were not found. However, based on their preferred carbon metabolism, methanogenic microbes appeared to have similar spatial distribution among the different sites.

  15. Cell-cycle phase specificity of chloroethylnitrosoureas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Linfoot, P.A.

    1986-01-01

    Although the cancer chemotherapeutic agent 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU) is considered a non-cell cycle phase specific drug, it has been shown to produce differential cell killing in G 1 , S, and G 2 /M phase cells, with S phase cells appearing relatively resistant. Studies of cell cycle phase specific cell killing produced by nitrosoureas with different chemical reactivities, clearly indicated that the ability of compounds to cross-link DNA was important in determining their phase specificity. Cells that lacked guanine O 6 -alkytransferase activity showed similar patterns of BCNU phase specificity regardless of their intrinsic sensitivity to BCNU. DNA inter-strand cross-linking, as measured by alkaline elution, was similar in cells exposed to BCNU in G 1 or S phase. 3 H [1-chloroethyl-1nitrosourea] binding to DNA was the same in G 1 , S and G 2 /M phase cells indicating that phase-specific differences in drug uptake and intracellular drug dose were not responsible for phase specific cell kill. These studies suggest that cross-link lesions, other than DNA inter-strand cross-links, and/or effects on DNA repair, other than guanine O 6 -alkyltransferase, are additional important determinants of BCNU phase specific cell killing

  16. Effects of environment on the low-cycle fatigue behavior of Type 304 stainless steel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maiya, P.S.; Burke, W.F.

    1979-12-01

    The low-cycle fatigue behavior of Type 304 stainless steel has been investigated at 593 0 C in a dynamic vacuum of better than 1.3 x 10 -6 Pa (10 -8 torr). The results concerning the effects of strain range, strain rate and tensile hold time on fatigue life are presented and compared with results of similar tests performed in air and sodium environments. Under continuous symmetrical cycling, fatigue life is significantly longer in vacuum than in air; in the low strain range regime, the effect of sodium on fatigue life appears to be similar to that of vacuum. Strain rate (or frequency) strongly influences fatigue life in both air and vacuum. In compressive hold-time tests, the effect of environment on life is similar to that in a continuous-cycling test. However, tensile hold times are nearly as damaging in vacuum as in air. Thus, at least for austenitic stainless steels, the influence of the environment of fatigue life appears to depend on the loading waveshape

  17. Reading Ease of Bilingual Annual Reports.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Courtis, John K.; Hassan, Salleh

    2002-01-01

    Examines reading ease between the English and Chinese versions of 65 corporate annual reports in Hong Kong and the English and Malay versions of 53 annual reports in Malaysia. Notes that the English passages in Malaysian annual reports are easier to read than the English passages in Hong Kong annual reports. Suggests that different language…

  18. On cycles in the transcription network of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Berman Piotr

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background We investigate the cycles in the transcription network of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Unlike a similar network of Escherichia coli, it contains many cycles. We characterize properties of these cycles and their place in the regulatory mechanism of the cell. Results Almost all cycles in the transcription network of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are contained in a single strongly connected component, which we call LSCC (L for "largest", except for a single cycle of two transcription factors. The fact that LSCC includes almost all cycles is well explained by the properties of a random graph with the same in- and out-degrees of the nodes. Among different physiological conditions, cell cycle has the most significant relationship with LSCC, as the set of 64 transcription interactions that are active in all phases of the cell cycle has overlap of 27 with the interactions of LSCC (of which there are 49. Conversely, if we remove the interactions that are active in all phases of the cell cycle (25% of interactions to transcription factors, the LSCC would have only three nodes and 5 edges, many fewer than expected. This subgraph of the transcription network consists mostly of interactions that are active only in the stress response subnetwork. We also characterize the role of LSCC in the topology of the network. We show that LSCC can be used to define a natural hierarchy in the network and that in every physiological subnetwork LSCC plays a pivotal role. Conclusion Apart from those well-defined conditions, the transcription network of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is devoid of cycles. It was observed that two conditions that were studied and that have no cycles of their own are exogenous: diauxic shift and DNA repair, while cell cycle and sporulation are endogenous. We claim that in a certain sense (slow recovery stress response is endogenous as well.

  19. Two-stage double-effect ammonia/lithium nitrate absorption cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ventas, R.; Lecuona, A.; Vereda, C.; Legrand, M.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • A two stage double effect cycle with NH3-LiNO3 is proposed. • The cycle operates at lower pressures than conventional. • Adiabatic absorber offers better performance than the diabatic version. • Evaporator external inlet temperatures higher than −10 °C avoids crystallization. • Maximum COP is 1.25 for driving water inlet temperature of 100 C. - Abstract: The two-stage configuration of a double-effect absorption cycle using ammonia/lithium nitrate as working fluid is studied by means of a thermodynamic model. The maximum pressure of this cycle configuration is the same as the single-effect cycle, up to 15.8 bars, being an advantage over the double-effect conventional configuration with three pressure levels that exhibits much higher maximum pressure. The performance of the cycle and the limitation imposed by crystallization of the working fluid is determined for both adiabatic and diabatic absorber cycles. Both cycles offer similar COP; however the adiabatic variant shows a larger margin against crystallization. This cycle can produce cold for external inlet evaporator temperatures down to −10 °C, but for this limit the crystallization could happen at high inlet generator temperatures. The maximum COP can be 1.25 for an external inlet generator temperature of 100 °C. This cycle shows a better COP than a typical double effect cycle with in-parallel configuration for the range of the moderate temperatures under study and using the same working fluid. Comparisons with double effect cycles using H_2O/LiBr and NH_3/H_2O as working fluids are also offered, highlighting the present configurations advantages regarding COP, evaporation and condensation temperatures as well as crystallization.

  20. Annual report 1994-95

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1996-12-31

    Activities of the various constituent units of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and also of the institutions financially aided by DAE during the year 1994-95 are reported. The various constituent units of DAE consist of nuclear research establishments, nuclear power plants, heavy water plants, nuclear fabrication facilities, electronic and instrumentation production facilities, atomic mineral processing units and other nuclear installations. These activities cover the whole gamut of nuclear fuel cycle, research and development in nuclear science and reactor technology, applications of radiation and radioisotopes, radiation protection, environmental aspects, research and development in front line areas such as robotics, lasers, parallel processing etc. The activities are described under the headings: introduction, the year at a glance, nuclear power, non-power sectors, public sector undertakings, support to research, services etc.. Other activities of DAE include international relations, emergency planning, training, technology transfer etc. Service activities include materials management, construction, publicity and information etc. The text is illustrated with a number of coloured photographs. A chart showing the organisational structure of atomic energy administration of the country and a map of India showing locations of various atomic energy establishments, spread all over the country are also included in this Annual Report of the Department of Atomic Energy. (M.G.B.).