Special Libraries, January-February 1919

Volume 10, Issue 1https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_sl_1919/1000/thumbnail.jp

Integrated Applications of Geo-Information in Environmental Monitoring

This book focuses on fundamental and applied research on geo-information technology, notably optical and radar remote sensing and algorithm improvements, and their applications in environmental monitoring. This Special Issue presents ten high-quality research papers covering up-to-date research in land cover change and desertification analyses, geo-disaster risk and damage evaluation, mining area restoration assessments, the improvement and development of algorithms, and coastal environmental monitoring and object targeting. The purpose of this Special Issue is to promote exchanges, communications and share the research outcomes of scientists worldwide and to bridge the gap between scientific research and its applications for advancing and improving society

Integrating practical and computational approaches to understand morphogenesis of the vertebrate limb

The vertebrate limb has been used and continues to be used as a model system for the study of many developmental and evolutionary processes. More often than not, studies have involved intensive laboratory work. However, as early as 30 years ago researchers such as Wilby and Ede (1975) recognised the potential of computational tools in providing a deeper understanding of the development of the vertebrate limb. Towards this end, the goal of this thesis was to integrate practical and computational approaches for the investigation and analysis of vertebrate limb morphogenesis.Before a complete picture of vertebrate limb development can be formed the relevant components of the system require thorough analysis. One important component is the changing spatial distribution of cellular proliferation throughout the limb bud tissue during morphogenesis. To date, all of the proliferation studies completed on the vertebrate limb are not truly quantitative or comprehensive. It was with this limitation in mind that a new approach was sought to capture this information. This new approach involved both optimisation of the experimental technique (BrdU-IddU double-staining) and development of new computational tools to estimate cell cycle times in the early vertebrate limb. These developments have allowed, for the first time, a comprehensive spatio-temporal map of quantitative cell cycle times in the early vertebrate limb.A second key question of limb morphogenesis is how genes create the digit pattern. An example of such a gene is Sox9, which is an early marker of chondrogenesis and is, therefore, assumed to follow a pattern similar to early stages of digit patterning. Classical chondrogenic experiments, suggest digital regions are patterned by the intermediate formation of a "digital arch" from which the digits arise in a posterior to anterior order. In contrast, a thorough analysis of a large number of Sox9 in situs revealed digital regions 1, 2 and 3 branch from a region reminiscent of the tibia (anterior zeugopod) and digital regions 4 and 5 branch from a fibula-like region (posterior zeugopod). Moreover, the Sox9 pattern first arises in digital regions 2, 3 and 4, followed by digital regions 5 and 1. The Sox9 in situ analysis was achieved using newly developed software for the 3D analysis of optical projection tomographic (OPT) images at a very high spatial resolution.These studies have highlighted the importance of integrating practical and computational tools in order to close the gaps in our knowledge and understanding of limb development, and developmental processes as a whole. The computational tools generated for the proliferation studies are valuable in offering a thorough means of analysis of cell cycle times and the new OPT software will be invaluable for the study of both weak and strong gene expression patterns in whole embryos. In the future, the proliferation data and 3D Sox9 in situ data can be incorporated into simulation software, the results of which should shed light upon the interactive effects of different factors upon the process of limb morphogenesi

Measurements and simulation of speciated PM2.5 in south-west Europe

Chemically speciated concentrations of PM2.5 (sulphate, ammonium, nitrate, elemental and organic carbon) were simulated in south-west Europe using the three-dimensional air quality model CAMx driven by the MM5 meteorological model. The inner domain covered the south-west region of Spain with a high spatial (2 km × 2 km) and temporal resolution (1 h). The simulation results were evaluated against experimental data obtained in four intensive field campaigns performed in 2008 and 2009 at urban and rural sites. PM2.5 measurements of secondary inorganic compounds and carbonaceous aerosol plus a suite of major and trace elements were determined. High time resolution (10 min) measurements of Black Carbon (BC) were also conducted. The model captured the variability in the ammonium concentrations in both summer and winter periods, although it tended to underestimate the magnitude of concentrations, while for sulphate the performance was better during the summer periods. Particulate ammonium nitrate was only simulated in significant concentrations in the wintertime campaign. This was found to be consistent with the measured composition of PM2.5 where most of nitrate (79–94%) and a significant fraction of sulphate (24–37%) were estimated to be present as non-ammonium salts. These non-ammonium nitrate salts were attributed to the formation of NaNO3. The model PM2.5 primary elemental carbon simulations, evaluated with hourly resolution, captured the diurnal and seasonal variability of PM2.5 BC concentrations at the urban site while poorer performance was observed at the rural site. A large underestimation was observed for simulated PM2.5 organic carbon concentrations during all campaigns. Scenarios of pollution events linked to emissions from south-west Spain, shipping and contributions from more distant emission sources such as Portugal were identified. These results highlight how the distinct features of PM2.5 composition in southern Europe regions, such as the large contribution of non-ammonium salts, need to be taken into account both in model evaluation and in future implementation of aerosol modelling systems.The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the Department of Innovation, Science and Enterprise of the Government of Andalusia through the research projects AER-REG (P07-RNM- 03125) and SIMAND (P07-RNM-02729) and from the Department of Environment, Andalusian Regional Government (project: 199/ 2011/C/00). In addition, we thank the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for funding through the project POLLINDUST (CGL2011-26259)

Characterizing, modelling and understanding the climate variability of the deep water formation in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea

Observing, modelling and understanding the climate-scale variability of the deep water formation (DWF) in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea remains today very challenging. In this study, we first characterize the interannual variability of this phenomenon by a thorough reanalysis of observations in order to establish reference time series. These quantitative indicators include 31 observed years for the yearly maximum mixed layer depth over the period 1980–2013 and a detailed multi-indicator description of the period 2007–2013. Then a 1980–2013 hindcast simulation is performed with a fully-coupled regional climate system model including the high-resolution representation of the regional atmosphere, ocean, land-surface and rivers. The simulation reproduces quantitatively well the mean behaviour and the large interannual variability of the DWF phenomenon. The model shows convection deeper than 1000 m in 2/3 of the modelled winters, a mean DWF rate equal to 0.35 Sv with maximum values of 1.7 (resp. 1.6) Sv in 2013 (resp. 2005). Using the model results, the winter-integrated buoyancy loss over the Gulf of Lions is identified as the primary driving factor of the DWF interannual variability and explains, alone, around 50 % of its variance. It is itself explained by the occurrence of few stormy days during winter. At daily scale, the Atlantic ridge weather regime is identified as favourable to strong buoyancy losses and therefore DWF, whereas the positive phase of the North Atlantic oscillation is unfavourable. The driving role of the vertical stratification in autumn, a measure of the water column inhibition to mixing, has also been analyzed. Combining both driving factors allows to explain more than 70 % of the interannual variance of the phenomenon and in particular the occurrence of the five strongest convective years of the model (1981, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2013). The model simulates qualitatively well the trends in the deep waters (warming, saltening, increase in the dense water volume, increase in the bottom water density) despite an underestimation of the salinity and density trends. These deep trends come from a heat and salt accumulation during the 1980s and the 1990s in the surface and intermediate layers of the Gulf of Lions before being transferred stepwise towards the deep layers when very convective years occur in 1999 and later. The salinity increase in the near Atlantic Ocean surface layers seems to be the external forcing that finally leads to these deep trends. In the future, our results may allow to better understand the behaviour of the DWF phenomenon in Mediterranean Sea simulations in hindcast, forecast, reanalysis or future climate change scenario modes. The robustness of the obtained results must be however confirmed in multi-model studies

Modern Climatology - Full Text

Climatology, the study of climate, is no longer regarded as a single discipline that treats climate as something that fluctuates only within the unchanging boundaries described by historical statistics. The field has recognized that climate is something that changes continually under the influence of physical and biological forces and so, cannot be understood in isolation but rather, is one that includes diverse scientific disciplines that play their role in understanding a highly complex coupled “whole system” that is the Earth’s climate. The modern era of climatology is echoed in this book. On the one hand it offers a broad synoptic perspective but also considers the regional standpoint as it is this that affects what people need from climatology, albeit water resource managers or engineers etc. Aspects on the topic of climate change – what is often considered a contradiction in terms – is also addressed. It is all too evident these days that what recent work in climatology has revealed carries profound implications for economic and social policy; it is with these in mind that the final chapters consider acumens as to the application of what has been learned to date. This book is divided into four sections that cover sub-disciplines in climatology. The first section contains four chapters that pertain to synoptic climatology, i.e., the study of weather disturbances including hurricanes, monsoon depressions, synoptic waves, and severe thunderstorms; these weather systems directly impact humanity. The second section on regional climatology has four chapters that describe the climate features within physiographically defined areas. The third section is on climate change which involves both past (paleoclimate) and future climate: The first two chapters cover certain facets of paleoclimate while the third is centered towards the signals (observed or otherwise) of climate change. The fourth and final section broaches the sub-discipline that is often referred to as applied climatology; this represents the important goal of all studies in climatology–one that affects modes of living. Here, three chapters are devoted towards the application of climatological research that might have useful application for operational purposes in industrial, manufacturing, agricultural, technological and environmental affairs. Please click here to explore the components of this work.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/modern_climatology/1014/thumbnail.jp

Optimisation des opérations du système auxiliaire électrique d’un vraquier de taille "handysize"

L’industrie maritime transporte 80% des marchandises mondiales. De plus, c’est le mode de transportation le plus efficace en termes d’émission de dioxyde de carbone (CO2) par tonne- kilomètre de cargaison transportée. Cependant, cette recherche montre qu’un vraquier de taille handysize émet au minimum l’équivalent de 650 voitures légères par jour par navire. En effet, les navires marchands ont besoin d’électricité pour faire fonctionner leurs machineries lourdes comme les grues de pont. L’électricité est aussi nécessaire pour les essentielles et les services généraux comme l’éclairage, les cuisines, les ordinateurs de bord, les électroménagers, etc. Cette consommation d’énergie peut être comparée à celle d’une petite ville. Historiquement, l’électricité a toujours été générée par des génératrices au diesel sur des navires marchands. Cependant, il serait plus efficace et environnemental de connecter le navire au réseau électrique disponible sur terre. Ce processus s’appelle l’alimentation à quai. Plusieurs techniques existent pour réaliser cette connexion, mais elles sont souvent très dispendieuses et comportent de nombreux défis. Ce document présente une revue étendue de littérature sur la décarbonation de l’industrie maritime et propose l’alimentation à quai comme la prochaine étape vers une industrie maritime verte. Une analyse forces, faiblesses, opportunités et menaces (FFOM) de l’alimentation à quai est discutée. Une étude de l’impact de l’alimentation à quai sur un vraquier sec montre que l’indicateur d’intensité de carbone (IIC) de l’Organisation Maritime International (OMI) peut être réduit de 7,8%. Ensuite, une étude multi objectif a permis d’identifier les meilleures solutions pour éliminer les émissions des navires au port. L’étude de cas fondé sur des vrais profile de consommation d’énergie a révélé qu’une connexion basse tension combinée à une petite batterie de 60 kWh peut éliminer les émissions du navire au port. Cette solution réduirait les émissions de 5,5 tonnes de CO2 par jour par bateau pour un investissement initial de 323 k$. Le système de gestion des câbles pourrait aussi être installé à quai plutôt que sur le navire diminuant ainsi les frais pour les armateurs de moitié. Une analyse technico-économique montre que le projet aurait un retour sur l’investissement de 15 ans pouvant être réduit à 6 ans si le projet était subventionné à 50Finalement, le potentiel de l’alimentation à quai pour réduire des émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES) sur la route commerciale du Saint-Laurent et des Grands Lacs est important. De plus, les bénéfices de l’alimentation à quai sont largement augmentés grâce au coût abordable de l’électricité au Québec. Alors que le futur de la décarbonation de l’industrie maritime n’est pas encore définie, l’alimentation à quai est une mesure qui peut être implémentée dès maintenant et qui peut à coup sûr diminuer les émissions de CO2 de la marine marchande.Abstract: The shipping industry carries 80$. If the cable management system was installed on shore instead of on the ship, the CAPEX could be reduced by half for shipowners. A technical-economic study estimated a payback period of 15 years that could be reduced to 6 years if the project was subsidized at 50%. Finally, the potential of shore power to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emission in the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes maritime route is massive and the affordable electricity price in Quebec further increases the benefits of shore power. While the future of maritime decarbonization is unclear, shore power is a measure that can be implemented by now and in which the benefits it can achieve in terms of emission reductions are guaranteed for maritime transportation

Climate Smart Agriculture: Building Resilience to Climate Change

The book uses an economic lens to identify the main features of climate-smart agriculture (CSA), its likely impact, and the challenges associated with its implementation. Drawing upon theory and concepts from agricultural development, institutional, and resource economics, this book expands and formalizes the conceptual foundations of CSA. Focusing on the adaptation/resilience dimension of CSA, the text embraces a mixture of conceptual analyses, including theory, empirical and policy analysis, and case studies, to look at adaptation and resilience through three possible avenues: ex-ante reduction of vulnerability, increasing adaptive capacity, and ex-post risk coping. The book is divided into three sections. The first section provides conceptual framing, giving an overview of the CSA concept and grounding it in core economic principles. The second section is devoted to a set of case studies illustrating the economic basis of CSA in terms of reducing vulnerability, increasing adaptive capacity and ex-post risk coping. The final section addresses policy issues related to climate change. Providing information on this new and important field in an approachable way, this book helps make sense of CSA and fills intellectual and policy gaps by defining the concept and placing it within an economic decision-making framework. This book will be of interest to agricultural, environmental, and natural resource economists, development economists, and scholars of development studies, climate change, and agriculture. It will also appeal to policy-makers, development practitioners, and members of governmental and non-governmental organizations interested in agriculture, food security and climate change