Towards a Pan-European Integrated Groundwater and Surface Water Model: Development and Applications

During the last years, we have developed a model, which is able to simulate hydrological processes at a Pan-European scale. The model has multiple possible uses, including flood forecasting, identification of groundwater recharge / discharge zones and large-scale water resources management. The integrated model is based on the LISFLOOD model, which simulates hydrological processes with a focus on snow and soil hydrology and streamflow routing. The area of interest is the full European continent, divided in 5 × 5 km cells. A conceptual 2D MODFLOW model was linked to improve groundwater simulation. With this coupling, it is now possible to simulate the water exchanges between adjacent cells, and between groundwater and river. Available meteorological data from 1-1-1990 to 31-10-2014 were used as input for the coupled model, together with values of aquifer properties derived from literature. We used observed data of recharge, discharge and hydraulic heads from the Danube river basin to check if the model results correspond to reality. The results show a reasonably high degree of agreement between observed and simulated data, taking into account the limitations of large scale modelling. This model is the first step to improve integrated groundwater and surface water modelling which includes the collection of data and the production of Pan-European groundwater parameter maps

Plasmas in Saturn's magnetosphere

The solar wind plasma analyzer on board Pioneer 2 provides first observations of low-energy positive ions in the magnetosphere of Saturn. Measurable intensities of ions within the energy-per-unit charge (E/Q) range 100 eV to 8 keV are present over the planetocentric radial distance range about 4 to 16 R sub S in the dayside magnetosphere. The plasmas are found to be rigidly corotating with the planet out to distances of at least 10 R sub S. At radial distances beyond 10 R sub S, the bulk flows appear to be in the corotation direction but with lesser speeds than those expected from rigid corotation. At radial distances beyond the orbit of Rhea at 8.8 R sub S, the dominant ions are most likely protons and the corresponding typical densities and temperatures are 0.5/cu cm and 1,000,000 K, respectively, with substantial fluctuations. It is concluded that the most likely source of these plasmas in the photodissociation of water frost on the surface of the ring material with subsequent ionization of the products and radially outward diffusion. The presence of this plasma torus is expected to have a large influence on the dynamics of Saturn's magnetosphere since the pressure ratio beta of these plasmas approaches unity at radial distances as close to the planet as 6.5 R sub S. On the basis of these observational evidences it is anticipated that quasi-periodic outward flows of plasma, accompanied with a reconfiguration of the magnetosphere beyond about 6.5 R sub S, will occur in the local night sector in order to relieve the plasma pressure from accretion of plasma from the rings

Genome sequence of an alphaherpesvirus from a beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas)

Beluga whale alphaherpesvirus 1 was isolated from a blowhole swab taken from a juvenile beluga whale. The genome is 144,144 bp in size and contains 86 putative genes. The virus groups phylogenetically with members of the genus Varicellovirus in subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae and is the first alphaherpesvirus sequenced from a marine mammal

Wood County Reentry Coalition: Needs Assessment Survey Results

The purpose of this research was to assess the services needed by offenders who are soon going to be released. As a result, we recruited all incarcerated persons in jails, prisons and community-based correctional facilities (CBCFs) in Ohio who would be returning to the Wood County area upon release (i.e., we recruited incarcerated individuals who had a Wood County, OH address as their last place of residence prior to their most recent incarceration, or were arrested in and processed through Wood County courts). We designed a survey for individuals in Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) custody containing questions related to reentry needs and challenges. Only inmates who resided in Wood County, Ohio prior to their incarceration were eligible to take the survey. The survey questions were designed to gain insight into: What are the services needed by the reentering offenders after a period of incarceration? What are the gaps in services in Wood County for reentering offenders? Does services utilization reduces recidivism among offenders? What are the gaps in offender reentry services

Wood County Project Homeless Connect: Final Report for Event Held October 16, 2013

On October 16, 2013, Wood County, Ohio held their first Project Homeless Connect event at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Bowling Green, Ohio. Project Homeless Connect (PHC) is designed to provide immediate goods and services to homeless individuals and those nearing homelessness. It provides basic needs and critical services in one day at one location. It originated in San Francisco and was later adopted and revised by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) to decrease homelessness in major American cities (Knetch & Martinez, 2009). PHC was created following the premises of the former President George W. Bush Administration’s policy of compassionate conservatism and the “armies of compassion” model, which “sought to rebuild public-private relationships to address social problems and avoid increasing government spending” (Knetch & Martinez, 2009, p. 522). More than 170 cities in the United States, Canada, and Australia have adopted the PHC project. This report presents the characteristics, satisfaction levels, and expectations about the inaugural event by guests, volunteers, and providers at the event

Raising awareness of anaerobic digestion in the UK - Views of key stakeholders

This is the open access PDF version of an article published in Journal of Environmental and Ecology© 2014.Meeting rising energy demand and sustainable development goals at the same time is a major challenge for policy makers in the 21st century. The situation is further stressed by a rising world population, climate change, natural disasters and food security concerns. Renewable energy technologies such as anaerobic digestion (AD) proffer one solution for policy makers to overcome some of the challenges to sustainable development. The technology has been widely adopted in some parts of Europe (e.g. Germany, Denmark, Austria and Sweden), the United States and also parts of Asia and Africa. However in the United Kingdom (UK), the technology is under-developed, as was recognised in its anaerobic digestion strategy and action plan of 2011. This study focused on identifying options for raising awareness of AD technology in the UK. 21 key stakeholders divided into groups according to their expertise, were interviewed to explore their views on the areas of focus in the UK strategy and action plan regarding raising awareness of the technology. The results revealed that aligning AD with sustainable development goals, community AD and localism, small AD plants, provision of an available market for AD products, building UK skills and diversifying biogas use from AD are positive options for raising awareness of AD in the UK. Challenges to these options and possible solutions to the challenges were also identified and discussed