Low-tech solution for Smart Cities – Optimization tool CityCalc for solar urban design

Designed as an easily applicable planning and evaluation tool, CityCalc has been developed to assess the energy performance of urban planning projects at early design stages. The tool supports the development of low-tech solutions for smart cities by means of optimising the use of renewable energy on site – including passive and active solar gains. Currently energy planning and assessment tools for early design stages do not take into account the mutual interactions of buildings such as shading and shadowing from adjoining structures as their focus is on the individual buildings. A great variety of tools for urban solar design exist nowadays, however they are not suitable for architects and early design stages (IEA SHC Task 41). In the future it will be of increasing importance to quantify the passive and active solar gains in order to fulfil ambitious legal and funding requirement and to implement future-oriented building concepts (e.g. passive house, zero energy, zero carbon or plus energy standards). The objective was therefore to develop an easily applicable energy planning and assessment tool for urban planning projects for the early design stages. The CityCalc tool focuses on energy efficiency - that is, the reduction of energy demand - with the best possible use of site-specific energy sources (gains from solar thermal and photovoltaic plants, wind energy, combined heat and power). In order to ensure a simple, user-friendly usability for architects, a three-dimensional geometry and data acquisition and an interface with energy calculation software is developed. CityCalc is developed for urban development planning, urban design competitions and urban densification. CityCalc can be used on the one hand by architects for optimizing the conceptual design phase and on the other hand, for the energy assessment of urban planning and architectural competitions. CityCalc combines the simplistic three-dimensional geometry input method of the freely available software SketchUp with proven evaluation algorithms of the energy performance certificate. In addition it refers to a variety of default values for details, which are not defined in detail at this stage of planning. With the assessment tool CityCalc it is possible to assess the potential of active and passive use of solar energy at a very early planning stage. For this purpose, the simplified three-dimensional input of the building and its surroundings in the free software SketchUp is required. CityCalc is available as a plugin for SketchUp. The developed planning and assessment tool has been tested and validated in selected planning competitions and early design projects. The tool and the experiences of the validation will be presented in this paper. Conclusions are a well-adjusted applicability for an early design stage. System boundaries of the assessment have to be shaped based on the available information as well as the flexible parameters of early design stages. Further aspects of smart cities have been identified to be included in future upgrades of the tool, such as: daylight comfort of indoor and outdoor areas, costs for supply and disposal especially energy supply, embodied energy in materials. The project has been funded by the Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (bmvit) within the research program ‘City of Tomorrow’ (Stadt der Zukunft)

OOI Biogeochemical Sensor Data: Best Practices and User Guide. Version 1.0.0.

The OOI Biogeochemical Sensor Data Best Practices and User Guide is intended to provide current and prospective users of data generated by biogeochemical sensors deployed on the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) arrays with the information and guidance needed for them to ensure that the data is science-ready. This guide is aimed at researchers with an interest or some experience in ocean biogeochemical processes. We expect that users of this guide will have some background in oceanography, however we do not assume any prior experience working with biogeochemical sensors or their data. While initially envisioned as a “cookbook” for end users seeking to work with OOI biogeochemical (BGC) sensor data, our Working Group and Beta Testers realized that the processing required to meet the specific needs of all end users across a wide range of potential scientific applications and combinations of OOI BGC data from different sensors and platforms couldn’t be synthesized into a single “recipe”. We therefore provide here the background information and principles needed for the end user to successfully identify and understand all the available “ingredients” (data), the types of “cooking” (end user processing) that are recommended to prepare them, and a few sample “recipes” (worked examples) to support end users in developing their own “recipes” consistent with the best practices presented here. This is not intended to be an exhaustive guide to each of these sensors, but rather a synthesis of the key information to support OOI BGC sensor data users in preparing science-ready data products. In instances when more in-depth information might be helpful, references and links have been provided both within each chapter and in the Appendix

Giant molecular filaments in the Milky Way II. The fourth Galactic quadrant

Context: Filamentary structures are common morphological features of the cold, molecular interstellar medium (ISM). Recent studies have discovered massive, hundred-parsec-scale filaments that may be connected to the large-scale, Galactic spiral arm structure. Addressing the nature of these giant molecular filaments (GMFs) requires a census of their occurrence and properties. Aims: We perform a systematic search of GMFs in the fourth Galactic quadrant and determine their basic physical properties. Methods: We identify GMFs based on their dust extinction signatures in the near- and mid-infrared and the velocity structure probed by 13CO line emission. We use the 13CO line emission and ATLASGAL dust emission data to estimate the total and dense gas masses of the GMFs. We combine our sample with an earlier sample from literature and study the Galactic environment of the GMFs. Results: We identify nine GMFs in the fourth Galactic quadrant: six in the Centaurus spiral arm and three in inter-arm regions. Combining this sample with an earlier study using the same identification criteria in the first Galactic quadrant results in 16 GMFs, nine of which are located within spiral arms. The GMFs have sizes of 80–160 pc and 13CO-derived masses between 5−90 × 104M⊙. Their dense gas mass fractions are between 1.5–37%, which is higher in the GMFs connected to spiral arms. We also compare the different GMF-identification methods and find that emission and extinction-based techniques overlap only partially, thereby highlighting the need to use both to achieve a complete census

SEDIGISM: Structure, excitation, and dynamics of the inner Galactic interstellar medium

The origin and life-cycle of molecular clouds are still poorly constrained, despite their importance for understanding the evolution of the interstellar medium. Many large-scale surveys of the Galactic plane have been conducted recently, allowing for rapid progress in this field. Nevertheless, a sub-arcminute resolution global view of the large-scale distribution of molecular gas, from the diffuse medium to dense clouds and clumps, and of their relationshipto the spiral structure, is still missing. Aims. We have carried out a systematic, homogeneous, spectroscopic survey of the inner Galactic plane, in order to complement the many continuum Galactic surveys available with crucial distance and gas-kinematic information. Our aim is to combine this data set with recent infrared to sub-millimetre surveys at similar angular resolutions. © 2017 ESO

Giant molecular filaments in the Milky Way

Throughout the Milky Way, molecular clouds typically appear filamentary, and mounting evidence indicates that this morphology plays an important role in star formation. What is not known is to what extent the dense filaments most closely associated with star formation are connected to the surrounding diffuse clouds up to arbitrarily large scales. How are these cradles of star formation linked to the Milky Way’s spiral structure? Using archival Galactic plane survey data, we have used multiple datasets in search of large-scale, velocity-coherent filaments in the Galactic plane. In this paper, we present our methods employed to identify coherent filamentary structures first in extinction and confirmed using Galactic Ring Survey data. We present a sample of seven giant molecular filaments (GMFs) that have lengths on the order of ~100 pc, total masses of 104–105 M⊙, and exhibit velocity coherence over their full length. The GMFs we study appear to be inter-arm clouds and may be the Milky Way analogs to spurs observed in nearby spiral galaxies. We find that between 2 and 12% of the total mass (above ~1020 cm-2) is “dense” (above 1022 cm-2), where filaments near spiral arms in the Galactic midplane tend to have higher dense gas mass fractions than those further from the arms

ATLASGAL - Ammonia observations towards the southern Galactic Plane

Context: The initial conditions of molecular clumps in which high-mass stars form are poorly understood. In particular, a more detailed study of the earliest evolutionary phases is needed. The APEX Telescope Large Area Survey of the whole inner Galactic disk at 870 μm, ATLASGAL, has therefore been conducted to discover high-mass star-forming regions at different evolutionary phases. Aims: We derive properties such as velocities, rotational temperatures, column densities, and abundances of a large sample of southern ATLASGAL clumps in the fourth quadrant. Methods: Using the Parkes telescope, we observed the NH3 (1, 1) to (3, 3) inversion transitions towards 354 dust clumps detected by ATLASGAL within a Galactic longitude range between 300° and 359° and a latitude within ± 1.5°. For a subsample of 289 sources, the N2H+ (1–0) line was measured with the Mopra telescope. Results: We measured a median NH3 (1, 1) line width of ~ 2 km s-1, rotational temperatures from 12 to 28 K with a mean of 18 K, and source-averaged NH3 abundances from 1.6 × 10-6 to 10-8. For a subsample with detected NH3 (2, 2) hyperfine components, we found that the commonly used method to compute the (2, 2) optical depth from the (1, 1) optical depth and the (2, 2) to (1, 1) main beam brightness temperature ratio leads to an underestimation of the rotational temperature and column density. A larger median virial parameter of ~ 1 is determined using the broader N2H+ line width than is estimated from the NH3 line width of ~ 0.5 with a general trend of a decreasing virial parameter with increasing gas mass. We obtain a rising NH3 (1, 1)/N2H+ line-width ratio with increasing rotational temperature. Conclusions: A comparison of NH3 line parameters of ATLASGAL clumps to cores in nearby molecular clouds reveals smaller velocity dispersions in low-mass than high-mass star-forming regions and a warmer surrounding of ATLASGAL clumps than the surrounding of low-mass cores. The NH3 (1, 1) inversion transition of 49% of the sources shows hyperfine structure anomalies. The intensity ratio of the outer hyperfine structure lines with a median of 1.27 ± 0.03 and a standard deviation of 0.45 is significantly higher than 1, while the intensity ratios of the inner satellites with a median of 0.9 ± 0.02 and standard deviation of 0.3 and the sum of the inner and outer hyperfine components with a median of 1.06 ± 0.02 and standard deviation of 0.37 are closer to 1

Resistenti bianchi e rossi: primi dati da esperienze trentine sulla concentrazione nei vini di shikimico e flavonoidi

Vari vitigni dotati di una qualche resistenza ai funghi sono ormai inseriti nel registro nazionale delle uve da vino. Si è quindi indagata la variabilità di caratteristiche compositive di interesse enologico di vini bianchi (Solaris, Helios, Muscaris, Souvignier Gris, Bronner, Aromera) e rossi (Cabernet Cantor, Cabernet Carbon, Cabernet Cortis, Monarch, Prior, Regent, Cabino) da uve ibridate per lo più a Friburgo e coltivate in Trentino. I dati relativi ad acido shikimico, tannini e antociani sono discussi anche rispetto a riferimenti di letteratura per vinifere tradizional

Technological variability of wines produced with white and red fruited hybrids cultivated in the Dolomites (Italy)

In recent years, consumers shifted their interest towards products coming from a viticulture less dependent on chemical inputs also focusing on hybrid varieties. Although information is available in the literature about the attitude of hybrid cultivars in terms of resistance and grape composition, wines made from those varieties are not often been extensively characterized. In relation to the recent entry of several hybrids in the Italian Catalogue of Wine Grapes, we investigated the variability of the chemical composition of wine due to winemaking options. In particular, focus was on a dozen of white- and red-fruited hybrids (Solaris, Helios, Muscaris, Souvignier Gris, Bronner, Aromera, Cabernet Cantor, Cabernet Carbon, Cabernet Cortis, Monarch, Prior ...) mainly selected in Freiburg (Germany) and cultivated at the foot of the Dolomites, in Trentino (Italy). Wine polyphenol composition was measured, in particular focusing on the tannin fractions, anthocyanins mono and diglucoside and, for the first time, shikimic acid in comparison with vinifera grapes and wines. The extraction curves and the effects of different skin-contact options during fermentation have been investigated

Advancing best practices for assessing trends of ocean acidification time series

Assessing the status of ocean acidification across ocean and coastal waters requires standardized procedures at all levels of data collection, dissemination, and analysis. Standardized procedures for assuring quality and accessibility of ocean carbonate chemistry data are largely established, but a common set of best practices for ocean acidification trend analysis is needed to enable global time series comparisons, establish accurate records of change, and communicate the current status of ocean acidification within and outside the scientific community. Here we expand upon several published trend analysis techniques and package them into a set of best practices for assessing trends of ocean acidification time series. These best practices are best suited for time series capable of characterizing seasonal variability, typically those with sub-seasonal (ideally monthly or more frequent) data collection. Given ocean carbonate chemistry time series tend to be sparse and discontinuous, additional research is necessary to further advance these best practices to better address uncharacterized variability that can result from data discontinuities. This package of best practices and the associated open-source software for computing and reporting trends is aimed at helping expand the community of practice in ocean acidification trend analysis. A broad community of practice testing these and new techniques across different data sets will result in improvements and expansion of these best practices in the future