Irrigation Water Value Scenarios for 2015: Application to Guadalquivir River

This paper reviews the application of a scenario for the 2015 agricultural policy and markets for the irrigated agriculture in Europe. Scenarios for irrigated agriculture 2015 are also described in detail including Reformed CAP and biomass demand. It is applied at the basin level for the Guadalquivir River in southern Spain. The methodology is based upon residual value of water and it combines budget and farm analysis at municipality level, with the Guadalquivir basin divided at 50 ‘comarcas’; in each of them 24 possible crops are selected with specific ‘comarca’ data bases. The 2015 scenario studies the present level of water use and value, and makes an analysis for 2015.This model allows the knowledge of water value and irrigated agriculture at ‘comarca’ level and ‘aggregated basin level’.Water pricing, Irrigated agriculture, Value of water, Scenario analysis, Agricultural and Food Policy, Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

The economic value of guaranteed water supply for irrigation under scarcity conditions

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Estimación del valor marginal del agua de riego en olivar mediante el método de la función de producción

Economic valuation of irrigation water is done through the use of production functions for the case of the olive grove. In order to do so the integration of an agronomic model (based on the production function) and an economic model linked to the profitability of the crop (the ratio of revenue and operating costs) in the area under study is proposed. The study case encompasses the Guadalbullon River Sub-basin area, belonging to the Guadalquivir River Hydrologic Demarcation (Southern Spain). Within the overall deficit of the Guadalquivir River basin, the Guadalbullon River poses a special problem as it is unregulated and there are important irrigated fields on its banks, most of them olive groves. Net marginal value of water obtained (having deducted the variable costs of production including harvesting and irrigation) is € 0.60 m-3 for the allocation of 1,000 m3 ha-1 and € 0.53 m-3 for the water right allowance of 1,500 m3 ha3 (average for period 2005/2008). The results obtained support the recommendation by other authors suggesting the use of deficit irrigation in olive, additionally the high value of water estimated contributes to explain the substantial increase in irrigated olive area in Andalucia.This research was made possible thanks to funding support of the FPI help Program of the Ministry of Science and Innovation related to the research project called «Análisis prospectivo de la sostenibilidad de los sistemas agrarios nacionales en el marco de la PAC» (Ref AGL2006-05587-C04-02).Peer Reviewe

Análisis de los planes de gestión de residuos urbanos: aplicación al caso andaluz

El Plan Director de Gestión de Residuos Urbanos de Andalucía facilita la herramienta necesaria para conseguir que la gestión de estos residuos sea lo más acertada posible. En este sentido, el objeto principal de este trabajo es analizar el conflicto de objetivos económicos y ambientales presente en la toma de decisiones relativa al tratamiento de los residuos urbanos. De este análisis se podrán deducir las alternativas de tratamiento que resultan eficientes, segregándolas de las alternativas dominadas. Asimismo, la metodología desarrollada sugiere que la situación de la gestión de los residuos en Andalucía está claramente alejada del conjunto de soluciones eficientes

The 29F nucleus as a lighthouse on the coast of the island of inversion

The exotic, neutron-rich and weakly-bound isotope 29F stands out as a waymarker on the southern shore of the island of inversion, a portion of the nuclear chart where the effects of nuclear forces lead to a reshuffling of the single particle levels and to a reorganization of the nuclear structure far from stability. This nucleus has become very popular, as new measurements allow to refine theoretical models. We review the latest developments and suggest how to further assess the structure by proposing predictions on electromagnetic transitions that new experiments of Relativistic Coulomb Excitation should soon become able to measure

Addressing sight-distance-related safety effects of installing median barriers at horizontal curves of undivided highways under a 3D approach

Concrete barriers are often installed to separate opposing directions of traffic at hazardous horizontal curves on undivided highways in order to avoid frequent types of crashes such as head-on collisions. Whereas this treatment is effective for preventing head-on crashes, they reduce the available sight distance (ASD). The estimation of sight distance is usually performed under a two-dimensional (2D) approach, despite the three-dimensional (3D) nature of facilities. Radius curve, clearance and trajectory location on cross section are the only variables considered under the planar approach, ignoring the spatial component. To overcome this limitation, this study applies a 3D sight distance estimation method, where the sight distance reduction caused by installing barriers is evaluated, contemplating their shape and position in a detailed fully 3D model. The procedure facilitates incorporating mass standardized constructive elements into the highway model. This method consists of a geoprocessing model on a geographic information system (GIS), where the impact of the terrain, the roadway itself, and the road furniture on sight distance is broached. The results evidenced that the ASD outcomes were different under either approach. In addition, the ASD fell below the required stopping sight distance (SSD) of the standards under either approach. A potential application of this method is the analysis of the overall safety effects and the subsequent evaluation of crash modification factors associated to this safety measure

Poisson–Poincaré reduction for Field Theories

Given a Hamiltonian system on a fiber bundle, there is a Poisson covariant formulation of the Hamilton equations. When a Lie group G acts freely, properly, preserving the fibers of the bundle and the Hamiltonian density is G-invariant, we study the reduction of this formulation to obtain an analogue of Poisson–Poincaré reduction for field theories. This procedure is related to the Lagrange–Poincaré reduction for field theories via a Legendre transformation. Finally, an application to a model of a charged strand evolving in an electric field is given

Paper-based chromatic toxicity bioassay by analysis of bacterial ferricyanide reduction

Water quality assessment requires a continuous and strict analysis of samples to guarantee compliance with established standards. Nowadays, the increasing number of pollutants and their synergistic effects lead to the development general toxicity bioassays capable to analyse water pollution as a whole. Current general toxicity methods, e.g. Microtox®, rely on long operation protocols, the use of complex and expensive instrumentation and sample pre-treatment, which should be transported to the laboratory for analysis. These requirements delay sample analysis and hence, the response to avoid an environmental catastrophe. In an attempt to solve it, a fast (15 min) and low-cost toxicity bioassay based on the chromatic changes associated to bacterial ferricyanide reduction is here presented. E. coli cells (used as model bacteria) were stably trapped on low-cost paper matrices (cellulose-based paper discs, PDs) and remained viable for long times (1 month at -20 °C). Apart from bacterial carrier, paper matrices also acted as a fluidic element, allowing fluid management without the need of external pumps. Bioassay evaluation was performed using copper as model toxic agent. Chromatic changes associated to bacterial ferricyanide reduction were determined by three different transduction methods, i.e. (i) optical reflectometry (as reference method), (ii) image analysis and (iii) visual inspection. In all cases, bioassay results (in terms of half maximal effective concentrations, EC50) were in agreement with already reported data, confirming the good performance of the bioassay. The validation of the bioassay was performed by analysis of real samples from natural sources, which were analysed and compared with a reference method (i.e. Microtox). Obtained results showed agreement for about 70% of toxic samples and 80% of non-toxic samples, which may validate the use of this simple and quick protocol in the determination of general toxicity. The minimum instrumentation requirements and the simplicity of the bioassay open the possibility of in-situ water toxicity assessment with a fast and low-cost protocolPostprint (author's final draft

Goos-Hanchen shift of Cosine-Gaussian Schell-model beams with rectangular symmetry

In this contribution we study the relation between the second order intensity moments and the Goos-Hanchen shift for partially coherent totally polarized beams. The results are applied to a type of partially coherent beams, the Cosine-Gaussian Schell-model beams with rectangular symmetry