39 research outputs found
Tracking construction material over space and time: Prospective and geo-referenced modeling of building stocks and construction material flows
Construction material plays an increasingly important role in the environmental impacts of buildings. In order to investigate impacts of materials on a building level, we present a bottom-up building stock model that uses three dimensional and geo-referenced building data to determine volumetric information of material stocks in Swiss residential buildings. We used a probabilistic modeling approach to calculate future material flows for the individual buildings. We investigated six scenarios with different assumptions concerning per capita floor area, building stock turnover, and construction material. The Swiss building stock will undergo important structural changes by 2035. While this will lead to a reduced number in new constructions, material flows will increase. Total material inflow decreases by almost half while outflows double. In 2055 the total amount of material in- and outflows are almost equal, which represents an important opportunity to close construction material cycles. Total environmental impacts due to production and disposal of construction material remain relatively stable over time. The cumulated impact is slightly reduced for the wood-based scenario. The scenario with more insulation material leads to slightly higher material-related emissions. An increase per capita floor area or material turnover will lead to a considerable increase in impacts. The new modeling approach overcomes the limitations of previous bottom-up building models and allows for investigating building material flows and stocks in space and time. This supports the development of tailored strategies to reduce the material footprint and environmental impacts of buildings and settlements.ISSN:1088-1980ISSN:1530-929
B stars as a diagnostic of star-formation at low and high redshift
We have extended the evolutionary synthesis models by Leitherer et al.
(1999b) by including a new library of B stars generated from the IUE
high-dispersion spectra archive. We present the library and show how the
stellar spectral properties vary according to luminosity classes and spectral
types. We have generated synthetic UV spectra for prototypical young stellar
populations varying the IMF and the star formation law. Clear signs of age
effects are seen in all models. The contribution of B stars in the UV line
spectrum is clearly detected, in particular for greater ages when O stars have
evolved. With the addition of the new library we are able to investigate the
fraction of stellar and interstellar contributions and the variation in the
spectral shapes of intense lines. We have used our models to date the spectrum
of the local super star cluster NGC1705-1. Photospheric lines of CIII1247,
SiIII1417, and SV1502 were used as diagnostics to date the burst of NGC 1705-1
at 10 Myr. We have selected the star-forming galaxy 1512-cB58 as a first
application of the new models to high-z galaxies. This galaxy is at z=2.723, it
is gravitationally lensed, and its high signal-to-noise Keck spectrum show
features typical of local starburst galaxies, such as NGC 1705-1. Models with
continuous star formation were found to be more adequate for 1512-cB58 since
there are spectral features typical of a composite stellar population of O and
B stars. A model with Z =0.4Z_solar and an IMF with alpha=2.8 reproduces the
stellar features of the 1512-cB58 spectrum.Comment: 23 pages with figures, see
http://sol.stsci.edu/~demello/welcomeb.htm
Análisis de Ciclo de Vida para el ecodiseño del sistema Intemper TF de cubierta ecológica aljibe
Physical parameters of erupting Luminous Blue Variables: NGC 2363-V1 caught in the act
A quantitative study of the Luminous Blue Variable NGC 2363-V1 in the
Magellanic galaxy NGC 2366 (D = 3.44 Mpc) is presented, based on ultraviolet
and optical HST/STIS spectroscopy. Contemporary WFPC2 and WHT imaging reveals a
modest V-band brightness increase of ~ 0.2 mag per year between 1996 January
and 1997 November, reaching V=17.4 mag, corresponding to Mv=-10.4 mag.
Subsequently, V1 underwent a similar decrease in V-band brightness, together
with a UV brightening of 0.35 mag from 1997 November to 1999 November.
The optical spectrum of V1 is dominated by H emission lines, with Fe II, He I
and Na I also detected. In the ultraviolet, a forest of Fe absorption features
and numerous absorption lines typical of mid-B supergiants are observed. From a
spectral analysis with the non-LTE, line-blanketed code of Hillier & Miller
(1998), we derive stellar parameters of T*=11kK, R*=420Ro, log(L/Lo)=6.35
during 1997 November, and T*=13kK, R*=315Ro, log(L/Lo)=6.4 for 1999 July. The
wind properties of V1 are also exceptional, with Mdot ~ 4.4 x 10e-4 Mo/yr and
300 km/s, allowing for a clumped wind (filling factor = 0.3),
and assuming H/He ~ 4 by number.
The presence of Fe lines in the UV and optical spectrum of V1 permits an
estimate of the heavy elemental abundance of NGC 2363 from our spectral
synthesis. Although some deficiencies remain, allowance for charge exchange
reactions in our calculations supports a SMC-like metallicity, that has
previously been determined for NGC 2363 from nebular oxygen diagnostics.
Considering a variety of possible progenitor stars, V1 has definitely
undergone a giant eruption, with a substantial increase in stellar luminosity,
radius, and almost certainly mass-loss rate.Comment: 29 pages, 10 figures, Submitted to Ap
Land use impact assessment in the construction sector: an analysis of LCIA models and case study application
Environmental product declarations entering the building sector: critical reflections based on 5 to 10 years experience in different European countries
Pollution of P Cygni line profiles by Fe IV and Fe V photospheric absorption in the ultraviolet spectrum of O-type stars
It is reported that the main pollution in the spectral ranges 1270-1500 and 1500-1860 A is caused by photospheric absorption lines of FeV and FeIV, respectively. Making use of the first order moment W1 of a P Cygni line profile, it is shown that the effect of this photospheric pollution may lead to systematic errors, exceeding typically 50 percent in the determination of mass loss rates. It is also emphasized that the importance to correct the observed P Cygni line profiles for this pollution when studying the dependence of the physical parameters, terminal velocity, etc. of the stellar winds upon the various classes and types of O stars
The seasonality of the CO2 exchange between the atmosphere and the land biosphere: A study with a global mechanistic vegetation model
Two simulations of the seasonal variation of the global atmospheric CO2 distribution are obtained by combining an atmospheric transport model, two parameterizations of soil heterotrophic respiration (SHR), and a mechanistic model of carbon assimilation in the biosphere (CARAIB) that estimates the net primary production (NPP) of continental vegetation. The steady state hypothesis of the biosphere allows the spatial distribution and the global content of the soil carbon to be expressed as a function of the root fractions of soil respiration under forested and herbaceous vegetation covers. The sensitivity of the modeled CO2 signal to the wind field does not exceed the observed interannual variability. The influence of the various vegetation zones is quantified by the Fourier analysis of the modeled atmospheric signal. In the northern hemisphere, the temperate ecosystems dominate the seasonal atmospheric signal of the extratropical latitudes. The ecosystems of the tropical northern zone determine the local signal, while the southern tropical ecosystems influence largely the signal in the whole southern hemisphere. The results give credence to the mechanistic modeling of NPP since the simulated atmospheric signal is comparable with that obtained with normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) based diagnostic models coupled with a parameterization of SHR fitted to optimize the atmospheric signal