Evaluation du Plan Marshall 2.Vert. Evaluation thématique n°5 : Terrains mis à disposition du développement économique

Le présent rapport d’évaluation du Plan Marshall concerne les terrains mis à disposition du développement économique. Plus précisément, il porte sur l’évaluation de quatre mesures du Plan Marshall 1.0 : assainir les sites d’activités économiques désaffectés (SAED) (1) pollués ou (2) non pollués et équiper les zones d’accueil des activités économiques (3) en zones d’activités économiques (ZAE) et (4) en zones portuaires. L’objectif commun à ces mesures est de mobiliser l’espace disponible et de contribuer à la mise à disposition de terrains en vue de contribuer au développement économique. Un tiers des moyens du Plan Marshall 1.0 a été affecté, via un financement alternatif, aux quatre mesures faisant l’objet du présent travail. Le rapport réalisé par l’IWEPS évalue l’efficacité de la politique à travers l’analyse des retombées économiques, sociales et environnementales, effectives et potentielles, liées à l’utilisation des espaces et infrastructures publiques mis à disposition suite au Plan Marshall 1.0

Energy-efficient bandwidth reservation for bulk data transfers in dedicated wired networks

International audienceThe ever increasing number of Internet connected end-hosts call for high performance end-to-end networks leading to an increase in the energy consumed by the networks. Our work deals with the energy consumption issue in dedicated network with bandwidth provisionning and in-advance reservations of network equipments and bandwidth for Bulk Data transfers. First, we propose an end-to-end energy cost model of such networks which described the energy consumed by a transfer for all the crossed equipments. This model is then used to develop a new energy-aware framework adapted to Bulk Data Transfers over dedicated networks. This framework enables switching off unused network portions during certain periods of time to save energy. This framework is also endowed with prediction algorithms to avoid useless switching off and with adaptive scheduling management to optimize the energy used by the transfers. 1 Introductio

Estimating particulate matter health impact related to the combustion of different fossil fuels

International audienceExposure to particulate matter (PM) in ambient air leads to adverse health effects. To design cost effective mitigation strategies, a thorough understanding of the sources of particulate matter is crucial. We have successfully generated a web map service that allows to access information on fuel dependent health effects due to particulate matter. For this purpose, the LOTOS-EUROS air pollution model was equipped with a source apportionment module that tracks the origin of the modelled particulate matter distributions throughout a simulation. Combined with a dedicated emission inventory PM2.5 maps specified by fuel type were generated for 2007-2009. These maps were combined with a health impact calculation to estimate Lost of Life Expectancy for each fuel categories. An user friendly web client was generated to access the results and use the web mapping service in an easy manner

Human health impacts for Renewable Energy scenarios from the EnerGEO Platform of Integrated Assessment (PIA)

International audienceThis article reports impact results from running the EnerGEO Platform of Integrated Assessment (PIA) related to human health for different scenarios in Europe. The scenarios were prepared within the EnerGEO project. The idea of this European project is to determine how low carbon scenarios, and in particular scenarios with a high share of renewable energy, affect concentrations of air pollutants and as a consequence affect human health. PM2.5 concentrations were estimated with the IIASA Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies (GAINS) model on a time horizon up to the year 2050 for different scenarios. We analyse here the estimation of the Loss of Life Expectancy due to PM2.5 concentrations for the Baseline scenario taken as a reference and the Maximum renewable power scenario

Dust properties inside molecular clouds from coreshine modeling and observations

Context. Using observations to deduce dust properties, grain size distribution, and physical conditions in molecular clouds is a highly degenerate problem. Aims. The coreshine phenomenon, a scattering process at 3.6 and 4.5 $\mu$m that dominates absorption, has revealed its ability to explore the densest parts of clouds. We want to use this effect to constrain the dust parameters. The goal is to investigate to what extent grain growth (at constant dust mass) inside molecular clouds is able to explain the coreshine observations. We aim to find dust models that can explain a sample of Spitzer coreshine data. We also look at the consistency with near-infrared data we obtained for a few clouds. Methods. We selected four regions with a very high occurrence of coreshine cases: Taurus-Perseus, Cepheus, Chameleon and L183/L134. We built a grid of dust models and investigated the key parameters to reproduce the general trend of surface bright- nesses and intensity ratios of both coreshine and near-infrared observations with the help of a 3D Monte-Carlo radiative transfer code. The grid parameters allow to investigate the effect of coagulation upon spherical grains up to 5 $\mu$m in size derived from the DustEm diffuse interstellar medium grains. Fluffiness (porosity or fractal degree), ices, and a handful of classical grain size distributions were also tested. We used the near- and mostly mid-infrared intensity ratios as strong discriminants between dust models. Results. The determination of the background field intensity at each wavelength is a key issue. In particular, an especially strong background field explains why we do not see coreshine in the Galactic plane at 3.6 and 4.5 $\mu$m. For starless cores, where detected, the observed 4.5 $\mu$m / 3.6 $\mu$m coreshine intensity ratio is always lower than $\sim$0.5 which is also what we find in the models for the Taurus-Perseus and L183 directions. Embedded sources can lead to higher fluxes (up to four times greater than the strongest starless core fluxes) and higher coreshine ratios (from 0.5 to 1.1 in our selected sample). Normal interstellar radiation field conditions are sufficient to find suitable grain models at all wavelengths for starless cores. The standard interstellar grains are not able to reproduce observations and, due to the multi-wavelength approach, only a few grain types meet the criteria set by the data. Porosity does not affect the flux ratios while the fractal dimension helps to explain coreshine ratios but does not seem able to reproduce near-infrared observations without a mix of other grain types. Conclusions. Combined near- and mid-infrared wavelengths confirm the potential to reveal the nature and size distribution of dust grains. Careful assessment of the environmental parameters (interstellar and background fields, embedded or nearby reddened sources) is required to validate this new diagnostic

The EnerGEO Platform of Integrated Assessment (PIA): environmental assessment of scenarios as a web service

International audienceWith the International Energy Agency estimating that global energy demand will increase between 40 and 50 percent by 2030 (compared to 2003), scientists and policymakers are concerned about the sustainability of the current energy system and what environmental pressures might result from the development of future energy systems. EnerGEO is an ongoing FP7 Project (2009-2013) which assesses the current and future impact of energy use on the environment by linking environmental observation systems with the processes involved in exploiting energy resources. The idea of this European project is to determine how low carbon scenarios, and in particular scenarios with a high share of renewable electricity, affect emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHG) and contribute to mitigation of negative energy system impacts on human health and ecosystems. A Platform of Integrated Assessment (PIA) has been elaborated to provide impact results for a selection of scenarios via a set of models (large-scale energy models, Life Cycle Assessment models, ...). This PIA is currently available through a web service. The concept of the PIA is detailed and to illustrate its interest, a set of results is given with the use of the simulation mode of the European version of GAINS for a selection of scenarios

Loss of Life Expectancy related to temporal evolution of PM2.5 considered within energy scenarios in Europe

International audiencePeople exposure to particulate matter can have various health effects as described in scientific publications in the area of observational epidemiology. This study estimates the Loss of Life Expectancy (LLE) related to PM2.5 concentrations corresponding to a selected baseline energy scenario derived from the GAINS model. Most often energy scenarios are defined as consistent pathways towards a long-term target defined by a set of criteria that describe a sustainable energy supply. This study accounts for the temporal evolution of PM2.5 concentrations along the time frame from 2005 till 2050. The analysis was carried out for 43 European countries with a spatial resolution of 50 x 50 km. LLE was considered over the whole life time of the population older than 30 years in year 2005. We propose an algorithm for the computation of LLE for population exposed to PM2.5 based on the approach recommended by the Task Force on Health described in IIASA's Report and accounting for the Pope exposure-risk parameter. The LLE computation is based on the difference between the life expectancy with no exposure to particulates and life expectancy with exposure to observed particulates. We considered in our algorithm the temporal evolutions of PM2.5 concentrations along the scenario, as well as population densities. LLE results were derived using different PM2.5 concentration profiles from 2005 to 2050. The first PM2.5 concentration profile corresponds to a constant PM2.5 concentration with values fixed to the 2005 situation. The second PM2.5 concentration profile corresponds to the temporal evolution of the selected energy scenario. LLE is then derived for both situations: the fixed PM2.5 concentrations case and the variable PM2.5 case as defined for the baseline scenario. LLE results are significantly different between the two cases with a decrease by half for most European countries. The Netherlands and Eastern Europe are the only regions where LLE exceed 300 days/person of life lost. Applying this new feature of temporal evolution of PM2.5 is of interest for assessing the potential impacts of scenarios accounting for the possible technical evolution of energy pathways. Results are provided on line in numerical form as well as in form of LLE maps

Effect of Zn2+ and Cu2+ -bearing salts on the dissolution of silicate glasses

International audienc

Class III myosins shape the auditory hair bundles by limiting microvilli and stereocilia growth.

International audienceThe precise architecture of hair bundles, the arrays of mechanosensitive microvilli-like stereocilia crowning the auditory hair cells, is essential to hearing. Myosin IIIa, defective in the late-onset deafness form DFNB30, has been proposed to transport espin-1 to the tips of stereocilia, thereby promoting their elongation. We show that Myo3a(-/-)Myo3b(-/-) mice lacking myosin IIIa and myosin IIIb are profoundly deaf, whereas Myo3a-cKO Myo3b(-/-) mice lacking myosin IIIb and losing myosin IIIa postnatally have normal hearing. Myo3a(-/-)Myo3b(-/-) cochlear hair bundles display robust mechanoelectrical transduction currents with normal kinetics but show severe embryonic abnormalities whose features rapidly change. These include abnormally tall and numerous microvilli or stereocilia, ungraded stereocilia bundles, and bundle rounding and closure. Surprisingly, espin-1 is properly targeted to Myo3a(-/-)Myo3b(-/-) stereocilia tips. Our results uncover the critical role that class III myosins play redundantly in hair-bundle morphogenesis; they unexpectedly limit the elongation of stereocilia and of subsequently regressing microvilli, thus contributing to the early hair bundle shaping