Single European skies: functional airspace blocks - delays and responses

This article considers the ‘Functional Airspace Blocks’ (FAB’s) – which are part of the European initiative for a Single European Sky (SES). The primary objective of the transport policy has been to complete the internal market for transport and facilitate the free movement of persons, good and services. Yet the significance of the transport policy to the wider objectives of the EU is often overlooked. Whilst deregulation of the air transport sector in the EU has created the world's largest and most successful example of regional market integration and liberalization in air transport – the industry remains hampered by disjointed skies, which standard to compromise safety and impact upon economic development. And, whilst the FAB should have been completed – ‘by’ December 2012 - it is still not a reality. The research identifies the aims and advantages of a common European airspace and reviews the delays and consequences of implementation, specifically commenting on the use of the infringement process (or non-use) against Member States regarding the implementation of the FAB’s

BREXIT: A bolt from the blue! – Red sky in the morning?

After membership in the EU lasting more than forty years, the United Kingdom held a referendum in June 2016 to decide whether to remain in the EU or to leave. While the result was close, the majority of the voting population opted to leave. This paper reflects upon the possible consequences to U.K. airlines and the traveling public in order to consider whether, after the exit, there will be “red skies at night” after the initial “red skies in the morning” – warning, which undoubtedly is the current indicator level. In considering the possible rationale and reasoning for the decision, the research considers crucial related aspects such as sovereignty and governance – linked to nationality and borders – issues that have undeniably affected aviation development. This paper explores the relationship of the EU and UK and the advancement of air transport in the EU, of which the UK has been a significant part – questioning what is next for the UK after Brexit. Consideration is given to low cost carrier development in the UK and the metamorphosis of British Airways during the aviation policy development and liberalization process in the EU, both internally and externally. Whilst considerable uncertainty exists – for the UK and, indeed, the EU – the underlying concern remains for the impending risk to aviation advancement as a result of Brexit. Time cannot be turned back, but the future of aviation may see regression rather than progressio

DYNAMICS OF METABOLIC GASES IN GROUNDWATER AND THE VADOSE ZONE OF SOILS ON DELMARVA

Denitrification removes nitrogen from watersheds under reducing conditions, but N2O and CH4, both greenhouse gases, can also be produced. The overarching hypothesis of my thesis was that hydric environments accumulate N2O and CH4 in groundwater and the vadose zone. To test the hypothesis, groundwater samples were taken monthly during 2007-2009 at 64 piezometers in 10 wetlands for analysis of excess N2, N2O, CH4, and CO2. Vadose zone gas and groundwater samples were taken during 2008-2010 at two riparian buffers and a hydrologically restored wetland. The hydrology of the 10 locations was complex. A hydrologic connection across a transect was determined at one location where NO3- significantly decreased, excess N2 significantly increased, and moderate concentrations of N2O and CH4 accumulated. Within these 10 locations, three N2O and four CH4 hot spots were identified, and hot moments accounted for a large percentage of total accumulated N2O and CH4. I found evidence of CH4 ebullition, the production of CH4 bubbles in the vadose zone that strip other dissolved gases. The locations that accumulated the most dissolved CH4 and N2O were natural wetlands and riparian areas, respectively. I measured both positive and negative excess N2 concentrations in the vadose zone. Flux estimates ranged from -600 to 880 kg N ha-1 yr-1, which brackets missing N estimates at the watershed scale. These concentrations were calculated using N2/Ar, and both gases are affected by physical processes. These calculated excess N2 profiles could have been produced through either biological and/or physical mechanisms, and these processes currently cannot be distinguished. Less than 1% of the missing N on the transect scale, measured as the difference in N concentration between two piezometers, was accounted for by calculated diffusional fluxes from groundwater to the vadose zone. The primary mechanism transporting gases from the vadose zone to the atmosphere was diffusion, but convection transported 20% of the calculated median CO2 yearly flux. Increased production of N2O and CO2 was observed in the vadose zone after rainfall events. Overall, large concentrations of N2O, CH4, CO2, and excess N2 accumulated in the groundwater and vadose zone of these locations, supporting the overarching hypothesis

The U.K.’s ‘Appetite’ for Space: An Increased Craving!

Launching into space was once the pursuit of super-power nations, who, during a period of international tensions, competed to be the first—the first into space and the first to the Moon. While the United Kingdom (U.K.) had a similar appetite it never achieved a space launch from its national soils, often thwarted by political and economic constraints. This said, the U.K. has played a key role, working alongside other nations in technological advancements related to space. This paper revisits the historical legacy of the U.K.’s space ventures and its space policies before comment is made to the current strategy and future vision. The approach is interdisciplinary and factors in semi-quasi case studies, particularly factoring in the European Space Agency. The findings are that the U.K. is returning to its original goal, with a renewed appetite to be a global leader in space launches, while also aiming to protect national interests which have necessitated closer alignment of the civil and defense space strategies

Designing for Economic Success: A 50-State Analysis of the Genuine Progress Indicator

The use of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the primary measure of economic progress has arguably led to unintended consequences of environmental degradation and socially skewed outcomes. The Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) was designed to reveal the trade offs associated with conventional economic growth and to assess the broader impact of economic benefits and costs on sustainable human welfare. Although originally designed for use at the national scale, an interest has developed in the United States in a state-level uptake of the GPI to inform and guide policy. However, questions exist about the quality and legitimacy of the GPI as a composite indicator. These questions include concerns about the underlying assumptions, the monetary weights and variables used, statistical rigor, magnitude of data collection required, and lack of a transparent governance mechanism for the metric. This study aims to address these issues and explore the GPI through a design-thinking lens as both a design artifact and intervention. The leading paper in this dissertation offers the first GPI accounting for all 50 U.S. states. State GPI results are introduced and compared to Gross State Product (GSP). Then an analysis of the components to GPI reveals which drive the differences in outcomes, including examining the sustainability aspects of the state-level results. The second paper investigates the quality of the GPI as a composite indicator by testing its sensitivity to numerical assumptions and relative magnitudes of components, with particular attention to the possible unintended policy consequences of the design. The third paper seeks to answer the question of both efficiency (data parsimony) and effectiveness (comparatively to other indicators) by analysis of correlations between GPI components and with other state-level indicators such as the Gallup Well-Being Indicator, Ecological Footprint, and UN Human Development Index. To garner insight about possible GPI improvements, goals, and governance gaps in the informal U.S GPI network, the final paper dives into processes, outputs, and outcomes from the community of practice as revealed through a facilitated U.S. GPI workshop

An analysis of vegetation pattern and its relationship to NDVI data in the Namaqualand area, South Africa

The Namaqualand area in the North Western Cape, South Africa is unique in comparison to other similar semi-arid areas of the world. It has a high biodiversity and endemism and is consequently an area of interest for a growing number of conservation initiatives. Climate plays an important role in influencing the phenology and growth of the vegetation in the area. Remote sensing techniques were used to reveal the vegetation patterns in the greater Namaqualand area and to relate them to climatic variables. To do this we used the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) to relate biomass to altitude, rainfall and vegetation type. Each vegetation type in the area had a unique temporal signature and the climatic variables influencing the summer rainfall and winter rainfall vegetation types differed significantly from each other. Mean annual NDVI was significantly correlated to precipitation and potential evapotranspiration (PET) (r = 0.60, -0.63 respectively). A multiple regression model explained 52% of the variance when Mean Annual NDVI was related to climatic variables. Mean NDVI in August (the month of maximum NDVI in most of Namaqualand) was significantly related to PET and the current plus two previous months of precipitation (r = -0.72 and 0.74 respectively). A multiple regression model for mean NDVI in August and climatic variables explained almost 58% of the variance. The results suggest that NDVI can be used successfully as a measure of growth and phenology in the Namaqualand area and that NDVI could be used in climate models, drought prediction, desertification predictions and a number of other applications in the future

Analysis of EUV Dayglow Spectra of Triton, Titan and Earth

We have constructed a coupled ion and neutral chemical model of the ionosphere and thermosphere of Titan. Along with density profiles of ions and minor neutrals, we have computed the heating rates and heating efficiencies for the neutrals and chemical heating rates and efficiencies for the ions. We find that the neutral heating efficiency in our standard model varies from about 30% near 800 km to 22% near 2000 km. The most important heating processes are neutral-neutral reactions and photodissociation. The ion chemical heating rates maximize at about 10 eV cm(sup -3) s(sup -1), and the corresponding ion heating efficiencies peak near 1000 km at about 0.6%