A multidisciplinary critical review of ecosystem services studies in Greece: approaches, shortcomings and the pathway to implementation

During the last two decades, ecosystem services (ES) research is used to inform the various steps of decision- and policy- making process, regarding environmental management, spatial planning and natural capital accounting. In the EU, this vast and rapid publication boom was triggered by the enactment of Action 5 of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020, urging Member States to implement Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystem and their Services (MAES); few countries pioneered, while others are still lagging behind. In Greece, the implementation of MAES started in 2014 and since then an impressive progress has been made, with Greece now being among the countries with the most rapid progress. However, there are still major knowledge and data gaps on ecosystem services in Greece; know-how on specific methods, tools and practices is still to be developed. This poses obstacles in integrative efforts to identify and/or interpret the various co-variates affecting ecosystems and their services in space and time and hinders the incorporation of the ES generated information into the decision-making process. Making the first steps towards overcoming these hurdles, the present study aims to (i) synthesize the ecosystem services literature relevant to the ES implementation in Greece, (ii) validate and classify each literature source to the relevant ecosystem services categories, (iii) identify shortcomings in terms of ES assessed and data available, and (iv) critically review the variety of approaches to ES assessments that are followed. The outcomes of this study will facilitate the efficient implementation of ecosystem services assessments in Greece

Proposing a Governance model for environmental crises

During August 2021, a wildfire outbreak in Evia, Greece's second largest island, resulted in a major environmental and economic crisis. Apart from biodiversity and habitat loss, the disaster triggered a financial crisis because it wiped out wood-productive forests and outdoor areas that attract visitors. This crisis highlighted the need for a new governance model in order to respond to environmental crises more effectively. The aim of this study was to investigate the acceptance and attitudes of relevant stakeholders towards establishing a Hub a proposed governance model responsible for monitoring and restoring the natural capital and biodiversity after environmental crises. Results based on quantitative data collected via questionnaires showed that most respondents were positive to the Hub and perceived that its main functions should be to recommend measures after environmental crises and to facilitate cooperation among involved stakeholders. Moreover, results pointed to preferred funding sources, stakeholder groups that should participate in the Hub and key performance indicators (KPIs) for monitoring Hub's performance. The applied methodology could guide the establishment of governance models both in the study area and other countries facing environmental crises

Integrated simulation of topography evolution during plasma etching of micro- and nano- structures

The technology used for the fabrication of microelectronics devices and microelectro- mechanical systems (MEMS) is based on the successive deposition or growth of planar layers and the subsequent transfer of the desired pattern onto these layers. Lithography and plasma or wet etching are the essential steps of this technology. Profile control of the etched structures is necessary for the efficient operation of the corresponding microelectronics devices and MEMS. The loss of microscopic uniformity (e.g reactive ion etching lag) and deviations from the perfectly anisotropic profiles of the structures (e.g. microtrenching, sidewall bowing, roughness) are etching artifacts that make the profile control difficult. There is a need to understand the mechanisms causing these artifacts and suppress them. Besides experimental study, topography evolution simulation of the etched structures can contribute to this direction. The goal of this work is the development of an integrated simulation framework for the topography evolution of structures etched with plasma. This framework links the bulk plasma gas phase with the profile of the etched structure and consists of: 1) A local flux calculation model. Shadowing and reemission of flux are taken into account. This model links the species fluxes in the bulk plasma gas phase with the local species fluxes inside features. 2) A surface etch model. This model includes the processes during the etching of SiO2 and Si surface with fluorocarbon plasma. The surface model is a phenomenological model that takes into account the competitive phenomena of etching and deposition occurring during etching with fluorocarbon plasma. The model is based on site balances on the etched surface and links the species local fluxes with the local etching rate. 3) An algorithm for the topography evolution of the etched features. The level set method is implemented. The algorithm uses the local etching rate to move the topography of the etched structures. The third component of the simulation framework, the topography evolution algorithm, is a general boundary evolution algorithm, which can be applied in several areas, such as the evolution of an interface between two fluids in fluid mechanics. The coupling of the first two models of the simulation framework [components (1) and (2)] that yields the local etching rate, defines the boundary evolution problem that the boundary evolution algorithm, namely the level set method, solves.Για την κατασκευή δομών μικροηλεκτρονικής και μικρο-ηλεκτρο-μηχανικών συστημάτων (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems, MEMS) χρησιμοποιείται τεχνολογία μεταφοράς σχήματος (λιθογραφία και εγχάραξη με πλάσμα ή με υγρά αντιδραστήρια) η οποία βασίζεται στην απόθεση και σχηματοποίηση διαδοχικών επίπεδων στρωμάτων. Ο έλεγχος του σχήματος των εγχαρασσόμενων δομών είναι αναγκαίος για την ορθή λειτουργία των αντίστοιχων μικροηλεκτρονικών διατάξεων και μικρο-ηλεκτρο-μηχανικών συστημάτων. Σημαντικά προβλήματα κατά την εγχάραξη δομών με πλάσμα, τα οποία δυσχεραίνουν τον έλεγχο του σχήματος των κατασκευαζόμενων δομών, είναι η απώλεια μικροσκοπικής ομοιομορφίας (π.χ. υστέρηση εγχάραξης) και οι αποκλίσεις από απόλυτα κάθετα τοιχώματα στις εγχαρασσόμενες δομές. Στην κατανόηση των μηχανισμών που προκαλούν τα προβλήματα κατά την εγχάραξη δομών με πλάσμα, και γενικότερα στον έλεγχο του σχήματος των εγχαρασσόμενων δομών, μπορεί να συμβάλει, εκτός από την πειραματική μελέτη, και η προσομοίωση της εξέλιξης τοπογραφίας των εγχαρασσόμενων δομών. Ο σκοπός της εργασίας είναι η ανάπτυξη πλαισίου ολοκληρωμένης προσομοίωσης εξέλιξης τοπογραφίας δομών (π.χ. αυλάκια, οπές) που εγχαράσσονται με πλάσμα. Το επίπεδο ολοκλήρωσης αφορά στη σύνδεση της αέριας φάσης στον κύριο όγκο του αντιδραστήρα πλάσματος με την τοπογραφία, το σχήμα της εγχαρασσόμενης δομής. Το πλαίσιο προσομοίωσης αποτελείται από: 1) Μοντέλο υπολογισμού των τοπικών ροών των συστατικών μέσα στις εγχαρασσόμενες δομές που λαμβάνει υπόψη τα φαινόμενα σκίασης και επανεκπομπής. Συνδέει τις ροές των συστατικών στον κύριο όγκο του αντιδραστήρα πλάσματος με τις τοπικές ροές στο εσωτερικό των εγχαρασσόμενων δομών. 2) Μοντέλο εγχάραξης επιφανειών που περιγράφει τις διεργασίες που συμβαίνουν σε εγχαρασσόμενη επιφάνεια SiO2 και Si σε πλάσμα φθοριωμένων υδρογονανθράκων. Το μοντέλο, το οποίο λαμβάνει υπόψη ανταγωνιστικά φαινόμενα εγχάραξης και απόθεσης, είναι φαινομενολογικό και βασίζεται σε ισοζύγια θέσεων ρόφησης στην εγχαρασσόμενη επιφάνεια. Συνδέει τις τοπικές ροές στο εσωτερικό των εγχαρασσόμενων δομών με την τοπική ταχύτητα εγχάραξης. 3) Αλγόριθμο εξέλιξης τοπογραφίας της εγχαρασσόμενης δομής. Υλοποιείται η μέθοδος των ισοϋψών. Ο αλγόριθμος εξέλιξης τοπογραφίας χρησιμοποιεί την τοπική ταχύτητα εγχάραξης για τη μετακίνηση της τοπογραφίας των εγχαρασσόμενων δομών