404 research outputs found

    Characterization of the hyperbolic step of parabolic functions

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    A classical problem in Complex Dynamics on hyperbolic domains is to characterize the hyperbolic step of parabolic functions. This topic has been studied by several authors, leading to different results and providing characterizations that depend on the behaviour of the iterates of such function. In this work we provide new characterizations in terms of intrinsic properties of the function

    Héðinsdalsjökull, northern Iceland: geomorphology recording the recent complex evolution of a glacier

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    The objective of this work is to conduct a detailed mapping of the Héðinsdalsjökull foreland, northern Iceland (65°39′N, 18°55′W). This cirque currently shows a variety of glacial and periglacial landforms derived from a complex deglaciation. Mapping was performed combining traditional hand-drawn and digital mapping. A hand-drawn sketch was georeferenced in ArcMap 10.7.1, supported on an aerial photograph (year 2000). Its vectorization, symbolization and final design were done in the computer-aided design (CAD) software MicroStation Connect. Complementary high-resolution Digital Surface Models were obtained from historical aerial photographs and ground-view field photographs through the application of Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry. To improve the topographic expression of the geomorphological map, a photorealistic 3D view has been generated. The final map highlights the complexity of the foreland and the coexistence existence of a range of different units and landforms. The map will ease future studies on the transformation of receding glaciers.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    The differential influences of human-induced disturbances on tree regeneration community: a landscape approach

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    Understanding the processes shaping biological communities under interacting disturbances is\ud a core challenge in ecology. Although the impacts of human-induced disturbances on forest ecosystems have\ud been extensively studied, less attention has been paid to understanding how tree regeneration at the\ud community level responds to such disturbances. Moreover, these previous studies have not considered how\ud these effects change according to major social and environmental factors that can influence forest use at a\ud landscape scale. In this study, we investigate the effects of cattle grazing and selective logging on the\ud composition of tree regeneration communities in relation to forest successional stage and land tenure regime\ud in Chilean temperate forests, a global biodiversity hotspot. We recorded seedlings, saplings and basal area of\ud stumps of tree species (as a surrogate for selective logging), and number of cattle dung pats (as a surrogate\ud for cattle pressure) in 129 25 3 20 m plots in small (,200 ha) and large properties in different successional\ud stages (old-growth, intermediate, secondary forests). The regeneration of the ten more abundant species as\ud predicted by human disturbance, land tenure, forest successional stage, and number of parent trees was\ud modelled using generalised linear models. Predictions for each individual model were made under different\ud scenarios of human disturbance. The predicted regeneration results were assembled and subjected to\ud ordination analyses and permutation multivariate analyses of variance to determine differences in\ud regeneration composition under each scenario. In most cases, best-fit models contained at least one of the\ud explanatory variables accounting for human disturbance. The effects of selective logging on tree regeneration\ud varied depending on land tenure regime, but cattle grazing always exhibited a negative effect. Our results\ud revealed that cattle have a more negative effect on forest regeneration than selective logging, especially in\ud old-growth forests and small properties. Our analytical approach contributes to the understanding of the\ud differential influence of human-induced disturbances on the tree regeneration community at a landscape\ud scale. It can inform conservation policies and actions, which should focus on addressing themain disturbance\ud factors and on developing strategies to conserve the most sensitive species to such disturbances.C. Zamorano-Elgueta was supported by a CON-\ud ICYT pre-doctoral fellowship (Government of Chile),\ud the European Comission (Project contract DCI-ENV/\ud 2010/222-412), the Chilean NGO Forest Engineers for\ud Native Forest (Forestales por el Bosque Nativo, www.\ud bosquenativo.cl) and project REMEDINAL-2 (Comu-\ud nidad de Madrid, S2009/AMB-1783). L. Cayuela was\ud supported by project REMEDINAL-2. This work is\ud part of the objectives of projects CGL2010-18312\ud (CICYT, Ministerio de Economı́a y Competividad de\ud Espana). The authors acknowledge the valuable\ud support of Vero ́nica Pı́riz, Cony Becerra, Rodrigo\ud Gangas, Oscar Concha, Eduardo Neira and staff from\ud the Valdivian Coastal Reserve, as well as the National\ud Forest Service of Chile (Corporación Nacional Forestal

    Effect of long residence time and high temperature over anaerobic biodegradation of Scenedesmus microalgae grown in wastewater

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    [EN] Anaerobic digestion of indigenous Scenedesmus spp. microalgae was studied in continuous lab-scale anaerobic reactors at different temperatures (35 degrees C and 55 degrees C), and sludge retention time - SRT (50 and 70 days). Mesophilic digestion was performed in a continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) and in an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR). Mesophilic CSTR operated at 50 days SRT only achieved 11.9% of anaerobic biodegradability whereas in the AnMBR at 70 days SRT and 50 days HRT reached 39.5%, which is even higher than the biodegradability achieved in the thermophilic CSTR at 50 days SRT (30.4%). Microbial analysis revealed a high abundance of cellulose-degraders in both reactors, AnMBR (mainly composed of 9.4% Bacteroidetes, 10.1% Chloroflexi, 8.0% Firmicutes and 13.2% Thermotogae) and thermophilic CSTR (dominated by 23.8% Chloroflexi and 12.9% Firmicutes). However, higher microbial diversity was found in the AnMBR compared to the thermophilic CSTR which is related to the SRT. since high SRT promoted low growth-rate microorganisms, increasing the hydrolytic potential of the system. These results present the membrane technology as a promising approach to revalue microalgal biomass, suggesting that microalgae biodegradability and consequently the methane production could be improved operating at higher SRT. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.This research work has been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO, Project CTM2011-28595-C02-01/02) jointly with the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which are gratefully acknowledged. The authors are thankful to Fernando Fernandez-Polanco for providing the thermophilic sludge to inoculate the reactor.This research work has been financially supported by the Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO/2012/029 PROJECT), which is gratefully acknowledged.Greses-Huerta, S.; Zamorano -López, N.; Borrás Falomir, L.; Ferrer, J.; Seco Torrecillas, A.; Aguado García, D. (2018). Effect of long residence time and high temperature over anaerobic biodegradation of Scenedesmus microalgae grown in wastewater. Journal of Environmental Management. 218:425-434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.04.086S42543421

    Influence of Food Waste addition over microbial communities in an Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor plant treating urban wastewater

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    [EN] Notorious changes in microbial communities were observed during and after the joint treatment of wastewater with Food Waste (FW) in an Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor (AnMBR) plant. The microbial population was analysed by high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and dominance of Chloroflexi, Firmicutes, Synergistetes and Proteobacteria phyla was found. The relative abundance of these potential hydrolytic phyla increased as a higher fraction of FW was jointly treated. Moreover, whereas Specific Methanogenic Activity (SMA) rose from 10 to 51 mL CH4 g(-1) VS, Methanosarcinales order increased from 34.0% over 80.0% of total Archaea, being Methanosaeta the dominant genus. The effect of FW over AnMBR biomass was observed during the whole experience, as methane production rose from 49.2 to 144.5 L CH4 . kg(-1) influent COD. Furthermore, biomethanization potential was increased over 82% after the experience. AnMBR technology allows the established microbial community to remain in the bioreactor even after the addition of FW, improving the anaerobic digestion of urban wastewater. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.This research work has been financially supported by the Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO/2012/029 PROJECT), which is gratefully acknowledged.Zamorano -López, N.; Moñino Amoros, P.; Borrás Falomir, L.; Aguado García, D.; Barat, R.; Ferrer, J.; Seco Torrecillas, A. (2018). Influence of Food Waste addition over microbial communities in an Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor plant treating urban wastewater. Journal of Environmental Management. 217:788-796. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.04.018S78879621

    Exploring the limits of anaerobic biodegradability of urban wastewater by AnMBR technology

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    [EN] Anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) can achieve maximum energy recovery from urban wastewater (UWW) by converting influent COD into methane. The aim of this study was to assess the anaerobic biodegradability limits of urban wastewater with AnMBR technology by studying the possible degradation of the organic matter considered as non-biodegradable as observed in aerobic membrane bioreactors operated at very high sludge retention times. For this, the results obtained in an AnMBR pilot plant operated at very high SRT (140 days) treating sulfate-rich urban wastewater were compared with those previously obtained with the system operating at lower SRT (29 to 70 days). At 140 days SRT the organic matter biodegraded by the AnMBR system accounted for 64.4% of the influent COD (45.9% was removed by sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB), and only 18.5% was converted into methane, highlighting the strong competition between SRB and methanogenic archaea (MA) when treating sulfate-rich wastewater). Almost half of the methane produced (46%) was dissolved in the permeate and most of it was recovered by a degassing membrane. The organic matter biodegraded by the AnMBR system was similar to the influent anaerobic biodegradability determined by wastewater characterization assays (68.5% of the influent COD), indicating that nearly all the influent's biodegradable organic matter had been removed. This percentage of degraded COD was similar to that obtained in previous studies working at 70 days SRT, showing that the limit of anaerobic biodegradability was already reached in this SRT. The organic matter considered as non-biodegradable according to wastewater characterization assays therefore was not seen to degrade in the AnMBR pilot plant, even at very high SRT. Once the biodegraded COD is close to the influent's anaerobic biodegradability, increasing the SRT is not justified as it only leads to higher operational costs for the same biogas production. These findings support the use of mathematical models for AnMBR design since they accurately represent the behaviour of these systems in a wide range of operating conditions.This research project was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO, Project CTM2014-54980-C2-2-R). The authors are also grateful for the support received from the Generalitat Valenciana via CPI-16-155 fellowships.Seco Torrecillas, A.; Mateo-Llosa, O.; Zamorano-López, N.; Sanchis-Perucho, P.; Serralta Sevilla, J.; Martí Ortega, N.; Borrás Falomir, L.... (2018). 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E., Kinaci, C., Spanjers, H., & van Lier, J. B. (2013). A review of anaerobic membrane bioreactors for municipal wastewater treatment: Integration options, limitations and expectations. Separation and Purification Technology, 118, 89-104. doi:10.1016/j.seppur.2013.06.036Lin, H., Peng, W., Zhang, M., Chen, J., Hong, H., & Zhang, Y. (2013). A review on anaerobic membrane bioreactors: Applications, membrane fouling and future perspectives. Desalination, 314, 169-188. doi:10.1016/j.desal.2013.01.019Giménez, J. B., Martí, N., Ferrer, J., & Seco, A. (2012). Methane recovery efficiency in a submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor (SAnMBR) treating sulphate-rich urban wastewater: Evaluation of methane losses with the effluent. Bioresource Technology, 118, 67-72. doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2012.05.019Glória, R. M., Motta, T. M., Silva, P. V. O., Costa, P. da, Brandt, E. M. F., Souza, C. L., & Chernicharo, C. A. L. (2016). STRIPPING AND DISSIPATION TECHNIQUES FOR THE REMOVAL OF DISSOLVED GASES FROM ANAEROBIC EFFLUENTS. Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering, 33(4), 713-721. doi:10.1590/0104-6632.20160334s20150291Scherer, E., & Wichmann, K. (2000). Treatment of Groundwater Containing Methane - Combination of the Processing Stages Desorption and Filtration. Acta hydrochimica et hydrobiologica, 28(3), 145-154. doi:10.1002/1521-401x(200003)28:33.0.co;2-vD. Schippers and R.Schotsman , Recovery and beneficial use of water-based methane, Water21 , 2010 , pp. 34–35Crone, B. C., Garland, J. L., Sorial, G. A., & Vane, L. M. (2016). Significance of dissolved methane in effluents of anaerobically treated low strength wastewater and potential for recovery as an energy product: A review. Water Research, 104, 520-531. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2016.08.019Cookney, J., Mcleod, A., Mathioudakis, V., Ncube, P., Soares, A., Jefferson, B., & McAdam, E. J. (2016). 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J.Morenilla , F.Llavador and J.Ferrer , Estudio de la producción de fangos en bioreactores de membranas aerobios con elevados valores de tiempo de retención celular, Fangos y lodos , 2009 , vol. 7 , pp. 1–3Giménez, J. B., Robles, A., Carretero, L., Durán, F., Ruano, M. V., Gatti, M. N., … Seco, A. (2011). Experimental study of the anaerobic urban wastewater treatment in a submerged hollow-fibre membrane bioreactor at pilot scale. Bioresource Technology, 102(19), 8799-8806. doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2011.07.014Robles, Á., Durán, F., Ruano, M. V., Ribes, J., Rosado, A., Seco, A., & Ferrer, J. (2015). Instrumentation, control, and automation for submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactors. Environmental Technology, 36(14), 1795-1806. doi:10.1080/09593330.2015.1012180R. E. Moosbrugger , M. C.Wentzel , G. A.Ekama and G. 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    The impact of neos and their fragments recorded from the ground : ongoing research lines of the spanish fireball network

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    A continuous monitoring of the night sky all over Spain will be completed in 2009. This involves the recording over a very large surface area of 500,000 km2, but new CCD and video cameras operated by the Spanish Meteor and Fireball Network (SPMN) allows this target to be achieved. Through the use of these new techniques the SPMN can obtain new information regarding the dynamical processes that deliver meteorites to the Earth. It transpires that the main asteroid belt is not the only source of these fireballs, Near Earth Objects (NEOs) and Jupiter Family Comets (JFCs) may also play a role. To obtain more information in this regard, new efforts are needed to compare the orbits of large meteoroids reaching the Earth with those of the members of NEO and JFC populations. By numerically integrating their orbits back in time it may be possible to identify meteoroids delivered by other mechanisms like such as catastrophic disruptions or collisions

    Reversible glacial-periglacial transition in response to climate changes and paraglacial dynamics: a case study from Héðinsdalsjökull (northern Iceland)

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    The objective of this work is to chronologically establish the origin of the different glacial and rock glacier complex landforms deposited by Héðinsdalsjökull glacier (65°39′ N, 18°55′ W), in the Héðinsdalur valley (Skagafjörður fjord, Tröllaskagi peninsula, central northern Iceland). Multiple methods were applied: geomorphological analysis and mapping, glacier reconstruction and equilibrium-line altitude calculation, Cosmic-Ray Exposure dating (in situ cosmogenic 36Cl), and lichenometric dating. The results reveal that a debris-free glacier receded around 6.6 ± 0.6 ka, during the Holocene Thermal Maximum. The retreat of the glacier exposed its headwall and accelerated paraglacial dynamics. As a result, the glacier terminus evolved into a debris-covered glacier and a rock glacier at a slightly higher elevation. The front of this rock glacier stabilized shortly after it formed, although nuclide inheritance is possible, but its sector close the valley head stabilized between 1.5 and 0.6 ka. The lowest part of the debris-covered glacier (between 600 and 820 m altitude) collapsed at ca. 2.4 ka. Since then, periods of glacial advance and retreat have alternated, particularly during the Little Ice Age. The maximum advance during this phase occurred in the 15th to 17th centuries with subsequent re-advances, namely at the beginning of the 19th and 20th centuries. After a significant retreat during the first decades of the 20th century, the glacier advanced in the 1960s to 1990s, and then retreated again, in accordance with the local climatic evolution. The internal ice of both the debris-covered and the rock glacier have survived until the present day, although enhanced subsidence provides evidence of their gradual degradation. A new rock glacier developed from an ice-cored moraine from around 1940–1950 CE. Thus, the Holocene coupling between paraglacial and climatic shifts has resulted in a complex evolution of Héðinsdalsjökull, which is conflicting with previously proposed models: a glacier, which had first evolved into a debris-covered and rock glacier, could later be transformed into a debris-free glacier, with a higher sensitivity to climatic variability.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
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