Defining Chlorophyll-a Reference Conditions in European Lakes

The concept of “reference conditions” describes the benchmark against which current conditions are compared when assessing the status of water bodies. In this paper we focus on the establishment of reference conditions for European lakes according to a phytoplankton biomass indicator—the concentration of chlorophyll-a. A mostly spatial approach (selection of existing lakes with no or minor human impact) was used to set the reference conditions for chlorophyll-a values, supplemented by historical data, paleolimnological investigations and modelling. The work resulted in definition of reference conditions and the boundary between “high” and “good” status for 15 main lake types and five ecoregions of Europe: Alpine, Atlantic, Central/Baltic, Mediterranean, and Northern. Additionally, empirical models were developed for estimating site-specific reference chlorophyll-a concentrations from a set of potential predictor variables. The results were recently formulated into the EU legislation, marking the first attempt in international water policy to move from chemical quality standards to ecological quality targets

Scanning Tunneling Spectra and Low Energy Ion Scattering Studies of the Verwey Transition in MBE Fe3\text{}_{3}O4\text{}_{4} (100) Thin Film

The (100) surface of magnetite Fe$\text{}_{3}$O$\text{}_{4}$ thin film was studied by a UHV low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope and by an ion scattering spectroscopy. The tunneling spectra revealed a widening of the gap with decreasing temperature, which may be related to the metal-insulator phase transition in this material. A strong effect of this phase transition on ion scattering from such a surface was observed. The temperature dependence of the scattered ion yield, R$\text{}^{+}$(T), revealed two minima at around 100 K and at 125 K under Ne$\text{}^{+}$ bombardment with the primary energy up to 6 keV. The disappearance of the high-temperature minimum at a bombarding energy of 6.5 keV gave a further evidence for the ion velocity dependence of the character of the R$\text{}^{+}$(T) curve, which has been first observed for a MBE Fe$\text{}_{3}$O$\text{}_{4}$ (111) film surface

Scanning Tunneling Spectra and Low Energy Ion Scattering Studies of the Verwey Transition in MBE Fe 3

The (100) surface of magnetite Fe$\text{}_{3}$O$\text{}_{4}$ thin film was studied by a UHV low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope and by an ion scattering spectroscopy. The tunneling spectra revealed a widening of the gap with decreasing temperature, which may be related to the metal-insulator phase transition in this material. A strong effect of this phase transition on ion scattering from such a surface was observed. The temperature dependence of the scattered ion yield, R$\text{}^{+}$(T), revealed two minima at around 100 K and at 125 K under Ne$\text{}^{+}$ bombardment with the primary energy up to 6 keV. The disappearance of the high-temperature minimum at a bombarding energy of 6.5 keV gave a further evidence for the ion velocity dependence of the character of the R$\text{}^{+}$(T) curve, which has been first observed for a MBE Fe$\text{}_{3}$O$\text{}_{4}$ (111) film surface

The Influence of Carbon Nature on the Catalytic Performance of Ru/C in Levulinic Acid Hydrogenation with Internal Hydrogen Source

The influence of the nature of carbon materials used as a support for Ru/C catalysts on levulinic acid hydrogenation with formic acid as a hydrogen source toward gamma-valerolactone was investigated. It has been shown that the physicochemical properties of carbon strongly affect the catalytic activity of Ru catalysts. The relationship between the hydrogen mobility, strength of hydrogen adsorption, and catalytic performance was established. The catalyst possessing the highest number of defects, stimulating metal support interaction, exhibited the highest activity. The effect of the catalyst grain size was also studied. It was shown that the decrease in the grain size resulted in the formation of smaller Ru crystallites on the catalyst surface, which facilitates the activity