Interactive computational modelling to improve teaching of physics and mathematics in marine geophysics

This study discusses the implementation of a learning sequence with interactive computational modelling activities in the context of introductory marine geophysics university courses. The application of two computer modelling systems, Modellus and Mirone, is considered for the introduction of mathematical physics models of interest in marine geophysics to students having only basic level knowledge of physics and mathematics and no prior knowledge of scientific computation. Modellus is used to compute the theoretical depth of the seafloor predicted using the plate cooling model, while is used to manipulate and display actual bathymetric data in the region of mid-ocean ridges. The combination of both software systems is illustrative and insightful of functionalities suitable to develop other computational modelling activities for marine geophysics as well as for other areas of the geosciences.FCT-projects [UID/GEO/50019/2019, UID/CED/02861/2019]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Models of stress at mid-ocean ridges and their offsets

This thesis aims to investigate the stresses at mid-ocean ridge offsets, and particularly at the particular class of offsets represented by oceanic microplates. Amongthese, the Easter microplate is one of the best surveyed. This thesis first studies the stress field associated with mid-ocean ridges and simple types of ridge offsets, and then uses the stress field observed at Easter to constrain the driving mechanism of microplates. Two-dimensional finite element modelling is used to predict the lithospheric stress indicators, which are then compared with observations. Extensional structures at high angles (> 35 ) to ridge trends are often observed at ridge-transform intersections and non-tranform offsets, but remained unexplained until now. This study proposes that the topographic loading created by the elevation of mid-ocean ridges relative to old seafloor is a source of ridge parallel tensile stresses, and shows they can be explained by the rotation of ridge parallel tensile stresses at locked offsets. The elasto-plastic rheology is used to investigate the evolution of normal faults near mid-ocean ridges. It is shown that variations in the lithospheric strength, caused entirely by variations in the brittle layer thickness, can account for the observed variations in fault character with spreading rate and along-axis position. Plasticity is shown to prevent the achievement of large fault throws in thin brittle layers. Consequently, it may be important at fast spreading ridges. A new dynamic model is proposed for Easter microplate. It mainly consists of: 1) driving forces along the East and West Rifts, resulting from the combination of a regional tensile stress with an increasing ridge strength towards rift tips, 2) mantle basal drag resisting the microplate rotation, and contributing with less than 20% to the total resisting torque, and 3) resisting forces along the northern and southern boundaries. To explain both the earthquake focal mechanism evidence and theexistence of compressional ridges in the Nazca plate, the boundary conditions alongthe northern boundary are required to change with time, from completely locked tolocked in the normal direction only. This study does not invalidate the microplate kinematic model proposed by Schouten et al. (1993), but shows that normal resisting forces along the northern and southern boundaries of Easter microplate must exist in order to explain the stress observations. Also, it suggests that ridge strength variations play an important role in the dyamics of mid-ocean ridge overlap regions

INTERANNUAL MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES OF BOA VIAGEM BEACH - NORTHEAST COAST OF BRAZIL

Boa Viagem and Pina are urban beaches highly economically important both locally and regionally providing protection for the southern coast of Recife, Pernambuco – Brazil. The objective of this paper is to study the interannual morphological changes which occur on these beaches in order to gather information on the erosion processes. For this purpose 6 topographical profiles were monitored, monthly, from August 2002 to December 2005, during spring tide. To establish the position of each profile it was considered whether the beach was protected by reefs, or not, and if there were coastal protection structures. The largest morphological variation was observed in profiles located to the extreme South and North of the area of study (profiles 1 and 5), as well as the profiles located immediately to the North of the coastal protection features (profiles 4A and 4B). Profiles located in the middle of the study area showed stability. As for sedimentary budget the following variations were observed: negative sedimentary budget in profiles P1 (-4.0 m3/m), P4A (-22.0 m3/m), P4B (-7.0 m3/m) and P5 (-1.0 m3/m); positive sedimentary budget in profiles P2 (+2.0 m3/m) and P3 (+4.0 m3/m). Profiles 2 and 3 presented a more consistent budget than those of the profiles located at the extremities of the area (profiles 1, 4A, 4B and 5). The profiles did not present morphologic variations in the beach environment like those mentioned in conventional literature. Profiles 2-1, 3-2 e 4A-3 do not present a linear relation between rates of sedimentary budget. However a positive linear relation between profiles 4B-3 and 5-4B was observed. Variations of accretion and erosion found in this study may be related to seasonal variations in the direction of currents along the coast

The combined effects of salts and calcium on growth and mineral accumulation of Tetragonia tetragonioides - A salt removing species

High soil salinity levels have drastic effects on the growth and yield of horticultural crops. Salination may be controlled by environmentally safe and clean techniques as the use of salt removing species. Tetragonia tetragonioides, a wild halophytic species has been studied for this purpose. It was studied the effect of high salt concentrations on growth and mineral composition and the influence of high calcium concentration on plant response. Plants were grown in 5 litters in randomized pots and were daily irrigated. The NaCl concentration of the irrigation solution ranged from 0 up to 200 mM. Additionally, the irrigation solution provided plants with two calcium concentrations: 2 and 10 mM of CaCl2. T. tetragonioides present high ability for sodium and chloride leaf accumulation. Besides that, the species provide more advantages: 1) high biomass production potential; 2) several harvests during the year (summer and winter); 3) high content of minerals; 4) horticultural importance, as a leaf vegetable crop; 6) easy multiplication (seed propagation) and easy crop management; 7) tolerance to drought and warm conditions; 8) soil erosion control due to its excellent soil covering. The obtained results suggest that plants supplemented with the high calcium level had longer stems than plants in the low calcium level, accumulated greater amounts of calcium at high salinity levels and present similar leaves dry matter

Numerical Model of Constrained Wave Energy Hyperbaric Converter under Full-Scale Sea Wave Conditions

Funding Information: This research was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT.IP) through the grant UIDB/00667/2020 (UNIDEMI). This work was also supported by the project SURVIWEC PID2020-113245RB-I00 and by the project ED431C 2021/44 “Programa de Consolidación e Estructuración de Unidades de Investigación Competitivas”. This study forms part of the Marine Science programme (ThinkInAzul) supported by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and Xunta de Galicia with funding from the European Union NextGenerationEU (PRTR-C17.I1) and European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. Funding Information: The authors acknowledge Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT.IP) for its financial support through the grant UIDB/00667/2020 (UNIDEMI). This work was also supported by the project SURVIWEC PID2020-113245RB-I00 financed by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the project ED431C 2021/44 ”Programa de Consolidación e Estructuración de Unidades de Investigación Competitivas” financed by Xunta de Galicia, Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Universidade. This study forms part of the Marine Science programme (ThinkInAzul) supported by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and Xunta de Galicia with funding from the European Union NextGenerationEU (PRTR-C17.I1) and European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.A 2D numerical investigation of the power absorption of a constrained wave energy hyperbaric converter (WEHC) under full-scale sea wave conditions is presented. A fully non-linear numerical model DualSPHysics, based on the coupling of a smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) fluid solver with a multibody dynamics solver, is used to model the interaction between wave and WEHC sub-systems. The numerical model was first validated against experimental data for a similar device, with a good accordance between PTO position and velocity. The model is then employed to study the hydrodynamics of a constrained WEHC considering several sea states, different hydraulic power take-off (PTO) damping and breakwater geometries. It is observed that the capture width ratio (CWR) is particularly sensitive to variations in the PTO damping, although the CWR absolute maximum is less sensitive considering mild variations applied to the PTO damping. Both wave height and wave period have an important effect on the CWR. The breakwater geometry is also essential for the performance of the WEHC, with a decrease in maximum CWR of about 15% for porous breakwater. These results are necessary to understand the full-scale behaviour of WEHC.publishersversionpublishe

Synthesis of heterocyclic compounds by radical electrochemical approach in environmentally friendly media

Radical cyclisation is rapidly becoming an important method for the formation of cyclic systems. Hence, some electrochemical results obtained in the study of electroreductive intramolecular cyclisation of ethyl 2-bromo-3-(3,4-methylenedioxophenyl)-3-(propargyloxy)propanoate (1a), [1-bromo-2-methoxy-2-(prop-2’-ynyloxy) ethyl] benzene (1b) and 1-[2-bromo-2-phenyl-1-(prop-2’-ynyloxy)ethyl]-4-methoxybenzene (1c) promoted by (1,4,8,11-tetramethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetra-decane)nickel(I), [Ni(tmc)]+, electrogenerated at glassy carbon cathodes in ethanol, ethanol / water and microemulsions made with cationic and anionic surfactants are presented. The results obtained indicate that the reaction proceeds via cleavage of the carbon–bromine bond to form a radical intermediate that undergoes cyclization on the unsaturated C-C bond to afford the substituted tetrahydrofurans.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Solid catalysts obtained from wastes for FAME production using mixtures of refined palm oil and waste cooking oils

More than 95% of biodiesel production feedstocks come from edible oils, however it may cause some problems such as the competition of land use between food production and biodiesel production. The waste cooking oils (WCO) are an alternative feedstock for biodiesel production; its usage reduces significantly the cost of biodiesel production and has environmental benefits, e.g., a waste recovery instead of its elimination. This work aims to produce a low-cost efficient solid catalyst for fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) production using mixtures of refined palm oil (RPO) and WCO. Four low cost catalysts were prepared (biomass fly ashes, natural dolomite rock, chicken eggshells and polyethylene terephthalate - PET), characterized (by SEM, EDX, XRD, BET, FT-IR and Hammett indicators) and tested regarding their performance in FAME production. The maximum yield of FAME achieved was around 96%wt. for biomass fly ashes catalyst at 60 °C, 9:1 (mol/mol) of methanol to oil mixture, 10%wt. catalyst to oil mixture, over 180 min in batch reactor. The results point out for promising bifunctional catalysts able to achieve also conversion of free fatty acids up to 100% using mixtures of RPO and WCO.publishe

Revitalização de uma tecelagem do século XIX : desenhos e padrões

Está em curso um projecto de colaboração entre a Universidade do Minho, o Instituto Monsenhor Airosa (IMA), tendo o Museu da Indústria Têxtil da Bacia do Ave como consultor, no sentido de avaliar, recuperar e valorizar o Artesanato do IMA (AMA). Neste trabalho, efectuou-se um levantamento e estudo dos produtos da tecelagem. Foram estudados os mais diversos pontos: matérias-primas, métodos e equipamentos de produção, desenhos utilizados, produtos acabados e sua colocação no mercado, bem como a envolvente histórica do Instituto Monsenhor Airosa

Testes de conforto térmico aplicados a uma malha multifuncional desenvolvida com novos materiais

Os produtores europeus, os engenheiros têxteis e os designers devem, no desenvolvimento de novas peças de vestuário, terem em consideração as novas exigências dos consumidores em relação ao conforto. Uma grande variedade de áreas de investigação foram, nos últimos tempos, criadas e desenvolvidas permitindo atingir as exigências relacionadas com o conforto, nomeadamente, considerando os aspectos funcionais e estéticos, entre outros. O conforto térmico humano é, de certa forma, um dos componentes mais importantes a considerar, podendo ser definido como a principal troca de calor e massa e calor do corpo humano com o meio ambiente, através da roupa. Um dos objectivos deste trabalho foi, através do trabalho de uma equipa multidisciplinar, desenvolver uma malha funcional de forma a permitir o conforto termo-fisiológico a quem a utilizar. O presente trabalho permite assim investigar as várias etapas relacionadas com o estudo do conforto no desenvolvimento de novas peças de vestuário: o desenvolvimento de novas malhas, a execução de testes num manequim térmico; a simulação numérica do corpo humano com e sem roupa e o desenvolvimento de testes subjectivos de conforto térmico. A nova malha produzida foi caracterizada e testada em laboratório, em termos de quantidade de vapor de água e da permeabilidade ao ar e outros parâmetros físicos. A malha produzida foi aplicada como forro de botas de caminhada e para o fabrico de t-shirts. Os protótipos das botas de caminhada foram avaliados de forma subjectiva através de questionários. Um manequim térmico foi utilizado para medir o isolamento térmico das t-shirts e a distribuição de temperatura na pele. Juntamente com este trabalho experimental, um modelo de termo regulação do corpo humano foi desenvolvido para validar os dados experimentais obtidos. Alguns dos resultados são apresentados e discutidos

Emotional exhaustion in female health support workers in elderly care facilities

The current study aims to analyze the emotional exhaustion of female health care workers working in elderly care facilities. Using structural equation modelling we tested the effects of organizational support, coworkers' support, supervisor support and work-family conflict in predicting emotional exhaustion with a sample of 171 female health support workers. Findings showed that organizational support was directly linked with coworkers' support and supervisor support, and indirectly linked, via work-family conflict with emotional exhaustion. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio