Design of water reuse storage facilities in Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems from a volumetric water balance perspective

[EN] This paper presents a methodology for designing water reuse storage facilities as part of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) in urban catchments. The method analyzes the whole water balance of the catchment. The contributions to the balance are irrigation and precipitation; the outlets are evapotranspiration, seepage and discharge to the conventional sewage system. The internal system variations are the volume of water to be locally reutilized and the soil water content variation. A cost function that includes the costs of irrigation, discharge to the conventional sewer system and reuse of water locally is proposed to estimate the optimum volume of water to be reused. This approach for SUDS design goes beyond traditional events-based perspectives oriented to damage prevention. This method conceives stormwater as a resource and seeks its optimal use through the design of SUDS. Several types of urban catchments were studied, and the results show that the proposed methodology can be applied either for simulating SUDS behavior in urban catchments or for estimating the optimum volume of water to be locally reused. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This research was partially developed within the LIFE CERSUDS project and was financed by the LIFE Programme 2014-2020 of the European Union for the Environment and Climate Action [LIFE15 CCA/ES/000091].Zubelzu, S.; Rodríguez Sinobas, L.; Andrés Doménech, I.; Castillo-Rodríguez, J.; Perales Momparler, S. (2019). Design of water reuse storage facilities in Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems from a volumetric water balance perspective. The Science of The Total Environment. 663:133-143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.342S13314366

Enhancing local action planning through quantitative flood risk analysis: a case study in Spain

[EN] This article presents a method to incorporate and promote quantitative risk analysis to support local action planning against flooding. The proposed approach aims to provide a framework for local flood risk analysis, combining hazard mapping with vulnerability data to quantify risk in terms of expected annual affected population, potential injuries, number of fatalities, and economic damages. Flood risk is estimated combining GIS data of loads, system response, and consequences and using event tree modelling for risk calculation. The study area is the city of Oliva, located on the eastern coast of Spain. Results from risk modelling have been used to inform local action planning and to assess the benefits of structural and non-structural risk reduction measures. Results show the potential impact on risk reduction of flood defences and improved warning communication schemes through local action planning: societal flood risk (in terms of annual expected affected population) would be reduced up to 51% by combining both structural and nonstructural measures. In addition, the effect of seasonal population variability is analysed (annual expected affected population ranges from 82 to 107 %, compared with the current situation, depending on occupancy rates in hotels and campsites). Results highlight the need for robust and standardized methods for urban flood risk analysis replicability at regional and national scale.This research was conducted within the framework of the INICIA project, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (BIA2013-48157-C2-1-R). The article processing charges for this open-access publication will be covered by the INICIA project. 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Accounting for climate change uncertainty in long-term dam risk management

[EN] This paper presents a practical approach to adaptive management of dam risk based on robust decision-making strategies coupled with estimation of climate scenario probabilities. The proposed methodology, called multi-prior weighted scenarios ranking, consists of a series of steps from risk estimation for current and future situations through definition of the consensus sequence of risk reduction measures to be implemented. This represents a supporting tool for dam owners and safety practitioners in making decisions for managing dams or prioritizing long-term investments using a cost-benefit approach. This methodology is applied to the case study of a Spanish dam under the effects of climate change. Several risk reduction measures are proposed and their impacts are analyzed. The application of the methodology allows for identifying the optimal sequence of implementation measures that overcomes uncertainty from the diversity of available climate scenarios by prioritizing measures that reduce future accumulated risks at lower costs. This work proves that such a methodology helps address uncertainty that arises from multiple climate scenarios while adopting a cost-benefit approach that optimizes economic resources in dam risk management.Fluixá-Sanmartín, J.; Escuder Bueno, I.; Morales-Torres, A.; Castillo-Rodríguez, J. (2021). Accounting for climate change uncertainty in long-term dam risk management. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management. 147(4):1-13. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0001355S1131474Amodio, S., D’Ambrosio, A., & Siciliano, R. (2016). Accurate algorithms for identifying the median ranking when dealing with weak and partial rankings under the Kemeny axiomatic approach. 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Dealing with epistemic uncertainty in risk-informed decision making for dam safety management

[EN] In recent years, the application of risk analysis to inform dam safety governance has increased significantly. In this framework, considering explicitly and independently both natural and epistemic uncertainty in quantitative risk models allows to understand the sources of uncertainty in risk results and to estimate the effect of actions, tests, and surveys to reduce epistemic uncertainty. In this paper, Indexes of Coincidence are proposed to analyze the effect of epistemic uncertainty in the prioritization of investments based on risk results, which is the key issue in this paper. These indexes allow consideration of the convenience of conducting additional uncertainty reduction actions. These metrics have been applied to the prioritization of risk reduction measures for four concrete gravity dams in Spain. Results allow for a better understanding of how epistemic uncertainty of geotechnical resistance parameters influence risk-informed decision making. The proposed indexes are also useful for probabilistic risk analyses of other civil engineering structures with high epistemic uncertainty environments, since they analyze whether existing uncertainty could have an impact on decision making, outlining the need for extra studies, surveys and tests.Morales Torres, A.; Escuder Bueno, I.; Serrano Lombillo, AJ.; Castillo-Rodríguez, J. (2019). Dealing with epistemic uncertainty in risk-informed decision making for dam safety management. Reliability Engineering & System Safety. 191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress.2019.106562S19

Low-diffusion Xe-He gas mixtures for rare-event detection: electroluminescence yield

High pressure xenon Time Projection Chambers (TPC) based on secondary scintillation (electroluminescence) signal amplification are being proposed for rare event detection such as directional dark matter, double electron capture and double beta decay detection. The discrimination of the rare event through the topological signature of primary ionisation trails is a major asset for this type of TPC when compared to single liquid or double-phase TPCs, limited mainly by the high electron diffusion in pure xenon. Helium admixtures with xenon can be an attractive solution to reduce the electron diffu- sion significantly, improving the discrimination efficiency of these optical TPCs. We have measured the electroluminescence (EL) yield of Xe–He mixtures, in the range of 0 to 30% He and demonstrated the small impact on the EL yield of the addition of helium to pure xenon. For a typical reduced electric field of 2.5 kV/cm/bar in the EL region, the EL yield is lowered by ∼ 2%, 3%, 6% and 10% for 10%, 15%, 20% and 30% of helium concentration, respectively. This decrease is less than what has been obtained from the most recent simulation framework in the literature. The impact of the addition of helium on EL statistical fluctuations is negligible, within the experimental uncertainties. The present results are an important benchmark for the simulation tools to be applied to future optical TPCs based on Xe-He mixtures. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Evaluation of turbulent dissipation rate retrievals from Doppler Cloud Radar

Turbulent dissipation rate retrievals from cloud radar Doppler velocity measurements are evaluated using independent, in situ observations in Arctic stratocumulus clouds. In situ validation data sets of dissipation rate are derived using sonic anemometer measurements from a tethered balloon and high frequency pressure variation observations from a research aircraft, both flown in proximity to stationary, ground-based radars. Modest biases are found among the data sets in particularly low- or high-turbulence regimes, but in general the radar-retrieved values correspond well with the in situ measurements. Root mean square differences are typically a factor of 4-6 relative to any given magnitude of dissipation rate. These differences are no larger than those found when comparing dissipation rates computed from tetheredballoon and meteorological tower-mounted sonic anemometer measurements made at spatial distances of a few hundred meters. Temporal lag analyses suggest that approximately half of the observed differences are due to spatial sampling considerations, such that the anticipated radar-based retrieval uncertainty is on the order of a factor of 2-3. Moreover, radar retrievals are clearly able to capture the vertical dissipation rate structure observed by the in situ sensors, while offering substantially more information on the time variability of turbulence profiles. Together these evaluations indicate that radar-based retrievals can, at a minimum, be used to determine the vertical structure of turbulence in Arctic stratocumulus clouds

From chemosynthesis-based communities to cold-water corals: Vulnerable deep-sea habitats of the Gulf of Cádiz

The Gulf of Cádiz (GoC) represents an area of ecological importance within the northeastern Atlantic Ocean due to the presence of Mediterranean and Atlantic water masses, a heterogeneous seafloor and a biological confluence. Nevertheless, information on the presence of vulnerable deep-sea habitats is still very scarce and it is of importance for further habitat monitoring within the context of the Habitats and Marine Strategy Framework Directives and for improving conservation and resource extraction management. From 2010 to 2012, fluid migration and emission related edifices (e.g., mud volcanoes, diapirs) from the Spanish continental margin of the GoC have been explored using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV; Liropus 2000) and an underwater camera sled (UCS; APHIA 2012) as well as several devices for collecting sediment and fauna. Different vulnerable deep-sea habitats have been observed, including anoxic bottoms with bacterial mats, sea-pen communities, sponge aggregations, antipatharian and gorgonian communities and also cold-water coral banks. Some of these habitats are included in conservation lists of the habitat directive and in international conventions (OSPAR, RAC/SPA), however some of them are located in areas of the GoC that are exposed to intense trawling. The diversity of habitats detected in the Spanish continental margin of the GoC highlights the importance of seepage related edifices as inducers of seabed and habitat heterogeneity in deep-sea areas.En prens

Underwater imagery-study of sediment and fauna for habitat characterization in mud volcanoes of the Spanish margin (Gulf of Cádiz)

Habitat characterization using underwater images has been carried out in 4 mud volcanoes (Gazul, Almazán, St. Petersburg and Aveiro) and one mud volcano/diapir complex (Hespérides) located at the middle slope of the Spanish margin of the Gulf of Cádiz (360-1200m depth). A total of 126 species, mostly cnidarians, sponges, brachiopods, crustaceans and echinoderms and 19 habitats have been observed in the underwater images, including anoxic bottoms with cold seep fauna or remains (Siboglinum sp., Lucinoma asapheus, Solemya elarraichensis), bottoms with authigenic carbonates colonized by gorgonians and anthipatharians, extensive muddy bottoms with sea pens (Kophobelemnon sp., Protoptilum sp.) and bamboo corals (Isidella elongata) and cold-water coral banks (Madrepora oculata). Habitat type and distribution seem influenced by sedimentary features, presence of hard substrates with authigenic carbonates, seepage activity, depth and hydrodynamic conditions. Cold seep related species and heterotrophic species not directly linked to fluid venting represent seepage activity indicators and induce habitat and biodiversity differentiation among the fluid venting edifices

Genetic connectivity and hybridization with its siter species challenge the current management paradigm of white anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius)

Understanding the inter and intraspecific dynamics of fish populations is essential to promote effective management and conservation actions and to predict adaptation to changing conditions. This is possible through the analysis of thousands of genetic markers, which has proven useful to resolve connectivity among populations. Here, we have tackled this issue in the white anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius), which inhabits the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea and coexists with its morphologically almost identical sister species, the black anglerfish (L. budegassa). Our genetic analyses based on 16,000 SNP markers and 700 samples reveal that i) the white anglerfish from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean are genetically isolated, but that no differentiation can be observed within the later, and that ii) black and white anglerfish naturally hybridize, resulting in a population of about 20% of, most likely sterile, hybrids in some areas. These findings challenge the current paradigm of white anglerfish management, which considers three independent management units within the North East Atlantic and assumes that all mature fish have reproductive potential. Additionally, the northwards distribution of both species, likely due to temperature raises, calls for further monitoring of the abundance and distribution of hybrids to anticipate the effects of climate change in the interactions between both species and their potential resilience