2,243 research outputs found

    The Role of Large and Small Scale Hydropower for Energy and Water Security in the Spanish Duero Basin

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    Hydropower has been increasingly seen as a two-fold solution to the provision of renewable energy and water storage. However, the massive deployment of both large and small scale hydropower projects has been reported to cause important environmental impacts at the basin scale. This study assesses the differential contributions to regional energy and water security of large (LHP) and small (SHP) scale hydropower deployment in the Spanish Duero basin, as well as associated cumulative environmental impacts. This is performed through a selection of indicators measured in absolute and relative terms. The results suggest that LHP deployment contributes more to energy and water security, performing better in 10 of the 12 indicators. It also shows higher absolute environmental impacts on flow regime and habitat loss. Meanwhile, when analyzed in relative terms, SHP shows greater impacts in all categories as a result of cumulative effects cascading along the rivers system. These findings suggest that optimizing the use of existing hydropower infrastructure would be beneficial for energy, water and environmental security. This could be implemented by substantially reducing the number of low capacity plants with almost no impact on final energy generation, while enhancing the pumping and storage potential of higher capacity plants

    Adaptation strategies to climate change in the tourist sector: The case of coastal tourism in Spain

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    Tourism activities, that are very important in the Spanish Mediterranean coast since 60s, have been described as highly vulnerable to climate change. Diversification of the tourism and tourist products are often presented as a possible strategy for adapting to the effects of climate change. The present study explores the initiatives in product diversification that are being put into practice in the Spanish Mediterranean coastal tourism sector. To this end, the study focuses on the analysis of the experiences of the rural tourism sector as an alternative to sun-and-sand tourism in the Alt Empordà (Costa Brava, North-eastern Spain). Methodology of this research is based in two aspects: a) desk research of relevant public documents aimed to promote the diversification of the tourist sector; b) regional survey of rural tourism establishments. The analysis reveals a process of diversification that is characterised by spontaneous developments that lack planning and shows an absence of product structuring in accordance with a segmentation of the market. Given these characteristics, the process of diversification that has taken place will not contribute to increasing adaptation\u27s capacity of tourism to climate change or, consequently, to reducing its level of vulnerability

    Adaptation strategies to climate change in the tourist sector: The case of coastal tourism in Spain

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    Tourism activities, that are very important in the Spanish Mediterranean coast since 60s, have been described as highly vulnerable to climate change. Diversification of the tourism and tourist products are often presented as a possible strategy for adapting to the effects of climate change. The present study explores the initiatives in product diversification that are being put into practice in the Spanish Mediterranean coastal tourism sector. To this end, the study focuses on the analysis of the experiences of the rural tourism sector as an alternative to sun-and-sand tourism in the Alt Empordà (Costa Brava, North-eastern Spain). Methodology of this research is based in two aspects: a) desk research of relevant public documents aimed to promote the diversification of the tourist sector; b) regional survey of rural tourism establishments. The analysis reveals a process of diversification that is characterised by spontaneous developments that lack planning and shows an absence of product structuring in accordance with a segmentation of the market. Given these characteristics, the process of diversification that has taken place will not contribute to increasing adaptation\u27s capacity of tourism to climate change or, consequently, to reducing its level of vulnerability

    Comparación de ACV de un refuerzo estructural de plancha de acero y de un refuerzo de lámina de fibra de carbono ambos adheridos con epoxi

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    Este trabajo presenta una comparación de impacto medioambiental, aplicando la metodología de Análisis de Ciclo de Vida (ACV), de dos refuerzos estructurales a flexión adheridos con resina epoxi: un refuerzo de plancha acero, de utilización tradicional, y un refuerzo con fibra de carbono, uno de los más utilizados actualmente

    Effect of synthetic clay and biochar addition on dissipation and enantioselectivity of tebuconazole and metalaxyl in an agricultural soil: Laboratory and field experiments

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    10 páginas.-- 4 figuras.-- 3 tablas.-- referencias.-- Supplementary data associated with this article can be found, in the online version, at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.05.017Laboratory and field experiments were conducted to assess how the addition of oleate-modified hydrotalcite (clay) and biochar (BC) to an agricultural soil affected the sorption, leaching, persistence, and enantiomeric composition of soil residues of two chiral fungicides, tebuconazole and metalaxyl. Laboratory experiments showed that the sorption of both fungicides ranked as follows: unamended soil < BC-amended soil < clay-amended soil. The addition of clay at a rate of 1% increased metalaxyl soil sorption coefficient (Kd) from 0.34 to 3.14 L kg−1 and that of tebuconazole from 2.4 to 47.4 L kg−1. In our experimental set-up, field plots were either unamended or amended with clay (2 t ha−1) or BC (4 t ha−1), and subsequently treated with a mixture of tebuconazole and metalaxyl at 3 and 6 kg ha−1, respectively. The leaching, persistence, and enantiomer composition of fungicides residues were monitored by sampling at different soil depths (0–5, 5–10, 10–20 cm) for 98 days. No significant changes in the scarce mobility and long persistence of tebuconazole upon amending the soil with clay or BC were observed. In contrast, sorption to clay and BC particles reduced the leaching and degradation of metalaxyl and the clay increased its persistence in the topsoil compared to the unamended soil. The enantioselective analysis of tebuconazole and metalaxyl soil residues indicated that tebuconazole remained mostly racemic along the experiment, whereas for metalaxyl the concentration of S-enantiomer was greater than the concentration of R-enantiomer, more so at longer experimental times and deeper horizons. Nevertheless, for the top 0–5 cm soil layer metalaxyl remained more racemic in clay- and BC-amended soil than in unamended soil. Our results show that addition of amendments with high sorptive capacities can be beneficial in reducing leaching and degradation losses of chiral pesticide enantiomers from the topsoil, and that sorption by the amendments can influence the final enantiomeric composition of pesticide residues.This work was financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO Projects AGL2011-23779, AGL2013-48446-C3-1-R and AGL2014-51897-R) and Junta de Andalucía (JA Research Group AGR-264), with FEDER-FSE funds. R. López-Cabeza thanks MINECO for a pre-doctoral fellowship linked to the Project AGL2011-23779 (Grant BES-2012-059945). The authors also thank P. Franco (Chiral Technologies Europe) and I. Girón (IRNAS) for their technical assistancePeer reviewe

    Efecto de la adición de organo-hidrotalcita a un suelo agrícola en el comportamiento de los fungicidas tebuconazol y metalaxil bajo condiciones reales de campo

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    2 páginas.-- 2 tablas.-- 2 referencias.-- Poster presentado en XXIV Reunión de la Sociedad Española de Arcillas Sevilla. Libro de Resúmenes: Noviembre de 2015 en Sevilla.Existen numerosos trabajos que abordan las aplicaciones de arcillas naturales, inalteradas o modificadas, como adsorbentes de pesticidas para la depuración de aguas e incluso para actuar como soportes en formulaciones de liberación lenta del pesticida o como barreras inmovilizantes en suelos (Cornejo et al., 2008). La mayoría de estos estudios se han realizado bajo condiciones controladas en el laboratorio y usando minerales de la arcilla naturales del grupo de las esmectitas. En los últimos años, ha aumentado el interés por explotar las propiedades adsorbentes de los hidróxidos dobles laminares (HDLs), también conocidos como hidrotalcitas (HTs) o arcillas aniónicas, cuyas características estructurales guardan cierta relación con las de las esmectitas (Cornejo et al., 2008). Los LDHs consisten en láminas del tipo brucita de un metal divalente con sustituciones isomórficas que proporcionan a las láminas una carga permanente positiva y que es compensada con aniones intercambiables que se sitúan en el espacio interlaminar. Aunque los resultados obtenidos hasta ahora ponen de manifiesto la elevada capacidad de adsorción de los LDHs para muchos pesticidas y la versatilidad que les confiere la posibilidad de modificarlos mediante la intercalación de aniones orgánicos en el espacio interlaminar (Celis et al., 2014), su utilidad como enmendantes para aumentar la capacidad de adsorción de los suelos bajo condiciones ambientales reales aún no ha sido evaluada.Este trabajo ha sido financiado por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) a través de los proyectos AGL2011-23779 y AGL2014-51897-R y por la Junta de Andalucía a través del Grupo de Investigación AGR-264, con parte de fondos FEDER-FSE. R. López-Cabeza agradece al MINECO la concesión de una beca pre-doctoral de FPI asociada al proyecto AGL2011-23779.Peer reviewe

    Updating known distribution models for forecasting climate change impact on endangered species

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    To plan endangered species conservation and to design adequate management programmes, it is necessary to predict their distributional response to climate change, especially under the current situation of rapid change. However, these predictions are customarily done by relating de novo the distribution of the species with climatic conditions with no regard of previously available knowledge about the factors affecting the species distribution. We propose to take advantage of known species distribution models, but proceeding to update them with the variables yielded by climatic models before projecting them to the future. To exemplify our proposal, the availability of suitable habitat across Spain for the endangered Bonelli’s Eagle (Aquila fasciata) was modelled by updating a pre-existing model based on current climate and topography to a combination of different general circulation models and Special Report on Emissions Scenarios. Our results suggested that the main threat for this endangered species would not be climate change, since all forecasting models show that its distribution will be maintained and increased in mainland Spain for all the XXI century. We remark on the importance of linking conservation biology with distribution modelling by updating existing models, frequently available for endangered species, considering all the known factors conditioning the species’ distribution, instead of building new models that are based on climate change variables only.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and FEDER (project CGL2009-11316/BOS

    Caffeinated Energy Drinks Boost Physical Performance In Several Sport Modalities: Should They Be Considered By Antidoping Authorities?

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    Caffeine has been consumed by man for centuries although the manner of consumption has varied among different geographical zones, according to the source of caffeine present in natural foods (e.g., coffee, tea, mate, guaraná, kola, etc.). By the end of XIX century, John S. Pemberton created the first non-natural caffeinated-beverage that contained caffeine form the kola nut. The use of this beverage – universally known as Coca-Cola- increased exponentially worldwide and favored the apparition of hundreds of commercial caffeinated drinks with similar characteristics. Although first energy drinks were marketed in Thailand in the 1970s, these drinks became widely popular when they were introduced in the European in the 1990s. Despite the commercial availability of numerous caffeinated beverages and foods, energy drinks have gained popularity in the last years, likely because they provide a higher dose of caffeine per serv
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