The environmental costs of water flow regulation: an innovative approach based on the ‘Polluter Pays’ principle

The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) explicitly requires the full cost recovery of water services, including the environmental costs incurred from the damage that water uses inflict on the environment. Although flow regulation by river damming is one of the most prominent human impact on fresh water ecosystems its environmental costs are not properly included in water pricing. This paper presents a novel approach to assessing the environmental costs of flow regulation based on the polluter-pays principle. The methodology includes three steps: (i) assessing the admissible range of regulated flow variability, derived from the natural flow regime variability, (ii) estimating the daily environmental impact of regulated flows according to deviations from the admissible range of flow variability, and (iii) calculating the environmental costs of flow regulation. The procedure is applied to four river case studies in Spain, UK and Norway. The advantages over other water cost valuation methods are discussed. The methodology enlarges the current recognition of environmental costs of water use and represents a practical management tool within the WFD context, encouraging transparency and stakeholder communication

Integrating a finantial module in the Web-Ecoyield-SAFE model for bioeconomic assessment of agroforestry systems

N/

Water pricing: are 'polluters' paying the environmental costs of flow regulation?

River ecosystems are severely affected by dams and reservoirs. The Water Framework Directive states that polluters should be financially responsible for the caused environmental damage. Nevertheless, the environmental costs associated to flow regulation often are not fully paid by water users. This study presents an approach to value the environmental costs of flow regulation based on the "polluter pays" principle, i.e., the amount to be paid should be proportional to the caused environmental impact. The procedure includes three major steps: (i) assessing the admissible range of regulated flow variability based on flow data during the pre-dam period, (ii) estimating the daily environmental impact of regulated flows according to the resulting hydrological change in terms of the intensity, duration and frequency of the impact, and (iii) calculating the environmental costs of flow regulation subject to spatiotemporal characteristics. This paper applies the proposed methodology in the Luna River, Spain. The advantages over other water cost valuation methodologies are discussed. The approach enlarges the current recognition of water environmental costs and represents a simple and practical management tool for achieving the objectives of the Water Framework Directive

Estudo do processo de torneamento de aços em condições diferenciadas de refrigeração e lubrificação

-Processos de fresamento têm sido grandemente utilizados na indústria metal-mecânica visando a obtenção de elevada produtividade e consideráveis controle dimensional e acabamento superficial do componente usinado. Alumínio e suas ligas vem sendo utilizados nas mais diferentes áreas com inúmeras aplicações em função de suas interessantes características mecânicas. A utilização, durante operações de usinagem, de variadas condições de lubrificação e refrigeração vem sendo comumente estudadas principalmente em materiais de elevada dureza. Particularmente, neste trabalho foram avaliados o acabamento superficial e o controle dimensional de liga de alumínio 6351 durante operações de fresamento de topo de canais com ferramentas de aço rápido apresentando 2 e 4 arestas e variados parâmetros utilizando três condições de refrigeração/lubrificação sendo estas a seco e com fluido sintético nas concentrações de 5% e 10%. As análises dos resultados obtidos mostraram que menores valores dos parâmetros de rugosidade Ra e Rq dos canais foram alcançados durante usinagem com fresa de 4 arestas, utilizando fluido sintético nas concentrações de 5% e 10% respectivamente. Quando do trabalho de corte usando fresa de 2 arestas verificou-se um melhor acabamento superficial quando da usinagem a seco dos corpos de prova. Com relação ao controle dimensional verificou-se durante a usinagem com as fresas de 2 e 4 arestas sem o uso de fluidos de corte a ocorrência de escamas ao longo das laterais dos canais o que significativamente contribuiu para um pior controle dimensional. Resultados satisfatórios de controle dimensional foram encontrados durante o fresamento usando o fluido sintético na concentração 5%

O ASSISTENCIALISMO NA ASSISTÊNCIA SOCIAL BRASILEIRA

Este artigo apresenta alguns teóricos que escrevem sobre a Assistência Social no Brasil, assim como sobre a prática do assistencialismo, ainda presente nãoâmbito da política pública de Assistência Social. Objetivamos mostrar que diversosautores evidenciam que a Assistência Social brasileira necessita ultrapassar a prática do assistencial. Para isso, fizemos pesquisas bibliográficas sobre esta temática num recorte histórico, de maneira cronológica, porém, não linear, uma vez que tratamos de um tema transverso por considerações históricas e por embates entre Sociedade e Estado

UR-409 Enhancing Aircraft Electronic Warfare Testing with Automated RF Spectrum Analysis

Military test ranges utilize a variety of Radio Frequency (RF) threat systems, to assess the effectiveness of Electronic Warfare (EW) systems during flight tests. A component of this process involves monitoring RF transmissions. Traditionally, system engineers at Robins Airforce Base have manually analyzed video from spectrum analyzers to confirm properties of specific threat systems. To streamline this analysis, our team\u27s aim was to develop an automated solution for RF spectrum analysis. We employed a custom YOLO V8 model to isolate the analyzer screen and used a novel combination of frame differencing, summing, and agglomerative clustering techniques to extract relevant properties of measured signals. Our resulting application significantly reduces human interaction, enhances accuracy, and allows for the transformation of video data into a digitally manipulatable numeric format

Using fuzzy cognitive maps for predicting river management responses: A case study of the Esla River basin, Spain

The planning and management of river ecosystems affects a variety of social groups (i.e., managers, stakeholders, professionals and users) who have different interests about water uses. To avoid conflicts and reach an environmentally sustainable management, various methods have been devised to enable the participation of these actors. Mathematical modelling of river systems is highly recommended to forecast, but we do not always have enough information to do it. In these cases, the soft and meta-models can be valid alternatives to simulate these complex systems. The Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) are presented as a tool that facilitates the modelling of ecological systems, functions and services. FCM networking concepts are intertwined through causal relationships. The FCM concept spatial arrangement and the use of fuzzy logic facilitate the integration of different expert opinions. In our study, from a panel of seven experts from representatives of different social sectors, an aggregated FCM was obtained. The most central concept in the aggregated map was cross barriers, dams and weirs. Using our FCM expert model, we performed a number of simulations from different possible scenarios, such as the continuous degradation of natural conditions and the improvement of river natural conditions. A regular increment in the natural conditions generates a substantial enhance in variables as natural water flow and sediment transport. Conversely, the increment in human activities as agro-forestry production addresses to a deterioration of river banks among other variables. In the Esla River, the FCM indicators showed an ecosystem that was greatly influenced by human activity, especially by the presence of barriers, in which the economic variables presented high network influence even though their centrality indices were relatively low. Meanwhile, the essential elements for the proper functioning of this ecosystem, as a natural flow regime, showed very low values that were visibly affected by anthropogenic variables. FCM methodology enabled us not only to understand the perception of current fluvial ecosystems but also to generate plausible management scenarios based on expert knowledge in this field

Using EcoYieldSAFE to compare soil carbon dynamics under future climate in two contrasting agroforestry systems

N/