Delay-throughput curves for timer-based OBS burstifiers with light load

The OBS burstifier delay-throughput curves are analyzed in this paper. The burstifier incorporates a timer-based scheme with minimum burst size, i. e., bursts are subject to padding in light-load scenarios. Precisely, due to this padding effect, the burstifier normalized throughput may not be equal to unity. Conversely, in a high-load scenario, padding will seldom occur. For the interesting light-load scenario, the throughput delay curves are derived and the obtained results are assessed against those obtained by trace-driven simulation. The influence of long-range dependence and instantaneous variability is analyzed to conclude that there is a threshold timeout value that makes the throughput curves flatten out to unity. This result motivates the introduction of adaptive burstification algorithms, that provide a timeout value that minimizes delay, yet keeping the throughput very close to unity. The dependence of such optimum timeout value with traffic long-range dependence and instantaneous burstiness is discussed. Finally, three different adaptive timeout algorithms are proposed, that tradeoff complexity versus accuracy.This work was funded by Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (projects CAPITAL TEC2004-05622-C04-04 and PINTA TEC2004-06437-C05-03

Forecast Error Sensitivity Analysis for Bidding in Electricity Markets with a Hybrid Renewable Plant Using a Battery Energy Storage System

Deep integration of renewable energies into the electricity grid is restricted by the problems related to their intermittent and uncertain nature. These problems affect both system operators and renewable power plant owners since, due to the electricity market rules, plants need to report their production some hours in advance and are, hence, exposed to possible penalties associated with unfulfillment of energy production. In this context, energy storage systems appear as a promising solution to reduce the stochastic nature of renewable sources. Furthermore, batteries can also be used for performing energy arbitrage, which consists in shifting energy and selling it at higher price hours. In this paper, a bidding optimization algorithm is used for enhancing profitability and minimizing the battery loss of value. The algorithm considers the participation in both day-ahead and intraday markets, and a sensitivity analysis is conducted to check the profitability variation related to prediction uncertainty. The obtained results highlight the importance of bidding in intraday markets to compensate the prediction errors and show that, for the Iberian Electricity Market, the uncertainty does not significantly affect the final benefits

Extreme Floods in Small Mediterranean Catchments: Long-Term Response to Climate Variability and Change

Climate change implies changes in the frequency and magnitude of flood events. The influence of climate variability on flooding was evaluated by an analysis of sedimentary (palaeofloods) and documentary archives. A 500-year palaeoflood record at Montlleó River (657 km2 in catchment area), eastern Spain, revealed up to 31 palaeofloods with a range of discharges of 20–950 m3 s−1, and with at least five floods exceeding 740–950 m3 s−1. This information contrasts with the available gauged flood registers (since year 1971) with an annual maximum daily discharge of 129 m3 s−1. Our palaeoflood dataset indicates flood cluster episodes at (1) 1570–1620, (2) 1775–1795, (3) 1850–1890, and (4) 1920–1969. Flood rich periods 1 and 3 corresponded to cooler than usual (about 0.3 °C and 0.2 °C) climate oscillations, whereas 2 and 4 were characterised by higher inter-annual climatic variability (floods and droughts). This high inter-annual rainfall variability increased over the last 150 years, leading to a reduction of annual maximum flow. Flood quantiles (>50 years) calculated from palaeoflood+gauged data showed 30%–40% higher peak discharges than those using only instrumental records, whereas when increasing the catchment area (1500 km2) the discharge estimation variance decreased to ~15%. The results reflect the higher sensitivity of small catchments to changes on flood magnitude and frequency due to climate variability whereas a larger catchment buffers the response due to the limited extent of convective storms. Our findings show that extended flood records provide robust knowledge about hazardous flooding that can assist in the prioritization of low-regret actions for flood-risk adaptation to climate change