scholarly journals Identifying Ecosystem-Based Alternatives for the Design of a Seaport’s Marine Infrastructure: The Case of Tema Port Expansion in Ghana

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 6633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wiebe P. de Boer ◽  
Jill H. Slinger ◽  
Arno K. wa Kangeri ◽  
Heleen S.I. Vreugdenhil ◽  
Poonam Taneja ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Port Development ◽  
Ecosystem Impacts ◽  
Planning And Design ◽  
Design Alternatives ◽  
Port Design ◽  
Port Expansion

Long-term sustainable port development requires accounting for the intrinsic values of ecosystems. However, in practice, ecosystem considerations often only enter the planning and design process of ports when required by an Environmental Impact Assessment. At this late stage, most of the design is already fixed and opportunities to minimize and restore ecosystem impacts are limited. In this paper, we adopt a large-scale, ecosystem perspective on port development with the aim to identify ecosystem-based design alternatives earlier and throughout the planning and design of a port’s marine infrastructure. We present a framework, termed the ‘ecosystem-based port design hierarchy’ (EPDH), to identify ecosystem-based alternatives at four hierarchical design levels: 1) alternatives to port developments, 2) port site selection, 3) port layout design, and 4) design of structures and materials. In applying the EPDH framework retrospectively to a case study of port expansion in Tema, Ghana, we establish that ecosystem considerations played only a limited role in identifying and evaluating alternatives at all four design levels in the case study, whereas more eco-friendly alternatives in terms of port layouts, structures, and materials are identified using the EPDH framework. This reveals that opportunities for ecosystem-friendly port designs may have been missed and demonstrates the need for and the potential added value of our framework. The framework can assist practitioners in earlier and wider identification of ecosystem-based alternatives for a port’s marine infrastructure in future seaport developments and, hence, represents an important step towards more sustainable port designs.

scholarly journals A Combined Approach for Model-Based PV Power Plant Failure Detection and Diagnostic

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1261
Author(s):  
Christopher Gradwohl ◽  
Vesna Dimitrievska ◽  
Federico Pittino ◽  
Wolfgang Muehleisen ◽  
András Montvay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Plants ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Failure Detection ◽  
Energy Yield ◽  
Combined Approach ◽  
Levelized Cost Of Electricity ◽  
Term Operation ◽  
Model Based

Photovoltaic (PV) technology allows large-scale investments in a renewable power-generating system at a competitive levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and with a low environmental impact. Large-scale PV installations operate in a highly competitive market environment where even small performance losses have a high impact on profit margins. Therefore, operation at maximum performance is the key for long-term profitability. This can be achieved by advanced performance monitoring and instant or gradual failure detection methodologies. We present in this paper a combined approach on model-based fault detection by means of physical and statistical models and failure diagnosis based on physics of failure. Both approaches contribute to optimized PV plant operation and maintenance based on typically available supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) data. The failure detection and diagnosis capabilities were demonstrated in a case study based on six years of SCADA data from a PV plant in Slovenia. In this case study, underperforming values of the inverters of the PV plant were reliably detected and possible root causes were identified. Our work has led us to conclude that the combined approach can contribute to an efficient and long-term operation of photovoltaic power plants with a maximum energy yield and can be applied to the monitoring of photovoltaic plants.

scholarly journals ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION BY WASTEWATER FROM BROWN COAL PROCESSING ¬ A REMEDIATION CASE STUDY IN GERMANY

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arndt Wiessner ◽  
Jochen A. Müller ◽  
Peter Kuschk ◽  
Uwe Kappelmeyer ◽  
Matthias Kästner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Pollution ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Pilot Scale ◽  
Wastewater Disposal ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approaches ◽  
Phenolic Wastewater ◽  
Term Monitoring

The large scale of the contamination by the former carbo-chemical industry in Germany requires new and often interdisciplinary approaches for performing an economically sustainable remediation. For example, a highly toxic and dark-colored phenolic wastewater from a lignite pyrolysis factory was filled into a former open-cast pit, forming a large wastewater disposal pond. This caused an extensive environmental pollution, calling for an ecologically and economically acceptable strategy for remediation. Laboratory-scale investigations and pilot-scale tests were carried out. The result was the development of a strategy for an implementation of full-scale enhanced in situ natural attenuation on the basis of separate habitats in a meromictic pond. Long-term monitoring of the chemical and biological dynamics of the pond demonstrates the metamorphosis of a former highly polluted industrial waste deposition into a nature-integrated ecosystem with reduced danger for the environment, and confirmed the strategy for the chosen remediation management.

Numerical Modelling of a District Scale Groundwater Heat Pump Operation: Case Study from Colchester, UK

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taha Sezer ◽  
Abubakar Kawuwa Sani ◽  
Rao Martand Singh ◽  
David P. Boon
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
District Level ◽  
Thermal Plume ◽  
Injection Wells ◽  
Term Operation ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Groundwater Heat Pump ◽  
The Impact

<p>Groundwater heat pumps (GWHP) are an environmentally friendly and highly efficient low carbon heating technology that can benefit from low-temperature groundwater sources lying in the shallow depths to provide heating and cooling to buildings. However, the utilisation of groundwater for heating and cooling, especially in large scale (district level), can create a thermal plume around injection wells. If a plume reaches the production well this may result in a decrease in the system performance or even failure in the long-term operation. This research aims to investigate the impact of GWHP usage in district-level heating by using a numerical approach and considering a GWHP system being constructed in Colchester, UK as a case study, which will be the largest GWHP system in the UK. Transient 3D simulations have been performed pre-construction to investigate the long-term effect of injecting water at 5°C, into a chalk bedrock aquifer. Modelling suggests a thermal plume develops but does not reach the production wells after 10 years of operation. The model result can be attributed to the low hydraulic gradient, assumed lack of interconnecting fractures, and large (>500m) spacing between the production and injection wells. Model validation may be possible after a period operational monitoring.</p>

scholarly journals Challenges in modelling isoprene and monoterpene emission dynamics of Arctic plants: a case study from a subarctic tundra heath

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 6651-6667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Tang ◽  
Guy Schurgers ◽  
Hanna Valolahti ◽  
Patrick Faubert ◽  
Päivi Tiiva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Response Curve ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Ecosystem Model ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Response Curves ◽  
Arctic Plants ◽  
Scale Modelling

Abstract. The Arctic is warming at twice the global average speed, and the warming-induced increases in biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) emissions from Arctic plants are expected to be drastic. The current global models' estimations of minimal BVOC emissions from the Arctic are based on very few observations and have been challenged increasingly by field data. This study applied a dynamic ecosystem model, LPJ-GUESS, as a platform to investigate short-term and long-term BVOC emission responses to Arctic climate warming. Field observations in a subarctic tundra heath with long-term (13-year) warming treatments were extensively used for parameterizing and evaluating BVOC-related processes (photosynthesis, emission responses to temperature and vegetation composition). We propose an adjusted temperature (T) response curve for Arctic plants with much stronger T sensitivity than the commonly used algorithms for large-scale modelling. The simulated emission responses to 2 °C warming between the adjusted and original T response curves were evaluated against the observed warming responses (WRs) at short-term scales. Moreover, the model responses to warming by 4 and 8 °C were also investigated as a sensitivity test. The model showed reasonable agreement to the observed vegetation CO2 fluxes in the main growing season as well as day-to-day variability of isoprene and monoterpene emissions. The observed relatively high WRs were better captured by the adjusted T response curve than by the common one. During 1999–2012, the modelled annual mean isoprene and monoterpene emissions were 20 and 8 mg C m−2 yr−1, with an increase by 55 and 57 % for 2 °C summertime warming, respectively. Warming by 4 and 8 °C for the same period further elevated isoprene emission for all years, but the impacts on monoterpene emissions levelled off during the last few years. At hour-day scale, the WRs seem to be strongly impacted by canopy air T, while at the day–year scale, the WRs are a combined effect of plant functional type (PFT) dynamics and instantaneous BVOC responses to warming. The identified challenges in estimating Arctic BVOC emissions are (1) correct leaf T estimation, (2) PFT parameterization accounting for plant emission features as well as physiological responses to warming, and (3) representation of long-term vegetation changes in the past and the future.

scholarly journals South Africa’s Community Work Programme: Local Peacebuilding Innovation Within a National Developmental Architecture

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-62
Author(s):  
Hugo van der Merwe ◽  
Malose Langa
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Public Employment ◽  
Local Ownership ◽  
Community Work ◽  
Employment Sector ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Work Programme ◽  
Local Safety

This article examines South Africa’s Community Work Programme (CWP) as a case study of an attempt to address two key dilemmas facing peacebuilding theory and practise: (a) balancing the need to address immediate and long-term causes of conflict and violence and (b) balancing the need for a large-scale systematic approach whilst creating space for local ownership and agency. Drawing on in-depth case studies of six CWP community interventions, it demonstrates how this national public employment sector programme has been shaped into a vehicle for peacebuilding by local actors. Whilst these initiatives still face resistance to local ownership and innovation, they demonstrate how local agency can integrate national developmental priorities with local safety and security priorities.

scholarly journals Engaging Adults Experiencing Homelessness in Smoking Cessation Through Large-Scale Community Service Events

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maya Vijayaraghavan ◽  
Dorie E. Apollonio
Keyword(s):  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Community Service ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Service Delivery Model ◽  
Smoking Cessation Counseling ◽  
Health Related

Cigarette smoking contributes substantially to the increased financial- and health-related burdens among adults experiencing homelessness. We describe findings from a case study of a model to increase access to cessation services among adults experiencing homelessness. In partnership with Project Homeless Connect (PHC), we piloted a unique service delivery model that involved providing brief cessation counseling and pharmacotherapy to smokers from this population attending large-scale service events in San Francisco, with the goal of connecting them to long-term smoking cessation care. We participated in three service events between October 2017 and March 2018. We offered brief smoking cessation counseling to 45 individuals, and smoking cessation counseling and pharmacotherapy to 7 individuals experiencing homelessness. This model could improve public health if expanded to other cities, particularly the 200 other cities in the United States offering PHC service events.

scholarly journals Numerical analysis of geogrid contribution to railway track reinforcement

2018 ◽  
Vol 211 ◽  
pp. 12006
Author(s):  
António Lanca ◽  
Zuzana Dimitrovová ◽  
Madalena Barroso ◽  
Simona Fontul
Keyword(s):  
Added Value ◽  
Railway Track ◽  
Railway Network ◽  
Vertical Displacements ◽  
Downward Propagation ◽  
Long Term Performance ◽  
Term Performance ◽  
Lateral Deformations

In this work, influence of geogrids on overall stabilization of railway tracks is studied numerically. It is expected that by geogrids implementation significant reduction in the downward propagation of stresses will be obtained, which consequently should assure more resilient long-term performance. In this first approach, however, only added value to the confinement level of the ballast layer is analysed, by evaluation of lateral deformations. A case study is related to a part of the Portuguese railway network. The track and the passing vehicle are modelled in commercial explicit dynamics software LS-DYNA. Firstly, the model is validated by comparison with experimental data. Then a fictitious scenario of the same track with a deteriorated region which is further rehabilitated by the geogrid placement is analysed. Different situations are compared in terms of lateral and vertical displacements at several levels, but for simplicity only rail deflections are shown here.

Femtocells for Public Safety Communications

2012 ◽  
pp. 215-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Mutafungwa ◽  
Zhong Zheng ◽  
Jyri Hämäläinen ◽  
Mika Husso ◽  
Matti Laitila
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Service ◽  
Public Safety ◽  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Underlying Network ◽  
Stringent Quality ◽  
Public Safety Communications

The increased adoption of rich multimedia solutions in public safety communications is enhancing information sharing for improved situational awareness as well as boosting operational efficiency. However, the aforementioned benefits also place increasingly stringent quality-of-service demands on the underlying network infrastructure. In this chapter, the authors review the added value of utilizing femtocells for various public safety communications scenarios. To that end, a detailed case study on the exploitation of femtocellular resources for emergency telemedicine applications is presented as an illustrative example. Simulations carried out for an Long Term Evolution (LTE) network environment demonstrate significant improvements in terms of achievable throughput for the emergency response personnel when access to subscriber-owned residential LTE Home eNode Bs available in the indoor emergency sites is allowed, compared to the conventional option of accessing only operator-owned macro eNode Bs.

scholarly journals Solar and wind energy enhances drought resilience and groundwater sustainability

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaogang He ◽  
Kairui Feng ◽  
Xiaoyuan Li ◽  
Amy B. Craft ◽  
Yoshihide Wada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Energy ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Groundwater Sustainability ◽  
Drought Resilience ◽  
Trade Offs

Abstract Water scarcity brings tremendous challenges to achieving sustainable development of water resources, food, and energy security, as these sectors are often in competition, especially during drought. Overcoming these challenges requires balancing trade-offs between sectors and improving resilience to drought impacts. An under-appreciated factor in managing the water-food-energy (WFE) nexus is the increased value of solar and wind energy (SWE). Here we develop a trade-off frontier framework to quantify the water sustainability value of SWE through a case study in California. We identify development pathways that optimize the economic value of water in competition for energy and food production while ensuring sustainable use of groundwater. Our results indicate that in the long term, SWE penetration creates beneficial feedback for the WFE nexus: SWE enhances drought resilience and benefits groundwater sustainability, and in turn, maintaining groundwater at a sustainable level increases the added value of SWE to energy and food production.

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