Chemical looping combustion for power generation—Concept study for a 10 MWth demonstration plant

A semi-commercial 10 MW_th chemical looping combustion (CLC) plant for power production is proposed as a next scale demonstration plant after successful operation of a 120 kW CLC pilot rig. The design criteria for the CLC boiler are derived from the experience obtained from the CLC pilot rig at Vienna University of Technology. The IPSEpro simulation environment is chosen for implementation of the process flow sheet of the CLC power plant. A single pressure steam cycle is suggested for this small scale demonstration plant. Heat exchangers and a five-stage steam turbine are arranged. Basic design parameters of the power plant are derived from detailed mass and energy investigations and discussed. It turns out that the net electric efficiency of such a small scale plant can be expected to be in the range of 32.5–35.8%. However, a demonstration of CLC at such a scale is necessary in order to gain confidence in more sophisticated CLC power generation concepts at larger scale.     

Influence of grain size on species-habitat models

High resolution remote sensing data facilitate the use of small-scale habitat features such as trees or hedges in the analysis of species-habitat relationships. Such data potentially enable more accurate species-habitat mapping than lower resolution data. Here, for the first time, we systematically investigated this hypothesis by altering the spatial resolution from 1 m up to 1000 m grain size in species-habitat models of 13 bird species. The study area covered the Nidda river catchment in central Germany, a large heterogeneous landscape of 1620 km². A high resolution habitat map of the area was converted to coarser spatial and thematic resolutions in seven steps. We investigated how model performance responded to grain size, and we compared the differential effects of spatial resolution and thematic resolution on model performance. Explained deviance (D²) of the bird models generally decreased with coarser spatial resolution of the data, although it did not decrease monotonically in all species. On average across all species, model D² decreased from 41.5 at 1 m grain size to 15.9 at 1000 m grain size. Ten species were best modelled at 1 m, two species at 3 m and one species at 32 m grain size. Model performance degraded continuously with increasing grain size, both in habitat generalist and habitat specialist bird species, and was systematically lower in habitat generalists. The higher model performance observed at finer grain sizes was most likely caused by the combination of three factors: (1) high spatial accuracy of bird records and (2) a more precise location and delineation of habitat features and, (3) to a lesser degree, by more habitat types differentiated in maps of finer resolution. We conclude that higher spatial and thematic resolution data can be essential for deriving accurate predictions on bird distribution patterns from species-habitat models. Especially for bird species that are sensitive to specific land-use types or to small-scaled habitat features, a grain size of 1-3 m seems most promising.     

The role of motorized boats in fishers’ productivity in marine protected versus non-protected areas in Davao Gulf,Philippines

Environment, Development and Sustainability - The Philippine fisheries sector continues to play a critical role in the livelihood of coastal households; however, the country’s fisheries...     

Detektorapparatur zur Messung von Überführungszahlen mit Hilfe von α- und schwachen β-Strahlern

The Science of Nature -     

STREAMFLOW CHARACTERISTICS OF SMALL WATERSHEDS IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON1

ABSTRACT: Streamflow data for water years 1978–84 were evaluated to identify streamflow characteristics for 13 small watersheds (0.46–7.00 mi²) in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon and to determine differences among grazing intensities and vegetation types. The ranges for mean annual water yields, peak flows, and 7-day low flows for the 13 watersheds were 5.5–28.1 inches, 2.0–34.7 cfsm, and 0.006–0.165 cfsm, respectively. Two classes of vegetation were evaluated: (1) western larch-Douglas-fir (nine watersheds) and (2) other (four watersheds representing fir-spruce, lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, and mountain meadow). The means for annual peak flows and the slopes of the flow.duration curve were significantly different (p=0.05) for the two vegetation classes; differences in mean annual water yield were marginallysignificant(0.05< p <0.10). After they were adjusted for precipitation, the means for annual water yield, peak flows, and slopes of the flow-duration curve were significantly different for the two vegetation classes; differences in the means for annual 7-day low flows were marginally significant. The western larch-Douglas-fir group had somewhat lower water yields but, overall, tended to have more favorable streamfiow characteristics including lower peak flows, higher low flows, and more evenly distributed flow regimes (flatter flow-duration curves) than the “other” class. Four levels of grazing intensity had no effect on streamilow characteristics.     

Effects of Altered Offshore Food Webs on Coastal Ecosystems Emphasize the Need for Cross-Ecosystem Management

By mainly targeting larger predatory fish, commercial fisheries have indirectly promoted rapid increases in densities of their prey; smaller predatory fish like sprat, stickleback and gobies. This process, known as mesopredator release, has effectively transformed many marine offshore basins into mesopredator-dominated ecosystems. In this article, we discuss recent indications of trophic cascades on the Atlantic and Baltic coasts of Sweden, where increased abundances of mesopredatory fish are linked to increased nearshore production and biomass of ephemeral algae. Based on synthesis of monitoring data, we suggest that offshore exploitation of larger predatory fish has contributed to the increase in mesopredator fish also along the coasts, with indirect negative effects on important benthic habitats and coastal water quality. The results emphasize the need to rebuild offshore and coastal populations of larger predatory fish to levels where they regain their control over lower trophic levels and important links between offshore and coastal systems are restored.     

Atmospheric pollutants in alpine peat bogs record a detailed chronology of industrial and agricultural development on the Australian continent

Two peat bogs from remote alpine sites in Australia were found to contain detailed and coherent histories of atmospheric metal pollution for Pb, Zn, Cu, Mo, Ag, As, Cd, Sb, Zn, In, Cr, Ni, Tl and V. Dramatic increases in metal deposition in the post-1850 AD portion of the cores coincide with the onset of mining in Australia. Using both Pb isotopes and metals, pollutants were ascribed to the main atmospheric pollution emitting sources in Australia, namely mining and smelting, coal combustion and agriculture. Results imply mining and metal production are the major source of atmospheric metal pollution, although coal combustion may account for up to 30% of metal pollutants. A novel finding of this study is the increase in the otherwise near-constant Y/Ho ratio after 1900 AD. We link this change to widespread and increased application of marine phosphate fertiliser in Australia's main agricultural area (the Murray Darling Basin).     

Omnivory and grazer functional composition moderate cascading trophic effects in experimental <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fucus vesiculosus</Emphasis> habitats

We tested the relative strength of direct versus indirect effects of an aquatic omnivore depending on the functional composition of grazers by manipulating the presence of gastropod and amphipod grazers and omnivorous shrimp in outdoor mesocosms. By selectively preying upon amphipods and reducing their abundance by 70–80%, omnivorous shrimp favoured the dominance of gastropods. While gastropods were the main microalgal grazers, amphipods controlled macroalgal biomass in the experiment. However, strong predation on the amphipod by the shrimp had no significant indirect effects on macroalgal biomass, indicating that when amphipod abundances declined, complementary feeding by the omnivore on macroalgae may have suppressed a trophic cascade. Accordingly, in the absence of amphipods, the shrimp grazed significantly on green algae and thereby suppressed the diversity of the macroalgal community. Our experiment demonstrates direct consumer effects by an omnivore on both the grazer and producer trophic levels in an aquatic food web, regulated by prey availability.