A Review of the Main Driving Factors of Forest Fire Ignition Over Europe

Knowledge of the causes of forest fires, and of the main driving factors of ignition, is an indispensable step towards effective fire prevention policies. This study analyses the factors driving forest fire ignition in the Mediterranean region including the most common human and environmental factors used for modelling in the European context. Fire ignition factors are compared to spatial and temporal variations of fire occurrence in the region, then are compared to results obtained in other areas of the world, with a special focus on North America (US and Canada) where a significant number of studies has been carried out on this topic. The causes of forest fires are varied and their distribution differs among countries, but may also differ spatially and temporally within the same country. In Europe, and especially in the Mediterranean basin, fires are mostly human-caused mainly due arson. The distance to transport networks and the distance to urban or recreation areas are among the most frequently used human factors in modelling exercises and the Wildland-Urban Interface is increasingly taken into account in the modelling of fire occurrence. Depending on the socio-economic context of the region concerned, factors such as the unemployment rate or variables linked to agricultural activity can explain the ignition of intentional and unintentional fires. Regarding environmental factors, those related to weather, fuel and topography are the most significant drivers of ignition of forest fires, especially in Mediterranean-type regions. For both human and lightning-caused fires, there is a geographical gradient of fire ignition, mainly due to variations in climate and fuel composition but also to population density for instance. The timing of fires depends on their causes. In populated areas, the timing of human-caused fires is closely linked to human activities and peaks in the afternoon whereas, in remote areas, the timing of lightning-caused fires is more linked to weather conditions and the season, with most such fires occurring in summer.     

Turbulent structures of buoyant jet in cross-flow studied through large-eddy simulation

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - In the present paper we study buoyant (plume) and non-buoyant (jet) fluid injection in a neutrally stratified uniform cross-flow. Both cases are of practical...     

基于DESYRE模型的污染场地修复决策研究

利用DESYRE模型对中国北方某污染场地的修复问题进行研究,在综合分析场地的污染物分布状况、污染物毒理性质和暴露途径的基础上,确定了污染物在不同土地使用方式下的风险等级分布;利用已有的修复技术数据库,筛选出较好的修复技术,并对修复效果进行模拟,提供修复技术选择和场地使用方案制定的依据。结果表明,该场地的最佳用地方式为居住用地或娱乐用地,清挖/处理技术与土壤固化/稳定技术（异位）配合应用修复效果较好。DESYRE模型应用结果较为理想,可以对该模型做进一步改进,使之更符合中国的实际情况。     

It's Good to Talk! Environmental Information and the Greening of Industry

This paper focuses on one aspect of industry's contribution to safeguarding the environment: the use and production of environmental information. Access to such information is an important part of the government strategy for promoting shared responsibility for the environment. The objective of the paper is to assess how far public regulation, private regulation and self regulation provide an incentive to industry to use and produce environmental information.