Impacts from decommissioning of hydroelectric dams: a life cycle perspective

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from hydroelectric dams are often portrayed as nonexistent by the hydropower industry and have been largely ignored in global comparisons of different sources of electricity. However, the life cycle assessment (LCA) of any hydroelectric plant shows that GHG emissions occur at different phases of the power plant’s life. This work examines the role of decommissioning hydroelectric dams in greenhouse gas emissions. Accumulated sediments in reservoirs contain noticeable levels of carbon, which may be released to the atmosphere upon decommissioning of the dam. The rate of sediment accumulation and the sediment volume for six of the ten largest United States hydroelectric power plants is surveyed. The amount of sediments and the respective carbon content at the moment of dam decommissioning (100 years after construction) was estimated. The released carbon is partitioned into CO₂ and CH₄ emissions and converted to CO₂ equivalent emissions using the global warming potential (GWP) method. The global warming effect (GWE) due to dam decommissioning is normalized to the total electricity produced over the lifetime of each power plant. The estimated GWE of the power plants range from 128–380 g of CO₂eq./kWh when 11% of the total available sediment organic carbon (SOC) is mineralized and between 35 and 104 g of CO₂eq./kWh when 3% of the total SOC is mineralized. Though these values are below emission factors for coal power plants (890 g of CO₂eq./kWh), the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the sediments upon dam decommissioning is a notable amount that should not be ignored and must be taken into account when considering construction and relicensing of hydroelectric dams.     

Climate simulations for 1880–2003 with GISS modelE

We carry out climate simulations for 1880–2003 with GISS modelE driven by ten measured or estimated climate forcings. An ensemble of climate model runs is carried out for each forcing acting individually and for all forcing mechanisms acting together. We compare side-by-side simulated climate change for each forcing, all forcings, observations, unforced variability among model ensemble members, and, if available, observed variability. Discrepancies between observations and simulations with all forcings are due to model deficiencies, inaccurate or incomplete forcings, and imperfect observations. Although there are notable discrepancies between model and observations, the fidelity is sufficient to encourage use of the model for simulations of future climate change. By using a fixed well-documented model and accurately defining the 1880–2003 forcings, we aim to provide a benchmark against which the effect of improvements in the model, climate forcings, and observations can be tested. Principal model deficiencies include unrealistically weak tropical El Nino-like variability and a poor distribution of sea ice, with too much sea ice in the Northern Hemisphere and too little in the Southern Hemisphere. Greatest uncertainties in the forcings are the temporal and spatial variations of anthropogenic aerosols and their indirect effects on clouds. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

On the determination of boundary-layer parameters using velocity profile as the sole information

This paper proposes a numerical technique based on the least-square error method for evaluating fluxes and other surface-layer parameters. The special feature of this method is that it requires no a-priori knowledge of either the temperature profile or the roughness length z ₀. The accuracy of the method has been tested on both the Kansas and the Wangara experimental data. Results obtained compared favourably with those from direct measurements as well as from other studies using conventional approaches.     

Oil pollution along coastal areas of Hong Kong

The level of total hydrocarbon in three chosen sites in Hong Kong was determined over a period of 8 months, September 1977 to April 1978. The range of hydrocarbon content is 3.67 ppb to 11.98 ppb. The level of hydrocarbon in Pacific Ocean is 0.016 ppb. The oil pollution in Hong Kong shoreline waters is 230–750 times higher than deep ocean water, but the level is not yet hazardous.     

Stromboli and its 1975 eruption

On November 4, 1975 in the evening, an eruption took place at Mt. Stromboli. On the following day lava flowed on the Sciara del Fuoco downward to the sea, accompanied by an intense explosive activity at the crater plane. Direct observations on the volcanic activity were carried out since November 6 while a seismic survey was made from Nov. 7 to 12. The total volume of the lava outpoured during this period of activity that lasted 21 days, was estimated to be about 10⁴ m³. This paper reports the results of direct observations, and of the petrological, radioactive disequilibria and seismic activity studies performed for this eruption. The eruption was preceded by an insignificant change of seismic activity, which was monitored by a seismic station located about 2 km East of the crater. A shallow seismicity was strietly related to crater explosions accompanying the eruptive phenomenon. Radioactive disequilibria showed a lack of disequilibrium between²²⁸Ra and²³²Th explainable in terms of a fast rising of magma in the conduit. Chemical analyses of lava samples and deep seismic sounding data indicate a correspondence between the depth (10–15 km) at which crystallization pressure of phenocrysts occurs and a low velocity laver.     

An analytical-empirical method for determining the roughness length and zero-plane displacement

A method based on the principle of the Method of Weighted Residuals for evaluating the roughness-length (z ₀) and zero-plane displacement (d) is presented. This method not only can minimize errors involved during the calculation process but can also smooth and re-distribute the already minimized error in a most favourable manner via using appropriate weighting functions. With the inclusion of d in addition to z ₀, formulae for wind and temperature profiles in the surface layer are presented by:% MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4baFfea0dXde9vqpa0lb9% cq0dXdb9IqFHe9FjuP0-iq0dXdbba9pe0lb9hs0dXda91qaq-xfr-x% fj-hmeGabaqaciGacaGaaeqabaWaaeaaeaaakeaacaWGvbGaeyypa0% ZaaSaaaeaacaWG1bWaaSbaaSqaaiaacQcaaeqaaaGcbaGaam4Aaaaa% daWadaqaaiGacYgacaGGUbWaaeWaaeaadaWcaaqaaiaadQhacqGHsi% slcaWGKbaabaGaamOEamaaBaaaleaacaaIWaaabeaaaaaakiaawIca% caGLPaaacqGHRaWkcqaHipqEaiaawUfacaGLDbaaaaa!43FC!\[U = \frac{{u_* }}{k}\left[ {\ln \left( {\frac{{z - d}}{{z_0 }}} \right) + \psi } \right]\]and% MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4baFfea0dXde9vqpa0lb9% cq0dXdb9IqFHe9FjuP0-iq0dXdbba9pe0lb9hs0dXda91qaq-xfr-x% fj-hmeGabaqaciGacaGaaeqabaWaaeaaeaaakeaacqaH4oqCcqGHsi% slcqaH4oqCdaWgaaWcbaGaaGimaaqabaGccqGH9aqpcqaH4oqCdaWa% daqaaiGacYgacaGGUbWaaeWaaeaadaWcaaqaaiaadQhacqGHsislca% WGKbaabaGaamOEamaaBaaaleaacaaIWaaabeaaaaaakiaawIcacaGL% PaaacqGHRaWkcqaHipqEdaWgaaWcbaacbmGaa8hvaaqabaaakiaawU% facaGLDbaaaaa!485A!\[\theta - \theta _0 = \theta \left[ {\ln \left( {\frac{{z - d}}{{z_0 }}} \right) + \psi _T } \right]\]where and _T are the integrated diabetic influence functions' for velocity and temperature profiles respectively.Analytical expressions for both and _T as functions of wind shear or, implicitly in terms of the Richardson number have been derived.Presented at the 10th Annual Congress of the Canadian Meteorological Society, Quebec City, Canada, May 26–28, 1976.     

Sulphidizing reactions in the flotation of oxidized copper minerals,I. Chemical factors in the sulphidization of copper oxide

The rate and extent of the heterogeneous reaction that takes place between dissolved sodium sulphide and synthetic tenorite is studied for a wide range of sodium sulphide to copper oxide ratios. Besides the sulphidization with the formation of a copper-sulphide layer, a substantial oxidation of sulphide ions takes place at the surface of the solid. The extent of both types of reactions is quantitized by combining specific analytical methods.The results are discussed in terms of possible mechanisms and of their implications in the sulphidization process applied in the flotation of oxidized copper ores.     

Sulphidizing reactions in the flotation of oxidized copper minerals,II. Role of the adsorption and oxidation of sodium sulphide in the flotation of chrysocolla and malachite

The rate of consumption of sulphide in the sulphidizing reactions of malachite and chrysocolla has been measured. The oxidation of sulphide ions at the surface of sulphidized chrysocolla was shown to take place. The influence of thiosulphate anions on the xanthate flotation of sulphidized malachite and chrysocolla was investigated and it was shown to depress the flotation of chrysocolla strongly.The result suggest, that the presence of thiosulphate as a product of simultaneous oxidation can be one of the reasons for the more difficult flotation of sulphidized chrysocolla.