Carbon costs and benefits of France’s biomass energy production targets

Background

Concern about climate change has motivated France to reduce its reliance on fossil fuel by setting targets for increased biomass-based renewable energy production. This study quantifies the carbon costs and benefits for the French forestry sector in meeting these targets. A forest growth and harvest simulator was developed for French forests using recent forest inventory data, and the wood-use chain was reconstructed from national wood product statistics. We then projected wood production, bioenergy production, and carbon balance for three realistic intensification scenarios and a business-as-usual scenario. These intensification scenarios targeted either overstocked, harvest-delayed or currently actively managed stands.

Results

All three intensification strategies produced 11.6–12.4 million tonnes of oil equivalent per year of wood-based energy by 2026, which corresponds to the target assigned to French wood-energy to meet the EU 2020 renewable energy target. Sustaining this level past 2026 will be challenging, let alone further increasing it. Although energy production targets can be reached, the management intensification required will degrade the near-term carbon balance of the forestry sector, compared to continuing present-day management. Even for the best-performing intensification strategy, i.e., reducing the harvest diameter of actively managed stands, the carbon benefits would only become apparent after 2040. The carbon balance of a strategy putting abandoned forests back into production would only break even by 2055; the carbon balance from increasing thinning in managed but untended stands would not break even within the studied time periods, i.e. 2015–2045 and 2046–2100. Owing to the temporal dynamics in the components of the carbon balance, i.e., the biomass stock in the forest, the carbon stock in wood products, and substitution benefits, the merit order of the examined strategies varies over time.

Conclusions

No single solution was found to improve the carbon balance of the forestry sector by 2040 in a way that also met energy targets. We therefore searched for the intensification scenario that produces energy at the lowest carbon cost. Reducing rotation time of actively managed stands is slightly more efficient than targeting harvest-delayed stands, but in both cases, each unit of energy produced has a carbon cost that only turns into a benefit between 2060 and 2080.

     

Fishery-induced Inter-annual Changes in the Mean Trophic Level,the Northern Sea of Oman off the Iranian Coast, 2002–2011

Ecosystem-based management is one of the most important approaches that may lead to reducing the impacts of fishing on ecosystems. In this context, we have assessed the impact of Iranian coastal fishing (using landing data of 49 exploited species) on the ecosystem of the North Sea of Oman (Sistan and Baluchestan Province), during the last decade (2002–2011), with emphasis on testing the occurrence of the “fishing down? phenomenon. The Mean Trophic Level (MTL) and Fishing-in-Balance (FiB) index are two indicators that we used for analysis. The data indicated that the increased total landings in this region might be related to the exploitation of marine fishery resources especially with regard to large pelagic fish. Over the past decade, moderate decreasing trends in MTL and an increasing trend in the FiB-index were observed. In this regard, an upward trend in the spatial expansion factor and also a downward trend in the piscivory index and in Primary Production Required (PPR) in the time period could all indicate a spatial expansion toward deep waters, the catching of the large pelagic piscivorous species, such as tuna, and a sign of fishing pressures on the ecosystem. The results suggest a range of fishery exploitation patterns throughout the food web but it seems that these patterns are not a consequence of ?fishing down?. We suggest that the monitoring research be continued in this region and these indicators should be used to make fisheries management decisions and to prevent the continuance of this trend in future.     

垃圾夯扩短桩在邯郸市的工程实践

本文阐述垃圾夯扩短桩在邯郸新近堆积软土场地上的工程尝试,分析了其加固地基的机理,结合工程实例论述了夯扩短桩在邯郸的适用性及其推广应用前景     

LA CHINE EST-ELLE PLACEE ENTRE DEUX GRANDES FRACTURES DE LA CROUTE TERRESTRE ?

Hest bien clair que toute reponse a cette question, sera du plus haut interet pour les geologues de la Chine, vu que les resultats de la geodesie semblent bien indiquer que la croute terrestre est divisee en plusieurs blocs independants, juxtaposes et equilibres isostatiquement.     

An Example of Island-Arc Petrogenesis: Geochemistry and Petrology of the Southern Luzon Arc, Philippines

Volcanism throughout the Luzon arc is associated with eastwardsubduction of the South China Sea floor along the Manila Trench.The southern section of the arc, the focus of this study, extendsfrom the Lingayen-Dingalan fault to the small islands just southof Luzon. Two segments appear to exist along this section ofthe arc the northern Bataan and southern Mindoro segments whichare separated by the Macolod Corridor. The volcanic rocks have typical arc phenocryst mineralogies:olivine, clinopyroxene, plagioclase, and titanomagnetite inthe most mafic rocks and clinopyroxene, plagioclase, orthopyroxene,titanomagnetite, ? amphibole in the more felsic samples. Complexzoning, sieve textures, and decoupling of incompatible traceelements suggest that processes such as assimilation have takenplace. The rocks from the study area range from basalts to rhyolitesand show typical calc-alkaline features. The rocks of the MacolodCorridor and Mindoro segment are particularly enriched in largeion lithophile elements (LILE), light rare earth elements (LREE),and radiogenic Sr compared with the Bataan segment. The datafall within the mantle array on Sr-Nd isotopic diagrams andgrade toward higher Sr and lower Nd isotopic values from northto south. A likely source for the volcanics of this study is either amid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-type mantle that undergoes higherdegrees of partial melting than regions involved in MORB generationor a previously depleted source. We suggest that the high fieldstrength element (HFSE) anomalies have been derived throughdifferential element partitioning during fluid transport fromthe subducted lithosphere to the mantle wedge. Continental crustal material seems to play a significant roleparticularly in the Macolod Corridor and the Mindoro segment,based on the high LILE, La/Sm ratios, radiogenic Sr isotopes,and ¹⁸O values. The Macolod Corridor and the Mindoro segmenthave undergone source contamination by crustal material fromthe North Palawan-Mindoro crustal block either during the collisionof this block with the Manila Trench or by subduction of sedimentsrich in this crustal material. A similar component has alsobeen detected in the Bataan segment but in minor amounts. Thetrace element and isotopic differences between the northernand southern sections of the arc are interpreted in terms ofvariable composition (i. e., variable amounts of a crustal componentintroduced from the Palawan-Mindoro crustal terrain) of themetasomatic fluids released into the source.     

低氟与大骨节病－－大骨节病防治拾趣四则

该文笔者多年研究大骨节病原始原因的一项新说。即病区外环境低氟。引起体内以低氟为中心的代谢紊乱，从而导致以骨骼系统为主的病变－大骨节病。防治该病，应向体外补氟。药疗这一进补方式故然必然，但最有效又生活化的办法是食疗。食疗又分氟盐防治和饮茶防治两种。而最适用且简便的方法是提倡患区人群适度饮茶，并且应从儿时做起。关于补氟和饮茶等防治大骨节病的实践，笔者已浓缩于下面四则拾趣之中……。     

Composition and origin of organic matter in surface sediments of Lake Sarbsko: A highly eutrophic and shallow coastal lake (northern Poland)

We present an organic geochemical study of surface sediments of Lake Sarbsko, a shallow coastal lake on the middle Polish Baltic coast. The aim was to provide evidence concerning the origin of the organic matter (OM) and its compositional diversity in surface deposits of this very productive, highly dynamic water body. The content and composition of the OM in the bottom sediments were investigated at 11 sampling stations throughout the lake basin. OM sources were assigned on the basis of bulk indicators [total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), δ¹³C_TOC and δ¹⁵N and extractable OM yield], biomarker composition of extractable OM and compound-specific C isotope signatures. The source characterization of autochthonous compounds was verified via phytoplankton analysis. The distribution of gaseous hydrocarbons in the sediments, as well as temporal changes in lake water pH, the concentration of DIC (dissolved inorganic carbon) and δ¹³C_DIC were used to trace OM decomposition.The sedimentary OM is composed mainly of well preserved phytoplankton compounds and shows minor spatial variability in composition. However, the presence of CH₄ and CO₂ in the bottom deposits provides evidence for microbial degradation of sedimentary OM. The transformation of organic compounds in surface, bottom and pore waters via oxidative processes influences carbonate equilibrium in the lake and seasonally favours precipitation or dissolution of CaCO₃.The data enhance our understanding of the relationships between the composition of sedimentary OM and environmental conditions within coastal ecosystems and shed light on the reliability of OM proxies for environmental reconstruction of coastal lakes.     

Oxyphlogopite K(Mg,Ti,Fe)3[(Si,Al)4O10](O,F)2: A new mineral species of the mica group

Oxyphlogopite is a new mica-group mineral with the idealized formula K(Mg,Ti,Fe)₃[(Si,Al)₄O₁₀](O,F)₂. The holotype material came from a basalt quarry at Mount Rothenberg near Mendig at the Eifel volcanic complex in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The mineral occurs as crystals up to 4 × 4 × 0.2 mm in size encrusting cavity walls in alkali basalt. The associated minerals are nepheline, plagioclase, sanidine, augite, diopside, and magnetite. Its color is dark brown, its streak is brown, and its luster is vitreous. D _meas = 3.06(1) g/cm³ (flotation in heavy liquids), and D _calc = 3.086 g/cm³. The IR spectrun does not contain bands of OH groups. Oxyphlogopite is biaxial (negative); α = 1.625(3), β = 1.668(1), and γ = 1.669(1); and 2V _meas = 16(2)° and 2V _calc = 17°. The dispersion is strong; r < ν. The pleochroism is medium; X > Y > Z (brown to dark brown). The chemical composition is as follows (electron microprobe, mean of 5 point analyses, wt %; the ranges are given in parentheses; the H₂O was determined using the Alimarin method; the Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ was determined with X-ray emission spectroscopy): Na₂O 0.99 (0.89–1.12), K₂O 7.52 (7.44–7.58), MgO 14.65 (14.48–14.80), CaO 0.27 ((0.17–0.51), FeO 4.73, Fe₂O₃ 7.25 (the range of the total iron in the form of FeO is 11.09–11.38), Al₂O₃ 14.32 (14.06–14.64), Cr₂O₃ 0.60 (0.45–0.69), SiO₂ 34.41 (34.03–34.66), TiO₂ 12.93 (12.69–13.13), F 3.06 (2.59–3.44), H₂O 0.14; O=F₂ −1.29; 99/58 in total. The empirical formula is (K_0.72Na_0.14Ca_0.02)(Mg_1.64Ti_0.73Fe_0.30²⁺ Fe_0.27³⁺Cr_0.04)_Σ2.98(Si_2.59Al_1.27Fe_0.14³⁺ O₁₀) O_1.20F_0.73(OH)_0.07. The crystal structure was refined on a single crystal. Oxyphlogopite is monoclinic with space group C2/m; the unit-cell parameters are as follows: a = 5.3165(1), b = 9.2000(2), c = 10.0602(2) ?, β = 100.354(2)°. The presence of Ti results in the strong distortion of octahedron M(2). The strongest lines of the X-ray powder diffraction pattern [d, ? (I, %) [hkl]] are as follows: 9.91(32) [001], 4.53(11) 110], 3.300(100) [003], 3.090(12) [112], 1.895(21) [005], 1.659(12) [−135], 1.527(16) [−206, 060]. The type specimens of oxyphlogopite are deposited at the Fersman Mineralogical Museum in Moscow, Russia; the registration numbers are 3884/2 (holotype) and 3884/1 (cotype).     

小型氰化厂的技术管理

本文简述了小型氰化厂的技术管理方法和实际操作过程,应用该方法提高选矿厂的生产技术指标和经济效益。     

Micro- and nano-textural evidence of Ti(–Ca–Fe) mobility during fluid–rock interactions in carbonaceous lawsonite-bearing rocks from New Zealand

Understanding the mobility of chemical elements during fluid–rock interactions is critical to assess the geochemical evolution of a rock undergoing burial and metamorphism and, more generally, to constrain the geochemical budget of the subduction factory. In particular, determining the behavior and mobility of Ti in aqueous fluids constitutes a great challenge that is still under scrutiny. Here, we study plant fossils preserved in blueschist metasedimentary rocks from the Marybank Formation (New Zealand). Using scanning and transmission electron microscopies (SEM and TEM), we show that the carbonaceous material (CM) composing the fossils contains abundant nano-inclusions of Ti- and Fe-oxides. These nanocrystals are mainly anatase, rutile, and Fe–Ti oxides. The mineral composition observed within the fossils is significantly different from that detected in the surrounding rock matrix. We propose that Ti and Fe might have been mobilized by the alteration of a detrital Ti–Fe-rich protolith during an early diagenetic event under acidic and reducing conditions. Aqueous fluids rich in organic ligands released by the degradation of organic matter may have been involved. Moreover, using mass balance and petrological observations, we show that the contrasted mineralogy between the rock matrix and the fossil CM might be the consequence of the chemical isolation of fossil CM during the prograde path of the rock. Such an isolation results from the early formation of quartz and Fe-rich phyllosilicate layers enclosing the fossil as characterized by SEM and TEM investigations. Overall, this study shows that investigating minerals associated with CM down to the nanometer scale in metamorphic rocks can provide a precious record of early prograde geochemical conditions.