Regional variations in electricity demand elasticities: The situation in the Central United States

Within the sizable literature on electricity demand relatively little attention is given to regional variations in electricity demand elasticities. This paper investigates 39 electric utility companies having a total of 93 separate operating regions in order to assess the nature of regional electricity demand elasticity variations. Residential, commercial, and industrial demand functions are estimated for each operating region using a flow adjustment model of demand. The resulting electricity price, measure of economic activity, and natural gas price elasticities vary regionally, but not in a systematic manner. The demand elasticities found in each sector range from highly inelastic to highly elastic with the pattern of elasticity variations exhibiting few spatial trends or relationships. Comparisons between operating region results and more aggregated statewide results indicate that statewide and national analysis of electricity demand masks much regional detail — a result which has important implications for energy policy making.     

Comparison of the multimode surface wave response in structures with and without a low-velocity channel (Part II: dip-slip sources)

Summary A comparison is made between the multimode Rayleigh wave response to dip-slip fault-plane motion in earth models with and without a low-velocity channel in the upper mantle. In general, higher-mode amplitude spectra are useful for discriminating between the two types of structures.     

Geochronology and petrology of recent volcanics in the eastern Aegean Sea (West Anatolia and Lesvos Island)

During the lower and middle Miocene the western Anatolia and the eastern Aegean Sea were dominated by a calcalkaline volcanism associated with minor acid and basic volcanics. The basic subcrustal volcanics consist mainly of alkali basalts and hawaiites (9.7–11.9 m.y.), nepheline hawaiites and nepheline trachyandesites (Kula area from 1.1 m.y. to the recent times). The rhyolitic volcanics (12.5 m.y.) derived by a partial melting process in the upper crust (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.7121). The calcalkaline suite (16.2–21.5 m.y., mean value⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.708) shows a trend from latite-andesites to dacites and rhyodacites; a latite andesite system related to a sinking slab of lithosphere and constituted by a mixing of oceanic crust (tholeiite), oceanic sediments and/or tectonic fragments of sialic crust is envisaged.     

History of the Hungarian Holocene mollusc fauna

Based on phylogenetical, palaeoecological and biostratigraphical studies on the Holocene malacofauna of Hungarian medium high mountains and flatlands, four faunal periods could be recognised in the mountains, while three ones on the flat regions. They are defined by correlation (using anthracotomical, palynological, vertebrate palaeontological, archaeological and radiometric data, as well as by the Central European malacozones) as biozones of regional value.The mollusc fauna may be regarded as the main palaeoecological indicator for the Hungarian Quaternary, because it is generally abundant, in contrast to the vertebrate fauna. On the other hand, the Hungarian Quaternary fauna mostly consists of species still living in the area. The ecological demands of recent species are generally well known. Most of the ecological data about the Quaternary formations were yielded by the examination of the Hungarian mollusc fauna.The Quaternary mollusc fauna is not only suitable for palaeoecological reconstructions but it helps in the stratigraphical division of the sequences, as well, mainly due to Endre Krolopp's activity (Krolopp 1983). This study and investigations of Holocene molluscs enabled us to make an attempt (Füköh 1990) in describing the history of the last ten thousand years.     

Rock salt mass in the Paleoproterozoic sequence of the Onega trough in Karelia (from the Onega parametric well data)

A thick (200 m) rock salt mass covering Late Archean granitoids was exposed for the first time in the Early Proterozoic volcanogenic-sedimentary formations in the Onega trough of the east Baltic Shield by the Onega parametric well. The mineral composition of salts, their geochemical features, and the isotopic composition of carbonate carbon and oxygen have been studied. After fluid inclusions present in salts, their metamorphism temperature and isotopic composition of helium and argon were determined. The obtained results give evidence of the fact that rock salts and magnesites associated with them were formed in an evaporate basin with participation of deep crustal processes. The age of the underlying granitoids (2.716 ± 9 Ma) is determined using the Pb—Pb method.     

Jari: A pulp plantation in the Brazilian Amazon

Jari plantation is the largest pulp growing operation in the humid tropics, and occupies about 1000 sqkm previously covered by tropical forest. A study of five sites at Jari in 1980 indicated declining soil fertility, and low productivity of pulpwood. Low pulp production at Jari was caused by several factors, one of which appeared to be low soil fertility. The sams sites were re-evaluated in 1987. There was no discernable trend in either nutrients or productivity since 1980.Although productivity and nutrient stocks may have stabilized, low profitability caused by low pulp production resulted in the sale of Jari in 1982, for a $ 720 million loss. Despite growth rates at Jari which were too low to produce a profit on original investment, another plantation is planned for the eastern Amazon which is 10 times the size of Jari.     

The Role of Quasi-Transverse Propagation in Observed Polarization of Flare Loop Microwave Radiation

The ordinary mode of gyrosynchrotron radiation was identified to be predominant in some segments of flare loops in solar flares of July 19, 2012, and October 22, 2014. These events were studied by investigation of the quasi-transverse propagation effect on the observed polarization. The analysis involved reconstruction of the magnetic field topology at the linear force-free approximation based on the data of the SDO HMI space telescope and the subsequent simulation of radio emission of flare loops with the GX Simulator software package. The quasi-transverse propagation effect was established to be characteristic for both events, but its influence on the radio emission polarization at a frequency of 17 GHz was observed only in the October 22, 2014 flare.     

Über die Kohlenstoffaufnahme bei Algen aus der Rhodophyceen-Gattung

Aquatic Sciences - Experimentelle Untersuchungen haben erwiesen, dass zwei Arten der RhodophyceengattungBatrachospermum (B. moniliforme undB. Boryanum) ebenso wie die submersen Moosenicht...     

Carbon dioxide emission reduction quota allocation study on Chinese provinces based on two-stage Shapley information entropy model

Chinese central government made a commitment to achieve a 40–45% reduction in carbon dioxide (CO₂) per unit of GDP by 2020 compared with 2005. This targeted reduction was allocated averagely among all the provinces rather than individually according to different situations of each province. Though some research has been done regarding this rough allocation, two shortcomings in previous studies exist: Firstly, CO₂ marginal abatement cost (MAC) has been ignored as one of the CO₂ emission reduction allocation indexes. Secondly, either subjective or objective method has been used rather than comprehensively of both subjective and objective method to calculate the weight of each index in the previous studies. In order to fill the gaps, this paper builds a two-stage Shapley information entropy model to allocate CO₂ emission reduction quota among the Chinese provinces based on the equity and efficiency principles. Afterward, three CO₂ emission reduction quota allocation scenarios have been proposed. The results show that the CO₂ MAC is an indispensable index in CO₂ emission reduction quota allocation, because its value of CO₂ Shapley information entropy is the highest among five indexes. CO₂ emission reduction quota of lower-MAC provinces should be allocated larger, while the quota of higher-MAC provinces should be allocated smaller. Therefore, two suggested policies have been proposed: First, differential CO₂ emission reduction quota allocation should be proposed. Second, synergetic development should be promoted.     

Buchbesprechungen

Ohne Zusammenfassung