Indoor Air Quality Monitoring Improving Air Quality Perception

Energy‐efficient ventilation strategies relating to good indoor air quality (IAQ) are a major task for building performance according to the requirements set by the energy performance of buildings directive (EPBD) in 2010. Applying demand‐controlled ventilation (DCV) in buildings, using sensors for IAQ control that enables variable airflow rates adapted to the actual indoor load conditions is one possibility to fulfill the requirements of adequate IAQ while reducing the energy consumption at the same time. CO₂ concentrations above outdoors are generally used as an indicator for occupancy generated indoor air pollution and corresponding ventilation rates. The objective of this study is focused on a micromachined metal oxide semiconductor gas sensor module developed for IAQ control, based on volatile organic compound (VOC) detection. The sensor output was correlated with measured CO₂ concentrations and quantified VOCs in 15 field scenarios. Energy demand and IAQ, applying the sensor module for DCV in an office, were compared to natural and time‐scheduled ventilation in the office. The study accentuates the need for DCV and proves the functionality of the sensor module for IAQ control at adequate comfort levels. Compared to time‐scheduled ventilation, 15% heating energy and 70% power consumption were saved with DCV.     

Mantle–crust interactions during Variscan subduction in the Eastern Alps (Nonsberg–Ulten zone): geochronology and new petrological constraints

We have analyzed the Sm–Nd and Rb–Sr whole-rock and mineral isotope systematics of garnet peridotites and associated eclogites and migmatitic gneisses from the Nonsberg–Ulten zone of the Eastern Alps. The garnet peridotites include coarse-grained varieties, characterized by well-preserved to slightly modified mantle geochemical signatures, and finer-grained varieties enriched in amphibole and LILE. Hydration of some of the most strongly deformed, fine-grained peridotites by crustal fluids caused isotopic disequilibrium between the peridotite minerals, preventing accurate age determinations. The coarse-grained peridotites, the eclogites and the country migmatitic gneisses yield garnet–whole-rock and garnet–clinopyroxene Sm–Nd ages that indicate for all rock types an isotopic homogenization event at ca. 330 Ma. The similar ages suggest that all rock types shared a common history since the incorporation of the peridotites in the crust, and constrain the garnet-facies metamorphism of the peridotites, as well as partial melting of the crust, to an episode of crustal subduction at the end of the Variscan orogenic cycle.     

Diffusion of Li in olivine. Part I: Experimental observations and a multi species diffusion model

There are an increasing number of studies that focus on the systematics of the distribution of Li and its isotopes among different geochemical reservoirs. These studies have found that Li is relatively mobile compared to many other elements (e.g., Fe, Mg), and diffusion has been considered as a mechanism to generate large isotopic fractionations even at high temperatures. In order to quantify some of these aspects, we have measured Li diffusion rates experimentally along [0 0 1] of single crystals of olivines from San Carlos, Arizona and Pakistan, at 800-1200 °C at a total pressure of 100 kPa and fO₂ ≈ WM buffer. A complex diffusion behavior of Li is observed, indicating that two mechanisms of diffusion (a fast and a slower one) operate simultaneously. The behavior is well described by a model that partitions Li between two different sites in olivine - an octahedral site (Li_Me) and an interstitial site (Li_i). Transport of Li is a combination of hopping within and between each of these kinds of sites involving also vacancies on the octahedral site (V_Me). It is assumed that the homogeneous reaction (Li_Me = V_Me + Li_i) that maintains equilibrium distribution of Li between the sites is instantaneous compared to the timescales of all other processes associated with diffusive transport. One consequence of this mode of transport of Li in olivine is that the shape and length of diffusion profiles depend on the boundary conditions imposed at the surface of a crystal; i.e., the chemical environment (e.g., fO₂, aLi₄SiO₄), in addition to temperature and pressure. Our model describes the variable experimentally determined Li-profile shapes produced at different temperatures and with different boundary conditions, as well as their time evolution, quantitatively. Modeling the observed isotopic fractionation shows that ⁶Li diffuses about 5% faster than ⁷Li on the interstitial site. Inspection of published data on Li distribution in natural olivines that are available until now indicates that the fast (interstitial) mechanism of Li diffusion is unlikely to be dominant in most natural systems; Li rich, oxidizing environments (e.g., fluids?) may be exceptions. However, when it operates it can decouple the equilibration of Li isotopic gradients from the time scale of equilibration of overall Li concentrations. Diffusion dominated by the slower mechanism will occur on the average at a rate that is about an order of magnitude faster than diffusion of Fe, Mg and most other divalent cations in olivine; such diffusion of Li in olivine will be much slower than the rates of diffusion in clinopyroxene and plagioclase crystals at the same conditions. Fractionation of isotopes of Li by diffusion is likely to be a transient phenomenon and is more likely to be observed in crystals showing zoning of Li concentrations.     

Transport of particulate organic carbon by the Mississippi River and its fate in the Gulf of Mexico

This study was designed to determine the amount of particulate organic carbon (POC) introduced to the Gulf of Mexico by the Mississippi River and assess the influence of POC inputs on the development of hypoxia and burial of organic carbon on the Louisiana continental shelf. Samples of suspended sediment and supporting hydrographic data were collected from the river and >50 sites on the adjacent shelf. Suspended particles collected in the river averaged 1.8±0.3% organic carbon. Because of this uniformity, POC values (in μmol l^?1) correlated well with concentrations of total suspended matter. Net transport of total organic carbon by the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River system averaged 0.48×10¹² moles y^?1 with 66% of the total organic carbon carried as POC. Concentrations of POC decreased from as high as 600 μmol l^?1 in the river to <0.8 μmol l^?1 in offshore waters. In contrast, the organic carbon fraction of the suspended matter increased from <2% of the total mass in the river to >35% along the shelf at ≥10 km from the river mouth. River flow was a dominant factor in controlling particle and POC distributions; however, time-series data showed that tides and weather fronts can influence particle movement and POC concentrations. Values for apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) increased from ～60 μmol l^?1 to >200 μmol l^?1 along the shelf on approach to the region of chronic hypoxia. Short-term increases in AOU were related to transport of more particle-rich waters. Sediments buried on the shelf contained less organic carbon than incoming river particles. Orgamic carbon and δ¹³C values for shelf sediments indicated 3 that large amounts of both terrigenous and marine organic carbon are being decomposed in shelf waters and sediments to fuel observed hypoxia.     

Support Vector Machines for Landslide Susceptibility Mapping: The Staffora River Basin Case Study, Italy

The aim of this study is the application of support vector machines (SVM) to landslide susceptibility mapping. SVM are a set of machine learning methods in which model capacity matches data complexity. The research is based on a conceptual framework targeted to apply and test all the procedural steps for landslide susceptibility modeling from model selection, to investigation of predictive variables, from empirical cross-validation of results, to analysis of predicted patterns. SVM were successfully applied and the final susceptibility map was interpreted via success and prediction rate curves and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, to support the modeling results and assess the robustness of the model. SVM appeared to be very specific learners, able to discriminate between the informative input and random noise. About 78% of occurrences was identified within the 20% of the most susceptible study area for the cross-validation set. Then the final susceptibility map was compared with other maps, addressed by different statistical approaches, commonly used in susceptibility mapping, such as logistic regression, linear discriminant analysis, and naive Bayes classifier. The SVM procedure was found feasible and able to outperform other techniques in terms of accuracy and generalization capacity. The over-performance of SVM against the other techniques was around 18% for the cross-validation set, considering the 20% of the most susceptible area. Moreover, by analyzing receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, SVM appeared to be less prone to false positives than the other models. The study was applied in the Staffora river basin (Lombardy, Northern Italy), an area of about 275 km² characterized by a very high density of landslides, mainly superficial slope failures triggered by intense rainfall events.