Free allocation in the 3rd EU ETS period: assessing two manufacturing sectors

This article provides an analysis of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and the harmonized benchmark-based allocation procedures by comparing two energy-intensive sectors with activities in three Member States. These sectors include the cement industry (CEI) and the pulp and paper industry (PPI) in the UK, Sweden, and France. Our results show that the new procedures are better suited for the more homogeneous CEI, in which the outcome of stricter allocation of emissions allowances is consistent between Member States. For the more heterogeneous PPI – in terms of its product portfolios, technical infrastructures, and fuel mixes – the allocation procedures lead to diverse outcomes. It is the lack of product benchmark curves, and the alternative use of benchmark values that are biased towards a fossil fuel-mix and are based on specific energy use rather than emission intensity, which leads to allocations to the PPI that do not represent the average performance of the top 10% of GHG-efficient installations. Another matter is that grandfathering is still present via the historically based production volumes. How to deal with structural change and provisions regarding capacity reductions and partial cessation is an issue that is highly relevant for the PPI but less so for the CEI.

Policy relevance

After an unprecedented amount of consultation with industrial associations and other stakeholders, a harmonized benchmark-based allocation methodology was introduced in the third trading period of the EU ETS. Establishing a reliable and robust benchmark methodology for free allocation that shields against high direct carbon costs, is perceived as fair and politically acceptable, and still incentivizes firms to take action, is a significant challenge. This article contributes to a deeper understanding of the challenges in effectively applying harmonized rules in industrial sectors that are heterogeneous. This is essential for the debate on structural reformation of the EU ETS, and for sharing experiences with other emerging emissions trading systems in the world that also consider benchmark methodologies.     

Classification of seismic signals at Villarrica volcano (Chile) using neural networks and genetic algorithms

Each volcano has its own unique seismic activity. The aim of this work is to construct a system able to classify seismic signals for the Villarrica volcano, one of the most active volcanoes in South America. Since seismic signals are the result of particular processes inside the volcano's structure, they can be used to forecast volcanic activity. This paper describes the different kinds of seismic signals recorded at the Villarrica volcano and their significance. Three kind of signals were considered as most representative of this volcano's activity: the long-period, the tremor, and the energetic tremor signals. A classifier is implemented to read the seismic registers at 30-second intervals, extract the most relevant features of each interval, and classify them into one of the three kinds of signals considered as most representative of this particular volcano. To do so, 1033 different kinds of 30-s signals were extracted and classified by a human expert. A feature extraction process was applied to obtain the main characteristics of each of them. This process was developed using criteria which have been shown by others to effectively classify seismic signals, based on the experience of a human expert. The classifier was implemented with a Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) artificial neural network whose architecture and training process were optimized by means of a genetic algorithm. This technique searched for the most adequate MLP configuration to improve the classification performance, optimizing the number of hidden neurons, the transfer functions of the neurons, and the training algorithm. The optimization process also performed a feature selection to reduce the number of signal features, optimizing the number of network inputs. The results show that the optimized classifier reaches more than 93% exactitude. identifying the signals of each kind. The amplitude of the signals is the most important feature for its classification, followed by its frequency content. The described methodology can be used to classify more seismic signals to improve the study of the activity of this volcano or to extend the study to other active volcanoes of the region.     

Amphibole composition in tonalite as a function of pressure: an experimental calibration of the Al-in-hornblende barometer

The Al-in-hornblende barometer, which correlates Al^tot content of magmatic hornblende linearly with crystallization pressure of intrusion (Hammarstrom and Zen 1986), has been calibrated experimentally under water-saturated conditions at pressures of 2.5–13 kbar and temperatures of 700–655°C. Equilibration of the assemblage hornlende-biotite-plagioclase-orthoclasequartz-sphene-Fe-Ti-oxide-melt-vapor from a natural tonalite 15–20° above its wet solidus results in hornblende compositions which can be fit by the equation: P(±0.6 kbar) = –3.01 + 4.76 Al _hbl ^tot r ²=0.99, where Al^tot is the total Al content of hornblende in atoms per formula unit (apfu). Al^tot increase with pressure can be ascribed mainly to a tschermak-exchange ( ) accompanied by minor plagioclase-substitution ( ). This experimental calibration agrees well with empirical field calibrations, wherein pressures are estimated by contact-aureole barometry, confirming that contact-aureole pressures and pressures calculated by the Al-in-hornblende barometer are essentially identical. This calibration is also consistent with the previous experimental calibration by Johnson and Rutherford (1989b) which was accomplished at higher temperatures, stabilizing the required buffer assemblage by use of mixed H₂O-CO₂ fluids. The latter calibration yields higher Al^tot content in hornblendes at corresponding pressures, this can be ascribed to increased edenite-exchange ( ) at elevated temperatures. The comparison of both experimental calibrations shows the important influence of the fluid composition, which affects the solidus temperature, on equilibration of hornblende in the buffering phase assemblage.     

Most likely locations of large earthquakes in the Kanto and Tokai areas, Japan, based on the local recurrence times

We examined the hypothesis that minima in local recurrence time, T_L, or equivalently maxima in local probability, P_L, may map asperities in the Kanto and Tokai areas of Japan, where the earthquake catalog of the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED) is complete at the M=1.5 (M1.5) level. We mapped T_L (P_L) based on the a- and b-values of the nearest earthquakes within 20 km of every node of a grid spaced 0.01° for M7 target events. Only earthquakes within the top 33 km were used. The b-values increase strongly with depth, in several areas. Therefore, some of the T_L (P_L) anomalies are not revealed if data from the entire crustal seismogenic zone are mixed. Thus, we mapped T_L (P_L) separately for the top 15 km and the rest of the depth range, as well as for the entire seismogenic crust. The resulting T_L- and P_L-maps show that approximately 12% of the total area shows anomalously short recurrence times. Out of six shallow target events with M≥6.5 and which occurred since 1890, five are located within the anomalous areas with T_L <450 years. We interpret this to mean that areas with anomalously short T_L map asperities, which are more likely than other areas to generate future target events. The probability that this result is due to chance is vanishingly small. The great Kanto rupture of 1923 appears to have initiated in the most significant asperity we mapped in the study area. One anomaly is located in the northeastern part of the area of the proposed future rupture of the Tokai earthquake, and another one at its southwestern corner. The absolute values of T_L calculated are uncertain because they depend on the size of the volume used for the calculation.     

Geochemistry and origins of the annagh division of the precambrian erris complex,N.W. county Mayo,Ireland

A geochemical study of 29 acid gneisses from the Annagh Division of the Erris Complex has shown that all lithologies are chemically distinct and that further distinction can be made between different areas. The acid and intermediate gneisses, which in the field have been regarded as orthogneisses associated with widespread metasomatism, have orthogneiss chemistry and show the effects of considerable local metasomatism. Isotopic age dating records that the latest major pre-Caledonian event in the Annagh Gneiss is of Grenvillian age. The Annagh Division gneiss differs chemically from Laxford gneiss but is similar to reworked Lewisian inliers seen in the N.W. Highlands of Scotland.All analysed basic rocks fall into three categories: early basic and ultrabasic pods and metadolerite dykes. All originated as minor intrusives of tholeiitic affinities.     

Zur Approximation von Laufzeitfunktionen aus diskreten Messwerten mit abgebrochenen Potenzreihen

Zusammenfassung Es wird eine Approximation von Laufzeitfunktionen aus diskreten Messwerten mit abgebrochenen Potenzreihen behandelt. Zur bequemen Anwendung werden Tabellen berechnet. Der Beitrag schliesst mit einem Beispiel aus der Praxis.

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Summary An approximation to travel-time functions by restriced power series is treated. For numerical computations convenient tables are calculated and an example is given.

     

III. Bücher- und Zeitschriftenschau

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Zur Morphologie von Westgriqualand (Südafrika)

Ohne Zusammenfassung