Do emissions and income have a common trend? A country-specific,time-series,global analysis, 1970–2008

This paper analyzes the relation between income and emissions in the period 1970–2008, for all world countries. We consider time-series of CO₂, SO₂ and GWP100, and use Vector Autoregressive models that allow for nonstationarity and cointegration. At 5 % significance level, income and emissions are found to be driven by unrelated random walks with drift (respectively by a common random walk with drift) in about 70 % (respectively 25 %) of cases; in the remaining cases the variables are trend-stationary. Tests of Granger-causality show evidence of both directions of causality. For the case of unrelated stochastic trends, we almost never find income driving emissions, as predicted by a consumption-function interpretation. These causality results and the absence of a common trend challenge the main implications of the Environmental Kuznets Curve, namely that the dominant direction of causality should be from income to emissions, and that for increasing levels of income, emissions should tend to decrease.     

Invasive crayfish as drivers of fine sediment dynamics in rivers: field and laboratory evidence

Despite increasing recognition of the potential of aquatic biota to act as ‘geomorphic agents’, key knowledge gaps exist in relation to biotic drivers of fine sediment dynamics at microscales and particularly the role of invasive species. This study explores the impacts of invasive signal crayfish on suspended sediment dynamics at the patch scale through laboratory and field study. Three hypotheses are presented and tested: (1) that signal crayfish generate pulses of fine sediment mobilisation through burrowing and movement that are detectable in the flow field; (2) that such pulses may be more frequent during nocturnal periods when signal crayfish are known to be most active; and (3) that cumulatively the pulses would be sufficient to drive an overall increase in turbidity. Laboratory mesocosm experiments were used to explore crayfish impacts on suspended sediment concentrations for two treatments: clay banks and clay bed substrate. For the field study, high frequency near‐bed and mid‐flow turbidity time series from a lowland river with known high densities of signal crayfish were examined. Laboratory data demonstrate the direct influence of signal crayfish on mobilisation of pulses of fine sediment through burrowing into banks and fine bed material, with evidence of enhanced activity levels around the mid‐point of the nocturnal period. Similar patterns of pulsed fine sediment mobilisation identified under field conditions follow a clear nocturnal trend and appear capable of driving an increase in ambient turbidity levels. The findings indicate that signal crayfish have the potential to influence suspended sediment yields, with implications for morphological change, physical habitat quality and the transfer of nutrients and contaminants. This is particularly important given the spread of signal crayfish across Europe and their presence in extremely high densities in many catchments. Further process‐based studies are required to develop a full understanding of impacts across a range of river styles. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Use of geoinformatics for inter-basin water transfer assessment

Fresh water availability and demand are unevenly distributed both temporally and geographically. Furthermore, the availability of fresh water has remained more or less constant, while the demand for clean water is steadily increasing. With demand surpassing supply, an integrated water resource management approach is required to ensure even distribution of potable water to all levels of society while protecting the environment. Inter-basin water transfer (IBWT) is an approach being applied in various countries around the world, with varying environmental and social implications. The Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) scheme is an example of such a project being planned in India. The research described in this paper was based on the ILR project and includes an assessment of the IBWT programme in some of the tributaries of the Brahmaputra and Ganga Rivers in the eastern part of India, covering the district of Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India. Geoinformation has been used in association with physical and socio-economic factors to identify potential dam and reservoir sites and to delineate the optimal route for canals to transfer water from the Brahmaputra basin to the Ganga basin for further transportation to the water-deficient regions of India.     

滇西古特提斯多岛洋的结构及其南北延伸

在深化滇西古特提斯构造古地理格局研究基础上 ,提出了区分多岛洋与多岛海的时、空尺度标准。根据藏北羌塘、泰国北部与滇西古特提斯沉积地质学的比较研究 ,论证了滇西昌宁—孟连带北延连接冈玛错缝合带 ,南延与泰国北部隐蔽缝合带相接。泰国东北部著名的难河—程逸缝合带北延很可能潜伏于思茅盆地中新生代红层之下 ,因此古特提斯阶段并不存在稳定的“思茅地块”。泰国西北部湄萨良带存在洋盆硅质岩、海山碳酸盐岩和被动陆缘碎屑岩的构造混杂沉积组合 ,原属“泥盆系”的硅质岩中已发现早石炭世和晚三叠世卡尼期放射虫动物群 ,启示了古特提斯东段存在双子星座式主支洋盆的构造古地理格局。湄萨良带北延最可能与保山地块、腾冲地块之间的潞西三台山蛇绿混杂带相连。滇西北地区原属晚三叠世哈工组内侏罗纪放射虫化石的发现等 ,启示了青藏高原三江带在古、新特提斯转折期古地理演化的复杂性     

A Simulation Model for the Evaluation of the Electrical Power Potential Harnessed by a Marine Current Turbine

This paper deals with the development of a Matlab-Simulink model of a marine current turbine system through the modeling of the resource and the rotor. The simulation model has two purposes: performances and dynamic loads evaluation in different operating conditions and control system development for turbine operation based on pitch and speed control. In this case, it is necessary to find a compromise between the simulation model accuracy and the control-loop computational speed. The blade element momentum (BEM) approach is then used for the turbine modeling. As the developed simulation model is intended to be used as a sizing and site evaluation tool for current turbine installations, it has been applied to evaluate the extractable power from the Raz de Sein (Brittany, France). Indeed, tidal current data from the Raz de Sein are used to run the simulation model over various flow regimes and yield the power capture with time.     

Statistical Analysis of Nitrate Movement through the Soil in Central Kansas

An earlier investigation by the Kansas Geological Survey in central Kansas studied the movement of nitrate from fertilizer through soil into the groundwater. Nitrate concentrations in soil water were measured on samples collected at three locations during a three-year span, from sets of lysimeters buried at different depths. Although patterns seemed apparent in the resulting measurements, no statistical analyses were performed to test their significance; this re-study of the data uses analyses of variance to test for differences in nitrate concentration attributable to time and to depth in the soil. The mean nitrate concentration of samples collected in the first year of the experiment was significantly higher than the means of second and third year samples at all three locations, perhaps reflecting the confounding influence of a previous flooding experiment. ANOVAs of depth across years determined few significant differences in nitrate concentration with depth. The wintertime gap in measurements and unequal sampling through time precludes formal time-series analyses, but graphs of concentration versus time show that peak concentration occurs at later times with increasing depth, and that maximum concentration decreases with depth. These statistical analyses support the conclusions from the original investigation.