Developing a Marine Information System by Integrating Existing Ocean Models Using Object-Oriented Technology

Information systems developed for different applications within the environmental domain have common characteristics, which can potentially be abstracted for sharing and reuse of design and software modules. This article presents an approach to designing for reuse by abstracting commonalities in the design of a Marine Information System (MIS), facilitating data management in a prototype operational monitoring, forecasting, and management system for the North Atlantic and the Nordic Seas. A detailed study of the requirements and data analysis was carried out, and Object-Oriented Technology (OOT) is employed to encapsulate abstractions and to promote reuse of code and design. This article identifies the Object-Oriented Frameworks (OOFW) required to build the MIS. It also provides guidelines to environmental scientists for restructuring legacy software and employing modern programming techniques.     

Developments in the characterisation of waste materials for environmental impact assessment purposes

The characterisation of waste is entering a new phase with the latest developments of characterisation leaching tests and associated modelling capabilities. The currently applied too simple testing approaches lead to poor choices in waste management. With the increased insight in release controlling processes chemical speciation aspects can be addressed even in the most complex and heterogeneous waste materials. From a composition perspective materials may be highly variable, but often materials are far more consistent in their leaching behaviour. This aspect should be exploited more extensively as it holds the key to treat waste materials in such a way that long term solutions are achieved rather than reaching temporary gains.     

Airports and Environment: Proposal of Wastewater Reclamation at São Paulo International Airport

One way to reduce water consumption in urban areas is by using alternative sources of supply that can be provided by collecting rainwater and reusing wastewater for less restricted purposes. Thus, this study evaluated the characteristics of effluents produced by the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) of São Paulo International Airport (SPIA), Brazil, in order to reuse it in non‐potable situations. The results achieved, indicated high efficiency in the biological system utilized by SPIA. The removal rates is equal to or >90% for most of the parameters analyzed, among them, fluoride, salinity, nitrite, nitrate, ammonium nitrogen, total nitrogen, phosphorus, sedimentable solids, turbidity, conductivity, apparent color, chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, total organic carbon, fecal coliforms, and oils and greases. Despite the final effluents were good enough to be launched in the local streams, they shall be submitted to a complementary treatment in order to fit some quality parameters to be reused for specific demands (landscape irrigation, toilet flushing, vehicle washing, fire fighting, and dust control).     

A material lens on socio-technical transitions: The case of steel in Australian buildings

Steel is a critical material for modern-day societies, and more than half of the world’s steel is used in buildings. As the extraction of iron ore and the production and transport of manufactured steel have significant environmental costs, the fate of steel is important for socio-technical transitions towards more sustainable materials use. Using steel in buildings as a case study socio-technical transition, this paper develops a novel application of the multi-level perspective (MLP) that adopts an explicitly material lens. We focus on the circulation of steel between three key life stages for buildings which are treated as socio-technical regimes as described in the MLP. Drawing on concepts from assemblage theory, we consider the role played by the material and expressive qualities of steel within each of these regimes. Our material focus also requires attention to the spatial dimensions of these three regimes and their implications for socio-technical transitions. We describe the nexus of material affordances and inter-scalar relations that influences the use of steel in buildings and consider the potential for change. The main contribution of this paper is to extend the MLP to incorporate a focus on materiality and, in a related way, spatiality. Based on the analysis presented we consider how steel use in Australian buildings may be rendered more sustainable.     

关于开展二次资料开发的几个问题

积多年地质工作形成的各种资料和成果，包括物、化探等，都是为当时某项地质找矿任务与要求而完成的，由于地质理论水平、方法手段所限，对其蕴藏的部分或大部分信息尚未开发利用，在目前国家地勘费紧张，如何把有限的资金使用在刀刃上，即以最小投入取得最佳找矿效果，也是当前必须解决的课题。因此，对已有资料的二次或多次开发，反复研究，提高认识，作好普查第一阶段的工作，提高找矿命中率是十分必要的。     

浅析塑料废物的处理与再利用

从我国塑料废物的处理现状及存在的问题出发,介绍了塑料废物回收再利用的方法,并提出了塑料废物污染的防治对策。     

Adaptive geo-information processing service evolution: Reuse and local modification method

Geo-information (GI) service automated composition according to user demands is a crucial task in spatial data infrastructures. State-of-the-art GI service composition approaches face serious limitations in terms of effectiveness and stability as the general GI processing service chain (GIPSC) must be generated from individual user specifications from scratch. This paper presents a novel approach called an adaptive geo-information service evolution (AgiSE) method which overcomes these limitations by adaptively reusing and modifying previously generated GIPSC. In this method, an influence domain minimisation (IDM) criterion is employed to modify the existing GIPSC to fit the new (changed) user demands through minimum revisions. The correction of local modification is ensured by process and integrity constraints. An innovative algorithm called influence domain pursuit is developed to find the optimised solution through a heuristic backward search based on the defined IDM. Experimental analysis shows the significant improvements of using AgiSE in GI services compared with existing traditional methods. The benefits of AgiSE are the improved efficiency of GI service composition and the improved executing stability of GIPSC which were achieved by reducing the service provider load. The AgiSE presented in this paper is crucial in reusing a general unified framework for GI service composition.     

Performance Evaluation of a Full‐Scale Extended Aeration System in Al‐Bireh City,Palestine

Major challenges attributed to dysfunctional wastewater treatment facilities in developing countries include lack of commitment and poor informed decision making by the higher municipal administration. This paper presents how process monitoring and control during full scale operation ensures sustainability of civic infrastructures like Al‐Bireh wastewater treatment plant (AWWTP). It is written from the perspective of practical process selection to evaluate the performance of AWWTP, a single‐sludge nitrification–denitrification process with aerobic sludge stabilization. Process monitoring data (July 2000–April 2007) from available monthly operating reports were analyzed and evaluated. Additional data on microbiological analysis and information about facility unit operations were gathered through review of published local literature and interviews with AWWTP personnel. Influent and effluent data evaluated were the chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP). Despite annual and seasonal variations in AWWTP influent for COD, BOD, TN, and TP, the Palestinian wastewater reuse requirements for restricted irrigation were met. Process design and proper facility operation have direct impacts on effluent quality. The study concludes that regardless of the design capacity and process type, adequate administrative and operational management dictate the sustainability of AWWTP and reuse schemes.