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This is the dataset used to analyse biomass of fauna collected in farmed and wild kelp at the West coast of Norway (Søre Sunnmøre) in April 2019. Coordinates are given in the fil. 

Climaps.eu is an online atlas providing data, visualizations and commentaries about climate adaptation debate. It contains 33 issue-maps and 5 issue-stories. Each of the maps focuses on one issue in the adaptation debate and provides.The atlas is addressed to climate experts (negotiators, NGOs and companies concerned by global warming, journalists…) and to citizens willing to engage with the issues of climate adaptation.It employs advanced digital methods to deploy the complexity of the issues related to climate adaptation and information design to make this complexity legible.

The present paper exhibits a real time assessment of a robust Energy Management Strategy (EMS) for battery-super capacitor (SC) Hybrid Energy Storage System (HESS). The proposed algorithm, dedicated to an electric vehicular application, is based on a self-gain scheduled controller, which guarantees the H∞ performance for a class of linear parameter varying (LPV) systems. Assuming that the duty cycle of the involved DC-DC converters are considered as the variable parameters, that can be captured in real time, and forwarded to the controller to ensure both; the performance and robustness of the closed-loop system. The subsequent controller is therefore time-varying and it is automatically scheduled according to each parameter variation. This algorithm has been validated through experimental results provided by a tailor-made test bench including both the HESS and the vehicle traction emulation system. The experimental results demonstrate the overall stability of the system, where the proposed LPV supervisor successfully accomplishes a power frequency splitting in an adequate way, respecting the dynamic of the sources. The proposed solution provides significant performances for different speed levels.

Using 40-year experiment data from a mono-modal rainfall area of northern Togo, we analyzed soil fertility dynamics when 2 and 3-year fallows were alternated with 3-year rotation of groundnut, cotton and sorghum. The control treatment consisted to continuous cultivate the soil in a rotation of groundnut/cotton/sorghum without fallow periods. For each rotation, two fertilisation rates were applied: no fertilisation and mineral fertiliser application during the cropping and/or the fallow periods. Yields of unfertilised crops, which averaged 1 t ha-1 during the first years of cultivation, were often nil in the long-term. In the long-term, yields of fertilised cotton and sorghum decreased by 32 and 50 %, respectively compared to the average of 2.4 and 1.6 t ha-1 obtained during the first decade of cultivation. The long-term decline in crop productivity was mitigated when fallow periods were alternated with cropping periods, and consequently there was partial compensation in terms of production for the unproductive fallowed plots. Long-term yields of fertilised cotton and sorghum in the periodically fallowed plots were 40 and 50 % higher than those in continuously cropped plots, respectively; they were 90 and 60 % higher than those in continuously cropped plots without fertilisation. Like for crop productivity, soil C, N and exchangeable Ca and Mg decreased less in periodically fallowed plots than in continuously cropped plots. The limited soil C decline when fallows were alternated with crops appears to be the consequence of no-tillage period rather than the effect of the highest C inputs to the soil.

When biomass is thermally treated, the enrichment of carbon in the remaining “green coal” is correlated with the temperature and duration. Other properties related to the energetic properties of the torrefied biomass are closely related to chemical modifications and correlated to the material mass loss occurring during the thermal degradation. The possibility of using near infrared spectrometry has been investigated to predict the mass loss of Pinus sylvestris wood torrefied at temperatures ranging from 220°C to 300°C with durations varying from 1 minute to 10 hours. A first mass loss prediction model (NIR‐260) associated with the mean torrefaction temperature of 260°C was developed, and appeared suitable only for this temperature due to specific chemical reactions rate. A second model (NIRS‐All), using all available data was constructed and showed an accurate mass loss prediction, for both low (220°C) and high temperatures (300°C). The main differences between NIRS‐260 and NIRS‐All models are mainly attributed to the thermal modification of hemicelluloses and cellulose fractions occurred during the wood torrefaction. The results showed near infrared spectrometry combined with multivariate calibration modeling have potential utility in an industrial context as a standardized continuous method to figure out the mass loss of biomass during torrefaction by a rapid characterization. Novelty Statement The novelty concerns the use of the Near Infrared Spectrometry (NIRS) combined with multivariate calibration modeling as a standardized method for determining the mass loss biomass during torrefaction by a rapid and nondestructive characterization. A model was constructed and showed an accurate mass loss prediction, for both low (220°C) and high temperatures (300°C). Near infrared spectrometry have potential utility in an industrial context as a standardized continuous method.

Abstract The concept of Zero Energy Building (ZEB) has gained wide international attention during last few years and is now seen as the future target for the design of buildings. However, before being fully implemented in the national building codes and international standards, the ZEB concept requires clear and consistent definition and a commonly agreed energy calculation methodology. The most important issues that should be given special attention before developing a new ZEB definition are: (1) the metric of the balance, (2) the balancing period, (3) the type of energy use included in the balance, (4) the type of energy balance, (5) the accepted renewable energy supply options, (6) the connection to the energy infrastructure and (7) the requirements for the energy efficiency, the indoor climate and in case of gird connected ZEB for the building–grid interaction. This paper focuses on the review of the most of the existing ZEB definitions and the various approaches towards possible ZEB calculation methodologies. It presents and discusses possible answers to the abovementioned issues in order to facilitate the development of a consistent ZEB definition and a robust energy calculation methodology.

AbstractBluetongue (BT) is a commonly cited example of a disease with a distribution believed to have recently expanded in response to global warming. The BT virus is transmitted to ruminants by biting midges of the genus Culicoides, and it has been hypothesized that the emergence of BT in Mediterranean Europe during the last two decades is a consequence of the recent colonization of the region by Culicoides imicola and linked to climate change. To better understand the mechanism responsible for the northward spread of BT, we tested the hypothesis of a recent colonization of Italy by C. imicola, by obtaining samples from more than 60 localities across Italy, Corsica, Southern France, and Northern Africa (the hypothesized source point for the recent invasion of C. imicola), and by genotyping them with 10 newly identified microsatellite loci. The patterns of genetic variation within and among the sampled populations were characterized and used in a rigorous approximate Bayesian computation framework to compare three competing historical hypotheses related to the arrival and establishment of C. imicola in Italy. The hypothesis of an ancient presence of the insect vector was strongly favoured by this analysis, with an associated P ≥ 99%, suggesting that causes other than the northward range expansion of C. imicola may have supported the emergence of BT in southern Europe. Overall, this study illustrates the potential of molecular genetic markers for exploring the assumed link between climate change and the spread of diseases.

Abstract The main goal of the present work is to provide a mathematical model of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSCs) that can be implemented in electrical engineering circuit simulation software, such as PSIM, for using in electronic power converter design. Consequently, a new circuit modeling approach is presented, able to solve the standard continuity and transport governing equations defined for the involved mobile species: electrons in the TiO2 conduction band and ions in the electrolyte. Starting from the partial differential continuity equations of the phenomenological DSC model, it was developed a one-dimensional spatial discretization using Finite Difference Methods (FD) followed by a solution using an electrical circuit analogy. The resulting circuits were then implemented in PSIM software and simulated. Simulation results using this new electrical analog approach showed excellent matching when compared to FORTRAN numerical solutions, as well as when compared to experimental data. Moreover, the electrical analog can be used for transient and steady state cases, giving information about the main factors and the relevant kinetic parameters that influence DSCs’ performance. Finally, it enables to relate the phenomenological behavior with other electrical approaches, such as Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and diode based models.