• Energy Research
• natural sciences close
• EU close
• PL close
• AT close

AbstractFive samples of recrystallized pure tungsten were exposed to transient heat loads using the electron beam of the JUDITH 1 and JUDITH 2 installations of Forschungszentrum Jülich. The heat flux and base temperature were the same for all samples; only the number of pulses and exposure device differed. Transmission electron microscopy was applied to determine the first defects that are introduced during exposure and to compare the effects of the two machines. With increasing number of pulses, first dislocations are formed near the grain boundaries, and then line dislocations and clusters of dislocations appear within the grains. Upon prolonged exposure, the dislocations migrate and cluster in dislocation pile-ups. Comparing exposure in JUDITH 1 to JUDITH 2, the amount of defects is much higher in the samples exposed in JUDITH 1.

This study uses cetacean sighting data, acquired via a citizen science programme, to update distributions and spatial trends of whales and dolphins in waters around the Svalbard Archipelago during the period 2005–2019. Distributions, based on kernel density estimates, from an early period (2005–2019) and a recent period (2015–19) were compared to identify potential shifts in distribution in this area, which is experiencing rapid warming and concomitant sea-ice losses. Among the three Arctic endemic cetaceans, white whales (Delphinapterus leucas, also known as beluga) had a stable, coastal distribution throughout the study, whereas narwhals (Monodon monoceros) and bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) were observed only north of the archipelago, but with increasing frequency during the recent period. White-beaked dolphins (Lagenorhynchus albirostris) had a stable distribution along the continental shelf break, west and south of Svalbard. Sperm whale observations shifted from west of Bjørnøya during the early period to being concentrated around the north end of Prins Karls Forland, west of Spitsbergen during the recent period. The four summer-resident baleen whales—blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus), fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)—have shifted their distributions from the continental shelf break west of Spitsbergen during the early period into fjords and coastal areas during the recent period. These changes coincide with increased inflows of Atlantic Water into the fjords along the west coast of Spitsbergen and across the north of the archipelago.

This review summarizes the recent advances in light driven catalytic H2evolution and CO2reduction systems towards the production of solar fuels, utilizing porphyrin or phthalocyanine derivatives.

Abstract In highly developed countries, a significant progress in the use of alternative and clean energy sources has recently been observed. The European Union has implemented a programme to build wind turbines. It is estimated that in the coming years, thanks to the support in tax and credit, the global energy will develop very intensively. Many components of the wind turbines are castings. The basic material used for these castings is ductile iron, which in this particular case must meet high requirements imposed by the operating conditions of wind turbines. Anticipating an increase in customer demand for this type of castings, Krakodlew SA has decided to modernize its foundry using the ability to obtain external financing. The ductile iron manufacturing technology is now being developed and adapted to the specific conditions of the foundry plant, including the melting process yielding cast material with the required chemical composition, the technology of moulding, and the conditions for possible secondary metallurgy, spheroidizing treatment and graphitizing inoculation. The fulfilment of the imposed conditions for the casting production demands the use of advanced casting technologies introduced to the manufacturing process. The development of technology to launch the production of ductile iron castings for the wind power industry was supported by The National Centre for Research and Development (NCBiR). This article presents part of research on the binding kinetics of furan resin sands and choice of their composition for moulds and cores to make heavy castings used as components of equipment for the wind power industry.

Highlights •Biomass resource constraints impact the effectiveness of bioeconomy policies. •Bioeconomy policies may have an important impact on the sector structure in the long run, but the sector growth remains ultimately constrained by the availability of inputs. •Solutions to reduce the biomass constraint have to be included in innovation policy for the biobased economy.

AbstractThe Paris Conference of Parties (COP21) agreement renewed momentum for action against climate change, creating the space for solutions for conservation of the ocean addressing two of its largest threats: climate change and ocean acidification (CCOA). Recent arguments that ocean policies disregard a mature conservation research field and that protected areas cannot address climate change may be oversimplistic at this time when dynamic solutions for the management of changing oceans are needed. We propose a novel approach, based on spatial meta‐analysis of climate impact models, to improve the positioning of marine protected areas to limit CCOA impacts. We do this by estimating the vulnerability of ocean ecosystems to CCOA in a spatially explicit manner and then co‐mapping human activities such as the placement of renewable energy developments and the distribution of marine protected areas. We test this approach in the NE Atlantic considering also how CCOA impacts the base of the food web which supports protected species, an aspect often neglected in conservation studies. We found that, in this case, current regional conservation plans protect areas with low ecosystem‐level vulnerability to CCOA, but disregard how species may redistribute to new, suitable and productive habitats. Under current plans, these areas remain open to commercial extraction and other uses. Here, and worldwide, ocean conservation strategies under CCOA must recognize the long‐term importance of these habitat refuges, and studies such as this one are needed to identify them. Protecting these areas creates adaptive, climate‐ready and ecosystem‐level policy options for conservation, suitable for changing oceans.

AbstractIndirect climate effects on tree fecundity that come through variation in size and growth (climate-condition interactions) are not currently part of models used to predict future forests. Trends in species abundances predicted from meta-analyses and species distribution models will be misleading if they depend on the conditions of individuals. Here we find from a synthesis of tree species in North America that climate-condition interactions dominate responses through two pathways, i) effects of growth that depend on climate, and ii) effects of climate that depend on tree size. Because tree fecundity first increases and then declines with size, climate change that stimulates growth promotes a shift of small trees to more fecund sizes, but the opposite can be true for large sizes. Change the depresses growth also affects fecundity. We find a biogeographic divide, with these interactions reducing fecundity in the West and increasing it in the East. Continental-scale responses of these forests are thus driven largely by indirect effects, recommending management for climate change that considers multiple demographic rates.