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Progressive urban density affects city centers especially and results in growing congestion, lack of parking spaces, and increasing environmental costs of transportation, causing increased air pollutant emissions and noise. These phenomena reduce the attractiveness of the city and result in a degradation of the quality of life for its residents. In light of these phenomena, there is a clear need for intelligent management of urban space using new technologies that would be complementary to existing intelligent transportation systems. Expanding information resources obtained from mobile cameras will have a positive impact on increasing the efficiency of transportation management and use of limited space in city centers. It will also have an impact on reducing external transport costs and increasing the quality of logistics services provided in the city. The main aim of the paper is to develop a concept of a transport management system in cities using mobile vision systems mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles. The model will concern the cases of lane occupation by freight vehicles and the analysis of parking spaces in the city in order to improve their management. The results of the developed model will contribute to the automation of the parking space management process and increase the efficiency of the use of city parking space resources.

Abstract Coal gasification is accompanied with formation of tars that cause equipment problems and have to be removed from the raw gas. Our previous studies proved that nickel supported ceria-zirconia catalyst (Ni/CZ) reveals high activity towards decomposition of toluene and 1-methylnaphthalene (1-MN) via steam reforming reaction (SR). However, the components of the raw gas from coal gasification (i.e. H2, CO, CO2 and CH4) may influence the performance of Ni/CZ catalyst. The influence of particular components of the raw gas on catalyst performance during SR of model tar compounds have been studied and discussed in this paper. It has been found that H2 and CO addition to the steam reforming feed drastically decreases the activity of Ni/CZ catalyst, whereas CO2 presence enhances conversion of toluene and 1-MN mixture owing to the occurrence of dry reforming reaction (DR). It has also been observed that methane, which is present in the raw gas from coal gasification consumes partly both the H2O and CO2, causing some decrease in conversion of model tar compounds. The influence of contact time (tc) on hydrocarbons conversion and the participation of (DR) have been examined. As was observed, lower contact times lead to decrease in hydrocarbons conversion in SR, making the same participation of DR more pronounced than for higher tc values. This work proves that Ni/CZ catalyst can be used for removal of tarry compounds via the catalytic hot gas cleaning of the raw gas form coal gasification.

Energy efficiency is an increasingly important dimension of household appliances, which is why they are labeled to indicate their energy consumption. In 2020, the European Union countries changed the labeling system from the previous system: ranging from A+++ to D, to the new system: ranging from A to G, assuming it would be more transparent for the consumer. The aim of the study was to find out the extent to which consumers are aware of the new labeling system, and the impact that the new labels have (compared to the previous ones) on the perception of household appliances and consumer decision-making. For this purpose, the survey was conducted on a nationwide representative Polish sample (n = 1054). The research was partly experimental, where the same appliances were presented with new and previous energy labels. The results showed that currently most people do not identify the new energy classes. Furthermore, products with the new labels are perceived as being less energy efficient in comparison with products with the previous labels, which shows that there is some confusion among consumers in terms of the new energy efficiency labeling system.

The study evaluated the effect of environmental conditions and morphometric parameters on lake water temperature changes. The analysis was carried out on the basis of 14 lakes located in northern Poland. The assessment was based on the daily water and air temperatures from 1972 to 2016. It took into account the location of lakes (latitude, longitude, altitude) morphometric parameters (surface area, maximum and mean depth, volume), hydrological processes (rate of water exchange, course of ice phenomena), and trophic status (water transparency) as factors that can modify lake water temperature changes. Direction and rate of air and water temperature changes were analysed by means of Mann–Kendall’s and Sen’s tests. Cluster analysis (CA) was applied to group lakes characterised by similar water temperature changes. The effect of climatic and non-climatic parameters on a lake’s water temperature was assessed on the basis of principal component analysis (PCA). Water temperatures in the lakes in the years 1972–2016 were characterised by a higher rate of increase of 0.43 °C·dec−1 than the air temperature decrease of 0.34 °C·dec−1. The analysis showed a faster rate of heating of waters in western Poland. This can be explained by shorter duration of ice cover. Moreover, the changes of water temperature were affected by other factors, including the location of the lakes, their morphometric parameters, wind speed, water transparency and water exchange time.

The 2030 zero-net emission target in the E.U. demands a significant improvement in the energy performance of the building stock. This study analyses the adoption of connected thermostats and Home energy-management system solutions (HEMS) as an effective means to tackle the residential energy footprint. It reviews the main features of HEMS systems in terms of technology, cross-study performances, and the obstacles to widespread adoption; the study adopts the case-study methodology to examine the impact on the Italian real estate stock at a regional level. A matrix of adoption scenarios assesses the potential benefits of global residential energy savings, weighted by local climatic variations, dimension, number of single dwellings, and average primary energy reduction per household. Results demonstrate that all adoption scenarios dramatically reduce residential energy consumption, outperforming the E.U. targets for Italy by 2030.

The aim of the article is to present the idea of ​​energy clusters and legislative changes concerning the creation of energy clusters. An attempt was made to theoretically analyze the concept of energy clusters in the light of the amendment to the Act on renewable energy sources (RES). The method of literature review was applied and the most important items concerning the functioning of energy clusters were referred to. Provisions of subsequent RES laws regarding energy clusters were presented, starting from the Act of February 20, 2015, in which the definition of an energy cluster appeared for the first time, and ending with the latest amendment to the Act of February 24, 2022. It was found that the progressing globalization encourages austerity measures, especially in the energy sector, which contributes to the development of the economy. The way to meet the requirements of the European Union regarding increasing the share of renewable energy sources in the energy mix and limiting the consumption of conventional resources may be distributed energy based on the activities of prosumers, which is undoubtedly manifested by energy clusters.

AbstractChaetosiphella stipae stipaeis a xerothermophilous aphid, associated with Palaearctic temperate steppe zones or dry mountain valleys, where there are grasses from the genusStipa. Its geographical distribution shows several populations that are spread from Spain, across Europe and Asia Minor, to Mongolia and China. Geographical variation in chaetotaxy and other morphological features were the basis to consider whether individuals from different populations are still the same species. Moreover, usingCh. stipae stipaeandStipaspecies occurrences, as well as climatic variables, we predict potential geographical distributions of the aphid and its steppe habitat. Additionally, forStipaspecies we projected current climatic conditions under four climate change scenarios for 2050 and 2070. While highly variable, our results of morphometric analysis demonstrates that allCh. stipae stipaepopulations are one very variable subspecies. And in view of predicted climate change, we expect reduction ofStipagrasslands. The disappearance of these ecosystems could result in stronger separation of the East-European and Asian steppes as well as European ‘warm-stage’ refuges. Therefore, the geographic morphological variability that we see today in the aphid subspeciesCh. stipae stipaemay in the future lead to speciation and creation of separate subspecies or species.

Aim of the study: The current paper aims to give a detailed evaluation and analysis of some extreme rainfall events that happened in the last decade in terms of spatial and temporal rainfall distribution, intensity rate and exceedance probability. Moreover, it examines the effects of each analysed aspect on the resulting flash floods in the study area. Material and methods: American Meteorology Society (AMS) in their glossary of meteorology divided rainfall intensity types into four groups (light, moderate, heavy, and violent). Also, for estimating the exceedance probability, Lognormal distribution was applied as a statistical model of the precipitation probability distribution function. Results and conclusions: Out of six episodes, five of the analysed events were classified as heavy rainfalls. However, the duration of heavy rainfalls was not more than two hours. Four events of maximum daily rainfall (for a 39-year dataset) were rated from 1 – 10% of exceedance probability. To conclude, the current study can be an initial step in modelling hydrological events in the study area and in the process of transforming precipitation into the outflows of urban basins in the future.