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Estuaries are among the most valuable aquatic systems by their services to human welfare. However, increasing human activities at the watershed along with the pressure of climate change are fostering the co-occurrence of multiple environmental drivers, and warn of potential negative impacts on estuaries resources. At present, no clear understanding of how coastal ecosystems will respond to the non-stationary effect of multiple drivers. Here we analysed the temporal interaction among multiple environmental drivers and their changing priority on shaping phytoplankton response in the Bahía Blanca Estuary, SW Atlantic Ocean. The interaction among environmental drivers and the number of significant direct and indirect effects on chlorophyll concentration increased over time in concurrence with enhanced anthropogenic stress, changing winter climate and wind patterns. Over the period 1978-1993, proximal variables such as nutrients, water temperature and salinity, showed a dominant effect on chlorophyll, whereas in more recent years (1993-2009) climate signals (SAM and ENSO) boosted indirect effects through its influence on precipitation, wind, water temperature and turbidity. Turbidity emerged as the dominant driver of chlorophyll while in recent years acted synergistically with the concentration of dissolved nitrogen. As a result, chlorophyll concentration showed a significant negative trend and a loss of seasonal peaks reflecting a pronounced reorganisation of the phytoplankton community. We stress the need to account for the changing priority of drivers to understand, and eventually forecast, biological responses under projected scenarios of global anthropogenic change.

Available methods for measuring the impact of ocean acidification (OA) and leakage from carbon capture and storage (CCS) on marine sedimentary pH profiles are unsuitable for replicated experimental setups. To overcome this issue, a novel optical sensor application is presented, using off-the-shelf optode technology (MOPP). The application is validated using microprofiling, during a CCS leakage experiment, where the impact and recovery from a high CO2 plume was investigated in two types of natural marine sediment. MOPP offered user-friendliness, speed of data acquisition, robustness to sediment type, and large sediment depth range. This ensemble of characteristics overcomes many of the challenges found with other pH measuring methods, in OA and CCS research. The impact varied greatly between sediment types, depending on baseline pH variability and sediment permeability. Sedimentary pH profile recovery was quick, with profiles close to control conditions 24 h after the cessation of the leak. However, variability of pH within the finer sediment was still apparent 4 days into the recovery phase. Habitat characteristics need therefore to be considered, to truly disentangle high CO2 perturbation impacts on benthic systems. Impacts on natural communities depend not only on the pH gradient caused by perturbation, but also on other processes that outlive the perturbation, adding complexity to recovery.

The exponential growth of tra c demand, and supporting network infrastructures, is leading to serious energy consumption issues. With proper routing, some network links can be put on a sleep mode if demands can be routed through other links and, with multiperiod tra c, the sleeping links can change between periods. In this paper, we address the energy e cient routing problem, and we study the tradeo between energy savings and percentage of routing paths allowed to change between periods. We present an ILP model de ning the energy e cient routing problem and we propose a GRASP based heuristic to compute good routing solutions.

Abstract In the current transition to a smarter and more efficient transportation system, battery electric vehicle mileage and the time required for charging are still two main constraints that need to be overcome to enable a larger penetration of electric vehicles. Moreover, the few charging stations available are a consequence of the “supply and demand” problem. Consequently, wireless dynamic recharging can be a complementary solution to address the problems of light-duty electric mobility and an added-value towards autonomous vehicles. Consequently, this paper presents an innovative approach based on real world mobility patterns collected for a sample in the city of Lisbon, Portugal, to assess users’ electric vehicle feasibility by assessing different recharging scenarios, comparing stationary and dynamic recharging scenarios. The results indicate that at least 15 % more drivers would be eligible to own an electric vehicle if wireless charging was available. Moreover, wireless charging reduces the range of battery used, with stationary charging requiring circa 3.2 times more battery range. The developed approach confirms that wireless dynamic recharging can significantly change the framework of current electric mobility limitations, reducing range anxiety issues, contributing to redesign electric vehicle battery capacity and overcome barriers in stationary charging deployment and availability.

Elevated environmental carbon dioxide (pCO2) levels have been found to cause organ damage in the early life stages of different commercial fish species, including Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). To illuminate the underlying mechanisms causing pathologies in the intestines, the kidney, the pancreas and the liver in response to elevated pCO2, we examined related gene expression patterns in Atlantic cod reared for two months under three different pCO2 regimes: 380 μatm (control), 1800 μatm (medium) and 4200 μatm (high). We extracted RNA from whole fish sampled during the larval (32 dph) and early juvenile stage (46 dph) for relative expression analysis of 18 different genes related to essential metabolic pathways. At 32 dph, larvae subjected to the medium treatment displayed an up-regulation of genes mainly associated with fatty acid and glycogen synthesis (GYS2, 6PGL, ACoA, CPTA1, FAS and PPAR1b). Larvae exposed to the high pCO2 treatment upregulated fewer but similar genes (6PGL, ACoA and PPAR1b,). These data suggest stress-induced alterations in the lipid and fatty acid metabolism and a disrupted lipid homeostasis in larvae, providing a mechanistic link to the findings of lipid droplet overload in the liver and organ pathologies. At 46 dph, no significant differences in gene expression were detected, confirming a higher resilience of juveniles in comparison to larvae when exposed to elevated pCO2 up to 4200 μatm.

This article outlines issues to be tackled when considering increases in biofuel usage in the European Union (EU) and examines a potential scheme to increase the use of biofuels in the road transport sector; the development of biofuels corridors. An EU biofuels corridor is defined as a long-distance and cross-border route on the Trans-European Transport (TEN-T) Network roads on which blends with a high biofuel content (referred to as high blends) are offered at regular intervals along the entire route. The article first defines the current framework of EU biofuels development. A case study on the feasibility of one possible EU biofuels corridor, from Rotterdam, Netherlands, to Constanta, Romania, is analyzed along four potential biofuels corridor designs (under different future scenarios). The case study includes interviews with key stakeholders, transport flows analysis, refueling infrastructure, and biofuels policy in the relevant member states. The results are extrapolated to the complete EU level in order to assess the potential effect of the biofuels corridor approach as a measure of stimulating the use of biofuels. It is concluded that EU biofuels corridors can increase the use of biofuels. However, if applied as a stand-alone measure a maximum contribution is limited. The effectiveness of biofuels corridors is not larger mainly due to the fact that the transport flows on the TEN-T Network roads are not representative of actual fuel sales at stations on this network (i.e., motorway stations). In addition, various recommendations are made for further research. © 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.

Documento redatto dagli autori nell'ambito del progetto Interdipartimentale Foresight S&T internazionale del CNR costituito con protocollo AMMCNT-CNR no. 0049037 in data 14/07/2015 a firma del Presidente. Il documento è stato presentato e discusso nella riunione del CE del progetto in data 23/01/2018.

The Danish EDISON project has been launched to investigate how a large fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) can be integrated in a way that supports the electric grid while benefitting both individual car owners, and society as a whole through reductions in CO2 emissions. The consortium partners include energy companies, technology suppliers and research laboratories and institutes. The aim is to perform a thorough investigation of the challenges and opportunities of EVs and then to deliver a technical platform that can be demonstrated on the Danish island of Bornholm. To reach this goal, a vast amount of research is done in various areas of EV technology by the project partners.