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Sustainability of agro-food supply chains has recently become the subject of greater interest from consumers, firms, governmental organizations and academia as the environment continues to deteriorate. One of the most critical factors influencing the sustainability of an agro-food supply chain is its network design. A particularly challenging aspect in this context is the broad range of influencing indicators associated with the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) of sustainability that need to be considered. However, many of these indicators could not be fully integrated or measured by single-step optimization problems. This paper presents a critical literature review of operational research methods for the design of sustainable supply chains. A novel two-stage hybrid solution methodology is proposed. In the first stage, a partner selection is performed using a hybrid multi criteria decision making based on Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method and the Ordered Weighted Averaging (OWA) aggregation method. The result obtained in the first stage is used in the second stage to develop a multi-objective mathematical model to optimize the design of the supply chain network. This approach allows the simultaneous consideration of all three dimensions of sustainability including carbon footprint, water footprint, number of jobs created and the total cost of the supply chain design. The proposed approach generates a Pareto frontier to aid users in making decisions. Numerical experiments are completed utilizing data from an agro-food company to demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed solution methodology. The analyzes of the numerical results provide important organizational, practical and policy insights on (1) the impact of financial and environmental sustainability on supply chain network design (2) the tradeoff analysis between environmental emission, water footprint, societal implications and associated cost for making informed decision on supply chain investment.

Abstract The rapid increase in energy demand and the limited resources of fossil fuel as well as the environmentally damaging effects, drive the world to find new options for sustainable electricity generation, which is represented by renewable energies. Concentrating solar power (CSP) is one of the most promising technologies in the field of electricity generation to tackle this issue with a competitive cost in the future. This paper presents an investigation of the potential of implementation of CSP plants in Libya. The socio-economic context, current energy situation of the country and different types of CSP plants are discussed. Moreover, an assessment of site parameters required for CSP plants including solar resources, land use and topography, water resources and grid connections are investigated in detail. In addition, thermo-economic simulation of a 50 MW parabolic trough power plant is performed. The simulation is conducted based on meteorological data measured by the weather station installed at the Centre for Solar Energy Research and Studies (CSERS) in Tajoura city. The performance results are compared with the reference plant Andasol-1 in Spain. Even though the proposed plant is located on the North coast where solar resources are at their minimum compared with other regions of the country, the outcome of the study proves that Libya is not only suitable but it can be economically competitive in the implementation of CSP technology.

Using a combination of numerical and analytical techniques we demonstrate that a metal stripe surrounded by the active and passive dielectrics supports propagation of stable spatial surface-plasmon solitons. Our analytical methods include the multiple scale reduction of the Maxwell's equations to the coupled Ginzburg-Landau system, and the soliton perturbation theory developed in the framework of the latter.

ABSTRACTThe California generation fleet manages the existing variability and uncertainty in the demand for electric power (load). When wind power is added, the dispatchable generators manage the variability and uncertainty of the net load (load minus wind power). The variability and uncertainty of the load and the net load are compared when 8790 MW of wind power are added to the California power system, a level expected when California achieves its 33% renewable portfolio standard, using a data set of 26,296 h of synchronous historic load and modeled historic wind power output. Variability was calculated as the rate of change in power generated by wind farms or consumed by the load from 1 h to the next (MW/h). Uncertainty was calculated as the 1 h ahead forecast error [MW] of the wind power or of the load. The data show that wind power adds no additional variability than is already present in the load variability. However, wind power adds additional uncertainty through increased forecast errors in the net load compared with the load. Forecast errors in the net load increase 18.7% for negative forecast errors (actual less than forecast) and 5.4% for positive forecast errors (actual greater than forecast). The increase in negative forecast errors occurs only during the afternoon hours when negative load forecasts and positive wind forecasts are strongly correlated. Managing the integration of wind power in the California power system should focus on reducing wind power forecast uncertainty for wind ramp ups during the afternoon hours. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

SESAMe v3.0, a spatially explicit multimedia fate model with 50 × 50 km(2) resolution, has been developed for China to predict environmental concentrations of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) using an atmospheric emission inventory for 2007. Model predictions are compared with environmental monitoring data obtained from an extensive review of the literature. The model performs well in predicting multimedia concentrations and distributions. Predicted concentrations are compared with guideline values; highest values with some exceedances occur mainly in the North China Plain, Mid Inner Mongolia, and parts of three northeast provinces, Xi'an, Shanghai, and south of Jiangsu province, East Sichuan Basin, middle of Guizhou and Guangzhou. Two potential future scenarios have been assessed using SESAMe v3.0 for 2030 as BaP emission is reduced by (1) technological improvement for coal consumption in energy production and industry sectors in Scenario 1 (Sc1) and (2) technological improvement and control of indoor biomass burning for cooking and indoor space heating and prohibition of open burning of biomass in 2030 in Scenario 2 (Sc2). Sc2 is more efficient in reducing the areas with exceedance of guideline values. Use of SESAMe v3.0 provides insights on future research needs and can inform decision making on options for source reduction.

Исследование ландшафтов всегда было традиционным научным направлением географии. В России подобная направленность исследований остаётся актуальной, несмотря на то, что термины «геоэкология» и «ландшафтная экология» сегодня более распространены в англоязычном научном сообществе. Наш краткий обзор показывает значительное ускорение антропогенных ландшафтных изменений в Европе, Центральной Азии и азиатской части России за последние пять десятилетий. Ландшафтные исследования в антропоцене должны быть направлены на достижение и сохранение устойчивости ландшафта при его высокой производительности, что включает в себя прекращение деградации ландшафтов, развитие культурных и сохранение природных ландшафтов. Чистая вода и чистый воздух, плодородные и здоровые почвы для производства продуктов питания и других экосистемных услуг, а также биологически разнообразная зеленая среда являются атрибутами ландшафтов, обеспечивающих выживание и благополучие населения. Дисциплинарные и междисциплинарные исследования должны генерировать знания, инновации и правила принятия действенных решений. Генерация знаний в глобализованном мире основана на сборе больших массивов данных и моделировании сценариев. Международные длительные полевые опыты и системы агроэкологического мониторинга будут предоставлять данные для экосистемных моделей и систем поддержки принимаемых решений. Landscape research has been a traditional scientific discipline of geography. This is still the case in Russia, whilst the terms geo-ecology and landscape ecology have become established in the English speaking scientific community. Our short review reveals huge and accelerating anthropogenic landscape transformations in Europe, Central Asia and Asian Russia since the end the 1960s. Landscape research in the Anthropocene has to focus on achieving landscape sustainability at high productivity. This includes halting landscape degradation, developing cultural landscapes, and maintaining semi-natural landscapes. Clean water and air, fertile and healthy soils for food and other ecosystem services and a green and bio-diverse environment are attributes of landscapes for the survival and well-being of humans. Research has to generate knowledge, innovations and decision rules by disciplinary, interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary work. Knowledge generation in a globalized world is based on big data gathering and scenario modelling. International long-term experiments and agri-environmental monitoring systems will deliver data for ecosystem models and decision support systems.

Optical potential energy landscapes created using acousto-optical deflectors are characterized via solvent-driven colloidal particles. The full potential energy of both single optical traps and complex landscapes composed of multiple overlapping traps are determined using a simple force balance argument. The potential of a single trap is shown to be well described by a Gaussian trap with stiffness found to be consistent with those obtained by a thermal equilibrium method. We also obtain directly the depth of the well, which (as with stiffness) varies with laser power. Finally, various complex systems ranging from double-well potentials to random landscapes are generated from individually controlled optical traps. Predictions of these landscapes as a sum of single Gaussian wells are shown to be a good description of experimental results, offering the potential for fully controlled design of optical landscapes, constructed from single optical traps.

The ‘4 per mille Soils for Food Security and Climate’ was launched at the COP21 with an aspiration to increase global soil organic matter stocks by 4 per 1000 (or 0.4 %) per year as a compensation for the global emissions of greenhouse gases by anthropogenic sources. This paper surveyed the soil organic carbon (SOC) stock estimates and sequestration potentials from 20 regions in the world (New Zealand, Chile, South Africa, Australia, Tanzania, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, India, China Taiwan, South Korea, China Mainland, United States of America, France, Canada, Belgium, England & Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and Russia). We asked whether the 4 per mille initiative is feasible for the region. The outcomes highlight region specific efforts and scopes for soil carbon sequestration. Reported soil C sequestration rates globally show that under best management practices, 4 per mille or even higher sequestration rates can be accomplished. High C sequestration rates (up to 10 per mille) can be achieved for soils with low initial SOC stock (topsoil less than 30 t C ha− 1), and at the first twenty years after implementation of best management practices. In addition, areas which have reached equilibrium will not be able to further increase their sequestration. We found that most studies on SOC sequestration only consider topsoil (up to 0.3 m depth), as it is considered to be most affected by management techniques. The 4 per mille number was based on a blanket calculation of the whole global soil profile C stock, however the potential to increase SOC is mostly on managed agricultural lands. If we consider 4 per mille in the top 1m of global agricultural soils, SOC sequestration is between 2-3 Gt C year− 1, which effectively offset 20–35% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. As a strategy for climate change mitigation, soil carbon sequestration buys time over the next ten to twenty years while other effective sequestration and low carbon technologies become viable. The challenge for cropping farmers is to find disruptive technologies that will further improve soil condition and deliver increased soil carbon. Progress in 4 per mille requires collaboration and communication between scientists, farmers, policy makers, and marketeers.