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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.

A natural holm oak forest was selectively thinned to test thinning as a tool to reduce tree mortality, increase productivity, and reverse the recent regression of the dominant species (Quercus ilex) induced by climate change. Thinning increased aboveground productivity and reduced stem mortality in this Mediterranean forest during four years just after thinning, contributing to the maintenance of forest functioning under changing climatic conditions. Q. ilex was the only species positively affected by the thinning: stem growth increased for all stem sizes, and mortality was significantly lower in thinned plots. On the contrary, mortality rates of Phillyrea latifolia and Arbutus unedo were not significantly lower. Stem growth increased for P. latifolia only in the smallest stem-size class. Our results highlight the suitability of selective thinning for improving the forest productivity and ensuring the conservation of Mediterranean coppices. Other benefits of selective thinning, such as a decrease in the risk of fire dispersion and an increase in the water supply for human populations, are also discussed.

Abstract In case of a core melt-down accident in a light water nuclear reactor, hydrogen is produced during reactor core degradation and released into the reactor building. This subsequently creates a combustion hazard. A local ignition of the combustible mixture may generate standing flames or initially slow propagating flames. Depending on geometry, mixture composition and turbulence level, the flame can accelerate or be quenched after a certain distance. The loads generated by the combustion process (increase of the containment atmosphere pressure and temperature) may threaten the integrity of the containment building and of internal walls and equipment. Turbulent deflagration flames may generate high pressure pulses, temperature peaks, shock waves and large pressure gradients which could severely damage specific containment components, internal walls and/or safety equipment. The evaluation of such loads requires validated codes which can be used with a high level of confidence. Currently, turbulence and steam effect on flame acceleration, flame deceleration and flame quenching mechanisms are not well reproduced by combustion models usually implemented in safety tools and further model enhancement and validation are still needed. For this purpose, two hydrogen deflagration benchmark exercises have been organised in the framework of the SARNET network. The first benchmark was focused on turbulence effect on flame propagation. For this purpose, three tests performed in the ENACCEF facility were considered. They concern vertical flame propagation in an initially homogenous mixture with 13 vol.% hydrogen content and different geometrical configurations. Three blockage ratios of 0, 0.33 and 0.6 were considered to generate different levels of turbulence. The second benchmark objective was the investigation of the diluting effect on flame propagation. Thus, three tests performed in the ENACCEF facility using the same blockage ratio of 0.63 and three different initial gas compositions (with 10, 20 and 30 vol.% diluents) have been considered. Since ENACCEF runs at ambient temperature, a surrogate to steam was used consisting of a mixture of 0.6He + 0.4CO 2 on molar basis. This paper aims to present the benchmarks conclusions regarding the ability of LP and CFD combustion models to predict the effect of turbulence and diluent on flame propagation.

CF4 is a strong greenhouse gas of both anthropogenic and natural origin [D.R. Worton et al., Environ. Sci. Technol. 41, 2184 (2007)]. However, high-resolution infrared spectroscopy of this molecule has received only a limited interest up to now. Until very recently, the public databases only contained cross-sections for this species, but no detailed line list. We reinvestigate here the strongly absorbing ν3 region around 7.8 μm. New Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra up to a maximal resolution of 0.0025 cm−1 have been recorded: (i) room-temperature spectra in a static cell and (ii) a supersonic expansion jet spectrum at a 23 K estimated temperature. Following the work of Gabard et al. [Mol. Phys. 85, 735 (1995)], we perform a simultaneous analysis of both the ν3 and 2ν4 bands since a strong Coriolis interaction occurs between them, perturbing the ν3 R-branch rotational clusters around J = 20. Similarly to Gabard et al. , we also include ν4 FTIR data and microwave data in the fit. The analysis is pe...

Abstract Geological storage of the greenhouse gas CO 2 has the potential to be a widespread and effective option to mitigate climate change. As any industrial activity, CO 2 storage may lead to adverse impact on human health and the environment in the case of unexpected leakage from the reservoir. These potential impacts should be considered in a risk assessment process. We present an approach to assess the impacts on human health in case of CO 2 leakage emerging in the unsaturated zone under a building. We first focus on the migration of the CO 2 in the unsaturated zone and the foundation through numerical simulation with sensitivity analysis. Our results show that the intrusion of CO 2 into a building is substantially attenuated by the unsaturated zone and the foundation and may lead only under very specific conditions (very low ventilated parts of buildings, high flow rate and/or building situated very close to a leaking pathway) to hazardous CO 2 indoor concentrations. We have then integrated the former results in a global toolbox that provides an efficient and easy-to-use tool for decision support, which enables to assess the impacts on human health of CO 2 leakage from the reservoir to a building.