• Energy Research
• 6. Clean water close
• 3. Good health close

In refrigeration and power cycles processes the use of air as heatsink for condensing, when large quantities of water are not available, is a common practice and even more frequent. Although ambient air has the great advantage of being available everywhere and in unlimited quantity, it also has numerous disadvantages: highly variable temperatures, low exchange coefficients, need to use of large heat exchange surfaces and large air quantities. To limit these drawbacks, LU-VE has developed an innovative solution named EMERITUS. This technology has a fan-cooled exchanger on which two additional water cooling systems are used in sequence: treated water is sprayed onto the heat exchanger coil and the remaining non-evaporated is collected and used on to the adiabatic panel. This combination of the two techniques has positive effects on both the thermal capacity exchanged and the quantity of water consumed. The article describes the functional principle of the new EMERITUS and analyses a case study in which the running costs of a water chiller combined with EMERITUS are compared with other traditional solutions.

Cyanobacterial biomass is important for biofuel and biofertilizer, however, biomass production requires expensive chemical growth nutrients. To address this issue, we explored the useof inexpensive growth nutrient media from an integrated manure-seawater system for cyanobacterial biomass production. Salt-tolerant cyanobacterial strain HSaC and salt-sensitive cyanobacterial strain LC were tested to evaluate the potential of integrated manure-seawater media for sustainable cyanobacterial biomass production. As a prerequisite for seawater experiments, strain HSaC was grown at different NaCl concentrations (0 mM, 60 mM, 120 mM, 180 mM, 240 mM and 300 mM) to identify the optimum salt concentration. The highest biomass yield and photosynthetic pigment contents were obtained at 120 mM NaCl concentration. The highest exo-polysaccharide (EPS) content was obtained at 180 mM NaCl concentration. The treatments for the manure-seawater media were cow manure, pig manure, chicken manure and BG11, each with distilled water, diluted seawater and non-diluted seawater. The highest biomass and photosynthetic pigment yield for cyanobacterial strains LC and HSaC were obtained from 0.5 dS/m and 10 dS/m diluted seawater integrated with cow manure, respectively, but pig and chicken manure performed poorly. Overall, the biomass production and photosynthetic pigment results from cow manure-seawater were relatively better than those from the reference media (BG11). Based on the current findings, it is concluded that the growth nutrients from integrated cow manure-seawater can wholly substitute for the BG11 without affecting cyanobacterial growth, thereby reducing the usage of expensive chemical growth media. Thus,The results of study help to enhance the biomass production of both salt-sensitive and salt-tolerant cyanobacteria for sustainable biofuel and biofertilizer production. Cyanobacterial biomass is important for biofuel and biofertilizer, however, biomass production requires expensive chemical growth nutrients. To address this issue, we explored the useof inexpensive growth nutrient media from an integrated manure-seawater system for cyanobacterial biomass production. Salt-tolerant cyanobacterial strain HSaC and salt-sensitive cyanobacterial strain LC were tested to evaluate the potential of integrated manure-seawater media for sustainable cyanobacterial biomass production. As a prerequisite for seawater experiments, strain HSaC was grown at different NaCl concentrations (0 mM, 60 mM, 120 mM, 180 mM, 240 mM and 300 mM) to identify the optimum salt concentration. The highest biomass yield and photosynthetic pigment contents were obtained at 120 mM NaCl concentration. The highest exo-polysaccharide (EPS) content was obtained at 180 mM NaCl concentration. The treatments for the manure-seawater media were cow manure, pig manure, chicken manure and BG11, each with distilled water, diluted seawater and non-diluted seawater. The highest biomass and photosynthetic pigment yield for cyanobacterial strains LC and HSaC were obtained from 0.5 dS/m and 10 dS/m diluted seawater integrated with cow manure, respectively, but pig and chicken manure performed poorly. Overall, the biomass production and photosynthetic pigment results from cow manure-seawater were relatively better than those from the reference media (BG11). Based on the current findings, it is concluded that the growth nutrients from integrated cow manure-seawater can wholly substitute for the BG11 without affecting cyanobacterial growth, thereby reducing the usage of expensive chemical growth media. Thus,The results of study help to enhance the biomass production of both salt-sensitive and salt-tolerant cyanobacteria for sustainable biofuel and biofertilizer production.

DataForAssessingSeasonalEffectsOnElectricityAndWaterForRepositoryThis Excel file contains data used to conduct a seasonal analysis to assess whether seasonal patterns exist in electricity use in dorms and whether these patterns differ by latitude. The first worksheet contains metadata.Fall 2010 Campus Conservation Nationals surveyThis online survey was administered to students attending colleges who participated in the Fall 2010 Campus Conservation Nationals competition. Not all schools who participated in the competition administered the survey.CCN_F10_survey.pdfSpring 2012 Campus Conservation Nationals surveyThis online survey was administered to students attending colleges who participated in the Spring 2012 Campus Conservation Nationals competition. Not all schools who participated in the competition administered the survey.CCN_Spring12_survey.pdfFall 10 Campus Conservation Nationals electricity, water, webhit, and commitment dataThis data file contains data at the dorm level collected by Lucid before, during, and after the Fall 2010 CCN competition. The first sheet contains metadata defining all variable names.Fall10_CCN_elec_water_webhits_commitments.xlsxSpring 2012 Campus Conservation Nationals electricity, water, and commitment dataThis data file contains data at the dorm level collected by Lucid before, during, and after the Spring 2012 CCN competition. The first sheet contains metadata defining all variable names.Spring12_CCN_elec_water_commitments_no.xlsxFall 10 CCN data aggregated at dorm level with psychological variablesThis data file contains data at the dorm level collected from our online survey and merged with the resource use data. The first sheet contains metadata defining all variable names.Fall10_CCN_dormagg_with_psych_variables.xlsxSpring 2012 CCN data with psychological variablesThis data file contains data at the dorm level collected from our online survey and merged with the resource use data. The first sheet contains metadata defining all variable names.Spring12__CCN_dormagg_with_psych_variables.xlsx “Campus Conservation Nationals” (CCN) is a recurring, nation-wide electricity and water-use reduction competition among dormitories on college campuses. We conducted a two year empirical study of the competition’s effects on resource consumption and the relationship between conservation, use of web technology and various psychological measures. Significant reductions in electricity and water use occurred during the two CCN competitions examined (n = 105,000 and 197,000 participating dorm residents respectively). In 2010, overall reductions during the competition were 4% for electricity and 6% for water. The top 10% of dorms achieved 28% and 36% reductions in electricity and water respectively. Participation was larger in 2012 and reductions were slightly smaller (i.e. 3% electricity). The fact that no seasonal pattern in electricity use was evident during non-competition periods suggests that results are attributable to the competition. Post competition resource use data collected in 2012 indicates that conservation behavior was sustained beyond the competition. Surveys were used to assess psychological and behavioral responses (n = 2,900 and 2,600 in 2010 and 2012 respectively). Electricity reductions were significantly correlated with: web visitation, specific conservation behaviors, awareness of the competition, motivation and sense of empowerment. However, participants were significantly more motivated than empowered. Perceived benefits of conservation were skewed towards global and future concerns while perceived barriers tended to be local. Results also suggest that competitions may be useful for “preaching beyond the choir” – engaging those who might lack prior intrinsic or political motivation. Although college life is distinct, certain conclusions related to competitions, self-efficacy, and motivation and social norms likely extend to other residential settings.

We simulated an experimental summer storm in large-volume (~1200 m3, ~16m depth) enclosures in Lake Stechlin by mixing deeper water masses from the meta- and hypolimnion into the mixed layer (epilimnion). The mixing included the disturbance of a deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) which was present at the same time of the experiment in Lake Stechlin and situated in the metalimnion of each enclosure during filling. Copepod and Cladocera biomass was monitored for 42 days after the experimental disturbance event (Utermöhl counting at 60x magnification and biomass calculation from length-dry mass relationships). Sampling was performed using a 90 µm mesh size Apstein-cone. Method: 90 µm mesh size Apstein-cone, Utermöhl counting at 60x, TSO image analysis program (KIO VIDMESS-2011, Version 2.60.50, including a TSO-KST1003832 camera, TSO - Thalheim-Spezial-Optik-Gerätebau, Pulsnitz, Germany), biomass calculations from length-dry mass relationships (Bottrell et al. 1976; Kasprzak 1983).Further Project information:Core Facility grant; Award: GE 1775/2-1

This data publication contains research data associated with the European Union's Horizon 2020 REFLECT project which aims to obtain data relevant to the production of geothermal waters at extreme conditions. Results given here are part of REFLECT deliverable 2.2: Report on gas solubility and degassing kinetic (type C). A link to the deliverables of this project is given below as reference. It contains experimental results from the degassing process of CO2-water mixtures at conditions relevant to the production of geothermal waters with a specific focus on high salinity fluids.

Climate change is predicted to increase the frequency of droughts and intensity of seasonal precipitation in many regions. Semiaquatic mammals should be vulnerable to this increased variability in precipitation, especially in human-modified landscapes where dispersal to suitable habitat or temporary refugia may be limited. Using six years of presence-absence data (2007–2012) spanning years of record-breaking drought and flood conditions, we evaluated regional occupancy dynamics of American mink (Neovison vison) and muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) in a highly altered agroecosystem in Illinois, USA. We used noninvasive sign surveys and a multiseason occupancy modeling approach to estimate annual occupancy rates for both species and related these rates to summer precipitation. We also tracked radiomarked individuals to assess mortality risk for both species when moving in terrestrial areas. Annual model-averaged estimates of occupancy for mink and muskrat were correlated positively to summer precipitation. Mink and muskrats were widespread during a year (2008) with above-average precipitation. However, estimates of site occupancy declined substantially for mink (0.56) and especially muskrats (0.09) during the severe drought of 2012. Mink are generalist predators that probably use terrestrial habitat during droughts. However, mink had substantially greater risk of mortality away from streams. In comparison, muskrats are more restricted to aquatic habitats and likely suffered high mortality during the drought. Our patterns are striking, but a more mechanistic understanding is needed of how semiaquatic species in human-modified ecosystems will respond ecologically in situ to extreme weather events predicted by climate-change models. Ahlers AA, Cotner LA, Wolff PJ, Mitchell MA, Heske EJ, Schooley RL (2015) Summer precipitation predicts spatial distributions of semiaquatic mammals. PLoS ONE 10(8): e0135036. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0135036

At each station, seawater was collected for trace metals sampling at 20 m depth using a Teflon pump (Furon®) with a 40 m Teflon tube connected with a AcroPakTM 1500 capsule w/Supor Memb 0.8/0.2 μm filter. The pump was left to pump to rinse the inner hose and 1 L sample was collected in LDPE bottles (NALGENE) and stored at -20oC until the land-based laboratory analysis. The material was previously cleaned following the trace metals GEOTRACES protocol and the experiments were done in Class 100 clean laboratory or trace metal analysis (QUIMA- IOCAG TM lab).

Large-scale reforestation can potentially bring both benefits and risks to the water cycle, which needs to be better quantified under future climates to inform reforestation decisions. We identified 477 water-insecure basins worldwide accounting for 44.6% (380.2 Mha) of the global reforestation potential. As many of these basins are in the Asia-Pacific, we used regional coupled land-climate modelling for the period 2041–2070 to reveal that reforestation increases evapotranspiration and precipitation for most water-insecure regions over the Asia-Pacific. This resulted in a statistically significant increase in water yield (p < 0.05) for the Loess Plateau-North China Plain, Yangtze Plain, Southeast China and Irrawaddy regions. Precipitation feedback was influenced by the degree of initial moisture limitation affecting soil moisture response and thus evapotranspiration, as well as precipitation advection from other reforested regions and moisture transport away from the local region. Reforestation also reduces the probability of extremely dry months in most of the water-insecure regions. However, some regions experience non-significant declines in net water yield due to heightened evapotranspiration outstripping increases in precipitation, or declines in soil moisture and advected precipitation. This dataset contains raw data outputs for Teo et al. (2022), Global Change Biology. Please see the published paper for further details on methods. For enquiries, please contact the corresponding authors: hcteo [at] u.nus.edu or lianpinkoh [at] nus.edu.sg.  Shapefiles can be opened with any GIS program such as ArcMap or QGIS. CSV files can be opened with any spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice.

Carbon isotope ratios of Valeriana edulis leaf samples used to test for sex differences in integrated water use efficiency. See README.txt for column descriptions.