Description: Brazil’s status as a rapidly developing country is visible in its need for more energy, including electricity. While the current electricity generation mix is primarily hydropower based, high-quality dam sites are diminishing and diversification to other sources is likely. We combined life-cycle data for electricity production with scenarios developed using the IAEA’s MESSAGE model to examine environmental impacts of future electricity generation under a baseline case and four side cases, using a Monte-Carlo approach to incorporate uncertainty in power plant performance and LCA impacts. Our results show that, under the cost-optimal base case scenario, Brazil’s GHGs from electricity (excluding hydroelectric reservoir emissions) rise 370% by 2040 relative to 2010, with the carbon intensity per MWh rising 100%. This rise would make Brazil’s carbon emissions targets difficult to meet without demand-side programs. Our results show a future electricity mix dominated by environmental tradeoffs in the use of large-scale renewables, questioning the use tropical hydropower and highlighting the need for additional work to assess and include ecosystem and social impacts, where information is currently sparse.

Description: A comprehensive monitoring project (2006–2013) provided data on hydrology, hydromorphology, climatology, water physico-chemistry, sedimentology, macroinvertebrate community and fish diversity in the Kharaa River basin in northern Mongolia, thus enabling, for the first time, a detailed characterization of the stream landscapes. Surface waters were categorized into separate “water bodies” according to their identifiable abiotic and biocoenotic features, subsequently creating the smallest management sub-units within the river basin. Following the approach of the European Water Framework Directive (EC-WFD), in order to obtain a good ecological status (GES), four clearly identifiable water bodies in the Kharaa River main channel and seven water bodies consisting of the basin’s tributaries were delineated. The type-specific undisturbed reference state of various aquatic ecosystems was identified in the assessment and used to set standards for restoration goals. With regards to water quality and quantity, the upper reaches of the Kharaa River basin in the Khentii Mountains were classified as having a “good” ecological and chemical status. Compared with these natural reference conditions in the upper reaches, the initial risk assessment identified several “hot spot” regions with impacted water bodies in the middle and lower basin. Subsequently, the affected water bodies are at risk of not obtaining a level of good ecological and/or chemical status for surface waters. Finally, a matrix of cause-response relationships and stressor complexes has been developed and is presented here. The applicability of management approaches is discussed to better foster the development of a sustainable river basin management plan. The application of natural references states offers a sound scientific base to assess the impact of anthropogenic activities across the Kharaa River basin.

Description: Empirical band ratio algorithms for the estimation of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) for Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and MERIS ocean color sensors were assessed and developed for the northern Gulf of Mexico. Match-ups between in situ measurements of CDOM absorption coefficients at 412 nm (aCDOM(412)) with that derived from SeaWiFS were examined using two previously reported reflectance band ratio algorithms. Results indicate better performance using the Rrs(510)/Rrs(555) (Bias = −0.045; RMSE = 0.23; SI = 0.49, and R2 = 0.66) than the Rrs(490)/Rrs(555) reflectance band ratio algorithm. Further, a comparison of aCDOM(412) retrievals using the Rrs(488)/Rrs(555) for MODIS and Rrs(510)/Rrs(560) for MERIS reflectance band ratios revealed better CDOM retrievals with MERIS data. Since DOC cannot be measured directly by remote sensors, CDOM as the colored component of DOC is utilized as a proxy to estimate DOC remotely. A seasonal relationship between CDOM and DOC was established for the summer and spring-winter with high correlation for both periods (R2~0.9). Seasonal band ratio empirical algorithms to estimate DOC were thus developed using the relationships between CDOM-Rrs and seasonal CDOM-DOC for SeaWiFS, MODIS and MERIS. Results of match-up comparisons revealed DOC estimates by both MODIS and MERIS to be relatively more accurate during summer time, while both of them underestimated DOC during spring-winter time. A better DOC estimate from MERIS in comparison to MODIS in spring-winter could be attributed to its similarity with the SeaWiFS band ratio CDOM algorithm.

Description: IJERPH, Vol. 15, Pages 1029: Effects of Different Spectral Shapes and Amplitude Modulation of Broadband Noise on Annoyance Reactions in a Controlled Listening Experiment International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph15051029 Authors: Beat Schäffer Reto Pieren Sabine J. Schlittmeier Mark Brink Environmental noise from transportation or industrial infrastructure typically has a broad frequency range. Different sources may have disparate acoustical characteristics, which may in turn affect noise annoyance. However, knowledge of the relative contribution of the different acoustical characteristics of broadband noise to annoyance is still scarce. In this study, the subjectively perceived short-term (acute) annoyance reactions to different broadband sounds (namely, realistic outdoor wind turbine and artificial, generic sounds) at 40 dBA were investigated in a controlled laboratory listening experiment. Combined with the factorial design of the experiment, the sounds allowed for separation of the effects of three acoustical characteristics on annoyance, namely, spectral shape, depth of periodic amplitude modulation (AM), and occurrence (or absence) of random AM. Fifty-two participants rated their annoyance with the sounds. Annoyance increased with increasing energy content in the low-frequency range as well as with depth of periodic AM, and was higher in situations with random AM than without. Similar annoyance changes would be evoked by sound pressure level changes of up to 8 dB. The results suggest that besides standard sound pressure level metrics, other acoustical characteristics of (broadband) noise should also be considered in environmental impact assessments, e.g., in the context of wind turbine installations.

Description: Energies, Vol. 10, Pages 1075: Estimating Lithium-Ion Battery State of Charge and Parameters Using a Continuous-Discrete Extended Kalman Filter Energies doi: 10.3390/en10081075 Authors: Yasser Diab François Auger Emmanuel Schaeffer Moutassem Wahbeh A real-time determination of battery parameters is challenging because batteries are non-linear, time-varying systems. The transient behaviour of lithium-ion batteries is modelled by a Thevenin-equivalent circuit with two time constants characterising activation and concentration polarization. An experimental approach is proposed for directly determining battery parameters as a function of physical quantities. The model’s parameters are a function of the state of charge and of the discharge rate. These can be expressed by regression equations in the model to derive a continuous-discrete extended Kalman estimator of the state of charge and of other parameters. This technique is based on numerical integration of the ordinary differential equations to predict the state of the stochastic dynamic system and the corresponding error covariance matrix. Then a standard correction step of the extended Kalman filter (EKF) is applied to increase the accuracy of estimated parameters. Simulations resulting from this proposed estimator model were compared with experimental results under a variety of operating scenarios—analysis of the results demonstrate the accuracy of the estimator for correctly identifying battery parameters.

Description: Ocean color algorithms have been successfully developed to estimate chlorophyll a and total suspended solids concentrations in coastal and estuarine waters but few have been created to estimate light absorption due to colored dissolved inorganic matter (CDOM) and salinity from the spectral signatures of these waters. In this study, we used remotely sensed reflectances in the red and blue-green portions of the visible spectrum retrieved from Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) and the International Space Station (ISS) Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) images to create a model to estimate CDOM absorption. CDOM absorption results were then used to develop an algorithm to predict the surface salinities of coastal bays and estuaries in New England, Middle Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico regions. Algorithm-derived CDOM absorptions and salinities were successfully validated using laboratory measured absorption values over magnitudes of ~0.1 to 7.0 m−1 and field collected CTD data from oligohaline to polyhaline (S less than 5 to 18–30) environments in Narragansett Bay (Rhode Island); the Neuse River Estuary (North Carolina); Pensacola Bay (Florida); Choctawhatchee Bay (Florida); St. Andrews Bay (Florida); St. Joseph Bay (Florida); and inner continental shelf waters of the Gulf of Mexico.