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Algae are the fastest-growing plants in the world. Industrial reactors for algal culture are open ponds, photobioreactors and closed systems. Algae are very important as a biomass source. Algae will some day be competitive as a source for biofuel. Different species of algae may be better suited for different types of fuel. Algae can be grown almost anywhere, even on sewage or salt water, and does not require fertile land or food crops, and processing requires less energy than the algae provides. Algae can be a replacement for oil based fuels, one that is more effective and has no disadvantages. Algae are among the fastest-growing plants in the world, and about 50% of their weight is oil. This lipid oil can be used...
Biofuels world production has increased sharply in recent years. Oil reserves depletion, the oil high price and the confidence in biofuels “carbon neutrality” are the main causes of this phenomenon. However, claims related to the negative consequences of biofuel programs are frequent; mainly those related to the biofuels/food competition and sustainability. This paper aims to contribute for the development of a framework for sustainability indicators as a tool for performance assessment. The most used indicators to measure the biofuels sustainability are: Life Cycle Energy Balance (LCEB), quantity of fossil energy substituted per hectare, co-product energy allocation, life cycle carbon balance and changes in soil...
The uptake of nitrous oxide (N2O) occurs at the surface of the earth both in terrestrial and aquatic systems. This uptake is usually neglected in N2O budget studies. In this article, we discuss the likeliness of N2O uptake in different systems. These systems include soils as well as groundwater systems, riparian zones and surface waters. We address the possible consequences of ignoring surface sinks for N2O in global budgets as well as in national emission inventories. Our estimated surface sink is relatively small compared to the estimates of the present-day global emissions. Neglecting a possible surface sink of N2O may, therefore, not have major consequences for atmospheric budget studies on the global scale....
Most countries now wish to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. In this paper, Professors Häfele and Manne discuss transition away from the current situation where virtually all demands for primary energy are met by fossil fuels. Assuming that this transition is to be based upon nuclear fission, they examine the interplay between natural resource scarcities, economics costs and the assessment of alternative technologies for the production of synthetic fuels.
In February 1983, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) identified the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada as one of nine potentially acceptable sites for a mined geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The site is in the Great Basin, which is one of five distinct geohydrologic settings considered for the first repository. To determine their suitability, the Yucca Mountain site and the eight other potentially acceptable sites have been evaluated in accordance with the DOE'S General Guidelines for the Recommendation of Sites for the Nuclear Waste Repositories. These evaluations were reported in draft environmental assessments (EAs), which were issued for public review and comment. After...
The U.S. continues efforts to develop genetically superior short-rotation woody crops (hybrid poplar and willow) and herbaceous crops (switchgrass). These biomass crops can provide multiple environmental benefits as well as energy and fiber. This paper focuses on results of site-specific studies that are quantifying the environmental potential and ramifications of converting agricultural croplands to biomass crop production. At research-scales, no differences have been found in erosion and movement of nutrients from annual row crops, switchgrass, and tree crops with and without a cover crop in the initial year of establishment. Research- and watershed-scale studies on different soil types, in different regions,...
Broadening the IYamework of enviromnental impact assessment (EIA) involves an e×amination of the principles and policies which should underlie ecologically sustainable development. To work effectively, EIA procedures need to be located within a broad fi'amework of policies and environmental objectives, standards and monitoring. This paper discusses the political and environmental context in Australia within which the debate on sustainable development is occurring. Some important principles which underlie an ecologically sustainable development policy IYamework are discussed, These include inter-generational equity, conservation of biological diversity and ecological integrity, maintenance of natural capital and...
The concept of managing the environment and any associated human health impacts by means of such science-based tools as toxicological evaluation, risk assessment, and economic appraisal has become widely accepted in professional circles. These increasingly complex methodologies have not won universal support, however, even among the technically minded, and the wider public has in many cases remained sceptical. The public’s seeming lack of enthusiasm has frequently been assigned to ignorance of science, irrationality even, and some attempts have been made to ameliorate the situation by means of education, though with little evidence of success. However, this review advances an alternative explanation, namely, that...
We examined bird and bat mortality at a new 89-turbine windfarm constructed in an environmentally sensitive area in north-central Iowa. The windfarm became operational in November 2001. It is located in cropland between three Wildlife Management Areas (WMA's) with historically high bird use. In the past, migrant and resident waterfowl, shorebirds, raptors, and songbirds moved between the WMA's through the area now occupied by the windfarm. Studies of bird collision mortality in California and elsewhere raised concerns about the possibility of mortalities in this area. From April 15, 2003 and December 15, 2003 we searched for dead animals under 26 randomly selected turbines. Six 76.2 m by 3.0 m transects were maintained...
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Aerial photographs of the coastline from Teller to Nome were collected between August 26, 2015 - August 27, 2015. The photographs were processed using Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetric techniques. Global Positioning System (GPS) checkpoints were collected via a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) survey conducted between August 15 and September 14, 2015. For the purposes of open access to elevation and orthoimagery datasets in coastal regions of Alaska, this collection is being released as a Raw Data File with an open end-user license. This file is a single-band, 32-bit float DSM (digital surface model) which represents surface elevations of buildings, vegetation, and uncovered ground surfaces in...
We present the results of a content analysis conducted on 2502 papers written by 5318 authors published between 1999 and 2008 in three leading energy studies journals: Energy Policy, The Energy Journal, and The Electricity Journal. Our study finds that authors were most likely to be male, based in North America, possess a background in science or engineering, and affiliated with a university or research institute. Articles were likely to be written by authors working within disciplinary boundaries and using research methods from an economics/engineering background. The US was the most written about country among papers that adopted a country focus and electricity was the most frequently discussed energy source....
The history of hydrocarbon generation, expulsion and migration from the Upper Devonian Bakken and Mississippian Lodgepole source rocks in the Williston Basin has been successfully replicated by a 330-km long TEMISPACK model, running from the centre of Williston Basin to the Wapella oilfield in Saskatchewan. The model shows that oil generation is the cause of overpressures in the Bakken Fm., where shale vertical permeabilities must be as low as 10-2-10 -3 nD when overpressures are around 15 MPa. Hydraulic fracturing threshold was not commonly reached. Yet, our model suggests that expulsion efficiencies are as high as 0.85. Observed very low Bakken shale porosities (0.03) are entirely consistent with this result....
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A full catalog of geoscience publications released by the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys. This includes all Alaska-related scientific reports, maps, and geospatial datasets. It excludes administrative reports, posters and presentations, newsletters, GMC data reports, brochures and pamphlets for the general public and publications that have been superseded.
map background search result map search result map Photogrammetric digital surface models and orthoimagery for the continuous coastline, Wales to Platinum, Alaska, segment B: Teller to Nome Geoscience publications from the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Photogrammetric digital surface models and orthoimagery for the continuous coastline, Wales to Platinum, Alaska, segment B: Teller to Nome Geoscience publications from the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys