Das Projekt "Predicting Recovery in Acidified Freshwaters by the Year 2010 and Beyond" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Bayreuth, Bayreuther Institut für Terrestrische Ökosystemforschung, Lehrstuhl für Bodenökologie durchgeführt. Objective/Problems to be solved: RECOVER:2010 is designed to assess the impact of current and future anthropogenic pressures on sensitive European freshwater ecosystems. RECOVER:2010 will evaluate the present extent of recovery of acidified freshwaters, and identify and quantify the dominant driving processes governing the timing and magnitude of recovery. This Pan-European assessment will use enhanced predictive models to evaluate the degree of compliance with respect to restoration of acidified waters by the year 2010 as specified under the Water Framework Directive. Similarly, agreed and proposed UN-ECE protocols on emissions control will be critically assessed and economic costs and environmental benefits evaluated with respect to the recovery of freshwaters. Scientific objectives and approach: Empirical data from different acidified European ecotypes will be evaluated to provide measures of time lags in response to changes in emissions of acidifying compounds, and indeed to separate out the different contributing processes. Regional controls on sulphur dynamics, and the role of nitrogen in the recovery process will be determined. Current conceptualisation of the recovery process has not considered potential interaction with natural variations such as climate induced impacts, and RECOVER:2010 aims to assess the magnitude and spatial extent of these confounding factors. Current dynamic modelling approaches will then be enhanced through improved process representation, and through the linking of hydrochemical changes to biological impacts and time lags in ecosystem recovery. An evaluation of Pan-European existing and proposed emission controls will then be undertaken to determine spatial and temporal patterns of response. Feedback from the modelling evaluation will be central to the development of strategies to optimise environmental benefit against economic cost. Similarly, the timing of mitigation measures such as the implementation of S and/or N emissions reduction, will greatly influence the expected recovery of both individual regions and Europe as a whole. These, previously un-addressed interactions, will be also explored within RECOVER:2010. Hence these are distinct scientific, methodological and policy challenges which interact within the concept of RECOVER:2010. Expected impacts: The development of sustainable options for emissions control reductions is required to balance economic, social and environmental constraints. RECOVER:2010 will specifically address such concerns, and the involvement of an end-user focus group comprising National and International Agencies, will ensure that the results of this project extend further than just the scientific domain. Prime Contractor: Macaulay Land Use Research Institute; Aberdeen/UK.
Das Projekt "Fuel Cell Systems and Components General Research for Vehicle Applications (FUERO)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Technische Hochschule Aachen, Lehrstuhl und Institut für Kraftfahrwesen durchgeführt. Objective: The objective is to make available advanced system and component technologies for f.c. application on different categories of vehicles according to relevant operational requirements and consistent with sustainable life cycle and environmental impact prerequisites incl. energy sources infrastructures, fuel availability industrial production and recycling aspects. The project is the leading frame of the cluster 'land transport by fuel cells technology' which include development projects conducted by components makers: PROFUEL CARDEMECEL HIPERSTACK COMPEX, ECO-POWER related respectively to the areas of fuel processing, direct methanol cells, PEM stack, compressor- expander, electric drive trains. The key issue of the project is focused on overall studies and def. of specifications of components suitable for an optimised management of a F.C. vehicle, the LCA the test bench evaluation and final assessment after a demonstration phase.
Das Projekt "In Situ Monitoring of Landfill Related Contaminents in Soil and Water by Infrared Sensing" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Fraunhofer-Institut für Physikalische Messtechnik durchgeführt. Objective: Problems to be solved: The project will contribute to the abatement of water pollution from contaminated lands, landfills and sediments. With its capacity of on-line and real-time measurement of pollutants, measurement techniques that are not available at the moment, the proposed sensor is a valuable tool for landfill monitoring, risk assessment and control of remediation efficiency. It can, for example, improve the 'use' of natural attenuation as a remediation technique. Natural attenuation, i.e. leaving remediation to natural processes without applying costly techniques, is based on the observation that there is a decrease in the contaminant concentrations which limits the extent of the contaminant plume. The key disadvantage of natural attenuation is the need to ensure that the contamination does not propagate further. The proposed sensors, placed in the vicinity of the plume may serve as a cost effective and reliable alert network. Possible emerging economic possibilities for waste disposal should strengthen EU industrial competitiveness. This is of special importance for the EU with its densely populated production sites. Scientific objectives and approach: The project aims at monitoring of soil and water for landfill related contamination by an in-situ monitoring for soil and water by infrared sensing. A portable and rugged system will be developed that will allow sensor elements to be inserted and left in soil locations under the ground for long term monitoring of organic pollutants. The concept of a buried sensor gives the opportunity to continuously monitor organic pollutants without sampling errors. Since it is important to monitor pollutants over a long period of time, the sensor system will be optimised with regard to long term stability. Expected impacts: The IMSIS sensor concept is novel for landfill monitoring, its central objective is to open new possibilities for continuous monitoring and control. For this reason it is one objective of the project to investigate and evaluate the need of end users with respect to sensor applications. Mid IR spectroscopic measurements are widely used for the analysis of samples placed inside spectrometers. This project is involved in the development and use of IR optical fibres for absorption measurements on remote locations. The development of this remote spectroscopy is on one hand an innovation with respect to real time analytical measurements inside landfills, on the other hand it opens the field of all kind of IR remote sensing applications e.g. in process control or measurements in explosion endangered environments. Within the project, there will be a development of short segments of tapered and flattened fibres which will serve as sensor elements in the sensor head. Tapering of fibres to increase sensitivity is a well-known technique in the UV and visible wavelength range. Tapering of MIR fibres is a completely new and demanding task since IR transmitting materials are difficult t
Das Projekt "Photovoltaic Fuel-Cell Hybrid System for Electricity and Heat Production for Remote Sites" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Kassel, Institut für Solare Energieversorgungstechnik e.V, Standort Kassel durchgeführt. Objective: The aim of the PVFC-SYS project is to study and develop a low power generation system, which is based on the synergies between a photovoltaic generator, a Proton exchange Membrane fuel cell, an electrolyser and hydrogen/oxygen storage equipment, valorising both electricity and heat. This system (5-10 kW) is intended to be a future competitor to hybrid PV/Diesel systems both in an environmental point of view, saving scarce resources and reducing the emissions of pollutants and noise and in the costs point of view. The safety aspects of such installations, due to hydrogen, will be assessed and will contribute to a broader acceptance of such systems. To achieve the objectives, a test bench will be adapted to test dedicated technologies and will serve to design a pilot site. The results will establish the energetic, environmental and economical benefits of the technology. Market analysis is foreseen to identify niche applications. Prime Contractor: Association pour la Recherche et le Developpement des Methodes et Processus Industriels, Ecole Nationale Superieure des Mines de Paris Centre d'Energetique, Etablissement de Sophia Antipolis; Sophia Antipolis.
Das Projekt "Landscape-Use Optimisation with Regards of the Groundwater Resources Protection in the Mountain Hardrock Areas" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität München, Institut für Allgemeine und Angewandte Geologie durchgeführt. Objective/Problems to be solved: The objective of the project is to assess the degree of interference of anthropogenic activities with the hydrosphere in mountain regions. For this purpose, six regions have been selected. Analyses of various factors of agricultural, industrial activities affecting the hydrosphere will permit to assess the efficiency of imposed measures to protect the hydrosphere. The investigation will be carried out on two scales: detailed and regional. This study will also consider the results of monitoring and earlier data filed in archives, which would allow to reconstruct the evolution of hydrosphere in studied regions during the last 40 years. The modelling will allow to simulate various alternatives in term of landscape-use leading to an optimum one from the viewpoint of water management. Scientific objectives and approach: Results of this work must permit to predict the influences on water (in quantity and in quality) of various landscape-use scenario, in order to give a preference for the choices in land-planning , compatible with a sustainable development. Our project will focus on the following topics: -to identify and solve the correlation between individual factors which influence the quality and volume of water resources in mountain areas. - suggestions for optimum local development from the viewpoint of groundwater protection. Partial output of this work will be the assessment of efficiency of implementation of E.U. and national directives on groundwater protection. - The ultimate objective of the LOWRGREP project is the creation of the ECEMEWAM system (European Centre for Mutual Exchange of Experience in Water management in Mountain Regions) which will lead to a set up of project's own WWW pages. This will provide all data on optimum exploitation from the view-point of groundwater protection (general information) and data from yet studied areas to any client interested in the problem. In the case of some very specific issue, the client will be offered to contact an appropriate specialist. The first stage involves collection of all environmental data, their transfer into electronic form and their preliminary processing using a Geographical Information System. The second stage consists in monitoring catchments with two different scales (local and regional).A model will be built up in order to describe the water balance and the trends in water quality under various conditions. The final stage is the design of a software, HYDRODESUSMA: Hydrogeological Decision Support System in Mountain Areas; this software is aimed at the presentation and analysis of all the obtained data and knowledge in user-friendly form that can be easily interpreted by potential users... Prime Contractor: Association pour la recherche et le developpement des methodes et processus industriels, laboratoire geotechnique, exploitation, ressources, mineralogie; Ales/France.
Das Projekt "Key Nutrient Mechanisms Important for the Prediction of Nutrient and Phytoplankton Concentrations in European Standing Waters" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Forschungsverbund Berlin, Leibniz-Institut für Gewässerökologie und Binnenfischerei durchgeführt. Objective/Problems to be solved: This project will identify and quantify important control mechanisms for nutrient retention and release within lakes and their catchments. The project will assemble nutrient budgets for a large number of lakes across Europe and intensively study a smaller selection in order to develop catchment nutrient transport models that account for critical physico-chemical and ecological differences among lakes. An understanding of these mechanisms will assist with the River Basin Management Plans proposed in the forthcoming European Council Directive establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy. Scientific objectives and approach: The project will have three stages. The first will be the collation of existing data on an extensive range of catchments throughout Europe. Data used will include variables that enable calculation of nutrient budgets of both nitrogen and phosphorus and an estimate of in-lake concentrations of phytoplankton chlorophyll a. The analysis of collated data will enable the identification of primary predictors of in-lake nutrient and phytoplankton concentrations. The second stage of the project will quantify those predictors among a series of intensively studied lakes and catchments. The work will partition and estimate flux rates of nutrients within and between different physical and biotic compartments of land and surface waters within catchments that represent examples of high to low intensity land-use across a range of geomorphologies. The third stage of the project will, based on the results of the project, develop mathematical models for the prediction of in-lake nutrient and phytoplankton concentrations. Expected impacts: Risk assessment of nutrient enrichment of lakes through an understanding of the nutrient transport mechanisms through catchments and their lakes will assist management strategies and the implementation of programme of measures for lake improvement. This can be particularly important for evaluating management options of European lakes that can differ markedly in terms of geomorphology, hydrometrics, lake morphometry and land-use. The project will work closely with Competent Authorities concerned with the implementation of the Water Framework Directive. It is a project goal to contribute to the implementation of measures that will lead to the preservation of waters of good ecological status and improve those which are impaired through nutrient enrichment. Prime Contractor: University of Dublin, Trinity College, Department of Zoology; Dublin/Ireland.
Das Projekt "Direct Injection Engine Spray Processes. Mechanisms to Improve Performance" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institut für Verfahrenstechnik, Lehrstuhl für Strömungsmechanik durchgeführt. Objective: The main objective of the project is to optimise combustion in direct injection Diesel and gasoline engines, through the improved understanding of fuel - air mixing with special emphasis on the evaporation process and impingement against hot surfaces like the piston or cylinder walls, which have shown to be major problems of current direct injection engines. More specific objectives are: - To develop and use modern experimental techniques for spray characterisation and to optimise research methodologies. - To generate a wide data base of experimental results on spray behaviour under close to real engine situations. - To develop and validate new submodels of spray evaporation and impingement, to be integrated into existing solvers for predicting spray behaviour. - To obtain clear guidelines for optimisation of the combustion process in modern direct injection Diesel and gasoline engine. Description of the work: The project objectives will be achieved by a combination of measurement and calculation methods which will be partly developed for this purpose. The experiments, to be performed in a high number of advanced, purpose-made experimental facilities, with state-of-the-art measurement equipment. They will include fundamental research to go deeper into the physical mechanisms of evaporation and impingement, as a necessary task for proper modelling, as well as measurements close to engine conditions. Advanced high pressure Diesel and gasoline direct injection systems will be used as the basis for the experiments, which will be performed in different injection test rigs and in engines, with geometry and spray air-flow characteristics as the main variables. New evaporation and impingement submodels will be developed on the basis of fundamental experimental research, and they will be validated and optimised on the basis of the more complex experiments in close to engine situations. Current codes will be used in parallel to provide some relevant information to guide the experiments and to improve understanding of the most complex phenomena of spray combustion, but also to evidence the deficiencies of the currently available codes. Expected results and exploitation plans: The gained knowledge on the physical phenomena inherent to spray development will hopefully provide clear guidelines to optimise combustion in internal combustion engines with current and alternative fuels and injection systems, which will be directly used in the design of new generation engines. It is also expected that new ideas on viable new concepts on spray formation systems will arise from the results, which will be further evaluated by the Industrial partners at the end of the project. The validated models will be implemented into an existing commercial code which is currently used all around Europe in a large number of industrial sectors which make use of sprays... Prime Contractor: Polytechnic University of Valencia, Department of Machines and Thermic Engines; Valen
Das Projekt "Biodiversity Assessment Tools (EESD)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Freiburg, Institut für Forstökonomie, Abteilung für Fernerkundung und Landschaftsinformationssysteme durchgeführt. Objective: Problems to be solved: This project addresses the need to detect change in biodiversity, in particular the diversity of species. This requirement has long been recognised and is explicitly included in, amongst other places, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which the EU and all its Member States are parties to, the EU Biodiversity Strategy and the Ministerial Process for Protection of Forests in Europe. However, the major problem with monitoring biodiversity is that it is impossible to assess changes in the large number of species present in any place. Thus indicators able rapidly to assess changes in biodiversity are needed. An ideal indicator for assessing biodiversity provides an early warning of changes in biodiversity, particularly in relation to possible threats to biodiversity (such as pollution and alien species), specific initiatives intended to alleviate these threats (such as the CBD), and policy reforms which may affect biodiversity (such as the adjustments to the EU's Common Agricultural Policy, Transport Policy, etc.). Scientific objectives and approach: The overall objective of this project is to develop indicators, or 'biodiversity assessment tools', for measuring changes in the biodiversity of terrestrial ecosystems in Europe. The approach of the project is first to consider the major factors, particularly policy-related factors, influencing biodiversity in Europe and, therefore, to assess where the greatest needs for indicators of biodiversity exists. This will be done in meetings and in an electronic conference with a wide range of stakeholders, leading to guidelines for the development of biodiversity assessment tools. From these guidelines, a series of indicators will be proposed, including those that can be measured remotely from aerial photographs, satellite and laser scanner. The proposed biodiversity indicators will then be tested across land-use gradients, from forests to intensively managed agricultural areas, in large test sites in Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, Hungary, Ireland, Finland and the UK, involving scientists from these countries and from Germany and the Netherlands. Thus the approach of the project is also designed to measure the impact of land-use change on selected major components of biodiversity, including earthworms, ground-beetles, butterflies, plants, lichens and birds. Expected impacts: The intended impact of this project is to improve the management of European biodiversity by producing sets of indicators, or 'biodiversity assessment tools', which will allow different stakeholders, including local and national governments, NGOs and the European Union, to monitor biodiversity. Prime Contractor: Natural environmental research council; Swindon.
Das Projekt "Groundwater Risk Assessment at Contaminated Sites" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Tübingen, Institut und Museum für Geologie und Paläontologie durchgeführt. Objective/Problems to be solved: Contaminated land in Europe poses a serious problem with respect to soil quality and the risk of spreading of pollutants into other compartments of the environment. The major concern at most contaminated sites is the risk of groundwater pollution by organic and inorganic compounds. Since, the remediation of all of the contaminated sites in Europe is economically not feasible, groundwater risk assessment procedures are needed for the ranking of sites, decision making on further use and remedial actions. In contrast to existing procedures this project concentrates on the development of methodologies for the assessment of the mobile contaminant fraction in contaminated soil and waste material. (i.e. the contaminant fraction which would reach the aquifer). It will allow the determination of the long-term contaminant release rates and the overall emission of pollutants into the groundwater at contaminated sites. The most important innovations expected will be more harmonized and integrated guidelines for groundwater risk assessment in Europe and beyond. Scientific objectives and approach: The procedures to be developed take the form of a scenario approach, as it is intended to be generally applicable to different situations in terms of classes/combination of pollutants and site-specific conditions, such as climatic conditions, permeability and distance between contamination and groundwater table. Such a scenario approach will allow the determination a priori whether, under given site conditions (subsurface permeability, distance to groundwater table, type of material) and contaminant properties (volatile/non-volatile/water soluble etc.), a minor, medium or high risk of groundwater pollution exists. The validation of these new risk assessment procedures will be done 1) in a well controlled field experiment which comprises an emplaced source of a hydrocarbon mixture consisting of volatile to semi-volatile, (partly) biodegradable compounds, 2) laboratory and field investigations for the quantification of contaminant transfer rates across the capillary fringe for specific scenarios and 3) column leaching tests for the quantification of the mobile contaminant fraction in various contaminated soils and waste materials (e.g. slag, bottom ash, construction/recycling materials). To cover as many different site-specific-scenarios as possible, the project involves numerical modelling for vapour phase contaminant transport in the unsaturated zone and long-term leaching of contaminants from specific materials. Expected impacts: The most important deliverables of the project will be guidelines for groundwater risk assessment which for certain scenarios, compound classes and material types does not require or requires only minor field or laboratory investigations. Therefore it would significantly reduce the costs to society for dealing with the legacy of industrial pollution...
Das Projekt "Integrated Nitrogen Model for European Catchments" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Bayreuth, Bayreuther Institut für Terrestrische Ökosystemforschung, Lehrstuhl für Bodenökologie durchgeführt. Objective/Problems to be solved: Across the European Union there are concerns about nitrogen (N) in lowland and upland fresh water systems, estuaries and marine areas. In such systems, additional N inputs can cause rapid aquatic plant growth, leading to eutrophication. The problems of eutrophication are usually associated with lowland, intensively farmed areas where fertilisers provide a significant source of N and/or urban areas where domestic and industrial effluent is discharged to the receiving watercourse and groundwaters. However increasing N deposition from the atmosphere has lead to increased problems in upland regions. Whilst management strategies have been implemented to control N in river systems, these have tended to address single issues: either diffuse or point sources, or upland or lowland areas. However, the N concentrations and loads in rivers reflect the integration of the catchment N sources: fertiliser inputs, atmospheric deposition and sewage discharges. Superimposed on these anthropogenic inputs are contributions from the vegetation and mineralisation and nitrification of organic N in soils. Thus, given the holistic nature of the N problem, an integrated management approach is required. To support such an approach, modelling tools are needed to assess the likely impacts of land management, N deposition and climatic change on river N concentrations and loads. The INCA project has been designed to assess the impacts of multiple sources of N (N deposition, agricultural and sewage inputs) on water quality in European catchments. As such the project will directly contribute to EC policies including the Nitrate Directive (91/676/EEC) aimed at controlling diffuse nitrate pollution of public water supplies throughout Europe; the EC Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) which aims to provide for the preservation of rare and valuable remnants of natural habitat in member states, including both terrestrial and aquatic habitat types; the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (96/61/EEC) and the proposed Water Framework Directive (COM (97) 49 Final). Scientific objectives and approach: The INCA project is based on the INCA (Integrated Nitrogen in CAtchments) model, a processed based model of plant/soil system and instream N dynamics which has been developed and tested in 4 UK catchments. Based on mass balance and reaction kinetics, INCA accounts for the multiple sources of N and simulates the principle N mechanisms operating, including mineralisation, immobilisation, nitrification and denitrification. INCA will be applied to assess the impacts of catchment N inputs on water quality at the pan European spatial scale... Prime Contractor: University of Reading, Department of Geography; Reading,Silchester/United Kingdom.
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