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An ecosystem cannot be fully and effectively described simply by simple mathematical rules. Sustainability is difficult to define or measure because it is inherently vague and complex. This paper presents a neuro-fuzzy model, which uses data from different parameters to monitor and assess a certain ecosystem. If classic mathematical methods cannot provide solutions of uncertain data and treating vague situations, a possible solution to represent these conditions may be the use of neuro-fuzzy approach. Therefore, a...

Climate change is one of the greatest global challenges of the 21st century and has manifested itself over the past few decades through extreme weather conditions, rising sea levels, and through oscillating temperatures and precipitation regimes. While temperature and precipitation data are available on a daily basis, precipitation data are more susceptible to measurement errors, have a lower spatial representation and are asymmetrically distributed. While previous studies on precipitation changes have predominant...

Problems generated by activities like mining exploatation, smelting or petrochemical refining include different levels of soils contamination with different pollutants. Having both the soils productivity and human health affected, these areas are of interest for researchers worldwide. The negative effects on the involved ecosystems and adjacent areas fully justify the current ecological and monitoring activities. Historically pollution in Baia Mare Mining Basin, like in all around mining basins, had has dramatical...

The long-term effect of economic development in post-communist Romanian urban areas brought exponential growth in motorization and uncontrolled urban expansion. As Romanian authorities still adopt conventional transport management policies, urban traffic congestion in the city of Cluj-Napoca has become a main contributor to noise pollution and air quality degradation, and has negative effects on the economy and social activities. Given the analysis of the structural and functional characteristics of the city of Cl...

This article presents the thermodynamic properties of an ecological alternative which can be used in an air-water heat pump. The experimental setup is located in a studentsпїЅ Laboratory of the Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest and uses three types of energy sources: the ambient air, the sun and electricity, for hot water production. This paper focuses on the natural alternatives: hydrocarbons and their mixtures. None of the above refrigerants is perfect; they all have both advantages and disadva...

The paper presents the need for the purification of polluted air from the highly polluting processing technology of an industrial shop. (paint shops, foundries, welding constructions, forging, etc.). The advantages of using ultrasounds in the pollutant air filtration and purification process and an ultrasonic filter designed are presented. The main computational and construction elements of the ultraacoustic system used in the design of the air filter are presented in the paper. Paper insists in the design of the ...

In conditions of modern industrial city production, the main unfavorable factor is industrial dust, the pathogenic effect of which is aggravated by an uncomfortable microclimate. To date, there is no information about the early stages of cytomorphological changes in the cells of the kidney tissue when exposed to unfavorable factors of industrial dust. The aim of the experiment is to assess the qualitative and quantitative composition of renal tissue cells in rats during inhalation priming with industrial polymetal...

Assessment of mining impact on natural environment is relevant, since open mining, the storage of mining and processing waste, the metallurgical processing of the concentrates produced are accompanied by aerosol mining-induced pollution of the atmosphere and natural environments as a result of the release of fine mineral particles. According to satellite observations for 17 years, aerosol mining-induced pollution and the state of the vegetation cover in the Kola mining complex (Russia, Murmansk region) have been s...

Air pollution became a real public concern for countries all over the world. Increasing anthropogenic emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) can cause a substantial increase in ground-level ozone, which is a secondary air pollutant produced by photochemical interaction of NOx and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), through a complex set of reactions under the influence of solar radiation. Ploiesti is one of the main cities in Romania, which is facing with anthropogenic atmospheric emissions that result especially from ...

The problem of atmospheric air pollution attracts great attention of ecologists and physicians because the protection of the environment and population health has a socio-economic significance. Oxides of nitrogen and carbon, methanol, phenol, formaldehyde, ammonia, chlorine hydride and suspended particulate matters (dust, soot) are the main anthropogenic air pollutants in Tomsk city. The main task of the air pollution monitoring is to identify sources of pollutant emissions. Stable isotope ratio analysis of the li...

Acoustic or phonic pollution is a type of noise pollution caused by noises, a complex of non-periodic sounds with random disagreeable insurgency that affects the psychological and biological state of human and animal organisms. The physical or objective characteristics of the noise are the strength or sound intensity (which depends on the features of the source, the distance and the possibilities of transmission or multiplication), duration and frequency. For the determination of the noise level, sound-meters, whi...

This investigation is aimed to determine general development patterns of the natural and climatic situations and lakes of the boreal zone in the later and postglacial time in the southeastern periphery of the Fennoscandian crystalline shield since the time of the last deglaciation. The analysis of the subfossil Cladoceran community was carried out on the basis of the 23 samples of Lake GahkozeroпїЅ bottom sediments in the Republic of Karelia. In the subfossil Cladoceran community of the lake 42 taxa have been iden...

The article analyses the air temperature characteristics of the winter season in north-western Poland (Fig. 1) between 1951 and 2015.The aim of this work is to analyses the changeability of thermal conditions in the winter, taking into consideration the speed of changes determined by a coefficient of linear trend, and to investigate the relations between North Atlantic Oscillation and the air temperature. In this study, the JonesпїЅ index, whose values were determined in 1825 and regularly published on National We...

Environmental pollution has become one of the most debated issues of the contemporary times, being a consequence of using imperfect methods in production technologies. One of RomaniaпїЅs areas where the environment has suffered as a result of human activities is the Jiu Valley, a place where the main activity was and continues to be mining. In this paper the authors aim to identify and quantify the pollution sources related to the coal mining activity from the western part of the Jiu Valley and, based on data rela...

The article presents new data on the impact of dust emissions in cement production of the Open Joint Stock Company "Yakutcement" (Yakutia, Russia) on chemical and microbiological properties and enzymatic activity of frozen forest soils in Central Yakutia. It is established that as the emission source approaches and the dust load increases, significant alkalinization of soils takes place (the pH increases in litter from 7.11 to 8.40, and in humus horizons from 7.05 to 7.75) as a result of the accumulation of free c...

The data recorded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have led to the cataloguing of the year 2016 as the warmest year on worldwide meteorological records. The two previous records listed were the years 2014 and 2015. Phenomena like El Nino and La Nina are responsible for the cooling or heating of the upper tropical zone of the Pacific Ocean. This causes variations in global wind patterns and weather, thus leading to short-term ...

The research represents the results of the study of metals in the leaves of Betula pendula R. in the settlement Ursk around the tailings of the former gold-polymetallic deposit located in Kemerovo region in the south of Western Siberia. 17 leaf samples were collected by the radial net with the step of 150-200 meters. The concentrations of chemical elements in the dry leaf matter were determined by the ICP-MS method. The concentrations of Hg, Ni, Cd, Pb, Zn, Ag, Sb, Ba, Co, and As in the leaves from 3 to 11 times e...

Interior conditions in closed spaces (housing, offices, vehicles) were for a long period of time focused on the thermal comfort. With the awareness that people spend a good amount of time inside these spaces and with the increase in life quality, it was considered an additional problem the ensuring of a proper indoor breathable air quality (by limiting the concentrations of harmful released substances). It was demonstrated that the interior pollution of those spaces primarily depends on two factors: interior harmf...

The Baikal natural territory is an interesting object to research for many groups of scientists since from its state the protection of Lake Baikal, which is a natural World Heritage Site depends on. Climate change in the area does not only comply with the general trends, but has its own characteristics due to the highly broken relief and the presence of a large storage of fresh water пїЅ Lake Baikal. Drastic changes in air temperature and a significant amount of precipitation can cause emergencies in the region. T...

As a natural hazard, drought is best characterized by multiple parameters of climate, hydrology, meteorology etc. Understanding the links (relations, interdependencies) between these parameters is critical for identifying, adopting and implementing measures for mitigating the impacts of droughts. The reasons for the occurrence of droughts are complex, because they are dependent not only on the atmosphere but also on the hydrologic processes which feed moisture to the atmosphere. Moreover, the conceptual and struct...

Before presenting in detail the theme that this paper deals with, it is necessary to integrate the research on this matter within the larger context of climate change, which is at this time in a stage of unprecedented evolution. Worldwide, in the actual context of climate changes, more frequent and powerful natural disasters are expected. Disasters, representing a direct consequence of climate change, have also a negative impact on the environment as they are an obstacle to achieve sustainable development. In part...

The main aim of this research work is to compare the performance of hyperspectral and multispectral data for spectral land cover classes and develop their spectral library in Samara, Russia. We were analyzed and compared Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) Hyperion hyperspectral data to Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Advance Land Imager (ALI) multispectral data. Hyperspectral imagers, currently available on airborne platforms, provide increased spectral resolution over existing space based sensors that can docum...

The issues in assurance of energy sufficiency and of environment quality are necessary part of scientific prognosis humanity evolution. The buildings belong to major consumer non-renewable energy and are emitter of greenhouse gases and other gaseous wastes during whole life cycle. The CO 2 emissions mostly come from the energy required to heat, cool and ve ntilate buildings. There are al so significant emissions from creating the materials to build, maintain and demolish buildings. Climatic changes, increased poll...

The research done by the climatology specialists of the National Meteorology Administration, using long stri ngs of data collected from 14 meteorological stations, showed, on a national level, an average temperature rise of 0.3В°C between 1901 and 2000 and of 0.5В°C between 1901 and 2007, which is statistically relevant in the Carpathian region, with certain seasonal os cillations. The data analysis done with the help of the archives gathered from a la rge number of meteorol ogical stations (94), consisting of con...

A database of average monthly air temperat ure and atmospheric precipitation has been created for seven meteorological stations for the period between 1936 and 2009. It was used to study current trends of climate change in the Kazbegi area, a mountain region in the Greater Caucasus. Changes in temper ature and precipitation are described by circular regression equations and rates of these changes are identified.

To study the distribution and repetition of droughts, an ar chive of droughts has been created in eastern Georgia for 19 meteorol ogical stations for the vegetation period between 1961 and 2008. It has been eval uated geographic and meteorological conditions of droughts formation: conditions of humidity, temperature background, hydrothermal regime of soils. It has been studied the territorial distribution and probability of dry months, repetition of drought s within a season and a month, severe and ultra-severe dr...

An analysis of climatic and social-economic conditions of territory of Tomsk oblast was used to study environmental management risk connected with change of conditions of modern ecological system.

In this study, It is estimated the effect of short-term exposure to air pollution on hospital admission for respiratory illnesses among young children. The study used existing data from records of three hospitals. Air quality and meteorological da ta were used to estimate daily exposure for children. The impact of air pollution on the respiratory health of children is assessed using case- crossover methodology. During study period (June 2007- May 2008), the average particulate matter (PM10) concentration is 93.77 ...

In Turkey in the Tuncbilek coal basin, the subject area of this study, there are gray and brown colored marl formations. As known, the test specimens shall be conditioned in such a way as to be reached to the natural water content before the strength tests, and it is preferred to use the saturated specimen in order to be representative for levels below the groundwater. It is noticed that the gray marl core samples taken from Tuncbilek were broken into parallel slices by the influence of water in less than half an ...

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been known as human risk factors in urban environments, as well as primary contributors to the formation of photochemical oxidants.These compounds are a major component of atmospheric pollutants in Konya, that is a large city in Turkey. This study assessed the concentrations of seven volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including Ethylbenzene, m/p xylene, styrene , o- xylene, 1,3,5 Trimethylbenzene, 1,2,4 Trimethylbenzene and 1,2,3 Trimethylbenzene, in Konya/Turkey during the p...

The current climate change regulations have been investigated based on the data of 90 meteorological stations of Georgia from 1906 to 2005. It was revealed that the climate change has the mosaic character: arid landscapes became warm more quickly than humid ones, which were even cooled in many cases. The dynamics of recurrence of anomalous deviations of monthly average temperatures have been investigated.

Fluorine as one of the most abundant trace elements in coals is released into the air by combustion and pyrolysis of coal. The produced fluorine gaseous compounds, particularly hydrogen fluoride, are harmful due to their toxicity to living organisms and as a source of corrosion of metallic and ceramic materials. Reliable determination of generally very low concentrations of fluorine in coal (ten to hundred ppm level) is difficult. Standard analytical methods require tedious procedures for sample decomposition and ...

Drought is a stress factor that cause of limitation life activities and effects the vegetal production. Plants are the most important source that feeding necessity of the human population who increase rapidly. Drought stress, heat stress and heat shock, low heat and freezing, salinity and oxygen deficiency are the main stress factors that lead to plant growing. Because of these stress types, the biological mass and yield of plant usually decreases under of genetic potential at the end of growing season. Drought is...

Industrial activities have the direct goal to help increasing the quality of life of the population. Beside positive direct and desired effects of industrial activities these have also negative, undesired and sometimes unthinkable effects on the environment and society. Especially mining based industrial activities have several unwanted impacts on environment, but not only on environment. With the goal of assuring the sustainable development of our human society it is therefore necessary to evaluate industrial pro...

Methane emissions released into the atmosphere during coal mining, exerts a double environmental impact, namely they participate to the ozone layer depletion process and, simultaneously, they have a significant contribution to the enforcement of the greenhouse effect. On the other hand, this methane can be used by the mining operators, as main or ancillary fuel resource for energetic purposes. Until now, in Romania an overall energetic potential study was not systematically carried out, regarding the hard coal bas...

Ambient particulate matter contains numerous organic species, including several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that are known or suspected carcinogens. Atmospheric particles were collected using low-volume sampler on glass fiber filters among August 2007-June 2008. The study area is under the influence of heavy traffic. Filter samples were extracted with petroleum ether /n-hexane by ultrasonic agitation, concentrated, and measured at trace levels using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The method wa...

The properties of individual particles, rather than bulk aerosol characteristics, determine the environmental and health impact of the atmospheric pollutants. Single particles have been sampled during 30 fog episodes at the mount Milesovka (837 m a.s.l.) located in the industrially polluted area of north Bohemian brown coalfield. More than 2000 of these solid, water insoluble particles, collected from May 2006 till July 2007, have been analyzed by SEM-EDX and classified according to their shape, size and elemental...

Bond-Order Conservation-Morse Potential (BOC-MP) method is used in order to carry out the calculation. One of the best catalysts for methanol synthesis in catalytic reduction of CO2 with H2O is Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 whose surface is supported by with some amount of Pd or Ga. Reduction of CO2 with H2O on Cu will result in methanol formation; while on Ni will lead to methane formation. In the mechanism of methanol synthesis from CO2+ H2O on Cu, the formate (HCOO) hydrogenation step is ratedetermining step and in the mechanis...

In this study, global warming’s effects on soil temperature of Turkey was evaluated by analysis of the spatial and temporal variations of the soil temperature data with the help of 3.5D Geographical Information System (GIS) Models. Soil temperature data in 5 cm, 10 cm, 20 cm, 50 cm and 100 cm depths in 74 city centers since 1975 were used. These data were compared with 34 years mean temperature of each city and deviations were shown by using GIS on the map. It is determined that soil temperature values in Turkey...

The goals of the present work are: (1) A theoretical analysis of possible reaction pathways to the synthesis of methanol and methane from CO2 and H2O and the selection of the best path from the view point of energy. (2) Investigation of the kinetic of assumed reactions. For determination of mechanism, BOC-MP method is used. By using of this theory, it is possible to calculate the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters and therefore predict the intermediates and the mechanism of heterogeneous catalytic reaction. With...

Heat and exhaust emissions are representing two of the major health and safety issues induced by the presence of Diesel-mounted equipments in underground mines. The first one has greater effects in deep mines, while the second one requires a careful dimensioning of ventilation airflows in all mines. Taking into consideration the higher exposure level of Diesel mounted equipment drivers at the noxious products contained in the exhaust emissions, it clearly appears as a major safety concern the need for an expeditio...

For many years, natural disasters were perceived as unavoidable strokes of misfortune brought about by nature’s unpredictable forces. Taking into consideration the magnitude of the tsunami in Asia in 2004, the heavy floods in Mozambique in 2000, and Hurricane Mitch in Central America in 1998, we can see that developing countries are the most victims of such events, mostly due to their limited capacities and resources to mitigate disasters. On another hand is quite visible the efforts that are put on places both ...

Both, the current level of air pollution studies and social needs in the country, are in a stage mature enough for creating Bulgarian Chemical Weather Forecasting and Information System. For the purpose, a project is funded by the National Scientific Fund aiming at designing and setting up such a system able to provide timely, informative and reliable forecast products tailored to the needs of various users. The system is foreseen to provide in real time forecast of the spatial/temporal Air Quality behaviour for t...

Environmental health is the aspect of public health that is concerned with those forms of life, substances, forces and conditions in the surroundings of man that may exert an influence of human health and well-being. This definition includes other people as part of a person’s surroundings that contribute to the status of environmental health. The aim of environmental health education is to help students to achieve health by their own actions and efforts; to make the environmental health a valued community asset;...

The presented work is aiming at climate change impacts and vulnerability assessment in Bulgaria. Climate change may affect exposures to air pollutants by affecting weather and thereby local and regional pollution concentrations, by affecting anthropogenic emissions (emission scenarios), by affecting natural sources of air pollutant emissions (biogenic VOCs) and by affecting many other processes. Local weather patterns (namely temperature, precipitation, clouds, atmospheric water vapor, wind speed, and wind directi...

The more important eco-climatic indicators for study aspects are: sun-light, precipitations, temperatures, relative air humidity, wind and other atmospheric phenomenon. Bioclimate is considered as a combination among the vegetation area and climatic elements with indexes: temperature, precipitations, wind, air humidity etc. This combination creates a complete, continued and stable view of an area or some ecologic areas in relation to indexes of bio-climate content elements. The basic indexes of use on bioclimatic ...

In order to give an evaluation on the quality of air in Albania we refer to two socialeconomical periods, that before 1990 and that after 1990. In the period before 1990 are noticed some indicators which played a considerable role in the quality of air in Albanian environment. Some characteristics were: controlled demographic movements, industrial activities located in the suburbs, road transport with a limited number of vehicles, few constructions etc. economical social period after 1990 caused profound changes, ...

Eight selected heavy and trace elements (Fe, Zn, Pb, Cu, Cr, Cd, Ni \& P) were analyzed in the dust fall samples collected from the surrounding areas adjacent to Al-Hisa phosphate mine central Jordan during summer 2008. The chemical analysis was done using the ICP-MS, after being digested with (HNO3/HCl) acid mixture. Beside the identification of their mineral constituents using the XRD. Moreover, the particle size determination on volume percentage basis for four fractions (PM<2.5, PM2.5– 10, PM10–100\& PM>10...

The city of Mitrovica, approximately 40 km north of Prishtina, was the site of one the largest lead smelters in Europe. The present environmental situation in Mitrovica, put as in front of the responsibility to act more rationally towards nature and to be more responsible towards the protection of the environment for future generations. The lack of protection of the environment during the last ten years, as well as the conflict in Kosova are the origin of huge problems regarding present environmental situation in ...

Comprehensive atmospheric composition studies require multi-scale numerical experiments to be carried out, which to clarify to some extend different scale processes interaction, but also to further specify requirements for input data (emissions, boundary conditions, large scale forcing). Model interfaces from synoptic trough meso- to local scale have to be tailored. Shortly speaking, extensive sensitivity studies have to be carried out, tailoring the model set-up and parameters – a possible forerunner of single ...