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Future climate scenarios of the Global Circulation model (GCM) show an increased frequency of heavy rainfall events, which may lead to more severe floods. It is also expected that more and more areas will suffer due to flooding as a result of growing urbanization. Public attention has increased in many parts of the world in recent years and calls have been made to improve flood warnings, including the United States, the European Union and Australia (Hapuarachchi, H.A.P, and Q.J. Wang 2008). To respond and manage f...

Taxation can be used as a tool to promote sustainable waste management and recycling of industrial plastic, paper and glass; therefore, this article aims to assess the effectiveness of existing waste taxes by considering their effects on waste generation and disposal in Europe. In this context, a comparative study has been carried out to understand taxpayers- behaviours towards waste taxation, tax rates and methods preferred to calculate the amount of tax to be paid. Sustainable waste management is of particular i...

A miniaturized on-board platform for optic sensors stabilization is the proposed concept developed and tested by a multidisciplinary team of engineers under a UEFISCDI (the Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding in Romania) research funding. The need for a UAV to capture images and give in-depth information of ground objects is fulfilled by the developed three-axial stabilized optical system. Modern techniques, technologies and state-of-the-art electronics are employed ...

Organic waste has been discharged into the environment by various industries in a global society. Anaerobic digestion has proven its potential as a waste-to-energy (WTE) technology to produce biogas, which can also replace fossil fuels while accommodating these unwanted wastes. However, there are limitations to anaerobic digestion, such as poor biomethane yield due to limited supply and fluctuations in the composition of the substrates, and an inadequate C/N ratio in the feedstocks. This paper aims to discuss poss...

The aim of this study is to present preliminary results of testing the new non-hydrostatic dynamic core of the regional climate model RegCM4.7.1 by varying different parametrization schemes over the Balkan Peninsula and Bulgaria. A one-way double nesting technique was applied, employing a mother domain with 15 km grid spacing and a nested domain with 3 km grid spacing. Twenty test simulations were performed with a model resolution of 15 km for the year 2000 on a Lambert Conformal Conic projection and 12 test simul...

In addition to its main purpose: establishing and maintaining the parameters of the height system for the territory of a given state (country), state levelling networks also serve to establish (register) the contemporary (recent) vertical movements of the Earth's crust. The detection of such movements, besides in a purely research sense, is of great practical importance. The displacement of the benchmarks over time plays an essential role in seismic forecasting in the short and long term. Sometimes, not very often...

Mining wastes represent a specific type of waste and, like sites after mining, represent sites where a comprehensive assessment of pollution at these sites needs to be approached, taking into account various specific conditions. Subsequently, the design of the remediation technologies used at a specific location must also be adapted to this fact. Until now, mining waste facilities (heaps and sludge ponds) have been treated as environmental burdens. However, it should be borne in mind that abandoned extractive wast...

Genomes of alfalfa root nodule bacteria, Sinorhizobium meliloti, symbionts of alfalfa are enriched in non-symbiotic (cryptic) plasmids, which gene pool is remained weakly studied. S. meliloti strains are significantly varied in number and size of these plasmids. The goal of the study was to assess the occurrence of phage-related sequences (PRS) on cryptic plasmids. Whole genome sequences of 12 S. meliloti strains native to Caucasian and Kazakhstan centers of alfalfa diversity (NCG and PAG, correspondingly) were st...

The problem of academic perfectionism in teaching technical English at a higher education institution stems from a number of external and internal factors - the current educational targets set by managing social groups and student ambitions. The research methods included the analysis of objectives, contents and teaching methods intended for the first and second year bachelor degree students. The findings show that the target competence, being focused on the technical English, also incorporates the ability to solve...

The presence of nitrate concentration in drinking water can cause high toxicity to the human body, being considered among the most important pollutant in the environment. Among the many methods available such as biological treatment, electrodialysis, reverse osmosis, adsorption, ion exchange, adsorption is the most used technique due to its low cost and simplistic design. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to study the retention of nitrate anion from high concentration aqueous solutions on a novel magnetic adsor...

Pyrophyllite was investigated in this study as a potential adsorbent for the removal of glyphosate, a common herbicide for the control of a wide variety of weeds. There are several publications in the literature that discuss how glyphosate interacts with clay minerals such as montmorillonite, kaolinite, and bentonite, but there is no information regarding the possibility of glyphosate removal from aqueous solution using pyrophyllite. In this study, the adsorption of glyphosate from water samples onto pyrophyllite,...

Many oilfields such as supergiant Romaschkinskoye oilfield in Russia contain heavy oils that are complicated to recover. In order to increase the proportion of obtained oil, methods of enhanced oil recovery are implemented, and microbial methods (MEOR) are considered as safe and efficient once. In-situ MEOR are based on stimulation of oilwell microflora that partly decomposes hydrocarbon molecules or alters oil-water interface tension. Despite oilwells are an environments with anaerobic conditions, many allochtono...

The current weather patterns, in the form of more frequent occurrences of hydrological extremes, are increasingly being felt in the Czech Republic. In this context, the paper focuses on the issue of the current management of the landscape, which loses its quality due to these adverse climatic conditions and the influence of man. The aim is to compare selected physical properties and obtained soil moisture data for different uses and cultivation. For sample collections, a site in the Czech Republic in the South Mor...

The mobile environmental laboratory was located in a fuel distribution station located on a heavy traffic national road in Petro?ani City, Hunedoara County (Romania) to investigate dust and gas pollution, as well as dispersion of pollutants to nearby homes, using the AUSTAL VIEW software. Measurements were performed over a period of eight hours in two working days in order to better capture the movement of air masses and the dispersion of measured pollutants. In the event of accidental spills of chemicals or chemi...

This study investigated changes in carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) concentrations in the three components of the forest ecosystem (leaves, bark and soil) along an altitudinal gradient in the temperate forests of Romania. The properties and processes within the forest ecosystem are influenced by altitude. The leaves, litter and soil are important in the good development of the ecosystem and in the cycle of the elements. Plants extract the nutrients necessary for life and growth from the soil in which they carry out the...

Open data is undoubtedly one of the most exciting innovations of the last decade. Data that can be (re)used freely and without restrictions is a key driver for achieving many environmental goals. Through the use of open crowdsourcing tools, noise monitoring is enabled by the active participation of citizens who measure noise and thus contribute to the creation of a dynamic noise map. This is consistent with the lifecycle of open data - the design of the process and practices for handling data from its creation, to...

Many processes involving dusts, suspended or accumulated, have the potential to lead to fire, explosion or decomposition in the presence of oxygen and an ignition source. The risk of dust explosions increases as more and more products take the form of dusts or require the use of dusts during manufacture. In spite of extensive research and development to prevent and mitigate dust explosions in the process industries, this phenomenon continues to represent a constant hazard to industries including manufacturing, usi...

The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are one of the main tools through which changes in the urban environment can be tracked. They can be used to analyze processes not only as territorial phenomena, but also to derive spatio-temporal models and trends. Free and open access data was used for the present study - from Copernicus, OpenStreetMap and the Urban Development Plan of Sofia Municipality were used as sources. Data layers for the terrain, land cover, buildings, street network and others were analyzed toget...

Evapotranspiration is an important component of hydrological balance, and it represents a complex process of water evaporation form water bodies, soil and plants. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN proposed the Penman-Monteith equation as the most reliable method for calculating reference evapotranspiration. However, the application of Penman-Monteith is often limited in many regions, due to the requirement for a large amount of meteorological data. In such circumstances, it is necessary to identify a...

Manual measurement of flow velocity and streamflow discharge during high waters is often impossible because of different factors: night events, harsh meteorological conditions, very high dangerous river velocities and levels or infrastructure destruction. The purpose of this study is to determine maximums of river flow velocity and streamflow discharge with hydraulic engineering methods, as well to determine the modulus of runoff at some stations in the East Aegean River Basin in South Bulgaria for the period betw...

Over time, hydro-meteorological disasters, also called weather and/or climate-related disasters have recorded the highest occurrence of natural disasters, not only in European Union (EU) countries, but also worldwide, causing a total of most damage and life losses. Using available updated EM-DAT international disaster database, this study aim to provide the results derived from the analysis of the weather and climate-related disaster at EU countries level. Countries and disaster type disparities in terms of freque...

The development of indicator systems for drought identification is part of the Drought Management Plans. The analysis of the correlation between the different indices is an essential part of the indicator systems. That research is part of a task related to the developed at NIMH system (http://hydro.bg) of drought indicators and the development of recommendations for their simultaneous use. For this purpose, the influence of climatic factors on the hydrological cycle components and the role of the characteristics o...

In the context of the recycling of waste from wrought aluminum alloys, especially food packaging, these were re-melted and cast into bars. The alloy thus obtained contains up to 2.0% Si, 0.8% Cu, 2.0% Fe, 2.5% Mn and other elements in tenths of %. The problem in its further processing is the porosity. Several methods were used to quantify it, of which the most accurate method was weighing. The disadvantage of this method is the requirements of the competence of the personnel as well as technical equipment. Other m...

Residues of pesticides and HM, used in bees care or in crop fields, have negative effects on the health of bees and humans and of the antimicrobial properties of the honey. Investigation of HM and pesticides is vital, since the use of chemical solutions has -rise up- significantly. Our aim was to investigate whether the level of contaminants in honey (Fe, Zn, Pb, Cu, Cd, As, using GC/ECD and GF-AAS) and pesticides: ?-HCH, ?-HCH, ? -HCH, aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, DDE, DDD, and DDT, alpha -Endosulfan, carbofuran, pi...

The need for secure and reliable applications will increase due to the growing necessity for sustainably and independently produced energy. For example, the amount of energy generated by individuals at their homes will probably grow fast in the near future so requiring for easy-to-use and precise solutions. To transform and facilitate the processes related to energy sector it is possible to use blockchain technology. The aim of this paper is to evaluate and analyse different areas of blockchain application in the ...

Harvested bee pollen has been used since ancient times for its healthy properties and nutritional value. In terms of composition, bee pollen contains a large number of different substances such as proteins, carbohydrates and lipids as well as phenolic organic compounds. The protein content is the second most abundant component, its levels (10 to 40%, w/w) depending on the type of plant. Recently, numerous studies have demonstrated the beneficial properties of pollen in promoting health and reducing the risk of dev...

Shallow landslides are induced by extreme hydrological events or by events of medium intensity but prolonged over time. Such slips involve generally limited portions of land; however, they are dangerous due to the absence of warning signals and the lack of knowledge regarding their possible evolution. The aim of this paper is to study the evolution of shallow landslides affected by snowmelt and rainfall and to compare the observations done in situ by means of a statistical analysis of meteorological variables with...

The presented work provides a detailed view of climate change and its impact on the temperature conditions in Slovakia. It analyses the occurrence of tropical and supertropical days from the past to the present in the most fertile part of Slovakia. The results show that there has been an overall increase in the number of tropical and supertropical days in the Danubian Lowland and the Danubian Hills between 1961 and 2020, which is partly due to an increase in average temperatures and weather extremes. The locality ...

The paper reposts on a comprehensive study of Carbon Dioxide Enhanced Oil Recovery (CO2-EOR), a detailed literature and projects review. In one hand, according to past studies, when injected CO2 and residual oil are miscible (Miscible Displacement), the physical forces holding the two phases apart (Interfacial Tension, IFT) disappears; as CO2 dissolves in the oil, it swells the oil, reducing its viscosity and density. This allows the oil CO2 to displace the oil from the rock pores, pushing it towards a production ...

Due to the population increasing in urban settlements, the use of the territory and the surface variability of urban settlements are changing rapidly. The development of areas covered with impervious materials contributes to accelerating the runoff process, intensifying surface runoff concentration and the concentration of surface runoff pollution. Surface runoff from urban catchments can be characterized as the primary source of the receiving water's pollution during torrential rains. The aim of the paper is to o...

In recent decades, society has paid increased attention to issues related to observed climate change, which also includes recurring extreme hydrological phenomena. Shortterm heavy rainfall and long-term droughts draw attention to the increased need for hydraulic structures, providing protection against floods or creating water supplies in times of water scarcity. Flood control levees are an important part of flood protection measures. We should give them constant attention to prevent them from collapsing, and thei...

The main objective of this study is to analyse the main pedogenesis factors that have contributed to the formation of soils in Seca?, Timi? County, Romania, using modern methods. The pedological data found in the study are represented by the transformation of analogue maps into digital maps using the GIS method. To begin with, the study area, geomorphology, geology, hydrology and hydrography of the locality, climate and vegetation conditions, decisive factors in the formation of soils in the study area were delimi...

The status, abundance and diversity of soil microbial communities are one of the main basic indicators for the assessment and monitoring of forest ecosystems. In the context of the important role that microorganisms play in forest ecosystems, it is crucial to study and monitor their abundance in soil habitats. In order to supplement the knowledge about the soil microbial communities in the different soil horizons, we studied 16 soil profiles from the territory of Vitosha Nature Park. The soils from tested areas 1-...

Snow cover is an indicator of the fluctuating climate, resulting from the change in the regime of winter precipitations and air temperatures. Our previous study has revealed significant decreasing of the snow cover in the high altitudes of Vitosha mountain. The current sturdy is now focused on these two meteorological variable - the type and amount of the winter precipitations and the seasonal change of the air temperature. Monthly and seasonal values of precipitation amounts, number of days with different type of...

The main document for the development of urban territories is the municipal territory development plan. When evaluating the aspects of territory planning and development, great importance are focused on the most beneficial land use as the main object of territory planning and greener development. The use of Latvia's natural capital are related to the sustainable use of land and natural resources, equally developing green production and green consumption, as well as simultaneously creating and maintaining the image...

The Blato River watershed was determined as especially vulnerable to flood hazards zone regarding the developed Bulgarian Flood Risk Management Plans. With regard to the climate change the number of such hazards increases. To prevent and mitigate the consequences various measures are applied in practice. Some of them are connected to the implementation of already existing engineering solutions. But in case of emergency some untypical temporary solutions are also introduced. In line with the detected severe climate...

In the latest years, there was an interest in seeking for antimicrobial substances of botanical parts that have capability to suppress foodborne pathogens. Therefore, the antibacterial activity was evaluated on the crude juices produced from the mechanical pressing of some agro and food industrial byproducts, i.e., pomegranate leaves and peels and the leaves of fig, guava and olive. Also, the cytotoxicity effects of these crude juices on normal cells were estimated to check the safety of these crude juices on the ...

In recent years, because the gluten intolerance has become a worldwide problem, there were a sharp increase in the consumers demand for gluten-free bakery products that to be attractive, both in terms of sensory and nutritional value. This work had as a first goal obtaining of two innovative gluten-free bread types, one from almond flour, brown rice flour and psyllium bran (P1), and the second from buckwheat flour and psyllium bran (P2). A second aim of the paper was to determine total polyphenols (FolinCiocalteu ...

It is well known that at a European level, a large building fund must be retrofitted by 2050 to meet the climate and energy targets defined by a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions up to 80 - 95% compared to 1990 levels. In this regard, the proposed recast of the energy performance directive defines a new path: going from nearly Zero Energy Buildings to Zero Emission Buildings for residential and non-residential buildings. Thus, practitioners need more adequate instruments to perform reliable field measurements ...

The lack of new deposits with a rich copper content and the depletion of old deposits, as well as the need to comply with environmental requirements, raises the issue of the need to process the tailings of metallurgical industries. In Kazakhstan was accumulated significant stocks of tailings "Borgezsay" and "Staroye". The tailings reserves are estimated at up to 1 billion tons. Sample evaluation showed that the average copper content in the tailings is 0.15-0.2%. More than 1 million tons of copper are stored in th...

The article summarizes the main geodetic activities performed in the region of Southwestern Bulgaria to study the modern crustal movements and clarify the geodynamic situation of the region. The study area is bounded to the north of the southern slopes of the Balkan Mountains, to the south to the southern slopes of the Rila Mountains, to the west - the western border of Bulgaria and to the east - the beginning of the Upper Thracian plain. The area has a complex geological structure with many active faults that mus...

Aim of the paper is to investigate the possibilities of applying the laser scanning method for overhead power transmission line monitoring in Latvia conditions. Today, in various sectors of the national economy, infrastructure monitoring takes an important place in the overall management of the system. It also plays an essential role in electric power, especially in maintaining overhead power transmission lines. Realizing the possibilities of digital development, the monitoring of power lines is more often perform...

Soil pollution by potentially toxic elements (As, Sb, Cu, Zn, Pb) near the mining areas has become a serious environmental problem. These risk elements can be released into the environment, causing a risk to human health. Stabilized pollution in various materials may constitute an additional risk in the long term. Organic acids play an important role in mobilizing contaminants. In the present work, various stabilizing agents (iron nanoparticles - nanoscale zerovalent iron (nZVI), amorphous manganese oxide (AMO), b...

During the process of drilling wells, it is necessary to have information about the composition of the soil layers through which the drill passes. This will optimize the parameters of rotation of the drill, the load on the drill, as a result of which equipment wear will be reduced. It will also make it possible to lay optimal trajectories during well drilling and track the penetration of the drill into the target layer. This issue is especially relevant for the oil industry, where production is carried out at grea...

The priorities identified by the EU-s and national strategies and the main target areas promoted by the legal regulations concerning this area are precision food production, investments and developments, and - in the area of ensuring the resources needed to achieve these - a more efficient production, the improvement of sustainability and food safety. To achieve these objectives, the European Union has identified the widespread introduction of precision technologies using digitization technology in the food indust...

The biodiversity of grassland ecosystems is strongly affected by climatic changes, i.e., by the galloping progression of desertification. These aspects are more and more visible on permanent grasslands (communal pastures). Most researchers in grassland science consider as a major priority the conservation of biodiversity and of the productive potential of permanent grasslands, given that the decrease in the number of livestock has been accelerated. Thus, in recent years, they started case studies on permanent gras...

Drought indicator systems help decision-makers to understand how and where the drought occurred and to take measures from the Drought Management Plans. The main goal in the Water Framework Directive (WFD) is the achievement -good ecological status-, but the Article 4.6 allows temporary deterioration of the status, occurred as a result of so called -prolonged drought-. Reduction of natural water resources such as rivers, lakes, aquifers, is associated with the reduction in available water resources for water supply...

This article presents the concept of using neural networks in the recognition of fungi for use in a mobile forest ecosystem inspection robot. There are many dependencies regarding the occurrence of fungi in the vicinity of specific tree species. The presence of some fungi may be the result of a developing tree disease. The possibility of quick recognition of the fungus species using an autonomous mobile robot will allow for faster detection and prevention of the disease in entire ecosystems. An attempt was made to...

The processing, transport and storage of flammable materials in the form of dust generates an explosion risk due to the possibility of initiating potentially explosive atmospheres created by dust suspended in air with various ignition sources, some of which may be their own installations. As explosions can cause human casualties and severe property damage, the explosion risk assessment and the application of appropriate measures by manufacturers and users of installations to prevent the ignition of explosive atmos...

The use, production, processing and storage of petroleum products and gases generate hazardous atmospheres that can be ignited and generate explosions, causing serious damage both to materials and the environment, and especially to human health and integrity. The use of equipment in this environment requires compliance with certain well-defined parameters, which must be chosen in correlation with the potentially explosive atmosphere in which it is to be installed and the type of protection, temperature class and c...