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The Vrancea area, is known as a zone with intense and persistent crustal and intermediate seismic activity. The intermediate depth seismicity is concentrated in a high-velocity volume, an almost vertical body in fact a sinking lithosphere not completely detached, in the depth range from about 60 to 200 km. The epicentral zone is situated in an area of about 40 пїЅ 84 km2. The present tectonic of the Vrancea area is a result of a former subduction of oceanic lithosphere, followed by a continental collision and slab...

Ethanol is the most common alternative transport fuel. The current standard market product bioethanol is criticised for limited environmental sustainability as it is largely based on utilisation of food crops. Cellulosic ethanol, derived from lignocellulosic biomass including organic wastes and residues, as well as biomass grown on marginal land, is considered clearly more sustainable under environmental criteria compared to first generation ethanol, and it makes use of highly abundant, low cost organic material. ...

The paper presents the research on the modification lightweight cement composites with organic fillers by fly ash and anionic bitumen emulsion addition. Organic fillers used in composites were: common reed (fraction 2/10 and 10/20 mm) and conifer sawdust (fraction 0/2 mm). The reed Phragmites australis is a notably common plant in Poland that grows on waterlogged lands. This material is renewable, ecological, and while vegetation absorbs carbon dioxide. To determine the influence of two factors on compositesпїЅ pr...

Mortars and colored concrete are used in construction for the execution of masonry blocks, tiles and other building elements and materials that complement the aesthetic appearance of buildings, contributing to their architectural finishing. Pigments are usually used for coloring of the mortars and concretes based on cement mineral. The organic pigments are used in a more limited extend for this purpose. The life time of the facades realized with silicate cement largely depends on the compatibility between pigment ...

The abundances of invasive plant species in the vegetation have negative impacts on the integrity, structure and function of autochthonous ecosystems. Invasive species act as stressors for plant communities and change their species compositions. In the Czech Republic, Ceratophyllum demersum is a species that may represent a risk of invasiveness, particularly in shallow types of water bodies. It is autochthonous is all continents, but it is primarily centred into warmer parts of the mild climate of the northern hem...

We live in the interglacial period that is causing warming effect on the EarthпїЅs climate reflected in water scarcity. Water is an essential substance in agricultural production. Therefor appropriate management is necessary to achieve sustainability. Material flow analysis (MFA) provides an overview of the system by linking the anthroposphere with the environment, and can highlight environmental or resource issue problems. Thus MFA can be used as a tool of material management. We applied partial MFA for quantifyi...

Cesium-137 is a long-lived technogenic radionuclide. The study of its distribution in the environment is important either from ecological point of view or as it may be used as a marker for sediment core dating. Lakes are excellent objects for the application of these approaches. A scientific expedition was carried out in order to extract and to study sediment cores from the beds of Lake Maly Liman, Lake Abrau, Lake Maly Utrish (Municipality of Novorossiysk, Region of Krasnodar), and Lake Bolshoi Tambukan (at the b...

The present paper deals with the study of fluid and thermal characteristics of the metal foam with an open cell structure for use in solar thermal applications. The study of selected parameters was performed using CFD tools based on finite volume method calculation in software Ansys Fluent. Presented simulation was carried out on two types of metal foam elements with a density of pores of 10 and 20 PPI, which were designed and modeled by the authors using CAD tools. The basis of a model formed tetrakaidecahedron s...

This paper presents the results of a multidisciplinary literature review of issues related to Circular Economy, waste management, recycling, eco-innovation, decision-supporting and environmental management that help to identify the key expectations, opportunities and problems related to decisions supporting waste management under the Circular Economy concept. The research findings enable identification of the areas of waste management based on the Circular Economy concept and the functions of the information syste...

The areas of the Colca Canyon and the Valley of the Volcanoes, located in the Arequipa region in the Central Andes, southern Peru, are distinguished for their unique geodiversity in the whole planet scale [10]. Currently, the INGEMMET Institute has submitted a proposal to designate the area as a geopark belonging to the UNESCO network [13]. The designation of the Colca and the Volcanoes of Andagua Geopark brings new opportunities to develop tourism. Inventory of geosites includes numerous geomorphological, geodyna...

The paper discusses the impact of post-mining workings of natural aggregates on hydrographic conditions, including the volume of groundwater resources. The predicted effects of the liquidation of open pits were characterized by two sand deposits located in the river valleys of San and Wis?oka in south-eastern Poland. There are no elements of the natural environment that require special protection against the effects of their exploitation in the deposits area and in their immediate vicinity. In addition, there are ...

In recent years, the input of antibiotics into soils has sharply increased. The environmental behavior of antibiotics is not well known and the precise environmental risk assessment is not practical. Long-term studies have shown the efficiency of the diagnostics and monitoring of soils with biochemical methods, particularly with the help of the indices of soil enzymatic activity. We studied the impact antibiotics (benzylpenicillin, tilosin and nystatin) at different concentrations (100, 500 mg/kg) on hydrolase (ph...

Aim of this paper is to provide the overview of ecological friendly mechanical engineering through design solution in the field of material handling. There can be achieved a significant reducing of energy consumption with advantage of maintenance simplicity by decreasing level of the automation and the design complexity. Model situation is dealing with change of the material position orientation by using minimum of external forces and processes. The orientation change is induced by motion of the material along pre...

Human activity is manifested by continuous changes in space use. Adapting the space to suit ones needs and expectations, human activity is changing physiognomy but also even more often the quality changes of the space. The article presents an attempt how to define the direction and intensity of these changes using developed indicators of environmental quality. The authors attempted to determine the change in the environmental value of the Polish municipalities, taking as input the land cover CLC database. The anal...

According to Polish law, the natural concentration of sulphur (II) compounds in groundwater higher than 1 mg/L can be a base to find them as a curative water. Sulphur (II) occurs in groundwater usually as hydrogen sulphur or bisulphide ion. Their concentrations and ratios can vary dependent on prevailing conditions. Very often water stays a long way from intake to the spas. What is more in health resorts curative waters could be mixed. These processes can influence on total concentration and forms of occurrence of...

Due to the growing importance of forest changes and water management as factors influencing hydro-sedimentary dynamics and hydrological services, the analysis of the forest пїЅ water links may prove to be relevant for creating joint and adequate management schemes for these ecosystems. The main goal of this paper is to investigate the possible influences upon the hydro-sedimentary dynamics in the upper basin of Jiu River (2540 km2), induced by the changes in forest cover between 2000 and 2012. The relationship bet...

Today, the need for resources is growing based on the replacement of forest areas by areas used for economic and agricultural activities. The present study means to identify the changes in land use cover and forest areas between the changes made by the economic activities and aridity indexes, characterized by high temperatures and low quantities of precipitations in Southwestern Romania. This region is affected by high temperatures and low precipitations in July and August, growing urban areas and necessity for ag...

The land subsidence caused by underground mining results in the transformation of water relations in the Silesian Upland, which is located in southern Poland. Detailed studies were conducted in 25 water bodies formed in subsidence basins located on the Silesian Upland. The purpose of the study was to determine the temporal and spatial variability of electrolytic conductivity of the limnic waters retained in the water bodies studied. As part of field work, 12 specific electrical conductivity measurements were condu...

This paper discusses the issue of changes in average transaction prices of undeveloped land and real properties designated for agricultural and forestry purposes in Poland. The studies cover the period starting from the accession of Poland into the European Union structures in 2004. Another aim of the study is also to present the differences between average transaction prices of undeveloped real properties designated in years 2009-2015 among others, residential land, industrial land, other building land, agricultu...

The direct field observations and processing the info-graphic support (satellite images, thematic maps, profiles, digital images of the area) led to the preparation of this paper and realization of the proposal rehabilitation measures of anthropogenic landforms generated by coal mining activities in Petrosani Basin. These are exemplified by analyzing the Petrila 2 East dump (the Eastern end of the Basin) and Campu lui Neag coal pit (in the Western end of the Basin). The landscape of Petrosani Basin is transformed ...

Ploiesti is one of the major cities of Romania, which is confronting potential occurrence of high-concentration ground-level ozone events, having in view its industrial activity concentrated mainly on oil refining, oil extraction equipment and machinery, metalworking facilities, chemicals production, etc. Mobile sources (traffic and public transport system) have also a significant contribution to total air pollutants concentrations. This study aimed to analyze the concentrations of ground-level ozone (O3) and arom...

The deposits of the Legnicko-G?ogowski Cooper District (SW Poland) are located in Permian sedimentary rocks. They are formed by accumulated cooper sulphides which occur in sandstones, shales and carbonates. The most important lithological layer among the mentioned ones is shale, as its level indicates the location of a deposit. This layer is characterized by a variable thickness which is a result of the sea bottom topography during the sedimentation of shale. Shale, as in the case of the remaining layers, is subje...

The Bajerka Stream (16 km long), besides the Vistula River, is a tributary to the Gocza?kowice reservoir. It is the main reservoir of drinking water for 3.5 million residents of the Silesian agglomeration. It is an artificial reservoir, created after the construction of the dam on the Vistula River. The Bajerka stream takes its origin in the dig from the Vistula River and enters into the southern part of the Gocza?kowice reservoir. This is a semi-natural stream, which is used to supply the numerous fish ponds, and...

Landfilling, composting and incineration represent the most common processes used for the disposal of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW). One of the methods that allow to limit the amount of stored biodegradable wastes is their biological transformation. In the European Union, composting is one of the most widely promoted methods of the biological processing of biodegradable waste. Composting of wastes consists on applying microbiological processes of transformation of the matter to obtain decomposi...

Due to their chemical, physical and mechanical properties, niobium (Nb) and tantalum (Ta) are strategically used in various technical applications. About 130 different minerals contain tantalum and niobium, of which only about 80 are found in economical deposits. The remainder contains Nb and Ta as impurities. The most commercialised source of Nb and Ta is a columbite-tantalite ore often referred to as coltan containing pyrochlorite. The Central African Mesoproterozoic Kibara belt in Katanga (Democratic Republic o...

Nowadays, an important objective for researchers is to find an alternative to build cheaper and greener, sustainable and also durable. To discover a material with better thermal and acoustic performances than conventional concrete by using natural and renewable components in its composition became also an obvious trend. The agriculture products, mainly those considered as waste in this field, fulfill all the above mentioned requirements, being also widely available and with higher thermal and acoustic properties t...

The study was conducted to explore the phyto- and zooplankton composition and abundance in ponds located at Komsomolsk tailing dump, Kuznetski Alatau, Russia. Four ponds and one lake were sampled in detail: the pond in the northern part of the tailing dump (sample KP-1), the watered trench near the pond (sample KP-8), the red pond formed on the shifted Berikul tailings (sample KP-9), the settling pond (sample KP-10) and the natural lake Bolshoy Berchikul (sample KP-11) located 10 km away from the tailing dump as t...

The abandoned Regoufe mine is situated in Northern Portugal, in the Arouca Geopark. It was exploited for tungsten by underground mining till the 1970s. The tailings were deposited on the ground. The mine was abandoned without any environmental remediation. Mineralization occur in quartz veins, and consists of wolframite, cassiterite, and several sulfides (arsenopyrite, pyrite, sphalerite), bismuthinite and native bismuth (Bi). The present study aims to characterize the acid mine drainages (AMD) and superficial wat...

Due to its geographical location, in the atmosphere above Romania several types of aerosol particles can be present: continental, biomass burning, and mineral dust aerosols. The vast majority of industrial facilities are located near urban areas; therefore the exposure of the human population to high concentrations of particulate matter can be significant. Although local sources are the major contributor to the air pollution in Romania, the contribution of remote sources is often significant, both aloft and near t...

The properties of aluminum and its alloy make them to be the first choice as manufacturing materials for different equipments and accessories. The light weight, high strength and improved corrosion resistance recommend aluminum and its alloy to be used specially in transportation and construction industries. The native aluminum oxide film formed after exposure in air presents voids and cracks and the exposure aluminum parts to corrosive environments which lead to the degradation and reducing their lifetime. In ord...

An marinegastropod mollusk or whelk is well-known Rapana venosa with the common name the veined rapa whelk or Asian rapa whelk. It is a species of large predatory sea snail, in the family Muricidae, the rock shells. This large sea snail has become an invasive species in many different localities around the world. In the area of the Romanian seaside is also found Rapana venosa. Bivalvia is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged pa...

Corrosion is a process of spontaneous physicochemical destruction of metal, leading to irretrievable loss of metal, due to its chemical or electrochemical interaction with the environment. As a result of corrosion processes, the surface of the metal is visibly destroyed. However, the concept of corrosion includes not only visible surface fractures of the metal, but also cases of internal intergranular destructive influences, proceeding outwardly imperceptibly, but being one of the most dangerous types of destructi...

Generally, waters of Kosovo are enriched in dissolved solids, as the consequence of aquifer lithology and residence time of ground water. The main objective of this study was to perform assessment of heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Fe, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb and Mn) content and water pollution of River Mirusha (Kosovo) using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) method. Multivariate-statistical analysis approaches were used to determine the anthropogenic and natural contribution of heavy metals. The obtained results show that values...

Rare earth element (REE) resources are nowadays of great interest because of their importance as raw materials for high technology manufacturing, being also significant as geochemical indicators. Various phosphate mineral bearing rare-earth elements (REE) have been observed in the DпїЅrico-BeirпїЅ gold-antimony district (North Portugal). Besides apatite, the more abundant phosphate, xenotime, monazite and florencite were identified by scanning electron microprobe (SEM). They are usually associated to Palaeozoic me...

Surface modified superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) are a kind of novel functional materials, which have been widely used in the various areas. The main requirements to magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical applications are the nontoxicity, biocompatibility and high-level accumulation in the target tissue or organ, chemical stability, simplicity and reproducibility of synthesis. The composition and characteristics of the SPION surface have a strong influence on their stability, distribution, and b...

Ocimum basilicum L. (Lamiaceae) is a spice plant frequently cultivated in Romania with application in food flavoring and preservation, pharmaceutical products and alternative medicine. The purpose of this study was to determine the chemical composition and antioxidant effectiveness of the essential oil of Ocimum basilicum grown in Romania. The basil inflorescences (fresh plant material) was used for the extraction of essential oil. The essential oil was isolated with a yield of 0.52% (v/m) by steam distillation. G...

Situated in the central part of the country, Chott El Jerid is the largest periodic lake in Tunisia. The depression is a flat plain lined with Holocene lacustrine sediments, which mostly developed in the form of alluvia and evaporites. Geochemical properties of sediments were tested using the following methods: FUS-ICP, TD-ICP, INAA, Cold Vapour FIMS. As concerns the basic composition, the following substances were identified (average levels): loss on ignition (LOI) пїЅ 24.27%, SiO2 пїЅ 21.46%, CaO пїЅ 20.54%, Na2...

We studied the distribution of heavy metals, benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) and oil products in soils of industrial areas of the cities of Rostov-on-Don, Volgograd and Taganrog. By comparison with the regional background, geochemical associations, characteristic of various types of industrial landscapes and determined by the specifics of production, were identified. It was established that main pollutants of soils of Rostov-on-Don and Taganrog are zinc, lead, copper and oil products; concentrations of mercury, arsenic, nick...

The species Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. is a native of North America and was introduced in Europe, in botanical gardens, in the 17th-18th centuries [3, 6]. First alerts on the presence of Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. in Romania was registered in 1910 [11]. In the period 1960-1985 Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. was considered a ruderal species and was sporadically reported in Romania. The results of recent research show that Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. is in full expansion in Romania, as well as an increase in abundance, b...

The inorganic migration forms of trace elements in the lakes of Western Mongolia characterized by a high content of such trace elements as U (up to 3 mg/L), Li (up to 82), Br (up to 718), Al (up to 0.4) were calculated using HydroGeo software (Bukaty, 2002). All studied lakes have high concentration of total dissolved salinity (TDS) that ranges from 1 to 360 g/L and high pH values varies from 6.9 to 10.3. According to calculated results Br, Li, Rb, Na, K, Sr, Ca, and Mg in lake waters migrate predominantly in ioni...

In the present study, chemical speciation of heavy metals in bog water and peat deposits, collected from the territory of the Kokchetav mountain group, North Kazakhstan, is described. The purpose was to evaluate quantitatively migration, distribution, and redistribution of the elements by the example of the natural object as a basic tool for the study of geochemical cycles of elements. Studying of the chemical composition of bog and pore water has been carried out, their comparative characteristic was executed, me...

The present research is a part of the obtaining innovative medicine domain and is concerned with conceiving and developing new anti depressive medicines, endowed with a high therapeutically degree, low secondary effects and impact on the quality of life, through a research partnership. The impact of Borderline personality disorder (BPD) diseases, especially depression, is continuously growing and as a treatment, are used anorganic products based on lithium, such as lithium carbonate, lithium citrate or lithium oro...

Steam based-thermal methods for improving oil recovery mainly includes steam injection, steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) and cyclic steam injection (CSS). One of main goal of these methods is to achieve in-situ upgrading of heavy and extra-heavy oil. The high content of high-molecular compounds like asphaltenes is the one of main problems that is need to be solved during the process of the upgrading of heavy oils. Therefore, studying changes in the structure and properties of asphaltenes induced by thermal t...

Asphaltite derives from petroleum origin solid fossil fuel [1]. It contains valuable elements such as chromium, thallium molybdenum, uranium etc. Chromium and thallium are very important elements both environmental and health. Chromium has an important role in the metabolism. It keeps the blood sugar level in balance. It balances the level of cholesterol. Thallium and its compounds are toxic for humans even at low doses. Poisoning causes death or permanent nervous system disorders. The development of precise and e...

Screening the local flora for metal bioaccumulators is of great importance, the aim being that of finding species valuable for bioremediation (bioindicators, phytostabilizers, phytoextractors) or biomining. Chromium content was determined, through atomic absorption spectrometry (HR-CSAAS, air-acetylene, 357 nm) in aboveground organs eight common species growing on the beaches and adjacent areas in Constanta, Romania: Argusia sibirica, Atriplex sagittata, Echium italicum, Conium maculatum, Malva sylvestris, Onopord...

The paper deals with city populationпїЅs behavior in public transportation in Olomouc City (Czech Republic) by integration and aggregation of individual characteristics and needs which are estimated on the base of statistical probability calibrated and validated by local survey data at municipality level. The survey data were used with current census data about mobility combined data from information systems of local/central governments or institutions. The questionnaire survey employed the probability sampling on...

Cladocera (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) constitute a major component of the planktonic and benthic fauna of the high-latitude lakes. They are tolerant to extreme environmental conditions and are one of very few groups of aquatic animal that are not only able to persist in cold thermokarst lakes but to build up viable populations. Subfossil Cladocera were sampled from surface sediments of 20 thermokarst lakes along a transect crossing the tree line in the Khatanga-river basin, south of Taymyr Peninsula, north-central S...

According Act No. 157/2009 Coll., on mining waste management, the Czech Geological Survey carried out a project of the Operational Programme Environment in 2010пїЅ2012. The project was entitled пїЅInvestigation of closed and abandoned mining waste facilities posing a serious threat to the environment or human healthпїЅ. The aim was to create an inventory of hazardous mining waste facilities and to develop a methodology for their assessment. In the Czech Republic, 300 potentially hazardous mining waste sites were i...

The article presents a classification of small watersheds in the Czech Republic in terms of potential hydrological response to a set of design precipitation time series. Watershed classes as well as precipitation time series were derived as a partial result of a three-year project aimed at the design of typical soil conservation measures and small water management structures. Design precipitation scenarios were derived in an analysis of both rain gauge and radar measurements taking into consideration the precipita...

Contemporary measurements of the bottom during hydrographic sounding use modern multibeam systems and precise positioning one. Determination of coordinates of acoustic wave's reflection points on the bottom is based on transformation coordination sets: connected with positioning system and echosounder's transduces(s) based on CoG - Center of Gravity and spatial orientation determined by MRU - Motion Reference Unit.Despite using mentioned devices (systems), in the geospatial data cloud there are incorrect points, w...