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Vulnerability is an assessment of priorities for implementation in a city. It is imperative to determine vulnerable regions in the city to identify priority areas that may require immediate intervention. Nowadays, several methods used for national, international and local level vulnerability assessment are based on remote sensing and GIS technology. In this research aim to determine the vulnerability of Moscow city using a geospatial based vulnerability index for sustainable development of the city. We use urbaniz...

Modelling of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) requires new approaches for the evaluation of populationпїЅs exposure and associated health effects in various urban microenvironments. Such decision support tools are assisting local authorities in adapting proper plans for minimizing the resulting ecological and epidemiological impacts. An environmental decision support system (EDSS) with web-based GIS capabilities was developed to allow for examination of PM2.5 fraction concentrations in Ploiesti city, Romania. The a...

The air is a mixture of different gases and particular matter, which make up for the earthпїЅs atmosphere. They allow for the existence of all life on the earth. With the increase in population and the progress of development, more and more substance of natural origin and on general not occurring in the nature, which may affect harmfully on the environment, gets into the air. Dusts and gases, flowing in excess into the atmosphere, cause local and even global pollution. Since the beginning of 2017 all the time in P...

In Poland the fundamental energetic material for many years is hard coal. According to draft of energy policy such state will be maintained at least until year 2050. Therefore it is necessary to carry out researches and take actions in order to limit emission of harmful products associated with production and utilization of this mineral. Nowadays, pro-ecological activities, mainly focus on development and application of technology the purest processing of coal into thermal and electrical energy. However less atten...

Air pollution represents at present the biggest threat to human health due to high levels of pollutant emissions, usually in high-traffic urban areas. Air pollution has been associated with a number of health problems, including heart disease and lung cancer. Urbanization associated with rapid industrial development has led to serious air pollution problems in many large cities across Europe with significant impact on public health and even on the global climate. Information on air quality in urban areas is an imp...

In the recent decades, environmental pollution has been one of the major interesting research subjects where pollution might have a direct influence on public health and possibly cause serious and irretrievable damage to the Earth. The aim was to determine the levels of the heavy metals, Cu, Zn, Cr, Cd, Pb and Ni, in soil of urban areas in the city of Brno (Czech Republic). Soil analysis was performed on urban soil from the same layer, where the soil samples come from the depth of 20 cm. These samples were taken f...

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...

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 aim of the study was the analysis of subfossil Cladocera community of the Kotovo lake (Kharbey lakes' system, Bolshezemelskaya tundra) and the qualitative rating of the changes in it and in the region of study. The relevance of the work is associated with the increasing interest to the study of the climate change on the example of the North intact territories, along with the insufficient knowledge of the biota of the area being studied. The predominance of some species, zoogeography and biotopic attachments of...

Last winter, with respect to the most recent ones, was marked by severe cold spells and uncommon accumulation and persistence of snow cover in the non-mountainous areas of the country in January. These weather events provoked an intense media interest and raised up the debate about global warming. Actually, what type was the winter season of 2016-2017 compared to the previous years пїЅ normal, severe or extreme? In the presented climate assessment, a set of indicative climatic characteristics is explored on the ba...

The CO2 removal from N2 using unconventional techniques based on different (various) membranes has known a significant interest in industry. Mixed matrix membranes combine the advantages of organic (easily processable and low cost) and inorganic phases (high selectivity, mechanical resistance, chemical and thermal stability). In this study, membranes with polysulfone matrix and MCM-41 (silica) as filler were obtained, characterized and tested. The mixed matrix membranes were prepared by casting method. The effects...

In Bratislava, Capital of Slovakia, there is a huge development boom on the edge of the Old City, where is risen up a new complex down town of the city. The territory specified on the edge of the first ring called Chalupkova Centre will have around 20 high-rises with different function and there will be more than 20,000 parking spaces. At present, the operation of the territory is at the border of the saturation flows. There will be a new bus station and begins to reflect on the new tram routes. The extensive trav...

Emissions of industrial plants contain a considerable quantity of different chemical components. These include ash, soot, smoke, sulfates, nitrates, oxides of metals and other solid components. The size of dust particles emitted by enterprises are defined by the process environment and the composition of raw materials used. Particle fractions less than 10 microns (PM10) and less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) can penetrate to the upper and lower respiratory tract. Both short and long-term exposures of fine dust particle...

In order to determine the impact on the working environment and the effects of pollutants on human operators, numerous measurements were made using an experimental stand in a forge, machine building, equipped with heating furnaces, treatment furnaces, mechanical presses, oxyacetylene flame cutting equipment and mechanical saws. The paper presents the equation of technological material balance with inputs and outputs corresponding to the process of hot forging of different semi-finished products and the main pollut...

Being an inland city, Moscow is anyway vulnerable to extreme weather, in the form of heatwaves and very cold weather, storm and heavy rains. Without action, further climate change, MoscowпїЅs population growth, and other challenges will increase the risk of severe impacts. Preparing for extreme weather and further climate change is about managing risks and increasing our city resilience to them пїЅ it is therefore as much about the economy, quality of life and social equality, as about the environment. Moscow star...

The work is devoted to the search for approaches to reducing the ecological risks of the urban population with the goal of preserving human health. It is assumed that a well-formed urban ecological framework will most compensate for negative environmental factors affecting human health. A methodology is proposed for constructing an urban ecological framework based on predicting the level of environmental risks in an industrial city. At the same time, the link between the quality of the urban environment and human ...

Assessment of economic efficiency of transport infrastructure projects also includes impact of these projects on the environment. This paper focuses on the effects of exogenous costs associated with removing/reducing negative externalities such as traffic noise or exhaust fumes from cars. These effects are evaluated by using Cost Benefit Analysis according to their influence on the beneficiaries. The presented analysis has been performed on the sample of 47 Czech large-scale transport infrastructure projects proce...

Over the past decade, the widespread concern about the staggering effects of climate change, particularly in the agricultural sector, has become very serious. It has been agreed that the inter-annual, monthly and daily distribution of climate variables such as temperature, radiation, precipitation, water vapour pressure in the air and wind speed affects a number of physical, chemical and biological processes that drive the productivity of agriculture. Thus, understanding the possible consequences of climate change...

Due to more and more restrictive environment requirements in the field of pollutant emissions of co-generative plants are imposing researches related to the more efficient work of those related to duct burners. Within in a co-generative group, placing the post combustion setup before the turbo engine makes that engine's performances to be influenced related to: flame stability, efficiency and emissions. The paper presents the results of a duct burner achieved on a test bench, when it operates at partial loads on n...

In the article the results of research of variable humidity of CO2/N2 gas mixture (simulating power exhausts) influence on the parameters of CO2 separation are presented. The capillary polymer membrane AMS-A2 UBE was applied in the study.The paper indicates, results of the experiment where influence of variable (in the range of 0пїЅ100% H2O) humidity on a membrane was investigated Research was performed on the membrane used to dehumidify air - Air Dryer AMS-A2, utilized earlier to identify the ability of the CO2 s...

The aim of this paper is to present a detailed method for exhaust gases recirculation system (EGR) diagnostics for a compression ignition engine. In this paper, we analyzed the gas index coefficient, Kmax [m-1], using a Johnson Controls пїЅ Ultimax 600 opacimeter while the vehicle was in static state but at different engine speeds. The minimal rotation speed, nmin, had a value of 822 [rpm] while the maximum, nmax, 5006 [rpm]. In this case, was used the absorption process for measuring. The dynamic test imply using...

The article aims to determine how effective the stricter current requirements for the building walls and windows insulation are from the economic energy savings perspective. The article deals with a mathematical method for economic assessment of optimal building walls and windows thermal insulation. The mathematical methods used in this article are based on cost-benefit analysis. Recent research shows that the stricter requirements for the building walls and windows thermo-insulation may not always give the best e...

Climate change mitigation is a relevant topic in now days. One of the main sources of greenhouse gases (GHG) and air pollutants (including ammonia) emissions that promoting climate change is agriculture sector. Considerable part of GHG and ammonia emissions from agriculture in Baltic region is forming in dairy farms. The aim of the research is to estimate differences between conventional and organic dairy farms in context of GHG and ammonia emissions, taking into account livestock feeding and manure management pra...

One of the main worldwide issues today is represented by the need of protecting the environment and human health. This requires prevention and monitoring the pollutant contamination of the environment and food products. Toxic heavy metals may accumulate in plant tissues and inhibit most physiological processes at all metabolism levels. They inhibit growth, photosynthesis, water uptake and nitrate assimilation. Romania is a resourceful country and a number of energy and mineral resources can be found on its territo...

The paper compares the different description of drought periods in the history of annual rainfall in certain geographical areas. Drought indices are indispensable tools in detecting, monitoring and assessing drought events. These indices include: the Palmer drought index or drought severity index, PDSI abbreviated, Keetch-Byram drought index, KBDI abbreviation, drought recognition or recall index, abbreviated RDI, percentage of normal amount (average value for over 30 years), standardized precipitation index, SPI,...

The territory of Slovakia is in Central Europe at the interface of the parts of the continent that are influenced by continental and by oceanic climates. This is reflected in the variability of weather and climate characteristics. Apart from traffic load, change of climatic conditions are one of the constant external factors with adverse effects on physical and mechanical properties of different structural multi-layers in pavements. These impacts together with frost index and their corresponding changes significan...

The article presents the results of experimental research carried out on a real object and analysis of the effect of preparing oil-related waste with various physical and chemical properties for combustion in a marine auxiliary boiler, on selected components of exhaust gases, such as carbon oxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) arising as a result of their burning. Oil-related waste comes from operating marine power plants; they are characterised by diverse compositions, heterogeneous structur...

The aim of the study was to determine the condition of indoor environmental quality in the selected elementary school through quantitative and qualitative determination of physical and chemical factors, and subjective assessment (questionnaires). Differences between indoor air temperatures in both seasons were small (up to 1пїЅC). The recommended value of 1000 ppm for concentrations of CO2 by Von Pettenkofer was exceeded in all monitored classrooms. Limit value for PM10 (50 ?g/m3) was exceeded by 52.4% (winter) an...

There are many technologies in road construction to ensure the better parameters of materials, mainly strength and deformation parameters and in recent years are very interesting and necessary so called environmentally acceptable technologies. With the development in the field of asphalt pavements there are various types of organic or chemical additives applied. The main reason of this application is to reduce the temperature used for producing and especially for laying of asphalt mixture. Chemical additives are s...

Air pollution is a big problem of the last few decades due to aggression on human health, on all environmental components, generally on the natural or built environment.European directives on environment quality introduce the concept of modeling on quality of air ambient assessment and management, as a technique of measurement, calculation, prediction and assessment of the levels of pollutants.It is very important the role that the modeling pollutant dispersion has in the air quality assessment, while representing...

During the last decades, scientists have confirmed that global climate change is a result of human activities, aspects emphasized by long-term observation on different climate elements. Rural people, who make up approximately 40% of the global population, are generally more vulnerable to the adverse consequences of climate change. Despite the growing knowledge base on climate change and its impacts, much remains to be understood about the linkages between climate change and rural development. Climate change affect...

The presented paper covers the research of combustion products of selected natural and synthetic polymers and their key properties in terms of toxic effects on living organisms and the visibility in the area affected by fire. The samples of silver birch (Betula verrucosa Ehrh.), common oak (Quercus robur L.), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), polyethylene and polypropylene were investigated. The examined materials were compared in the regard to their toxicity of the combustion products based on the carbon m...

Total duration of complex flows depends on many factors, one of them being the sequence of work locations in the work program. The aim of this research is to find a simple method which would allow us to determine the best work location sequencing in the location-based work program from work duration point of view. This was achieved by creating a synthetic criterion which allows the user to determine the optimal work location sequencing without having to simulate all of the scenarios upfront. The method discussed i...

Noxious agents released into the atmosphere that can cause harmful effects on human health and environment are often in the form of a complex of toxic substances in which both solid and gas particles are present. Polluting elements do not remain at the sources where they are produced, but due to influential factors, they are propagated to significant distances. Assessment of pollutant dispersion in the atmosphere is performed using mathematical dispersion models. This study presents the assessment of the impact of...

The European Union has set a target to cut its greenhouse gas emission levels by 80% to 95% until 2050, if compared to 1990. Agricultural soil is an important carbon store and food provider in the world as well as greenhouse gas emission reducer via carbon sequestration. In order to assess the climate change mitigation effectiveness of the measures, it is necessary to obtain statistically significant data before and after the implementation. The greenhouse gas measurements from soil are commonly determined using s...

The problem of upper atmosphere and lower ionosphere response to anthropogenic greenhouse gases global increase is considered on the basis of the Institute of Numerical Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences coupled atmosphere-ionosphere general circulation model (for altitudes 0-90 km). This model is a high-level numerically complex three-dimensional atmospheric circulation model (AGCM) and a part of the INM RAS climate model (INMCM), which has been developed in INM for more than 40 years and has taken pa...

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...