Methodology, Methods, and Metrics for Testing and Evaluating Augmented Cognition Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Greitzer, Frank L.

The augmented cognition research community seeks cognitive neuroscience-based solutions to improve warfighter performance by applying and managing mitigation strategies to reduce workload and improve the throughput and quality of decisions. The focus of augmented cognition mitigation research is to define, demonstrate, and exploit neuroscience and behavioral measures that support inferences about the warfighter’s cognitive state that prescribe the nature and timing of mitigation. A research challenge is to develop valid evaluation methodologies, metrics and measures to assess the impact of augmented cognition mitigations. Two considerations are external validity, which is the extent to which the results apply to operational contexts;more » and internal validity, which reflects the reliability of performance measures and the conclusions based on analysis of results. The scientific rigor of the research methodology employed in conducting empirical investigations largely affects the validity of the findings. External validity requirements also compel us to demonstrate operational significance of mitigations. Thus it is important to demonstrate effectiveness of mitigations under specific conditions. This chapter reviews some cognitive science and methodological considerations in designing augmented cognition research studies and associated human performance metrics and analysis methods to assess the impact of augmented cognition mitigations.« less

Space Debris: Its Causes and Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Nicholas L.

2002-01-01

Orbital debris is internationally recognized as an environmental issue which needs to be addressed today to preserve near-Earth space for future generations. All major space agencies are committed to mitigating the growth of the debris environment. Many commercial space system operators have responded positively to orbital debris mitigation principles and recommendations. Orbital debris mitigation measures are most cost-effective if included in the design development phase.

Arsenic mitigation in Bangladesh: an analysis of institutional stakeholders' opinions.

PubMed

Khan, Nasreen Islam; Yang, Hong

2014-08-01

While Bangladesh made significant achievements in safe water coverage via installation of shallow tubewells (STWs) nationwide, this success was shattered by the discovery of arsenic (As) in the STWs. The extent and severity of As groundwater contamination throughout Bangladesh and its detrimental effects on human health are well known and demand long-term sustainable mitigation. It is an immensely complex and expensive task to bring tens of millions of arsenic exposed people under safe water coverage. While various mitigation measures have been undertaken by various organizations, most have not achieved their expected outcomes due to technical, spatial and socio-economic challenges. Better understanding of these challenges by institutional stakeholders is crucial for sustainable arsenic mitigation in Bangladesh. In this study, institutional stakeholders' opinions on various aspects of As mitigation were elicited to identify their preferences for and reservations of specific mitigation measures. The current status of As mitigation activities and the factors influencing the success of As mitigation were also explored. Institutional weakness, lack of accountability and a latency period were the major factors hindering sustainable As mitigation. The results also suggested that the stakeholders' understanding of the As problem and their preferences for the different mitigation measures have a significant impact on the effectiveness of As mitigation. Mitigation of As contamination is a complex issue that requires a coordinated effort from various levels of stakeholders. The concept of "paying for water", which is currently potentially unknown in the rural areas of Bangladesh, also needs to be developed as this will create a stronger sense of user ownership of As safe water and thus better water management. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Climate change mitigation and adaptation in the land use sector: from complementarity to synergy.

PubMed

Duguma, Lalisa A; Minang, Peter A; van Noordwijk, Meine

2014-09-01

Currently, mitigation and adaptation measures are handled separately, due to differences in priorities for the measures and segregated planning and implementation policies at international and national levels. There is a growing argument that synergistic approaches to adaptation and mitigation could bring substantial benefits at multiple scales in the land use sector. Nonetheless, efforts to implement synergies between adaptation and mitigation measures are rare due to the weak conceptual framing of the approach and constraining policy issues. In this paper, we explore the attributes of synergy and the necessary enabling conditions and discuss, as an example, experience with the Ngitili system in Tanzania that serves both adaptation and mitigation functions. An in-depth look into the current practices suggests that more emphasis is laid on complementarity-i.e., mitigation projects providing adaptation co-benefits and vice versa rather than on synergy. Unlike complementarity, synergy should emphasize functionally sustainable landscape systems in which adaptation and mitigation are optimized as part of multiple functions. We argue that the current practice of seeking co-benefits (complementarity) is a necessary but insufficient step toward addressing synergy. Moving forward from complementarity will require a paradigm shift from current compartmentalization between mitigation and adaptation to systems thinking at landscape scale. However, enabling policy, institutional, and investment conditions need to be developed at global, national, and local levels to achieve synergistic goals.

Whole-farm models to quantify greenhouse gas emissions and their potential use for linking climate change mitigation and adaptation in temperate grassland ruminant-based farming systems.

PubMed

Del Prado, A; Crosson, P; Olesen, J E; Rotz, C A

2013-06-01

The farm level is the most appropriate scale for evaluating options for mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, because the farm represents the unit at which management decisions in livestock production are made. To date, a number of whole farm modelling approaches have been developed to quantify GHG emissions and explore climate change mitigation strategies for livestock systems. This paper analyses the limitations and strengths of the different existing approaches for modelling GHG mitigation by considering basic model structures, approaches for simulating GHG emissions from various farm components and the sensitivity of GHG outputs and mitigation measures to different approaches. Potential challenges for linking existing models with the simulation of impacts and adaptation measures under climate change are explored along with a brief discussion of the effects on other ecosystem services.

CO2 Mitigation Measures of Power Sector and Its Integrated Optimization in China

PubMed Central

Dai, Pan; Chen, Guang; Zhou, Hao; Su, Meirong; Bao, Haixia

2012-01-01

Power sector is responsible for about 40% of the total CO2 emissions in the world and plays a leading role in climate change mitigation. In this study, measures that lower CO2 emissions from the supply side, demand side, and power grid are discussed, based on which, an integrated optimization model of CO2 mitigation (IOCM) is proposed. Virtual energy, referring to energy saving capacity in both demand side and the power grid, together with conventional energy in supply side, is unified planning for IOCM. Consequently, the optimal plan of energy distribution, considering both economic benefits and mitigation benefits, is figured out through the application of IOCM. The results indicate that development of demand side management (DSM) and smart grid can make great contributions to CO2 mitigation of power sector in China by reducing the CO2 emissions by 10.02% and 12.59%, respectively, in 2015, and in 2020. PMID:23213305

Risk mitigation measures for diffuse pesticide entry into aquatic ecosystems: proposal of a guide to identify appropriate measures on a catchment scale.

PubMed

Bereswill, Renja; Streloke, Martin; Schulz, Ralf

2014-04-01

Measures to mitigate the risk of pesticide entry into aquatic ecosystems are becoming increasingly more important in the management of hot spots of pesticide transfer; such management, for example, is required by the European Union's directive for the sustainable use of pesticides (2009/128/EC). Measures beyond those currently stipulated for pesticide product authorization may be needed. A concise compilation of the appropriate measures for users (that are primarily farmers but also, e.g., regulators and farm extension services) and a guide for practically identifying these measures at the catchment scale is currently not available. Therefore, a proposal was developed for a guide focusing on the most important diffuse entry pathways (spray drift and runoff). Based on a survey of exposure-relevant landscape parameters (i.e., the riparian buffer strip width, riparian vegetation type, density of ground vegetation cover, coverage of the water body with aquatic macrophytes, field slope, and existence of concentrated flow paths), a set of risk mitigation measures focusing on the specific situation of pollution of a water body catchment can be identified. The user can then choose risk mitigation measures to implement, assisted by evaluations of their efficiency in reducing pesticide entry, feasibility, and expected acceptability to farmers. Currently, 12 landscape-related measures and 6 application-related measures are included. The present guide presents a step toward the practical implementation of risk mitigation measures for reducing pesticide entry in aquatic ecosystems. © 2013 SETAC.

Debris mitigation measures by satellite design and operational methods - Findings from the DLR space debris End-to-End Service

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sdunnus, H.; Beltrami, P.; Janovsky, R.; Koppenwallner, G.; Krag, H.; Reimerdes, H.; Schäfer, F.

Debris Mitigation has been recognised as an issue to be addressed by the space faring nations around the world. Currently, there are various activities going on, aiming at the establishment of debris mitigation guidelines on various levels, reaching from the UN down to national space agencies. Though guidelines established on the national level already provide concrete information how things should be done (rather that specifying what should be done or providing fundamental principles) potential users of the guidelines will still have the need to explore the technical, management, and financial implications of the guidelines for their projects. Those questions are addressed by the so called "Space Debris End-to-End Service" project, which has been initiated as a national initiative of the German Aerospace Centre (DLR). Based on a review of already existing mitigation guidelines or guidelines under development and following an identification of needs from a circle of industrial users the "End-to-End Service Gu idelines" have been established for designer and operators of spacecraft. The End-to-End Service Guidelines are based on requirements addressed by the mitigation guidelines and provide recommendations how and when the technical consideration of the mitigation guidelines should take place. By referencing requirements from the mitigation guidelines, the End-to-End Service Guidelines address the consideration of debris mitigation measures by spacecraft design and operational measures. This paper will give an introduction to the End-to-End Service Guidelines. It will focus on the proposals made for mitigation measures by the S/C system design, i.e. on protective design measures inside the spacecraft and on design measures, e.g. innovative protective (shielding) systems. Furthermore, approaches on the analytical optimisation of protective systems will be presented, aiming at the minimisation of shield mass under conservation of the protective effects. On the operational side, the possibility to support mitgation measures supported through radar observation will be addressed as well as measures to minimise the risk during the satellite reentry phase by the choice of proper reentry parameters and spacecraft materials and design options.

A conceptual framework for hydropeaking mitigation.

PubMed

Bruder, Andreas; Tonolla, Diego; Schweizer, Steffen P; Vollenweider, Stefan; Langhans, Simone D; Wüest, Alfred

2016-10-15

Hydropower plants are an important source of renewable energy. In the near future, high-head storage hydropower plants will gain further importance as a key element of large-scale electricity production systems. However, these power plants can cause hydropeaking which is characterized by intense unnatural discharge fluctuations in downstream river reaches. Consequences on environmental conditions in these sections are diverse and include changes to the hydrology, hydraulics and sediment regime on very short time scales. These altered conditions affect river ecosystems and biota, for instance due to drift and stranding of fishes and invertebrates. Several structural and operational measures exist to mitigate hydropeaking and the adverse effects on ecosystems, but estimating and predicting their ecological benefit remains challenging. We developed a conceptual framework to support the ecological evaluation of hydropeaking mitigation measures based on current mitigation projects in Switzerland and the scientific literature. We refined this framework with an international panel of hydropeaking experts. The framework is based on a set of indicators, which covers all hydrological phases of hydropeaking and the most important affected abiotic and biotic processes. Effects of mitigation measures on these indicators can be predicted quantitatively using prediction tools such as discharge scenarios and numerical habitat models. Our framework allows a comparison of hydropeaking effects among alternative mitigation measures, to the pre-mitigation situation, and to reference river sections. We further identified key issues that should be addressed to increase the efficiency of current and future projects. They include the spatial and temporal context of mitigation projects, the interactions of river morphology with hydropeaking effects, and the role of appropriate monitoring to evaluate the success of mitigation projects. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Wildlife Loss Estimates and Summary of Previous Mitigation Related to Hydroelectric Projects in Montana, Volume Three, Hungry Horse Project.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Casey, Daniel

1984-10-01

This assessment addresses the impacts to the wildlife populations and wildlife habitats due to the Hungry Horse Dam project on the South Fork of the Flathead River and previous mitigation of theses losses. In order to develop and focus mitigation efforts, it was first necessary to estimate wildlife and wildlife hatitat losses attributable to the construction and operation of the project. The purpose of this report was to document the best available information concerning the degree of impacts to target wildlife species. Indirect benefits to wildlife species not listed will be identified during the development of alternative mitigation measures. Wildlifemore » species incurring positive impacts attributable to the project were identified.« less

Systematic testing of flood adaptation options in urban areas through simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Löwe, Roland; Urich, Christian; Sto. Domingo, Nina; Mark, Ole; Deletic, Ana; Arnbjerg-Nielsen, Karsten

2016-04-01

While models can quantify flood risk in great detail, the results are subject to a number of deep uncertainties. Climate dependent drivers such as sea level and rainfall intensities, population growth and economic development all have a strong influence on future flood risk, but future developments can only be estimated coarsely. In such a situation, robust decision making frameworks call for the systematic evaluation of mitigation measures against ensembles of potential futures. We have coupled the urban development software DAnCE4Water and the 1D-2D hydraulic simulation package MIKE FLOOD to create a framework that allows for such systematic evaluations, considering mitigation measures under a variety of climate futures and urban development scenarios. A wide spectrum of mitigation measures can be considered in this setup, ranging from structural measures such as modifications of the sewer network over local retention of rainwater and the modification of surface flow paths to policy measures such as restrictions on urban development in flood prone areas or master plans that encourage compact development. The setup was tested in a 300 ha residential catchment in Melbourne, Australia. The results clearly demonstrate the importance of considering a range of potential futures in the planning process. For example, local rainwater retention measures strongly reduce flood risk a scenario with moderate increase of rain intensities and moderate urban growth, but their performance strongly varies, yielding very little improvement in situations with pronounced climate change. The systematic testing of adaptation measures further allows for the identification of so-called adaptation tipping points, i.e. levels for the drivers of flood risk where the desired level of flood risk is exceeded despite the implementation of (a combination of) mitigation measures. Assuming a range of development rates for the drivers of flood risk, such tipping points can be translated into anticipated time spans over which a measure will be effective. While the new simulation setup is limited to situations where the planner is able to define realistic ranges for the development of drivers of flood risk, it certainly contributes to an improved consideration of deep uncertainties in the planning process. Future work will particularly focus on the application of the framework in a variety of urban development contexts.

Evaluation of mitigation measures to reduce hydropeaking impacts on river ecosystems - a case study from the Swiss Alps.

PubMed

Tonolla, Diego; Bruder, Andreas; Schweizer, Steffen

2017-01-01

New Swiss legislation obligates hydropower plant owners to reduce detrimental impacts on rivers ecosystems caused by hydropeaking. We used a case study in the Swiss Alps (hydropower company Kraftwerke Oberhasli AG) to develop an efficient and successful procedure for the ecological evaluation of such impacts, and to predict the effects of possible mitigation measures. We evaluated the following scenarios using 12 biotic and abiotic indicators: the pre-mitigation scenario (i.e. current state), the future scenario with increased turbine capacity but without mitigation measures, and future scenarios with increased turbine capacity and four alternative mitigation measures. The evaluation was based on representative hydrographs and quantitative or qualitative prediction of the indicators. Despite uncertainties in the ecological responses and the future operation mode of the hydropower plant, the procedure allowed the most appropriate mitigation measure to be identified. This measure combines a basin and a cavern at a total retention volume of 80,000m 3 , allowing for substantial dampening in the flow falling and ramping rates and in turn considerable reduction in stranding risk for juvenile trout and in macroinvertebrate drift. In general, this retention volume had the greatest predicted ecological benefit and can also, to some extent, compensate for possible modifications in the hydropower operation regime in the future, e.g. due to climate change, changes in the energy market, and changes in river morphology. Furthermore, it also allows for more specific seasonal regulations of retention volume during ecologically sensitive periods (e.g. fish spawning seasons). Overall experience gained from our case study is expected to support other hydropeaking mitigation projects. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

40 CFR 93.163 - Timing of offsets and mitigation measures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Timing of offsets and mitigation... offsets and mitigation measures. (a) The emissions reductions from an offset or mitigation measure used to... offset or mitigation measure with emissions reductions in another year will not: (i) Cause or contribute...

40 CFR 93.163 - Timing of offsets and mitigation measures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Timing of offsets and mitigation... offsets and mitigation measures. (a) The emissions reductions from an offset or mitigation measure used to... offset or mitigation measure with emissions reductions in another year will not: (i) Cause or contribute...

40 CFR 93.163 - Timing of offsets and mitigation measures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Timing of offsets and mitigation... offsets and mitigation measures. (a) The emissions reductions from an offset or mitigation measure used to... offset or mitigation measure with emissions reductions in another year will not: (i) Cause or contribute...

40 CFR 93.163 - Timing of offsets and mitigation measures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true Timing of offsets and mitigation... offsets and mitigation measures. (a) The emissions reductions from an offset or mitigation measure used to... offset or mitigation measure with emissions reductions in another year will not: (i) Cause or contribute...

40 CFR 93.163 - Timing of offsets and mitigation measures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Timing of offsets and mitigation... offsets and mitigation measures. (a) The emissions reductions from an offset or mitigation measure used to... offset or mitigation measure with emissions reductions in another year will not: (i) Cause or contribute...

40 CFR 230.95 - Ecological performance standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... mitigation plan must contain performance standards that will be used to assess whether the project is... mitigation project, so that the project can be objectively evaluated to determine if it is developing into... verifiable. Ecological performance standards must be based on the best available science that can be measured...

40 CFR 230.95 - Ecological performance standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... mitigation plan must contain performance standards that will be used to assess whether the project is... mitigation project, so that the project can be objectively evaluated to determine if it is developing into... verifiable. Ecological performance standards must be based on the best available science that can be measured...

40 CFR 230.95 - Ecological performance standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... mitigation plan must contain performance standards that will be used to assess whether the project is... mitigation project, so that the project can be objectively evaluated to determine if it is developing into... verifiable. Ecological performance standards must be based on the best available science that can be measured...

40 CFR 230.95 - Ecological performance standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... mitigation plan must contain performance standards that will be used to assess whether the project is... mitigation project, so that the project can be objectively evaluated to determine if it is developing into... verifiable. Ecological performance standards must be based on the best available science that can be measured...

Modelling mitigation options to reduce diffuse nitrogen water pollution from agriculture.

PubMed

Bouraoui, Fayçal; Grizzetti, Bruna

2014-01-15

Agriculture is responsible for large scale water quality degradation and is estimated to contribute around 55% of the nitrogen entering the European Seas. The key policy instrument for protecting inland, transitional and coastal water resources is the Water Framework Directive (WFD). Reducing nutrient losses from agriculture is crucial to the successful implementation of the WFD. There are several mitigation measures that can be implemented to reduce nitrogen losses from agricultural areas to surface and ground waters. For the selection of appropriate measures, models are useful for quantifying the expected impacts and the associated costs. In this article we review some of the models used in Europe to assess the effectiveness of nitrogen mitigation measures, ranging from fertilizer management to the construction of riparian areas and wetlands. We highlight how the complexity of models is correlated with the type of scenarios that can be tested, with conceptual models mostly used to evaluate the impact of reduced fertilizer application, and the physically-based models used to evaluate the timing and location of mitigation options and the response times. We underline the importance of considering the lag time between the implementation of measures and effects on water quality. Models can be effective tools for targeting mitigation measures (identifying critical areas and timing), for evaluating their cost effectiveness, for taking into consideration pollution swapping and considering potential trade-offs in contrasting environmental objectives. Models are also useful for involving stakeholders during the development of catchments mitigation plans, increasing their acceptability. © 2013.

Is wetland mitigation successful in Southern California?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cummings, D. L.; Rademacher, L. K.

2004-12-01

Wetlands perform many vital functions within their landscape position; they provide unique habitats for a variety of flora and fauna and they act as treatment systems for upstream natural and anthropogenic waste. California has lost an estimated 91% of its wetlands. Despite the 1989 "No Net Loss" policy and mitigation requirements by the regulatory agencies, the implemented mitigation may not be offsetting wetlands losses. The "No Net Loss" policy is likely failing for numerous reasons related to processes in the wetlands themselves and the policies governing their recovery. Of particular interest is whether these mitigation sites are performing essential wetlands functions. Specific questions include: 1) Are hydric soil conditions forming in mitigation sites; and, 2) are the water quality-related chemical transformations that occur in natural wetlands observed in mitigation sites. This study focuses on success (or lack of success) in wetlands mitigation sites in Southern California. Soil and water quality investigations were conducted in wetland mitigation sites deemed to be successful by vegetation standards. Observations of the Standard National Resource Conservation Service field indicators of reducing conditions were made to determine whether hydric soil conditions have developed in the five or more years since the implementation of mitigation plans. In addition, water quality measurements were performed at the inlet and outlet of these mitigation sites to determine whether these sites perform similar water quality transformations to natural wetlands within the same ecosystem. Water quality measurements included nutrient, trace metal, and carbon species measurements. A wetland location with minimal anthropogenic changes and similar hydrologic and vegetative features was used as a control site. All sites selected for study are within a similar ecosystem, in the interior San Diego and western Riverside Counties, in Southern California.

Short-lived climate pollutant mitigation and the Sustainable Development Goals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haines, Andy; Amann, Markus; Borgford-Parnell, Nathan; Leonard, Sunday; Kuylenstierna, Johan; Shindell, Drew

2017-12-01

The post-2015 development agenda is dominated by a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that arose from the 2012 Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. The 17 goals and 169 targets address diverse and intersecting aspects of human and environmental needs and challenges. Achieving the SDGs by 2030 requires implementing coordinated and concerted strategies and actions that minimize potential trade-offs and conflicts and maximize synergies to contribute to multiple SDGs. Measures to mitigate emissions of short-lived climate pollutants are an example of actions that contribute to multiple outcomes relevant to development. This Perspective highlights the interlinkages between these pollutants and the SDGs, and shows that implementing emissions reduction measures can contribute to achieving many of the SDGs.

Recent Developments in Space Debris Mitigation Policy and Practices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Nicholas L.

2006-01-01

In recent years, emphasis has shifted from national efforts to control the space debris population to international ones. Here, too, great progress has been made, most notably by the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) and the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) of the United Nations. Today, a firm international consensus is rapidly building on the principal space debris mitigation measures. The IADC is an association of the space agencies of ten countries (China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and the European Space Agency, representing 17 countries of which four (France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom) are also full IADC members. At the 17th meeting of the IADC in October 1999, a new Action Item (AI 17.2) was adopted to develop a set of consensus space debris mitigation guidelines. The purpose of the activity was to identify the most valuable space debris mitigation measures and to reach an international agreement on common directives. The IADC Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines (www.iadc-online.org/index.cgi?item=docs_pub) were formally adopted in October 2002 during the Second World Space Congress in Houston, Texas. Two years later a companion document, entitled Support to the IADC Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines, was completed to provide background and clarification for the guidelines.

To protect or abandon: a participatory process on landslide risk mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scolobig, A.; Bayer, J.; Cascini, L.; Ferlisi, S.

2012-04-01

With escalating costs of landslide risk mitigation and relief, a challenge for local authorities is to develop landslide risk mitigation measures that are viewed as efficient, feasible and fair by the many stakeholders involved. Innovative measures and the participation of stakeholders in the decision making process are essential elements in developing effective strategies to deal with the ever-changing spatial and temporal patterns of landslide risk. A stakeholder-led policy process, however, can face many social and economic challenges. One of the most difficult is deciding between costly protection measures or relocating homes. Particularly in areas with high population density, protection works are often not built because of economic/environmental constraints or private interests of the local residents. At the same time it not always possible to relocate households even if the costs are deemed less than protecting them. These issues turned out to be crucial in a recent participatory process for selecting risk mitigation measures in the town of Nocera Inferiore, Southern Italy, which experienced a landslide in 2005 causing three fatalities. The paper reports on this process which was structured in a series of meetings with a group of selected residents and several parallel activities open to the public. The preparatory work included semi-structured interviews carried out with key local stakeholders and a public survey eliciting residents' views on landslide risk mitigation. After describing the background of the landslide risk management problem in Nocera Inferiore, the paper focuses on three packages of risk mitigation measures (each of them not exceeding a total cost of 7 million Euro, namely the available funds) and the key trade-offs that emerged during the meetings with the residents. The participants reached a unanimous consensus on fundamental priorities, i.e. the improvement of the warning system, the implementation of an integrated system of monitoring and territorial survey and the stabilization of the open slopes with naturalistic engineering works. Much more debate was devoted to the relocation of residents from the most endangered areas and/or the need to build passive structural works, especially on private properties. Notwithstanding the difficulties in reaching a shared "compromise solution" for risk mitigation, the results demonstrate the value of citizen participation in landslide risk mitigation decisions and highlight the role that participation can play in risk management more generally.

Greenhouse gas emissions reduction in different economic sectors: Mitigation measures, health co-benefits, knowledge gaps, and policy implications.

PubMed

Gao, Jinghong; Hou, Hongli; Zhai, Yunkai; Woodward, Alistair; Vardoulakis, Sotiris; Kovats, Sari; Wilkinson, Paul; Li, Liping; Song, Xiaoqin; Xu, Lei; Meng, Bohan; Liu, Xiaobo; Wang, Jun; Zhao, Jie; Liu, Qiyong

2018-09-01

To date, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, mitigation strategies and the accompanying health co-benefits in different economic sectors have not been fully investigated. The purpose of this paper is to review comprehensively the evidence on GHG mitigation measures and the related health co-benefits, identify knowledge gaps, and provide recommendations to promote further development and implementation of climate change response policies. Evidence on GHG emissions, abatement measures and related health co-benefits has been observed at regional, national and global levels, involving both low- and high-income societies. GHG mitigation actions have mainly been taken in five sectors: energy generation, transport, food and agriculture, household and industry, consistent with the main sources of GHG emissions. GHGs and air pollutants to a large extent stem from the same sources and are inseparable in terms of their atmospheric evolution and effects on ecosystem; thus, GHG reductions are usually, although not always, estimated to have cost effective co-benefits for public health. Some integrated mitigation strategies involving multiple sectors, which tend to create greater health benefits. The pros and cons of different mitigation measures, issues with existing knowledge, priorities for research, and potential policy implications were also discussed. Findings from this study can play a role not only in motivating large GHG emitters to make decisive changes in GHG emissions, but also in facilitating cooperation at international, national and regional levels, to promote GHG mitigation policies that protect public health from climate change and air pollution simultaneously. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

MitiGate; an online meta-analysis database for quantification of mitigation strategies for enteric methane emissions.

PubMed

Veneman, Jolien B; Saetnan, Eli R; Clare, Amanda J; Newbold, Charles J

2016-12-01

The body of peer-reviewed papers on enteric methane mitigation strategies in ruminants is rapidly growing and allows for better estimation of the true effect of each strategy though the use of meta-analysis methods. Here we present the development of an online database of measured methane mitigation strategies called MitiGate, currently comprising 412 papers. The database is accessible through an online user-friendly interface that allows data extraction with various levels of aggregation on one hand and data-uploading for submission to the database allowing for future refinement and updates of mitigation estimates as well as providing easy access to relevant data for integration into modelling efforts or policy recommendations. To demonstrate and verify the usefulness of the MitiGate database those studies where methane emissions were expressed per unit of intake (293 papers resulting in 845 treatment comparisons) were used in a meta-analysis. The meta-analysis of the current database estimated the effect size of each of the mitigation strategies as well as the associated variance and measure of heterogeneity. Currently, under-representation of certain strategies, geographic regions and long term studies are the main limitations in providing an accurate quantitative estimation of the mitigation potential of each strategy under varying animal production systems. We have thus implemented the facility for researchers to upload meta-data of their peer reviewed research through a simple input form in the hope that MitiGate will grow into a fully inclusive resource for those wishing to model methane mitigation strategies in ruminants. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An Update on the Effectiveness of Postmission Disposal in LEO

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liou, J.-C; Krisko, Paula

2013-01-01

Orbital debris mitigation measures have been developed to reduce the growth of the future debris population by the international space community over the past two decades. A major component in the overall mitigation strategy is postmission disposal (PMD). A key PMD element for the low Earth orbit (LEO, the region below 2000 km altitude) satellites is the 25-year decay rule. It is intended to limit the long-term presence of massive intact objects - rocket bodies (R/Bs) and spacecraft (S/C) in the environment. The effectiveness of the 25-year rule was well demonstrated and documented during the development of the mitigation measures. The orbital debris population in LEO, unfortunately, has significantly increased since that time. The objectives of this paper are to provide an updated assessment based on the 2012 LEO environment and to highlight the importance of the global compliance of the 25-year decay rule.

Status Review of Wildlife Mitigation at 14 of 27 Major Hydroelectric Projects in Idaho, 1983-1984 Final Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martin, Robert C.; Mehrhoff, L.A.

1985-01-01

The Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act and wildlife and their habitats in the Columbia River Basin and to compliance with the Program, the wildlife mitigation status reports coordination with resource agencies and Indian Tribes. developed the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program development, operation, and maintenance of hydroelectric projects on existing agreements; and past, current, and proposed wildlife factual review and documentation of existing information on wildlife meet the requirements of Measure 1004(b)(l) of the Program. The mitigation, enhancement, and protection activities were considered. In mitigate for the losses to those resources resulting from the purposemore » of these wildlife mitigation status reports is to provide a resources at some of the Columbia River Basin hydroelectric projects the river and its tributaries. To accomplish this goal, the Council were written with the cooperation of project operators, and in within Idaho.« less

43 CFR 46.130 - Mitigation measures in analyses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2012-10-01 2011-10-01 true Mitigation measures in analyses. 46.130... Mitigation measures in analyses. (a) Bureau proposed action. The analysis of the proposed action and any... of the effects of any appropriate mitigation measures or best management practices that are...

43 CFR 46.130 - Mitigation measures in analyses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Mitigation measures in analyses. 46.130... Mitigation measures in analyses. (a) Bureau proposed action. The analysis of the proposed action and any... of the effects of any appropriate mitigation measures or best management practices that are...

43 CFR 46.130 - Mitigation measures in analyses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Mitigation measures in analyses. 46.130... Mitigation measures in analyses. (a) Bureau proposed action. The analysis of the proposed action and any... of the effects of any appropriate mitigation measures or best management practices that are...

7T Magnetization Transfer and Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer MRI of Cortical Gray Matter: Can We Detect Neurochemical and Macromolecular Abnormalities?

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-10-21

measures working memory • Trail making test (both A and B): measures planning/executive function • "Black Box” (choice reaction time, critical flicker ...associated with SIR imaging. The former of these was mitigated by developing a novel B+ and !1B insensitive in- version composite pulse (Fig. 2) and...employing a low-flip angle TFE readout; the latter was mitigated by the efficiency of the TFE readout along with additional protocol optimization

Hydrological and thermal effects of hydropeaking on early life stages of salmonids: A modelling approach for implementing mitigation strategies.

PubMed

Casas-Mulet, Roser; Saltveit, Svein Jakob; Alfredsen, Knut Tore

2016-12-15

Alterations in hydrological and thermal regimes can potentially affect salmonid early life stages development and survival. The dewatering of salmon spawning redds due to hydropeaking can lead to mortality in early life stages, with higher impact on the alevins as they have lower tolerance to dewatering than the eggs. Flow-related mitigation measures can reduce early life stage mortality. We present a set of modelling tools to assess impacts and mitigation options to minimise the risk of mortality in early life stages in hydropeaking rivers. We successfully modelled long-term hydrological and thermal alterations and consequences for development rates. We estimated the risk of early life stages mortality and assessed the cost-effectiveness of implementing three release-related mitigation options (A,B,C). The economic cost of mitigation was low and ranged between 0.7% and 2.6% of the annual hydropower production. Options reducing the flow during spawning (B and C) in addition to only release minimum flows during development (A) were considered more effective for egg and alevin survival. Options B and C were however constraint by water availability in the system for certain years, and therefore only option A was always feasible. The set of modelling tools used in this study were satisfactory and their applications can be useful especially in systems where little field data is available. Targeted measures built on well-informed modelling tools can be tested on their effectiveness to mitigate dewatering effects vs. the hydropower system capacity to release or conserve water for power production. Environmental flow releases targeting specific ecological objectives can provide better cost-effective options than conventional operational rules complying with general legislation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Preparing for Euro 2012: developing a hazard risk assessment.

PubMed

Wong, Evan G; Razek, Tarek; Luhovy, Artem; Mogilevkina, Irina; Prudnikov, Yuriy; Klimovitskiy, Fedor; Yutovets, Yuriy; Khwaja, Kosar A; Deckelbaum, Dan L

2015-04-01

Risk assessment is a vital step in the disaster-preparedness continuum as it is the foundation of subsequent phases, including mitigation, response, and recovery. To develop a risk assessment tool geared specifically towards the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Euro 2012. In partnership with the Donetsk National Medical University, Donetsk Research and Development Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, Donetsk Regional Public Health Administration, and the Ministry of Emergency of Ukraine, a table-based tool was created, which, based on historical evidence, identifies relevant potential threats, evaluates their impacts and likelihoods on graded scales based on previous available data, identifies potential mitigating shortcomings, and recommends further mitigation measures. This risk assessment tool has been applied in the vulnerability-assessment-phase of the UEFA Euro 2012. Twenty-three sub-types of potential hazards were identified and analyzed. Ten specific hazards were recognized as likely to very likely to occur, including natural disasters, bombing and blast events, road traffic collisions, and disorderly conduct. Preventative measures, such as increased stadium security and zero tolerance for impaired driving, were recommended. Mitigating factors were suggested, including clear, incident-specific preparedness plans and enhanced inter-agency communication. This hazard risk assessment tool is a simple aid in vulnerability assessment, essential for disaster preparedness and response, and may be applied broadly to future international events.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Winkler, Mirko S., E-mail: mirko.winkler@unibas.c; NewFields, LLC, Pretoria 0062; Divall, Mark J., E-mail: mdivall@newfields.co

In the developing world, large-scale projects in the extractive industry and natural resources sectors are often controversial and associated with long-term adverse health consequences to local communities. In many industrialised countries, health impact assessment (HIA) has been institutionalized for the mitigation of anticipated negative health effects while enhancing the benefits of projects, programmes and policies. However, in developing country settings, relatively few HIAs have been performed. Hence, more HIAs with a focus on low- and middle-income countries are needed to advance and refine tools and methods for impact assessment and subsequent mitigation measures. We present a promising HIA approach, developedmore » within the frame of a large gold-mining project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The articulation of environmental health areas, the spatial delineation of potentially affected communities and the use of a diversity of sources to obtain quality baseline health data are utilized for risk profiling. We demonstrate how these tools and data are fed into a risk analysis matrix, which facilitates ranking of potential health impacts for subsequent prioritization of mitigation strategies. The outcomes encapsulate a multitude of environmental and health determinants in a systematic manner, and will assist decision-makers in the development of mitigation measures that minimize potential adverse health effects and enhance positive ones.« less

Understanding household preferences for hurricane risk mitigation information: evidence from survey responses.

PubMed

Chatterjee, Chiradip; Mozumder, Pallab

2014-06-01

Risk information is critical to adopting mitigation measures, and seeking risk information is influenced by a variety of factors. An essential component of the recently adopted My Safe Florida Home (MSFH) program by the State of Florida is to provide homeowners with pertinent risk information to facilitate hurricane risk mitigation activities. We develop an analytical framework to understand household preferences for hurricane risk mitigation information through allowing an intensive home inspection. An empirical analysis is used to identify major drivers of household preferences to receive personalized information regarding recommended hurricane risk mitigation measures. A variety of empirical specifications show that households with home insurance, prior experience with damages, and with a higher sense of vulnerability to be affected by hurricanes are more likely to allow inspection to seek information. However, households with more members living in the home and households who live in manufactured/mobile homes are less likely to allow inspection. While findings imply MSFH program's ability to link incentives offered by private and public agencies in promoting mitigation, households that face a disproportionately higher level of risk can get priority to make the program more effective. © 2014 Society for Risk Analysis.

13 CFR 123.21 - What is a mitigation measure?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false What is a mitigation measure? 123.21 Section 123.21 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM Overview § 123.21 What is a mitigation measure? A mitigation measure is something done for the purpose of...

13 CFR 123.21 - What is a mitigation measure?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false What is a mitigation measure? 123.21 Section 123.21 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM Overview § 123.21 What is a mitigation measure? A mitigation measure is something done for the purpose of...

13 CFR 123.21 - What is a mitigation measure?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false What is a mitigation measure? 123.21 Section 123.21 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM Overview § 123.21 What is a mitigation measure? A mitigation measure is something done for the purpose of...

13 CFR 123.21 - What is a mitigation measure?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false What is a mitigation measure? 123.21 Section 123.21 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM Overview § 123.21 What is a mitigation measure? A mitigation measure is something done for the purpose of...

13 CFR 123.21 - What is a mitigation measure?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false What is a mitigation measure? 123.21 Section 123.21 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM Overview § 123.21 What is a mitigation measure? A mitigation measure is something done for the purpose of...

40 CFR 93.164 - Inter-precursor mitigation measures and offsets.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true Inter-precursor mitigation measures and...-precursor mitigation measures and offsets. Federal agencies must reduce the same type of pollutant as being increased by the Federal action except the State or Tribe may approve offsets or mitigation measures of...

40 CFR 93.164 - Inter-precursor mitigation measures and offsets.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Inter-precursor mitigation measures... § 93.164 Inter-precursor mitigation measures and offsets. Federal agencies must reduce the same type of... mitigation measures of different precursors of the same criteria pollutant, if such trades are allowed by a...

40 CFR 93.164 - Inter-precursor mitigation measures and offsets.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Inter-precursor mitigation measures... § 93.164 Inter-precursor mitigation measures and offsets. Federal agencies must reduce the same type of... mitigation measures of different precursors of the same criteria pollutant, if such trades are allowed by a...

40 CFR 93.164 - Inter-precursor mitigation measures and offsets.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Inter-precursor mitigation measures... § 93.164 Inter-precursor mitigation measures and offsets. Federal agencies must reduce the same type of... mitigation measures of different precursors of the same criteria pollutant, if such trades are allowed by a...

40 CFR 93.164 - Inter-precursor mitigation measures and offsets.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Inter-precursor mitigation measures... § 93.164 Inter-precursor mitigation measures and offsets. Federal agencies must reduce the same type of... mitigation measures of different precursors of the same criteria pollutant, if such trades are allowed by a...

13 CFR 123.402 - Can your business include its relocation as a mitigation measure in an application for a pre...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... relocation as a mitigation measure in an application for a pre-disaster mitigation loan? 123.402 Section 123.402 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM Pre-Disaster Mitigation Loans § 123.402 Can your business include its relocation as a mitigation measure in an application...

13 CFR 123.402 - Can your business include its relocation as a mitigation measure in an application for a pre...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... relocation as a mitigation measure in an application for a pre-disaster mitigation loan? 123.402 Section 123.402 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM Pre-Disaster Mitigation Loans § 123.402 Can your business include its relocation as a mitigation measure in an application...

13 CFR 123.402 - Can your business include its relocation as a mitigation measure in an application for a pre...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... relocation as a mitigation measure in an application for a pre-disaster mitigation loan? 123.402 Section 123.402 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM Pre-Disaster Mitigation Loans § 123.402 Can your business include its relocation as a mitigation measure in an application...

13 CFR 123.402 - Can your business include its relocation as a mitigation measure in an application for a pre...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... relocation as a mitigation measure in an application for a pre-disaster mitigation loan? 123.402 Section 123.402 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM Pre-Disaster Mitigation Loans § 123.402 Can your business include its relocation as a mitigation measure in an application...

Evaluating the effectiveness of flood damage mitigation measures by the application of Propensity Score Matching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hudson, P.; Botzen, W. J. W.; Kreibich, H.; Bubeck, P.; Aerts, J. C. J. H.

2014-01-01

The employment of damage mitigation measures by individuals is an important component of integrated flood risk management. In order to promote efficient damage mitigation measures, accurate estimates of their damage mitigation potential are required. That is, for correctly assessing the damage mitigation measures' effectiveness from survey data, one needs to control for sources of bias. A biased estimate can occur if risk characteristics differ between individuals who have, or have not, implemented mitigation measures. This study removed this bias by applying an econometric evaluation technique called Propensity Score Matching to a survey of German households along along two major rivers major rivers that were flooded in 2002, 2005 and 2006. The application of this method detected substantial overestimates of mitigation measures' effectiveness if bias is not controlled for, ranging from nearly € 1700 to € 15 000 per measure. Bias-corrected effectiveness estimates of several mitigation measures show that these measures are still very effective since they prevent between € 6700-14 000 of flood damage. This study concludes with four main recommendations regarding how to better apply Propensity Score Matching in future studies, and makes several policy recommendations.

Evaluating the effectiveness of flood damage mitigation measures by the application of propensity score matching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hudson, P.; Botzen, W. J. W.; Kreibich, H.; Bubeck, P.; Aerts, J. C. J. H.

2014-07-01

The employment of damage mitigation measures (DMMs) by individuals is an important component of integrated flood risk management. In order to promote efficient damage mitigation measures, accurate estimates of their damage mitigation potential are required. That is, for correctly assessing the damage mitigation measures' effectiveness from survey data, one needs to control for sources of bias. A biased estimate can occur if risk characteristics differ between individuals who have, or have not, implemented mitigation measures. This study removed this bias by applying an econometric evaluation technique called propensity score matching (PSM) to a survey of German households along three major rivers that were flooded in 2002, 2005, and 2006. The application of this method detected substantial overestimates of mitigation measures' effectiveness if bias is not controlled for, ranging from nearly EUR 1700 to 15 000 per measure. Bias-corrected effectiveness estimates of several mitigation measures show that these measures are still very effective since they prevent between EUR 6700 and 14 000 of flood damage per flood event. This study concludes with four main recommendations regarding how to better apply propensity score matching in future studies, and makes several policy recommendations.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hoffman, Greg; Marotz, Brian L.; Dunnigan, James

''Mitigation for the Construction and Operation of Libby Dam'' is part of the Northwest Power Planning Council's resident fish and wildlife program. The program was mandated by the Northwest Planning Act of 1980, and is responsible for mitigating for damages to fish and wildlife caused by hydroelectric development in the Columbia River Basin. The objective of Phase I of the project (1983 through 1987) was to maintain or enhance the Libby Reservoir fishery by quantifying seasonal water levels and developing ecologically sound operational guidelines. The objective of Phase II of the project (1988 through 1996) was to determine the biologicalmore » effects of reservoir operations combined with biotic changes associated with an aging reservoir. The objectives of Phase III of the project (1996 through present) are to implement habitat enhancement measures to mitigate for dam effects, to provide data for implementation of operational strategies that benefit resident fish, monitor reservoir and river conditions, and monitor mitigation projects for effectiveness.« less

Considering WTO law in the design of climate change regimes beyond Kyoto

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaines, Sanford E.

2009-11-01

This article describes the most important provisions of World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements that should be considered in designing laws and regulations under likely post-Kyoto climate change mitigation regimes. The Kyoto Protocol and the expected post-Kyoto international climate agreement depend on national measures to implement market-based mitigation measures. This market strategy promotes international exchanges of goods, investments, and services such as cross-border trading of credits for emissions reductions and transnational financing for projects that avoid emissions through the Clean Development Mechanism. Moreover, the United States and other countries, concerned over "leakage" of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through relocation of industry to other countries coupled with political worry over manufacturing competitiveness, have proposed national climate legislation containing border adjustments on imported goods or implicit subsidies for national producers, raising additional WTO considerations. The article assesses the likely effectiveness of such trade-related measures in achieving climate change mitigation goals and the potential trade policy infringements and trade distortions that they might bring about. Alternative strategies for achieving GHG mitigation goals in closer conformity with WTO law and policy will be suggested.

Measuring and building resilience after big storms: Lessons learned from Super-Storm Sandy for the Harvey, Irma, Jose, and Maria coasts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murdoch, P. S.; Penn, K. M.; Taylor, S. M.; Subramanian, B.; Bennett, R.

2017-12-01

As we recover from recent large storms, we need information to support increased environmental and socio-economic resilience of the Nation's coasts. Defining baseline conditions, tracking effects of mitigation actions, and measuring the uncertainty of resilience to future disturbance are essential so that the best management practices can be determined. The US Dept. of the Interior invested over $787 million dollars in 2013 to understand and mitigate coastal storm vulnerabilities and enhance resilience of the Northeast coast following Super-Storm Sandy. Several lessons-learned from that investment have direct application to mitigation and restoration needs following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Jose and Maria. New models of inundation, overwash, and erosion, developed during the Sandy projects have already been applied to coastlines before and after these recent storms. Results from wetland, beach, back-bay, estuary, and built-environment projects improved models of inundation and erosion from surge and waves. Tests of nature-based infrastructure for mitigating coastal disturbance yielded new concepts for best-practices. Ecological and socio-economic measurements established for detecting disturbance and tracking recovery provide baseline data critical to early detection of vulnerabilities. The Sandy lessons and preliminary applications on the recent storms could help define best-resilience practices before more costly mitigation or restoration efforts are required.

14 CFR 1216.309 - Mitigation and monitoring.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Mitigation and monitoring. 1216.309 Section... Mitigation and monitoring. When the analysis proceeds to an EA or EIS and mitigation measures are selected to avoid or reduce environmental impacts, such mitigation measures will be identified in the EA/FONSI or...

EconoMe-Develop - a calculation tool for multi-risk assessment and benefit-cost-analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bründl, M.

2012-04-01

Public money is used to finance the protection of human life, material assets and the environment against natural hazards. This limited resource should be used in a way that it achieves the maximum possible effect by minimizing as many risks as possible. Hence, decision-makers are facing the question which mitigation measures should be prioritised. Benefit-Cost-Analysis (BCA) is a recognized method for determining the economic efficiency of investments in mitigation measures. In Switzerland, the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) judges the benefit-cost-ratio of mitigation projects on the base of the results of the calculation tool "EconoMe" [1]. The check of the economic efficiency of mitigation projects with an investment of more than 1 million CHF (800,000 EUR) by using "EconoMe" is mandatory since 2008 in Switzerland. Within "EconoMe", most calculation parameters cannot be changed by the user allowing for comparable results. Based on the risk guideline "RIKO" [2] an extended version of the operational version of "EconoMe", called "EconoMe-Develop" was developed. "EconoMe-Develop" is able to deal with various natural hazard processes and thus allows multi-risk assessments, since all restrictions of the operational version of "EconoMe" like e.g. the number of scenarios and expositions, vulnerability, spatial probability of processes and probability of presence of objects, are not existing. Additionally, the influences of uncertainty of calculation factors, like e.g. vulnerability, on the final results can be determined. "EconoMe-Develop" offers import and export of data, e.g. results of GIS-analysis. The possibility for adapting the tool to user specific requirements makes EconoMe-Develop an easy-to-use tool for risk assessment and assessment of economic efficiency of mitigation projects for risk experts. In the paper we will present the most important features of the tool and we will illustrate the application by a practical example.

14 CFR § 1216.309 - Mitigation and monitoring.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Mitigation and monitoring. § 1216.309... Mitigation and monitoring. When the analysis proceeds to an EA or EIS and mitigation measures are selected to avoid or reduce environmental impacts, such mitigation measures will be identified in the EA/FONSI or...

Thermal modelling approaches to enable mitigation measures implementation for salmonid gravel stages in hydropeaking rivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casas-Mulet, R.; Alfredsen, K. T.

2016-12-01

The dewatering of salmon spawning redds can lead to early life stages mortality due to hydropeaking operations, with higher impact on the alevins stages as they have lower tolerance to dewatering than the eggs. Targeted flow-related mitigations measures can reduce such mortality, but it is essential to understand how hydropeaking change thermal regimes in rivers and may impact embryo development; only then optimal measures can be implemented at the right development stage. We present a set of experimental approaches and modelling tools for the estimation of hatch and swim-up dates based on water temperature data in the river Lundesokna (Norway). We identified critical periods for gravel-stages survival and through comparing hydropeaking vs unregulated thermal and hydrological regimes, we established potential flow-release measures to minimise mortality. Modelling outcomes were then used assess the cost-efficiency of each measure. The combinations of modelling tools used in this study were overall satisfactory and their application can be useful especially in systems where little field data is available. Targeted measures built on well-informed modelling approaches can be pre-tested based on their efficiency to mitigate dewatering effects vs. the hydropower system capacity to release or conserve water for power production. Overall, environmental flow releases targeting specific ecological objectives can provide better cost-effective options than conventional operational rules complying with general legislation.

Synergy of debris mitigation and removal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewis, Hugh G.; White, Adam E.; Crowther, Richard; Stokes, Hedley

2012-12-01

Since the end of the 20th Century there has been considerable effort made to devise mitigation measures to limit the growth of the debris population. This activity has led to the implementation of a "25-year rule" by a number of space-faring nations for the post-mission disposal of spacecraft and orbital stages intersecting the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) region. Through the use of projections made by computer models, it was anticipated that this 25-year rule, together with passivation and suppression of mission-related debris, would be sufficient to prevent the unconstrained growth of the LEO debris population. In the last decade both the LEO debris environment and the debris modelling capability have seen significant changes. In particular, recent population growth has been driven by a number of major break-ups, including the intentional destruction of the Fengyun-1C spacecraft and the collision between Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251. State-of-the-art evolutionary models indicate that the LEO debris population will continue to grow in spite of good compliance with the commonly adopted mitigation measures and even in the absence of new launches. Consequently, this has led to considerable interest in the development of remediation measures and, especially, in debris removal. In this paper, we present a new and large study of debris mitigation and removal using the University of Southampton's evolutionary model, DAMAGE, together with the latest MASTER model population of objects ≥10 cm in LEO. Here, we have employed a concurrent approach to mitigation and remediation, whereby changes to the PMD rule and the inclusion of other mitigation measures have been considered together with multiple removal strategies. In this way, we have been able to demonstrate the synergy of these mitigation and remediation measures and to identify potential, aggregate solutions to the space debris problem. The results suggest that reducing the PMD rule offers benefits that include an increase in the effectiveness of debris removal and a corresponding increase in the confidence that these combined measures will lead to the stabilisation of the LEO debris population.

Approaches to the implementation of the Water Framework Directive: targeting mitigation measures at critical source areas of diffuse phosphorus in Irish catchments.

PubMed

Doody, D G; Archbold, M; Foy, R H; Flynn, R

2012-01-01

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) has initiated a shift towards a targeted approach to implementation through its focus on river basin districts as management units and the natural ecological characteristics of waterbodies. Due to its role in eutrophication, phosphorus (P) has received considerable attention, resulting in a significant body of research, which now forms the evidence base for the programme of measures (POMs) adopted in WFD River Basin Management Plans (RBMP). Targeting POMs at critical sources areas (CSAs) of P could significantly improve environmental efficiency and cost effectiveness of proposed mitigation strategies. This paper summarises the progress made towards targeting mitigation measures at CSAs in Irish catchments. A review of current research highlights that knowledge related to P export at field scale is relatively comprehensive however; the availability of site-specific data and tools limits widespread identification of CSA at this scale. Increasing complexity of hydrological processes at larger scales limits accurate identification of CSA at catchment scale. Implementation of a tiered approach, using catchment scale tools in conjunction with field-by-field surveys could decrease uncertainty and provide a more practical and cost effective method of delineating CSA in a range of catchments. Despite scientific and practical uncertainties, development of a tiered CSA-based approach to assist in the development of supplementary measures would provide a means of developing catchment-specific and cost-effective programmes of measures for diffuse P. The paper presents a conceptual framework for such an approach, which would have particular relevance for the development of supplementary measures in High Status Waterbodies (HSW). The cost and resources necessary for implementation are justified based on HSWs' value as undisturbed reference condition ecosystems. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Wildfire risk and hazard: procedures for the first approximation

Treesearch

David E. Calkin; Alan A. Ager; Julie Gilbertson-Day

2010-01-01

This report was designed to meet three broad goals: (1) evaluate wildfire hazard on Federal lands; (2) develop information useful in prioritizing where fuels treatments and mitigation measures might be proposed to address significant fire hazard and risk; and (3) develop risk-based performance measures to document the effectiveness of fire management programs. The...

Hydrologic analysis of the challenges facing water resources and sustainable development of Wadi Feiran basin, southern Sinai, Egypt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmed, Ayman A.; Diab, Maghawri S.

2018-04-01

Wadi Feiran basin is one of the most promising areas in southern Sinai (Egypt) for establishing new communities and for growth in agriculture, tourism, and industry. The present challenges against development include water runoff hazards (flash flooding), the increasing water demand, and water scarcity and contamination. These challenges could be mitigated by efficient use of runoff and rainwater through appropriate management, thereby promoting sustainable development. Strategies include the mitigation of runoff hazards and promoting the natural and artificial recharge of aquifers. This study uses a watershed modeling system, geographic information system, and classification scheme to predict the effects of various mitigation options on the basin's water resources. Rainwater-harvesting techniques could save more than 77% of the basin's runoff (by volume), which could be used for storage and aquifer recharge. A guide map is provided that shows possible locations for the proposed mitigation options in the study basin. Appropriate measures should be undertaken urgently: mitigation of groundwater contamination (including effective sewage effluent management); regular monitoring of the municipal, industrial and agricultural processes that release contaminants; rationalization and regulation of the application of agro-chemicals to farmland; and regular monitoring of contaminants in groundwater. Stringent regulations should be implemented to prevent wastewater disposal to the aquifers in the study area.

Methodological Issues In Forestry Mitigation Projects: A CaseStudy Of Kolar District

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ravindranath, N.H.; Murthy, I.K.; Sudha, P.

2007-06-01

There is a need to assess climate change mitigationopportunities in forest sector in India in the context of methodologicalissues such as additionality, permanence, leakage, measurement andbaseline development in formulating forestry mitigation projects. A casestudy of forestry mitigation project in semi-arid community grazing landsand farmlands in Kolar district of Karnataka, was undertaken with regardto baseline and project scenariodevelopment, estimation of carbon stockchange in the project, leakage estimation and assessment ofcost-effectiveness of mitigation projects. Further, the transaction coststo develop project, and environmental and socio-economic impact ofmitigation project was assessed.The study shows the feasibility ofestablishing baselines and project C-stock changes. Since the areamore » haslow or insignificant biomass, leakage is not an issue. The overallmitigation potential in Kolar for a total area of 14,000 ha under variousmitigation options is 278,380 tC at a rate of 20 tC/ha for the period2005-2035, which is approximately 0.67 tC/ha/yr inclusive of harvestregimes under short rotation and long rotation mitigation options. Thetransaction cost for baseline establishment is less than a rupee/tC andfor project scenario development is about Rs. 1.5-3.75/tC. The projectenhances biodiversity and the socio-economic impact is alsosignificant.« less

Evaluation of Low-Cost Mitigation Measures Implemented to Improve Air Quality in Nursery and Primary Schools.

PubMed

Sá, Juliana P; Branco, Pedro T B S; Alvim-Ferraz, Maria C M; Martins, Fernando G; Sousa, Sofia I V

2017-05-31

Indoor air pollution mitigation measures are highly important due to the associated health impacts, especially on children, a risk group that spends significant time indoors. Thus, the main goal of the work here reported was the evaluation of mitigation measures implemented in nursery and primary schools to improve air quality. Continuous measurements of CO₂, CO, NO₂, O₃, CH₂O, total volatile organic compounds (VOC), PM₁, PM 2.5 , PM 10 , Total Suspended Particles (TSP) and radon, as well as temperature and relative humidity were performed in two campaigns, before and after the implementation of low-cost mitigation measures. Evaluation of those mitigation measures was performed through the comparison of the concentrations measured in both campaigns. Exceedances to the values set by the national legislation and World Health Organization (WHO) were found for PM 2.5 , PM 10 , CO₂ and CH₂O during both indoor air quality campaigns. Temperature and relative humidity values were also above the ranges recommended by American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). In general, pollutant concentrations measured after the implementation of low-cost mitigation measures were significantly lower, mainly for CO₂. However, mitigation measures were not always sufficient to decrease the pollutants' concentrations till values considered safe to protect human health.

Quantitative Risk Analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Helms, J.

2017-02-10

The US energy sector is vulnerable to multiple hazards including both natural disasters and malicious attacks from an intelligent adversary. The question that utility owners, operators and regulators face is how to prioritize their investments to mitigate the risks from a hazard that can have the most impact on the asset of interest. In order to be able to understand their risk landscape and develop a prioritized mitigation strategy, they must quantify risk in a consistent way across all hazards their asset is facing. Without being able to quantitatively measure risk, it is not possible to defensibly prioritize security investmentsmore » or evaluate trade-offs between security and functionality. Development of a methodology that will consistently measure and quantify risk across different hazards is needed.« less

Model based hydropower gate operation for mitigation of CSO impacts by means of river base flow increase.

PubMed

Achleitner, S; De Toffol, S; Engelhard, C; Rauch, W

2005-01-01

In river stretches being subjected to flow regulation, usually for the purpose of energy production (e.g. Hydropower) or flood protection (river barrage), a special measure can be taken against the effect of combined sewer overflows (CSOs). The basic idea is the temporal increase of the river base flow (during storm weather) as an in-stream measure for mitigation of CSO spilling. The focus is the mitigation of the negative effect of acute pollution of substances. The measure developed can be seen as an application of the classic real time control (RTC) concept onto the river system. Upstream gate operation is to be based on real time monitoring and forecasting of precipitation. The main objective is the development of a model based predictive control system for the gate operation, by modelling of the overall wastewater system (incl. the receiving water). The main emphasis is put on the operational strategy and the appropriate short-term forecast of spilling events. The potential of the measure is tested for the application of the operational strategy and its ecological and economic feasibility. The implementation of such an in-stream measure into the hydropower's operational scheme is unique. Advantages are (a) the additional in-stream dilution of acute pollutants entering the receiving water and (b) the resulting minimization of the required CSO storage volume.

The Effects of Lunar Dust on EVA Systems During the Apollo Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gaier, James R.

2005-01-01

Mission documents from the six Apollo missions that landed on the lunar surface have been studied in order to catalog the effects of lunar dust on Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) systems, primarily the Apollo surface space suit. It was found that the effects could be sorted into nine categories: vision obscuration, false instrument readings, dust coating and contamination, loss of traction, clogging of mechanisms, abrasion, thermal control problems, seal failures, and inhalation and irritation. Although simple dust mitigation measures were sufficient to mitigate some of the problems (i.e., loss of traction) it was found that these measures were ineffective to mitigate many of the more serious problems (i.e., clogging, abrasion, diminished heat rejection). The severity of the dust problems were consistently underestimated by ground tests, indicating a need to develop better simulation facilities and procedures.

The Effects of Lunar Dust on EVA Systems During the Apollo Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gaier, James R.

2007-01-01

Mission documents from the six Apollo missions that landed on the lunar surface have been studied in order to catalog the effects of lunar dust on Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) systems, primarily the Apollo surface space suit. It was found that the effects could be sorted into nine categories: vision obscuration, false instrument readings, dust coating and contamination, loss of traction, clogging of mechanisms, abrasion, thermal control problems, seal failures, and inhalation and irritation. Although simple dust mitigation measures were sufficient to mitigate some of the problems (i.e., loss of traction) it was found that these measures were ineffective to mitigate many of the more serious problems (i.e., clogging, abrasion, diminished heat rejection). The severity of the dust problems were consistently underestimated by ground tests, indicating a need to develop better simulation facilities and procedures.

A web-based tool for ranking landslide mitigation measures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lacasse, S.; Vaciago, G.; Choi, Y. J.; Kalsnes, B.

2012-04-01

As part of the research done in the European project SafeLand "Living with landslide risk in Europe: Assessment, effects of global change, and risk management strategies", a compendium of structural and non-structural mitigation measures for different landslide types in Europe was prepared, and the measures were assembled into a web-based "toolbox". Emphasis was placed on providing a rational and flexible framework applicable to existing and future mitigation measures. The purpose of web-based toolbox is to assist decision-making and to guide the user in the choice of the most appropriate mitigation measures. The mitigation measures were classified into three categories, describing whether the mitigation measures addressed the landslide hazard, the vulnerability or the elements at risk themselves. The measures considered include structural measures reducing hazard and non-structural mitigation measures, reducing either the hazard or the consequences (or vulnerability and exposure of elements at risk). The structural measures include surface protection and control of surface erosion; measures modifying the slope geometry and/or mass distribution; measures modifying surface water regime - surface drainage; measures mo¬difying groundwater regime - deep drainage; measured modifying the mechanical charac¬teristics of unstable mass; transfer of loads to more competent strata; retaining structures (to modify slope geometry and/or to transfer stress to compe¬tent layer); deviating the path of landslide debris; dissipating the energy of debris flows; and arresting and containing landslide debris or rock fall. The non-structural mitigation measures, reducing either the hazard or the consequences: early warning systems; restricting or discouraging construction activities; increasing resistance or coping capacity of elements at risk; relocation of elements at risk; sharing of risk through insurance. The measures are described in the toolbox with fact sheets providing a brief description, guidance on design, schematic details, practical examples and references for each mitigation measure. Each of the measures was given a score on its ability and applicability for different types of landslides and boundary conditions, and a decision support matrix was established. The web-based toolbox organizes the information in the compendium and provides an algorithm to rank the measures on the basis of the decision support matrix, and on the basis of the risk level estimated at the site. The toolbox includes a description of the case under study and offers a simplified option for estimating the hazard and risk levels of the slide at hand. The user selects the mitigation measures to be included in the assessment. The toolbox then ranks, with built-in assessment factors and weights and/or with user-defined ranking values and criteria, the mitigation measures included in the analysis. The toolbox includes data management, e.g. saving data half-way in an analysis, returning to an earlier case, looking up prepared examples or looking up information on mitigation measures. The toolbox also generates a report and has user-forum and help features. The presentation will give an overview of the mitigation measures considered and examples of the use of the toolbox, and will take the attendees through the application of the toolbox.

Evaluation of Low-Cost Mitigation Measures Implemented to Improve Air Quality in Nursery and Primary Schools

PubMed Central

Sá, Juliana P.; Branco, Pedro T. B. S.; Alvim-Ferraz, Maria C. M.; Martins, Fernando G.; Sousa, Sofia I. V.

2017-01-01

Indoor air pollution mitigation measures are highly important due to the associated health impacts, especially on children, a risk group that spends significant time indoors. Thus, the main goal of the work here reported was the evaluation of mitigation measures implemented in nursery and primary schools to improve air quality. Continuous measurements of CO2, CO, NO2, O3, CH2O, total volatile organic compounds (VOC), PM1, PM2.5, PM10, Total Suspended Particles (TSP) and radon, as well as temperature and relative humidity were performed in two campaigns, before and after the implementation of low-cost mitigation measures. Evaluation of those mitigation measures was performed through the comparison of the concentrations measured in both campaigns. Exceedances to the values set by the national legislation and World Health Organization (WHO) were found for PM2.5, PM10, CO2 and CH2O during both indoor air quality campaigns. Temperature and relative humidity values were also above the ranges recommended by American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). In general, pollutant concentrations measured after the implementation of low-cost mitigation measures were significantly lower, mainly for CO2. However, mitigation measures were not always sufficient to decrease the pollutants’ concentrations till values considered safe to protect human health. PMID:28561795

FOLLOW-UP RADON MEASUREMENTS IN 14 MITIGATED SCHOOLS

EPA Science Inventory

The report gives results of a determination of the long-term performance of radon mitigation systems installed in U. S. EPA research schools: radon measurements were conducted in 14 schools that had been mitigated between 1988 and 1991. The measurements were made between Februar...

Mitigating the Impact of Nurse Manager Large Spans of Control.

PubMed

Simpson, Brenda Baird; Dearmon, Valorie; Graves, Rebecca

Nurse managers are instrumental in achievement of organizational and unit performance goals. Greater spans of control for managers are associated with decreased satisfaction and performance. An interprofessional team measured one organization's nurse manager span of control, providing administrative assistant support and transformational leadership development to nurse managers with the largest spans of control. Nurse manager satisfaction and transformational leadership competency significantly improved following the implementation of large span of control mitigation strategies.

Reconnaissance Study: Rouge River Watershed, Michigan Flood Hazard Reduction, Riverine Ecosystem Restoration, and Recreational Development

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-09-12

wetlands for preliminary treatment of sediment, oil, and grease prior to discharging into the Rouge River. While mitigating storm water quality and...land uses. While Alternative 2 and 3 have similar habitat enhancement features, Alternative 2 has much more measurable storm water quality benefits...sediment, oil, and grease prior to discharging into the Rouge River. While mitigating storm water quality and quantity impacts, this alternative

Idaho Habitat and Natural Production Monitoring Part I, 1993 Annual Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rich, Bruce A.; Petrosky, Charles E.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) has been monitoring and evaluating proposed and existing habitat improvement projects for rainbow-steelhead trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and chinook salmon O. tshawytscha in the Clearwater River and Salmon River drainages on a large scale for the past 8 years. Projects included in the evaluation are funded by, or proposed for funding by, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) under the Northwest Power Planning Act as off-site mitigation for downstream hydropower development on the Snake and Columbia rivers. A mitigation record is being developed using increased carrying capacity and/or survival as the best measures ofmore » benefit from a habitat enhancement project. Determination of full benefit from a project depends on completion or maturation of the project and presence of adequate numbers of fish to document actual increases in fish production. The depressed status of upriver anadromous stocks has precluded measuring full benefits of any habitat project in Idaho. Partial benefit is credited to the mitigation record in the interim period of run restoration.« less

Improvement of the performance of animal crossing warning signs.

PubMed

Khalilikhah, Majid; Heaslip, Kevin

2017-09-01

Animal-vehicle collisions (AVCs) can result in serious injury and death to drivers, animals' death, and significant economic costs. However, the cost effectiveness of the majority of AVC mitigation measures is a significant issue. A mobile-based data collection effort was deployed to measure signs under the Utah Department of Transportation's (UDOT) jurisdiction. The crash data were obtained from the UDOT risk management database. ArcGIS was employed to link these two data sets and extract animal-related crashes and signs. An algorithm was developed to process the data and identify AVCs that occurred within sign recognition distance. Kernel density estimation (KDE) technique was applied to identify potential crash hotspots. Only 2% of AVCs occurred within the recognition distance of animal crossing signs. Almost 58% of animal-related crashes took place on the Interstate and U.S. highways, wherein only 30% of animal crossing signs were installed. State routes with a higher average number of signs experienced a lower number of AVCs per mile. The differences between AVCs that occurred within versus outside of sign recognition distance were not statistically significant regarding crash severity, time of crash, weather condition, driver age, vehicle speed, and type of animal. It is more likely that drivers become accustomed to deer crossing signs than cow signs. Based on the historical crash data and landscape structure, with attention given to the low cost safety improvement methods, a combination of different types of AVC mitigation measures can be developed to reduce the number of animal-related crashes. After an in-depth analysis of AVC data, warning traffic signs, coupled with other low cost mitigation countermeasures can be successfully placed in areas with higher priority or in critical areas. Practical applications: The findings of this study assist transportation agencies in developing more efficient mitigation measures against AVCs. Copyright © 2017 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

44 CFR 78.5 - Flood Mitigation Plan development.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Flood Mitigation Plan development. 78.5 Section 78.5 Emergency Management and Assistance FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY... MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78.5 Flood Mitigation Plan development. A Flood Mitigation Plan will articulate a...

44 CFR 78.5 - Flood Mitigation Plan development.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Flood Mitigation Plan development. 78.5 Section 78.5 Emergency Management and Assistance FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY... MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78.5 Flood Mitigation Plan development. A Flood Mitigation Plan will articulate a...

How Effective Is Road Mitigation at Reducing Road-Kill? A Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Rytwinski, Trina; Soanes, Kylie; Jaeger, Jochen A G; Fahrig, Lenore; Findlay, C Scott; Houlahan, Jeff; van der Ree, Rodney; van der Grift, Edgar A

2016-01-01

Road traffic kills hundreds of millions of animals every year, posing a critical threat to the populations of many species. To address this problem there are more than forty types of road mitigation measures available that aim to reduce wildlife mortality on roads (road-kill). For road planners, deciding on what mitigation method to use has been problematic because there is little good information about the relative effectiveness of these measures in reducing road-kill, and the costs of these measures vary greatly. We conducted a meta-analysis using data from 50 studies that quantified the relationship between road-kill and a mitigation measure designed to reduce road-kill. Overall, mitigation measures reduce road-kill by 40% compared to controls. Fences, with or without crossing structures, reduce road-kill by 54%. We found no detectable effect on road-kill of crossing structures without fencing. We found that comparatively expensive mitigation measures reduce large mammal road-kill much more than inexpensive measures. For example, the combination of fencing and crossing structures led to an 83% reduction in road-kill of large mammals, compared to a 57% reduction for animal detection systems, and only a 1% for wildlife reflectors. We suggest that inexpensive measures such as reflectors should not be used until and unless their effectiveness is tested using a high-quality experimental approach. Our meta-analysis also highlights the fact that there are insufficient data to answer many of the most pressing questions that road planners ask about the effectiveness of road mitigation measures, such as whether other less common mitigation measures (e.g., measures to reduce traffic volume and/or speed) reduce road mortality, or to what extent the attributes of crossing structures and fences influence their effectiveness. To improve evaluations of mitigation effectiveness, studies should incorporate data collection before the mitigation is applied, and we recommend a minimum study duration of four years for Before-After, and a minimum of either four years or four sites for Before-After-Control-Impact designs.

How Effective Is Road Mitigation at Reducing Road-Kill? A Meta-Analysis

PubMed Central

Rytwinski, Trina; Soanes, Kylie; Jaeger, Jochen A. G.; Fahrig, Lenore; Findlay, C. Scott; Houlahan, Jeff; van der Ree, Rodney; van der Grift, Edgar A

2016-01-01

Road traffic kills hundreds of millions of animals every year, posing a critical threat to the populations of many species. To address this problem there are more than forty types of road mitigation measures available that aim to reduce wildlife mortality on roads (road-kill). For road planners, deciding on what mitigation method to use has been problematic because there is little good information about the relative effectiveness of these measures in reducing road-kill, and the costs of these measures vary greatly. We conducted a meta-analysis using data from 50 studies that quantified the relationship between road-kill and a mitigation measure designed to reduce road-kill. Overall, mitigation measures reduce road-kill by 40% compared to controls. Fences, with or without crossing structures, reduce road-kill by 54%. We found no detectable effect on road-kill of crossing structures without fencing. We found that comparatively expensive mitigation measures reduce large mammal road-kill much more than inexpensive measures. For example, the combination of fencing and crossing structures led to an 83% reduction in road-kill of large mammals, compared to a 57% reduction for animal detection systems, and only a 1% for wildlife reflectors. We suggest that inexpensive measures such as reflectors should not be used until and unless their effectiveness is tested using a high-quality experimental approach. Our meta-analysis also highlights the fact that there are insufficient data to answer many of the most pressing questions that road planners ask about the effectiveness of road mitigation measures, such as whether other less common mitigation measures (e.g., measures to reduce traffic volume and/or speed) reduce road mortality, or to what extent the attributes of crossing structures and fences influence their effectiveness. To improve evaluations of mitigation effectiveness, studies should incorporate data collection before the mitigation is applied, and we recommend a minimum study duration of four years for Before-After, and a minimum of either four years or four sites for Before-After-Control-Impact designs. PMID:27870889

Climate change and nutrition: creating a climate for nutrition security.

PubMed

Tirado, M C; Crahay, P; Mahy, L; Zanev, C; Neira, M; Msangi, S; Brown, R; Scaramella, C; Costa Coitinho, D; Müller, A

2013-12-01

Climate change further exacerbates the enormous existing burden of undernutrition. It affects food and nutrition security and undermines current efforts to reduce hunger and promote nutrition. Undernutrition in turn undermines climate resilience and the coping strategies of vulnerable populations. The objectives of this paper are to identify and undertake a cross-sectoral analysis of the impacts of climate change on nutrition security and the existing mechanisms, strategies, and policies to address them. A cross-sectoral analysis of the impacts of climate change on nutrition security and the mechanisms and policies to address them was guided by an analytical framework focused on the three 'underlying causes' of undernutrition: 1) household food access, 2) maternal and child care and feeding practices, 3) environmental health and health access. The analytical framework includes the interactions of the three underlying causes of undernutrition with climate change,vulnerability, adaptation and mitigation. Within broad efforts on climate change mitigation and adaptation and climate-resilient development, a combination of nutrition-sensitive adaptation and mitigation measures, climate-resilient and nutrition-sensitive agricultural development, social protection, improved maternal and child care and health, nutrition-sensitive risk reduction and management, community development measures, nutrition-smart investments, increased policy coherence, and institutional and cross-sectoral collaboration are proposed as a means to address the impacts of climate change to food and nutrition security. This paper proposes policy directions to address nutrition in the climate change agenda and recommendations for consideration by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Nutrition and health stakeholders need to be engaged in key climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives, including science-based assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and policies and actions formulated by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Improved multi-sectoral coordination and political will is required to integrate nutrition-sensitive actions into climate-resilient sustainable development efforts in the UNFCCC work and in the post 2015 development agenda. Placing human rights at the center of strategies to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change and international solidarity is essential to advance sustainable development and to create a climate for nutrition security.

Incentives for mitigation investment and more effective risk management: the need for public-private partnerships.

PubMed

Kunreuther, H

2001-09-14

A key question facing both well-developed industrial countries and emerging economies is how to reduce future disaster losses while still providing financial protection to victims from these events. This paper proposes a strategy for the use of cost-effective risk mitigation measures coupled with insurance and/or new capital market instruments to achieve these objectives. The mix of these measures will depend on the governance structure and the institutional arrangements in the particular country. There will always be a need for a combination of policy tools and the interaction among key interested parties from both the private and public sectors in developing a disaster management strategy. Two examples, one from US and the other from Honduras, illustrate differences between strategies that countries can adopt.

50 CFR 665.812 - Sea turtle take mitigation measures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 11 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Sea turtle take mitigation measures. 665... Pacific Pelagic Fisheries § 665.812 Sea turtle take mitigation measures. (a) Possession and use of... sea turtle handling requirements set forth in paragraph (b) of this section. (1) Hawaii longline...

50 CFR 665.812 - Sea turtle take mitigation measures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Sea turtle take mitigation measures. 665... Pacific Pelagic Fisheries § 665.812 Sea turtle take mitigation measures. (a) Possession and use of... sea turtle handling requirements set forth in paragraph (b) of this section. (1) Hawaii longline...

50 CFR 665.812 - Sea turtle take mitigation measures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Sea turtle take mitigation measures. 665... Pacific Pelagic Fisheries § 665.812 Sea turtle take mitigation measures. (a) Possession and use of... sea turtle handling requirements set forth in paragraph (b) of this section. (1) Hawaii longline...

50 CFR 665.812 - Sea turtle take mitigation measures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Sea turtle take mitigation measures. 665... Pacific Pelagic Fisheries § 665.812 Sea turtle take mitigation measures. (a) Possession and use of... sea turtle handling requirements set forth in paragraph (b) of this section. (1) Hawaii longline...

Community structure and quality after 10 years in two central Ohio mitigation bank wetlands.

PubMed

Spieles, Douglas J; Coneybeer, Meagan; Horn, Jonathan

2006-11-01

We evaluate two 10-year-old mitigation bank wetlands in central Ohio, one created and one with restored and enhanced components, by analysis of vegetation characteristics and by comparison of the year-10 vegetation and macroinvertebrate communities with reference wetlands. To assess different measures of wetland development, we compare the prevalence of native hydrophytes with an index of floristic quality and we evaluate the predictability of these parameters in year 10, given 5 years of data. Results show that the mitigation wetlands in this study meet vegetation performance criteria of native hydrophyte establishment by year 5 and maintain these characteristics through year 10. Species richness and floristic quality, as well as vegetative similarity with reference wetlands, differ among mitigation wetlands in year 1 and also in their rate of change during the first 10 years. The prevalence of native hydrophytes is reasonably predictable by year 10, but 5 years of monitoring is not sufficient to predict future trends of floristic quality in either the created or restored wetland. By year 10, macroinvertebrate taxa richness does not statistically differ among these wetlands, but mitigation wetlands differ from reference sites by tolerance index and by trophic guild dominance. The created wetland herbivore biomass is significantly smaller than its reference, whereas detritivore biomass is significantly greater in the created wetland and smaller in the restored wetland as compared with respective reference wetlands. These analyses illustrate differences in measures of wetland performance and contrast the monitoring duration necessary for legal compliance with the duration required for development of more complex indicators of ecosystem integrity.

Assessment of human thermal comfort and mitigation measures in different urban climatotopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müller, N.; Kuttler, W.

2012-04-01

This study analyses thermal comfort in the model city of Oberhausen as an example for the densely populated metropolitan region Ruhr, Germany. As thermal loads increase due to climate change negative impacts especially for city dwellers will arise. Therefore mitigation strategies should be developed and considered in urban planning today to prevent future thermal stress. The method consists of the combination of in-situ measurements and numerical model simulations. So in a first step the actual thermal situation is determined and then possible mitigation strategies are derived. A measuring network was installed in eight climatotopes for a one year period recording air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and wind direction. Based on these parameters the human thermal comfort in terms of physiological equivalent temperature (PET) was calculated by RayMan Pro software. Thus the human comfort of different climatotopes was determined. Heat stress in different land uses varies, so excess thermal loads in urban areas could be detected. Based on the measuring results mitigation strategies were developed, such as increasing areas with high evaporation capacity (green areas and water bodies). These strategies were implemented as different plan scenarios in the microscale urban climate model ENVI-met. The best measure should be identified by comparing the range and effect of these scenarios. Simulations were run in three of the eight climatotopes (city center, suburban and open land site) to analyse the effectiveness of the mitigation strategies in several land use structures. These cover the range of values of all eight climatotopes and therefore provide representative results. In the model area of 21 ha total, the modified section in the different plan scenarios was 1 ha. Thus the effect of small-scale changes could be analysed. Such areas can arise due to population decline and structural changes and hold conversion potential. Emphasis was also laid on analysing the effectiveness of water bodies, which need further research in contrast to well analysed vegetation areas. Results show different thermal loads in the miscellaneous climatotopes due to land use structures. Both measurements and model simulations demonstrate the positive effect on thermal comfort due to augmentation of areas with high evaporation capacity. These effects can be especially well detected in summer, when heat stress is most pronounced. The measurement based PET calculations show a maximum difference of 4 K PET between inner city and open land site in summer nights. Simulation results overall present a PET reduction of 1-3 K. The average PET reduction in the city center site is about 2 K, while the maximum reduction in the suburban site can exceed 5 K. In urban areas parks are particularly advisable as mitigation measure, because they reduce thermal stress both by tree shading and evapotranspiration.

44 CFR 78.5 - Flood Mitigation Plan development.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2012-10-01 2011-10-01 true Flood Mitigation Plan..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78.5 Flood Mitigation Plan development. A Flood Mitigation Plan will articulate a...

44 CFR 78.5 - Flood Mitigation Plan development.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Flood Mitigation Plan..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78.5 Flood Mitigation Plan development. A Flood Mitigation Plan will articulate a...

44 CFR 78.5 - Flood Mitigation Plan development.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Flood Mitigation Plan..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78.5 Flood Mitigation Plan development. A Flood Mitigation Plan will articulate a...

ASSESSMENT OF DIAGNOSTIC MEASUREMENTS FOR SELECTION FOR RESIDENTIAL RADON MITIGATION

EPA Science Inventory

The paper discusses and critiques EPA's experience in conducting house evaluation visits in Florida and Ohio. Suggestions are offered as to the utility and priority to be given to selected diagnostic procedures and measurements. EPA had an experimental program to develop and demo...

Bangladesh arsenic mitigation programs: lessons from the past

PubMed Central

Milton, Abul Hasnat; Hore, Samar Kumar; Hossain, Mohammad Zahid; Rahman, Mahfuzar

2012-01-01

Ensuring access to safe drinking water by 2015 is a global commitment by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In Bangladesh, significant achievements in providing safe water were made earlier by nationwide tubewell-installation programme. This achievement was overshadowed in 1993 by the presence of arsenic in underground water. A total of 6 million tubewells have been tested for arsenic since then, the results of which warranted immediate mitigation. Mitigation measures included tubewell testing and replacing; usage of deeper wells; surface water preservation and treatment; use of sanitary dug wells, river sand and pond sand filters; rainwater collection and storage; household-scale and large-scale arsenic filtrations; and rural pipeline water supply installation. Shallow tubewell installation was discouraged. Efforts have been made to increase people's awareness. This paper describes the lessons learned about mitigation efforts by the authors from experience of arsenic-related work. In spite of national mitigation plans and efforts, a few challenges still persist: inadequate coordination between stakeholders, differences in inter-sectoral attitudes, inadequate research to identify region-specific, suitable safe water options, poor quality of works by various implementing agencies, and inadequate dissemination of the knowledge and experiences to the people by those organizations. Issues such as long-time adaptation using ground water, poor surface water quality including bad smell and turbidity, and refusal to using neighbor's water have delayed mitigation measures so far. Region-specific mitigation water supply policy led by the health sector could be adopted with multisectoral involvement and responsibility. Large-scale piped water supply could be arranged through Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in new national approach. PMID:22558005

Bangladesh arsenic mitigation programs: lessons from the past.

PubMed

Milton, Abul Hasnat; Hore, Samar Kumar; Hossain, Mohammad Zahid; Rahman, Mahfuzar

2012-01-01

Ensuring access to safe drinking water by 2015 is a global commitment by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In Bangladesh, significant achievements in providing safe water were made earlier by nationwide tubewell-installation programme. This achievement was overshadowed in 1993 by the presence of arsenic in underground water. A total of 6 million tubewells have been tested for arsenic since then, the results of which warranted immediate mitigation. Mitigation measures included tubewell testing and replacing; usage of deeper wells; surface water preservation and treatment; use of sanitary dug wells, river sand and pond sand filters; rainwater collection and storage; household-scale and large-scale arsenic filtrations; and rural pipeline water supply installation. Shallow tubewell installation was discouraged. Efforts have been made to increase people's awareness. This paper describes the lessons learned about mitigation efforts by the authors from experience of arsenic-related work. In spite of national mitigation plans and efforts, a few challenges still persist: inadequate coordination between stakeholders, differences in inter-sectoral attitudes, inadequate research to identify region-specific, suitable safe water options, poor quality of works by various implementing agencies, and inadequate dissemination of the knowledge and experiences to the people by those organizations. Issues such as long-time adaptation using ground water, poor surface water quality including bad smell and turbidity, and refusal to using neighbor's water have delayed mitigation measures so far. Region-specific mitigation water supply policy led by the health sector could be adopted with multisectoral involvement and responsibility. Large-scale piped water supply could be arranged through Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in new national approach.

Agriculture and climate change: Potential for mitigation in Spain.

PubMed

Albiac, Jose; Kahil, Taher; Notivol, Eduardo; Calvo, Elena

2017-08-15

Agriculture and forestry activities are one of the many sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but they are also sources of low-cost opportunities to mitigate these emissions compared to other economic sectors. This paper provides a first estimate of the potential for mitigation in the whole Spanish agriculture. A set of mitigation measures are selected for their cost-effectiveness and abatement potential and an efficient mix of these measures is identified with reference to a social cost of carbon of 40 €/tCO 2 e. This mix of measures includes adjusting crop fertilization and managing forests for carbon sequestration. Results indicate that by using the efficient mix of mitigation measures the annual abatement potential could reach 10 million tCO 2 e, which represents 28% of current agricultural emissions in Spain. This potential could further increase if the social cost of carbon rises covering the costs of applying manure to crops. Results indicate also that economic instruments such as input and emission taxes could be only ancillary measures to address mitigation in agriculture. These findings can be used to support the mitigation efforts in Spain and guide policymakers in the design of country-level mitigation strategies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mitigation for the Construction and Operation of Libby Dam, 2004-2005 Annual Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dunnigan, James; DeShazer, Jay; Garrow, Larry

2005-06-01

''Mitigation for the Construction and Operation of Libby Dam'' is part of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council's (NPCC) resident fish and wildlife program. The program was mandated by the Northwest Planning Act of 1980, and is responsible for mitigating damages to fish and wildlife caused by hydroelectric development in the Columbia River Basin. The objective of Phase I of the project (1983 through 1987) was to maintain or enhance the Libby Reservoir fishery by quantifying seasonal water levels and developing ecologically sound operational guidelines. The objective of Phase II of the project (1988 through 1996) was to determine themore » biological effects of reservoir operations combined with biotic changes associated with an aging reservoir. The objectives of Phase III of the project (1996 through present) are to implement habitat enhancement measures to mitigate for dam effects, to provide data for implementation of operational strategies that benefit resident fish, monitor reservoir and river conditions, and monitor mitigation projects for effectiveness. This project completes urgent and high priority mitigation actions as directed by the Kootenai Subbasin Plan. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (MFWP) uses a combination of techniques to collect physical and biological data within the Kootenai River Basin. These data serve several purposes including: the development and refinement of models used in management of water resources and operation of Libby Dam; investigations into the limiting factors of native fish populations, gathering basic life history information, tracking trends in endangered and threatened species, and the assessment of restoration or management activities designed to restore native fishes and their habitats.« less

Mitigation for the Construction and Operation of Libby Dam, 2003-2004 Annual Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dunnigan, James; DeShazer, Jay; Garrow, Larry

2004-06-01

''Mitigation for the Construction and Operation of Libby Dam'' is part of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council's (NPCC) resident fish and wildlife program. The program was mandated by the Northwest Planning Act of 1980, and is responsible for mitigating for damages to fish and wildlife caused by hydroelectric development in the Columbia River Basin. The objective of Phase I of the project (1983 through 1987) was to maintain or enhance the Libby Reservoir fishery by quantifying seasonal water levels and developing ecologically sound operational guidelines. The objective of Phase II of the project (1988 through 1996) was to determinemore » the biological effects of reservoir operations combined with biotic changes associated with an aging reservoir. The objectives of Phase III of the project (1996 through present) are to implement habitat enhancement measures to mitigate for dam effects, to provide data for implementation of operational strategies that benefit resident fish, monitor reservoir and river conditions, and monitor mitigation projects for effectiveness. This project completes urgent and high priority mitigation actions as directed by the Kootenai Subbasin Plan. Montana FWP uses a combination of diverse techniques to collect a variety of physical and biological data within the Kootenai River Basin. These data serve several purposes including: the development and refinement of models used in management of water resources and operation of Libby Dam; investigations into the limiting factors of native fish populations, gathering basic life history information, tracking trends in endangered, threatened species, and the assessment of restoration or management activities intended to restore native fishes and their habitats.« less

43 CFR 46.130 - Mitigation measures in analyses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Mitigation measures in analyses. 46.130 Section 46.130 Public Lands: Interior Office of the Secretary of the Interior IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT OF 1969 Protection and Enhancement of Environmental Quality § 46.130 Mitigation measures in analyses. (a) Bureau...

43 CFR 46.130 - Mitigation measures in analyses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Mitigation measures in analyses. 46.130... Mitigation measures in analyses. (a) Bureau proposed action. The analysis of the proposed action and any alternatives must include an analysis of the effects of the proposed action or alternative as well as analysis...

30 CFR 250.223 - What mitigation measures information must accompany the EP?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What mitigation measures information must accompany the EP? 250.223 Section 250.223 Mineral Resources MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE... Contents of Exploration Plans (ep) § 250.223 What mitigation measures information must accompany the EP? (a...

The Impact of Advanced Greenhouse Gas Measurement Science on Policy Goals and Research Strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abrahams, L.; Clavin, C.; McKittrick, A.

2016-12-01

In support of the Paris agreement, accurate characterizations of U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions estimates have been area of increased scientific focus. Over the last several years, the scientific community has placed significant emphasis on understanding, quantifying, and reconciling measurement and modeling methods that characterize methane emissions from petroleum and natural gas sources. This work has prompted national policy discussions and led to the improvement of regional and national methane emissions estimates. Research campaigns focusing on reconciling atmospheric measurements ("top-down") and process-based emissions estimates ("bottom-up") have sought to identify where measurement technology advances could inform policy objectives. A clear next step is development and deployment of advanced detection capabilities that could aid U.S. emissions mitigation and verification goals. The breadth of policy-relevant outcomes associated with advances in GHG measurement science are demonstrated by recent improvements in the petroleum and natural gas sector emission estimates in the EPA Greenhouse Gas Inventory, ambitious efforts to apply inverse modeling results to inform or validate national GHG inventory, and outcomes from federal GHG measurement science technology development programs. In this work, we explore the variety of policy-relevant outcomes impacted by advances in GHG measurement science, with an emphasis on improving GHG inventory estimates, identifying emissions mitigation strategies, and informing technology development requirements.

13 CFR 123.402 - Can your business include its relocation as a mitigation measure in an application for a pre...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... participating in the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program and SFHAs or visit the FEMA Web site at http://www.fema.gov. ... relocation as a mitigation measure in an application for a pre-disaster mitigation loan? 123.402 Section 123.402 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM Pre-Disaster...

13 CFR 123.401 - What types of mitigation measures can your business include in an application for a pre-disaster...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... can your business include in an application for a pre-disaster mitigation loan? 123.401 Section 123.401 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM Pre-Disaster Mitigation Loans § 123.401 What types of mitigation measures can your business include in an application for...

13 CFR 123.401 - What types of mitigation measures can your business include in an application for a pre-disaster...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... can your business include in an application for a pre-disaster mitigation loan? 123.401 Section 123.401 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM Pre-Disaster Mitigation Loans § 123.401 What types of mitigation measures can your business include in an application for...

13 CFR 123.401 - What types of mitigation measures can your business include in an application for a pre-disaster...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... can your business include in an application for a pre-disaster mitigation loan? 123.401 Section 123.401 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM Pre-Disaster Mitigation Loans § 123.401 What types of mitigation measures can your business include in an application for...

13 CFR 123.401 - What types of mitigation measures can your business include in an application for a pre-disaster...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... can your business include in an application for a pre-disaster mitigation loan? 123.401 Section 123.401 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM Pre-Disaster Mitigation Loans § 123.401 What types of mitigation measures can your business include in an application for...

IPCC Climate Change 2013: Mitigation of Climate Change - Key Findings and Lessons Learned

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sokona, Youba

2014-05-01

The Working Group III contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Mitigation of Climate Change, examines the results of scientific research about mitigation, with special attention on how knowledge has evolved since the Fourth Assessment Report published in 2007. Throughout, the focus is on the implications of its findings for policy, without being prescriptive about the particular policies that governments and other important participants in the policy process should adopt. The report begins with a framing of important concepts and methods that help to contextualize the findings presented throughout the assessment. The valuation of risks and uncertainties, ethical concepts and the context of sustainable development and equity are among the guiding principles for the assessment of mitigation strategies. The report highlights past trends in stocks and flows of greenhouse gases and the factors that drive emissions at global, regional, and sectoral scales including economic growth, technology or population changes. It provides analyses of the technological, economic and institutional requirements of long-term mitigation scenarios and details on mitigation measures and policies that are applied in different economic sectors and human settlements. It then discusses interactions of mitigation policies and different policy instrument types at national, regional and global governance levels and between economic sectors, The Working Group III report comprises 16 chapters and in assembling this assessment authors were guided by the principles of the IPCC mandate: to be explicit about mitigation options, to be explicit about their costs and about their risks and opportunities vis-à-vis other development priorities, and to be explicit about the underlying criteria, concepts, and methods for evaluating alternative policies.

The development of biodiversity conservation measures in China's hydro projects: A review.

PubMed

Bai, Ruiqiao; Liu, Xuehua; Liu, Xiaofei; Liu, Lanmei; Wang, Jianping; Liao, Sihui; Zhu, Annah; Li, Zhouyuan

2017-11-01

The hydropower capacity of China ranks first in the world and accounts for approximately 20% of the total energy production in the country. While hydropower has substantially contributed to meeting China's renewable energy targets and providing clean energy to rural areas, the development of hydropower in China has been met with significant controversy. Ecologically, hydro projects alter the landscape, with potential impacts to the country's aquatic biodiversity. Over the past four decades in China, various mainstream opinions and misunderstandings have been presented concerning how to alleviate the negative impacts of hydro projects on aquatic ecosystems. This article reviews research concerning potential mitigation measures to enhance aquatic biodiversity conservation in hydro projects in China. Based on the academic attention such research has attracted, three technical measures for aquatic biodiversity conservation are considered: (1) fish passages, (2) restocking efforts and (3) river and lake renovations. This article provides a historical comparison of these three practices in China to demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of each method. The article also reviews the relevant legislation, regulations and technical guidelines concerning China's hydro projects dating back to 1979. The dynamics in research, publications, and patents concerning these three mitigation measures are summarized to demonstrate their technological developments in the context of legislative and policy advances. Data were gathered through the China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database and the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China. Based on the analysis provided, the article recommends an expansion of China's environmental certification system for hydro projects, more robust regional legislation to bolster the national framework, the cooperation between upstream and downstream conservation mechanisms, and better monitoring to determine the efficacy of mitigation measures. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Co-benefits, trade-offs, barriers and policies for greenhouse gas mitigation in the agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) sector.

PubMed

Bustamante, Mercedes; Robledo-Abad, Carmenza; Harper, Richard; Mbow, Cheikh; Ravindranat, Nijavalli H; Sperling, Frank; Haberl, Helmut; Pinto, Alexandre de Siqueira; Smith, Pete

2014-10-01

The agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) sector is responsible for approximately 25% of anthropogenic GHG emissions mainly from deforestation and agricultural emissions from livestock, soil and nutrient management. Mitigation from the sector is thus extremely important in meeting emission reduction targets. The sector offers a variety of cost-competitive mitigation options with most analyses indicating a decline in emissions largely due to decreasing deforestation rates. Sustainability criteria are needed to guide development and implementation of AFOLU mitigation measures with particular focus on multifunctional systems that allow the delivery of multiple services from land. It is striking that almost all of the positive and negative impacts, opportunities and barriers are context specific, precluding generic statements about which AFOLU mitigation measures have the greatest promise at a global scale. This finding underlines the importance of considering each mitigation strategy on a case-by-case basis, systemic effects when implementing mitigation options on the national scale, and suggests that policies need to be flexible enough to allow such assessments. National and international agricultural and forest (climate) policies have the potential to alter the opportunity costs of specific land uses in ways that increase opportunities or barriers for attaining climate change mitigation goals. Policies governing practices in agriculture and in forest conservation and management need to account for both effective mitigation and adaptation and can help to orient practices in agriculture and in forestry towards global sharing of innovative technologies for the efficient use of land resources. Different policy instruments, especially economic incentives and regulatory approaches, are currently being applied however, for its successful implementation it is critical to understand how land-use decisions are made and how new social, political and economic forces in the future will influence this process. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The inclusion of biodiversity in environmental impact assessment: Policy-related progress limited by gaps and semantic confusion.

PubMed

Bigard, Charlotte; Pioch, Sylvain; Thompson, John D

2017-09-15

Natural habitat loss and fragmentation, as a result of development projects, are major causes of biodiversity erosion. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the most commonly used site-specific planning tool that takes into account the effects of development projects on biodiversity by integrating potential impacts into the mitigation hierarchy of avoidance, reduction, and offset measures. However, the extent to which EIA fully address the identification of impacts and conservation stakes associated with biodiversity loss has been criticized in recent work. In this paper we examine the extent to which biodiversity criteria have been integrated into 42 EIA from 2006 to 2016 for small development projects in the Montpellier Metropolitan territory in southern France. This study system allowed us to question how EIA integrates biodiversity impacts on a scale relevant to land-use planning. We examine how biodiversity inclusion has changed over time in relation to new policy for EIA and how the mitigation hierarchy is implemented in practice and in comparison with national guidelines. We demonstrate that the inclusion of biodiversity features into EIA has increased significantly in relation to policy change. Several weaknesses nevertheless persist, including the continued absence of substitution solution assessment, a correct analysis of cumulative impacts, the evaluation of impacts on common species, the inclusion of an ecological network scale, and the lack of monitoring and evaluation measures. We also show that measures for mitigation hierarchy are primarily associated with the reduction of impacts rather than their avoidance, and avoidance and offset measures are often misleadingly proposed in EIA. There is in fact marked semantic confusion between avoidance, reduction and offset measures that may impair stakeholders' understanding. All in all, reconsideration of stakeholders routine practices associated with a more strategic approach towards impact anticipation and avoidance at a land-use planning scale is now necessary for the mitigation hierarchy to become a clear and practical hierarchy for "no net loss" objectives based on conservation priorities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

30 CFR 282.28 - Environmental protection measures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

...)(1) The lessee shall monitor activities in a manner that develops the data and information necessary... activities on the environment on and off the lease; develop and evaluate methods for mitigating adverse... with lease and other requirements for the protection of the environment. (2) Monitoring of...

30 CFR 282.28 - Environmental protection measures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...)(1) The lessee shall monitor activities in a manner that develops the data and information necessary... activities on the environment on and off the lease; develop and evaluate methods for mitigating adverse... with lease and other requirements for the protection of the environment. (2) Monitoring of...

30 CFR 282.28 - Environmental protection measures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

...)(1) The lessee shall monitor activities in a manner that develops the data and information necessary... activities on the environment on and off the lease; develop and evaluate methods for mitigating adverse... with lease and other requirements for the protection of the environment. (2) Monitoring of...

Applying the Land Use Portfolio Model with Hazus to analyse risk from natural hazard events

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dinitz, Laura B.; Taketa, Richard A.

2013-01-01

This paper describes and demonstrates the integration of two geospatial decision-support systems for natural-hazard risk assessment and management. Hazus is a risk-assessment tool developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to identify risks and estimate the severity of risk from natural hazards. The Land Use Portfolio Model (LUPM) is a risk-management tool developed by the U.S. Geological Survey to evaluate plans or actions intended to reduce risk from natural hazards. We analysed three mitigation policies for one earthquake scenario in the San Francisco Bay area to demonstrate the added value of using Hazus and the LUPM together. The demonstration showed that Hazus loss estimates can be input to the LUPM to obtain estimates of losses avoided through mitigation, rates of return on mitigation investment, and measures of uncertainty. Together, they offer a more comprehensive approach to help with decisions for reducing risk from natural hazards.

Betweenness-Based Method to Identify Critical Transmission Sectors for Supply Chain Environmental Pressure Mitigation.

PubMed

Liang, Sai; Qu, Shen; Xu, Ming

2016-02-02

To develop industry-specific policies for mitigating environmental pressures, previous studies primarily focus on identifying sectors that directly generate large amounts of environmental pressures (a.k.a. production-based method) or indirectly drive large amounts of environmental pressures through supply chains (e.g., consumption-based method). In addition to those sectors as important environmental pressure producers or drivers, there exist sectors that are also important to environmental pressure mitigation as transmission centers. Economy-wide environmental pressure mitigation might be achieved by improving production efficiency of these key transmission sectors, that is, using less upstream inputs to produce unitary output. We develop a betweenness-based method to measure the importance of transmission sectors, borrowing the betweenness concept from network analysis. We quantify the betweenness of sectors by examining supply chain paths extracted from structural path analysis that pass through a particular sector. We take China as an example and find that those critical transmission sectors identified by betweenness-based method are not always identifiable by existing methods. This indicates that betweenness-based method can provide additional insights that cannot be obtained with existing methods on the roles individual sectors play in generating economy-wide environmental pressures. Betweenness-based method proposed here can therefore complement existing methods for guiding sector-level environmental pressure mitigation strategies.

Repair of the Czar Shaft sinkhole

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Deatherage, J.D.; Starkey, J.; Gustavson, N.

1996-12-31

After a Portion of the Queen Mine parking lot collapsed into a sinkhole, an engineering study was conducted to confirm that the cause of the damage was settlement into the Czar Shaft in Bisbee, Arizona. Historical records were researched to describe and locate the original shaft, and a seismic refraction survey was performed to define the foundation conditions within and around the shaft. Recommended mitigation measures were developed to repair the parking lot. Mitigation included design and construction of a flexible geosynthetic cap and telltale settlement monitoring system.

Belford proactive flood solutions: scientific evidence to influence local and national policy by multi-purpose runoff management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilkinson, M.; Quinn, P. F.; Jonczyk, J.

2010-12-01

The increased risk from flooding continues to be of concern to governments all around the world and flood protection is becoming more of a challenge. In the UK, climate change projections indicate more extremes within the weather systems. In addition, there is an increased demand for using land in urban areas beside channels. These developments both put pressure on our flood defences and there is a need for new solutions to managing flood risk. There is currently support within the England and Wales Environment Agency for sustainable flood management solutions such as storage ponds, wetlands, beaver dams and willow riparian features (referred to here as Runoff Attenuation Features, or RAFs). However the effectiveness of RAFs are not known at the catchment scale since they have only really been trailed at the plot scale. These types of mitigation measure can offer benefits to water quality and create ecological habitats. The village of Belford, situated in the Belford Burn catchment (6km2), northern England, has suffered from numerous flood events. In addition, the catchment suffers from water quality issues within the channel and high sediment loads are having an impact on the ecology of the nearby estuary. There was a desire by the Local Environment Agency Flood Levy team to deliver an alternative catchment-based solution to the problem. With funding from the Northumbria Regional Flood Defence Committee, the Environment Agency North East Local Levy team and Newcastle University have created a partnership to address the flood problem trailing soft engineered RAF’s at the catchment scale. The partnership project, “Belford proactive flood solutions” is testing novel techniques in reducing flood risk in small sub-catchments for the Environment Agency. The project provides the information needed to understand whether the multi-functional mitigation measures are working at the sub-catchment scale. Data suggest that the mitigation measures present have delayed the overall travel time of the flood peak in the catchment by 33%. The current maximum flood storage capacity of all the features stands at around 15,000 m3. The evidence also suggests that a dam like in-stream mitigation measure can significantly reduce sediment load. Other benefits of some mitigation features include large increase in the population of water voles over the past two years. The scheme also acts as a demonstration site for interested stakeholders where they can learn about this approach to flood risk management and see the multipurpose benefits. As the project has progressed and lessons have been learnt, it has been possible to develop a runoff management toolkit for implementing these mitigation measures in other catchments of similar size. Already, the local Environment Agency has utilised the tools and recently applied similar mitigation measures to other catchments. On-going modelling exercises in the project are using the data to explore the up-scaling of the features to larger catchments.

Mitigation of stress: new treatment alternatives.

PubMed

Subhani, Ahmad Rauf; Kamel, Nidal; Mohamad Saad, Mohamad Naufal; Nandagopal, Nanda; Kang, Kenneth; Malik, Aamir Saeed

2018-02-01

Complaints of stress are common in modern life. Psychological stress is a major cause of lifestyle-related issues, contributing to poor quality of life. Chronic stress impedes brain function, causing impairment of many executive functions, including working memory, decision making and attentional control. The current study sought to describe newly developed stress mitigation techniques, and their influence on autonomic and endocrine functions. The literature search revealed that the most frequently studied technique for stress mitigation was biofeedback (BFB). However, evidence suggests that neurofeedback (NFB) and noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) could potentially provide appropriate approaches. We found that recent studies of BFB methods have typically used measures of heart rate variability, respiration and skin conductance. In contrast, studies of NFB methods have typically utilized neurocomputation techniques employing electroencephalography, functional magnetic resonance imaging and near infrared spectroscopy. NIBS studies have typically utilized transcranial direct current stimulation methods. Mitigation of stress is a challenging but important research target for improving quality of life.

Summary for Policymakers IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, WorkingGroup III

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barker, Terry; Bashmakov, Igor; Bernstein, Lenny

2007-04-30

A. Introduction 1. The Working Group III contribution to theIPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) focuses on new literature on thescientific, technological, environmental, economic and social aspects ofmitigation of climate change, published since the IPCC Third AssessmentReport (TAR) and the Special Reports on COB2B Capture and Storage (SRCCS)and on Safeguarding the Ozone Layer and the Global Climate System (SROC).The following summary is organised into six sections after thisintroduction: - Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission trends, - Mitigation in theshort and medium term, across different economic sectors (until 2030), -Mitigation in the long-term (beyond 2030), - Policies, measures andinstruments to mitigate climate change,more » - Sustainable development andclimate change mitigation, - Gaps in knowledge. References to thecorresponding chapter sections are indicated at each paragraph in squarebrackets. An explanation of terms, acronyms and chemical symbols used inthis SPM can be found in the glossary to the main report.« less

Modelling large floating bodies in urban area flash-floods via a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albano, Raffaele; Sole, Aurelia; Mirauda, Domenica; Adamowski, Jan

2016-10-01

Large debris, including vehicles parked along floodplains, can cause severe damage and significant loss of life during urban area flash-floods. In this study, the authors validated and applied the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) model, developed in Amicarelli et al. (2015), which reproduces in 3D the dynamics of rigid bodies driven by free surface flows, to the design of flood mitigation measures. To validate the model, the authors compared the model's predictions to the results of an experimental setup, involving a dam breach that strikes two fixed obstacles and three transportable floating bodies. Given the accuracy of the results, in terms of water depth over time and the time history of the bodies' movements, the SPH model explored in this study was used to analyse the mitigation efficiency of a proposed structural intervention - the use of small barriers (groynes) to prevent the transport of floating bodies. Different groynes configurations were examined to identify the most appropriate design and layout for urban area flash-flood damage mitigation. The authors found that groynes positioned upstream and downstream of each floating body can be effective as a risk mitigation measure for damage resulting from their movement.

Mitigating Greenhouse Gas and Ammonia Emissions from Swine Manure Management: A System Analysis.

PubMed

Wang, Yue; Dong, Hongmin; Zhu, Zhiping; Gerber, Pierre J; Xin, Hongwei; Smith, Pete; Opio, Carolyn; Steinfeld, Henning; Chadwick, Dave

2017-04-18

Gaseous emissions from animal manure are considerable contributor to global ammonia (NH 3 ) and agriculture greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Given the demand to promote mitigation of GHGs while fostering sustainable development of the Paris Agreement, an improvement of management systems is urgently needed to help mitigate climate change and to improve atmospheric air quality. This study presents a meta-analysis and an integrated assessment of gaseous emissions and mitigation potentials for NH 3 , methane (CH 4 ), and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) (direct and indirect) losses from four typical swine manure management systems (MMSs). The resultant emission factors and mitigation efficiencies allow GHG and NH 3 emissions to be estimated, as well as mitigation potentials for different stages of swine operation. In particular, changing swine manure management from liquid systems to solid-liquid separation systems, coupled with mitigation measures, could simultaneously reduce GHG emissions by 65% and NH 3 emissions by 78%. The resultant potential reduction in GHG emissions from China's pig production alone is greater than the entire GHG emissions from agricultural sector of France, Australia, or Germany, while the reduction in NH 3 emissions is equivalent to 40% of the total NH 3 emissions from the European Union. Thus, improved swine manure management could have a significant impact on global environment issues.

Trying not to get burned: understanding homeowners' wildfire risk-mitigation behaviors.

PubMed

Brenkert-Smith, Hannah; Champ, Patricia A; Flores, Nicholas

2012-12-01

Three causes have been identified for the spiraling cost of wildfire suppression in the United States: climate change, fuel accumulation from past wildfire suppression, and development in fire-prone areas. Because little is likely to be performed to halt the effects of climate on wildfire risk, and because fuel-management budgets cannot keep pace with fuel accumulation let alone reverse it, changing the behaviors of existing and potential homeowners in fire-prone areas is the most promising approach to decreasing the cost of suppressing wildfires in the wildland-urban interface and increasing the odds of homes surviving wildfire events. Wildfire education efforts encourage homeowners to manage their property to decrease wildfire risk. Such programs may be more effective with a better understanding of the factors related to homeowners' decisions to undertake wildfire risk-reduction actions. In this study, we measured whether homeowners had implemented 12 wildfire risk-mitigation measures in 2 Colorado Front Range counties. We found that wildfire information received from local volunteer fire departments and county wildfire specialists, as well as talking with neighbors about wildfire, were positively associated with higher levels of mitigation. Firsthand experience in the form of preparing for or undertaking an evacuation was also associated with a higher level of mitigation. Finally, homeowners who perceived higher levels of wildfire risk on their property had undertaken higher levels of wildfire-risk mitigation on their property.

Angular Impact Mitigation System for Bicycle Helmets to Reduce Head Acceleration and Risk of Traumatic Brain Injury

PubMed Central

Hansen, Kirk; Dau, Nathan; Feist, Florian; Deck, Caroline; Willinger, Rémy; Madey, Steven M.; Bottlang, Michael

2013-01-01

Angular acceleration of the head is a known cause of traumatic brain injury (TBI), but contemporary bicycle helmets lack dedicated mechanisms to mitigate angular acceleration. A novel Angular Impact Mitigation (AIM) system for bicycle helmets has been developed that employs an elastically suspended aluminum honeycomb liner to absorb linear acceleration in normal impacts as well as angular acceleration in oblique impacts. This study tested bicycle helmets with and without AIM technology to comparatively assess impact mitigation. Normal impact tests were performed to measure linear head acceleration. Oblique impact tests were performed to measure angular head acceleration and neck loading. Furthermore, acceleration histories of oblique impacts were analyzed in a computational head model to predict the resulting risk of TBI in the form of concussion and diffuse axonal injury (DAI). Compared to standard helmets, AIM helmets resulted in a 14% reduction in peak linear acceleration (p < 0.001), a 34% reduction in peak angular acceleration (p < 0.001), and a 22% to 32% reduction in neck loading (p < 0.001). Computational results predicted that AIM helmets reduced the risk of concussion and DAI by 27% and 44%, respectively. In conclusion, these results demonstrated that AIM technology could effectively improve impact mitigation compared to a contemporary expanded polystyrene-based bicycle helmet, and may enhance prevention of bicycle-related TBI. Further research is required. PMID:23770518

Analytical procedures for determining the impacts of reliability mitigation strategies. [supporting datasets

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-11-30

The objective of this project was to develop technical relationships between reliability improvement strategies and reliability performance metrics. This project defined reliability, explained the importance of travel time distributions for measuring...

44 CFR 204.51 - Application and approval procedures for a fire management assistance grant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... part 201 that addresses wildfire risks and mitigation measures; or (ii) Incorporate wildfire mitigation... wildfire risk and contains a wildfire mitigation strategy and related mitigation initiatives. [66 FR 57347...

44 CFR 204.51 - Application and approval procedures for a fire management assistance grant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... part 201 that addresses wildfire risks and mitigation measures; or (ii) Incorporate wildfire mitigation... wildfire risk and contains a wildfire mitigation strategy and related mitigation initiatives. [66 FR 57347...

44 CFR 204.51 - Application and approval procedures for a fire management assistance grant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... part 201 that addresses wildfire risks and mitigation measures; or (ii) Incorporate wildfire mitigation... wildfire risk and contains a wildfire mitigation strategy and related mitigation initiatives. [66 FR 57347...

44 CFR 204.51 - Application and approval procedures for a fire management assistance grant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... part 201 that addresses wildfire risks and mitigation measures; or (ii) Incorporate wildfire mitigation... wildfire risk and contains a wildfire mitigation strategy and related mitigation initiatives. [66 FR 57347...

Susitna Hydroelectric Project: terrestrial environmental workshop and preliminary simulation model

USGS Publications Warehouse

Everitt, Robert R.; Sonntag, Nicholas C.; Auble, Gregory T.; Roelle, James E.; Gazey, William

1982-01-01

The technical feasibility, economic viability, and environmental impacts of a hydroelectric development project in the Susitna River Basin are being studied by Acres American, Inc. on behalf of the Alaska Power Authority. As part of these studies, Acres American recently contracted LGL Alaska Research Associates, Inc. to coordinate the terrestrial environmental studies being performed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and, as subcontractors to LGL, several University of Alaska research groups. LGL is responsible for further quantifying the potential impacts of the project on terrestrial wildlife and vegetation, and for developing a plan to mitigate adverse impacts on the terrestrial environment. The impact assessment and mitigation plan will be included as part of a license application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) scheduled for the first quarter of 1983. The quantification of impacts, mitigation planning, and design of future research is being organized using a computer simulation modelling approach. Through a series of workshops attended by researchers, resource managers, and policy-makers, a computer model is being developed and refined for use in the quantification of impacts on terrestrial wildlife and vegetation, and for evaluating different mitigation measures such as habitat enhancement and the designation of replacement lands to be managed by wildlife habitat. This report describes the preliminary model developed at the first workshop held August 23 -27, 1982 in Anchorage.

The theory-practice gap of black carbon mitigation technologies in rural China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Weishi; Li, Aitong; Xu, Yuan; Liu, Junfeng

2018-02-01

Black carbon mitigation has received increasing attention for its potential contribution to both climate change mitigation and air pollution control. Although different bottom-up models concerned with unit mitigation costs of various technologies allow the assessment of alternative policies for optimized cost-effectiveness, the lack of adequate data often forced many reluctant explicit and implicit assumptions that deviate away from actual situations of rural residential energy consumption in developing countries, where most black carbon emissions occur. To gauge the theory-practice gap in black carbon mitigation - the unit cost differences that lie between what is estimated in the theory and what is practically achieved on the ground - this study conducted an extensive field survey and analysis of nine mitigation technologies in rural China, covering both northern and southern regions with different residential energy consumption patterns. With a special focus on two temporal characteristics of those technologies - lifetimes and annual utilization rates, this study quantitatively measured the unit cost gaps and explain the technical as well as sociopolitical mechanisms behind. Structural and behavioral barriers, which have affected the technologies' performance, are discussed together with policy implications to narrow those gaps.

Dealing with the white death: avalanche risk management for traffic routes.

PubMed

Rheinberger, Christoph M; Bründl, Michael; Rhyner, Jakob

2009-01-01

This article discusses mitigation strategies to protect traffic routes from snow avalanches. Up to now, mitigation of snow avalanches on many roads and railways in the Alps has relied on avalanche sheds, which require large initial investments resulting in high opportunity costs. Therefore, avalanche risk managers have increasingly adopted organizational mitigation measures such as warning systems and closure policies instead. The effectiveness of these measures is, however, greatly dependent on human decisions. In this article, we present a method for optimizing avalanche mitigation for traffic routes in terms of both their risk reduction impact and their net benefit to society. First, we introduce a generic framework for assessing avalanche risk and for quantifying the impact of mitigation. This allows for sound cost-benefit comparisons between alternative mitigation strategies. Second, we illustrate the framework with a case study from Switzerland. Our findings suggest that site-specific characteristics of avalanche paths, as well as the economic importance of a traffic route, are decisive for the choice of optimal mitigation strategies. On routes endangered by few avalanche paths with frequent avalanche occurrences, structural measures are most efficient, whereas reliance on organizational mitigation is often the most appropriate strategy on routes endangered by many paths with infrequent or fuzzy avalanche risk. Finally, keeping a traffic route open may be very important for tourism or the transport industry. Hence, local economic value may promote the use of a hybrid strategy that combines organizational and structural measures to optimize the resource allocation of avalanche risk mitigation.

Implementation of equity in resource allocation for regional earthquake risk mitigation using two-stage stochastic programming.

PubMed

Zolfaghari, Mohammad R; Peyghaleh, Elnaz

2015-03-01

This article presents a new methodology to implement the concept of equity in regional earthquake risk mitigation programs using an optimization framework. It presents a framework that could be used by decisionmakers (government and authorities) to structure budget allocation strategy toward different seismic risk mitigation measures, i.e., structural retrofitting for different building structural types in different locations and planning horizons. A two-stage stochastic model is developed here to seek optimal mitigation measures based on minimizing mitigation expenditures, reconstruction expenditures, and especially large losses in highly seismically active countries. To consider fairness in the distribution of financial resources among different groups of people, the equity concept is incorporated using constraints in model formulation. These constraints limit inequity to the user-defined level to achieve the equity-efficiency tradeoff in the decision-making process. To present practical application of the proposed model, it is applied to a pilot area in Tehran, the capital city of Iran. Building stocks, structural vulnerability functions, and regional seismic hazard characteristics are incorporated to compile a probabilistic seismic risk model for the pilot area. Results illustrate the variation of mitigation expenditures by location and structural type for buildings. These expenditures are sensitive to the amount of available budget and equity consideration for the constant risk aversion. Most significantly, equity is more easily achieved if the budget is unlimited. Conversely, increasing equity where the budget is limited decreases the efficiency. The risk-return tradeoff, equity-reconstruction expenditures tradeoff, and variation of per-capita expected earthquake loss in different income classes are also presented. © 2015 Society for Risk Analysis.

The Value of Linking Mitigation and Adaptation: A Case Study of Bangladesh

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ayers, Jessica M.; Huq, Saleemul

2009-05-01

There are two principal strategies for managing climate change risks: mitigation and adaptation. Until recently, mitigation and adaptation have been considered separately in both climate change science and policy. Mitigation has been treated as an issue for developed countries, which hold the greatest responsibility for climate change, while adaptation is seen as a priority for the South, where mitigative capacity is low and vulnerability is high. This conceptual divide has hindered progress against the achievement of the fundamental sustainable development challenges of climate change. Recent attention to exploring the synergies between mitigation and adaptation suggests that an integrated approach could go some way to bridging the gap between the development and adaptation priorities of the South and the need to achieve global engagement in mitigation. These issues are explored through a case study analysis of climate change policy and practice in Bangladesh. Using the example of waste-to-compost projects, a mitigation-adaptation-development nexus is demonstrated, as projects contribute to mitigation through reducing methane emissions; adaptation through soil improvement in drought-prone areas; and sustainable development, because poverty is exacerbated when climate change reduces the flows of ecosystem services. Further, linking adaptation to mitigation makes mitigation action more relevant to policymakers in Bangladesh, increasing engagement in the international climate change agenda in preparation for a post-Kyoto global strategy. This case study strengthens the argument that while combining mitigation and adaptation is not a magic bullet for climate policy, synergies, particularly at the project level, can contribute to the sustainable development goals of climate change and are worth exploring.

The value of linking mitigation and adaptation: a case study of Bangladesh.

PubMed

Ayers, Jessica M; Huq, Saleemul

2009-05-01

There are two principal strategies for managing climate change risks: mitigation and adaptation. Until recently, mitigation and adaptation have been considered separately in both climate change science and policy. Mitigation has been treated as an issue for developed countries, which hold the greatest responsibility for climate change, while adaptation is seen as a priority for the South, where mitigative capacity is low and vulnerability is high. This conceptual divide has hindered progress against the achievement of the fundamental sustainable development challenges of climate change. Recent attention to exploring the synergies between mitigation and adaptation suggests that an integrated approach could go some way to bridging the gap between the development and adaptation priorities of the South and the need to achieve global engagement in mitigation. These issues are explored through a case study analysis of climate change policy and practice in Bangladesh. Using the example of waste-to-compost projects, a mitigation-adaptation-development nexus is demonstrated, as projects contribute to mitigation through reducing methane emissions; adaptation through soil improvement in drought-prone areas; and sustainable development, because poverty is exacerbated when climate change reduces the flows of ecosystem services. Further, linking adaptation to mitigation makes mitigation action more relevant to policymakers in Bangladesh, increasing engagement in the international climate change agenda in preparation for a post-Kyoto global strategy. This case study strengthens the argument that while combining mitigation and adaptation is not a magic bullet for climate policy, synergies, particularly at the project level, can contribute to the sustainable development goals of climate change and are worth exploring.

Performance Analysis of a Hardware Implemented Complex Signal Kurtosis Radio-Frequency Interference Detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schoenwald, Adam J.; Bradley, Damon C.; Mohammed, Priscilla N.; Piepmeier, Jeffrey R.; Wong, Mark

2016-01-01

Radio-frequency interference (RFI) is a known problem for passive remote sensing as evidenced in the L-band radiometers SMOS, Aquarius and more recently, SMAP. Various algorithms have been developed and implemented on SMAP to improve science measurements. This was achieved by the use of a digital microwave radiometer. RFI mitigation becomes more challenging for microwave radiometers operating at higher frequencies in shared allocations. At higher frequencies larger bandwidths are also desirable for lower measurement noise further adding to processing challenges. This work focuses on finding improved RFI mitigation techniques that will be effective at additional frequencies and at higher bandwidths. To aid the development and testing of applicable detection and mitigation techniques, a wide-band RFI algorithm testing environment has been developed using the Reconfigurable Open Architecture Computing Hardware System (ROACH) built by the Collaboration for Astronomy Signal Processing and Electronics Research (CASPER) Group. The testing environment also consists of various test equipment used to reproduce typical signals that a radiometer may see including those with and without RFI. The testing environment permits quick evaluations of RFI mitigation algorithms as well as show that they are implementable in hardware. The algorithm implemented is a complex signal kurtosis detector which was modeled and simulated. The complex signal kurtosis detector showed improved performance over the real kurtosis detector under certain conditions. The real kurtosis is implemented on SMAP at 24 MHz bandwidth. The complex signal kurtosis algorithm was then implemented in hardware at 200 MHz bandwidth using the ROACH. In this work, performance of the complex signal kurtosis and the real signal kurtosis are compared. Performance evaluations and comparisons in both simulation as well as experimental hardware implementations were done with the use of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.

Electrostatic Charging of the Pathfinder Rover

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Siebert, Mark W.; Kolecki, Joseph C.

1996-01-01

The Mars Pathfinder mission will send a lander and a rover to the martian surface. Because of the extremely dry conditions on Mars, electrostatic charging of the rover is expected to occur as it moves about. Charge accumulation may result in high electrical potentials and discharge through the martian atmosphere. Such discharge could interfere with the operation of electrical elements on the rover. A strategy was sought to mitigate this charge accumulation as a precautionary measure. Ground tests were performed to demonstrate charging in laboratory conditions simulating the surface conditions expected at Mars. Tests showed that a rover wheel, driven at typical rover speeds, will accumulate electrical charge and develop significant electrical potentials (average observed, 110 volts). Measurements were made of wheel electrical potential, and wheel capacitance. From these quantities, the amount of absolute charge was estimated. An engineering solution was developed and recommended to mitigate charge accumulation. That solution has been implemented on the actual rover.

Co-control of urban air pollutants and greenhouse gases in Mexico City.

PubMed

West, J Jason; Osnaya, Patricia; Laguna, Israel; Martínez, Julia; Fernández, Adrián

2004-07-01

This study addresses the synergies of mitigation measures to control urban air pollutant and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, in developing integrated "co-control" strategies for Mexico City. First, existing studies of emissions reduction measures--PROAIRE (the air quality plan for Mexico City) and separate GHG studies--are used to construct a harmonized database of options. Second, linear programming (LP) is developed and applied as a decision-support tool to analyze least-cost strategies for meeting co-control targets for multiple pollutants. We estimate that implementing PROAIRE measures as planned will reduce 3.1% of the 2010 metropolitan CO2 emissions, in addition to substantial local air pollutant reductions. Applying the LP, PROAIRE emissions reductions can be met at a 20% lower cost, using only the PROAIRE measures, by adjusting investments toward the more cost-effective measures; lower net costs are possible by including cost-saving GHG mitigation measures, but with increased investment. When CO2 emission reduction targets are added to PROAIRE targets, the most cost-effective solutions use PROAIRE measures for the majority of local pollutant reductions, and GHG measures for additional CO2 control. Because of synergies, the integrated planning of urban-global co-control can be beneficial, but we estimate that for Mexico City these benefits are often small.

Consequence of climate mitigation on the risk of hunger.

PubMed

Hasegawa, Tomoko; Fujimori, Shinichiro; Shin, Yonghee; Tanaka, Akemi; Takahashi, Kiyoshi; Masui, Toshihiko

2015-06-16

Climate change and mitigation measures have three major impacts on food consumption and the risk of hunger: (1) changes in crop yields caused by climate change; (2) competition for land between food crops and energy crops driven by the use of bioenergy; and (3) costs associated with mitigation measures taken to meet an emissions reduction target that keeps the global average temperature increase to 2 °C. In this study, we combined a global computable general equilibrium model and a crop model (M-GAEZ), and we quantified the three impacts on risk of hunger through 2050 based on the uncertainty range associated with 12 climate models and one economic and demographic scenario. The strong mitigation measures aimed at attaining the 2 °C target reduce the negative effects of climate change on yields but have large negative impacts on the risk of hunger due to mitigation costs in the low-income countries. We also found that in a strongly carbon-constrained world, the change in food consumption resulting from mitigation measures depends more strongly on the change in incomes than the change in food prices.

Validation of a Fast-Response Urban Micrometeorological Model to Assess the Performance of Urban Heat Island Mitigation Strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nadeau, D.; Girard, P.; Overby, M.; Pardyjak, E.; Stoll, R., II; Willemsen, P.; Bailey, B.; Parlange, M. B.

2015-12-01

Urban heat islands (UHI) are a real threat in many cities worldwide and mitigation measures have become a central component of urban planning strategies. Even within a city, causes of UHI vary from one neighborhood to another, mostly due the spatial variability in surface thermal properties, building geometry, anthropogenic heat flux releases and vegetation cover. As a result, the performance of UHI mitigation measures also varies in space. Hence, there is a need to develop a tool to quantify the efficiency of UHI mitigation measures at the neighborhood scale. The objective of this ongoing study is to validate the fast-response micrometeorological model QUIC EnvSim (QES). This model can provide all information required for UHI studies with a fine spatial resolution (up to 0.5m) and short computation time. QES combines QUIC, a CFD-based wind solver and dispersion model, and EnvSim, composed of a radiation model, a land-surface model and a turbulent transport model. Here, high-resolution (1 m) simulations are run over a subset of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) campus including complex buildings, various surfaces properties and vegetation. For nearly five months in 2006-07, a dense network of meteorological observations (92 weather stations over 0.1 km2) was deployed over the campus and these unique data are used here as a validation dataset. We present validation results for different test cases (e.g., sunny vs cloudy days, different incoming wind speeds and directions) and explore the effect of a few UHI mitigation strategies on the spatial distribution of near-surface air temperatures. Preliminary results suggest that QES may be a valuable tool in decision-making regarding adaptation of urban planning to UHI.

Distribution Integration | Grid Modernization | NREL

Science.gov Websites

There is Strength: Measuring and Mitigating Solar PV Impacts in Southern California Using Power Factors distributed energy resources, such as PV, began more than a decade ago and has included numerous high-impact partnered with utilities to develop best practices for solar integration, to developing technical screening

Coworker Informal Work Accommodations to Family: Scale Development and Validation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mesmer-Magnus, Jessica; Murase, Toshio; DeChurch, Leslie A.; Jimenez, Miliani

2010-01-01

Drawing on research regarding the utility of coworker support in mitigating work/family conflict, the authors developed a scale to measure Coworker-enacted Informal Work Accommodations to Family (C-IWAF). C-IWAF differs from coworker support in that it describes actual behaviors coworkers engage in to help one another deal with incompatible work…

Got risk? risk-centric perspective for spacecraft technology decision-making

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Feather, Martin S.; Cornford, Steven L.; Moran, Kelly

2004-01-01

A risk-based decision-making methodology conceived and developed at JPL and NASA has been used to aid in decision making for spacecraft technology assessment, adoption, development and operation. It takes a risk-centric perspective, through which risks are used as a reasoning step to interpose between mission objectives and risk mitigation measures.

77 FR 37387 - New England Fishery Management Council; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Notice of Intent to...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-21

... and Prudent Alternatives (RPAs) to avert survival jeopardy, or Reasonable and Prudent Measures (RPMs... necessary to develop and implement either RPAs or RPMs following completion of NMFS's Section 7 consultation... will recommend RPAs or RPMs. These may include a process to develop and put in place mitigation...

Development of Modeling Capabilities for Launch Pad Acoustics and Ignition Transient Environment Prediction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

West, Jeff; Strutzenberg, Louise L.; Putnam, Gabriel C.; Liever, Peter A.; Williams, Brandon R.

2012-01-01

This paper presents development efforts to establish modeling capabilities for launch vehicle liftoff acoustics and ignition transient environment predictions. Peak acoustic loads experienced by the launch vehicle occur during liftoff with strong interaction between the vehicle and the launch facility. Acoustic prediction engineering tools based on empirical models are of limited value in efforts to proactively design and optimize launch vehicles and launch facility configurations for liftoff acoustics. Modeling approaches are needed that capture the important details of the plume flow environment including the ignition transient, identify the noise generation sources, and allow assessment of the effects of launch pad geometric details and acoustic mitigation measures such as water injection. This paper presents a status of the CFD tools developed by the MSFC Fluid Dynamics Branch featuring advanced multi-physics modeling capabilities developed towards this goal. Validation and application examples are presented along with an overview of application in the prediction of liftoff environments and the design of targeted mitigation measures such as launch pad configuration and sound suppression water placement.

Assessment of indirect losses and costs of emergency for project planning of alpine hazard mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amenda, Lisa; Pfurtscheller, Clemens

2013-04-01

By virtue of augmented settling in hazardous areas and increased asset values, natural disasters such as floods, landslides and rockfalls cause high economic losses in Alpine lateral valleys. Especially in small municipalities, indirect losses, mainly stemming from a breakdown of transport networks, and costs of emergency can reach critical levels. A quantification of these losses is necessary to estimate the worthiness of mitigation measures, to determine the appropriate level of disaster assistance and to improve risk management strategies. There are comprehensive approaches available for assessing direct losses. However, indirect losses and costs of emergency are widely not assessed and the empirical basis for estimating these costs is weak. To address the resulting uncertainties of project appraisals, a standardized methodology has been developed dealing with issues of local economic effects and emergency efforts needed. In our approach, the cost-benefit-analysis for technical mitigation of the Austrian Torrent and Avalanche Control (TAC) will be optimized and extended using the 2005-debris flow as a design event, which struggled a small town in the upper Inn valley in southwest Tyrol (Austria). Thereby, 84 buildings were affected, 430 people were evacuated and due to this, the TAC implemented protection measures for 3.75 million Euros. Upgrading the method of the TAC and analyzing to what extent the cost-benefit-ratio is about to change, is one of the main objectives of this study. For estimating short-run indirect effects and costs of emergency on the local level, data was collected via questionnaires, field mapping, guided interviews, as well as intense literature research. According to this, up-to-date calculation methods were evolved and the cost-benefit-analysis of TAC was recalculated with these new-implemented results. The cost-benefit-ratio will be more precise and specific and hence, the decision, which mitigation alternative will be carried out. Based on this, the worthiness of the mitigation measures can be determined in more detail and the proper level of emergency assistance can be calculated more adequately. By dint of this study, a better data basis will be created evaluating technical and non-technical mitigation measures, which is useful for government agencies, insurance companies and research.

The role of non-CO2 mitigation within the dairy sector in pursuing climate goals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rolph, K.; Forest, C. E.

2017-12-01

Mitigation of non-CO2 climate forcing agents must complement the mitigation of carbon dioxide (CO2) to achieve long-term temperature and climate policy goals. By using multi-gas mitigation strategies, society can limit the rate of temperature change on decadal timescales and reduce the cost of implementing policies that only consider CO2 mitigation. The largest share of global non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions is attributed to agriculture, with activities related to dairy production contributing the most in this sector. Approximately 4% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions is released from the dairy sub-sector, primarily through enteric fermentation, feed production, and manure management. Dairy farmers can significantly reduce their emissions by implementing better management practices. This study assesses the potential mitigation of projected climate change if greenhouse gases associated with the dairy sector were reduced. To compare the performance of several mitigation measures under future climate change, we employ a fully coupled earth system model of intermediate complexity, the MIT Integrated Global System Model (IGSM). The model includes an interactive carbon-cycle capable of addressing important feedbacks between the climate and terrestrial biosphere. Mitigation scenarios are developed using estimated emission reductions of implemented management practices studied by the USDA-funded Sustainable Dairy Project (Dairy-CAP). We examine pathways to reach the US dairy industry's voluntary goal of reducing dairy emissions 25% by 2020. We illustrate the importance of ongoing mitigation efforts in the agricultural industry to reduce non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions towards established climate goals.

Direct carbon dioxide emissions from civil aircraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grote, Matt; Williams, Ian; Preston, John

2014-10-01

Global airlines consume over 5 million barrels of oil per day, and the resulting carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by aircraft engines is of concern. This article provides a contemporary review of the literature associated with the measures available to the civil aviation industry for mitigating CO2 emissions from aircraft. The measures are addressed under two categories - policy and legal-related measures, and technological and operational measures. Results of the review are used to develop several insights into the challenges faced. The analysis shows that forecasts for strong growth in air-traffic will result in civil aviation becoming an increasingly significant contributor to anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Some mitigation-measures can be left to market-forces as the key-driver for implementation because they directly reduce airlines' fuel consumption, and their impact on reducing fuel-costs will be welcomed by the industry. Other mitigation-measures cannot be left to market-forces. Speed of implementation and stringency of these measures will not be satisfactorily resolved unattended, and the current global regulatory-framework does not provide the necessary strength of stewardship. A global regulator with ‘teeth' needs to be established, but investing such a body with the appropriate level of authority requires securing an international agreement which history would suggest is going to be very difficult. If all mitigation-measures are successfully implemented, it is still likely that traffic growth-rates will continue to out-pace emissions reduction-rates. Therefore, to achieve an overall reduction in CO2 emissions, behaviour change will be necessary to reduce demand for air-travel. However, reducing demand will be strongly resisted by all stakeholders in the industry; and the ticket price-increases necessary to induce the required reduction in traffic growth-rates place a monetary-value on CO2 emissions of approximately 7-100 times greater than other common valuations. It is clear that, whilst aviation must remain one piece of the transport-jigsaw, environmentally a global regulator with ‘teeth' is urgently required.

Development by Design in Colombia: Making Mitigation Decisions Consistent with Conservation Outcomes

PubMed Central

Saenz, Shirley; Walschburger, Tomas; González, Juan Carlos; León, Jorge; McKenney, Bruce; Kiesecker, Joseph

2013-01-01

Mitigation policy and regulatory frameworks are consistent in their strong support for the mitigation hierarchy of: (1) avoiding impacts, (2) minimizing impacts, and then (3) offsetting/compensating for residual impacts. While mitigation frameworks require developers to avoid, minimize and restore biodiversity on-site before considering an offset for residual impacts, there is a lack of quantitative guidance for this decision-making process. What are the criteria for requiring impacts be avoided altogether? Here we examine how conservation planning can guide the application of the mitigation hierarchy to address this issue. In support of the Colombian government's aim to improve siting and mitigation practices for planned development, we examined five pilot projects in landscapes expected to experience significant increases in mining, petroleum and/or infrastructure development. By blending landscape-level conservation planning with application of the mitigation hierarchy, we can proactively identify where proposed development and conservation priorities would be in conflict and where impacts should be avoided. The approach we outline here has been adopted by the Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development to guide licensing decisions, avoid piecemeal licensing, and promote mitigation decisions that maintain landscape condition. PMID:24339972

Development by design in Colombia: making mitigation decisions consistent with conservation outcomes.

PubMed

Saenz, Shirley; Walschburger, Tomas; González, Juan Carlos; León, Jorge; McKenney, Bruce; Kiesecker, Joseph

2013-01-01

Mitigation policy and regulatory frameworks are consistent in their strong support for the mitigation hierarchy of: (1) avoiding impacts, (2) minimizing impacts, and then (3) offsetting/compensating for residual impacts. While mitigation frameworks require developers to avoid, minimize and restore biodiversity on-site before considering an offset for residual impacts, there is a lack of quantitative guidance for this decision-making process. What are the criteria for requiring impacts be avoided altogether? Here we examine how conservation planning can guide the application of the mitigation hierarchy to address this issue. In support of the Colombian government's aim to improve siting and mitigation practices for planned development, we examined five pilot projects in landscapes expected to experience significant increases in mining, petroleum and/or infrastructure development. By blending landscape-level conservation planning with application of the mitigation hierarchy, we can proactively identify where proposed development and conservation priorities would be in conflict and where impacts should be avoided. The approach we outline here has been adopted by the Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development to guide licensing decisions, avoid piecemeal licensing, and promote mitigation decisions that maintain landscape condition.

Generating carbon finance through avoided deforestation and its potential to create climatic, conservation and human development benefits.

PubMed

Ebeling, Johannes; Yasué, Maï

2008-05-27

Recent proposals to compensate developing countries for reducing emissions from deforestation (RED) under forthcoming climate change mitigation regimes are receiving increasing attention. Here we demonstrate that if RED credits were traded on international carbon markets, even moderate decreases in deforestation rates could generate billions of Euros annually for tropical forest conservation. We also discuss the main challenges for a RED mechanism that delivers real climatic benefits. These include providing sufficient incentives while only rewarding deforestation reductions beyond business-as-usual scenarios, addressing risks arising from forest degradation and international leakage, and ensuring permanence of emission reductions. Governance may become a formidable challenge for RED because some countries with the highest RED potentials score poorly on governance indices. In addition to climate mitigation, RED funds could help achieve substantial co-benefits for biodiversity conservation and human development. However, this will probably require targeted additional support because the highest biodiversity threats and human development needs may exist in countries that have limited income potentials from RED. In conclusion, how successfully a market-based RED mechanism can contribute to climate change mitigation, conservation and development will strongly depend on accompanying measures and carefully designed incentive structures involving governments, business, as well as the conservation and development communities.

Barriers to Mitigate Carbon Footprint in a Selected Academic Institution in Bacoor City, Cavite, Philippines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adanza, Jonathan R.

2016-01-01

Carbon footprint is an environmental menace that needs to be addressed at once. Various mitigating measures were proposed and yet manifestations of its proliferation are very much observable. This study seeks to determine primarily the barriers of non-adherence to identified measures to mitigate carbon footprint in the environment. Using the mixed…

40 CFR 93.125 - Enforceability of design concept and scope and project-level mitigation and control measures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Transit Laws § 93.125 Enforceability of design concept and scope and project-level mitigation and control... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true Enforceability of design concept and scope and project-level mitigation and control measures. 93.125 Section 93.125 Protection of Environment...

40 CFR 93.125 - Enforceability of design concept and scope and project-level mitigation and control measures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Transit Laws § 93.125 Enforceability of design concept and scope and project-level mitigation and control... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Enforceability of design concept and scope and project-level mitigation and control measures. 93.125 Section 93.125 Protection of Environment...

40 CFR 93.125 - Enforceability of design concept and scope and project-level mitigation and control measures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Transit Laws § 93.125 Enforceability of design concept and scope and project-level mitigation and control... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Enforceability of design concept and scope and project-level mitigation and control measures. 93.125 Section 93.125 Protection of Environment...

40 CFR 93.125 - Enforceability of design concept and scope and project-level mitigation and control measures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Transit Laws § 93.125 Enforceability of design concept and scope and project-level mitigation and control... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Enforceability of design concept and scope and project-level mitigation and control measures. 93.125 Section 93.125 Protection of Environment...

40 CFR 93.125 - Enforceability of design concept and scope and project-level mitigation and control measures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Transit Laws § 93.125 Enforceability of design concept and scope and project-level mitigation and control... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Enforceability of design concept and scope and project-level mitigation and control measures. 93.125 Section 93.125 Protection of Environment...

Evaluation of the varying Naturally Occurring Asbestos mitigation measures at School and Commercial construction projects in California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalika, S.

2012-12-01

In commercial development or K-12 school construction, project sites are often purchased and much of the planning process completed prior to an assessment of the soils proposed for excavation or potential offhaul. Geologic maps, while initially helpful for identifying potential hazards such as landslides and earthquake faults, are less helpful in the identification of naturally occurring hazardous minerals, such as the seven regulated minerals currently classified as asbestos. Geologic maps identify mafic and ultramafic bedrock zones; however, a skilled geologist with knowledge of asbestos hazards will further visualize the earth-shaping processes that may have resulted in the deposition of naturally occurring asbestos in locations outside mapped ultramafic zones including the base of an alluvial fan or within streambed channels. When sampled as an afterthought prior to disposal, property owners are surprised by the budget-crippling costs of waste handling and disposal of NOA, as well as mitigations required to protect the health of construction workers, the public, and future site occupants. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) continues to lead the way in evaluation and regulation of NOA, through development of the CARB 435 preparation and laboratory analytical method, local enforcement of the Asbestos Airborne Toxic Control Measure for Construction, Grading, Quarrying, and Surface Mining Operations (ATCM), and implementation of dust control measures to protect public health. A thorough site evaluation and construction design includes utilization of the sampling methods developed by the California Geological Survey, laboratory analytical methods within CARB 435, and mitigation measures required by CARB, DTSC, and OSHA for the protection of worker and public health after NOA is discovered. The site evaluation should additionally include an assessment of the future site usage, as regulations differ based on potential health affects to future occupants. Construction and long-term monitoring at an elementary school differs in regulatory requirements from construction of a commercial property. This presentation will highlight two case studies: a school project with several years of advance planning versus a commercial property where NOA was discovered weeks before the start of construction. The presentation will analyze the regulatory differences, mitigation measures, and consideration of the financial impacts that the discovery of NOA can have on a school versus a commercial project.

Mitigation of wildfire risk by homeowners

Treesearch

Hannah Brenkert; Patricia Champ; Nicholas Flores

2005-01-01

In-depth interviews conducted with homeowners in Larimer County's Wildland-Urban Interface revealed that homeowners face difficult decisions regarding the implementation of wildfire mitigation measures. Perceptions of wildfire mitigation options may be as important as perceptions of wildfire risk in determining likelihood of implementation. These mitigation...

Mitigating delay and non-payment in the Malaysian construction industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohamad, N.; Suman, A. S.; Harun, H.; Hashim, H.

2018-02-01

Construction industry is one of the industries that have contributed towards the rapid growth of development and economics in Malaysia. However, the industry is inundated with delay and non-payment issues between the two parties in contract that is the clients and contractors Even though there are contractual and administrative provisions in the standard forms of contract in Malaysia regarding payments, delay and non-payment issues still occur between them. The aim of the study is to develop measures to mitigate delay and non-payment issues between contractors and clients in the Malaysian construction industry. Questionnaire survey was conducted with clients and contractors in Klang Valley. Results from data analysis identified significant measures to mitigate delay and non-payment issues between contractors and clients which include contractors should submit their progress work invoicing with adequate documents; contractors should follow up constantly with client regarding payment; proper understanding of requirements with regards to payment; mutual discussion of problems with client to address problems in a timely manner and proper use of payment provisions in the standard form of contract. This study is significant to contractors and clients and to other construction players in order to reduce and minimise delay and non-payment issues for the growth of economy in the Malaysian construction industry.

Improving Fatigue Performance of AHSS Welds

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Feng, Zhili; Yu, Xinghua; Erdman, III, Donald L.

Reported herein is technical progress on a U.S. Department of Energy CRADA project with industry cost-share aimed at developing the technical basis and demonstrate the viability of innovative in-situ weld residual stresses mitigation technology that can substantially improve the weld fatigue performance and durability of auto-body structures. The developed technology would be costeffective and practical in high-volume vehicle production environment. Enhancing weld fatigue performance would address a critical technology gap that impedes the widespread use of advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) and other lightweight materials for auto body structure light-weighting. This means that the automotive industry can take full advantage ofmore » the AHSS in strength, durability and crashworthiness without the concern of the relatively weak weld fatigue performance. The project comprises both technological innovations in weld residual stress mitigation and due-diligence residual stress measurement and fatigue performance evaluation. Two approaches were investigated. The first one was the use of low temperature phase transformation (LTPT) weld filler wire, and the second focused on novel thermo-mechanical stress management technique. Both technical approaches have resulted in considerable improvement in fatigue lives of welded joints made of high-strength steels. Synchrotron diffraction measurement confirmed the reduction of high tensile weld residual stresses by the two weld residual stress mitigation techniques.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

King, E.A., E-mail: kingea@tcd.ie; O'Malley, V.P.

The Irish National Roads Authority (NRA) recently completed over twenty post environmental impact assessment evaluations of noise chapters prepared as part of Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) for new national road schemes in Ireland. The study focused on a range of issues including a review of noise monitoring procedures, noise prediction methodologies and an assessment of the effectiveness of noise mitigation measures currently in use on national road schemes. This review was carried out taking cognisance of best international practices for noise assessment and methodologies used to mitigate road traffic noise. The primary focus of the study was to assess themore » actual noise impacts of national road scheme developments and to revise, where necessary, methodologies recommended in the current NRA guidance document describing the treatment of noise on national road schemes. This paper presents a summary of the study and identifies a number of key areas that should be considered prior to the development of future guidance documents. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Presents a post-EIS evaluation of noise assessments for national roads in Ireland. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The effectiveness of some noise mitigation measures is critically evaluated. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Issues related to the current EIS noise assessment methodologies are discussed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Implications for alterations to the NRA noise guidelines.« less

Atmospheric Effects on InSAR Measurements and Their Mitigation

PubMed Central

Ding, Xiao-li; Li, Zhi-wei; Zhu, Jian-jun; Feng, Guang-cai; Long, Jiang-ping

2008-01-01

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a powerful technology for observing the Earth surface, especially for mapping the Earth's topography and deformations. InSAR measurements are however often significantly affected by the atmosphere as the radar signals propagate through the atmosphere whose state varies both in space and in time. Great efforts have been made in recent years to better understand the properties of the atmospheric effects and to develop methods for mitigating the effects. This paper provides a systematic review of the work carried out in this area. The basic principles of atmospheric effects on repeat-pass InSAR are first introduced. The studies on the properties of the atmospheric effects, including the magnitudes of the effects determined in the various parts of the world, the spectra of the atmospheric effects, the isotropic properties and the statistical distributions of the effects, are then discussed. The various methods developed for mitigating the atmospheric effects are then reviewed, including the methods that are based on PSInSAR processing, the methods that are based on interferogram modeling, and those that are based on external data such as GPS observations, ground meteorological data, and satellite data including those from the MODIS and MERIS. Two examples that use MODIS and MERIS data respectively to calibrate atmospheric effects on InSAR are also given. PMID:27873822

Atmospheric Effects on InSAR Measurements and Their Mitigation.

PubMed

Ding, Xiao-Li; Li, Zhi-Wei; Zhu, Jian-Jun; Feng, Guang-Cai; Long, Jiang-Ping

2008-09-03

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a powerful technology for observing the Earth surface, especially for mapping the Earth's topography and deformations. InSAR measurements are however often significantly affected by the atmosphere as the radar signals propagate through the atmosphere whose state varies both in space and in time. Great efforts have been made in recent years to better understand the properties of the atmospheric effects and to develop methods for mitigating the effects. This paper provides a systematic review of the work carried out in this area. The basic principles of atmospheric effects on repeat-pass InSAR are first introduced. The studies on the properties of the atmospheric effects, including the magnitudes of the effects determined in the various parts of the world, the spectra of the atmospheric effects, the isotropic properties and the statistical distributions of the effects, are then discussed. The various methods developed for mitigating the atmospheric effects are then reviewed, including the methods that are based on PSInSAR processing, the methods that are based on interferogram modeling, and those that are based on external data such as GPS observations, ground meteorological data, and satellite data including those from the MODIS and MERIS. Two examples that use MODIS and MERIS data respectively to calibrate atmospheric effects on InSAR are also given.

Effective mitigation of debris flows at Lemon Dam, La Plata County, Colorado

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

deWolfe, Victor G.; Santi, Paul M.; Ey, J.; Gartner, Joseph E.

2008-04-01

To reduce the hazards from debris flows in drainage basins burned by wildfire, erosion control measures such as construction of check dams, installation of log erosion barriers (LEBs), and spreading of straw mulch and seed are common practice. After the 2002 Missionary Ridge Fire in southwest Colorado, these measures were implemented at Knight Canyon above Lemon Dam to protect the intake structures of the dam from being filled with sediment. Hillslope erosion protection measures included LEBs at concentrations of 220-620/ha (200-600% of typical densities), straw mulch was hand spread at concentrations up to 5.6 metric tons/hectare (125% of typical densities), and seeds were hand spread at 67-84 kg/ha (150% of typical values). The mulch was carefully crimped into the soil to keep it in place. In addition, 13 check dams and 3 debris racks were installed in the main drainage channel of the basin. The technical literature shows that each mitigation method working alone, or improperly constructed or applied, was inconsistent in its ability to reduce erosion and sedimentation. At Lemon Dam, however, these methods were effective in virtually eliminating sedimentation into the reservoir, which can be attributed to a number of factors: the density of application of each mitigation method, the enhancement of methods working in concert, the quality of installation, and rehabilitation of mitigation features to extend their useful life. The check dams effectively trapped the sediment mobilized during rainstorms, and only a few cubic meters of debris traveled downchannel, where it was intercepted by debris racks. Using a debris volume-prediction model developed for use in burned basins in the Western U.S., recorded rainfall events following the Missionary Ridge Fire should have produced a debris flow of approximately 10,000 m 3 at Knight Canyon. The mitigation measures, therefore, reduced the debris volume by several orders of magnitude. For comparison, rainstorm-induced debris flows occurred in two adjacent canyons at volumes within the range predicted by the model.

Flicker Detection, Measurement and Means of Mitigation: A Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Virulkar, V. B.; Aware, M. V.

2014-04-01

The voltage fluctuations caused by rapid industrial load change have been a major concern for supply utilities, regulatory agencies and customers. This paper gives a general review about how to examine/assess voltage flicker and methods followed in measuring the flickers due to rapid changing loads and means for its mitigation. It discusses the effects on utilities conditions, compensators response time and compensator capacity of flicker mitigation. A comparison between conventional mitigation techniques and the state-of-art mitigation techniques are carried out. It is shown in many cases that the state-of-art solution provides higher performance compared with conventional mitigation techniques. However, the choice of most suitable solution depends on characteristics of the supply at the point of connection, the requirement of the load and economics.

Alternative energy balances for Bulgaria to mitigate climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christov, Christo

1996-01-01

Alternative energy balances aimed to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are developed as alternatives to the baseline energy balance. The section of mitigation options is based on the results of the GHG emission inventory for the 1987 1992 period. The energy sector is the main contributor to the total CO2 emissions of Bulgaria. Stationary combustion for heat and electricity production as well as direct end-use combustion amounts to 80% of the total emissions. The parts of the energy network that could have the biggest influence on GHG emission reduction are identified. The potential effects of the following mitigation measures are discussed: rehabilitation of the combustion facilities currently in operation; repowering to natural gas; reduction of losses in thermal and electrical transmission and distribution networks; penetration of new combustion technologies; tariff structure improvement; renewable sources for electricity and heat production; wasteheat utilization; and supply of households with natural gas to substitute for electricity in space heating and cooking. The total available and the achievable potentials are estimated and the implementation barriers are discussed.

Applying the Land Use Portfolio Model to Estimate Natural-Hazard Loss and Risk - A Hypothetical Demonstration for Ventura County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dinitz, Laura B.

2008-01-01

With costs of natural disasters skyrocketing and populations increasingly settling in areas vulnerable to natural hazards, society is challenged to better allocate its limited risk-reduction resources. In 2000, Congress passed the Disaster Mitigation Act, amending the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Pub. L. 93-288, 1988; Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2002, 2008b; Disaster Mitigation Act, 2000), mandating that State, local, and tribal communities prepare natural-hazard mitigation plans to qualify for pre-disaster mitigation grants and post-disaster aid. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was assigned to coordinate and implement hazard-mitigation programs, and it published information about specific mitigation-plan requirements and the mechanisms (through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program-HMGP) for distributing funds (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2002). FEMA requires that each community develop a mitigation strategy outlining long-term goals to reduce natural-hazard vulnerability, mitigation objectives and specific actions to reduce the impacts of natural hazards, and an implementation plan for those actions. The implementation plan should explain methods for prioritizing, implementing, and administering the actions, along with a 'cost-benefit review' justifying the prioritization. FEMA, along with the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), supported the development of HAZUS ('Hazards U.S.'), a geospatial natural-hazards loss-estimation tool, to help communities quantify potential losses and to aid in the selection and prioritization of mitigation actions. HAZUS was expanded to a multiple-hazard version, HAZUS-MH, that combines population, building, and natural-hazard science and economic data and models to estimate physical damages, replacement costs, and business interruption for specific natural-hazard scenarios. HAZUS-MH currently performs analyses for earthquakes, floods, and hurricane wind. HAZUS-MH loss estimates, however, do not account for some uncertainties associated with the specific natural-hazard scenarios, such as the likelihood of occurrence within a particular time horizon or the effectiveness of alternative risk-reduction options. Because of the uncertainties involved, it is challenging to make informative decisions about how to cost-effectively reduce risk from natural-hazard events. Risk analysis is one approach that decision-makers can use to evaluate alternative risk-reduction choices when outcomes are unknown. The Land Use Portfolio Model (LUPM), developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), is a geospatial scenario-based tool that incorporates hazard-event uncertainties to support risk analysis. The LUPM offers an approach to estimate and compare risks and returns from investments in risk-reduction measures. This paper describes and demonstrates a hypothetical application of the LUPM for Ventura County, California, and examines the challenges involved in developing decision tools that provide quantitative methods to estimate losses and analyze risk from natural hazards.

32 CFR 989.22 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Mitigation. 989.22 Section 989.22 National... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PROCESS (EIAP) § 989.22 Mitigation. (a) When preparing EIAP documents, indicate clearly whether mitigation measures (40 CFR 1508.20) must be implemented for the alternative selected. If...

32 CFR 989.22 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Mitigation. 989.22 Section 989.22 National... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PROCESS (EIAP) § 989.22 Mitigation. (a) When preparing EIAP documents, indicate clearly whether mitigation measures (40 CFR 1508.20) must be implemented for the alternative selected. If...

32 CFR 989.22 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Mitigation. 989.22 Section 989.22 National... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PROCESS (EIAP) § 989.22 Mitigation. (a) When preparing EIAP documents, indicate clearly whether mitigation measures (40 CFR 1508.20) must be implemented for the alternative selected. If...

32 CFR 989.22 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Mitigation. 989.22 Section 989.22 National... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PROCESS (EIAP) § 989.22 Mitigation. (a) When preparing EIAP documents, indicate clearly whether mitigation measures (40 CFR 1508.20) must be implemented for the alternative selected. If...

The net benefit of public expenditures on avalanche defence structures in the municipality of Davos, Switzerland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuchs, S.; McAlpin, M. C.

2005-04-01

Avalanches pose a threat to settlements as well as industrial and recreational areas in the Alps. As a counter measure, technical mitigation measures have been implemented since the 19th century, resulting in a raise in value of formerly endangered areas. This increase in value can be considered as a benefit due to prevented damage. This paper compares the total costs and benefits of technical mitigation measures in the municipality of Davos, Switzerland as a basis for evaluating their net social benefit. The benefit of avalanche defence structures is determined using two different approaches. First, the replacement value of buildings protected by mitigation measures is quantified. Second, the number of protected persons is monetarily assessed by means of a human capital approach. The quantified benefit is compared with the present value of cumulative capital expenditures on avalanche mitigation measures. In addition, distributional effects of the public expenditures on technical mitigation measures are discussed based on the average future tax revenues within protected areas. Depending on whether benefits are calculated in terms of protected buildings or protected persons, the results show a large range of cost-benefit ratios. Critical issues of cost-benefit analyses in the context of alpine natural hazards are highlighted, including problems related to the human capital approach and the sensitivity of results to how benefits are calculated. The applicability of cost-benefit analyses for evaluating avalanche mitigation measures is discussed.

Farming for a Better Climate by Improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions (FarmClim)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amon, Barbara; Winiwarter, Wilfried; Schröck, Andrea; Zechmeister-Boltenstern, Sophie; Kasper, Martina; Sigmund, Elisabeth; Schaller, Lena; Moser, Tobias; Baumgarten, Andreas; Dersch, Georg; Zethner, Gerhard; Anderl, Michael; Kitzler, Barbara

2014-05-01

The project FarmClim (Farming for a better climate) assesses impacts of agriculture on N and GHG fluxes in Austria and proposes measures for improving N efficiency and mitigating emissions, including their economic assessment. This paper focuses on animal husbandry and crop production measures, and on N2O emissions from soils. FarmClim applies national inventory reporting methods to assess Austrian NH3 and GHG fluxes in order to develop flux estimates with implementation of mitigation measures. Based on scientific literature and on the outcome of the Austrian working group agriculture and climate protection a list of potential mitigation measures has been produced: phase feeding, dairy cattle diet, biogas production. Data cover resulting production levels as well as GHG mitigation. In crop production, an optimisation potential remains with respect to N fertilization and nutrient uptake efficiency. Projected regional yield data and information on the N content of arable crops have been delivered from field experiments. These data complement official statistics and allow assessing the effect of increasing proportions of legume crops in crop rotations and reducing fertilizer input on a regional scale. Economic efficiency of measures is a crucial factor for their future implementation on commercial farms. The economic model evaluates investment costs as well as changes in direct costs, labour costs and economic yield. Biophysical modelling with Landscape DNDC allows establishing a framework to move from the current approach of applying the IPCC default emission factor for N2O emissions from soils. We select two Austrian model regions to calculate N fluxes taking into account region and management practices. Hot spots and hot moments as well as mitigation strategies are identified. Two test regions have been identified for soil emission modelling. The Marchfeld is an intensively used agricultural area in North-East Austria with very fertile soils and dry climate. The area of central Upper-Austria is characterized by heavy gley soils and higher annual precipitation (890mm). Based on site parameters, vegetation characteristics, management and meteorology, the model is able to predict C and N bio-geo-chemistry in agricultural ecosystems at site and regional scale. This is the basis for assessing further mitigation specifically focussing on the hot spots and hot moments of N emissions on a regional scale. The list of mitigation measures resulting from the project activities has been tailored to fit Austrian conditions in order to be attractive to stakeholders and farmers. Providing information on economic impacts to farms adds to the transparency of the approach taken. We expect that understanding the interest and the worries of farmers from the beginning supports creation of realistic output that can provide a strong incentive to urgently needed actions on improving farm N efficiencies.

Radon Mitigation Approach in a Laboratory Measurement Room

PubMed Central

Blanco-Rodríguez, Patricia; Fernández-Serantes, Luis Alfonso; Otero-Pazos, Alberto; Calvo-Rolle, José Luis; de Cos Juez, Francisco Javier

2017-01-01

Radon gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer, causing thousands of deaths annually. It can be a problem for people or animals in houses, workplaces, schools or any building. Therefore, its mitigation has become essential to avoid health problems and to prevent radon from interfering in radioactive measurements. This study describes the implementation of radon mitigation systems at a radioactivity laboratory in order to reduce interferences in the different works carried out. A large set of radon concentration samples is obtained from measurements at the laboratory. While several mitigation methods were taken into account, the final applied solution is explained in detail, obtaining thus very good results by reducing the radon concentration by 76%. PMID:28492468

Radon Mitigation Approach in a Laboratory Measurement Room.

PubMed

Blanco-Rodríguez, Patricia; Fernández-Serantes, Luis Alfonso; Otero-Pazos, Alberto; Calvo-Rolle, José Luis; de Cos Juez, Francisco Javier

2017-05-11

Radon gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer, causing thousands of deaths annually. It can be a problem for people or animals in houses, workplaces, schools or any building. Therefore, its mitigation has become essential to avoid health problems and to prevent radon from interfering in radioactive measurements. This study describes the implementation of radon mitigation systems at a radioactivity laboratory in order to reduce interferences in the different works carried out. A large set of radon concentration samples is obtained from measurements at the laboratory. While several mitigation methods were taken into account, the final applied solution is explained in detail, obtaining thus very good results by reducing the radon concentration by 76%.

7 CFR 1794.17 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 12 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Mitigation. 1794.17 Section 1794.17 Agriculture... § 1794.17 Mitigation. (a) General. In addition to complying with the requirements of 40 CFR 1502.14(f... (FONSI) and the Record of Decision (ROD). (b) Water and waste program. (1) Mitigation measures which...

50 CFR 216.204 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Mitigation. 216.204 Section 216.204... U.S. Beaufort Sea § 216.204 Mitigation. The activity identified in § 216.200(a) must be conducted in... their habitats. When conducting operations identified in § 216.200, the mitigation measures contained in...

7 CFR 1794.17 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 12 2014-01-01 2013-01-01 true Mitigation. 1794.17 Section 1794.17 Agriculture... § 1794.17 Mitigation. (a) General. In addition to complying with the requirements of 40 CFR 1502.14(f... (FONSI) and the Record of Decision (ROD). (b) Water and waste program. (1) Mitigation measures which...

7 CFR 1794.17 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 12 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Mitigation. 1794.17 Section 1794.17 Agriculture... § 1794.17 Mitigation. (a) General. In addition to complying with the requirements of 40 CFR 1502.14(f... (FONSI) and the Record of Decision (ROD). (b) Water and waste program. (1) Mitigation measures which...

7 CFR 1794.17 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 12 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Mitigation. 1794.17 Section 1794.17 Agriculture... § 1794.17 Mitigation. (a) General. In addition to complying with the requirements of 40 CFR 1502.14(f... (FONSI) and the Record of Decision (ROD). (b) Water and waste program. (1) Mitigation measures which...

The urban heat island effect, its causes, and mitigation, with reference to the thermal properties of asphalt concrete.

PubMed

Mohajerani, Abbas; Bakaric, Jason; Jeffrey-Bailey, Tristan

2017-07-15

The Urban Heat Island (UHI) is a phenomenon that affects many millions of people worldwide. The higher temperatures experienced in urban areas compared to the surrounding countryside has enormous consequences for the health and wellbeing of people living in cities. The increased use of manmade materials and increased anthropogenic heat production are the main causes of the UHI. This has led to the understanding that increased urbanisation is the primary cause of the urban heat island. The UHI effect also leads to increased energy needs that further contribute to the heating of our urban landscape, and the associated environmental and public health consequences. Pavements and roofs dominate the urban surface exposed to solar irradiation. This review article outlines the contribution that pavements make to the UHI effect and analyses localized and citywide mitigation strategies against the UHI. Asphalt Concrete (AC) is one of the most common pavement surfacing materials and is a significant contributor to the UHI. Densely graded AC has low albedo and high volumetric heat capacity, which results in surface temperatures reaching upwards of 60 °C on hot summer days. Cooling the surface of a pavement by utilizing cool pavements has been a consistent theme in recent literature. Cool pavements can be reflective or evaporative. However, the urban geometry and local atmospheric conditions should dictate whether or not these mitigation strategies should be used. Otherwise both of these pavements can actually increase the UHI effect. Increasing the prevalence of green spaces through the installation of street trees, city parks and rooftop gardens has consistently demonstrated a reduction in the UHI effect. Green spaces also increase the cooling effect derived from water and wind sources. This literature review demonstrates that UHI mitigation techniques are best used in combination with each other. As a result of the study, it was concluded that the current mitigation measures need development to make them relevant to various climates and throughout the year. There are also many possible sources of future study, and alternative measures for mitigation have been described, thereby providing scope for future research and development following this review. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantification of mitigation potentials of agricultural practices for Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lesschen, J. P.; Kuikman, P. J.; Smith, P.; Schils, R. L.; Oudendag, D.

2009-04-01

Agriculture has a significant impact on climate, with a commonly estimated contribution of 9% of total greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. Besides, agriculture is the main source of nitrous oxide and methane emissions to the atmosphere. On the other hand, there is a large potential for climate change mitigation in agriculture through carbon sequestration into soils. Within the framework of the PICCMAT project (Policy Incentives for Climate Change Mitigation Agricultural Techniques) we quantified the mitigation potential of 11 agricultural practices at regional level for the EU. The focus was on smaller-scale measures towards optimised land management that can be widely applied at individual farm level and which can have a positive climate change mitigating effect and be beneficial to soil conditions, e.g. cover crops and reduced tillage. The mitigation potentials were assessed with the MITERRA-Europe model, a deterministic and static N cycling model which calculates N emissions on an annual basis, using N emission factors and N leaching fractions. For the PICCMAT project the model was extended with a soil carbon module, to assess changes in soil organic carbon according to the IPCC Tier1 approach. The amount of soil organic carbon (SOC) is calculated by multiplying the soil reference carbon content, which depends on soil type and climate, by coefficients for land use, land management and input of organic matter. By adapting these coefficients changes in SOC as result of the measures were simulated. We considered both the extent of agricultural area across Europe on which a measure could realistically be applied (potential level of implementation), and the current level of implementation that has already been achieved . The results showed that zero tillage has the highest mitigation potential, followed by adding legumes, reduced tillage, residue management, rotation species, and catch crops. Optimising fertiliser application and fertiliser type are the measures with the largest positive effect on N2O emissions. Overall the results showed that the additional mitigation potential of each individual measure is limited, but taken together they have a significant mitigation potential of about 10 percent of the current GHG emissions from agriculture. Besides, most of the measures with high mitigation potentials are associated with no or low implementation costs. Although CH4 and N2O are the most important GHG emitted from agricultural activities, it is more difficult to mitigate these emissions than increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and thus compensate them through carbon sequestration. However, the effect on carbon is only temporary and sequestered SOC stocks can easily be lost again, while for N2O the emission reduction is permanent and non-saturating. Another important implication that follows from our results is the large regional difference with regard to mitigation potential and feasibility of implementation. Policy measures to support agricultural mitigation should therefore be adjusted to regional conditions.

Hungry Horse Mitigation; Flathead Lake, 2001-2002 Annual Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hansen, Barry

2003-06-09

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) and Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) wrote ''Fisheries Mitigation Plan for Losses Attributable to the Construction and Operation of Hungry Horse Dam'' in March 1991 to define the fisheries losses, mitigation alternatives and recommendations to protect, mitigate and enhance resident fish and aquatic habitat affected by Hungry Horse Dam. On November 12, 1991, the Northwest Power Planning Council (NPPC) approved the mitigation plan with minor modifications, called for a detailed implementation plan, and amended measures 903(h)(1) through (7). A long-term mitigation plan was submitted in August 1992, was approved by the Councilmore » in 1993, and the first contract for this project was signed on November 11, 1993. The problem this project addresses is the loss of habitat, both in quality and quantity, in the interconnected Flathead Lake and River basin resulting from the construction and operation of Hungry Horse Dam. The purpose of the project is to both implement mitigation measures and monitor the biological responses to those measures including those implemented by Project Numbers 9101903 and 9101904. Goals and objectives of the 1994 Fish and Wildlife Program (Section 10.1) addressed by this project are the rebuilding to sustainable levels weak, but recoverable, native populations injured by the hydropower system. The project mitigates the blockage of spawning runs by Hungry Horse Dam by restoring and even creating spawning habitats within direct drainages to Flathead Lake. The project also addresses the altered habitat within Flathead Lake resulting from species shifts and consequent dominance of new species that restricts the potential success of mitigation measures. Specific goals of this project are to create and restore habitat and quantitatively monitor changes in fish populations to verify the efficacy of our mitigation measures. The project consists of three components: monitoring, restoration and research. Monitoring, for example, includes a spring gillnetting series conducted annually in Flathead Lake and builds on an existing data set initiated in 1981. Monitoring of the experimental kokanee reintroduction was a primary activity of this project between 1992 and 1997. Lake trout, whose high densities have precluded successful mitigation of losses of other species in Flathead Lake, have been monitored since 1996 to measure several biological parameters. Results of this work have utility in determining the population status of this key predator in Flathead Lake. The project has also defined the baseline condition of the Flathead Lake fishery in 1992-1993 and has conducted annual lakewide surveys since 1998. The restoration component of the project has addressed several stream channel, riparian, and fish passage problems. The research component of the project began in FY 2000 and measured trophic linkages between M. relicta and other species to assist in predicting the results of potential mitigation strategies. Only Objective 1 in the workplan is funded entirely by Hungry Horse Mitigation funds. Additional funds are drawn from other sources to assist in completion of Objectives 2-6.« less

Advancing effects analysis for integrated, large-scale wildfire risk assessment

Treesearch

Matthew P. Thompson; David E. Calkin; Julie W. Gilbertson-Day; Alan A. Ager

2011-01-01

In this article, we describe the design and development of a quantitative, geospatial risk assessment tool intended to facilitate monitoring trends in wildfire risk over time and to provide information useful in prioritizing fuels treatments and mitigation measures. The research effort is designed to develop, from a strategic view, a first approximation of how both...

Land-Use Portfolio Modeler, Version 1.0

USGS Publications Warehouse

Taketa, Richard; Hong, Makiko

2010-01-01

Natural hazards pose significant threats to the public safety and economic health of many communities throughout the world. Community leaders and decision-makers continually face the challenges of planning and allocating limited resources to invest in protecting their communities against catastrophic losses from natural-hazard events. Public efforts to assess community vulnerability and encourage loss-reduction measures through mitigation often focused on either aggregating site-specific estimates or adopting standards based upon broad assumptions about regional risks. The site-specific method usually provided the most accurate estimates, but was prohibitively expensive, whereas regional risk assessments were often too general to be of practical use. Policy makers lacked a systematic and quantitative method for conducting a regional-scale risk assessment of natural hazards. In response, Bernknopf and others developed the portfolio model, an intermediate-scale approach to assessing natural-hazard risks and mitigation policy alternatives. The basis for the portfolio-model approach was inspired by financial portfolio theory, which prescribes a method of optimizing return on investment while reducing risk by diversifying investments in different security types. In this context, a security type represents a unique combination of features and hazard-risk level, while financial return is defined as the reduction in losses resulting from an investment in mitigation of chosen securities. Features are selected for mitigation and are modeled like investment portfolios. Earth-science and economic data for the features are combined and processed in order to analyze each of the portfolios, which are then used to evaluate the benefits of mitigating the risk in selected locations. Ultimately, the decision maker seeks to choose a portfolio representing a mitigation policy that maximizes the expected return-on-investment, while minimizing the uncertainty associated with that return-on-investment. The portfolio model, now known as the Land-Use Portfolio Model (LUPM), provided the framework for the development of the Land-Use Portfolio Modeler, Version 1.0 software (LUPM v1.0). The software provides a geographic information system (GIS)-based modeling tool for evaluating alternative risk-reduction mitigation strategies for specific natural-hazard events. The modeler uses information about a specific natural-hazard event and the features exposed to that event within the targeted study region to derive a measure of a given mitigation strategy`s effectiveness. Harnessing the spatial capabilities of a GIS enables the tool to provide a rich, interactive mapping environment in which users can create, analyze, visualize, and compare different

Human casualties in earthquakes: Modelling and mitigation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Spence, R.J.S.; So, E.K.M.

2011-01-01

Earthquake risk modelling is needed for the planning of post-event emergency operations, for the development of insurance schemes, for the planning of mitigation measures in the existing building stock, and for the development of appropriate building regulations; in all of these applications estimates of casualty numbers are essential. But there are many questions about casualty estimation which are still poorly understood. These questions relate to the causes and nature of the injuries and deaths, and the extent to which they can be quantified. This paper looks at the evidence on these questions from recent studies. It then reviews casualty estimation models available, and finally compares the performance of some casualty models in making rapid post-event casualty estimates in recent earthquakes.

Ports and Waterways Safety Assessment Workshop Report, Buzzards Bay, MA

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-09-10

Light tower observations show the highest average sustained winds along this coast. The Bay develops wind chop more than swell. • The National...beaches and shellfish beds pursuant to public health requirements. Well developed notification plans are in place. • Public health agencies are...implementing selected risk mitigation measures. The PAWSA methodology employs a generic model of waterway risk that was conceptually developed by a

23 CFR 777.11 - Other considerations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... IMPACTS TO WETLANDS AND NATURAL HABITAT § 777.11 Other considerations. (a) The development of measures proposed to mitigate impacts to wetlands or natural habitats shall include consultation with appropriate... or natural habitats absent sufficient assurances, such as, but not limited to, deed restrictions, fee...

23 CFR 777.11 - Other considerations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... IMPACTS TO WETLANDS AND NATURAL HABITAT § 777.11 Other considerations. (a) The development of measures proposed to mitigate impacts to wetlands or natural habitats shall include consultation with appropriate... or natural habitats absent sufficient assurances, such as, but not limited to, deed restrictions, fee...

23 CFR 777.11 - Other considerations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... IMPACTS TO WETLANDS AND NATURAL HABITAT § 777.11 Other considerations. (a) The development of measures proposed to mitigate impacts to wetlands or natural habitats shall include consultation with appropriate... or natural habitats absent sufficient assurances, such as, but not limited to, deed restrictions, fee...

23 CFR 777.11 - Other considerations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... IMPACTS TO WETLANDS AND NATURAL HABITAT § 777.11 Other considerations. (a) The development of measures proposed to mitigate impacts to wetlands or natural habitats shall include consultation with appropriate... or natural habitats absent sufficient assurances, such as, but not limited to, deed restrictions, fee...

23 CFR 774.3 - Section 4(f) approvals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

..., and Department of Housing and Urban Development, and published in the Federal Register for comment... FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RIGHT-OF-WAY AND ENVIRONMENT PARKS..., minimization, mitigation, or enhancement measures) committed to by the applicant, will have a de minimis impact...

23 CFR 774.3 - Section 4(f) approvals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

..., and Department of Housing and Urban Development, and published in the Federal Register for comment... FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RIGHT-OF-WAY AND ENVIRONMENT PARKS..., minimization, mitigation, or enhancement measures) committed to by the applicant, will have a de minimis impact...

23 CFR 774.3 - Section 4(f) approvals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

..., and Department of Housing and Urban Development, and published in the Federal Register for comment... FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RIGHT-OF-WAY AND ENVIRONMENT PARKS..., minimization, mitigation, or enhancement measures) committed to by the applicant, will have a de minimis impact...

23 CFR 774.3 - Section 4(f) approvals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

..., and Department of Housing and Urban Development, and published in the Federal Register for comment... FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RIGHT-OF-WAY AND ENVIRONMENT PARKS..., minimization, mitigation, or enhancement measures) committed to by the applicant, will have a de minimis impact...

23 CFR 774.3 - Section 4(f) approvals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

..., and Department of Housing and Urban Development, and published in the Federal Register for comment... FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RIGHT-OF-WAY AND ENVIRONMENT PARKS..., minimization, mitigation, or enhancement measures) committed to by the applicant, will have a de minimis impact...

RADON DIAGNOSTIC MEASUREMENT GUIDANCE FOR LARGE BUILDINGS - VOLUME 2. APPENDICES

EPA Science Inventory

The report discusses the development of radon diagnostic procedures and mitigation strategies applicable to a variety of large non-residential buildings commonly found in Florida. The investigations document and evaluate the nature of radon occurrence and entry mechanisms for rad...

RADON DIAGNOSTIC MEASUREMENT GUIDANCE FOR LARGE BUILDINGS - VOLUME 1. TECHNICAL REPORT

EPA Science Inventory

The report discusses the development of radon diagnostic procedures and mitigation strategies applicable to a variety of large non-residential buildings commonly found in Florida. The investigations document and evaluate the nature of radon occurrence and entry mechanisms for rad...

Engineering and Design: Structural Deformation Surveying

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-06-01

loading deformations. Long-term measurements are far more common and somewhat more complex given their external nature . Long-term monitoring of a...fitting of structural elements, environmental protection, and development of mitigative measures in the case of natural disasters (land slides, earthquakes...of additional localized monitoring points (i.e., points not intended for routine observation) to determine the nature and extent of large displacements

Standard guide for developing a cost-effective risk mitigation plan for new and existing constructed facilities

Treesearch

Jeffrey Prestemon

2011-01-01

Protecting constructed facilities from damages from natural and man-made hazards in a costeffective manner is a challenging task. Several measures of economic performance are available for evaluating building-related investments. These measures include, but are not limited to, life-cycle cost, present value net savings, savings-to-investment ratio, and adjusted...

Control of edge localized modes by pedestal deposited impurity in the HL-2A tokamak

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Y. P.; Mazon, D.; Zou, X. L.; Zhong, W. L.; Gao, J. M.; Zhang, K.; Sun, P.; Dong, C. F.; Cui, Z. Y.; Liu, Yi; Shi, Z. B.; Yu, D. L.; Cheng, J.; Jiang, M.; Xu, J. Q.; Isobe, M.; Xiao, G. L.; Chen, W.; Song, S. D.; Bai, X. Y.; Zhang, P. F.; Yuan, G. L.; Ji, X. Q.; Li, Y. G.; Zhou, Y.; Delpech, L.; Ekedahl, A.; Giruzzi, G.; Hoang, T.; Peysson, Y.; Song, X. M.; Song, X. Y.; Li, X.; Ding, X. T.; Dong, J. Q.; Yang, Q. W.; Xu, M.; Duan, X. R.; Liu, Y.; the HL-2A Team

2018-04-01

Effect of the pedestal deposited impurity on the edge-localized mode (ELM) behaviour has been observed and intensively investigated in the HL-2A tokamak. Impurities have been externally seeded by a newly developed laser blow-off (LBO) system. Both mitigation and suppression of ELMs have been realized by LBO-seeded impurity. Measurements have shown that the LBO-seeded impurity particles are mainly deposited in the pedestal region. During the ELM mitigation phase, the pedestal density fluctuation is significantly increased, indicating that the ELM mitigation may be achieved by the enhancement of the pedestal transport. The transition from ELM mitigation to ELM suppression was triggered when the number of the LBO-seeded impurity exceeds a threshold value. During the ELM suppression phase, a harmonic coherent mode (HCM) is excited by the LBO-seeded impurity, and the pedestal density fluctuation is significantly decreased, the electron density is continuously increased, implying that HCM may reduce the pedestal turbulence, suppress ELMs, increase the pedestal pressure, thus extending the Peeling-Ballooning instability limit. It has been found that the occurance of the ELM mitigation and ELM suppression closely depends on the LBO laser spot diameter.

Cost of preventing workplace heat-related illness through worker breaks and the benefit of climate-change mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takakura, Jun'ya; Fujimori, Shinichiro; Takahashi, Kiyoshi; Hijioka, Yasuaki; Hasegawa, Tomoko; Honda, Yasushi; Masui, Toshihiko

2017-06-01

The exposure of workers to hot environments is expected to increase as a result of climate change. In order to prevent heat-related illness, it is recommended that workers take breaks during working hours. However, this would lead to reductions in worktime and labor productivity. In this study, we estimate the economic cost of heat-related illness prevention through worker breaks associated with climate change under a wide range of climatic and socioeconomic conditions. We calculate the worktime reduction based on the recommendation of work/rest ratio and the estimated future wet bulb glove temperature, which is an index of heat stresses. Corresponding GDP losses (cost of heat-related illness prevention through worker breaks) are estimated using a computable general equilibrium model throughout this century. Under the highest emission scenario, GDP losses in 2100 will range from 2.6 to 4.0% compared to the current climate conditions. On the other hand, GDP losses will be less than 0.5% if the 2.0 °C goal is achieved. The benefit of climate-change mitigation for avoiding worktime loss is comparable to the cost of mitigation (cost of the greenhouse gas emission reduction) under the 2.0 °C goal. The relationship between the cost of heat-related illness prevention through worker breaks and global average temperature rise is approximately linear, and the difference in economic loss between the 1.5 °C goal and the 2.0 °C goal is expected to be approximately 0.3% of global GDP in 2100. Although climate mitigation and socioeconomic development can limit the vulnerable regions and sectors, particularly in developing countries, outdoor work is still expected to be affected. The effectiveness of some adaptation measures such as additional installation of air conditioning devices or shifting the time of day for working are also suggested. In order to reduce the economic impacts, adaptation measures should also be implemented as well as pursing ambitious climate change mitigation targets.

[Investigation into the capacity for risk identification, assessment, and mitigation in managing public health emergencies in China].

PubMed

Hu, Guo-qing; Rao, Ke-qin; Sun, Zhen-qiu

2007-08-01

To investigate the capacity for risk identification, assessment, and mitigation in public health emergency management in China. Four provinces were randomly selected using stratified sampling. All the municipalities under these four provinces were assessed using the 3rd subscale (Risk Identification, Risk Assessment, and Risk Mitigation) of Preparedness and Response Capacity Questionnaire for Public Health Emergencies Used in Provincial or Municipal Governments, which was developed by the Center for Health Statistics and Information, Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China. Sixty of 66 questionnaires (90.91%) were collected. Among 60 investigated municipalities, 35 (58%) identified the potential public health emergencies, 17 (28%) assessed the risks for the identified emergencies, and 5 (8%) conducted risk assessments for the locally accident-prone factories, mines, corporations, and big establishments, 6 (10%) identified the priorities in public health emergency management based on risk assessment, 6 (10%) developed special prevention strategies for main public health emergencies, 3 (5%) assessed the vulnerability of local residents to public health emergencies, and 34 (57%) assessed or were assessing the preparedness and response capacity for public health emergencies in the past 2 years. The mean of standard total score for risk identification, assessment, and mitigation was 24.05 (95% CI: 18.32, 29.77). Risk identification, assessment, and mitigation still require further improvement in China, and both the central and local authorities should implement more effective and efficient measures.

Isla Hispaniola: A trans-boundary flood risk mitigation plan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brandimarte, Luigia; Brath, Armando; Castellarin, Attilio; Baldassarre, Giuliano Di

It is sadly known that over the past decades Isla Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) has been exposed to the devastating passage of several hurricanes and tropical storms. Territories that are economically weak and extremely poor in terms of natural resources have been shaken by severe flood events that caused the loss of thousands of human lives, displacement of people and damage to the environment. On May 24th 2004, the flooding of the trans-boundary river Soliette killed over 1000 Haitian and Dominican people, wiping out villages and leaving behind desolation and poverty. After this catastrophic flood event, the General Direction for Development and Cooperation of the Italian Department of Foreign Affairs funded through the Istituto Italo-Latino Americano (IILA, www.iila.org) an international cooperation initiative (ICI), coordinated and directed by the University of Bologna. The ICI involved Haitian and Dominican institutions and was twofold: (a) institutional capacity building on flood risk management and mitigation measures and policies; (b) hydrological and hydraulic analysis of the May 2004 flood event aimed at formulating a suitable and affordable flood risk mitigation plan, consisting of structural and non-structural measures.

Assessing and Mitigating Hurricane Storm Surge Risk in a Changing Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, N.; Shullman, E.; Xian, S.; Feng, K.

2017-12-01

Hurricanes have induced devastating storm surge flooding worldwide. The impacts of these storms may worsen in the coming decades because of rapid coastal development coupled with sea-level rise and possibly increasing storm activity due to climate change. Major advances in coastal flood risk management are urgently needed. We present an integrated dynamic risk analysis for flooding task (iDraft) framework to assess and manage coastal flood risk at the city or regional scale, considering integrated dynamic effects of storm climatology change, sea-level rise, and coastal development. We apply the framework to New York City. First, we combine climate-model projected storm surge climatology and sea-level rise with engineering- and social/economic-model projected coastal exposure and vulnerability to estimate the flood damage risk for the city over the 21st century. We derive temporally-varying risk measures such as the annual expected damage as well as temporally-integrated measures such as the present value of future losses. We also examine the individual and joint contributions to the changing risk of the three dynamic factors (i.e., sea-level rise, storm change, and coastal development). Then, we perform probabilistic cost-benefit analysis for various coastal flood risk mitigation strategies for the city. Specifically, we evaluate previously proposed mitigation measures, including elevating houses on the floodplain and constructing flood barriers at the coast, by comparing their estimated cost and probability distribution of the benefit (i.e., present value of avoided future losses). We also propose new design strategies, including optimal design (e.g., optimal house elevation) and adaptive design (e.g., flood protection levels that are designed to be modified over time in a dynamic and uncertain environment).

50 CFR 216.216 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 10 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Mitigation. 216.216 Section 216.216... Removal Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico § 216.216 Mitigation. (a) The... § 216.211(a), all mitigation measures contained in this subpart and in the Letter of Authorization...

50 CFR 217.15 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 10 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Mitigation. 217.15 Section 217.15... Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, CA § 217.15 Mitigation. (a) The activity identified in § 217.11(a....11(a) of this chapter, the mitigation measures contained in the LOA issued under §§ 216.106 and 217...

50 CFR 217.15 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 10 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Mitigation. 217.15 Section 217.15... Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, CA § 217.15 Mitigation. (a) The activity identified in § 217.11(a....11(a) of this chapter, the mitigation measures contained in the LOA issued under §§ 216.106 and 217...

40 CFR 93.160 - Mitigation of air quality impacts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Mitigation of air quality impacts. 93... quality impacts. (a) Any measures that are intended to mitigate air quality impacts must be identified and..., the revised text is set forth as follows: § 93.160 Mitigation of air quality impacts. (e) When...

Mitigation for one & all: An integrated framework for mitigation of development impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tallis, Heather, E-mail: htallis@tnc.org; Kennedy, Christina M., E-mail: ckennedy@tnc.org; Ruckelshaus, Mary

Emerging development policies and lending standards call for consideration of ecosystem services when mitigating impacts from development, yet little guidance exists to inform this process. Here we propose a comprehensive framework for advancing both biodiversity and ecosystem service mitigation. We have clarified a means for choosing representative ecosystem service targets alongside biodiversity targets, identified servicesheds as a useful spatial unit for assessing ecosystem service avoidance, impact, and offset options, and discuss methods for consistent calculation of biodiversity and ecosystem service mitigation ratios. We emphasize the need to move away from area- and habitat-based assessment methods for both biodiversity and ecosystemmore » services towards functional assessments at landscape or seascape scales. Such comprehensive assessments more accurately reflect cumulative impacts and variation in environmental quality, social needs and value preferences. The integrated framework builds on the experience of biodiversity mitigation while addressing the unique opportunities and challenges presented by ecosystem service mitigation. These advances contribute to growing potential for economic development planning and execution that will minimize impacts on nature and maximize human wellbeing. - Highlights: • This is the first framework for biodiversity and ecosystem service mitigation. • Functional, landscape scale assessments are ideal for avoidance and offsets. • Servicesheds define the appropriate spatial extent for ecosystem service mitigation. • Mitigation ratios should be calculated consistently and based on standard factors. • Our framework meets the needs of integrated mitigation assessment requirements.« less

Policy intervention for arsenic mitigation in drinking water in rural habitations in India: achievements and challenges.

PubMed

Shrivastava, Brajesh K

2016-10-01

This article provides updated status of the arsenic affected rural habitations in India, summarizes the policy initiatives of the Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation (Government of India), reviews the technologies for arsenic treatment and analyses the progress made by states in tackling arsenic problems in rural habitations. It also provides a list of constraints based on experiences and recommends suggested measures to tackle arsenic problems in an holistic manner. It is expected that the paper would be useful for policy formulators in states, non-government organizations, researchers of academic and scientific institutions and programme managers working in the area of arsenic mitigation in drinking water, especially in developing countries, as it provides better insights compared to other available information in India on mitigating arsenic problems in drinking water in rural areas.

Disasters and development: Part 2: understanding and exploiting disaster-development linkages.

PubMed

Stephenson, Rob S; DuFrane, Charles

2002-01-01

Disasters can impede the effectiveness of development resource allocation. The damage sustained from an event can be classified into four categories: (1) Loss of resources; (2) Interruption of programs and switching of crucial resources to other, shorter-term needs; (3) Negative impacts upon investment climates; and/or (4) Disruption of the non-formal sector (local businesses). Disasters have a particularly destructive economic impact in areas in which there are few alternatives for assets that are destroyed or in areas in which the resources already are at critical levels. Development processes can both increase and/or decrease the vulnerability of a society to hazards. There are dearly established linkages between poverty, marginalization, over-population, and vulnerability. To a large extent, vulnerability derives from poverty. The poor are more likely to live in vulnerable areas (slopes prone to landslides, flood plains, marginal agricultural land), have difficulty accessing education and information, have fewer assets to invest in resources to reduce vulnerability, and are more prone to become malnourished and have chronic illnesses that predispose them to injury and death. Development may be associated with the production of new hazards accepted by a society because the perceived benefits of the development project far exceed the relative risk associated with the project. Therefore, risk assessments must be part of any program planning and evaluation. Training and education are of critical importance in preventing increased vulnerability as a result of development strategies. Development also can progress in a manner that will result in mitigation of the impacts of an event on a given society (increase absorbing capacity and/or buffering capacity, elimination of hazards or the risk of them producing a disaster). Such mitigation measures can be either structural or nonstructural. There exists a wide range of options for incorporating mitigation measures in development projects. Two case studies provide exercises that incorporate the concepts provided in this discussion: (1) The 1985 earthquake in Mexico City; and (2) Agricultural development in northern Sudan.

Small Gas Bubble Experiment for Mitigation of Cavitation Damage and Pressure Waves in Short-pulse Mercury Spallation Targets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wendel, Mark W; Felde, David K; Sangrey, Robert L

2014-01-01

Populations of small helium gas bubbles were introduced into a flowing mercury experiment test loop to evaluate mitigation of beam-pulse induced cavitation damage and pressure waves. The test loop was developed and thoroughly tested at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) prior to irradiations at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center - Weapons Neutron Research Center (LANSCE-WNR) facility. Twelve candidate bubblers were evaluated over a range of mercury flow and gas injection rates by use of a novel optical measurement technique that accurately assessed the generated bubble size distributions. Final selection for irradiation testing included two variations of a swirl bubblermore » provided by Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) collaborators and one orifice bubbler developed at SNS. Bubble populations of interest consisted of sizes up to 150 m in radius with achieved gas void fractions in the 10^-5 to 10^-4 range. The nominal WNR beam pulse used for the experiment created energy deposition in the mercury comparable to SNS pulses operating at 2.5 MW. Nineteen test conditions were completed each with 100 pulses, including variations on mercury flow, gas injection and protons per pulse. The principal measure of cavitation damage mitigation was surface damage assessment on test specimens that were manually replaced for each test condition. Damage assessment was done after radiation decay and decontamination by optical and laser profiling microscopy with damaged area fraction and maximum pit depth being the more valued results. Damage was reduced by flow alone; the best mitigation from bubble injection was between half and a quarter that of flow alone. Other data collected included surface motion tracking by three laser Doppler vibrometers (LDV), loop wall dynamic strain, beam diagnostics for charge and beam profile assessment, embedded hydrophones and pressure sensors, and sound measurement by a suite of conventional and contact microphones.« less

Dealing with Natural Disasters: Preparedness versus Post-Event Response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sitar, N.

2015-12-01

Management or mitigation of natural disasters is comprised of two distinct elements: disaster preparedness and disaster response. Fundamentally disasters fall into two categories: 1) those whose timing can be predicted and evaluated in advance, such as hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, or even sea level rise; and 2) those that can be anticipated based on analysis, but their exact timing is unknown, such as earthquakes and landslides. Consequently, the type of response and options available for scientific and engineering consultation are fundamentally different. The common aspects of all natural disasters is that there is evidence of past events either historical or geologic, or both. Thus, given past evidence, scientists and engineers have an opportunity to recommend and guide development and implementation of long term or permanent mitigation measures, such as improving the resiliency of the infrastructure and emergency preparedness. However, the appropriate mitigation measures are very much a function of the type of event. Severe atmospheric events, such as hurricanes, typically can be predicted several days in advance and scientists and engineers have a role in guiding preparation of specific additional, temporary, mitigation measures and selective evacuation, as appropriate. In contrast, while earthquake potential of a given region may be well recognized, the actual timing of the event is an unknown and, consequently, the primary defense is in developing sufficiently resilient infrastructure which can be enhanced with early warning systems. Similarly, the type of damage caused by flooding, e.g. hurricane and tsunami, is significantly different from the type of damage caused by an earthquake in that flooding damage is pervasive affecting large contiguous areas wiping out all infrastructure whereas earthquake or landslide damage tends to be clustered with many elements of infrastructure remaining fully or somewhat operable. This distinction is very important when it comes to the type of technical guidance that is needed following such events. This presentation highlights lessons learned from post-event reconnaissance as a part of the NSF-funded Geotechnical Extreme Event Reconnaissance (GEER) over the last two decades.

A GIS-BASED MODAL MODEL OF AUTOMOBILE EXHAUST EMISSIONS

EPA Science Inventory

The report presents progress toward the development of a computer tool called MEASURE, the Mobile Emission Assessment System for Urban and Regional Evaluation. The tool works toward a goal of providing researchers and planners with a way to assess new mobile emission mitigation s...

Space Debris Mitigation CONOPS Development

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-01

SPACE DEBRIS MITIGATION CONOPS DEVELOPMENT THESIS Earl B. Alejandro, Capt, USAF AFIT-ENV-13-J...04DL SPACE DEBRIS MITIGATION CONOPS DEVELOPMENT THESIS Presented to the Faculty Department of Systems Engineering and Management...June 2013 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE; DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED AFIT-ENV-13-J-04DL SPACE DEBRIS

Large Ensemble Analytic Framework for Consequence-Driven Discovery of Climate Change Scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lamontagne, Jonathan R.; Reed, Patrick M.; Link, Robert; Calvin, Katherine V.; Clarke, Leon E.; Edmonds, James A.

2018-03-01

An analytic scenario generation framework is developed based on the idea that the same climate outcome can result from very different socioeconomic and policy drivers. The framework builds on the Scenario Matrix Framework's abstraction of "challenges to mitigation" and "challenges to adaptation" to facilitate the flexible discovery of diverse and consequential scenarios. We combine visual and statistical techniques for interrogating a large factorial data set of 33,750 scenarios generated using the Global Change Assessment Model. We demonstrate how the analytic framework can aid in identifying which scenario assumptions are most tied to user-specified measures for policy relevant outcomes of interest, specifically for our example high or low mitigation costs. We show that the current approach for selecting reference scenarios can miss policy relevant scenario narratives that often emerge as hybrids of optimistic and pessimistic scenario assumptions. We also show that the same scenario assumption can be associated with both high and low mitigation costs depending on the climate outcome of interest and the mitigation policy context. In the illustrative example, we show how agricultural productivity, population growth, and economic growth are most predictive of the level of mitigation costs. Formulating policy relevant scenarios of deeply and broadly uncertain futures benefits from large ensemble-based exploration of quantitative measures of consequences. To this end, we have contributed a large database of climate change futures that can support "bottom-up" scenario generation techniques that capture a broader array of consequences than those that emerge from limited sampling of a few reference scenarios.

Hydrologic response to stormwater control measures in urban watersheds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bell, Colin D.; McMillan, Sara K.; Clinton, Sandra M.; Jefferson, Anne J.

2016-10-01

Stormwater control measures (SCMs) are designed to mitigate deleterious effects of urbanization on river networks, but our ability to predict the cumulative effect of multiple SCMs at watershed scales is limited. The most widely used metric to quantify impacts of urban development, total imperviousness (TI), does not contain information about the extent of stormwater control. We analyzed the discharge records of 16 urban watersheds in Charlotte, NC spanning a range of TI (4.1-54%) and area mitigated with SCMs (1.3-89%). We then tested multiple watershed metrics that quantify the degree of urban impact and SCM mitigation to determine which best predicted hydrologic response across sites. At the event time scale, linear models showed TI to be the best predictor of both peak unit discharge and rainfall-runoff ratios across a range of storm sizes. TI was also a strong driver of both a watershed's capacity to buffer small (e.g., 1-10 mm) rain events, and the relationship between peak discharge and precipitation once that buffering capacity is exceeded. Metrics containing information about SCMs did not appear as primary predictors of event hydrologic response, suggesting that the level of SCM mitigation in many urban watersheds is insufficient to influence hydrologic response. Over annual timescales, impervious surfaces unmitigated by SCMs and tree coverage were best correlated with streamflow flashiness and water yield, respectively. The shift in controls from the event scale to the annual scale has important implications for water resource management, suggesting that overall limitation of watershed imperviousness rather than partial mitigation by SCMs may be necessary to alleviate the hydrologic impacts of urbanization.

Defining "Acceptable Risk" for Earthquakes Worldwide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tucker, B.

2001-05-01

The greatest and most rapidly growing earthquake risk for mortality is in developing countries. Further, earthquake risk management actions of the last 50 years have reduced the average lethality of earthquakes in earthquake-threatened industrialized countries. (This is separate from the trend of the increasing fiscal cost of earthquakes there.) Despite these clear trends, every new earthquake in developing countries is described in the media as a "wake up" call, announcing the risk these countries face. GeoHazards International (GHI) works at both the community and the policy levels to try to reduce earthquake risk. GHI reduces death and injury by helping vulnerable communities recognize their risk and the methods to manage it, by raising awareness of its risk, building local institutions to manage that risk, and strengthening schools to protect and train the community's future generations. At the policy level, GHI, in collaboration with research partners, is examining whether "acceptance" of these large risks by people in these countries and by international aid and development organizations explains the lack of activity in reducing these risks. The goal of this pilot project - The Global Earthquake Safety Initiative (GESI) - is to develop and evaluate a means of measuring the risk and the effectiveness of risk mitigation actions in the world's largest, most vulnerable cities: in short, to develop an earthquake risk index. One application of this index is to compare the risk and the risk mitigation effort of "comparable" cities. By this means, Lima, for example, can compare the risk of its citizens dying due to earthquakes with the risk of citizens in Santiago and Guayaquil. The authorities of Delhi and Islamabad can compare the relative risk from earthquakes of their school children. This index can be used to measure the effectiveness of alternate mitigation projects, to set goals for mitigation projects, and to plot progress meeting those goals. The preliminary results suggest that the comparisons of the participating cities are easily understood, and defensible. The evaluation of the sources of El Salvador's risk, made before the January 13th earthquake, pointed to the vulnerability made visible by the earthquake: earthquake-induced landslides, and difficulties with emergency response.

43 CFR 10005.8 - Mitigation obligations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Mitigation obligations. 10005.8 Section... MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION COMMISSION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING THE COMMISSION'S MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION PLAN § 10005.8 Mitigation obligations. While the Act authorizes the...

43 CFR 10005.8 - Mitigation obligations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Mitigation obligations. 10005.8 Section... MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION COMMISSION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING THE COMMISSION'S MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION PLAN § 10005.8 Mitigation obligations. While the Act authorizes the...

43 CFR 10005.8 - Mitigation obligations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Mitigation obligations. 10005.8 Section... MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION COMMISSION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING THE COMMISSION'S MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION PLAN § 10005.8 Mitigation obligations. While the Act authorizes the...

43 CFR 10005.8 - Mitigation obligations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Mitigation obligations. 10005.8 Section... MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION COMMISSION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING THE COMMISSION'S MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION PLAN § 10005.8 Mitigation obligations. While the Act authorizes the...

Advances in Atmospheric Radiation Measurements and Modeling Needed to Improve Air Safety

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tobiska, W. Kent; Atwell, William; Beck, Peter; Benton, Eric; Copeland, Kyle; Dyer, Clive; Gersey, Brad; Getley, Ian; Hands, Alex; Holland, Michael; Hong, Sunhak; Hwang, Junga; Jones, Bryn; Malone, Kathleen; Meier, Matthias M.; Mertens, Chris; Phillips, Tony; Ryden, Keith; Schwadron, Nathan; Wender, Stephen A.; Wilkins, Richard; Xapsos, Michael A.

2015-04-01

Air safety is tied to the phenomenon of ionizing radiation from space weather, primarily from galactic cosmic rays but also from solar energetic particles. A global framework for addressing radiation issues in this environment has been constructed, but more must be done at international and national levels. Health consequences from atmospheric radiation exposure are likely to exist. In addition, severe solar radiation events may cause economic consequences in the international aviation community due to exposure limits being reached by some crew members. Impacts from a radiation environment upon avionics from high-energy particles and low-energy, thermalized neutrons are now recognized as an area of active interest. A broad community recognizes that there are a number of mitigation paths that can be taken relative to the human tissue and avionics exposure risks. These include developing active monitoring and measurement programs as well as improving scientific modeling capabilities that can eventually be turned into operations. A number of roadblocks to risk mitigation still exist, such as effective pilot training programs as well as monitoring, measuring, and regulatory measures. An active international effort toward observing the weather of atmospheric radiation must occur to make progress in mitigating radiation exposure risks. Stakeholders in this process include standard-making bodies, scientific organizations, regulatory organizations, air traffic management systems, aircraft owners and operators, pilots and crew, and even the public.

Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Open-Lot Cattle Feedyards: A Review.

PubMed

Waldrip, Heidi M; Todd, Richard W; Parker, David B; Cole, N Andy; Rotz, C Alan; Casey, Kenneth D

2016-11-01

Nitrous oxide (NO) emissions from concentrated animal feeding operations, including cattle feedyards, have become an important research topic. However, there are limitations to current measurement techniques, uncertainty in the magnitude of feedyard NO fluxes, and a lack of effective mitigation methods. The objective of this review was to assess NO emission from cattle feedyards, including comparison of measured and modeled emission rates, discussion of measurement methods, and evaluation of mitigation options. Published annual per capita flux rates for beef cattle feedyards and open-lot dairies were highly variable and ranged from 0.002 to 4.3 kg NO animal yr. On an area basis, published emission rates ranged from 0 to 41 mg NO m h. From these studies and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emission factors, calculated daily per capita NO fluxes averaged 18 ± 10 g NO animal d (range, 0.04-67 g NO animal d). This variation was due to inconsistency in measurement techniques as well as irregularity in NO production and emission attributable to management, animal diet, and environmental conditions. Based on this review, it is clear that the magnitude and dynamics of NO emissions from open-lot cattle systems are not well understood. Further research is required to quantify feedyard NO fluxes and develop cost-effective mitigation methods. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

13 CFR 123.401 - What types of mitigation measures can your business include in an application for a pre-disaster...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... can your business include in an application for a pre-disaster mitigation loan? 123.401 Section 123.401 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM Pre-Disaster... a pre-disaster mitigation loan? To be included in a pre-disaster mitigation loan application, each...

Equine disease events resulting from international horse movements: Systematic review and lessons learned.

PubMed

Dominguez, M; Münstermann, S; de Guindos, I; Timoney, P

2016-09-01

An analysis of the factors leading to equine disease events was used to support the development of international recommendations for mitigating the risk of disease dissemination through sport horse movements (high health, high performance - 'HHP' horses). A review was undertaken to identify the factors resulting in equine disease events following international movement of horses to draw lessons in support of the development of international recommendations for the safe movements of a specific subpopulation of horses: the HHP sport horses. Systematic review carried out in accordance with the PRISMA statement. The review covered disease events that occurred from 1995 to 2014, identified from the databases of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and international surveillance reports. Overall, 54 disease events were identified, of which 7 were contained in post arrival quarantine and the others resulted in the introduction of pathogens into importing countries. For 81% of the introductions, the OIE recommendations applicable to the diseases involved had not been complied with. Subclinical infections are a challenge for international trade: 88% of the regulated movements that resulted in introductions involved infected horses that showed no clinical signs at the time of import. Biosecurity and management practices in resident equine populations were identified as important mitigating factors in preventing disease spread to the local horse population. The global increase in international horse movements, if not appropriately regulated and supervised by competent veterinary authorities and respective equine industry partners, could potentially lead to increased global spread of infectious equine diseases. Appropriate mitigation measures and compliance with OIE import recommendations for specific diseases can significantly reduce this risk. The recommendations proposed under the HHP approach take into account the mitigation measures identified by this review as important factors in preventing pathogen introduction and spread. © 2015 EVJ Ltd.

Social impacts of earthquakes caused by gas extraction in the Province of Groningen, The Netherlands

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Voort, Nick van der, E-mail: nickvdvoort@gmail.com; Vanclay, Frank, E-mail: frank.vanclay@rug.nl

Gas extraction from the Groningen gasfield in the northern Netherlands has led to localised earthquakes which are projected to become more severe. The social impacts experienced by local residents include: damage to property; declining house prices; concerns about the chance of dykes breaking; feelings of anxiety and insecurity; health issues; and anger. These social and emotional impacts are exacerbated by the increasing distrust Groningen people have towards the national government and the gas company, NAM, a partnership between Shell and ExxonMobil. The earthquakes have reopened discussions about the distribution of benefits from gas production and the extent to which benefitsmore » are retained locally. Mitigation of the impacts is attempted, but the lack of trust decreases the effectiveness of the mitigation measures. The extent of this experience of previously-unforeseen, unanticipated impacts suggests that a new social and environmental impact assessment needs to be undertaken, and a new Social Impact Management Plan (SIMP) and Impacts and Benefits Agreement (IBA) developed, so that the project can regain its legitimacy and social licence to operate. In addition to conventional gas, this paper has wider relevance for unconventional gas developments, for example shale gas extraction by hydraulic fracturing methods (fracking). - Highlights: • Gas production in Groningen has caused over 1000 earthquakes. • The induced seismicity has caused many social impacts. • Impacts include building damage, reduced house prices, fear and health issues. • Mitigation measures attempted to date are inadequate. • Distrust towards the national government and operator hinders mitigation efforts. • Gas production in Groningen has lost its social licence to operate.« less

New Orleans After Hurricane Katrina: An Unnatural Disaster?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McNamara, D.; Werner, B.; Kelso, A.

2005-12-01

Motivated by destruction in New Orleans following hurricane Katrina, we use a numerical model to explore how natural processes, economic development, hazard mitigation measures and policy decisions intertwine to produce long periods of quiescence punctuated by disasters of increasing magnitude. Physical, economic and policy dynamics are modeled on a grid representing the subsiding Mississippi Delta region surrounding New Orleans. Water flow and resulting sediment erosion and deposition are simulated in response to prescribed river floods and storms. Economic development operates on a limited number of commodities and services such as agricultural products, oil and chemical industries and port services, with investment and employment responding to both local conditions and global constraints. Development permitting, artificial levee construction and pumping are implemented by policy agents who weigh predicted economic benefits (tax revenue), mitigation costs and potential hazards. Economic risk is reduced by a combination of private insurance, federal flood insurance and disaster relief. With this model, we simulate the initiation and growth of New Orleans coupled with an increasing level of protection from a series of flooding events. Hazard mitigation filters out small magnitude events, but terrain and hydrological modifications amplify the impact of large events. In our model, "natural disasters" are the inevitable outcome of the mismatch between policy based on short-time-scale economic calculations and stochastic forcing by infrequent, high-magnitude flooding events. A comparison of the hazard mitigation response to river- and hurricane-induced flooding will be discussed. Supported by NSF Geology and Paleontology and the Andrew W Mellon Foundation.

3D Numerical Simulation versus Experimental Assessment of Pressure Pulsations Using a Passive Method for Swirling Flow Control in Conical Diffusers of Hydraulic Turbines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

TANASA, C.; MUNTEAN, S.; CIOCAN, T.; SUSAN-RESIGA, R. F.

2016-11-01

The hydraulic turbines operated at partial discharge (especially hydraulic turbines with fixed blades, i.e. Francis turbine), developing a swirling flow in the conical diffuser of draft tube. As a result, the helical vortex breakdown, also known in the literature as “precessing vortex rope” is developed. A passive method to mitigate the pressure pulsations associated to the vortex rope in the draft tube cone of hydraulic turbines is presented in this paper. The method involves the development of a progressive and controlled throttling (shutter), of the flow cross section at the bottom of the conical diffuser. The adjustable cross section is made on the basis of the shutter-opening of circular diaphragms, while maintaining in all positions the circular cross-sectional shape, centred on the axis of the turbine. The stagnant region and the pressure pulsations associated to the vortex rope are mitigated when it is controlled with the turbine operating regime. Consequently, the severe flow deceleration and corresponding central stagnant are diminished with an efficient mitigation of the precessing helical vortex. Four cases (one without diaphragm and three with diaphragm), are numerically and experimentally investigated, respectively. The present paper focuses on a 3D turbulent swirling flow simulation in order to evaluate the control method. Numerical results are compared against measured pressure recovery coefficient and Fourier spectra. The results prove the vortex rope mitigation and its associated pressure pulsations when employing the diaphragm.

Seat vibration in military propeller aircraft: characterization, exposure assessment, and mitigation.

PubMed

Smith, Suzanne D

2006-01-01

There have been increasing reports of annoyance, fatigue, and even neck and back pain during prolonged operation of military propeller aircraft, where persistent multi-axis vibration occurs at higher frequencies beyond human whole-body resonance. This paper characterizes and assesses the higher frequency vibration transmitted to the occupants onboard these aircraft. Multi-axis accelerations were measured at the occupied seating surfaces onboard the WC/C-130J, C-130H3, and E-2C Hawkeye. The effects of the vibration were assessed in accordance with current international guidelines (ISO 2631-1:1997). The relative psychophysical effects of the frequency components and the effects of selected mitigation strategies were also investigated. The accelerations associated with the blade passage frequency measured on the passenger seat pans located on the side of the fuselage near the propeller plane of the C-130J (102 Hz) and C-130H3 (68 Hz) were noteworthy (5.19 +/- 1.72 ms(-2) rms and 7.65 +/- 0.71 ms(-2) rms, respectively, in the lateral direction of the aircraft). The psychophysical results indicated that the higher frequency component would dominate the side passengers' perception of the vibration. Balancing the props significantly reduced the lower frequency propeller rotation vibration (17 Hz), but had little effect on the blade passage frequency vibration. The relationships among the frequency, vibration direction, and seat measurement sites were complex, challenging the development of seating systems and mitigation strategies. Psychophysical metrics could provide a tool for optimizing mitigation strategies, but the current international vibration standard may not provide optimum assessment methods for evaluating higher frequency operational exposures.

Physical modeling of long-wave run-up mitigation using submerged breakwaters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Yu-Ting; Wu, Yun-Ta; Hwung, Hwung-Hweng; Yang, Ray-Yeng

2016-04-01

Natural hazard due to tsunami inundation inland has been viewed as a crucial issue for coastal engineering community. The 2004 India Ocean tsunami and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake tsunami were caused by mega scale earthquakes that brought tremendous catastrophe in the disaster regions. It is thus of great importance to develop innovative approach to achieve the reduction and mitigation of tsunami hazards. In this study, new experiments have been carried out in a laboratory-scale to investigate the physical process of long-wave through submerged breakwaters built upon a mild slope. Solitary-wave is employed to represent the characteristic of long-wave with infinite wavelength and wave period. Our goal is twofold. First of all, through changing the positions of single breakwater and multiple breakwaters upon a mild slope, the optimal locations of breakwaters can be pointed out by means of maximum run-up reduction. Secondly, through using a state-of-the-art measuring technique Bubble Image Velocimetry, which features non-intrusive and image-based measurement, the wave kinematics in the highly aerated region due to solitary-wave shoaling, breaking and uprush can be quantitated. Therefore, the mitigation of long-wave due to the construction of submerged breakwaters built upon a mild slope can be evaluated not only for imaging run-up and run-down characteristics but also for measuring turbulent velocity fields due to breaking wave. Although we understand the most devastating tsunami hazards cannot be fully mitigated with impossibility, this study is to provide quantitated information on what kind of artificial coastal structure that can withstand which level of wave loads.

A methodology to link national and local information for spatial targeting of ammonia mitigation efforts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carnell, E. J.; Misselbrook, T. H.; Dore, A. J.; Sutton, M. A.; Dragosits, U.

2017-09-01

The effects of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition are evident in terrestrial ecosystems worldwide, with eutrophication and acidification leading to significant changes in species composition. Substantial reductions in N deposition from nitrogen oxides emissions have been achieved in recent decades. By contrast, ammonia (NH3) emissions from agriculture have not decreased substantially and are typically highly spatially variable, making efficient mitigation challenging. One solution is to target NH3 mitigation measures spatially in source landscapes to maximize the benefits for nature conservation. The paper develops an approach to link national scale data and detailed local data to help identify suitable measures for spatial targeting of local sources near designated Special Areas of Conservation (SACs). The methodology combines high-resolution national data on emissions, deposition and source attribution with local data on agricultural management and site conditions. Application of the methodology for the full set of 240 SACs in England found that agriculture contributes ∼45 % of total N deposition. Activities associated with cattle farming represented 54 % of agricultural NH3 emissions within 2 km of the SACs, making them a major contributor to local N deposition, followed by mineral fertiliser application (21 %). Incorporation of local information on agricultural management practices at seven example SACs provided the means to correct outcomes compared with national-scale emission factors. The outcomes show how national scale datasets can provide information on N deposition threats at landscape to national scales, while local-scale information helps to understand the feasibility of mitigation measures, including the impact of detailed spatial targeting on N deposition rates to designated sites.

Co-Optima Highlights Primary Causes of Misfueling and Mitigation Strategies

Science.gov Websites

% ethanol; 90% unleaded gasoline) for use in any gasoline vehicle. Many misfueling mitigation measures such lead to vehicle systems damage. Measures such as nozzle colors are not universally standardized. Fuel

Developing a Methodology for Risk-Informed Trade-Space Analysis in Acquisition

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-01

73 6.10. Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Cost Distribution, Technology 1 Mitigation of...6.11. Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Cost Distribution, Technology 3 Mitigation of the Upgrade Alternative...courses of action, or risk- mitigation behaviors, which take place in the event that the technology is not developed by the mile- stone date (e.g

Performance Analysis of a Hardware Implemented Complex Signal Kurtosis Radio-Frequency Interference Detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schoenwald, Adam J.; Bradley, Damon C.; Mohammed, Priscilla N.; Piepmeier, Jeffrey R.; Wong, Mark

2016-01-01

Radio-frequency interference (RFI) is a known problem for passive remote sensing as evidenced in the L-band radiometers SMOS, Aquarius and more recently, SMAP. Various algorithms have been developed and implemented on SMAP to improve science measurements. This was achieved by the use of a digital microwave radiometer. RFI mitigation becomes more challenging for microwave radiometers operating at higher frequencies in shared allocations. At higher frequencies larger bandwidths are also desirable for lower measurement noise further adding to processing challenges. This work focuses on finding improved RFI mitigation techniques that will be effective at additional frequencies and at higher bandwidths. To aid the development and testing of applicable detection and mitigation techniques, a wide-band RFI algorithm testing environment has been developed using the Reconfigurable Open Architecture Computing Hardware System (ROACH) built by the Collaboration for Astronomy Signal Processing and Electronics Research (CASPER) Group. The testing environment also consists of various test equipment used to reproduce typical signals that a radiometer may see including those with and without RFI. The testing environment permits quick evaluations of RFI mitigation algorithms as well as show that they are implementable in hardware. The algorithm implemented is a complex signal kurtosis detector which was modeled and simulated. The complex signal kurtosis detector showed improved performance over the real kurtosis detector under certain conditions. The real kurtosis is implemented on SMAP at 24 MHz bandwidth. The complex signal kurtosis algorithm was then implemented in hardware at 200 MHz bandwidth using the ROACH. In this work, performance of the complex signal kurtosis and the real signal kurtosis are compared. Performance evaluations and comparisons in both simulation as well as experimental hardware implementations were done with the use of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The complex kurtosis algorithm has the potential to reduce data rate due to onboard processing in addition to improving RFI detection performance.

Workshop summary: 'Integrating air quality and climate mitigation - is there a need for new metrics to support decision making?'

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

von Schneidemesser, E.; Schmale, J.; Van Aardenne, J.

2013-12-01

Air pollution and climate change are often treated at national and international level as separate problems under different regulatory or thematic frameworks and different policy departments. With air pollution and climate change being strongly linked with regard to their causes, effects and mitigation options, the integration of policies that steer air pollutant and greenhouse gas emission reductions might result in cost-efficient, more effective and thus more sustainable tackling of the two problems. To support informed decision making and to work towards an integrated air quality and climate change mitigation policy requires the identification, quantification and communication of present-day and potential future co-benefits and trade-offs. The identification of co-benefits and trade-offs requires the application of appropriate metrics that are well rooted in science, easy to understand and reflect the needs of policy, industry and the public for informed decision making. For the purpose of this workshop, metrics were loosely defined as a quantified measure of effect or impact used to inform decision-making and to evaluate mitigation measures. The workshop held on October 9 and 10 and co-organized between the European Environment Agency and the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies brought together representatives from science, policy, NGOs, and industry to discuss whether current available metrics are 'fit for purpose' or whether there is a need to develop alternative metrics or reassess the way current metrics are used and communicated. Based on the workshop outcome the presentation will (a) summarize the informational needs and current application of metrics by the end-users, who, depending on their field and area of operation might require health, policy, and/or economically relevant parameters at different scales, (b) provide an overview of the state of the science of currently used and newly developed metrics, and the scientific validity of these metrics, (c) identify gaps in the current information base, whether from the scientific development of metrics or their application by different users.

The Role of Health Co-Benefits in the Development of Australian Climate Change Mitigation Policies

PubMed Central

Workman, Annabelle; Blashki, Grant; Karoly, David; Wiseman, John

2016-01-01

Reducing domestic carbon dioxide and other associated emissions can lead to short-term, localized health benefits. Quantifying and incorporating these health co-benefits into the development of national climate change mitigation policies may facilitate the adoption of stronger policies. There is, however, a dearth of research exploring the role of health co-benefits on the development of such policies. To address this knowledge gap, research was conducted in Australia involving the analysis of several data sources, including interviews carried out with Australian federal government employees directly involved in the development of mitigation policies. The resulting case study determined that, in Australia, health co-benefits play a minimal role in the development of climate change mitigation policies. Several factors influence the extent to which health co-benefits inform the development of mitigation policies. Understanding these factors may help to increase the political utility of future health co-benefits studies. PMID:27657098

The Role of Health Co-Benefits in the Development of Australian Climate Change Mitigation Policies.

PubMed

Workman, Annabelle; Blashki, Grant; Karoly, David; Wiseman, John

2016-09-20

Reducing domestic carbon dioxide and other associated emissions can lead to short-term, localized health benefits. Quantifying and incorporating these health co-benefits into the development of national climate change mitigation policies may facilitate the adoption of stronger policies. There is, however, a dearth of research exploring the role of health co-benefits on the development of such policies. To address this knowledge gap, research was conducted in Australia involving the analysis of several data sources, including interviews carried out with Australian federal government employees directly involved in the development of mitigation policies. The resulting case study determined that, in Australia, health co-benefits play a minimal role in the development of climate change mitigation policies. Several factors influence the extent to which health co-benefits inform the development of mitigation policies. Understanding these factors may help to increase the political utility of future health co-benefits studies.

Testing of Cerex Open-Path Ultraviolet Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy Systems for Fenceline Monitoring Applications

EPA Science Inventory

Development of cost-effective, time-resolved fenceline measurement methods that facilitate improved emissions mitigation strategies is of growing interest to both industry and regulators. Ground-based optical remote sensing (ORS) is a well-known class of technical approaches use...

Testing of Cerex Open-Path Ultraviolet Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy System for Fenceline Monitoring Applications

EPA Science Inventory

Development of cost-effective, time-resolved fenceline measurement methods that facilitate improved emissions mitigation strategies is of growing interest to both industry and regulators. Ground-based optical remote sensing (ORS) is a well-known class of technical approaches use...

44 CFR 73.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program IMPLEMENTATION OF SECTION 1316 OF THE NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE ACT OF 1968 § 73.2 Definitions. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this part, the... intended to discourage or restrict development or occupancy of flood-prone areas are measures such as those...

Libby Mitigation Program, 2007 Annual Progress Report: Mitigation for the Construction and Operation of Libby Dam.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dunnigan, James; DeShazer, J.; Garrow, L.

Libby Reservoir was created under an International Columbia River Treaty between the United States and Canada for cooperative water development of the Columbia River Basin (Columbia River Treaty 1964). Libby Reservoir inundated 109 stream miles of the mainstem Kootenai River in the United States and Canada, and 40 miles of tributary streams in the U.S. that provided habitat for spawning, juvenile rearing, and migratory passage (Figure 1). The authorized purpose of the dam is to provide power (91.5%), flood control (8.3%), and navigation and other benefits (0.2%; Storm et al. 1982). The Pacific Northwest Power Act of 1980 recognized possiblemore » conflicts stemming from hydroelectric projects in the northwest and directed Bonneville Power Administration to 'protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife to the extent affected by the development and operation of any hydroelectric project of the Columbia River and its tributaries' (4(h)(10)(A)). Under the Act, the Northwest Power Planning Council was created and recommendations for a comprehensive fish and wildlife program were solicited from the region's federal, state, and tribal fish and wildlife agencies. Among Montana's recommendations was the proposal that research be initiated to quantify acceptable seasonal minimum pool elevations to maintain or enhance the existing fisheries (Graham et al. 1982). Research to determine how operations of Libby Dam affect the reservoir and river fishery and to suggest ways to lessen these effects began in May 1983. The framework for the Libby Reservoir Model (LRMOD) was completed in 1989. Development of Integrated Rule Curves (IRCs) for Libby Dam operation was completed in 1996 (Marotz et al. 1996). The Libby Reservoir Model and the IRCs continue to be refined (Marotz et al 1999). Initiation of mitigation projects such as lake rehabilitation and stream restoration began in 1996. The primary focus of the Libby Mitigation project now is to restore the fisheries and fish habitat in basin streams and lakes. 'Mitigation for the Construction and Operation of Libby Dam' is part of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council's (NPCC) resident fish and wildlife program. The program was mandated by the Northwest Planning Act of 1980, and is responsible for mitigating damages to fish and wildlife caused by hydroelectric development in the Columbia River Basin. The objective of Phase I of the project (1983 through 1987) was to maintain or enhance the Libby Reservoir fishery by quantifying seasonal water levels and developing ecologically sound operational guidelines. The objective of Phase II of the project (1988 through 1996) was to determine the biological effects of reservoir operations combined with biotic changes associated with an aging reservoir. The objectives of Phase III of the project (1996 through present) are to implement habitat enhancement measures to mitigate for dam effects, to provide data for implementation of operational strategies that benefit resident fish, monitor reservoir and river conditions, and monitor mitigation projects for effectiveness. This project completes urgent and high priority mitigation actions as directed by the Kootenai Subbasin Plan.« less

Public Response to Community Mitigation Measures for Pandemic Influenza

PubMed Central

Koonin, Lisa M.; Benson, John M.; Cetron, Martin S.; Pollard, William E.; Mitchell, Elizabeth W.; Weldon, Kathleen J.; Herrmann, Melissa J.

2008-01-01

We report the results of a national survey conducted to help public health officials understand the public’s response to community mitigation interventions for a severe outbreak of pandemic influenza. Survey results suggest that if community mitigation measures are instituted, most respondents would comply with recommendations but would be challenged to do so if their income or job were severely compromised. The results also indicate that community mitigation measures could cause problems for persons with lower incomes and for racial and ethnic minorities. Twenty-four percent of respondents said that they would not have anyone available to take care of them if they became sick with pandemic influenza. Given these results, planning and public engagement will be needed to encourage the public to be prepared. PMID:18439361

24 CFR 203.605 - Loss mitigation performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Loss mitigation performance. 203....605 Loss mitigation performance. (a) Duty to mitigate. Before four full monthly installments due on... mitigation techniques provided at § 203.501 to determine which is appropriate. Based upon such evaluations...

24 CFR 203.605 - Loss mitigation performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Loss mitigation performance. 203....605 Loss mitigation performance. (a) Duty to mitigate. Before four full monthly installments due on... mitigation techniques provided at § 203.501 to determine which is appropriate. Based upon such evaluations...

24 CFR 203.605 - Loss mitigation performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Loss mitigation performance. 203....605 Loss mitigation performance. (a) Duty to mitigate. Before four full monthly installments due on... mitigation techniques provided at § 203.501 to determine which is appropriate. Based upon such evaluations...

24 CFR 203.605 - Loss mitigation performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Loss mitigation performance. 203....605 Loss mitigation performance. (a) Duty to mitigate. Before four full monthly installments due on... mitigation techniques provided at § 203.501 to determine which is appropriate. Based upon such evaluations...

Pollution Swapping in Agricultural Systems: deciding between mitigation measures with conflicting outcomes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quinton, John; Stevens, Carly

2010-05-01

Pollution swapping occurs when a mitigation option introduced to reduce one pollutant results in an increase in a different pollutant. Although the concept of pollution swapping is widely understood it has received little attention in research and policy design. This study investigated diffuse pollution mitigation options applied in combinable crop systems. They are: cover crops, residue management, no-tillage, riparian buffer zones, contour grass strips and constructed wetlands. A wide range of water and atmospheric pollutants were considered, including nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon and sulphur. It is clear from this investigation that there is no single mitigation option that will reduce all pollutants and in this poster we consider how choices may be made between mitigation measures which may have a positive effect on one pollutant but a negative effect on another.

Accounting for vulnerable populations in rural hazard mitigation plans: results of a survey of emergency managers.

PubMed

Horney, Jennifer A; Nguyen, Mai; Cooper, John; Simon, Matthew; Ricchetti-Masterson, Kristen; Grabich, Shannon; Salvesen, David; Berke, Philip

2013-01-01

Rural areas of the United States are uniquely vulnerable to the impacts of natural disasters. One possible way to mitigate vulnerability to disasters in rural communities is to have a high-quality hazard mitigation plan in place. To understand the resources available for hazard mitigation planning and determine how well hazard mitigation plans in rural counties meet the needs of vulnerable populations, we surveyed the lead planning or emergency management official responsible for hazard mitigation plans in 96 rural counties in eight states in the Southeastern United States. In most counties, emergency management was responsible for implementing the county's hazard mitigation plan and the majority of counties had experienced a presidentially declared disaster in the last 5 years. Our research findings demonstrated that there were differences in subjective measures of vulnerability (as reported by survey respondents) and objective measures of vulnerability (as determined by US Census data). In addition, although few counties surveyed included outreach to vulnerable groups as a part of their hazard mitigation planning process, a majority felt that their hazard mitigation plan addressed the needs of vulnerable populations "well" or "very well." These differences could result in increased vulnerabilities in rural areas, particularly for certain vulnerable groups.

Mitigating Reptile Road Mortality: Fence Failures Compromise Ecopassage Effectiveness

PubMed Central

Baxter-Gilbert, James H.; Riley, Julia L.; Lesbarrères, David; Litzgus, Jacqueline D.

2015-01-01

Roadways pose serious threats to animal populations. The installation of roadway mitigation measures is becoming increasingly common, yet studies that rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of these conservation tools remain rare. A highway expansion project in Ontario, Canada included exclusion fencing and ecopassages as mitigation measures designed to offset detrimental effects to one of the most imperial groups of vertebrates, reptiles. Taking a multispecies approach, we used a Before-After-Control-Impact study design to compare reptile abundance on the highway before and after mitigation at an Impact site and a Control site from 1 May to 31 August in 2012 and 2013. During this time, radio telemetry, wildlife cameras, and an automated PIT-tag reading system were used to monitor reptile movements and use of ecopassages. Additionally, a willingness to utilize experiment was conducted to quantify turtle behavioral responses to ecopassages. We found no difference in abundance of turtles on the road between the un-mitigated and mitigated highways, and an increase in the percentage of both snakes and turtles detected dead on the road post-mitigation, suggesting that the fencing was not effective. Although ecopassages were used by reptiles, the number of crossings through ecopassages was lower than road-surface crossings. Furthermore, turtle willingness to use ecopassages was lower than that reported in previous arena studies, suggesting that effectiveness of ecopassages may be compromised when alternative crossing options are available (e.g., through holes in exclusion structures). Our rigorous evaluation of reptile roadway mitigation demonstrated that when exclusion structures fail, the effectiveness of population connectivity structures is compromised. Our project emphasizes the need to design mitigation measures with the biology and behavior of the target species in mind, to implement mitigation designs in a rigorous fashion, and quantitatively evaluate road mitigation to ensure allow for adaptive management and optimization of these increasingly important conservation tools. PMID:25806531

Mitigating reptile road mortality: fence failures compromise ecopassage effectiveness.

PubMed

Baxter-Gilbert, James H; Riley, Julia L; Lesbarrères, David; Litzgus, Jacqueline D

2015-01-01

Roadways pose serious threats to animal populations. The installation of roadway mitigation measures is becoming increasingly common, yet studies that rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of these conservation tools remain rare. A highway expansion project in Ontario, Canada included exclusion fencing and ecopassages as mitigation measures designed to offset detrimental effects to one of the most imperial groups of vertebrates, reptiles. Taking a multispecies approach, we used a Before-After-Control-Impact study design to compare reptile abundance on the highway before and after mitigation at an Impact site and a Control site from 1 May to 31 August in 2012 and 2013. During this time, radio telemetry, wildlife cameras, and an automated PIT-tag reading system were used to monitor reptile movements and use of ecopassages. Additionally, a willingness to utilize experiment was conducted to quantify turtle behavioral responses to ecopassages. We found no difference in abundance of turtles on the road between the un-mitigated and mitigated highways, and an increase in the percentage of both snakes and turtles detected dead on the road post-mitigation, suggesting that the fencing was not effective. Although ecopassages were used by reptiles, the number of crossings through ecopassages was lower than road-surface crossings. Furthermore, turtle willingness to use ecopassages was lower than that reported in previous arena studies, suggesting that effectiveness of ecopassages may be compromised when alternative crossing options are available (e.g., through holes in exclusion structures). Our rigorous evaluation of reptile roadway mitigation demonstrated that when exclusion structures fail, the effectiveness of population connectivity structures is compromised. Our project emphasizes the need to design mitigation measures with the biology and behavior of the target species in mind, to implement mitigation designs in a rigorous fashion, and quantitatively evaluate road mitigation to ensure allow for adaptive management and optimization of these increasingly important conservation tools.

Lease of Parcel ED-1 of the Oak Ridge Reservation by the East Tennessee Economic Council

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1996-04-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has completed an environmental assessment (DOE/EA-1113) for the proposed lease of 957.16 acres of the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) to the East Tennessee Economic Council (ETEC), a non-profit community organization, for a period of 10 years, with an option for renewal. ETEC proposes to develop an industrial park on the leased site to provide employment opportunities for DOE and contractor employees affected by decreased federal funding. Based on the results of the analysis reported in the EA and implementation of mitigation measures defined in this Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), DOE has determinedmore » that the proposed action is not a major Federal action that would significantly affect the quality of the human environment within the context of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Therefore, preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) is not necessary, and DOE is issuing this mitigated FONSI. DOE will implement a Mitigation Action Plan for this project and provide annual reports on mitigation and monitoring.« less

Aquarius Radiometer RFI Detection, Mitigation, and Impact Assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ruf, Christopher; Chen, David; Le Vine, David; de Matthaeis, Paolo; Piepmeier, Jeffrey

2012-01-01

The Aquarius/SAC-D satellite was launched on 10 June 2011 into a sun-synchronous polar orbit and the Aquarius microwave radiometers [1] became operational on 25 August 2011. Since that time, it has been measuring brightness temperatures at 1.4 GHz with vertical, horizontal and 3rd Stokes polarizations . Beginning well before the launch, there has been the concern that Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) could have an appreciable presence. This concern was initiated by, among other things, its prevalence in both early [2] and more recent [3,4] aircraft field experiments using 1.4 GHz radiometers, as well as by the strong RFI environment encountered during the recent ESA SMOS mission, also at 1.4 GHz [5]. As a result, a number of methods for RFI detection and mitigation have been developed and tested. One in particular, "glitch detection" and "pulse blanking" mitigation has been adapted for use by Aquarius [6, 7]. The early on-orbit performance of the Aquarius RFI detection and mitigation algorithm is presented here, together with an assessment of the global RFI environment at 1.4 GHz which can be derived from the Aquarius results.

Optimal security investments and extreme risk.

PubMed

Mohtadi, Hamid; Agiwal, Swati

2012-08-01

In the aftermath of 9/11, concern over security increased dramatically in both the public and the private sector. Yet, no clear algorithm exists to inform firms on the amount and the timing of security investments to mitigate the impact of catastrophic risks. The goal of this article is to devise an optimum investment strategy for firms to mitigate exposure to catastrophic risks, focusing on how much to invest and when to invest. The latter question addresses the issue of whether postponing a risk mitigating decision is an optimal strategy or not. Accordingly, we develop and estimate both a one-period model and a multiperiod model within the framework of extreme value theory (EVT). We calibrate these models using probability measures for catastrophic terrorism risks associated with attacks on the food sector. We then compare our findings with the purchase of catastrophic risk insurance. © 2012 Society for Risk Analysis.

Reducing the Nitrogen Footprint of a Small Residential College.

PubMed

Leary, Neil; de la Reguera, Elizabeth; Fitzpatrick, Steven; Boggiano-Peterson, Olivia

2017-04-01

The release of reactive nitrogen contributes to its accumulation in the environment, causing a variety of harmful effects. To measure Dickinson College's contribution to nitrogen pollution, and quantify the potential to reduce its contribution, we calculated the college's nitrogen footprint and simulated the effects of selected nitrogen mitigation measures. The analysis was obtained using the Nitrogen Footprint Tool, developed at the University of Virginia. Food production is by far the largest contributor to Dickinson's footprint, followed by heat and power. Transportation, sewage, and groundskeeping contribute relatively small amounts. Breaking food down into different food categories, meat and fish is the largest source of nitrogen, accounting for two-thirds of the food footprint. Simulations of individual mitigation measures showed that measures targeting food are the most impactful for reducing the college's nitrogen footprint. Two policy scenarios that combine multiple measures, one representing moderate action and the other more aggressive action, were also analyzed. They are projected to reduce Dickinson's footprint by roughly 15 and 25 percent, respectively, while reducing operating costs. Achieving these reductions would require substantial changes in dietary choices by members of the campus community.

Effects of road mortality and mitigation measures on amphibian populations.

PubMed

Beebee, Trevor J C

2013-08-01

Road mortality is a widely recognized but rarely quantified threat to the viability of amphibian populations. The global extent of the problem is substantial and factors affecting the number of animals killed on highways include life-history traits and landscape features. Secondary effects include genetic isolation due to roads acting as barriers to migration. Long-term effects of roads on population dynamics are often severe and mitigation methods include volunteer rescues and under-road tunnels. Despite the development of methods that reduce road kill in specific locations, especially under-road tunnels and culverts, there is scant evidence that such measures will protect populations over the long term. There also seems little likelihood that funding will be forthcoming to ameliorate the problem at the scale necessary to prevent further population declines. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Fish population modeling approaches for assessing direct effects and recovery following mitigation of a pulp mill effluent in Jackfish Bay

EPA Science Inventory

We present an approach to link chemically-induced alterations in molecular and biochemical endpoints to adverse outcomes in whole organisms and populations. A predictive population model was developed to translate changes in fecundity measures of white sucker (Catostomus commers...

Multi-scale geospatial agroecosystem modeling: A case study on the influence of soil data resolution on carbon budget estimates

EPA Science Inventory

The development of effective measures to stabilize atmospheric 22 CO2 concentration and mitigate negative impacts of climate change requires accurate quantification of the spatial variation and magnitude of the terrestrial carbon (C) flux. However, the spatial pattern and strengt...

24 CFR 51.204 - HUD-assisted hazardous facilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... area where people may congregate or be present. The mitigating measures listed in § 51.205 may be taken.... 51.204 Section 51.204 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary, Department of Housing... Hazardous Operations Handling Conventional Fuels or Chemicals of an Explosive or Flammable Nature § 51.204...

24 CFR 51.204 - HUD-assisted hazardous facilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... area where people may congregate or be present. The mitigating measures listed in § 51.205 may be taken.... 51.204 Section 51.204 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary, Department of Housing... Hazardous Operations Handling Conventional Fuels or Chemicals of an Explosive or Flammable Nature § 51.204...

24 CFR 51.204 - HUD-assisted hazardous facilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... area where people may congregate or be present. The mitigating measures listed in § 51.205 may be taken.... 51.204 Section 51.204 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary, Department of Housing... Hazardous Operations Handling Conventional Fuels or Chemicals of an Explosive or Flammable Nature § 51.204...

24 CFR 51.204 - HUD-assisted hazardous facilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... area where people may congregate or be present. The mitigating measures listed in § 51.205 may be taken.... 51.204 Section 51.204 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary, Department of Housing... Hazardous Operations Handling Conventional Fuels or Chemicals of an Explosive or Flammable Nature § 51.204...

24 CFR 51.204 - HUD-assisted hazardous facilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... area where people may congregate or be present. The mitigating measures listed in § 51.205 may be taken.... 51.204 Section 51.204 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary, Department of Housing... Hazardous Operations Handling Conventional Fuels or Chemicals of an Explosive or Flammable Nature § 51.204...

40 CFR 725.255 - Information to be included in the TERA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

..., geographical, physical, chemical, and biological features, proximity to human habitation or activity, and... of the activity. (ii) Mitigation and emergency procedures. (iii) Measures to detect and control... and Development Activities § 725.255 Information to be included in the TERA. (a) To review a TERA, EPA...

40 CFR 725.255 - Information to be included in the TERA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

..., geographical, physical, chemical, and biological features, proximity to human habitation or activity, and... of the activity. (ii) Mitigation and emergency procedures. (iii) Measures to detect and control... and Development Activities § 725.255 Information to be included in the TERA. (a) To review a TERA, EPA...

40 CFR 725.255 - Information to be included in the TERA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., geographical, physical, chemical, and biological features, proximity to human habitation or activity, and... of the activity. (ii) Mitigation and emergency procedures. (iii) Measures to detect and control... and Development Activities § 725.255 Information to be included in the TERA. (a) To review a TERA, EPA...

40 CFR 725.255 - Information to be included in the TERA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

..., geographical, physical, chemical, and biological features, proximity to human habitation or activity, and... of the activity. (ii) Mitigation and emergency procedures. (iii) Measures to detect and control... and Development Activities § 725.255 Information to be included in the TERA. (a) To review a TERA, EPA...

Mitigation effectiveness for improving nesting success of greater sage-grouse influenced by energy development.

PubMed

Kirol, Christopher P; Sutphin, Andrew L; Bond, Laura; Fuller, Mark R; Maechtle, Thomas L

Sagebrush ( Artemisia spp.) habitats being developed for oil and gas reserves are inhabited by sagebrush obligate species-including the greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ; sage-grouse) that is currently being considered for protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Numerous studies suggest increasing oil and gas development may exacerbate species extinction risks. Therefore, there is a great need for effective on-site mitigation to reduce impacts to co-occurring wildlife such as sage-grouse. Nesting success is a primary factor in avian productivity and declines in nesting success are also thought to be an important contributor to population declines in sage-grouse. From 2008 to 2011 we monitored 296 nests of radio-marked female sage-grouse in a natural gas (NG) field in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming, USA and compared nest survival in mitigated and non-mitigated development areas and relatively unaltered areas to determine if specific mitigation practices were enhancing nest survival. Nest survival was highest in relatively unaltered habitats followed by mitigated, and then non-mitigated NG areas. Reservoirs used for holding NG discharge water had the greatest support as having a direct relationship to nest survival. Within a 5 km 2 area surrounding a nest, the probability of nest failure increased by about 15% for every 1.5 km increase in reservoir water edge. Reducing reservoirs was a mitigation focus and sage-grouse nesting in mitigated areas were exposed to almost half of the amount of water edge compared to those in non-mitigated areas. Further, we found that an increase in sagebrush cover was positively related to nest survival. Consequently, mitigation efforts focused on reducing reservoir construction and reducing surface disturbance, especially when the surface disturbance results in sagebrush removal, are important to enhancing sage-grouse nesting success.

Mitigation effectiveness for improving nesting success of greater sage-grouse influenced by energy development

PubMed Central

Kirol, Christopher P.; Sutphin, Andrew L.; Bond, Laura; Fuller, Mark R.; Maechtle, Thomas L.

2015-01-01

Sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) habitats being developed for oil and gas reserves are inhabited by sagebrush obligate species—including the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) that is currently being considered for protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Numerous studies suggest increasing oil and gas development may exacerbate species extinction risks. Therefore, there is a great need for effective on-site mitigation to reduce impacts to co-occurring wildlife such as sage-grouse. Nesting success is a primary factor in avian productivity and declines in nesting success are also thought to be an important contributor to population declines in sage-grouse. From 2008 to 2011 we monitored 296 nests of radio-marked female sage-grouse in a natural gas (NG) field in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming, USA and compared nest survival in mitigated and non-mitigated development areas and relatively unaltered areas to determine if specific mitigation practices were enhancing nest survival. Nest survival was highest in relatively unaltered habitats followed by mitigated, and then non-mitigated NG areas. Reservoirs used for holding NG discharge water had the greatest support as having a direct relationship to nest survival. Within a 5 km2 area surrounding a nest, the probability of nest failure increased by about 15% for every 1.5 km increase in reservoir water edge. Reducing reservoirs was a mitigation focus and sage-grouse nesting in mitigated areas were exposed to almost half of the amount of water edge compared to those in non-mitigated areas. Further, we found that an increase in sagebrush cover was positively related to nest survival. Consequently, mitigation efforts focused on reducing reservoir construction and reducing surface disturbance, especially when the surface disturbance results in sagebrush removal, are important to enhancing sage-grouse nesting success. PMID:26366042

Mitigation of methane emission from an old unlined landfill in Klintholm, Denmark using a passive biocover system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Scheutz, Charlotte; Pedersen, Rasmus Broe; Petersen, Per Haugsted

Highlights: • An innovative biocover system was constructed on a landfill cell to mitigate the methane emission. • The biocover system had a mitigation efficiently of typically 80%. • The system also worked efficiently at ambient temperatures below freezing. • A whole landfill emission measurement tool was required to document the biocover system efficiency. - Abstract: Methane generated at landfills contributes to global warming and can be mitigated by biocover systems relying on microbial methane oxidation. As part of a closure plan for an old unlined landfill without any gas management measures, an innovative biocover system was established. The systemmore » was designed based on a conceptual model of the gas emission patterns established through an initial baseline study. The study included construction of gas collection trenches along the slopes of the landfill where the majority of the methane emissions occurred. Local compost materials were tested as to their usefulness as bioactive methane oxidizing material and a suitable compost mixture was selected. Whole site methane emission quantifications based on combined tracer release and downwind measurements in combination with several local experimental activities (gas composition within biocover layers, flux chamber based emission measurements and logging of compost temperatures) proved that the biocover system had an average mitigation efficiency of approximately 80%. The study showed that the system also had a high efficiency during winter periods with temperatures below freezing. An economic analysis indicated that the mitigation costs of the biocover system were competitive to other existing greenhouse gas mitigation options.« less

T-cell dependent immunogenicity of protein therapeutics: Preclinical assessment and mitigation.

PubMed

Jawa, Vibha; Cousens, Leslie P; Awwad, Michel; Wakshull, Eric; Kropshofer, Harald; De Groot, Anne S

2013-12-01

Protein therapeutics hold a prominent and rapidly expanding place among medicinal products. Purified blood products, recombinant cytokines, growth factors, enzyme replacement factors, monoclonal antibodies, fusion proteins, and chimeric fusion proteins are all examples of therapeutic proteins that have been developed in the past few decades and approved for use in the treatment of human disease. Despite early belief that the fully human nature of these proteins would represent a significant advantage, adverse effects associated with immune responses to some biologic therapies have become a topic of some concern. As a result, drug developers are devising strategies to assess immune responses to protein therapeutics during both the preclinical and the clinical phases of development. While there are many factors that contribute to protein immunogenicity, T cell- (thymus-) dependent (Td) responses appear to play a critical role in the development of antibody responses to biologic therapeutics. A range of methodologies to predict and measure Td immune responses to protein drugs has been developed. This review will focus on the Td contribution to immunogenicity, summarizing current approaches for the prediction and measurement of T cell-dependent immune responses to protein biologics, discussing the advantages and limitations of these technologies, and suggesting a practical approach for assessing and mitigating Td immunogenicity. © 2013. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High value of ecological information for river connectivity restoration

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sethi, Suresh; O'Hanley, Jesse R.; Gerken, Jonathon; Ashline, Joshua; Bradley, Catherine

2017-01-01

ContextEfficient restoration of longitudinal river connectivity relies on barrier mitigation prioritization tools that incorporate stream network spatial structure to maximize ecological benefits given limited resources. Typically, ecological benefits of barrier mitigation are measured using proxies such as the amount of accessible riverine habitat.ObjectivesWe developed an optimization approach for barrier mitigation planning which directly incorporates the ecology of managed taxa, and applied it to an urbanizing salmon-bearing watershed in Alaska.MethodsA novel river connectivity metric that exploits information on the distribution and movement of managed taxon was embedded into a barrier prioritization framework to identify optimal mitigation actions given limited restoration budgets. The value of ecological information on managed taxa was estimated by comparing costs to achieve restoration targets across alternative barrier prioritization approaches.ResultsBarrier mitigation solutions informed by life history information outperformed those using only river connectivity proxies, demonstrating high value of ecological information for watershed restoration. In our study area, information on salmon ecology was typically valued at 0.8–1.2 M USD in costs savings to achieve a given benefit level relative to solutions derived only from stream network information, equating to 16–28% of the restoration budget.ConclusionsInvesting in ecological studies may achieve win–win outcomes of improved understanding of aquatic ecology and greater watershed restoration efficiency.

Demonstration of adaptive optics for mitigating laser propagation through a random air-water interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Land, Phillip; Majumdar, Arun K.

2016-05-01

This paper describes a new concept of mitigating signal distortions caused by random air-water interface using an adaptive optics (AO) system. This is the first time the concept of using an AO for mitigating the effects of distortions caused mainly by a random air-water interface is presented. We have demonstrated the feasibility of correcting the distortions using AO in a laboratory water tank for investigating the propagation effects of a laser beam through an airwater interface. The AO system consisting of a fast steering mirror, deformable mirror, and a Shack-Hartmann Wavefront Sensor for mitigating surface water distortions has a unique way of stabilizing and aiming a laser onto an object underneath the water. Essentially the AO system mathematically takes the complex conjugate of the random phase caused by air-water interface allowing the laser beam to penetrate through the water by cancelling with the complex conjugates. The results show the improvement of a number of metrics including Strehl ratio, a measure of the quality of optical image formation for diffraction limited optical system. These are the first results demonstrating the feasibility of developing a new sensor system such as Laser Doppler Vibrometer (LDV) utilizing AO for mitigating surface water distortions.

Household preferences for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in four European high-income countries: Does health information matter? A mixed-methods study protocol.

PubMed

Herrmann, Alina; Fischer, Helen; Amelung, Dorothee; Litvine, Dorian; Aall, Carlo; Andersson, Camilla; Baltruszewicz, Marta; Barbier, Carine; Bruyère, Sébastien; Bénévise, Françoise; Dubois, Ghislain; Louis, Valérie R; Nilsson, Maria; Richardsen Moberg, Karen; Sköld, Bore; Sauerborn, Rainer

2017-08-01

It is now universally acknowledged that climate change constitutes a major threat to human health. At the same time, some of the measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, so-called climate change mitigation measures, have significant health co-benefits (e.g., walking or cycling more; eating less meat). The goal of limiting global warming to 1,5° Celsius set by the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris in 2015 can only be reached if all stakeholders, including households, take actions to mitigate climate change. Results on whether framing mitigation measures in terms of their health co-benefits increases the likelihood of their implementation are inconsistent. The present study protocol describes the transdisciplinary project HOPE (HOuseholds' Preferences for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in four European high-income countries) that investigates the role of health co-benefits in households' decision making on climate change mitigation measures in urban households in France, Germany, Norway and Sweden. HOPE employs a mixed-methods approach combining status-quo carbon footprint assessments, simulations of the reduction of households' carbon footprints, and qualitative in-depth interviews with a subgroup of households. Furthermore, a policy analysis of current household oriented climate policies is conducted. In the simulation of the reduction of households' carbon footprints, half of the households are provided with information on health co-benefits of climate change mitigation measures, the other half is not. Households' willingness to implement the measures is assessed and compared in between-group analyses of variance. This is one of the first comprehensive mixed-methods approaches to investigate which mitigation measures households are most willing to implement in order to reach the 1,5° target set by the Paris Agreement, and whether health co-benefits can serve as a motivator for households to implement these measures. The comparison of the empirical data with current climate policies will provide knowledge for tailoring effective climate change mitigation and health policies.

Hungry Horse Mitigation; Flathead Lake, 2003-2004 Annual Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hansen, Barry; Evarts, Les

2005-06-01

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) and Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) wrote the ''Fisheries Mitigation Plan for Losses Attributable to the Construction and Operation of Hungry Horse Dam'' in March 1991 to define the fisheries losses, mitigation alternatives and recommendations to protect, mitigate and enhance resident fish and aquatic habitat affected by Hungry Horse Dam. On November 12, 1991, the Northwest Power Planning Council (NPPC) approved the mitigation plan with minor modifications, called for a detailed implementation plan, and amended measures 903(h)(1) through (7). A long-term mitigation plan was submitted in August 1992, was approved by themore » Council in 1993, and the first contract for this project was signed on November 11, 1993. The problem this project addresses is the loss of habitat, both in quality and quantity, in the Flathead Lake and River basin resulting from the construction and operation of Hungry Horse Dam. The purpose of the project is to both implement mitigation measures and monitor the biological responses to those measures including those implemented by Project Numbers 9101903 and 9101904. Goals and objectives of the 1994 Fish and Wildlife Program (Section 10.1) addressed by this project are the rebuilding to sustainable levels weak, but recoverable, native populations injured by the hydropower system. The project mitigates the blockage of spawning runs by Hungry Horse Dam by restoring and even creating spawning habitats within direct drainages to Flathead Lake. The project also addresses the altered habitat within Flathead Lake resulting from species shifts and consequent dominance of new species that restricts the potential success of mitigation measures. Specific goals of this project are to create and restore habitat and quantitatively monitor changes in fish populations to verify the efficacy of our mitigation measures. The project consists of three components: monitoring, restoration and research. Monitoring, for example, includes a spring gillnetting series conducted annually in Flathead Lake and builds on an existing data set initiated in 1981. Monitoring of the experimental kokanee reintroduction was a primary activity of this project between 1992 and 1997. Lake trout, whose high densities have precluded successful mitigation of losses of other species in Flathead Lake, have been monitored since 1996 to measure several biological parameters. Results of this work have utility in determining the population status of this key predator in Flathead Lake. The project has also defined the baseline condition of the Flathead Lake fishery in 1992-1993 and has conducted annual lakewide surveys since 1998. The restoration component of the project has addressed several stream channel, riparian, and fish passage problems, and suppression of non-native fish. The research component of the project began in FY 2000 and measured trophic linkages between M. relicta and other species to assist in predicting the results of our efforts to suppress lake trout. Only Objective 1 in the workplan is funded entirely by Hungry Horse Mitigation funds. Additional funds are drawn from other sources to assist in completion of Objectives 2-8.« less

Hungry Horse Mitigation : Flathead Lake : Annual Progress Report 2007.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hansen, Barry; Evarts, Les

2008-12-22

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) and Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) wrote the 'Fisheries Mitigation Plan for Losses Attributable to the Construction and Operation of Hungry Horse Dam' in March 1991 to define the fisheries losses, mitigation alternatives and recommendations to protect, mitigate and enhance resident fish and aquatic habitat affected by Hungry Horse Dam. On November 12, 1991, the Northwest Power Planning Council (NPPC) approved the mitigation plan with minor modifications, called for a detailed implementation plan, and amended measures 903(h)(1) through (7). A long-term mitigation plan was submitted in August 1992, was approved by themore » Council in 1993, and the first contract for this project was signed on November 11, 1993. The problem this project addresses is the loss of habitat, both in quality and quantity, in the Flathead Lake and River basin resulting from the construction and operation of Hungry Horse Dam. The purpose of the project is to both implement mitigation measures and monitor the biological responses to those measures including those implemented by Project Numbers 9101903 and 9101904. Goals and objectives of the 1994 Fish and Wildlife Program (Section 10.1) addressed by this project are the rebuilding to sustainable levels weak, but recoverable, native populations injured by the hydropower system. The project mitigates the blockage of spawning runs by Hungry Horse Dam by restoring and even creating spawning habitats within direct drainages to Flathead Lake. The project also addresses the altered habitat within Flathead Lake resulting from species shifts and consequent dominance of new species that restricts the potential success of mitigation measures. Specific goals of this project are to create and restore habitat and quantitatively monitor changes in fish populations to verify the efficacy of our mitigation measures. The project consists of three components: monitoring, restoration and research. Monitoring, for example, includes a spring gillnetting series conducted annually in Flathead Lake and builds on an existing data set initiated in 1981. Monitoring of the experimental kokanee reintroduction was a primary activity of this project between 1992 and 1997. Lake trout, whose high densities have precluded successful mitigation of losses of other species in Flathead Lake, have been monitored since 1996 to measure several biological parameters. Results of this work have utility in determining the population status of this key predator in Flathead Lake. The project has also defined the baseline condition of the Flathead Lake fishery in 1992-1993 and has conducted annual lakewide surveys since 1998. The restoration component of the project has addressed several stream channel, riparian, and fish passage problems, and suppression of non-native fish. The research component of the project began in FY 2000 and measured trophic linkages between M. relicta and other species to assist in predicting the results of our efforts to suppress lake trout. Only Work Element A in the Statement of Work is funded entirely by Hungry Horse Mitigation funds. Additional funds are drawn from other sources to assist in completion of all remaining Work Elements.« less

Hungry Horse Mitigation; Flathead Lake, 2004-2005 Annual Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hansen, Barry; Evarts, Les

2006-06-01

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) and Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) wrote the ''Fisheries Mitigation Plan for Losses Attributable to the Construction and Operation of Hungry Horse Dam'' in March 1991 to define the fisheries losses, mitigation alternatives and recommendations to protect, mitigate and enhance resident fish and aquatic habitat affected by Hungry Horse Dam. On November 12, 1991, the Northwest Power Planning Council (NPPC) approved the mitigation plan with minor modifications, called for a detailed implementation plan, and amended measures 903(h)(1) through (7). A long-term mitigation plan was submitted in August 1992, was approved by themore » Council in 1993, and the first contract for this project was signed on November 11, 1993. The problem this project addresses is the loss of habitat, both in quality and quantity, in the Flathead Lake and River basin resulting from the construction and operation of Hungry Horse Dam. The purpose of the project is to both implement mitigation measures and monitor the biological responses to those measures including those implemented by Project Numbers 9101903 and 9101904. Goals and objectives of the 1994 Fish and Wildlife Program (Section 10.1) addressed by this project are the rebuilding to sustainable levels weak, but recoverable, native populations injured by the hydropower system. The project mitigates the blockage of spawning runs by Hungry Horse Dam by restoring and even creating spawning habitats within direct drainages to Flathead Lake. The project also addresses the altered habitat within Flathead Lake resulting from species shifts and consequent dominance of new species that restricts the potential success of mitigation measures. Specific goals of this project are to create and restore habitat and quantitatively monitor changes in fish populations to verify the efficacy of our mitigation measures. The project consists of three components: monitoring, restoration and research. Monitoring, for example, includes a spring gillnetting series conducted annually in Flathead Lake and builds on an existing data set initiated in 1981. Monitoring of the experimental kokanee reintroduction was a primary activity of this project between 1992 and 1997. Lake trout, whose high densities have precluded successful mitigation of losses of other species in Flathead Lake, have been monitored since 1996 to measure several biological parameters. Results of this work have utility in determining the population status of this key predator in Flathead Lake. The project has also defined the baseline condition of the Flathead Lake fishery in 1992-1993 and has conducted annual lakewide surveys since 1998. The restoration component of the project has addressed several stream channel, riparian, and fish passage problems, and suppression of non-native fish. The research component of the project began in FY 2000 and measured trophic linkages between M. relicta and other species to assist in predicting the results of our efforts to suppress lake trout. Only Work Element A in the Statement of Work is funded entirely by Hungry Horse Mitigation funds. Additional funds are drawn from other sources to assist in completion of all remaining Work Elements.« less

Hungry Horse Mitigation : Flathead Lake : Annual Progress Report 2008.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hansen, Barry; Evarts, Les

2009-08-06

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) and Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) wrote the 'Fisheries Mitigation Plan for Losses Attributable to the Construction and Operation of Hungry Horse Dam' in March 1991 to define the fisheries losses, mitigation alternatives and recommendations to protect, mitigate and enhance resident fish and aquatic habitat affected by Hungry Horse Dam. On November 12, 1991, the Northwest Power Planning Council (NPPC) approved the mitigation plan with minor modifications, called for a detailed implementation plan, and amended measures 903(h)(1) through (7). A long-term mitigation plan was submitted in August 1992, was approved by themore » Council in 1993, and the first contract for this project was signed on November 11, 1993. The problem this project addresses is the loss of habitat, both in quality and quantity, in the Flathead Lake and River basin resulting from the construction and operation of Hungry Horse Dam. The purpose of the project is to both implement mitigation measures and monitor the biological responses to those measures including those implemented by Project Numbers 9101903 and 9101904. Goals and objectives of the 1994 Fish and Wildlife Program (Section 10.1) addressed by this project are the rebuilding to sustainable levels weak, but recoverable, native populations injured by the hydropower system. The project mitigates the blockage of spawning runs by Hungry Horse Dam by restoring and even creating spawning habitats within direct drainages to Flathead Lake. The project also addresses the altered habitat within Flathead Lake resulting from species shifts and consequent dominance of new species that restricts the potential success of mitigation measures. Specific goals of this project are to create and restore habitat and quantitatively monitor changes in fish populations to verify the efficacy of our mitigation measures. The project consists of three components: monitoring, restoration and research. Monitoring, for example, includes a spring gillnetting series conducted annually in Flathead Lake and builds on an existing data set initiated in 1981. Monitoring of the experimental kokanee reintroduction was a primary activity of this project between 1992 and 1997. Lake trout, whose high densities have precluded successful mitigation of losses of other species in Flathead Lake, have been monitored since 1996 to measure several biological parameters. Results of this work have utility in determining the population status of this key predator in Flathead Lake. The project has also defined the baseline condition of the Flathead Lake fishery in 1992-1993 and has conducted annual lakewide surveys since 1998. The restoration component of the project has addressed several stream channel, riparian, and fish passage problems, and suppression of non-native fish. The research component of the project began in FY 2000 and measured trophic linkages between M. relicta and other species to assist in predicting the results of our efforts to suppress lake trout. Only Work Element A in the Statement of Work is funded entirely by Hungry Horse Mitigation funds. Additional funds are drawn from other sources to assist in completion of all remaining Work Elements.« less

Effective mitigation of debris flows at Lemon Dam, La Plata County, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

deWolfe, V.G.; Santi, P.M.; Ey, J.; Gartner, J.E.

2008-01-01

To reduce the hazards from debris flows in drainage basins burned by wildfire, erosion control measures such as construction of check dams, installation of log erosion barriers (LEBs), and spreading of straw mulch and seed are common practice. After the 2002 Missionary Ridge Fire in southwest Colorado, these measures were implemented at Knight Canyon above Lemon Dam to protect the intake structures of the dam from being filled with sediment. Hillslope erosion protection measures included LEBs at concentrations of 220-620/ha (200-600% of typical densities), straw mulch was hand spread at concentrations up to 5.6??metric tons/hectare (125% of typical densities), and seeds were hand spread at 67-84??kg/ha (150% of typical values). The mulch was carefully crimped into the soil to keep it in place. In addition, 13 check dams and 3 debris racks were installed in the main drainage channel of the basin. The technical literature shows that each mitigation method working alone, or improperly constructed or applied, was inconsistent in its ability to reduce erosion and sedimentation. At Lemon Dam, however, these methods were effective in virtually eliminating sedimentation into the reservoir, which can be attributed to a number of factors: the density of application of each mitigation method, the enhancement of methods working in concert, the quality of installation, and rehabilitation of mitigation features to extend their useful life. The check dams effectively trapped the sediment mobilized during rainstorms, and only a few cubic meters of debris traveled downchannel, where it was intercepted by debris racks. Using a debris volume-prediction model developed for use in burned basins in the Western U.S., recorded rainfall events following the Missionary Ridge Fire should have produced a debris flow of approximately 10,000??m3 at Knight Canyon. The mitigation measures, therefore, reduced the debris volume by several orders of magnitude. For comparison, rainstorm-induced debris flows occurred in two adjacent canyons at volumes within the range predicted by the model. ?? 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A public health hazard mitigation planning process.

PubMed

Griffith, Jennifer M; Kay Carpender, S; Crouch, Jill Artzberger; Quiram, Barbara J

2014-01-01

The Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health, a member of the Training and Education Collaborative System Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center (TECS-PERLC), has long-standing partnerships with 2 Health Service Regions (Regions) in Texas. TECS-PERLC was contracted by these Regions to address 2 challenges identified in meeting requirements outlined by the Risk-Based Funding Project. First, within Metropolitan Statistical Areas, there is not a formal authoritative structure. Second, preexisting tools and processes did not adequately satisfy requirements to assess public health, medical, and mental health needs and link mitigation strategies to the Public Health Preparedness Capabilities, which provide guidance to prepare for, respond to, and recover from public health incidents. TECS-PERLC, with its partners, developed a framework to interpret and apply results from the Texas Public Health Risk Assessment Tool (TxPHRAT). The 3-phase community engagement-based TxPHRAT Mitigation Planning Process (Mitigation Planning Process) and associated tools facilitated the development of mitigation plans. Tools included (1) profiles interpreting TxPHRAT results and identifying, ranking, and prioritizing hazards and capability gaps; (2) a catalog of intervention strategies and activities linked to hazards and capabilities; and (3) a template to plan, evaluate, and report mitigation planning efforts. The Mitigation Planning Process provided a framework for Regions to successfully address all funding requirements. TECS-PERLC developed more than 60 profiles, cataloged and linked 195 intervention strategies, and developed a template resulting in 20 submitted mitigation plans. A public health-focused, community engagement-based mitigation planning process was developed by TECS-PERLC and successfully implemented by the Regions. The outcomes met all requirements and reinforce the effectiveness of academic practice partnerships and importance of community engagement in mitigation planning. Additional funding has been approved to expand the Mitigation Planning Process to all counties in Texas with local health departments.

Overview of the Arizona Quiet Pavement Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donavan, Paul; Scofield, Larry

2005-09-01

The Arizona Quiet Pavement Pilot Program (QP3) was initially implemented to reduce highway related traffic noise by overlaying most of the Phoenix metropolitan area Portland cement concrete pavement with a one inch thick asphalt rubber friction coarse. With FHWA support, this program represents the first time that pavement surface type has been allowed as a noise mitigation strategy on federally funded projects. As a condition of using pavement type as a noise mitigation strategy, ADOT developed a ten-year, $3.8 million research program to evaluate the noise reduction performance over time. Historically, pavement surface type was not considered a permanent solution. As a result, the research program was designed to specifically address this issue. Noise performance is being evaluated through three means: (1) conventional roadside testing within the roadway corridor (e.g., far field measurements within the right-of-way) (2) the use of near field measurements, both close proximity (CPX) and sound intensity (SI); and (3) far field measurements obtained beyond the noise barriers within the surrounding neighborhoods. This paper provides an overview of the program development, presents the research conducted to support the decision to overlay the urban freeway, and the status of current research.

Final Report for the ZERT Project: Basic Science of Retention Issues, Risk Assessment & Measurement, Monitoring and Verification for Geologic Sequestration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Spangler, Lee; Cunningham, Alfred; Lageson, David

2011-03-31

ZERT has made major contributions to five main areas of sequestration science: improvement of computational tools; measurement and monitoring techniques to verify storage and track migration of CO{sub 2}; development of a comprehensive performance and risk assessment framework; fundamental geophysical, geochemical and hydrological investigations of CO{sub 2} storage; and investigate innovative, bio-based mitigation strategies.

Development of KRISS standard reference photometer (SRP) for ambient ozone measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, S.; Lee, J.

2014-12-01

Surface ozone has adverse impacts on human health and ecosystem. Accurate measurement of ambient ozone concentration is essential for developing effective mitigation strategies and understanding atmospheric chemistry. Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) has developed new ozone standard reference photometers (SRPs) for the calibration of ambient ozone instruments. The basic principle of the KRISS ozone SRPs is to determine the absorption of ultraviolet radiation at a specific wavelength, 253.7 nm, by ozone in the atmosphere. Ozone concentration is calculated by converting UV transmittance through the Beer-Lambert Law. This study introduces the newly developed ozone SRPs and characterizes their performance through uncertainty analysis and comparison with BIPM (International Bureau of Weights and Measures) SRP.

The Role of Industrial Parks in Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from China.

PubMed

Guo, Yang; Tian, Jinping; Zang, Na; Gao, Yang; Chen, Lujun

2018-06-14

This study uncovered the direct and indirect energy-related GHG emissions of 213 Chinese national-level industrial parks, providing 11% of China's GDP, from a life-cycle perspective. Direct emissions are sourced from fuel combustion, and indirect emissions are embodied in energy production. The results indicated that in 2015, the direct and indirect GHG emissions of the parks were 1042 and 181 million tonne CO2 eq., respectively, totally accounting for 11% of national GHG emissions. The total energy consumption of the parks accounted for 10% of national energy consumption. Coal constituted 74% of total energy consumption in these parks. Baseline and low-carbon scenarios are established for 2030, and five GHG mitigation measures targeting energy consumption are modeled. The GHG mitigation potential for these parks in 2030 is quantified as 116 million tonne, equivalent to 9.5% of the parks' total emission in 2015. The measures that increase the share of natural gas consumption, reduce the GHG emission factor of electricity grid, and improve the average efficiency of industrial coal-fired boilers, will totally contribute 94% and 98% in direct and indirect GHG emissions reductions, respectively. These findings will provide a solid foundation for the low-carbon development of Chinese industrial parks.

Measures of Residual Risk with Connections to Regression, Risk Tracking, Surrogate Models, and Ambiguity

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-07

vector that helps to manage , predict, and mitigate the risk in the original variable. Residual risk can be exemplified as a quantification of the improved... the random variable of interest is viewed in concert with a related random vector that helps to manage , predict, and mitigate the risk in the original...measures of risk. They view a random variable of interest in concert with an auxiliary random vector that helps to manage , predict and mitigate the risk

Assessing the effect of nutrient mitigation measures in the watersheds of the Southern Bight of the North Sea.

PubMed

Thieu, Vincent; Garnier, Josette; Billen, Gilles

2010-02-15

The Seine, Somme, and Scheldt Rivers (France, Belgium, and Netherlands) are the major delivering rivers flowing into the continental coastal zone of the Southern Bight of the North Sea, an area regularly affected by eutrophication problems. In the present work, the Seneque-Riverstrahler model was implemented in a multi-regional case study in order to test several planned mitigation measures aimed at limiting stream nutrient contamination and restoring balanced nutrient ratios at the coastal zone. This modeling approach, which is spatially distributed at the basin scale, allows assessing the impact of any change in human activities, which widely differ over the three basins. Here, we define realistic scenarios based on currently proposed measures to reduce point and non-point sources, such as the upgrading of wastewater treatment, the introduction of catch crops, and the development of extensive farming. An analysis of the current situation showed that a 47-72% reduction in P point-source emissions within the three basins could be reached if the intended P treatment was generalized to the largest treatment plants. However, only an overall 14-23% reduction in N could be achieved at the outlet of the three basins, by combining improved wastewater treatment and land use with management measures aimed at regulating agricultural practices. Nonetheless, in spite of these efforts, N will still be exported in large excess with respect to the equilibrium defined by the Redfield ratios, even in the most optimistic hypothesis describing the long-term response of groundwater nitrate concentrations. A comprehensive assessment of these mitigation measures supports the need for additional reductions of nutrient losses from agriculture to control harmful algae development. It also stresses the relevance of this mechanistic approach, in which nutrient transfers from land to sea can be calculated, as an integrated strategy to test policy recommendations.

Towards demand-side solutions for mitigating climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Creutzig, Felix; Roy, Joyashree; Lamb, William F.; Azevedo, Inês M. L.; Bruine de Bruin, Wändi; Dalkmann, Holger; Edelenbosch, Oreane Y.; Geels, Frank W.; Grubler, Arnulf; Hepburn, Cameron; Hertwich, Edgar G.; Khosla, Radhika; Mattauch, Linus; Minx, Jan C.; Ramakrishnan, Anjali; Rao, Narasimha D.; Steinberger, Julia K.; Tavoni, Massimo; Ürge-Vorsatz, Diana; Weber, Elke U.

2018-04-01

Research on climate change mitigation tends to focus on supply-side technology solutions. A better understanding of demand-side solutions is missing. We propose a transdisciplinary approach to identify demand-side climate solutions, investigate their mitigation potential, detail policy measures and assess their implications for well-being.

Modelling farm vulnerability to flooding: A step toward vulnerability mitigation policies appraisal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brémond, P.; Abrami, G.; Blanc, C.; Grelot, F.

2009-04-01

Recent catastrophic flood events such as Elbe in 2002 or Rhône in 2003 have shown limits of flood management policies relying on dykes protection: worsening of flood impacts downstream, increased damage by dykes rupture. Those events, among others, contributes to radical changes on the philosophy of flood prevention, with the promotion of new orientations for mitigating flood exposition. Two new trends may have a significant impact on rural areas: floodplain restoration and vulnerability mitigation. The Rhône River program, which is an contract of objectives signed between French Government and local collectivites, is highly illustrative of these new trends and their impact on agricultural sector. In this program, it appears that areas to be concerned by floodplain restoration are agricultural ones, because their supposed vulnerability to flood is expected to be less important to urban areas. As a consequence, agricultural sector is particularly concerned by planned actions on mitigation of assets vulnerability, an important part of the program (financial support of European Union of 7.5 Million euros). Mitigation of agricultural assets vulnerability reveals particularly interesting for two following reasons. Firstly, it is a way to maintain agricultural activities in floodplains yet existing, without promoting flood protection. Secondly, in case of floodplain restoration, vulnerability mitigation is a way for local authorities to compensate over-flooding impacts. In practice, local authorities may financially support farmers for implementing measures to mitigate their farm vulnerability. On the Rhône River, an important work has already been done to identify farm vulnerability to flooding, and propose measures to mitigate it. More than 3 000 farms exposed to flood risk have been identified representing 88 690 ha of agricultural areas which is estimated to generate damage between 400 and 800 Million euros depending on the season of occurrence for a catastrophic flood. In the case of farm activities, vulnerability mitigation consists in implementing measures which can be: physical (equipment or electric power system elevation), organizational (emergency or recovery plan) or financial (insurance). These measures aim at decreasing the total damage incurred by farmers in case of flooding. For instance, if equipment is elevated, it will not suffer direct damage such as degradation. As a consequence, equipment will be available to continue production or recovery tasks, thus, avoiding indirect damage such as delays, indebtedness… The effects of these policies on farms, in particular vulnerability mitigation cannot be appraised using current methodologies mainly because they do not consider farm as a whole and focus on direct damage at the land plot scale (loss of yield). Moreover, since vulnerability mitigation policies are quite recent, few examples of implementation exist and no feedback experience can be processed. Meanwhile, decision makers and financial actors require more justification of the efficiency of public fund by economic appraisal of the projects. On the Rhône River, decision makers asked for an economic evaluation of the program of farm vulnerability mitigation they plan to implement. This implies to identify the effects of the measures to mitigate farm vulnerability, and to classify them by comparing their efficacy (avoided damage) and their cost of implementation. In this presentation, we propose and discuss a conceptual model of vulnerability at the farm scale. The modelling, in Unified Modelling Language, enabled to represent the ties between spatial, organizational and temporal dimensions, which are central to understanding of farm vulnerability and resilience to flooding. Through this modelling, we encompass three goals: To improve the comprehension of farm vulnerability and create a framework that allow discussion with experts of different disciplines as well as with local farmers; To identify data which are needed to implement the model and to collect them, specifically using the focus group method; Based on the conceptual model, to program a mathematical model which will be used to simulate damage (direct and indirect) on farm due to flood. This last objective should enable us to appraise policy to mitigate vulnerability which is planned to be implemented on Rhône River at the individual and regional scale. Finally, we discuss the possibility to use the UML modelling to develop a multi-agent system approach which could be interesting to take into account ties between farmers (solidarity, loan of equipment) or systemic effects due to the damage incurred by economic partners (loss of market share). Keywords vulnerability, UML modelling, farming systems, flood, mitigation policy, economic valuation

Adaptation and Mitigation in Agriculture: A Review of Synergies and Tradeoffs and How EO Could Improve Understanding and Outcomes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barbieri, L.; Wollenberg, E.

2017-12-01

We present a review of the published literature on agricultural adaptation and mitigation, and report on the current evidence as to whether changes in agricultural practices meant to achieve mitigation or adaptation goals can be dual purpose: simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and helping to facilitate adaptation. We characterize the spatio-temporal and system trends in how adaptation and mitigation outcomes are being achieved, and report on the current technical and knowledge gaps that exist and where Earth observations (EO) could improve our understanding. Agriculture contributes 12% GHG emissions globally, roughly one third from the developing world. Nearly 70% of the technical mitigation potential in agriculture sector occurs in these countries, however, while the mitigation potential is high, agricultural productivity also relies heavily on climate factors. With climate change, agricultural systems already, and will increasingly, need to adapt to extreme events and variability in temperatures and precipitation. This underscores the importance of implementing agricultural practices that can both reduce GHG emissions and help facilitate adaptation. Until recently, these objectives have been treated separately, but policy makers are increasingly calling for a joint approach to improve synergies, and avoid tradeoffs. There remain many complications in considering a joint approach: lack of clear conceptual frameworks, knowledge gaps in scientific understanding and evidence associated with adaptation and mitigation outcomes, and the abilities and motivations of stakeholders to consider both objectives. We review 56 peer-reviewed publications and present results from an in-depth analysis to answer two major concerns: to what extent is evidence provided for claims of synergistic outcomes, and what uncertainty surrounds this evidence. Our results show that only 21% of studies empirically measured both mitigation and adaptation outcomes, and claims of synergies are not well substantiated, and evidence is provided at questionable spatio-temporal scales. We highlight information that could be provided by coordinated, comprehensive and sustained EO which could benefit this critical goal of simultaneously achieving agricultural adaptation and mitigation.

The Quantitative Study of Communicative Success: Politeness and Accidents in Aviation Discourse.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Linde, Charlotte

1988-01-01

Uses transcripts of eight aviation accidents and 14 flight simulator sessions to study mitigation. A four-degree scale is developed to quantify the use of mitigation: (1) high mitigation; (2) low mitigation; (3) direct utterance; and (4) aggravation. Mitigation is sensitive to social rank and sometimes less effective than direct utterances in…

The effectiveness of mitigation for reducing radon risk in single-family Minnesota homes.

PubMed

Steck, Daniel J

2012-09-01

Increased lung cancer incidence has been linked with long-term exposure to elevated residential radon. Experimental studies have shown that soil ventilation can be effective in reducing radon concentrations in single-family homes. Most radon mitigation systems in the U.S. are installed by private contractors. The long-term effectiveness of these systems is not well known, since few state radon programs regulate or independently confirm post-mitigation radon concentrations. The effectiveness of soil ventilation systems in Minnesota was measured for 140 randomly selected clients of six professional mitigators. Homeowners reported pre-mitigation radon screening concentrations that averaged 380 Bq m (10.3 pCi L). Long term post-mitigation radon measurements on the two lowest floors show that, even years after mitigation, 97% of these homes have concentrations below the 150 Bq m U.S. Environmental Protection Agency action level. The average post-mitigation radon in the houses was 30 Bq m, an average observed reduction of >90%. If that reduction was maintained over the lifetime of the 1.2 million Minnesotans who currently reside in single-family homes with living space radon above the EPA action level, approximately 50,000 lives could be extended for nearly two decades by preventing radon-related lung cancers.

Direct Quantification of Methane Emissions Across the Supply Chain: Identification of Mitigation Targets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Darzi, M.; Johnson, D.; Heltzel, R.; Clark, N.

2017-12-01

Researchers at West Virginia University's Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines, and Emissions have recently participated in a variety of studies targeted at direction quantification of methane emissions from across the natural gas supply chain. These studies included assessing methane emissions from heavy-duty vehicles and their fuel stations, active unconventional well sites - during both development and production, natural gas compression and storage facilities, natural gas engines - both large and small, two- and four-stroke, and low-throughput equipment associated with coal bed methane wells. Engine emissions were sampled using conventional instruments such as Fourier transform infrared spectrometers and heated flame ionization detection analyzers. However, to accurately quantify a wide range of other sources beyond the tailpipe (both leaks and losses), a full flow sampling system was developed, which included an integrated cavity-enhanced absorption spectrometer. Through these direct quantification efforts and analysis major sources of methane emissions were identified. Technological solutions and best practices exist or could be developed to reduce methane emissions by focusing on the "lowest-hanging fruit." For example, engine crankcases from across the supply chain should employ vent mitigation systems to reduce methane and other emissions. An overview of the direct quantification system and various campaign measurements results will be presented along with the identification of other targets for additional mitigation.

Transfusion-related acute lung injury risk mitigation: an update.

PubMed

Otrock, Z K; Liu, C; Grossman, B J

2017-11-01

Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) is a life-threatening complication of transfusion. Greater understanding of the pathophysiology of this syndrome has much improved during the last two decades. Plasma-containing components from female donors with leucocyte antibodies were responsible for the majority of TRALI fatalities before mitigation strategies were implemented. Over the past 15 years, measures to mitigate risk for TRALI have been implemented worldwide and they continued to evolve with time. The AABB requires that all plasma containing components and whole blood for transfusion must be collected from men, women who have not been pregnant, or women who have tested negative for human leucocyte antigen antibodies. Although the incidence of TRALI has decreased following the institution of TRALI mitigation strategies, TRALI is still the most common cause of transfusion-associated death in the United States. In this review, we focus on TRALI risk mitigation strategies. We describe the measures taken by blood collection facilities to reduce the risk of TRALI in the United States, Canada and European countries. We also review the literature for the effectiveness of these measures. © 2017 International Society of Blood Transfusion.

How much land-based greenhouse gas mitigation can be achieved without compromising food security and environmental goals?

PubMed

Smith, Pete; Haberl, Helmut; Popp, Alexander; Erb, Karl-Heinz; Lauk, Christian; Harper, Richard; Tubiello, Francesco N; de Siqueira Pinto, Alexandre; Jafari, Mostafa; Sohi, Saran; Masera, Omar; Böttcher, Hannes; Berndes, Göran; Bustamante, Mercedes; Ahammad, Helal; Clark, Harry; Dong, Hongmin; Elsiddig, Elnour A; Mbow, Cheikh; Ravindranath, Nijavalli H; Rice, Charles W; Robledo Abad, Carmenza; Romanovskaya, Anna; Sperling, Frank; Herrero, Mario; House, Joanna I; Rose, Steven

2013-08-01

Feeding 9-10 billion people by 2050 and preventing dangerous climate change are two of the greatest challenges facing humanity. Both challenges must be met while reducing the impact of land management on ecosystem services that deliver vital goods and services, and support human health and well-being. Few studies to date have considered the interactions between these challenges. In this study we briefly outline the challenges, review the supply- and demand-side climate mitigation potential available in the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use AFOLU sector and options for delivering food security. We briefly outline some of the synergies and trade-offs afforded by mitigation practices, before presenting an assessment of the mitigation potential possible in the AFOLU sector under possible future scenarios in which demand-side measures codeliver to aid food security. We conclude that while supply-side mitigation measures, such as changes in land management, might either enhance or negatively impact food security, demand-side mitigation measures, such as reduced waste or demand for livestock products, should benefit both food security and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation. Demand-side measures offer a greater potential (1.5-15.6 Gt CO2 -eq. yr(-1) ) in meeting both challenges than do supply-side measures (1.5-4.3 Gt CO2 -eq. yr(-1) at carbon prices between 20 and 100 US$ tCO2 -eq. yr(-1) ), but given the enormity of challenges, all options need to be considered. Supply-side measures should be implemented immediately, focussing on those that allow the production of more agricultural product per unit of input. For demand-side measures, given the difficulties in their implementation and lag in their effectiveness, policy should be introduced quickly, and should aim to codeliver to other policy agenda, such as improving environmental quality or improving dietary health. These problems facing humanity in the 21st Century are extremely challenging, and policy that addresses multiple objectives is required now more than ever. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

24 CFR 203.501 - Loss mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Loss mitigation. 203.501 Section... FAMILY MORTGAGE INSURANCE Servicing Responsibilities General Requirements § 203.501 Loss mitigation... conditions and requirements for the appropriate use of these loss mitigation actions, concerning such matters...

24 CFR 203.501 - Loss mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Loss mitigation. 203.501 Section... FAMILY MORTGAGE INSURANCE Servicing Responsibilities General Requirements § 203.501 Loss mitigation... conditions and requirements for the appropriate use of these loss mitigation actions, concerning such matters...

24 CFR 203.501 - Loss mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Loss mitigation. 203.501 Section... FAMILY MORTGAGE INSURANCE Servicing Responsibilities General Requirements § 203.501 Loss mitigation... conditions and requirements for the appropriate use of these loss mitigation actions, concerning such matters...

24 CFR 203.501 - Loss mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Loss mitigation. 203.501 Section... FAMILY MORTGAGE INSURANCE Servicing Responsibilities General Requirements § 203.501 Loss mitigation... conditions and requirements for the appropriate use of these loss mitigation actions, concerning such matters...

Digging Our Own Holes: Institutional Perspectives on Seismic Hazards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stein, S.; Tomasello, J.

2005-12-01

It has been observed that there are no true students of the earth; instead, we each dig our own holes and sit in them. A similar situation arises in attempts to assess the hazards of earthquakes and other natural disasters and to develop strategies to mitigate them. Ideally, we would like to look at the interests of society as a whole and develop strategies that best balance hazard mitigation with alternative uses of resources. Doing so, however, is difficult for several reasons. First, estimating seismic hazards requires assumptions about the size, recurrence, and shaking from future earthquakes, none of which are well known. Second, we have to chose a definition of seismic hazard, which is even more arbitrary and at least as significant about future earthquakes. Third, mitigating the risks involves economic and policy issues as well as the scientific one of estimating the hazard itself and the engineering one of designing safe structures. As a result, different public and private organizations with different institutional perspectives naturally adopt different approaches. Most organizations have a single focus. For example, those focusing on economic development tend to discount hazards, whereas emergency management groups tend to accentuate them. Organizations with quasi-regulatory duties (BSSC, FEMA, USGS) focus on reducing losses in future earthquakes without considering the cost of mitigation measures or how this use of resources should be balanced with alternative uses of resources that could mitigate other losses. Some organizations, however, must confront these tradeoffs directly because they allocate resources internally. Hence hospitals implicitly trade off more earthquake resistant construction with treating uninsured patients, highway departments balance stronger bridges with other safety improvements, and schools balance safer buildings with after school programs. These choices are complicated by the fact that such infrastructure typically has longer life than normal commercial or residential buildings, and the direct and indirect losses resulting from their failure can be much larger. Hence the issue is balancing mitigating large losses in infrequent disasters with smaller but steady losses that may over time be greater. Finally, there has been little investigation of the benefits of mitigation regulations on the private sector relative to their consequences, which may significantly increase building costs, require seismic retrofits, and cause difficulties in securing loans and insurance. Possible outcomes include reduced economic activity (firms don't build or build elsewhere), job loss (or reduced growth), and the resulting reduction in tax revenue and thus public services. Given these complexities, organizations should be encouraged to examine broader societal issues beyond their institutional perspectives, and significant efforts should be made to develop a more integrated approach.

Rio Soliette (haiti): AN International Initiative for Flood-Hazard Assessment and Mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gandolfi, S.; Castellarin, A.; Barbarella, M.; Brath, A.; Domeneghetti, A.; Brandimarte, L.; Di Baldassarre, G.

2013-01-01

Natural catastrophic events are one of most critical aspects for health and economy all around the world. However, the impact in a poor region can impact more dramatically than in others countries. Isla Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), one of the poorest regions of the planet, has repeatedly been hit by catastrophic natural disasters that caused incalculable human and economic losses. After the catastrophic flood event occurred in the basin of River Soliette on May 24th, 2004, the General Direction for Development and Cooperation of the Italian Department of Foreign Affairs funded an international cooperation initiative (ICI) coordinated by the University of Bologna, that involved Haitian and Dominican institutions.Main purpose of the ICI was hydrological and hydraulic analysis of the May 2004 flood event aimed at formulating a suitable and affordable flood risk mitigation plan, consisting of structural and non-structural measures. In this contest, a topographic survey was necessary to realize the hydrological model and to improve the knowledge in some areas candidates to be site for mitigation measures.To overcome the difficulties arising from the narrowness of funds, surveyors and limited time available for the survey, only GPS technique have been used, both for framing aspects (using PPP approach), and for geometrical survey of the river by means of river cross-sections and detailed surveys in two areas (RTK technique). This allowed us to reconstruct both the river geometry and the DTM's of two expansion areas (useful for design hydraulic solutions for mitigate flood-hazard risk).

40 CFR 93.160 - Mitigation of air quality impacts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true Mitigation of air quality impacts. 93.160 Section 93.160 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... quality impacts. (a) Any measures that are intended to mitigate air quality impacts must be identified and...

40 CFR 93.160 - Mitigation of air quality impacts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Mitigation of air quality impacts. 93.160 Section 93.160 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... quality impacts. (a) Any measures that are intended to mitigate air quality impacts must be identified and...

40 CFR 93.160 - Mitigation of air quality impacts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Mitigation of air quality impacts. 93.160 Section 93.160 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... quality impacts. (a) Any measures that are intended to mitigate air quality impacts must be identified and...

40 CFR 93.160 - Mitigation of air quality impacts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Mitigation of air quality impacts. 93.160 Section 93.160 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... quality impacts. (a) Any measures that are intended to mitigate air quality impacts must be identified and...

24 CFR 203.605 - Loss mitigation performance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... performance. (1) HUD will measure and advise mortgagees of their loss mitigation performance through the Tier... mitigation attempts, defaults, and claims. Based on the ratios, HUD will group mortgagees in four tiers (Tiers 1, 2, 3, and 4), with Tier 1 representing the highest or best ranking mortgagees and Tier 4...

Assessing existing drought monitoring and forecasting capacities, mitigation and adaptation practices in Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nyabeze, W. R.; Dlamini, L.; Lahlou, O.; Imani, Y.; Alaoui, S. B.; Vermooten, J. S. A.

2012-04-01

Drought is one of the major natural hazards in many parts of the world, including Africa and some regions in Europe. Drought events have resulted in extensive damages to livelihoods, environment and economy. In 2011, a consortium consisting of 19 organisations from both Africa and Europe started a project (DEWFORA) aimed at developing a framework for the provision of early warning and response through drought impact mitigation for Africa. This framework covers the whole chain from monitoring and vulnerability assessment to forecasting, warning, response and knowledge dissemination. This paper presents the first results of the capacity assessment of drought monitoring and forecasting systems in Africa, the existing institutional frameworks and drought mitigation and adaptation practices. Its focus is particularly on the historical drought mitigation and adaptation actions identified in the North Africa - Maghreb Region (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia) and in the Southern Africa - Limpopo Basin. This is based on an extensive review of historical drought experiences. From the 1920's to 2009, the study identified 37 drought seasons in the North African - Maghreb Region and 33 drought seasons in the Southern Africa - Limpopo Basin. Existing literature tends to capture the spatial extent of drought at national and administrative scale in great detail. This is driven by the need to map drought impacts (food shortage, communities affected) in order to inform drought relief efforts (short-term drought mitigation measures). However, the mapping of drought at catchment scale (hydrological unit), required for longer-term measures, is not well documented. At regional level, both in North Africa and Southern Africa, two organisations are involved in drought monitoring and forecasting, while at national level 22 organisations are involved in North Africa and 37 in Southern Africa. Regarding drought related mitigation actions, the inventory shows that the most common actions implemented in Africa in the past include food aid, drought relief programs, growing of drought tolerate crops, saving livestock, water efficiency and construction or rehabilitation of boreholes, wells and small dams. In the North Africa - Maghreb Region and in the Southern Africa - Limpopo Basin, respectively 73 and 39 organisations involved in drought mitigation, are identified, dealing with agriculture extension services (28), food aid (11), policy (11), advocacy (10) and water supply (3). The most common adaptation actions identified are water harvesting, construction of water infrastructure, rehabilitation of traditional/cultural practices or implementation of technologies, water conservation, crop monitoring and crop diversification. Regarding involvement of organisations in drought adaptation, 18 organisations in the North Africa - Maghreb Region and 20 in Southern Africa - Limpopo Basin are identified. These organisations are involved in water infrastructure development or management (7), agriculture extension services (7) and policy development (13). The paper clearly shows that there is need to improve the existing monitoring and early warning systems at continental, regional, national and local scales. It also shows that a lot of organisations emerge when there is a drought and are involved in drought mitigation but only a few are involved in drought adaptation.

50 CFR 217.178 - Renewal of Letters of Authorization and adaptive management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... to Operation and Maintenance of the Neptune Liquefied Natural Gas Facility Off Massachusetts § 217... modify or augment the existing mitigation or monitoring measures (after consulting with Neptune regarding... modify the mitigation or monitoring measures: (1) Results from Neptune's monitoring from the previous...

Implementation and effectiveness of sound mitigation measures on Texas highways (HB 790) : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-10-01

The 84th Texas Legislature passed House Bill (HB) 790 directing the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) to perform a study on the implementation and effectiveness of sound mitigation measures on the state highway system and certain toll roads an...

The engineering options for mitigating the climate impacts of aviation.

PubMed

Williams, Victoria

2007-12-15

Aviation is a growing contributor to climate change, with unique impacts due to the altitude of emissions. If existing traffic growth rates continue, radical engineering solutions will be required to prevent aviation becoming one of the dominant contributors to climate change. This paper reviews the engineering options for mitigating the climate impacts of aviation using aircraft and airspace technologies. These options include not only improvements in fuel efficiency, which would reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, but also measures to reduce non-CO2 impacts including the formation of persistent contrails. Integrated solutions to optimize environmental performance will require changes to airframes, engines, avionics, air traffic control systems and airspace design. While market-based measures, such as offset schemes and emissions trading, receive growing attention, this paper sets out the crucial role of engineering in the challenge to develop a 'green air traffic system'.

Overview on mitigation of acrylamide in starchy fried and baked foods.

PubMed

Baskar, G; Aiswarya, R

2018-03-23

Acrylamide in fried and baked foods causes potential toxic effect in aniamls and humans. The major challenging task lies in developing an effective strategies for acrylamide mitigation in foods without altering its basic properties. Food scientists around the world have developed various methods to mitigate the presence of acrylamide in fired food products. The mitigation techniques such as addition of additives like salts, amino acids, cations and organic acids along with blanching of foods have reduced the concentration of acrylamide. The use of secondary metabolites like polyphenols also reduces acrylamide concentration in fried food products. The other mitigation techniques such as Asparaginase pre-treatment and low-temperature air frying with chitosan were effective in mitigating the concentration of acrylamide. Combined pre-treatment process preceding with use of additives, are the latest trend in acrylamide mitigation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Disaster Risk Management and Measurement Indicators for Cultural Heritage in Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yen, Y. N.; Cheng, C. F.; Cheng, H. M.

2015-08-01

Under the influence of global climate change, the risk preparedness has become a universal issue in different research fields. In the conservation of cultural heritage, disaster risk management is becoming one of the major research topics. Besides researches on the theory and mechanism of disaster risk management, the tools for the performance of site managers to protect cultural heritage is another important issue that needs development. UNESCO and ICOMOS have released some important documents on disaster risk management including its concept, identification, evaluation, mitigation, monitoring and resilience, etc. However, there is a big gap between concept and implementation in Taiwan. Presently there are 2000 monuments in Taiwan that hardly meet the modern code. First, based on international documents released, this research presents 13 disaster indicators on monuments and their environments. Next, 345 monuments in northern Taiwan are taken as examples to evaluate their risk situations with indicators designed in 2011. Some positive recommendations were given at the same time. As a result, a comparative evaluation was completed in 2012 and some key issues are found, such as too many electrical facilities, lack of efficient firefighting equipment, and a shortage of management mechanism, just to name a few. Through the improvement of the management, some major risk can be mitigated. In 2013~14, this research took 23 national monuments from the 345 monuments to evaluate their risk situations and compare the differences between national and local monuments. Results show that almost all management mechanisms in the national monuments have been established and are running well. However, problems like inappropriate electrical facilities and insufficient monitoring equipment remain. In addition, the performance of private monuments is not as good as public ones. Based on the collected information and evaluation, this research develops safety measures of heritage conservation in two aspects. One is for researchers to measure the risk of the heritage; the other is for site managers to manage the risk of their monument with ease. In conclusion, intendants of monuments in Taiwan have to develop more disaster risk management ideas to mitigate and prevent risks. In the meantime, the management and monitoring mechanisms available are helpful tools for risk mitigation. The awareness and training of the site managers are important issues for the implementation of risk prevention.

Experimental study designs to improve the evaluation of road mitigation measures for wildlife.

PubMed

Rytwinski, Trina; van der Ree, Rodney; Cunnington, Glenn M; Fahrig, Lenore; Findlay, C Scott; Houlahan, Jeff; Jaeger, Jochen A G; Soanes, Kylie; van der Grift, Edgar A

2015-05-01

An experimental approach to road mitigation that maximizes inferential power is essential to ensure that mitigation is both ecologically-effective and cost-effective. Here, we set out the need for and standards of using an experimental approach to road mitigation, in order to improve knowledge of the influence of mitigation measures on wildlife populations. We point out two key areas that need to be considered when conducting mitigation experiments. First, researchers need to get involved at the earliest stage of the road or mitigation project to ensure the necessary planning and funds are available for conducting a high quality experiment. Second, experimentation will generate new knowledge about the parameters that influence mitigation effectiveness, which ultimately allows better prediction for future road mitigation projects. We identify seven key questions about mitigation structures (i.e., wildlife crossing structures and fencing) that remain largely or entirely unanswered at the population-level: (1) Does a given crossing structure work? What type and size of crossing structures should we use? (2) How many crossing structures should we build? (3) Is it more effective to install a small number of large-sized crossing structures or a large number of small-sized crossing structures? (4) How much barrier fencing is needed for a given length of road? (5) Do we need funnel fencing to lead animals to crossing structures, and how long does such fencing have to be? (6) How should we manage/manipulate the environment in the area around the crossing structures and fencing? (7) Where should we place crossing structures and barrier fencing? We provide experimental approaches to answering each of them using example Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) study designs for two stages in the road/mitigation project where researchers may become involved: (1) at the beginning of a road/mitigation project, and (2) after the mitigation has been constructed; highlighting real case studies when available. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

50 CFR 665.815 - Pelagic longline seabird mitigation measures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Pelagic longline seabird mitigation measures. 665.815 Section 665.815 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL... and livers in accordance with paragraph (a)(2)(i) of this section; (v) When using basket-style...

76 FR 14320 - Importation of Figs and Pomegranates From Chile Under a Systems Approach

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-16

... pomegranates from Chile using mitigation measures other than fumigation with methyl bromide. DATES: We will... with methyl bromide. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) also received a request... mitigation measures other than fumigation with methyl bromide. Implementation of this rule will require...

Mitigation effectiveness for improving nesting success of greater sage-grouse influenced by energy development

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kirol, Christopher P.; Sutphin, Andrew L.; Bond, Laura S.; Fuller, Mark R.; Maechtle, Thomas L.

2015-01-01

Sagebrush Artemisia spp. habitats being developed for oil and gas reserves are inhabited by sagebrush obligate species — including the greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus (sage-grouse) that is currently being considered for protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Numerous studies suggest increasing oil and gas development may exacerbate species extinction risks. Therefore, there is a great need for effective on-site mitigation to reduce impacts to co-occurring wildlife such as sage-grouse. Nesting success is a primary factor in avian productivity and declines in nesting success are also thought to be an important contributor to population declines in sage-grouse. From 2008 to 2011 we monitored 296 nests of radio-marked female sage-grouse in a natural gas (NG) field in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming, USA, and compared nest survival in mitigated and non-mitigated development areas and relatively unaltered areas to determine if specific mitigation practices were enhancing nest survival. Nest survival was highest in relatively unaltered habitats followed by mitigated, and then non-mitigated NG areas. Reservoirs used for holding NG discharge water had the greatest support as having a direct relationship to nest survival. Within a 5-km2 area surrounding a nest, the probability of nest failure increased by about 15% for every 1.5 km increase in reservoir water edge. Reducing reservoirs was a mitigation focus and sage-grouse nesting in mitigated areas were exposed to almost half of the amount of water edge compared to those in non-mitigated areas. Further, we found that an increase in sagebrush cover was positively related to nest survival. Consequently, mitigation efforts focused on reducing reservoir construction and reducing surface disturbance, especially when the surface disturbance results in sagebrush removal, are important to enhancing sage-grouse nesting success.

Evaluating the Contribution of Soil Carbon to Global Climate Change Mitigation in an Integrated Assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomson, A. M.; Izaurralde, R. C.; Clarke, L. E.

2006-12-01

Assessing the contribution of terrestrial carbon sequestration to national and international climate change mitigation requires integration across scientific and disciplinary boundaries. In a study for the US Climate Change Technology Program, site based measurements and geographic data were used to develop a three- pool, first-order kinetic model of global agricultural soil carbon (C) stock changes over 14 continental scale regions. This model was then used together with land use scenarios from the MiniCAM integrated assessment model in a global analysis of climate change mitigation options. MiniCAM evaluated mitigation strategies within a set of policy environments aimed at achieving atmospheric CO2 stabilization by 2100 under a suite of technology and development scenarios. Adoption of terrestrial sequestration practices is based on competition for land and economic markets for carbon. In the reference case with no climate policy, conversion of agricultural land from conventional cultivation to no tillage over the next century in the United States results in C sequestration of 7.6 to 59.8 Tg C yr-1, which doubles to 19.0 to 143.4 Tg C yr-1 under the most aggressive climate policy. Globally, with no carbon policy, agricultural C sequestration rates range from 75.2 to 18.2 Tg C yr-1 over the century, with the highest rates occurring in the first fifty years. Under the most aggressive global climate change policy, sequestration in agricultural soils reaches up to 190 Tg C yr-1 in the first 15 years. The contribution of agricultural soil C sequestration is a small fraction of the total global carbon offsets necessary to reach the stabilization targets (9 to 20 Gt C yr-1) by the end of the century. This integrated assessment provides decision makers with science-based estimates of the potential magnitude of terrestrial C sequestration relative to other greenhouse gas mitigation strategies in all sectors of the global economy. It also provides insight into the behavior of terrestrial C mitigation options in the presence and absence of climate change mitigation policies.

Enhancing the Global Carbon Sink: A Key Mitigation Strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torn, M. S.

2016-12-01

Earth's terrestrial ecosystems absorb about one-third of all anthropogenic CO2 emissions from the atmosphere each year, greatly reducing the climate forcing those emissions would otherwise cause. This puts the size of the terrestrial carbon sink on par with the most aggressive climate mitigation measures proposed. Moreover, the land sink has been keeping pace with rising emissions and has roughly doubled over the past 40 years. But there is a fundamental lack of understanding of why the sink has been increasing and what its future trajectory could be. In developing climate mitigation strategies, governments have a very limited scientific basis for projecting the contributions of their domestic sinks, and yet at least 117 of the 160 COP21 signatories stated they will use the land sink in their Nationally Defined Contribution (NDC). Given its potentially critical role in reducing net emissions and the importance of UNFCCC land sinks in future mitigation scenarios, a first-principles understanding of the dynamics of the land sink is needed. For expansion of the sink, new approaches and ecologically-sound technologies are needed. Carefully conceived terrestrial carbon sequestration could have multiple environmental benefits, but a massive expansion of land carbon sinks using conventional approaches could place excessive demands on the world's land, water, and fertilizer nutrients. Meanwhile, rapid climatic change threatens to undermine or reverse the sink in many ecosystems. We need approaches to protect the large sinks that are currently assumed useful for climate mitigation. Thus we highlight the need for a new research agenda aimed at predicting, protecting, and enhancing the global carbon sink. Key aspects of this agenda include building a predictive capability founded on observations, theory and models, and developing ecological approaches and technologies that are sustainable and scalable, and potentially provide co-benefits such as healthier soils, more resilient and productive ecosystems, and more carbon-neutral bioenergy. Better scientific understanding of the sink provides more options for policy design, enables mitigation strategies that capture co-benefits, and increases the chances that global mitigation commitments will be met.

Implications of sustainable development considerations for comparability across NDCs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iyer, G.; Edmonds, J.; Calvin, K. V.; Hartin, C.; McJeon, H. C.; Clarke, L.

2017-12-01

The Paris Agreement delegates the establishment of national climate goals to individual governments through the nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Because of the absence of a commonly agreed burden-sharing scheme within the Agreement, assessments of comparability of mitigation efforts were and will continue to be important aspects of international climate change negotiations, as domestic decision-makers are interested in knowing whether other countries undertake comparable levels of effort in reducing emissions. At the same time, there are well-recognized relationships between mitigation and other national priorities, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This raises a question about how the linkages of such goals to mitigation might influence comparability assessments. This is an important issue, because countries are expected to include not only perceptions of comparability in the context of climate mitigation, but also relationships of mitigation with the broader SDGs. We use GCAM, a global integrated assessment model that tracks the interactions across economic, energy, agricultural and land-use systems for 32 geopolitical regions under one consistent framework to illustrate the relationships between the NDCs and a subset of the broader SDGs. We study the implications of considering these relationships for comparability assessments. The relationships between mitigation and the broader SDGs are rather complex because of the interconnected nature of human and Earth systems requiring the use of integrated tools such as GCAM that simultaneously track interactions across various human and Earth systems. Our analysis highlights that while some SDG measures are enhanced by the implementation of NDCs, others are degraded. In addition, the NDCs can have effects that extend beyond national boundaries to affect international SDGs and in some instances, also carry global impact. Finally, the distributions of effort across NDCs based on conventional metrics (such as emissions and cost) and the consequences of meeting the domestic mitigation component of the NDCs for a broader set of SDGs are not necessarily the same. Our study provides a foundation to conduct a broader assessment of the comparability across the NDCs using integrated human-Earth systems models.

Evaluating the effects of local floodplain management policies on property owner behavior

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bollens, Scott A.; Kaiser, Edward J.; Burby, Raymond J.

1988-05-01

Floodplain management programs have been adopted by more than 85% of local governments in the nation with designated flood hazard areas. Yet, there has been little evaluation of the influence of floodplain policies on private sector decisions. This article examines the degree to which riverine floodplain management affects purchase and mitigation decisions made by owners of developed floodplain property in ten selected cities in the United States. We find that the stringency of such policies does not lessen floodplain property buying because of the overriding importance of site amenity factors. Indeed, flood protection measures incorporated into development projects appear to add to the attractiveness of floodplain location by increasing the perceived safety from the hazard. Property owner responses to the flood hazard after occupancy involve political action more often than individual on-site mitigation. Floodplain programs only minimally encourage on-site mitigation by the owner because most owners have not experienced a flood and many are unaware of the flood threat. It is suggested that floodplain programs will be more effective in meeting their objectives if they are directed at intervention points earlier in the land conversion process.

Raptor interactions with wind energy: Case studies from around the world

USGS Publications Warehouse

Watson, Richard T.; Kolar, Patrick S.; Ferrer, Miguel; Nygård, Torgeir; Johnston, Naira; Hunt, W. Grainger; Smit-Robinson, Hanneline A.; Farmer, Christopher J; Huso, Manuela; Katzner, Todd

2018-01-01

The global potential for wind power generation is vast, and the number of installations is increasing rapidly. We review case studies from around the world of the effects on raptors of wind-energy development. Collision mortality, displacement, and habitat loss have the potential to cause population-level effects, especially for species that are rare or endangered. The impact on raptors has much to do with their behavior, so careful siting of wind-energy developments to avoid areas suited to raptor breeding, foraging, or migration would reduce these effects. At established wind farms that already conflict with raptors, reduction of fatalities may be feasible by curtailment of turbines as raptors approach, and offset through mitigation of other human causes of mortality such as electrocution and poisoning, provided the relative effects can be quantified. Measurement of raptor mortality at wind farms is the subject of intense effort and study, especially where mitigation is required by law, with novel statistical approaches recently made available to improve the notoriously difficult-to-estimate mortality rates of rare and hard-to-detect species. Global standards for wind farm placement, monitoring, and effects mitigation would be a valuable contribution to raptor conservation worldwide.

Managing U.S. climate risk through mitigation: Insights from the American Climate Prospectus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopp, R. E., III; Hsiang, S. M.; Houser, T.; Larsen, K.; Rasmussen, D. M., Jr.; Jina, A.; Rising, J.; Delgado, M.; Mohan, S.; Muir-Wood, R.; Wilson, P. S.

2014-12-01

The American Climate Prospectus (ACP), the technical analysis underlying the Risky Business project, quantitatively assessed the economic risks posed to the United States by six categories of climate change impacts: crop yield, energy demand, coastal storm damage, criminal activity, labor productivity, and mortality [1]. At a national level, measured by impact on gross domestic product, increased mortality and decreased labor productivity pose the large risks, followed by increased energy demand and coastal damages. Changes in crop yield and crime have smaller impacts. The ACP was not intended to conduct a benefit-cost analysis of climate change mitigation. It assessed the economic consequences of future impacts on an economy with a structure equivalent to that of the current economy, not accounting for socio-economic development and adaptation, and did not assess the cost of mitigation. One of its primary goals was to inform adaptation decisions that are conventionally considered 'endogenous' in economic analyses of climate change. Nonetheless, its results provide insight into the potential of mitigation to manage climate risk. Differences between RCP 8.5 (moderately-high business-as-usual emissions), RCP 4.5 (moderate mitigation) and RCP 2.6 (extremely strong mitigation) are not apparent until mid-century and become significant only late in the century. For all impacts except coastal damages, mitigation significantly reduces uncertainty in late-century impact estimates. Nationally, mitigation significantly and monotonically reduces median projected labor productivity losses and violent crime. Switching from RCP 8.5 to RCP 4.5 also significantly reduces median projections of mortality and energy demand, but the domestic value to the U.S. of further mitigation to RCP 2.6 is less clear. The marginal benefits decline in part because some regions of the country (especially the Northwest) may experience increased crop yields, reduced mortality, and reduced energy demand under all RCPs. Because of the slow response time of sea level to change in emissions, the coastal risk reduction in the current century from mitigation is least clear. References: [1] T. Houser et al. (2014), American Climate Prospectus, www.climateprospectus.org.

75 FR 54946 - Airport Improvement Program (AIP): Policy Regarding Access to Airports From Residential Property

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-09

... be mitigated with the adoption of certain measures. Mitigation might help assure that the airport..., access rights are perpetual, while at others the rights can be terminated only after expiration of a... sponsors and the property owners with access rights to help mitigate potential adverse effects. Where...

Hydrological modelling in a drinking water catchment area as a means of evaluating pathogen risk reduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bergion, Viktor; Sokolova, Ekaterina; Åström, Johan; Lindhe, Andreas; Sörén, Kaisa; Rosén, Lars

2017-01-01

Waterborne outbreaks of gastrointestinal diseases are of great concern to drinking water producers and can give rise to substantial costs to the society. The World Health Organisation promotes an approach where the emphasis is on mitigating risks close to the contamination source. In order to handle microbial risks efficiently, there is a need for systematic risk management. In this paper we present a framework for microbial risk management of drinking water systems. The framework incorporates cost-benefit analysis as a decision support method. The hydrological Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model, which was set up for the Stäket catchment area in Sweden, was used to simulate the effects of four different mitigation measures on microbial concentrations. The modelling results showed that the two mitigation measures that resulted in a significant (p < 0.05) reduction of Cryptosporidium spp. and Escherichia coli concentrations were a vegetative filter strip linked to cropland and improved treatment (by one Log10 unit) at the wastewater treatment plants. The mitigation measure with a vegetative filter strip linked to grazing areas resulted in a significant reduction of Cryptosporidium spp., but not of E. coli concentrations. The mitigation measure with enhancing the removal efficiency of all on-site wastewater treatment systems (total removal of 2 Log10 units) did not achieve any significant reduction of E. coli or Cryptosporidium spp. concentrations. The SWAT model was useful when characterising the effect of different mitigation measures on microbial concentrations. Hydrological modelling implemented within an appropriate risk management framework is a key decision support element as it identifies the most efficient alternative for microbial risk reduction.

Disentangling the effects of CO2 and short-lived climate forcer mitigation.

PubMed

Rogelj, Joeri; Schaeffer, Michiel; Meinshausen, Malte; Shindell, Drew T; Hare, William; Klimont, Zbigniew; Velders, Guus J M; Amann, Markus; Schellnhuber, Hans Joachim

2014-11-18

Anthropogenic global warming is driven by emissions of a wide variety of radiative forcers ranging from very short-lived climate forcers (SLCFs), like black carbon, to very long-lived, like CO2. These species are often released from common sources and are therefore intricately linked. However, for reasons of simplification, this CO2-SLCF linkage was often disregarded in long-term projections of earlier studies. Here we explicitly account for CO2-SLCF linkages and show that the short- and long-term climate effects of many SLCF measures consistently become smaller in scenarios that keep warming to below 2 °C relative to preindustrial levels. Although long-term mitigation of methane and hydrofluorocarbons are integral parts of 2 °C scenarios, early action on these species mainly influences near-term temperatures and brings small benefits for limiting maximum warming relative to comparable reductions taking place later. Furthermore, we find that maximum 21st-century warming in 2 °C-consistent scenarios is largely unaffected by additional black-carbon-related measures because key emission sources are already phased-out through CO2 mitigation. Our study demonstrates the importance of coherently considering CO2-SLCF coevolutions. Failing to do so leads to strongly and consistently overestimating the effect of SLCF measures in climate stabilization scenarios. Our results reinforce that SLCF measures are to be considered complementary rather than a substitute for early and stringent CO2 mitigation. Near-term SLCF measures do not allow for more time for CO2 mitigation. We disentangle and resolve the distinct benefits across different species and therewith facilitate an integrated strategy for mitigating both short and long-term climate change.

Modelling the effectiveness of grass buffer strips in managing muddy floods under a changing climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mullan, Donal; Vandaele, Karel; Boardman, John; Meneely, John; Crossley, Laura H.

2016-10-01

Muddy floods occur when rainfall generates runoff on agricultural land, detaching and transporting sediment into the surrounding natural and built environment. In the Belgian Loess Belt, muddy floods occur regularly and lead to considerable economic costs associated with damage to property and infrastructure. Mitigation measures designed to manage the problem have been tested in a pilot area within Flanders and were found to be cost-effective within three years. This study assesses whether these mitigation measures will remain effective under a changing climate. To test this, the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model was used to examine muddy flooding diagnostics (precipitation, runoff, soil loss and sediment yield) for a case study hillslope in Flanders where grass buffer strips are currently used as a mitigation measure. The model was run for present day conditions and then under 33 future site-specific climate scenarios. These future scenarios were generated from three earth system models driven by four representative concentration pathways and downscaled using quantile mapping and the weather generator CLIGEN. Results reveal that under the majority of future scenarios, muddy flooding diagnostics are projected to increase, mostly as a consequence of large scale precipitation events rather than mean changes. The magnitude of muddy flood events for a given return period is also generally projected to increase. These findings indicate that present day mitigation measures may have a reduced capacity to manage muddy flooding given the changes imposed by a warming climate with an enhanced hydrological cycle. Revisions to the design of existing mitigation measures within existing policy frameworks are considered the most effective way to account for the impacts of climate change in future mitigation planning.

Disentangling the effects of CO2 and short-lived climate forcer mitigation

PubMed Central

Rogelj, Joeri; Schaeffer, Michiel; Meinshausen, Malte; Shindell, Drew T.; Hare, William; Klimont, Zbigniew; Amann, Markus; Schellnhuber, Hans Joachim

2014-01-01

Anthropogenic global warming is driven by emissions of a wide variety of radiative forcers ranging from very short-lived climate forcers (SLCFs), like black carbon, to very long-lived, like CO2. These species are often released from common sources and are therefore intricately linked. However, for reasons of simplification, this CO2–SLCF linkage was often disregarded in long-term projections of earlier studies. Here we explicitly account for CO2–SLCF linkages and show that the short- and long-term climate effects of many SLCF measures consistently become smaller in scenarios that keep warming to below 2 °C relative to preindustrial levels. Although long-term mitigation of methane and hydrofluorocarbons are integral parts of 2 °C scenarios, early action on these species mainly influences near-term temperatures and brings small benefits for limiting maximum warming relative to comparable reductions taking place later. Furthermore, we find that maximum 21st-century warming in 2 °C-consistent scenarios is largely unaffected by additional black-carbon-related measures because key emission sources are already phased-out through CO2 mitigation. Our study demonstrates the importance of coherently considering CO2–SLCF coevolutions. Failing to do so leads to strongly and consistently overestimating the effect of SLCF measures in climate stabilization scenarios. Our results reinforce that SLCF measures are to be considered complementary rather than a substitute for early and stringent CO2 mitigation. Near-term SLCF measures do not allow for more time for CO2 mitigation. We disentangle and resolve the distinct benefits across different species and therewith facilitate an integrated strategy for mitigating both short and long-term climate change. PMID:25368182

Identification and mitigation of stray laser light in the Thomson scattering system on the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST).

PubMed

Jacobson, C M; Borchardt, M T; Den Hartog, D J; Falkowski, A F; Morton, L A; Thomas, M A

2016-11-01

The Thomson scattering diagnostic on the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) records excessive levels of stray Nd:YAG laser light. Stray light saturates the 1064 nm spectral channel in all polychromators, which prevents absolute electron density measurements via Rayleigh scattering calibration. Furthermore, stray light contaminates adjacent spectral channels for r/a ≥ 0.75, which renders the diagnostic unable to make electron temperature measurements at these radii. In situ measurements of stray light levels during a vacuum vessel vent are used to identify stray light sources and strategies for reduction of stray light levels. Numerical modeling using Zemax OpticStudio supports these measurements. The model of the vacuum vessel and diagnostic includes synthetic collection optics to enable direct comparison of measured and simulated stray light levels. Modeling produces qualitatively similar stray light distributions to MST measurements, and quantifies the mitigation effects of stray light mitigation strategies prior to implementation.

Identification and mitigation of stray laser light in the Thomson scattering system on the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobson, C. M.; Borchardt, M. T.; Den Hartog, D. J.; Falkowski, A. F.; Morton, L. A.; Thomas, M. A.

2016-11-01

The Thomson scattering diagnostic on the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) records excessive levels of stray Nd:YAG laser light. Stray light saturates the 1064 nm spectral channel in all polychromators, which prevents absolute electron density measurements via Rayleigh scattering calibration. Furthermore, stray light contaminates adjacent spectral channels for r/a ≥ 0.75, which renders the diagnostic unable to make electron temperature measurements at these radii. In situ measurements of stray light levels during a vacuum vessel vent are used to identify stray light sources and strategies for reduction of stray light levels. Numerical modeling using Zemax OpticStudio supports these measurements. The model of the vacuum vessel and diagnostic includes synthetic collection optics to enable direct comparison of measured and simulated stray light levels. Modeling produces qualitatively similar stray light distributions to MST measurements, and quantifies the mitigation effects of stray light mitigation strategies prior to implementation.

A greenhouse-gas information system monitoring and validating emissions reporting and mitigation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jonietz, Karl K; Dimotakis, Paul E; Roman, Douglas A

2011-09-26

Current GHG-mitigating regimes, whether internationally agreed or self-imposed, rely on the aggregation of self-reported data, with limited checks for consistency and accuracy, for monitoring. As nations commit to more stringent GHG emissions-mitigation actions and as economic rewards or penalties are attached to emission levels, self-reported data will require independent confirmation that they are accurate and reliable, if they are to provide the basis for critical choices and actions that may be required. Supporting emissions-mitigation efforts and agreements, as well as monitoring energy- and fossil-fuel intensive national and global activities would be best achieved by a process of: (1) monitoring ofmore » emissions and emission-mitigation actions, based, in part, on, (2) (self-) reporting of pertinent bottom-up inventory data, (3) verification that reported data derive from and are consistent with agreed-upon processes and procedures, and (4) validation that reported emissions and emissions-mitigation action data are correct, based on independent measurements (top-down) derived from a suite of sensors in space, air, land, and, possibly, sea, used to deduce and attribute anthropogenic emissions. These data would be assessed and used to deduce and attribute measured GHG concentrations to anthropogenic emissions, attributed geographically and, to the extent possible, by economic sector. The validation element is needed to provide independent assurance that emissions are in accord with reported values, and should be considered as an important addition to the accepted MRV process, leading to a MRV&V process. This study and report focus on attributes of a greenhouse-gas information system (GHGIS) needed to support MRV&V needs. These needs set the function of such a system apart from scientific/research monitoring of GHGs and carbon-cycle systems, and include (not exclusively): the need for a GHGIS that is operational, as required for decision-support; the need for a system that meets specifications derived from imposed requirements; the need for rigorous calibration, verification, and validation (CV&V) standards, processes, and records for all measurement and modeling/data-inversion data; the need to develop and adopt an uncertainty-quantification (UQ) regimen for all measurement and modeling data; and the requirement that GHGIS products can be subjected to third-party questioning and scientific scrutiny. This report examines and assesses presently available capabilities that could contribute to a future GHGIS. These capabilities include sensors and measurement technologies; data analysis and data uncertainty quantification (UQ) practices and methods; and model-based data-inversion practices, methods, and their associated UQ. The report further examines the need for traceable calibration, verification, and validation processes and attached metadata; differences between present science-/research-oriented needs and those that would be required for an operational GHGIS; the development, operation, and maintenance of a GHGIS missions-operations center (GMOC); and the complex systems engineering and integration that would be required to develop, operate, and evolve a future GHGIS. Present monitoring systems would be heavily relied on in any GHGIS implementation at the outset and would likely continue to provide valuable future contributions to GHGIS. However, present monitoring systems were developed to serve science/research purposes. This study concludes that no component or capability presently available is at the level of technological maturity and readiness required for implementation in an operational GHGIS today. However, purpose-designed and -built components could be developed and implemented in support of a future GHGIS. The study concludes that it is possible to develop and provide a capability-driven prototype GHGIS, as part of a Phase-1 effort, within three years from project-funding start, that would make use of and integrate existing sensing and system capabilities. As part of a Phase-2 effort, a requirements-driven, operational GHGIS could be developed, within ten years from project funding start. That schedule is driven by the development and long lead-times for some system components. The two efforts would be focused on different deliverables but could commence concurrently, to save time, if that was deemed desirable. We note that, developing and supporting an operational GHGIS will require a new approach and management, sustained funding and other support, as well as technical advances and development of purpose-built components that meet the requisite specifications. A functioning GHGIS will provide the basis for reasoned choices on how best to respond to rising GHG levels, especially when proposed U.S. actions are compared with or conditioned on the actions of other nations.« less

Climate change adaptation strategies and mitigation policies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García Fernández, Cristina

2015-04-01

The pace of climate change and the consequent warming of the Earth's surface is increasing vulnerability and decreasing adaptive capacity. Achieving a successful adaptation depends on the development of technology, institutional organization, financing availability and the exchange of information. Populations living in arid and semi-arid zones, low-lying coastal areas, land with water shortages or at risk of overflow or small islands are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Due to increasing population density in sensitive areas, some regions have become more vulnerable to events such as storms, floods and droughts, like the river basins and coastal plains. Human activities have fragmented and increased the vulnerability of ecosystems, which limit both, their natural adaptation and the effectiveness of the measures adopted. Adaptation means to carry out the necessary modifications for society to adapt to new climatic conditions in order to reduce their vulnerability to climate change. Adaptive capacity is the ability of a system to adjust to climate change (including climate variability and extremes) and to moderate potential damages, to take advantage of opportunities or face the consequences. Adaptation reduces the adverse impacts of climate change and enhance beneficial impacts, but will not prevent substantial cost that are produced by all damages. The performances require adaptation actions. These are defined and implemented at national, regional or local levels since many of the impacts and vulnerabilities depend on the particular economic, geographic and social circumstances of each country or region. We will present some adaptation strategies at national and local level and revise some cases of its implementation in several vulnerable areas. However, adaptation to climate change must be closely related to mitigation policies because the degree of change planned in different climatic variables is a function of the concentration levels that are achieved by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Mitigation and adaptation are therefore complementary actions. In the long term, climate change without mitigation measures will likely exceed the adaptive capacity of natural, managed and human systems. Early adoption of mitigation measures would break the dependence on carbon-intensive infrastructures and reduce adaptation needs to climate change. It also can save on adaptation cost. Therefore mitigation is the key objective of the global warming problem but little is being done in this field. We will present some proposals of "preventive economically efficient" policies at a global and regional level which will constitute the complement to the adaptation aspect.

44 CFR 79.6 - Eligibility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION GRANTS § 79.6... develop or update the flood portion of any mitigation plan. Planning grants are not eligible for funding... requirement. (1) States must have an approved State Mitigation Plan meeting the requirements of §§ 201.4 or...

44 CFR 79.6 - Eligibility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION GRANTS § 79.6... develop or update the flood portion of any mitigation plan. Planning grants are not eligible for funding... requirement. (1) States must have an approved State Mitigation Plan meeting the requirements of §§ 201.4 or...

44 CFR 79.6 - Eligibility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION GRANTS § 79.6... develop or update the flood portion of any mitigation plan. Planning grants are not eligible for funding... requirement. (1) States must have an approved State Mitigation Plan meeting the requirements of §§ 201.4 or...

44 CFR 79.6 - Eligibility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION GRANTS § 79.6 Eligibility... develop or update the flood portion of any mitigation plan. Planning grants are not eligible for funding... requirement. (1) States must have an approved State Mitigation Plan meeting the requirements of §§ 201.4 or...

Mitigating Community Impacts of Energy Development: Some Examples for Coal and Nuclear Generating Plants in the United States.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peelle, Elizabeth

The Hartsville, Tennessee nuclear reactor site, the coal plant at Wheatland, Wyoming, and the nuclear plant at Skagit, Washington have mitigation plans developed in response to a federal, state, and local regulatory agency, respectively; the three mitigation plans aim at internalizing community-level social costs and benefits during the…

Protect Thy Neighbor: Investigating the Spatial Externalities of Community Wildfire Hazard Mitigation

Treesearch

David Butry; Geoffrey Donovan

2008-01-01

Climate change, increased wildland fuels, and residential development patterns in fire-prone areas all combine to make wildfire risk mitigation an important public policy issue. One approach to wildfire risk mitigation is to encourage homeowners to use fire-resistant building materials and to create defensible spaces around their homes. We develop a theoretical model...

Improving Empirical Approaches to Estimating Local Greenhouse Gas Emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blackhurst, M.; Azevedo, I. L.; Lattanzi, A.

2016-12-01

Evidence increasingly indicates our changing climate will have significant global impacts on public health, economies, and ecosystems. As a result, local governments have become increasingly interested in climate change mitigation. In the U.S., cities and counties representing nearly 15% of the domestic population plan to reduce 300 million metric tons of greenhouse gases over the next 40 years (or approximately 1 ton per capita). Local governments estimate greenhouse gas emissions to establish greenhouse gas mitigation goals and select supporting mitigation measures. However, current practices produce greenhouse gas estimates - also known as a "greenhouse gas inventory " - of empirical quality often insufficient for robust mitigation decision making. Namely, current mitigation planning uses sporadic, annual, and deterministic estimates disaggregated by broad end use sector, obscuring sources of emissions uncertainty, variability, and exogeneity that influence mitigation opportunities. As part of AGU's Thriving Earth Exchange, Ari Lattanzi of City of Pittsburgh, PA recently partnered with Dr. Inez Lima Azevedo (Carnegie Mellon University) and Dr. Michael Blackhurst (University of Pittsburgh) to improve the empirical approach to characterizing Pittsburgh's greenhouse gas emissions. The project will produce first-order estimates of the underlying sources of uncertainty, variability, and exogeneity influencing Pittsburgh's greenhouse gases and discuss implications of mitigation decision making. The results of the project will enable local governments to collect more robust greenhouse gas inventories to better support their mitigation goals and improve measurement and verification efforts.

Electrostatic Characterization of Lunar Dust Simulants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Calle, C. I.; Buhler, C. R.; Ritz, M. L.

2008-01-01

Lunar dust can jeopardize exploration activities due to its ability to cling to most surfaces. In this paper, we report on our measurements of the electrostatic properties of the lunar soil simulants. Methods have been developed to measure the volume resistivity, dielectric constant, chargeability, and charge decay of lunar soil. While the first two parameters have been measured in the past [Olhoeft 1974], the last two have never been measured directly on the lunar regolith or on any of the Apollo samples. Measurements of the electrical properties of the lunar samples are being performed in an attempt to answer important problems that must be solved for the development of an effective dust mitigation technology, namely, how much charge can accumulate on the dust and how long does the charge remain on surfaces. The measurements will help develop coatings that are compatible with the intrinsic electrostatic properties of the lunar regolith.

Compensatory Mitigation Rule Factsheet

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

A two page fact sheet developed by EPA for the public to reinforce the requirements under the 2008 Compensatory Mitigation Rule to adhere to the “mitigation sequence” of “avoid, minimize and compensate”.

Idaho Habitat Evaluation for Off-Site Mitigation Record : Annual Report 1988.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Idaho. Dept. of Fish and Game.

1990-03-01

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) has been monitoring and evaluating existing and proposed habitat improvement projects for steelhead and chinook in the Clearwater and Salmon subbasins since 1984. Projects included in the monitoring are funded by, or proposed for funding by, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) under the Northwest Power Planning Act as off-site mitigation for downstream hydropower development on the Snake and Columbia Rivers. This monitoring project is also funded under the same authority. A mitigation record is being developed to use actual and potential increases in smolt production as the best measures of benefit frommore » a habitat improvement project. This project is divided into two subprojects: general and intensive monitoring. Primary objectives of the general monitoring subproject are to determine natural production increases due to habitat improvement projects in terms of parr production and to determine natural production status and trends in Idaho. The second objective is accomplished by combining parr density from monitoring and evaluation of BPA habitat projects and from other IDFG management and research activities. The primary objective of the intensive monitoring subproject is to determine the relationships between spawning escapement, parr production, and smolt production in two Idaho streams; the upper Salmon River and Crooked River. Results of the intensive monitoring will be used to estimate mitigation benefits in terms of smolt production and to interpret natural production monitoring in Idaho. 30 refs., 19 figs., 34 tabs.« less

Global climate change: the quantifiable sustainability challenge.

PubMed

Princiotta, Frank T; Loughlin, Daniel H

2014-09-01

Population growth and the pressures spawned by increasing demands for energy and resource-intensive goods, foods, and services are driving unsustainable growth in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Recent GHG emission trends are consistent with worst-case scenarios of the previous decade. Dramatic and near-term emission reductions likely will be needed to ameliorate the potential deleterious impacts of climate change. To achieve such reductions, fundamental changes are required in the way that energy is generated and used. New technologies must be developed and deployed at a rapid rate. Advances in carbon capture and storage, renewable, nuclear and transportation technologies are particularly important; however, global research and development efforts related to these technologies currently appear to fall short relative to needs. Even with a proactive and international mitigation effort, humanity will need to adapt to climate change, but the adaptation needs and damages will be far greater if mitigation activities are not pursued in earnest. In this review, research is highlighted that indicates increasing global and regional temperatures and ties climate changes to increasing GHG emissions. GHG mitigation targets necessary for limiting future global temperature increases are discussed, including how factors such as population growth and the growing energy intensity of the developing world will make these reduction targets more challenging. Potential technological pathways for meeting emission reduction targets are examined, barriers are discussed, and global and US. modeling results are presented that suggest that the necessary pathways will require radically transformed electric and mobile sectors. While geoengineering options have been proposed to allow more time for serious emission reductions, these measures are at the conceptual stage with many unanswered cost, environmental, and political issues. Implications: This paper lays out the case that mitigating the potential for catastrophic climate change will be a monumental challenge, requiring the global community to transform its energy system in an aggressive, coordinated, and timely manner. If this challenge is to be met, new technologies will have to be developed and deployed at a rapid rate. Advances in carbon capture and storage, renewable, nuclear, and transportation technologies are particularly important. Even with an aggressive international mitigation effort, humanity will still need to adapt to significant climate change.

Measuring and mitigating inhibition during real-time, quantitative PCR analysis of viral nucleic acid extracts from large-volume environmental water samples

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Naturally-occurring inhibitory compounds are a major concern during qPCR and RT-qPCR analysis of environmental samples, particularly large volume water samples. Here, a standardized method for measuring and mitigating sample inhibition in environmental water concentrates is described. Specifically, ...

30 CFR 550.223 - What mitigation measures information must accompany the EP?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false What mitigation measures information must accompany the EP? 550.223 Section 550.223 Mineral Resources BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF... under the ESA; and (2) Marine mammals, as appropriate, if you have not already received authorization...

30 CFR 250.254 - What mitigation measures information must accompany the DPP or DOCD?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false What mitigation measures information must accompany the DPP or DOCD? 250.254 Section 250.254 Mineral Resources BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT... take of: (1) Threatened and endangered species listed under the ESA and (2) Marine mammals, as...

30 CFR 550.223 - What mitigation measures information must accompany the EP?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false What mitigation measures information must accompany the EP? 550.223 Section 550.223 Mineral Resources BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF... under the ESA; and (2) Marine mammals, as appropriate, if you have not already received authorization...

30 CFR 550.223 - What mitigation measures information must accompany the EP?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false What mitigation measures information must accompany the EP? 550.223 Section 550.223 Mineral Resources BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF... under the ESA; and (2) Marine mammals, as appropriate, if you have not already received authorization...

30 CFR 250.223 - What mitigation measures information must accompany the EP?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false What mitigation measures information must accompany the EP? 250.223 Section 250.223 Mineral Resources BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT, REGULATION... endangered species listed under the ESA and (2) Marine mammals, as appropriate, if you have not already...

GHG emission mitigation measures and technologies in the Czech Republic

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tichy, M.

1996-12-31

The paper presents a short overview of main results in two fields: projection of GHG emission from energy sector in the Czech Republic and assessment of technologies and options for GHG mitigation. The last part presents an overview of measures that were prepared for potential inclusion to the Czech Climate Change Action Plan.

Rapid emergence of climate change in environmental drivers of marine ecosystems.

PubMed

Henson, Stephanie A; Beaulieu, Claudie; Ilyina, Tatiana; John, Jasmin G; Long, Matthew; Séférian, Roland; Tjiputra, Jerry; Sarmiento, Jorge L

2017-03-07

Climate change is expected to modify ecological responses in the ocean, with the potential for important effects on the ecosystem services provided to humankind. Here we address the question of how rapidly multiple drivers of marine ecosystem change develop in the future ocean. By analysing an ensemble of models we find that, within the next 15 years, the climate change-driven trends in multiple ecosystem drivers emerge from the background of natural variability in 55% of the ocean and propagate rapidly to encompass 86% of the ocean by 2050 under a 'business-as-usual' scenario. However, we also demonstrate that the exposure of marine ecosystems to climate change-induced stress can be drastically reduced via climate mitigation measures; with mitigation, the proportion of ocean susceptible to multiple drivers within the next 15 years is reduced to 34%. Mitigation slows the pace at which multiple drivers emerge, allowing an additional 20 years for adaptation in marine ecological and socio-economic systems alike.

Assessment of Navel Oranges, Clementine Tangerines, and Rutaceous Fruits as Hosts of Bactrocera cucurbitae and Bactrocera latifrons (Diptera: Tephritidae)

PubMed Central

McQuate, Grant T.; Follett, Peter A.; Liquido, Nicanor J.; Sylva, Charmaine D.

2015-01-01

Export of Citrus spp. fruits may require risk mitigation measures if grown in areas with established tephritid fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) populations capable of infesting the fruits. The host status of Citrus spp. fruits is unclear for two tephritid fruit fly species whose geographic ranges have expanded in recent years: melon fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae (Cocquillett), and Bactrocera latifrons (Hendel). In no choice cage infestation studies, B. latifrons oviposited into intact and punctured Washington navel oranges (Citrus sinensis [L.] Osbeck) and Clementine tangerines (C. reticulata L. var. Clementine), but eggs rarely developed to the adult stage. B. cucurbitae readily infested intact and punctured tangerines, and to a lesser extent punctured oranges, but did not infest intact oranges. Limited cage infestation and only a single literature report of field Citrus spp. infestation suggest that risk mitigation of Citrus spp. for B. latifrons is not needed. Risk mitigation options of Citrus spp. for B. cucurbitae, including heat and cold treatments and systems approaches, are discussed. PMID:26816484

Rapid emergence of climate change in environmental drivers of marine ecosystems

PubMed Central

Henson, Stephanie A.; Beaulieu, Claudie; Ilyina, Tatiana; John, Jasmin G.; Long, Matthew; Séférian, Roland; Tjiputra, Jerry; Sarmiento, Jorge L.

2017-01-01

Climate change is expected to modify ecological responses in the ocean, with the potential for important effects on the ecosystem services provided to humankind. Here we address the question of how rapidly multiple drivers of marine ecosystem change develop in the future ocean. By analysing an ensemble of models we find that, within the next 15 years, the climate change-driven trends in multiple ecosystem drivers emerge from the background of natural variability in 55% of the ocean and propagate rapidly to encompass 86% of the ocean by 2050 under a ‘business-as-usual' scenario. However, we also demonstrate that the exposure of marine ecosystems to climate change-induced stress can be drastically reduced via climate mitigation measures; with mitigation, the proportion of ocean susceptible to multiple drivers within the next 15 years is reduced to 34%. Mitigation slows the pace at which multiple drivers emerge, allowing an additional 20 years for adaptation in marine ecological and socio-economic systems alike. PMID:28267144

Strategies for Discovery of Small Molecule Radiation Protectors and Radiation Mitigators

PubMed Central

Greenberger, Joel S.; Clump, David; Kagan, Valerian; Bayir, Hülya; Lazo, John S.; Wipf, Peter; Li, Song; Gao, Xiang; Epperly, Michael W.

2011-01-01

Mitochondrial targeted radiation damage protectors (delivered prior to irradiation) and mitigators (delivered after irradiation, but before the appearance of symptoms associated with radiation syndrome) have been a recent focus in drug discovery for (1) normal tissue radiation protection during fractionated radiotherapy, and (2) radiation terrorism counter measures. Several categories of such molecules have been discovered: nitroxide-linked hybrid molecules, including GS-nitroxide, GS-nitric oxide synthase inhibitors, p53/mdm2/mdm4 inhibitors, and pharmaceutical agents including inhibitors of the phosphoinositide-3-kinase pathway and the anti-seizure medicine, carbamazepine. Evaluation of potential new radiation dose modifying molecules to protect normal tissue includes: clonogenic radiation survival curves, assays for apoptosis and DNA repair, and irradiation-induced depletion of antioxidant stores. Studies of organ specific radioprotection and in total body irradiation-induced hematopoietic syndrome in the mouse model for protection/mitigation facilitate rational means by which to move candidate small molecule drugs along the drug discovery pipeline into clinical development. PMID:22655254

Rapid emergence of climate change in environmental drivers of marine ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henson, Stephanie A.; Beaulieu, Claudie; Ilyina, Tatiana; John, Jasmin G.; Long, Matthew; Séférian, Roland; Tjiputra, Jerry; Sarmiento, Jorge L.

2017-03-01

Climate change is expected to modify ecological responses in the ocean, with the potential for important effects on the ecosystem services provided to humankind. Here we address the question of how rapidly multiple drivers of marine ecosystem change develop in the future ocean. By analysing an ensemble of models we find that, within the next 15 years, the climate change-driven trends in multiple ecosystem drivers emerge from the background of natural variability in 55% of the ocean and propagate rapidly to encompass 86% of the ocean by 2050 under a `business-as-usual' scenario. However, we also demonstrate that the exposure of marine ecosystems to climate change-induced stress can be drastically reduced via climate mitigation measures; with mitigation, the proportion of ocean susceptible to multiple drivers within the next 15 years is reduced to 34%. Mitigation slows the pace at which multiple drivers emerge, allowing an additional 20 years for adaptation in marine ecological and socio-economic systems alike.

Clear, Conductive, Transparent, Flexible Space Durable Composite Films for Electrostatic Charge Mitigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watson, Kent A.; Connell, John W.; Delozier, Donavon M.; Smith, Joseph G., Jr.

2004-01-01

Space environmentally durable polymeric films with low color and sufficient electrical conductivity to mitigate electrostatic charge (ESC) build-up have been under investigation as part of a materials development activity. These materials have potential applications on advanced spacecraft, particularly on large, deployable, ultra-light weight Gossamer spacecraft. The approach taken to impart sufficient electrical conductivity into the polymer film while maintaining flexibility is to use single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) as conductive additives. Approaches investigated in our lab involved an in-situ polymerization method, addition of SWNTs to a polymer containing reactive end-groups, and spray coating of polymer surfaces. The work described herein is a summary of the current status of this project. Surface conductivities (measured as surface resistance) in the range sufficient for ESC mitigation were achieved with minimal effects on the physical, thermal, mechanical and optical properties of the films. Additionally, the electrical conductivity was not affected by harsh mechanical manipulation of the films. The chemistry and physical properties of these nanocomposites will be discussed.

Adaptation strategies for health impacts of climate change in Western Australia: Application of a Health Impact Assessment framework

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Spickett, Jeffery T., E-mail: J.Spickett@curtin.edu.a; Brown, Helen L., E-mail: h.brown@curtin.edu.a; Katscherian, Dianne, E-mail: Dianne.Katscherian@health.wa.gov.a

2011-04-15

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the globe and there is substantial evidence that this will result in a number of health impacts, regardless of the level of greenhouse gas mitigation. It is therefore apparent that a combined approach of mitigation and adaptation will be required to protect public health. While the importance of mitigation is recognised, this project focused on the role of adaptation strategies in addressing the potential health impacts of climate change. The nature and magnitude of these health impacts will be determined by a number of parameters that are dependent upon the location.more » Firstly, climate change will vary between regions. Secondly, the characteristics of each region in terms of population and the ability to adapt to changes will greatly influence the extent of the health impacts that are experienced now and into the future. Effective adaptation measures therefore need to be developed with these differences in mind. A Health Impact Assessment (HIA) framework was used to consider the implications of climate change on the health of the population of Western Australia (WA) and to develop a range of adaptive responses suited to WA. A broad range of stakeholders participated in the HIA process, providing informed input into developing an understanding of the potential health impacts and potential adaptation strategies from a diverse sector perspective. Potential health impacts were identified in relation to climate change predictions in WA in the year 2030. The risk associated with each of these impacts was assessed using a qualitative process that considered the consequences and the likelihood of the health impact occurring. Adaptations were then developed which could be used to mitigate the identified health impacts and provide responses which could be used by Government for future decision making. The periodic application of a HIA framework is seen as an ideal tool to develop appropriate adaptation strategies to address the potential health impacts of climate change.« less

Modeling of Dust Levels Associated with Potential Utility-Scale Solar Development in the San Luis Valley-Taos Plateau Study Area

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chang, Y. -S.; Kotamarthi, R.; Hartmann, H. M.

The San Luis Valley (SLV)–Taos Plateau study area in south-central Colorado and north-central New Mexico is a large alpine valley surrounded by mountains with an area of approximately 6,263,000 acres (25,345 km 2) (Figure ES.1-1). This area receives ample sunshine throughout the year, making it an ideal location for solar energy generation, and there are currently five photovoltaic facilities operating on private lands in the SLV, ranging in capacity from 1 to 30 megawatt (MW). In 2012 the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) launched its Solar Energy Program, which included the identification of four solar energy zones (SEZs) in themore » SLV totaling 16,308 acres (66 km 2), as well as over 50,000 (202 km 2) acres of other BLM-administered lands potentially available for application for solar development. The SEZ areas, named Antonito Southeast, De Tilla Gulch, Fourmile East, and Los Mogotes East, were defined by the BLM as areas well-suited for utility-scale (i.e., larger than 20 MW) production of solar energy where solar energy development would be prioritized (BLM 2012). Nonetheless, it was recognized that solar development in the SEZs would result in some unavoidable adverse impacts, and so the BLM initiated a solar regional mitigation strategy (SRMS) study for three of the SEZs (BLM and Argonne 2016). The SRMS is designed to identify residual impacts of solar development in the SEZs (that is, those that cannot be avoided or minimized onsite), identify those residual impacts that warrant compensatory mitigation when considering the regional status and trends of the resources, identify appropriate regional compensatory mitigation locations and actions to address those residual impacts, and recommend appropriate fees to implement those compensatory mitigation measures.« less

Development of a Windbreak Dust Predictive Model and Mitigation Planning Tool

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-12-01

laminar and turbulent flow (Uo = 5 m/s and Ls = 1 cm). Figure 28 Deposition fraction, DF, as a function of Stk * showing the collapse of the artificial...Figure 30 Deposition fraction, DF, as a function of the modified Stokes number ( Stk *). Figure 31 The measured decrease in horizontal PM10 flux, F...concentration. Sb Particle travel distance vi SERDP Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program Stk Stokes number Stk * Modified Stokes

DART: Instrument Package Developed for Investigating Atmospheric Dust on Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Landis, Geoffrey A.

2001-01-01

Mars' dust-filled atmosphere could be a significant problem for photovoltaic array operation during long missions on the surface of Mars. Measurements made by Pathfinder showed a 0.3-percent loss of solar array performance per day due to dust obscuration. Thus, dust deposition is the limiting factor in the lifetime of solar arrays for Martian power systems, and developing design tools to mitigate this deposition is important for long missions.

Predicting environmental mitigation requirements for hydropower projects through the integration of biophysical and socio-political geographies

DOE PAGES

Bevelhimer, Mark S.; DeRolph, Christopher R.; Schramm, Michael P.

2016-06-06

Uncertainty about environmental mitigation needs at existing and proposed hydropower projects makes it difficult for stakeholders to minimize environmental impacts. Hydropower developers and operators desire tools to better anticipate mitigation requirements, while natural resource managers and regulators need tools to evaluate different mitigation scenarios and order effective mitigation. Here we sought to examine the feasibility of using a suite of multidisciplinary explanatory variables within a spatially explicit modeling framework to fit predictive models for future environmental mitigation requirements at hydropower projects across the conterminous U.S. Using a database comprised of mitigation requirements from more than 300 hydropower project licenses, wemore » were able to successfully fit models for nearly 50 types of environmental mitigation and to apply the predictive models to a set of more than 500 non-powered dams identified as having hydropower potential. The results demonstrate that mitigation requirements have been a result of a range of factors, from biological and hydrological to political and cultural. Furthermore, project developers can use these models to inform cost projections and design considerations, while regulators can use the models to more quickly identify likely environmental issues and potential solutions, hopefully resulting in more timely and more effective decisions on environmental mitigation.« less

Predicting environmental mitigation requirements for hydropower projects through the integration of biophysical and socio-political geographies.

PubMed

DeRolph, Christopher R; Schramm, Michael P; Bevelhimer, Mark S

2016-10-01

Uncertainty about environmental mitigation needs at existing and proposed hydropower projects makes it difficult for stakeholders to minimize environmental impacts. Hydropower developers and operators desire tools to better anticipate mitigation requirements, while natural resource managers and regulators need tools to evaluate different mitigation scenarios and order effective mitigation. Here we sought to examine the feasibility of using a suite of multi-faceted explanatory variables within a spatially explicit modeling framework to fit predictive models for future environmental mitigation requirements at hydropower projects across the conterminous U.S. Using a database comprised of mitigation requirements from more than 300 hydropower project licenses, we were able to successfully fit models for nearly 50 types of environmental mitigation and to apply the predictive models to a set of more than 500 non-powered dams identified as having hydropower potential. The results demonstrate that mitigation requirements are functions of a range of factors, from biophysical to socio-political. Project developers can use these models to inform cost projections and design considerations, while regulators can use the models to more quickly identify likely environmental issues and potential solutions, hopefully resulting in more timely and more effective decisions on environmental mitigation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Predicting environmental mitigation requirements for hydropower projects through the integration of biophysical and socio-political geographies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bevelhimer, Mark S.; DeRolph, Christopher R.; Schramm, Michael P.

Uncertainty about environmental mitigation needs at existing and proposed hydropower projects makes it difficult for stakeholders to minimize environmental impacts. Hydropower developers and operators desire tools to better anticipate mitigation requirements, while natural resource managers and regulators need tools to evaluate different mitigation scenarios and order effective mitigation. Here we sought to examine the feasibility of using a suite of multidisciplinary explanatory variables within a spatially explicit modeling framework to fit predictive models for future environmental mitigation requirements at hydropower projects across the conterminous U.S. Using a database comprised of mitigation requirements from more than 300 hydropower project licenses, wemore » were able to successfully fit models for nearly 50 types of environmental mitigation and to apply the predictive models to a set of more than 500 non-powered dams identified as having hydropower potential. The results demonstrate that mitigation requirements have been a result of a range of factors, from biological and hydrological to political and cultural. Furthermore, project developers can use these models to inform cost projections and design considerations, while regulators can use the models to more quickly identify likely environmental issues and potential solutions, hopefully resulting in more timely and more effective decisions on environmental mitigation.« less

An attempt to implement tools to support examination of community-based activities for disaster mitigation: A case study in Toyokawa city, Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karashima, Kazuki; Ohgai, Akira

2017-10-01

Japan is a country with a high risk for earthquake disasters. The measures used to promote structures' seismic safety, such as reconstruction, widening narrow roads, and the response capacities to deal with huge earthquakes are important. Techniques to support the examination of countermeasures to huge earthquakes are required. To improve this capability, the authors developed tools to: (1) evaluate fire-spread risk, (2) evaluate the difficulty of emergency response and evacuation, and (3) evaluate capacities of neighborhood communities for disaster mitigation. The usefulness of the tools was clarified by the demonstration experiments of previous studies. The next step was implementation of the tools in community-based activities for disaster mitigation. This study aimed to clarify the usability and problems of implementing the tools in community-based activities. The tools were used at several workshops in actual community-based activities for disaster mitigation for one year. After the last workshop, interviews and a questionnaire were conducted on municipal staff and consultant staff. The results found that the tools visually showed the fire-spread risk, the difficulty of evacuation under current conditions and after improvements, and the effects of each disaster mitigation activity. The users could easily explore the draft plans to promote seismic safety of urban structures and response capabilities. The tools were positively incorporated into some community-based activities for disaster mitigation. Thus, the tools have the possibility of successful use at continuing community-based activities and the possibility of implementing the tools will be promoted.

Investigations of antioxidant-mediated protection and mitigation of radiation-induced DNA damage and lipid peroxidation in murine skin.

PubMed

Jelveh, Salomeh; Kaspler, Pavel; Bhogal, Nirmal; Mahmood, Javed; Lindsay, Patricia E; Okunieff, Paul; Doctrow, Susan R; Bristow, Robert G; Hill, Richard P

2013-08-01

Radioprotection and mitigation effects of the antioxidants, Eukarion (EUK)-207, curcumin, and the curcumin analogs D12 and D68, on radiation-induced DNA damage or lipid peroxidation in murine skin were investigated. These antioxidants were studied because they have been previously reported to protect or mitigate against radiation-induced skin reactions. DNA damage was assessed using two different assays. A cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus (MN) assay was performed on primary skin fibroblasts harvested from the skin of C3H/HeJ male mice 1 day, 1 week and 4 weeks after 5 Gy or 10 Gy irradiation. Local skin or whole body irradiation (100 kVp X-rays or caesium (Cs)-137 γ-rays respectively) was performed. DNA damage was further quantified in keratinocytes by immunofluorescence staining of γ-histone 2AX (γ-H2AX) foci in formalin-fixed skin harvested 1 hour or 1 day post-whole body irradiation. Radiation-induced lipid peroxidation in the skin was investigated at the same time points as the MN assay by measuring malondialdehyde (MDA) with a Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assay. None of the studied antioxidants showed significant mitigation of skin DNA damage induced by local irradiation. However, when EUK-207 or curcumin were delivered before irradiation they provided some protection against DNA damage. In contrast, all the studied antioxidants demonstrated significant mitigating and protecting effects on radiation-induced lipid peroxidation at one or more of the three time points after local skin irradiation. Our results show no evidence for mitigation of DNA damage by the antioxidants studied in contrast to mitigation of lipid peroxidation. Since these agents have been reported to mitigate skin reactions following irradiation, the data suggest that changes in lipid peroxidation levels in skin may reflect developing skin reactions better than residual post-irradiation DNA damage in skin cells. Further direct comparison studies are required to confirm this inference from the data.

Development and improvement of historical emission inventory in Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurokawa, J. I.; Yumimoto, K.; Itahashi, S.; Maki, T.; Nagashima, T.; Ohara, T.

2016-12-01

Due to the rapid growth of economy and population, Asia becomes the largest emitter regions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases in the world. To tackle this problem, it is essential to understand the current status and past trend and to estimate effectiveness of mitigation measures using monitoring data, air quality and climate models, and emission inventories. We developed a historical emission inventory in Asia for 1950-2010 base on Regional Emission Inventory in ASia (REAS) version 2. In these 6 decades, emissions of all species in Asia showed remarkable increases. Recently, the largest emitter country in Asia is China. However, in 1960s, Japan is the largest emitter country for SO2 till about 1970 and NOx till about 1980, respectively. We surveyed effectiveness of abatement measures on NOx emissions in Japan and China. In Japan, the largest effective mitigation measure is regulation for motor vehicles. In 2010, reduced amounts of NOx emissions were estimated to be 2.7 time larger than actual emissions. For China, until 2010, the most effective mitigation measure is low-NOx burner installed in power plants. Regulation of motor vehicles also assumed to reduce NOx emissions from road transport by 40% compared to those without regulations in 2010. We roughly expanded the period of NOx emissions in China and Japan till 2012 and trend between 2008 and 2012 were compared with top-down emissions estimated using inverse modeling technique and satellite observations. Compared to top-down emissions, trends of the bottom-up emissions in China (Japan) overestimated increased (decreased) ratios in 2008-2012. For China, our emissions seem to underestimate the penetration rates of FGD for NOx installed in power plants. On the other hand, decreased rates of NOx emission factors for road vehicles in Japan might be overestimated in our emissions. These differences will be reconsidered to update our bottom-up emission inventory.

A Review of Frameworks for Developing Environmental Health Indicators for Climate Change and Health

PubMed Central

Hambling, Tammy; Weinstein, Philip; Slaney, David

2011-01-01

The role climate change may play in altering human health, particularly in the emergence and spread of diseases, is an evolving area of research. It is important to understand this relationship because it will compound the already significant burden of diseases on national economies and public health. Authorities need to be able to assess, anticipate, and monitor human health vulnerability to climate change, in order to plan for, or implement action to avoid these eventualities. Environmental health indicators (EHIs) provide a tool to assess, monitor, and quantify human health vulnerability, to aid in the design and targeting of interventions, and measure the effectiveness of climate change adaptation and mitigation activities. Our aim was to identify the most suitable framework for developing EHIs to measure and monitor the impacts of climate change on human health and inform the development of interventions. Using published literature we reviewed the attributes of 11 frameworks. We identified the Driving force-Pressure-State-Exposure-Effect-Action (DPSEEA) framework as the most suitable one for developing EHIs for climate change and health. We propose the use of EHIs as a valuable tool to assess, quantify, and monitor human health vulnerability, design and target interventions, and measure the effectiveness of climate change adaptation and mitigation activities. In this paper, we lay the groundwork for the future development of EHIs as a multidisciplinary approach to link existing environmental and epidemiological data and networks. Analysis of such data will contribute to an enhanced understanding of the relationship between climate change and human health. PMID:21845162

Ethical aspects of the mitigation obstruction argument against climate engineering research.

PubMed

Morrow, David R

2014-12-28

Many commentators fear that climate engineering research might lead policy-makers to reduce mitigation efforts. Most of the literature on this so-called 'moral hazard' problem focuses on the prediction that climate engineering research would reduce mitigation efforts. This paper focuses on a related ethical question: Why would it be a bad thing if climate engineering research obstructed mitigation? If climate engineering promises to be effective enough, it might justify some reduction in mitigation. Climate policy portfolios involving sufficiently large or poorly planned reductions in mitigation, however, could lead to an outcome that would be worse than the portfolio that would be chosen in the absence of further climate engineering research. This paper applies three ethical perspectives to describe the kinds of portfolios that would be worse than that 'baseline portfolio'. The literature on climate engineering identifies various mechanisms that might cause policy-makers to choose these inferior portfolios, but it is difficult to know in advance whether the existence of these mechanisms means that climate engineering research really would lead to a worse outcome. In the light of that uncertainty, a precautionary approach suggests that researchers should take measures to reduce the risk of mitigation obstruction. Several such measures are suggested. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

What can we learn from field experiments about the development of SOC and GHG emissions under different management practices?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spiegel, Heide; Lehtinen, Taru; Schlatter, Norman; Haslmayr, Hans-Peter; Baumgarten, Andreas; ten Berge, Hein

2015-04-01

Successful agricultural management practices are required to maintain or enhance soil quality; at the same time climate change mitigation is becoming increasingly important. Within the EU project CATCH-C we analysed the effects of different agricultural practices not only on crop productivity, but also on soil quality indicators (e.g. soil organic carbon (SOC)) and climate change (CC) mitigation indicators (e.g. CO2, CH4, N2O emissions). European data sets and associated literature, mainly from long-term experiments were evaluated. This evaluation of agricultural management practices was carried out comparing a set of improved ("best") and often applied ("current") management practices. Positive and negative effects occurred when best management practices are adopted. As expected, none of the investigated practices could comply with all objectives simultaneously, i.e. maintaining high yields, mitigating climate change and improving chemical, physical and biological soil quality. The studied soil management practices "non-inversion tillage", "organic fertilisation" (application of farm yard manure, slurry, compost) and "incorporation of crop residues" represent important management practices for farmers to increase SOC, thus improving soil quality. However, CO2 and, especially, N2O emissions may rise as well. The evaluation of CC mitigation is often limited by the lack of data from - preferably - continuous GHG emission measurements. Thus, more long-term field studies are needed to better assess the CO2, CH4 and, especially, N2O emissions following the above mentioned favorably rated MPs. Only if SOC and GHG emissions are measured in the same field experiments, it will be possible to compute overall balances of necessary CO2-C equivalent emissions. CATCH-C is funded within the 7th Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration, Theme 2 - Biotechnologies, Agriculture & Food. (Grant Agreement N° 289782).

Measurement of methane fluxes from terrestrial landscapes using static, non-steady state enclosures. Chapter 12

Treesearch

Peter Weishampel; Randall Kolka

2008-01-01

Wetlands are a dominant natural source of atmospheric methane (CH4), a potent greenhouse gas whose concentration in the atmosphere has doubled over the past 150 years. Evaluating the impacts of CH4 emissions on global climate and developing policies to mitigate those impacts requires a quantifiable and predictive...

78 FR 7445 - Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a General Conservation...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-01

... Plan for the American Burying Beetle for Pipelines and Well Field Development in Oklahoma and Texas..., operation, and repair of oil and gas pipelines, and related well field activities. Individual oil and gas... pipelines and related well field activities, and will include measures necessary to minimize and mitigate...

Indexing Soil Conservation: Farmer Perceptions of Agroforestry Benefits

Treesearch

Subhrendu K. Pattanayak; D. Evan Mercer

2002-01-01

Soil erosion poses economic and environmental concerns in many tropical uplands. Agroforestry has been proposed as a sustainable land use that can mitigate soil erosion and promote the economic welfare of small farmers. To evaluate such claims, we must (a) develop a composite measure of effectiveness, such as a soil conservation index, and (b) define it in terms...

Air Quality in Megacities: Lessons Learned from Mexico City Field Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Molina, L. T.

2014-12-01

More than half of the world's population now lives in urban areas because of the opportunities for better jobs, access to city services, cultural and educational activities, and a desire for more stimulating human interaction. At the same time, many of these urban centers are expanding rapidly, giving rise to the phenomenon of megacities. In recent decades air pollution has become not only one of the most important environmental problems of megacities, but also presents serious consequences to human health and ecosystems and economic costs to society. Although the progress to date in combating air pollution problems in developed and some developing world megacities has been impressive, many challenges remain including the need to improve air quality while simultaneously mitigating climate change. This talk will present the results and the lessons learned from field measurements conducted in Mexico City Metropolitan Area - one of the world's largest megacities - over the past decade. While each city has its own unique circumstances, the need for an integrated assessment approach in addressing complex environmental problems is the same. There is no single strategy in solving air pollution problems in megacities; a mix of policy measures based on sound scientific findings will be necessary to improve air quality, protect public health, and mitigate climate change.

Current Issues in Orbital Debris

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Nicholas L.

2011-01-01

During the past two decades, great strides have been made in the international community regarding orbital debris mitigation. The majority of space-faring nations have reached a consensus on an initial set of orbital debris mitigation measures. Implementation of and compliance with the IADC and UN space debris mitigation guidelines should remain a high priority. Improvements of the IADC and UN space debris mitigation guidelines should continue as technical consensus permits. The remediation of the near-Earth space environment will require a significant and long-term undertaking.

A Survey of Measurement, Mitigation, and Verification Field Technologies for Carbon Sequestration Geologic Storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, K. K.; Klara, S. M.; Srivastava, R. D.

2004-12-01

The U.S. Department of Energy's (U.S. DOE's) Carbon Sequestration Program is developing state-of-the-science technologies for measurement, mitigation, and verification (MM&V) in field operations of geologic sequestration. MM&V of geologic carbon sequestration operations will play an integral role in the pre-injection, injection, and post-injection phases of carbon capture and storage projects to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Effective MM&V is critical to the success of CO2 storage projects and will be used by operators, regulators, and stakeholders to ensure safe and permanent storage of CO2. In the U.S. DOE's Program, Carbon sequestration MM&V has numerous instrumental roles: Measurement of a site's characteristics and capability for sequestration; Monitoring of the site to ensure the storage integrity; Verification that the CO2 is safely stored; and Protection of ecosystems. Other drivers for MM&V technology development include cost-effectiveness, measurement precision, and frequency of measurements required. As sequestration operations are implemented in the future, it is anticipated that measurements over long time periods and at different scales will be required; this will present a significant challenge. MM&V sequestration technologies generally utilize one of the following approaches: below ground measurements; surface/near-surface measurements; aerial and satellite imagery; and modeling/simulations. Advanced subsurface geophysical technologies will play a primary role for MM&V. It is likely that successful MM&V programs will incorporate multiple technologies including but not limited to: reservoir modeling and simulations; geophysical techniques (a wide variety of seismic methods, microgravity, electrical, and electromagnetic techniques); subsurface fluid movement monitoring methods such as injection of tracers, borehole and wellhead pressure sensors, and tiltmeters; surface/near surface methods such as soil gas monitoring and infrared sensors and; aerial and satellite imagery. This abstract will describe results, similarities, and contrasts for funded studies from the U.S. DOE's Carbon Sequestration Program including examples from the Sleipner North Sea Project, the Canadian Weyburn Field/Dakota Gasification Plant Project, the Frio Formation Texas Project, and Yolo County Bioreactor Landfill Project. The abstract will also address the following: How are the terms ``measurement,'' ``mitigation''and ``verification'' defined in the Program? What is the U.S. DOE's Carbon Sequestration Program Roadmap and what are the Roadmap goals for MM&V? What is the current status of MM&V technologies?

Mitigation of ammonia, nitrous oxide and methane emissions from manure management chains: a meta-analysis and integrated assessment.

PubMed

Hou, Yong; Velthof, Gerard L; Oenema, Oene

2015-03-01

Livestock manure contributes considerably to global emissions of ammonia (NH3 ) and greenhouse gases (GHG), especially methane (CH4 ) and nitrous oxide (N2 O). Various measures have been developed to mitigate these emissions, but most of these focus on one specific gas and/or emission source. Here, we present a meta-analysis and integrated assessment of the effects of mitigation measures on NH3 , CH4 and (direct and indirect) N2 O emissions from the whole manure management chain. We analysed the effects of mitigation technologies on NH3 , CH4 and N2 O emissions from individual sources statistically using results of 126 published studies. Whole-chain effects on NH3 and GHG emissions were assessed through scenario analysis. Significant NH3 reduction efficiencies were observed for (i) housing via lowering the dietary crude protein (CP) content (24-65%, compared to the reference situation), for (ii) external slurry storages via acidification (83%) and covers of straw (78%) or artificial films (98%), for (iii) solid manure storages via compaction and covering (61%, compared to composting), and for (iv) manure application through band spreading (55%, compared to surface application), incorporation (70%) and injection (80%). Acidification decreased CH4 emissions from stored slurry by 87%. Significant increases in N2 O emissions were found for straw-covered slurry storages (by two orders of magnitude) and manure injection (by 26-199%). These side-effects of straw covers and slurry injection on N2 O emission were relatively small when considering the total GHG emissions from the manure chain. Lowering the CP content of feed and acidifying slurry are strategies that consistently reduce NH3 and GHG emissions in the whole chain. Other strategies may reduce emissions of a specific gas or emissions source, by which there is a risk of unwanted trade-offs in the manure management chain. Proper farm-scale combinations of mitigation measures are important to minimize impacts of livestock production on global emissions of NH3 and GHG. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Mitigation measures to contain the environmental impact of urban areas: a bibliographic review moving from the life cycle approach.

PubMed

Belussi, Lorenzo; Barozzi, Benedetta

2015-12-01

The global environmental impact of urban areas has greatly increased over the years, due to the growth of urbanisation and the associated increase in management costs. There are several measures aimed at mitigating this impact that affect in different ways the environmental, economic and societal spheres. This article has analysed a selection of different mitigation measures, related to the built environment, according to the life cycle approach, aimed at identifying the procedural features chosen by the different authors and defining a common way to deal with this issue. In particular, all the individual single steps of a Life Cycle Assessment/Life Cycle Costing of the different studies are analysed and the results of the individual measures are highlighted. The analysis has shown how the scientific literature is mainly focused on the evaluation of the impact of technological solutions related to individual buildings (cool/green roof). Less interest is shown in the solutions for urban areas, while, as far as the impact on greenhouse gas emissions is concerned, some studies are shifting the target to a global scale. Due to the accuracy whereby the calculation of the impact indicators deals with and structures the life cycle methods, opportunities to compare studies developed by different authors are quite rare and hard to find. Hence the need to find a simple, intuitive and flexible scheme to combine some of the most useful results of the bibliographical studies, in a comparative outline of different technological solutions, which can support the decision-making phase through a rough assessment.

Mitigation of severe urban haze pollution by a precision air pollution control approach.

PubMed

Yu, Shaocai; Li, Pengfei; Wang, Liqiang; Wu, Yujie; Wang, Si; Liu, Kai; Zhu, Tong; Zhang, Yuanhang; Hu, Min; Zeng, Liming; Zhang, Xiaoye; Cao, Junji; Alapaty, Kiran; Wong, David C; Pleim, Jon; Mathur, Rohit; Rosenfeld, Daniel; Seinfeld, John H

2018-05-25

Severe and persistent haze pollution involving fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) concentrations reaching unprecedentedly high levels across many cities in China poses a serious threat to human health. Although mandatory temporary cessation of most urban and surrounding emission sources is an effective, but costly, short-term measure to abate air pollution, development of long-term crisis response measures remains a challenge, especially for curbing severe urban haze events on a regular basis. Here we introduce and evaluate a novel precision air pollution control approach (PAPCA) to mitigate severe urban haze events. The approach involves combining predictions of high PM 2.5 concentrations, with a hybrid trajectory-receptor model and a comprehensive 3-D atmospheric model, to pinpoint the origins of emissions leading to such events and to optimize emission controls. Results of the PAPCA application to five severe haze episodes in major urban areas in China suggest that this strategy has the potential to significantly mitigate severe urban haze by decreasing PM 2.5 peak concentrations by more than 60% from above 300 μg m -3 to below 100 μg m -3 , while requiring ~30% to 70% less emission controls as compared to complete emission reductions. The PAPCA strategy has the potential to tackle effectively severe urban haze pollution events with economic efficiency.

How to mitigate impacts of wind farms on bats? A review of potential conservation measures in the European context

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Peste, Filipa, E-mail: filipapeste@gmail.com; Department of Biology, University of Aveiro; Paula, Anabela

Wind energy is growing worldwide as a source of power generation. Bat assemblages may be negatively affected by wind farms due to the fatality of a significant number of individuals after colliding with the moving turbines or experiencing barotrauma. The implementation of wind farms should follow standard procedures to prevent such negative impacts: avoid, reduce and offset, in what is known as the mitigation hierarchy. According to this approach avoiding impacts is the priority, followed by the minimisation of the identified impacts, and finally, when residual negative impacts still remain, those must be offset or at least compensated. This papermore » presents a review on conservation measures for bats and presents some guidelines within the compensation scenario, focusing on negative impacts that remain after avoidance and minimisation measures. The conservation strategies presented aim at the improvement of the ecological conditions for the bat assemblage as a whole. While developed under the European context, the proposed measures are potentially applicable elsewhere, taking into consideration the specificity of each region in terms of bat assemblages present, landscape features and policy context regarding nature and biodiversity conservation and management. An analysis of potential opportunities and constraints arising from the implementation of offset/compensation programmes and gaps in the current knowledge is also considered. - Highlights: • Wind energy impacts bat populations in ways not yet fully understood. • As the use of windfarms is growing worldwide greater impacts on bat populations are also expected. • Mitigation hierarchy provides a way to reduce impacts from new wind farm facilities. • Compensation measures may be used to reduce the residual effects on bat populations. • Identify bats ecological needs and compensate according to the existing surroundings.« less

Streamlining Traffic Mitigation Fees

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-01-01

The City of Lacey rewrote the ordinance governing collection of fees to mitigate : development impacts on the transportation system. Previously developers : submitted traffic generation and distribution reports prepared by qualified : traffic enginee...

Research on the resilience of husbandry economy to snow disaster

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Shuang; Fang, Yiping

2017-04-01

Snow disaster always makes adverse influence on the pastoral economy in alpine area. Resilience theory could efficiently enhance the capacities of resisting disaster and mitigating loss of animal husbandry economy. In order to distinguish the weak parts of existed resilience system and strengthen the construction of disaster mitigating in the source of Changjiang-Yellow River, this paper has developed two methods of comprehensive index and relationship model to measure the resilience from 1980 to 2014. The comprehensive index method is based on the conceptual framework of resilience assessment. And relationship model is derived from the internal relationship between vulnerability and resilience. Through the index system of resilience, this paper also summarizes the mean influencing indicator to husbandry economy resilience. The results show:(1)From time dimension, the resilience of snow disaster in Changjiang-Yellow River is rising with fluctuations. Based on the rate, the changes could be divided into slow(1980-1996) and fast(1997-2014) growing phases. The disaster-mitigating capacity of livestock has been markedly improved; (2)From spatial dimension, the magnitude and frequency of snow disaster change weakly. But the gap of resilience in Changjiang-Yellow River has shrunk in 35 years and the resilience in source of Changjiang is distinctly better than Yellow River; (3)Among all the indicators, snow disaster plays a decisive role in the changes of resilience. The resisting capacity including infrastructure construction makes significant effects on resilience and the reducing measures consisted of income, education and agricultural finance could effectively regulate the level. Key words: husbandry economy; snow disaster; resilience; mitigation

30 CFR 550.254 - What mitigation measures information must accompany the DPP or DOCD?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false What mitigation measures information must accompany the DPP or DOCD? 550.254 Section 550.254 Mineral Resources BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT... and endangered species listed under the ESA; and (2) Marine mammals, as appropriate, if you have not...

30 CFR 550.254 - What mitigation measures information must accompany the DPP or DOCD?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false What mitigation measures information must accompany the DPP or DOCD? 550.254 Section 550.254 Mineral Resources BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT... and endangered species listed under the ESA; and (2) Marine mammals, as appropriate, if you have not...

30 CFR 550.254 - What mitigation measures information must accompany the DPP or DOCD?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false What mitigation measures information must accompany the DPP or DOCD? 550.254 Section 550.254 Mineral Resources BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT... and endangered species listed under the ESA; and (2) Marine mammals, as appropriate, if you have not...

OCP TECD Report - TARDEC Blast Mitigation Program (BMP) and National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Michigan (MI) Chapter Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) Summary

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-09-26

on the desire of both parties to collaborate to develop a practical and useable set of Blast Mitigation Program (BMP) design guidelines and...standards. The effort focused on the following topics: occupant-centric design philosophy and terms, test procedures, Military performance specifications...NDIA) was created based on the desire of both parties to collaborate to develop a practical and useable set of Blast Mitigation Program (BMP) design

UNDERSTANDING METHANE EMISSIONS SOURCES AND VIABLE MITIGATION MEASURES IN THE NATURAL GAS TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS: RUSSIAN AND U.S. EXPERIENCE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ishkov, A.; Akopova, Gretta; Evans, Meredydd

This article will compare the natural gas transmission systems in the U.S. and Russia and review experience with methane mitigation technologies in the two countries. Russia and the United States (U.S.) are the world's largest consumers and producers of natural gas, and consequently, have some of the largest natural gas infrastructure. This paper compares the natural gas transmission systems in Russia and the U.S., their methane emissions and experiences in implementing methane mitigation technologies. Given the scale of the two systems, many international oil and natural gas companies have expressed interest in better understanding the methane emission volumes and trendsmore » as well as the methane mitigation options. This paper compares the two transmission systems and documents experiences in Russia and the U.S. in implementing technologies and programs for methane mitigation. The systems are inherently different. For instance, while the U.S. natural gas transmission system is represented by many companies, which operate pipelines with various characteristics, in Russia predominately one company, Gazprom, operates the gas transmission system. However, companies in both countries found that reducing methane emissions can be feasible and profitable. Examples of technologies in use include replacing wet seals with dry seals, implementing Directed Inspection and Maintenance (DI&M) programs, performing pipeline pump-down, applying composite wrap for non-leaking pipeline defects and installing low-bleed pneumatics. The research methodology for this paper involved a review of information on methane emissions trends and mitigation measures, analytical and statistical data collection; accumulation and analysis of operational data on compressor seals and other emission sources; and analysis of technologies used in both countries to mitigate methane emissions in the transmission sector. Operators of natural gas transmission systems have many options to reduce natural gas losses. Depending on the value of gas, simple, low-cost measures, such as adjusting leaking equipment components, or larger-scale measures, such as installing dry seals on compressors, can be applied.« less

Developing Legacy: Health Planning in the Host City of Porto Alegre for the 2014 Football World Cup.

PubMed

Witt, Regina Rigatto; Kotlhar, Mauro Kruter; Mesquita, Marilise Oliveira; Lima, Maria Alice Dias da Silva; Marin, Sandra Mara; Day, Carolina Baltar; Bandeira, Andrea Goncalves; Hutton, Alison

2015-12-01

To describe the process adopted to identify, classify, and evaluate legacy of health care planning in the host city of Porto Alegre for the Football World Cup 2014. There is an emerging interest in the need to demonstrate a sustainable health legacy from mass gatherings investments. Leaving a public health legacy for future host cities and countries is now an important part of planning for these events. The Ministry of Sports initiated and coordinated the development of projects in the host cities to identify actions, projects, and constructions to be developed to prepare for the World Cup. In Porto Alegre, a common structure was developed by the coordinating team to instruct legacy identification, classification, and evaluation. This structure was based on international documentary analysis (including official reports, policy documents, and web-based resources) and direct communication with recognized experts in the field. Sixteen total legacies were identified for health surveillance (5) and health services (11). They were classified according to the strategic area, organizations involved, dimension, typology, planned or unplanned, tangible or intangible, territorial coverage, and situation prior to the World Cup. Possible impacts were then assessed as positive, negative, and potentiating, and mitigating actions were indicated. The project allowed the identification, classification, and development of health legacy, including risk analysis, surveillance, mitigation measures, and provision of emergency medical care. Although the project intended the development of indicators to measure the identified legacies, evaluation was not possible at the time of publication due to time.

Net mitigation potential of straw return to Chinese cropland: estimation with a full greenhouse gas budget model.

PubMed

Lu, Fei; Wang, Xiaoke; Han, Bing; Ouyang, Zhiyun; Duan, Xiaonan; Zheng, Hua

2010-04-01

Based on the carbon-nitrogen cycles and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation and emission processes related to straw return and burning, a compound greenhouse gas budget model, the "Straw Return and Burning Model" (SRBM), was constructed to estimate the net mitigation potential of straw return to the soil in China. As a full GHG budget model, the SRBM addressed the following five processes: (1) soil carbon sequestration, (2) mitigation of synthetic N fertilizer substitution, (3) methane emission from rice paddies, (4) additional fossil fuel use for straw return, and (5) CH4 and N2O emissions from straw burning in the fields. Two comparable scenarios were created to reflect different degrees of implementation for straw return and straw burning. With GHG emissions and mitigation effects of the five processes converted into global warming potential (GWP), the net GHG mitigation was estimated. We concluded that (1) when the full greenhouse gas budget is considered, the net mitigation potential of straw return differs from that when soil carbon sequestration is considered alone; (2) implementation of straw return across a larger area of cropland in 10 provinces (i.e., Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan) will increase net GHG emission; (3) if straw return is promoted as a feasible mitigation measure in the remaining provinces, the total net mitigation potential before soil organic carbon (SOC) saturation will be 71.89 Tg CO2 equivalent (eqv)/yr, which is equivalent to 1.733% of the annual carbon emission from fossil fuel use in China in 2003; (4) after SOC saturation, only 13 of 21 provinces retain a relatively small but permanent net mitigation potential, while in the others the net GHG mitigation potential will gradually diminish; and (5) the major obstacle to the feasibility or permanence of straw return as a mitigation measure is the increased CH4 emission from rice paddies. The paper also suggests that comparable scenarios in which all the related carbon-nitrogen cycles are taken into account be created to estimate the mitigation potentials of organic wastes in different utilizations and treatments.

A review of risk perceptions and other factors that influence flood mitigation behavior.

PubMed

Bubeck, P; Botzen, W J W; Aerts, J C J H

2012-09-01

In flood risk management, a shift can be observed toward more integrated approaches that increasingly address the role of private households in implementing flood damage mitigation measures. This has resulted in a growing number of studies into the supposed positive relationship between individual flood risk perceptions and mitigation behavior. Our literature review shows, however, that, actually, this relationship is hardly observed in empirical studies. Two arguments are provided as an explanation. First, on the basis of protection motivation theory, a theoretical framework is discussed suggesting that individuals' high-risk perceptions need to be accompanied by coping appraisal to result in a protective response. Second, it is pointed out that possible feedback from already-adopted mitigation measures on risk perceptions has hardly been considered by current studies. In addition, we also provide a review of factors that drive precautionary behavior other than risk perceptions. It is found that factors such as coping appraisal are consistently related to mitigation behavior. We conclude, therefore, that the current focus on risk perceptions as a means to explain and promote private flood mitigation behavior is not supported on either theoretical or empirical grounds. © 2012 Society for Risk Analysis.

44 CFR 201.6 - Local Mitigation Plans.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... agencies that have the authority to regulate development, as well as businesses, academia and other private... and development trends within the community so that mitigation options can be considered in future...

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Petrosky, Charles E.; Holubetz, Terry B.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has been monitoring and evaluating existing and proposed habitat improvement projects for steelhead (Salmo gairdneri) and chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Clearwater and Salmon River drainages over the last four years. Projects included in the evaluation are funded by, or proposed for funding by, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) under the Northwest Power Planning Act as off-site mitigation for downstream hydropower development on the Snake and Columbia rivers. A mitigation record is being developed to use increased smolt production at full seeding as the best measure of benefit from a habitat enhancementmore » project. Determination of full benefit from a project depends on presence of adequate numbers of fish to document actual increases in fish production. The depressed nature of upriver anadromous stocks have precluded attainment of full benefit of any habitat project in Idaho. Partial benefit will be credited to the mitigation record in the interim period of run restoration. According to the BPA Work Plan, project implementors have the primary responsibility for measuring physical habitat and estimating habitat change. To date, Idaho habitat projects have been implemented primarily by the US Forest Service (USFS). The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes (SBT) have sponsored three projects (Bear Valley Mine, Yankee Fork, and the proposed East Fork Salmon River projects). IDFG implemented two barrier-removal projects (Johnson Creek and Boulder Creek) that the USFS was unable to sponsor at that time. The role of IDFG in physical habitat monitoring is primarily to link habitat quality and habitat change to changes in actual, or potential, fish production. Individual papers were processed separately for the data base.« less

Laser-induced contamination control for high-power lasers in space-based LIDAR missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alves, Jorge; Pettazzi, Federico; Tighe, Adrian; Wernham, Denny

2017-11-01

In the framework of the ADM-Aeolus satellite mission, successful test campaigns have been performed in ESTEC's laser laboratory, and the efficiency of several mitigation techniques against Laser-Induced Contamination (LIC) have been demonstrated for the ALADIN laser. These techniques include the standard contamination control methods of materials identification with particular tendency to cause LIC, reduction of the outgassing of organic materials by vacuum bake-out and shielding of optical surfaces from the contamination sources. Also novel mitigation methods such as in-situ cleaning via partial pressures, or the usage of molecular absorbers were demonstrated. In this context, a number of highly sensitive optical measurement techniques have been developed and tested to detect and monitor LIC deposits at nanometre level.

Review: Regional land subsidence accompanying groundwater extraction

USGS Publications Warehouse

Galloway, Devin L.; Burbey, Thomas J.

2011-01-01

The extraction of groundwater can generate land subsidence by causing the compaction of susceptible aquifer systems, typically unconsolidated alluvial or basin-fill aquifer systems comprising aquifers and aquitards. Various ground-based and remotely sensed methods are used to measure and map subsidence. Many areas of subsidence caused by groundwater pumping have been identified and monitored, and corrective measures to slow or halt subsidence have been devised. Two principal means are used to mitigate subsidence caused by groundwater withdrawal—reduction of groundwater withdrawal, and artificial recharge. Analysis and simulation of aquifer-system compaction follow from the basic relations between head, stress, compressibility, and groundwater flow and are addressed primarily using two approaches—one based on conventional groundwater flow theory and one based on linear poroelasticity theory. Research and development to improve the assessment and analysis of aquifer-system compaction, the accompanying subsidence and potential ground ruptures are needed in the topic areas of the hydromechanical behavior of aquitards, the role of horizontal deformation, the application of differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry, and the regional-scale simulation of coupled groundwater flow and aquifer-system deformation to support resource management and hazard mitigation measures.

44 CFR 201.7 - Tribal Mitigation Plans.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... mitigation activities, and agencies that have the authority to regulate development, as well as businesses...; (C) A general description of land uses and development trends within the tribal planning area so that...

Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report Disposal and Reuse of Fleet and Industrial Supply Center, Oakland Vision 2000 Maritime Development. Volume I

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-03-01

these historic resources, rendering them the least preferable alternatives with respect to cultural resources. 2.3.2.4 Visual Resources 1 Construction of...communication). Others measures, however, were interrupted by the decision in 1995 to close the base, an action that rendered many mitigation measures unnecessary...of North American Indians, Vol. 8 (California), pp. 485495. Edited by R. F. Heizer . Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC. Lienkaemper, J.J. 1992

Long-term stability enhancement of Brillouin measurement in polymer optical fibers using amorphous fluoropolymer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsutani, Natsuki; Lee, Heeyoung; Mizuno, Yosuke; Nakamura, Kentaro

2018-01-01

For Brillouin-sensing applications, we develop a method for mitigating the Fresnel reflection at the perfluorinated-polymer-optical-fiber ends by covering them with an amorphous fluoropolymer (CYTOP, fiber core material) dissolved in a volatile solvent. Unlike the conventional method using water, even after solvent evaporation, the CYTOP layer remains, resulting in long-term Fresnel reduction. In addition, the high viscosity of the CYTOP solution is a practical advantage. The effectiveness of this method is experimentally proved by Brillouin measurement.

Hydropeaking mitigation project on a multi-purpose hydro-scheme on Valsura River in South Tyrol/Italy.

PubMed

Premstaller, Georg; Cavedon, Valentina; Pisaturo, Giuseppe Roberto; Schweizer, Steffen; Adami, Vito; Righetti, Maurizio

2017-01-01

A hydropeaking mitigation project on Valsura River in the Italians Alps is described. The project is of particular interest due to several aspects. First of all, the Valsura torrent has unique morphological braiding characteristics, which are unique in the reach of Adige valley between Merano and Bolzano, and has a good reproduction potential for fish, especially in the terminal stretch along a biotope before its confluence with Adige River. Moreover, the Valsura hydropower cascade, which overall consists of six high-head hydropower plants, has an exceptional economic importance for the local hydropower industry. Lastly, the last HPP on the cascade is a multipurpose plant, so that interesting interactions between hydropeaking mitigation, irrigation supply and peak energy production are considered. The project started from a hydrological and a limnological measuring campaign and from an energetic, hydraulic and legislative framework analysis. The ecological findings are combined into a deficit analysis, founding the basis for the definition of a hydrological target state, which points to achieve a good natural reproduction for brown trout in the hydropeaked stretch, fulfilling at the same time the human safety conditions. Finally, mitigation Measures are described that at the same time comply with the following manifold aspects: a. maintenance of the requested target limits for fish reproduction; b. maintenance of the water release for the agricultural irrigation; c. enhancement of the flexibility of the hydropower plant's operation; d. reduction of the risk for local population. The paper compares operational and constructive mitigation measures and shows that constructive hydropeaking mitigation measures, for the present case study, can combine the positive effects of ecological improvement with higher safety standards and more flexible energy production. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Revaluing unmanaged forests for climate change mitigation.

PubMed

Krug, Joachim; Koehl, Michael; Kownatzki, Dierk

2012-11-14

Unmanaged or old-growth forests are of paramount importance for carbon sequestration and thus for the mitigation of climate change among further implications, e.g. biodiversity aspects. Still, the importance of those forests for climate change mitigation compared to managed forests is under controversial debate. We evaluate the adequacy of referring to CO2 flux measurements alone and include external impacts on growth (nitrogen immissions, increasing temperatures, CO2 enrichment, changed precipitation patterns) for an evaluation of central European forests in this context. We deduce that the use of CO2 flux measurements alone does not allow conclusions on a superiority of unmanaged to managed forests for mitigation goals. This is based on the critical consideration of uncertainties and the application of system boundaries. Furthermore, the consideration of wood products for material and energetic substitution obviously overrules the mitigation potential of unmanaged forests. Moreover, impacts of nitrogen immissions, CO2 enrichment of the atmosphere, increasing temperatures and changed precipitation patterns obviously lead to a meaningful increase in growth, even in forests of higher age. An impact of unmanaged forests on climate change mitigation cannot be valued by CO2 flux measurements alone. Further research is needed on cause and effect relationships between management practices and carbon stocks in different compartments of forest ecosystems in order to account for human-induced changes. Unexpected growth rates in old-growth forests - managed or not - can obviously be related to external impacts and additionally to management impacts. This should lead to the reconsideration of forest management strategies.

Develop an asset management tool for collecting and tracking commitments on selected environmental mitigation features.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-05-01

Wisconsin has constructed many environmental mitigation projects in conjunction with transportation projects that have been implemented according : to the National Environmental Policy Act. Other mitigation projects have been constructed pursuant to ...

Identification and mitigation of stray laser light in the Thomson scattering system on the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jacobson, C. M., E-mail: cjacobson@wisc.edu; Borchardt, M. T.; Den Hartog, D. J.

The Thomson scattering diagnostic on the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) records excessive levels of stray Nd:YAG laser light. Stray light saturates the 1064 nm spectral channel in all polychromators, which prevents absolute electron density measurements via Rayleigh scattering calibration. Furthermore, stray light contaminates adjacent spectral channels for r/a ≥ 0.75, which renders the diagnostic unable to make electron temperature measurements at these radii. In situ measurements of stray light levels during a vacuum vessel vent are used to identify stray light sources and strategies for reduction of stray light levels. Numerical modeling using Zemax OpticStudio supports these measurements. The modelmore » of the vacuum vessel and diagnostic includes synthetic collection optics to enable direct comparison of measured and simulated stray light levels. Modeling produces qualitatively similar stray light distributions to MST measurements, and quantifies the mitigation effects of stray light mitigation strategies prior to implementation.« less

Social Uptake of Scientific Understanding of Seismic Hazard in Sumatra and Cascadia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shannon, R.; McCloskey, J.; Guyer, C.; McDowell, S.; Steacy, S.

2007-12-01

The importance of science within hazard mitigation cannot be underestimated. Robust mitigation polices rely strongly on a sound understanding of the science underlying potential natural disasters and the transference of that knowledge from the scientific community to the general public via governments and policy makers. We aim to investigate how and why the public's knowledge, perceptions, response, adjustments and values towards science have changed throughout two decades of research conducted in areas along and adjacent to the Sumatran and Cascadia subduction zones. We will focus on two countries subject to the same potential hazard, but which encompass starkly contrasting political, economic, social and environmental settings. The transfer of scientific knowledge into the public/ social arena is a complex process, the success of which is reflected in a community's ability to withstand large scale devastating events. Although no one could have foreseen the magnitude of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, the social devastation generated underscored the stark absence of mitigation measures in the nations most heavily affected. It furthermore emphasized the need for the design and implementation of disaster preparedness measures. Survey of existing literature has already established timelines for major events and public policy changes in the case study areas. Clear evidence exists of the link between scientific knowledge and its subsequent translation into public policy, particularly in the Cascadia context. The initiation of the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program following the Cape Mendocino earthquake in 1992 embodies this link. Despite a series of environmental disasters with recorded widespread fatalities dating back to the mid 1900s and a heightened impetus for scientific research into tsunami/ earthquake hazard following the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, the translation of science into the public realm is not widely obvious in the Sumatran context. This research aims to further investigate how the enhanced understanding of earthquake and tsunami hazards is being used to direct hazard mitigation strategies and enables direct comparison with the scientific and public policy developments in Cascadia.

Developing a congestion mitigation toolbox.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-09-30

Researchers created A Michigan Toolbox for Mitigating Traffic Congestion to be a useful desk reference for practitioners and an educational tool for elected officials acting through public policy boards to better understand the development, planning,...

Mitigation of infectious disease at school: targeted class closure vs school closure.

PubMed

Gemmetto, Valerio; Barrat, Alain; Cattuto, Ciro

2014-12-31

School environments are thought to play an important role in the community spread of infectious diseases such as influenza because of the high mixing rates of school children. The closure of schools has therefore been proposed as an efficient mitigation strategy. Such measures come however with high associated social and economic costs, making alternative, less disruptive interventions highly desirable. The recent availability of high-resolution contact network data from school environments provides an opportunity to design models of micro-interventions and compare the outcomes of alternative mitigation measures. We model mitigation measures that involve the targeted closure of school classes or grades based on readily available information such as the number of symptomatic infectious children in a class. We focus on the specific case of a primary school for which we have high-resolution data on the close-range interactions of children and teachers. We simulate the spread of an influenza-like illness in this population by using an SEIR model with asymptomatics, and compare the outcomes of different mitigation strategies. We find that targeted class closure affords strong mitigation effects: closing a class for a fixed period of time--equal to the sum of the average infectious and latent durations--whenever two infectious individuals are detected in that class decreases the attack rate by almost 70% and significantly decreases the probability of a severe outbreak. The closure of all classes of the same grade mitigates the spread almost as much as closing the whole school. Our model of targeted class closure strategies based on readily available information on symptomatic subjects and on limited information on mixing patterns, such as the grade structure of the school, shows that these strategies might be almost as effective as whole-school closure, at a much lower cost. This may inform public health policies for the management and mitigation of influenza-like outbreaks in the community.

Potential for energy recovery and greenhouse gas mitigation from municipal solid waste using a waste-to-material approach.

PubMed

Chen, Ying-Chu

2016-12-01

Energy recovery and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wastes are getting noticed in recent years. This study evaluated the potential for energy recovery and GHG mitigation from municipal solid waste (MSW) with a waste-to-material (WTM) approach. Waste generated in Taiwan contains a large amount of paper, food waste, and plastics, which previously were mostly sent to waste-to-energy (WTE) plants for incineration. However, the mitigation of GHGs by the WTM approach has been especially successful in the recycling of metals (averaging 1.83×10 6 kgCO 2 -eq/year) and paper (averaging 7.38×10 5 kgCO 2 -eq/year). In addition, the recycling of paper (1.33×10 10 kWh) and plastics (1.26×10 10 kWh) has contributed greatly to energy saving. Both metal and glass are not suitable for incineration due to their low energy content. The volumes of paper and food waste contained in the MSW are positively related to the carbon concentration, which may contribute to increased GHGs during incineration. Therefore, the recycling of paper, metals, and food waste is beneficial for GHG mitigation. Measures to reduce GHGs were also suggested in this study. The development of the WTM approach may be helpful for the proper management of MSW with regards to GHG mitigation. The results of this study can be a successful example for other nations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Whale Hearing Models

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-06-20

methodologies and partnership projects developed under the ONR Effect of Sound in the Marine Environment (ESME) Program. The effort involved an integration...computational models to predict audiograms for these species. National Security These data will assist in designing effective noise mitigation measures and...includes marine species for which there are reliable hearing data as well as sample sources with appropriate distance effects in their renditions, including

Using respondent uncertainty to mitigate hypothetical bias in a stated choice experiment

Treesearch

Richard C. Ready; Patricia A. Champ; Jennifer L. Lawton

2010-01-01

In a choice experiment study, willingness to pay for a public good estimated from hypothetical choices was three times as large as willingness to pay estimated from choices requiring actual payment. This hypothetical bias was related to the stated level of certainty of respondents. We develop protocols to measure respondent certainty in the context of a choice...

Pilot Testing the Chinese Version of the ETS® Proficiency Profile Critical Thinking Test. Research Report. ETS RR-16-37

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Ou Lydia; Mao, Liyang; Zhao, Tingting; Yang, Yi; Xu, Jun; Wang, Zhen

2016-01-01

Chinese higher education is experiencing rapid development and growth. With tremendous resources invested in higher education, policy makers have requested more direct evidence of student learning. However, assessment tools that can be used to measure college-level learning are scarce in China. To mitigate this situation, we translated the…

Mitigation of methane emission from an old unlined landfill in Klintholm, Denmark using a passive biocover system.

PubMed

Scheutz, Charlotte; Pedersen, Rasmus Broe; Petersen, Per Haugsted; Jørgensen, Jørgen Henrik Bjerre; Ucendo, Inmaculada Maria Buendia; Mønster, Jacob G; Samuelsson, Jerker; Kjeldsen, Peter

2014-07-01

Methane generated at landfills contributes to global warming and can be mitigated by biocover systems relying on microbial methane oxidation. As part of a closure plan for an old unlined landfill without any gas management measures, an innovative biocover system was established. The system was designed based on a conceptual model of the gas emission patterns established through an initial baseline study. The study included construction of gas collection trenches along the slopes of the landfill where the majority of the methane emissions occurred. Local compost materials were tested as to their usefulness as bioactive methane oxidizing material and a suitable compost mixture was selected. Whole site methane emission quantifications based on combined tracer release and downwind measurements in combination with several local experimental activities (gas composition within biocover layers, flux chamber based emission measurements and logging of compost temperatures) proved that the biocover system had an average mitigation efficiency of approximately 80%. The study showed that the system also had a high efficiency during winter periods with temperatures below freezing. An economic analysis indicated that the mitigation costs of the biocover system were competitive to other existing greenhouse gas mitigation options. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cost-effective and robust mitigation of space debris in low earth orbit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, R.; Martin, C.

It is predicted that the space debris population in low Earth orbit (LEO) will continue to grow and in an exponential manner in the long-term due to an increasing rate of collisions between large objects, unless internationally-accepted space debris mitigation measures are adopted soon. Such measures are aimed at avoiding the future generation of space debris objects and primarily need to be effective in preventing significant long-term growth in the debris population, even in the potential scenario of an increase in future space activity. It is also important that mitigation measures can limit future debris population levels, and therefore the underlying collision risk to space missions, to the lowest extent possible. However, for their wide acceptance, the cost of implementation associated with mitigation measures needs to be minimised as far as possible. Generally, a lower collision risk will cost more to achieve and vice versa, so it is necessary to strike a balance between cost and risk in order to find a cost-effective set of mitigation measures. In this paper, clear criteria are established in order to assess the cost-effectiveness of space debris mitigation measures. A full cost-risk-benefit trade-off analysis of numerous mitigation scenarios is presented. These scenarios consider explosion prevention and post-mission disposal of space systems, including de-orbiting to limited lifetime orbits and re-orbiting above the LEO region. The ESA DELTA model is used to provide long-term debris environment projections for these scenarios as input to the benefit and risk parts of the trade-off analysis. Manoeuvre requirements for the different post-mission disposal scenarios were also calculated in order to define the cost-related element. A 25-year post-mission lifetime de-orbit policy, combined with explosion prevention and mission-related object limitation, was found to be the most cost-effective solution to the space debris problem in LEO. This package would also remain effective after a significant increase in future launch traffic. It was found that the re-orbiting of space systems above the LEO region would not lead to significant collision activity there over the next century. However, above-LEO disposal should be used sparingly because the disposal region could become unstable after a limited number of explosions or collisions due to a lack of air drag to remove the resulting fragments.

Cities’ Role in Mitigating United States Food System Greenhouse Gas Emissions

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Current trends of urbanization, population growth, and economic development have made cities a focal point for mitigating global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The substantial contribution of food consumption to climate change necessitates urban action to reduce the carbon intensity of the food system. While food system GHG mitigation strategies often focus on production, we argue that urban influence dominates this sector’s emissions and that consumers in cities must be the primary drivers of mitigation. We quantify life cycle GHG emissions of the United States food system through data collected from literature and government sources producing an estimated total of 3800 kg CO2e/capita in 2010, with cities directly influencing approximately two-thirds of food sector GHG emissions. We then assess the potential for cities to reduce emissions through selected measures; examples include up-scaling urban agriculture and home delivery of grocery options, which each may achieve emissions reductions on the order of 0.4 and ∼1% of this total, respectively. Meanwhile, changes in waste management practices and reduction of postdistribution food waste by 50% reduce total food sector emissions by 5 and 11%, respectively. Consideration of the scale of benefits achievable through policy goals can enable cities to formulate strategies that will assist in achieving deep long-term GHG emissions targets. PMID:29717606

Cities' Role in Mitigating United States Food System Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

PubMed

Mohareb, Eugene A; Heller, Martin C; Guthrie, Peter M

2018-05-15

Current trends of urbanization, population growth, and economic development have made cities a focal point for mitigating global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The substantial contribution of food consumption to climate change necessitates urban action to reduce the carbon intensity of the food system. While food system GHG mitigation strategies often focus on production, we argue that urban influence dominates this sector's emissions and that consumers in cities must be the primary drivers of mitigation. We quantify life cycle GHG emissions of the United States food system through data collected from literature and government sources producing an estimated total of 3800 kg CO 2 e/capita in 2010, with cities directly influencing approximately two-thirds of food sector GHG emissions. We then assess the potential for cities to reduce emissions through selected measures; examples include up-scaling urban agriculture and home delivery of grocery options, which each may achieve emissions reductions on the order of 0.4 and ∼1% of this total, respectively. Meanwhile, changes in waste management practices and reduction of postdistribution food waste by 50% reduce total food sector emissions by 5 and 11%, respectively. Consideration of the scale of benefits achievable through policy goals can enable cities to formulate strategies that will assist in achieving deep long-term GHG emissions targets.

Toward a protocol for quantifying the greenhouse gas balance and identifying mitigation options in smallholder farming systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosenstock, T. S.; Rufino, M. C.; Butterbach-Bahl, K.; Wollenberg, E.

2013-06-01

Globally, agriculture is directly responsible for 14% of annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and induces an additional 17% through land use change, mostly in developing countries (Vermeulen et al 2012). Agricultural intensification and expansion in these regions is expected to catalyze the most significant relative increases in agricultural GHG emissions over the next decade (Smith et al 2008, Tilman et al 2011). Farms in the developing countries of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia are predominately managed by smallholders, with 80% of land holdings smaller than ten hectares (FAO 2012). One can therefore posit that smallholder farming significantly impacts the GHG balance of these regions today and will continue to do so in the near future. However, our understanding of the effect smallholder farming has on the Earth's climate system is remarkably limited. Data quantifying existing and reduced GHG emissions and removals of smallholder production systems are available for only a handful of crops, livestock, and agroecosystems (Herrero et al 2008, Verchot et al 2008, Palm et al 2010). For example, fewer than fifteen studies of nitrous oxide emissions from soils have taken place in sub-Saharan Africa, leaving the rate of emissions virtually undocumented. Due to a scarcity of data on GHG sources and sinks, most developing countries currently quantify agricultural emissions and reductions using IPCC Tier 1 emissions factors. However, current Tier 1 emissions factors are either calibrated to data primarily derived from developed countries, where agricultural production conditions are dissimilar to that in which the majority of smallholders operate, or from data that are sparse or of mixed quality in developing countries (IPCC 2006). For the most part, there are insufficient emissions data characterizing smallholder agriculture to evaluate the level of accuracy or inaccuracy of current emissions estimates. Consequentially, there is no reliable information on the agricultural GHG budgets for developing economies. This dearth of information constrains the capacity to transition to low-carbon agricultural development, opportunities for smallholders to capitalize on carbon markets, and the negotiating position of developing countries in global climate policy discourse. Concerns over the poor state of information, in terms of data availability and representation, have fueled appeals for new approaches to quantifying GHG emissions and removals from smallholder agriculture, for both existing conditions and mitigation interventions (Berry and Ryan 2013, Olander et al 2013). Considering the dependence of quantification approaches on data and the current data deficit for smallholder systems, it is clear that in situ measurements must be a core part of initial and future strategies to improve GHG inventories and develop mitigation measures for smallholder agriculture. Once more data are available, especially for farming systems of high priority (e.g., those identified through global and regional rankings of emission hotspots or mitigation leverage points), better cumulative estimates and targeted actions will become possible. Greenhouse gas measurements in agriculture are expensive, time consuming, and error prone. These challenges are exacerbated by the heterogeneity of smallholder systems and landscapes and the diversity of methods used. Concerns over methodological rigor, measurement costs, and the diversity of approaches, coupled with the demand for robust information suggest it is germane for the scientific community to establish standards of measurements—'a protocol'—for quantifying GHG emissions from smallholder agriculture. A standard protocol for use by scientists and development organizations will help generate consistent, comparable, and reliable data on emissions baselines and allow rigorous comparisons of mitigation options. Besides enhancing data utility, a protocol serves as a benchmark for non-experts to easily assess data quality. Obviously many such protocols already exist (e.g., GraceNet, Parkin and Venterea 2010). None, however, account for the diversity and complexity of smallholder agriculture, quantify emissions and removals from crops, livestock, and biomass together to calculate the net balance, or are adapted for the research environment of developing countries; conditions that warrant developing specific methods. Here we summarize an approach being developed by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research's (CGIAR) Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security Program (CCAFS) and partners. The CGIAR-CCAFS smallholder GHG quantification protocol aims to improve quantification of baseline emission levels and support mitigation decisions. The protocol introduces five novel quantification elements relevant for smallholder agriculture (figure 1). First, it stresses the systematic collection of 'activity data' to describe the type, distribution, and extent of land management activities in landscapes cultivated by smallholder. Second, it advocates an informed sampling approach that concentrates measurement activities on emission hotspots and leverage points to capture heterogeneity and account for the diversity and complexity of farming activities. Third, it quantifies emissions at multiple spatial scales, whole-farm and landscape, to provide information targeted to household and communities decisions. Fourth, it encourages GHG research to document farm productivity and economics in addition to emissions, in recognition of the importance of agriculture to livelihoods. Fifth, it develops cost-differentiated measurement solutions that optimize the relationships among scale, cost, and accuracy. Each of the five innovations is further described below. Figure 1. Figure 1. The quantification approach. The protocol includes comparative evaluation of various methodologies for each element (e.g., biophysical context, profitability evaluation, etc), recommend methods specific for end users objectives and constraints, and field manuals for implementation of recommended methods. Items with an asterisk indicate novel aspects of this protocol by comparison to others. Systematizing collection of activity data . Data describing smallholder farming systems, their relative distribution in space and time, and typical management practices are largely unavailable for smallholder agriculture in developing counties. That is significant because empirical or process based models rely on information on the nature and extent of production systems, so called 'activity data'. Without it, it is not possible to run models, scale flux data to larger spatial extents, or target measurements with any certainty. In some cases, uncertainty in the extent and management for farming activities may be equivalent or greater to the uncertainty associated with the GHG fluxes themselves. The CGIAR-CCAFS protocol therefore provides guidelines for using remote sensing, targeted social and soil surveys, and proxies that correlate with socio-ecological condition and farm management to improve the quantity and quality of activity data available. Informed sampling . Smallholder agriculture typically involves multiple farming activities taking place in a field, nested within higher levels of organization (e.g., farm or landscape), each having interactive impacts on the cumulative GHG balance. To understand the net effect, attention must be paid to the full range of sources and sinks. Yet it is generally too resource intensive to measure them all. The CGIAR-CCAFS protocol deconstructs what is already known about nutrient stock changes and GHG fluxes to guide measurements toward emission hotspots or leverage points (e.g., methane emissions from cows in crop-livestock systems) within complex agroecosystems and landscapes. The premise underlying this approach is that information from other systems can be used to match the intensity of quantification effort with the predicted intensity of the source or sink. By reducing the uncertainty of the largest fluxes, using an informed sampling approach will hypothetically yield a more accurate and more precise estimate of the total systems' GHG balance. Multi-scale . Farming activities take place at the field level, but climate impacts and decision-making of smallholders extend to larger spatial scales. Households frequently manage farming activities across several fields, while institutions at the village or higher levels can determine land use practices across entire landscapes, as is the case of communal grazing lands or woodlands. Decisions by households and social organizations unite climate impacts across space. It is therefore important to consider spatial scales greater than the farming activity or field to understand GHG impacts and mitigation opportunities. Therefore, the CGIAR-CCAFS protocol targets quantification and mitigation efforts at the whole-farm and landscape levels to align data describing emissions and removals with the decision units of households and communities. Linking productivity and emissions . Smallholder farmers depend on farm production for food and income, and farm productivity is inextricably linked to food security. The importance of productivity must be taken into account in mitigation decision-making and the GHG research agenda supporting those decisions. So far, livelihood benefits and farmers' own priorities or other social benefits have been mostly ignored in GHG research. Quantification of GHG reductions from mitigation options is arguably irrelevant if the livelihood effects of those mitigation options are ignored, and scaling GHG emissions per unit area is agronomically meaningless if yields are not considered (Linquist et al 2012). Therefore, the CGIAR-CCAFS protocol recommends that future GHG quantification efforts for assessing mitigation options adopt a multi-criteria approach to include data on indicators of household benefits (e.g. productivity and nutrition). In that way, the research captures the balance of benefits between the private landholder and the global public good. Joint assessment of food production and emissions may produce optimal management strategies that balance the competing demands of food production and climate stabilization. For example, nitrous oxide emissions per unit of product are lowest at intermediate (not the lowest) fertilization rates (Van Groenigen et al 2010) which differs from the optimal strategy for reducing emissions per unit area. Costs associated with collecting the additional data are likely to be small relative to the operational budget for GHG field research and could viably become standard practice. Cost-differentiated measurements . Potential end users of the protocol are diverse in their purpose, resources available, and capacity to carry out research. For example, development organizations may want to determine the relative difference in emission impacts between mitigation options while governments may be interested in quantification of impacts across landscapes to develop Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions. The most useful approach to quantification therefore lies at the nexus among key constraints: objectives, resources, and capacity. The protocol develops a system of 'tiered' entry points for greenhouse gas accounting, with explicit attention directed toward the uncertainty induced from the various measurement selections. The protocol will include decision pathways to help users quickly determine the quantification options suitable for their goals and constraints to optimize the relationship among accuracy, costs, and scale. The CCAFS-CGIAR protocol is being developed and field-tested in mixed crop-livestock systems of Kenya and intensive rice production in the Philippines, with plans to expand to other sites and agroecosystems in the next year. These initial pilot projects provide a trial of the approach and methods, highlighting technical gaps and promising directions, while generating valuable emissions data. The role smallholder farming plays in Earth's climate system is uncertain due to lack of data. Better information is needed to calibrate the research, policy, and development communities' thinking on the importance of this issue. Generating the high value information that policy makers, development organizations, and farmers demand however pivots on creating accurate, useful, consistent, and meaningful data. The CCAFS-CGIAR protocol will help advance the scientific community's ability to provide such information by using standard methods of measurement in ways that recognize the data needs and the priorities of smallholder farmers. Acknowledgments We thank participants of the October 2012 Protocol Development workshop in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany for their previous and ongoing contributions. We also thank CCAFS, Environment Canada, and the Mitigation of Climate Change in Agriculture (MICCA) Program of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization for their support of this initiative. References Berry N J and Ryan C M 2013 Overcoming the risk of inaction from emissions uncertainty in smallholder agriculture Environ. Res. Lett. 8 011003 FAO 2012 Smallholders and Family Farmers (Rome: FAO) (www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/nr/sustainability_pathways/docs/Factsheet_SMALLHOLDERS.pdf, accessed 19 March 2013) Herrero M, Thornton P K, Kruska R and Reid R S 2008 Systems dynamics and the spatial distribution of methane emissions from African domestic ruminants to 2030 Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 126 122-37 IPCC 2006 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories ed H S Eggleston, L Buendia, K Miwa, T Ngara and K Tanabe (Hayama: IGES) Linquist B, Van Groenigen K J, Adviento-Borbe M A, Pittelkow C and Van Kessel C 2012 An agronomic assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from major cereal crops Glob. Change Biol. 18 194-209 Olander L, Wollenberg L, Tubiello F and Herald M 2013 Advancing agricultural greenhouse gas quantification Environ. Res. Lett. 8 011002 Palm C A, Smukler S M, Sullivan C C, Mutuo P K, Nyadzi G I and Walsh M G 2010 Identifying potential synergies and trade-offs for meeting food security and climate change objectives in sub-Saharan Africa Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. 107 19661-6 Parkin T B and Venterea R T 2010 Chamber-based trace gas flux measurements Sampling Protocols ed R F Follett chapter 3, pp 3-1-3-39 (available at: www.ars.usda.gov/research/GRACEnet) Smith P et al 2008 Greenhouse gas mitigation in agriculture Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 363 789-813 Tilman D, Balzer C, Hill J and Befort B 2011 Global food demand and the sustainable intensification of agriculture Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. 108 20260-4 Van Groenigen J W, Velthof G L, Oeneme O, Van Groenigen K J and Van Kessel C 2010 Towards an agronomic assessment of N2O emissions: a case study for arable crops Eur. J. Soil Sci. 61 903-13 Verchot L V, Brienzajunior S, Deoliveira V, Mutegi J, Cattânio J H and Davidson E A 2008 Fluxes of CH4, CO2, NO, and N2O in an improved fallow agroforestry system in eastern Amazonia Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 126 113-21 Vermeulen S J, Campbell B M and Ingram J S I 2012 Climate change and food systems Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 37 195-222

Albedo impact on the suitability of biochar systems to mitigate global warming.

PubMed

Meyer, Sebastian; Bright, Ryan M; Fischer, Daniel; Schulz, Hardy; Glaser, Bruno

2012-11-20

Biochar application to agricultural soils can change the surface albedo which could counteract the climate mitigation benefit of biochar systems. However, the size of this impact has not yet been quantified. Based on empirical albedo measurements and literature data of arable soils mixed with biochar, a model for annual vegetation cover development based on satellite data and an assessment of the annual development of surface humidity, an average mean annual albedo reduction of 0.05 has been calculated for applying 30-32 Mg ha(-1) biochar on a test field near Bayreuth, Germany. The impact of biochar production and application on the carbon cycle and on the soil albedo was integrated into the greenhouse gas (GHG) balance of a modeled pyrolysis based biochar system via the computation of global warming potential (GWP) characterization factors. The analysis resulted in a reduction of the overall climate mitigation benefit of biochar systems by 13-22% due to the albedo change as compared to an analysis which disregards the albedo effect. Comparing the use of the same quantity of biomass in a biochar system to a bioenergy district heating system which replaces natural gas combustion, bioenergy heating systems achieve 99-119% of the climate benefit of biochar systems according to the model calculation.

The economics of mitigation and remediation measures - preliminary results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiedemann, Carsten; Flegel, Sven Kevin; Vörsmann, Peter; Gelhaus, Johannes; Moeckel, Marek; Braun, Vitali; Kebschull, Christopher; Metz, Manuel

2012-07-01

Today there exists a high spatial density of orbital debris objects at about 800 km altitude. The control of the debris population in this region is important for the long-term evolution of the debris environment. The future debris population is investigated by simulations using the software tool LUCA (Long-Term Orbit Utilization Collision Analysis). It is likely that in the future there will occur more catastrophic collisions. Debris objects generated during such events may again trigger further catastrophic collisions. Current simulations have revealed that the number of debris objects will increase in the future. In a long-term perspective, catastrophic collisions may become the dominating mechanism in generating orbital debris. In this study it is investigated, when the situation will become unstable. To prevent this instability it is necessary to implement mitigation and maybe even remediation measures. It is investigated how these measures affect the future debris environment. It is simulated if the growth of the number of debris objects can be interrupted and how much this may cost. Different mitigation scenarios are considered. Furthermore also one remediation measure, the active removal of high-risk objects, is simulated. Cost drivers for the different measures are identified. It is investigated how selected measures are associated with costs. The goal is to find out which economic benefits may result from mitigation or remediation. First results of a cost benefit analyses are presented.

Measurement of pattern roughness and local size variation using CD-SEM: current status

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukuda, Hiroshi; Kawasaki, Takahiro; Kawada, Hiroki; Sakai, Kei; Kato, Takashi; Yamaguchi, Satoru; Ikota, Masami; Momonoi, Yoshinori

2018-03-01

Measurement of line edge roughness (LER) is discussed from four aspects: edge detection, PSD prediction, sampling strategy, and noise mitigation, and general guidelines and practical solutions for LER measurement today are introduced. Advanced edge detection algorithms such as wave-matching method are shown effective for robustly detecting edges from low SNR images, while conventional algorithm with weak filtering is still effective in suppressing SEM noise and aliasing. Advanced PSD prediction method such as multi-taper method is effective in suppressing sampling noise within a line edge to analyze, while number of lines is still required for suppressing line to line variation. Two types of SEM noise mitigation methods, "apparent noise floor" subtraction method and LER-noise decomposition using regression analysis are verified to successfully mitigate SEM noise from PSD curves. These results are extended to LCDU measurement to clarify the impact of SEM noise and sampling noise on LCDU.

Current-use pesticides in stream water and suspended particles following runoff: exposure, effects, and mitigation requirements.

PubMed

Bereswill, Renja; Streloke, Martin; Schulz, Ralf

2013-06-01

The European Union's directive for sustainable use of pesticides requires implementing risk mitigation measures at streams threatened by pesticide entries. The need for mitigation measures was investigated at 10 stream sites within an intensively used arable region in central Germany by characterizing pesticide exposure following edge-of-field runoff and effects on the aquatic macroinvertebrates. Moreover, the influence of riparian buffer strip width (as a mitigation measure) at the sampling sites was considered. Generally, invertebrate fauna was dominated by pesticide-tolerant species, suggesting a high pesticide exposure at almost all sites. This result is also reflected by the elevated levels of suspended particle contamination in terms of toxic units (logTUMax  > -2), corresponding to one-hundredth of the median lethal concentration (LC50) to Daphnia magna. At two sites that received high aqueous-phase entries of the pyrethroid lambda-cyhalothrin (logTUMax  > -0.6), the abundance and number of sensitive species in terms of the species at risk index decreased during the pesticide application period. In contrast, no acute significant negative effects on macroinvertebrates were observed at sites characterised by low water-phase toxicity (logTUMax  < -3.5). An influence of riparian buffer strip width on pesticide exposure was not observed, supposedly because of the presence of erosion rills and ephemeral ditches. In conclusion, results show that mitigation measures (such as the improvement of currently present riparian buffer strips) are needed in the study area. Copyright © 2013 SETAC.

Marine and Hydrokinetic Renewable Energy Technologies: Potential Navigational Impacts and Mitigation Measures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cool, Richard, M.; Hudon, Thomas, J.; Basco, David, R.

2009-12-10

On April 15, 2008, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Advanced Water Power Projects which included a Topic Area for Marine and Hydrokinetic Renewable Energy Market Acceleration Projects. Within this Topic Area, DOE identified potential navigational impacts of marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy technologies and measures to prevent adverse impacts on navigation as a sub-topic area. DOE defines marine and hydrokinetic technologies as those capable of utilizing one or more of the following resource categories for energy generation: ocean waves; tides or ocean currents; free flowing water in rivers or streams; and energy generation frommore » the differentials in ocean temperature. PCCI was awarded Cooperative Agreement DE-FC36-08GO18177 from the DOE to identify the potential navigational impacts and mitigation measures for marine hydrokinetic technologies, as summarized herein. The contract also required cooperation with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and two recipients of awards (Pacific Energy Ventures and reVision) in a sub-topic area to develop a protocol to identify streamlined, best-siting practices. Over the period of this contract, PCCI and our sub-consultants, David Basco, Ph.D., and Neil Rondorf of Science Applications International Corporation, met with USCG headquarters personnel, with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers headquarters and regional personnel, with U.S. Navy regional personnel and other ocean users in order to develop an understanding of existing practices for the identification of navigational impacts that might occur during construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning. At these same meetings, “standard” and potential mitigation measures were discussed so that guidance could be prepared for project developers. Concurrently, PCCI reviewed navigation guidance published by the USCG and international community. This report summarizes the results of this effort, provides guidance in the form of a checklist for assessing the navigational impacts of potential marine and hydrokinetic projects, and provides guidance for improving the existing navigational guidance promulgated by the USCG in Navigation Vessel Inspection Circular 02 07. At the request of the USCG, our checklist and mitigation guidance was written in a generic nature so that it could be equally applied to offshore wind projects. PCCI teleconferenced on a monthly basis with DOE, Pacific Energy Ventures and reVision in order to share information and review work products. Although the focus of our effort was on marine and hydrokinetic technologies, as defined above, this effort drew upon earlier work by the USCG on offshore wind renewable energy installations. The guidance provided herein can be applied equally to marine and hydrokinetic technologies and to offshore wind, which are collectively referred to by the USCG as Renewable Energy Installations.« less

Evaluating options for U.S. greenhouse-gas mitigation using multiple criteria

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-01-01

Choosing a set of policy responses to mitigate greenhouse gases (GHGs) responsible for climate change is one of the great challenges that the United States faces in the coming years. This paper develops a framework for evaluating GHG-mitigation polic...

Wetlands Mitigation Banking Concepts

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-07-01

Naval Amphibious Bas Eslgrss Mit. Bank CA, San Diego Co. dredging & facilities Dept of the Navy SeaWorld Eelgras Mitigation Dank CA, San Diego Co...shore development, private projects SeaWorld 8 Table 2. WETLAND MITIGATION BANKS UNDER PLANNING, Institute for Water Resources Preliminary Survey Data

44 CFR 78.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78.2... organization, that has zoning and building code jurisdiction over a particular area having special flood..., that is designated to develop and administer a mitigation plan by political subdivisions, all of which...

44 CFR 78.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78... organization, that has zoning and building code jurisdiction over a particular area having special flood..., that is designated to develop and administer a mitigation plan by political subdivisions, all of which...

44 CFR 78.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78... organization, that has zoning and building code jurisdiction over a particular area having special flood..., that is designated to develop and administer a mitigation plan by political subdivisions, all of which...

44 CFR 78.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78... organization, that has zoning and building code jurisdiction over a particular area having special flood..., that is designated to develop and administer a mitigation plan by political subdivisions, all of which...

44 CFR 78.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE § 78... organization, that has zoning and building code jurisdiction over a particular area having special flood..., that is designated to develop and administer a mitigation plan by political subdivisions, all of which...

Drought Impacts on Agricultural Production and Land Fallowing in California's Central Valley in 2015

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosevelt, Carolyn; Melton, Forrest S.; Johnson, Lee; Guzman, Alberto; Verdin, James P.; Thenkabail, Prasad S.; Mueller, Rick; Jones, Jeanine; Willis, Patrick

2016-01-01

The ongoing drought in California substantially reduced surface water supplies for millions of acres of irrigated farmland in California's Central Valley. Rapid assessment of drought impacts on agricultural production can aid water managers in assessing mitigation options, and guide decision making with respect to mitigation of drought impacts. Satellite remote sensing offers an efficient way to provide quantitative assessments of drought impacts on agricultural production and increases in fallow acreage associated with reductions in water supply. A key advantage of satellite-based assessments is that they can provide a measure of land fallowing that is consistent across both space and time. We describe an approach for monthly and seasonal mapping of uncultivated agricultural acreage developed as part of a joint effort by USGS, USDA, NASA, and the California Department of Water Resources to provide timely assessments of land fallowing during drought events. This effort has used the Central Valley of California as a pilot region for development and testing of an operational approach. To provide quantitative measures of uncultivated agricultural acreage from satellite data early in the season, we developed a decision tree algorithm and applied it to time-series data from Landsat TM (Thematic Mapper), ETM+ (Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus), OLI (Operational Land Imager), and MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer). Our effort has been focused on development of indicators of drought impacts in the March-August timeframe based on measures of crop development patterns relative to a reference period with average or above average rainfall. To assess the accuracy of the algorithms, monthly ground validation surveys were conducted across 650 fields from March-September in 2014 and 2015. We present the algorithm along with updated results from the accuracy assessment, and data and maps of land fallowing in the Central Valley in 2015.

Drought Impacts on Agricultural Production and Land Fallowing in California's Central Valley in 2015

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosevelt, C.; Melton, F. S.; Johnson, L.; Guzman, A.; Verdin, J. P.; Thenkabail, P. S.; Mueller, R.; Jones, J.; Willis, P.

2015-12-01

The ongoing drought in California substantially reduced surface water supplies for millions of acres of irrigated farmland in California's Central Valley. Rapid assessment of drought impacts on agricultural production can aid water managers in assessing mitigation options, and guide decision making with respect to mitigation of drought impacts. Satellite remote sensing offers an efficient way to provide quantitative assessments of drought impacts on agricultural production and increases in fallow acreage associated with reductions in water supply. A key advantage of satellite-based assessments is that they can provide a measure of land fallowing that is consistent across both space and time. We describe an approach for monthly and seasonal mapping of uncultivated agricultural acreage developed as part of a joint effort by USGS, USDA, NASA, and the California Department of Water Resources to provide timely assessments of land fallowing during drought events. This effort has used the Central Valley of California as a pilot region for development and testing of an operational approach. To provide quantitative measures of uncultivated agricultural acreage from satellite data early in the season, we developed a decision tree algorithm and applied it to timeseries of data from Landsat TM, ETM+, OLI, and MODIS. Our effort has been focused on development of indicators of drought impacts in the March - August timeframe based on measures of crop development patterns relative to a reference period with average or above average rainfall. To assess the accuracy of the algorithms, monthly ground validation surveys were conducted across 650 fields from March - September in 2014 and 2015. We present the algorithm along with updated results from the accuracy assessment, and data and maps of land fallowing in the Central Valley in 2015.

Mapping Drought Impacts on Agricultural Production in California's Central Valley

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melton, F. S.; Guzman, A.; Johnson, L.; Rosevelt, C.; Verdin, J. P.; Dwyer, J. L.; Mueller, R.; Zakzeski, A.; Thenkabail, P. S.; Wallace, C.; Jones, J.; Windell, S.; Urness, J.; Teaby, A.; Hamblin, D.; Post, K. M.; Nemani, R. R.

2014-12-01

The ongoing drought in California has substantially reduced surface water supplies for millions of acres of irrigated farmland in California's Central Valley. Rapid assessment of drought impacts on agricultural production can aid water managers in assessing mitigation options, and guide decision making with respect to requests for local water transfers, county drought disaster designations, and allocation of emergency funds to mitigate drought impacts. Satellite remote sensing offers an efficient way to provide quantitative assessments of drought impacts on agricultural production and increases in idle acreage associated with reductions in water supply. A key advantage of satellite-based assessments is that they can provide a measure of land fallowing that is consistent across both space and time. We describe an approach for monthly and seasonal mapping of uncultivated agricultural acreage developed as part of a joint effort by USGS, USDA, NASA, and the California Department of Water Resources to provide timely assessments of land fallowing during drought events. This effort has used the Central Valley of California as a pilot region for development and testing of an operational approach. To provide quantitative measures of uncultivated agricultural acreage from satellite data early in the season, we developed a decision tree algorithm and applied it to timeseries of data from Landsat TM, ETM+, OLI, and MODIS. Our effort has been focused on development of indicators of drought impacts in the March - August timeframe based on measures of crop development patterns relative to a reference period with average or above average rainfall. To assess the accuracy of the algorithms, monthly ground validation surveys were conducted across 640 fields from March - September, 2014. We present the algorithm along with updated results from the accuracy assessment, and discuss potential applications to other regions.

Economic aspects of hydro geological risk mitigation measures management in Italy: the ReNDiS project experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spizzichino, D.; Campobasso, C.; Gallozzi, P. L.; Dessi', B.; Traversa, F.

2009-04-01

ReNDiS project is a useful tool for monitoring, analysis and management of information data on mitigation measures and restoration works of soil protection at national scale. The main scope of the project, and related monitoring activities, is to improve the knowledge about the use of national funds and efforts against floods and landslides risk and, as a consequence, to better address the preventive policies in future. Since 1999 after the disastrous mudflow event occurred in Sarno in 1998, which caused the loss of 160 human lives, an extraordinary effort was conducted by the Italian Government in order to promote preventive measures against the hydro geological risk over the entire Italian territory. The Italian Ministry for the Environment promoted several and annual soil protection programmes. The ReNDiS project (Repertory of mitigation measures for National Soil Protection) is carried out by ISPRA - Institute for Environmental protection and Research, with the aim of improving the knowledge about the results of preventive policies against floods and landslides in order to better address national funds as requested by the Minister itself. The repertory is composed by a main archive and two secondary interface, the first for direct data management (ReNDiS-ist) and the latter (ReNDiS-web) for the on-line access and public consultation. At present, ReNDiS database contains about 3000 records concerning those programmes, focused on restoration works but including also information on landslide typologies and processes. The monitoring project is developed taking into account all the information about each step of every mitigation measure from the initial funding phase until the end of the work. During present work, we have statistically analyzed the ReNDiS database in order to highlight the conformity between the characteristic and type of the hazard (identified in a specific area) and the corresponding mitigation measures adopted for risk reduction. Through specific queries, we have grouped engineering works in several categories that have been related to the characteristics and type of hazards Vs cost-benefit analysis and timing of each work. Implementing a statistical analysis of the ReNDiS database, it has been possible to attempt a first spatial and temporal comparison between zoning of risk and distribution of preventive measures with relative cost at national level. In synthesis, this study has shown that although the total amount of resources devoted to preventive measures are not enough to remove the risk over the entire territory, the response of Italian institutions is in general well calibrated on the characteristic and type of hazard, but still very complex. Further efforts are necessary in order to improve the knowledge on landslides and flood prone areas, also in the perspective of adaptation to climate changes and to better address the public investments where the hydro geological risk is more critical. The importance of this monitoring activities is mainly due to limited financial resources of the Italian public sector in soil protection. Data collection, monitoring activities and statistical analysis like the ones carried out in ReNDiS experience is one of the best way in order to optimise the allocation of financial resources for the mitigation of natural hazard and risk.

New Developments in Error Detection and Correction Strategies for Critical Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berg, Melanie; LaBel, Ken

2016-01-01

The presentation will cover a variety of mitigation strategies that were developed for critical applications. An emphasis is placed on strengths and weaknesses per mitigation technique as it pertains to different FPGA device types.

Vulnerability Factors and Effectiveness of Disaster Mitigation Measures in the Bangladesh Coast

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hossain, Md. Nazir; Paul, Shitangsu Kumar

2018-01-01

The major objective of this paper is to identify the vulnerability factors and examine the effectiveness of disaster mitigation measures undertaken by individuals, government and non-government organisations to mitigate the impacts of cyclones in the Bangladesh coast experiencing from Cyclone Aila. The primary data were collected from two villages of southwestern coastal areas of Bangladesh using questionnaire survey and interviews of the key informants. The data were analysed using the descriptive and inferential statistics. This paper reveals that the disaster management measures have a significant role to lessen the impacts of the cyclonic event, especially in pre-disaster preparedness, cyclone warning message dissemination, evacuation and post-disaster rehabilitation. The households, who have access to shelter, find weather forecast regularly and adopted pre-disaster awareness measures are relatively less susceptible to hazard's impacts. The disaster management measures undertaken by individuals and GOs and NGOs help coastal people to save their lives and property from the negative impacts of cyclones. The analysis shows that the NGOs' role is more effective and efficient than the GOs in cyclone disaster management. This paper identifies distance to shelter, participation in disaster training, efficient warning, etc. as the influential factors of vulnerability cyclones. The analysis finds the households as less affected who have adopted disaster preparedness measures. However, this paper concludes that the effective and proper disaster management and mitigation measures are very crucial to shield the lives and properties of the Bangladeshi coastal people.

Vulnerability Factors and Effectiveness of Disaster Mitigation Measures in the Bangladesh Coast

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hossain, Md. Nazir; Paul, Shitangsu Kumar

2018-05-01

The major objective of this paper is to identify the vulnerability factors and examine the effectiveness of disaster mitigation measures undertaken by individuals, government and non-government organisations to mitigate the impacts of cyclones in the Bangladesh coast experiencing from Cyclone Aila. The primary data were collected from two villages of southwestern coastal areas of Bangladesh using questionnaire survey and interviews of the key informants. The data were analysed using the descriptive and inferential statistics. This paper reveals that the disaster management measures have a significant role to lessen the impacts of the cyclonic event, especially in pre-disaster preparedness, cyclone warning message dissemination, evacuation and post-disaster rehabilitation. The households, who have access to shelter, find weather forecast regularly and adopted pre-disaster awareness measures are relatively less susceptible to hazard's impacts. The disaster management measures undertaken by individuals and GOs and NGOs help coastal people to save their lives and property from the negative impacts of cyclones. The analysis shows that the NGOs' role is more effective and efficient than the GOs in cyclone disaster management. This paper identifies distance to shelter, participation in disaster training, efficient warning, etc. as the influential factors of vulnerability cyclones. The analysis finds the households as less affected who have adopted disaster preparedness measures. However, this paper concludes that the effective and proper disaster management and mitigation measures are very crucial to shield the lives and properties of the Bangladeshi coastal people.

Integrating Research to Reduce Risk and Gain the Benefits for Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mcbean, G. A.

2015-12-01

Across all countries there are challenges due to the increasing numbers of hazards creating disasters and impacting on people and property and limiting development. These impacts, in a relative sense relative to population and economy, are larger in developing countries and small island states. The issues of disaster risk reduction, sustainable development goals and climate change mitigation and adaptation are key global issues being addressed through international processes in 2015. Internationally coordinated research, through programs such as Integrated Research on Disaster Risk, Future Earth: Research for Global Sustainability and Health and Wellbeing in the Changing Urban Environment, needs to be supported and their research coordinated so the outputs are effective in policy development and can be used by all countries. A particular challenge is with regard to those extreme and relatively rare events that have huge impacts but societies are not yet effective in "making timely decisions and implementation of the hazard-associated preparedness measures to mitigate humanitarian and economic losses". The challenge for the scientific community is to work with stakeholder communities through a co-design, co-produce and co-deliver approach to enhance the relevance and effectiveness of our science.

Evaluation of three lidar scanning strategies for turbulence measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newman, J. F.; Klein, P. M.; Wharton, S.; Sathe, A.; Bonin, T. A.; Chilson, P. B.; Muschinski, A.

2015-11-01

Several errors occur when a traditional Doppler-beam swinging (DBS) or velocity-azimuth display (VAD) strategy is used to measure turbulence with a lidar. To mitigate some of these errors, a scanning strategy was recently developed which employs six beam positions to independently estimate the u, v, and w velocity variances and covariances. In order to assess the ability of these different scanning techniques to measure turbulence, a Halo scanning lidar, WindCube v2 pulsed lidar and ZephIR continuous wave lidar were deployed at field sites in Oklahoma and Colorado with collocated sonic anemometers. Results indicate that the six-beam strategy mitigates some of the errors caused by VAD and DBS scans, but the strategy is strongly affected by errors in the variance measured at the different beam positions. The ZephIR and WindCube lidars overestimated horizontal variance values by over 60 % under unstable conditions as a result of variance contamination, where additional variance components contaminate the true value of the variance. A correction method was developed for the WindCube lidar that uses variance calculated from the vertical beam position to reduce variance contamination in the u and v variance components. The correction method reduced WindCube variance estimates by over 20 % at both the Oklahoma and Colorado sites under unstable conditions, when variance contamination is largest. This correction method can be easily applied to other lidars that contain a vertical beam position and is a promising method for accurately estimating turbulence with commercially available lidars.

Evaluation of three lidar scanning strategies for turbulence measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newman, Jennifer F.; Klein, Petra M.; Wharton, Sonia; Sathe, Ameya; Bonin, Timothy A.; Chilson, Phillip B.; Muschinski, Andreas

2016-05-01

Several errors occur when a traditional Doppler beam swinging (DBS) or velocity-azimuth display (VAD) strategy is used to measure turbulence with a lidar. To mitigate some of these errors, a scanning strategy was recently developed which employs six beam positions to independently estimate the u, v, and w velocity variances and covariances. In order to assess the ability of these different scanning techniques to measure turbulence, a Halo scanning lidar, WindCube v2 pulsed lidar, and ZephIR continuous wave lidar were deployed at field sites in Oklahoma and Colorado with collocated sonic anemometers.Results indicate that the six-beam strategy mitigates some of the errors caused by VAD and DBS scans, but the strategy is strongly affected by errors in the variance measured at the different beam positions. The ZephIR and WindCube lidars overestimated horizontal variance values by over 60 % under unstable conditions as a result of variance contamination, where additional variance components contaminate the true value of the variance. A correction method was developed for the WindCube lidar that uses variance calculated from the vertical beam position to reduce variance contamination in the u and v variance components. The correction method reduced WindCube variance estimates by over 20 % at both the Oklahoma and Colorado sites under unstable conditions, when variance contamination is largest. This correction method can be easily applied to other lidars that contain a vertical beam position and is a promising method for accurately estimating turbulence with commercially available lidars.

Assessment and Mitigation of Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Impacts at Short-pulse Laser Facilities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brown, Jr., C G; Bond, E; Clancy, T

2009-10-02

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) will be impacted by electromagnetic pulse (EMP) during normal long-pulse operation, but the largest impacts are expected during short-pulse operation utilizing the Advanced Radiographic Capability (ARC). Without mitigation these impacts could range from data corruption to hardware damage. We describe our EMP measurement systems on Titan and NIF and present some preliminary results and thoughts on mitigation.

Assessment and Mitigation of Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Impacts at Short-pulse Laser Facilities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brown, Jr., C G; Bond, E; Clancy, T

2010-02-04

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) will be impacted by electromagnetic pulse (EMP) during normal long-pulse operation, but the largest impacts are expected during short-pulse operation utilizing the Advanced Radiographic Capability (ARC). Without mitigation these impacts could range from data corruption to hardware damage. We describe our EMP measurement systems on Titan and NIF and present some preliminary results and thoughts on mitigation.

24 CFR 203.501 - Loss mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Loss mitigation. 203.501 Section... FAMILY MORTGAGE INSURANCE Servicing Responsibilities General Requirements § 203.501 Loss mitigation... appropriate actions which can reasonably be expected to generate the smallest financial loss to the Department...

44 CFR 79.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION GRANTS § 79.2... special flood hazards, and is participating in the NFIP; or (2) A political subdivision of a State, or other authority that is designated by a political subdivision to develop and administer a mitigation...

Advance strategy for climate change adaptation and mitigation in cities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varquez, A. C. G.; Kanda, M.; Darmanto, N. S.; Sueishi, T.; Kawano, N.

2017-12-01

An on-going 5-yr project financially supported by the Ministry of Environment, Japan, has been carried out to specifically address the issue of prescribing appropriate adaptation and mitigation measures to climate change in cities. Entitled "Case Study on Mitigation and Local Adaptation to Climate Change in an Asian Megacity, Jakarta", the project's relevant objectives is to develop a research framework that can consider both urbanization and climate change with the main advantage of being readily implementable for all cities around the world. The test location is the benchmark city, Jakarta, Indonesia, with the end focus of evaluating the benefits of various mitigation and adaptation strategies in Jakarta and other megacities. The framework was designed to improve representation of urban areas when conducting climate change investigations in cities; and to be able to quantify separately the impacts of urbanization and climate change to all cities globally. It is comprised of a sophisticated, top-down, multi-downscaling approach utilizing a regional model (numerical weather model) and a microscale model (energy balance model and CFD model), with global circulation models (GCM) as input. The models, except the GCM, were configured to reasonably consider land cover, urban morphology, and anthropogenic heating (AH). Equally as important, methodologies that can collect and estimate global distribution of urban parametric and AH datasets are continually being developed. Urban growth models, climate scenario matrices that match representative concentration pathways with shared socio-economic pathways, present distribution of socio-demographic indicators such as population and GDP, existing GIS datasets of urban parameters, are utilized. From these tools, future urbanization (urban morphological parameters and AH) can be introduced into the models. Sensitivity using various combinations of GCM and urbanization can be conducted. Furthermore, since the models utilize parameters that can be readily modified to suit certain countermeasures, adaptation and mitigation strategies can be evaluated using thermal comfort and other social indicators. With the approaches introduced through this project, a deeper understanding of urban-climate interactions in the changing global climate can be achieved.

Highlights of Recent Research Activities at the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liou, J - C.

2017-01-01

The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office (ODPO) was established at the NASA Johnson Space Center in 1979. The ODPO has initiated and led major orbital debris research activities over the past 38 years, including developing the first set of the NASA orbital debris mitigation requirements in 1995 and supporting the establishment of the U.S. Government Orbital Debris Mitigation Standard Practices in 2001. This paper is an overview of the recent ODPO research activities, ranging from ground-based and in-situ measurements, to laboratory tests, and to engineering and long-term orbital debris environment modeling. These activities highlight the ODPO's commitment to continuously improve the orbital debris environment definition to better protect current and future space missions from the low Earth orbit to the geosynchronous Earth orbit regions.

Combined Hydration and Antibiotics with Lisinopril to Mitigate Acute and Delayed High-dose Radiation Injuries to Multiple Organs.

PubMed

Fish, Brian L; Gao, Feng; Narayanan, Jayashree; Bergom, Carmen; Jacobs, Elizabeth R; Cohen, Eric P; Moulder, John E; Orschell, Christie M; Medhora, Meetha

2016-11-01

The NIAID Radiation and Nuclear Countermeasures Program is developing medical agents to mitigate the acute and delayed effects of radiation that may occur from a radionuclear attack or accident. To date, most such medical countermeasures have been developed for single organ injuries. Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors have been used to mitigate radiation-induced lung, skin, brain, and renal injuries in rats. ACE inhibitors have also been reported to decrease normal tissue complication in radiation oncology patients. In the current study, the authors have developed a rat partial-body irradiation (leg-out PBI) model with minimal bone marrow sparing (one leg shielded) that results in acute and late injuries to multiple organs. In this model, the ACE inhibitor lisinopril (at ~24 mg m d started orally in the drinking water at 7 d after irradiation and continued to ≥150 d) mitigated late effects in the lungs and kidneys after 12.5-Gy leg-out PBI. Also in this model, a short course of saline hydration and antibiotics mitigated acute radiation syndrome following doses as high as 13 Gy. Combining this supportive care with the lisinopril regimen mitigated overall morbidity for up to 150 d after 13-Gy leg-out PBI. Furthermore, lisinopril was an effective mitigator in the presence of the growth factor G-CSF (100 μg kg d from days 1-14), which is FDA-approved for use in a radionuclear event. In summary, by combining lisinopril (FDA-approved for other indications) with hydration and antibiotics, acute and delayed radiation injuries in multiple organs were mitigated.

Protecting the Development of 5-11-Year-Olds from the Impacts of Early Disadvantage: The Role of Primary School Academic Effectiveness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sammons, Pam; Hall, James; Sylva, Kathy; Melhuish, Edward; Siraj-Blatchford, Iram; Taggart, Brenda

2013-01-01

Whether or not more effective schools can successfully mitigate the impacts of early disadvantage upon educational attainment remains uncertain. We investigated 2,664 children aged 6-11 years and measured their academic skills in English and maths along with self-regulation at 6, 7, and 11. Experiencing multiple disadvantages before age 5 strongly…

Herbicide mitigation in microcosms simulating stormwater basins subject to polluted water inputs.

PubMed

Bois, P; Huguenot, D; Jézéquel, K; Lollier, M; Cornu, J Y; Lebeau, T

2013-03-01

Non-point source pollution as a result of wine-growing activity is of high concern. Stormwater basins (SWB) found downstream of vineyard watersheds could show a potential for the mitigation of runoff water containing herbicides. In this study, mitigation of vinery-used herbicides was studied in microcosms with a very similar functioning to that recorded in SWB. Mitigation efficiency of glyphosate, diuron and 3,4-dichloroaniline (3,4-DCA) was investigated by taking into account hydraulic flow rate, mitigation duration, bioaugmentation and plant addition. Mitigation efficiency measured in water ranged from 63.0% for diuron to 84.2% for 3,4-DCA and to 99.8% for glyphosate. Water-storage duration in the SWB and time between water supplies were shown to be the most influential factors on the mitigation efficiency. Six hours water-storage duration allowed an efficient sorption of herbicides and their degradation by indigenous microorganisms in 5 weeks. Neither bioaugmentation nor plant addition had a significant effect on herbicide mitigation. Our results show that this type of SWB are potentially relevant for the mitigation of these herbicides stemming from wine-growing activity, providing a long enough hydraulic retention time. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measurement and reduction of system latency in see-through helmet mounted display (HMD) systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vincenzi, Dennis A.; Deaton, John E.; Blickenderfer, Elizabeth L.; Pray, Rick; Williams, Barry; Buker, Timothy J.

2010-04-01

Future military aviation platforms such as the proposed Joint Strike Fighter F-35 will integrate helmet mounted displays (HMDs) with the avionics and weapon systems to the degree that the HMDs will become the aircraft's primary display system. In turn, training of pilot flight skills using HMDs will be essential in future training systems. In order to train these skills using simulation based training, improvements must be made in the integration of HMDs with out-thewindow (OTW) simulations. Currently, problems such as latency contribute to the onset of simulator sickness and provide distractions during training with HMD simulator systems that degrade the training experience. Previous research has used Kalman predictive filters as a means of mitigating the system latency present in these systems. While this approach has yielded some success, more work is needed to develop innovative and improved strategies that reduce system latency as well as to include data collected from the user perspective as a measured variable during test and evaluation of latency reduction strategies. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, the paper describes a new method to measure and assess system latency from the user perspective. Second, the paper describes use of the testbed to examine the efficacy of an innovative strategy that combines a customized Kalman filter with a neural network approach to mitigate system latency. Results indicate that the combined approach reduced system latency significantly when compared to baseline data and the traditional Kalman filter. Reduced latency errors should mitigate the onset of simulator sickness and ease simulator sickness symptomology. Implications for training systems will be discussed.

New Developments in Error Detection and Correction Strategies for Critical Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berg, Melanie; Label, Ken

2017-01-01

The presentation will cover a variety of mitigation strategies that were developed for critical applications. An emphasis is placed on strengths and weaknesses per mitigation technique as it pertains to different Field programmable gate array (FPGA) device types.

Ohio Uses Wetlands Program Development Grants to Protect Wetlands

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The wetland water quality standards require the use of ORAM score to determine wetland quality. OEPA has also used these tools to evaluate wetland mitigation projects, develop performance standards for wetland mitigation banks and In Lieu Fee programs an.

Rainwater Wildlife Area Management Plan : Executive Summary.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Childs, Allen B.; Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon.

The purpose of the project is to protect, enhance, and mitigate fish and wildlife resources impacted by Columbia River Basin hydroelectric development. The effort is one of several wildlife mitigation projects in the region developed to compensate for terrestrial habitat losses resulting from the construction of McNary and John Day Hydroelectric facilities located on the mainstem Columbia River. While this project is driven primarily by the purpose and need to mitigate for wildlife habitat losses, it is also recognized that management strategies will also benefit many other non-target fish and wildlife species and associated natural resources. The Northwest Power Actmore » directs the NPPC to develop a program to ''protect, mitigate, and enhance'' fish and wildlife of the Columbia River and its tributaries. The overarching goals include: A Columbia River ecosystem that sustains an abundant, productive, and diverse community of fish and wildlife; Mitigation across the basin for the adverse effects to fish and wildlife caused by the development and operation of the hydrosystem; Sufficient populations of fish and wildlife for abundant opportunities for tribal trust and treaty right harvest and for non-tribal harvest; and Recovery of the fish and wildlife affected by the development and operation of the hydrosystem that are listed under the Endangered Species Act.« less

15 CFR 970.702 - Monitoring and mitigation of environmental effects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Monitoring and mitigation of... Environmental Effects § 970.702 Monitoring and mitigation of environmental effects. (a) Monitoring. If an... monitoring plan as part of the terms, conditions and restrictions developed for each license. The plan will...

15 CFR 970.702 - Monitoring and mitigation of environmental effects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Monitoring and mitigation of... Environmental Effects § 970.702 Monitoring and mitigation of environmental effects. (a) Monitoring. If an... monitoring plan as part of the terms, conditions and restrictions developed for each license. The plan will...

15 CFR 970.702 - Monitoring and mitigation of environmental effects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Monitoring and mitigation of... Environmental Effects § 970.702 Monitoring and mitigation of environmental effects. (a) Monitoring. If an... monitoring plan as part of the terms, conditions and restrictions developed for each license. The plan will...

15 CFR 970.702 - Monitoring and mitigation of environmental effects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Monitoring and mitigation of... Environmental Effects § 970.702 Monitoring and mitigation of environmental effects. (a) Monitoring. If an... monitoring plan as part of the terms, conditions and restrictions developed for each license. The plan will...

15 CFR 970.702 - Monitoring and mitigation of environmental effects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Monitoring and mitigation of... Environmental Effects § 970.702 Monitoring and mitigation of environmental effects. (a) Monitoring. If an... monitoring plan as part of the terms, conditions and restrictions developed for each license. The plan will...

44 CFR 79.7 - Offers and appeals under the SRL program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION GRANTS § 79.7 Offers and appeals under the SRL program. (a) Consultation. States and communities... mitigation activity. These consultations shall be initiated in the early stages of the project development...

44 CFR 79.7 - Offers and appeals under the SRL program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION GRANTS § 79.7 Offers and appeals under the SRL program. (a) Consultation. States and communities... mitigation activity. These consultations shall be initiated in the early stages of the project development...

44 CFR 79.7 - Offers and appeals under the SRL program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION GRANTS § 79.7 Offers and appeals under the SRL program. (a) Consultation. States and communities... mitigation activity. These consultations shall be initiated in the early stages of the project development...

44 CFR 79.7 - Offers and appeals under the SRL program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY INSURANCE AND HAZARD MITIGATION National Flood Insurance Program FLOOD MITIGATION GRANTS § 79.7 Offers and appeals under the SRL program. (a) Consultation. States and communities... mitigation activity. These consultations shall be initiated in the early stages of the project development...

Climate Change Impacts on the Built Environment in the United States and Implications for Sustainability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quattrochi, Dale A.

2012-01-01

As an integral part of the National Climate Assessment (NCA), technical assessment reports for 13 regions in the U.S. that describe the scientific rationale to support climate change impacts within the purview of these regions, and provide adaptation or mitigation measures in response to these impacts. These technical assessments focus on climate change impacts on sectors that are important environmental, biophysical, and social and economic aspects of sustainability within the U.S.: Climate change science, Ecosystems and biodiversity, Water resources, Human health, Energy supply and use, Water/energy/land use, Transportation, Urban/infrastructure/vulnerability, Agriculture, Impacts of climate change on tribal/indigenous and native lands and resources, Forestry, Land use/land cover change, Rural communities development, and Impacts on biogeochemical cycles, with implications for ecosystems and biodiversity. There is a critical and timely need for the development of mitigation and adaptation strategies in response to climate change by the policy and decision making communities, to insure resiliency and sustainability of the built environment in the future.

From tsunami hazard assessment to risk management in Guadeloupe (F.W.I.)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zahibo, Narcisse; Dudon, Bernard; Krien, Yann; Arnaud, Gaël; Mercado, Aurelio; Roger, Jean

2017-04-01

The Caribbean region is prone to numerous natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, storm surges, tsunamis, coastal erosion or hurricanes. All these threats may cause great human and economic losses and are thus of prime interest for applied research. One of the main challenges for the scientific community is to conduct state-of-the-art research to assess hazards and share the results with coastal planners and decision makers so that they can regulate land use and develop mitigation strategies. We present here the results of a scientific collaborative project between Guadeloupe and Porto Rico which aimed at bringing a decision-making support to the authorities regarding tsunami hazards. This project led us to build a database of potential extreme events, and to study their impacts on Guadeloupe to investigate storm surge and tsunami hazards. The results were used by local authorities to develop safeguarding and mitigation measures in coastal areas. This project is thus a good example to demonstrate the benefit of inter Caribbean scientific collaboration for natural risks management.

Therapeutic outcomes, assessments, risk factors and mitigation efforts of immunogenicity of therapeutic protein products.

PubMed

Yin, Liusong; Chen, Xiaoying; Vicini, Paolo; Rup, Bonita; Hickling, Timothy P

2015-06-01

Therapeutic protein products (TPPs) are of considerable value in the treatment of a variety of diseases, including cancer, hemophilia, and autoimmune diseases. The success of TPP mainly results from prolonged half-life, increased target specificity and decreased intrinsic toxicity compared with small molecule drugs. However, unwanted immune responses against TPP, such as generation of anti-drug antibody, can impact both drug efficacy and patient safety, which has led to requirements for increased monitoring in regulatory studies and clinical practice, termination of drug development, or even withdrawal of marketed products. We present an overview of current knowledge on immunogenicity of TPP and its impact on efficacy and safety. We also discuss methods for measurement and prediction of immunogenicity and review both product-related and patient-related risk factors that affect its development, and efforts that may be taken to mitigate it. Lastly, we discuss gaps in knowledge and technology and what is needed to fill these. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Commercial Aircraft Integrated Vehicle Health Management Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reveley, Mary S.; Briggs, Jeffrey L.; Evans, Joni K.; Jones, Sharon Monica; Kurtoglu, Tolga; Leone, Karen M.; Sandifer, Carl E.; Thomas, Megan A.

2010-01-01

Statistical data and literature from academia, industry, and other government agencies were reviewed and analyzed to establish requirements for fixture work in detection, diagnosis, prognosis, and mitigation for IVHM related hardware and software. Around 15 to 20 percent of commercial aircraft accidents between 1988 and 2003 involved inalftfnctions or failures of some aircraft system or component. Engine and landing gear failures/malfunctions dominate both accidents and incidents. The IVI vl Project research technologies were found to map to the Joint Planning and Development Office's National Research and Development Plan (RDP) as well as the Safety Working Group's National Aviation Safety Strategic. Plan (NASSP). Future directions in Aviation Technology as related to IVHlvl were identified by reviewing papers from three conferences across a five year time span. A total of twenty-one trend groups in propulsion, aeronautics and aircraft categories were compiled. Current and ftiture directions of IVHM related technologies were gathered and classified according to eight categories: measurement and inspection, sensors, sensor management, detection, component and subsystem monitoring, diagnosis, prognosis, and mitigation.

Energy-Efficiency and Air-Pollutant Emissions-Reduction Opportunities for the Ammonia Industry in China

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ma, Ding; Hasanbeigi, Ali; Chen, Wenying

As one of the most energy-intensive and polluting industries, ammonia production is responsible for significant carbon dioxide (CO 2) and air-pollutant emissions. Although many energy-efficiency measures have been proposed by the Chinese government to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality, lack of understanding of the cost-effectiveness of such improvements has been a barrier to implementing these measures. Assessing the costs, benefits, and cost-effectiveness of different energy-efficiency measures is essential to advancing this understanding. In this study, a bottom-up energy conservation supply curve model is developed to estimate the potential for energy savings and emissions reductions from 26 energy-efficiencymore » measures that could be applied in China’s ammonia industry. Cost-effective implementation of these measures saves a potential 271.5 petajoules/year for fuel and 5,443 gigawatt-hours/year for electricity, equal to 14% of fuel and 14% of electricity consumed in China’s ammonia industry in 2012. These reductions could mitigate 26.7 million tonnes of CO 2 emissions. This study also quantifies the co-benefits of reducing air-pollutant emissions and water use that would result from saving energy in China’s ammonia industry. This quantitative analysis advances our understanding of the cost-effectiveness of energy-efficiency measures and can be used to augment efforts to reduce energy use and environmental impacts.« less

Addressing Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Together: A Global Assessment of Agriculture and Forestry Projects.

PubMed

Kongsager, Rico; Locatelli, Bruno; Chazarin, Florie

2016-02-01

Adaptation and mitigation share the ultimate purpose of reducing climate change impacts. However, they tend to be considered separately in projects and policies because of their different objectives and scales. Agriculture and forestry are related to both adaptation and mitigation: they contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and removals, are vulnerable to climate variations, and form part of adaptive strategies for rural livelihoods. We assessed how climate change project design documents (PDDs) considered a joint contribution to adaptation and mitigation in forestry and agriculture in the tropics, by analyzing 201 PDDs from adaptation funds, mitigation instruments, and project standards [e.g., climate community and biodiversity (CCB)]. We analyzed whether PDDs established for one goal reported an explicit contribution to the other (i.e., whether mitigation PDDs contributed to adaptation and vice versa). We also examined whether the proposed activities or expected outcomes allowed for potential contributions to the two goals. Despite the separation between the two goals in international and national institutions, 37% of the PDDs explicitly mentioned a contribution to the other objective, although only half of those substantiated it. In addition, most adaptation (90%) and all mitigation PDDs could potentially report a contribution to at least partially to the other goal. Some adaptation project developers were interested in mitigation for the prospect of carbon funding, whereas mitigation project developers integrated adaptation to achieve greater long-term sustainability or to attain CCB certification. International and national institutions can provide incentives for projects to harness synergies and avoid trade-offs between adaptation and mitigation.

Monitoring and Mitigation Alternatives for Protection of North Atlantic Right Whales during Offshore Wind Farm Installation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carlson, Thomas J.; Halvorsen, Michele B.; Matzner, Shari

2012-09-01

Progress report on defining and determining monitoring and mitigation measures for protecting North Atlantic Right Whales from the effects of pile driving and other activities associated with installation of offshore wind farms.

7 CFR 1794.17 - Mitigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... (FONSI) and the Record of Decision (ROD). (b) Water and waste program. (1) Mitigation measures which... land use issues shall recognize the rights and responsibilities of landholders in making private land...

Neural circuits in the brain that are activated when mitigating criminal sentences.

PubMed

Yamada, Makiko; Camerer, Colin F; Fujie, Saori; Kato, Motoichiro; Matsuda, Tetsuya; Takano, Harumasa; Ito, Hiroshi; Suhara, Tetsuya; Takahashi, Hidehiko

2012-03-27

In sentencing guilty defendants, jurors and judges weigh 'mitigating circumstances', which create sympathy for a defendant. Here we use functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure neural activity in ordinary citizens who are potential jurors, as they decide on mitigation of punishment for murder. We found that sympathy activated regions associated with mentalising and moral conflict (dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, precuneus and temporo-parietal junction). Sentencing also activated precuneus and anterior cingulate cortex, suggesting that mitigation is based on negative affective responses to murder, sympathy for mitigating circumstances and cognitive control to choose numerical punishments. Individual differences on the inclination to mitigate, the sentence reduction per unit of judged sympathy, correlated with activity in the right middle insula, an area known to represent interoception of visceral states. These results could help the legal system understand how potential jurors actually decide, and contribute to growing knowledge about whether emotion and cognition are integrated sensibly in difficult judgments.

Developing a Framework to Link Catchment Modelling tools to Decision Support Systems for Catchment Management and Planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adams, Russell; Owen, Gareth

2015-04-01

Over the past few years a series of catchment monitoring studies in the UK have developed a wide range of tools to enable managers and planners to make informed decisions to target several key outcomes. These outcomes include the mitigation of diffuse pollution and the reduction of flood risk. Good progress has been but additional steps are still required to link together more detailed models that represent catchment processes with the decision support systems (often termed matrices; i.e. DSMs) which form the basis of these planning and management tools. Examples include: (i) the FARM tools developed by the PROACTIVE team at Newcastle University to assess different catchment management options for mitigating against flooding events, (ii) TOPMANAGE, a suite of algorithms that link with high resolution DEMs to enable surface flow pathways, having the potential to be mitigated by Natural Flood Management (NFM) features (in order to target diffuse pollution due to nutrients and sediments) to be identified. To date, these DSMs have not been underpinned by models that can be run in real-time to quantify the benefits in terms of measurable reductions in flood or nutrient pollution risks. Their use has therefore been mostly as qualitative assessment tools. This study aims to adapt an existing spreadsheet-based model, the CRAFT, in order for it to become fully coupled to a DSM approach. Previous catchment scale applications of the CRAFT have focussed on meso-scale studies where any management interventions at a local scale are unlikely to be detectable at the monitoring point (the catchment outlet). The model has however been reasonably successful in identifying potential flow and transport pathways that link the headwater subcatchments to the outlet. Furthermore, recent enhancements to the model enable features such as sedimentation ponds and lagoons that can trap and remove nutrients and sediments to be added, once data become available from different types of NFM features to parameterise these. The model can be used to investigate runoff attenuation (in this case primarily through a lagged routing term applied to surface runoff) as a result of implementing mitigation measures. However to be fully integrated within a DSM framework requires the CRAFT to be linked to a user-friendly interface that will allow the user to modify key parameters, preferably using a web-based expert system, which will be explored further.

A new topology of fuel cell hybrid power source for efficient operation and high reliability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bizon, Nicu

2011-03-01

This paper analyzes a new fuel cell Hybrid Power Source (HPS) topology having the feature to mitigate the current ripple of the fuel cell inverter system. In the operation of the inverter system that is grid connected or supplies AC motors in vehicle application, the current ripple normally appears at the DC port of the fuel cell HPS. Consequently, if mitigation measures are not applied, this ripple is back propagated to the fuel cell stack. Other features of the proposed fuel cell HPS are the Maximum Power Point (MPP) tracking, high reliability in operation under sharp power pulses and improved energy efficiency in high power applications. This topology uses an inverter system directly powered from the appropriate fuel cell stack and a controlled buck current source as low power source used for ripple mitigation. The low frequency ripple mitigation is based on active control. The anti-ripple current is injected in HPS output node and this has the LF power spectrum almost the same with the inverter ripple. Consequently, the fuel cell current ripple is mitigated by the designed active control. The ripple mitigation performances are evaluated by indicators that are defined to measure the mitigation ratio of the low frequency harmonics. In this paper it is shown that good performances are obtained by using the hysteretic current control, but better if a dedicated nonlinear controller is used. Two ways to design the nonlinear control law are proposed. First is based on simulation trials that help to draw the characteristic of ripple mitigation ratio vs. fuel cell current ripple. The second is based on Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC). The ripple factor is up to 1% in both cases.

Real-Time RFI Mitigation in Pulsar Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramey, Emily; Joslyn, Nick; Prestage, Richard; Whitehead, Mark; Lam, Michael Timothy; Blattner, Tim; Hawkins, Luke; Viou, Cedric; Masson, Jessica

2018-01-01

As the use of wireless technology has increased around the world, Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) has become more and more of a problem for radio astronomers. Preventative measures exist to limit the presence of RFI, and programs exist to remove it from saved data, but the routine use of algorithms to detect and remove RFI as an observation is occurring is much less common. Such a method would be incredibly useful for observations in which the data must undergo several rounds of processing before being saved, as in pulsar timing studies. Strategies for real-time mitigation have been discussed and tested with simulated data (Buch et al., 2016), but ideally the results of any approach would be validated by a detailed comparison of the final data products - for pulsar timing, the variance in the pulse times of arrival (TOAs) - with and without mitigation applied. The goal of this project is to develop an RFI mitigation approach based on the previously suggested strategies and test this program on actual data from the observation of pulsar J1713+0747. We use a Median Absolute Deviation (MAD) filter to identify interference in the observation and replace the compromised data with random Gaussian noise to match a characteristic radio signal from space. In order to verify our results, we analyze the pulsar’s TOAs obtained both from the mitigated data and from the unmitigated data processed through offline RFI removal software. Comparing the two, our preliminary findings indicate that our program is able to improve the quality of timing results from the observation.

Development by Design: Mitigating Wind Development's Impacts on Wildlife in Kansas

PubMed Central

Obermeyer, Brian; Manes, Robert; Kiesecker, Joseph; Fargione, Joseph; Sochi, Kei

2011-01-01

Wind energy, if improperly sited, can impact wildlife through direct mortality and habitat loss and fragmentation, in contrast to its environmental benefits in the areas of greenhouse gas, air quality, and water quality. Fortunately, risks to wildlife from wind energy may be alleviated through proper siting and mitigation offsets. Here we identify areas in Kansas where wind development is incompatible with conservation, areas where wind development may proceed but with compensatory mitigation for impacts, and areas where development could proceed without the need for compensatory mitigation. We demonstrate that approximately 10.3 million ha in Kansas (48 percent of the state) has the potential to provide 478 GW of installed capacity while still meeting conservation goals. Of this total, approximately 2.7 million ha would require no compensatory mitigation and could produce up to 125 GW of installed capacity. This is 1,648 percent higher than the level of wind development needed in Kansas by 2030 if the United States is to get 20 percent of its electricity from wind. Projects that avoid and offset impacts consistent with this analysis could be awarded “Green Certification.” Certification may help to expand and sustain the wind industry by facilitating the completion of individual projects sited to avoid sensitive areas and protecting the industry's reputation as an ecologically friendly source of electricity. PMID:22046333

Mate and Dart: An Instrument Package for Characterizing Solar Energy and Atmospheric Dust on Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Landis, Geoffrey A.; Jenkins, Phillip; Scheiman, David; Baraona, Cosmo

2000-01-01

The MATE (Mars Array Technology Experiment) and DART (Dust Accumulation and Removal Test) instruments were developed to fly as part of the Mars ISPP Precursor (MIP) experiment on the (now postponed) Mars-2001 Surveyor Lander. MATE characterizes the solar energy reaching the surface of Mars, and measures the performance and degradation of solar cells under Martian conditions. DART characterizes the dust environment of Mars, measures the effect of settled dust on solar arrays, and investigates methods to mitigate power loss due to dust accumulation.

Evaluation of the Display of Cognitive State Feedback to Drive Adaptive Task Sharing

PubMed Central

Dorneich, Michael C.; Passinger, Břetislav; Hamblin, Christopher; Keinrath, Claudia; Vašek, Jiři; Whitlow, Stephen D.; Beekhuyzen, Martijn

2017-01-01

This paper presents an adaptive system intended to address workload imbalances between pilots in future flight decks. Team performance can be maximized when task demands are balanced within crew capabilities and resources. Good communication skills enable teams to adapt to changes in workload, and include the balancing of workload between team members This work addresses human factors priorities in the aviation domain with the goal to develop concepts that balance operator workload, support future operator roles and responsibilities, and support new task requirements, while allowing operators to focus on the most safety critical tasks. A traditional closed-loop adaptive system includes the decision logic to turn automated adaptations on and off. This work takes a novel approach of replacing the decision logic, normally performed by the automation, with human decisions. The Crew Workload Manager (CWLM) was developed to objectively display the workload between pilots and recommend task sharing; it is then the pilots who “close the loop” by deciding how to best mitigate unbalanced workload. The workload was manipulated by the Shared Aviation Task Battery (SAT-B), which was developed to provide opportunities for pilots to mitigate imbalances in workload between crew members. Participants were put in situations of high and low workload (i.e., workload was manipulated as opposed to being measured), the workload was then displayed to pilots, and pilots were allowed to decide how to mitigate the situation. An evaluation was performed that utilized the SAT-B to manipulate workload and create workload imbalances. Overall, the CWLM reduced the time spent in unbalanced workload and improved the crew coordination in task sharing while not negatively impacting concurrent task performance. Balancing workload has the potential to improve crew resource management and task performance over time, and reduce errors and fatigue. Paired with a real-time workload measurement system, the CWLM could help teams manage their own task load distribution. PMID:28400716

Evaluation of the Display of Cognitive State Feedback to Drive Adaptive Task Sharing.

PubMed

Dorneich, Michael C; Passinger, Břetislav; Hamblin, Christopher; Keinrath, Claudia; Vašek, Jiři; Whitlow, Stephen D; Beekhuyzen, Martijn

2017-01-01

This paper presents an adaptive system intended to address workload imbalances between pilots in future flight decks. Team performance can be maximized when task demands are balanced within crew capabilities and resources. Good communication skills enable teams to adapt to changes in workload, and include the balancing of workload between team members This work addresses human factors priorities in the aviation domain with the goal to develop concepts that balance operator workload, support future operator roles and responsibilities, and support new task requirements, while allowing operators to focus on the most safety critical tasks. A traditional closed-loop adaptive system includes the decision logic to turn automated adaptations on and off. This work takes a novel approach of replacing the decision logic, normally performed by the automation, with human decisions. The Crew Workload Manager (CWLM) was developed to objectively display the workload between pilots and recommend task sharing; it is then the pilots who "close the loop" by deciding how to best mitigate unbalanced workload. The workload was manipulated by the Shared Aviation Task Battery (SAT-B), which was developed to provide opportunities for pilots to mitigate imbalances in workload between crew members. Participants were put in situations of high and low workload (i.e., workload was manipulated as opposed to being measured), the workload was then displayed to pilots, and pilots were allowed to decide how to mitigate the situation. An evaluation was performed that utilized the SAT-B to manipulate workload and create workload imbalances. Overall, the CWLM reduced the time spent in unbalanced workload and improved the crew coordination in task sharing while not negatively impacting concurrent task performance. Balancing workload has the potential to improve crew resource management and task performance over time, and reduce errors and fatigue. Paired with a real-time workload measurement system, the CWLM could help teams manage their own task load distribution.

Great East Japan earthquake, JR East mitigation successes, and lessons for California high-speed rail.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-04-01

California and Japan both experience frequent seismic activity, which is often damaging to infrastructure. Seismologists have : developed systems for detecting and analyzing earthquakes in real-time. JR East has developed systems to mitigate the : da...

A synthesis of environmental and recreational mitigation requirements at hydropower projects in the United States

DOE PAGES

Schramm, Michael P.; Bevelhimer, Mark S.; DeRolph, Chris R.

2016-04-11

Environmental mitigation plays an important role in the environmentally sustainable development of hydropower resources. However, comprehensive data on mitigation required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) at United States (US) hydropower projects is lacking. Therefore, our objective was to create a comprehensive database of mitigation required at non-federal hydropower projects and provide a synthesis of available mitigation data. Mitigation data was collated for over 300 plants licensed or relicensed from 1998 through 2013. We observed that the majority of FERC mitigation requirements deal with either hydrologic flows or recreation and that hydropower plants in the Pacific Northwest had themore » highest number of requirements. Our data indicate opportunities exist to further explore hydropower mitigation in the areas of environmental flows, fish passage, and water quality. Lastly, connecting these data with ecological outcomes, actual flow data, and larger landscape level information will be necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of mitigation and ultimately inform regulators, managers, and planners.« less

A synthesis of environmental and recreational mitigation requirements at hydropower projects in the United States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schramm, Michael P.; Bevelhimer, Mark S.; DeRolph, Chris R.

Environmental mitigation plays an important role in the environmentally sustainable development of hydropower resources. However, comprehensive data on mitigation required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) at United States (US) hydropower projects is lacking. Therefore, our objective was to create a comprehensive database of mitigation required at non-federal hydropower projects and provide a synthesis of available mitigation data. Mitigation data was collated for over 300 plants licensed or relicensed from 1998 through 2013. We observed that the majority of FERC mitigation requirements deal with either hydrologic flows or recreation and that hydropower plants in the Pacific Northwest had themore » highest number of requirements. Our data indicate opportunities exist to further explore hydropower mitigation in the areas of environmental flows, fish passage, and water quality. Lastly, connecting these data with ecological outcomes, actual flow data, and larger landscape level information will be necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of mitigation and ultimately inform regulators, managers, and planners.« less

Improved representation of investment decisions in assessments of CO2 mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iyer, Gokul C.; Clarke, Leon E.; Edmonds, James A.; Flannery, Brian P.; Hultman, Nathan E.; McJeon, Haewon C.; Victor, David G.

2015-05-01

Assessments of emissions mitigation patterns have largely ignored the huge variation in real-world factors--in particular, institutions--that affect where, how and at what costs firms deploy capital. We investigate one such factor--how national institutions affect investment risks and thus the cost of financing. We use an integrated assessment model (IAM; ref. ) to represent the variation in investment risks across technologies and regions in the electricity generation sector--a pivotally important sector in most assessments of climate change mitigation--and compute the impact on the magnitude and distribution of mitigation costs. This modified representation of investment risks has two major effects. First, achieving an emissions mitigation goal is more expensive than it would be in a world with uniform investment risks. Second, industrialized countries mitigate more, and developing countries mitigate less. Here, we introduce a new front in the research on how real-world factors influence climate mitigation. We also suggest that institutional reforms aimed at lowering investment risks could be an important element of cost-effective climate mitigation strategies.

Integrated cost-effectiveness analysis of agri-environmental measures for water quality.

PubMed

Balana, Bedru B; Jackson-Blake, Leah; Martin-Ortega, Julia; Dunn, Sarah

2015-09-15

This paper presents an application of integrated methodological approach for identifying cost-effective combinations of agri-environmental measures to achieve water quality targets. The methodological approach involves linking hydro-chemical modelling with economic costs of mitigation measures. The utility of the approach was explored for the River Dee catchment in North East Scotland, examining the cost-effectiveness of mitigation measures for nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) pollutants. In-stream nitrate concentration was modelled using the STREAM-N and phosphorus using INCA-P model. Both models were first run for baseline conditions and then their effectiveness for changes in land management was simulated. Costs were based on farm income foregone, capital and operational expenditures. The costs and effects data were integrated using 'Risk Solver Platform' optimization in excel to produce the most cost-effective combination of measures by which target nutrient reductions could be attained at a minimum economic cost. The analysis identified different combination of measures as most cost-effective for the two pollutants. An important aspect of this paper is integration of model-based effectiveness estimates with economic cost of measures for cost-effectiveness analysis of land and water management options. The methodological approach developed is not limited to the two pollutants and the selected agri-environmental measures considered in the paper; the approach can be adapted to the cost-effectiveness analysis of any catchment-scale environmental management options. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of Te and ne on edge current density profiles in ELM mitigated regimes on ASDEX Upgrade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dunne, M. G.; Rathgeber, S.; Burckhart, A.; Fischer, R.; Giannone, L.; McCarthy, P. J.; Schneider, P. A.; Wolfrum, E.; the ASDEX Upgrade Team

2015-01-01

ELM resolved edge current density profiles are reconstructed using the CLISTE equilibrium code. As input, highly spatially and temporally resolved edge electron temperature and density profiles are used in addition to data from the extensive set of external poloidal field measurements available at ASDEX Upgrade, flux loop difference measurements, and current measurements in the scrape-off layer. Both the local and flux surface averaged current density profiles are analysed for several ELM mitigation regimes. The focus throughout is on the impact of altered temperature and density profiles on the current density. In particular, many ELM mitigation regimes rely on operation at high density. Two reference plasmas with type-I ELMs are analysed, one with a deuterium gas puff and one without, in order to provide a reference for the behaviour in type-II ELMy regimes and high density ELM mitigation with external magnetic perturbations at ASDEX Upgrade. For type-II ELMs it is found that while a similar pedestal top pressure is sustained at the higher density, the temperature gradient decreases in the pedestal. This results in lower local and flux surface averaged current densities in these phases, which reduces the drive for the peeling mode. No significant differences between the current density measured in the type-I phase and ELM mitigated phase is seen when external perturbations are applied, though the pedestal top density was increased. Finally, ELMs during the nitrogen seeded phase of a high performance discharge are analysed and compared to ELMs in the reference phase. An increased pedestal pressure gradient, which is the source of confinement improvement in impurity seeded discharges, causes a local current density increase. However, the increased Zeff in the pedestal acts to reduce the flux surface averaged current density. This dichotomy, which is not observed in other mitigation regimes, could act to stabilize both the ballooning mode and the peeling mode at the same time.

The EU sustainable energy policy indicators framework.

PubMed

Streimikiene, Dalia; Sivickas, Gintautas

2008-11-01

The article deals with indicators framework to monitor implementation of the main EU (European Union) directives and other policy documents targeting sustainable energy development. The main EU directives which have impact on sustainable energy development are directives promoting energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources, directives implementing greenhouse gas mitigation and atmospheric pollution reduction policies and other policy documents and strategies targeting energy sector. Promotion of use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency improvements are among priorities of EU energy policy because the use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency improvements has positive impact on energy security and climate change mitigation. The framework of indicators can be developed to establish the main targets set by EU energy and environmental policies allowing to connect indicators via chain of mutual impacts and to define policies and measures necessary to achieve established targets based on assessment of their impact on the targeted indicators representing sustainable energy development aims. The article discusses the application of indicators framework for EU sustainable energy policy analysis and presents the case study of this policy tool application for Baltic States. The article also discusses the use of biomass in Baltic States and future considerations in this field.