Nitrate Pollution in the Northern Cartago Region

Growing concerns about elevated nitrate levels in natural springs on the southern slope of the Irazu Volcano, Cartago province in Costa Rica, were the driving force for a multi-disciplinary study on the problem. The region is characterized by its high agricultural output and steep slopes. More than sixty springs located in the area are managed...

The role of water vapor observations in satellite-based rainfall information highlighted by a Deep Learning approach

Rain-fed agriculture is the main source of food in Ghana therefore improving quantitative rainfall estimates is essential for local farmers to predict crop growth using vegetation models. Rainfall dynamics in the tropics is an ongoing topic of research due to their complexity and sub-grid precipitation variability. At the same time, tropical...

Biochemistry shapes growth kinetics of nitrifiers and defines their activity under specific environmental conditions

Is it possible to find trends between the parameters that define microbial growth to help us explain the vast microbial diversity? Through an extensive database of kinetic parameters of nitrifiers, we analyzed if the dominance of specific populations of nitrifiers could be predicted and explained. We concluded that, in general, higher growth...

Hydrodynamic and ecological performance of a new modular unit for living breakwaters: Wave flume experiments and results

Living breakwaters are designed to protect the coast against flooding and erosion, whilst at the same time they enhance the local ecological system by incorporating natural reef components. This study investigates the design of a modular artificial reef developed by the company called Reefy. Reefy breakwaters will consist of interlocking blocks...

Nature based alternatives regarding coastal and environmental climate change hazards: A case study of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation foreshore

The Tsleil-Wautuh Nation (TWN) reserve, Sleil-Waututh, located at the north shore of the Burrard Inlet in Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada) is strongly influenced by climate change. Sea level rise, coastal flooding and shoreline erosion are contributing to loss of land, damages to infrastructure, ecosystem changes and exposure of historic...

Pipe failure modelling for water distribution networks using boosted decision trees

Pipe failure modelling is an important tool for strategic rehabilitation planning of urban water distribution infrastructure. Rehabilitation predictions are mostly based on existing network data and historical failure records, both of varying quality. This paper presents a framework for the extraction and processing of such data to use it for...

The Dawning of the Ethics of Environmental Robots

Environmental scientists and engineers have been exploring research and monitoring applications of robotics, as well as exploring ways of integrating robotics into ecosystems to aid in responses to accelerating environmental, climatic, and biodiversity changes. These emerging applications of robots and other autonomous technologies present...

Realizing Steady Supply to a Treatment Plant from Multiple Sources

In sewer systems sewage from different areas is often treated in a shared Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP). Currently the flows from different areas are usually determined by needs local to that area. During dry weather this may result in large variations in the flow into the WWTP. There are two reasons why this may be undesirable. Due to...

Biogeochemical processes and geotechnical applications: Progress, opportunities and challenges

Consideration of soil as a living ecosystem offers the potential for innovative and sustainable solutions to geotechnical problems. This is a new paradigm for many in geotechnical engineering. Realising the potential of this paradigm requires a multidisciplinary approach that embraces biology and geochemistry to develop techniques for beneficial...

Marine Exhaust Emissions Research Programme, Progress Report 1