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Abstract: Wood is considered a promising raw material for the circular bioeconomy and has the ability to store biogenic carbon, and this is one reason why we want to extend the service life of the wood. In order to consider the influence of durability in our study, we used two wood species with different lifespans. Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) belongs to the group of very sensitive wood species, as the durability of the untreated wood is estimated to be around 5 years; meanwhile, pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) belongs to the group of moderately resistant wood species, where the durability of the untreated wood is estimated to be up to 15 years. While toxic chemicals are often used for wood preservation, hydroxyapatite offers an environmentally friendly solution for wood mineralization. This study presents life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost (LCC) analyses comparing a novel hydroxyapatite (HAp) mineralization method with a service life of 50 years to a non-mineralized reference alternative. LCA was based on EN ISO 14040 and EN ISO 14044, while LCC was adapted from the European Commission’s LCC tool for public procurement. The results of the LCA show that mineralized wood has a lower overall impact on the environment than surface-treated beech wood but a higher impact than surface-treated pine wood. Most impact categories were determined by electricity consumption with the exception of stratospheric ozone depletion, water consumption, and land use. Water consumption proved to be the category where the mineralization process was problematic due to water consumption during the leaching process. The LCC showed that mineralized wood is the most cost-effective solution for the exterior façade, as all costs, but especially investment costs, were lower. The differences in the LCA and LCC results are mainly due to the different lifetimes of the two alternatives. It can be concluded that if energy-intensive processes and chemicals are used in the production of the material, the extended lifetime must be sufficient to account for the additional impacts that occur during the production phase.
Keywords: environmental impacts, hydroxyapatite, life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle cost analysis (LCC), wood mineralization
Published in DiRROS: 09.09.2024; Views: 130; Downloads: 2517
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Abstract: Morske trave niso alge, temveč spadajo med cvetnice. Od okoli 60 vrst, ki obstajajo na svetu, samo 4 izvorno uspevajo v Evropi – in vse najdemo tudi v slovenskem morju. To so: prava morska trava (Zostera marina), mala morska trava (Zostera noltii), kolenčasta cimodoceja (Cymodocea nodosa) in pozejdonka (Posidonia oceanica). Za vse so značilni tanki, ozki in dolgi listi. Pri nas tvori največje in najgloblje travnike kolenčasta cimodoceja (Cymodocea nodosa). Prisotnost morske trave je pokazatelj dobre kakovosti obalnega morja, travniki pa so pomemben habitat za številne organizme.
Keywords: hidrobiologija, morja, nevarnosti, zmotna prepričanja
Published in DiRROS: 04.09.2024; Views: 104; Downloads: 88
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Abstract: On 1st December 2018 a fisherman caught a specimen of the giant tun Tonna galea (Linnaeus, 1758) in the bottom trammel net for flounders, approximately 1 Nm outside the town of Izola. The net was placed on a muddy bottom at 20 m of depth. This is the second record of T. galea in the Slovenian waters (Gulf of Trieste, northern Adriatic Sea). Another specimen (the first one) was previously reported in October 2015 in the waters off Piran. By including T. galea in the checklist of Slovenian marine malacofauna, at least 370 gastropod species were up to date recorded in the Slovenian part of the Adriatic Sea.
Keywords: giant tun, marine malacofauna, Gulf of Trieste, northern Adriatic Sea
Published in DiRROS: 31.07.2024; Views: 243; Downloads: 235
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Abstract: We applied an interdisciplinary approach to analyze the late Quaternary activity of the Sava Fault in the Slovenian Southern Alps. The Sava Fault is an active strike-slip fault, and part of the Periadriatic Fault System that accommodated the convergence of Adria and Europe. It is one of the longest faults in the Southern Alps. Using high-resolution digital elevation models from lidar and photogrammetric surveys, we were able to overcome the challenges of assessing fault activity in a region with intense surface processes, dense vegetation, and relatively low fault slip rates. By integrating remote sensing analysis, geomorphological mapping, structural geological investigations, and near-surface geophysics (electrical resistivity tomography and ground penetrating radar), we were able to find subtle geomorphological indicators, detect near-surface deformation, and show distributed surface deformation and a complex fault pattern. Using optically stimulated luminescence dating, we tentatively estimated a slip rate of 1.8 ± 0.4 mm/a for the last 27 ka, which exceeds previous estimates and suggests temporal variability in fault behavior. Our study highlights the importance of modern high-resolution remote sensing techniques and interdisciplinary approaches in detecting tectonic deformation in relatively low-strain rate environments with intense surface processes. We show that slip rates can vary significantly depending on the studied time window. This is a critical piece of information since slip rates are a key input parameter for seismic hazard studies.
Keywords: active fault, lidar, photogrammetry, tectonic geomorphology, structural geology, geophysics, electrical resistivity tomography, ground penetrating radar, slip rate, Sava Fault
Published in DiRROS: 30.04.2024; Views: 423; Downloads: 244
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Abstract: Evidence that during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) glaciers extended well into the piedmont plains is still identifiable in the alpine foreland as a system of well-preserved moraines. Glaciers are strongly controlled by temperature and precipitation, and therefore, they are excellent indicators of climate change. Here, we use a regional climate model (RCM) to investigate some of the physical processes sustaining Alpine glaciers during the last phase of the LGM during Greenland Stadial 2 at 21 ka. We find a predominance of convection during summer and increased southwesterly stratiform precipitation over the southern Alps when compared to pre-industrial (PI) conditions. This precipitation pattern, along with lower temperatures, determined summer snowfall extending to low elevations, with a consequent substantial drop of the equilibrium line altitude (ELA), which is consistent with the estimated LGM glacier extent. Our RCM-based estimates of 21 ka ELA at the LGM yield excellent consistency with Alpine ELA reconstructions, further demonstrating the great potential of this technique for use in palaeoclimate studies.
Keywords: Quaternary, ice age, atmosphere, glaciers, climate change, the Alps
Published in DiRROS: 19.09.2023; Views: 652; Downloads: 225
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