Research on the Anthropogenic Impact on Climate Change

The article is a presentation of the results of studies and calculations of climate parameters associated with anthropogenic thermal pollution of the environment. They indicate that the increase of atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide cannot be a cause of climate warming. The article provides information about the working principle of the natural mechanism of automatic maintenance of temperature climate parameters. The authors show that all of the gases molar mass of differs from the molar mass of nitrogen are the working bodies of the procedures for moving heat from the stratosphere to space. Water vapor is the only greenhouse gas, and to deal effectively with water vapor in the atmosphere is impossible. However, the work contains an assessment of the feasibility of some ways to assist the natural mechanism of removing heat to space. Some methods and tools of world energy development are suggested in the article. These methods could lead to a substantial reduction of anthropogenic thermal pollution of the planet.

Ihtiofauna lacului de acumulare Dubăsari – compoziția, dinamica modificărilor stării cantitative și calitative

This paper represents the results of the researches of the ichthyofauna of the Dubăsari accumulation lake in successional aspect. It was found that due to the influence of anthropogenic factors in the last 5-6 decades (construction of Naslavcea and Novodnestrovsc dams, excavation of sand and river gravel from the minor riverbed, use of water for various purposes, accidental, biological and thermal pollution, damage and destruction of substrate of reproduction for lithophilic and phytophilic species, etc.) in the ichthyofauna of the middle course of the Dniester River (Naslavcea – Camenca village) and the Dubasari accumulation lake have undergone essential changes, reflecting the structural and functional status of the fish populations, the growth rate, sexual maturation, prolificacy and the annual sexual cycle. Apart from these factors that have influenced and continue to negatively influence the fishery resources in the Dubasari reservoir, the factor of their poor management also persists in the last 25 years.

Thermal Pollution Mitigation and Energy Harnessing of the Condensation Process of an Olive Oil Extraction Refinery: A Case Study

This paper presents a model to assess strategies for bettering a hexane condensation system from an olive oil extraction refinery in Portugal’s mountainous north. The water used as a cooling fluid is discharged with a higher temperature than the mountain river, provoking the deterioration of the aquatic flora and fauna, leading to high environmental impact. The model allowed the comparison of solutions for different temperatures of discharge for summer and winter and possible heat recovery back to the factory. The current condensation system power is 1.838 MW and consists of a four-walled pond of 115.3 m3 that cools down the submerged hexane pipes. Nudging in the pond’s structure leads to the introduction of internal channels to increase the turbulence, thus increasing the hexane–water heat exchange rate. Heat recovery of 19.38 kW is possible for the water coming from the pond in the drying bagasse process inside the factory, before discharge into the river. However, the model demonstrates that the decrease in temperature after the heat recovery process falls short of avoiding thermal pollution, leading to complementary actions such as shading the channel or changing the discharge velocity or angle to mitigate the thermal pollution locally.

Short-term heat shock perturbation affects populations of Daphnia magna and Eurytemora carolleeae: a warning to the water thermal pollution

Thermal pollution leads to short-term heat shock in aquatic invertebrates; however, the modulation of tolerance and life history of these invertebrates by thermal stress varies among regions, phenology, species, and their acclimation. To assess the effect of thermal shock, we conducted experiments on Daphnia magna and Eurytemora carolleeae at 25 °C, 30 °C, 35 °C, and 40 °C (in relation to 20 °C) in a different exposure time of the stressor (10, 30, and 60 min). The results showed that short-term heat shock leads to increased mortality and reduced fertility of the studied planktonic crustaceans. D. magna was more resistant to thermal shock than E. carolleeae according to all variants of exposure based on the calculated LT50 values for 24, 48, and 72 h. Thermal shock decreased the potential of the Daphnia population in terms of the total number of births, however, with regard to individual reproductive abilities, the non-lethal heat shock did not reduce the birth rate. Although Eurytemora is more sensitive to thermal shock than Daphnia, the type of parental care in Eurytemora might be more favorable for offspring survival following thermal shock than in Daphnia. In Eurytemora, despite maternal deaths, a relatively high number of newborns who survived high temperatures were observed. The obtained results can help to understand the ecological processes occurring due to anthropogenic thermal pollution.