Biogeochemistry of sulfur in a sediment core from the west-central Baltic Sea: Evidence from stable isotopes and pyrite textures

The biogeochemistry of the sulfur cycle in a ca. 5-m-long sediment core from the eastern slope (221 m water depth) of the Landsort Deep in the west-central Baltic Sea was investigated by analyzing the solid phase records of sulfur isotopes and pyrite textures, besides selected main and minor elements. The sediments were deposited during post-glacial history of the Baltic Sea when the basin experienced alteration of brackish (Yoldia Sea, Littorina Sea) and freshwater (Baltic Ice Lake, Ancylus Lake) conditions. The stable isotopic composition of total sulfur was analyzed as a function of depth. In selected samples pyrite (FeS₂), greigite (Fe₃S₄), and barite (BaSO₄) fractions were separated for isotope analyses. Pyrite textures were analyzed by SEM and optical microscopy.Microbial reactions associated with the oxidation of organic matter resulted in assemblages of authigenic sulfide minerals which for the post-Ancylus Lake brackish water environment are dominated by pyrite and for freshwater environments by Fe-monosulfides. The sulfur isotopic composition of the brackish water Littorina Sea sediments (δ³⁴S between −40 and −27‰ vs. V-CDT) is believed to be determined by cellular sulfate reduction rates and reactions involving intermediate sulfur species. The availability of reactive iron and decomposable organic matter as well as sedimentation rate and the chemocline position are important variables upon the δ³⁴S values of sulfides in brackish water environment. The syn-depositional abundance of sulfur and organic matter, and transport of dissolved sulfur species vs. rates of microbial reactions determine δ³⁴S in the freshwater sediments. The upper part of the Ancylus Lake sediments is sulfidized by downward diffusing H₂S and/or sulfate from overlying brackish water sediments. Minor concretionary barite formation in the freshwater sediments is most likely due to the reaction of pore water sulfate diffusing downward from brackish water sediments with barium desorbed from freshwater sediments. The size distribution of pyrite framboids in the brackish sediments indicates that the formation mainly occurred from anoxic pore waters, although some pyrite formation in an anoxic water column cannot be excluded.     

“Comparing guideway transit implementation plans,including the impact on road traffic”

A methodology for comparing phased implementation plans for a new fixed guideway transit system in an urban area is presented. Four assumptions are made: (1) the guideway system replaces existing or planned bus service, (2) superior service on the new system results in increased ridership when compared to buses; (3) presence of the guideway facility redirects outward urban growth resulting in additional ridership, and (4) conversely, the absence of any action on the new guideway facility reinforces a diffuse urban growth pattern that creates an irreversible loss of transit ridership. The economic comparision of alternative plans includes total as well as “relative” inflation of principal cost components. A key feature of the proposed methodology is including in the comparisons the costs of private automobile mileage that could have been replaced by transit. These costs are expressed as “fuel” and “all other” automobile costs; favorable transit system implementation schedules can then be identified as a function of parametrically assumed values for these two unit costs. A hypothetical example demonstrates the proposed method.     

A fuzzy logic-genetic algorithm approach to modelling public transport users’ risk-taking behaviour

This paper seeks to determine the effects of uncertainty in out-of-vehicle times on route choice. Data were collected at two key interchanges in Auckland, New Zealand. Previous work modelled the data using a manual approach to fuzzy logic. This study extends that work by automating the process through defining a black-box function to match the survey data, then employing a genetic algorithm to fine-tune the fuzzy logic model. Results show that automation and the genetic algorithm improve the model’s capability to more accurately predict ridership. The tuning of the membership functions is conducted twice, first using initial fuzzy rules and again after the fuzzy rules have been adjusted to reduce disparity between the output and survey data. The calibrated membership functions provided for operational (transfer waiting and walking time and delay) and physical attributes (safety and seat availability) can be used by practitioners to determine an estimated ridership.     

Adaptation Pathways in Coastal Case Studies: Lessons Learned and Future Directions

Climate change adaptation presents a difficult challenge for coastal towns around the world, forcing local governments to plan for sea level rise in a contentious decision-making space. The concept of “adaptation pathways,” a diagnostic and analytical tool to assist in adaptive planning and decision-making, is gaining traction as a way of framing and informing climate adaptation. It provides decisionmakers a way to acknowledge the inter-temporal complexities and uncertainties associated with the novel dynamics of climate change and a mechanism to manage these challenges in the local context. In 2012, the Australian Government funded an 18-month program to provide decisionmakers in the coastal zone an opportunity to test the utility of the adaptation pathways concept for coastal climate adaptation. Using a selection of completed projects as case studies, we performed a document analysis to better understand the learnings from the projects. The main themes surrounded: (1) the utility of the adaptation pathway framework in developing options, (2) decision-making rationale and criteria, and (3) stakeholder participation in pathway development. A project participant survey was developed to further understand these themes. Our analysis reveals that “adaptation pathways” was generally framed narrowly and conservatively to emphasize extant economic, administrative and legal considerations over community, participatory, or exploratory ones. Although some case study projects were able to reach a point in the pathway discussion to actively involve stakeholders in their decision-making process, many case studies continued to build technical data as a method for defending policies and actions. These results indicate that coastal adaptation can take-up adaptation pathways as a useful concept for decision-making and planning; however, many councils may still require assistance in stakeholder communication processes in order to develop sociallyacceptable plans that take into account the full range of values affecting local coastal environments.     

Car today,gone tomorrow: The ephemeral car in low-income,immigrant and minority families

Most transportation research in the United States uses cross-sectional, “snapshot” data to understand levels of car access. Might this cross-sectional approach mask considerable variation over time and within households? We use a panel dataset, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), for the years 1999–2011 to test this question. We find that for most families, being “carless” is a temporary condition. While 13 % of families in the US are carless in any given year, only 5 % of families are carless for all seven waves of data we examine in the PSID. We also find that poor families, immigrants, and people of color (particularly, blacks) are considerably more likely to transition into and out car ownership frequently and are less likely to have a car in any survey year than are non-poor families, the US-born, and whites.     

The unmet travel needs of the older population: a review of the literature

Unmet travel needs can be defined as trips and activities that people need or would like to do more, but for a variety of reasons they are prevented from doing so. This paper provides a critical evaluation of the literature focused on unmet travel needs, with the aim of assessing the scope of existing studies on this topic and better understanding the full context of older people’s mobility. This narrative review identifies how travel needs in later life have been assessed, and the barriers that affect the ability of older people to fulfil these needs. Due to the heterogeneity of older people and differences in research approaches, the analysis of the literature is not conclusive in terms of identifying the real impact of the analysed variables and measures on unrealised mobility. Nevertheless, of the studies analysed, on average at least one-third of older people report unmet travel needs. This situation was found to worsen with age, and women were reported to be more affected than men. The pursuit of leisure, and in particular visiting friends and family, was found to be the activity most associated with unmet travel needs.     

Uncertainty analysis of the large zone economic module of the simple,efficient, elegant,and effective model (SE3M) of land use and transportation

Integrated land use and transportation forecasting models are used to assist decision-makers in the policy analysis and infrastructure capital improvement selection process. These models are typically given precise, point-estimate inputs that are mathematically linked, through a series of submodels, to forecasted model outputs. These point-estimate inputs represent an unrealistic level of precision and a growing body of research is focusing on statistical techniques to model uncertainty in model inputs and parameters and tracking the effects of this uncertainty through the various submodels to the model outputs. This paper presents an uncertainty analysis of the Large Zone Economic Module (LZEM) of the Simple, Efficient, Elegant, and Effective Model (SE³M) of land use and transportation. Three case-study implementations of the model are used to obtain a reasonably sound approximation of how uncertainty affects LZEM outputs: Guam, Puerto Rico, and Oahu, Hawaii. These case studies were the subject of an early transferability study with SE³M and were selected based on both their insularity and diverse physical, economic, and demographic geographies. The findings of this research demonstrate that LZEM has a robust framework, with the potential to estimate error both in the positive and negative direction under uncertain input/parameter conditions.     

Short trips: An opportunity for reducing mobile-source emissions?

This paper examines how conversion of automobile trips of less than 3 miles to other transportation modes reduces emissions. Short trips contribute disproportionately to emissions because of cold starts. An analysis is conducted of short-trip behavior across the US using the 1995 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey. The data is used to develop likely scenarios of mode conversions for short trips, which are then applied to estimate emission savings using MOBILE6 cold start and running emission factors for volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. The results suggest that reducing short auto trips would modestly reduce mobile source air pollution, but emission reductions are high compared to most federally-funded surface transportation interventions aimed at improving air quality. Enhanced the community pedestrian environment to encourage short trip mode conversion also produces co-benefits such as increased physical activity and subsequent reductions in chronic diseases.     

The relationship between land use and intrazonal trip making behaviors: Evidence and implications

This paper addresses the relationship between land use, destination selection, and travel mode choice. Specifically, it focuses on intrazonal trips, a sub-category of trip making where both trip origin and trip destination are contained in the same geographic unit of analysis, using data from the 1994 Household Activity and Travel Diary Survey conducted by Portland Metro. Using multinomial logit and binary logistic models to measure travel mode choice and decision to internalize trips, the evidence supports the conclusions that (1) intrazonal trips characteristics suggest mode choice for these trips might be influenced by urban form, which in turn affects regional trip distribution; (2) there is a threshold effect in the ability of economic diversity/mixed use to alter travel behavior; and (3) greater emphasis to destinations within the area where an individual’s home is located needs to be given in trip distribution models.     

Possibility of jamming and wedging in the three-piece trucks of a moving freight car

Three-piece trucks have some drawbacks, particularly unstable operation of the friction wedge damping system. One of the principal features of systems of this kind is the possibility of jamming and wedging. This work is devoted to mathematical and numerical modeling of the plane motion of a freight car with allowance for the mobility of the wedges and then for the compliance of the contacting bodies and to the study of the conditions for the onset of jamming and wedging when the car is in motion.