ALBERT

Description: We summarise the discussions at a virtual Community Workshop on Cold Atoms in Space concerning the status of cold atom technologies, the prospective scientific and societal opportunities offered by their deployment in space, and the developments needed before cold atoms could be operated in space. The cold atom technologies discussed include atomic clocks, quantum gravimeters and accelerometers, and atom interferometers. Prospective applications include metrology, geodesy and measurement of terrestrial mass change due to, e.g., climate change, and fundamental science experiments such as tests of the equivalence principle, searches for dark matter, measurements of gravitational waves and tests of quantum mechanics. We review the current status of cold atom technologies and outline the requirements for their space qualification, including the development paths and the corresponding technical milestones, and identifying possible pathfinder missions to pave the way for missions to exploit the full potential of cold atoms in space. Finally, we present a first draft of a possible road-map for achieving these goals, that we propose for discussion by the interested cold atom, Earth Observation, fundamental physics and other prospective scientific user communities, together with the European Space Agency (ESA) and national space and research funding agencies.

Description: In austral winter, biological productivity at the Angolan shelf reaches its maximum. The alongshore winds, however, reach their seasonal minimum suggesting that processes other than local wind‐driven upwelling contribute to near‐coastal cooling and upward nutrient supply, one possibility being mixing induced by internal tides (ITs). Here, we apply a three‐dimensional ocean model to simulate the generation, propagation, and dissipation of ITs at the Angolan continental slope and shelf. Model results are validated against moored acoustic Doppler current profiler and other observations. Simulated ITs are mainly generated in regions with a critical/supercritical slope typically between the 200‐ and 500‐m isobaths. Mixing induced by ITs is found to be strongest close to the coast and gradually decreases offshore thereby contributing to the establishment of cross‐shore temperature gradients. The available seasonal coverage of hydrographic data is used to design simulations to investigate the influence of seasonally varying stratification characterized by low stratification in austral winter and high stratification in austral summer. The results show that IT characteristics, such as their wavelengths, sea surface convergence patterns, and baroclinic structure, have substantial seasonal variations and additionally strong spatial inhomogeneities. However, seasonal variations in the spatially averaged generation, onshore flux, and dissipation of IT energy are weak. By evaluating the change of potential energy, it is shown, nevertheless, that mixing due to ITs is more effective during austral winter. We argue that this is because the weaker background stratification in austral winter than in austral summer acts as a preconditioning for IT mixing.

Description: Tipping elements are components of the Earth system that may shift abruptly and irreversibly from one state to another at specific thresholds. It is not well understood to what degree tipping of one system can influence other regions or tipping elements. Here, we propose a climate network approach to analyse the global impacts of a prominent tipping element, the Amazon Rainforest Area (ARA). We find that the ARA exhibits strong correlations with regions such as the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and West Antarctic ice sheet. Models show that the identified teleconnection propagation path between the ARA and the TP is robust under climate change. In addition, we detect that TP snow cover extent has been losing stability since 2008. We further uncover that various climate extremes between the ARA and the TP are synchronized under climate change. Our framework highlights that tipping elements can be linked and also the potential predictability of cascading tipping dynamics.

Description: The Pan-Third Pole (PTP) owns complex geography and demographic features where aerosol roles and their impact cannot be neglected as it jeopardizes both the environment and human health. Therefore, we analyzed spatio-temporal aerosol concentration, the influence of meteorological conditions, and underlying aerosol transport mechanisms over the PTP by leveraging observation, satellite dataset, and model outputs. The observation and model simulation result showed that aerosol concentrations exceeded the world health organization (WHO) and China guideline values in most of the locations. This study revealed distinctive seasonality with the highest and lowest aerosol concentrations during the winter and summer seasons, respectively, which could be favored by meteorological conditions and emissions from biomass burning. In response to higher aerosol concentrations, the maximum aerosol optical depth (AOD) values were observed over the major hotspot regions however, interestingly summer high (AOD 〉 0.8) was observed over the Indo Gangetic Plain (IGP) in South Asia. The columnar aerosol profile indicated that the higher aerosol concentrations were limited within 1–2 km elevation over the densely populated regions over South Asia and Eastern China. However, the significant aerosols concentrations found to be extended as high as 10 km could potentially be driven by the deep convection process and summer monsoon activities. Regionally, the integrated aerosol transport (IAT) for black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC) was found to be maximum over SA. Noticeable OC IAT anomaly (~5 times 〉 annual mean) found during spring that was linked with the biomass burning events. Yet, the dust transportation was found to be originated from the arid land and deserts that prolonged especially during summer followed by spring seasons. This study highlights the driver mechanism in aerosol seasonality, transport mechanism, and further motivates the additional assessment into potential dynamic relation between aerosol species, aerosol atmospheric river, and its societal impact.

Description: Eco-efficiency enhancement is an inherent requirement of green development and an important indicator of high-quality development in general. It aims to achieve the coordinated development of nature, the economy, and society. Therefore, eco-efficiency measurements should focus on not only total factor input, but also process analysis. Based on the “full world” model in ecological economic theory, this study constructed a theoretical framework for a composite economic-environmental-social system that reflects human welfare and sustainability. To this end, using network data envelopment analysis (DEA), this study established a staged eco-efficiency evaluation model that uses economic, environmental, and social factors to measure the overall and staged eco-efficiency of China’s provinces from 2003 to 2016 and analyze its spatiotemporal characteristics. A geographically weighted regression (GWR) model was also used to analyze the influencing factors of eco-efficiency changes and the spatial differentiation in their effect intensity. The findings were as follows: (1) China’s overall eco-efficiency is still at a low level. It varies significantly from region to region, and only three regions are at the frontier of production. The eastern region has the highest eco-efficiency, followed by the central region, and the gap between the central and western regions has gradually narrowed. In terms of staged efficiency, the level of eco-efficiency in the production stage is less than in the environmental governance stage, which is less than that in the social input stage. (2) In terms of the efficiency of each stage, the efficiency level of the production stage showed a downward trend throughout the entire process, and the decline in the central and western regions was more obvious. The social input stage and the environmental governance stage both showed upward trends. The social input stage showed a higher level, and the increase was relatively flat during the period of study. Efficiency continued to rise during the environmental governance stage from 2003 to 2010 and rose overall, but with some fluctuations from 2011 to 2016. (3) Geographically weighted regression showed that the effects of the influencing factors on eco-efficiency had obvious spatial heterogeneity. The factors affecting overall, production stage, and social input eco-efficiency were, in order of effect intensity from high to low, economic growth level, marketization level, and social input level. In terms of environmental governance, social input level had the greatest impact, followed by economic growth; marketization level did not show a significant impact.

Description: Rural energy consumption not only significantly affects the national economy but also informs us about the living conditions of rural residents. A comprehensive survey of households in the agropastoral area of Qinghai Province was conducted from 2017 to 2018 to identify its energy consumption characteristics. In this paper, a typical household energy flow model was established. The results show that 1) the proportion of noncommercial energy in the agropastoral area of Qinghai Province is 52.89%, and it is affected by the ‘returning farmland to forest’ (RFF) policy and the ‘returning grazing land to grassland project’ (RGLGP). Furthermore, the household energy consumption structure has shifted from traditional biomass to coal and a combination of other energy sources. 2) Households of different cultural backgrounds have different energy consumption patterns. 3) High-income households consume more energy and have more frequent energy flows compared with low-income households. The results of this survey will help policymakers and scholars to formulate strategies for energy conservation and more effectively assess energy policies.

Description: Strew pellet production not only contribute to regional sustainable development and localized energy transition, but also help to mitigate global greenhouse gas emissions. With the development strew pellet products in China, it is critical to uncover the embodied emissions, land use and economic cost effectiveness from producing strew pellet. In order to reach such a target, two main categories of biomass pellet production including a large-scale centralized factory and a small-scale distributed workshop are investigated. Compared with raw coal production, the unit co-benefits in terms of per gigajoule of straw pellets from centralized factory are 1687 kg CO2, 8.65 g SO2, 3.21 g NOx, and 3.897 g PM10, and 0.33 m2 land use, and those for straw pellets from centralized factory are 1352 kg CO2, 8.46 g SO2, 3.12 g NOx, and 4.22 g PM10, and 0.33 m2 land use. Cost-effectiveness for the two straw pellets production system were also uncovered so that the relevant interested agents such as decision makers, business investors or environmental researchers can see the potential economic performance from developing such kind biomass plants. We conclude that environmental performance of the straw pellets whether from centralized factor or decentralized workshop have attractive alternatives to coal production.

Description: Boosted by impressive technological innovation and cost reductions, renewable energy in a growing number of countries is now primarily considered for its social and economic benefits. Among the renewable energy promotion actions at the global level, photovoltaic poverty alleviation (PVPA) program in China is very unique since the targeted users are villagers in poverty regions. Under this condition, it would be quite necessary to understand how are the PVPA program carrying out. In this study, three poverty villages are selected in the northwestern part of China to conduct the social impact analysis. An evaluation system including four categories and thirteen indicators was established. Site investigation and questionnaire interview was carried out to collect required information. Our findings reveal that the poor families in the three counties can increase their income by around 3000 RMB per year with the implementation of PVPA program. The final social impact indicator of Yanchi County, Dingbian County and Guazhou County are 2.61, 2.09 and 2.15 respectively. Villagers’ living standards in the three counties are prominently improved because of the solar power supply. The factors that hinder the development of PVPA projects are the lack of investment funds, poor quality of solar panels, low public awareness, high abandon rate of photovoltaic, etc. Recommendations for improving the sustainable development of PVPA program based on the findings are also proposed.

Description: Purpose This study establishes a set of seafood processing circular supply chain capabilities (CSCCs) in Vietnam using qualitative data analytics. This study specifies the interrelationships and hierarchical structure comprising six aspects and 24 criteria for the seafood processing circular supply chain in Vietnam. Design/methodology/approach Fuzzy Delphi method is used to confirm the validity. Fuzzy set theory is used to deal with the complexity and uncertainties from the qualitative information. The decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory method is used to examine the interrelationships among attributes. The analytical network process segregates (or displays) the capabilities in a hierarchical structure. Findings The results show that management control and technological capability dominate in circular design, circular sourcing, circular production and resource recovery. In practices, the strategic planning, action planning, information technology and technological facilities are important to seafood processing industry. Originality/value The CSCCs are pivotal in establishing a concrete foundation for the execution of circular supply chain management, with the aim of optimizing resource utilization and eliminating waste; however, prior studies have lacked a focus on the capability associated interrelationships and hierarchical structure in qualitative data analytics.

Description: Evaluating the embodied environmental impact of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology has been an important topic in addressing the sustainable development of renewable energy. While monetization of environmental externality is a remaining issue, which should be carried out in order to allow for an easy-to-understand comparison between direct economic and external cost. In this study, the environmental impact of solar PV power is monetized through conversion factors between midpoint and endpoint categories of life cycle analysis and the monetization weighting factor. Then, the power generation capacity and generation life of PV and coal-fired power plants are assumed to be consistent in order to compare the total cost of PV and coal-fired power generation. Results show that the cost of PV technology is higher than coal-fired in 2026 to 2030, taking into account environmental external costs and production costs. However, by 2030, the total cost of coal-fired power will be higher than that of solar PV. The life span cost per kWh is $3.55 for solar PV and $116.25 for coal-fired power. Although solar PV power seems more environmentally effective than coal-fired power in the life span, our results reveal the high environmental external cost of producing solar photovoltaic modules, which reminds us to pay more attention to the environmental impact when conducting cost-benefit analysis of renewable technologies. Without incorporating the environmental cost, the real cost of renewable technology will be underestimated.