The migration of a groundwater contaminant plume consisting of light nonaqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs) along the Ionian coastline of Sicily, Italy, has been reported to follow a trajectory that is inconsistent with the regional hydraulic gradient. The influence of several faults affecting the fractured carbonate bedrock aquifer, and groundwater abstraction from a well, were hypothesized to be responsible for the anomalous trajectory of the contaminant plume. A conceptual hydrogeological model was developed for the study area that incorporated structural information derived from geophysical surveys and the mapping of fractures in bedrock outcrops. This conceptual model was incorporated into numerical groundwater flow and solute transport models to simulate the groundwater transport of the light nonaqueous phase liquids. Four model scenarios representing different levels of complexity were tested to assess the relative influence of geological heterogeneity and groundwater abstraction on the migration of the contaminant plume. Results show that underground major discontinuity systems, invoking the presence of the faults in the model domain accounted for the observed migration of the contaminant plume, act as conduits for groundwater flow. Conversely, groundwater abstraction from a well was found to result in relatively minor, localized impacts to the migration of the contamination plume. This study demonstrates the importance of incorporating geological heterogeneity into groundwater modelling and environmental risk assessments associated with the storage of LNAPLs.
RFID sensing technology is reviewed showing the available design configurations and their applications. The initial part of the paper describes the fundamentals of RFID technology. Afterwards, the motivation for using RFID sensors in place of standard sensor equipped wi-fi nodes is described. Notably, the absence of battery and the lower cost with respect to other market available sensors are the main strengths of RFID sensing technology. RFID sensors are classified by separating them in chipped and chipless configurations. Both categories are then separated on the basis of their working mechanism (electronic, electromagnetic and acoustic). RFID sensors equipped with a chip are more established on the market and possess relevant possibilities in applicative scenarios. Conversely, a chipless RFID sensor represents a drastically new concept, which could be a breakthrough for the market but is, currently, in its infancy. The possible tag configurations have then shown highlighting advantages and limitations. An overview of the most promising applicative scenarios for RFID sensors is also presented.
How the human centred design solutions will implement the benefit of daylighting in an existing primary school? This paper shows research experiences on students visual comfort inside the school building Don Milani , in Prato (Italy). The layout of training spaces, distribution and functional organization is also re-designed as flexible/resilient space/place, with a focus on the control of natural light effects for the luminous environment quality, vision and perception, but also an energy consumption reduction. The project is based on a human centred design approach, fostering the integration between sustainable lighting, human perception and biological clock (i.e. circadian rhythm) connected to the Sun daily path. Results showed the importance of natural light optimization to assure different children activities and behaviour, reorganization of the indoor environment and work/observation stations, combining the light colour variability of different materials. Findings highlighted that natural light quality assessment is fundamental to achieve not only a good lighting quality and energy consumption reduction, but also high level of visual comfort in learning spaces, implementing both the students wellbeing and their proactive behaviour, as it should be in a sustainable school building.
The Copernicus Assisted Lake Water Quality Emergency Monitoring Service platform (WQeMS) is an outcome of the H2020 WQeMS project. It leverages on experimentation and service development relatively to lakes and open surface water reservoirs located in Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Spain. Four service lines have been realized concerning ‘Water Quality Features Changes’, ‘Bloom Events Detection’, ‘Land-Water Transition Zone Change Detection’, and ‘Extreme Events Detection’. Furthermore, a crowdsourcing mobile app allows for collecting timely in-situ information, crucial during crisis' management. WQeMS flexibility and interoperability are advantageous for interfacing with Copernicus Services and the Group of Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) platform. These features support proposing WQeMS as an evolution element of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS). In addition, WQeMS modularity makes it possible to test its services with new satellite data and improve the processing chains. Finally, WQeMS platform can serve both, expert users wishing to test alternative methods, and users non familiar with Earth Observation data. Access to some water utilities and water domain engaged parties will be considered towards the end of the project (June 2023) in view of service commercialization. WQeMS sustainability should be attained by providing commercial services, still leaving room for research studies
EYE-Sense is a Web-GIS platform which allows for easy access to valuable socio-economic insights from Earth Observation (EO) data by offering a code-less approach. The platform enables users to access various EO parameters, such as atmospheric and water quality indexes, and night-light activity. Moreover, the platform's pre-trained computer vision models (Faster-RCNN, Mask-RCNN, and YOLO) empower users to detect objects such as, e.g., airplanes, ships, containers, and beach umbrellas, to address specific user-based tasks. To provide cost-efficiency, scalability, flexibility, and easy maintenance, EYE-sense adopts a serverless architecture, leading to up to 50.4% processing cost reduction when compared to traditional server-based solutions. By bridging the gap between data gathering and processing, EYE-Sense extends the reach of Earth observation data to a broader audience.
