Cooperative Research Centre

About: Cooperative Research Centre is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Sea ice. The organization has 7633 authors who have published 8607 publications receiving 429721 citations.

Food production shocks across land and sea

Abstract: Sudden losses to food production (that is, shocks) and their consequences across land and sea pose cumulative threats to global sustainability. We conducted an integrated assessment of global production data from crop, livestock, aquaculture and fisheries sectors over 53 years to understand how shocks occurring in one food sector can create diverse and linked challenges among others. We show that some regions are shock hotspots, exposed frequently to shocks across multiple sectors. Critically, shock frequency has increased through time on land and sea at a global scale. Geopolitical and extreme-weather events were the main shock drivers identified, but with considerable differences across sectors. We illustrate how social and ecological drivers, influenced by the dynamics of the food system, can spill over multiple food sectors and create synchronous challenges or trade-offs among terrestrial and aquatic systems. In a more shock-prone and interconnected world, bold food policy and social protection mechanisms that help people anticipate, cope with and recover from losses will be central to sustainability. An integrated assessment of global crop, livestock and aquaculture production, and fisheries landings over 53 years shows how shocks created in one food sector can spill over into multiple sectors, and which regions are shock hotspots.

Treatment technologies for aqueous perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA): A critical review with an emphasis on field testing

Abstract: Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are used in fire-fighting foams but this is now being questioned because concerns are growing about their toxicity and impacts on the environment. Past use has resulted in their widespread accumulation in water sources, sediments and biota. They may pose risks to human health and the environment. Several technologies have been tested for removing PFOS and PFOA from water but most have only been developed at laboratory scale. This paper provides a critical review of existing methods for removing PFOS and PFOA from wastewaters with an emphasis on identifying processes that show promise for the development of practical industrial-scale remediation technologies. It is concluded that among the remediation technologies cited in the literature, removal by activated carbon has been the most widely used, with several successful field tests being reported. However, a number of limitations to the use of activated carbon exist, such as being ineffective at removing PFOA and other PFCs. Other adsorbents that have the potential to treat aqueous PFOS and PFOA include organo-clays, clay minerals and carbon nanotubes.

A Lamb-wave-based technique for damage detection in composite laminates

Abstract: This paper presents the application of Lamb waves to inspect damage in composite laminates. The proposed methodology employs a network of transducers that are used to sequentially scan the structure before and after the presence of damage by transmitting and receiving Lamb wave pulses. A damage localization image is reconstructed by analyzing the cross-correlation of the scatter signal envelope with the excitation pulse envelope for each transducer pair. A potential damage area is then reconstructed by superimposing the image observed from each actuator and sensor signal path. Both numerical and experimental case studies are used to verify the proposed methodology for composite laminates. Three-dimensional finite element models with a transducer network consisting of four transducer elements are used in the numerical case studies. The experimental case studies employ a transducer network using four piezoelectric transducers as transmitter elements and a laser vibrometer to measure the response signals at four locations close to the transducers. The results show that the method enables the reliable detection of structural damage with locating inaccuracies of the order of a few millimeters inside as well as outside of an inspection area of 100 x 100 mm(2).