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Social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) is a tool to address social impacts from a life cycle perspective. This work presents the first S-LCA of the Portuguese pulp and paper sector. It presents the social risks and the positive social impacts of the sector, which have not been extensively covered in the scientific literature. Two different approaches were used to compile the social life cycle inventory based on input-output analysis. Approach 1 was based on impact analysis of changes in added value. Approach 2 was based on structural path analysis, supporting the disaggregation by production levels (or tiers). The functional unit was the production of 1 United States Dollar in the Portuguese pulp and paper sector. In the social life cycle impact assessment, the social risk assessment was conducted using the Social Hotspots Database. The positive impacts were addressed considering indicators of employment and remuneration, namely total employment, number of employees, labor compensation, and compensation of employees. Based on Approach 1, the results of the social risks showed the Portuguese pulp and paper industry, commerce and forestry sectors, and the Spanish forestry sector as the critical sectors. Based on Approach 2, Portugal and Spain continued to be the countries having the greatest social risks. Other contributions of countries were identified at different production levels, particularly China in tier 3. In both approaches, the stakeholder category 'worker' was the most critical. Regarding the positive social impacts, Approach 1 showed that Portugal and Spain contribute to the highest employment level linked to the pulp and paper, commerce, and forestry sectors. Approach 2 supported the differentiation of employment and remuneration at different production levels. Tier 2 (direct suppliers) presented the highest employment level and persons engaged and the lowest remuneration level. The results showed that Approach 1 provides a faster and more aggregated assessment of social risks and positive social impacts. Furthermore, Approach 2 allowed a more detailed evaluation, providing a better understanding of the social risks and positive social impacts on the supply chain. Thus, Approach 2 is encouraged for different applications since it produces a better understanding of where social risks and positive social impacts occur, providing better guidance for corrective measures and decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind power is one of the most important renewable energy sources worldwide. However, integrating these technologies in electricity markets faces challenges due to the intermittent wind speed, resulting in potential imbalances within power grids and subsequent inefficiencies. Traditional approaches for modeling the uncertainty simulate fixed wind power values in operational and planning models, which work well for the short term but are inadequate for medium-term decision-making due to lower forecasting accuracy and the inability to differentiate the imbalance risk faced in each simulated value. This paper proposes a novel methodology for incorporating wind energy imbalance risk into medium-term generation planning models. For this, we first simulate realistic wind power scenarios and perform a fitting distribution process to characterize the hourly wind power behavior. Then, we model the imbalance risk using quadratic-uncertainty cost functions for each simulated value. Subsequently, we conduct a temporal aggregation to reduce the computational burden, preserving the conceptual framework of the imbalance risk modeling. Finally, we propose a medium-term generation planning model that includes the imbalance risk model and the temporal aggregation strategy. Our approach is evaluated in a real-size case study formed by Spain, Portugal, and France's electricity markets, demonstrating accurate wind power imbalance risk modeling and lowered planning costs. • A new methodology to include wind energy imbalance risk in generation planning models. • Introducing a fitting process for modeling the distribution asymmetries of wind power. • Proposing a temporal aggregation method for efficient imbalance risk modeling. • The methodology is validated in Spanish, Portuguese, and French electricity markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Urbanization causes biodiversity loss in rivers. • Benthic macroinvertebrates can be used as indicators of land use changes. • Land uses changes modify the trophic structure of benthic communities. • Riparian forests act as a buffer zone important to preserve riverine biodiversity. • Management politics must highlight the importance of biological indicators. Since the second half of the 20th century, when monitoring programmes were implemented as a measure to improve the water quality of rivers, numerous advantages have been achieved. one of the most remarkable advances was the integration of bioindicators as a suitable and quick tool to complement the assessment based on the evaluation of physical and chemical parameters. This paper evaluated which of the already used water quality indices based on macroinvertebrates would be more suitable to assess the ecological status of 6 rivers (Barxas, Deva, Tea, Manco, Louro and Furnia rivers) within the Miño River international basin (NW Spain and N Portugal) applying the methodology proposed by the Water Framework Directive (WFD). In addition, the relationship between the water quality and the land uses within a buffer zone of 100 along the watershed of each river was studied. Our findings demonstrate that the IBMWP (Iberian Biomonitoring Working Party) is the most suitable index to evaluate the water quality of rivers from this geographical zone. Nevertheless it is necessary to use other more sensitive index like EPT and PT indices to identify any potential pressures that might be concealed by IBMWP. The tributaries of the Miño River generally presented a good ecological status according to the IBMWP. Nevertheless, the Louro River had the lowest score for all the indices being the worst preserved among all within the basin. On the contrary Barxas, Deva and Furnia rivers showed the higher values. The results indicated that the most urbanised river was the Louro River (13 %) followed, to a lesser extent, by Manco River (7 %) and Tea River (2 %). Consequently, the Louro River had the worst water quality (poor quality) and a less diverse benthic macroinvertebrate community, in which more generalist taxa such as Chironomids, Ceratopogonids, or Crustaceans were found. On the other hand, the rivers with the best water quality were the Barxas, Deva, and Furnia, all of them with a negligible proportion of artificial cover surface (<1 %) within the delimited buffer zone. This would suggest a negative influence of the proportion of artificial areas over diversity and quality indices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents a technical, historical, and aesthetic study of the Maria Pia Bridge over the Douro River in Porto, Portugal which was designed and built by G. Eiffel and Cie. between 1875 and 1877. Through these analyses, this paper demonstrates the significance of this bridge due to its (1) economy as shown through the design competition, (2) efficiency and safety under self-weight, live, and wind loads as revealed by finite element analyses, and (3) elegance of form which is evaluated through the aesthetic motivation of the designer, international acclaim, and an on-site visual analysis. The primary purpose of the paper is not to suggest that designers today emulate the Maria Pia form, but to shed light on the thought process of the engineers at G. Eiffel and Cie. The conceptual design was imagined through considering the site constraints, the forces acting on the structure, and the erection procedure, ultimately leading to an economical project that won the design competition. This design-build approach can be used more often in 21st century design. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper details the design and implementation of a participatory modelling process in the Baixo Guadiana River Basin, in Portugal. A group of stakeholders was involved in a causal mapping exercise that lead to the development of a shared view of the problems, pressures and impacts characterizing the river basin. A simulation model was also developed to support experimentation with alternative management scenarios for the area. The paper looks critically at the evaluation of the participatory modelling outcomes, both at the individual and group levels, discussing the role of this approach in supporting the scoping stages of river basin planning and management processes. On the downside, the unstable group composition seems to have hindered the chances of producing a higher impact in the functioning of the group, and subsequently the capacity to sustain the level of collaboration required to achieve the strategic river basin objectives established during the participatory modelling process. The paper discusses the issue of group stability as well as some options to overcome the limitations of unstable participant groups. The strengths of participatory modelling, as underlined by the Baixo Guadiana experience, include the flexibility to adapt the method to different contexts and participatory designs and the capacity to structure the active involvement of stakeholders, providing an open and shared language for collaborative policy design, fostering learning and knowledge integration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Bay beaches are common coastal landforms along the world's coastlines and have frequently been used as equilibrium coastal systems to mitigate erosion problems and stabilize coasts. Throughout the literature, several formulae can be found to obtain the static equilibrium planform (SEP) of such beaches on the leeward sides of single protruding headland structures. However, equations used to define SEP behind breakwater gaps are rare and based on a limited number of studies, especially when the obliquity angle (β) is large. This paper proposes a new formula for modelling the SEP of bay beaches that includes cases with planform shapes characterized by large obliquity angles (β > 75°) for which the SEP is almost quasi-semicircular. The formula represents a general form of the parabolic bay shape equation (PBSE) with modified coefficients to alter the planform's curvature to be quasi-semicircular, mimicking the behavior of such bays in nature. The coefficients are expressed as functions of both the obliquity angle (β) and the curvature-adjustment angle (φ), which was determined based on field observations of the best-fitting SEP of 26 bay beaches with (β > 75°) along the coasts of Spain, Portugal and Brazil. Additionally, 32 beach cases characterized by smaller obliquity angles (β < 70°) were included in the derivation of the curvature adjustment angle, which was expressed as a function of (β). The model showed good results in modelling the SEP, with an RMSE of 0.90° obtained when estimating the planform's curvature-adjustment angle (φ) to obtain quasi-semicircular planform shapes for the prototype cases, confirming its utility as a valuable tool for engineering applications. • Static equilibrium planforms (SEPs) characterized by large obliquity angles are modelled. • A new formula was derived to plot the (SEP) of bay beaches behind gaps when (β > 75°). • A curvature-adjustment angle is used to alter the SEP's curvature based on field cases. • The SEP is quasi-semicircular for pocket beaches behind breakwater gaps when (β > 75°). • The curvature-adjustment angle is directly proportional to the obliquity angle (β). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents an initial analysis of the rockfall processes affecting the walls of the canyon of the River Duratón. This 34km long meandering canyon in the basin of the River Duero in central Spain (41°18′ N, 3°45′ W) has evolved in a large-scale outcrop of Late Cretaceous calcareous rocks (dolomite and limestone) deformed into a series of asymmetrical folds. Its vertical scarps range from 80 to 100m; its width varies from 150 to 300m; and its floor is between 30 and 50m wide. The research consisted of drawing up an inventory of rockfalls from a field survey and mapping the fallen blocks deposited on the basal talus or on the canyon floor, which in turn allowed the original location of each block on the scarps to be identified and located on the orthophotos available. A Digital Elevation Model (DEM) was produced using a Geographic Information System (GIS) and maps made of the aspects and slopes. The aspect of each rockfall data point was determined, and this initial database was completed with other significant parameters (location on the valley side, relationship with the tectonic structure and relative age). An approximate delimitation was also produced of the potential rockfall source area, by reclassifying the slopes according to morphometric criteria. The result is a geomorphic rockfall inventory map, showing the distribution of the rockfalls and a basic statistical analysis to allow a preliminary evaluation of the rockfall characteristics in relation to both their topoclimatic location (aspect) and their structural location (with or counter to the dip of the strata) and to the current geomorphic dynamic through a study of recent scars on the scarps. Recent rockfalls have also been related to the meteorological conditions in which they occurred. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

With growing levels of urbanization and agriculture throughout the world, it is increasingly important that both research and management efforts take into account the effects of this widespread landscape alteration and its consequences for natural systems. Freshwater ecosystems, namely reservoirs, are particularly sensitive to land use changes. In this context, modelling can be very useful, for decision support, as an investigative tool to forecast the outcome of various scenarios, to guide current management in order to meet future targets and to develop integrated frameworks for management accordingly to the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The present paper examined the applicability of a holistic Stochastic-Dynamic Methodology (StDM), coupled with a Cellular Automata (CA) model, in capturing how expected changes at land use level will alter the ecological status of lentic ecosystems, namely at physicochemical and biological levels. The methodology was applied to Portuguese reservoirs located in the Douro's basin and illustrated with a series of stochastic-dynamic and spatial outputs taking into account expected scenarios regarding land use changes. Overall, the simulation results are encouraging since they seem to demonstrate the tool reliability in capturing the stochastic environmental dynamics of the selected metrics facing spatial explicit scenarios. The ultimate goal was to couple monitoring assessment and the described modelling techniques to ease management and decision making regarding the practical implementation of the WFD, both at the scale of the reservoir body and at the scale of the respective river watershed dynamics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In a recent paper, García-Mainar and Montuenga-Gómez [García-Mainar, I. & Montuenga-Gómez, V. M. (2005). Education returns of wage earners and self-employed workers: Portugal vs. Spain. Economics of Education Review, 24(2), 161−170] apply the generalized IV model of Hausman and Taylor to estimate education returns of wage earners and the self-employed in Portugal and in Spain. Our examination reveals several problems which relate to the validity and documentation of the instrumental variables, as well as the robustness of the results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A new multi-channel dynamic monitoring system was recently installed in a long span concrete arch bridge that crosses the Douro River in the city of Porto, Portugal: the “Infante D. Henrique” bridge. This paper describes the experimental and numerical studies developed shortly after construction of the bridge, characterizes the installed monitoring system and presents the results achieved with the software developed to process the data that is continuously received through the Internet. Preliminary studies included the development of an ambient vibration test and the construction of a numerical model of the bridge that was “tuned” to fit the bridge dynamic properties identified by the ambient vibration test. The routines implemented include the on-line automatic identification of the bridge’s natural frequencies with the Frequency Domain Decomposition method, enabling the tracking of the bridge’s first 12 natural frequencies. This unique feature is only possible due to the combination of high-quality acquisition equipment with state of the art processing algorithms. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

One of the key steps of the Environmental Impact Assessment Process, defined by Directive 337/85 “on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects” is the preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of a Project.The quality of the EIS is of great importance to properly inform the public and the decision makers about the significant environmental effects of the project.Using the “Guidance on EIA-EIS Review” 2001 report, produced with the support of the European Commission, this paper analyses the overall quality of 46 recently elaborated EIS from Portugal and Spain (1998–2003). It also analyses the quality of the various chapters of the EIS and the Non-Technical Summary.A comparison is made between the quality of the EIS from Portugal and from Spain. The results for Portugal are also compared with those of other European countries (Ireland and United Kingdom) in similar periods.Finally it presents overall conclusions and suggestions for improvement. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Wind speed forecasts obtained by Numerical Weather Prediction models are limited for fine interpretation in heterogeneous terrain, in which different roughnesses and orographies occur. This limitation is derived from the use of low-resolution and grid-box averaged data. In this paper a dynamical downscaling method is presented to increase the local accuracy of wind speed forecasts. The proposed method divides the wind speed forecasting into two steps. In the first one, the mesoscale model WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) is used for getting wind speed forecasts at specific points of the study domain. On a second stage, these values are used for feeding the HDWind microscale model. HDWind is a local model that provides both a high-resolution wind field that covers the entire study domain and values of wind speed and direction at very located points. As an example of use of the proposed method, we calculate a high-resolution wind field in an urban-interface area from Badajoz, a South-West Spanish city located near the Portugal border. The results obtained are compared with the values read by a weathervane tower of the Spanish State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) in order to prove that the microscale model improves the forecasts obtained by the mesoscale model. • A method for the accurate estimation of a wind field that meets the local characteristics of the terrain is proposed. • This procedure is based on a dynamic downscaling by coupling the WRF mesoscale model with the HDWind microscale model. • The joint operation of the two models allows to improve the wind estimation provided by the mesoscale model. • The proposed dynamic downscaling supposes a slight increase in simulation time. • This improvement can be useful to improve the estimation of near-surface winds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in the transport field is increasingly being contested. Apart from technical issues (e.g., impacts measurements), the literature highlights process-related barriers as key obstacles to effective EIA implementation in transport projects (e.g., lack of collaborative work, transparency, etc.). Nevertheless, most academic efforts to date have focused on technical improvements, paying limited attention to the relevance of process-related barriers. To address this shortcoming, the paper aims to explore and compare how EIA is experienced and perceived by professionals in three South-European countries (Italy, Portugal, and Spain), providing additional insights into EIA process-related barriers in transport projects. The findings were obtained through an online survey of 294 professionals, representing two main stakeholder groups: environmental consultants and transport planners. The results reveal four main types of process problems shared in all three countries: (i) EIA timing, (ii) assessment of alternatives, (iii) monitoring system, and (iv) public participation. The highest divergences are seen in Spain, where 42% of identified process-related barriers are shared with the rest of countries, while Italian and Portuguese respondents agree in the perception of 68% of process-related barriers. The main differences between the barriers identified by transport planners and environmental consultants are related to their assessment of the need for more collaborative work between key actors. It is finally discussed the added value of this research to progress towards the homogenization of EIA processes across countries. • It compares EIA process barriers in transport projects in three South European countries. • Process barriers are identified though an on-line survey filled out by professionals. • The most genuine process barriers are found in the context of Spain. • Professional domains disagree on the need for more collaborative work between key actors. • General agreement on the low impact of EIA in transport decision-making [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]