Restricted gene flow in fragmented populations of a wind-pollinated tree

Fragmentation of natural populations can have negative effects at the genetic level, thus threatening their evolutionary potential. Many of the negative genetic impacts of population fragmentation can be ameliorated by gene flow and it has been suggested that in wind-pollinated tree species, high or even increased levels of gene flow are a feature of fragmented populations, although several studies have disputed this. We have used a combination of nuclear microsatellites and allele-specific PCR (AS-PCR) analysis of chloroplast single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to examine the levels and patterns of genetic diversity and population differentiation in fragmented populations of juniper (Juniperus communis) in Ireland and inform conservation programs for the species. Significant population differentiation was found for both chloroplast and nuclear markers, indicating restricted gene flow, particularly over larger geographic scales. For conservation purposes, the existence of genetically distinct clusters and geographically localised chloroplast haplotypes suggests that the concept of provenance should be taken into account when formulating augmentation or reintroduction strategies. Furthermore, the potential lack of seed dispersal and seedling establishment means that ex-situ approaches to seed and seedling management may have to be considered.

Millimeter-wave stealth radio for special operations forces

For Special Operations Forces, an important attribute of any future radio will be the ability to conceal transmissions from the enemy while transmitting large amounts of data for situational awareness and communications. These requirements will mean that military wireless systems designers will need to consider operating frequencies in the mm-wave bands: The high data rates that are achievable at these frequencies and the propagation characteristics at this wavelength will provide many benefits for the implementation of 'stealth radio'. This article discusses some of the recent advances in RF front-end technology, alongside physical layer transmission schemes that could be employed for millimeter-wave soldier-mounted radio. The operation of a hypothetical millimeter-wave soldier-to-soldier communications system that makes use of smart antenna technology is also described.

Coordinated Control of DFIG and FSIG-based Wind Farms under Unbalanced Grid Conditions

This paper investigates the control and operation of doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) and fixed-speed induction generator (FSIG) based wind farms under unbalanced grid conditions. A DFIG system model suitable for analyzing unbalanced operation is developed, and used to assess the impact of an unbalanced supply on DFIG and FSIG operation. Unbalanced voltage at DFIG and FSIG terminals can cause unequal heating on the stator windings, extra mechanical stresses and output power fluctuations. These problems are particularly serious for the FSIG-based wind farm without a power electronic interface to the grid. To improve the stability of a wind energy system containing both DFIG and FSIG based wind farms during network unbalance, a control strategy of unbalanced voltage compensation by the DFIG systems is proposed. The DFIG system compensation ability and the impact of transmission network impedance are illustrated. The simulation results implemented in Matlab/Simulink show that the proposed DFIG control system improves not only its own performance, but also the stability of the FSIG system with the same grid connection point during network unbalance.

Hanging Flower Baskets, Blowing in the Wind? Third Sector Groups, Cross-Border Partnerships and the EU Peace Programmes in Ireland

The EU’s Peace programmes in Ireland have promoted the cross-border activity of Third sector groups. Potentially, such activity gives substantive meaning to regional cross-border governance and helps to ameliorate ethno-national conflict by providing positive sum outcomes for ‘post-conflict’ communities. The paper mobilizes focused research conducted by the authors to explore this potential. It finds that while regional cross-border governance has indeed developed under the Peace programmes, the sustainability of the social partnerships underpinning this governance is uncertain and its significance for conflict resolution is qualified by difficulties in forming a stable power-sharing arrangement at the political elite level.

Measurement-based Method for Wind Farm Power System Oscillations Monitoring

The global increase in the penetration of renewable energy is pushing electrical power systems into uncharted territory, especially in terms of transient and dynamic stability. In particular, the greater penetration of wind generation in European power networks is, at times, displacing a significant capacity of conventional synchronous generation with fixed-speed induction generation and now more commonly, doubly fed induction generators. The impact of such changes in the generation mix requires careful monitoring to assess the impact on transient and dynamic stability. This study presents a measurement-based method for the early detection of power system oscillations, with consideration of mode damping, in order to raise alarms and develop strategies to actively improve power system dynamic stability and security. A method is developed based on wavelet-based support vector data description (SVDD) to detect oscillation modes in wind farm output power, which may excite dynamic instabilities in the wider system. The wavelet transform is used as a filter to identify oscillations in frequency bands, whereas the SVDD method is used to extract dominant features from different scales and generate an assessment boundary according to the extracted features. Poorly damped oscillations of a large magnitude, or that are resonant, can be alarmed to the system operator, to reduce the risk of system instability. The proposed method is exemplified using measured data from a chosen wind farm site.

A Wavelet-Prony Method for Modeling of Fixed-Speed Wind Farm Low-Frequency Power Pulsations

The increasing penetration of wind generation on the Island of Ireland has been accompanied by close investigation of low-frequency pulsations contained within active power flow. A primary concern is excitation of low-frequency oscillation modes already present on the system, particularly the 0.75 Hz mode as a consequence of interconnection between the Northern and Southern power system networks. In order to determine whether the prevalence of wind generation has a negative effect (excites modes) or positive impact (damping of modes) on the power system, oscillations must be measured and characterised. Using time – frequency methods, this paper presents work that has been conducted to extract features from low-frequency active power pulsations to determine the composition of oscillatory modes which may impact on dynamic stability. The paper proposes a combined wavelet-Prony method to extract modal components and determine damping factors. The method is exemplified using real data obtained from wind farm measurements.