La biomasa residual lignocelulósica como recurso energético renovable en el Oasis Norte de la provincia de Mendoza, Argentina

El objetivo de esta tesina es evaluar la disponibilidad de biomasa residual lignocelulósica, proveniente de la viticultura, olivicultura y fruticultura, en el Oasis Norte de la provincia de Mendoza, como recurso energético renovable. Se utilizan datos del Registro Único de la Tierra para conocer, por distrito, la superficie cultivada de cada especie vegetal. A través de consultas a profesionales locales, recopilación de información y datos de trabajos del ámbito local, nacional e internacional, se identifican coeficientes de disponibilidad de biomasa y las particularidades que condicionan su aprovechamiento. Los datos se procesan con planillas de cálculo y se aplican en la elaboración de mapas y resultados. Por último se comparan los resultados obtenidos con otros provenientes de estudios regionales en la materia. Los resultados arrojan cifras esperadas y comparables con estudios previos. Se dispone entre 86.286 y 440.669 t*año-1 de biomasa lignocelulósica y entre 1.114.160 GJ*año-1 y 5.856.385 GJ*año-1 de energía según los distintos escenarios evaluados. A nivel del Oasis Norte se puede instalar una planta de generación de energía por incineración de esta biomasa de una potencia entre 8,5 MWe a 76,6 MWe según escenarios. La gran variabilidad de los resultados de cada escenario se debe a la diferencia de factores de Relación de Generación de Residuos y Escobajos, poniendo de manifiesto la importancia de fomentar la investigación en este campo.

El rol del Estado en la definición del perfil productivo del oasis sur de Mendoza

El objetivo de esta investigación es poner en valor el pode del agua en la transformación del territorio, en el desarrollo de la economía, en la creación de las instituciones y en la formación de la cultura, y contribuir a recuperar el recurso hídrico como objeto central de la política local. Para tal fin se ha aplicado el método de investigación histórica y el de las ciencias sociales, que incluye el análisis de datos estadísticos para la obtención de información. Se ha tomado como unidad de análisis territorial uno de los cuatro Oasis de la provincia de Mendoza, Argentina: el Oasis Sur, que abarca los departamentos de San Rafael y General Alvear, cuyo desarrollo productivo hoy en día se encuentra en crisis.

Compilation of scientific results of the OASIS project

Seamounts are of great interest to science, industry and conservation because of their potential role as 'stirring rods' of the oceans, their enhanced productivity, their high local biodiversity, and the growing exploitation of their natural resources. This is accompanied by rising concern about the threats to seamount ecosystems, e.g. through over-fishing and the impact of trawling. OASIS described the functioning characteristics of seamount ecosystems. OASIS' integrated hydrographic, biogeochemical and biological information. Based on two case studies. The scientific results, condensed in conceptual and mass balanced ecosystem models, were applied to outline a model management plan as well as site-specific management plans for the seamounts investigated. OASIS addressed five main objectives: Objective 1: To identify and describe the physical forcing mechanisms effecting seamount systems Objective 2: To assess the origin, quality and dynamics of particulate organic material within the water column and surface sediment at seamounts. Objective 3: To describe aspects of the biodiversity and the ecology of seamount biota, to assess their dynamics and the maintenance of their production. Objective 4: Modelling the trophic ecology of seamount ecosystems. Objective 5: Application of scientific knowledge to practical conservation.

Major element oxides, trace element content and isotopic ratios of dolerites from the Schirmacher Oasis

New results on the petrochemistry and geochemistry of dolerites from the Schirmacher Oasis shed light on the development of the Karoo-Maud plume in Antarctica. The basalts and dolerites are petrologically identical to the rocks of western Dronning Maud Land (DML), which were previously studied and interpreted as a manifestation of the Karoo-Maud plume in Antarctica. The spatial distribution of the dikes suggests eastward spreading of the plume material, up to the Schirmacher Oasis for at least 10 Ma. The geochemical characteristics of magmas from the Schirmacher Oasis reflect the influence of crustal contamination, which accompanied both the ascent and spreading of the plume. The magmas of the initial stage of plume activity (western DML) appeared to be the most contaminated in crustal components. It was found that the geochemical characteristics of Mesozoic magmas from the Schirmacher Oasis are identical to those of enriched tholeiites from the Afanasy Nikitin Rise and the central Kerguelen Plateau (Hole 749), which indicates that their enrichment was related to the ancient material of the Gondwana continent. This was caused by the opening of the Indian Ocean under the influence of the Karoo-Maud plume. This process was peculiar in that it occurred in the presence of nonspreading blocks of varying thickness, for instance, Elan Bank in the central Kerguelen Plateau, and was accompanied by the formation of intraplate volcanic rises, which are documented in the seafloor relief of basins around Antarctica. The geochemical characteristics of igneous rocks from the resulting rises (Afanasy Nikitin, Kerguelen, Naturaliste, and Ninetyeast Ridge) indicate the influence of processes related to crustal assimilation. The magmatism that occurred 40 Ma after the main phase of the Karoo-Maud volcanism at the margins of the adjacent continents of Australia (Bunbury basalts) and India (Rajmahal trapps) could be generated by the Karoo-Maud plume flowing along the developing spreading zone. The plume moved subsequently and was localized at the Kerguelen Plateau, where it occurs at present as an active hotspot.

Water chemistry and sediment age of lake Terrasovoje, Amery Oasis, East Antarctica

The late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental history of the southern Windmill Islands, East Antarctica, has been reconstructed using diatom assemblages from two long, well-dated sediment cores taken in two marine bays. The diatom assemblage of the lowest sediment layers suggests a warm climate with mostly open water conditions during the late Pleistocene. During the following glacial, the Windmill Islands were covered by grounded ice preventing any in situ bioproductivity. Following deglaciation, a sapropel with a well-preserved diatom assemblage was deposited from ~10?500 cal yr BP. Between ~10?500 and ~4000 cal yr BP, total organic carbon (Corg) and total diatom valve concentrations as well as the diatom species composition suggest relatively cool summer temperatures. Hydrological conditions in coastal bays were characterised by combined winter sea-ice and open water conditions. This extensive period of glacial retreat was followed by the Holocene optimum (~4000 to ~1000 cal yr BP), which occurred later in the southern Windmill Islands than in most other Antarctic coastal regions. Diatom assemblages in this period suggest ice-free conditions and meltwater-stratified waters in the marine bays during summer, which is also reflected in high proportions of freshwater diatoms in the sediments. The diatom assemblage in the upper sediments of both cores indicates Neoglacial cooling from ~1000 cal yr BP, which again led to seasonally persistent sea-ice on the bays. The Holocene optimum and cooling trends in the Windmill Islands did not occur contemporaneously with other Antarctic coastal regions, showing that the here presented record reflects partly local environmental conditions rather than global climatic trends.