Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas IETU NEWS w w w. i e t u . k a t o w i c e . p l No 10, July 2013 IETU in the European Commission’s Programmes In 2013, like in the previous years, most of IETU’s research activities are financed from the European Commission’s funds. At the moment we are involved in 12 research and development projects, financed under the EU 7th Framework Programme, Innovative Economy Programme, Life+ and Central Europe Programme. IETU has been participating in the European Union research programmes since 1994 and so far has realised over 30 projects. This year international consortia with IETU’s participation are involved in 6 EU FP7 projects which will end in the years 20142016. These are: - TIMBRE – Tailored Improvement of Brownfield Regeneration in Europe - PREPARED – Adaptation of water and sewage management to climate changes - DEMOCLOCK – Demonstration of a Costeffective CO2 Capture Technology - IRCOW – Innovative Strategies for High-grade Material Recovery from Construction and Demolition Waste - THERMACO – Smart Thermal Conductive Al MMCs by Casting - ECOPOL – Accelerating Eco-innovation Policies. In 2014 IETU will begin the realisation of a new project: Phyto2Energy – Phytoremediation Driven Energy Crops Production on Heavy Metal Degraded Areas as Local Energy Carrier, also within the FP7: Marie Curie Industry – Academia Partnerships and Pathways. Soon two projects financed by the Central Europe Programme (CircUse – Circular Flow Land Use Management) and Life+ (ENVEUROPE – Environmental Quality and Pressures Assessment across Europe: the LTER Network as an Integrated and Shared System for Ecosystem Monitoring) will come to an end. The scope of research includes environmental management, revitalisation of the areas degraded by industry and implementation of eco-innovations and environmental technologies. IETU’s research activity is focused on the application of developed organisational solutions in environmental management at a local, regional and European level. I hope, that the possibilities offered to the research units by the Horizon 2020 Programme will enable us to create – in cooperation with our foreign par tners research projects of a European dimension. Horizon 2020 aims to maintain the balance between large and small scale projects, which is beneficial for us as in these small scale projects IETU’s chances seem to be much higher. Dr. Janina Fudała Deputy Director for Research and Development j.fudala@ietu.katowice.pl Land recycling, or how to use urban space wisely Christophe Ebermann, Central Europe Joint Technical Secretariat The Conference Sustainable Urban Land Use, summing up the Circular Flow Land Use Management project (CircUse), was held on 27-28 May 2013, gathering over 120 representatives of science, communal administration and professional organisations. Dr. Anna Starzewska-Sikorska, project coordinator, points out that CircUse, while searching for a better perspective to continue urban transformation, takes a full-scale look at the revitalisation issues in the aspect of environmental pro- tection, social issues, economy, spatial planning, architecture, landscape, as well as culture and management at a local, regional or national level. The main goal of the CircUse project is strengthening the post-industrial site management systems by applying the circular flow land use management method in the cities. to be continued on page 4 In this issuse: IETU in the European Commission’s Programmes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 1 Visit to Piekary Śląskie – green area developed under the project Land recycling, or how to use urban space wisely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 1 in2in – meteorological modelling at IETU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2 ZiZOZap – Integrated Support System for Management and Protection of Water Dam Reservoir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 3 The project is implemented through the Central Europe Programme co-financed by the ERDF Let’s protect children from lead and cadmium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 3 IETU WIADOMOŚCI 1 www.ietu.katowice.pl in2in – meteorological modelling at IETU A new computing cluster, purchased under the in2in project, will enable performing complex parallel calculations in a relatively short time. Therefore, the MATLAB specialist software and two meteorological models: Weather Research and Forecasting (weather forecast) and Chimere (air pollutant transport model) may be used for air quality assessment, meteorological modelling as well as other complex computing tasks. To analyse environmental phenomena dependant on the meteorological conditions the data concerning spatial distribution and time variability of a meteorological phenomenon are required. For instance, to determine the contaminant transport trajectory it is essential to know a three-dimensional wind field and the changes of the field in time. It can be obtained through modelling of meteorological parameters taking into consideration the applicable physical laws. Before 2007 IETU used meteorological data modelled in other centres. In 2007 the assemble of a MM5 computing cluster was started. The MM5 cluster consists of five quad-core computers and enables generating four-dimensional meteorological data for Poland. In this way, the following data were obtained: 1. Meteorological data for the Silesian Voivodship for the SINZAP pollution dispersion model, used in the air quality assessment performed for the Voivodship Inspectorate for Environmental Protection in Katowice, 2. Meteorological data for the Czech Republic-Poland border region for model ling emissions and concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 under the project Improvement of the air quality in the Czech Republic-Poland border region, 3.Meteorological data to determine the influx of PM10 and PM2.5 to the areas of Diabla Góra, Gdańsk and Katowice stations used in the project Analysis of air pollution with PM10 and PM2.5 taking into considera- A. 2010-01-25, 10:00 AM - 11.00 PM B. 2010-01-26, 11.00 PM till 2010-01-27, 2.00 PM (248-741 mg/m3) Fig.1. Model trajectories of PM10 flux into the Katowice area tion the chemical composition of dust and influence of natural sources, made for the General Inspectorate for Environmental Protection. In the coming years, the MM5 model was replaced with a more complex Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. It was activated in 2011 on the MM5 cluster. It was used to analyse the impact of the height of a surface mixing layer on the occurrence of high dust concentrations in 2011 in the areas of the Silesian Voivodship and the Moravian-Silesian Region. At present, meteorological modelling is performed on a new SYBILLA cluster, which was implemented under the in2in project. The forecast time was shortened from 4.5 to 1.5 hours. Figure 1 illustrates precipitation and wind field forecasts based on wind speed and direction measured at the METAR stations. Detailed information is available on the website: www.in2in.pl Fig. 2. Wind field and precipitation forecasts for Poland Dr. Czesław Kliś Atmospheric Research Department klis@ietu.katowice.pl The project: Development of IT infrastructure for collection, processing and analyses of environmental data (in2in) is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund under the Innovative Economy Operational Programme. IETU NEWS 2 www.ietu.katowice.pl ZiZOZap – Integrated Support System for Management and Protection of Water Dam Reservoir The results obtained during the study of the Goczałkowicki reservoir and its surroundings can be used by the local municipal authorities. The University of Silesia, coordinator of the ZiZOZap project, carried out negotiations concerning the cooperation in this area with the authorities of Chybie, Czechowice, Goczałkowice, Pszczyna and Strumień, as well as the Pszczyna County Office. The cooperation documents were formally signed on the 16th January 2013. Within the two years of the realisation of the Integrated Support System for Management and Protection of Water Dam Reservoir (ZiZOZap) project, the researchers gathered nearly 10.5 million of data from the carried out measurements and their number is constantly going up. The database contains the results of hydrological condition studies, hydrogeological data, studies of physic-chemical conditions of water and bottom sediments, as well as ecological indicators and hygienic indices on the condition of flora and fauna in the reservoir and its surroundings. The scientists have completed the realisation of two out of nine planned research tasks: the analysis of archival data and the research monitoring, which gave the basis to assign the areas for the operational monitoring. UŚKA – research boat enabling scientists to investigate the Goczałkowice Reservoir As pointed out by Dr. Paweł Miguła from the University of Silesia, the project coordinator: The data, gathered in database systems are used for modelling the reservoir’s performance. We analyse the optimal solution scenarios to reduce conflicts resulting from diverse functions of water reservoirs. On the basis of the obtained research results and water management scenarios, a numeric model of a water dam reservoir is being developed. It will enable the current assessment of qualitative and functional condition of the reservoir as well as simulations and forecast of its changes. Practically, the reservoir models system will enable predicting the quantitative and qualitative changes in water resources, influencing water treatment processes and predicting water fertility and other changes in the reservoir and the surrounding ecosystems. More information can be found at: www.zizozap.pl Wanda Jarosz Promotion Department jarosz@ietu.katowice.pl Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund under the Innovative Economy Operational Programme. Let’s protect children from lead and cadmium Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas in cooperation with the Piekary Śląskie City Council has been implementing a project funded by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management: Let’s Protect Children from Lead and Cadmium – Assessment of Preschoolers’ Exposure in Piekary Śląskie. Piekary Śląskie is one of the cities in the Silesian Voivodship which are heavily polluted by toxic metals emitted by industry. Concentrations of cadmium and lead in soil exceed the limit values established for residential areas and agricultural soils. Despite the metal emission reduction lead and cadmium compounds still pose a significant threat, especially for sensitive children population. The aim of the project is to protect the preschool children from harmful influence of toxic metals occurring in the environment. The research is carried out among 4-5 years’ old children from all kindergartens in Piekary Śląskie. Parents/caretakers receive information on the child’s health condition including the lead and cadmium exposure assessment, and in the case of the increased blood concentrations of these metals – recommendations of relevant preventive measures. They also receive some educational materials. Within the educational activities an electronic educational-information package “How to Protect Children from Lead and Cadmium?” was prepared to be uploaded on the websites of all kindergartens. Moreover, a training course “How to Protect Children from Lead and Cadmium?” was prepared, which will be available on the IETU e-learning platform. On the basis of questionnaires, the knowledge of the Piekary Śląskie citizens on threats posed by toxic metals and preventive actions to be taken will be assessed. The obtained results will be sent to the Piekary Śląskie City Council to be used for establishing proper directions of the developed preventive measures. Dr. Elżbieta Kulka Environmental Risk Analysis Department e.kulka@ietu.katowice.pl Project Implementation Cooperation The project is co-financed by the National Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas Piekary Śląskie City Council Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management IETU NEWS 3 www.ietu.katowice.pl Land recycling, or how to use urban space wisely continued from page 1 7th International Conference on This method is an economical and spatial planning tool for communities, but it can also be a useful tool on a regional scale. It is an instrument suppor ting balanced land management, taking into consideration economical, social and environmental goals. The project, realised from 2010 to 2013, is an application project and contributes to the development of balanced spatial management methods, taking into account the needs of environmentally-friendly spatial recycling. The CircUse consor tium consists of 6 research units and 6 local administration representatives from Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Italy. The project is coordinated by the Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas. With the application of the worked out method and the new tools for its implementation development scenarios for 6 pilot areas in Austria, Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic were prepared. The pilot area in Poland was Brzeziny – a district of Piekary Śląskie, in the case of which not only an action plan was prepared, but also a 14-hectares’ post-industrial area was developed, creating a green recreational ground. During the Conference Mr. Zenon Przywara, Vice-President of Piekary Śląskie, said: We planted 400 trees, created over 1 kilometre long footpath running through the gully. You can play chess, volleyball; there are some sandpits and a cycling path. We will continue developing this area, new paths will be built as well as an energy garden, where we will plant energy species, i.a. Sida hermaphrodi ta. Management of the 120 hectares’ post-industrial land in the Brzeziny district was handed down to the EkoPark co-partnership. Detailed information is available on the website: www.circuse.eu Innovative Solutions for Revitalisation of Degraded Areas Ustroń, 2-4 October 2013 Deadline for the submission of abstracts 1 July 2013 Registration of participants 20 September 2013 www.revitare-conf.pl Organizers Honourary patronage Media patronage Wanda Jarosz Promotion Department jarosz@ietu.katowice.pl Recommended IETU’s publications Sustainable Consumption Strategies in the European Union this is a publication of Dr. Beata Michaliszyn focuses on sustainable consumption and the ways of its development. The authoress, in the four chapters of her book, takes up the topic of theoretical, legal and political aspects of the European Union sustainable development concept, essence and indices of sustainable consumption, its strategies, including a comparative analysis and assessment of this concept in Great Britain and Poland. Publishing house: Ekonomia i Środowisko, ISBN: 978-83-61643-29-6. The book is available free of charge at the Authoress b.michaliszyn@ietu.katowice.pl (Editors) Scientific successes of IETU’s employees We are pleased to announce that on the 4th of June 2013 our colleague Mr. Jacek Krzyżak defended his Doctor’s thesis entitled “Supported Phytostabilisation of Heavy Metals in Soils”. His supervisor was Dr. Grażyna Płaza, Professor of IETU. The defence took place at the Institute of Environmental Protection Engineering at the Wrocław University of Technology. The dissertation received positive reviews, and during a public discussion the candidate held professional discussions with the members of the Institute’s Scientific Board. The Board granted Mr. Jacek Krzyżak a scientific degree of a Doctor of Technical Sciences in Environmental Engineering. Congratulations and the best wishes of further successes in the scientific work. (Editors) Editorial staff: Wanda Jarosz, Ewa Cimander-Staszak – Promotion Department Contact phone: +48 32 254 60 31 ext. 136, 280, email: jarosz@ietu.katowice.pl Photos: M. Grucka, W. Jarosz Translation: Mirosława Cyrana-Szram, Katarzyna Łoskot IETU NEWS 4 © Copyright by IETU, Katowice 2013 Graphical layout and print: Integra Printed on 100% recycled paper
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