Autor(es): Ian Vázquez Rowe, Diana Ita Nagy, Ramzy Kahhat Abedrabbo
Plastic waste has arisen as a worldwide environmental concern, becoming ubiquitous in all marine compartments. Microplastics (MPs) are an important fraction of this accumulation, due to direct emissions from the technosphere or fragmentation of macroplastic waste. Consequently, the aim of this letter is to analyze the effects of microplastics on fishing and aquaculture, identifying the links with food safety and sustainability. Current studies have observed multiple potentially damaging effects of microplastics on marine biota, mainly at lower trophic levels. It is plausible to assume that fishing stocks and aquaculture systems will suffer setbacks due to these damages. However, additional research is needed to understand the potential effects on human health, especially considering that smaller microplastics and nanoplastics, for which data is very scarce, are the particles most likely to be absorbed by human tissues.
Ir al enlaceAutor(es): Ian Vázquez Rowe, Kurt Ziegler Rodríguez y Lorena Espinoza Pérez, Andrea Teresa Espinoza Pérez, Óscar C. Vásquez
Municipal solid waste (MSW) management is an important challenge in developing and emerging countries, where two realities co-exist. On the one hand, their metropolitan cities exhibit an integrated MSW system with a specialized fleet for the collection and landfills for the final disposal, concentrating on environmental initiatives such as municipal recycling programs. On the other hand, their regional cities show an MSW system based on adapted transports for collection and open dumps for final disposal. Besides, they face other environmental problems due to local conditions. This research proposes a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach to close the gap between these two realities. In particular, we study the city of Valdivia (Chile), one of the main regional capitals of South America, which shares similarities with other southern regional cities in the Global South. This city disposes 95% of its MSW in open dumps and presents one of the highest environmental pollution rates in Latin America. We analyze the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy performance of six scenarios, seeking a solution for these problems. The results obtained show that a waste-to-energy scenario would generate savings of GHG emission and particulate matter, reaching 11.3% and 21.8%, respectively. Using our LCA approach, we can provide environmental evidence to highlight the importance of improving MSW management in regional cities, closing the gap with MSW management in metropolitan cities, and contributing to national targets such as United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Nationally-Determined Contributions.
Ir al enlaceAutor(es): Ian Vázquez Rowe y Sandra Santa-Cruz, Cristina Córdova-Arias, Xavier Brioso
Motivation and problem definition A large number of public buildings designed with obsolete criteria are at high seismic risk and in need of structural rehabilitation. The task of selecting the optimal strategy poses important challenges for decision-makers due to the variety of intervention options and the fact that the construction sector is perceived to be one of the most corrupt in the economy. Objective Given that transparency is an efficient anti-corruption strategy, a protocol is proposed for decision-making in seismic rehabilitation projects of public infrastructure that incorporates criteria which serve to increase transparency in the project development. Methods Firstly, the literature was reviewed to describe current practices and regulations linked to decision-making in seismic rehabilitation/retrofitting of buildings. Secondly, relevant criteria that should be taken into account to favor transparency in decision-making were proposed. Thirdly, these criteria were integrated into a protocol that uses information and communication technologies (ICTs), Building Information Modeling (BIM), and collaborative methodologies that involve all stakeholders that will participate in the decision-making process. Finally, the protocol was applied to a real decision-making case study for the selection of alternatives for large-scale reinforcement of state schools in the city of Lima. Results The criteria of auditability or ease of control of the construction process is well regarded by stakeholders as a mechanism to increase transparency. Including these transparency criteria could influence the selection of reinforcement alternatives, especially if the profile of stakeholders is environmentally-oriented. The sensitivity analysis confirmed the dependency of the selection on the decision-maker profile.
Ir al enlaceAutor(es): Patrick Flores Velarde
Asesores: Ian Vázquez y Félix Cabrera Las lagunas sísmicas, en el borde oeste del Perú datan de hace poco más de 130 años, lo cual implica que edificaciones de concreto armado no han sido sometidas a movimientos bruscos del suelo. La norma actual local y la de otros países tienen como finalidad la protección de la edificación ante un solo nivel de amenaza sísmica. Por tal razón la necesidad de estudiar nuestras edificaciones bajo diferentes niveles de amenaza sísmica es un objetivo del presente trabajo. El estudio consistió en diseñar y evaluar un edificio de cuatro niveles ubicado en la costa peruana cimentado sobre buen suelo, con una planta rectangular de 33x22m y columnas separadas a ejes por 5.5m. Para diseñar la edificación se empleó el código peruano y la evaluación se basó en los criterios propuestos por el Comité Visión 2000 del SEAOC. En cuanto a la herramienta de análisis, y por ende, de estimación de respuesta de la estructura, se usaron las técnicas del análisis no lineal, mediante espectros de capacidad y demanda. La etapa de pre-dimensionamiento resultó en columnas y vigas de dimensiones, 40x40cm y 25x50cm, respectivamente, permitiendo una deriva máxima de 1% para un evento sísmico de 500 años de período de retorno. De los resultados, se estimó una ductilidad promedio, para la estructura, de 4.6 y sobrerresistencia de 1.5, ambos ítems con respecto a la fluencia efectiva. Además, se alcanzaría un valor de 2.5 de sobrerresistencia con respecto al colapso. Bajo los niveles de amenaza sísmica, la estructura presentaría ligeras incursiones en el rango inelástico, específicamente para sismos raros y ocasionales, en ambas direcciones. Para el nivel de amenaza extremo, esto es, sismos raros, la estructura llegaría un poco más allá del inicio de la zona de colapso en ambas direcciones. El estudio se extendió para edificaciones de 3, 5, 6 y 7 pisos, permitiendo obtener tendencias de comportamiento, resultando, muchas de ellas, satisfactorias. Ante los resultados del trabajo realizado, se puede concluir en permitir una deriva máxima de 1% para edificios regulares, lo que conlleva a menores dimensiones de las columnas. Tesis para optar el título de Licenciado en Ingeniería Civil
Ir al enlaceAutor(es): Ian Vázquez Rowe y Israel Ruiz-Salmón, Jara Laso, María Margallo, Pedro Villanueva-Rey, Eduardo Rodríguez, Paula Quinteiro, Ana Cláudia Dias, Cheila Almeida, Maria Leonor Nunes, Antonío Marques, Antonio Cortés, María Teresa Moreira, Gumersindo Feijoo, Philippe Loubet, Guido Sonnemann, Andrew P. Morse, Ronan Cooney, Eoghan Clifford, Liticia Regueiro, Diego Méndez, Clémentine Anglada, Christelle Noirot, Neil Rowan, Rubén Aldaco
Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been widely applied in many different sectors, but the marine products and seafood segment have received relatively little attention in the past. In recent decades, global fish production experienced sustained growth and peaked at about 179 million tonnes in 2018. Consequently, increased interest in the environmental implications of fishery products along the supply chain, namely from capture to end of life, was recently experienced by society, industry and policy-makers. This timely review aims to describe the current framework of LCA and its application to the seafood sector that mainly focused on fish extraction and processing, but it also encompassed the remaining stages. An excess of 60 studies conducted over the last decade, along with some additional publications, were comprehensively reviewed; these focused on the main LCA methodological choices, including but not limited to, functional unit, system boundaries allocation methods and environmental indicators. The review identifies key recommendations on the progression of LCA for this increasingly important sustaining seafood sector. Specifically, these recommendations include (i) the need for specific indicators for fish-related activities, (ii) the target species and their geographical origin, (iii) knowledge and technology transfer and, (iv) the application and implementation of key recommendations from LCA research that will improve the accuracy of LCA models in this sector. Furthermore, the review comprises a section addressing previous and current challenges of the seafood sector. Wastewater treatment, ghost fishing or climate change, are also the objects of discussion together with advocating support for the water-energy-food nexus as a valuable tool to minimize environmental negativities and to frame successful synergies.
Ir al enlaceAutor(es): César Portocarrero Rodríguez
Asesor: Gustavo Larrea Tesis para optar el título de Licenciado en Ingeniería Civil
Ir al enlaceAutor(es): Ian Vázquez Rowe y otros
Ir al enlaceAutor(es): Ian Vázquez Rowe y otros
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