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This paper investigates the exergoenvironmental aspects of a Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW)-fueled Gasification Integrated Combined Cycle (WICC). Accordingly, the environmental impacts associated to exergy destruction, total environmental impact, exergoenvironmental factor and the electricity environmental impacts (EEI) are studied. A sensitivity analysis is carried out in order to have a good insight into WICC plant performance, focusing on MSW environmental impacts (0.1–0.9 millipoints (mPts)/kg MSW) and considering only CO 2 emissions as pollutant formation. The results show that the largest environmental impacts are associated to gasification and are mainly caused by chemical exergy destruction (44%) and pollutants formation (61%). The highest total environmental impact (B tot ) corresponds to the highest MSW impact, due to the impacts produced by the changes in the specific exergy of the streams. Discarding CH 4 and CO from pollutants formation, reduced the B tot and EEI by nearly 55%. Furthermore, the calculated EEI values (13.5 mPts/kWh) are lower than that reported for conventional energy systems (i.e. Natural gas: 22–26 mPts/kWh). Therefore, this technology could be a promising alternative for energetic valorization of MSW in the Chilean conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Chilean Patagonia is one of the most extended fjord regions in the world that covers nearly 240,000km2 with an extremely complex coastline and topography in one of the least densely populated areas of the country (1–8 inhabitants every 10km2). In recent years, the area has been undergoing somewhat intense pressure since several commercial projects in hydroelectricity, tourism, and commercial salmon and mytilid cultures have been developed, or are in progress. Concomitantly, several large research programs have been devised to study the physical, chemical, and biological environment of Patagonia, such as the CIMAR FIORDO, and recently COPAS Sur-Austral based at Universidad de Concepcion, that attempts to close the bridge between oceanographic knowledge and its use by society. In this introductory article we summarize the collection of papers comprising this Special Issue of Continental Shelf Research. These papers deal with aspects of regional oceanography and geology, inorganic and organic geochemistry, ecology of pelagic and benthic organisms, and past changes in productivity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper explores the relation between business sustainability, both linked to financial profit as well as to relations with local organizations, and the environment, in a context of an internationalized economy such as the Chilean economy. Likewise, it analyzes recent conflicts originated in Chile for energy supply and the difficulties in defining an energy matrix. Finally, the article analyzes the influence of ecological ethics in the preservation of the high diversity ecosystems in the South of Chile, facing the business development and the specific energy projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chile is a developing country with a rapidly expanding economy and concomitant social and cultural changes. It is expected to become a developed country within 10 years. Chile is also characterized as being in an advanced demographic transition. Unique challenges are posed by the intersection of rapid economic development and an aging population, making Chile an intriguing case study for examining the impact of these societal-level trends on the aging experience. This paper highlights essential characteristics of this country for understanding its emerging aging society. It reveals that there is a fundamental lack of adequate and depthful epidemiologic and country-specific research from which to fully understand the aging experience and guide new policies in support of health and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Small-scale fisheries, which are often associated with low levels of income and poor infrastructure, receive substantial funding from governmental institutions worldwide. Very few empirical studies have explored the outcomes of these investments for people and ecosystems. This paper presents the findings of a study aimed at assessing the social and ecological outcomes of government subsidies for small-scale fisheries through an analysis of 32 fishing villages, referred to as caletas, in Chile over a 12- year period. Findings suggest that the funding appears to be higher for those caletas with the highest value landings and is unrelated to socioeconomic need or poverty; that caletas in rural areas receive less investment than their urban counterparts; that funding did not lead to a positive improvement in either the landings or income for fishers; and, finally, that funding appears to be a consequence of, rather than a reason for, the ecological and productive history of fisheries. These findings challenge two assumptions informing the debate about subsidization in small-scale fisheries: first, that subsidization will lead to over-exploitation, and second, that subsidies are supplied to alleviate poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The management and conservation of animal species should be based upon a long-term analysis that considers its geographical distribution and feeding patterns. The study of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes on skeletal remains provides a quantitative approach to the paleodietary reconstructions and constitutes a potent tool for comparing behavioral aspects of the fauna. In this paper we present the first set of isotopic values for modern and archaeological samples of Huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) from the forests of Central-western Patagonia, Chile. Contrary to initial expectations, our analysis indicates that there is no evidence of an important incidence of the canopy effect on the δ13Ccollagen values, which we suggest is due to an ecological selection that drives the huemul to focus its predation on open sectors within the forest. On the other hand, a wide range of δ15Ncollagen values for huemul was verified. This could reflect the N impoverishment of the forest soils and provide an interesting ecological indicator. The long-term information offered by the archaeological record provides the necessary context for decision-making conducive towards the preservation of Hippocamelus bisulcus in Patagonia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

1. The area or size of an ecosystem affects the acquisition, storage and redistribution of energy and matter. Patch size reduction due to natural or anthropogenic habitat loss will not only modify species distribution and patch structure but also affect the ecosystem processes that are, in part, responsible for patch persistence. 2. In a fog-dependent forest ecosystem, trees and their architectures play essential roles in capturing and redistributing water from collection surfaces. In this paper, we address the question of how forest patch size and structure interact to determine fog water inputs and storage in a fog-inundated, coastal ecosystem in semi-arid Chile (30°S). 3. Six forest patches ranging in area from 0·2 to 36 ha on a coastal mountaintop of Fray Jorge National Park were characterized using 0·1 ha plots laid down at the centre of each forest patch. In each patch, we assessed tree basal area as a measure of forest structure, recorded daily air temperature and humidity, measured water influx from stemflow and throughfall (water that has passed through the forest canopy). Soil and litter gravimetric water contents were used as a measure of storage. 4. Total tree basal area per hectare was positively related to patch area, despite some variation at the species level. Mean and maximum air temperatures inside the patches were inversely related to patch size, with maximum temperatures differing by 2 °C on average. Annual fog water capture by trees within forest patches (net throughfall) was estimated in 296·1 mm after rain flux (about 122 mm) was subtracted. Throughfall volume and patch area were uncorrelated, but stemflow volume, soil and litter water contents scaled positively with patch area, showing a functional link between water interception and ecosystem retention. 5. Our study shows that ecosystem area in this mosaic of fog-dependent temperate forest patches can modify water fluxes and storage capacity of the ecosystem. This finding has important consequences for fragmented landscapes, where large continuous forests are fragmented into smaller patches, affecting not only the persistence of species but also the continuity of critical ecosystem processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In South America, the arid and semiarid subtropical regions through the Atacama Desert and north-central Chile between 19° and 32°S are currently a gap in the tree-ring chronology network. Only a short tree-ring chronology has been published for this vast region and little is known about the suitability of many woody species for tree-ring analysis and dendroclimatology. In this paper we present the first detailed analysis of the climate responses and influences of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) on the tree-rings of three species new to dendrochronology and that typically occur at high elevations in the Andes of central and north-central Chile. Three well-replicated tree-ring chronologies of Kageneckia angustifolia, Proustia cuneifolia and Fabiana imbricata are compared with century-long regional records of precipitation and temperature, and with the N3.4 SST and PDO indices in both time and frequency-domains using correlation and wavelet analysis. The radial growth of these species is controlled by winter precipitation and is also positively correlated with temperature during most of the rainy season from April to September (autumn–spring). The regional climate as well as tree growth is strongly modulated by ENSO and ENSO-like conditions in the equatorial Pacific at both interannual and interdecadal timescales. The decadal and interdecadal variability is not correlated with PDO and appears to be related to the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO), a Pacific-wide ENSO-like mode of climate variability. Despite their relatively short lifespans, these three new species have a high potential for dendrochronological and dendroclimatic studies in the semiarid region of Chile over the last two centuries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]