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This Ph.D. thesis assesses the impact of the change in the hazardous classification of formaldehyde in vehicle paint shops from an environmental and economic perspective. This work includes an evaluation of compliance with the applicable emission limit value for formaldehyde, a proposal of options to reduce the emissions and their economic impact, a Life Cycle Assessment of the painting process in a real vehicle paint shop and an eco-efficiency analysis. The outcomes of this thesis allowed to make a proposal for the most eco-efficient vehicle paint shop in view of formaldehyde emissions performance.

Computer tomography image quality control assessment take part of Cuban national legislation, which could be difficult to accomplish for many reasons. This work is part of the set-up verifications of “in house tool” (EvaCT) designed to calculate parameters of quality control of CT images (CCCT) in various manufacturer’s phantoms, “at distance”. For this, the behavior of the established parameters was studied in 17 studies of the stablished CCCT routine with the Mediso PET/SPECT/CT Anyscan Trio equipment, comparing the results using manufacture´s reference values, and/ or the international recommended parameter´s tolerances. The results of the system were compared numerically with those obtained by the manufacturer, for each available related parameter, in the corresponding protocol, and did not show significant differences (p≥0.05). In general, the system showed a satisfactory behavior, taking as reference the values and tolerances of the manufacturer, CECMED and IAEA. The correlation between quality descriptors established with different methodologies was analyzed. The tool showed correspondence with the manufacturer's results, making available a greater number of parameters and more operational conditions to be evaluated. The mean values ±SD characterize these parameters in the equipment and its phantom, and can be used for periodic, independent and remote CCCT verification., El control de calidad de imagen de Tomografía Computada (TC) es un requisito de la normativa nacional cubana, cuyo cumplimiento se dificulta por varias razones. Este trabajo forma parte de la validación de una herramienta en desarrollo (EvaCT) diseñada para calcular parámetros de control de calidad de imágenes de TC (CCCT) en maniquíes de varios fabricantes, “a distancia”. Para ello, se estudió el comportamiento de los parámetros de control de calidad de imagen, en 17 estudios de la rutina clásica de CCCT equipo Mediso PET/SPECT/CT Anyscan Trio, y se compararon los resultados tomando como referencia los valores y las tolerancias del fabricante, y/o las recomendaciones nacionales e internacionales, según su correspondencia. Los resultados del sistema fueron confrontados numéricamente con los obtenidos por el fabricante, para cada parámetro comprable disponible, en el protocolo correspondiente, y no mostraron diferencias significativas (p≥0.05). En general, el sistema mostró un comportamiento satisfactorio. Se analizó la correlación entre descriptores de calidad establecidos con diferentes metodologías. La herramienta mostró correspondencia con los resultados del fabricante, poniendo a disposición un mayor número de parámetros y condiciones operacionales a evaluar. Conclusiones: Los valores medios ±DE, caracterizan estos parámetros en el equipo-maniquí y se pueden emplear para la verificación periódica, independiente y remota de parámetros de calidad de imagen.

Comprehensive monitoring of NO2 exceedances is imperative for protecting human health, especially in urban areas with traffic. However, an accurate spatial characterization of the exceedances is challenging due to the typically low density of air quality monitoring stations and the inherent uncertainties in urban air quality models. We study how observational data from different sources and timescales can be combined with a dispersion air quality model to obtain bias-corrected NO2 hourly maps at the street scale. We present a kriging-based data fusion workflow that merges dispersion model output with continuous hourly observations and uses a machine-learning-based land use regression (LUR) model constrained with past short intensive passive dosimeter campaign measurements. While the hourly observations allow the bias adjustment of the temporal variability in the dispersion model, the microscale LUR model adds information on the NO2 spatial patterns. Our method includes an uncertainty calculation based on the estimated error variance of the universal kriging technique, which is subsequently used to produce urban maps of probability of exceeding the 200 µg m−3 hourly and the 40 µg m−3 annual NO2 average limits. We assess the statistical performance of this approach in the city of Barcelona for the year 2019. Our results show that simply merging the monitoring stations with the model output already significantly increases the correlation coefficient (r) by +29 % and decreases the root mean square error (RMSE) by −32 %. When adding the time-invariant microscale LUR model in the data fusion workflow, the improvement is even more remarkable, with +46 % and −48 % for the r and RMSE, respectively. Our work highlights the usefulness of high-resolution spatial information in data fusion methods to better estimate exceedances at the street scale., We have received support from the Barcelona City Council through the UncertAIR project (ID 22S09501-001; Recerca Jove i emergent 2022). This research has been supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación through the BROWNING project (grant no. RTI2018-099894-BI00), the Agencia Estatal de Investigación as part of the VITALISE project (grant no. PID2019-108086RA-I00) and the MITIGATE project (grant no. PID2020-116324RA695 I00), the H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (grant no. H2020-MSCA-COFUND-2016-754433), the AXA Research Fund, and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (grant nos. RES-AECT-2021-1-0027 and RES-AECT-2021-2-0001)., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (author's final draft)

We present an oceanographic research fiberglass reinforced polyester vessel of medium size (19.5 m length x 5.4 m beam) and plug-in hybrid propulsion complemented by a power generation system based on solar panels with polycrystalline cells connected to a charger and two wind turbines connected to their control systems. The vessel will be equipped for scientific research tasks in seas and coastal waters, with an operating cost that makes it viable in the long term, that is environmentally friendly, with an efficient management model, and that facilitates the collection of oceanographic data of high technical quality. [...]

Barcelona city (Spain) is applying a series of traffic restriction measures that aim at renewing and reducing the amount of circulating vehicles to improve air quality. The measures include changes in the built environment to reduce private vehicle space in specific areas through the so-called “superblocks” and tactical urban planning actions, along with the implementation of a city-wide Low Emission Zone (LEZ) that restricts the entry of the most polluting vehicles to the city. Our study quantifies the impact of these measures in the greater area of Barcelona combining a coupled macroscopic traffic and pollutant emission model with a multi-scale air quality model. Our modelling system allows estimating the effect of different traffic restrictions upon traffic and the associated emissions and air quality levels at a very high resolution (20 m). The measures were evaluated both individually and collectively to assess both their relative and overall impact upon emissions and air quality. We show that in the absence of traffic demand reductions, the application of isolated measures that reduce private vehicle space, either through superblocks or tactical urban planning, have no overall emission impacts; only localized street-level NOx positive and negative changes (±17%) are found due to traffic re-routing and the generation of new bottlenecks. It is only when these measures are combined with optimistic fleet renewal as a result of the LEZ implementation and demand reductions, that relevant global emission reductions in NOx are obtained (-13% and -30%, respectively) with estimated NO2 reductions of -36% and -23% at the two traffic air quality monitoring stations. Despite the potential improvements, our simulations suggest that current measures are insufficient to comply with EU air quality standards and that further traffic restriction policies to reduce traffic demand are needed., The authors acknowledge CARNET-The Future Mobility Research HUB to allow the usage and work on the BCN-VML network, as well as PTV VISUM for the traffic software license. The author thankfully acknowledges the computer resources at MareNostrum and the technical support pro- vided by Barcelona Supercomputing Center (PRACE, AECT-2020-1-0007, AECT-2021-1-0027). The authors also acknowledge the support from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MICINN) as part of the BROWNING project RTI2018-099894-B-I00 and NUTRIENT project CGL2017-88911-R and the support from the Agencia Estatal de Investigacion (AEI) as part of the VITALISE project (PID2019-108086RA- I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033). Carlos Pérez García-Pando acknowl- edges the long-term support from the AXA Chair in Sand and Dust Storms (AXA Research Fund), as well as the support received through the Ramón y Cajal programme (grant RYC-2015-18690) of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

Persistent high levels of NO2 have severe health effects on population. These are often found in large urban conurbations with high vehicle densities. In Barcelona, with one of the highest vehicle densities in Europe, the two traffic air quality monitoring stations are continuously exceeding the limit values established by the 2008/50/EC Ambient Air Quality Directive. To reduce traffic emissions and associated air pollution levels, Barcelona is applying a series of traffic restrictions that attempt to renew and reduce the amount of circulating vehicles within the city. These include the reduction of private vehicle space in specific areas or urban corridors of the city (superblocks and tactical urbanism) and the implementation of a Low Emission Zone (LEZ) that restricts the entrance of most polluting vehicles in the city. In order to quantify and evaluate the level of effectiveness of the applied restrictions, air quality modelling is presented as a necessary tool to complement the information provided by the air quality monitoring stations. In this sense, the present thesis evaluates the impact that the different restrictions have on the resulting NOx emissions and NO2 concentration levels in Barcelona. To accomplish that, we developed an integrated air quality system composed by the VISUM traffic simulator, the emission model HERMESv3 and the street-scale dispersion model CALIOPE-Urban, which integrates the mesoscale CALIOPE air quality forecast system and the Gaussian dispersion model R-LINE. The thesis first explains the coupling, calibration and validation process of the traffic-emission system. This is followed by an emission sensitivity analysis of typically high uncertainty emission features such as different approaches in regard of vehicle fleet composition, public bus transport implementation, temperature effect or the application of non-exhaust PM sources. We also explore the limitations of the developed macroscopic system by comparing it with a microscop, La persistente acumulación de altos valores de NO2 presenta serios problemas de salud. Esto ocurre con frecuencia en grandes zonas urbanas con altas densidades de tráfico. En Barcelona, con una de las mayores densidades de vehículos de Europa, las dos estaciones monitoreo de calidad del aire de tráfico exceden de forma continuada los valores limite establecidos por la 2008/50/EC Ambient Air Quality Directive. Para reducir las emisiones de tráfico Barcelona esta aplicando una serie de restricciones al tráfico con el propósito de renovar y reducir la cantidad de vehículos circulante. Estas medidas incluyen la reducción de espacio al vehículo privado en áreas específicas o en corredores de la ciudad (Supermanzanas o urbanismo táctico) y la implementación de una Zona de Bajas Emisiones (ZBE) que restringe la entrada a los vehículos mas contaminantes. Para cuantificar y evaluar el nivel de eficacia de las restricciones mencionadas, la modelización de calidad del aire se presenta como una herramienta necesaria para complementar la información dada por las estaciones de monitoreo de calidad del aire. Esta tesis evalúa el impacto que las diferentes restricciones tienen en los valores de emisión de NOx y de concentración de NO2 en Barcelona. Para ello, hemos desarrollado un sistema de calidad del aire compuesto por el simulador de tráfico VISUM, el modelo de emisiones HERMESv3 y el modelo de dispersión urbana CALIOPE-Urban, que integra el sistema mesoescalar de calidad del aire CALIOPE y el sistema Gaussiano de dispersión R-LINE. En la tesis se detalla el acoplamiento y el proceso de calibración y validación del sistema de tráfico-emisiones. A continuación, se realiza un estudio de sensibilidad valorando diferentes aproximaciones de variables de alta incertidumbre para la estimación de emisiones tales como la composición vehicular, la implementación del transporte público, el efecto de la temperatura o la consideración de fuentes PM no provenientes del gas de escape. También, Postprint (published version)

NOX emissions from diesel light-duty-vehicles (LDV) largely exceed the Euro emission standards in real-world driving conditions. Recent studies have quantified their impact upon air quality and human health primarily based on air quality models at mesoscale and large-scale resolutions. Here, we show that these approaches can significantly underestimate the impact of diesel LDV excess NOX emissions upon NO2 pollution in cities, particularly in the more compact and heavily trafficked ones. We compare an air quality mesoscale model at both 4 and 1 km resolution with a street-scale model in Barcelona, a compact city where the EU annual NO2 limits are repeatedly exceeded and a large share of passenger cars are diesel (65%). We compare consistently two emissions scenarios: a business-as-usual scenario where diesel LDV emit NOX in excess, and a counterfactual standard limits scenario where emissions are compliant with the Euro emission standards. We first show that in contrast to the mesoscale model, the street scale model is able to largely represent the observed NO2 concentration gradients between traffic and background stations in the city. In a second step, we find that the mesoscale model strongly underestimates the impact of diesel LDV excess NOX emissions upon NO2 pollution both in absolute terms (by 38%–48%) and relative terms (by 10%–35%). We argue that such underestimated impacts should be considered when assessing NOX excess emissions by LDV in cities. Using the street scale model, we find that diesel LDV excess NOX emissions are associated with about 20% of NO2 levels in the city, contributing substantially to an increased number of citizens exposed to high NO2 pollution in Barcelona., The authors thank the Generalitat de Catalunya for providing access to the measurements of the official monitoring network XVPCA and Pablo Martínez from the urban planning studio 300 000 km s−1 for providing the census-level population dataset disaggregated at the address level. The authors acknowledge PRACE and RES for awarding access to Marenostrum4 based in Spain at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center through the eFRAGMENT2 and AECT-2020-1-0007 projects. Jaime Benavides was funded by grant BES-2014-070637 from the FPI programme by the Spanish Ministry of the Economy and Competitiveness. The authors also acknowledge the support from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MICINN) as part of the BROWNING project RTI2018-099894-B-I00 and NUTRIENT project CGL2017-88911-R and the support from the Agencia Estatal de Investigacion (AEI) as part of the VITALISE project (PID2019-108086RA-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033). Carlos Pérez García-Pando acknowledges the long-term support from the AXA Research Fund, as well as the support received through the Ramón y Cajal programme (Grant RYC-2015-18690) of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

We present a coupled macroscopic traffic and emission modelling system tailored to the Barcelona metropolitan area that allows estimating hourly road transport emissions at road link level. We use the developed system to perform an emission sensitivity analysis of typically high uncertainty emission features and assess their impact. We also explore the uncertainties of our system compared to a microscopic approach in a representative area of Barcelona. The developed macroscopic system shows a high sensitivity to spatially-resolved vehicle fleet composition inputs, meteorological effects on diesel engines (19% in NO) and non-exhaust sources (80% of total PM emissions). The comparison with the microscopic system shows that discrepancies grow as a function of the congestion level, up to 65% in NO. The resulting coupled system will be used in further steps of the research to evaluate the impact of traffic management strategies upon urban emissions and air quality levels in Barcelona., Daniel Rodriguez-Rey’s PhD work is funded by grant BES-2016-078116 from the FPI program by the Spanish Ministry of Economyand Competitiveness. The authors acknowledge CARNET-The Future Mobility Research HUB to allow the usage and work onthe BCN-VML network, as well as PTV VISUM for the traffic software licence. The authors also acknowledge the support fromthe Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MICINN) as part of the BROWNING project RTI2018-099894-B-I00 andNUTRIENT project CGL2017-88911-R and the support from the Agencia Estatal de Investigacion (AEI) as part of the VITALISEproject (PID2019-108086RA-I00/AEI / 10.13039/501100011033). Carlos Pérez García-Pando acknowledges the long-term supportfrom the AXA Chair in Sand and Dust Storms (AXA Research Fund), as well as the support received through the Ramón y Cajalprogramme (grant RYC-2015-18690) of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

Highlights • There is direct and indirect evidence for hydrate occurrence in several areas around Europe. • Hydrate is particularly widespread offshore Norway and Svalbard and in the Black Sea. • Hydrate occurrence often coincides with conventional thermogenic hydrocarbon provinces. • The regional abundance of hydrate in Europe is poorly known. Abstract Large national programs in the United States and several Asian countries have defined and characterised their marine methane hydrate occurrences in some detail, but European hydrate occurrence has received less attention. The European Union-funded project “Marine gas hydrate – an indigenous resource of natural gas for Europe” (MIGRATE) aimed to determine the European potential inventory of exploitable gas hydrate, to assess current technologies for their production, and to evaluate the associated risks. We present a synthesis of results from a MIGRATE working group that focused on the definition and assessment of hydrate in Europe. Our review includes the western and eastern margins of Greenland, the Barents Sea and onshore and offshore Svalbard, the Atlantic margin of Europe, extending south to the northwestern margin of Morocco, the Mediterranean Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the western and southern margins of the Black Sea. We have not attempted to cover the high Arctic, the Russian, Ukrainian and Georgian sectors of the Black Sea, or overseas territories of European nations. Following a formalised process, we defined a range of indicators of hydrate presence based on geophysical, geochemical and geological data. Our study was framed by the constraint of the hydrate stability field in European seas. Direct hydrate indicators included sampling of hydrate; the presence of bottom simulating reflectors in seismic reflection profiles; gas seepage into the ocean; and chlorinity anomalies in sediment cores. Indirect indicators included geophysical survey evidence for seismic velocity and/or resistivity anomalies, seismic

Large national programs in the United States and several Asian countries have defined and characterised their marine methane hydrate occurrences in some detail, but European hydrate occurrence has received less attention. The European Union-funded project “Marine gas hydrate – an indigenous resource of natural gas for Europe” (MIGRATE) aimed to determine the European potential inventory of exploitable gas hydrate, to assess current technologies for their production, and to evaluate the associated risks. We present a synthesis of results from a MIGRATE working group that focused on the definition and assessment of hydrate in Europe. Our review includes the western and eastern margins of Greenland, the Barents Sea and onshore and offshore Svalbard, the Atlantic margin of Europe, extending south to the northwestern margin of Morocco, the Mediterranean Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the western and southern margins of the Black Sea. We have not attempted to cover the high Arctic, the Russian, Ukrainian and Georgian sectors of the Black Sea, or overseas territories of European nations. Following a formalised process, we defined a range of indicators of hydrate presence based on geophysical, geochemical and geological data. Our study was framed by the constraint of the hydrate stability field in European seas. Direct hydrate indicators included sampling of hydrate; the presence of bottom simulating reflectors in seismic reflection profiles; gas seepage into the ocean; and chlorinity anomalies in sediment cores. Indirect indicators included geophysical survey evidence for seismic velocity and/or resistivity anomalies, seismic reflectivity anomalies or subsurface gas escape structures; various seabed features associated with gas escape, and the presence of an underlying conventional petroleum system. We used these indicators to develop a database of hydrate occurrence across Europe. We identified a series of regions where there is substantial evidence for hydrate occurrenc

Air pollution remains as a key unresolved problem in many urban areas. Cities with such problem are gradually implementing Traffic Management Strategies (TMS) to reduce the total kilometers travelled by vehicles and subsequently decrease emissions. However, a prior evaluation of such TMS is needed if the target goals want to be achieved. In this sense, the combination of traffic simulation with emissions and air quality models can be of great use to assess the potential impacts of such policies. This study presents an integrated modelling system tool for Barcelona that allows to estimate the changes induced by the implementation of TMS on traffic activity, emissions and air quality levels at a very spatial (street level) and temporal (hourly level) resolution.

Highlights • There is direct and indirect evidence for hydrate occurrence in several areas around Europe. • Hydrate is particularly widespread offshore Norway and Svalbard and in the Black Sea. • Hydrate occurrence often coincides with conventional thermogenic hydrocarbon provinces. • The regional abundance of hydrate in Europe is poorly known. Abstract Large national programs in the United States and several Asian countries have defined and characterised their marine methane hydrate occurrences in some detail, but European hydrate occurrence has received less attention. The European Union-funded project “Marine gas hydrate – an indigenous resource of natural gas for Europe” (MIGRATE) aimed to determine the European potential inventory of exploitable gas hydrate, to assess current technologies for their production, and to evaluate the associated risks. We present a synthesis of results from a MIGRATE working group that focused on the definition and assessment of hydrate in Europe. Our review includes the western and eastern margins of Greenland, the Barents Sea and onshore and offshore Svalbard, the Atlantic margin of Europe, extending south to the northwestern margin of Morocco, the Mediterranean Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the western and southern margins of the Black Sea. We have not attempted to cover the high Arctic, the Russian, Ukrainian and Georgian sectors of the Black Sea, or overseas territories of European nations. Following a formalised process, we defined a range of indicators of hydrate presence based on geophysical, geochemical and geological data. Our study was framed by the constraint of the hydrate stability field in European seas. Direct hydrate indicators included sampling of hydrate; the presence of bottom simulating reflectors in seismic reflection profiles; gas seepage into the ocean; and chlorinity anomalies in sediment cores. Indirect indicators included geophysical survey evidence for seismic velocity and/or resistivity anomalies, seismic

Highlights • There is direct and indirect evidence for hydrate occurrence in several areas around Europe. • Hydrate is particularly widespread offshore Norway and Svalbard and in the Black Sea. • Hydrate occurrence often coincides with conventional thermogenic hydrocarbon provinces. • The regional abundance of hydrate in Europe is poorly known. Abstract Large national programs in the United States and several Asian countries have defined and characterised their marine methane hydrate occurrences in some detail, but European hydrate occurrence has received less attention. The European Union-funded project “Marine gas hydrate – an indigenous resource of natural gas for Europe” (MIGRATE) aimed to determine the European potential inventory of exploitable gas hydrate, to assess current technologies for their production, and to evaluate the associated risks. We present a synthesis of results from a MIGRATE working group that focused on the definition and assessment of hydrate in Europe. Our review includes the western and eastern margins of Greenland, the Barents Sea and onshore and offshore Svalbard, the Atlantic margin of Europe, extending south to the northwestern margin of Morocco, the Mediterranean Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the western and southern margins of the Black Sea. We have not attempted to cover the high Arctic, the Russian, Ukrainian and Georgian sectors of the Black Sea, or overseas territories of European nations. Following a formalised process, we defined a range of indicators of hydrate presence based on geophysical, geochemical and geological data. Our study was framed by the constraint of the hydrate stability field in European seas. Direct hydrate indicators included sampling of hydrate; the presence of bottom simulating reflectors in seismic reflection profiles; gas seepage into the ocean; and chlorinity anomalies in sediment cores. Indirect indicators included geophysical survey evidence for seismic velocity and/or resistivity anomalies, seismic

Observation, estimation and prediction are universal challenges that become especially difficult when the system under consideration is dynamical and chaotic. Chaos injects dynamical noise into the estimation process that must be suppressed to satisfy the necessary conditions for success: namely, synchronization of the estimate and the observed data. The ability to control the growth of errors is constrained by the spatiotemporal resolution of the observations, and often exhibits critical thresholds below which the probability of success becomes effectively zero. This thesis examines the connections between these limits and basic issues of complexity, conditioning, and instability in the observation and forecast models. The results suggest several new ideas to improve the collaborative design of combined observation, analysis, and forecast systems. Among these, the most notable is perhaps the fundamental role that symplectic structure plays in the remarkable observational efficiency of Kalman-based estimation methods.

Observation, estimation and prediction are universal challenges that become especially difficult when the system under consideration is dynamical and chaotic. Chaos injects dynamical noise into the estimation process that must be suppressed to satisfy the necessary conditions for success: namely, synchronization of the estimate and the observed data. The ability to control the growth of errors is constrained by the spatiotemporal resolution of the observations, and often exhibits critical thresholds below which the probability of success becomes effectively zero. This thesis examines the connections between these limits and basic issues of complexity, conditioning, and instability in the observation and forecast models. The results suggest several new ideas to improve the collaborative design of combined observation, analysis, and forecast systems. Among these, the most notable is perhaps the fundamental role that symplectic structure plays in the remarkable observational efficiency of Kalman-based estimation methods.

​This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsami.9b04991, A variety of experiments on vacuum-deposited methylammonium lead iodide perovskite solar cells are presented, including JV curves with different scan rates, light intensity-dependent open-circuit voltage, impedance spectra, intensity-modulated photocurrent spectra, transient photocurrents, and transient voltage step responses. All these experimental data sets are successfully reproduced by a charge drift-diffusion simulation model incorporating mobile ions and charge traps using a single set of parameters. While previous modeling studies focused on a single experimental technique, we combine steady-state, transient, and frequency-domain simulations and measurements. Our study is an important step toward quantitative simulation of perovskite solar cells, leading to a deeper understanding of the physical effects in these materials. The analysis of the transient current upon voltage turn-on in the dark reveals that the charge injection properties of the interfaces are triggered by the accumulation of mobile ionic defects. We show that the current rise of voltage step experiments allow for conclusions about the recombination at the interface. Whether one or two mobile ionic species are used in the model has only a minor influence on the observed effects. A delayed current rise observed upon reversing the bias from +3 to -3 V in the dark cannot be reproduced yet by our drift-diffusion model. We speculate that a reversible chemical reaction of mobile ions with the contact material may be the cause of this effect, thus requiring a future model extension. A parameter variation is performed in order to understand the performance-limiting factors of the device under investigation.

Large national programs in the United States and several Asian countries have defined and characterised their marine methane hydrate occurrences in some detail, but European hydrate occurrence has received less attention. The European Union-funded project “Marine gas hydrate – an indigenous resource of natural gas for Europe” (MIGRATE) aimed to determine the European potential inventory of exploitable gas hydrate, to assess current technologies for their production, and to evaluate the associated risks. We present a synthesis of results from a MIGRATE working group that focused on the definition and assessment of hydrate in Europe. Our review includes the western and eastern margins of Greenland, the Barents Sea and onshore and offshore Svalbard, the Atlantic margin of Europe, extending south to the northwestern margin of Morocco, the Mediterranean Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the western and southern margins of the Black Sea. We have not attempted to cover the high Arctic, the Russian, Ukrainian and Georgian sectors of the Black Sea, or overseas territories of European nations. Following a formalised process, we defined a range of indicators of hydrate presence based on geophysical, geochemical and geological data. Our study was framed by the constraint of the hydrate stability field in European seas. Direct hydrate indicators included sampling of hydrate; the presence of bottom simulating reflectors in seismic reflection profiles; gas seepage into the ocean; and chlorinity anomalies in sediment cores. Indirect indicators included geophysical survey evidence for seismic velocity and/or resistivity anomalies, seismic reflectivity anomalies or subsurface gas escape structures; various seabed features associated with gas escape, and the presence of an underlying conventional petroleum system. We used these indicators to develop a database of hydrate occurrence across Europe. We identified a series of regions where there is substantial evidence for hydrate occurrence (

​This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsami.9b04991, A variety of experiments on vacuum-deposited methylammonium lead iodide perovskite solar cells are presented, including JV curves with different scan rates, light intensity-dependent open-circuit voltage, impedance spectra, intensity-modulated photocurrent spectra, transient photocurrents, and transient voltage step responses. All these experimental data sets are successfully reproduced by a charge drift-diffusion simulation model incorporating mobile ions and charge traps using a single set of parameters. While previous modeling studies focused on a single experimental technique, we combine steady-state, transient, and frequency-domain simulations and measurements. Our study is an important step toward quantitative simulation of perovskite solar cells, leading to a deeper understanding of the physical effects in these materials. The analysis of the transient current upon voltage turn-on in the dark reveals that the charge injection properties of the interfaces are triggered by the accumulation of mobile ionic defects. We show that the current rise of voltage step experiments allow for conclusions about the recombination at the interface. Whether one or two mobile ionic species are used in the model has only a minor influence on the observed effects. A delayed current rise observed upon reversing the bias from +3 to -3 V in the dark cannot be reproduced yet by our drift-diffusion model. We speculate that a reversible chemical reaction of mobile ions with the contact material may be the cause of this effect, thus requiring a future model extension. A parameter variation is performed in order to understand the performance-limiting factors of the device under investigation.

Large national programs in the United States and several Asian countries have defined and characterised their marine methane hydrate occurrences in some detail, but European hydrate occurrence has received less attention. The European Union-funded project “Marine gas hydrate – an indigenous resource of natural gas for Europe” (MIGRATE) aimed to determine the European potential inventory of exploitable gas hydrate, to assess current technologies for their production, and to evaluate the associated risks. We present a synthesis of results from a MIGRATE working group that focused on the definition and assessment of hydrate in Europe. Our review includes the western and eastern margins of Greenland, the Barents Sea and onshore and offshore Svalbard, the Atlantic margin of Europe, extending south to the northwestern margin of Morocco, the Mediterranean Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the western and southern margins of the Black Sea. We have not attempted to cover the high Arctic, the Russian, Ukrainian and Georgian sectors of the Black Sea, or overseas territories of European nations. Following a formalised process, we defined a range of indicators of hydrate presence based on geophysical, geochemical and geological data. Our study was framed by the constraint of the hydrate stability field in European seas. Direct hydrate indicators included sampling of hydrate; the presence of bottom simulating reflectors in seismic reflection profiles; gas seepage into the ocean; and chlorinity anomalies in sediment cores. Indirect indicators included geophysical survey evidence for seismic velocity and/or resistivity anomalies, seismic reflectivity anomalies or subsurface gas escape structures; various seabed features associated with gas escape, and the presence of an underlying conventional petroleum system. We used these indicators to develop a database of hydrate occurrence across Europe. We identified a series of regions where there is substantial evidence for hydrate occurrence (

A variety of experiments on vacuum-deposited methylammonium lead iodide perovskite solar cells are presented, including JV curves with different scan rates, light intensity-dependent open-circuit voltage, impedance spectra, intensity-modulated photocurrent spectra, transient photocurrents, and transient voltage step responses. All these experimental data sets are successfully reproduced by a charge drift-diffusion simulation model incorporating mobile ions and charge traps using a single set of parameters. While previous modeling studies focused on a single experimental technique, we combine steady-state, transient, and frequency-domain simulations and measurements. Our study is an important step toward quantitative simulation of perovskite solar cells, leading to a deeper understanding of the physical effects in these materials. The analysis of the transient current upon voltage turn-on in the dark reveals that the charge injection properties of the interfaces are triggered by the accumulation of mobile ionic defects. We show that the current rise of voltage step experiments allow for conclusions about the recombination at the interface. Whether one or two mobile ionic species are used in the model has only a minor influence on the observed effects. A delayed current rise observed upon reversing the bias from +3 to -3 V in the dark cannot be reproduced yet by our drift-diffusion model. We speculate that a reversible chemical reaction of mobile ions with the contact material may be the cause of this effect, thus requiring a future model extension. A parameter variation is performed in order to understand the performance-limiting factors of the device under investigation.

The constant increase in the price of the electricity bill and the decrease in the prices of photovoltaic modules makes self-consumption of electricity from solar panels increasingly feasible and attractive to the consumer. Despite this, it is also necessary to take into account several aspects that can be problematic when installing a photovoltaic system, such as the cost of the initial investment, the need to store the energy that is not consumed or the geographical area in which the installation is located. In order to make an analysis of economic viability as real as possible, it is important to have real-time power consumption data, and that is why one of the pillars of the project is the development of a device that allows us to track the electricity consumption of a home with samples every second., El constante aumento del precio de la factura de la luz y el descenso de los precios de los módulos fotovoltaicos hace que el autoconsumo eléctrico a partir de placas solares sea cada vez más factible y atractivo para el consumidor. A pesar de esto, también hay que tener en cuenta varios aspectos que pueden resultar problemáticos a la hora de instalar un sistema fotovoltaico, como el coste de la inversión inicial, la necesidad de almacenar la energía que no se consume o la zona geográfica en la que se encuentre la instalación. Para conseguir hacer un análisis de la viabilidad económica lo más real posible es importante contar con datos de consumo de potencia a tiempo real, y es por ello que uno de los pilares del proyecto es el desarrollo de un dispositivo que nos permita consultar el consumo eléctrico de un hogar con muestras cada segundo., El constant augment del preu de la factura de la llum i la baixada dels preus dels mòduls fotovoltaics fa que l'autoconsum elèctric a partir de plaques solars sigui cada vegada més factible i atractiu per al consumidor. Malgrat això, també s'ha de tenir en compte alguns aspectes que poden resultar problemàtics a l'hora d'instal·lar un sistema fotovoltaic, com el cost de la inversió inicial, la necessitat d'emmagatzemar l'energia que no es consumeix i la zona geogràfica en la qual es trobi la instal·lació. Per aconseguir fer un anàlisi de la viabilitat econòmica lo més real possible és important comptar amb dades de consum de potència a temps real, i es per això que un dels pilars del projecte és el desenvolupament d'un dispositiu que ens permeti consultar el consum elèctric d'una llar amb mostres cada segon.

This study aims to compare and contrast the emission results of two instantaneous traffic emission models coupled with a microscopic traffic simulator and COPERT. These will be evaluated with the observed results of on-road measurements done by RSD (Remote Sensing Device) on real driving vehicles in Barcelona. This is done by the comparison of the traffic emission model Panis 2006 which is already integrated into the traffic simulator AIMSUN, and the coupling of AIMSUN to an up to date vehicle emission model, PHEMlight. The studys goal is to assess the divergence between the observed results of the RSD measurements performed at street level, and the modelled emission results in order to evaluate the representativeness of the emission factors applied.

Paulo Freire (1921-1997) fue uno de los grandes pedagogos del siglo XX. Dio a conocer su principio del diálogo y mostró un nuevo camino para la relación entre profesores y alumnos, un camino muy distinto al que se conoce en la actualidad. Sus ideas influencian a día de hoy procesos democráticos en todo el mundo. Se denomino como el pedagogo de los oprimidos y en sus obras transmitió la pedagogía de la esperanza. Intervino en las nuevas ideas liberadoras en América Latina y en la ciencia de la liberación, en el cambio de las pedagogías europeas y africanas, y su figura es clave en la política liberadora y en la educación. Fue emigrante y exiliado a causa de defender sus ideas y por razones políticas mientras se vivían dictaduras., Grado en Educación Social

Paulo Freire (1921-1997) fue uno de los grandes pedagogos del siglo XX. Dio a conocer su principio del diálogo y mostró un nuevo camino para la relación entre profesores y alumnos, un camino muy distinto al que se conoce en la actualidad. Sus ideas influencian a día de hoy procesos democráticos en todo el mundo. Se denomino como el pedagogo de los oprimidos y en sus obras transmitió la pedagogía de la esperanza. Intervino en las nuevas ideas liberadoras en América Latina y en la ciencia de la liberación, en el cambio de las pedagogías europeas y africanas, y su figura es clave en la política liberadora y en la educación. Fue emigrante y exiliado a causa de defender sus ideas y por razones políticas mientras se vivían dictaduras., Grado en Educación Social

Paulo Freire (1921-1997) fue uno de los grandes pedagogos del siglo XX. Dio a conocer su principio del diálogo y mostró un nuevo camino para la relación entre profesores y alumnos, un camino muy distinto al que se conoce en la actualidad. Sus ideas influencian a día de hoy procesos democráticos en todo el mundo. Se denomino como el pedagogo de los oprimidos y en sus obras transmitió la pedagogía de la esperanza. Intervino en las nuevas ideas liberadoras en América Latina y en la ciencia de la liberación, en el cambio de las pedagogías europeas y africanas, y su figura es clave en la política liberadora y en la educación. Fue emigrante y exiliado a causa de defender sus ideas y por razones políticas mientras se vivían dictaduras., Grado en Educación Social

En este proyecto se realiza la identificación paramétrica de diferentes sistemas, utilizando Matlab y su Toolbox de Identificación de sistemas. Para realizar dicha identificación, primero se diseña y se construye un generador de secuencia binaria pseudo aleatoria, SBSA (en inglés Pseudo Random Binary Sequence, PRBS), compatible con la entrada de consigna remota del regulador digital OMRON E5AK (entrada de corriente de rango de 4 mA a 20 mA). Este regulador industrial, junto a su software SYS_Config, se utilizan para realizar la adquisición de los datos de entrada y de salida del proceso a identificar. Para poder realizar el muestreo de datos, el regulador junto al sistema a identificar forman un sistema en lazo cerrado, donde el regulador únicamente tiene ganancia proporcional, y la salida del sistema a identificar se lleva a una entrada para sensores de dicho regulador, donde se compara con la señal PRBS presente en la entrada de consigna remota. Los datos de entrada corresponden a la señal PRBS, y los de salida, a la salida del sistema a identificar, y una vez adquiridos, la primera mitad de ellos se utiliza para la identificación de dicho sistema, y la otra mitad para validar el modelo obtenido. Una vez realizada la identificación, se observa que los modelos obtenidos tienen un comportamiento parecido al del sistema real, dentro de un rango de frecuencias, llegando a la conclusión de que los datos adquiridos del sistema tienen un papel importante en la identificación.

This thesis describes the process of analysis and implementation of a SW solution, based on a low cost HW, to automate routes in building cleaning operatives using UAVs. In the first part of the thesis there is a review of the different options available in the market, both HW and SW, for the autonomous flight of UAVs. In the second part it is described the design and implementation of a software solution that allows performing an autonomous flight all along the surface to be cleaned. At the end, there are described all the tests that have been carried out to prove the correct performing of the software., Este trabajo recoge el proceso de análisis e implementación de un software (SW), basado en hardware (HW) de bajo coste, para la automatización de rutas para la limpieza de edificios con UAVs. En una primera parte se recoge el estudio de las opciones disponibles en el mercado para el vuelo autónomo de UAVs, así como el estado del arte actual de la limpieza de edificios. En una segunda parte se recoge el diseño e implementación de un software que permite recorrer la zona a limpiar de forma totalmente autónoma, con las consiguientes pruebas para demostrar su correcto funcionamiento., Aquest treball recull el procés d’anàlisi i implementació d’un SW, basat en un HW de baix cost, per a l’automatització de rutes per a la neteja d’edificis amb UAVs. En una primera part es recull l’estudi de les opcions disponibles al mercat, tant de SW com de HW per al vol autònom de UAVs, així com l’estat de l’art de les metodologies de neteja d’edificis. En una segona part es recull el disseny i implementació d’una solució software que permet recórrer la zona a netejar de forma autònoma, amb les corresponents proves per demostrar el seu correcte funcionament.

Paulo Freire (1921-1997) fue uno de los grandes pedagogos del siglo XX. Dio a conocer su principio del diálogo y mostró un nuevo camino para la relación entre profesores y alumnos, un camino muy distinto al que se conoce en la actualidad. Sus ideas influencian a día de hoy procesos democráticos en todo el mundo. Se denomino como el pedagogo de los oprimidos y en sus obras transmitió la pedagogía de la esperanza. Intervino en las nuevas ideas liberadoras en América Latina y en la ciencia de la liberación, en el cambio de las pedagogías europeas y africanas, y su figura es clave en la política liberadora y en la educación. Fue emigrante y exiliado a causa de defender sus ideas y por razones políticas mientras se vivían dictaduras., Grado en Educación Social

INNDAGA is a multipurpose platform for conducting oceanographic surveys in coastal areas developed on an 8.5 m long inflatable boat. This concept allows the vessel to operate safely and with great manoeuvring flexibility in areas where larger research vessels cannot access (rocky areas, port ...) at low operational cost. Is fully integrated in an information management system to providing efficiency and effectiveness of strategic decision making., Peer Reviewed

During the last century there has been a growing concern about water pollution throughout the developed countries. Water has a major impact on the environment as it is used by all living being. This leads to leave the wastewater used with an acceptable quality for its next destination. Fortunately, national and international water quality agreements and laws have pushed development of wastewater treatment technology that nowadays allows us to return the used water to the environment in good conditions. Nevertheless, more modern and simpler technologies should be researched in order to make wastewater treatment a process reachable all around the world within the minimum environmental impact and minimizing waste. This thesis researches one of the technologies with more future in this field; the Fenton process, a reaction that belongs to the Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs). The aim of this thesis is to optimise the Fenton reaction. This has been done by testing different catalysts, concentration of chemicals, and operational conditions. In this context, the experiments performed in the frame of this study have explored: - The feasibility of the iron/iron oxide catalyst. - The optimum reactive conditions for the heterogeneous Fenton process; the reaction pH, concentration of the H2O2 and temperature. - The optimal preparation of the catalyst in terms of its level of oxidation and Its potentials or limitations in applied Fenton process. Towards the checking of these parameters the experiments were conducted using propionic acid (PA) as a model of organic substance with nine different iron oxide catalysts in order to simulate a wastewater sample under the Fenton’s reaction and with a regular checking of the amount of total organic carbon (TOC) with time. Obtained results showed good process efficiency near to 50% of TOC removal, working at a smoothly acid pH and without remarkable iron leaching at 60 ºC and an excess of H2O2.

GALINCLIMARCH - Galicia Internal Basin Paleoclimatic Sedimentary Archives: Transport, Provenances, Hydrology and Reliability. The sediments of the Galician Interior Basin realm are capable of recording the peculiar conditions of the last glacial‐interglacial dynamics transition into the current interglacial and their evolution into present day, as they are influenced by the Thermohaline Circulation (THC) and because their proximity to the important continental land‐mass of western Iberia. The knowledge of the rates and magnitudes of change of this system is critical to understand its climate dynamics, processes and feedbacks, and hence its role on a local to sub‐regional scale. The inference of these climatic mechanisms encrypted in the deep‐sea sedimentary record needs to constrain the spatial and temporal scales of the sedimentary processes involved, in particular the identification of source areas, pathways and transport, storage times and hydrodynamic conditions. To adequately assess these encrypted sedimentary archives it is instrumental to identify the sedimentary expression of the main processes and forcements involved and accurately determine the spatial and temporal scales, rates and magnitudes of the processes and feedbacks that generate these records. This proposal aims to carry out a high‐resolution reconstruction of the transport time,provenance, sediment fluxes, wave climate, bottom‐current variability and post‐depositional alteration in a number of surficial samples and cores from the Galician Interior Basin. This project will provide a first insight into the relation between the last North Atlantic climate oscillation and the local regional components including abrupt climate changes (i.e. H events) and local events since the end of the last glacial period from a paleoclimatic proxies perspective. We will use a twofold approach by first constraining the current sedimentary conditions to their associated local wave climate and North Atlantic regional

To study the climatic changes that have taken place in the last 50,000 years o o objection of the oceanographic campaign Galinclimarch. The sediments of the Galician Interior Basin realm are capable of recording the peculiar conditions of the last glacial‐interglacial dynamics transition into the current interglacial and their evolution into present day, as they are influenced by the Thermohaline Circulation (THC) and because their proximity to the important continental land‐mass of western Iberia. The knowledge of the rates and magnitudes of change of this system is critical to understand its climate dynamics, processes and feedbacks, and hence its role on a local to sub‐regional scale. The inference of these climatic mechanisms encrypted in the deep‐sea sedimentary record needs to constrain the spatial and temporal scales of the sedimentary processes involved, in particular the identification of source areas, pathways and transport, storage times and hydrodynamic conditions. To adequately assess these encrypted sedimentary archives it is instrumental to identify the sedimentary expression of the main processes and forcements involved and accurately determine the spatial and temporal scales, rates and magnitudes of the processes and feedbacks that generate these records. This proposal aims to carry out a high‐resolution reconstruction of the transport time,provenance, sediment fluxes, wave climate, bottom‐current variability and post‐depositional alteration in a number of surficial samples and cores from the Galician Interior Basin. This project will provide a first insight into the relation between the last North Atlantic climate oscillation and the local regional components including abrupt climate changes (i.e. H events) and local events since the end of the last glacial period from a paleoclimatic proxies perspective. We will use a twofold approach by first constraining the current sedimentary conditions to their associated local wave climate and North Atlantic

Early diagenetic modification of magnetic properties is an important process in marine sediments, but temporal and spatial variability of diagenetic processes have rarely been reported for recent coastal sediments. The magnetic properties of sediments from the Ria de Vigo (NW Spain) define a marked three-part zonation with depth. The uppermost zone is magnetically dominated by (titano-)magnetite. In the intermediate zone, rapid down-core dissolution of (titano-)magnetite increases the relative influence of high-coercivity magnetic minerals, which react more slowly during reductive dissolution than (titano-)magnetite. This zone is characterized by the ubiquitous occurrence of framboidal iron sulphides. Pyrite is the dominant iron sulphide, but framboidal ferrimagnetic greigite is also frequently observed in association with pyrite. The lowermost zone is characterized by an almost complete depletion of magnetic minerals associated with progressive reduction of detrital iron oxides with depth. This zonation is controlled by organic matter diagenesis, which varies with water depth and wave-induced sediment resuspension and organic matter reoxidation in the water column. This leads to a shallowing and thinning of each zone with more intense reductive diagenesis toward the interior of the ria. Such a zonation seems to be a common feature in shallow water marine environments. If preserved, the described zonation and its spatial variability provide a potential tool for detecting estuarine-like environments in the geological record. Magnetic detection of current or past reductive conditions also has important implications for assessing paleoenvironmental proxies that are sensitive to diagenetic redox state.

Geophysical survey in the Western continental Galicia margin in the scope of a research project to investigate a giant pockmark discovered in this margin, known as the Gran Burato. Sediment sampling (Piston corer ) , seafloor sampling (Bou de Varas) and Rovexploration (with articulated arm to take samples)

Geophysical survey in the Western continental Galicia margin in the scope of a research project to investigate a giant pockmark discovered in this margin, known as the Gran Burato. ROV exploration (with articulated arm to take samples) , geological (piston, box and multicorer) and biological sampling (bou the varas) of the Gran Burato area. General benthos and seafloor

Geological (piston, box and multicorer) and biological sampling (bou de varas) of the Gran Burato area. General benthos and seafloor. Hydrates preservation

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2010. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Quaternary Research 73 (2010): 507-520, doi:10.1016/j.yqres.2010.02.003., Integrated analyses of magnetic, geochemical and textural data on six cores from the northwestern Iberian continental shelf allowed the reconstruction of the paleoenvironmental evolution of this area since the last glacial maximum (LGM). Four sedimentary units were identified, representing a succession from fluvial and subaerial settings to high and finally low-energy marine deposits subsequent to the post-LGM sea evel rise. The uppermost unit was deposited during the Holocene and its magnetic properties were controlled by the interplay between detrital input and early diagenetic reductive dissolution of magnetic minerals. Identification of a primary steady-state early diagenetic signal allowed the recognition of periods of increased detrital input bounded by intervals of lower detrital input and intensified reductive diagenesis related related to upwelling intensifications in the area. These paleoenvironmental alternations are consistent with the climatic evolution of the late Holocene. During the Roman Warm Period (RWP) and Medieval Warm Period (MWP), the combined effect of greater humidity and intense agricultural and mining activities led to a greater erosion and transport of detrital sediments to the shelf. In contrast, enhanced diagenetic reduction intervals, caused by upwelling intensification, were roughly coincident with the colder Dark Ages (DA) and the Little Ice Age (LIA)., Contribution to projects CTM2007-61227/MAR and REN2003-02822 funded by the Spanish MICINN. Partial contribution to projects PGIDIT06TAM31201PR and IN825B funded by Xunta de Galicia and NACSA 236962 and ANCORIM funded by the EU. The EU Paleostudies program funded the stay of Kais J. Mohamed in Bremen. K. J. Mohamed wishes to acknowledge joint funding from the Fulbright Program and the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science and the Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowships within the 7th European Community Framework Programme.

Integrated analyses of magnetic, geochemical and textural data on six cores from the northwestern Iberian continental shelf allowed the reconstruction of the paleoenvironmental evolution of this area since the last glacial maximum (LGM). Four sedimentary units were identified, representing a succession from fluvial and subaerial settings to high and finally low-energy marine deposits subsequent to the post-LGM sea evel rise. The uppermost unit was deposited during the Holocene and its magnetic properties were controlled by the interplay between detrital input and early diagenetic reductive dissolution of magnetic minerals. Identification of a primary steady-state early diagenetic signal allowed the recognition of periods of increased detrital input bounded by intervals of lower detrital input and intensified reductive diagenesis related related to upwelling intensifications in the area. These paleoenvironmental alternations are consistent with the climatic evolution of the late Holocene. During the Roman Warm Period (RWP) and Medieval Warm Period (MWP), the combined effect of greater humidity and intense agricultural and mining activities led to a greater erosion and transport of detrital sediments to the shelf. In contrast, enhanced diagenetic reduction intervals, caused by upwelling intensification, were roughly coincident with the colder Dark Ages (DA) and the Little Ice Age (LIA).

Geophysical survey in the Western continental Galicia margin in the scope of a research project to investigate a giant pockmark discovered in this margin, known as the Gran Burato. The characteristic fauna of the area has also been studied

Study the paleoclimate of the last 30,000 years as a formula to understand the climatic conditions of today. MARBANGA cruise its whitin the proyect TOPOSED PROX Climatic forcings, tectonic controls and land-sea connections in the evolution of the Pleistocene and Holocene sedimentary record of the West Bank of the Bank of Galicia: magnetochemical proxies

Five main Pleistocene–Holocene lithofacies are defined in three different sedimentary environments (fault scarp, sedimentary lobe and inter-lobe channel) of the SW Galicia Bank: (1) turbidites (biogenous and terrigenous), (2) hemipelagites, (3) pelagites, (4) debrites, and (5) Heinrich sediments. In the sedimentary lobe and inter-lobe channel, the stratigraphic record consists mainly of turbidites interbedded with debrites and Heinrich sediments and hemipelagites that are covered by hemipelagites or pelagites. In the fault scarp, the stratigraphy comprises hemipelagites and turbidites covered by pelagites. Frequency of turbidite events has varied between 1/1.2 ka and 1/3.1 ka, since 31.3 ka BP. At least four turbidite events (1 to 4) between 9.1 and 31.3 ka BP, have been correlated between the different sedimentary environments. The downslope of turbidity flows prevailed until 9.1 ka; after which, vertical settling and slow lateral advection have controlled sedimentation. The source area of turbidites and debrites is the fault scarp. Erosion of the slope near-surface pelagites/hemipelagites and ancient outcropping deposits could explain the presence of biogenous turbidites and terrigenous turbidites respectively. The rhythmic development of turbidites interrupted by hemipelagites could represent the manifestation of different pulses of sedimentary instability induced by a combination of oversteepening (up to 29°) and occurrence of earthquakes

U-channel-based high-resolution magnetic and geochemical measurements supported by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and fluorescence, and grain-size analyses of discrete samples were carried out on six sediment cores recovered from the SW flank of the Galicia Bank, at the Prestige's wreck area. Five magnetochemical facies, reflecting the different sedimentary environments (i.e. hemipelagic, contouritic, turbiditic), sediment provenances and early diagenetic redoxomorphic processes (i.e. Mn peaks) are defined on the basis of a cluster analysis. The records showed climatically forced detrital signatures of regional importance, associated with continental slope sedimentary processes. The chronostratigraphy and correlation of the cores is based on 20 14C AMS-dating, recognition of Heinrich like Events H1 to H3 and well-documented Holocene climatic features. From a geochemical and enviromagnetic perspective, the Late Pleistocene to Holocene evolution of the area shows two different sedimentation contexts. MIS 2 is dominated by down-slope depositional processes. The highest sedimentation rates (9.1 cm/ky) were achieved during this interval. The major turbidite activity is recorded between ≈ 31 000 yr BP and ≈ 13 500 yr BP. Successive arrivals of IRD (H1 to H3) are also identified during this period. In contrast, Holocene sedimentation was dominated by a mixture of pelagic, hemipelagic and along-slope depositional processes and presented considerable lower sedimentation rates (3 cm/ky). Bottom-currents intensification at 7000 yr BP and 4500 yr BP coinciding with Late Holocene warm events are also recognised during this stage

This study aims at apprehending the major forcing factors which govern the spatial and vertical Mn and Fe distributions in six cores from the Galician continental margin. Spéciation by chemical leaching experiments in selected cores from the three main morphogenetic units defined by Ercilla et al., 2005 in the study area, helps to understand their chemical behaviour during early diagenesis in this environment. Several sequential extractions protocols were combined in order to assess the distribution bound to amorphous oxyhydroxides, crystalline oxides, carbonates, sulphide and residual phases. The distribution and chemical behaviour of Mn and Fe differ significantly. Low chemical mobility of iron in the sedimentary record is illustrated by relatively uniform depth profiles and an important proportion (76 % , on average) in the residual chemical phase. Conversely, Mn is mostly present in reducible phases and bound to carbonates. The strong dependence of Mn distribution on chemical conditions is expressed by a marked enrichment in the oxic layers of the sediment

In this work we present the mineralógica! and microtextural characterization of near surface sediments recovered from the Prestige sinking area in the SW of the Calida Bank, using backscattered-electron Scanning Electron Microscopy. Such technique allowed us to characterize the mineralogy of the biogenic and terrigenous signals identified in the geochemical records, to detect early diagenetic processes and to describe different depositional processes. The high power of resolution of this technique for the chemical identification turns it into a useful tool for the study of the geochemistry of sediments

A magnetostratigraphic investigation on a Middle-Late Triassic section outcropping at Cuevas de Ayllón (westernmost margin of the Iberían Ranges, Spain) has been performed. The section most1y consists of a thick sequence of interbedded mudstones and sandstones. The age of the sampled formation has been established as Ladinian-Karnian on the basis of palynological assemblages. 123 samples were subjected to a progressive thermal demagnetization up to 680º C. A multicomponent magnetization behaviour has been observed. The characteristic component could be isolated from 575-620º C up to 680º C, in 74 samples showed both polarities and allowed to define a consistent magnetic zonation. The data presented wil1 contribute to the construction of a standard polarity sea/e for the Triassic time span.