Rodolfo Silva

National Autonomous University of Mexico | UNAM · Institute of Engineering

The Brazilian Amazon has one of the largest river networks in the world, connecting riverine communities, many of which have no roadways. The use of high-speed vessels, including those that are locally made, is necessary for the transportation of people to perform their day-to-day activities. However, regional news and social media data have shown...

This study presents the stability and hydrodynamics of the Reef Enhancing Breakwater (REB) based on a physical model study. The REB is an innovative shoreline protection solution that uses interlocking ReefBlocks designed to enhance marine life while ensuring structural stability. Through three physical model testing campaigns conducted in 2020, 20...

This work describes the actions carried out by participants of the Mexican Center for Innovation in Ocean Energy project (CEMIE-Océano) to disseminate their advances and results, to the general public and to the scientific community. The project was set up to assess the energy potential in Mexican coastal areas related to waves, tides and currents,...

Both seasonal and extreme climate conditions are influenced by long-term natural internal variability. However, in general, long-term hazard variation has not been incorporated into coastal risk assessments. There are coastal regions of high interest, such as urban areas, where a large number of people are exposed to hydrometeorological hazards, an...

Water contaminants severely affect human health and aquatic ecosystems, and adsorption poses an economic, available, and feasible technology for remediation that needs to be accompanied by eco-friendly and sustainable materials. This study proposes an eco-friendly strategy for removing emerging contaminants using poly-hydroxyethyl methacrylate poly...

Citation: Martínez, M.L.; Chávez, V.; Silva, R.; Heckel, G.; Garduño-Ruiz, E.P.; Wojtarowski, A.; Vázquez, G.; Pérez-Maqueo, O.; Maximiliano-Cordova, C.; Salgado, K.; et al. Assessing the Potential of Marine Renewable Energy in Mexico: Socioeconomic Needs, Energy Potential, Environmental Concerns, and Social Perception. Sustainability 2024, 16, 705...

The real estate business on sandy coasts and coastal dunes has increased dramatically over the last decades because of the growing demands for leisure activities which, consequently, have yielded important economic gains. Such ravaging exploitation results in the replacement of sandy ecosystems with tourism-oriented settlements, infrastructure, and...

The Baja California peninsula forms the western margin of the Gulf of California (GC) rift system, which is an active tectonic setting manifested by seismicity and numerous geothermal sites. The present study examines the geochemistry of thermal fluids (major ions and gas species, δ18O-δD, δ13C, 3He/4He) from the southern tip of the peninsula (Los...

The co-occurrence of multiple hazards can either exacerbate or mitigate risks. The interrelationships between multiple hazards greatly depend on the spatiotemporal scale and can be difficult to detect from large to local scales. In this paper, we identified coastal regions worldwide where the leading tropical (El Niño-Southern Oscillation, ENSO) an...

A large amount of thermal energy is stored in the oceans between the tropics, available for conversion into electrical energy using OTEC technology. The aim of this study was to determine the annual and seasonal variability of the oceanic thermal resource in Mexico. Using the WOA18 database, we mapped surface temperature at a 10 m depth, deep cold...

Copper selenide nanoparticles (Cu2-x Se NPs) have received a lot of attention in recent decades due to their interesting properties and potential applications in various areas such as electronics, health, solar cells, etc. In this study, details of the synthesis and characterization of copper selenide nanoparticles modified with gum arabic (GA) are...

Este libro se presenta como una herramienta para líderes y tomadores de decisiones comprometidos con el futuro sostenible de la Península de Yucatán. Explora diversos aspectos clave relacionados con la gestión de su zona costera, con el propósito de proporcionar una visión integral que guíe acciones y decisiones futuras. Su principal objetivo es of...

The demand for different energy goods and services is a fundamental component in a country’s economic structure for development. Understanding it is vital in designing economic policies, such as taxes, that can improve the welfare of the population. A comprehension of the distributional effects of elasticities and the application of them to simulat...

This study aims to explore additional fluids beneficial for coastal thermal energy converter (CTEC) operation. Ammonia’s thermodynamic properties, characterized by higher condensation temperatures and pressures, demand significantly elevated operating pressures, resulting in a substantial energy load for efficient operation. Thus, exploring alterna...

Throughout the Caribbean region, coastal areas are of vital importance for national incomes from the tourism industry. However, accelerated coastal development has impacted the coastal ecosystems, including the beaches, and deterioration of the shore results from cumulative impacts on both marine and coastal ecosystems. It is essential to identify...

Although there are constant improvements in wave energy converter (WEC) technology, it is crucial to investigate site-specific sea conditions for optimal power absorption and efficiency. This study compares the efficiency of a floating buoy-type WEC device, with three differently shaped floats: a semi-sphere, a cylinder considered suitable for a lo...

El análisis del bioclima, es importante para evaluar cómo afecta el cambio climático en la condiciones o sensaciones térmicas, y para definir estrategias bioclimáticas, para adecuar o adaptar los edificios, para garantizar la habitabilidad térmica y la mitigación de emisiones de CO2. El objetivo de este libro es presentar los estudios del bioclima...

Damaging and accelerated anthropization in coastal areas, as well as the need to adapt to climate change, means we must concentrate on improving management plans based on the diagnoses provided by coastal studies. Among these studies is the vulnerability assessment, obtained from evaluating a set of variables or indicators, which contribute to sust...

The wave energy converter (WEC) technology constantly develops new designs and models. To encourage its development within the energy sector, research is required to improve current designs and create durable and effective devices. However, it is also crucial to investigate the suitability of a WEC to a site-specific sea condition as this can impac...

Studies on wave and structure interaction are essential to design safe and sustainable marine structures for various applications. Specifically, the occurrence of green water phenomenon in marine structures can result in significant hydrodynamic loads. However, no systematic analyses have been undertaken to assess the loads produced by water intera...

Synthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles using Sargassum extract as a reducing and stabilizing agent is reported. The physicochemical characterization of nanoparticles was carried out by ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The results confirmed the synthesis of nanoparticles with a nanometer crys...

Ocean renewable energies are a promising alternative to meet the growing energy demand. Due to the intense, persistent and relatively constant unidirectional flow, the Cozumel Channel (CC) in the Caribbean Sea is considered one of the most favorable global sites for the potential exploitation of ocean current energy. In this paper we use the Region...

Coastal dune restoration projects are increasingly seen as a means of protecting the coast against storms, especially with the use of natural (plants), artificial (geotextile tube cores) and hybrid (plants and geotextile tube) elements. As geotextile tube cores have been found to negatively affect dune and beach natural morphodynamics, rocky cores...

The installation of wave energy converter (WEC) arrays near the coast can have significant impacts on sediment dynamics and coastal morphodynamics. However, methodologies for quantifying these impacts and strategies to minimize them are still in need of development. In this study, we assessed the coastal response to a WEC array on the La Guajira co...

Quality function deployment (QFD) is now used in various fields, such as product development, design, manufacturing, planning, and quality management services, as a planning tool to achieve customer requirements and needs while improving performance and sustainability concerns. This paper presents a systematic literature review of multi-criteria de...

El proyecto detalla y caracteriza si existen posibles efectos biológicos y oceanográficos teóricos por la implementación y operación de una planta OTEC de 1 MW de generación eléctrica en la zona de Puerto Ángel, Oaxaca, México. Al terminar los análisis, se concluyó que si bien, las pruebas para determinar posibles impactos como contaminación térmic...

Contemporary communities require innovative solutions to cope with projected increases in demand for natural resources. Diversification and modernization of the energy matrix through the affordable and efficient harnessing of marine renewable energies (MRE) are possible means to mitigate the vulnerability of coastal communities and climate change....

The bloom of pelagic Sargassum in the Atlantic Ocean has become increasingly problematic, especially when the algae have beached. A build-up of decaying beached material has damaging effects on coastal ecosystems and tourism industries. While remote sensing offers an effective tool to assess the spatial and temporal patterns of Sargassum over large...

Sargassum fluitans and S. natans (sargasso) are species of brown floating algae. They are found in the Atlantic, concentrated the Sargasso Sea, and also, since 2011, in the Great Altantic Sargassum Belt (Wang et al., 2019). Floating masses of sargasso offer resting, reproduction and feeding areas for many species (some of economic interest), and se...

The latest report of the IPCC-AR6 warned that coastal regions are one of the most vulnerable areas in the current climate emergency. In response, the knowledge concerning projected climatic-impact drivers (total water level, average and extreme waves) is rapidly progressing to reduce future coastal flooding and erosion risks. Climate change also sh...

Coastal ecosystems in tropical areas have a very complex biodiversity where, in a small space, a large number of species is concentrated. The most common tropical ecosystems, coral reefs, seagrass beds, beaches, coastal dunes, coastal lagoons and mangrove forests, are found along the Mexican coast, the target of this analysis. Depending on geologic...

México tiene un extenso litoral y riqueza de ecosistemas costeros. Se presenta una visión general sobre ubicación, superficie y pérdida de arrecifes, pastos marinos, manglares, playas y dunas y humedales costeros de agua dulce. Se realizó una revisión de los programas internacionales con iniciativas para la conservación y manejo de estos ecosistema...

The intensity of climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems is determined by a combination of global, regional, and local drivers. However, many studies on the impact of climate change on ecosystems only consider trends associated with global changes. To assess the global, regional, and local trends, this research analyzes different climates in t...

Located in the center of the largest river basin in the world, the State of Amazonas in Brazil has an extensive network of more than 20 thousand kilometers of navigable waterways, which is the main mode of transportation between localities, both for cargo and passengers. The region is practically disconnected from the rest of the country due to the...

This work describes the characteristics of a device capable of detecting the magnetic field generated by a submerged electrical conductor. This low-cost apparatus is based on the open-source Arduino platform and offers the possibility of monitoring magnetic fields generated by undersea cables. Measuring magnetic fields generated by undersea cables...

Although the Brazilian Amazon is still one of the most well-conserved environments in the world, it contains an extensive network of waterways that are used by a wide range of vessels that transport both people and cargo, as well as undertaking other activities. To plan environmental risk disaster strategies here, the potential effects of technolog...

A broadly accepted paradigm is that vegetation reduces coastal dune erosion. However, we show that during an extreme storm event, vegetation surprisingly accelerates erosion. In 104-m-long beach-dune profile experiments conducted within a flume, we discovered that while vegetation initially creates a physical barrier to wave energy, it also decreas...

Massive influxes of holopelagic Sargassum spp. (Sargassum natans and S. fluitans) have been causing major economic, environmental and ecological problems along the Caribbean coast of Mexico. Predicting the arrival of the sargassum as an aid to addressing these problems is a priority for the government, coastal communities and the society; both miti...

In this work, the influence of the Sargassum natans I alga extract on the morphological characteristics of synthesized ZnO nanostructures, with potential biological and environmental applications, was evaluated. For this purpose, different ZnO geometries were synthesized by the co-precipitation method, using Sargassum natans I alga extract as stabi...

Analysis of the omnidirectional energy spectrum from storm wave measurements provides valuable parameters for understanding the specific local conditions that wave energy converters would have to withstand. Partitioning the energy spectrum also helps to identify wave groups with low directional spread propagating in the directi n of the dominant wa...

The Amazon basin is one of the largest hydrographic systems in the world, possessing a great diversity of natural resources in need of more sustainable water and environmental management. However, as much of what lies beneath the surface of Amazonian waters is still unexplored, underwater exploration technologies are seen as a means of research and...

In this research sustainable refrigerants are tested as filler gases in Transparent Thermal Insulation (TTI) for the first time. These are compared with pig fat, a readily available material with good thermal inertia that is proposed as an organic phase change material (PCM). The aim of this paper is to compare the thermal behaviour of a Hybrid Air...

The numerical performance of a buoy-type wave energy converter (WEC) under regular wave conditions is described in this paper. The open-source computational fluid dynamics software OpenFOAM® was used to couple a grid for the solid body motion of the WEC, with the grid designed for wave propagation, in order to calculate buoy movement parameters. Th...

Establishing a renewable marine energy industry demands the development of high-efficiency devices that capture as much energy as possible. The Blow-Jet is a wave energy converter mainly composed of a sloping conical channel in the shape of a brass tube, which concentrates the waves at its widest part and expels a jet of water at its narrow upper e...

The climate system tends to respond to changes in a gradual way until it crosses some threshold; thereafter, any change defined as abrupt is one where the response is much greater than the change in the perturbing force. Improving resilience to the extreme events caused by climate change has become an important issue, and links between factors such...

A numerical assessment was made of the hydrodynamic performance of a fixed Oscillating Water Column (OWC) device based on a Helmholtz resonator under regular and random wave conditions. The associated boundary value problem (BVP) was solved using the multi-domain three-dimensional boundary element method (BEM). Two configurations of the OWC device...

Holopelagic Sargassum species have bloomed recurrently in the northern tropical Atlantic since 2011, causing socioeconomic and environmental problems. Little is known about their basic biology and responses to the abiotic environment. The aim of this study was to determine how temperature affects the growth rates of the genotypes S. fluitans III, S...

The increase in the magnitude of natural disasters has led to the development of risk assessment methodologies to indicate risk levels in qualitative terms. Among these, the Source-Pathway-Receptor-Consequence (SPRC) methodology assesses the risk from the source of the hazard to the possible consequences. In the present work, an economic evaluation...

AISI 304 SS has good corrosion resistance in a variety of environments but does not have good resistance to wear. Aggressive marine environments require materials that can withstand both the biocorrosion and the wear associated with the impact of waves, ocean currents and suspended particles. Oxy-nitriding of stainless steels can be used to increas...

The majority of experiments on fixed Oscillating Water Column (OWC) systems assume that water waves impact perpendicularly on the front wall of the device. However, this seldom occurs in practice due to wave transformation, which occurs when waves interact with shifting bottom profiles resulting in wave reflection, refraction and shoaling. The wave...

The present work shows the synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles through a green method, using sargassum extracts, which provide the reducing and stabilizing compounds. The conditions of the medium in which the reaction was carried out was evaluated, that is, magnetic stirring, ultrasound assisted, and resting condition. UV-Vis, FTIR spectroscopy, and X-r...

The testing of scale models is crucial if we are to continue the development of wave energy converters. Investigations have examined the interaction of shore-based Oscillating Water Column (OWC) devices with regular water waves that impact the device perpendicularly in flumes or wave basins. However, these simplistic experiments might misrepresent...

The Brazilian Amazon is part of one of the largest river systems in the world, in which the transport of cargo and passengers is commonplace. However, several accidents still occur to passenger ships, causing fatalities. Transportation occurs commonly in remote regions, where there are transport inequalities, and emergency assistance is hard to fin...

Increasing demand for electricity and the need for sustainable energy sources, make ocean energy a viable alternative for its generation in coastal regions. In this study, wave, marine currents and thermal gradient resources were evaluated to identify potential sites for energy harvesting in the Mexican Caribbean. From a techno-economic review of t...

The physical and ecological importance of seagrass meadows in coastal processes is widely recognized, and the development of tools facilitating characterization of their structure and distribution is important for improving our understanding of these processes. Mixed (multi-specific) meadows in a Mexican Caribbean reef lagoon were mapped employing...