Avian sensitivity to mortality: Prioritising migratory bird species for assessment at proposed wind farms

Wind power generation is likely to constitute one of the most extensive human physical exploitation activities of European marine areas in the near future. The many millions of migrating birds that pass these man-made obstacles are protected by international obligations and the subject of public concerns. Yet some bird species are more sensitive to bird–wind turbine mortality than others. This study developed a simple and logical framework for ranking bird species with regard to their relative sensitivity to bird–wind turbine-collisions, and applied it to a data set comprising 38 avian migrant species at the Nysted offshore wind farm in Denmark. Two indicators were selected to characterize the sensitivity of each individual species: 1) relative abundance and 2) demographic sensitivity (elasticity of population growth rate to changes in adult survival). In the case-study from the Nysted offshore wind farm, birds of prey and waterbirds dominated the group of high priority species and only passerines showed a low risk of being impacted by the wind farm. Even where passerines might be present in very high numbers, they often represent insignificant segments of huge reference populations that, from a demographic point of view, are relatively insensitive to wind farm-related adult mortality. It will always be important to focus attention and direct the resources towards the most sensitive species to ensure cost-effective environmental assessments in the future, and in general, this novel index seems capable of identifying the species that are at high risk of being adversely affected by wind farms.     

我国在国际贸易中表现出“环境相对比较优势”吗?——兼与王奇老师商榷

我国在国际贸易和国际分工中是否表现出"环境相对比较优势"?本文通过考察进出口产品结构变化和我国吸引的外国直接投资的行业结构变化趋势对这一问题进行了实证分析,结果发现我国进出口产品结构没有向污染密集型产品转变,外商投资的行业结构也没有偏向污染密集型产业.虽然我国目前经济增长的自然资源和环境成本较大,但这主耍是国内资源使用效率低下和国内消费升级、产业结构转变造成的.实际上,参与国际贸易和国际分工使我国的经济结构向更清洁的方向转变,有利于减轻我国经济增长中的环境压力.因此,本文认为虽然目前我国的环境规制水平较一些发达国家低,但这并不等同于我国经济具有或表现出了"环境相对比较优势",所谓的"环境相对比较优势"在实际上是不存在的.     

Do aerosols act as catalysts in the OH radical initiated atmospheric oxidation of volatile organic compounds?

Smog chamber/FTIR techniques were used to study the relative reactivity of OH radicals with methanol, ethanol, phenol, C₂H₄, C₂H₂, and p-xylene in 750 Torr of air diluent at 296±2 K. Experiments were performed with, and without, 500–8000 μg m⁻³ (4000–50 000 μm² cm⁻³ surface area per volume) of NaCl, (NH₄)₂SO₄ or NH₄NO₃ aerosol. In contrast to the recent findings of Oh and Andino (Atmospheric Environment 34 (2000) 2901, 36 (2002) 149; International Journal of Chemical Kinetics 33 (2001) 422) there was no discernable effect of aerosol on the rate of loss of the organic compounds via reaction with OH radicals. Gas kinetic theory arguments cast doubt upon the findings of Oh and Andino. The available data suggest that the answer to the title question is “No”. As part of this work the rate constants for reactions of OH radicals with methanol, ethanol, and phenol in 750 Torr of air at 296 K were determined to be: k_OH+CH3OH=(8.12±0.54)×10⁻¹³, k_OH+C2H5OH=(3.47±0.32)×10⁻¹² and k_OH+phenol=(3.27±0.31)×10⁻¹¹ cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹.     

Air quality and respiratory health in Delhi

Delhi is an instructive location for studying the impact of air pollution since it is a rapidly expanding centre of government, trade commerce and industry. We have made an attempt to (1) determine the association between environmental pollution and respiratory morbidity in Delhi for the period 1998–2004, (2) assess the impact on hospital admission of the implementation of recent governmental regulations and (3) calculate the relative risk of hospitalization due to respiratory ailments caused by air pollutants. Seven hospitals from different parts of Delhi were selected. The pollution profiles of these areas were assessed and subsequently Poisson regression model was performed for the patient population. There was a remarkable decrease in monthly average concentration of sulphur dioxide (from 17.9 to 11.1 μg m⁻³) and increase in monthly average concentration of nitrogen dioxide (from 34.2 to 49.1 μg m⁻³) after the newly introduced regulations. Particulates were observed to have marginal fall in their concentration but still remained above the permissible limits. Gaseous pollutants, in spite of being at a level lower than the permissible level, showed more consistent significant association with respiratory admissions. The relative risks of hospitalization due to respiratory diseases were in the range of 1.07–2.82 in residential cum commercial areas. Comparative study of pre and post new stringent governmental regulation showed significant positive association of NO₂ with respiratory disorders in southern (RR: 1.10; CI: 1.09–1.12) and northern regions (RR: 1.33; CI: 1.27–1.39), both mixed use areas. In spite of the improvement in the air quality, the associated health effects were found to be substantial.     

Effects of relative humidity and PM2.5 chemical compositions on visibility impairment in Chengdu, China

To better understand the potential causes of visibility impairment in autumn and winter in Chengdu, relative humidity(RH), visibility, the concentrations of PM_(2.5) and its chemical components were on-line measured continuously in Chengdu from Nov. 2016 to Jan. 2017.Six obvious haze episodes occurred in Chengdu, with the total time of haze episodes accounted for more than 90% of the total observation period, and higher NO_2 concentrations and RH were related to the high particle concentrations in haze episodes. The visibility decreased in a non-linear tendency under different RH conditions with the increase of PM_(2.5) concentrations, which was more sensitive to RH under lower PM_(2.5) concentrations. The threshold concentration of PM_(2.5) got more smaller with the increase of RH. During the entire observation period, organic matter(OM) was the largest contributor(31.12% to extinction coefficient(bext)), followed by NH_4NO_3 and(NH_4)_2SO_4 with 28.03% and 23.01%, respectively.However, with the visibility impairment from Type I(visibility 10 km) to Type IV(visibility ≤ 2 km), the contribution of OM to bextdecreased from 38.12% to 26.77%, while the contribution of NH_4NO_3 and(NH_4)_2SO_4 to bextincreased from 19.09% and 20.20% to 34.29% and 24.35%, respectively, and NH_4NO_3 became the largest contributor to bextat Type IV. The results showed that OM and NH_4NO_3 were the key components of PM_(2.5) for visibility impairment in Chengdu, indicating that the control of precursors emissions of carbonaceous species and NH_4NO_3 could effectively improve the visibility in Chengdu.     

Environmental scanning electron microscopy as a new technique to determine the hygroscopic behaviour of individual aerosol particles

The hygroscopic behaviour of NaCl, (NH₄)₂SO₄, Na₂SO₄ and NH₄NO₃ particles in the size range of 0.1–20 μm was studied by environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). This technique allows the in-situ observation of individual aerosol particles while changing the temperature and/or relative humidity (RH) in the sample chamber. The hygroscopic behaviour of these particles (e.g., deliquescence, adsorption of water on the particle surface) becomes directly observable with a lateral resolution of the order of 8–15 nm. The deliquescence relative humidities (DRH) of the different salts, the temperature dependence of the DRH for NH₄NO₃, and the growth factors (at increasing relative humidities) for NaCl were determined. Generally, a good agreement between the values obtained by ESEM and those found in literature was achieved. However, the DRH of NaCl determined by ESEM is systematically higher (approximately 2%, absolute) than the values obtained by other techniques, which can be explained by the observed strong absorption of water onto the crystal surface prior to droplet formation. The efflorescence behaviour of individual particles can be studied only qualitatively due to influences of the sample substrate. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the activation of soot can be studied at high resolution by ESEM.     

Estimating relative demand for wildlife: Conservation activity indicators

An alternative method of estimating relative demand among nonconsumptive uses of wildlife and among wildlife species is proposed. A demand intensity score (DIS), derived from the relative extent of an individual's involvement in outdoor recreation and conservation activities, is used as a weighting device to adjust the importance of preference rankings for wildlife uses and wildlife species relative to other members of a survey population. These adjusted preference rankings were considered to reflect relative demand levels (RDLs) for wildlife uses and for species by the survey population. This technique may be useful where it is not possible or desirable to estimate demand using traditional economic means. In one of the findings from a survey of municipal conservation commission members in Massachusetts, presented as an illustration of this methodology, poisonous snakes were ranked third in preference among five groups of reptiles. The relative demand level for poisonous snakes, however, was last among the five groups.     

锅炉烟尘浓度监测误差因素分析

分析锅炉烟尘浓度监测影响因素，提出控制措施，提高监测工作质量。     

Reproductive biology of the spiny lobster, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Panulirus Penicillatus</Emphasis>, in the southeastern coastal waters off Taiwan

The reproductive biology of spiny lobster, Panulirus penicillatus, was studied based on 2,068 lobsters, ranging from 34.28 to 131.60 mm carapace length (CL), sampled in Taitung coastal waters from September 2003 to December 2004. The overall sex ratio approximated 1:1 (χ² = 0.02, P > 0.05), but the monthly sex ratios in 2004 showed significant differences and males were predominant in sizes larger than 80 mm CL. Reproductive activity, assessed using histology, a gonadosomatic index and percentage of ovigerous females, indicated that the mature females could be found in every month and that the major spawning occurred from May to September. The presence of re-developing/re-ripe ovaries by month and size-specific spawning time suggest that larger mature females (>60 mm CL) spawn at least three times a year while smaller new mature females spawn at least once a year. For females, the estimated sizes at 50% physiological and functional maturity were (mean ± SE) 56.46 ± 0.56 mm CL and 66.63 ± 1.07 mm CL. The estimated sizes at functional maturity were between 72 and 74 mm CL for males. The number of eggs per spawning event (brood size, BS) was related to CL by the equation Y _BS = 2.4 × 10^-3CL^4.18 (r ² = 0.902, n = 12). Female lobsters with CL ranging from 60 to 80 mm made the greatest contributions to egg production because of their high brood size and active reproductive activity. A minimum legal size should be established for the fishery to protect egg production potential of lobster population in the southeastern coastal waters off Taiwan.