Assessing spatial variability of SO2 field as detected by an air quality network using Self-Organizing Maps,cluster, and Principal Component Analysis

In Bilbao (Spain), an air quality network measures sulphur dioxide levels at 4 locations. The objective of this paper is to develop a practical methodology to identify redundant sensors and evaluate a network's capability to correctly follow and represent SO₂ fields in Bilbao, in the frame of a continuous network optimization process.The methodology is developed and tested at this particular location, but it is general enough to be useable at other places as well, since it is not tied neither to the particular geographical characteristics of the place nor to the phenomenology of the air quality over the area.To assess the spatial variability of SO₂ measured at 4 locations in the area, three different techniques have been used: Self-Organizing Maps (SOMs), cluster analysis (CA) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The results show that the three techniques yield the same results, but the information obtained via PCA can be helpful not only for that purpose but also to throw light on the major mechanisms involved. This might be used in future network optimization stages. The main advantage of cluster analysis and SOMs is that they provide readily interpretable results. All the calculations have been carried out using the freely available software R.     

Trihalomethane formation in ozonated and chlorinated surface water

The relatively recent discovery of disinfection by-products has driven the main regulatory organisms to set maximum contaminant levels for certain substances in drinking water. Trihalomethanes can be deemed as the most important group of by-products in chlorinated surface waters. The present work has focused on trihalomethane formation in a full-scale water treatment plant. We studied the effect of several factors, including ozonation, on trihalomethane levels in chlorinated treated water. The treatment scheme also includes an ozonation step. Electronic Publication     

Application of a battery of biomarkers in mussel digestive gland to assess long-term effects of the Prestige oil spill in Galicia and Bay of Biscay: tissue-level biomarkers and histopathology

In order to assess the biological effects of the Prestige oil spill (POS), mussels, Mytilus galloprovincialis, were collected in 22 localities along the North coast of the Iberian Peninsula over 3 years (April 2003-April 2006). Different tissue-level biomarkers including cell type composition (volume density of basophilic cells, Vv(BAS)) in digestive gland epithelium, structural changes of digestive alveoli (mean luminal radius to mean epithelial thickness, MLR/MET) and histopathological alterations (prevalence and intensity) of the digestive gland were analysed. Severe alterations in the general condition of the digestive gland tissue were observed all over the study area up to 2004-2005. High Vv(BAS) values were recorded mainly in Galicia but also to a lesser extent in the Bay of Biscay in 2003-2004. Atrophy of the digestive alveoli, measured in terms of MLR/MET, was detected all along the studied area up to 2006. Inflammatory responses cannot be related to pollution due to the POS: (a) prevalence and intensity of focal hemocytic infiltration were higher in the Bay of Biscay than in Galicia but they did not show a clear temporal trend; (b) high intensities of brown cell aggregates were only sporadically recorded; and (c) granulocytomas were more frequently recorded in the Bay of Biscay than in Galicia and especially in localities (i.e. Arrigunaga) subjected to chronic pollution. Likewise, Marteilia, trematodes, intracellular ciliates, unidentified eosinophilic bodies, R/CLO and Mytilicola did not follow any recognisable pattern that could be associated to the POS. In contrast, high Nematopsis intensities recorded in several localities in 2003 might suggest some response of local interest after the POS (i.e., in combination with particular factors/conditions). More data at a regional scale are needed before histopathology may provide a reliable ecosystem health assessment but the present results suggest that the approach is worthwhile. Overall, although Vv(BAS) returned to reference values by 2004-2005, MLR/MET values indicated that the mussel health condition was affected during the whole study period up to April 2006.     

Monitoring trihalomethanes in water by differential ultraviolet spectroscopy

Ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy is a valid surrogate for monitoring the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs). Sodium thiosulphate is commonly used to remove disinfectant residual. However, it produces interferences with absorbance in the UV region. Relationship between trihalomethane (THM) formation and differential UV absorbance (−ΔA _λ ) was explored in the presence of sodium thiosulphate. Chlorination of two synthetic and five natural waters was carried out. Sodium thiosulphate showed high UV absorption at 254 nm. This effect can be overcome selecting a higher wavelength. Optimum wavelength varied being about 290 nm for fulvic acid and 300 nm for humic acid type natural organic matter. Correlation between THMs formation and −ΔA _λ was linear for all the analysed samples. Regression curves do not pass through zero indicating the existence of a threshold absorbance decreasment. Once it is surpassed THM release begins. Chlorination of surface waters showed that the presence of bromide significantly increases THMs vs. −ΔA _λ slope. Furthermore, slope decreased with the aromaticity–hydrophobicity of organic matter.     

Enhancing and expanding intersectional research for climate change adaptation in agrarian settings

Most current approaches focused on vulnerability, resilience, and adaptation to climate change frame gender and its influence in a manner out-of-step with contemporary academic and international development research. The tendency to rely on analyses of the sex-disaggregated gender categories of ‘men’ and ‘women’ as sole or principal divisions explaining the abilities of different people within a group to adapt to climate change, illustrates this problem. This framing of gender persists in spite of established bodies of knowledge that show how roles and responsibilities that influence a person´s ability to deal with climate-induced and other stressors emerge at the intersection of diverse identity categories, including but not limited to gender, age, seniority, ethnicity, marital status, and livelihoods. Here, we provide a review of relevant literature on this topic and argue that approaching vulnerability to climate change through intersectional understandings of identity can help improve adaptation programming, project design, implementation, and outcomes.     

The diversity of gendered adaptation strategies to climate change of Indian farmers: A feminist intersectional approach

This paper examines climate change adaptation and gender issues through an application of a feminist intersectional approach. This approach permits the identification of diverse adaptation responses arising from the existence of multiple and fragmented dimensions of identity (including gender) that intersect with power relations to shape situation-specific interactions between farmers and ecosystems. Based on results from contrasting research cases in Bihar and Uttarakhand, India, this paper demonstrates, inter alia, that there are geographically determined gendered preferences and adoption strategies regarding adaptation options and that these are influenced by the socio-ecological context and institutional dynamics. Intersecting identities, such as caste, wealth, age and gender, influence decisions and reveal power dynamics and negotiation within the household and the community, as well as barriers to adaptation among groups. Overall, the findings suggest that a feminist intersectional approach does appear to be useful and worth further exploration in the context of climate change adaptation. In particular, future research could benefit from more emphasis on a nuanced analysis of the intra-gender differences that shape adaptive capacity to climate change.     

Framing natural assets for advancing sustainability research: translating different perspectives into actions

Sustainability is a key challenge for humanity in the context of complex and unprecedented global changes. Future Earth, an international research initiative aiming to advance global sustainability science, has recently launched knowledge–action networks (KANs) as mechanisms for delivering its research strategy. The research initiative is currently developing a KAN on “natural assets” to facilitate and enable action-oriented research and synthesis towards natural assets sustainability. ‘Natural assets’ has been adopted by Future Earth as an umbrella term aiming to translate and bridge across different knowledge systems and different perspectives on peoples’ relationships with nature. In this paper, we clarify the framing of Future Earth around natural assets emphasizing the recognition on pluralism and identifying the challenges of translating different visions about the role of natural assets, including via policy formulation, for local to global sustainability challenges. This understanding will be useful to develop inter-and transdisciplinary solutions for human–environmental problems by (i) embracing richer collaborative decision processes and building bridges across different perspectives; (ii) giving emphasis on the interactions between biophysical and socioeconomic drivers affecting the future trends of investments and disinvestments in natural assets; and (iii) focusing on social equity, power relationships for effective application of the natural assets approach. This understanding also intends to inform the scope of the natural asset KAN’s research agenda to mobilize the translation of research into co-designed action for sustainability.     

The Role of Ethnobotanical Skills and Agricultural Labor in Forest Clearance: Evidence from the Bolivian Amazon

Research on the benefits of local ecological knowledge for conservation lacks empirical data on the pathways through which local knowledge might affect natural resources management. We test whether ethnobotanical skills, a proxy for local ecological knowledge, are associated to the clearance of forest through their interaction with agricultural labor. We collected information from men in a society of gatherers–horticulturalist, the Tsimane’ (Bolivia). Data included a baseline survey, a survey of ethnobotanical skills (n = 190 men), and two surveys on agricultural labor inputs (n = 466 plots). We find a direct effect of ethnobotanical skills in lowering the extent of forest cleared in fallow but not in old-growth forest. We also find that the interaction between ethnobotanical skills and labor invested in shifting cultivation has opposite effects depending on whether the clearing is done in old-growth or fallow forest. We explain the finding in the context of Tsimane’ increasing integration to the market economy.