Climate change,multiple stressors and human vulnerability: a systematic review

We systematically reviewed current climate change literature in order to examine how multiple processes that affect human vulnerability have been studied. Of the 125 reviewed articles, 79 % were published after 2009. There are numerous concepts that point out to stressors other than climate change that were used in reviewed studies. These different concepts were used interchangeably, and they illustrate processes that act on different scales. Most widely used concepts included non-climatic (40 % of the articles), multiple stressors (38 %) and other factors (37 %). About 75 % of the studies either acknowledged or carefully analyzed the social and environmental context in which vulnerability is experienced. One-third of the studies recognized climate change-related stressors as the most important, one-third argued that stressors other than climate are more important, and the rest of the studies did not analyze the relative importance of the different processes. Interactions between different stressors were mentioned in 76 % and analyzed explicitly in 28 % of the articles. Our review shows that there are studies that analyze the social context of vulnerability within climate change-related literature and this literature is rapidly expanding. Reviewed studies point out that there are multiple interacting stressors, whose interlinkages need to be carefully analyzed and targeted by policies, which integrate adaptation to climate change and other stressors. In conclusion, we suggest that future studies should include analytical frameworks that reflect dissimilarities between different types of stressors, methodological triangulation to identify key stressors and analysis of interactions between multiple stressors across different scales.     

A review of potential physical impacts on harbours in the Mediterranean Sea under climate change

Regional Environmental Change - The potential impact of climate change on port operations and infrastructures has received much less attention than the corresponding impact for beach systems....     

Brominated flame retardants and organochlorines in the European environment using great tit eggs as a biomonitoring tool

Large-scale studies are essential to assess the emission patterns and spatial distribution of organohalogenated pollutants (OHPs) in the environment. Bird eggs have several advantages compared to other environmental media which have previously been used to map the distribution of OHPs. In this study, large-scale geographical variation in the occurrence of OHPs, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), was investigated throughout Europe using eggs of a terrestrial residential passerine species, the great tit (Parus major). Great tit eggs from 22 sampling sites, involving urban, rural and remote areas, in 14 European countries were collected and analysed (5-8 eggs per sampling site). The environmentally most important congeners/compounds of the analysed pollutants were detectable in all sampling locations. For PCBs, PBDEs and OCPs, no clear geographical contamination pattern was found. Sum PCB levels ranged from 143 ng/g lipid weight (lw) to 3660 ng/g lw. As expected, PCB concentrations were significantly higher in the sampled urban compared to the remote locations. However, the urban locations did not show significantly higher concentrations compared to the rural locations. Sum PBDEs ranged from 4.0 ng/g lw to 136 ng/g lw. PBDEs were significantly higher in the urbanized sampling locations compared to the other locations. The significant, positive correlation between PCB and PBDE concentrations suggests similar spatial exposure and/or mechanisms of accumulation. Significantly higher levels of OCPs (sum OCPs ranging from 191 ng/g lw to 7830 ng/g lw) were detected in rural sampling locations. Contamination profiles of PCBs, PBDEs and OCPs differed also among the sampling locations, which may be due to local usage and contamination sources. The higher variance among sampling locations for the PCBs and OCPs, suggests that local contamination sources are more important for the PCBs and OCPs compared to the PBDEs. To our knowledge, this is the first study in which bird eggs were used as a monitoring tool for OHPs on such a large geographical scale.     

Characterization and sources assignation of PM2.5 organic aerosol in a rural area of Spain

The results from a year-long study of the organic composition of PM2.5 aerosol collected in a rural area influenced by a highway of Spain are reported. The lack of prior information related to the organic composition of PM2.5 aerosol in Spain, concretely in rural areas, led definition of the goals of this study. As a result, this work has been able to characterize the main organic components of atmospheric aerosols, including several compounds of SOA, and has conducted a multivariate analysis in order to assign sources of particulate matter. A total of 89 samples were taken between April 2004 and April 2005 using a high-volume sampler. Features and abundance of n-alkanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), alcohols and acids were separately determined using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and high performance liquid chromatography analysis. The Σn-alkane and ΣPAHs ranged from 3 to 81 ng m^?3 and 0.1 to 6 ng m^?3 respectively, with higher concentrations during colder months. Ambient concentrations of Σalcohols and Σacids ranged from 21 to 184 ng m^?3 and 39 to 733 ng m^?3, respectively. Also, several components of secondary organic aerosol have been quantified, confirming the biogenic contribution to ambient aerosol. In addition, factor analysis was used to reveal origin of organic compounds associated to particulate matter. Eight factors were extracted accounting more than 83% of the variability in the original data. These factors were assigned to a typical high pollution episode by anthropogenic particles, crustal material, plant waxes, fossil fuel combustion, temperature, microbiological emissions, SOA and dispersion of pollutants by wind action. Finally, a cluster analysis was used to compare the organic composition between the four seasons.     

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.     

Atmospheric nitrogen deposition in south-east Scotland: Quantification of the organic nitrogen fraction in wet,dry and bulk deposition

Water soluble organic nitrogen (WSON) compounds are ubiquitous in precipitation and in the planetary boundary layer, and therefore are a potential source of bioavailable reactive nitrogen. This paper examines weekly rain data over a period of 22 months from June 2005 to March 2007 collected in 2 types of rain collector (bulk deposition and “dry + wet” deposition) located in a semi-rural area 15 km southwest of Edinburgh, UK (N55°51′44″, W3°12′19″). Bulk deposition collectors are denoted in this paper as “standard rain gauges”, and they are the design used in the UK national network for monitoring precipitation composition. “Dry + wet” deposition collectors are flushing rain gauges and they are equipped with a rain detector (conductivity array), a spray nozzle, a 2-way valve and two independent bottles to collect funnel washings (dry deposition) and true wet deposition. On average, for the 27 weekly samples with 3 valid replicates for the 2 types of collectors, dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) represented 23% of the total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) in bulk deposition. Dry deposition of particles and gas on the funnel surface, rather than rain, contributed over half of all N-containing species (inorganic and organic). Some discrepancies were found between bulk rain gauges and flushing rain gauges, for deposition of both TDN and DON, suggesting biological conversion and loss of inorganic N in the flushing samplers.     

Predictive models of turbidity and water depth in the Doñana marshes using Landsat TM and ETM+ images

We have used Landsat-5 TM and Landsat-7 ETM+ images together with simultaneous ground-truth data at sample points in the Doñana marshes to predict water turbidity and depth from band reflectance using Generalized Additive Models. We have point samples for 12 different dates simultaneous with 7 Landsat-5 and 5 Landsat-7 overpasses. The best model for water turbidity in the marsh explained 38% of variance in ground-truth data and included as predictors band 3 (630–690 nm), band 5 (1550–1750 nm) and the ratio between bands 1 (450–520 nm) and 4 (760–900 nm). Water turbidity is easier to predict for water bodies like the Guadalquivir River and artificial ponds that are deep and not affected by bottom soil reflectance and aquatic vegetation. For the latter, a simple model using band 3 reflectance explains 78.6% of the variance. Water depth is easier to predict than turbidity. The best model for water depth in the marsh explains 78% of the variance and includes as predictors band 1, band 5, the ratio between band 2 (520–600 nm) and band 4, and bottom soil reflectance in band 4 in September, when the marsh is dry. The water turbidity and water depth models have been developed in order to reconstruct historical changes in Doñana wetlands during the last 30 years using the Landsat satellite images time series.     

Integrating Landscape Analysis and Planning: A Multi-Scale Approach for Oriented Management of Tourist Recreation

Tourism and landscape are interdependent concepts. Nature- and culture-based tourism are now quite well developed activities and can constitute an excellent way of exploiting the natural resources of certain areas, and should therefore be considered as key objectives in landscape planning and management in a growing number of countries. All of this calls for careful evaluation of the effects of tourism on the territory. This article focuses on an integrated spatial method for landscape analysis aimed at quantifying the relationship between preferences of visitors and landscape features. The spatial expression of the model relating types of leisure and recreational preferences to the potential capacity of the landscape to meet them involves a set of maps showing degrees of potential visitor satisfaction. The method constitutes a useful tool for the design of tourism planning and management strategies, with landscape conservation as a reference.     

Origin and transport of U and Ra in riverine,estuarine and marine sediments of the Krka River,Croatia

Spatial distribution of ²³⁸U and ²²⁶Ra activities in sediment columns along the Krka River and estuary, were studied using gamma spectrometry. Markedly different ²³⁸U and ²²⁶Ra activities between riverine, estuarine and marine sediments were observed. Distribution of these radionuclides, as well as their anthropogenic and natural origin, was evaluated by activity measurements, taking into account sedimentation rates estimated by ¹³⁷Cs distribution in sediment columns.     

Effects of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid formulation on medulla spinalis of Poecilia reticulata: A histopathological study

This study investigated the possible effects of a commonly used foliar herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) formulation on medulla spinalis of lebistes. Fish were exposed to 2,4-D (15, 30, 45 mg L⁻¹), behavioral changes were monitored. Fish were fixed, histopathological examination was carried out on sections taken from the upper parts of the fish body. Histopathology showed increase in neuronal loss, swelling indicating formation of intracellular edema, vacuolization noticed as the formation of vacuoles within or adjacent to cells, deformation in the Nissl granules, pyknosis and gliosis in medulla spinalis. Behavioral changes were decreased general activity, grouping, shortness in breath, sudden rotations and jumping, loss of equilibrium and colour. In conclusion, this commercial formulation of 2,4-D is considerably neurotoxic to lebistes. Fish constitute the last link in the chain of the feeding cycle in aquatic eco-system, number of studies investigating acute and chronic neurotoxicity of various herbicides in fish should be increased.