Satellite derived trends in NO2 over the major global hotspot regions during the past decade and their inter-comparison

We assessed satellite derived tropospheric NO₂ distribution on a global scale and identified the major NO₂ hotspot regions. Combined GOME and SCIAMACHY measurements for the period 1996-2006 have been used to compute the trends over these regions. Our analysis shows that tropospheric NO₂ column amounts have increased over the newly and rapidly developing regions like China (11 ± 2.6%/year), south Asia (1.76 ± 1.1%/year), Middle East (2.3 ± 1%/year) and South Africa (2.4 ± 2.2%/year). Tropospheric NO₂ column amounts show some decrease over the eastern US (−2 ± 1.5%/year) and Europe (0.9 ± 2.1%/year). We found that although tropospheric NO₂ column amounts decreased over the major developed regions in the past decade, the present tropospheric NO₂ column amounts over these regions are still significantly higher than those observed over newly and rapidly developing regions (except China). Tropospheric NO₂ column amounts show some decrease over South America and Central Africa, which are major biomass burning regions in the Southern Hemisphere.     

Adapting a geographical information system-based water resource management to the needs of the Romanian water authorities

Background, aim, and scope

The need for global and integrated approaches to water resources management, both from the quantitative and the qualitative point of view, has long been recognized. Water quality management is a major issue for sustainable development and a mandatory task with respect to the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive as well as the Swiss legislation. However, data modelling to develop relational databases and subsequent geographic information system (GIS)-based water management instruments are a rather recent and not that widespread trend. The publication of overall guidelines for data modelling along with the EU Water Framework Directive is an important milestone in this area. Improving overall water quality requires better and more easily accessible data, but also the possibility to link data to simulation models. Models are to be used to derive indicators that will in turn support decision-making processes. For this whole chain to become effective at a river basin scale, all its components have to become part of the current daily practice of the local water administration. Any system, tool, or instrument that is not designed to meet, first of all, the fundamental needs of its primary end-users has almost no chance to be successful in the longer term.

Materials and methods

Although based on a pre-existing water resources management system developed in Switzerland, the methodological approach applied to develop a GIS-based water quality management system adapted to the Romanian context followed a set of well-defined steps: the first and very important step is the assessment of needs (on the basis of a careful analysis of the various activities and missions of the water administration and other relevant stakeholders in water management related issues). On that basis, a conceptual data model (CDM) can be developed, to be later on turned into a physical database. Finally, the specifically requested additional functionalities (i.e. functionalities not provided by classical commercial GIS software), also identified during the assessment of needs, are developed. This methodology was applied, on an experimental basin, in the Ialomita River basin.

Results

The results obtained from this action-research project consist of a set of tangible elements, among which (1) a conceptual data model adapted to the Romanian specificities regarding water resources management (needs, data availability, etc.), (2) a related spatial relational database (objects and attributes in tables, links, etc.), that can be used to store the data collected, among others, by the water administration, and later on exploited with geographical information systems, (3) a toolbar (in the ESRI environment) offering the requested data processing and visualizing functionalities. Lessons learned from this whole process can be considered as additional, although less tangible, results.

Discussion

The applied methodology is fairly classical and did not come up with revolutionary results. Actually, the interesting aspects of this work are, on the one hand, and obviously, the fact that it produced tools matching the needs of the local (if not national) water administration (i.e. with a good chance of being effectively used in the day-to-day practice), and, on the other hand, the adaptations and adjustments that were needed both at the staff level and in technical terms.

Conclusions

This research showed that a GIS-based water management system needs to be backed by some basic data management tools that form the necessary support upon which a GIS can be deployed. The main lesson gained is that technology transfer has to pay much attention to the differences in existing situations and backgrounds in general, and therefore must be able to show much flexibility. The fact that the original objectives could be adapted to meet the real needs of the local end-users is considered as a major aspect in achieving a successful adaptation and development of water resources management tools. Time needed to setup things in real life was probably the most underestimated aspect in this technology transfer process.

Recommendations and perspectives

The whole material produced (conceptual data model, database and GIS tools) was disseminated among all river basin authorities in Romania on the behalf of the national water administration (ANAR). The fact that further developments, for example, to address water quantity issues more precisely, as envisaged by ANAR, can be seen as an indication that this project succeeded in providing an appropriate input to improve water quality in Romania on the long term.

     

Cognitive attributes and aesthetic preferences in assessment and differentiation of landscapes

The increasing pace and scale of landscape changes involve objective measurements in order to estimate the effects of changes on people's landscape preferences in a meaningful way. In the literature, some attempts have been made to provide a more conceptual base related to landscape preferences. These concepts and their indicators need to be tested empirically in different contexts and landscape types. In the present study, different items related to theoretical concepts of both aesthetic preference and cognitive rating were examined. They were combined in an in situ questionnaire, which was conducted among undergraduate students in geography during two different field excursions. Stimuli consisted of 11 landscape vistas selected during the excursions. All vistas represent rather rural landscapes but they vary with regard to relief, degree of urbanisation, and degree of agricultural land use. Statistical analysis of all data yielded significant correlations between aesthetic and cognitive ratings. However, these correlations did not appear to be very strong. When considering landscape vistas separately, the relations between all cognitive ratings seemed to vary. Further, not all cognitive aspects had an equal predicting value for aesthetic preference. Moreover, this predicting value appeared to vary between different landscape vistas. The groups of interrelated cognitive aspects could not be associated consistently with theoretical concepts. The results demonstrated the inconsistencies existing between the contents of the theoretical concepts and the indicators found within the landscape. The findings argued for the necessity to distinguish between different ratings and landscape types instead of using unitary preference measures and generalized data when studying landscape preference.     

Industrial and urban symbiosis in Japan: Analysis of the Eco-Town program 1997–2006

Japan's Eco-Town Program spearheaded in Japan the integration of Industrial Symbiosis and Urban Symbiosis, seeking to maximise the economic and environmental benefit from close geographic proximity of industrial and urban areas, through the use of previously discarded commercial, municipal and industrial waste materials in industrial applications. The program established 26 Eco-Towns around Japan. Approximately 1.65 billion USD was invested in 61 innovative recycling projects, with an average government subsidy of 36%. In addition at least 107 other recycling facilities have been constructed without government subsidy. 14 Eco-Towns primarily contributed to improving industry's productivity, whilst 10 Eco-Towns primarily contributed to improving environmental amenity. In 16 Eco-Towns the private sector was the most important actor supporting local government in the realisation of the Eco-Town, whilst in 9 Eco-Towns this was civil society. The availability of investment subsidies, the coming into force of ambitious recycling legislation with quantified, product-specific targets, access to the significant technological resources of the private sector, and widespread recognition of the urgency to act on environmental issues, all contributed to the success of the Eco-Town Program.     

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.     

Contamination of groundwater and risk assessment for arsenic exposure in Ha Nam province, Vietnam

The characteristics of arsenic-contaminated groundwater and the potential risks from the groundwater were investigated. Arsenic contamination in groundwater was found in four villages (Vinh Tru, Bo De, Hoa Hau, Nhan Dao) in Ha Nam province in northern Vietnam. Since the groundwater had been used as one of the main drinking water sources in these regions, groundwater and hair samples were collected in the villages. The concentrations of arsenic in the three villages (Vinh Tru, Bo De, Hoa Hau) significantly exceeded the Vietnamese drinking water standard for arsenic (10 microg/L) with average concentrations of 348, 211, and 325 microg/L, respectively. According to the results of the arsenic speciation testing, the predominant arsenic species in the groundwater existed as arsenite [As(III)]. Elevated concentrations of iron, manganese, and ammonium were also found in the groundwater. Although more than 90% of the arsenic was removed by sand filtration systems used in this region, arsenic concentrations of most treated groundwater were still higher than the drinking water standard. A significant positive correlation was found between the arsenic concentrations in the treated groundwater and in female human hair. The risk assessment for arsenic through drinking water pathways shows both potential chronic and carcinogenic risks to the local community. More than 40% of the people consuming treated groundwater are at chronic risk for arsenic exposure.     

Organochlorine and heavy metals in newborns: Results from the Flemish Environment and Health Survey (FLEHS 2002–2006)

To collect regional information on internal levels of pollutants in humans in Flanders, 1196 mother–child pairs were systematically recruited in 2002–2003 via 25 maternities across Flanders. Cd, Pb, PCB congeners 118, 170, 138, 153 and 180, p,p′-DDE — a key metabolite of DDT- and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) were measured in cord blood or plasma. Cd was detected in 64% of the samples (geometric mean 0.21 µg/L cord blood). p,p′-DDE (110 ng/g plasma lipids) and Pb (14.7 µg/L blood), were measurable in nearly all samples. The individual PCB congeners could be detected in 40 to 81% of the newborns (138 + 153 + 180 = 64.4 ng/g plasma lipids). HCB (18.9 ng/g plasma lipids) and dioxin-like compounds measured by DR-CALUX® (23 pg CALUX-TEQ/g lipids) were above detection limit in more than 75% of the samples. Age and smoking habits of the mothers, did not influence the cord blood Pb and Cd levels. The organochlorines increased 4 to 9% per year of the mother's age (partial R² = 0.05 to 0.22). Mothers had 2.6% less PCBs in cord blood (partial R² = 0.02) for each unit increase in pre-pregnancy BMI. Season of delivery, breastfeeding previous children or consumption of local dairy products, were minor determinants. Up to 20% of the variability in organochlorine concentrations was explained by residence area. It was concluded that the place of birth in Flanders is an important determinant of the load of pollutants measured at the start of life. This underlines the validity of human biomonitoring on (relatively) small geographical scale.     

Degassing of H/He, CFCs and SF6 by denitrification: Measurements and two-phase transport simulations

The production of N₂ gas by denitrification may lead to the appearance of a gas phase below the water table prohibiting the conservative transport of tracer gases required for groundwater dating. We used a two-phase flow and transport model (STOMP) to study the reliability of ³H/³He, CFCs and SF₆ as groundwater age tracers under agricultural land where denitrification causes degassing. We were able to reproduce the amount of degassing (R² = 69%), as well as the ³H (R² = 79%) and ³He (R² = 76%) concentrations observed in a ³H/³He data set using simple 2D models. We found that the TDG correction of the ³H/³He age overestimated the control ³He/³He age by 2.1 years, due to the accumulation of ³He in the gas phase. The total uncertainty of degassed ³H/³He ages of 6 years (± 2 σ) is due to the correction of degassed ³He using the TDG method, but also due to the travel time in the unsaturated zone and the diffusion of bomb peak ³He. CFCs appear to be subject to significant degradation in anoxic groundwater and SF₆ is highly susceptible to degassing. We conclude that ³H/³He is the most reliable method to date degassed groundwater and that two-phase flow models such as STOMP are useful tools to assist in the interpretation of degassed groundwater age tracer data.     

Potential concerns related to using octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) in rendering soils and porous ceramics hydrophobic

The treatment of hydrophilic porous ceramics to render them hydrophobic and wetting to non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) is frequently needed in multiphase flow experiments to control the flow or to measure the pressure of the NAPL. In addition, research dealing with soil wettability implies a need for hydrophobic or NAPL-wet soils. The traditional procedure, which has been widely used in literature, to render hydrophilic porous ceramics and soils hydrophobic is achieved by placing the hydrophilic solid in a 5% (by volume) octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) solution in ethanol followed by rinsing in ethanol. This research assesses the use of this procedure as it was found that this treatment procedure resulted in excess OTS on the surface of treated hydrophobic solids which can dissolve in an organic phase and in turn alter the wettability condition of adjacent hydrophilic soils. A modified procedure, which results in hydrophobic solids free of excess OTS, is presented.     

Older driver retraining: An updated systematic review of evidence of effectiveness

Problem and Objective

The number of older drivers who might benefit from driver retraining is growing. A previous review on the effectiveness of older driver retraining included intervention studies up to 2004. The objective was to perform an updated systematic review of the effectiveness of older driver retraining for improving driving-related skills and reducing crash rates.

Method

Articles published from 2004-2008 were grouped according to the intervention provided and outcome studied. Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) were appraised using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) Scale and scored for quality according to their internal validity. Each intervention's effectiveness was then rated and assigned a level of evidence by combining pre- and post- 2004 findings.

Results

Three RCTs and one matched-pairs cohort design met the inclusion criteria. There is strong evidence (Level 1a) that education combined with on-road training improves driving performance and moderate evidence (Level 1b) that it improves knowledge. There is moderate evidence (Level 1b) that physical retraining improves driving performance. There is moderate evidence (Level 1b) that an educational intervention curriculum alone is not effective in reducing crashes.

Summary

The updated evidence on the effectiveness of retraining aimed at older drivers is sufficiently encouraging to merit assertive health promotion actions regarding intervention and program planning.

Impact on Industry

These positive findings warrant a comprehensive plan that has both behavioral and monetary incentives encouraging older driver participation in programs aimed at driver safety.