Mean Annual Temperature and Total Annual Precipitation Trends at Canadian Biosphere Reserves

This article examines instrumental climate records from a varietyof stations associated with the following Biosphere Reserves across Canada: (i) Waterton Lakes, (ii) Riding Mountain, (iii) Niagara Escarpment, (iv) Long Point, and (v) Kejimkujik (Candidate Biosphere Reserve). Annual series are generated fromdaily temperature and precipitation values. In addition, homogeneous data are used from other stations and regional records to supplement the records from the local biosphere stations. Long term trends are identified over the period of the instrumental record. In general, data from the interval 1900 to 1998 show cooler temperatures in the 1920's, warmingfrom the early 1940's into the early 1950's, cooling into the1970's, and subsequent warming. At many stations, 1998 is the warmest in the instrumental record. Comparisons with the regional data sets show good agreements between the temperatureseries. The 20th century warming is approximately 1.0 °C in the Riding Mountain area and 0.6 °Cin the Long Point, Niagara Escarpment, and Waterton Lakes areas.There has been slight cooling in the Kejimkujik area over the past half century. Precipitation data show increasing trends inthe Kejimkujik, Long Point, Niagara Escarpment, and Waterton Lakes areas with no long term trend in the Riding Mountain area. This work is part of the Canadian Biosphere Reserves Association (CBRA) Climate Change Initiative (CCI), designed to present climate change information to Biosphere Reserve communities to allow local organizations to understand climate change and adapt to potential impacts.     

An objective and practical model for economic evaluation of environmental investment projects

Summary The problems faced by business as a result of the growth of the environmental agenda are described. The consequence this has on investment decisions is outlined and the trend, largely induced by present day investment appraisal techniques, for adopting end-of-pipe rather than Clean technology solutions is explained. A solution to this reactive investment approach is described by way of the Paras model. This adopts a holistic and practical approach and considers the special nature of environmental investments throughout all stages of the analysis. By objectively incorporating a measure for uncertainty within the analysis it adds considerable value and rationality to the decision-making process. The collaborative research project between the University of Surrey and Paras Ltd is described. This is run under the Engineering Doctorate programme and aims to develop a multicriteria decision tool to support the parallel quantification of the environmental and financial performance of investment projects.Graham Earl is a research engineer with the Engineering Doctorate (EngD) programme and is sponsored by the University of Surrey and Paras Ltd. Tuula Moilanen is a senior consultant with Paras Ltd at 120A, High Street, Newport, Isle of Wight, P030 ITP, UK. Paras are a technology and engineering consultancy and the developers of the Paras financial model for the evaluation of environmental investments. The authors are currently actively seeking companies who would be interested in contributing to further research through a test case, be it in the form of past or planned environmental investment decision.     

Sorption of ozone by 'New Yorker' tomato leaves

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) 'New Yorker' plants were exposed to O(3) to compare leaf diffusive conductance (LDC) before exposure to O(3) with O(3) sorption rates and visible injury ratings. Two plant development stages and four or five leaf growth stages were examined. The LDC varied among leaf growth stages and between plant development stages and leaf surfaces; there was no continuity in the LDC pattern. Sorption rates differed among some leaf growth stages, and between plant development stages in expanding leaves (growth stage 1). For both development stages high sorption rates occurred in fully mature leaves; otherwise little similarity between corresponding leaf growth stages was evident. Total O(3) flux to the leaf was not well predicted by the LDC for water vapour; nor was visible injury well related to total flux. Differential mesophyll processes and leaf surface sorption capabilities may have accounted for some of the inconsistencies observed.     

Valuing uncertain asset cash flows when there are no options: A real options approach

The real option valuation method is often presented as an alternative to the traditional discounted cash flow (DCF) approach because it is able to quantify the additional asset value arising from flexible asset management. However, these two valuation methods differ on a more fundamental level: their approach to determining the effects of cash flow uncertainty on asset value. Real option valuation adjusts for risk within the cash flow components while the DCF method discounts for risk at the aggregate net cash flow. This seemingly small difference allows the real option method to differentiate assets according to their unique risk characteristics, while the conventional DCF approach cannot.This paper presents an overview of the real options and conventional DCF frameworks for valuing uncertain cash flows. To emphasize the approaches' different treatment of risk we assume an absence of managerial flexibility. Using simple algebra, this paper demonstrates that the traditional DCF method fails to adequately discount net cash flow risk, no matter what discount rate is used. Finally, in a stylized mining example we show that DCF rules would lead a developer to forego $24.5 million in value creation, at a profitability index of 1.49, by making a poor investment decision.     

Bioremediation of Stranded Oil on an Arctic Shoreline

The application of slow-release and soluble fertilizers proved to be an effective and environmentally benign way of stimulating oil biodegradation on an Arctic shoreline. Fertilizer application to the surface of the beach delivered nutrients to the oiled sediment beneath the beach surface. There was no significant run-off of this fertilizer to either the nearshore water or to unfertilized plots, and there were no adverse toxicological effects of the fertilizer application. The fertilizer application was followed by an increase in oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide evolution from the beach, increased microbial biomass, and significantly greater biodegradation of oil on the plots that had received fertilizer. The rate of oil biodegradation was approximately doubled over the course of a year by fertilizer applications in the first two months after the spill.Simple test kits proved adequate to monitor the fertilizer-application process in the field in a time frame that would allow the application process to be fine-tuned during treatment on a real spill. Simple test kits and portable instrumentation were useful in demonstrating the initial success of the bioremediation strategy.     

EFFECTS OF CLIMATE VARIABILITY ON RIVERS: CONSEQUENCES FOR LONG TERM WATER QUALITY ANALYSIS1

ABSTRACT: Associations between the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate pattern and temporal variability in flow and 12 water quality variables were assessed at 77 river sites throughout New Zealand over a 13‐year period (1989 through 2001). Trends in water quality were determined for the same period. All 13 variables showed statistically significant linear regression relationships with values of the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). The strongest relationships were for water temperature (mean R²= 0.20), dissolved reactive phosphorus (0.18), and oxidized nitrogen (0.17). The association with SOI varied by climate region. The observed patterns were generally consistent with known ENSO effects on New Zealand rainfall and air temperature. Trends in water quality variables for the periods 1989 through 1993, 1994 through 1998, and 1989 through 1998 were reasonably consistent with trends in SOI, even when the influence of river flow was removed from the data. This suggests that SOI effects on water quality are not necessarily a direct consequence of changes in flow associated with rainfall variation. In addition, both Baseline (32 upstream) and Impact (45 downstream) sites showed similar trends, indicating that changes in management were not directly responsible. We conclude that interpretation of long term water quality datasets in rivers requires that climate variability be fully acknowledged and dealt with explicitly in trend analyses.     

PLANNITG INDIANA'S WATER INFRASTRUCTURE FROM A COMPETITIVE PERSPECTIVE1

ABSTRACT: Indiana has embarked on a program to assess the condition of its infrastructure and to plan for its future. The perspective of this planning differs from the traditional “master plan” approach — instead, the focus is on competitiveness for economic development. The initial work on the water and sewerage competitiveness of the infrastructure includes: (1) a comparative analysis of the water resources and infrastructure of Indiana and its industrial midwestern neighbors; (2) a technology scan to identify possible technological opportunities that may be important for Indiana; and (3) a set of recommendations for future planning. This work is preliminary in nature but should serve as a starting point for continued strategic planning over the next decade for positioning of Indiana's water and sewerage infrastructure as a key element in the economic growth equation.     

Amniotic fluid alpha-fetoprotein,gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase,and autosomal trisomies

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) concentration and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) activity have been analysed in amniotic fluid from a series of 65 pregnancies with autosomal trisomies. AFP values were reduced on average to 60 per cent of normal in cases of trisomy 21, but were not significantly different from normal in cases of trisomies 18 and 13. GGT activities were uniformly lower (44 per cent of normal) for all types of autosomal trisomy. A review of the literature indicates that over 85 per cent of Down's pregnancies but only 39 per cent of trisomy 18 and 13 pregnancies have amniotic fluid AFP levels below the normal median value, while the corresponding figures for GGT are 91 per cent for Down's syndrome and 96 per cent for trisomies 18 and 13.     

瑞典水文变化-气候变化影响模拟

温室效应加剧导致的气候变化将会引起水文系统的变化.随着气候要素的变化,水文变化将会在全球呈现出区域差异性.因此,有必要开展局地和区域尺度上的水文变化影响研究,评价不同区域将会受到怎样的影响.本研究旨在对广泛的瑞典流域上气候变化的水文影响(响应)进行评估.我们采用不同的方法,将气候模型中产生的气候变化信号转换输入到水文模型中.利用瑞典区域气候模拟计划(SWECLIM)生成的区域气候情景,我们进行了几次水文模型模拟研究.得出的基本结论是根据流域的地理位置处于瑞典北部或南部,气候变化对河道水流的分区影响是显著不同的.此外,预测的水文变化不仅与用于确定区域气候模型边界条件的全球气候模型的选择有关,而且与人为气体排放情景的选取有关.     

Quantenchaos: Komplexe Dynamik im Grenzbereich zwischen mikroskopischer und makroskopischer Physik

Die Autoren danken der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft für die Förderung dieser Arbeit im Sonderforschungsbereich 237 Unordnung und große Fluktuationen. T. Dittrich dankt der Abteilung für Kernphysik am Weizmann Institut, Rehovot, Israel, insbesondere Prof. U. Smilansky, für Gastfreundschaft während der Fertigstellung des Manuskripts.