Application of atomic absorption and plasma emission spectrometry for environmental analysis

The application of flame atomic absorption (FAAS), electrotehrmal atomic absorption (ETAAS), inductively coupled plasma emission (ICP), and direct-current plasma emission spectrometry (DCP) for the determination of major, minor, and trace elements in Urban Particulates (SRM 1648), Wear Metals in Oil (SRM 1084 and 1085), and Simulated Solid-Waste Leachates is described. Interference were encountered in the determination of the trace elements in SRM 1648 by ETAAS; however, these interferences were alleviated using a 1% solution of ammonium dibasic phosphate as a matrix modifier. The concentration of elements in SRM 1084 and 1085 and the simulated solid-waste leachates were significantly above the detection limits by FAAS or ICP and no analytical difficulty was encountered.     

Biodegradation by Composting of Surface Modified Starch and PVA Blended Films

Several starch/PVA/glycerol polymer blends were prepared by a solution casting technique and examined for biodegradation by composting over 45 days. Within this time frame, the starch and glycerol components were fully degraded, leaving the PVA component essentially intact. The lowest PVA content film (20%) was selected as a polymer with enough PVA to impart important physical characteristics, but also enough starch to be considered biodegradable. The film characteristics were further improved by surface modification with chitosan. This modification did not interfere with the biodegradation of the starch component. Furthermore, there was slight evidence that PVA biodegradation had been initiated in composted, surface modified starch/PVA blends.     

Soil resource supply influences faunal size–specific distributions in natural food webs

The large range of body-mass values of soil organisms provides a tool to assess the ecological organization of soil communities. The goal of this paper is to identify graphical and quantitative indicators of soil community composition and ecosystem functioning, and to illustrate their application to real soil food webs. The relationships between log-transformed mass and abundance of soil organisms in 20 Dutch meadows and heathlands were investigated. Using principles of allometry, maximal use can be made of ecological theory to build and explain food webs. The aggregate contribution of small invertebrates such as nematodes to the entire community is high under low soil phosphorus content and causes shifts in the mass–abundance relationships and in the trophic structures. We show for the first time that the average of the trophic link lengths is a reliable predictor for assessing soil fertility responses. Ordered trophic link pairs suggest a self-organizing structure of food webs according to resource availability and can predict environmental shifts in ecologically meaningful ways. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to all users.     

Does Climate Change Communication Matter for Individual Engagement with Adaptation? Insights from Forest Owners in Sweden

Environmental Management - Natural resource managers urgently need to adapt to climate change, and extension services are increasingly using targeted communication campaigns to promote individual...     

The relative importance of subjective and structural factors for individual adaptation to climate change by forest owners in Sweden

A growing body of literature argues that subjective factors can more accurately explain individual adaptation to climate change than objective measurers of adaptive capacity. Recent studies have shown that personal belief in climate change and affect are much better in explaining climate awareness and action than income, education or gender. This study focuses on the process of individual adaptation to climate change. It assesses and compares the influence of cognitive, experiential and structural factors on individuals’ views and intentions regarding climate change adaptation. Data from this study comes from a survey with 836 forest owners in Sweden. Ordinal and binary logistic regression was used to test hypotheses about the different factors. Results show that cognitive factors—namely personal level of trust in climate science, belief in the salience of climate change and risk assessment—are the only statistically significant factors that can directly explain individuals’ intention to adapt to climate change and their sense of urgency. Findings also suggest that structural or socio-demographic factors do not have a statistically significant influence on adaptation decision-making among Swedish forest owners. The study also offers valuable insights for communication interventions to promote adaptation. Findings strongly suggest that communication interventions should focus more strongly on building trust and addressing stakeholders’ individual needs and experiences.

     

Mediterranean cyclones and windstorms in a changing climate

Changes in the frequency and intensity of cyclones and associated windstorms affecting the Mediterranean region simulated under enhanced Greenhouse Gas forcing conditions are investigated. The analysis is based on 7 climate model integrations performed with two coupled global models (ECHAM5 MPIOM and INGV CMCC), comparing the end of the twentieth century and at least the first half of the twenty-first century. As one of the models has a considerably enhanced resolution of the atmosphere and the ocean, it is also investigated whether the climate change signals are influenced by the model resolution. While the higher resolved simulation is closer to reanalysis climatology, both in terms of cyclones and windstorm distributions, there is no evidence for an influence of the resolution on the sign of the climate change signal. All model simulations show a reduction in the total number of cyclones crossing the Mediterranean region under climate change conditions. Exceptions are Morocco and the Levant region, where the models predict an increase in the number of cyclones. The reduction is especially strong for intense cyclones in terms of their Laplacian of pressure. The influence of the simulated positive shift in the NAO Index on the cyclone decrease is restricted to the Western Mediterranean region, where it explains 10–50 % of the simulated trend, depending on the individual simulation. With respect to windstorms, decreases are simulated over most of the Mediterranean basin. This overall reduction is due to a decrease in the number of events associated with local cyclones, while the number of events associated with cyclones outside of the Mediterranean region slightly increases. These systems are, however, less intense in terms of their integrated severity over the Mediterranean area, as they mostly affect the fringes of the region. In spite of the general reduction in total numbers, several cyclones and windstorms of intensity unknown under current climate conditions are identified for the scenario simulations. For these events, no common trend exists in the individual simulations. Thus, they may rather be attributed to long-term (e.g. decadal) variability than to the Greenhouse Gas forcing. Nevertheless, the result indicates that high-impact weather systems will remain an important risk in the Mediterranean Basin.     

Cost and Benefits of Road Dust Control in Seattle’s Industrial Valley

The paving of gravel roads with an average daily traffic (ADT) over 15 is a least cost method for reducing suspended particulate In the air in Seattle. It is also a good business investment when the ADT exceeds 100. Clean roads, gutters, and parking lots may reduce or eliminate Seattle’s most serious environmental constraint on economic development. In a study done in Seattle’s Duwamish Valley the impact of road dust on air quality was measured by obtaining dust emission factors for vehicles traveling at 10, 20, and 30 mph on gravel as well as dusty paved roads. A University of Washington Mark II Cascade Impactor was mounted on a trailer and towed behind a car to determine the concentration and size distribution of this dust. It was found that each vehicle mile at 20 mph on unpaved roads contributed 7.0 Ib of dust to the air, 1.9 Ib consisting of particles smaller than 10 microns in diameter and 0.24 Ib below 2 microns. Three to eight percent by weight of this respirable dust was free silica, which is potentially toxic. The quantity of dust generated varies as an exponent of the speed. The concentrations of dust found in the air near a dry gravel road with an ADT of 250 reached 584 μg/m3 for an 8 hr work day. A 24 hr suspended particulate reading of 463 μg/m3 total and 3.83 μg/m3 free silica was found beside a dusty paved road with an ADT of 18,000. Nineteen miles of gravel roads and 110 miles of dusty paved roads contributed 2700 tons/year of particulate, of which 700 tons were below 10 microns. Paving or oiling such roads will produce benefits of $3,881,000 yearly in household cleaning, health care, sewer, vehicle operation, and road maintenance costs as well as an increase in property values. Clean roads can lower the cost of clean air in Seattle.