Oil spill response capabilities and technologies for ice-covered Arctic marine waters: A review of recent developments and established practices

Renewed political and commercial interest in the resources of the Arctic, the reduction in the extent and thickness of sea ice, and the recent failings that led to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, have prompted industry and its regulatory agencies, governments, local communities and NGOs to look at all aspects of Arctic oil spill countermeasures with fresh eyes. This paper provides an overview of present oil spill response capabilities and technologies for ice-covered waters, as well as under potential future conditions driven by a changing climate. Though not an exhaustive review, we provide the key research results for oil spill response from knowledge accumulated over many decades, including significant review papers that have been prepared as well as results from recent laboratory tests, field programmes and modelling work. The three main areas covered by the review are as follows: oil weathering and modelling; oil detection and monitoring; and oil spill response techniques.     

Historic preservation,significance, and age value: A comparative phenomenology of historic Charleston and the nearby new-urbanist community of I'On

While the age of physical environments is the central tenet of historic preservation, there is a lack of empirical evidence about how everyday people actually value, perceive, and experience age as an intrinsic part of an urban environment. In order to ameliorate this knowledge deficit, this study employs phenomenology to understand the lived experience of being in a “new” versus an “old” or “historic” urban residential environment. The new environment is the I'On new urbanist development in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, and the old environment is the location of the United States' first historic district in Charleston, South Carolina. These locations are approximately within five miles of each other. In both places, the physical characteristics of the built environment are remarkably similar in density, form, layout, and design, but the age is dramatically different. Through photo elicitation techniques and interviews, the results of this study reveal that residents of historic Charleston and I'On value their built environments in remarkably similar ways. Surprisingly, elements that evoke a strong sense of attachment tend to be landscape features, such as gates, fountains, trees, and gardens rather than buildings. The informants valued the “mystery” that they felt was part of the landscape and which consisted of layered elements such as fences, gates, and paths, such that these features (including buildings) had to be “discovered.” Lastly, the informants strongly valued landscapes that showed “people care” through regular maintenance. The essential difference in people's experience and valuation of the new environment (I'On) and the old environment (historic Charleston) is in the older environment's ability to instill creative fantasies in the minds of the informants based on a hypothetical past of their own creation. The informants in I'On did not share these kinds of meanings.     

Kinetic Sequential Sampling (KSS) System: An Automated Sampling System for Measuring Vertical Concentration Profiles of Airborne Particles

ABSTRACT

An electronically controlled lift system carrying a realtime particle monitor has been developed for sampling air sequentially, at different heights within the breathing zone. Data are automatically logged at the different receptor levels, for the determination of average vertical concentration profiles of airborne particulate matter. The system is easy to operate, portable, and easily extended to different heights or modified for use with other types of monitors (e.g., a portable CO analyzer). For measuring airborne particle concentrations, a Grimm Dust Monitor 1.104/5 was used. The results of trial runs, which were carried out indoors and in a relatively open semi-rural area, are presented, and applications of the kinetic sequential sampling (KSS) system are discussed.     

填料-生物转盘处理有机模拟污水

针对传统生物转盘启动慢、挂膜性能差、水力停留时间长等缺点,采用英国某生物技术公司研制的新型填料复合式生物转盘处理有机模拟污水,考察水力停留时间、转盘转速、有机负荷等因素对工艺运行效果的影响。结果表明,新型生物转盘启动快,微生物相变化明显,微生物量大,挂膜效率高;抗负荷冲击能力强,有机负荷大幅度变化对其影响较小;二级转笼处有机负荷相对较低,溶解氧高,微生物的种类、数量均比一级转笼多;该转盘处理有机模拟污水的最优水力停留时间为1.5 h,最佳转速为12.4 r/min,较传统生物转盘污水处理量大,且污水COD去除率高达97%,大大降低运行能耗,出水水质达到城镇污水处理厂污染物排放标准(GB18918-2002)中的一级A标准。     

Effect of semantics in the study of tolerance for wolves

As conservation scholars increasingly recognize the critical role of human thought and behavior in determining the persistence of biodiversity across the globe, a growing line of inquiry regarding the validity and comparability of previous applications of core psychological concepts has emerged. Specifically, inconsistent measurement and use of terms, such as attitudes and acceptance, reveal important questions about previous approaches. Given that these concepts differ by definition, yet have been used interchangeably, we explored what drives differences in people's responses when each concept is operationalized in the context of a contested wildlife species, the gray wolf (Canis lupus). To do so, we used data from a 2014 survey of U.S. residents (n = 1287) to test how measures of six concepts (i.e., acceptance, attitudes, benefits, risks, [prior] behavior, and behavioral intentions) often employed in the conservation social sciences were related with a broad set of possible explanatory variables. Despite moderate to strong correlations between all concepts measured (| Pearson's r | = 0.39–0.65, p < 0.001), results revealed considerable variation in their respective relationships with identical explanatory variables. Specifically, although wildlife value orientation (i.e., domination or mutualism) operated fairly consistently across cognitive and behavioral concepts, the relationship between the six concepts and other factors, such as social trust, identification with various interest groups (i.e., hunter, farmer, or rancher, environmentalist, and animal rights advocate), and political ideology (i.e., liberal vs. conservative), varied considerably. Our findings underscore that differences exist in these measures, which could have serious implications for conservationists integrating social science findings in their decision-making processes if they are unaware of the theoretical underpinnings of and distinctions between core psychological concepts.     

Protected area planning to conserve biodiversity in an uncertain future

Protected areas are a key instrument for conservation. Despite this, they are vulnerable to risks associated with weak governance, land-use intensification, and climate change. We used a novel hierarchical optimization approach to identify priority areas for expanding the global protected area system that explicitly accounted for such risks while maximizing protection of all known terrestrial vertebrate species. To incorporate risk categories, we built on the minimum set problem, where the objective is to reach species distribution protection targets while accounting for 1 constraint, such as land cost or area. We expanded this approach to include multiple objectives accounting for risk in the problem formulation by treating each risk layer as a separate objective in the problem formulation. Reducing exposure to these risks required expanding the area of the global protected area system by 1.6% while still meeting conservation targets. Incorporating risks from weak governance drove the greatest changes in spatial priorities for protection, and incorporating risks from climate change required the largest increase (2.52%) in global protected area. Conserving wide-ranging species required countries with relatively strong governance to protect more land when they bordered nations with comparatively weak governance. Our results underscore the need for cross-jurisdictional coordination and demonstrate how risk can be efficiently incorporated into conservation planning. Planeación de las áreas protegidas para conservar la biodiversidad en un futuro incierto     

The role of self‐regulation in the relationship between abusive supervision and job tension

Trait and state self‐regulation both have critical influences on workplace behavior, but their influences are thought to operate quite differently. We draw from social exchange and ego depletion theories to investigate the relationship between trait and state self‐regulation, as well as how they differentially affect the relationship between subordinates' perceptions of abusive supervision and job tension. Specifically, we examine (a) how the interaction between abusive supervision and trait self‐regulation affects job tension and (b) how state self‐regulation mediates the relationship between abusive supervision and job tension. Using 3 studies that include an experiment (n = 81) and 2 field studies with cross‐sectional (n = 157) and time‐separated (n = 109) data, we demonstrate that the interaction between abusive supervision and trait self‐regulation increases experienced job tension for subordinates who report higher levels of abusive supervision and trait self‐regulation than others. Also, we provide evidence that abusive supervision is indirectly associated with job tension through state self‐regulation. This study's findings have important implications for abusive supervision and self‐regulation research, as well as social exchange and ego depletion theories, because we extend our understanding of how trait and state self‐regulation affect cognitive responses associated with abusive supervision.     

Cropland patchiness strongest agricultural predictor of bird diversity for multiple guilds in landscapes of Ontario,Canada

The potential for agricultural landscapes to support biodiversity may vary greatly based on agricultural land use. Current knowledge suggests that agricultural composition and intensity are dominant drivers of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, with variable effects of agricultural configuration and landscape diversity. The aim of this study was to determine the relative effects of agricultural composition, intensity, configuration, and landscape diversity on the species diversity of six distinct bird guilds on the landscape scale in a large and complex landscape in Ontario, Canada. We found that agricultural configuration, specifically patchiness of croplands, and to a lesser degree forage lands, was the strongest predictor of bird diversity for three of the six bird guilds considered (forest, shrubland, and town). The effects of increased cropland patchiness were variable, with forest and shrubland bird diversity increasing from small to moderate patchiness, and town bird diversity declining from moderate to high patchiness. Grassland birds, a group of considerable conservation concern, increased near linearly with increased agricultural land cover in the landscape, highlighting the need to consider agricultural lands in conservation planning for this species group. Woodland bird diversity declined significantly with all increasing measures of agricultural intensity, including the proportion of high-intensity agriculture and larger patches of agricultural land. Wetland birds were unique from the other guilds, showing primarily a strong association between diversity of land cover types and guild-level bird diversity. Surprisingly, increased cover of agricultural lands, which we predicted to be a dominant driver of guild-level bird diversity declines due to habitat loss, had weak, non-significant effects relative to the other land use variable being tested, except for the positive association with grassland birds. Our findings suggest that a mix of management strategies should be employed to consider the varying effects of agricultural lands on different bird guilds, such as the inclusion of agricultural land in conservation strategies for grassland species and further managing the configuration of agricultural lands to enhance biodiversity of agricultural landscapes.     

Targeting the Vulnerable: A Review of the Necessity and Feasibility of Targeting Vulnerable Households

This article examines whether it is possible to target vulnerable households within a geographically defined area. It looks first at the justification for targeting and then reviews recent practical experience in actually trying to reach vulnerable groups. As complex emergencies increasingly last longer, strategies to target vulnerable households are common in the protracted phase of the emergency. While this is often necessary because of a decline in resources, it is not always justified by an improvement in nutritional status or food security of the beneficiary population.
Common target groups are the poor and the malnourished, but in complex emergencies these are not always the most vulnerable. Moreover, recent practical experience has shown considerable difficulties in targeting the poor. Methods to target the poor rely on community-based relief committees, whose priorities are not necessarily the same as those of external agencies. This paper gives examples of such targeted assistance programmes in Kenya, south Sudan and Tanzania. The paper concludes that situations where targeting vulnerable households is justified and feasible are extremely limited. It is suggested that if targeting has to be done because of scarce resources, this should be done on a geographical basis and on the basis of nutritional status. Case-study material shows that it is essential to understand the political determinants of vulnerability and to design methods that will reach the most vulnerable.     

A response surface methodology to address uncertainties in cap rock failure assessment for CO2 geological storage in deep aquifers

Cap rock failure assessment, either tensile fracturing or shear slip reactivation of pre-existing fault, is a key issue for preventing CO₂ leakage from deep aquifer reservoirs up to the surface. For an appropriate use in risk management, the uncertainties associated with such studies should be investigated. Nevertheless, uncertainty analysis requires multiple simulations and a direct use of conventional numerical approaches might be too computer time consuming. An alternative is to use conventional analytical models, but their assumptions appear to be too conservative. An intermediate approach is then proposed based on the response surface methodology, consisting in estimating the effective stress state after CO₂ injection as a linear combination of the most influential site properties based on a limited number of numerical simulations. The decision maker is provided with three levels of information: (1) the identification of the most important site properties; (2) an analytical model for a quick assessment of the maximal sustainable overpressure and (3) a simplified model to be used in a computationally intensive uncertainty analysis framework. This generic methodology is illustrated with the Paris Basin case using a large-scale hydromechanical model to assess cap rock failure in the injector zone.