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The Science of Nature -     

China: Energy and environment

Some of China's most prominent environmental problems are related to energy The air pollution of the cities and industrial centers is caused by the inefficient combustion of coal. Deforestation is due to a certain extent to the procurement of firewood. Further problems are caused by the ash and slag from coal combustion and the oil pollution of the sea. While most of China's air is still clean, pollution levels in the cities surpass by far those of German industrial towns, and the health effects are becoming apparent The problem of deforestation must be considered still more serious because it affects whole regions. Short-term effective solutions to the problems presented are not available     

Dioxin?hnliche polychlorierte Biphenyle (PCB) in der Umwelt

Zusammenfassung Ziel und Absicht  Der derzeitige Kenntnisstand zu Quellen, Verbleib in der Umwelt, Exposition des Menschen und gesundheitlicher Bewertung von dioxin?hnlichen polychlorierten Biphenylen (PCB) und nicht dioxin?hnlichen PCB wird mit Fokus auf den deutschsprachigen Raum dargestellt und zusammengefasst. Methoden  Grundlage für den aktuellen Kenntnisstand sind die Vortr?ge und Diskussionsergebnisse eines zweit?gigen bundesweiten Statuskolloquiums. Die Bedeutung der dioxin?hnlichen PCB wird insbesondere in Relation zu den polychlorlerten Dibenzo-p-dioxinen (PCDD) und Dibenzofuranen (PCDF) betrachtet. Dazu dient in erster Linie ein Vergleich der Toxizit?ts?quivalentkonzentrationen (TEQ) beider Stoffgruppen in den betrachteten Umweltmatrices. Ergebnisse und Schlussfolgerungen  In vielen Umweltmedien sind die TEQ-Werte der dioxin?hnlichen PCB ?hnlich hoch wie die PCDD/PCDF-Gehalte, in den meisten Lebensmitteln tierischen Ursprungs sogar h?her. In den meisten Medien hat das nichtortho substituierte PCB 126 aufgrund seines hohen Toxizit?ts?quivalenzfaktors von 0,1 den mit Abstand h?chsten Beitrag zum PCB-TEQ. Für die gro?fl?chige Umweltbelastung mit PCB ist offensichtlich der atmosph?rische (Fern) Transport wesentlich. Für den Eintritt der dioxin?hnlichen, PCB in terrestrische Nahrungsketten ist der Transfer Atmosph?re-Pflanze wahrscheinlich der entscheidende Schritt. Empfehlungen und Ausblick  Trotz des Rückgangs der Umweltbelastung mit PCB und PCDD/PCDF überschreitet ein erheblicher Teil der Bev?lkerung in Deutschland und anderen europ?ischen Staaten gegenw?rtig noch die duldbare Aufnahme an, dioxin?hnlichen Substanzen. Aber auch aufgrund einer aktuellen toxikologischen Neubewertung der nicht-dioxin?hnlichen PCB muss die Verminderung der PCB-Exposition weiter betrieben werden. OnlineFirst: 11. April 2005     

Water-soluble gases as partitioning tracers to investigate the pore volume-transmissivity correlation in a fracture

Hydraulically equivalent fractures may show striking differences when a gas-migration experiment is performed because of the different correlations between transmissivity, pore volume and entry pressure. We numerically simulate gas migration between injection and extraction boreholes in a parallel plate fracture with a heterogeneous fault gouge, in a rough-walled fracture filled with homogeneous material, and in a rough-walled empty fracture. The parallel plate model and the empty model clearly show the existence of preferential paths; for high variance of the transmissivity field, gas flow takes place only in few discrete channels separated by water-saturated regions. In contrast, in the fracture filled with homogeneous fault gouge, the gas saturation is continuous and more uniformly distributed. It appears a fundamental issue to be able to discriminate in situ among conceptual models that can yield such a different gas-saturation distribution. As in practice, the saturation distribution cannot be directly observed, tracer experiments are performed to characterize a fracture. For these reasons, we simulate the transport of tracers, which are added to the gas phase as soon as quasi-steady saturation distribution and extraction rate are achieved, and we compare the breakthrough curves obtained assuming different models. Our numerical simulations suggest that discrimination among the models on the basis of single-tracer tests is unlikely. A better tool to investigate fracture properties is provided by a gas-tracer test, in which a cocktail of gases with different water solubility is employed. These gases behave as partitioning tracers and allow us to estimate the gas saturation in the fracture. Indeed, by comparison of the residence-time distributions of different gases, we are able to compute a streamline effective saturation, which is an excellent estimate of fracture saturation. In addition, the streamline effective saturation curve contains information that is useful to identify the conceptual model that more likely applies to the fracture.     

The development of sun compass orientation in young homing pigeons

Summary A series of clock-shift experiments with young homing pigeons of various ages was performed to determine at what age they normally learn sun compass orientation. The response of untrained pigeons to shifting of their internal clock seems to depend on their age. When the clock-shifted birds were tested at an age of 11 weeks and younger, their departure bearings did not differ significantly from those of controls (Fig. 1, diagrams on the right); in tests with birds 12 weeks and older the characteristic deviation indicating the use of the sun compass was observed (Figs. 2 and 3). Birds that had participated in a short training program, however, used the sun compass at 8 weeks, the earliest age tested (Fig. 1, diagrams on the left). These findings show that the time of development of the sun compass strongly depends on flying experience. Within the first months of a bird's life, it seems to take place after the bird has been confronted with the need to orient, either spontaneously during extended exercise flights around its loft or imposed by training releases.The departure bearings of the very young, inexperienced birds that did not rely on the sun compass, however, were already oriented homeward. This indicates that the ability to navigate develops independently of the sun compass, before the sun compass is learned.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. F.W. Merkel for his 70th birthday