Forest fires and adaptation options in Europe

This paper presents a quantitative assessment of adaptation options in the context of forest fires in Europe under projected climate change. A standalone fire model (SFM) based on a state-of-the-art large-scale forest fire modelling algorithm is used to explore fuel removal through prescribed burnings and improved fire suppression as adaptation options. The climate change projections are provided by three climate models reflecting the SRES A2 scenario. The SFM’s modelled burned areas for selected test countries in Europe show satisfying agreement with observed data coming from two different sources (European Forest Fire Information System and Global Fire Emissions Database). Our estimation of the potential increase in burned areas in Europe under “no adaptation” scenario is about 200 % by 2090 (compared with 2000–2008). The application of prescribed burnings has the potential to keep that increase below 50 %. Improvements in fire suppression might reduce this impact even further, e.g. boosting the probability of putting out a fire within a day by 10 % would result in about a 30 % decrease in annual burned areas. By taking more adaptation options into consideration, such as using agricultural fields as fire breaks, behavioural changes, and long-term options, burned areas can be potentially reduced further than projected in our analysis.     

Comparison of the performance of different methods to stabilize mercury-containing waste

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The work is devoted to the study of a possible technology for the immobilization of mercury in waste, based on the principles of converting mercury...     

Analysis of precipitation-related motor vehicle collision and injury risk using insurance and police record information for Winnipeg, Canada

Introduction

Police records are the most common source of data used to estimate motor-vehicle collision risks, understand causal or contributing factors, and evaluate the efficacy of interventions. The literature notes concerns about this information citing discrepancies between police reports and other sources of injury occurrence and severity data. The primary objective of the analysis was to assess the adequacy of police reports for an examination of weather-related injury collision risk.

Method

Analyses of relative risk were carried out using both police records and comprehensive insurance claim data for Winnipeg, Canada over the period 1999-2001.

Results and conclusions

Both data sets yielded very similar results—precipitation substantially increases the risk of injury collision (police records: RR 1.76, CI 1.55-2.00; insurance: RR 1.80, CI 1.62-1.99) and risk of injury (police records, RR 1.74, CI 1.55-1.96; insurance, RR 1.69, CI 1.55-1.85) relative to corresponding dry weather control periods. Both rainfall and snowfall were associated with large increases in collisions and injuries.

Impact on Industry

While relative risks are almost identical, over 64% more injury collisions and 74% more injuries were identified using the insurance data, which is an important difference for evaluating absolute risk and exposure.     

Determining shark size from forensic analysis of bite damage

Bite damage patterns have long been used to estimate shark species and body size, with somewhat limited success. The lack of fit between damage patterns and shark size is partially due to variation in tooth size and shape within an individual. The ability to accurately predict body size from bite patterns is important for better understanding the ecological and behavioral underpinnings of shark bites/attacks on marine organisms, humans, and submarine equipment. To this end, we measured interdental distance (IDD) between the most labial teeth in the first six tooth files on both the upper and lower jaws, as well as the circumference of the portion of each jaw that bears teeth, for prepared jaw sets from fourteen shark species and regressed these data against total length. IDD is allometric as well as an accurate predictor of total length in all species examined, except Carcharhinus acronotus. Tooth-bearing circumference is also allometric and predictive of total length in all species. Though considerable overlap exists in IDD and circumference ranges among species for the total length ranges examined, Carcharodon carcharias and Isurus sp. can be differentiated from Carcharhinus limbatus, Carcharhinus brevipinna, and C. acronotus based on these values alone. When combined with knowledge of species-specific feeding behavior, geographic distribution, and habitat preferences, these simple measures from bite damage patterns allow quick, accurate assessment of shark size and potential species.     

Radioactive isotopes in atmospheric aerosols over Russia and the Sea of Japan following nuclear accident at Fukushima Nr. 1 Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in March 2011

Artificial radionuclides, such as iodine-131 (¹³¹I), cesium-134 (¹³⁴Cs), and cesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs), as well as natural isotopes of beryllium-7 (⁷Be) and potassium-40 (⁴⁰K) have been registered in atmospheric aerosols over Vladivostok selected from 11 March to 17 June 2011. Additionally, ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs were detected in atmospheric aerosols over Tomsk selected from 16 March to 17 June 2011. Artificial radionuclides were also discovered in atmospheric wet depositions sampled in Vladivostok from 3 to 17 May 2011. Moreover, these radionuclides have been registered in atmospheric aerosols over the sea surface of the Sea of Japan selected from 3 to 31 May 2011 during an expedition of the “Nadezhda” sailing ship. From 18 March to 15 April, an increase in concentrations of atmospheric aerosols over Vladivostok from 108.8 to 321.5 μg/m³ has been registered. It was accompanied by increased activity concentrations of ¹³⁴Cs, ¹³⁷Cs, and the ¹³¹I. During the period from 18 March to 15 April, activity concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs and ¹³⁴Cs in atmospheric aerosols increased 100 times compared with the minimum detectable concentration (MDC) level and peaked in the weekly sample gathered from 8 to 15 April (145.0 and 105.3 μBq/m³, respectively). Variability of concentrations of natural isotopes of ⁷Be and ⁴⁰K was not greater than 1 order of magnitude throughout the sampling period. Maximal values of ¹³⁷Cs and ¹³⁴Cs concentrations (1,281.5?±?141 and 384.4?±?42.3 μBq/m³, respectively) in Tomsk were reached in samples taken from 1 to 2 April. For the atmospheric aerosol samples from the Sea of Japan, the largest concentration of ¹³¹I (392.3?±?215.7 μBq/m³) was detected from 13 to 19 May, while all other samples had much lower concentration values. Synoptic analysis of back trajectories movement of air masses showed that the radioactive cloud came to Vladivostok from the regions of Siberia and northeastern part of China. Synoptic analysis for Tomsk showed that during the period of maximal activity concentrations (1–9 April), air masses were arriving from the European part of Russia and north of Kazakhstan.     

Optimal descriptor as a translator of eclectic information into the prediction of membrane damage by means of various TiO2 nanoparticles

The increasing use of nanomaterials incorporated into consumer products leads to the need for developing approaches to establish “quantitative structure–activity relationships” (QSARs) for various nanomaterials. However, the molecular structure as rule is not available for nanomaterials at least in its classic meaning. An possible alternative of classic QSAR (based on the molecular structure) is the using of data on physicochemical features of TiO₂ nanoparticles. The damage to cellular membranes (units L⁻¹) by means of various TiO₂ nanoparticles is examined as the endpoint.     

Traffic and meteorological impacts on near-road air quality: summary of methods and trends from the Raleigh Near-Road Study

A growing number of epidemiological studies conducted worldwide suggest an increase in the occurrence of adverse health effects in populations living, working, or going to school near major roadways. A study was designed to assess traffic emissions impacts on air quality and particle toxicity near a heavily traveled highway. In an attempt to describe the complex mixture of pollutants and atmospheric transport mechanisms affecting pollutant dispersion in this near-highway environment, several real-time and time-integrated sampling devices measured air quality concentrations at multiple distances and heights from the road. Pollutants analyzed included U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-regulated gases, particulate matter (coarse, fine, and ultrafine), and air toxics. Pollutant measurements were synchronized with real-time traffic and meteorological monitoring devices to provide continuous and integrated assessments of the variation of near-road air pollutant concentrations and particle toxicity with changing traffic and environmental conditions, as well as distance from the road. Measurement results demonstrated the temporal and spatial impact of traffic emissions on near-road air quality. The distribution of mobile source emitted gas and particulate pollutants under all wind and traffic conditions indicated a higher proportion of elevated concentrations near the road, suggesting elevated exposures for populations spending significant amounts of time in this microenvironment. Diurnal variations in pollutant concentrations also demonstrated the impact of traffic activity and meteorology on near-road air quality. Time-resolved measurements of multiple pollutants demonstrated that traffic emissions produced a complex mixture of criteria and air toxic pollutants in this microenvironment. These results provide a foundation for future assessments of these data to identify the relationship of traffic activity and meteorology on air quality concentrations and population exposures.     

Soil organic matter and biological activity under long-term contamination with copper

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - Organic matter (OM) and enzymes activity can act as indicators of the time and level of soil contamination with heavy metal. The goal of this study is...     

Morphological differences between females of different <Emphasis Type="Italic">Jaera</Emphasis> species (Crustacea: Asellota: Isopoda) in the White Sea: a possible solution to an old problem

It is well known that females of “Jaera albifrons” species complex cannot be determined on the basis of morphological analysis. In this work, an attempt to separate females of three Jaera species on the basis of morphometric characters, the length of so-called “coupling zones” (CZ), was made. Coupling zones are those parts of the partners’ bodies that contact during copulation. Female CZ is a region between the posterior edge of the pleotelson and the border between the fourth and the fifth thoracic segments, where openings of dorsal vaginas are situated. Male CZ extends from the anterior edge of the cephalon to the first abdominal segment carrying the copulative organ. Absolute and relative lengths of CZ were used. The latter was calculated as ratio of absolute length of CZ to body length. Two settlements of Jaera in the White Sea were studied for 3 years. Species composition of these populations was quite different (the first one was dominated by J. ischiosetosa and the second by J. albifrons and, 1 year by J. praehirsuta). Males of different species were shown to be distinct in terms of absolute and relative length of CZ. Frequency distributions of absolute and relative CZ length of females differed significantly in the two settlements. The experiments based on male choice in mixed samples were organized. They revealed that females chosen by males of different species differ significantly by CZ parameters.