National aeronautics and space administration

The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an important real and potential source of global environmental data. This paper describes some of its capabilities as they relate to the their R&D and their data centers.     

Natural flow regimes, nonnative fishes, and native fish persistence in arid-land river systems

Escalating demands for water have led to substantial modifications of river systems in arid regions, which coupled with the widespread invasion of nonnative organisms, have increased the vulnerability of native aquatic species to extirpation. Whereas a number of studies have evaluated the role of modified flow regimes and nonnative species on native aquatic assemblages, few have been conducted where the compounding effects of modified flow regimes and established nonnatives do not confound interpretations, particularly at spatial and temporal scales that are relevant to conservation of species at a range-wide level. By evaluating a 19-year data set across six sites in the relatively unaltered upper Gila River basin, New Mexico, USA, we tested how natural flow regimes and presence of nonnative species affected long-term stability of native fish assemblages. Overall, we found that native fish density was greatest during a wet period at the beginning of our study and declined during a dry period near the end of the study. Nonnative fishes, particularly predators, generally responded in opposite directions to these climatic cycles. Our data suggested that chronic presence of nonnative fishes, coupled with naturally low flows reduced abundance of individual species and compromised persistence of native fish assemblages. We also found that a natural flow regime alone was unlikely to ensure persistence of native fish assemblages. Rather, active management that maintains natural flow regimes while concurrently suppressing or excluding nonnative fishes from remaining native fish strongholds is critical to conservation of native fish assemblages in a system, such as the upper Gila River drainage, with comparatively little anthropogenic modification.     

The Role of Published Information in Reviewing Conservation Objectives for Natura 2000 Protected Areas in the European Union

Protected areas are designated to protect species and other features known to be present at the time of designation, but over time the information about the presence of protected species may change and this should call for a continued review of conservation objectives. Published scientific literature is one of the possible information sources that would trigger a review of conservation objectives. We studied how published data on new discoveries of protected animal species were taken into account by the nature conservation authorities in updating species lists of Natura 2000 sites in the European Union, which are the basis for conservation planning at the site-level. Over the period studied (2000–2011) only 40 % of published new protected species records were recognized by the authorities. The two main reasons for this seem to be a reliance on other sources of information by authorities and the difficulty in finding relevant information in scientific papers. The latter is because published faunistic information is very fragmented among different journals, and often insufficient in details. We recommend better cooperation between authors, publishers, and nature conservation authorities in terms of information presentation, publishing policy, and a regular review of published information.     

Addressing emerging risks using carbon capture and storage as an example

The European iNTeg-Risk project is a large-scale integrated project aimed at improving the management of emerging risks related to new technologies in European industry. The project aims to build a new management paradigm for emerging risks as a set of principles supported by a common language, agreed tools and methods, and key performance indicators, all integrated into a single framework. It is using a number of Emerging Risk Representative Applications (ERRAs), or case studies, to inform the development of the framework; one of which concerns the carbon capture and storage (CCS) process.This paper describes the iNTeg-Risk CCS ERRA. Relevant hazards and properties of carbon dioxide are described and the emerging risks from CCS are discussed. Three new tools have been developed or trialled within the ERRA. These are: the DyPASI methodology for taking account of atypical (not usually identified) events during hazard identification; a methodology for including the time dimension in a risk assessment; and life-cycle approaches for risk management and communication. For CCS, the risk assessment needs to include both short-term potential accidents from capture, transport or injection, as well as very long-term risks from storage. Knowledge gaps which are generic to emerging risks are also identified.     

Spatial and Biological Aspects of Reserve Design

The optimal spatial design of protected reserves requires attention to the biological mechanisms underlying community organization, and sustaining ecosystem services. Identifying the key mechanisms is especially difficult in species-rich ecosystems. We investigate the example of the tropical rainforest, a biome that is under threat of continuing fragmentation, yet which shelters the majority of living species on Earth. Simple dynamic and spatially explicit simulations, which model the dynamics of plant communities, allow us to elucidate the interplay between patterns of fragmentation and seed dispersal mechanisms in maintaining biodiversity.     

Use of man-made impoundment in mitigating acid mine drainage in the North Branch Potomac River

The US Department of the Army, Baltimore District Corps of Engineers, oversees a long-term monitoring study to assess and evaluate effects of the Jennings-Randolph reservoir on biota in the North Branch Potomac River. The reservoir was intended, in part, to mitigate effects of acid mine drainage originating in upstream and headwater areas. The present study assessed recovery of benthos and fish in this system, six years after completion of the reservoir. Higher pH and lower iron and sulfate concentrations were observed upstream of the reservoir compared to preimpoundment conditions, suggesting better overall water quality in the upper North Branch. Water quality improved slightly directly downstream of the reservoir. However, the reservoir itself was poorly colonized by macrophytes and benthic organisms, and plankton composition suggested either metal toxicity and/or nutrient limitation. One large tributary to the North Branch and the reservoir (Stony River) was shown to have high (and possibly toxic) levels of manganese, iron, zinc, and aluminum due to subsurface coal mine drainage. Macroinvertebrate diversity and number of taxa were higher in sites downstream of the reservoir in the present study. Compared with previous years, the present study suggested relatively rapid recovery in the lower North Branch due to colonization from two major unimpacted tributaries in this system: Savage River and South Branch Potomac. Abundance of certain mayfly species across sites provided the most clear evidence of longitudinal gradients in water quality parameters and geomorphology. Fish data were consistent with macroinvertebrate results, but site-to-site variation in species composition was greater. Data collected between 1982 and 1987 suggested that certain fish species have unsuccessfully attempted to colonize sites directly downstream of the reservoir despite the more neutral pH water there. Our results show that recovery of biota in the North Branch Potomac was attributed to decreased acid inputs from mining operations and dilution from the Savage River, which contributed better water quality. Continued improvement of North Branch Potomac biota may not be expected unless additional mitigation attempts, either within the reservoir or upstream, are undertaken.