Deltas,freshwater discharge,and waves along the Young Sound,NE Greenland

A wide range of delta morphologies occurs along the fringes of the Young Sound in Northeast Greenland due to spatial heterogeneity of delta regimes. In general, the delta regime is related to catchment and basin characteristics (geology, topography, drainage pattern, sediment availability, and bathymetry), fluvial discharges and associated sediment load, and processes by waves and currents. Main factors steering the Arctic fluvial discharges into the Young Sound are the snow and ice melt and precipitation in the catchment, and extreme events like glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs). Waves are subordinate and only rework fringes of the delta plain forming sandy bars if the exposure and fetch are optimal. Spatial gradients and variability in driving forces (snow and precipitation) and catchment characteristics (amount of glacier coverage, sediment characteristics) as well as the strong and local influence of GLOFs in a specific catchment impede a simple upscaling of sediment fluxes from individual catchments toward a total sediment flux into the Young Sound.     

Carbon capture and storage deployment rates: needs and feasibility

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) may become a key technology to limit human-induced global warming, but many uncertainties prevail, including the necessary technological development, costs, legal ramifications, and siting. As such, an important question is the scale of carbon dioxide abatement we require from CCS to meet future climate targets, and whether they appear reasonable. For a number of energy technology and efficiency improvement scenarios, we use a simple climate model to assess the necessary contribution from CCS to ‘fill the gap’ between scenarios’ carbon dioxide emissions levels and the levels needed to meet alternative climate targets. The need for CCS depends on early or delayed action to curb emissions and the characteristics of the assumed energy scenario. To meet a 2.5°C target a large contribution and fast deployment rates for CCS are required. The required deployment rates are much faster than those seen in the deployment of renewable energy technologies as well as nuclear power the last decades, and may not be feasible. This indicates that more contributions are needed from other low-carbon energy technologies and improved energy efficiency, or substitution of coal for gas in the first half of the century. In addition the limited availability of coal and gas by end of the century and resulting limited scope for CCS implies that meeting the 2.5°C target would require significant contributions from one or more of the following options: CCS linked to oil use, biomass energy based CCS (BECCS), and CCS linked to industrial processes.     

瑞典沿岸水域濒临消失的大叶藻(Zostera Marina,L.)

在瑞典斯卡格拉克海峡沿岸,大叶藻(Zostera marina)是一种生长在浅水软海底上的优势显花植物.大叶藻场是许多甲壳动物和鱼类,不管是洄游种或是稳定种的重要群落生境.在20世纪80年代期间,作为海岸带管理的基础,对瑞典西海岸有大叶藻生长的沿岸浅水区的资源进行了调查.在这次研究中我们再次考察了斯卡格拉克海峡200km沿岸的5个沿海地区中的2000hm2大叶藻场.资源调查的方法(水下测量镜)与80年代的一样,但通过使用全球定位系统(GPS)增加了绘图的精确度.这次研究的结果表明,在10～15年的时间里,大叶藻的区域延伸面积减少了58%,且地区变化很大.大叶藻的减少主要限于大叶藻场的浅水部分.本文探讨了原因和生态后果.     

Urinary nickel concentrations and selected pregnancy outcomes in delivering women and their newborns among arctic populations of Norway and Russia

The two objectives of this study were to compare urinary nickel excretion in pregnant women and their newborns living in the Murmansk and Arkhangelsk Counties of Russia with that in comparable Norwegian populations living in Finnmark and the city of Bergen and to assess the influence on pregnancy outcome of different risk variables, specifically urinary nickel concentrations and questionnaire-based anamnestic information. Life-style information and urine samples were collected from 50 consecutive mother-infant pairs from hospital delivery departments in three Russian and three Norwegian communities. Pregnancy outcomes were verified from medical records. Urinary nickel excretion was significantly higher in the Russian communities, independent of the presence of a nickel refinery as a local environmental source. The birth weight and mean body mass index of the newborn children (BMIC) were significantly lower (p < 0.001) in the Russian groups, with or without adjustment for gestational age. A multivariate linear regression analysis indicated that maternal urinary nickel concentration had no impact on birth weight. The maternal body mass index (BMI) and maternal height were positive explanatory variables; maternal urinary creatinine is suggested as a weak negative factor. Smoking was shown to be a strong negative predictor only in the Norwegian group among whom there was a significantly higher smoking frequency (p = 0.005). The significant contribution of a country factor in the predictive model is interpreted to indicate that a number of important risk factors for low birth weight were not identified.     

Acute injuries resulting from accidents involving powered mobility devices (PMDs)—Development and outcomes of PMD-related accidents in Sweden

Objective: Powered mobility devices (PMDs) are commonly used as aids for older people and people with disabilities, subgroups of vulnarable road users (VRUs) who are rarely noted in traffic safety contexts. However, the problem of accidents involving PMD drivers has been reported in many countries where these vehicles have become increasingly popular.

The aim of this study is to extract and analyze national PMD-related accident and injury data reported to the Swedish Traffic Accident Data Acquisition (STRADA) database. The results will provide valuable insight into the risks and obstacles that PMD drivers are exposed to in the traffic environment and may contribute to improving the mobility of this group in the long term.

Methods: The current study is based on data from 743 accidents and 998 persons. An analysis was performed on a subset of data (N?=?301) in order to investigate the development of accidents over a period of 10 years. Thereafter, each accident in the whole data set was registered as either single (N?=?427) or collision (N?=?315).

Results: The results show that there was a 3-fold increase in the number of PMD-related accidents reported to STRADA during the period 2007–2016.

With regard to single accidents, collisions, as well as fatalities, the injury statistics were dominated by males. Single accidents were more common than collisions (N?=?427 and N?=?316, respectively) and the level of injury sustained in each type of accident is on par.

The vast majority of single accidents resulted in the PMD driver impacting the ground (87%), due to either PMD turnover (71%) or the driver falling out of the PMD (16%). The reason for many of the single accidents was a difference in ground level (34%, typically a curb).

Cars, trucks, or buses were involved in 67% of collision events; these occured predominantly at junctions or intersections (70%).

Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) 3+ injuries were dominated by hip and head injuries in both single accidents and collision events.

Conclusions: The present study shows that further research on PMD accidents is required, with regard to both single accidents and collision events. To ensure that appropriate decisions are made, future work should follow up on injury trends and further improve the quality of PDM-related accident data. Improved vehicle stability and design, increased usage of safety equipment, proper training programs, effective maintenance services, and development of a supporting infrastructure would contribute to increased safety for PMD drivers.     

Estimating residential air pollution exposure among citizens in Oslo 1974-1998 using a geographical information system

Annual concentration fields of SO2 and NOx for the period 1974-1998 are calculated for a 22 x 18 km2-grid in Oslo. In a study of lung cancer and air pollution in Oslo, 16209 men living in Oslo have been followed from 1972/73 to 1998. This paper presents a method for estimating their annual residential air pollution exposure for SO2 and NOx. In the exposure assessment the National Population Register provided information on home addresses. Each participant was given an annual average air pollutant concentration outdoors of the address he lived the largest part of that year. Persons living close to streets with high traffic were given an additional concentration, and persons who moved outside Oslo were given a region value for each year. Due to regulations of the sulfur content in fuel oil and a general change of local heating systems to electricity or distant heating, the SO2-concentrations in Central Oslo were reduced during the period from about 60 microg m(-3) in 1974-75 to about 4 microg m(-3) in 1997-98. Due to the increasing traffic the NOx-concentrations have increased slowly, from about 40 microg m(-3) in 1974-84 to about 60 microg m(-3) in 1989. After the introduction of catalyst cars the concentrations were reduced to about 45 microg m(-3) in 1997-98.