Carbonaceous particles in the atmosphere and precipitation of the Nam Co region, central Tibet

A continuous air and precipitation sampling for carbonaceous particles was conducted in a field observatory beside Nam Co, Central Tibetan Plateau during July of 2006 through January of 2007. Organic carbon (OC) was the dominant composition of the carbonaceous particles both in the atmosphere (1660 ng/m³) and precipitation (476 ng/g) in this area, while the average elemental carbon (BC) concentrations in the atmosphere and precipitation were only 82 ng/m³ and 8 ng/g, respectively. Very high OC/BC ratio suggested local secondary organic carbon could be a dominant contribution to OC over the Nam Co region, while BC could be mainly originated from Southern Asia, as indicated by trajectory analysis and aerosol optical depth. Comparison between the BC concentrations measured in Lhasa, those at “Nepal Climate Observatory at Pyramid (NCO-P)” site on the southern slope of the Himalayas, and Nam Co suggested BC in the Nam Co region reflected a background with weak anthropogenic disturbances and the emissions from Lhasa might have little impact on the atmospheric environment here, while the pollutants from the Indo-Gangetic Basin of Southern Asia could be transported to the Nam Co region by both the summer monsoon and the westerly.     

Storm impacts along European coastlines. Part 2: lessons learned from the MICORE project

This paper describes the MICORE approach to quantify for nine field sites the crucial storm related physical hazards (hydrodynamic as well as morphodynamic) in support of early warning efforts and emergency response.As a first step historical storms that had a significant morphological impact on a representative number of sensitive European coastal stretches were reviewed and analysed in order to understand storm related morphological changes and how often they occur around Europe. Next, an on-line storm prediction system was set up to enable prediction of storm related hydro- and morphodynamic impacts. The system makes use of existing off-the-shelf models as well as a new open-source morphological model. To validate the models at least one year of fieldwork was done at nine pilot sites. The data was safeguarded and stored for future use in an open database that conforms to the OpenEarth protocols.To translate quantitative model results to useful information for Civil Protection agencies the Frame of Reference approach ( [Van Koningsveld et al., 2005] and [Van Koningsveld et al., 2007] ) was used to derive Storm Impact Indicators (SIIs) for relevant decision makers. The acquired knowledge is expected to be directly transferred to the civil society trough partnerships with end-users at the end of the MICORE project.     

Interlinked temporal changes in environmental conditions, chemical characteristics of sediments and macrofaunal assemblages in an estuarine intertidal sandflat (Seto Inland Sea, Japan)

Five field surveys were conducted in an estuarine intertidal sandflat of the Seto Inland Sea (Japan) between April 1994 and April 1995. Chlorophyll a, pheopigments, total organic carbon and acid-volatile sulphides (AVS) of surface and subsurface sediments, and macrofaunal assemblages were investigated in parallel at 15 stations. Monthly hydrological data of low-tide creek water adjacent to the flat were used as a complementary environmental characterisation of the study area. Strong temporal changes were found among sampling dates, most remarkably in autumn with a major increase of algal detritus and AVS, a sharp reduction in macrofaunal abundances and species richness, and a massive mortality of the clam Ruditapes philippinarum. This dystrophic event was preceded by a photoautotrophic and hypertrophic spring–summer characterized by abundant fresh (i.e., living) algal material, including microphytobenthos and macroalgae (Ulva sp.). In summer, abundant macrofaunal assemblages reached the highest biomass values (455 g wet weight m⁻² or 60.6 g ash free dry weight m⁻²), with a major contribution of filter-feeding bivalves Musculista senhousia and R. philippinarum. These are among the highest values reported in the literature for sedimentary shores. From autumn, there was a progressive recolonisation of macrofauna, initiated by few opportunistic polychaetes (e.g., Cirriformia tentaculata and Polydora sp.), apparently promoting a fast sediment recovery in winter, and followed by new bivalve recruits in the next spring. This study provides the first evidence of significant and interlinked within-year changes in chemical characteristics of sediments and macrofaunal assemblages in an estuarine intertidal flat at a small spatial scale (i.e., tens of meters). This demonstrates the high temporal variability of species–environment relations in these systems and a close relationship in seasonally driven trophodynamic processes among primary producers and benthic consumers. We conclude that a thorough parallel evaluation of the temporal changes in chemical characteristics of sediments should be taken into account in assessing the year-round distribution and changes of intertidal macrofauna, particularly in eutrophic, estuarine intertidal flats.An erratum to this article can be found at     

Modelling Tracer Dispersion from Landfills

Several wind tunnel experiments of tracer dispersion from reduced-scale landfill models are presented in this paper. Different experimental set-ups, hot-wire anemometry, particle image velocimetry and tracer concentration measurements were used for the characterisation of flow and dispersion phenomena nearby the models. The main aim of these experiments is to build an extensive experimental data set useful for model validation purposes. To demonstrate the potentiality of the experimental data set, a validation exercise on several mathematical models was performed by means of a statistical technique. The experiments highlighted an increase in pollutant ground level concentrations immediately downwind from the landfill because of induced turbulence and mean flow deflection. This phenomenon turns out to be predominant for the dispersion process. Tests with a different set-up showed an important dependence of the dispersion phenomena from the landfill height and highlighted how complex orographic conditions downwind of the landfill do not affect significantly the dispersion behaviour. Validation exercises were useful for model calibration, improving code reliability, as well as evaluating performances. The Van Ulden model proved to give the most encouraging results.     

Comparative study based on sediment characteristics and macrobenthic communities in two Italian lagoons

The aims of this study were to analyse sediment characteristics and macrobenthic assemblages in two very close Italian coastal lagoons (Lesina and Varano) and to assess the different behaviour between the two basins and the relationship between sediment matrix and benthic organisms within and between the two lagoons. The comparative study was performed in July 2007 at 13 sampling sites in Lesina lagoon and 15 sites in Varano basin for sediment grain size, total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) and macrobenthic structure analyses. Both lagoons were generally dominated by fine-grained sediments (clay and silt components). The average contents of TOC and TN measured in Lesina was higher than in Varano (3.31% vs 2.52% for TOC and 5,200 μg·g^???1 vs 3,713 μg·g^???1 for TN); in contrast, the TP was lower (540 μg·g^???1 vs 620 μg·g^???1). Based on macrobenthic community patterns, the central zone in Varano lagoon and the eastern area in Lesina lagoon were characterised by the lowest abundance (168.7 ind·m^???2 and 503.2 ind·m^???2, respectively) and by the lowest number of species, as highlighted by the diversity indices (Shannon–Wiener, H ^′ range was 0.47–1.45 for Lesina and 0.00–1.68 for Varano; Margalef species richness, d range was 0.00–1.67 for Lesina lagoon and 0.00–2.38 for Varano basin). Ordination diagrams suggested an influence of marine and freshwater inputs on the sediment distribution in Varano lagoon and on macrobenthic assemblages in Lesina lagoon.     

Trisomy 15 mosaicism owing to familial reciprocal translocation t(1;15): implication for prenatal diagnosis

We describe a 4-year-old female child with severe global mental retardation, myoclonic epilepsy, proximal hypotonia and dysmorphisms, whose prenatal diagnosis following amniocentesis revealed a constitutional female karyotype carrying a t(1;15)(q10;p11) familial reciprocal translocation. Post-natal high-resolution karyotype, Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) screening for subtelomeric rearrangements, VNTR search for UPD15 in the blood and fibroblast, and WCP1 and 15 in the mother, failed to provide an explanation for the complex clinical phenotype of the proband. Since the pachytene configuration of the translocated chromosomes defines a high probability of 3:1 segregation, an extensive workup was undertaken to look for a possibly cryptic mosaicism. Four percent of the cells with trisomy 15 was found in the peripheral blood lymphocytes examined by classical cytogenetic technique and interphase FISH analysis. The clinical features associated with cryptic trisomy 15 mosaicism and the problems concerning prenatal diagnosis and genetic counselling for carriers of translocations at high risk of 3:1 segregation are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Precaution,uncertainty and causation in environmental decisions

What measures of uncertainty and what causal analysis can improve the management of potentially severe, irreversible or dreaded environmental outcomes? Environmental choices show that policies intended to be precautionary (such as adding MTBE to petrol) can cause unanticipated harm (by mobilizing benzene, a known leukemogen, in the ground water). Many environmental law principles set the boundaries of what should be done but do not provide an operational construct to answer this question. Those principles, ranging from the precautionary principle to protecting human health from a significant risk of material health impairment, do not explain how to make environmental management choices when incomplete, inconsistent and complex scientific evidence characterizes potentially adverse environmental outcomes. Rather, they pass the task to lower jurisdictions such as agencies or authorities. To achieve the goals of the principle, those who draft it must deal with scientific casual conjectures, partial knowledge and variable data. In this paper we specifically deal with the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the European Union's (EU) explanation of consistency and on the examination of scientific developments relevant to variability and uncertain data and causation. Managing hazards under the precautionary principle requires inductive, empirical methods of assessment. However, acting on a scientific conjecture can also be socially unfair, costly, and detrimental when applied to complex environmental choices. We describe a constructive framework rationally to meet the command of the precautionary principle using alternative measures of uncertainty and recent statistical methods of causal analysis. These measures and methods can bridge the gap between conjectured future irreversible or severe harm and scant scientific evidence, thus leading to more confident and resilient social choices. We review two sets of measures and computational systems to deal with uncertainty and link them to causation through inductive empirical methods such as Bayesian Networks. We conclude that primary legislation concerned with large uncertainties and potential severe or dreaded environmental outcomes can produce accurate and efficient choices. To do so, primary legislation should specifically indicate what measures can represent uncertainty and how to deal with uncertain causation thus providing guidance to an agency's rulemaking or to an authority's writing secondary legislation. A corollary conclusion with legal, scientific and probabilistic implications concerns how to update past information when the state of information increases because a failure to update can result in regretting past choices. Elected legislators have the democratic mandate to formulate precautionary principles and are accountable. To preserve that mandate, imbedding formal methods to represent uncertainty in the statutory language of the precautionary principle enhances subsequent judicial review of legislative actions. The framework that we propose also reduces the Balkanized views and interpretations of probabilities, possibilities, likelihood and uncertainty that exists in environmental decision-making.     

Cryo-comminution of plastic waste

Recycling of plastics is a big issue in terms of environmental sustainability and of waste management. The development of proper technologies for plastic recycling is recognised as a priority. To achieve this aim, the technologies applied in mineral processing can be adapted to recycling systems. In particular, the improvement of comminution technologies is one of the main actions to improve the quality of recycled plastics. The aim of this work is to point out suitable comminution processes for different types of plastic waste. Laboratory comminution tests have been carried out under different conditions of temperature and sample pre-conditioning adopting as refrigerant agents CO2 and liquid nitrogen. The temperature has been monitored by thermocouples placed in the milling chamber. Also different internal mill screens have been adopted. A proper procedure has been set up in order to obtain a selective comminution and a size reduction suitable for further separation treatment. Tests have been performed on plastics coming from medical plastic waste and from a plant for spent lead batteries recycling. Results coming from different mill devices have been compared taking into consideration different indexes for representative size distributions. The results of the performed tests show as cryo-comminution improves the effectiveness of size reduction of plastics, promotes liberation of constituents and increases specific surface size of comminuted particles in comparison to a comminution process carried out at room temperature.     

Environmental odours assessment from waste treatment plants: dynamic olfactometry in combination with sensorial analysers "electronic noses"

After an overview about the criteria of odour nuisance in different technical laws, about electronic noses analysers and about dynamic olfactometry, in the present paper the authors describe an application of dynamic olfactometry in combination with the determinations of electronic noses. The coordination of the two approaches permits optimisation of the advantages offered by both methods to the measurable and objective evaluation of the odour nuisance from waste treatment plants and chemical plants.