Atmospheric composition change research: Time to go post-normal?

For more than two decades a number of frameworks for scientific knowledge production are being proposed by science and technology researchers. They all advocate an extended involvement of non-specialists, in particular when it comes to knowledge production applicable to practical societal problems. We look to what extent these new frameworks have taken ground within a particular research community: the ACCENT Network of Excellence which coordinates European atmospheric chemistry and physics research applicable to air pollution and climate change. We did so by stimulating a debate through a “blog”, a survey and in-depth interviews with ACCENT scientists about the interaction between science, policy making and civil society, to which a great deal of ACCENT member contributed in writing or verbally. Most of them had interactions with policy makers and/or the general public, and they generally believe that interactions with spheres other than the scientific are needed. While such interactions give personal insight and satisfaction, they seem to have little impact on the goals and the practice of the scientific work itself. Extended frameworks of science production that go beyond the disciplinary mode seem to emerge at the level of individual scientists, yet they still need to find their way to the level of scientific project management. In this paper we discuss the justifications and barriers to implement a higher degree of extended knowledge integration in applied science projects such as ACCENT. It is felt that the community of atmospheric chemists and physicists is mature for such an implementation and recommendations are given to help and make this happen.     

Nutritionally relevant elements in staple foods: influence of arable site versus choice of variety

Eighteen representative sites for the Austrian grain-growing and eight for the potato-growing zones (soils and crops) were investigated. On each site, total element contents (B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, P, Sr and Zn) were determined in 4–12 varieties of winter wheat (n = 136), 6 varieties of spring durum wheat (n = 30), 5 varieties of winter durum wheat (n = 15), 7 varieties of rye (n = 49), 5 varieties of spring barley (n = 30) and 5 varieties of potatoes (n = 40). Element accumulations in grain species and potato tubers varied significantly with site conditions, with the main exceptions for B in potatoes and wheat as well as for Zn, Cu and Co in durum wheat. On average, across all investigated sites, differences in varieties occurred concerning the elements Ca, Cd, Ba, Sr and Zn (except Zn in potatoes and winter durum). A rough estimation revealed that an average Austrian consumer of wheat, rye and potatoes meets more than 50% of the needs of daily element intake for K, P and Mg, between 36 and 72% for Fe, Zn and Cu, and more than 100% for Co, Mo and Mn. In particular, the elements Ca and Na have to be added from other sources.     

Bacterial source tracking guides management of boat head waste in a coastal resort area

Fecal contamination of water bodies causes a public health problem and economic loss. To control such contamination management actions need to be guided by sound science. From 2007–2009 a study was undertaken to determine the sources of fecal bacteria contamination to the marine waters adjoining the Town of Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, USA. The research effort included sampling for fecal coliform and Enterococcus bacteria, sampling for optical brighteners, dye studies, and use of molecular bacterial source tracking techniques including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and terminal restriction fragment polymorphism (T-RFLP) fingerprinting of the Bacteroides–Prevotella group. Of the 96 samples collected from nine locations during the study, the water contact standard for Enterococcus was exceeded on 13 occasions. The T-RFLP fingerprint analyses demonstrated that the most widespread source of fecal contamination was human, occurring in 38% of the samples, with secondary ruminant and avian sources also detected. Optical brightener concentrations were low, reflecting a lack of sewage line leakage or spills. A lack of sewer leaks and lack of septic systems in the town pointed toward discharge from boat heads into the marine waters as the major cause of fecal contamination; this was supported by dye studies. Based on these data, the Town initiated action to have the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency declare the coastal waters (out to 3 nautical miles), the nearby Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and its tributaries a no-discharge zone (NDZ) to alleviate the human fecal pollution. The Town garnered supporting resolutions from other local communities who jointly petitioned the North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources. This State regulatory agency supported the local government resolutions and sent an application for an NDZ to the EPA in April 2009. The EPA concurred, and in February 2010 the coastal waters of New Hanover County, NC, became the first marine area on the U.S. eastern seaboard between Delaware and the Florida Keys to be declared a no-discharge zone.     

Destruction of Volatile Organic Compounds Using Catalytic Oxidation

Catalytic oxidation is an air pollution control technique in which volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and vapor-phase air toxics in an air emission stream are oxidized with the help of a catalyst Design of catalytic systems for control of point source emissions is based on stream-specific characteristics and desired control efficiency. This paper discusses the key emission stream characteristics and VOC characteristics that affect the applicability of catalytic oxidation. The application of catalytic oxidation technology to four types of air emission sources is discussed: (1) groundwater stripping operations; (2) graphic arts facilities; (3) flexographic printing plants; and (4) latex monomer production. The characteristics of each of these emissions are discussed along with the catalytic technology used to control these emissions.     

Trade‐Offs between Cattle Production and Bird Conservation in an Agricultural Frontier of the Gran Chaco of Argentina

Intensification of food production in tropical landscapes in the absence of land‐use planning can pose a major threat to biological diversity. Decisions on whether to spatially integrate or segregate lands for production and conservation depend in part on the functional relations between biological diversity and agricultural productivity. We measured diversity, density, and species composition of birds along a gradient of production intensification on an agricultural frontier of the Argentine Chaco, where dry tropical forests are cleared for cattle production. Bird species diversity in intact forests was higher than in any type of cattle‐production system. Bird species richness decreased nonlinearly as cattle yield increased. Intermediate‐intensity silvopastoral systems, those in which forest understory is selectively cleared to grow pastures of non‐native plants beneath the tree canopy, produced 80% of the mean cattle yield obtained in pastures on cleared areas and were occupied by 70–90% of the number of bird species present in the nearest forest fragments. Densities of >50% of bird species were significantly lower in open pastures than in silvopastoral systems. Therefore, intermediate‐intensity silvopastoral systems may have the greatest potential to sustain cattle yield and conserve a large percentage of bird species. However, compared with low‐intensity production systems, in which forest structure and extent were intact, intermediate‐intensity silvopastoral systems supported significantly fewer forest‐restricted bird species and fewer frugivorous birds. These data suggest that the integration of production and conservation through intermediate‐intensity silvopastoral systems combined with the protection of forest fragments may be required to maintain cattle yield, bird diversity, and conservation of forest‐restricted species in this agricultural frontier. Compromisos entre la Producción de Ganado y la Conservación de Aves en una Frontera Agrícola del Gran Chaco de Argentina     

The drivers of risk to water security in Shanghai

Big cities are often said to have big water problems, and Shanghai is no exception. In this paper, we examine and compare the influence of the major factors that give rise to the risk of water insecurity in Shanghai. There is an extensive and diverse literature on these issues, dealt with in isolation, and here, we provide a synthesis of the literature, together with our own assessments and calculations, to assess what are the risks to Shanghai’s water supply and what is our degree of confidence in this assessment. We describe the systems that supply water to the city, and past and future changes in the systems, including changes in the glaciers that supply some water to the river, changes in climate, changes in land use, the construction of dams, and water diversions. We show how, at the same time as Shanghai is increasing its dependence on the Yangtze river, water diversions and sea level rise are increasing the risk that this water will be too saline to consume at certain times of the year. This analysis suggests that most of the major drivers of the risk to water security in Shanghai are within the power of environmental managers to control.     

Air Pollution Abatement in the Ceramic Industry

Air pollution abatement has been a constant concern for the ceramic indudry over the last four decades. The multiplicity of materials involved, numbering in the hundreds of fluxes and refractories for the manufacture of many different types of glasses, results in gaseous as well as particulate reaction products. Methods of abatement through various means have been developed and are in use in the United States and world-wide today.     

Uranyl–water-containing complexes: solid-state UV-MALDI mass spectrometric and IR spectroscopic approach for selective quantitation

Since primary environmental concept for long storage of nuclear waste involved assessment of water in uranium complexes depending on migration processes, the paper emphasized solid-state matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometric (MS) and IR spectroscopic determination of UO₂(NO₃)₂·6H₂O; UO₂(NO₃)₂·3H₂O, α-, β-, and γ-UO₃ modifications; UO₃·xH₂O (x?=?1 or 2); UO₃·H₂O, described chemically as UO₂(OH)₂, β- and γ-UO₂(OH)₂ modifications; and UO₄·2H₂O, respectively. Advantages and limitation of vibrational spectroscopic approach are discussed, comparing optical spectroscopic data and crystallographic ones. Structural similarities occurred in α–γ modifications of UO₃, and UO₂(OH)₂ compositions are analyzed. Selective speciation achieved by solid-state mass spectrometry is discussed both in terms of its analytical contribution for environmental quality assurance and assessment of radionuclides, and fundamental methodological interest related the mechanistic complex water exchange of UO₃·H₂O forms in the gas phase. In addition to high selectivity and precision, UV-MALDI-MS, employing an Orbitrap analyzer, was a method that provided fast steps that limited sample pretreatment techniques for direct analysis including imaging. Therefore, random and systematic errors altering metrology and originating from the sample pretreatment stages in the widely implemented analytical protocols for environmental sampling determination of actinides are significantly reduced involving the UV-MALDI-Orbitrap-MS method. The method of quantum chemistry is utilized as well to predict reliably the thermodynamics and nature of U–O bonds in uranium species in gas and condensed phases.