Risk communication in emergency response to a simulated extreme flood

Risk communication in flood incident management can be improved through developing hydrometeorological and engineering models used as tools for communicating risk between scientists and emergency management professionals. A range of such models and tools was evaluated by participating flood emergency managers during a 4-day, real-time simulation of an extreme event in the Thamesmead area in the Thames estuary close to London, England. Emergency managers have different communication needs and value new tools differently, but the indications are that a range of new tools could be beneficial in flood incident management. Provided they are communicated large model uncertainties are not necessarily unwelcome among flood emergency managers. Even so they are cautious about sharing the ownership of weather and flood modelling uncertainties.     

Organisational aspects of public engagement in European energy infrastructure planning: the case of early-stage CCS projects

Recent years have witnessed a proliferation of studies on public perceptions of carbon capture and storage (CCS), accompanied by efforts to translate such knowledge into toolkits for public engagement and communication. At the same time, both literature and toolkits have paid little attention to the organisational dynamics and views of project implementers with regard to public engagement. Here we investigate the views of project development consortia employees in five European CCS projects, focusing on their experience of organisational norms and structures relating to engagement. Finding that planning for this engagement has, in several cases, been hampered by a lack of shared internal vision on engagement and communication within the project consortia, at least initially, we draw upon the socio-technical approach to technology embedment and new institutional theory, to observe that internal organisational alignment is crucial in multi-organisational projects when seeking effective public engagement and communication. We observe that this aspect of internal organisation is not yet reflected in the toolkits and guidelines designed to aid engagement in CCS projects. Engagement guides need to direct the attention of project implementers not only in specific outward directions, but also towards reflexively considering their own internal structures, perspectives, motivations, expectations and aims in relation to engagement and communication practice.     

Equine Grazing in Managed Subalpine Wetlands: Effects on Arthropods and Plant Structure as a Function of Habitat

Grazing management necessarily emphasizes the most spatially extensive vegetation assemblages, but landscapes are mosaics, often with more mesic vegetation types embedded within a matrix of drier vegetation. Our primary objective was to contrast effects of equine grazing on both subalpine vegetation structure and associated arthropods in a drier reed grass (Calamagrostis muiriana) dominated habitat versus a wetter, more productive sedge habitat (Carex utriculata). A second objective was to compare reed grass and sedge as habitats for fauna, irrespective of grazing. All work was done in Sequoia National Park (CA, USA), where detailed, long-term records of stock management were available. We sampled paired grazed and control wet meadows that contained both habitats. There were moderate negative effects of grazing on vegetation, and effects were greater in sedge than in reed grass. Conversely, negative grazing effects on arthropods, albeit limited, were greater in the drier reed grass, possibly due to microhabitat differences. The differing effects on plants and animals as a function of habitat emphasize the importance of considering both flora and fauna, as well as multiple habitat types, when making management decisions. Sedge supported twice the overall arthropod abundance of reed grass as well as greater diversity; hemipteran and dipteran taxa were particularly abundant in sedge. Given the greater grazing effects on sedge vegetation, greater habitat provision for terrestrial arthropods, and value as aquatic arthropod habitat, the wetter sedge assemblage is worthy of additional consideration by managers when planning for grazing and other aspects of land usage.     

Chest injuries of elderly postmortem human surrogates (PMHSs) under seat belt and airbag loading in frontal sled impacts: Comparison to matching THOR tests

Abstract

Objective: The goal of the study was to develop experimental chest loading conditions that would cause up to Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) 2 chest injuries in elderly occupants in moderate-speed frontal crashes. The new set of experimental data was also intended to be used in the benchmark of existing thoracic injury criteria in lower-speed collision conditions.

Methods: Six male elderly (age >63) postmortem human subjects (PMHS) were exposed to a 35?km/h (nominal) frontal sled impact. The test fixture consisted of a rigid seat, rigid footrest, and cable seat back. Two restraint conditions (A and B) were compared. Occupants were restrained by a force-limited (2.5?kN [A] and 2?kN [B]) seat belt and a preinflated (16?kPa [A] and 11?kPa [B]; airbag). Condition B also incorporated increased seat friction. Matching sled tests were carried out with the THOR-M dummy. Infra-red telescoping rod for the assessment of chest compression (IRTRACC) readings were used to compute chest injury risk. PMHSs were exposed to a posttest injury assessment. Tests were carried out in 2 stages, using the outcome of the first one combined with a parametric study using the THUMS model to adjust the test conditions in the second. All procedures were approved by the relevant ethics board.

Results: Restraint condition A resulted in an unexpected high number of rib fractures (fx; 10, 14, 15 fx). Under condition B, the adjustment of the relative airbag/occupant position combined with a lower airbag pressure and lower seat belt load limit resulted in a reduced pelvic excursion (85 vs. 110?mm), increased torso pitch and a substantially lower number of rib fractures (1, 0, 4 fx) as intended.

Conclusions: The predicted risk of rib fractures provided by the THOR dummy using the C_max and PC Score injury criteria were lower than the actual injuries observed in the PMHS tests (especially in restraint condition A). However, the THOR dummy was capable of discriminating between the 2 restraint scenarios. Similar results were obtained in the parametric study with the THUMS model.     

Establishing best practice for microbially aided phytoremediation

The dispersal of industrial and municipal wastes leads to an increase of contaminated soils and is one of the large concerns in many countries throughout Europe regarding environmental issues. This article proposes a sequence of the microbially aided phytoremediation (phytoextraction and phytostabilization) procedure with the following most important steps: (1) risk assessment, (2) site investigation, (3) determination of the remediation strategy, (4) realization of remediation measures, (5) monitoring, and (6) reuse of the remediated site. UMBRELLA's innovative approach is a proposal of methods to evolve a tool-box which supports phytoremediation by means of microbes and enhances the efficiency of the remediation process at low and heterogeneously metal contaminated sites.     

Inter-Urban Comparison of Ambient Volatile Organic Compound Concentrations in U.S. Cities

Airborne particulate matter from three ferrous foundries was sampled in granulometric fractions and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDXA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) to determine morphology and qualitative bulk and surface chemical compositions. Cluster and principal components analyses (PCA) were used as an aid for interpretation of results. A clear pattern of composition as a function of size emerges; in particular, trace metals accumulate in fine particles and volatile species on the surface of these. Chemical composition changes are also related to daily schedules where applicable: trace metals appear during pouring operations, silicon is generated during mold making and unmolding. Cluster and PCA greatly ease examination of data and offer pictorial representations of results; in particular, the chemical composition versus particle size relationship is very neatly illustrated by PCA graphs.     

Introducing a common taxonomy to support learning from failure in conservation

Although some sectors have made significant progress in learning from failure, there is currently limited consensus on how a similar transition could best be achieved in conservation and what is required to facilitate this. One of the key enabling conditions for other sectors is a widely accepted and standardized classification system for identifying and analyzing root causes of failure. We devised a comprehensive taxonomy of root causes of failure affecting conservation projects. To develop this, we solicited examples of real-life conservation efforts that were deemed to have failed in some way, identified their underlying root causes of failure, and used these to develop a generic, 3-tier taxonomy of the ways in which projects fail, at the top of which are 6 overarching cause categories that are further divided into midlevel cause categories and specific root causes. We tested the taxonomy by asking conservation practitioners to use it to classify the causes of failure for conservation efforts they had been involved in. No significant gaps or redundancies were identified during this testing phase. We then analyzed the frequency that particular root causes were encountered by projects within this test sample, which suggested that some root causes were more likely to be encountered than others and that a small number of root causes were more likely to be encountered by projects implementing particular types of conservation action. Our taxonomy could be used to improve identification, analysis, and subsequent learning from failed conservation efforts, address some of the barriers that currently limit the ability of conservation practitioners to learn from failure, and contribute to establishing an effective culture of learning from failure within conservation.     

Soil salinity,household wealth and food insecurity in tropical deltas: evidence from south-west coast of Bangladesh

As a creeping process, salinisation represents a significant long-term environmental risk in coastal and deltaic environments. Excess soil salinity may exacerbate existing risks of food insecurity in densely populated tropical deltas, which is likely to have a negative effect on human and ecological sustainability of these regions and beyond. This study focuses on the coastal regions of the Ganges–Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh, and uses data from the 2010 Household Income and Expenditure Survey and the Soil Resource Development Institute to investigate the effect of soil salinity and wealth on household food security. The outcome variables are two widely used measures of food security: calorie availability and household expenditure on food items. The main explanatory variables tested include indicators of soil salinity and household-level socio-economic characteristics. The results of logistic regression show that in unadjusted models, soil salinisation has a significant negative effect on household food security. However, this impact becomes statistically insignificant when households’ wealth is taken into account. The results further suggest that education and remittance flows, but not gender or working status of the household head, are significant predictors of food insecurity in the study area. The findings indicate the need to focus scholarly and policy attention on reducing wealth inequalities in tropical deltas in the context of the global sustainable deltas initiative and the proposed Sustainable Development Goals.