Treibhausgasemissionen zukünftiger Erdgasbereitstellung für Deutschland

Ohne Zusammenfassung Original erschienen in UWSF – Z Umweltchem ?kotox 20(2):133–144 (2008) DOI: Herausgeber: Martin Pehnt und Eckard Helmers     

Characterization and Properties of Hydrophilic Cellulose Acetate Propionate Derivative

The chemical modification of Acrylamidomethyl Cellulose Acetate Propionate (AMCAP) was carried out by radical addition of acrylic acid. The structural modification was confirmed with the aid of FTIR, MS and NMR techniques. Thermal properties of hydrophilic cellulose derivative (AMCAP–H₂O₂) such as glass transition (T_g 153 °C) and thermal stability (372.7 °C) were determined by DSC and TGA techniques, respectively. These thermal properties confirmed the introduction of carboxylic groups into AMCAP structure, which causes an impact in their properties. The AMCAP–H₂O₂ shows minor contact angle compared to AMCAP, giving a more hydrophilic characteristic, due to acrylic acid addition into the side chains of AMCAP polymer.     

Does the Temporal Resolution of Precipitation Input Influence the Simulated Hydrological Components Employing the SWAT Model?

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of sub‐daily precipitation time steps on model performance and hydrological components by applying the Green and Ampt infiltration method using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Precipitation was measured at a resolution of 0.1 mm and aggregated to 5‐, 15‐, 30‐, and 60‐min time steps. Daily discharge data over a 10‐year period were used to calibrate and validate the model. Following a global sensitivity analysis, relevant parameters were optimized through an automatic calibration procedure using SWAT‐CUP for each time step. Daily performance statistics were almost equal among all four time steps (NSE ≈ 0.47). Discharge mainly consisted of groundwater flow (55%) and tile flow (42%), in reasonable proportions for the investigated catchment. In conclusion, model outputs were almost identical, showing simulations responded nearly independently of the chosen precipitation time step. This held true for (1) the selection of sensitive parameters, (2) performance statistics, (3) the shape of the hydrographs, and (4) flow components. However, a scenario analysis revealed that the precipitation time step becomes important when saturated hydraulic conductivities are low and curve numbers are high. The study suggests that there is no need in using precipitation time steps <1 h for lowland catchments dominated by soils with a low surface runoff potential if daily flow values are being considered. Editor's note : This paper is part of the featured series on SWAT Applications for Emerging Hydrologic and Water Quality Challenges. See the February 2017 issue for the introduction and background to the series.     

Current versus future reproduction: an experimental test of parental investment decisions using nest desertion by mallards (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Anas platyrhynchos</Emphasis>)

Past investment in offspring may be important in determining a parent's ability to reproduce in the future and, hence, should affect the relative value of current offspring. However, there have been surprisingly few clear tests of whether animals actually adjust parental care in response to diminished opportunities for future reproduction. We modified the experimental protocol of Sargent and Gross [Behav Ecol Sociobiol (1985) 17:43–45] to examine offspring desertion by mallards ( Anas platyrhynchos), and decoupled the influence of past investment from expected current benefits by controlling for the effect of offspring age on clutch value. Using 9 years of nest mortality data, we accounted for the increasing prospects of egg survival with clutch age by calculating clutch sizes throughout incubation with equivalent expected benefits. Applying this approach, we experimentally reduced 203 clutches at two different incubation stages such that they had equivalent expected benefits but differed in the amount of past investment. Nest desertion rates did not differ between early- and late-incubated clutches that had equivalent expected benefits. Rather, the probability of desertion increased with the severity of the clutch reduction treatment. These results suggest that female mallards adjust parental care according to the expected benefits of current offspring, rather than to diminished prospects for future reproduction due to past investment. We further examined whether females assessed expected benefits on the basis of clutch size alone or clutch size adjusted for the age of the clutch. Using Akaike's Information Criterion, the most parsimonious model to explain the probability of deserting an experimentally reduced clutch included both the proportion of the clutch remaining and clutch age. Thus, female mallards appear to fine-tune their level of parental care not only according to the relative number of offspring in the clutch, but also to the increased prospects for offspring survival as they age.     

Bioluminescence in the high Arctic during the polar night

This study examines the composition and activity of the planktonic community during the polar night in the high Arctic Kongsfjord, Svalbard. Our results are the first published evidence of bioluminescence among zooplankton during the Arctic polar night. The observations were collected by a bathyphotometer detecting bioluminescence, integrated into an autonomous underwater vehicle, to determine the concentration and intensity of bioluminescent flashes as a function of time of day and depth. To further understand community dynamics and composition, plankton nets were used to collect organisms passing through the bathyphotometer along with traditional vertical net tows. Additionally, using a moored bathyphotometer closed to the sampling site, the bioluminescence potential itself was shown not to have a diurnal or circadian rhythm. Rather, our results provide evidence for a diel vertical migration of bioluminescent zooplankton that does not correspond to any externally detectable changes in illumination.     

Joint use of data and modeling in coastal wave transformation

In the framework of a research project entitled ??BRISA??BReaking waves and Induced SAnd transport??, a methodology was devised to characterize the waves joining together in-situ measurements and numerical wave propagation models. With this goal in mind, a number of in-situ measurements were made, for selected positions in front of Praia de Faro (South Portugal), during four days (25th to 28th March, 2009) by using different types of equipments (e.g., resistive wave gauges, pressure sensors, currentmeters and a new prototype pore pressure sensor using optical fibre). Wave records were obtained simultaneously offshore (at a water depth of 11.7?m below mean sea level, MSL) and at the surf and swash zones. The data processing and analysis were made by applying classical time domain techniques. Numerical simulations of the wave propagation between offshore and inshore for the measurement period were performed with two numerical models, a 1D model based on linear theory and a nonlinear Boussinesq-type model, COULWAVE, both forced by the measured offshore wave conditions of 27th March 2009. Comparisons between numerical results and field data for the pressure sensors placed in the surf and swash zones were made and discussed. This approach enables to evaluate the performance of those models to simulate those specific conditions, but also to validate the models by gaining confidence on their use in other conditions.     

Spatial variation of otolith elemental signatures among juvenile gray snapper (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lutjanus griseus</Emphasis>) inhabiting southern Florida waters

Juvenile gray snapper, Lutjanus griseus, are believed to use bays and estuaries in southern Florida as nurseries before moving out to the adjoining reef tract as adults. Using high-resolution sector field-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (SF-ICP-MS), the elemental chemistry of the otoliths of juveniles from five nursery regions was resolved by establishing elemental “signatures” for each region. In this study we simultaneously analyzed 32 elements including a suite of rare earth elements. A stepwise variable selection procedure retained a subset of eight elements that contributed substantially to separating otolith samples, including two rare earth elements; this is one of the first studies in which rare earth elements in otoliths have contributed to separation of fish stocks. The classification success rate in assigning fishes to the correct region of origin was 82%. Resolution of sites less than 10 km apart suggested high site fidelity in juvenile gray snapper and little mixing of water masses between sites. The juvenile nursery signatures will be used to determine the relative contribution of different nurseries to the adult population on an adjoining reef tract.     

Recovery of gold by chicken egg shell membrane-conjugated chitosan beads

We have successfully prepared a bead-type adsorbent from two materials with different adsorption characteristics. Heavy metals were removed by greatly swollen egg shell membrane-conjugated chitosan beads. The egg shell membrane accumulated and removed precious metal ions from a dilute aqueous solution with a high affinity in a short contact time. Experiments suggested that chitosan beads could take up gold ions with great capacity and selectivity by conjugation with egg shell membrane. Under certain conditions, the selective removal of gold and copper in a mixture of gold and copper ions by egg shell membrane-conjugated chitosan beads was 100% and 2%, respectively. Egg shell membrane-conjugated chitosan beads can be seen as a promising material to recover gold in wastewater from various industries, such as electroplating.     

Preliminary Studies on Converting Agricultural Waste into Biodegradable Plastics—Part IV: Polysaccharide Containing Natural Materials

Corn distillers’ dry grain, corncob powder, hardwood powder, and sugar beet pulp were separately anionized by oxidation with sodium hypochlorite in aqueous solution. Solid reaction products instantly precipitated upon admixing each of the above-oxidized materials with soy protein isolate. Infrared spectra and differential scanning calorimetry supported the hypothesis that soy protein isolate complexed with all of the above-oxidized polysaccharides. Reaction products with either oxidized corn distillers’ dry grain or oxidized sugar beet pulp provided hard, brittle pellets with tensile strengths as high as 9.5 MPa, suggesting that these materials could be viable as biodegradable plastics.     

Predatory spider mimics acquire colony-specific cuticular hydrocarbons from their ant model prey

The integrity of social insect colonies is maintained by members recognising and responding to the chemical cues present on the cuticle of any intruder. Nevertheless, myrmecophiles use chemical mimicry to gain access to these nests, and their mimetic signals may be acquired through biosynthesis or through contact with the hosts or their nest material. The cuticular hydrocarbon profile of the myrmecophilous salticid spider Cosmophasis bitaeniata closely resembles that of its host ant Oecophylla smaragdina. Here, we show that the chemical resemblance of the spider does not arise through physical contact with the adult ants, but instead the spider acquires the cuticular hydrocarbons by eating the ant larvae. More significantly, we show that the variation in the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of the spider depends upon the colony of origin of the ant larvae prey, rather than the parentage of the spider.