Variation of the mixing state of Saharan dust particles with atmospheric transport

Mineral dust is an important aerosol species in the Earth’s atmosphere and has a major source within North Africa, of which the Sahara forms the major part. Aerosol Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (ATOFMS) is first used to determine the mixing state of dust particles collected from the land surface in the Saharan region, showing low abundance of species such as nitrate and sulphate internally mixed with the dust mineral matrix. These data are then compared with the ATOFMS single particle mass spectra of Saharan dust particles detected in the marine atmosphere in the vicinity of the Cape Verde islands, which are further compared with those from particles with longer atmospheric residence sampled at a coastal station at Mace Head, Ireland. Saharan dust particles collected near the Cape Verde Islands showed increased internally mixed nitrate but no sulphate, whilst Saharan dust particles collected on the coast of Ireland showed a very high degree of internally mixed secondary species including nitrate, sulphate and methanesulphonate. This uptake of secondary species will change the pH and hygroscopic properties of the aerosol dust and thus can influence the budgets of other reactive gases, as well as influencing the radiative properties of the particles and the availability of metals for dissolution.     

Framing the search for a theory of land use

ABSTRACT

Land system science and affiliated research linked to sustainability require improved understanding and theorization of land and its change as a social-ecological system (SES). The absence of a general land-use theory, anchored in the social subsystem but with explicit links to the environmental subsystem, hampers this effort. Drawing on land-use explanations, meta-analyses, and associated frameworks, we advance a broad framework structure of eight elements – aggregations of explanatory variables – with links to the biophysical subsystem, for systematic comparisons of extant explanations. Tests and models can be employed to identify which set of variables and their configurations provide robust explanations of across land uses, identifying the potential for theory development. The framework and its application are applicable to both top-down and bottom-up explanatory approaches employed in the social sciences. Links to the environmental subsystem invite future exploration of SES explanations that reach across the different dimensions of global change and sustainability science.     

Effects of Natura 2000 on nontarget bird and butterfly species based on citizen science data

The European Union's Natura 2000 (N2000) is among the largest international networks of protected areas. One of its aims is to secure the status of a predetermined set of (targeted) bird and butterfly species. However, nontarget species may also benefit from N2000. We evaluated how the terrestrial component of this network affects the abundance of nontargeted, more common bird and butterfly species based on data from long-term volunteer-based monitoring programs in 9602 sites for birds and 2001 sites for butterflies. In almost half of the 155 bird species assessed, and particularly among woodland specialists, abundance increased (slope estimates ranged from 0.101 [SD 0.042] to 3.51 [SD 1.30]) as the proportion of landscape covered by N2000 sites increased. This positive relationship existed for 27 of the 104 butterfly species (estimates ranged from 0.382 [SD 0.163] to 4.28 [SD 0.768]), although most butterflies were generalists. For most species, when land-cover covariates were accounted for these positive relationships were not evident, meaning land cover may be a determinant of positive effects of the N2000 network. The increase in abundance as N2000 coverage increased correlated with the specialization index for birds, but not for butterflies. Although the N2000 network supports high abundance of a large spectrum of species, the low number of specialist butterflies with a positive association with the N2000 network shows the need to improve the habitat quality of N2000 sites that could harbor open-land butterfly specialists. For a better understanding of the processes involved, we advocate for standardized collection of data at N2000 sites.     

Intensified wheat husk conversion employing energy-efficient hybrid electromagnetic radiations for production of fermentable sugar: process optimization and life cycle assessment

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This article reports an energy-efficient green pathway for the sustainable conversion of an abundant agro-residue viz. wheat husk (WH) into...     

Life cycle assessment of waste printed wiring board–derived Ag photocatalyst for sustainable fermentable sugar production

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - An exploratory work involving waste printed wiring board (WPWB)–derived inexpensive silver oxide (Ag2O)–grafted silica-alumina composite...     

Demarcation of groundwater quality domains using GIS for best agricultural practices in the drought-prone Shanmuganadhi River basin of South India

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A study was conducted to evaluate the suitability of groundwater in the drought-prone Shanmuganadhi River basin of south India for best agricultural...     

Learning and the transformative potential of citizen science

The number of collaborative initiatives between scientists and volunteers (i.e., citizen science) is increasing across many research fields. The promise of societal transformation together with scientific breakthroughs contributes to the current popularity of citizen science (CS) in the policy domain. We examined the transformative capacity of citizen science in particular learning through environmental CS as conservation tool. We reviewed the CS and social‐learning literature and examined 14 conservation projects across Europe that involved collaborative CS. We also developed a template that can be used to explore learning arrangements (i.e., learning events and materials) in CS projects and to explain how the desired outcomes can be achieved through CS learning. We found that recent studies aiming to define CS for analytical purposes often fail to improve the conceptual clarity of CS; CS programs may have transformative potential, especially for the development of individual skills, but such transformation is not necessarily occurring at the organizational and institutional levels; empirical evidence on simple learning outcomes, but the assertion of transformative effects of CS learning is often based on assumptions rather than empirical observation; and it is unanimous that learning in CS is considered important, but in practice it often goes unreported or unevaluated. In conclusion, we point to the need for reliable and transparent measurement of transformative effects for democratization of knowledge production.     

Environmental variables and fisheries diversity of the Naaf River Estuary,Bangladesh

The Naaf River estuary is one of the large estuaries in the Bangladesh coastal region not to have been affected by extensive human disturbance. This research provides information about the fisheries diversity status by Estuarine Set Bag Net (ESBN) sampling relation to physicochemical variables in both spatio-temporal scales. About 25 km of the lower estuary was divided into six zones for sample collection by considering the accessibility and availability of the ESBN operation, fish landing centers and location of the fishing villages. In total 48 samples have been analyzed which were taken throughout March to October 2006. To quantify the species diversity, all fisheries data were analyzed by using EstimateS and EcoSim software which accounts the different diversity indices viz., species richness, Shannon–Wiener diversity Index, Dominance and Evenness index. The research results demonstrate that the Naaf River estuary is a habitat of 161 (species richness, Sobs = 161, Choa 1 = 162 ± 2.34, ACE = 161.73) different species which belong to 98 fin fishes, 23 shrimps and prawns, 13 crabs, 11 molluscs, 3 echinoderms, 4 other crustaceans; while 9 remain unidentified. Results on the aquatic environment, mainly salinity and turbidity were found to have a major influence on their occurrence and distribution. All the findings indicated that the Naaf River estuary is a highly productive system and provides a favourable environment for large variety of estuarine species assemblages.     

Exploring the feasibility of private micro flood insurance provision in Bangladesh

This paper aims to contribute to the debate on the feasibility of the provision of micro flood insurance as an effective tool for spreading disaster risks in developing countries and examines the role of the institutional-organisational framework in assisting the design and implementation of such a micro flood insurance market. In Bangladesh, a private insurance market for property damage and livelihood risk due to natural disasters does not exist. Private insurance companies are reluctant to embark on an evidently unprofitable venture. Testing two different institutional-organisational models, this research reveals that the administration costs of micro-insurance play an important part in determining the long-term viability of micro flood insurance schemes. A government-facilitated process to overcome the differences observed in this study between the nonprofit micro-credit providers and profit-oriented private insurance companies is needed, building on the particular competence each party brings to the development of a viable micro flood insurance market through a public-private partnership.