Convergence of stakeholders’ environmental threat perceptions following mass coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef

Managing human use of ecosystems in an era of rapid environmental change requires an understanding of diverse stakeholders’ behaviors and perceptions to enable effective prioritization of actions to mitigate multiple threats. Specifically, research examining how threat perceptions are shared or diverge among stakeholder groups and how these can evolve through time is increasingly important. We investigated environmental threat perceptions related to Australia's Great Barrier Reef and explored their associations before and after consecutive years of mass coral bleaching. We used data from surveys of commercial fishers, tourism operators, and coastal residents (n = 5254) conducted in 2013 and 2017. Threats perceived as most serious differed substantially among groups before bleaching but were strongly aligned after bleaching. Climate change became the most frequently reported threat by all stakeholder groups following the coral bleaching events, and perceptions of fishing and poor water quality as threats also ranked high. Within each of the 3 stakeholder groups, fishers, tourism operators, and coastal residents, the prioritization of these 3 threats tended to diverge in 2013, but convergence occurred after bleaching. These results indicate an emergence of areas of agreement both within and across stakeholder groups. Changes in perceptions were likely influenced by high-profile environmental-disturbance events and media representations of threats. Our results provide insights into the plasticity of environmental-threat perceptions and highlight how their convergence in response to major events may create new opportunities for strategic public engagement and increasing support for management.     

华北地区夏季大气亚微米颗粒物的半挥发性特征

利用热扩散管TD(Thermal Denuder)与高分辨飞行时间气溶胶质谱仪(HR-ToF-AMS)联用法,于2013年6—7月对华北地区国家环境空气质量评价区域点香河的大气PM₁(亚微米颗粒物)及其组分〔OM(有机质)、SO₄2-、NO₃-、NH₄+、Cl-〕进行连续在线观测,并实现了PM₁不同化学组分半挥发性特征的模拟分析. 结果表明:在观测期间,ρ(PM₁)平均值为 (47.9±47.3) μg/m3,其中OM贡献最大,达到38.2%〔ρ(OM)占ρ(PM₁)的比例,下同〕,之后依次为SO₄2-(33.7%)、NH₄+(13.8%)、NO₃-(12.3%)、Cl-(2.0%). 在PM₁的各化学组分中,NO₃-和Cl-的MFR(质量剩余分数)值最低(约0.40),表明二者的半挥发性最高,当温度为50 ℃时,约60%的NO₃-或Cl-进入气相中;SO₄2-的半挥发性最低,在50 ℃时仍有约90%的质量剩余;而OM和NH₄+的半挥发性居中. NO₃-的半挥发性受大气PM₁污染水平的影响,50 ℃时其半挥发性随着ρ(PM₁)的增加而升高. 当温度从50 ℃升至200 ℃时,残留有机气溶胶的O/C(原子数比)从0.47增至0.60,说明半挥发性组分多为氧化态较低的有机化合物. 此外,真空动力学粒径在60~2 000 nm的颗粒物在不同粒径段表现出相近的半挥发性. 大气PM₁半挥发性的定量分析结果可为全面认识大气颗粒物的物化性质及污染机理提供数据,也有助于空气质量模型的完善.      

GRADUATE EDUCATION IN WATER RESOURCES: AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH1

ABSTRACT: The production of videotape as a product of a water resources seminar is an innovative approach to graduate education. The research effort required builds upon the traditional graduate seminar approach. The videotape production requires research effort to be focused into a coherent body of information which may be widely disseminated and effectively communicates information to the public. The use of outside speakers and field trips blends very well into the preparation of a videotape. The requriement to present the many sides of a complex water resource issue in a fair and equitable manner requires maturity and professional capability on the part of the students. The research effort requires the students to meet their professional obligation to present an objective, factual, and accurate statement of the issues studies.     

Perspectives on the landmark decision designating the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) as a threatened subspecies

Following an extensive legal battle challenging its original decision to not extend the protection of the Endangered Species Act to the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina), the US Fish and Wildlife Service was ordered by the 9th District Court of Appeals to reassess the status of the owl. As a result of the revised analysis, the service proposed the northern spotted owl for threatened status throughout its range. Because of the complex biological issues involved and the perceived potential for economic disruption in timber-dependent communities of the Pacific Northwest, this proposal generated more controversy and interest than any previous one. In this article I discuss the rationale for the service’s decision, public involvement in the process, and the mechanisms now available to conserve the northern spotted owl and its habitat under the Endangered Species Act.     

Spatial and seasonal variability of dissolved oxygen and nutrients in the Southern Adriatic coastal waters

The main objective of this paper is to present vertical and horizontal patterns of dissolved oxygen and nutrients found during four seasonal surveys (March, June, September and December 2000) in the Southern Adriatic Sea coastal waters. The multivariate technique Principal Component Analysis has been applied to our dataset considering the following parameters: seawater temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and nutrients (nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, silicate). The resulting plot shows in a self-explanatory way that a seasonal trend was not observable in the investigated period and that no significant differences occur between the stations sampled in the Taranto Gulf and those along the Adriatic coast. Water column stratification persists in all seasons, except in spring, in the shallowest stations. The surface layer is characterized by a low nutrient content. The influence of the Northern Adriatic Surface Water in the Southern Adriatic sub-basin seems to be very low and can be traced by nitrate and silicate only in spring and winter. Regarding deep waters, nitrate distribution shows an increasing gradient moving from the coast to the open sea, having the lowest concentration in the shelf area and the highest in the most offshore stations of the Otranto Strait. In the Otranto Strait area the vertical distributions of physical and chemical parameters show, at middle depths, the inflow of Levantine Intermediate Water, traced by both the maximum of salinity, nitrate and phosphate and the minimum of oxygen. The LIW signal is lost moving northward. The outflow of Adriatic Dense Water is less evident, being traced only in spring by an oxygen increase at the bottom layer in the shelf area. The N:P ratio is highly variable but in the range already observed in the Southern Adriatic, suggesting a P-limitation, which can both contribute to the low primary productivity of the area and support the N:P ratio anomaly of the Eastern Mediterranean.     

藏北高原土壤温度异常变化及其与雪灾关系初析

通过对ＧＡＭＥ－Ｔｉｂｅｔ野外工作期间所得藏北高原一个年周期的土壤温度资料的初步分析,发现藏北高原１９９７￣１９９８年冬半年土壤日温差的分布存在明显的异常现象;指出了这种异常现象的发生可能与藏北高原１９９７年冬天的特大雪灾有关。从浅层土壤日温差的异常变化,定性地说明了藏北高原１９９７￣１９９８年冬半年不同地点雪灾的严重程度,但由于受资料的限制,目前尚无法进行定量的评估。     

Comparing measured and modelled forest carbon stocks in high-boreal forests of harvest and natural-disturbance origin in Labrador, Canada

Understanding the effects of disturbance regimes on carbon (C) stocks and stock changes is a prerequisite to estimating forest C stocks and fluxes. Live-tree, dead-tree, woody debris (WD), stump, buried wood, organic layer, and mineral soil C stock data were collected from high-boreal black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) stands of harvest and fire origin and compared to values predicted by the Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector (CBM-CFS3); the core model of Canada's National Forest Carbon Monitoring, Accounting and Reporting System. Data comparing the effect of natural and anthropogenic disturbance history on forest C stocks are limited, but needed to evaluate models such as the CBM-CFS3. Results showed that adjustments to the CBM-CFS3 volume-to-biomass conversion and partitioning parameters were required for the non-merchantable and branch C pools to accurately capture live-tree C stocks in the studied black spruce ecosystems. Accuracy of the CBM-CFS3 modelled estimates of dead organic matter and soil C pools was improved relative to regional default parameters by increased snag fall and >10 cm WD base decay rates. The model evaluation process also highlighted the importance of developing a bryophyte module to account for bryophyte C dynamics and the physical burial of woody debris by bryophytes. Modelled mineral soil C estimates were improved by applying a preliminary belowground slow C pool base decay rate optimized for the soil type of the studied sites, Humo-Ferric Podzols.     

A Probabilistic,Parcel‐Level Inundation Prediction Tool for Medium‐Range Flood Forecasting in Large Lake Systems

This study contributes a bathtub‐style inundation prediction model with abstractions of coastal processes (i.e., storm surge and wave runup) for flood forecasting at medium‐range (weekly to monthly) timescales along the coastline of large lakes. Uncertainty from multiple data sources are propagated through the model to establish probabilistic bounds of inundation, providing a conservative measure of risk. The model is developed in a case study of the New York Lake Ontario shoreline, which has experienced two record‐setting floods over the course of three years (2017–2019). Predictions are developed at a parcel‐level and are validated using inundation accounts from an online survey and flyover imagery taken during the recent flood events. Model predictions are compared against a baseline, deterministic model that accounts for the same processes but does not propagate forward data uncertainties. Results suggest that a probabilistic approach helps capture observed instances of inundation that would otherwise be missed by a deterministic inundation model. However, downward biases are still present in probabilistic predictions, especially for parcels impacted by wave runup. The goal of the tool is to provide community planners and property owners with a conservative, parcel‐level assessment of flood risk to help inform short‐term emergency response and better prepare for future flood events.