Hypoxia in the Baltic Sea: Biogeochemical Cycles, Benthic Fauna, and Management

Hypoxia has occurred intermittently over the Holocene in the Baltic Sea, but the recent expansion from less than 10 000 km² before 1950 to >60 000 km² since 2000 is mainly caused by enhanced nutrient inputs from land and atmosphere. With worsening hypoxia, the role of sediments changes from nitrogen removal to nitrogen release as ammonium. At present, denitrification in the water column and sediments is equally important. Phosphorus is currently buried in sediments mainly in organic form, with an additional contribution of reduced Fe-phosphate minerals in the deep anoxic basins. Upon the transition to oxic conditions, a significant proportion of the organic phosphorus will be remineralized, with the phosphorus then being bound to iron oxides. This iron-oxide bound phosphorus is readily released to the water column upon the onset of hypoxia again. Important ecosystems services carried out by the benthic fauna, including biogeochemical feedback-loops and biomass production, are also lost with hypoxia. The results provide quantitative knowledge of nutrient release and recycling processes under various environmental conditions in support of decision support tools underlying the Baltic Sea Action Plan.     

Status and Trends of Dissolved Oxygen in Corpus Christi Bay, Texas, U.S.A.

The purpose of this studywas to determine status and long-term trends of dissolved oxygen concentrations (DO) in Corpus Christi Bay, Texas, U.S.A. A 20-year record of randomized stations was used to determine the trend of surface water DO, salinity, and temperature over space and time. A 13-year record of two fixed stations was used to determine the temporal nutrient trends. A 10-year record of fixed stations in the southeastern region of Corpus Christi Bay was used to determine the status of disturbance caused by low DO in bottom waters. From 1982 to 2002, there was a significant decrease in surface water DO at a rate of 0.06 mg L⁻¹ yr⁻¹ and a significant increase in surface water temperature at a rate of 0.07°C yr⁻¹. The southeastern region of Corpus Christi Bay had the lowest average DO, and during July and August, DO are steadily declining at a rate of 0.09 mg L⁻¹ yr⁻¹. It is not likely that eutrophication is causing hypoxia, because freshwater inflow rates have significantly decreased since 1941 and nutrient levels have not changed from 1987 to 2000. Even though long-term trends indicate that average surface DO is decreasing, disturbance by hypoxia appears to be stable, but this may be due to just eight years of data. In fact, if the current trend continues, surface water DO will not meet exceptional aquatic life standards (≤5 mgL⁻¹) in 2032.     

The Impact of Landsat Satellite Monitoring on Conservation Biology

Landsat 7s recent malfunctioning will result in significant gaps in long-term satellite monitoring of Earth, affecting not only the research of the Earth science community but also conservation users of these data. To determine whether or how important Landsat monitoring is for conservation and natural resource management, we reviewed the Landsat programs history with special emphasis on the development of user groups. We also conducted a bibliographic search to determine the extent to which conservation research has been based on Landsat data. Conservation biologists were not an early user group of Landsat data because a) biologists lacked technical capacity – computers and software – to analyze these data; b) Landsats 1980s commercialization rendered images too costly for biologists budgets; and c) the broad-scale disciplines of conservation biology and landscape ecology did not develop until the mid-to-late 1980s. All these conditions had changed by the 1990s and Landsat imagery became an important tool for conservation biology. Satellite monitoring and Landsat continuity are mandated by the Land Remote Sensing Act of 1992. This legislation leaves open commercial options. However, past experiments with commercial operations were neither viable nor economical, and severely reduced the quality of monitoring, archiving and data access for academia and the public. Future satellite monitoring programs are essential for conservation and natural resource management, must provide continuity with Landsat, and should be government operated.     

A modular approach to Integrated Assessment modeling

In this paper, we present a new approach to model coupling that probably forms the methodological basis of a new generation of Integrated Assessment models. This approach respects the knowledge and expertise that is embodied in existing models and encourages their gradual evolution. Modularity is the guiding principle. Our approach is distinguished by the way modules are coupled which is based on an interplay of a job control module, a numerical coupling module, and a couple of stand-alone functional modules. The numerical coupling module - the core component - serves to treat the feedbacks between the functional modules. A first implemented example that couples an economic and a climate module by means of a two-phase meta-optimization is presented here. The algorithm and mathematical structure behind are discussed as well as important features such as convergence behavior and reliability.     

Assessing protected area effectiveness using surrounding (buffer) areas environmentally similar to the target area

Many studies are based on the assumption that an area and its surrounding (buffer) area present similar environmental conditions and can be compared. For example, in order to assess the effectiveness of a protected area, the land use/cover changes are compared inside the park with its surroundings. However, the heterogeneity in spatial variables can bias this assessment: we have shown that most of the protected areas in Mexico present significant environmental differences between their interior and their surroundings. Therefore, a comparison that aims at assessing the effectiveness of conservation strategies, must be cautioned. In this paper, a simple method which allows the generation of a buffer area that presents similar conditions with respect to a set of environmental variables is presented. The method was used in order to assess the effectiveness of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, a protected area located in the south-eastern part of Mexico. The annual rate of deforestation inside the protected area, the standard buffer area (based upon distance from the protected area only) and the similar buffer area (taking into account distance along with some environmental variables) were 0.3, 1.3 and 0.6%, respectively. These results showed that the protected area was effective in preventing land clearing, but that the comparison with the standard buffer area gave an over-optimistic vision of its effectiveness.     

对医用加速器产生感生放射性的分析与探讨

通过对某医用加速器处于不同能量的电子束或X射线所产生的感生放射性在关机后的不同时刻,进行γ辐射剂量率和中子剂量当量率的测量,分析其随时间的变化趋势及对医务人员所造成的影响,并提出了有针对性的建议.     

Local Perceptions of Changes in Traditional Ecological Knowledge: A Case Study from Malekula Island,Vanuatu

Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is a critical global resource that may be eroding amid social and environmental change. Here, we present data on local perceptions of TEK change from three communities on Malekula Island in Vanuatu. Utilizing a structured interview (n = 120), we find a common perception of TEK loss. Participants defined two key periods of TEK erosion (roughly 1940–1960 and 1980–present), and noted that TEK decline was driven both external (e.g., church) and internal (e.g., shifting values) processes. Erosion was perceived to more comprehensive in the worldview domain than in aspects of ethnobiological knowledge and practice. These data indicate the perceived fragility of TEK systems and the complexity of TEK change. TEK systems are critical to natural resource management, and data such as these will assist in designing nuanced responses to the ongoing loss of cultural knowledge and practice.     

燃煤PM2.5相变脱除实验研究

实验研究了添加蒸汽和雾化水2种不同烟气调节方式下,操作参数对燃煤可吸入颗粒物凝结长大脱除特性的影响.用电称低压冲击器（ELPI）实时测量脱除前后颗粒数浓度和粒径分布情况.结果表明,蒸汽在颗粒表面凝结能有效促进燃煤PM_2.5的脱除;颗粒的分级脱除效率随粒径的增大呈上升的趋势,特别是对于粒径<0.3 μm的颗粒,当蒸汽添加量为0.1 kg/m³,随粒径从0.03　μm增加到0.3　μm,脱除效率提高了60%以上;添加蒸汽时,脱除效率与调节室入口烟气温度无关;而添加雾化水,脱除效率则随调节室入口烟气温度的升高而显著增大,温度从136℃升高到256℃,脱除效率提高了30%以上.烟气温度较高时,利用雾化液滴的蒸发能替代添加蒸汽实现燃煤PM_2.5的高效脱除.     

系统响应气候变化脆弱性定量评价国内研究综述

定量评价气候变化脆弱性是人类采取适应性措施应对全球气候变化,以减少其不利影响的关键和基础。在对气候变化脆弱性有关概念进行讨论,及对国际、国内系统响应气候变化脆弱性评价研究回顾的基础上,对中国近十几来有关气候变化脆弱性定量评价研究的成果从三个方面进行了较为系统的总结：气候情景的模拟预测、系统变化过程的模拟、脆弱性指标的选取及脆弱性层次的划分。最后,从评价对象、技术手段、指标体系、时间尺度等方面探讨了该领域研究的不足及发展方向。     

区域土地利用变化对生态环境影响定量评估——以铜川市城郊区为例

区域土地利用变化对生态环境的影响,是地理学全球变化研究的重要内容,而生态服务价值则是目前生态学、生态经济学研究的热点问题。研究利用研究区地形、土壤、植被数据和近10年来每年的气候、土地利用数据,运用生态服务价值测算模型,计算了1994~2003年铜川市城郊区历年的生态服务价值,并模拟了无土地利用变化情景下的生态服务价值,提出了土地利用变化环境效应指数,并尝试性地运用该指数定量评价了城郊区土地利用变化对生态环境的影响。结果表明:①由于气候变化、人类活动尤其是土地利用变化等原因的影响,城郊区生态服务价值年际间变化很大,1994~2003年期间,在不考虑水域生态服务功能情况下（基于水域面积年际变化极小考虑）,城郊区生态服务价值在4.77×108~1.56×10⁹元间波动;②模拟了无土地利用变化情景下的生态服务价值,结果表明每年基于无土地利用变化情景下的生态服务价值明显低于基于土地利用变化情景下的生态服务价值;③运用土地利用变化环境效应指数计算模型计算了土地利用变化环境效应指数,结果表明都大于1,从1994年到2003年期间,土地利用变化环境效应指数除个别年份略有波动外,整体呈增加趋势,反映了土地利用变化对城郊区生态环境的影响是积极的。