Nitrous oxide and methane in a changing Arctic Ocean

Human activities are changing the Arctic environment at an unprecedented rate resulting in rapid warming, freshening, sea ice retreat and ocean acidification of the Arctic Ocean. Trace gases such as nitrous oxide (N₂O) and methane (CH₄) play important roles in both the atmospheric reactivity and radiative budget of the Arctic and thus have a high potential to influence the region’s climate. However, little is known about how these rapid physical and chemical changes will impact the emissions of major climate-relevant trace gases from the Arctic Ocean. The combined consequences of these stressors present a complex combination of environmental changes which might impact on trace gas production and their subsequent release to the Arctic atmosphere. Here we present our current understanding of nitrous oxide and methane cycling in the Arctic Ocean and its relevance for regional and global atmosphere and climate and offer our thoughts on how this might change over coming decades.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01633-8.     

The emergence of the transition movement in Canada: success and impact through the eyes of initiative leaders

ABSTRACT

Originating in the UK in 2006, the Transition movement is oriented to local grassroots citizen-led efforts that prepare for and support a societal energy transition to a low-carbon future in response to climate change, peak oil, ecological degradation, and economic instability. Overlapping significantly with relocalization, degrowth/slow growth, local food, and related movements, and based on permaculture principles and a distributed network model, it embraces the opportunity to turn crisis into an opportunity to build more resilient, convivial, and vibrant local communities, declaring that “if it’s not fun, it’s not sustainable”. The Transition approach has spread rapidly around the world, including initiatives in over 100 communities and cities in Canada. This paper reports on the methods and results of a Canadian community-based research study aimed at understanding how and where the movement has taken root across the country, what Transition practice looks like, challenges and opportunities encountered, and lessons learned that could be applied within the movement and by others interested in the role of citizen-led initiatives for sustainability transition. Utilising a practice theory lens, drawing on an extensive web-scan of the movement’s online presence, a survey and interviews with initiative (co)founders, an e-survey of Transition members/participants, regional “structured story-dialogue” workshops, and key informant interviews, and informed by input from a Movement Advisory Group, we describe the research process and explore what success and impact mean to those most active in the movement.     

北极夏季大气气溶胶单颗粒研究

为研究北极地区大气气溶胶颗粒的物理化学特性,于2013年8月8~12日环Svalbard岛收集大气气溶胶样品,利用带能谱的透射电子显微镜(TEM-EDS)共分析2530个单颗粒,并获得颗粒物的形貌特征和化学组成.结果表明,北极地区颗粒物主要表现为5种类型,分别为海盐颗粒、富S颗粒、富Fe颗粒、含碳颗粒和矿物颗粒.后向气流轨迹显示,采样期间大气污染物主要来自于北极点周边的海洋上空和附近格陵兰岛地区.来自海洋上空的大气中主要包含海盐颗粒,所占数量比例为54.7%;经过陆地的大气样品中95.4%为矿物颗粒.利用时间密度因子法估算出北极地区PM2.5质量浓度范围为0.55~0.72mg/m3.     

Do concentrations in eggs and liver tissue tell the same story of temporal trends of mercury in high Arctic seabirds?

Mercury(Hg) remains a key contaminant of concern in Arctic biota, and monitoring of Hg concentrations in seabird tissues will be an effective approach to track the effects of implementing the Minamata Convention. We examined trends in total Hg(THg) in liver and egg tissues of two Arctic seabirds, thick-billed murres(Uria lomvia) and northern fulmars(Fulmarus glacialis), between 1976 and 2013 to assess whether both tissues showed similar patterns of Hg change. Hepatic THg was consistently higher than egg THg, and both species had similar egg THg concentrations, but fulmars had higher hepatic THg than murres.Murre THg concentrations showed more relative variation through time than fulmars.We suggest that egg THg better reflects exposure of birds to THg in local, Arctic prey,whereas liver THg may incorporate longer term, year-round THg exposure. Additional analysis of THg distribution in Arctic seabirds post-laying would help inform interpretation of long-term trends.     

Assessment of risk in a minerals industry: Canadian nickel

The level of rents attributable to natural resource producers depends on the risk faced by those producers. This paper argues that estimates of risk in mining should control for characteristics of firms such as diversification and debt financing. The capital asset pricing model is applied to securities of three Canadian nickel mining firms over the period 1961–1974. It is concluded that the level of risk was not unusually high.     

Den Ecology of the Arctic Fox Alopex lagopus beringensis (Carnivora,Canidae) on Bering Island,Commander Islands

The spatial distribution of 33 Arctic fox dens on Bering Island was studied, and a relationship between the burrowing activity of Arctic foxes and the pattern of vegetation near their dens was revealed. This activity was shown to change the structure of the plant cover, with the degree of change depending on the type of biotope.     

Allelopathic effects of extracts from Solidago canadensis L.against seed germination and seedling growth of some plants

To investigate the potential role of allelopathy in plant interference and in the successful invasion of alien species Solidago canadensis, aqueous and ethanolic extracts from rhizomes, stems and leaves of S. canadensis were prepared and used as treatment solutions to assess their effects on seed germination and seedling growth in four target species, mulberry （Morus alba）; morning glory （Pharbitis nil）, wheat （Triticum aestivum） and rape （Brassiea campestris）. Reduction and/or growth in germination and growth of the target plant species in the presence of both aqueous and ethanolic extracts at different concentrations indicated that the responses were species-specific and concentration-dependent. Generally, ethanolic extracts （especially from leaves） imposed stronger effects on both seed germination and seedling growth. Extracts with lower concentration at 0.001 g/ml dw could stimulate the seedling growth of rape and morning glory, whereas extracts at any given concentrations have inhibitory effects on wheat and mulberry. It is suggested that the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of all the three parts of S. canadensis have significant allelopathic effects. Although both inhibition and stimulation occurred in the germination and growth of the target species, extracts with higher concentrations definitely inhibit seed germination and seedling growth of all target plants. We suggest that allelopathy plays a more important role than other mechanisms do in the out-competition ofS. canadensis over other plants, and make it invasive in new habitats.     

Embracing sustainability: the incorporation of sustainability principles in municipal planning and policy in four mid-sized municipalities in Ontario,Canada

The issue of planning for sustainability is becoming more established within Canadian municipal planning. As municipalities begin to align their planning policy to reflect a more sustainable approach, there is an increased interest in how sustainability is being operationalised within municipal documents. This research aims to better understand how principles of sustainability are imbedded within Ontario municipal documents, with a specific focus on the Integrated Sustainability Community Planning approach that has emerged in Canada. Drawing on a nested comparative case study of four mid-sized municipalities, we uncover the language and strategies employed by the municipalities as they relate to the principles of sustainability developed by Gibson [2006a. Sustainability assessment: basic components of a practical approach. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, 24 (3), 170–182]. The findings suggest that current policy-based approaches to sustainability are considering more socially oriented strategies focused on promoting community involvement, inclusive decision-making, equity, socio-ecological civility, long-term integrative planning, and responsibility through stewardship. However, there are potential limitations that will require future research to examine policy outcomes associated with sustainability uptake. The ICSP approach must still overcome the issues relating to lack of regulatory authority and the incorporation of policies based on popular trends rather than empirical evidence.     

Greenhouse gas emissions in Canada and Japan: sector-specific estimates and managerial and economic implications

Many firms generate large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases when they burn fossil fuels in their production processes. In addition, production of raw materials and other inputs the firms procure for their operations also generates greenhouse gases indirectly. These direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions occur in many sectors of our economies. In this paper, we first present sector-specific estimates for such greenhouse gas emissions. We then show that estimates for such sector-specific greenhouse gas emissions are often required for various types of corporate as well as public policy analyses in both domestic and international contexts. Measuring greenhouse gas emissions resulting from firms' multi-stage production processes in a multi-sector context is relevant for policies related to the Kyoto protocol, an international agreement to limit global greenhouse gas emissions. For example, since the protocol allows firms to engage in trading and offsetting of their greenhouse gas emissions across national borders, provided that emissions are correctly measured, the firms can take advantage of such trading schemes by placing their energy-intensive production facilities globally and strategically. We present several case studies which illustrate the importance of this and other aspects of greenhouse gas emissions in firms' environmental management. We also argue that our modeling and estimation methods based on input-output analyses are suitable for the types of research goals we have in this paper. Our methods are applied to data for Canada and Japan in a variety of environmental management circumstances.