Tissue S/N ratios and stable isotopes (δS and δN) of epilithic mosses (Haplocladium microphyllum) for showing air pollution in urban cities in Southern China

In urban cities in Southern China, the tissue S/N ratios of epilithic mosses (Haplocladium microphyllum), varied widely from 0.11 to 0.19, are strongly related to some atmospheric chemical parameters (e.g. rainwater SO₄²⁻/NH₄⁺ ratios, each people SO₂ emission). If tissue S/N ratios in the healthy moss species tend to maintain a constant ratio of 0.15 in unpolluted area, our study cities can be divided into two classes: class I (S/N > 0.15, S excess) and class II (S/N < 0.15, N excess), possibly indicative of stronger industrial activity and higher density of population, respectively. Mosses in all these cities obtained S and N from rainwater at a similar ratio. Sulphur and N isotope ratios in mosses are found significantly linearly correlated with local coal δ³⁴S and NH₄⁺-N wet deposition, respectively, indicating that local coal and animal NH₃ are the major atmospheric S and N sources.     

New indicator approaches for effective urban air quality management

Measurements of urban air quality at monitoring stations in developed countries have frequently involved the criteria gaseous pollutants, particulates, hazardous air pollutants, perceived air quality and relevant meteorological conditions. Large numbers of indicators have therefore been established to quantify emissions, concentrations and environmental and human health impacts of each of these groups of substances. To simplify the data for management, several indicators have been grouped together to form urban air quality indices but the weightings of individual variables is contentious. In industrialising and developing countries, data may be limited and traditional air pollutant indicators cannot often be constructed. The emphasis therefore has to be placed on the development of policy-relevant indicators, such as Response Indicators that reflect different policy principles for regulating air pollutant emissions. Indices that quantify the air quality management capabilities and capacities at the city level provide further useful decision-relevant tools. Four sets of indices, namely, 1. air quality measurement capacity, 2. data assessment and availability, 3. emissions estimates, and 4. management enabling capabilities, and a composite index to evaluate air quality management capability, were constructed and applied to 80 cities. The indices revealed that management capability varied widely between the cities. In some of the cities, existing national knowledge on urban air quality could have been more effectively used for management. It was concluded that for effective urban air quality management, a greater emphasis should be given, not just to monitoring and data capture programmes, but to the development of indicators and indices that empower decision-makers to initiate management response strategies. Over-reliance on restricted, predetermined sets of traditional air quality indicators should be avoided.     

Linking Land Cover and Water Quality in New York City’S Water Supply Watersheds

The Catskill/Delaware reservoirs supply 90% of New York City’s drinking water. The City has implemented a series of watershed protection measures, including land acquisition, aimed at preserving water quality in the Catskill/Delaware watersheds. The objective of this study was to examine how relationships between landscape and surface water measurements change between years. Thirty-two drainage areas delineated from surface water sample points (total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and fecal coliform bacteria concentrations) were used in step-wise regression analyses to test landscape and surface-water quality relationships. Two measurements of land use, percent agriculture and percent urban development, were positively related to water quality and consistently present in all regression models. Together these two land uses explained 25 to 75% of the regression model variation. However, the contribution of agriculture to water quality condition showed a decreasing trend with time as overall agricultural land cover decreased. Results from this study demonstrate that relationships between land cover and surface water concentrations of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and fecal coliform bacteria counts over a large area can be evaluated using a relatively simple geographic information system method. Land managers may find this method useful for targeting resources in relation to a particular water quality concern, focusing best management efforts, and maximizing benefits to water quality with minimal costs.The United States Environmental Protection Agency through its Office of Research and Development funded and managed the research described here. It has been subjected to Agency’s administrative review and approved for publication as an EPA document.     

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.     

基于TRMM订正数据的横断山区降水时空分布特征

鉴于高时空变异地区降水观测的需求,论文提出了基于ISODATA动态聚类法和最大似然法分区逐月回归的TRMM数据订正方法,并以横断山区为例,利用地基台站降水数据对1998-2012 年的TRMM 3B43 V7 数据进行了实验研究,并探讨了过去15 a 横断山区的降水时空分布特征及变化趋势。结果表明,TRMM 3B43 V7 数据在横断山区的总体精度较高,单站精度较低。订正后的TRMM 3B43 数据,与实测值偏差大为减少,降水相对偏差大于10%的站点由原始数据的16 个(42.1%)减少为7 个(18.4%),有81.6%的站点年降水量相对偏差小于10%,且相对偏差大于等于20%的站点仅3 个,能够基本满足横断山区降水时空分布特征研究的精度需要,有效地弥补了有限站点观测的不足。研究区内年降水量从东南向西北递减,与东亚季风在该区域的走向一致;1998-2012 年横断山区的降水量主要呈减少趋势,减少地区主要分布在南部以及中西部地区。夏季降水减少趋势最为突出,秋季次之,冬春变化趋势不明显。横断山区大部分区域的降水量与东亚夏季风指数正相关,与东亚冬季风指数负相关;最近15 a,研究区东亚季风指数持续变小,恰好与研究结果中的降水减少趋势一致。     

FY2 号气象卫星估算地面太阳辐射研究

综合考虑太阳因素、地形因素、地表积雪覆盖情况、云量以及非均质大气对太阳辐射的影响,基于FY2 号静止卫星构建晴空太阳总辐射计算模型,并利用山西省3 个辐射观测站2011 年逐时、逐日、逐月太阳总辐射观测资料对其估算结果进行检验。研究结果显示：逐时误差在±1 MJ·m^-2之间,逐日误差在±5 MJ·m^-2之间,表明模型计算的太阳辐射误差较小,稳定性较好;逐月误差结果显示,三个站模拟值都大于实测值,且误差趋势一致,均表现为冬季误差高于夏季;进一步对模拟值和实测值进行相关性分析,三站线性拟合度均在0.86～0.92 之间,且相关系数均达到显著相关水平,表明模型计算的太阳辐射准确性和精度较高,且在数值拟合上较好地反映了实际的太阳总辐射量,证实该模型应用于FY2 号气象卫星的可行性。     

Plant Phenology in Western Canada: Trends and Links to the View From Space

One feature of climate change is the trends to earlier spring onset in many north temperate areas of the world. The timing of spring flowering and leafing of perennial plants is largely controlled by temperature accumulation; both temperature and phenological records illustrate changes in recent decades. Phenology studies date back over a century, with extensive databases existing for western Canada. Earlier spring flowering has been noted for many woody plants, with larger trends seen for species that develop at spring's start. Implications for ecosystems of trends to earlier spring arrival include changes in plant species composition, changes in timing and distribution of pests and disease, and potentially disrupted ecological interactions. While Alberta has extensive phenology databases (for species, years, and geographic coverage) for recent decades, these data cannot provide continuous ground coverage. There is great potential for phenological data to provide ground validation for satellite imagery interpretation, especially as new remote sensors are becoming available. Phenological networks are experiencing a resurgence of interest in Canada (www.plantwatch.ca) and globally, and linking these ground-based observations with the view from space will greatly enhance our capacity to track the biotic response to climate changes.