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Air quality in 7 Norwegian municipalities in 2015. Summary report for NBV results.
This report documents the methodology used to compile air quality information for the year 2015 in seven Norwegian municipality areas under the first phase of development of the Norwegian Air Quality Planning Tool, also called “Nasjonalt Beregningsverktøy” or NBV. It follows a similar structure to and complements the final report entitled “Air quality in 7 Norwegian municipalities in 2015 – Summary report for NBV results” (NILU rapport 21/2017) where information on air quality in the seven main city areas in Norway was presented.
This report constitutes a user guide for the NBV-services, available at http://www.luftkalitet-nbv.no, in municipal areas. It provides recommendations on how to best use each product for air quality planning purposes and explains the main strengths and limitations of the results. The NBV air quality data for municipalities is subject to larger uncertainties than the data available for the main Norwegian city areas and this has to be taken into consideration when analyzing the results.
NILU
2018
Uptake and effects of 2, 4, 6 - trinitrotoluene (TNT) in juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)
Elsevier
2018
2018
2018
The PLASTOX project investigates the ingestion, food-web transfer, and ecotoxicological impact of microplastics (MPs), together with the persistent organic pollutants (POPs), metals and plastic additive chemicals associated with them, on key European marine species and ecosystems. PLASTOX combines field-based observations, laboratory tests and manipulative field experiments to study the ecological effects of MPs.
As part of a long-term field experiment conducted at marine locations across Europe (Mediterranean to Arctic), a range of different virgin polymer pellets, post-use polymers (LDPE, PP, PS and PET), as well as marine litter-derived microplastic particles, were deployed underwater for up to 12 months in the small boat harbour of Tromsø, Northern Norway. The deployment device consisted of an empty stainless steel SPMD canister, with the various plastic types placed in reusable, empty 'teabags' made of PP, placed separately in nylon netting. Sampling was conducted 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months after deployment. Hydrophobic persistent organic pollutants such as PAHs, PCBs, DDTs, PBDEs and pesticides that had become associated with the plastic were measured and their adsorption kinetics in seawater under Arctic conditions established. Samples were extracted using ultrasound and non-polar solvents, followed by GPC and SPE clean up prior to chemical analysis and quantification by GC/MS/MS and GC/qMS. The release kinetics of common plastic additives, including phthalates, organophosphate esters, bisphenols and perfluorinated chemicals, were estimated from four types of post-industrial virgin pellets (LDPE, PS, PVC, PET) according to the same sampling protocol. Chemical analysis was performed using either GC/MS or LC-QTOF.
Results show that HCB and PCBs represented the dominant pollutant classes adsorbing to all of the different polymer types, but at concentrations that are more than 10-times lower than those previously reported. However, equilibrium between pollutants and the polymers was not reached during the deployment period, indicating that Arctic conditions may result in different sorption kinetics than observed in temperate regions.
2018
2018
Fotballspillere drar med seg 65 tonn gummi fra banen hvert år
Norges forskningsråd
2018
2018
2018
2018
Coral Reef Socio-Ecological Systems Analysis & Restoration
Restoration strategies for coral reefs are usually focused on the recovery of bio-physical characteristics. They seldom include an evaluation of the recovery of the socio-ecological and ecosystem services features of coral reef systems. This paper proposes a conceptual framework to address both the socio-ecological system features of coral reefs with the implementation of restoration activity for degraded coral reefs. Such a framework can lead to better societal outcomes from restoration activities while restoring bio-physical, social and ecosystem service features of such systems. We first developed a Socio Ecological System Analysis Framework, which combines the Ostrom Framework for analyzing socio-ecological systems and the Kittinger et al. human dimensions framework of coral reefs socio-ecological systems. We then constructed a Restoration of Coral Reef Framework, based on the most used and recent available coral reef restoration literature. These two frameworks were combined to present a Socio-Ecological Systems & Restoration Coral Reef Framework. These three frameworks can be used as a guide for managers, researchers and decision makers to analyze the needs of coral reef restoration in a way that addresses both socio-economic and ecological objectives to analyze, design, implement and monitor reef restoration programs.
MDPI
2018
Assessing, quantifying and valuing the ecosystem services of coastal lagoons
The natural conservation of coastal lagoons is important not only for their ecological importance, but also because of the valuable ecosystem services they provide for human welfare and wellbeing. Coastal lagoons are shallow semi-enclosed systems that support important habitats such as wetlands, mangroves, salt-marshes and seagrass meadows, as well as a rich biodiversity. Coastal lagoons are also complex social-ecological systems and the ecosystem services that lagoons deliver provide livelihoods, benefits wellbeing and welfare to humans. This study assessed, quantified and valued the ecosystem services of 32 coastal lagoons. The main findings of the study were: (i) the definitions of ecosystem services are still not generally accepted; (ii) the quantification of ecosystem services is made in many different ways, using different units; (iii) the evaluation in monetary terms of some ecosystem service is problematic, often relying on non-monetary evaluation methods; (iv) when ecosystem services are valued in monetary terms, this may represent very different human benefits; and, (v) different aspects of climate change, including increasing temperature (SST), sea-level rise (SLR) and changes in rainfall patterns threaten the valuable ecosystem services of coastal lagoons.
2018
A Lagrangian particle dispersion model, the FLEXible PARTicle dispersion chemical transport model (FLEXPART CTM), is used to simulate global three-dimensional fields of trace gas abundance. These fields are constrained with surface observation data through nudging, a data assimilation method, which relaxes model fields to observed values. Such fields are of interest to a variety of applications, such as inverse modelling, satellite retrievals, radiative forcing models and estimating global growth rates of greenhouse gases. Here, we apply this method to methane using 6 million model particles filling the global model domain. For each particle, methane mass tendencies due to emissions (based on several inventories) and loss by reaction with OH, Cl and O(1D), as well as observation data nudging were calculated. Model particles were transported by mean, turbulent and convective transport driven by 1∘×1∘ ERA-Interim meteorology. Nudging is applied at 79 surface stations, which are mostly included in the World Data Centre for Greenhouse Gases (WDCGG) database or the Japan–Russia Siberian Tall Tower Inland Observation Network (JR-STATION) in Siberia. For simulations of 1 year (2013), we perform a sensitivity analysis to show how nudging settings affect modelled concentration fields. These are evaluated with a set of independent surface observations and with vertical profiles in North America from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL), and in Siberia from the Airborne Extensive Regional Observations in SIBeria (YAK-AEROSIB) and the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES). FLEXPART CTM results are also compared to simulations from the global Eulerian chemistry Transport Model version 5 (TM5) based on optimized fluxes. Results show that nudging strongly improves modelled methane near the surface, not only at the nudging locations but also at independent stations. Mean bias at all surface locations could be reduced from over 20 to less than 5 ppb through nudging. Near the surface, FLEXPART CTM, including nudging, appears better able to capture methane molar mixing ratios than TM5 with optimized fluxes, based on a larger bias of over 13 ppb in TM5 simulations. The vertical profiles indicate that nudging affects model methane at high altitudes, yet leads to little improvement in the model results there. Averaged from 19 aircraft profile locations in North America and Siberia, root mean square error (RMSE) changes only from 16.3 to 15.7 ppb through nudging, while the mean absolute bias increases from 5.3 to 8.2 ppb. The performance for vertical profiles is thereby similar to TM5 simulations based on TM5 optimized fluxes where we found a bias of 5 ppb and RMSE of 15.9 ppb. With this rather simple model setup, we thus provide three-dimensional methane fields suitable for use as boundary conditions in regional inverse modelling as a priori information for satellite retrievals and for more accurate estimation of mean mixing ratios and growth rates. The method is also applicable to other long-lived trace gases.
2018
2018
2018
2018
Exposure to airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5) carries substantial health risks, particularly for younger children (0–10 years). Epidemiological evidence indicates that children are more susceptible to PM health effects than adults. We conducted a literature review to obtain an overview of existing knowledge regarding the correlation of exposure to short- and long-term PM concentrations with respiratory symptoms and disease in children. A collection of scientific papers and topical reviews were selected in cooperation with two experienced paediatricians. The literature review was performed using the keywords “air pollution”, “particulate matter”, “children’s health” and “respiratory” from 1950 to 2016, searching the databases of Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and PubMed. The search provided 45,191 studies for consideration. Following the application of eligibility criteria and experts’ best judgment to titles and abstracts, 28 independent studies were deemed relevant for further detailed review and knowledge extraction. The results showed that most studies focused mainly on the effect of short-term exposure in children, and the reported associations were relatively homogeneous amongst the studies. Most of the respiratory diseases observed in outdoor studies were related to changes in lung function and exacerbation of asthma symptoms. Allergic reactions were frequently reported in indoor studies. Asthma exacerbation, severe respiratory symptoms and moderate airway obstruction on spirometry were also observed in children due to various sources of indoor pollution in households and schools. Mixed indoor and outdoor studies indicate frequent occurrence of wheezing and deterioration of lung function. There is good evidence of the adverse effect of short-term exposure to PM on children’s respiratory health. In terms of long-term exposure, fine particles (PM0.1–PM2.5) represent a higher risk factor than coarse particles (PM2.5–PM10). Additional research is required to better understand the heterogeneous sources and the association of PM and adverse children’s health outcomes. We recommend long-term cooperation between air quality specialists, paediatricians, epidemiologists, and parents in order to improve the knowledge of PM effects on young children’s respiratory health.
MDPI
2018