Das Projekt "Barley dwarfs acting big in agronomy. Identification of genes and characterization of proteins involved in dwarfism, lodging resistance and crop yield" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft durchgeführt. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is an important cereal grain which serves as major animal fodder crop as well as basis for malt beverages or staple food. Currently barley is ranked fourth in terms of quantity of cereal crops produced worldwide. In times of a constantly growing world population in conjunction with an unforeseeable climate change and groundwater depletion, the accumulation of knowledge concerning cereal growth and rate of yield gain is important. The Nordic Genetic Resource Center holds a major collection of barley mutants produced by irradiation or chemical treatment. One phenotypic group of barley varieties are dwarf mutants (erectoides, brachytic, semidwarf, uzu). They are characterized by a compact spike and high rate of yield while the straw is short and stiff, enhancing the lodging resistance of the plant. Obviously they are of applied interest, but they are also of scientific interest as virtually nothing is known about the genes behind the development of plant dwarfism. The aim of this project is to identify and isolate the genes carrying the mutations by using state of the art techniques for gene cloning at the Carlsberg Laboratory. The identified genes will be connected with the mutant phenotype to reveal the gene function in general. One or two genes will be overexpressed and the resulting recombinant proteins will be biochemically and structurally characterized. The insights how the mutation effects the protein will display the protein function in particular. Identified genes and their mutant alleles will be tested in the barley breeding program of the Carlsberg brewery.
Das Projekt "The Atmospheric Side of the Freshwater Budget" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Hamburg, Fachbereich Erdsystemwissenschaften, Meteorologisches Institut durchgeführt. The focus of this project is to analyse the observed surface freshwater fluxes through improved estimates of evaporation and precipitation and their individual error characteristics in the HOAPS climatology and its ground validation in climate-related hotspots of the Atlantic Ocean. To enable that in a consistent manner we propose to establish an error characterization of the HOAPS evaporation data by triple collocations with ship and buoy measurements and between individual satellites and to improve the error characterization of the HOAPS precipitation by analysing available shipboard disdrometer data using point to area statistics. After these improvements, an analysis of the spatio-temporal variability of the surface fresh water balance E-P over the Atlantic Ocean is planned, especially with respect to the Hadley circulation and the hotspot regions of interest to related WPs. Also the atmospheric water transport shall be analysed in order to find the source or target region of local fresh water imbalances. And finally, a consistent inter-comparison of the upcoming global ocean surface salinity fields from SMOS with freshwater fluxes from the HOAPS climatology is proposed.
Das Projekt "Carbon, water and nutrient dynamics in vascular plant- vs. Sphagnum-dominated bog ecosystems in southern Patagonia" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Münster, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Fachbereich 14 - Geowissenschaften durchgeführt. In bog ecosystems, vegetation controls key processes such as the retention of carbon, water and nutrients. In northern hemispherical bogs, a shift from Sphagnum- to vascular plant-dominated vegetation is often traced back to Climate Change and increased anthropogenic nitrogen deposition and coincides with substantially reduced capacities in carbon, water and nutrient retention. In southern Patagonia, bogs dominated by Sphagnum and vascular plants coexist since millennia under similar environmental settings. Thus, South Patagonian bogs may serve as ideal examples for the long-term effect of vascular plant invasion on carbon, water and nutrient balances of bog ecosystems. The contemporary balances of carbon and water of both a bog dominated by Sphagnum and vascular plants are determined by CO2- H2O and CH4 flux measurements and an estimation of lateral water losses as well as losses via dissolved organic and inorganic carbon compounds. The high time resolution of simultaneous eddy covariance measurements of CO2 and H2O in both bog types and the strong interaction between climatic variables and the physiology of bog plants allow for direct comparisons of carbon and water fluxes during cold, warm, dry, wet, cloudy or sunny periods. By the combination with leaf-scale measurements of gas exchange and fluorescence, plant-physiological controls of photosynthesis and transpiration can be identified. Long-term peat accumulation rates will be determined by carbon density and age-depth profiles including a characterization of peat humification characteristics. A reciprocal transplantation experiment with incorporated shading, liming and labeled N addition treatments is conducted to explore driving factors affecting competition between Sphagnum and vascular plants as well as the interactions between CO2-, CH4-, and water fluxes and decisive plant functional traits affecting key processes for carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling. Decomposition rates and driving below ground processes are analyzed with a litter bag field experiment and an incubation experiment in the laboratory.
Das Projekt "Red, phosphorescent OLEDs: New, bipolar materials, photophysical characterization, charge transport and OLED optimization. HO3911/3-1" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Wuppertal, Fachgruppe Chemie und Biologie, Arbeitsgruppe Makromolekulare Chemie durchgeführt.
Das Projekt "Revision of basal sauropods from the Middle Jurassic of Patagonia and the early evolution of eusauropods" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Generaldirektion der Staatlichen Naturwissenschaftlichen Sammlung Bayerns, Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie durchgeführt. Sauropod dinosaurs represent one of the most important components of Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrate faunas, yet their early evolution and diversification in the Jurassic is still poorly understood. Furthermore, most of the pertinent data so far comes from Early and Middle Jurassic rocks in eastern Asia. The only abundant basal sauropod material reported from the Western Hemisphere so far comes from the Middle Jurassic Cañadón Asfalto Formation of Chubut province, Argentina, from where two species, Patagosaurus fariasi and Volkheimeria chubutensis, have been described. Especially the first of these taxa has figured prominently in basal sauropod phylogenies. However, recent research suggests that more sauropods are represented in the original material referred to this species, and intensive fieldwork in the rocks that have yielded these materials has resulted in the recovery of a wealth of new material. Thus, the objective of this project is a revision of the original materials of Patagosaurus as well as an incorporation of new materials. The alpha taxonomy of the sauropods from the Cañadón Asfalto Formation will be established, detailed osteological descriptions of the different taxa provided and their significance for our understanding of early sauropod evolution will be evaluated.
Das Projekt "Biogeochemical interface formation in soils as controlled by different components" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Technische Universität München, Wissenschaftszentrum Weihenstephan für Ernährung, Landnutzung und Umwelt, Lehrstuhl für Bodenkunde durchgeführt. We consider clay minerals, iron oxides and charcoal as major components controlling the formation of interfaces relevant for sorption of organic chemicals, as they control the assemblage of organic matter and mineral particles. We studied the formation of interfaces in batch incubation experiments with inoculated artificial soils consisting of model compounds (clay minerals, iron oxide, char) and natural soil samples. Results show a relevant contribution of both iron oxides and clay minerals to the formation of organic matter as sorptive interfaces for hydrophobic compounds. Thus, we intend to focus our work in the second phase on the characterization of the interface as formed by organic matter associated with clay minerals and iron oxides. The interfaces will be characterized by the BET-N2 and ethylene glycol monoethyl ether (EGME) methods and 129Xe and 13C NMR spectroscopy for determination of specific surface area, sorptive domains in the organic matter and microporosity. A major step forward is expected by the analysis of the composition of the interface at different resolution by reflected-light microscopy (mm scale), SEM (scanning electron microscopy, micrometer scale) and secondary ion mass spectrometry at the nanometer scale (nanoSIMS). The outcomes obtained in combination with findings from cooperation partners will help to unravel the contribution of different types of soil components on the formation and characteristics of the biogeochemical interfaces and their effect on organic chemical sorption.
Das Projekt "Quantification of small-scale physicochemical properties of intact macropore surfaces in structured soils" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Leibniz-Zentrum für Agrarlandschaftsforschung (ZALF) e.V., Institut für Bodenlandschaftsforschung durchgeführt. In structured soils, the interaction of percolating water and reactive solutes with the soil matrix is mostly restricted to the surfaces of preferential flow paths. Flow paths, i.e., macropores, are formed by worm burrows, decayed root channels, cracks, and inter-aggregate spaces. While biopores are covered by earthworm casts and mucilage or by root residues, aggregates and cracks are often coated by soil organic matter (SOM), oxides, and clay minerals especially in the clay illuviation horizons of Luvisols. The SOM as well as the clay mineral composition and concentration strongly determine the wettability and sorption capacity of the coatings and thus control water and solute movement as well as the mass exchange between the preferential flow paths and the soil matrix. The objective of this proposal is the quantitative description of the small-scale distribution of physicochemical properties of intact structural surfaces and flow path surfaces and of their distribution in the soil volume. Samples of Bt horizons of Luvisols from Loess will be compared with those from glacial till. At intact structural surfaces prepared from soil clods, the spatial distribution (mm-scale) of SOM and clay mineral composition will be characterized with DRIFT (Diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform) spectroscopy using a self-developed mapping technique. For samples manually separated from coated surfaces and biopore walls, the contents of organic carbon (Corg) and the cation exchange capacity (CEC) will be analyzed and related to the intensities of specific signals in DRIFT spectra using Partial Least Square Regression (PLSR) analysis. The signal intensities of the DRIFT mapping spectra will be used to quantify the spatial distribution of Corg and CEC at these structural surfaces. The DRIFT mapping data will also be used for qualitatively characterizing the small scale distribution of the recalcitrance, humification, and microbial activity of the SOM from structural surfaces. The clay mineral composition of defined surface regions will be characterized by combining DRIFT spectroscopic with X-ray diffractometric analysis of manually separated samples. Subsequently, the spatial distribution of the clay mineral composition at structural surfaces will be determined from the intensities of clay mineral-specific signals in the DRIFT mapping spectra and exemplarily compared to scanning electron microscopic and infrared microscopic analysis of thin sections and thin polished micro-sections. The three-dimensional spatial distribution of the total structural surfaces in the volume of the Bt horizons will be quantified using X-ray computed tomography (CT) analysis of soil cores. The active preferential flow paths will be visualized and quantified by field tracer experiments. These CT and tracer data will be used to transfer the properties of the structural surfaces characterized by DRIFT mapping onto the active preferential flow paths in the Bt horizons.
Das Projekt "Einfluss organischer Aerosole auf Luftqualität und Klima" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie (Otto-Hahn-Institut) durchgeführt. Organische Aerosole (OA) sind wichtige Bestandteile atmosphärischer Partikel. Je nach Region können sie zwischen 20 und 90% der gesamten Submikron-Partikelmasse betragen. Dennoch sind organische Aerosolquellen, atmosphärische Prozesse und Ableitung sehr ungewiss. Vorrangiges Ziel dieses Antrages ist es, die Auswirkungen organischer Aerosole auf Luftqualität und Klima zu untersuchen. Dazu soll die Darstellung des Aerosolaufbaus und die Weiterentwicklung in einem globalen Klima-Chemie-Modell verbessert werden. Das geplante Vorhaben basiert auf einem rechnerisch effizienten Modul zur Beschreibung der Zusammensetzung und Entwicklung atmosphärischer Aerosole in der Atmosphäre (ORACLE), ein Teil des ECHAM5/MESSy (EMAC) Klima-Chemie-Modells. ORACLE wird unter Berücksichtigung aller auf Labor- und Feldmessungen basierenden neuesten Erkenntnissen und Entwicklungen aktualisiert werden, um den zunehmend oxidierenden, weniger flüchtigen und stärker hygroskopischen Charakter des organischen Aerosols während der atmosphärischen Alterung mittels Nachverfolgung ihrer beiden wichtigsten Parameter, Sättigungskonzentration und Sauerstoffgehalt, genauer darzustellen. Dieses Modellsystem soll eingesetzt werden, um die Unsicherheit hinsichtlich der Einflüsse organischer Aerosole auf die globale Luftqualität und den Strahlungsantrieb zu verringern, und zwar durch: i) Quantifizierung des relativen Beitrags der Bildung sekundärer organischer Aerosole (SOA) sowie Emissionen primärer organischer Aerosole (POA) auf den Gesamthaushalt organischer Aerosole in unterschiedlichen Umgebungen; ii) Quantifizierung des Beitrags von Biomasseverbrennung und Schadstoffemissionen sowie chemische Alterung und weiträumige Übertragung auf den Gesamthaushalt organischer Aerosole; iii) Ermittlung, inwieweit SOA Konzentrationen durch biogene und anthropogene Emissionen sowie photochemische Alterungsprozesse beeinträchtigt werden; iv) Untersuchung der Weiterentwicklung von SOA-Bildung aus natürlichen Quellen durch deren Interaktion mit anthropogenen Emissionen; v) Abschätzung der Auswirkungen photochemischer Alterungsprozesse auf die physikalisch-chemischen Eigenschaften organischer Aerosole (z.B. Hygroskopizität, Volatilität) und vi) Einschätzung der indirekten Auswirkungen organischer Aerosole auf das Klima. Vor allem aber wird der vorliegende Antrag der kommenden Generation von Chemie-Klimamodellen eine realistische Beschreibung der chemischen Entwicklung organischer Aerosole in der Atmosphäre liefern, was für die Reduzierung der Aerosol-Unsicherheiten in der Luftqualität und bei Klimasimulationen von wesentlicher Bedeutung ist. Es ist auch davon auszugehen, dass das Forschungsvorhaben wertvolle Informationen zu den Quellen und der Produktion von OA weltweit liefert, was derzeitige CCMs nicht leisten können und welche von Politikern zur Entwicklung zukünftiger wirksamer Emissionsminderungsstrategien genutzt werden können.
Das Projekt "Leistungsoptimierte Lithium-lonen Batterien" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Technische Hochschule Aachen, Lehrstuhl und Institut für Stromrichtertechnik und Elektrische Antriebe durchgeführt. Der schnelle Fortschritt der elektronischen Geräte erhöht die Nachfrage nach verbesserten Li-Ionen Batterien. Kommerziell erhältliche Li-Zellen nutzen meist Lithiumkobaltoxid für die positive Elektrode. Doch gerade dieses Material ist ein Hindernis für eine weitere Optimierung, insbesondere für eine Kostensenkung. Vor allem für größere Anwendungen wie Hybrid- oder Elektrofahrzeuge müssen alternative Materialen erforscht werden, die billiger, sicherer und umweltverträglicher sind. Daher wird im ISEA derzeit ein neues Forschungsprojekt ins Leben gerufen und die dafür benötigte Infrastruktur geschaffen. Die Forschung wird sich auf die Untersuchung geeigneter Übergangsmetalloxide und Polyanionen konzentrieren, die besonders gut zur Einlagerung von Li-Ionen geeignet sind. Es werden neue Herstellungsverfahren unter Verwendung wässriger Precurser-Substanzen untersucht, die Verbindungen mit überlegenen Eigenschaften erzeugen und außerdem leicht an eine Massenproduktion angepasst werden können. Ziel der Arbeiten ist, preisgünstiges Elektrodenmaterial zu entwickeln, das eine spezifische Energie von über 200 Wh/kg und eine Leistungsdichte von 400 W/kg aufweist. Außerdem werden Arbeiten im Bereich der physikalisch-chemischen Charakterisierung der neuen Materialien stattfinden sowie elektrochemische Analysen der gesamten Zellen- und Batteriesysteme durchgeführt. Das elektrodynamische Verhalten der neuen Zellen wird u. a. mit Hilfe der elektrochemischen Impedanzspektroskopie analysiert, um präzise und zuverlässige Algorithmen für ein späteres Batteriemonitoring im realen Betrieb zu finden.
Das Projekt "Methodologies for dealing with uncertainties in landscape planning and related modeling; Uncertainty of predicted hydro-biogeochemical fluxes and trace gas emissions on the landscape scale under climate and land use change" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Gießen, Institut für Landschaftsökologie und Ressourcenmanagement, Professur für Landschafts-, Wasser- und Stoffhaushalt durchgeführt. Water, carbon and nitrogen are key elements in all ecosystem turnover processes and they are related to a variety of environmental problems, including eutrophication, greenhouse gas emissions or carbon sequestration. An in-depth knowledge of the interaction of water, carbon and nitrogen on the landscape scale is required to improve land use and management while at the same time mitigating environmental impact. This is even more important under the light of future climate and land use changes.In the frame of the proposal 'Uncertainty of predicted hydro-biogeochemical fluxes and trace gas emissions on the landscape scale under climate and land use change' we advocate the development of fully coupled, process-oriented models that explicitly simulate the dynamic interaction of water, carbon and nitrogen turnover processes on the landscape scale. We will use the Catchment Modelling Framework CMF, a modular toolbox to implement and test hypothesis of hydrologic behaviour and couple this to the biogeochemical LandscapeDNDC model, a process-based dynamic model for the simulation of greenhouse gas emissions from soils and their associated turnover processes.Due to the intrinsic complexity of the models in use, the predictive uncertainty of the coupled models is unknown. This predictive (global) uncertainty is composed of stochastic and structural components. Stochastic uncertainty results from errors in parameter estimation, poorly known initial states of the model, mismatching boundary conditions or inaccuracies in model input and validation data. Structural uncertainty is related to the flawed or simplified description of natural processes in a model.The objective of this proposal is therefore to quantify the global uncertainty of the coupled hydro-biogeochemical models and investigate the uncertainty chain from parameter uncertainty over forcing data uncertainty up the structural model uncertainty be setting up different combinations of CMF and LandscapeDNDC. A comprehensive work program has been developed structured in 4 work packages, that consist of (1) model set up, calibration and uncertainty assessment on site scale followed by (2) an application and uncertainty assessment of the coupled model structures on regional scale, (3) global change scenario analyses and finally (4) evaluating model results in an ensemble fashion.Last but not least, a further motivation of this proposal is to provide project results in a manner that they support planning and decision taking under uncertainty, as this proposal is part of the package proposal on 'Methodologies for dealing with uncertainties in landscape planning and related modelling'.
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