Das Projekt "Task 2.1: Peatland synthesis" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf, Zentrum für Forschung und Wissenstransfer, Institut für Ökologie und Landschaft durchgeführt. The GHG-Europe project aims to improve our understanding and capacity for predicting the European terrestrial carbon and greenhouse gas budget. More than 50 % of the European land surface is used for agricultural and forestry production. Land management directly impacts the terrestrial sources and sinks of greenhouse gases (GHGs). In the view of climate change it is crucial to know the amount of GHGs released into the atmosphere by anthropogenic activities. But also natural drivers such as climate variability influence the GHG balance of European ecosystems. The attribution of GHG emissions to anthropogenic and natural drivers is the ultimate challenge tackled in the GHG-Europe project and is the precondition to assess the potential for GHG reduction from agriculture and forestry in Europe.
Das Projekt "Impact of urbanisation on the allergenicity of birch pollen grains" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Technische Universität München, Fakultät für Medizin, Klinik und Poliklinik für Dermatologie und Allergologie am Biederstein durchgeführt. Evidence is compelling for a positive correlation between urbanisation and increment of allergic sensitisation and diseases. The reason for this association is not clear to date. Some data point to a pro-allergic effect of anthropogenic factors on susceptible individuals. Data analysing the impact of environmental - natural and anthropogenic - factors on the allergenicity of allergen carriers such as pollen grains are scarce, and if applicable only taken from in vitro experimental designs. This study will analyse one of the most common allergy inducers in northern Europe - the birch pollen. Under natural exposure conditions, birch pollen will be analysed with respect to their allergenicity. Within an interdisciplinary research team this study will evaluate the effect of natural (e.g. soil, climate, genetic background) and anthropogenic (e.g. traffic pollutants) factors on birch pollen in a holistic approach including analysis of allergen bioavailability, release of pollen associated lipid mediators from birch pollen grains, in vitro immunostimulatory activity and in vivo allergenic potential. These data collected in the time course of three years will significantly add to our understanding how urbanisation and climate change influence the allergenicity of birch pollen and will help us in the future to set up primary prevention studies.
Das Projekt "Identification of nature, steering factors and indicators of soil degradation for the forest steppe zone of Bashkortostan" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Institut für Geowissenschaften und Geographie, Arbeitsgruppe Geoökologie durchgeführt. Within the project 'Causes and effects of natural and man-made soil degradation in Bashkortostan - basic investigations for sustainable agricultural management strategies in semiarid regions (project manager Prof. Dr. M. Frühauf , Institute of Geosciences, workgroup Geoecology, Martin-Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg), different tasks and theses should be developed for PhD- qualification. Main topics are the development and evaluation of indicators of soil degradation in the forest steppe zone of Bashkortostan. In this process measurements for quantification of soil degradation and soil water balance under different land use will take place. Natural soils of the forest steppe zone of Bashkortostan will act as reference. Furthermore relationships between climate parameters, soil properties, soil water budgets/ dynamics and yield development will be investigated. Developing of a GIS structure gather the main causal connections between land use, soil degradation patterns and soil erosion. In addition spatial and temporal analyses of yield development and soil quality will describe. It is note one of the most important tasks will be the regionalization from farm scale to the rayon level as step towards the regionalization of the whole forest steppe zone. These activities should be a contribution to development of regionally adapted strategies for soil protection and sustainable land use.
Das Projekt "Causes and effects of natural and man-made soil degradation in Bashkortostan - basic investigations for sustainable agricultural management strategies in semiarid regions" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Institut für Geowissenschaften und Geographie, Arbeitsgruppe Geoökologie durchgeführt. In the Republic of Bashkortostan (Southern Russia) land use in general and land use practices in particular have changed due to the transformation process after the breakup of the former Soviet Union. These developments are causing land degradation and soil erosion, subsequently leading to a dramatic loss of arable land and a reduction of land productivity. The project will investigate the natural and anthropogenic causes for land degradation and soil erosion. Further more, ecological, socio-economic and political factors influencing sustainable agriculture in the region will be examined. For this study existing Russian archives, results from field work as well as the analyses of remote sensing data will be used. Finally, guidelines and recommendations for soil conservation strategies will be developed. In addition, the existing data basis will be re-examined and adapted to international standards. The integration of data as well as their transfer to the public will be achieved by using GIS techniques.
Das Projekt "Investigation of Water Resources Aimed at Multi-Objective Water Resources Development With Respect to Limited Data Situation: The Case of Abaya-Chamo Lakes" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Technische Universität Dresden, Institut für Wasserbau und Technische Hydromechanik durchgeführt. Aim of the Research: The aim of the research is multi-objective and focuses on enhancing development and utilization of water resource in a sustainable manner, where data are scarce and resources are underdeveloped. The research area is focused on Southern part of Rift Valley Region of Ethiopia, which constitutes two natural Lakes, viz. Abaya and Chamo. The objective can be collectively described as 'investigate the water resources quantity, development potential and its impacts under limited data situation using existing and new methodologies and provide guidelines that can be used for hydrological and hydraulic computations that can be used for water resources development of the research and similar areas'. Specific Objectives: The research specifically deals with the following components: - Identification of the research region named Abaya-Chamo Basin its drainage areas, rivers and lakes; - Development of Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and drainage analysis using Digital Terrain Modeling (DTM) under Geographic Information System (GIS); - Investigate the morphometric characteristics combining Global Positioning System (GPS) and bathymetry survey, and there by develop the capacity curve and digital data of the two Lakes; - Development of meteorological and hydrological data base of the drainage system; - Analysis of meteorological and hydrological data and development of their regional relationships; - Development of new conceptual hydrological model for runoff computation based on developed database, which can enhance design of water projects in the research and similar areas; - Propose and develop guidelines on computations for hydrological and hydraulic design parameters of water resource projects mainly related to identified potentials; - Investigation of the existing water resources use and future development demand of the research area, based on the database and guidelines; - Investigation of the water resources development potential, with respect to satisfying the demand; - Develop the water balance models of the Lakes, and through which assess the impact of natural, man made and exploitation of the identified water resources uses.
Das Projekt "The global biogeochemical cycle of selenium: sources, fluxes and the influence of climate" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Institut für Integrative Biologie durchgeführt. Selenium is a natural trace element that is of fundamental importance to human health. However, it is also an element with a small range between dietary deficiency (less than 40 micrograms per day) and toxic dosages (over 400 micrograms per day). The extreme geographical variation in environmental selenium concentrations has resulted in significant health problems. For example, in China, widespread serious diseases such as Kashin-Beck and Keshan disease have been related to the very low selenium contents of locally produced food. To deal with health problems related to deficient or excess levels of selenium in the environment, it is essential to get a better understanding of the processes that control the global distribution of selenium. This research project is aimed at investigating potentially important sources, pathways and sinks of natural selenium species. Two interdisciplinary work programs are planned that combine different scientific methodologies in the field of environmental biogeochemistry. One work program will focus on the production of volatile selenium species by marine phytoplankton, which could be an important source of selenium to the continent. Research methods involve microcosm studies with marine phytoplankton and subsequent trapping and characterization of produced volatile selenium species. Expected results will greatly contribute to an improved understanding of the role of marine phytoplankton in the global selenium cycle. Also, field experiments are planned to quantify fluxes of volatile selenium compounds from continental environments. The deposition of atmospherically transported selenium on the continent will be the main focus of the other work program. A key field site for this work program is the Chinese Loess Plateau, which has the potential to serve as environmental archive of atmospherically deposited selenium over the last 2.6 million years. The presence and mobility of trace elements will be studied in the loess sediments using different geochemical analytical techniques. Expected results will advance understanding of atmospheric selenium deposition and give insight in the role that climate plays on the continental abundance of selenium. These studies will pave the way for future predictions of selenium distribution patterns based on climate data. Knowledge on biogenic selenium production in the ocean and continental deposition of selenium is needed to understand the environmental fate of both natural and anthropogenic selenium emissions. This understanding is essential to prevent future selenium health hazards in a world that is increasingly affected by human activities.
Das Projekt "Natural and anthropogenic mineral aerosols from ice and sediment Alpine records: Climatic, stratigraphic, and environmental implications." wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universite de Geneve, Institut F.-A. Forel durchgeführt. The investigation of sediment cores from two of the largest freshwater lakes from Western Europe (lakes Geneva and Lucerne) demonstrated that natural sources of trace elements dominated before the European industrial revolution. The heavy metal pollution (e.g. lead, mercury) highly increased following the industrialization of Switzerland after 1850. The implementation of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the 1960s significantly decreased the metal pollution at the deepwater sites. By contrast, the Vidy Bay of Lake Geneva where are released the WWTP of the city of Lausanne since 1964 was highly contaminated by heavy metals due to the WWTP emissions. Lead isotopic composition furthermore highlighted the industrial pollution sources over the last 200 years. During the twentieth century, industrial releases multiplied by 10 times heavy metal fluxes to hydrological systems located on both sides of the Alps. The remote and small high altitude lake Meidsee (2661 m a.s.l. in the Southwestern Alps) revealed the strong increase in anthropogenic trace metal deposition during the Greek and Roman Empires (ca 300 BC to AD 400), the Late Middle Ages (ca AD 1400), and the Early Modern Europe (after ca AD 1600). The greatest increases in anthropogenic metal pollution were evidenced after the industrial revolution of ca AD 1850, especially in Lake Lucerne where industrial activities and the steamboat navigation released high amounts of fossil fuel combustion residues and heavy metals. The elemental and isotopic composition of sedimentary organic matter from the high-altitude Lake Meidsee provided additional information about the high-altitude Alpine landscape evolution since the Late Pleistocene/Holocene deglaciation in the Swiss Southwestern Alps; and indicated the predominant deposition of algal-derived organic matter with limited input of terrestrial organic matter before the Holocene Climatic Optimum (between 7.0 and 5.5 years ago). This research also investigated faecal indicator bacteria (Escherichia coli and Enterococcus), multiple antibiotic resistant and antibiotic resistance genes, in sediment profiles from different parts of Lake Geneva (Switzerland) over the last decades. Results showed that the WWTP input constituted the main source of pollution for several contaminants, including heavy metals, antibiotics, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The Bay of Vidy of Lake Geneva can therefore be considered as a reservoir of bacteria multiple resistance genes. Hence, the human-induced eutrophication in the 1970s highly enhanced the sediment microbial activity, and therein the spreading of antibiotic resistant bacteria and genes in this aquatic environment used to supply drinking water in a highly populated area.
Das Projekt "Natural and anthropogenic aerosols from ice and sediment Alpine records: Climatic, stratigraphic, and environmental implications." wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universite de Geneve, Institut F.-A. Forel durchgeführt. This follow-up project aims to reconstruct natural (climatic) and anthropogenic-induced hydrological changes and to provide new insights on the anthropogenic pollutants emitted in European environment over the last centuries, by focusing on: (1) The largest freshwater lake of Western Europe (Lake Geneva) and especially on industrial (trace metals) and microbial (pathogenic bacterial activity and resistance to antibiotic) pollution in the Vidy Bay; where are discharges the treated wastewaters of Lausanne since 50 years. (2) A drinking reservoir (Lake Brêt) in order to evaluate the impacts of agricultural activities and sewage emissions on the pollution of drinking water in Switzerland over the last century. Results demonstrate a slight enrichment in anthropogenic heavy metal since the 1950s but an additional (agricultural) source of copper during the last decade. In the absence of industries in the catchment, the records of DDT and PCBs highlight the long-range atmospheric transport of POPs that contaminated rural water resources via catchment runoff. (3) Human impact on the deposition of anthropogenic and natural trace element fluxes were measured in sediment cores from Lake Biel and from two upstream lakes (Lake Brienz and Lake Thun), all three connected by the Aare River. Results indicate that that the construction of sediment-trapping reservoirs significantly decreased regional riverine sediment discharge. Radiometric dating of the sediment core from Lake Biel furthermore identified hydrological releases of anthropogenic radionuclides from the nuclear reactor of Mühleberg located at ca.15 km from Lake Biel. Five publications (in refereed journals) directly resulting from this follow-up proposal are in process of publication.
Das Projekt "Source apportionment and quantification of natural attenuation of chlorophenols in contaminated soils using compound-specific isotopic signatures" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Institut für Integrative Biologie durchgeführt. Aim of Project The project aims to develop novel methods, which are based on shifts of stable isotope ratios (37Cl/35Cl and 13C/12C), for assessing source and fate of contaminants in the environment. Specifically, the goals are to (i) develop on-line 37Cl/35Cl analytical methods for chlorophenol (CP) congeners, (ii) investigate isotopic fractionation during aerobic and anaerobic biodegradation of CPs, (iii) apply multi-dimensional isotope analysis to identify and quantify their transformation processes at contaminated field sites, and (iv) use radiocarbon analysis to decipher contributions of natural and anthropogenic sources of CPs at contaminated and pristine field sites. Background and Relevance of the Project To assess sites with contaminated soil in industrialized regions such as Europe, methods that allow identifying sources and quantifying biotransformation of pollutants are required. Multi-dimensional compound-specific isotopic analysis is a very promising tool to this end. In the proposed project, this method will be applied to apportion sources and to quantify degradation of CPs at sawmill field sites. CPs belong the group of organochlorines (OCl), which are important man-made contaminants in groundwater and soil ecosystems. Many OCl have shown to be biodegradable, leading to natural attenuation of field sites. However, the identification of this process is not easy. Moreover, many OCl can also have natural sources, complicating the identification of anthropogenic influence on soils. Using compound-specific multi-dimensional chlorine and carbon stable isotopic (37Cl/35Cl and 13C/12C) and radiocarbon (?14C) signatures can overcome these difficulties. Scientific Methodology A GC - ICP - multi collector MS method to measure 37Cl/35Cl isotopic ratios of CPs will be developed. This method will then be used in combination with state-of-the-art 13C/12C methods to perform multi-dimensional CSIA of CPs at former sawmill field sites. Based on isotopic enrichment factors resulting from the accompanying laboratory degradation experiments, the field data will be evaluated, leading to identification and quantification of CP degradation processes. Radiocarbon analysis of CP derivatives near and remote the contaminated field site will give insights about the importance of their natural production.
Das Projekt "Unifying aerosol composition measurements with predictions of volatility and hygroscopicity" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Faculte de l'Evironnement Naturel, Architectural et Construit (ENAC), IIE - APRL, Laboratoire de recherche sur Laboratoire de recherche sur les particules atmospheriques durchgeführt. Atmospheric particles (also often referred as aerosols in an atmospheric science context) are composed of sulfate, ammonium, nitrate, elemental carbon, organic compounds, trace metals, crustal elements, and water. Mass concentrations of fine particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter have been associated with excess mortality, and are regulated in the United States for these health concerns. Atmospheric particles can also interact with solar radiation and either absorb or scatter radiation directly, or act as seeds for cloud-droplet formation, which also affects the energy balance of the planet. Aerosols also serve as vessels for chemicals and nutrients to be transported over long distances. To understand the natural and anthropogenic burdens of atmospheric particles on human and ecosystems health, we require continued characterization of their composition and properties. In particular, there are two properties of atmospheric particles which we wish to accurately model to estimate their atmospheric lifetimes and overall mass burdens. These two properties are hygroscopicity -- how much water they take up -- and volatility -- how species with moderate vapor pressures partition between the gas and particle phase. These properties are linked to the chemical composition (and morphology) of the aerosol. Heuristically explained, particles containing soluble or polar compounds are more hygroscopic, and particle mass depends on how its species partition among gas, solid, aqueous, and (non-aqueous) liquid phases, differently depending on the magnitude and nature of their condensed-phase interactions. The ultimate goal is to describe these relationship in computational models which link source emission, chemical transformation, and receptor impacts so that we can use these models as decision-support tools for mitigation (evaluate emission control strategies) and adaptation (predict future air quality and climate scenarios based on projected changes in emissions). An important component of these models is the accurate description of condensed-phase interactions that link composition to hygroscopicty and volatility. One challenge in forming this description is that the number of molecules in the organic fraction are numerous and explicit consideration for each compound is infeasible. A necessary and common strategy is to represent the large number of in the condensed-phase by their functional group (and ionic) interactions. This project aims to address the lack of measurements, and measurement techniques which can capture the complex aerosol composition to evaluate theoretical models based on ionic and functional group parameterizations of composition.(...)
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