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SOLEIL: Solar variability and trend effects in layers and trace gasesin the upper atmosphere

Das Projekt "SOLEIL: Solar variability and trend effects in layers and trace gasesin the upper atmosphere" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Leibniz-Institut für Atmosphärenphysik e.V. an der Universität Rostock durchgeführt. In der wissenschaftlichen Klimadiskussion steht der Einfluss des Anstiegs anthropogener Treibhausgase auf die globale Änderung unserer Atmosphäre in den untersten Kilometern im Vordergrund. Allerdings ist die bisher eingetretene mittlere globale Temperaturerhöhung mit 0.85 K von 1880 bis 2012, dies entspricht 0.06 K pro Dekade, jedoch klein. In der Atmosphäre oberhalb von etwa 8 km kehrt sich das Vorzeichen des Treibhauseffekts um: ein Anstieg der Konzentration von infrarot-aktiven Gasen führt zu einer Abkühlung durch eine gesteigerte Emission von Strahlung in den Weltraum. Die globale Veränderung der Atmosphäre findet besonders stark in einem Höhenbereich von 50-75 km statt. Antworten auf die Fragen nach den Ursachen für diese rapiden Änderungen in der mittleren Atmosphäre können uns nur numerische Atmosphärenmodelle (z.B. LIMA) geben. Letztere zeigen, dass die Strahlungsbilanz der mittleren Atmosphäre weitgehend bestimmt wird durch die Spurengase CO2 und O3. Die multivariate Trendanalyse erlaubt nun eine Aussage über den Beitrag am Gesamttrend der einzelnen Spurengase O3 und CO2. Die Spurengase CO2 und O3 tragen jeweils 2/3 bzw. 1/3 zum Trend bei. Die größten Trends liegen im Drucksystem mit 1.3 K/Dekade bei ca. 60 km, während auf geometrischen Höhen der Kontraktionseffekt der Atmosphäre die maximalen Trends auf bis zu 1.8 K/Dekade bei 70 km verstärkt. In den Höhen 80-90 km sind die Trendwerte am kleinsten und können sogar das Vorzeichen wechseln. Dieses Verhalten ist bedingt durch die sehr niedrigen Absoluttemperaturen in 80-90 km Höhe, die sehr empfindlich auf Variationen in den Strahlungsflüssen aus der Stratopausenregion reagieren. Weiterhin konnte in 'SOLEIL' gezeigt werden, dass Temperaturtrends zeitlich variabel sind. So zeigen im Teilzeitraum 1980-1996 die Temperaturen ihren stärksten Abfall aufgrund der Ozonabnahme: die Temperaturtrends können Werte bis zu 4 K pro Dekade erreichen. Im Zeitraum 1995-2009 sind die Durchschnittstemperaturen nahezu unverändert, weil sich hier das stratosphärische Ozon wieder aufbaut ('ozone recovery'). Diese Phasen starker und schwacher Abkühlung zwischen 1961 bis 2008 sind konsistent mit abgeleiteten Temperaturtrends aus französischen Lidarbeobachtungen und Phasenhöhenmessungen am Institut für Atmosphärenphysik (IAP) Kühlungsborn. Der Höhenbereich 80-90 km ist auch die Region, in der Eiswolken seit mehr als 100 Jahren beobachtet werden. Diese Eiswolken (NLC/PMC) existieren in der Sommermesopausenregion polwärts ab 50°N und können sich nur unter sehr kalten Temperaturen unterhalb von etwa 150 K ausbilden. Obwohl der Wasserdampfgehalt in der Mesopausenregion mit 1-7 ppmv sehr gering ausfällt, ist diese Feuchtekonzentration ausreichend für die Bildung von Eisteilchen. Die Nukleation und das Wachstum dieser Eispartikel reagiert sehr empfindlich auf Änderungen der Temperatur und des Wasserdampfes. Aus diesem Grund werden NLC/PMC auf ihre Rolle als potentieller Indikator für Klimaänderungen der globalen Atmosph

Aalborg Commitments Tools and Resources (ACTOR)

Das Projekt "Aalborg Commitments Tools and Resources (ACTOR)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von ICLEI - Local Goverments for Sustainability, Europasekretariat GmbH durchgeführt. The Aalborg Commitments were adopted by the delegates to the June 2004 Aalborg+10 Conference with the intention that these clearly targeted actions will support European local governments in their implementation of the Aalborg Charter agreed at the 1994 Aalborg Conference. The initial commitment by signatory local governments is to undertake a baseline review within 12 months and then to enter into a local target-setting process in consultation with citizens and stakeholders in order to develop within 24 months a local programme of action under the ten Commitment themes. The evolution of the Aalborg process has been taking place at the same time as the European Commission has been preparing the Urban Thematic Strategy (UTS). This is one of seven Thematic Strategies, which together comprise the European Community's 6th Environment Action Programme. The EU has agreed that the theme of sustainable development should underpin all EU actions and this, therefore, is the key organising principle for the UTS. The SSP Fourth Call for Proposals outlines the following the core objective for 3.5. Task 5 as the 'Development of a set of guidelines and tools for signatories to the Aalborg +10 Commitments agreed in June 2004'. ACTOR will therefore have as its principal aim the development of a web-based innovative Toolkit, and a Training Package to support and assist Aalborg Commitments signatories to make efficient and effective progress. This Toolkit will include a comprehensive package of materials that can be provided to new towns and cities once they have signed the Commitments. In association with the Toolkit, the project will involve the design of Training Package on the methodology and operationalisation of the Aalborg Commitments. The Project will actively involve Signatory local authorities and the European Sustainable Cities and Towns Campaign Networks in developing and testing the Toolkit and Training Package. Prime Contractor: University of Northumbria at Newcastle; Newcastle Upon Tyne; United Kingdom.

Asessing the potential of various instruments for sutainable consumption practises and greening of the market (ASCEE)

Das Projekt "Asessing the potential of various instruments for sutainable consumption practises and greening of the market (ASCEE)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Institut für ökologische Wirtschaftsforschung (IÖW) GmbH durchgeführt. The main objectives are : - to identify, structure and assess instruments addressing and promoting sustainable consumption and greening of the market; - to identify and evaluate best practice examples; - to develop policy strategies for transferring best practices; - to carry out a workshop; - to finalise insights by preparing a guideline for policy makers; - to prepare a scientific report and a summary. After a prephase connected with an internal kick-off meeting, the first phase analyses policy instruments, measures and actions and the gained experiences in WP 2 ' Basic instrumental overview . The instrumental overview is intended to be of a broader nature to collect insights into existing, but also discussed, proposed and/or rejected tools which have lead or could lead to a greening of the markets by addressing supply and/or demand. We will concentrate on promising tools and actions. The gained and collected information will be assessed along certain criteria developed beforehand in WP 3 'Assessment . WP 4 'Best practises and market transformation patterns will bring together the most instructive findings and consider what could be learned from them. The key question behind that approach is to look for the patterns behind successful greening strategies. The second phase is dedicated to the potentials for transferring of the results and their dissemination. WP 5 'Extension and transfer strategies picks up the results of the preceding work. It considers the findings and prepares strategies for the transfer of promising approaches. Results and proposals will be documented and discussed at a one-day workshop (WP 6 'Workshop ) which will collect insights, opinions and experiences of a broader auditorium. The discussion and results of the workshop will be documented and will contribute to the update of the preliminary findings. WP 7 'Dissemination brings together all findings and insights. Here we will prepare guidelines, a report, including a summary. Prime Contractor: Institut für Ökologische Wirtschaftsforschung GgmbH; Berlin; Germany.

Knowledge Assessment and Sharing on Sustainable Agriculture (KASSA)

Das Projekt "Knowledge Assessment and Sharing on Sustainable Agriculture (KASSA)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Leibniz-Zentrum für Agrarlandschaftsforschung (ZALF) e.V. durchgeführt. Conventional agriculture encompasses about half of the agricultural land territory of the UE countries; its negative impacts on the environment and the basic natural resources are recognised. Growing concerns of the society related to the environment deterioration such as water and food contaminations, livestock epidemics... compel to explore new ways able to improve the sustainability of the current farming systems. Alternative agricultural practices, technologies and approaches in support of sustainable agriculture have already been researched, developed, tested and implemented during the second half of the 20th century, in Europe but mainly in North and South America and Australia; they span million hectares. Learning from the results of theses experiences and researches and sharing lessons will undoubtedly contribute to define ways and tools able to orient European policy on sustainable agriculture development. KASSA proposal intends to build up a comprehensive knowledge base on sustainable agricultural practices, approaches and systems in support of European stakeholders: farmers and professionals, researchers and policy makers at local, national, European and global level. KASSA involves a critical mass of skilled partners dispatched up into four platforms: Europe, the Mediterranean, Asia and Latin America. It will be achieved through successive work sequences starting with a comprehensive inventory of existing results then continuing with a progressive refinement of the findings that alternate critical analysis and sharing of the results of each platform. Prime Contractor: Centre de Cooperation Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Developpement; Montpellier; France.

Feasibility study on means of combating forest dieback in the European Union

Das Projekt "Feasibility study on means of combating forest dieback in the European Union" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Hamburg, Arbeitsbereich für Weltforstwirtschaft und Institut für Weltforstwirtschaft des Friedrich-Löffler-Institut, Bundesforschungsinstitut für Tiergesundheit durchgeführt. All EU Member States face economic and ecological losses due to forest damages. Thus, combating forest dieback, as for example caused by climate change, is a contribution to human safety and well-being and the sustainable development of Europe. The Feasibility Study on means of combating forest dieback in the European Union was initiated by the European Parliament demanding the European Commission to develop a concrete proposal for preventing, mitigating and control forest dieback in the EU. The study was carried out by the Institute for World Forestry and the European Forest Institute (EFI) in 2007. The main objectives of the study were to: - review the different factors affecting forest dieback in the EU and their related causes, - analyse and evaluate the effectiveness of available EU legislations and instruments to combat forest dieback in the EU and - examine the possibilities for establishing a specialised entity for forest protection. In the scope of the feasibility study a survey was conducted in the EU Member States on the importance of damaging agents in EU27 forests. The results of the survey show that the importance of individual threats to forest ecosystem health and vitality varies within European regions. Insects, storm/windfall, and fire were regarded as the most serious threats in Central Europe, Western Europe and Southern Europe respectively. Regional differences exist in relation to damage types and intensity, which thus reflect the importance for particular instruments to prevent, mitigate and control various causes of forest dieback. The feasibility study showed that at the EU level several efficient and well established measures have been implemented which contribute to the prevention, mitigation and control of forest dieback. The study showed also that as a consequence of the current state and the predicted development of environmental pressures, such as climate change, future activities on the EU level to combat forest dieback are urgently needed. Existing measures have to be further developed in order to (a) increase synergy effects between individual instruments, (b) make the instruments more transparent to the entire range of potential stakeholders and beneficiaries, and (c) improve the communication between the different actors involved. A major challenge will be to incorporate future patterns of forest dieback, into existing, amended or new measures. Only the triad of prevention, mitigation and control will put the EU into a position to maintain and enhance the multiple, beneficial functions of forests and their contribution to the quality of life.

Progress - Promotion and Growth of Renewable Energy Sources and Systems

Das Projekt "Progress - Promotion and Growth of Renewable Energy Sources and Systems" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Fraunhofer-Institut für System- und Innovationsforschung durchgeführt. The objectives of PROGRESS are to provide the European Commission with: - an updated analysis and assessment of the deployment of RES for electricity production and the progress achieved following the adoption of the RES-E directive. - An updated analysis and assessment of the deployment of RES for heat production and transport purposes and of the progress towards achieving the overall 12Prozent target. - Analysis and assessment of policy developments and how policies affect the development of RES, hereby an overview of administrative, grid and other relevant barriers. The analyses of the barriers will cover national, regional and local level. - Analysis of the status of guarantee of origin in Member States and a proposal of common rules. Project leader: Ecofys ( Netherland).

CECON- The Cuban-European Climate Connection

Das Projekt "CECON- The Cuban-European Climate Connection" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Zentrum für Marine Tropenökologie an der Universität Bremen durchgeführt. This project aims at reconstructing climate variability in Cuba and the Gulf of Mexico, with special interest on extreme events, such as tropical cyclones, using corals from within the Loop Current (LC), historical records, and numerical models. The LC feeds the Gulf Stream, which is crucial for the tropical heat transport to higher latitudes. Numerical models have confirmed that subtropical climate variability, and consequential changes in seawater properties, can affect both the Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic climate. However, there is a lack of long-term records of seawater properties at key sites within the Atlantic, which can be used to validate the models. The skeletal chemical composition of Cuban corals can provide such records, though they have never been used to reconstruct oceanographic and meteorological parameters. Accordingly, corals will be used to investigate: (1) the impact of Cuban climate variability on the LC seawater properties and on the European climate, and (2) the effects of global climate variability and oscillations (e. g. ENSO, NAO) on the Cuban climate in order to improve our forecasting and diagnostic capabilities of extreme events. The latter has important economic repercussions in an oil producing area, such as the Gulf of Mexico, where the occurrences of cyclones there influence the international prices of crude oil. Comprehensive calibration experiments using multiple records to determine the climate-signal precision have been elaborated within this proposal to optimize the use of corals as records of climate variability.

Potential der Küstengewässer für Fischerei und Aquakultur

Das Projekt "Potential der Küstengewässer für Fischerei und Aquakultur" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Zentrum für Marine Tropenökologie an der Universität Bremen durchgeführt. The specific objective was to prepare a detailed research and development proposal for the project themes identified within the Action Plan as discussed and approved by the Joint German-Indonesian Steering Committee on Marine Sciences and Geosciences during its 2nd meeting in Bremen, Germany in June 2001. The overall project theme as identified by the SC was Potential of Coastal Marine Ecosystems for Fisheries and Aquaculture. The ecosystems to be investigated included mangroves, coral reefs, estuaries and the coastal seas. The activities include meetings involving partners in science and industry related to prepare detailed proposals to be submitted to the respective ministries in Germany and Indonesia.

High-resolution Reanalyses and Impact Studies for Improving Process Understanding and Precipitation Forecast Skill based on the COPS Data Set

Das Projekt "High-resolution Reanalyses and Impact Studies for Improving Process Understanding and Precipitation Forecast Skill based on the COPS Data Set" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Deutscher Wetterdienst durchgeführt. Quantitative Precipitation Forecast (QPF) is one of the major challenges in numerical weather prediction (NWP). This is true for QPF ranging from synoptic-scale to small-scale convection. The main goal of this proposal is to improve the short-range QPF on scales of a few hundred km and a few hours. To achieve a significant improvement of QPF on these scales the atmospheric variables, which are representing the pre-convective conditions, need to be determined. Hence an innovative combination of data assimilation techniques and observations is proposed. Within this project, 4D water vapour, as well as wind and cloud data are considered. The focus is on advanced observing systems with high future potential such as GPS, lidar, passive remote sensing from geostationary satellites as well as novel in-situ sensors. Different state-of-the-art assimilation techniques will be compared to find the optimal approach to improve QPF. After the development of suitable observation operators, the optimal use of advanced remote sensing systems will be investigated using various Observing System Experiments (OSE's) and Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSE's). To quantify the success, model independent data sets inferred from MSG/radar, GPS, and an innovative sounding system will be used for validation.

Regeneration of the Robinson Crusoe's island original Forest (Juan Fernandez Archipelago, Chile)

Das Projekt "Regeneration of the Robinson Crusoe's island original Forest (Juan Fernandez Archipelago, Chile)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Freiburg, Waldbau-Institut durchgeführt. The Juan Fernandez Archipelago National Park, and World Biosphere Reserve, is composed of three oceanic islands located 680 km west of continental Chile at 33 degree S. Its biota and in particular the flora is characterised by its diversity and high degree of endemism (63,9 percent), resulting from a long process of local evolution without anthropic influence. The Robinson Crusoe Island (RCI) is the only permanently inhabited of the archipelago, presenting human influence since 1574 (629 inhabitants). From this moment on, fires, selective cuttings and the introduction of exotic species of flora and fauna have affected enormously the forest communities. Currently 75 percent of the endemic vascular flora is considered in verge of extinction, being urgent its conservation. The original forest communities of the RCI constitute an important part of the endangered species habitat. Unfortunately there is still unclear the natural ecology of the dominant tree species. This evidence is crucial to consider in any conservation and restoration proposal. The objective of this study is to analyse where occurs the regeneration of the main tree species of the RCI original forest (Myrceugenia fernandeziana (Hook. & Arn.) Johow, Fagara mayu (Bertero ex Colla) Engl., and Drimys confertifolia Phil.). Using a forest area as case study (Plazoleta el Yunque sector) it will be assesed i) if the regeneration follows a light gradient, ii) if the species demand certain characteristics on its regeneration habitat (e.g substrate, rocks, coverage) and iii) how the main weeds (Aristotelia chilensis (Molina) Stuntz, Rubus ulmifolius Schott) affect the natural regeneration in gaps. As expected outcomes is considered the understanding of regeneration niche characters for the main tree species, and the identification of key site aspects (indicators) for the original forest self replacement. This knowledge might contribute basic information, to propose further conservation and restoration activities for this ecosystem.

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