Lake Tegel and Schlachtensee in Berlin show a uniquely pronounced trophic recovery in response to an abrupt and drastic (40- to 100-fold) reduction of their external phosphorus (P) load through P-stripping at their main inflow which exchanges the lake water volume about 5 times per year for Lake Tegel and about 1.5 times for Schlachtensee. Veröffentlicht in Texte | 45/2011.
Sensor cell lines have been developed to monitor rapid non-genomic signalling cascades influenced by endocrine-active substances. These in-vitro bioassays were created by genetically modifying G-protein coupled estrogen receptor (GPER1) expressing cells to become artificial fluorescent signalosomes. Both GPER1 agonists and antagonistic compounds were used to characterize the respective sensor cells. The bioassays were then used to screen for potential endocrine-disrupting substances. In addition, these assays have been used to evaluate influent and effluent from advanced treatment units in several wastewater treatment plants. Veröffentlicht in Texte | 132/2024.
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been identified as a significant pathway for the introduction of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) to natural waters. It was observed in several studies that the concentration of certain PFASs were higher in the WWTP effluent compared to the corresponding influent. The objective of the present study was the identification of potential precursor substances of persistent perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in WWTPs and indoor rooms in order to support the preparation of regulatory measures. Veröffentlicht in Texte | 08/2016.
Resources, including minerals and metals, underpin the world's economies for almost all sectors, providing crucial raw materials for their industrial processes. Despite efforts to decouple economies from resource use towards a circular economy, demand for extractive resources will continue to grow on the back of emerging economies. The report maps existing international governance frameworks and initiatives which have overlapping subsets that focus on delivering the 2030 Global Agenda for Sustainable Development. In this report, the International Resource Panel (IRP) of the UN Environment Programme highlights that the mining sector, if carefully managed, presents enormous opportunities for advancing sustainable development, particularly in low-income countries. As discussed in Chapter 5, extractive industries place large demands on natural resources such as land and water. Its activities can lead to polluting water resources, biodiversity loss and ecosystem destruction including land degradation and desertification. Therefore, there is a need to look at the dynamic relationships between mining, and land and water. This calls for a systems-thinking approach that accounts for the nexus between resources so as to steer policy efforts towards integrated natural resource management along the mining value chain. The report maps existing international governance frameworks and initiatives which have overlapping subsets that focus on delivering the 2030 Global Agenda for Sustainable Development. It presents the practical actions required to improve the international governance architecture for mining to enhance its contribution towards sustainable development. It calls for a new governance framework for the extractive sector referred to as the "Sustainable Development Licence to Operate" which includes consensus-based principles, policy options and best practices that are compatible with the Sustainable Development Goals and other international policy commitments. Minerals and metals underpin national economies, provide crucial raw materials for industrial activities, and are inputs to almost every sector of the global economy. Demand for extractive resources will continue to grow on the back of emerging economies with expanding and increasingly affluent and urban populations and a global transition towards low-carbon but metal-intensive energy production technologies. This is despite efforts to decouple economies from resource use and towards greater recycling. The frequently severe and enduring environmental impacts of mining highlight the need to carefully balance such activities with stewardship of other valuable natural resources and the environment including ecosystems and biodiversity, and the rights of local people and communities. Decision-making in the extractive sector is shaped by a complex array of governance frameworks and initiatives operating along highly globalized mineral value chains. There is an urgent need to coordinate and reform this governance landscape to address enduring challenges such as commodity price volatility, lack of linkages between mining and other economic sectors, inadequate management of environmental impact, and socio- and geopolitical risks of mining. The report maps over 80 existing international governance frameworks and initiatives which focus on delivering overlapping subsets of the 2030 Global Agenda for Sustainable Development, but do not currently operate in a sufficiently coordinated or integrated manner. In this context, the report calls for a new governance framework for the extractive sector referred to as the "Sustainable Development Licence to Operate" and includes consensusbased principles, policy options and best practices that are compatible with the Sustainable Development Goals and other international policy commitments. The report discusses practical actions to improve the international governance architecture for mining to enhance its contribution towards sustainable development. The proposals include reaching an international consensus regarding the normative content and structure of the Sustainable Development Licence to Operate informed by expert inputs from a "Highlevel Panel on Mining for Sustainable Development". It further considers the creation of an International Mineral Agency to share relevant information and data. Governments could also reach bilateral and plurilateral agreements regarding security of supply of raw materials and resource-driven development. Periodical reporting of progress towards sustainable development could be enabled through a Global "State of the Extractive Sector" review or equivalent process. Quelle: Verlagsinformation
Das Projekt "Hydro-Geothermal analyses in the field of hot-dry-rock technology" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Bodenforschung durchgeführt. Objective: To determine the thermal behaviour of natural and stimulated fractures in crystalline rocks in the context of geothermal hdr development. General information: the work forms part of the Franco-German collaborative hdr project (see also contract nos.g0052d, g0055d, g0080d, g0082d and g0072f). The main experimental work will occur at soultz, but opportunities may also be taken to work at other relevant sites in France or Germany. The work will involve thermal testing during hydraulic experiments to determine: - in situ thermal conditions in the boreholes; - heat exchange experiments during fluid circulation; - the identification of fractures by means of thermal disturbances in the borehole. This work will be supported by model calculations, working with teams from UK (see contract no.g0003uk) and Switzerland. Achievements: In a joint German French hot dry rock (HDR) project at Soultz sous Forest the undisturbed temperature field was determined in the borehole GPK 1 in 3 oil wells in the surroundings. The virgin rock temperature is about 140 C at 2000 m depth. The measurements show that the temperature gradient decreases from 100 mK/m to 30 mK/m at about 1100 m depth. The decreasing temperature gradient can be explained by assuming a convective heat transfer in the Buntsandstein/Muschelkalk aquifer. The results of a production test show that there is only 1 inflow zone in borehole GPK 1 at 1812 m depth. 3 injection tests, using different injection flow rates, were conducted in borehole GPK 1. A total number of about 20 water accepting joints could be detected by temperature measurements. A second major outflow at 1728 m depth was encountered besides the 1 at 1812 m depth. About 47 per cent of the injected water was lost at 1728 m depth and about 53 per cent at 1812 m depth. The high resolution temperature measurements showed definitely which joints are water accepting (partly dependent on pressure) and which are not. The European Geothermal Project involved teams from France and Germany who collaborated to test a site in the Upper Rhine Valley for its suitability for terrestrial heat mining (hot dry rock (HDR) energy production). Some British scientists participated in specific tasks. The site was chosen near Soulz-sous-Forets in Alsace at the location of the old oil field of Pechelbronn which was the first oil field exploited in Europe since the 18th century. It is situated on 1 of the summits of a very large thermic anomaly (200 km long and 20 km wide) where the mean geothermal gradient between the surface and 1500 m is known to be higher than 6.5 C/100 m. The programme began in July 1987 with a 2000 m deep borehole. Below at 1375 m thick sediment cover, the granitic basement was penetrated to a depth of 2000 m. The temperature at the bottom of the hole was 140 C. The geothermal gradient within the sediments was unusually high (10 C per 100 m) and diminished to a normal after a series of fractures inside the Buntsandstein producing ...
Das Projekt "Sub project C" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von IWW Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wasserforschung gemeinnützige GmbH durchgeführt. Im Umweltsektor Wasser ist die Sauberkeit und nachhaltige Nutzbarkeit ein wesentliches Ziel. Mit diesem Projekt ist auch die exportorientierte Forschung angesprochen, die deutschen Unternehmen hilft, sich im Ausland zu engagieren. Schließlich sollen in Deutschland bekannte und seit mehreren Jahrzehnten eingesetzte Konzepte und Verfahren zur Sicherung einer langfristig guten Gewässer- und somit Trinkwasserqualität auf die Verhältnisse in China angewandt werden. Hierbei spielen insbesondere integrative Konzepte eine zentrale Rolle, die im Sinne eines Multi-Barrieren-Systems vorrangig Maßnahmen an der Quelle (Stoffvermeidung, produktionsintegrierter Umweltschutz) berücksichtigen, aber auch bei der Abwasserbehandlung und Trinkwasseraufbereitung. Vorhandene Monitoringsysteme sollten vernetzt, erweitert und optimiert werden. Die vernetzten Kommunikationsstrukturen sollen den Austausch von Fachwissen und die Information verbessern. Damit bieten die Konzepte einen strategischen Ansatz, das Thema Schadstoffe in der aquatischen Umwelt in seiner gesamten Breite zu verfolgen. Mit der Entwicklung eines integrativen Konzepts soll nicht nur auf künftig eintretende Belastungen reagiert werden, sondern es wird auf wissenschaftlicher Grundlage ein umfassendes Instrument zur Risikoregulierung von Schadstoffen geschaffen, um gleichzeitig 'vorsorgend' und 'im Bedarfsfall schnellstmöglich handlungsfähig' zu sein. Dieses Teilprojekt hat, unter dem Aspekt der Nutzung des Wassers des Tai Hu zur Trinkwasserproduktion, folgende Ziele: 1. Orientierende Charakterisierung des Einzugsgebietes des Tai Hu hinsichtlich a. Flächennutzung b. Hydrologie c. Geologie und Hydrogeologie d. Klima. 2. Erfassung, Charakterisierung und Bewertung einer möglichen Belastung des Wassers des Tai Hu und seiner Zuflüsse mit Schadstoffen, z. B. Industriechemikalien, Arzneistoffe und Pflanzenbehandlungs- und Schädlingsbekämpfungsmittel. 3. Toxikologische Wasseruntersuchungen (in vitro). 4. Bewertung des öko- und humantoxikologischen Risikos der als relevant klassifizierten Schadstoffe. 5. Anhand von Belastungskarten und räumlich-zeitlichen Messungen Ermittlung der optimalen Entnahmeorte hinsichtlich Lage, Tiefe und minimaler Schadstoffkonzentration. 6. Festlegung der für die Trinkwasseraufbereitung relevanten Wasserinhaltsstoffe. 7. Handlungsempfehlungen.
Das Projekt "Adapt to climate change in the Upper Niger Basin and the Inner Niger Delta (WETLANDS 2)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung e.V. durchgeführt. Wetlands International (https://www.wetlands.org/) received funding from the Dutch Embassy to conduct a comprehensive impact study on ecosystems and livelihoods in the Upper Niger Basin (UNB) with special focus on the Inner Niger Delta (IND) in Mali. The IND is one of the largest wetlands worldwide and is habitat to millions of migrating birds and provides around 1.5 million people with natural resources and livelihoods, such as fish, grasslands for cattle grazing, rice farming, and gardening. The role of the PIK team involved in this phase of the project is the simulation of water resources under climate and water and land use change scenarios in the Upper Niger and Bani River basins in West Africa UNB. We investigate the impacts of reservoir management on the availability of water for irrigation, assess the feasibility of the plans to extend the irrigated area, and study the impacts of all management operations and climate change projections on inflow patterns into the Inner Niger Delta. The eco-hydrological model SWIM is used for this purpose. We will make use of four downscaled and bias-corrected global Earth System Models provided by ISI-MIP.
Das Projekt "Sub project J" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Forschungsinstitut für Ökosystemanalyse und -bewertung an der RWTH Aachen e. V. durchgeführt. Ziel des Vorhabens von gaiac ist die ökotoxikologische und ergänzende toxikologische Bewertung der Wasserproben am Tai-See sowie die Einbringung seiner Expertise in der ökologischen Modellierung. Ziel der ökotoxikologischen Untersuchungen ist es, eine Einschätzung des ökotoxikologischen Potentials von Wasserproben zu erhalten und zu bewerten. Dazu wird die Wirkung von Wasserproben unterschiedlicher Herkunft (Abwasser, Zuflüsse, Tai-See, verschiedene Aufbereitungsstufen in den Wasserwerken in Wuxi und Suzhou) auf verschiedene Endpunkte schwerpunktmäßig in etablierten in vivo-, aber auch ausgewählten in vitro-Testverfahren (ergänzend zur Testpalette des IWW) untersucht. Im Bereich der ökologischen Modellierung wird das bereits bei gaiac existierende und validierte stöchiometrische Seenmodell 'StoLaM' für die spezifische Fragestellung der Entwicklung von Blaualgen wie Microcystis erweitert, um es als Vorhersagetool für Blaualgenblüten einsetzen zu können. Wasserproben unterschiedlicher Herkunft werden in standardisierten und etablierten in-vivo und in-vitro Testverfahren auf ihre ökotoxikologische und toxikologische Wirkung hin untersucht und ihr öko-/toxikologisches Potential bewertet. Die Auswahl der Probenahmestellen und die Durchführung der Probenahmen erfolgt dabei in enger Kooperation mit dem IWW, welches mit den gleichen Proben toxikologische Untersuchungen vornimmt.
Das Projekt "Drei-Schluchten-Stausee am Yangtze - China - Teilprojekt 1: Trinkwasser aus dem Yangtze" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von IWW Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wasserforschung gemeinnützige GmbH durchgeführt. Trinkwasser aus Zuflüssen, Uferfiltrat oder direkt dem Wasserkörper des 3-Schluchten Staudamms zu entnehmen, wird in China kontrovers diskutiert, weil Art und Ausmaß der geogenen und anthropogenen Kontaminationen nicht bekannt sind. Es soll in Quer- und Tiefenprofilen die Wasserqualität ermittelt und in Bezug auf die Eignung für die Trinkwassergewinnung und landwirtschaftliche Bewässerung beurteilt werden. Letztlich sollen optimale Entnahmeorte und Entnahmestufen für die Entnahme von Rohwasser ermittelt werden und Empfehlungen hinsichtlich der anzuwendenden Aufbereitungstechniken gegeben werden (z.B. Ultrafiltration oder Umkehrosmose). Dazu sollen die folgenden Aufgaben angegangen werden: 1. Lokalisierung und Identifizierung der wichtigsten Schadstoffquellen sowie der freigesetzten Schadstoffe. 2. Ermittlung der Wasserqualität im dreidimensionalen Raum inklusive Screening auf trinkwasserrelevante Stoffe. 3. Untersuchung der alternativen Entnahme von Rohwasser aus den Nebenflüssen des Yangtse. 4. Prüfung, ob die Einrichtung von Wasserschutzzonen sinnvoll realisierbar ist. 5. Darstellung möglicher Aufbereitungsverfahren zur Entfernbarkeit relevanter Kontaminanten und Empfehlungen zu einsetzbaren Aufbereitungstechniken. Zu Punkt 2 besteht eine enge Kooperation mit der Arbeitsgruppe Norra (KIT), die mittels 'Mini-Bat' vom Schiff aus die Messung physikalischer und chemischer Basisparameter zur Charakterisierung des Wasserkörpers ermöglichen und unterstützen wird.
Das Projekt "Investigation of noise emissions from wind parks and their impact to the design of parks" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von ENERCON-Aero Gesellschaft für Energieanlagen mbH & Co durchgeführt. General Information/Objectives: NOISEPARK concerns research on noise coming from wind parks. The work focuses on three major issues: 1) The prediction of noise emissions from wind parks, 2) The modelling of noise propagation including terrain effects 3) The investigation of possible design modifications for reduction of noise emissions from wind parks. The project aims at: - Improving the current state of prediction models of noise by means of new less empiric modelling approaches, - Devising a well validated prediction model for noise emission and propagation - Investigating the impact of noise radiation on the design and operation of wind parks Technical Approach The project will synthesize existing and new modular numerical tools in order to devise and evaluate a modular noise prediction tool for wind park applications. More specifically: Step 1: The wind turbines are implemented as discrete, distributed sources to be defined by the MACHINE MODEL. The intensity of the sound sources of a turbine will be based on characteristics of the inflow and of course the turbine itself. Step 2: Using a WIND PARK flow model, estimation of the inflow and its turbulence characteristics for every wind turbine can be obtained. Input to this step is the averaged velocity field that is established in the region under consideration. This is provided by the SITING MODEL. Step 3: Then the propagation model is used. The input required comprises: the estimated intensities of the sound sources as well as the characterisation of the 'propagation medium'. For the latter the averaged wind velocity field as well as some information on the stratification will be needed. Expected Achievements and Exploitation It is expected that upon conclusion the project will have: 1) Added on the knowledge concerning the wind turbine noise production and propagation in stand alone as well as in combined operation conditions 2) Contributed to a better understanding of the topography effects on the propagation of noise 3) Concluded a noise prediction model specifically devised for wind park applications 4) Produced guidelines concerning the design of 'quiet' wind parks The participation of two industrial parties in the project assure that the results of the project will pass to applications directly. On the other hand in a more wide range, the modelling tools will be made available to third parties after the completion of the project. Prime Contractor: National Technical University of Athens, Department of Mechanical Engineering; Athens; Greece.