Found 9876 publications. Showing page 279 of 396:
2018
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2018
Skogens helsetilstand i Norge. Resultater fra skogskadeovervåkingen i 2017
Skogens helsetilstand påvirkes i stor grad av klima og værforhold, enten direkte ved tørke, frost og vind, eller indirekte ved at klimaet påvirker omfanget av soppsykdommer og insektangrep. Klimaendringene og den forventede økningen i klimarelaterte skogskader gir store utfordringer for forvaltningen av framtidas skogressurser. Det samme gjør invaderende skadegjørere, både allerede etablerte arter og nye som kan komme til Norge i nær framtid. Denne rapporten presenterer resultater fra skogskadeovervåkingen i Norge i 2017 og trender over tid for følgende temaer...
NIBIO
2018
The aim of this pilot-study was to use silicone rubber-based passive samplers to measure novel brominated flame retardants (nBFRs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and dechlorane plus (DP) in seawater and air around Longyearbyen as well as investigate the presence of those compounds in sediment and biota (amphipods, Gammarus spp.) nearby Longyearbyen. Passive samplers require no electricity and provide an integrated picture of the levels of the targeted compounds over time. The results were combined with the sampled sediment and Gammarus spp. to assess concentrations in the environment. Out of all substances under study, PBDE-47 and -99, α- and β- tetrabromoethylcyclohexane (TBECH), syn- and anti-DP were detected in all investigated matrices. Freely dissolved water concentrations of ΣDPs (3 pg/L) were in line with recent Arctic studies, while ΣPBDEs (3 pg/L) were comparable to urban rivers in southern Norway. Nevertheless, for some compounds, especially the lighter and most volatile ones, long-range transport is most likely a more important contribution to observed levels than local sources. For other compounds, e.g. PBDEs, local sources might still play a role for the load of contaminants into the surrounding environment. The present study is the first to report a suit of nBFRs and DPs in Arctic benthic fauna. Many of the nBFRs and DPs were detected in sediment and in the amphipods. We recommend further studies with respect to measurements of concentrations over time, and in other species as well, to better understand whether the nBFRs and DPs are common in the marine environment on Svalbard. We recommend that local sources of flame retardants in remote areas receive more attention in the future.
Norsk institutt for vannforskning
2018
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Academic Press
2018
Environmental contaminants are found throughout Arctic marine ecosystems, and their presence in seabirds has been
associated with toxicological responses. However, there are few studies of genotoxicity in Arctic avian wildlife. The purpose of
the present study was to quantify deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage in lymphocytes of selected seabird species and to
examine whether accumulation of organohalogen contaminants (SOHCs) affects DNA damage. Blood was sampled from
common eider (Somateria mollissima), black guillemot (Cepphus grylle), black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), glaucous gull
(Larus hyperboreus), arctic skua (Stercorarius parasiticus), and great skua (Stercorarius skua) in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard (Norway).
Contaminant concentrations found in the 6 species differed, presumably because of foraging ecology and biomagnification.
Despite large differences in contaminant concentrations, ranging from SOHCs 3.3 ng/g wet weight in the common eider to
SOHCs 895 ng/g wet weight in the great skua, there was no strong difference among the species in baseline DNA damage or
sensitivity to a genotoxic stressor (hydrogen peroxide). Baseline levels of DNA damage were low, with median values ranging
from 1.7% in the common eider to 8.6% in the great skua. There were no associations between DNA damage and contaminants
in the investigated species, suggesting that contaminant concentrations in Kongsfjorden are too low to evoke genotoxic effects,
or possibly that lymphocytes are resistant to strand breakage. Clearly, genotoxicity is a topic for future studies of Arctic seabirds
Arctic; Seabirds; Genotoxicity; Comet Assay; Persistent organic pollutants; Perfluoroalkyl substances
Pergamon Press
2018
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2018
Simulating CH4 and CO2 over South and East Asia using the zoomed chemistry transport model LMDz-INCA
The increasing availability of atmospheric measurements of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from surface stations can improve the retrieval of their fluxes at higher spatial and temporal resolutions by inversions, provided that transport models are able to properly represent the variability of concentrations observed at different stations. South and East Asia (SEA; the study area in this paper including the regions of South Asia and East Asia) is a region with large and very uncertain emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), the most potent anthropogenic GHGs. Monitoring networks have expanded greatly during the past decade in this region, which should contribute to reducing uncertainties in estimates of regional GHG budgets. In this study, we simulate concentrations of CH4 and CO2 using zoomed versions (abbreviated as "ZAs") of the global chemistry transport model LMDz-INCA, which have fine horizontal resolutions of ∼ 0.66° in longitude and ∼ 0.51° in latitude over SEA and coarser resolutions elsewhere. The concentrations of CH4 and CO2 simulated from ZAs are compared to those from the same model but with standard model grids of 2.50° in longitude and 1.27° in latitude (abbreviated as "STs"), both prescribed with the same natural and anthropogenic fluxes. Model performance is evaluated for each model version at multi-annual, seasonal, synoptic and diurnal scales, against a unique observation dataset including 39 global and regional stations over SEA and around the world. Results show that ZAs improve the overall representation of CH4 annual gradients between stations in SEA, with reduction of RMSE by 16–20% compared to STs. The model improvement mainly results from reduction in representation error at finer horizontal resolutions and thus better characterization of the CH4 concentration gradients related to scattered distributed emission sources. However, the performance of ZAs at a specific station as compared to STs is more sensitive to errors in meteorological forcings and surface fluxes, especially when short-term variabilities or stations close to source regions are examined. This highlights the importance of accurate a priori CH4 surface fluxes in high-resolution transport modeling and inverse studies, particularly regarding locations and magnitudes of emission hotspots. Model performance for CO2 suggests that the CO2 surface fluxes have not been prescribed with sufficient accuracy and resolution, especially the spatiotemporally varying carbon exchange between land surface and atmosphere. In addition, the representation of the CH4 and CO2 short-term variabilities is also limited by model's ability to simulate boundary layer mixing and mesoscale transport in complex terrains, emphasizing the need to improve sub-grid physical parameterizations in addition to refinement of model resolutions.
2018
Modification of local urban aerosol properties by long-range transport of biomass burning aerosol
During August 2016, a quasi-stationary high-pressure system spreading over Central and North-Eastern Europe, caused weather conditions that allowed for 24/7 observations of aerosol optical properties by using a complex multi-wavelength PollyXT lidar system with Raman, polarization and water vapour capabilities, based at the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET network) urban site in Warsaw, Poland. During 24–30 August 2016, the lidar-derived products (boundary layer height, aerosol optical depth, Ångström exponent, lidar ratio, depolarization ratio) were analysed in terms of air mass transport (HYSPLIT model), aerosol load (CAMS data) and type (NAAPS model) and confronted with active and passive remote sensing at the ground level (PolandAOD, AERONET, WIOS-AQ networks) and aboard satellites (SEVIRI, MODIS, CATS sensors). Optical properties for less than a day-old fresh biomass burning aerosol, advected into Warsaw’s boundary layer from over Ukraine, were compared with the properties of long-range transported 3–5 day-old aged biomass burning aerosol detected in the free troposphere over Warsaw. Analyses of temporal changes of aerosol properties within the boundary layer, revealed an increase of aerosol optical depth and Ångström exponent accompanied by an increase of surface PM10 and PM2.5. Intrusions of advected biomass burning particles into the urban boundary layer seem to affect not only the optical properties observed but also the top height of the boundary layer, by moderating its increase.
MDPI
2018