Although global pesticide use increases steadily, our field-data based knowledge regarding exposure of non-target ecosystems is very restricted. Consequently, this meta-analysis will for the first time evaluate the worldwide available peer-reviewed information on agricultural insecticide concentrations in surface water or sediment and test the following two hypotheses: I) Insecticide concentrations in the field largely exceed regulatory threshold levels and II) Additional factors important for threshold level exceedances can be quantified using retrospective meta-analysis. A feasibility study using a restricted dataset (n = 377) suggested the significance of the expected results, i.e. an threshold level exceedance rate of more than 50Prozent of the detected concentrations. Subsequent to a comprehensive database search in the peer-reviewed literature of the past 60 years, analysis of covariance with the relevant threshold level exceedance as the continuous dependent variable (about 10,000 cases) will be performed and the impact of significant predictor variables will be quantified. Parameters not yet considered in pesticide exposure assessment will be included as independent variables, such as compound class, environmental regulatory quality, and sampling design. The simultaneous presence of several insecticide compounds as a well as their metabolites will also be considered in the evaluation. The present approach may provide an innovative and integrated view on the potential environmental side effects of global high-intensity agriculture and in particular of pesticides use.
In hydrology, the relationship between water storage and flow is still fundamental in characterizing and modeling hydrological systems. However, this simplification neglects important aspects of the variability of the hydrological system, such as stable or instable states, tipping points, connectivity, etc. and influences the predictability of hydrological systems, both for extreme events as well as long-term changes. We still lack appropriate data to develop theory linking internal pattern dynamics and integral responses and therefore to identify functionally similar hydrological areas and link this to structural features. We plan to investigate the similarities and differences of the dynamic patterns of state variables and the integral response in replicas of distinct landscape units. A strategic and systematic monitoring network is planned in this project, which contributes the essential dynamic datasets to the research group to characterize EFUs and DFUs and thus significantly improving the usual approach of subdividing the landscape into static entities such as the traditional HRUs. The planned monitoring network is unique and highly innovative in its linkage of surface and subsurface observations and its spatial and temporal resolution and the centerpiece of CAOS.
The formation of biogeochemical interfaces in soils is controlled, among other factors, by the type of particle surfaces present and the assemblage of organic matter and mineral particles. Therefore, the formation and maturation of interfaces is studied with artificial soils which are produced in long-term biogeochemical laboratory incubation experiments (3, 6, 12, 18 months. Clay minerals, iron oxides and charcoal are used as major model components controlling the formation of interfaces because they exhibit high surface area and microporosity. Soil interface characteristics have been analyzed by several groups involved in the priority program for formation of organo-mineral interfaces, sorptive and thermal interface properties, microbial community structure and function. Already after 6 months of incubation, the artificial soils exhibited different properties in relation to their composition. A unique dataset evolves on the development and the dynamics of interfaces in soil in the different projects contributing to this experiment. An integrated analysis based on a conceptual model and multivariate statistics will help to understand overall processes leading to the biogeochemical properties of interfaces in soil, that are the basis for their functions in ecosystems. Therefore, we propose to establish an integrative project for the evaluation of data obtained and for publication of synergistic work, which will bring the results to a higher level of understanding.
Die Geosuche ist ein Webservice, welcher über die EGovernment-Basiskomponente Geodaten (GeoBAK) bereitgestellt wird. Die Geosuche ermöglicht eine multikriterielle Recherche nach ausgewählten Geobasisdaten und Geofachdaten, Geoinformationen (Metadaten) sowie Portalinhalten (Webseiten, Dokumente). Sie ist zentraler Bestandteil des Geoportals Sachsenatlas und als Freie Suche bzw. Volltextsuche ausgelegt. Die Umsetzung der Suche im Geoportal als singuläres Suchfeld (Omnibox, Einfeldsuche) analog zu bekannten Internetsuchmaschinen, ermöglicht einen schnellen Einstieg der Nutzer. Die Geosuche ermöglicht im Gegensatz zu standardisierten OGC-Geodatendiensten wie z.B. OGC-WFS-Gazetteer eine performanceoptimierte Recherche, welche nicht nur auf Geodaten beschränkt ist. Die Geosuche ermöglicht aufgrund der Filter- und Sortiermöglichkeiten die Umsetzung von über die Einfeldsuche hinausgehenden Recherchemöglichkeiten. Im Geoportal ist dies über die erweiterte Suche mit z.B. räumlicher und zeitlicher Auswahlmöglichkeit umgesetzt. Weiterhin sind einzelne Objekte untereinander verknüpft. Damit ist beispielsweise die Recherche nach allen Hausnummern einer Straße möglich (Drilldown). Die Umsetzung von Formularen mit Auswahllisten für eine Recherche, die die Geosuche aufrufen, ist möglich.
The accuracy of hydrology and weather predictions depends to a large extent on our understanding of small-scale flow phenomena at the land-atmosphere interface. The overall goal of this grant concerns improved understanding of the effects of complex alpine terrain on included field studies of air flow over steep slopes during morning and evening transition periods and thermal circulations that develop driven by differential heating on the earths surface from variations in solar heating and surface thermal properties. We have also developed improved turbulence simulations of the lower atmosphere using the immersed boundary method (IBM) and have tested our results against measurement studies in the open literature (laboratory and field). This grant has supported two PhD students (Daniel Nadeau & Marc Diebold). Nadeau was responsible for field studies and analysis of flows over steep slopes and successfully defended his PhD at the end of 2011 and is now Assistant Professor at Polytechnique in Montreal. Diebold is primarily focused on numerical simulation based upon the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) technique and is completing field campaigns (2011-2013) in the Val Ferret watershed on turbulent flow over snow covered terrain. His numerical work has focused on the implementation of new ideas in IBM and subgrid-scale (sgs) modeling. Simulation of local atmospheric flows around complex topography is of great importance for several applications in wind energy (e.g. short term wind forecasting and turbine siting and control), local weather predictions in mountainous regions and avalanche risk assessment. However atmospheric simulations around steep mountain topography remain difficult as the typical strategy used to introduce topographic elements, terrain following coordinates, becomes numerically unstable if the topography is too steep. The IBM provides a unique approach that is particularly well suited for efficient and numerically stable simulation of flows around steep terrain. To date the IBM has been used in conjunction with the EPFL-LES and tested against two unique data sets. In the first comparison, the LES was used to reproduce the experimental results from a wind tunnel study of a smooth three-dimensional hill. In the second study, we simulated the wind field around the Bolund Island, Denmark, and made direct comparisons with field measurements (this has been published recently in Boundary Layer Meteorology journal in 2013).
A GC-MS/GC-IRMS for the molecular-level analyses of organic matter and the isotopic characterization of inorganic and organic compounds in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems Stable isotopes represent a valuable means to constrain specific biogeochemical processes in natural environments. The main objective of the project is to develop an Environmental Laboratory for Aquatic and Terrestrial Biogeochemistry, which will support research that will make use of molecular-level characterization and (compound-specific) isotope ratio determination methods to assess a wide spectrum of biogeochemical transformations in the natural environment and in the laboratory, and to study sources and the fate of organic compounds in marine, freshwater, and soil systems. One of the major goals of the projects that make use of the new instrumental capacities is to understand the interactions of the bio- with the geo- and atmosphere with respect to the transport of organic materials and the transformation of inorganic and organic compounds by plants and microorganisms, which is of ultimate importance for the reduction of green house gases and the cycling of elements in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. A prime objective will be to use stable isotope measurements to constrain specific biogeochemical and metabolic processes, as well as sources, transport and degradation of organic matter in aquatic and terrestrial environments, and, in turn, to use these constraints to obtain improved estimates on global and regional C and N fluxes, in modern environments as well as in the past. Planned research themes include: I) using lipid biomarker approaches to study microbial communities in various marine and freshwater environments, II) characterizing organic matter components in lacustrine sediments as well as in soils, and identifying the mechanisms responsible for the longer-term sequestration and degradation of organic C and the emission of greenhouse gases, III) understanding the metabolic pathways of C and N during the symbiosis between microorganisms and plants, and IV) generating data sets for the isotopic composition of nitrate and other N species in various aquatic systems in order to characterize the controls on isotope fractionation of specific N cycle reactions. The spectrum of investigated ecosystems will range from Swiss soil and groundwater systems and small lakes to hydrothermal vent systems in the deep ocean, and the spatial scale of the planned research extends from enzyme biogeochemistry to ocean-scale circulation.
As summarised in the 4th IPCC report, the indirect effect of aerosols on cloud properties constitutes the single largest remaining uncertainty in the climate system. In this project, we propose to make use of a uniquely comprehensive set of observations, in combination with detailed microphysical modelling, to develop accurate ice nucleation parameterisations for different types of aerosol in mixed-phase clouds. Further, we will use the combination of a detailed microphysical box model and a highly resolved three-dimensional model (the weather research and forecasting model, WRF) with spectral bin microphysics, to determine which dynamical processes need to be accounted for, in order to accurately represent the cloud microphysical properties. One of our main objectives in this work, which makes this project novel and original, is to contribute to the resolution of the recent controversy surrounding the efficiency of black carbon aerosol as an ice nucleus. The development of model parameterisations of ice nucleation in clouds is often hampered by the necessity to base the parameterisations on idealised laboratory experiments, and by the paucity of cloud microphysical measurements suitable for model validation. However, this project is in a unique position to benefit from several observational data sets gathered during recent measurement campaigns. The observations on which we will base the modelling work are performed at the high altitude Swiss research station on the Jungfraujoch and provide a highly detailed description of the physical and chemical properties of the ice nucleating aerosol particles in ambient clouds. In addition, they describe the microphysical properties of the observed clouds. The measured aerosol properties give us the benefit of being able to initialise the models with the actual aerosol found in the clouds, rather than an idealised background aerosol derived from emission inventories or large scale models. The observed cloud microphysical properties will allow us to constrain and validate the model simulations in exceptional detail. The models will be tested in their original form, with their existing microphysical parameterisations, and these will then be further developed until the models can represent the observed cloud properties. Special attention will be given to the roles of black carbon (BC) aerosol, because of its anthropogenic source, and the uncertainty surrounding its activity as an ice nucleus (IN) and to mineral dust, because of its high IN activity. We will further use the combination of models and observations to try to identify other important IN components in the observed aerosol, such as biogenic particles or organic species. (...)
Die südecuadorianischen Anden beherbergen eine außergewöhnlich hohe Artenvielfalt. Viele verschiedene Umweltfaktoren beeinflussen sich auf sehr limitiertem Raum und erschaffen so einzigartige und komplexe Ökosysteme. Dieses Gebiet ist jedoch auf Grund des zunehmenden menschlichen Einflusses durch die fortschreitende Intensivierung der Landnutzung und des globalen Wandels hochgefährdet. Wir wissen nur wenig über die paläoökologische Geschichte und Landschaftsdynamik dieses Gebiets. Die Information über das warum und wie einer Veränderung von Ökosystemen ist unerlässlich für die Entwicklung innovativer Strategien für Naturschutz und im Hinblick auf zukünftige Klimaveränderungen. In der vorliegenden Studie werden palynologische Analysen aus den südecuadorianischen Anden vorgestellt, die dazu beitragen, Muster und Prozesse heutiger und vergangener Ökosysteme zu beleuchten. Eine paläoökologische Studie des Quimsacocha-Vulkanbeckens auf der östlichen Erhebung der Westkordillere der südecuadorianischen Anden deckt Klima-, Vegetations- und Brandregimeveränderungen in dieser Region seit dem frühen Holozän auf. Das mittlere Holozän war eine Zeit starker Umweltveränderungen, verursacht durch ein trockenes und wohl wärmeres Klima. Während des späten Holozäns wechselten sich mehrere Kalt-und Warmphasen ab. Brände können seit dem frühen Holozän im Gebiet verzeichnet werden. Sie könnten ein erstes Zeichen menschlichen Einflusses darstellen. Mit anderen paläoökologischen Aufzeichnungen aus den südecuadorianischen Anden verglichene multivariate Analysen decken teilweise konstrastierende Entwicklungen an den verschieden Standorten auf, die vermutlich durch die Heterogenität der Umweltfaktoren zu erklären sind. Weiterhin wurden Studien zum Verhältnis von heutigem Pollenregen mit der Vegetation in der Podocarpus Nationalpark-Region durchgeführt, um die Pollenverbreitungsmuster innerhalb der verschiedenen Vegetationstypen, prämontaner Wald, unterer Bergwald, oberer Bergwald und Páramo, zu verstehen und damit eine bessere Grundlage zur Interpretation fossiler Pollendaten zu schaffen. Ein Vergleich von Abundanz und An-/Abwesenheitsdaten von Familien als taxonomischer Einheit für Pollen- und Vegetation zeigt, dass Diversität, Verbreitung und Häufigkeiten beider Datensätze gut miteinander in Verbindung gebracht werden können. Dennoch werden die Muster durch variierende Anteile von durch Ferntransport eingetragenen Pollenkörnern sowie durch unterschiedliche Pollenproduktivität verschiedener Taxa und heterogene Windsysteme beeinflusst. Analysen der Pollenakkumulationsraten, die über drei Jahre erfasst wurden, lassen auf eine geringe inter-annuelle aber hohe räumliche Variation in den Daten schließen. (Text gekürzt)
Soil moisture - the water stored in soil within reach of the plants - is a crucial parameter for a large number of applications. Consequently, the field of microwave remote sensing of soil moisture has been an important research topic since the 1970s. But only in the last few years significant progress towards operational soil moisture services has been made. This progress became possible due to advances in sensor technology and new algorithmic approaches. With the improved algorithms it has been possible to derive soil moisture from existing operational microwave sensors. The first global soil moisture dataset derived from ERS-1/2 scatterometer measurements was released in 2002. The first near-real-time operational soil moisture service was started by EUMETSAT in May 2008 based on METOP ASCAT, which is the successor instrument of the ERS-1/2 scatterometer. Austria has made important contributions to these developments. The algorithms for retrieving soil moisture from the C-band scatterometers on board of ERS-1/2 and METOP have been developed by the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien). Within EUMETSAT's Satellite Application Facility in Support to Operational Hydrology and Water Management (Hydrology SAF) the Austrian meteorological service (ZAMG) coordinates the soil moisture activities and is responsible for building up operational services for value-added METOP ASCAT soil moisture products. The overall goal of the proposed project is to advance the use of soil moisture services based on METOP ASCAT and complementary satellite systems, most importantly SMOS and ENVISAT ASAR, by extending the Hydrology SAF products to Africa and Australia, carrying out extensive calibration and validation (Cal/Val) activities and by developing novel water hazards applications. The considered applications are weather forecasting, drought and yield monitoring, hydrologic prediction, epidemiological modelling, climate change, desertification monitoring and societal risks assessment. A project of comparable thematic focus and breath has not been proposed before. It is expected that the interdisciplinary cooperation of specialists from different fields will lead to important scientific innovations that will promote a wide use of satellite technology in water hazards applications.
Farm households, whose living standard largely depend on the successful management of natural resources, have a low per capita income and are in danger of further impoverishment due to unsustainable resource management. Investigations in the first phase confirmed the hypothesis. A great number of farms were analyzed and clustered in representative types in both countries. Sustainability was measured using a sustainability index, which indicates tremendous environmental effects and variation between individual farms and ethnic groups.Sub-project G1.1 will follow three major tasks. The first is to evaluate sustainability strategies on the farm and farming system level, as it was done in the previous phase, but on the basis of a significantly extended data base. The second is to aggregate farm household data to the regional level. For this, a comparative-static approach is chosen. The third is to develop a multi-agent-based simulation model. Multi-agent simulation models (MAS) as well as GIS-tools are gaining increasing importance as tools for simulating future agriculture resource use, since they allow the integration of a wide range of different stakeholder's perceptions. It becomes possible to simulate the dynamic effects of changing land use patterns, environmental policy options, and technical innovation together with environmental constraints and structural change issues. The MAS approach is used to model heterogeneous farm-household and political decision makers perspectives by capturing their socio-economic, environmental, and spatial interactions explicitly. The integration of economic and spatial processes facilitates the consideration of feedback effects and the efficient use of scarce land resources. The simulation runs of the model will be carried out with a socio-economic and GIS data set, which is provided by the previous project phase in the attempt to generate effective ways of land use resource management. Land use efficiency is strongly influenced by the overall land allocation policy analyzed in project F1. Therefore, this is an important area further integrated research using MAS in combination with GIS as modeling tools.To achieve a continuous integration of results in the best possible way, a computer-based discussion/communication platform is developed. This serves as the conceptual basis for the development of the final multi-agent simulation model. Results of the discussion/communication platform and the agent-based simulation model will continuously be passed on to downstream sub-projects to be integrated into the ongoing research activities.
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