BACKGROUND: The Kingdom of Jordan belongs to the ten water scarcest countries in the world, and climate change is likely to increase the frequency of future droughts. Jordan is considered among the 10 most water impoverished countries in the world, with per capita water availability estimated at 170 m per annum, compared to an average of 1,000 m per annum in other countries. Jordan Government has taken the strategic decision to develop a conveyor system including a 325 km pipe to pump 100 million cubic meters per year of potable water from Disi-Mudawwara close to the Saudi Border in the south, to the Greater Amman area in the north. The construction of the water pipeline has started end of 2009 and shall be finished in 2013. Later on, the pipeline could serve as a major part of a national water carrier in order to convey desalinated water from the Red Sea to the economically most important central region of the country. The conveyor project will not only significantly increase water supplies to the capital, but also provide for the re-allocation of current supplies to other governorates, and for the conservation of aquifers. In the context of the Disi project that is co-funded by EIB two Environmental and Social Management Plans have been prepared: one for the private project partners and one for the Jordan Government. The latter includes the Governments obligation to re-balance water allocations to irrigation and to gradually restore the protected wetlands of Azraq (Ramsar site) east of Amman that has been depleted due to over-abstraction by re-directing discharge of highland aquifers after the Disi pipeline becomes operational. The Water Strategy recognizes that groundwater extraction for irrigation is beyond acceptable limits. Since the source is finite and priority should be given to human consumption it proposes to tackle the demand for irrigation through tariff adjustments, improved irrigation technology and disincentive to water intensive crops. The Disi aquifer is currently used for irrigation by farms producing all kinds of fruits and vegetables on a large scale and exporting most of their products to the Saudi and European markets and it is almost a third of Jordan's total consumption. The licenses for that commercial irrigation were finished by 2011/12. Whilst the licenses will be not renewed the difficulty will be the enforcement and satellite based information become an important supporting tool for monitoring. OUTLOOK: The ESA funded project Water management had the objective to support the South-North conveyor project and the activities of EIB together with the MWI in Jordan to ensure the supply of water for the increasing demand. EO Information provides a baseline for land cover and elevation and support the monitoring of further stages. usw.
Pflanzliche Cytochrom-P450-Monooxygenasen (P450s oder CYPs) sind wichtige Enzyme des Sekundärmetabolismus. Sie spielen weiterhin eine große Rolle im Metabolismus von Xenobiotika - wie z.B. Pestiziden, insbesondere Herbiziden. Spezies-Unterschiede in der Aktivität bestimmter P450s zum Metabolismus von Herbiziden werden als der Mechanismus angesehen, der es toleranten Pflanzenspezies ermöglicht, gegenüber Herbiziden weniger empfindlich zu sein als andere. P450s, die im Pestizid-Metabolism involviert sind, üben vermutlich auch eine Funktion im Sekundär-Metabolismus aus. CYP73A1 z.B. ist die trans-Zimtsäure-Hydroxylase aus Jerusalem-Artichoke, die auch die Ring-Methyl-Hydroxylierung von Chlortoluron katalysiert, wie durch Expression ihrer cDNA in Hefe gezeigt wurde. Ein Wissenszuwachs über P450s, die in empfindlichen und toleranten Pflanzen vorkommen, und über molekulare Mechanismen, die den P450-katalysierten Metabolismus von Herbiziden in toleranten Pflanzen verantwortlich sind, kann zu einem Verständis der Herbizid-Resistenz und ihrer Entwicklung beitragen. Auf Grund seiner Toxizität war Kornrade (Agrostemma githago L.) in der Vergangenheit ein problematisches Unkraut in europäischen Getreidefeldern. Heutzutage ist die Pflanze fast ausgestorben - als Folge des Einsatzes von Herbiziden und einer verbesserten industriellen Saatgutreinigung. In Weizenfeldern, sind eine Reihe Herbizide effektiv gegenüber Kornrade (z.B. Triasulfuron, Diuron, Metribuzin, Dicamba + 2,4-D und Bromoxynil). Obwohl bislang über Resistenz bei Kornrade nicht berichtet wurde, sind Zellsuspensionskulturen der Kornrade in der Lage, die Herbizide Metamitron und Atrazin sowie das Xenoestrogen Nonylphenol zu metabolisieren. Die Metaboliten, die identifziert wurden, entstehen durch Dealkylierung und Hydroxylierung der aromatischen und aliphatischen Teilstrukturen der Ausgangsverbindungen. Da diese Reaktionen als typisch für P450-Enzyme im Metabolismus von Xenobiotika angesehen werden, kann man vermuten, dass P450s an der beobachteten Metabolisierung beteiligt sind. In Verlauf des Projektes wurde eine Plasmid-abhängige cDNA-Bibliothek von Kornrade-Zellsuspensionskulturen konstruiert, um unbekannte P450-Sequenzen zu isolieren. Um eine erhöhte Expression von P450s zu erreichen, wurden die Zellen mit dem Herbizid-Safener Benoxacor behandelt, von dem bekannt ist, dass er den P450-Gehalt von Mais-Keimlingen deutlich erhöht. Um sicherzustellen, dass die Kornradezellen der Suspensionskultur die gewünschten Enzyme noch exprimieren, wurde ihre Fähigkeit, 4-n-Nonylphenol (4-n-NP) durch Oxidation zu metabolisieren, in einer Metabolismus-Studie mit dem radioaktiv-markierten (ring-U-14C)4-n-Nonylphenol überprüft. Nach Anwendung verschiedener molekularbiologischer Techniken konnten letztlich mittels einer PCR-Strategie unter Verwendung P450-spezifischer degenerierter Primer zwei PCR-Produkte kloniert werden. U.s.w.
This SNF proposal seeks funding for the continuation of the Swiss contribution to the Lake Van Drilling Project executed by the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP). Among other previous Swiss ICDP engagements, the Lake Van Drilling project was pivotal in triggering the newly established SNF-supported Swiss membership in ICDP. Further, the SNF Swiss contribution is a central building block of the entire ICDP PaleoVan initiative. Lake Van is the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world, extending 130 km WSW-ENE 1674 m above sea level on a high plateau in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. The lake is surrounded by active volcanoes within a tectonically active area and it is known to accumulate fluids emanating from the Earths mantle. The partly annually-laminated sedimentary record down to 220 m depth recovered from Lake Van during the ICDP PaleoVan drilling operations in 2010 has been shown to be an excellent palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironment archive. The continuous, high-resolution continental sequence, which covers several glacial-interglacial cycles (greater than 500 kyr), represents a unique possibility to investigate in detail the climatic, environmental, and volcanic changes that occurred in the Near East, the cradle of human civilization, during much of the Quaternary Period. Furthermore, the sediments contain an invaluable record of past earthquake activities, allowing the construction of a catalogue of prehistoric earthquakes and making it possible to study fluid transport in the continental crust that was triggered by seismic events. In this context, the societal vulnerability of the area to seismic hazards was dramatically documented by the occurrence of the devastating earthquake of magnitude 7.2 close to the city of Van on 23 October 2011 (hereafter referred to as the VE11 earthquake). This unfortunate and tragic event offers a unique opportunity to calibrate the past seismic events recorded in the sediments of Lake Van and the related emission of fluids from the solid earth to a modern seismic analogue. Sediment and fluid transport triggered by this major seismic event need to be quantified in order to calibrate the sedimentological record, which is targeted by the follow-up field campaign proposed within this project extension. The continuation of the Swiss initiative, embedded in the overarching ICDP drilling project on Lake Van, encompasses all the 5 initial research modules (A-E) of the ongoing SNF project (200021-124981). Within this proposal extension, the extended modules (A*-E*) will focus on key issues and new developments that expand the initial topics, with a special emphasis on the recent major earthquake VE11 and its biogeochemical and sedimentological implications. At the same time, this extension will also allow the results that have already been acquired to be further analysed and written up for publication by the project team. A large number of publications is foreseen. (...)
Objective: SHIVA aims to reduce uncertainties in present and future stratospheric halogen loading and ozone depletion resulting from climate feedbacks between emissions and transport of ozone depleting substances (ODS). Of particular relevance will be studies of short and very short-lived substances (VSLS) with climate-sensitive natural emissions. We will perform field studies of ODS production, emission and transport in understudied, but critical, regions of the tropics using ship, aircraft and ground-based instrumentation. We will parameterize potential climate sensitivities of emissions based on inter-dependencies derived from our own field studies, and surveys of ongoing work in this area. We will study the chemical transformation of ODS during transport from the surface to the tropical tropopause layer (TTL), and in the stratosphere, using a combination of aircraft and balloon observations together with process-oriented meso-scale modelling. These investigations will be corroborated by space-based remote sensing of marine phytoplankton biomass as a possible proxy for the ocean-atmosphere flux of ODS. From this a systematic emission inventory of VSLS ODS will be established to allow construction of future-climate scenarios. The impact of climate-sensitive feedbacks between transport and the delivery of ODS to the stratosphere, and their lifetime within it, will be studied using tracer observations and modelling. Further global modelling will assess the contribution of all ODS, including VSLS (which have hitherto normally been excluded from such models) to past, present and future ozone loss. Here, the sensitivity of natural ODS emissions to climate change parameters will be used in combination with standard IPCC climate model scenarios in order to drive measurement-calibrated chemical transport model (CTM) simulations for present and future stratospheric ozone; to better predict the rate, timing and climate-sensitivity of ozone-layer recovery.
Fliessgewässer unterstehen dauernden Veränderungen. Diese können natürlich oder anthropogen bedingt sein. Der Mensch 'korrigiert seine Flüsse und Bäche schon seit Jahrhunderten. Seit der Industrialisierung wurden die Eingriffe jedoch zunehmend stärker und umfangreicher. Ganze Flusssysteme wurden begradigt, Wasserkraftwerke stauen Flüsse über hunderte Kilometer an und Schleusen machen Fliessgewässer wiederum schiffbar. Heutzutage hat sich die Denkweise umgekehrt. Weniger Eingriffe, Rückbau von flussbaulichen Einrichtungen und die Forderung nach mehr Naturnähe bestimmen mittlerweile die Gedanken der Wasserwirtschaft. Erst recht durch die Umsetzung der EU-Wasserrahmenrichtlinie, die im Allgemeinen eine Verbesserung der Gewässer fordert. Laut dieser Forderung müssten einige stark veränderten Fliessgewässer von den Verbauungen 'befreit werden. Die Arbeit soll versuchen aufzuzeigen, wieso es auch wünschenswert wäre alte Eingriffe in die Flüsse zu schützen, weil sie besonders und einmalig sind und sie nach eingehender Überprüfung als kulturhistorische Denkmäler auszuweisen. Deshalb soll geklärt werden wie sich solche flussbauliche Konstruktionen zu kulturhistorischen Bauwerken entwickeln konnten . Infolgedessen soll besonders Wert auf die Identifikation der Bevölkerung und der Erbauer mit den jeweiligen Objekten gelegt werden. Welche Wünsche und Erwartungen hegten die Menschen bei der Erstellung der flussbaulichen Bauwerke? Welche Konflikte traten zutage? Wie hat sich der Stellenwert der Bauwerke über die Zeit bis heute verändert? Um die heutige kulturhistorische Bedeutung von Fließgewässern zu verstehen, ist die Kenntnis über die frühere Beziehung des Menschen, besonders der Flussanwohner, zu ihren Flüssen von besonderer Relevanz. Nur so kann geklärt werden wieso man heute das Interesse besitzt verbaute Flüsse zu erhalten, obwohl Möglichkeiten bestünden sie aus ihrem 'Korsett zu befreien. Diese Fragestellungen sollen am Beispiel des Hochrheins und dem schweizerischen Linthwerk untersucht werden. Als Untersuchungsmethode dienen das Studium und die Analyse diverser schriftlicher Quellen.
The goal of this study was to enable a prognosis on the future rainfall conditions of the Nile Equatorial Lakes regions by delivering time-series of monthly rainfall sums for the time-period from 2021 to 2050 that can be used for all kinds of applications. One example might be the dimensioning of hydraulic structures. In these very long lasting investments, future climatic conditions have to be considered during present planning and construction.The principal sources of information on future climate conditions are General Circulation Models (GCMs). These are physically based atmospheric models that resemble a numerical weather prediction system but on a much coarser scale. This forecast cannot be perfect. Especially, it cannot predict single values, e. g. if January 2050 will be rather wet or dry, but only climatic references, i.e. state, if Januaries in general will become wetter or dryer in the future. Even if the predictions of a GCM were perfect, its output could not be used directly for hydrological purposes, due to its coarse resolution. The monthly precipitation values that are provided by the GCM present the spatially averaged precipitation over a grid cell of several thousand square kilometres. This 'block rainfall' can differ significantly from rainfall measured at the ground. Rain gauges are influenced by local effects like micro climatic conditions or orographic effects of mountain ranges that GCMs are not able to resolve.This study combined the information from different data sources. As global trend information, monthly precipitation values from two GCMs (ECHAM5 and HadCM3) were used. Three CO2-emission scenarios (A1b, A2 and B1) were considered in this data. As local ground reference observed monthly rainfall sums from several rain gauges in East Africa as well as from three reanalysis projects (Climate Research Unit, University of Delaware and GPCC) were used.At each rain gauge or observation point in the reanalysis a technique called 'Quantile-Quantile-Transformation' was applied to establish a relationship between the Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) of the GCMs and that of the ground references during the calibration period from 1961-1990. The CDFs were fitted by non-parametric Kernel-Smoothing. To account for potential shifts in the annual cycles of GCMs and ground references, the transformations was done separately for each month.Assuming that the relation between Global Model and local response will be constant in the future, the global predictions of the GCM can be downscaled to local scale, leading to future rainfall scenarios that are coherent with observed past rainfall.Combining the data from three CO2-emission scenarios of two GCM with three reanalysis data sets, an ensemble of 18 different rainfall time-series was created for each observation point. The range of this ensemble helps to estimate the possible uncertainties in the prognosis of future monthly precipitation sums from 2021 to 2050.
SHAPE-RISK aims at optimising the efficiency of integrated risk management in the context of the sustainable development of the European process industry. The proposal addresses sustainable waste management and hazard reduction in production, storage and manufacturing. The main deliverable of the SHAPE-RISK process will be recommendations to design future cleaner and safer industrial systems. These recommendations will be discussed and endorsed by the Industry. And finally an agenda of actions, approved by Industry, will be done. The goal is to support life-cycle safety and minimisation of accident, pollution and emissions, from the producer of raw materials to the end-product delivered by the industrial installation. In operational terms, SHAPE-RISK aims at structuring a network with the organisations providing technical support to the Authorities in charge of the SEVESO II, IPPC and ATEX directives. This network organised in a Co-ordination Action will interact with the other stakeholders: Industry, the Public, representatives of Communities, International Organisation and NGOs. In 3 years, the result of SHAPE-RISK will be an integrated approach of the different components of risk management and the optimisation of the resources devoted to risk control (environment protection and accident prevention). It will be achieved by enhancing synergy between European, national and regional programmes, and also by taking into account the needs of the pre-accession countries. SHAPE-RISK will result in the dissemination of knowledge and in the specification of research activities to address innovative breakthrough that will serve the construction of safer and cleaner industrial systems. SHAPE-RISK then contributes to the integration and reinforcement of the European Research Area in risk prevention.
Die Entwicklungsmechanismen der Industrieparks in Deutschland und China unterscheiden sich deutlich. In China dienen die Industrieparks als das herausragende Instrument nationaler Wirtschaftspolitik mit dem Ziel der Förderung des Wirtschaftswachstums, während die Entwicklung in Deutschland auf den industriellen Strukturwandel von werks- zu netzwerkbezogenen Produktionsstrategien zurückzuführen ist. Um die Industrieparks ökonomisch und ökologisch effektiv und effizient zu managen, sind innovative Managementstrukturen und -Instrumente nötig. Aufgrund der unterschiedlichen treibenden Kräfte werden in China fast ausschließlich staatliche Managementmodelle eingesetzt, wohingegen in Deutschland die Industrieparks überwiegend privatwirtschaftlich betrieben werden. Somit folgen die chinesischen Modelle hauptsächlich dem Top-Down -Ansatz, während in Deutschland der Bottom-Up -Ansatz dominiert. Die verschiedenen Modelle sind durch spezifische Strategien und Instrumente gekennzeichnet, die zu unterschiedlichen Rollen des Park Managements führen und dabei stark die ausgewählten Strukturen und Prozesse für die Entwicklung des integrierten Ressourcenmanagements in Industrieparks beeinflussen. In diesem Projekt werden Industrieparks als Interorganizationsnetzwerke untersucht, in denen flexible Organisations- und Ablaufstrukturen aufgebaut und geeignete Management-instrumente implementiert werden müssen, um die verfügbaren Ressourcen und Beziehungen zwischen den Stakeholdern effektiv und effizient zu managen. Industrieparks laufen einen Lebenszyklus mit den Phasen von Planung und Bau, Rekrutierung und Betrieb durch, in welchen spezifische strategische und operative Managementaufgaben auszuführen sind. Das Ziel des Projekts ist es, den Einfluss der unterschiedlichen Modelle auf das integrierte Ressourcenmanagement in Industrieparks anhand der Fallbeispiele in Deutschland und China zu analysieren und Implikationen für Strukturen und Instrumente zum Netzwerk- und Ressourcenmanagement in Industrieparks zu entwickeln.
Objective: The Wave Dragon is a slack-moored wave energy converter of the overtopping type. It is by far the most powerful wave energy converter and at the same time one of the most energy efficient and economic devices under development today. Since March 2003 a 20kW scale 1:4.5 prototype of a 7MW Wave Dragon has been tested as the world's first floating grid connected wave energy converter. The project will develop the Wave Dragon technology further from the tested all steel-built 20kW prototype to a full size composite built 7MW unit and by testing validate the technical and economic feasibility. The RTD-part of the project will: - Develop Wave Dragon's energy absorbing structure, the low head turbine power take-off system and the control systems. An additional reservoir placed above the existing reservoir level will also be developed. The result of these changes to the overall design will be a significant increase in power production and a reduction in O&M cost. The development of the 7MW unit will be based on the knowledge base established through the tests with the 20kW prototype and the design process will comprise several innovative elements utilizing the O&M experience from the 20kW prototype tests. - Develop cost effective construction methods and establish the optimal combination of in situ cast concrete, post- stressed reinforcement and pre-stressed concrete elements - Develop new supplementary environmental friendly water hydraulic power take-off systems - Demonstrate reliable and cost effective installation procedures and O&M schemes - Establish the necessary basis for design codes and recommendations for floating multi MW wave energy converters. The test program will demonstrate the availability, power production predictability, power production capability and medium to long term electricity generation costs at 0.052EUR/kWh in a wave climate of 24kW/m, which could be found relatively close to the cost at the major part of the Atlantic coast.
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