The project aims at achieving a better understanding of the processes that drive or limit the response of grassland systems in a world of increasing atmospheric pCO2. We will test the hypothesis that the previously shown increase in below-ground allocation of C under elevated pCO2 provides the necessary energy excess and will stimulate free-living N2 fixers in a low N grassland environment. The project thus aims at assessing the occurrence and importance of free-living N2 fixers under elevated pCO2 and identify the associated microbial communities involved in order to better understand ecosystems response and sustainability of grassland systems. This project had the last opportunity to obtain soil samples from a grassland ecosystem adapted to long-term (10 year) elevated atmospheric pCO2 as the Swiss FACE experiment. The project aims to identify the relevant components of free-living diazotrophs of the microbial community using 15N stable isotope - DNA probing.
Alum-rosin sizing for paper, which came into commercial use in 1835 caused a shift of pH of paper from pseudo-neutral to acidic regions, which dramatically decreased permanence of paper. As a result, decay of library and archival holdings are reaching catastrophic proportions, with about 25 percent of the books in the general library collections brittle while additional 60 percent are endangered. In order to prevent the decay of paper induced by acids, a variety of mass deacidification techniques are available on the market. While a number of comparative evaluations of the treatments were performed in the past, the processes are continuously changing, while additional three were developed in recently. The proposed project aims to: - develop standard model materials and evaluation criteria, in order to enable superior evaluation of existing processes and ease in assessment of emerging ones - comparatively evaluate immediate and long term effects of treatments - develop quality control criteria and evaluation techniques - address environmental and health aspects The objective of extensive dissemination is to incorporate the most suitable mass treatment into the preservation policy of European libraries and archives.
Under the 2003 EU Greek presidency, cooperation with Balkan countries on environmental issues was identified as a priority of the EU/Balkan Action Plan. Large-scale co-operation is essential for effective action in the vulnerable Mediterranean and Black Sea coastal zones. During the last 50 years both areas suffered major changes; as semi-enclosed basins, both Seas are ultra-sensitive to anthropogenic stress and to climate change. An EU Presidency Conference on Sustainable Development in the Mediterranean/Black Sea (May 2003), revealed major gaps in management structures, scientific strategies and identified a diversity of environmental issues to be resolved through priority-focused RTD cooperation. Yet, while pressure on the resources of the two seas increases and the potential impact of climate change on coastal and deep-sea resources remains unknown, the two seas have never been jointly studied as systems of interacting basins and ecosystems. The proposal outlines collaboration and clustering schemes involving environmental, economic and scientific organisations in Mediterranean, Black Sea and other EU nations, in order to create synergies in networking and exchanges at several levels, addressing for the first time the system of interconnected basins as one, based on the integration of, both horizontally and vertically, natural scientists and economists. These will: 1) Create an international, interdisciplinary platform coordinating the region's scientific potential in order to prepare RTD projects, based on a Science Plan for the region, securing sustainable development; 2) Focus on natural and anthropogenic pressures exerted upon the functioning of the ecosystem; 3) Reinforce RTD capacity by setting up an environment/resource monitoring network in the light of existing observation networks of different scopes. Prime Contractor: Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Oceanography, Anavyssos, GR.
In order to study the effects of parasitoid associated factors on lepidopteran larval hosts we used g-irradiation of sterilize females of the braconid parasitoid Glyptapanteles liparidis. Along with eggs, G. liparidis females inject a secrete of the calyx gland containing particles of a symbiotic virus, the polydnavirus (PDV) and venom into the host. These associated factors are known from other host-parasitoid systems to suppress the immune system of the host and cause alterations in its development. g-irradiation should sterilize the eggs inside the wasp's ovary, so that sterile eggs are oviposited together with PDV and venom and the influence of parasitoid larvae inside the host is excluded. We irradiated G. liparidis females with different doses, ranging from 2.4 to 10.5 krad, in a Co60 g-irradiator. L. dispar larvae were stung by such irradiated wasps as well as untreated wasps, and the development of hosts and parasitoid progeny was controlled by rearing and dissections of hosts. Also G. liparidis were reared under controlled conditions to measure the effect of irradiation on their longevity and oviposition. A sting by an irradiated wasp (= pseudoparasitization) caused prolonged development and supernumerary molts of L. dispar larvae, and lead to the production of heavier pupae. However, such pseudoparasitized hosts suffered from higher pupal mortality due to incomplete larval-pupal molts or incomplete hardening of pupal cuticle. Effects on the host immune system were studied indirectly using an additional infection with the entomopathogenic microsporidium Vairimorpha sp. Pseudoparasitized hosts died earlier from the microsporidiosis and showed infections of higher intensity. For G. liparidis adults the g-irradiation caused no marked reduction in lifespan, except at the highest dose of 10.5 krad, but irradiated females laid significantly fewer eggs. The treatment did not result in complete sterilisation; about 10 to 20 percent of parasitoid eggs did hatch and such G. liparidis were able to complete their development to adults. Further studies will investigate the incomplete sterilization of G. liparidis eggs by g-irradiation. We will test whether these synovigenic wasps can recover after a certain time after irradiation and produce fertile eggs again. Consequently, we aim to develop a protocol of dose and timing of g-irradiation to give the best results for using it as a tool in studying the effects of PDV and venom of G. liparidis.
Recent events such as the Pakistan earthquake, Hurricane Katrina, the Indian Ocean tsunami and the European heat waves of 2003 reveal the vulnerability of societies to extreme events. The goal of this project is to strengthen prevention, mitigation and preparedness strategies in order to reduce the health, social and economic impacts of extreme events on communities. The objectives of the MICRODIS project are to strengthen the scientific and empirical foundation on the relationship between extreme events and their impacts; to develop and integrate knowledge, concepts, methods and databases towards a common global approach and to improve human resources and coping capacity in Asia and Europe through training and knowledge sharing. This integrated project involves 19 partners from Asia and Europe, including research, policy and ground roots institutions. The outputs will include an evidence-base on impacts, field methodologies and tools for data compilation, impact models, and integrated vulnerability assessments. It will also strengthen standardised data collection of extreme events and their impacts at local, regional and global levels. Prime Contractor: Université Catholique de Louvain; Louvain-la-neuve; Belgium.
Despite the advantages of solar membrane distillation (MD) systems very few experimental systems have been developed as opposed to the mature technologies solar PV-driven RO and solar distillation. Therefore, main objective of MEDESOL Project is the development of an environmentally friendly improved-cost desalination technology to fresh water supply in arid and semi-arid regions in EU and Third Countries based on solar MD. The layout involves the innovative concept of multistage MD in order to minimize specific energy and membrane area required and also to substantially reduce the brine generation. The aim of this work was to evaluate the technical feasibility of producing potable water from seawater by integrating several membrane distillation modules (Multi-step Membrane Distillation System). The aim is to develop systems for a capacity ranging from 0.5 to 50 m3/day. Technical simplicity, long maintenance-free operation periods and high-quality potable water output are the very important aims which will enable successful application of the systems that are based in membrane distillation. The heat source will proceed from an advanced compound parabolic solar concentrator, developed to the specific concentration ratio to achieve the specific needed range of temperatures (90ºC) and the seawater heater will include the development of an advanced non-fouling surface coatings to avoid the deposit formation (i.e. scaling) at such temperature. Laboratory tests under defined testing conditions of all components are very important for the preparation of successful field tests under real conditions. Prime Contractor: Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas, Medioambientales y Tecnologicas-Ciemat, Madrid, Spain.
Context: With increasing global change pressures, and due to existing limitations, and un-sustainability factors and risks of conventional urban water management (UWM), cities experience difficulties in efficiently managing the ever scarcer water resources, their uses/services, and their after-use disposal, without creating environmental, social and/or economic damage. In order to meet these challenges, SWITCH calls for a paradigm shift in UWM. There is a need to convert adhoc actions (problem/incident driven) into a coherent and consolidated approach (sustainability driven). This calls for an IP Approach. Research conceptSWITCH therefore proposes an action research project which has as a main objective: The development, application and demonstration of a range of tested scientific, technological and socio-economic solutions and approaches that contribute to the achievement of sustainable and effective UWM schemes in 'The City of the future'.The project will be implemented by different combinations of consortium partners, along the lines of seven complementary and interactive themes. The research approach is innovative for the combination of: action research: address problems through innovation based upon involvement of users.learning alliances: to link up stakeholders to interact productively and to create win-win solutions along the water chain; multiple-way learning: European cities learn from each other and from developing countries, and vice versa.multiple-level or integrated approach: to consider the urban water system and its components (city level) in relation to its impacts on, and dependency of, the natural environment in the river basin (river basin level), and in relation to Global Change pressures (global level).Instruments and scopeAn IP with 30 partners, their resources, and a total budget of 25,191,396 EURO including budget for demonstration activities in 9 Cities in Europe and developing countries. Prime Contractor: UNESCO - Institute for Water Education, Delf, Netherlands.
The overall goal of the GEOMON project is to sustain and analyze European ground-based observations of atmospheric composition, complementary with satellite measurements, in order to quantify and understand the ongoing changes. GEOMON is a first step to build a future integrated pan-European Atmospheric Observing System dealing with systematic observations of long-lived greenhouse gases, reactive gases, aerosols, and stratospheric ozone. This will lay the foundations for a European contribution to GEOSS and optimize the European strategy of environmental monitoring in the field of atmospheric composition observations. Specifically, we will unify and harmonize the main Europeans networks of surface and aircraft-based measurements of atmospheric composition parameters and integrate these measurements with those of satellites. The access to data and data-products will be coordinated at a common data centre for more efficient use. GEOMon will support data gathering at existing networks if necessary, rescue and compile existing ground-based data, and develop new methodologies to use these data for satellite validation and interpretation.. In addition, GEOMON will enable innovative ground-based measurements complementary to satellites, made by upward looking ground based remote sensing instruments Max-DOAS, FTIR, and LIDAR and by systematic measurement programmes of upper-tropospheric composition using passenger aircrafts CARIBIC and MOZAIC. These data will serve to reduce biases and random errors in satellite observations and facilitate interpretation of the columnar measurements in combination with surface data. This will result in a significant improvement in the use of existing and future satellite data. Common techniques and modelling tools will be used in order to add value to the GEOMON data observations, to facilitate their use in satellite validation and help design an optimal network. Prime Contractor: Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique (CEA); Paris; France.
Der aktuelle Sachstand bei der Erstellung von Luftreinhalte- und Aktionsplänen in Deutschland wird mit Hilfe einer eingehenden Analyse derzeit veröffentlichter Pläne beschrieben (Stand: 31.08.2008). Diese Pläne stellen in der Zusammenschau eine umfangreiche Darstellung der aktuellen Luftschadstoffsituation, der verschiedenen Methoden der Prognose und der diskutierten Maßnahmen dar. Als wichtiges Hilfsmittel der vergleichenden Auswertung dient die Darstellung der Daten der Luftreinhaltepläne als thematische Karte. Es gibt zahlreiche strukturelle und inhaltliche Unterschiede zwischen den verschiedenen Entwicklungsstufen der Pläne und ebenso zwischen den Plänen verschiedener Bundesländer. Zur Klassifizierung der in den Plänen genannten Maßnahmen wurde in den vorigen Arbeiten (FKZ 204 42 222) und (FKZ 363 01 140) ein Maßnahmenschema entwickelt, das im vorliegenden Bericht nochmals erweitert wurde. Mit diesem Analysewerkzeug wurden alle bis zum 31.08.2008 vorgelegten Veröffentlichungen, d. h. Pläne, Fortschreibungen und Entwürfe, systematisch erfasst und untersucht. Um die Vergleichbarkeit der in den Plänen aufgeführten Maßnahmen zu gewährleisten, wurde die in den Vorgängerarbeiten entwickelte Zusammenstellung von standardisierten Maßnahmen weitergeführt. Diese sogenannten Standard- Maßnahmen stellen ein zentrales Element der Maßnahmenanalyse dar und bilden alle Maßnahmen ab, die in Deutschland laut den vorgelegten Plänen durchgeführt, geplant oder diskutiert werden. Die erneute Aktualisierung dient insbesondere auch dazu festzustellen, mit welchen Maßnahmen die Länder planen, die ab 2010 gültigen Luftqualitätsgrenzwerte einzuhalten. Umweltzonen haben sich, wie bereits in den Vorgängerarbeiten gezeigt, als wichtiges Element im Maßnahmenbündel etabliert. Die neue Bestandsaufnahme erfasst auch den aktuellen und geplanten Stand der Umweltzonen. Das Vorhaben diskutiert darüber hinaus die Abschätzung der Wirksamkeit der Maßnahmen im Hinblick auf das Minderungspotenzial für PM10-Feinstaub und Stickstoffdioxid unter Berücksichtigung anderer nationaler Wirkungsuntersuchungen.
The main objective of the project is to investigate, assess and enhance the potentiality of promising technological options (i.e., technologies, processes and concepts) for the treatment of industrial wastewater with the specific aim to provide tailor-mad e solutions to end-users for a wide range of wastewaters. Such solutions will be essentially based on the optimised integration of the investigated options and on technological improvements with respect to treatment system components, operation and control. Referring to the investigated options and the envisaged technological solutions, the project's goals are: -Investigating and enhancing the performances of promising wastewater treatment options such as aerobic granulation, integrated advanced oxidation processes (AOP) and membrane-based hybrid processes -Achieving fundamental and technological knowledge advancements necessary for advanced wastewater treatment application in different industrial sectors -Assessing the economic and environmental sustainability of promising wastewater treatment options -Developing integrated tailor-made solutions for end-users in different industrial sectors -Transferring the developed know-how to potential end-users inside and outside the project -Favouring their actual implementation for enhancing the EU Water Industry competitiveness. In order to achieve such goals, coordinated research activities will be carried out on selected options treating different wastewater. The experiences from such activities will be merged to define tailor-made solutions for end-users in different industrial sectors. A major goal will be the definition of treatment needs and framework conditions for a wide range of wastewaters based on the specific features of the options investigate d (i.e., aerobic granulation, AOP combined processes, membrane contactors, membrane chemical reactors). Prime Contractor: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Department of Bari, Water Research Institute, Roma, Italien.
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