Marines Mikroplastik (MMP) ist eine zunehmende anthropogene Verschmutzung in den Meeren. Der Einfluss auf marine Tiere, durch Verfangen und verschlucken von Plastikmüll, ist bekannt. Aber der Einfluss von MMP auf Mikroorganismen, wie Bakterien, Archaeen und Protisten, die die Basis der Nahrungsnetze bilden, ist kaum verstanden. Auf Grund der besonderen Eigenschaften von MMP, kann es als neues Habitat und als Transportmittel für bestimmte u.a. auch gesundheitsgefährdende Mikroorganismen dienen, die über lange Distanzen bis in entlegene Regionen transportiert werden können. Darüber hinaus kann MMP das Zusammenleben von Mikroorganismen in enger Nachbarschaft ermöglichen und die Stoffwechselwege vieler verschiedener Verbindungen beeinflussen. Um den Einfluss von MMP und ihrer assoziierten Mikroorgansimen auf marine Ökosysteme zu verstehen, müssen wir die Zusammensetzung und Interaktionen von mikrobiellen Gemeinschaften auf MMP identifizieren und ihre globale Ausbreitung untersuchen. Ich möchte die Diversität und die räumliche Verteilung von mikrobiellen Gemeinschaften auf MMP charakterisieren. Proben von MMP wurde bereits von meinem Gastinstitut in verschiedenen Meeresregionen (Atlantik, Pazifik, Indischer Ozean) gesammelt. Mein Ziel ist es: 1) zu identifizieren, welche Mikroorganismen auf MMP vorkommen; 2) die lokale Verteilung und Struktur der mikrobiellen Gemeinschaft auf MMP und in Experimenten auf Bioplastikpartikeln zu untersuchen; 3) zu verstehen, welche Mikroorganismen am stärksten mit der Polymer Oberfläche assoziiert sind; 4) herauszufinden, ob es charakteristische Mikrobiome auf MMP in verschiedenen Meeresregionen gibt und 5) zu untersuchen, welche Mikroorganismen MMP abbauen können. Die Chancen für die erfolgreiche Durchführung des vorgeschlagenen Projekts ist hoch, da präperierte Proben bereits in meinem Gastlabor vorhanden sind, an denen die innovative Mikroskopiertechnik namens CLASIFISH (Combinatorial Labelling and Spectral Imaging Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization) angewandt werden kann. Diese Methode ermöglicht es viele verschiedene Mikroorganismen und ihre räumliche Verteilung auf einem Plastikpartikel schnell und präzise zu identifizieren. Ich möchte diese Methode an Proben aus dem Atlantik und Pazifik anwenden, sowie Mikroben identifizieren, die im offenen Ozean Plastik abbauen. Zusätzlich möchte ich Inkubationsexperimente mit Bakterienkulturen, die bereits auf Plastik identifiziert wurden und in meinem Gastinstitut zur Verfügung stehen, auf Bioplastikpartikeln durchführen. Mit diesen Experimenten möchte ich herausfinden, wie sich mikrobielle Gemeinschaften auf Bioplastik über die Zeit entwickeln und ob bzw. wie diese Mikroben Plastik abbauen. Für diese Inkubationsexperimente möchte ich FISH, CLASIFISH, scanning electron microscopy sowie metagenomische und metatranscriptomische Ansätze verwenden.
Beach sand deposits are widespread in the area around Sandefjord, at the western coast of the Oslofjord, southern Norway. The age of the deposits continuously increases with elevation, as the area has been subject to steady glacio-isostatic uplift throughout the Holocene. Existing local sea level curves provide age control related to elevation. Thus, the area offers excellent conditions to test hypotheses on soil formation and OSL dating. A chronosequence covering the last 10 000 years will be established. A preliminary study showed that soil formation leads to Podzols within 4300 - 6600 years. Micromorphological analyses suggest that clay illuviation takes place before and below podzolisation. It is hypothesised that clay translocation goes on contemporarily with podzolisation, but at greater soil depth, where the chemical conditions are suitable. This hypothesis will be proved by more detailed micromorphological investigation and chemical analyses. The factors controlling soil forming processes and their rates, will be determined by analyzing elemental composition, primary minerals and clay mineralogy. Preliminary OSL dating tests suggest that the beach sand deposits are OSL dateable despite the high latitude. This hypothesis will be checked by comparing OSL datings to ages derived from the 14C-based sea level curves.
In recent years science has taken an increased interest in mineralization processes in tropical soils in particular under minimal tillage operations. Plant litter quality and management strongly affect mineralization-nitrification processes in soil and hence the fate of nitrogen in ecosystems and the environment. Plant secondary metabolites like lignin and polyphenols are poorly degradable and interact with proteins (protein binding capacity) and hence protect them from microbial attack. Nitrification, a microbiological process, directly and indirectly influences the efficiency of recovery of N in the vegetation as well as the loss of N (through denitrification and leaching) causing environmental pollution to water bodies and contributes to global warming (e.g. the greenhouse gas N2O is emitted as a by-product of nitrification and denitrification). Nitrifiers comprise a relatively narrow species diversity (at least as known to date) and are generally thought to be sensitive to low soil pH and stress. Despite these properties nitrification occurs in acid tropical soils with high levels of aluminium and manganese. Thus the main objective of the project will be the identification of micro-organisms and mechanisms responsible for mineralization-nitrification processes in acid tropical soils and the influence of long-term litter input of different chemical qualities and minimal tillage options. The project will include the use of stable isotopes (15N, 13C), mass spectrometry, gas chromatography (CO2, N2O), biochemical methods (PLFA) and molecular biology (16s rRNA., PCR, DGGE)
Problem: umweltbedingte Aenderungen der Gewaesseroekologie, Aenderung der Fischbestandssituation, Beeinflussung der natuerlichen Reproduktion, schwankende Ertragslage; Zielsetzung: Erarbeitung von Bewirtschaftungsgrundlagen unter Beruecksichtigung der Umweltbedingungen; Methoden: Versuchsfischereien, Echolotuntersuchungen, populationsdynamische Untersuchungen.
The geomagnetic field shields our habitat against solar wind and radiation from space. Due to the geometry of the field, the shielding in general is weakest at high latitudes. It is also anomalously weak in a region around the south Atlantic known as South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), and the global dipole moment has been decreasing by nearly 10 percent since direct measurements of field intensity became possible in 1832. Due to our limited understanding of the geodynamo processes in Earths core, it is impossible to reliably predict the future evolution of both dipole moment and SAA over the coming decades. However, lack of magnetic field shielding as would be a consequence of further weakening of dipole moment and SAA region field intensity would cause increasing problems for modern technology, in particular satellites, which are vulnerable to radiation damage. A better understanding of the underlying processes is required to estimate the future development of magnetic field characteristics. The study of the past evolution of such characteristics based on historical, archeo- and paleomagnetic data, on time-scales of centuries to millennia, is essential to detect any recurrences and periodicities and provide new insights in dynamo processes in comparison to or in combination with numerical dynamo simulations. We propose to develop two new global spherical harmonic geomagnetic field models, spanning 1 and 10 kyrs, respectively, and designed in particular to study how long the uninterrupted decay of the dipole moment has been going on prior to 1832, and if the SAA is a recurring structure of the field.We will combine for the first time all available historical and archeomagnetic data, both directions and intensities, in a spherical harmonic model spanning the past 1000 years. Existing modelling methods will be adapted accordingly, and existing data bases will be complemented with newly published data. We will further acquire some new archeomagnetic data from the Cape Verde islands from historical times to better constrain the early evolution of the present-day SAA. In order to study the long-term field evolution and possible recurrences of similar weak field structures in this region, we will produce new paleomagnetic records from available marine sediment cores off the coasts of West Africa, Brazil and Chile. This region is weakly constrained in previous millennial scale models. Apart from our main aim to gain better insights into the previous evolution of dipole moment and SAA, the models will be used to study relations between dipole and non-dipole field contributions, hemispheric symmetries and large-scale flux patterns at the core-mantle boundary. These observational findings will provide new insights into geodynamo processes when compared with numerical dynamo simulation results.Moreover, the models can be used to estimate past geomagnetic shielding above Earths surface against solar wind and for nuclide production from galactic cosmic rays.
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.
Über dem Nordatlantik und Europa wird die Variabilität der großräumigen Wetterbedingungen von quasistationären, langandauernden und immer wiederkehrenden Strömungsmustern â€Ì sogenannten Wetterregimen â€Ì geprägt. Diese zeichnen sich durch das Auftreten von Hoch- und Tiefdruckgebieten in bestimmten Regionen aus. Verlässliche Wettervorhersagen auf Zeitskalen von einigen Tagen bis zu einigen Monaten im Voraus hängen von einer korrekten Darstellung der Lebenszyklen dieser Strömungsregime in Computermodellen ab. Um das zu erreichen müssen insbesondere Prozesse, die günstige Bedingungen zur Intensivierung von Tiefdruckgebieten aufrecht erhalten, und Prozesse, die den Aufbau von stationären Hochdruckgebieten (blockierende Hochs) begünstigen, richtig wiedergegeben werden. Aktuelle Forschung deutet stark darauf hin, dass Atmosphäre-Ozean Wechselwirkungen, insbesondere entlang des Golfstroms, latente Wärmefreisetzung in Tiefs, und Kaltluftausbrüche aus der Arktis dabei eine entscheidende Rolle spielen. Dennoch mangelt es an grundlegendem Verständnis wie solche Luftmassentransformationen über dem Ozean die großskalige Höhenströmung beeinflussen. Darüber hinaus ist die Relevanz solcher Prozesse für Lebenszyklen von Wetterregimen unerforscht. In dieser anspruchsvollen drei-jährigen Kollaboration zwischen KIT und ETH Zürich streben wir an ein ganzheitliches Verständnis zu entwickeln, wie Wärmeaustausch zwischen Ozean und Atmosphäre und diabatische Prozesse in der Golfstromregion die Variabilität der großräumigen Strömung über dem Nordatlantik und Europa prägen. Zu diesem Zweck werden wir ausgefeilte Diagnostiken zur Charakterisierung von Luftmassen mit neuartigen Diagnostiken zur Bestimmung des atmosphärischen Energiehaushaltes verbinden und damit den Ablauf von Wetterregimen und Regimewechseln in aktuellen hochaufgelösten numerischen Modelldatensätzen und mit Hilfe von eigenen Sensitivitätsstudien untersuchen. Dazu werden wir unsere Expertise in größräumiger Dynamik und Wettersystemen, sowie Atmosphäre-Ozean Wechselwirkungen â€Ì insbesondere während arktischen Kaltluftausbrüchen â€Ì und der Lagrangeâ€Ìschen Untersuchung atmosphärischer Prozesse nutzen. Im Detail werden wir (i) ein dynamisches Verständnis entwickeln, wie Luftmassentransformationen entlang des Golfstroms die Höhenströmung über Europa beeinflussen, mit Fokus auf blockierenden Hochdruckgebieten, (ii) die Bedeutung von Luftmassentransformationen und diabatischer Prozesse für den Erhalt von Bedingungen, die die Intensivierung von Tiefdruckgebieten während bestimmter Wetterregimelebenszyklen bestimmen, untersuchen, (iii) diese Erkenntnisse in ein einheitliches und quantitatives Bild vereinen, welches die Prozesse, die den Einfluss des Golfstroms auf die großräumige Wettervariabilität prägen, zusammenfasst und (iv) die Güte dieser Prozesse in aktuellen numerischen Vorhersagesystemen bewerten. Diese Grundlagenforschung wird wichtige Erkenntnisse zur Verbesserung von Wettervorhersagemodellen liefern.
We study the effects of plants and root-associated fungi on wind erosion within the alpine environment of Tibet. China is one of the countries most affected by desertification processes and Tibet, in particular, a key region in desertification combat. The presented project focuses on the Barkha Plain surrounded by Mount Kailash and the Lake of Manasarovar (Ngari Prefecture). This Western Tibet region experienced little scientific attention but, nowadays, faces rapidly increasing touristic activities and expanding local settlements associated with socio-economic changes that are serious threats to the delicate ecological balance and potential triggers of desertification. It exists almost unanimous agreement that revegetation is the most efficient and promising strategy to combat wind erosion and desertification in the long term. However, re-colonising success is often poor, mainly under extreme environmental conditions. Compared to conventional practices, the approach of the presented project attains better accordance with natural succession processes and promises acceleration of both plant and soil development and, conclusively, more efficient desertification control. The project assesses the potential of native plants and symbiotic fungi to control wind erosion and desertification processes. It aims to identify key plants and fungi that increase soil aggregate stability and efficiently drive succession into a natural and self-maintaining cycle of the ecosystem. Furthermore, it provides crucial information for implementing environmentally compatible and cost-effective measures to protect high-elevation ecosystems against desertification. Within three successional stages (early, intermediate, late), field investigations are performed on the basis of Modified-Whittaker plots. Classic methods of vegetation analysis and myco-sociology are combined with analysis of distribution patterns at different scales (patchiness, connectivity). Comprehensive soil analysis is performed comprising grain size distribution, aggregate stability, pH as well as water and nutrient contents. Additionally, important parameters of wind erosion are measured concurrently and continuously to assess their magnitude and variability with respect to vegetation and soil at different levels of development. The parameters addressed, include sediment transport, air temperature, radiation, precipitation, relative humidity as well as speed and direction of wind. Surface moisture is recorded periodically and roughness described. Species and environmental parameters are checked for spatial correlation. Cutting edge technologies are applied in laboratory work, comprising molecular methods for fungal species identification and micro-tomography to analyse soil structure. Furthermore, successfully cultivated fungi and plants are subject of synthesis experiments and industrial propagation in view of practical implementation in restoration measures.
In Kuehlschmierstoffen aller Typen vermehren sich Bakterien und Pilze bis zu Koloniezahlen von 10exp(6) bis 10exp(8)/ml. Darmbakterien sowie Entzuendungserreger koennen in Mengen bis zu 10exp(5)/ml vorkommen. Systematische Untersuchungen auf die genannten Erreger fehlen ebenso bisher wie Kenntnisse ueber deren Vermehrungsbedingungen, z.B. in Abhaengigkeit vom Alter der Emulsionen.