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Abstract: For mitigation of the effects of pollution, the media, policy makers and, in turn, the scientific community and industry each provide contributions through development of a sense of urgency, and with guidelines and solutions. For non-indigenous species (NIS) that can frequently have negative impacts on the native biota, this is often conveyed in an emotive way to the general public, who are typically keen to help and to get personally involved. This might be through organization of cleaning campaigns, influence on the media, or collaboration with scientists, to inform them of the local presence and abundance of NIS. Alternatively, they might proactively develop technological solutions themselves. To assess the current state of affairs, we reviewed the presence and effects of NIS in the Mediterranean Sea. As so often, any well-planned and successful activity is directly linked to financing, or a lack thereof, and this leads to sometimes untargeted and sporadic measures that are developed within a project or over a limited timeframe, without any sustainability measures. Therefore, we also assessed the activities and strategies that have been financed in this area of NIS mitigation. Based on this review of the presence and impact of NIS, and previous and ongoing activities, we propose a new paradigm to mitigate such pollution: the 8Rs model (i.e., Recognize, Reduce, Replace, Reuse, Recycle, Recover/Restore, Remove, and Regulate). This model extends from the more traditional 3Rs model (i.e., Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) that is often used and promoted for innovative waste management strategies. Importantly, the 8Rs model can be applied sequentially, for either prevention of NIS introduction, or preparation of mitigation measures. The 8Rs model was constructed based on Mediterranean NIS, although we believe it can be applied to other sources of pollution and other geographic areas. Importantly, the 8Rs model represents a general framework to organize and categorize future pollution mitigation strategies. This approach is essential for development of any action plan to influence the administrative and financial decision makers who essentially enable these activities, and therefore who have important roles in the guarantee of sustainability of these actions, and the creation of innovative societies.
Keywords: non-indigenous species, pollution mitigation, pollution mitigation, 8Rs model, quadruple helix, Mediterranean Sea, citizen science, communication, sustainability
Published in DiRROS: 22.07.2024; Views: 28; Downloads: 8
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Abstract: This study investigates the potential of ensemble forecasting using full realistic high-resolution nested atmosphere–ocean models for the prediction of meteotsunamis in Ciutadella (Menorca, Spain). The sensitivity of model results to the parameterizations of the atmospheric model is assessed considering the ten most significant recent meteotsunami events for which observations are available. Different schemes adapted to high-resolution Weather Research and Forecasting model simulations were used for the representation of cumulus, microphysics, planetary boundary layer and longwave and shortwave radiations. Results indicate a large spread of the ensemble simulations in terms of the final magnitude of the meteotsunamis. While the modeling system is shown to be able to realistically trigger tsunamigenic atmospheric disturbances in more than 90% of the situations, the small-scale characteristics of these disturbances are significantly modified with the change of parameterizations, leading to significant differences in the magnitude of the simulated sea-level response. No preferred set of parameterizations can be identified that leads to either the largest or the most realistic magnitudes in the majority of situations. Instead, the performance of a given set of parameterizations is found to change with the meteotsunami event under consideration. Importantly, the observed magnitude of the extreme sea-level oscillations lies within the range of a nine-member ensemble in 70% of the cases. This ensemble approach would then allow to generate a realistic range of possibilities in the majority of events, thus improving the realism of meteotsunami predictions compared to single deterministic forecasts.
Keywords: meteotsunamis prediction, atmosphere, ocean modeling, ensemble forecasting, atmospheric model parameterizations
Published in DiRROS: 19.07.2024; Views: 66; Downloads: 34
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Abstract: Rivers are an important mediator between human activities and the natural environment. They provide multiple functions, including irrigation, transportation, food supply, recreation, and water supply. Therefore, evaluations of water quality and pollution sources are of great significance for ecological restoration and management of rivers. In this study, the improved “vušekriterijumska optimizacija i kompromisno rješenje” (VIKOR in Serbian; in English: Multicriteria Optimization and Compromise Solution), and a geodetector were used to analyze the water quality characteristics and pollution sources of the Maotiao River Basin (Gizhou province, SW China). The results showed that the water quality of the Maotiao River Basin deteriorated significantly during the summer drought period, as was evident in the reservoirs and lakes. It improved in the wet season (i.e., during the summer period) due to runoff dilution. Water quality decreased along the river’s course, from upstream to downstream sections. The results of the geographic detector analysis showed that agricultural areas were the primary factor affecting the spatial distribution of water quality in the river basin. In July, August, and November 2020, the influence of agricultural land was 0.72, 0.60, or 0.80, respectively, and the interactions among urban, industrial, agricultural, and forested areas explained 99.2%, 83.2%, or 99.9% of the spatial differentiation of water quality, respectively. Due to the influence of spatial scale, settlements have a small influence on the spatial distribution of water quality. Their impact factors were 0.38, −0.24, and −0.05, respectively. Notably, the negative relationship of water quality and forested areas reflects that topography, types of landscapes, and soil thickness have considerable influences on the Maotiao River Basin’s water quality. Based on the findings, we infer that good farmland water conservancy projects and comprehensive management of different types of landscapes, such as forests, agriculture, and urban area and water bodies, are of great significance for improving water quality.
Keywords: water quality, statistical data, VIKOR model, CRITIC model
Published in DiRROS: 16.07.2024; Views: 73; Downloads: 35
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Abstract: Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the most commonly used substances in the manufacture ofvarious everyday products. Growing concerns about its hazardous properties, including endocrinedisruption and genotoxicity, have led to its gradual replacement by presumably safer analogues inmanufacturing plastics. The widespread use of BPA and, more recently, its analogues has increasedtheir residues in the environment. However, our knowledge of their toxicological profiles is limitedand their combined effects are unknown. In the present study, we investigated the toxic effectscaused by single bisphenols and by the combined exposure of BPA and its two analogues, BPAP andBPC, after short (24-h) and prolonged (96-h) exposure in HepG2 spheroids. The results showed thatBPA did not reduce cell viability in HepG2 spheroids after 24-h exposure. In contrast, BPAP andBPC affected cell viability in HepG2 spheroids. Both binary mixtures (BPA/BPAP and BPA/BPC)decreased cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, but the significant difference was only observedfor the combination of BPA/BPC (both at 40μM). After 96-h exposure, none of the BPs studiedaffected cell viability in HepG2 spheroids. Only the combination of BPA/BPAP decreased cellviability in a dose-dependent manner that was significant for the combination of 4μM BPA and 4μMBPAP. None of the BPs and their binary mixtures studied affected the surface area and growth ofspheroids as measured by planimetry. In addition, all BPs and their binary mixtures studied triggeredoxidative stress, as measured by the production of reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde,at both exposure times. Overall, the results suggest that it is important to study the effects of BPsas single compounds. It is even more important to study the effects of combined exposures, as thecombined effects may differ from those induced by single compounds.
Keywords: BP analogues, hepatic in vitro 3D cell model, combined exposure, viability, oxidative stress, toxicology
Published in DiRROS: 12.07.2024; Views: 66; Downloads: 42
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Abstract: Gozdna tla zastirajo drevesne krošnje in gozdna vrzel je vsaka večja ali manjša površina tal, ki je ne prekrivajo krošnje zgornjega sloja dreves. Velikost vrzeli vpliva na to, katera drevesna vrsta se bo pomladila, pa tudi na vertikalno in horizontalno strukturo gozda. Na Pohorju (Pahernikova gozdna posest, za katero so značilni gozdovi, v katerih se na majhnih površinah pojavljajo drevesa različnih premerov in starosti) smo analizirali možnosti samodejnega zaznavanja vrzeli na podlagi podatkov Laserskega skeniranja Slovenije (LSS) in Cikličnega aerofotografiranja Slovenije (CAS). Uporabili smo digitalna modela krošenj (DMK), pridobljena iz obeh virov podatkov. Skupna natančnost zaznavanja tudi najmanjših vrzeli (manjših od 50 m2 ) na podlagi podatkov LSS je znašala 94,4 %, na podlagi podatkov CAS pa 83,1 %. Na podlagi podatkov LSS je mogoče zaznati večje število in površino vrzeli, prav tako so vrzeli, pridobljene na podlagi podatkov LSS, bolj razčlenjene in podolgovate. Zaznavanje vrzeli s podatki CAS in LSS je medsebojno bolj primerljivo pri najmanjših površinah vrzeli 100 m2 , natančnost zaznave takšnih vrzeli je 85,4 oziroma 94,4 %. Rezultati kažejo, da je ob odsotnosti podatkov LSS uporaba podatkov CAS za določanje vrzeli smiselna na velikopovršinski ravni in pri zaznavanju vrzeli, večjih od 100 m2 .
Keywords: raznomerni gozdovi, raznodobni gozdovi, digitalni model krošenj, gozdna vrzel, daljinsko zaznavanje, Lasersko skeniranje Slovenije, LSS, Ciklično aerofotografiranje Slovenije, CAS
Published in DiRROS: 08.07.2024; Views: 90; Downloads: 34
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