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Vurdering av økologisk tilstand i Oslo-elvene 2023 - Undersøkelser av bunndyr i Mærradalsbekken, Hoffselva, Makrellbekken og Hovinbekken
Get PDFProsjektleder: Tor Erik EriksenDenne rapporten omhandler undersøkelser av bunndyrsamfunn i fire av vassdragene som renner gjennom Oslo: Mærradalsbekken (fire stasjoner), Hoffselva (fire stasjoner), Makrellbekken (en stasjon) og Hovinbekken (tre stasjoner). Bunndyrprøver ble samlet inn vår og høst 2023, og økologisk tilstand ved stasjonene ble evaluert ved hjelp av ASPT-indeksen basert på gjennomsnittlige verdier fra de to prøvetakingene. Resultatene om økologisk tilstand ble tolket i lys av dominansforholdene i bunndyrsamfunnet, samt mangfoldet av døgnfluer (Ephemeroptera), steinfluer (Plecoptera) og vårfluer (Trichoptera), såkalt EPT-mangfold. Vannprøver samlet inn av vann- og avløpsetaten (VAV) ble brukt som støtteparametere for å vurdere typen påvirkning og for å forstå eventuelle årsaker til at målene om god økologisk tilstand ikke ble oppnådd. Resultatene om bunndyrsamfunn viser at kun to stasjoner i Hoffselva oppnår miljømålet og god økologisk tilstand, mens de øvrige viser moderat til svært dårlig tilstand. Nedgangen i ASPT-verdiene gjenspeiles av redusert EPT-mangfold, med økt dominans av tovinger, fåbørstemark og tolerante døgnfluer, på bekostning av spesielt steinfluer. Selv om oppdraget ikke inkluderte en detaljert vurdering av de ulike påvirkningstypenes relative bidrag, antyder funnene at eutrofiering og organisk belastning spiller en betydelig rolle i de fleste elver, og bidrar til at miljømålene ikke oppnås.Vann- og avløpsetaten i Oslo kommunepublishedVersio
Climate Obstruction in Poland: A Governmental–Industrial Complex
Get PDFPoland is known for its climate scepticism and denial throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Despite its recent rapid deployment of renewable energy sources, Poland remains Europe’s most coal-dependent economy. Since 2004, consecutive governments have been ‘pulling the brake’ on the European Union’s more ambitious climate policy initiatives and decarbonization targets. There are recent signs of changing societal attitudes, but the country is alone among EU nations in lacking a net zero emissions target or a coal power phase-out date. This situation has been created and perpetuated by a coalition of governmental institutions, agencies, state-owned energy companies, and utilities that constitute a governmental–industrial complex (GIC). While the GIC has moderated its discourse and policies, it continues to promote ‘silver bullet’ technologies such as ‘clean’ coal and new nuclear power plants. Poland’s commitment to a just, gradual energy transition is a climate imposter tactic, part of an overarching strategy of delay.publishedVersio
An ecotoxicological assessment of a strigolactone mimic used as the active ingredient in a plant biostimulant formulation
Get PDFA risk assessment on the aquatic toxicity of the plant biostimulant strigolactone mimic (2-(4-methyl-5-oxo-2,5-dihydro-furan-2-yloxy)-benzo[de]isoquinoline-1,3-dione (SL-6) was performed using a suite of standardised bioassays representing different trophic groups and acute and chronic endpoints. In freshwater, three trophic groups of algae, crustacea and fish were used. Whilst in seawater, algae (unicellular and macroalgae), Crustacea and Mollusca were employed. In addition, the genotoxicity of SL-6 was determined with the comet assessment performed on unicellular marine algae, oysters, and fish embryos. This was the first time ecotoxicity tests have been performed on SL-6. In freshwater, the lowest LOEC was measured in the unicellular algae at 0.31 mg/L SL-6. Although, similar LOEC values were found for embryo malformations and impacts on hatching rate in zebrafish (LOEC 0.31–0.33 mg/L). Consistent malformations of pericardial and yolk sac oedemas were identified in the zebrafish embryos at 0.31 mg/L. In marine species, the lowest LOEC was found for both Tisbe battagliai mortality and microalgae growth at an SL-6 concentration of 1.0 mg/L. Significant genotoxicity was observed above control levels at 0.0031 mg/L SL-6 in the unicellular algae and 0.001 mg/L SL-6 in the oyster and zebrafish larvae. When applying the simple risk assessment, based on the lowest NOECs and appropriate assessment factors, the calculated predicted no effect concentration (PNEC), for the ecotoxicity and the genotoxicity tests were 1.0 µg/L and 0.01 µg/L respectively.publishedVersio
A carbonate system time series in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Two years of high-frequency in-situ observations and remote sensing
Get PDFThe rate of ocean uptake of anthropogenic CO2 has declined over the past decade, so a critical question for science and policy is whether the ocean will continue to act as a sink. Large areas of the ocean remain without observations for carbonate system variables, and oceanic CO2 observations have declined since 2017. The Mediterranean Sea is one such an area, especially its eastern part, where there is a paucity of carbonate system data, with large areas not sampled or only sampled by ship-based discrete measurements as opposed to high frequency, sensor-equipped time-series fixed stations. The aim of this study was to analyze a multi-year time-series of high-frequency (hourly) partial pressure CO2 (pCO2) and pH measurements in the Eastern Mediterranean, along with low-frequency (monthly) measurements of total dissolved inorganic carbon and total alkalinity. The pCO2 time-series was the first obtained in the Eastern Mediterranean. The study was conducted at a fixed platform of the POSEIDON system (Heraklion Coastal Buoy) located near Crete Island. Temperature was the dominant factor controlling the temporal variability of pCO2 and pH, while the remaining non-thermal variability appeared to be related to evaporation, water mixing, and biological remineralization-production. The air-sea CO2 fluxes indicated a transition from a winter-spring sink period to a summer-autumn source period. The annual air-sea CO2 flux was too low (-0.16 ± 0.02 mol m-2 yr-1) and variable to conclusively characterize the area as a net source or sink of CO2, highlighting the need for additional high frequency observation sites. Algorithms were developed using temperature, chlorophyll and salinity data to estimate pCO2 and total alkalinity, in an effort to provide tools for estimates in poorly observed areas/periods from remotely sensed products. The applicability of the algorithms was tested using Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT) data from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (1999 to 2020) which showed that the algorithm pCO2 estimates were generally within ±20 μatm of the pCO2 values reported by SOCAT. Finally, the integration and analysis of the data provided directions on how to optimize the observing strategy, by readapting sensor location and using estimation algorithms with remote sensing data.publishedVersio
The interaction between plastics and microalgae affects community assembly and nutrient availability
Get PDFThe presence of plastics and microplastics in water environments has raised concerns for potential negative impacts. The broader ecological implications for ecosystem functioning are, however, still unknown. The interaction between phytoplankton community and plastics has, for example, been overlooked. Here, we investigated the role of plastic as a substrate for biofilm growth and how this affects the dispersal of terrestrial microalgae, potentially altering the assembly of pelagic communities. When exposing an artificially assembled microalgae community to pristine and biofouled plastic under laboratory-controlled conditions, we found that only biofouled plastic affected the final community structure and the content of available nutrients in water. This is due to the exchanged algal species between the biofilm and the pelagic community. The results from this batchwise pilot scale study indicate that plastic can act as a substrate for benthic and pelagic species, potentially affecting ecosystem functions, which have been overlooked so far.publishedVersio
TEOTIL3: En modell for beregning av kildebaserte tilførsler via elver og direktetilførsler til kyst
Get PDFProsjektleder: James Edward SampleDenne rapporten beskriver utviklingen av TEOTIL3. Dette er den siste versjonen av TEOTIL-modellen for simulering av elvetilførsler i Norge. Modellen er nå fullstendig omkodet og alle inndatasettene er oppdatert. Alle sider ved arbeidsflyten har blitt gjennomgått og forbedret. Totalt nitrogen og fosfor er separert i underfraksjoner, og suspendert sediment og totalt organisk karbon er lagt til som nye parametere. Den nye modellen er på åpen kildekode (Open Source).MiljødirektoratetpublishedVersio
The Norwegian River Monitoring Programme 2023 – water quality status and trends
Get PDFProsjektleder: Øyvind KasteTwenty rivers along the Norwegian coast are monitored for physical and chemical parameters as part of the Norwegian River Monitoring Programme. This report presents the current status (2023) and long-term (1990-2023) trends of data on suspended particles, organic matter, nutrients, and metals. Concentrations of EU Water Framework Directive priority substances and river basin-specific pollutants (trace metals and organic pollutants) from five rivers in western and middle Norway are compared with annual average environmental quality standards (AA-EQS). The report also presents light absorbance indices for characterisation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) quality in the rivers, and high-frequency measurements of water temperature, pH, conductivity, turbidity and fluorescent DOM (FDOM) at five river stations.Norwegian Environment AgencypublishedVersio
Declining calcium concentration drives shifts toward smaller and less nutritious zooplankton in northern lakes
Get PDFZooplankton community composition of northern lakes is changing due to the interactive effects of climate change and recovery from acidification, yet limited data are available to assess these changes combined. Here, we built a database using archives of temperature, water chemistry and zooplankton data from 60 Scandinavian lakes that represent broad spatial and temporal gradients in key parameters: temperature, calcium (Ca), total phosphorus (TP), total organic carbon (TOC), and pH. Using machine learning techniques, we found that Ca was the most important determinant of the relative abundance of all zooplankton groups studied, while pH was second, and TOC third in importance. Further, we found that Ca is declining in almost all lakes, and we detected a critical Ca threshold in lake water of 1.3 mg L−1, below which the relative abundance of zooplankton shifts toward dominance of Holopedium gibberum and small cladocerans at the expense of Daphnia and copepods. Our findings suggest that low Ca concentrations may shape zooplankton communities, and that current trajectories of Ca decline could promote widespread changes in pelagic food webs as zooplankton are important trophic links from phytoplankton to fish and different zooplankton species play different roles in this context.publishedVersio
Air pollution inequality and its temporal trends in Nordic countries
Get PDFThe demand for research on air pollution inequality in Nordic countries is rising with the growing evidence of adverse health effects. We examined socio-economic and ethnic disparities in air pollution exposure from 1990 to 2016. Results revealed that exposure to PM2.5 and NO2 was generally higher in municipalities with higher income, education and immigrant populations. Disparities mostly decreased over time, benefiting almost all groups. But, ozone exposure increased in many regions. The findings highlight the need for attention to rising ozone levels and disproportionate exposure of immigrants.publishedVersio
Microplastic pollution in the Thumbprint emperor (Lethrinus harak) from Tanzanian coastal waters: Occurrence, abundance, characterization, and relevance as a monitoring species
Get PDFIn the present study we collected the Thumbprint emperor (Lethrinus harak) from seven landing sites from the coastal waters around Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar (Tanzania) to (i) quantify and characterize microplastics (MPs) in their digestive tracts and (ii) use previously assessed environmental levels in nearshore surface waters and seabed sediments to determine whether L. harak could be a relevant biomonitor for MP pollution in the region. L. harak (n=387) had an overall frequency of occurrence (FO%) of 48 % and displayed spatial variation between sites with Kunduchi (FO=66.7 %) and Mijimwena (FO=17.1 %) having the highest and lowest FO%, respectively. Fish from Mjimwema had a mean MP content of 0.17 ± 0.38 MPs individual-1 whilst fish from Kizimkazi had the highest MP abundance (1.75 ± 2.33 MPs individual-1). Fibers (overall 64.7 %, range across sites 48–86 %) and fragments (17.9 %, 5–25 %) were the most dominant MP types whilst black (46.9 %, 40–58 %) and blue (22.5%, 7–36 %) MPs were the most common colours. Fish length (ρ= -0.09, p=0.09) or weight (ρ=0.07, p=0.18) did not significantly correlate to MP abundance in fish (Spearman rank correlations). Neither MP occurrence nor abundance was linked to MP concentrations in either surface waters or seabed sediments (Spearman rank correlation), but MPs in the fish better reflected MPs in the sediment compared to surface water (two-way ANOVA on ranked data). Whilst L. harak presents as a promising candidate to monitor MP pollution along the East African coast due to its ecology, overall, it lacks reliability. Nonetheless, the present study fills important knowledge gaps both geographically on the East African Coast and with an underrepresented taxonomic family (Lethrinidae ‘Emporer fishes’).publishedVersio