An alternate savanna

Animals are back at Gorongosa National Park after civil war, but the savanna community doesn't look quite look like how it used to

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - SANTA BARBARA

Research News

 

When civil war broke out in Mozambique more than 40 years ago, it largely spelled doom for animals in Gorongosa National Park, a 1,500-square-mile reserve on the floor of the southern end of the Great African Rift Valley, in the heart of the country. As the decades-long fighting spilled over into the reserve, many of the creatures became casualties of the conflict.

Throughout the war and even for some time after, food insecurity drove people to kill the animals to feed themselves. The hunting and poaching were hardest on the large mammals.

"More than 90% of the large mammals in the park were wiped out," said UC Santa Barbara ecologist Kaitlyn Gaynor, a postdoctoral researcher at UCSB's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS). After the war, a massive recovery effort was launched to repair and restore the park in the hopes that the animals would make a comeback.

With the park now three decades post-war, it appears the animal populations have recovered. While some have been reintroduced, most have simply rebounded from remnant post-war populations thanks to ongoing conservation efforts.

But for all the growing abundance in animals in the park, questions about the ecological consequences of the war remained for Gaynor and her team, which included coauthor Josh Daskin (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), Lindsey Rich (California Department of Fish and Wildlife and senior author Justin Brashares (UC Berkeley).

"How similar is this new system to pre-war conditions, or to African savannas that haven't seen this major shock?" These were the questions the researchers sought to address, using an array of 60 camera traps to document the comings and goings of the animals of Gorongosa.

Their results are published in the journal Animal Conservation.

Animal Crossing

"There are few places in the world that have had such a dramatic reset, where animals have been pretty much wiped out and then have come back," Gaynor said. "It looks a lot like it did before the war, if you look at just the numbers of total animals, or the number of species present throughout the landscape."

The researchers identified 38 species during the three months of their survey, which puts Gorongosa's biodiversity on par with other African savannas, such as the Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana's Okavango Delta and Serengeti National Park in Tanzania.

But that's where the similarity ends.

"When you take a closer look at the distribution of species, it's a bit out of whack," Gaynor said. The large herbivores that were dominant before the war -- iconic African animals like zebra, wildebeest and hippopotamus -- were rare. Large carnivores were rarer still, with only lions remaining after the war. The savanna now belonged to baboons, warthogs, bushbuck and especially waterbuck, which dominated the survey.

"Waterbuck have been reproducing exponentially," Gaynor said, adding that it remained to be seen whether the unchecked population might crash and stabilize, or if their dominance signaled a "new normal" for the park.

Additionally, in the first systematic study to focus on smaller predators in the park, the researchers also found a high diversity in mesopredators -- housecat sized animals such as civets, mongoose and genets -- which were widespread throughout the park.

"There may have been a 'mesopredator release,' where in the absence of apex predators, the smaller predators' populations can grow because they're not facing competition, or they're not being preyed upon by the larger carnivores," Gaynor explained.

All of this is happening against a backdrop of a environmental change: Tree cover increased while the herbivores (especially elephants) were absent, but with their return and increased feeding pressure the landscape might shift again, potentially influencing which species may flourish. According to the researchers, a variety of tree cover is important for promoting the diversity of the animals.

Time will tell whether the distribution of species in this park will return to pre-war levels, or if they will level off at some other stable state. Since the study was conducted, African wild dogs and leopards were reintroduced in an effort to rebalance the ecosystem. The slow return of large carnivores is bound to shape the dynamics of Gorongosa's animal community, and the researchers are hoping to document those and other developments in future studies.

"Our study represents the first data point in what will hopefully be a long-term, ongoing camera trap monitoring effort," Gaynor said. "Gorongosa has been a really remarkable conservation success story, but I think it's also pretty interesting how the system has recovered asymmetrically. There remain questions about the causes and consequences of that asymmetry, and how the wildlife community is going to change in the future, given ongoing transformations to the landscape."

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What happens when rain falls on desert soils? 

An updated model provides answers

DESERT RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Research News

 

IMAGE: DESERT RESEARCH INSTITUTE (DRI) SCIENTIST YUAN LUO STANDES NEAR A WEIGHING LYSIMETER AT DRI'S SEPHAS LYSIMETER FACILITY IN BOULDER CITY, NEV. NOVEMBER 2020. view more 

CREDIT: ALI SWALLOW/DRI

Las Vegas, Nev. (December 14, 2020) - Several years ago, while studying the environmental impacts of large-scale solar farms in the Nevada desert, Desert Research Institute (DRI) scientists Yuan Luo, Ph.D. and Markus Berli, Ph.D. became interested in one particular question: how does the presence of thousands of solar panels impact desert hydrology?

This question led to more questions. "How do solar panels change the way water hits the ground when it rains?" they asked. "Where does the water go? How much of the rain water stays in the soil? How deep does it go into the soil?"

"To understand how solar panels impact desert hydrology, we basically needed a better understanding of how desert soils function hydraulically," explained Luo, postdoctoral researcher with DRI's Division of Hydrologic Sciences and lead author of a new study in Vadose Zone Journal.

In the study, Luo, Berli, and colleagues Teamrat Ghezzehei, Ph.D. of the University of California, Merced, and Zhongbo Yu, Ph.D. of the University of Hohai, China, make important improvements to our understanding of how water moves through and gets stored in dry soils by refining an existing computer model.

The model, called HYDRUS-1D, simulates how water redistributes in a sandy desert soil based on precipitation and evaporation data. A first version of the model was developed by a previous DRI graduate student named Jelle Dijkema, but was not working well under conditions where soil moisture levels near the soil surface were very low.

To refine and expand the usefulness of Dijkema's model, Luo analyzed data from DRI's SEPHAS Lysimeter facility, located in Boulder City, Nev. Here, large, underground, soil-filled steel tanks have been installed over truck scales to allow researchers to study natural water gains and losses in a soil column under controlled conditions.

Using data from the lysimeters, Luo explored the use of several hydraulic equations to refine Dijkema's model. The end result, which is described in the new paper, was an improved understanding and model of how moisture moves through and is stored in the upper layers of dry desert soils.

"The first version of the model had some shortcomings," Luo explained. "It wasn't working well for very dry soils with volumetric water content lower than 10 percent. The SEPHAS lysimeters provided us with really good data to help understand the phenomenon of how water moves through dry soils as a result of rainfall and evaporation."

In desert environments, understanding the movement of water through soils is helpful for a variety of practical uses, including soil restoration, erosion and dust management, and flood risk mitigation. For example, this model will be useful for desert restoration projects, where project managers need to know how much water will be available in the soil for plants after a desert rainstorm, Berli said. It is also a key piece of the puzzle needed to help answer their original question about how solar farms impact desert hydrology.

"The model is very technical, but all of this technical stuff is just a mathematical way to describe how rainwater moves in the soil once the water hits the soil," Berli said. "In the bigger picture, this study was motivated by the very practical question of what happens to rainwater when falling on solar farms with thousands and thousands of solar panels in the desert - but to answer questions like that, sometimes you have to dig deep and answer more fundamental questions first."

CAPTION

Scientists Markus Berli (left) and Yuan Luo (right) from the Desert Research Institute (DRI) examine soils at DRI's weighing lysimeter facility in Boulder City, Nevada.

Additional information:

This study was funded by the DRI Foundation Innovation Research Program, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Rose Shillito, Ph.D. (DRI/ACOE) and Nicole Damon (DRI) also contributed to the success of this project.

The full text of the paper "Modeling near-surface water redistribution in a desert soil", is available from Vadose Zone Journal: https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/vzj2.20081

To learn more about DRI's SEPHAS Lysimeter facility, please visit: https://www.dri.edu/sephas/lysimeters/

The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied interdisciplinary research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI's research has advanced scientific knowledge, supported Nevada's diversifying economy, provided science-based educational opportunities, and informed policy makers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Reno and Las Vegas, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit ?http://www.dri.edu.

CAPTION

DRI scientists Yuan Luo (left) and Markus Berli (right) conducting research at DRI's SEPHAS Lysimeter facility in Boulder City, Nev. November 2020.

Success in the Amazon

A unique public-private initiative has reduced deforestation in the Amazon for soy farming, highlighting opportunities for similar efforts across the tropics

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - SANTA BARBARA

Research News

 

In 2006, Greenpeace launched a campaign exposing deforestation caused by soy production in the Brazilian Amazon. In the previous year, soy farming expanded into more than 1,600 square kilometers of recently cleared forests. The destruction, they said, had to stop.

In response, major soy companies in the region reached a landmark agreement as signatories to the Amazon Soy Moratorium (ASM), pledging not to purchase crops grown on recently cleared land. Deforestation fell in the following years, but no one had measured the moratorium's aggregate impact.

Now, assistant professor Robert Heilmayr and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin Madison have quantified the ASM's effects and documented how it achieved its success. The researchers found that the agreement prevented thousands of square kilometers of deforestation over its first decade. What's more, the policy did not appear to hamper agricultural growth or push deforestation to other sectors or regions. The study, funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Norwegian International Climate and Forest Initiative, appears in Nature Food.

"Over one decade the ASM saved 18,000 square kilometers of forest," said Heilmayr, an environmental economist in the Environmental Studies Program and at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. "This is an area bigger than the state of Connecticut."

Around the same time the Amazon Soy Moratorium was adopted, the Brazilian government was expanding its regulations against deforestation. The policies covered the legal Amazon, a larger administrative area that includes the Amazon biome and parts of the Cerrado biome - a vast region of tropical forest and savannah southwest of the rainforest.

Fortunately, the moratorium had three key features the team could use to distinguish its effects from these government actions: It went into effect in May 2006; it was restricted to the Amazon biome; and it applied specifically to land cleared for soy production. Heilmayr broke down how these factors directed the team's analysis. "We compared deforestation across ecological biomes after the adoption of the ASM, and across locations with different suitability for soy production, to isolate the impact of the ASM," he explained.

The authors found a reduction in deforestation above and beyond what they could attribute to government policies alone. They estimate that between 2006 and 2016, deforestation in soy-suitable portions of the Amazon was 35% lower than what would have occurred without the ASM.

"Our study is important because, for the first time, we were able to control for other policies and factors outside the ASM to quantify its unique contribution to forest conservation," explained coauthor Holly Gibbs, associate professor at UW Madison.

Scientists and conservationists were concerned the ASM might prompt soy farmers to begin planting in pastures, thereby pushing ranchers to clear more forest, essentially passing the buck to a different sector. However, the study suggests this did not happen. Gibbs explained it's likely due, at least in part, to similar campaigns aiming to stem deforestation in the cattle sector. These efforts began in 2008 and resulted in similar zero-deforestation agreements in the cattle industry. The team also saw little evidence that the ASM was pushing deforestation into the nearby Cerrado biome, though this risk continues to be a concern.

Although some Brazilian policymakers worry that strict environmental commitments may weaken economic growth, soy production in the Amazon has continued to expand since adoption of the ASM. It increased from 4.9 million tonnes of production in 2006 to 17.2 million tonnes in 2019. Ultimately, the moratorium has demonstrated that soy expansion is possible without deforestation, Gibbs explained.

To better understand how this type of conservation policy could be applied elsewhere, the team sought to pinpoint exactly what contributed to the moratorium's effectiveness. "One of the strengths of the Amazon Soy Moratorium is that it was a nearly unanimous decision among all the soy buyers in that sector," said Heilmayr. The signatories account for about 90% of all soy purchases in the region, and this high market share ensured that the agreement would transform agricultural practice. If farmers wanted to sell their soy, they'd have to abide by the policies it set out.

Another factor that contributed to the ASM's success was the cooperation of private companies, non-profit NGOs and government agencies. Corporate participation adds a direct market penalty that discourages deforestation, Heilmayr explained. Meanwhile, the involvement of environmental organizations like Greenpeace, The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund boosts confidence that the agreement isn't merely a form of greenwashing. Finally, public investments in satellite monitoring systems and local property registries provide the backbone for monitoring and enforcing the moratorium. Heilmayr believes the interplay between businesses, NGOs and government actors has lent greater credibility to the initiative in the eyes of the global community.

In 2016, the parties involved chose to renew the ASM indefinitely. While this represents a major victory for sustainable agriculture, the agreement's continuing success still faces obstacles. Some farmer representatives have raised objections to the ASM, saying that requirements that go beyond the country's forest laws amount to a violation of Brazil's sovereignty. However, the researchers note that the ASM also ensures that the Amazon soy sector maintains access to valuable international markets, according to industry trade groups, and at low cost to Amazon soy farmers.

Thanks to the ASM, almost no soy coming from the Amazon currently contributes to deforestation. Research suggests that 98.6% of all soy grown in the region complies with the moratorium.

Photo Credit: LISA RAUSCH

"Very few Amazon soy farmers have land suitable for soy that they could clear in compliance with Brazil's Forest Code," said coauthor Lisa Rausch, a researcher at UW Madison. "The ASM really serves to reduce the incentives to clear land on non-soy farms and in unregistered areas for future soy production."

The current political, economic and environmental zeitgeist highlights the benefits of the ASM's unique mix of public and private policymaking. Deforestation rates are now double what they were at their low point in 2012, though they're still dramatically lower than what they were back in 2003 and 2004. This uptick may reflect efforts by the Bolsonaro government to weaken the country's environmental protections.

Heilmayr hopes "the interplay between private and public policymaking can make environmental gains more resilient - consistent global demand for zero-deforestation soy will continue to discourage new deforestation despite the weakening of public policies."

As a growing number of major companies pledge to reduce their environmental impacts around the world, the question arises of how to translate these lofty goals into concrete actions. "The ASM is a nice example of what is possible when companies take aggressive, transparent steps towards supply chain sustainability," Heilmayr said. "It provides hope that private actors can trigger meaningful improvements in the way society interacts with our environment."

Study: Oregon's Western Cascades watershed to experience larger, more frequent fires

PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

IMAGE: A VIEW OF THE RIVERSIDE FIRE FROM LA DEE FLATS ON THE MT. HOOD NATIONAL FOREST ON SEPT. 9, 2020. THE FIRE ENCOMPASSED OVER 138,000 ACRES, LARGELY ON THE MT.... view more 

CREDIT: U.S. FOREST SERVICE - PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGION

The Clackamas Basin rarely experiences the intense fire activity that burned in the watershed during the Labor Day fires, but new research out of Portland State University shows that wildfires like the Riverside Fire, which grew to 138,000 acres within days, could become more common under a warming climate, even under non-extreme wind conditions.

The study found that wildfire hazard in the Clackamas Basin, which is the second largest source of drinking water for the Portland metro area, will likely increase by mid-century. Projected changes in temperature and relative humidity are expected to lead to longer fire seasons and more severe fire weather in Oregon's Western Cascade mountains, which in turn will result in larger, more frequent fires.

"Because of shifts in climate, the scenarios that would create extreme fire events all become a little more plausible," said Andy McEvoy, the study's lead author and a graduate student in environmental science and management. "There will be that many more days under which those components of a fire -- ignition, weather and fuel -- can align in a terrible way."

The group of researchers simulated four climate scenarios from 2040-2069, representing a range of plausible changes in temperature and humidity.

The simulations showed that the fire season increased from as little as eight days to as much as 32 days. The projected annual average area burned increased significantly by 50% under the least impactful scenario (the coolest and wettest of the four) and as much as 540% under the most extreme scenario (the hottest and driest of the four).

"We don't make the case that one future is more likely than the other, but it helps bracket the plausible outcomes for planning purposes," said McEvoy, who works as a research fellow in the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station. "The future is very uncertain and if land and resource managers plan just for the average case, their plans are not going to be robust in the face of those worst-case scenarios."

The researchers, who worked closely with the Clackamas River Water Providers and the Clackamas County Water and Environment Services, said the findings provide regional managers and planners with a tool to develop climate adaptation and risk mitigation strategies. Given the wide range of plausible future wildfire hazards, robust adaptation plans will be ones that maintain essential ecosystem services across the broadest range of scenarios by balancing land use management, fire suppression, and community preparedness strategies.

These efforts could range from designing and testing the effectiveness of fuel breaks -- breaks in vegetation that can help firefighters control the spread of fire and protect homes and resources -- to identifying susceptible communities and planning evacuations in the event of future extreme wildfires. In those cases, like the Riverside Fire, fuel breaks would not be successful and the only sensible strategy would be timely, safe evacuations.

"They're planning for an uncertain future," McEvoy said. "They have to plan using all available tools and adapt to events as they occur."

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The study's findings are published in the journal Fire. Co-authors include Max Nielsen-Pincus, associate professor of environmental science and management; Andrés Holz, associate professor of geography; Arielle Catalano, a former postdoctoral scholar in PSU's geography department; and Kelly Gleason, assistant professor of environmental science and management.

One's trash, another's treasure: fertilizer made from urine could enable space agriculture

Researchers at Tokyo University of Science devise a new electrochemical technology to manufacture ammonia-based fertilizer from urea

TOKYO UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE

Research News

 

IMAGE: MANURING WITH MAN URINE: RESEARCHERS FROM JAPAN ELECTROCHEMICALLY CREATE AMMONIA FROM URINE TO GROW PLANTS IN SPACE view more 

CREDIT: FREEPIK

In extreme environments, even the most ordinary tasks can seem like unsurmountable challenges. Because of such difficulties, humanity has, for the most part, settled on grounds that were favorable for harvesting crops, herding cattle, and building shelters. But as we seek to expand the limits of human exploration, both on earth and in space, the people pioneering this search will undoubtedly face conditions that, for all intents and purposes, are not conducive to human habitation.

One of the foremost challenges facing any intended long-term settlement, be it in the Antarctic or on Mars (perhaps in the near future), is achieving some degree of autonomy, to enable isolated colonies to survive even in the event of a catastrophic failure in provisioning. And the key to achieving this autonomy is ensuring food sufficiency and self-sustenance. Unsurprisingly, therefore, space agricultural technology is one of the research topics currently being undertaken by the Research Center for Space Colony at Tokyo University of Science. The researchers here hope to spearhead the technological development for safe and sustainable space agriculture--with the aim of sustaining humans for a long time in an extremely closed environment such as a space station.

To this end, an innovative study was conducted by a team of Japanese researchers led by Junior Associate Professor Norihiro Suzuki from Tokyo University of Science--this study, published as a "Letter," made the front cover of the prestigious New Journal of Chemistry of the Royal Society of Chemistry. In this study, Dr. Suzuki and his team aimed to address the problem of food production in closed environments, such as those in a space station.

Realizing that farmers have used animal waste as fertilizer for thousands of years, as a rich source of nitrogen, Dr. Suzuki and his team have been investigating the possibility of manufacturing it from urea (the main component of urine), to make a liquid fertilizer. This would also simultaneously address the problem of human waste treatment or management in space! As Dr. Suzuki explains, "This process is of interest from the perspective of making a useful product, i.e., ammonia, from a waste product, i.e., urine, using common equipment at atmospheric pressure and room temperature."

The research team--which also includes Akihiro Okazaki, Kai Takagi, and Izumi Serizawa from ORC Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Japan--devised an "electrochemical" process to derive ammonium ions (commonly found in standard fertilizers) from an artificial urine sample. Their experimental setup was simple: on one side, there was a "reaction" cell, with a "boron-doped diamond" (BDD) electrode and a light-inducible catalyst or "photocatalyst" material made of titanium dioxide. On the other, there was a "counter" cell with a simple platinum electrode. As current is passed into the reaction cell, urea is oxidized, forming ammonium ions. Dr. Suzuki describes this breakthrough as follows, "I joined the 'Space Agriteam' involved in food production, and my research specialization is in physical chemistry; therefore, I came up with the idea of 'electrochemically' making a liquid fertilizer."

The research team then examined whether the cell would be more efficient in the presence of the photocatalyst, by comparing the reaction of the cell with and without it. They found that while the initial depletion of urea was more or less the same, the nitrogen-based ions produced varied both in time and distribution when the photocatalyst was introduced. Notably, the concentration of nitrite and nitrate ions was not as elevated in the presence of the photocatalyst. This suggests that the presence of the photocatalyst promoted ammonium ion formation.

Dr. Suzuki states, "We are planning to perform the experiment with actual urine samples, because it contains not only primary elements (phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium) but also secondary elements (sulfur, calcium, magnesium) that are vital for plant nutrition! Therefore, Dr. Suzuki and his team are optimistic that this method provides a solid basis for the manufacture of liquid fertilizer in enclosed spaces, and, as. Dr. Suzuki observes, "It will turn out to be useful for sustaining long-term stay in extremely closed spaces such as space stations."

Humans inhabiting Mars might still be quite a distant reality, but this study surely seems to suggest that we could be on a path to ensuring sustainability--in space--even before we actually get there!

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About The Tokyo University of Science

Tokyo University of Science (TUS) is a well-known and respected university, and the largest science-specialized private research university in Japan, with four campuses in central Tokyo and its suburbs and in Hokkaido. Established in 1881, the university has continually contributed to Japan's development in science through inculcating the love for science in researchers, technicians, and educators. With a mission of "Creating science and technology for the harmonious development of nature, human beings, and society", TUS has undertaken a wide range of research from basic to applied science. TUS has embraced a multidisciplinary approach to research and undertaken intensive study in some of today's most vital fields. TUS is a meritocracy where the best in science is recognized and nurtured. It is the only private university in Japan that has produced a Nobel Prize winner and the only private university in Asia to produce Nobel Prize winners within the natural sciences field.
Website: https://www.tus.ac.jp/en/mediarelations/

About Dr. Norihiro Suzuki from Tokyo University of Science

Dr. Norihiro Suzuki is a Junior Associate Professor at the Organization for Research Advancement, Research Institute for Science and Technology at Tokyo University of Science. He completed his undergraduate and postgraduate degree in chemistry at the University of Tokyo, eventually earning a doctorate degree. His research focuses on functional inorganic materials and their application to real-life problems. He also belongs to the Research Center for Space Colony, as well as the Photocatalysis International Research Center at Tokyo University of Science.

Seabed sediment and asphalt areas are noteworthy sources of heat energy

Wider use of geoenergy would improve energy self-sufficiency

UNIVERSITY OF VAASA

Research News

IMAGE: ANNE MÄKIRANTA AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VAASA CAMPUS. view more 

CREDIT: RIIKKA KALMI

According to a new study from the University of Vaasa, Finland, seabed sediment and asphalt areas are noteworthy sources of heat energy also in northern conditions. Sediment heat has been studied in Suvilahti, Vaasa, and asphalt heat in the parking area of University of Vaasa for several years.

- I studied the usability of two new kinds of geothermal heat sources in Finnish conditions, says Mäkiranta, who is defending her doctoral dissertation on 18th December in the University of Vaasa.

A city area accumulates enormous amounts of heat energy into their environments due to buildings, streets, traffic and people. Also the scarcity of vegetation has the impact that it is warmer in a city environment than in the countryside. Heat collects, among other things, below asphalt surfaces and in the substrate of shallow water bodies.

In the study, the renewability of sediment heat was first verified. Undersea sediment is nature's own heat reservoir, so to speak. The sun charges heat into the sediment layer during the summer. The 2008 housing exhibition area of Suvilahti, Vaasa uses this heat reservoir for heating and cooling the houses. Permanent lowering of the sediment's temperature was not observed despite several heating seasons.

Below asphalt, temperatures were found to remain above zero degree in a depth of half a meter from April until December. According to Mäkiranta, because of its seasonal availability, asphalt heat should be stored or used for example to revive a heat well instead of direct use. A particular downside of asphalt heat is heat loss during the night. The usability of asphalt heat can be developed by improving the heat transferability of asphalt by changing the soil structures below the asphalt or by irrigation of the asphalt surface.

Wider use of geoenergy would improve energy self-sufficiency

The wider perspective of the study concerns saving energy and energy self-sufficiency.

- My doctoral thesis studies the possibilities of utilising urban energy right where it is generated. Furthermore, the energy self-sufficiency of our country can be improved by investing in more extensive use of geoenergy than is currently the case. Local energy should be used as extensively as possible instead of transporting energy from long distances, says Mäkiranta.

- Why bring energy for example in the form of heating fuel from far away, when underground local heat and local sources of waste heat are available and usable?

The doctoral dissertation consists of seven part-studies, four of which concern sediment heat and three concern asphalt heat. The part-studies have been published as seven peer-reviewed articles. Research measurements were carried out in the period 2013-2017.

Public defence

The public examination of M.Sc. Anne Mäkiranta's doctoral dissertation "Renewable thermal energy sources: sediment and asphalt energy applications in an urban northern environment" will be held on Friday 18 December 2020 at 12.

The event will be organized online:
https://uwasa.zoom.us/j/64924660831?pwd=cDlaak9QRllXN2RuZlB1ME9wZVpndz09

The field of dissertation is Energy Technology. Professor Markku Virtanen (Aalto University) will act as an opponent and Research Manager, Ph.D. Erkki Hiltunen as a custos. The examination will be held in Finnish.

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Doctoral dissertation

Mäkiranta, Anne (2020) Renewable thermal energy sources: sediment and asphalt energy applications in an urban northern environment. Acta Wasaensia 454. Doctoral dissertation. University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto.

Publication pdf:
http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-476-935-8

More frequent and extreme marine heatwaves likely to threaten starfish

BRITISH ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Research News

 

IMAGE: FABIAN WOLF WORKING AT ONE OF THE TANKS OF THE KIEL INDOOR BENTHOCOSMS. view more 

CREDIT: CREDIT SARAH RÜHMKORFF

Common starfish cannot survive amplified marine heatwaves projected at the end of the century and experience lasting negative effects from current heatwaves, according to new research being presented on at the British Ecological Society's Festival of Ecology.

In experiments simulating extreme ocean conditions, researchers at GEOMAR Helmholtz-Centre for Ocean Research Kiel found that heatwaves of +8 °C, projected by 2100, killed 100% of starfish tested. Heatwaves of this magnitude are only 1 degree warmer than heatwaves recorded in 2018 in the Kiel Fjord, where the research took place.

They also found that present day heatwaves of +5 °C - experienced in summer months - negatively affected starfish feeding. If the heatwave was short, star fish were able to recover, but during extended heatwaves, starfish were unable to recover and lost weight.

Fabian Wolf, who is presenting the research, said: "Our findings showcase that extreme environmental conditions such as marine heatwaves may temporally exceed a species tolerance limit with potential implications for populations at these shallow coastal depths."

The researchers also tested the combined effects of other extreme events. In each treatment, heatwaves were followed by a simulated hypoxic upwelling event, a phenomenon where coastal water becomes colder, more saline, more acidic and higher in CO2.

Fabian explains: "During spring and summer, plankton blooms (which often benefit from global warming) sink to the sea's bottom as dead material. Here, bacteria degrade this material, consuming oxygen and producing carbon dioxide. In coastal areas, particularly strong and persistent winds may push the surface water away from land, while deep (acidified and hypoxic water) is shoaled up the shores."

The researchers found that starfish that didn't experience a heatwave were more affected by a subsequent hypoxic upwelling event, with a significant reduction in their activity. They propose that the first stressor, the heatwave, could provide resilience for the starfish that enables them to better cope with the second, the upwelling event.

"Our results emphasise that it is crucial to study different stressors in combination and not isolation as stressors naturally occur in succession, meaning that they are never independent of each other." said Fabian.

Common starfish, which are found widely throughout the North-East Atlantic and are a familiar fixture of UK rockpools, are known as a keystone species, characterised by their high importance in the ecosystem. As a predator, common starfish prey on blue mussels and control their population size.

"If the common starfish is lost from a relatively species-poor system, blue mussels may grow uncontrolled and form monocultures. Other habitat-forming species like seagrass and seaweed could be lost in the process of blue mussel propagation." said Fabian.

"It must also be considered that other, non-native species may come and fill these gaps, as can be seen by several recently introduced crab species to the Western Baltic Sea that have blue mussels as their preferred prey."

Even if common starfish are not killed outright by heatwaves, the researcher's findings that they lose weight in extended heatwaves could alter the prey they're able to eat. This is because starfish select prey based on its size comparative to them. If smaller starfish are only able to feed on juvenile blue mussels, populations might get older, impacting the ecosystem.

The researchers ran the experiments in a state-of-the-art facility consisting of large experimental tanks, the Kiel Indoor Benthocosms at GEOMAR Helmholtz-Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. These specialist tanks allowed the researchers to apply upwelling conditions and heatwaves of varying intensity and duration over 63 days of total experimental time.

To measure the effects these conditions had on the starfish, the researchers recorded their feeding rate (on blue mussels), their activity (time it took them the right themselves when tipped onto their backs) and weight change.

The researchers acknowledge the limitations in drawing conclusions on whole ecosystem impacts. Fabian said: "The impacts of marine heatwaves and hypoxic upwelling events on the blue mussel prey were neglected from the present study, limiting the conclusions to a top-down effect.

"Yet, in mussel-dominated ecosystems prey populations will be highly controlled by starfish and any implication for their performance will translate into ecosystem-level impacts."

In addition, this study does not factor in species behaviour in the natural environment. Starfish may avoid heated surface waters by moving to deeper water. But these waters may be hypoxic during summer months, shrinking their viable habitat.

The researchers hope that future work will help to reveal the underlying physical mechanisms behind their findings, such as the production of special proteins which help starfish deal with heat stress.

They also want to explore the impacts of extreme marine events on other species in coastal ecosystems. Fabian said: "Elucidating the overall impact of ocean change on mussel reefs may need to include all other predators in the system, and their responses to these simulated events."

CAPTION

Starfish feeding on a blue mussel in its separated replicated unit.

CREDIT

Credit Sarah Rühmkorff

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Fabian Wolf will present the work the Festival of Ecology and his talk is available on demand during the conference. This work is unpublished and has not been through the peer-review process as of yet. This online conference will bring together 1,400 ecologists from more than 50 countries to discuss the most recent breakthroughs in ecology.

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Silica the best environmental alternative to plastic microbeads, finds study

IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON

Research News

 

Following bans on plastic microbeads in wash-off cosmetics, a new study weighs up the environmental costs of alternatives.

Microbeads have been included in personal care and cosmetic products ranging from toothpastes and sunscreen to body scrubs and industrial hand cleaners, usually to improve qualities like abrasiveness.

Microbeads are small, manufactured plastic pellets, typically measuring less than 0.5 millimetres (500 micrometres) in diameter. In many products they are designed to be washed off, where they pass through wastewater treatments plants and end up in marine ecosystems. Here, they can accumulate and be ingested by and cause harm to marine organisms.

This has led to them being banned in wash-off cosmetics in many regions, including the UK. Now, a research team from Imperial College London have assessed 29 alternatives to microbeads for their environmental impact.

They found that silica, a naturally occurring and abundant mineral, was the best alternative, performing overall better than plastic microbeads across all categories. The results are published today in Nature Sustainability.

Lead researcher Professor Nick Voulvoulis, from the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial, said: "Banning microbeads based on evidence of their long-term environmental impacts is a good step, but there may be unforeseen environmental impacts unless substitutes are chosen carefully. Not every apparently 'natural' alternative is desirable, so care is needed in selecting new cosmetic formulations."

The team evaluated 29 alternatives to microbeads, including different plastic formulations, minerals like silica, salt and pumice, and plant and animal-derived products like almond shells, oats and pearls. For each alternative, the researchers considered the environmental impact of their 'life cycle' - from extraction and manufacture to end use and disposal.

For each stage they evaluated different factors affecting environmental and human health, such as toxicity, ozone depletion, and use of scarce resources.

They found that two major factors influence the environmental credentials of the materials: the amount of energy-intensive processing they require (creating greenhouse gases), and, for plant-based materials, the amount of land and water they require.

This analysis showed that almond shells, often considered a desirable 'natural' alternative, require a lot of land and water to grow, and when grown in water-scarce areas, represent a poor environmental alternative. Citric acid requires far less water and land, but is heavily processed, requiring a lot of energy for manufacture.

The best-performing alternative, silica, is chemically inactive, non-toxic and naturally occurring, making it easy to source and process and unlikely to cause long-term negative effects.

However, the team also note that the 'best' alternative depends on the context. For example, titanium dioxide, used in toothpastes, has a relatively high environmental impact - but it is also used in sunscreens, where alternatives may not have the same health benefit of preventing skin cancers.

First author Claire Hunt, from the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial, said: "The ban on microbeads was largely driven by concern about the long-term impacts on marine ecosystems. We instead looked for the potentially hidden environmental costs of alternatives. "This approach could be replicated in other areas looking to eliminate plastic waste and pollution, such as packaging alternatives using plant-derived materials or biodegradable plastics."

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LED lights found to kill coronavirus: Global first in fight against COVID-19

Tel Aviv University finding suggests technology can be installed in air conditioning, vacuum, and water systems

AMERICAN FRIENDS OF TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

Researchers from Tel Aviv University (TAU) have proven that the coronavirus can be killed efficiently, quickly, and cheaply using ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs). They believe that the UV-LED technology will soon be available for private and commercial use.

This is the first study conducted on the disinfection efficiency of UV-LED irradiation at different wavelengths or frequencies on a virus from the family of coronaviruses. The study was led by Professor Hadas Mamane, Head of the Environmental Engineering Program at TAU's School of Mechnical Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering. The article was published in November 2020 issue of the Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology.

"The entire world is currently looking for effective solutions to disinfect the coronavirus," said Professor Mamane. "The problem is that in order to disinfect a bus, train, sports hall, or plane by chemical spraying, you need physical manpower, and in order for the spraying to be effective, you have to give the chemical time to act on the surface. Disinfection systems based on LED bulbs, however, can be installed in the ventilation system and air conditioner, for example, and sterilize the air sucked in and then emitted into the room.

"We discovered that it is quite simple to kill the coronavirus using LED bulbs that radiate ultraviolet light," she explained. "We killed the viruses using cheaper and more readily available LED bulbs, which consume little energy and do not contain mercury like regular bulbs. Our research has commercial and societal implications, given the possibility of using such LED bulbs in all areas of our lives, safely and quickly."

The researchers tested the optimal wavelength for killing the coronavirus and found that a length of 285 nanometers (nm) was almost as efficient in disinfecting the virus as a wavelength of 265 nm, requiring less than half a minute to destroy more than 99.9% of the coronaviruses. This result is significant because the cost of 285 nm LED bulbs is much lower than that of 265 nm bulbs, and the former are also more readily available.

Eventually, as the science develops, the industry will be able to make the necessary adjustments and install the bulbs in robotic systems or air conditioning, vacuum, and water systems, and thereby be able to efficiently disinfect large surfaces and spaces. Professor Mamane believes that the technology will be available for use in the near future.

It is important to note that it is very dangerous to try to use this method to disinfect surfaces inside homes. To be fully effective, a system must be designed so that a person is not directly exposed to the light.

In the future, the researchers will test their unique combination of integrated damage mechanisms and more ideas they recently developed on combined efficient direct and indirect damage to bacteria and viruses on different surfaces, air, and water.

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The study was conducted in collaboration with Professor Yoram Gerchman of Oranim College; Dr. Michal Mandelboim, Director of the National Center for Influenza and Respiratory Viruses at Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer; and Nehemya Friedman from Tel Hashomer.

ABOUT TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY

Tel Aviv University (TAU) is Israel's largest public institution of higher learning and is home to 30,000 students, including 2,100 international students from over 100 countries. The University encompasses nine faculties, 35 schools, 400 labs, and has 17 affiliated hospitals in its network.

Compound derived from thunder god vine could help pancreatic cancer patients

TGen-led study indicates drug attacks 'super-enhancers' in the DNA of cancer cells and in the stromal cocoon that hides the tumor from the immune system

THE TRANSLATIONAL GENOMICS RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Research News

 

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Dec. 14, 2020 -- The results of a pre-clinical study led by researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), an affiliate of City of Hope, suggest how a compound derived from the thunder god vine -- an herb used in China for centuries to treat joint pain, swelling and fever -- is able to kill cancer cells and potentially improve clinical outcomes for patients with pancreatic cancer.

The medicinal plant's key ingredient, triptolide, is the basis of a water-soluble prodrug called Minnelide, which appears to attack pancreatic cancer cells and the cocoon of stroma surrounding the tumor that shields it from the body's immune system. Investigators recently published the study results in the journal Oncogenesis.

The study found that the compound's mechanism of action is the ability of triptolide (Minnelide) to disrupt what are known as super-enhancers, strings of DNA needed to maintain the genetic stability of pancreatic cancer cells and the cancer-associated-fibroblasts that help make up the stroma surrounding the cancer.

"The cancer cells rely on super-enhancers for their growth and survival," said Dr. Haiyong Han, a Professor in TGen's Molecular Medicine Division and one of the study's senior authors.

"We found that by disrupting these super-enhancers triptolide not only attacks the cancer cells, but also the stroma, which helps accelerate cancer cell death.

"While triptolide has been known to be a general transcriptional inhibitor and a potent antitumor agent, we are the first to report its role in modulating super-enhancers to regulate the expression of genes, especially cancer-causing genes," said Dr. Han, who also is head of the basic research unit in TGen's Pancreatic Cancer Program.

Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S., annually killing more than 47,000 Americans.

"There is an urgent need to identify and develop treatment strategies that not only target the tumor cells, but can also modulate the stromal cells," said Dr. Daniel Von Hoff, TGen Distinguished Professor and another senior author of the study.

"Based on our findings, using modulating compounds such as triptolide to reprogram super-enhancers may provide means for effective treatment options for pancreas cancer patients," said Dr. Von Hoff, considered one of the nation's leading authorities on pancreatic cancer.

Thunder god vine (Tripterygium wilfordii), also known as léi g?ng téng, is native to China, Japan and Korea. Traditional Chinese medicine has used the vine for more than 2,000 years as a treatment for everything from fever to inflammation and autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. The chemical compound triptolide is among the more than 100 bioactive ingredients derived from the thunder god vine.

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The study -- Triptolide targets super-enhancer networks in pancreatic cancer cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts -- was published Nov. 9 in Oncogenisis.

Also contributing to this study were: Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Funding for this study was provided by grants from: Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C)-Lustgarten Foundation Pancreatic Cancer Dream Team; Baylor Scott & White Research Institute; the National Foundation for Cancer Research. Additional support was provided by: the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation; the National Institutes of Health; the Salk Cancer Center; and the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation.

About TGen, an affiliate of City of Hope

Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a Phoenix, Arizona-based nonprofit organization dedicated to conducting groundbreaking research with life-changing results. TGen is affiliated with City of Hope, a world-renowned independent research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases: CityofHope.org. This precision medicine affiliation enables both institutes to complement each other in research and patient care, with City of Hope providing a significant clinical setting to advance scientific discoveries made by TGen. TGen is focused on helping patients with neurological disorders, cancer, diabetes and infectious diseases through cutting-edge translational research (the process of rapidly moving research toward patient benefit). TGen physicians and scientists work to unravel the genetic components of both common and complex rare diseases in adults and children. Working with collaborators in the scientific and medical communities worldwide, TGen makes a substantial contribution to help our patients through efficiency and effectiveness of the translational process. For more information, visit: tgen.org. Follow TGen on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter @TGen.

Tripterygium Wilfordii

Tripterygium wilfordii, or léi gōng téng, sometimes called thunder god vine but more properly translated thunder duke vine, is a vine used in traditional Chinese medicine.