• Lomholt Pontoppidan posted an update 1 month, 3 weeks ago

    The model captured reasonably well the dynamics of N2O fluxes from soils receiving fall and spring slurry (r = 0.356). However, the concurrent discrepancies of N2O fluxes between modelled and measured values during the wetter spring thaw of 2017 might be a result of an unsatisfactory simulation of snowmelt infiltration and runoff. Compared to whole slurry, simulated de-watered slurry resulted in considerable reductions in cumulative N2O emissions by 16-36 and 23-29% for fall and spring slurry injections, respectively. The model results indicate that de-watering slurry would potentially be an efficient emission mitigation strategy; however, there is still a paucity of studies addressing the feasibility of dewatering as a practice and further research can focus on this knowledge gap.Accelerating declines in the extent, quality and functioning of the world’s marine ecosystems have generated an upsurge in focus on practical solutions, with ecosystem restoration becoming an increasingly attractive mitigation strategy for systems as diverse as coral reefs, mangroves and tidal flats. While restoration is popular because it promises positive outcomes and a return to something approaching unimpacted condition and functioning, it involves substantial public and private investment, both for the initial restoration activity and for on-going maintenance of the restored asset. This investment often affords one big chance to get things right before irretrievable damage is done. As a result, precise, well considered and accountable decision-making is needed to determine the specific focus for restoration, the scale of restoration, the location for deploying restoration activities, and indeed whether or not restoration is necessary or even possible. We explore the environmental/ecological considerations and constraints governing optimal decisions about the nature, location and prioritisation of restoration activities in marine ecosystems, and in particular the constraints on achieving understanding of possible futures and the likelihood of achieving them. We conclude that action must be informed by a context-specific understanding of the historical situation, the current situation, the constraints on change, the range of potential outcome scenarios, and the potential futures envisioned.Rainfall can potentially change upper thermal-moisture boundary conditions and influence the hydrological and thermal state of the active layer in permafrost regions. Studying the relationship between rainfall and ground temperature represents an emerging issue in permafrost engineering and environment but the interactive mechanisms of rainfall and the active layer are not well understood. This study aims to analyze the effects and mechanisms of summertime rainfall on the thermal-moisture dynamics of the active layer by field observations and simulation. The observation data demonstrated that frequent light rainfall events had a minor impact on the active layer, whereas consecutive rainfall events and heavy rainfall events had significant effects on soil temperature and water content. Moreover, the soil temperatures were more susceptible to summertime rainfall events. These rapidly cooled the shallow ground and delayed the temperature rise. Summertime rainfall significantly increased the surface latent heat flux, but decreased the net radiation, sensible heat flux, and soil surface heat flux. Rainfall also enhanced the amount of downward liquid water and water vapor, but the impact of rainfall on the increase in the convective heat transfer of the liquid water was lower than the decreases in the heat conduction flux, latent heat flux by vapor diffusion, and heat flux by convection of vapor. selleck Thus, the reduction in the total soil heat flux caused by rainfall directly leads to a cooling effect on the soil temperature and delays the increase in soil temperature. The cooling effect of rainfall events may mitigate the warming rate and maintain the active layer at a relatively low temperature. The results provide new insights into understanding the inner mechanisms of the effect of rainfall on the active layer and on the possible long-term change trends of permafrost under increasing precipitation in the central Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

    The association of long-term ambient air pollution and hypertension has been inconsistently reported. We performed an updated systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the association between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and risk of hypertension in adults and in children.

    PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science were searched up to August 7, 2020 for published articles examining the association of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution, including particulate matter (PM; ultrafine particles, PM

    , PM

    , PM

    , PM

    and PM

    ), nitrogen dioxide (NO

    ), nitrogen oxides (NO

    ), sulfur dioxide (SO

    ), ozone (O

    ), carbon monoxide (CO) and hypertension. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for hypertension with each 10-μg/m

    increase in air pollutants were calculated by random-effects models.

    We included 57 studies (53 of adults and 4 of children) in the meta-analysis. Risk of hypertension was significantly increased in adults with each 10-μg/m

    increase in exposure to PM

    (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.07-1.14; I

    = 93.1%; n = 37), PM

    (1.04, 1.02-1.07; I

    = 44.8%; n = 22), and SO

    (1.21, 1.08-1.36; I

    = 96.6%; n = 3). Hypertension was not significantly associated with PM

    (n = 2), PM

    (n = 16), NO

    (n = 27), or NO

    (n = 17). In children, the summary ORs (95% CIs) for each 10-μg/m

    increase in PM

    , PM

    , SO

    and O

    were 2.82 (0.51-15.68; I

    = 83.8%; n = 2), 1.15 (1.01-1.32; I

    = 0; n = 2), 8.57 (0.13-575.58; I

    = 94.2%; n = 2), and 1.26 (0.81-1.09, I

    = 91.6%; n = 2), respectively.

    Long-term ambient air pollution is a potential risk factor for hypertension in adults. More studies are needed to explore the effects of long-term air pollution on hypertension in children.

    Long-term ambient air pollution is a potential risk factor for hypertension in adults. More studies are needed to explore the effects of long-term air pollution on hypertension in children.