PICES Press, Vol. 18, No. 1, Winter 2010

•Major Outcomes from the 2009 PICES Annual Meeting: A Note from the Chairman (pp. 1-3, 8) •PICES Science – 2009 (pp. 4-8) •2009 PICES Awards (pp. 9-10) •New Chairmen in PICES (pp. 11-15) •PICES Interns (p. 15) •The State of the Western North Pacific in the First Half of 2009 (pp. 16-17, 27) •The State of the Northeast Pacific in 2009 (pp. 18-19) •The Bering Sea: Current Status and Recent Events (pp. 20-21) •2009 PICES Summer School on “Satellite Oceanography for the Earth Environment” (pp. 22-25) •2009 International Conference on “Marine Bioinvasions” (pp. 26-27) •A New PICES Working Group Holds Workshop and Meeting in Jeju Island (pp. 28-29) •The Second Marine Ecosystem Model Inter-comparison Workshop (pp. 30-32) •ICES/PICES/UNCOVER Symposium on “Rebuilding Depleted Fish Stocks – Biology, Ecology, Social Science and Management Strategies” (pp. 33-35) •2009 North Pacific Synthesis Workshop (pp. 36-37) •2009 PICES Rapid Assessment Survey (pp. 38-40

The use of satellite data, meteorology and land use data to define high resolution temperature exposure for the estimation of health effects in Italy

Introduction. Despite the mounting evidence on heat-related health risks, there is limited evidence in suburban and rural areas. The limited spatial resolution of temperature data also hinders the evidence of the differential heat effect within cities due to individual and area-based characteristics. Methods. Satellite land surface temperature (LST), observed meteorological and spatial and spatio-temporal land use data were combined in mixed-effects regression models to estimate daily mean air temperature with a 1x1km resolution for the period 2000-2010. For each day, random intercepts and slopes for LST were estimated to capture the day-to-day temporal variability of the Ta–LST relationship. The models were also nested by climate zones to better capture local climates and daily weather patterns across Italy. The daily exposure data was used to estimate the effects and impacts of heat on cause-specific mortality and hospital admissions in the Lazio region at municipal level in a time series framework. Furthermore, to address the differential effect of heat within an urban area and account for potential effect modifiers a case cross-over study was conducted in Rome. Mean temperature was attributed at the individual level to the Rome Population Cohort and the urban heat island (UHI) intensity using air temperature data was calculated for Rome. Results. Exposure model performance was very good: in the stage 1 model (only on grid cells with both LST and observed data) a mean R2 value of 0.96 and RMSPE of 1.1°C and R2 of 0.89 and 0.97 for the spatial and temporal domains respectively. The model was also validated with regional weather forecasting model data and gave excellent results (R2=0.95 RMSPE=1.8°C. The time series study showed significant effects and impacts on cause-specific mortality in suburban and rural areas of the Lazio region, with risk estimates comparable to those found in urban areas. High temperatures also had an effect on respiratory hospital admissions. Age, gender, pre-existing cardiovascular disease, marital status, education and occupation were found to be effect modifiers of the temperature-mortality association. No risk gradient was found by socio-economic position (SEP) in Rome. Considering the urban heat island (UHI) and SEP combined, differential effects of heat were observed by UHI among same SEP groupings. Impervious surfaces and high urban development were also effect modifiers of the heat-related mortality risk. Finally, the study found that high resolution gridded data provided more accurate effect estimates especially for extreme temperature intervals. Conclusions. Results will help improve heat adaptation and response measures and can be used predict the future heat-related burden under different climate change scenarios.Open Acces

Application of Geographic Information Systems

The importance of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can hardly be overemphasized in today’s academic and professional arena. More professionals and academics have been using GIS than ever – urban & regional planners, civil engineers, geographers, spatial economists, sociologists, environmental scientists, criminal justice professionals, political scientists, and alike. As such, it is extremely important to understand the theories and applications of GIS in our teaching, professional work, and research. “The Application of Geographic Information Systems” presents research findings that explain GIS’s applications in different subfields of social sciences. With several case studies conducted in different parts of the world, the book blends together the theories of GIS and their practical implementations in different conditions. It deals with GIS’s application in the broad spectrum of geospatial analysis and modeling, water resources analysis, land use analysis, infrastructure network analysis like transportation and water distribution network, and such. The book is expected to be a useful source of knowledge to the users of GIS who envision its applications in their teaching and research. This easy-to-understand book is surely not the end in itself but a little contribution to toward our understanding of the rich and wonderful subject of GIS

Geospatial Assessment of Sustainable Built Infrastructure Assets and Flood Disaster Protection

This research was initiated with a review and synthesis of infrastructure related to city and urban growth, built infrastructure to meet transportation needs and travel demand, and role of mass transit in reducing adverse impacts on the environment and greenhouse gas emissions. Floods are the most frequently occurring natural disaster in the world, which so far claimed millions of lives and resulted in billion-dollar economic costs. Built infrastructure assets in urban and rural areas are not spared from floods\u27 aftermath. A major motivation for this thesis was the 2011 megaflood disaster of Thailand which devastated the green campus of Asian Institute of Technology or AIT located north of Bangkok, a prominent higher education institution in Asia. AIT Campus was inundated with flood water for several weeks in late October and most of November 2011. The primary objective was to develop a geospatial decision support system for flood disaster protection of AIT using spaceborne remote sensing satellite imagery. Pre-flood 1-m IKONOS imagery of the campus area was used to create planimetrics and geospatial infrastructure inventory. Ground truth measurements along with site inspection photos facilitated further flood impact analysis and creation of a detailed flood depth map of the entire AIT Campus. Post-flood 1-m IKONOS imagery was used to estimate existing dike\u27s top width. The imagery-based planimetric of the dike and related cross-section data provided by AIT were used to conduct stability analyses of a proposed raised dike system. Other flood protection strategies proposed in this study include concrete and composite sheet pile flood wall design. Value engineering analysis was implemented to evaluate these flood wall protection alternatives for AIT Campus. Based on comprehensive present worth life cycle cost analysis conducted over 50-year performance period, the least costly composite fiber-reinforced plastic sheet pile flood wall system was recommended to protect AIT Campus from future floods at US$ 1.71 million per km. Further recommendations for future flood protection include: (1) elevated AIT access roads and other campus area roads using composite sheet pile retaining walls and culverts and (2) one or more buildings protected by composite sheet pile peripheral enclosures for emergency management applications

El nexo Agua-Energía-Alimentación: tendencias, intercambios e implicaciones para energías estratégicas

Tesis inedita de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Departamento de Geodinámica, leida el 05/04/2016Since the strong interdependencies between water, energy and later food were first identified, this topic has been gaining importance at the international level and for the business sector. Over the last five years, the need to characterize and understand the complex network of interconnections and interdependencies within the so called Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus has been strongly emphasized. Some of the most important knowledge gaps in the field include the following: 1. Better understanding of the whole set of interconnections, trade-offs, crossed efficiencies and synergies between the WEF systems to better inform decision makers on technical choices and best strategies; 2. More concise and harmonized conceptual and analytical frameworks for the Nexus Approach, as well as formulas to deal with complexity and guide implementation; 3. More and better quality data, particularly on availability and use of surface and especially groundwater resources, impacts of hydropower on aquatic ecosystems, water use, consumption and impacts by the energy sector, among others; 4. Need for harmonized tools and methodologies for water and energy accounting; 5. Applied case studies to identify and account for trade-offs in the local contexts; 6. Policy and regulatory coordination; and 7. Social awareness and communication around the nexus (Rodríguez et al., 2013; Hoff, 2011). Born on the eve of 2014, the United Nations’s International Year for Water & Energy, this Phd research aims to contribute to fill some of these gaps by focusing on three research objectives: 1. Tracking down and clarification of nexus trends at a global scale; 2. Discussion on the WEF nexus concept and proposal of a methodology to conduct regional assessments; 3. Elaboration of applied case studies to analyse relevant WEF nexus related problems, particularly the accountability of WEF nexus trade-offs, the analysis of impacts and contributions from hydropower, and the analysis of potential implications for water security of hydraulic fracturing. The first objective is addressed through an in depth study of the main drivers influencing the WEF nexus, together with the most important trends and current research lines. This analysis is complemented by a prospective exercise to explore the future evolution of selected variables with particularly high levels of uncertainty. It consists of a Delphi survey gathering the visions and contributions from Spanish experts on the topic. The results indicate the importance of technology innovation and transfer as the main conditioning factors to achieve energy and water security. In terms of energy, biofuels and shale gas are perceived as the energies with highest potential impacts on water quantity and especially on water quality...Desde la pionera identificación y reconocimiento de las interdependencias entre el agua, la energía y más adelante la alimentación, este tema ha venido ganando importancia a nivel internacional y empresarial. Durante el último lustro, la necesidad de expandir el conocimiento acerca del concepto e implicaciones del llamado Nexo Agua-Energía-Alimentación (AEA), definir los principios que fundamentan este enfoque e identificar sus principales retos y oportunidades se han ido fraguando en la comunidad científica, el sector privado, las organizaciones internacionales y la sociedad civil. Entre las brechas de conocimiento más reconocidas en este campo se encuentran las siguientes: 1. necesidad de una mejor comprensión del conjunto de interconexiones, intercambios, eficiencias cruzadas y sinergias entre los sistemas AEA, con el fin de informar a los gobernantes en la selección de las mejores técnicas y estrategias; 2. necesidad de un marco conceptual y analítico del Enfoque Nexo más conciso y armonizado, así como fórmulas para lidiar con la complejidad y guiar la implementación; 3. necesidad de mejorar la cantidad y calidad de datos e información, particularmente en lo referido a disponibilidad y uso de los recursos hídricos, impactos de los complejos hidroeléctricos sobre los ecosistemas acuáticos y uso, consumo e impactos de las tecnologías energéticas sobre los recursos hídricos, entre otros; 4. necesidad de herramientas y metodologías armonizadas para la contabilización de agua y energía; 5. necesidad de casos de estudio aplicados para identificar y contabilizar los intercambios en los contextos locales; 6. necesidad de coordinación política y regulatoria; 7. necesidad de concienciación social y comunicación (Rodriguez et al., 2013; Hoff, 2011). Nacida a las puertas de 2014, el Año Internacional de Naciones Unidas del Agua y la Energía, esta tesis doctoral pretende unirse a los amplios esfuerzos por aportar algo de luz sobre este tema, mediante el desarrollo de tres objetivos: 1. seguimiento y clarificación de tendencias a escala global; 2. discusión del concepto del Nexo AEA y propuesta de una metodología para realizar análisis regionales; 3. elaboración de casos de estudio para analizar problemáticas relevantes relacionadas con el nexo, particularmente la contabilización de intercambios, el análisis de impactos y contribuciones de la hidroeléctrica, y el análisis de potenciales implicaciones de la fractura hidráulica para la seguridad hídrica...Depto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEunpu

Air Pollution Meteorology

Although air pollution is usually linked with human activities, natural processes may also lead to major concentrations of hazardous substances in the low atmosphere. Pollutant levels may be reduced when emissions can be controlled. However, the impact of meteorological variables on the concentrations measured may be noticeable, and these variables cannot be controlled. This book is devoted to the influence of meteorological processes on the pollutant concentrations recorded in the low atmosphere. Measurements, cycles, statistical procedures, as well as specific variables such as the synoptic pattern, temperature inversion, or the calculation of back-trajectories, are considered in the studies included in this book to highlight the relationship between air pollution and meteorological variables. In addition, the state of the art of this subject following meteorological scales, from micro to macro-scale, is presented. Consequently, this book focuses on applied science and seeks to further current knowledge of what contribution meteorological processes make to the concentrations measured in order to achieve greater control over air pollution

Advances in Green Infrastructure Planning

The expansion of urban areas has facilitated the conversion of undeveloped lands, which has led to environmental degradation, such as loss of habitats, hydro-modification, and the collapse of existing ecosystems. Recent climate change has exacerbated these damages by causing more frequent and serious hazards. To attenuate the impacts of urbanization and the negative effects of climate change, green infrastructure (GI) planning (e.g., nature-based strategies, technologies, policies, and solutions) has arisen as an important approach for balancing urban development and nature. GI offers a variety of benefits to our cities by reducing stormwater runoff, heat waves, and air pollution; expanding wildlife habitats; and increasing recreational opportunities and even nearby property values

Radon: a universal baseline indicator at sites with contrasting physical settings

The primary goal of World Meteorological Organisation Global Atmosphere Watch (WMO‐GAW) baseline stations is systematic global monitoring of chemical composition of the atmosphere, requiring a reliable, consistent and unambiguous approach for the identification of baseline air. Premier stations in the GAW baseline network span a broad range of physical settings, from remote marine to high‐altitude continental sites, necessitating carefully tailored site‐specific requirements for baseline sampling, data selection, and analysis. Radon‐222 is a versatile and unambiguous terrestrial tracer, widely‐used in transport and mixing studies. Since the majority of anthropogenic pollution sources also have terrestrial origins, radon has become a popular addition to the ‘baseline selection toolkit’ at numerous GAW stations as a proxy for ‘pollution potential’. In the past, detector performance and postprocessing methods necessitated the adoption of a relaxed (e.g. 100 mBq m‐3) radon threshold for minimal terrestrial influence, intended to be used in conjunction with other baseline criteria and analysis procedures, including wind speed, wind direction, particle number, outlier rejection and filtering. However, recent improvements in detector sensitivity, stability and post‐processing procedures have reduced detection limits below 10 mBq m‐3 at Cape Grim and to 25 mBq m‐3 at other baseline stations. Consequently, for suitably sensitive instruments (such as the ANSTO designed and built two‐filter dual‐flow‐loop detectors), radon concentrations alone can be used to unambiguously identify air masses that have been removed from terrestrial sources (at altitude or over ice), or in equilibrium with the ocean surface, for periods of >2‐3 weeks (radon ≤ 40 mBq m‐3). Potentially, radon observations alone can thus provide a consistent and universal (site independent) means for baseline identification. Furthermore, for continental sites with complex topography and meteorology, where true ‘baseline’ conditions may never occur, radon can be used to indicate the least terrestrially‐perturbed air masses, and provide a means by which to apply limits to the level of ‘acceptable terrestrial influence’ for a given application. We demonstrate the efficacy of the radon‐based selection at a range of sites in contrasting physical settings, including: Cape Grim (Tasmania), Cape Point (South Africa), Mauna Loa (Hawaii), Jungfraujoch (Switzerland) and Schneefernerhaus (Germany).Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere,Climate Science Centre