Measurements and Modelling of Total Ozone Columns near St. Petersburg, Russia

The observed ozone layer depletion is influenced by continuous anthropogenic activity. This fact enforced the regular ozone monitoring globally. Information on spatial-temporal variations in total ozone columns (TOCs) derived by various observational methods and models can differ significantly due to measurement and modelling errors, differences in ozone retrieval algorithms, etc. Therefore, TOC data derived by different means should be validated regularly. In the current study, we compare TOC variations observed by ground-based (Bruker IFS 125 HR, Dobson, and M-124) and satellite (OMI, TROPOMI, and IKFS-2) instruments and simulated by models (ERA5 and EAC4 re-analysis, EMAC and INM RAS—RSHU models) near St. Petersburg (Russia) between 2009 and 2020. We demonstrate that TOC variations near St. Petersburg measured by different methods are in good agreement (with correlation coefficients of 0.95–0.99). Mean differences (MDs) and standard deviations of differences (SDDs) with respect to Dobson measurements constitute 0.0–3.9% and 2.3–3.7%, respectively, which is close to the actual requirements of the quality of TOC measurements. The largest bias is observed for Bruker 125 HR (3.9%) and IKFS-2 (−2.4%) measurements, whereas M-124 filter ozonometer shows no bias. The largest SDDs are observed for satellite measurements (3.3–3.7%), the smallest—for ground-based data (2.3–2.8%). The differences between simulated and Dobson data vary significantly. ERA5 and EAC4 re-analysis data show slight negative bias (0.1–0.2%) with SDDs of 3.7–3.9%. EMAC model overestimates Dobson TOCs by 4.5% with 4.5% SDDs, whereas INM RAS-RSHU model underestimates Dobson by 1.4% with 8.6% SDDs. All datasets demonstrate the pronounced TOC seasonal cycle with the maximum in spring and minimum in autumn. Finally, for 2004–2021 period, we derived a significant positive TOC trend near St. Petersburg (~0.4 ± 0.1 DU per year) from all datasets considered

Changes in thermohaline system on the west Spitsbergen shelf since 1950 to present time

The west Spitsbergen shelf is the principal region for the Atlantic water pass and it is very dynamic area, which has been changing a lot in the last two centuries. Herein, the analysis results of long-term variability of thermohaline characteristics of West-Spitsbergen current (WSC) and Coastal current (CC) are presented for the period from 1950 to present time based on the in-situ oceanographic data from the “Nordic Seas” database created in the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI). Water temperature and salinity of WSC and CC were measured at 10 points and analyzed. It was concluded that the temperature and salinity in the study region were exposed to quasicyclic changes with common periods of about 5-6 and 10 years. Positive trends of water temperature for all points in the both currents were estimated (1.2°C per 60 years for WSC, and 2°C for CC, respectively). Correlation coefficients were calculated to describe the linear relationship between air temperature, atmospheric circulation indexes, the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation index, and water temperature in the region of the western shelf of the Spitsbergen

Solutions for Sustainable Economic Development - 4th Arctic Science Ministerial Meeting Report

Arctic Science Ministerial is a unique form of scientific cooperation that traditionally advocates preserving the Arctic region as a territory of peace, stability and constructive interaction focused on achieving concrete, practical results in the interests of all people in the northern latitudes, including indigenous peoples. The Russian Federation continues the coordinating functions within the ASM adopted from previous coordinators on June 16, 2021 at the final ASM3 webinar, and on October 14, 2021 in Reykjavik, Iceland at the annual international Arctic Circle Assembly, based on the continuity of previous ASM and the increasing relevance of scientific research in the Arctic. This book provides an overview of past events - webinars, participation in conference roundtables - with the aim of sharing scientific experience of Arctic research and forming informational materials to support science and higher education activities through international organizations and forums in the Arctic zone, supporting and updating the database of Arctic research projects carried out by scientific and educational organizations, including jointly, as well as through international. The information base for this work was the results of feedback assessment from Russian and foreign scientific and educational organizations, data on international projects in the Arctic, materials from the websites of the Arctic Council https://arctic-council.org/ and the working groups of the Arctic Council. In addition, climate, geological, biological, sociological, and technological research was used as the basis for developing strategies for sustainable economic development in the Arctic that take into account the interests of all stakeholders, including indigenous peoples, environmental organizations, industry, and government agencies

Environmental pollution impact on radiation properties of atmosphere, snow and ice cover: Study from Barentsburg (Spitsbergen Archipelago)

The value of the albedo of snow and ice surface is associated with the texture and structure of the surface layer of snow or ice (sea ice, glaciers), the peculiarities of the vertical redistribution of contaminations in this layer (mineral or organic particles of various concentrations, the size and shape), temperature regime of the surface layer of the atmosphere. Identifying links with the albedo characteristics of natural and artificial contamination is very important. For example, the results of mathematic modeling the evolution of ice sheets, sea ice and snow cover demonstrate the high sensitivity of the model to this parameter. Original results in the framework of this problem were obtained by researches from AARI and St. Petersburg State University during the 2010-2012 years on Svalbard in the vicinity of the Russian mining settlement Barentsburg. We present original results showing the relationship of "albedo-contaminations" and the influence of anthropogenic factors. The estimation of solar radiation that penetrates deep into the snow, and the impact of contamination on its redistribution in the snow thickness were obtained

Roughness coefficient of the Instruch riverbed

The article presents the results of improving the numerical method developed in [1-3] for calculating the roughness coefficient of the riverbed (RCOTR) to increase stability and using it to study the dependence of the RCOTR of the Instruch River on dimensionless complexes in different seasons

The Environmental Status of the Port of HaminaKotka

This study is a part of the Ecologically Friendly Port Ust-Luga (EFP) project. The purpose of this study is to examine the environmental status of the Finnish ports and, more specifically, the Port of HaminaKotka. An analysis of the environmental status is performed mainly as a literature review, because the Finnish ports must comply with Finnish and EU legislation and with the binding international regulations and conventions created by different organizations. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has done groundbreaking work in the field of maritime safety and maritime environmental protection. The MARPOL convention has a great impact on decreasing pollution from international shipping and it applies to 99% of the world’s merchant tonnage. Pollution prevention covers: Oil pollution, Chemical pollution, Air pollution and GHG Emissions, Dumping of Wasted and Other Matters, Garbage, Sewage, Port Reception Facilities, Special Areas under MARPOL and Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas. There is also Pollution Prevention for other treaties like anti-fouling systems used on ships, the transfer of alien species by ships’ ballast water and the environmentally sound recycling of ships. There are more than twenty different EU and international regulations that influence ports and port operations in Finland. In addition, there is also national legislation that has an effect on Finnish ports. For the most part, the legislation for ports is common in the EU area, but the biggest and most important difference between the legislation in Finland and other EU countries is due to the Act on Environmental Impact Assessment Procedure. The Act states that the environmental impact assessment procedure shall be applied to projects that may have significant adverse environmental impacts, due to the special features of Finland`s nature and environment. In this Act, the term environmental impact refers to the direct and indirect effects inside and outside Finnish territory of a project or operations on human health, living conditions and amenity; soil, water, air, climate, organisms, interaction between them and biodiversity; community structure, buildings, landscape, townscape and cultural heritage; utilization of natural resources. In Finland, the Environmental Permit requires that ports collect all necessary information concerning environmental effects and make required reports to the Finnish authorities, stakeholders and the public. Commonly, environmental reporting is public and environmental achievements are emphasized in reporting and in media. At the moment, the problem in environmental reporting is that it’s difficult to compare data from different ports. There is enough data concerning the environmental effects and performance, but the manner of reporting and the quality of the data varies between ports. There are differences in the units and codes used, in some cases the information is not sufficient and it can even be rather unreliable. There are also differences regarding the subjects that are emphasized in reporting.Tämä tutkimus on tehty osana Ecologically Friendly Port Ust - Luga (EFP) -hanketta. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on tutkia ja selvittää Suomen satamien sekä erityisesti HaminaKotka-sataman ympäristövalveutuneisuuden tilaa. Tutkimus on toteutettu lähinnä lainopillisena tutkimuksena, koska Suomen satamat noudattavat Suomen ja EU:n välistä lainsäädäntöä ja joissakin tapauksissa kansainvälisiä säädöksiä. Kansainvälinen Merenkulkujärjestö (IMO) on tehnyt uraauurtavaa työtä merenkulun turvallisuuden ja meriympäristön suojelussa. MARPOL-yleissopimuksella on ollut suuri vaikutus kansainvälisen laivaliikenteen aiheuttaman saastumisen vähentämisessä ja 99 % maailman laivastosta noudattaa sopimusta. Saastumisen ehkäisy kattaa öljypäästöt, kemikaalipäästöt, ilmansaasteet ja kasvihuonekaasupäästöt, jätteiden mereen laskemisen, jätteet, jätevesi, satamien jätteiden vastaanoton, MARPOL-yleissopimuksen määrittelemät erityisalueet ja erityisen herkät merialueet. Merien pilaantumista ehkäistään myös muilla sopimuksilla koskien mm. laivojen eliönestomaaleja, alusten painolastivesien mukana kulkeutuvia tulokaslajeja sekä alusten ympäristöystävällisempää kierrätystä. On olemassa yli kaksikymmentä eri EU- ja kansainvälistä säännöstä, jotka vaikuttavat Suomen satamiin ja satamien toimintaan. Lisäksi suomalaisten satamien tulee noudattaa myös kansallista lainsäädäntöä. Enimmäkseen lainsäädäntö on yhtäläinen EU:n alueen satamissa, mutta eroavaisuuksiakin löytyy. Näistä suurin ja tärkein perustuu lakiin ympäristövaikutusten arviointimenettelystä (YVA). Menettelyä sovelletaan hankkeisiin, joilla voi olla merkittäviä haitallisia ympäristövaikutuksia Suomen luontoon ja ympäristöön. Ympäristövaikutuksilla tarkoitetaan sellaisia suoria ja välillisiä vaikutuksia Suomen rajojen sisällä ja ulkopuolella, jotka voivat kohdistua ihmisten terveyteen, elinoloihin ja virkistyskäyttöön, maaperään, veteen, ilmaan, ilmastoon, organismeihin, luonnon monimuotoisuuteen, yhdyskuntarakenteeseen, rakennuksiin, maisemaan, kaupunkikuvaan ja kulttuuriperintöön sekä luonnonvarojen hyödyntämiseen. Suomessa ympäristölupa edellyttää, että satamat keräävät ympäristötietoja ja raportoivat niistä luvan myöntäjille, virkamiehille, eri sidosryhmille ja kansalaisille. Yleisesti ympäristöraportointi on avointa ja ympäristötekoja painotetaan raportoinnissa ja mediassa. Tällä hetkellä suurin ongelma ympäristöä koskevassa raportoinnissa on tiedon vertailtavuus. Ympäristötietoa kerätään jo riittävästi, mutta raportointikäytännöt vaihtelevat satamien välillä. Eroja voi olla yksiköissä, jätejakeiden numeroinnissa ja joissakin tapauksissa tietoja ei ole riittävästi tai ne voivat olla jopa epäluotettavia. Eroja esiintyy myös siinä, mitä asioita raportoinnissa korostetaan.Siirretty Doriast

Bringing Meaning to First Nations Consultation in British Columbia Salmon Aquaculture Industry

One aspect of the legal relationship between the Crown and Aboriginal peoples is the duty to consult. This duty is part of the overall fiduciary duty that the Crown owes towards Aboriginal people. The recent Supreme Court of Canada decision of Haida v. British Columbia brings the duty to consult info focus specifically in the context of salmon aquaculture in British Columbia. Difficulties arise with regards to the precise content of the duty to consult: is it merely procedural in nature, or do First Nations have a substantive right to consultation? The extent of consultation and accommodation will be determined proportionally to the strength of the claim and the seriousness of the potential infringement. The Haida case confirms the requirement of the Crown to act honourably and to effect reconciliation between the Crown and Aboriginal peoples, as has been established in previous Canadian Aboriginal jurisprudence. Consultation is practically difficult because of the fact that salmon aquaculture regulation is divided amongst several government agencies. This paper explores the question of how much input Aboriginal peoples should have and what the nature of accommodation might look like if an Aboriginal band were to protest salmon aquaculture in its territory