Abatement strategies to reduce air pollution from transport in Germany

Large scale exceedances of PM10 and N02 ambient air limit values will continue in Germany despite the implementation of national and international policies. An integrated approach has therefore been developed to assess different cost-effective mitigation strategies for all source groups on a national level. On-road and ofT-road transport emission abatement strategies such as more stringent emission limit values, cost internalisation, speed limits and levelling of fuel taxes can contribute to the overarching goal of an improved air quality

Development of an integrated approach for the assessment of abatement strategies of Particulate Matter concentrations in Germany = Entwicklung Eines Integrierten Ansatzes für die Bewertung von Strategien zur Verminderung der Feinstaubbelastung in Deutschland

According to projected and modelled ambient air concentrations, large scale exceedances of PM10 limit values in Germany will continue despite implementation of current national and international legislation. Identification of the causes of these (current and projected) exceedances is crucial to develop successful mitigation options. Furthermore, it is necessary to examine in what way further national abatement measures are able to effectively ensure the PM10 limit values as well as the expected PM2.5 limit values in the near future. This paper presents a method that is suitable to determine the causes for exceedances of PM10 and to identify appropriate and cost efficient abatement measures to reduce the PM10 concentrations in Germany. The contribution from transboundary transported particle precursors as well as the influence of biogenic and natural emission sources are explicitly considered in this methodology. About 100 measures for all considered emission sources and pollutants will be assessed. Nearly 300 concentration scenarios will be calculated and evaluated. The progress of the work is being documented

Importance of methane and nitrous oxide for Europe's terrestrial greenhouse-gas balance

International audienceClimate change negotiations aim to reduce net greenhouse-gas emissions by encouraging direct reductions of emissions and crediting countries for their terrestrial greenhouse-gas sinks. Ecosystem carbon dioxide uptake has offset nearly 10% of Europe's fossil fuel emissions, but not all of this may be creditable under the rules of the Kyoto Protocol. Although this treaty recognizes the importance of methane and nitrous oxide emissions, scientific research has largely focused on carbon dioxide. Here we review recent estimates of European carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide fluxes between 2000 and 2005, using both top-down estimates based on atmospheric observations and bottom-up estimates derived from ground-based measurements. Both methods yield similar fluxes of greenhouse gases, suggesting that methane emissions from feedstock and nitrous oxide emissions from arable agriculture are fully compensated for by the carbon dioxide sink provided by forests and grasslands. As a result, the balance for all greenhouse gases across Europe's terrestrial biosphere is near neutral, despite carbon sequestration in forests and grasslands. The trend towards more intensive agriculture and logging is likely to make Europe's land surface a significant source of greenhouse gases. The development of land management policies which aim to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions should be a priority

Seasonality of modern pollen and sediment deposition in an estuarine context: the Severn Estuary Levels, southwest England

Recent sedimentological and palynological research on subfossil Holocene banded sediments from the Severn Estuary Levels suggested seasonality of deposition, registered by variations in mineral grain-size and pollen assemblages between different parts of the bands. Here we provide data that strengthen this interpretation from sampling of modern sediments and pollen deposition on an active mudflat and saltmarsh on the margin of the Severn Estuary, and comparison with a vegetation survey and contemporary records of climate, river and tidal regimes. The results of grain-size analysis indicate deposition of comparatively coarse-grained silts during the relatively cool and windy conditions of winter and comparatively fine-grained sediments during relatively warm and calm summer months. Pollen analysis demonstrates the significance of long-term storage of pollen grains and fern spores in the estuarine waterbody, superimposed on which seasonal variations in pollen inputs from local and regional vegetation remain detectable. Copyright (C) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd