The Nature of Disconnect: Wilderness in the Face of Climate Change

In the midst of a congressional address on the topic of conservation and restoration, President Lyndon B. Johnson stated, “This generation has altered the composition of the atmosphere on a global scale through . . . a steady increase in carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels.” It was 1965. One year prior, Congress had passed the Wilderness Act of 1964, defining wilderness as “an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” When the founders of the Wilderness Act wrote these words, they likely had no idea of the repercussions global climate change would bring to these designated areas, even with the issue’s tentative beginnings at the time. They did not understand how an altered atmosphere would threaten the core value of wilderness as untrammeled. Today, half a century later, both these definitions, of climate change and of wilderness, have hardly changed, but the debates surrounding them are vast and heated. Through analysis using existing literature in the fields, I examine the confluence of these two issues, focusing on the history and management of wilderness in the context of anthropogenic climate change. I use this scientific literature along with environmental and philosophical writings and personal experience to help understand the separation society places between wilderness and civilization, reflected in the Wilderness Act, and how that disconnect affects how we approach the issue of climate change

Altimetry for the future: Building on 25 years of progress

In 2018 we celebrated 25 years of development of radar altimetry, and the progress achieved by this methodology in the fields of global and coastal oceanography, hydrology, geodesy and cryospheric sciences. Many symbolic major events have celebrated these developments, e.g., in Venice, Italy, the 15th (2006) and 20th (2012) years of progress and more recently, in 2018, in Ponta Delgada, Portugal, 25 Years of Progress in Radar Altimetry. On this latter occasion it was decided to collect contributions of scientists, engineers and managers involved in the worldwide altimetry community to depict the state of altimetry and propose recommendations for the altimetry of the future. This paper summarizes contributions and recommendations that were collected and provides guidance for future mission design, research activities, and sustainable operational radar altimetry data exploitation. Recommendations provided are fundamental for optimizing further scientific and operational advances of oceanographic observations by altimetry, including requirements for spatial and temporal resolution of altimetric measurements, their accuracy and continuity. There are also new challenges and new openings mentioned in the paper that are particularly crucial for observations at higher latitudes, for coastal oceanography, for cryospheric studies and for hydrology. The paper starts with a general introduction followed by a section on Earth System Science including Ocean Dynamics, Sea Level, the Coastal Ocean, Hydrology, the Cryosphere and Polar Oceans and the ‘‘Green” Ocean, extending the frontier from biogeochemistry to marine ecology. Applications are described in a subsequent section, which covers Operational Oceanography, Weather, Hurricane Wave and Wind Forecasting, Climate projection. Instruments’ development and satellite missions’ evolutions are described in a fourth section. A fifth section covers the key observations that altimeters provide and their potential complements, from other Earth observation measurements to in situ data. Section 6 identifies the data and methods and provides some accuracy and resolution requirements for the wet tropospheric correction, the orbit and other geodetic requirements, the Mean Sea Surface, Geoid and Mean Dynamic Topography, Calibration and Validation, data accuracy, data access and handling (including the DUACS system). Section 7 brings a transversal view on scales, integration, artificial intelligence, and capacity building (education and training). Section 8 reviews the programmatic issues followed by a conclusion

Altimetry for the future: building on 25 years of progress

In 2018 we celebrated 25 years of development of radar altimetry, and the progress achieved by this methodology in the fields of global and coastal oceanography, hydrology, geodesy and cryospheric sciences. Many symbolic major events have celebrated these developments, e.g., in Venice, Italy, the 15th (2006) and 20th (2012) years of progress and more recently, in 2018, in Ponta Delgada, Portugal, 25 Years of Progress in Radar Altimetry. On this latter occasion it was decided to collect contributions of scientists, engineers and managers involved in the worldwide altimetry community to depict the state of altimetry and propose recommendations for the altimetry of the future. This paper summarizes contributions and recommendations that were collected and provides guidance for future mission design, research activities, and sustainable operational radar altimetry data exploitation. Recommendations provided are fundamental for optimizing further scientific and operational advances of oceanographic observations by altimetry, including requirements for spatial and temporal resolution of altimetric measurements, their accuracy and continuity. There are also new challenges and new openings mentioned in the paper that are particularly crucial for observations at higher latitudes, for coastal oceanography, for cryospheric studies and for hydrology. The paper starts with a general introduction followed by a section on Earth System Science including Ocean Dynamics, Sea Level, the Coastal Ocean, Hydrology, the Cryosphere and Polar Oceans and the “Green” Ocean, extending the frontier from biogeochemistry to marine ecology. Applications are described in a subsequent section, which covers Operational Oceanography, Weather, Hurricane Wave and Wind Forecasting, Climate projection. Instruments’ development and satellite missions’ evolutions are described in a fourth section. A fifth section covers the key observations that altimeters provide and their potential complements, from other Earth observation measurements to in situ data. Section 6 identifies the data and methods and provides some accuracy and resolution requirements for the wet tropospheric correction, the orbit and other geodetic requirements, the Mean Sea Surface, Geoid and Mean Dynamic Topography, Calibration and Validation, data accuracy, data access and handling (including the DUACS system). Section 7 brings a transversal view on scales, integration, artificial intelligence, and capacity building (education and training). Section 8 reviews the programmatic issues followed by a conclusion

The Nature of Disconnect: Wilderness in the Face of Climate Change

In the midst of a congressional address on the topic of conservation and restoration, President Lyndon B. Johnson stated, “This generation has altered the composition of the atmosphere on a global scale through . . . a steady increase in carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels.” It was 1965. One year prior, Congress had passed the Wilderness Act of 1964, defining wilderness as “an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” When the founders of the Wilderness Act wrote these words, they likely had no idea of the repercussions global climate change would bring to these designated areas, even with the issue’s tentative beginnings at the time. They did not understand how an altered atmosphere would threaten the core value of wilderness as untrammeled. Today, half a century later, both these definitions, of climate change and of wilderness, have hardly changed, but the debates surrounding them are vast and heated. Through analysis using existing literature in the fields, I examine the confluence of these two issues, focusing on the history and management of wilderness in the context of anthropogenic climate change. I use this scientific literature along with environmental and philosophical writings and personal experience to help understand the separation society places between wilderness and civilization, reflected in the Wilderness Act, and how that disconnect affects how we approach the issue of climate change

Impact des systèmes de traitement du lisier dans le transfert des perturbateurs endocriniens et des antibiotiques vers l'environnement naturel

L’épandage agricole du lisier porcin permet la fertilisation des sols et la valorisation du lisier. Cependant, ce dernier contient divers composés qui peuvent impacter négativement les organismes vivants. Parmi ces composés, on retrouve les hormones stéroïdes produites naturellement par les animaux ainsi que les antibiotiques utilisés pour lutter contre les infections microbiennes. Une fois transférés dans l’environnement, ces composés peuvent provoquer des altérations des fonctions de reproduction des organismes supérieurs ou la sélection de phénomènes de résistance chez les microorganismes du sol. Les travaux réalisés ont pour objectif d'évaluer la dégradation des composés antibiotiques et perturbateurs endocriniens au travers des filières de gestion de lisiers porcins. Pour cela, nous avons analysé les hormones (GC/MS) et les antibiotiques (LC/MS/MS) dans deux modes de gestion des effluents porcins utilisés en France : la fosse de stockage et la filière de traitement biologique par boues activées. Egalement, l’abondance des entérobactéries présentant des antibiorésistances dans ces systèmes à été déterminée. Nos résultats montrent que, comparé à la fosse de stockage, la filière qui inclue un traitement aérobie apparaît comme une solution efficace pour limiter la dissémination des polluants chimiques et biologiques dans l’environnement via les pratiques d’épandage.Swine manure is generally disposed on agricultural soils as a fertilizer. However, these wastes contain different compounds that may have a negative effect on living organisms. Between these compounds, it is possible to find steroid estrogens, naturally produced by animals, as well as antibiotics, used for microbial disease control. In the environment, these compounds may alter reproductive functions in animals or the selection of microbial resistant organisms in soils microflore. The objective of this study was to assess the degradation of antibiotics and endocrine disrupting compounds through different swine waste treatment facilities. For that, we have analysed steroid hormones (GC/MS) and antibiotics (LC/MS/MS) in the two different types of swine waste treatment processes used in France: the storage pit and the biological treatment by activated sludge. Simultaneously, we have determined the abundance of enterobacteria showing antibiotic resistance in these systems. Our results showed that, compared to the storage pits, the systems including biological aerobic treatment were more efficient to limit the dispersion of chemical and biological contaminants to the environment via manure spreading practices

Fate of antibiotics, steroid hormones and multiple endocrine activities during biological treatment of swine manure under anaerobic and aerobic/anoxic conditions

International audienceLittle information exists on the fate of antibiotics, hormones and their associated endocrine activity during manure treatment processes. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the fate of such emerging pollutants and multiple endocrine activities during manure treatment coupling anaerobic digestion and aerobic/anoxic conditions under mesophilic conditions. The thermophilic anaerobic digestion was also studied. The endocrine activities tested include estrogenic (ER), dioxin-like (AhR), peroxisome proliferator receptor gamma (PPAR ), pregnane X (PXR) and androgenic (AR) activities. Our results showed that antibiotics and steroid hormones were recalcitrant to biodegradation under anaerobic conditions in both mesophilic and thermophilic temperatures. In contrast, antibiotic and hormone removal reached between 76 to 95 % when anaerobic digestion was coupled to aerobic/anoxic treatment. In absence of anaerobic predigestion, hormone removal in aerobic/anoxic conditions was about 40 %; it suggests that the anaerobic predigestion could favour the further elimination of hormones in the anaerobic/anoxic process. The estrogenic activity was mainly removed in the aerobic/anoxic (71%) compartment. The dioxin-like activity appeared to be more recalcitrant to degradation. No others endocrine activities were detected

Les fortifications de la ville basse du castellas à Murviel-lès-Montpellier (hérault)

International audienceLa «ville basse » du Castellas de Murviel-lès-Montpellier (Hérault) s’étend sur les pentes d’une colline au sommet de laquelle se trouve l’agglomération initiale, ou «ville haute » , implantée au plus tard au IIe s. av. n. è. La fortification faite de grands blocs de pierre qui entoure la ville basse s’appuie à une extrémité contre la muraille de la ville haute et, à l’autre extrémité, contre un mur de soutènement intermédiaire. Les fouilles réalisées entre 2001 et 2008 aux abords de l’enceinte périphérique et du mur intermédiaire, à proximité de trois portes et d’une poterne, conduisent à dater l’ensemble de cette fortification autour du milieu et/ ou durant le troisième quart du Ier s. av. n. è. La nature de l’occupation des zones proches des courtines et des portes, leur évolution et leur datation ont été précisées par les fouilles en s’appuyant sur l’analyse des mobiliers céramique et numismatique. Par ses techniques de construction, ce monument perpétue des traditions protohistoriques régionales mais sa réalisation, dans le cadre de la Narbonnaise et aux alentours de la conquête césarienne, pose le problème du statut de l’agglomération

Diagnostiquer et réduire à la source les micropolluants -Retour d'expérience du projet Regard (Bordeaux Métropole)

Micropollutants (MPs) represent an important environmental and health issue. Identifying their sources and then reducing their discharges is the strategy used in France to fight against water pollution. This is also the approach implemented in the Regard project (Reduction and management of micropollutants in the Bordeaux metropolis). The first phase of the project aimed to carry out a territorial, global and integrated diagnosis combining both chemical and biological analyses of the natural environment and the sewerage network from the discharge points (wastewater treatment plant, separate stormwater overflow, by-pass) to the emission sources (domestic, industrial, hospital and stormwater). In addition, a social characterization of the sources was carried out in order to understand the practices, products and uses at the origin of MP discharges and to identify decisive actions to reduce these discharges. The strengths of this diagnostic assessment are the complementary of various approaches (engineering and social sciences, chemical and biological analyses, wastewater and stormwater studies) and the large number of sampling sites. The second phase of the project was to ensure the implementation of reduction actions to test and evaluate their impacts from the environmental (effectiveness in reducing the quantity, diversity and effect of MPs), social (appropriation and satisfaction of solutions) and economic (to guide public action) points of view. The best results have been achieved with (i) the “water families challenge” action on the domestic source, (ii) mechanical rat control actions, defoaming of tennis courts and grassing of cemeteries for the community source, and (iii) the treatment action of separate stormwater in real conditions on a pilot scale. This feedback on what has been achieved to date should help communities interested to implement such an approach in order to avoid the same “mistakes” and, on the contrary, to directly implement actions that give significant reduction results.Les micropolluants (MP) représentent un enjeu environnemental et sanitaire important. Identifier leurs sources pour ensuite réduire leurs rejets est la stratégie privilégiée au niveau français pour lutter contre cette pollution. C’est aussi la démarche qui a été mise en oeuvre dans le projet Regard (réduction et gestion des micropolluants sur la métropole bordelaise). La première phase du projet correspondait ainsi à la réalisation d’un diagnostic territorial, global et intégré couplant à la fois des analyses chimiques et biologiques du milieu naturel et du réseau d’assainissement depuis les points de rejets (station de traitement des eaux usées, exutoires pluviaux, by-pass) jusqu’aux sources d’émission (domestique, industrielle, hospitalière et pluviale). En complément, une caractérisation sociale dessources a été faite afin de comprendre les pratiques, les produits et les usages à l’origine des rejets de MP et d’identifier des leviers d’action pour réduire ces rejets. Les points forts de ce diagnostic sont la complémentarité des approches (sciences de l’ingénieur et sciences sociales, analyses chimiques et biologiques, étude des eaux usées et pluviales) et le nombre important de sites d’étude. La seconde phase du projet correspondait à la mise en oeuvre d’actions de réduction pour les tester et les évaluer du point de vue environnemental (efficacité pour réduire la quantité, la diversité et l’effet des MP), social (appropriation et satisfaction vis-à-vis des solutions) et économique (aide à l’orientation de l’action publique). Les actions ayant eu les meilleurs résultats sont (i) l’action « Familles EAU Défi » sur la source domestique, (ii) les actions de dératisation mécanique, de démoussage des terrains de tennis et d’enherbement des cimetières pour la source collectivité et (iii) l’action de traitement des eaux pluviales strictes en conditions réelles à l’échelle d’un pilote. Le présent retour d’expérience sur ce qui a été fait doit aider les collectivités qui souhaiteraient effectuer une telle démarche à ne pas commettre les mêmes « erreurs » et, au contraire, à mettre en oeuvre directement les actions qui donnent des résultats satisfaisants

Paediatric Strategy Forum for medicinal product development for acute myeloid leukaemia in children and adolescents

Purpose The current standard-of-care for front-line therapy for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) results in short-term and long-term toxicity, but still approximately 40% of children relapse. Therefore, there is a major need to accelerate the evaluation of innovative medicines, yet drug development continues to be adult-focused. Furthermore, the large number of competing agents in rare patient populations requires coordinated prioritisation, within the global regulatory framework and cooperative group initiatives. Methods The fourth multi-stakeholder Paediatric Strategy Forum focused on AML in children and adolescents. Results CD123 is a high priority target and the paediatric development should be accelerated as a proof-of-concept. Efforts must be coordinated, however, as there are a limited number of studies that can be delivered. Studies of FLT3 inhibitors in agreed paediatric investigation plans present challenges to be completed because they require enrolment of a larger number of patients than actually exist. A consensus was developed by industry and academia of optimised clinical trials. For AML with rare mutations that are more frequent in adolescents than in children, adult trials should enrol adolescents and when scientifically justified, efficacy data could be extrapolated. Methodologies and definitions of minimal residual disease need to be standardised internationally and validated as a new response criterion. Industry supported, academic sponsored platform trials could identify products to be further developed. The Leukaemia and Lymphoma Society PedAL/EUpAL initiative has the potential to be a major advance in the field. Conclusion These initiatives continue to accelerate drug development for children with AML and ultimately improve clinical outcomes