Accounting for inventory data and methodological choice uncertainty in a comparative life cycle assessment: the case of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture in an offshore Mediterranean enterprise

Purpose: Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA), growing different species in the same space, is a technology that may help manage the environmental impacts of coastal aquaculture. Nutrient discharges to seawater from monoculture aquaculture are conceptually minimized in IMTA, while expanding the farm economic base. In this study, we investigate the environmental trade-offs for a small-to-medium enterprise (SME) considering a shift from monoculture towards IMTA production of marine fish. Methods: A comparative life cycle assessment (LCA), including uncertainty analysis, was implemented for an aquaculture SME in Italy. Quantification and simultaneous propagation of uncertainty of inventory data and uncertainty due to the choice of allocation method were combined with dependent sampling to account for relative uncertainties and statistical testing and interpretation to understand the uncertainty analysis results. Monte Carlo simulations were used as a propagation method. The environmental impacts per kilo of fish produced in monoculture and in IMTA were compared. Twelve impact categories were considered. The comparison is first made excluding uncertainty (deterministic LCA) and then accounting for uncertainties. Results and discussion: Deterministic LCA results evidence marginal differences between the impacts of IMTA and monoculture fish production. IMTA performs better on all impacts studied. However, statistical testing and interpretation of the uncertainty analysis results showed that only mean impacts for climate change are significantly different for both productive systems, favoring IMTA. For the case study, technical variables such as scales of production of the species from different trophic levels, their integration (space and time), and the choice of species determine the trade-offs. Also, LCA methodological choices such as that for an allocation method and the treatment of relative uncertainties were determinant in the comparison of environmental trade-offs. Conclusions: The case study showed that environmental trade-offs between monoculture and IMTA fish production depend on technical variables and methodological choices. The combination of statistical methods to quantify, propagate, and interpret uncertainty was successfully tested. This approach supports more robust environmental trade-off assessments between alternatives in LCAs with uncertainty analysis by adding information on the significance of results. It was difficult to establish whether IMTA does bring benefits given the scales of production in the case study. We recommend that the methodology defined here is applied to fully industrialized IMTA systems or bay-scale environments, to provide more robust conclusions about the environmental benefits of this aquaculture type in Europe

Field Guide to the Geology of the Harlan County Lake Area, Harlan County, Nebraska — with a History of Events Leading to Construction of Harlan County Dam

The year 2002 will mark the fiftieth anniversary of completion of the Harlan County Dam and Multi-Purpose Reservoir. This seems a good time to write about the history of and reasons for building the dam, the effects of the dam and reservoir on the Republican River valley, and the geologic features seen along the shores of the lake and areas nearby. As many junior authors helped produced this educational circular, they are listed in the table of contents. All other sections were written by the senior author. Includes July 2016 update: Addendum of photographs showing fault traces on drought-exposed lake bottom. Cretaceous Niobrara Chalk Formation and the younger Pierre Shale are also shown. Table of Contents Introduction 1 Location 1 Republican River Floods 1 The Republican River Flood of 1935 - D R Mohlman 1 Cautionary Notes (sidebar) 1 Events After the Flood Leading to Creation of Harlan County Lake 9 Stormer Ford Dog Town (sidebar) 10 Water 10 Surface Water Hydrology - S Summerside 10 Shoreline Springs and Seeps - F: E Harvey and K J Warren 12 Introduction 12 Using Water Chemistry to Identify Spring and Seep Origin 1 2 Geology 15 General Conditions Leading to Good Exposures 15 Stratigraphy of Unconsolidated Sediments and Rock Strata 15 Cretaceous System - Upper Cretaceous Series 15 Niobrara Formation - Smoky Hill Chalk Member 15 Pierre Shale 15 Tertiary System - Miocene Series 16 Ogallala Group -Ash Hollow Formation 16 Quaternary System - Pleistocene Series 16 Crete (?) Formation (Sands and Gravels) 1 6 Loveland Loess 16 Gliman Canyon Formation 16 Peoria and Bignell Loesses 16 Quaternary System - Holocene (Recent) Series 1 6 Unnamed Fluvial, Eolian, and Colluvial Deposits 16 Paleontology of the Various Formations 16 Plants 16 Invertebrates - R K Pabian 17 Cretaceous Marine Fossils 17 Niobrara Formation 17 Foraminifers 17 Post-Devonian Stromatoporoids 1 9 Mollusks 19 Bivalves 19 Ammonites 19 Pierre Shale Formation 19 Bivalves 19 Ammonites 19 Quaternary - Pleistocene (Ice Age) Invertebrate Fossils 19 Vertebrate Fossils - R G Corner 24 Late Cretaceous Fossils 24 Niobrara Formation 24 Niobrara Fishes 24 Niobrara Mosasaurs 29 Pierre Shale Formation 30 Protosphyvaena gladius: Giant Mystery Fish 30 Pierre Mosasaurs 32 Late Miocene Ogallala Group 32 Bone Cove I Fauna 32 Bone Cove II Fauna 32 Quaternary - Pleistocene (Ice Age) 33 Crete (?) Sands and Gravels 33 Gilman Canyon Formation 33 Peoria Loess 35 Late Pleistocene Fauna 35 Late Pleistocene Environments 37 Geologic Processes Affecting the Strata 37 Modem and Ancient Landslides 37 Modern Landslides D A Eversoll 37 Ancient Landslides - D A Eversoll and R F Diffendal, Jr 39 Geologic Structures 41 Introduction and Previous Work 41 Angular Unconformities 45 Joints 45 Faults and Folds 45 Ancient Landscapes (Paleotopography) 50 Quaternary River Terraces 50 Concluding Remarks 50 References Cited 51 Glossary Keywords: flooding 1930s, vertebrate fossils, earthquake faults, landslides, groundwater qualit

Promoting help-seeking in response to symptoms amongst primary care patients at high risk of lung cancer: a mixed method study

Background: Lung cancer symptoms are vague and difficult to detect. Interventions are needed to promote early diagnosis, however health services are already pressurised. This study explored symptomology and help-seeking behaviours of primary care patients at ‘high-risk’ of lung cancer (≥50 years old, recent smoking history), to inform targeted interventions. Methods: Mixed method study with patients at eight general practitioner (GP) practices across south England. Study incorporated: postal symptom questionnaire; clinical records review of participant consultation behaviour 12 months pre- and post-questionnaire; qualitative participant interviews (n = 38) with a purposive sample. Results: A small, clinically relevant group (n = 61/908, 6.7%) of primary care patients was identified who, despite reporting potential symptoms of lung cancer in questionnaires, had not consulted a GP ≥12 months. Of nine symptoms associated with lung cancer, 53.4% (629/1172) of total respondents reported ≥1, and 35% (411/1172) reported ≥2. Most participants (77.3%, n = 686/908) had comorbid conditions; 47.8%, (n = 414/908) associated with chest and respiratory symptoms. Participant consulting behaviour significantly increased in the 3-month period following questionnaire completion compared with the previous 3-month period (p = .002), indicating questionnaires impacted upon consulting behaviour. Symptomatic non-consulters were predominantly younger, employed, with higher multiple deprivation scores than their GP practice mean. Of symptomatic non-consulters, 30% (18/61) consulted ≤1 month post-questionnaire, with comorbidities subsequently diagnosed for five participants. Interviews (n = 39) indicated three overarching differences between the views of consulting and non-consulting participants: concern over wasting their own as well as GP time; high tolerance threshold for symptoms; a greater tendency to self-manage symptoms. Conclusions: This first study to examine symptoms and consulting behaviour amongst a primary care population at ‘high- risk’ of lung cancer, found symptomatic patients who rarely consult GPs, might respond to a targeted symptom elicitation intervention. Such GP-based interventions may promote early diagnosis of lung cancer or other comorbidities, without burdening already pressurised services

The Zero Emissions Commitment and climate stabilization

How do we halt global warming? Reaching net zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is understood to be a key milestone on the path to a safer planet. But how confident are we that when we stop carbon emissions, we also stop global warming? The Zero Emissions Commitment (ZEC) quantifies how much warming or cooling we can expect following a complete cessation of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. To date, the best estimate by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report is zero change, though with substantial uncertainty. In this article, we present an overview of the changes expected in major Earth system processes after net zero and their potential impact on global surface temperature, providing an outlook toward building a more confident assessment of ZEC in the decades to come. We propose a structure to guide research into ZEC and associated changes in the climate, separating the impacts expected over decades, centuries, and millennia. As we look ahead at the century billed to mark the end of net anthropogenic CO2 emissions, we ask: what is the prospect of a stable climate in a post-net zero world

Performance of Proximity Loggers in Recording Intra- and Inter-Species Interactions: A Laboratory and Field-Based Validation Study

Knowledge of the way in which animals interact through social networks can help to address questions surrounding the ecological and evolutionary consequences of social organisation, and to understand and manage the spread of infectious diseases. Automated proximity loggers are increasingly being used to record interactions between animals, but the accuracy and reliability of the collected data remain largely un-assessed. Here we use laboratory and observational field data to assess the performance of these devices fitted to a herd of 32 beef cattle (Bos taurus) and nine groups of badgers (Meles meles, n  = 77) living in the surrounding woods. The distances at which loggers detected each other were found to decrease over time, potentially related to diminishing battery power that may be a function of temperature. Loggers were highly accurate in recording the identification of contacted conspecifics, but less reliable at determining contact duration. There was a tendency for extended interactions to be recorded as a series of shorter contacts. We show how data can be manipulated to correct this discrepancy and accurately reflect observed interaction patterns by combining records between any two loggers that occur within a 1 to 2 minute amalgamation window, and then removing any remaining 1 second records. We make universally applicable recommendations for the effective use of proximity loggers, to improve the validity of data arising from future studies

Culling-Induced Changes in Badger (Meles meles) Behaviour, Social Organisation and the Epidemiology of Bovine Tuberculosis

In the UK, attempts since the 1970s to control the incidence of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle by culling a wildlife host, the European badger (Meles meles), have produced equivocal results. Culling-induced social perturbation of badger populations may lead to unexpected outcomes. We test predictions from the ‘perturbation hypothesis’, determining the impact of culling operations on badger populations, movement of surviving individuals and the influence on the epidemiology of bTB in badgers using data dervied from two study areas within the UK Government's Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT). Culling operations did not remove all individuals from setts, with between 34–43% of badgers removed from targeted social groups. After culling, bTB prevalence increased in badger social groups neighbouring removals, particularly amongst cubs. Seventy individual adult badgers were fitted with radio-collars, yielding 8,311 locational fixes from both sites between November 2001 and December 2003. Home range areas of animals surviving within removed groups increased by 43.5% in response to culling. Overlap between summer ranges of individuals from Neighbouring social groups in the treatment population increased by 73.3% in response to culling. The movement rate of individuals between social groups was low, but increased after culling, in Removed and Neighbouring social groups. Increased bTB prevalence in Neighbouring groups was associated with badger movements both into and out of these groups, although none of the moving individuals themselves tested positive for bTB. Significant increases in both the frequency of individual badger movements between groups and the emergence of bTB were observed in response to culling. However, no direct evidence was found to link the two phenomena. We hypothesise that the social disruption caused by culling may not only increase direct contact and thus disease transmission between surviving badgers, but may also increase social stress within the surviving population, causing immunosuppression and enhancing the expression of disease

The Zero Emissions Commitment and climate stabilization

How do we halt global warming? Reaching net zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is understood to be a key milestone on the path to a safer planet. But how confident are we that when we stop carbon emissions, we also stop global warming? The Zero Emissions Commitment (ZEC) quantifies how much warming or cooling we can expect following a complete cessation of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. To date, the best estimate by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report is zero change, though with substantial uncertainty. In this article, we present an overview of the changes expected in major Earth system processes after net zero and their potential impact on global surface temperature, providing an outlook toward building a more confident assessment of ZEC in the decades to come. We propose a structure to guide research into ZEC and associated changes in the climate, separating the impacts expected over decades, centuries, and millennia. As we look ahead at the century billed to mark the end of net anthropogenic CO2 emissions, we ask: what is the prospect of a stable climate in a post-net zero world?</jats:p

Assessment of coastal management options by means of multilayered ecosystem models

This paper presents a multilayered ecosystem modelling approach that combines the simulation of the biogeochemistry of a coastal ecosystem with the simulation of the main forcing functions, such as catchment loading and aquaculture activities. This approach was developed as a tool for sustainable management of coastal ecosystems. A key feature is to simulate management scenarios that account for changes in multiple uses and enable assessment of cumulative impacts of coastal activities. The model was applied to a coastal zone in China with large aquaculture production and multiple catchment uses, and where management efforts to improve water quality are under way. Development scenarios designed in conjunction with local managers and aquaculture producers include the reduction of fish cages and treatment of wastewater. Despite the reduction in nutrient loading simulated in three different scenarios, inorganic nutrient concentrations in the bay were predicted to exceed the thresholds for poor quality defined by Chinese seawater quality legislation. For all scenarios there is still a Moderate High to High nutrient loading from the catchment, so further reductions might be enacted, together with additional decreases in fish cage culture. The model predicts that overall, shellfish production decreases by 10%–28% using any of these development scenarios, principally because shellfish growth is being sustained by the substances to be reduced for improvement of water quality. The model outcomes indicate that this may be counteracted by zoning of shellfish aquaculture at the ecosystem level in order to optimize trade-offs between productivity and environmental effects. The present case study exemplifies the value of multilayered ecosystem modelling as a tool for Integrated Coastal Zone Management and for the adoption of ecosystem approaches for marine resource management. This modelling approach can be applied worldwide, and may be particularly useful for the application of coastal management regulation, for instance in the implementation of the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive

Subjectivity in a context of environmental change: opening new dialogues in mental health research

In a period of unstable experimentation with challenges of globalization of associated risks, and disenchantment with ‘enduring injustice’, we bring forward a consideration of subjectivity to the study of environmental change and mental health. We begin by identifying how mainstream climate change and mental health studies are unable to explain the emergent and co-evolutionary pathways of agency. As a means of freeing these studies of their objective dimensions of linear-causation, we argue in favour of a re-positioning of subjectivity within an appreciation of recognition conflicts and beyond the over-deterministic interpretations of power centres—state, market or religion. We draw on one example of scientific research that was conducted in a region undergoing strong environmental, social and cultural changes, in the state of São Paulo/Brazil, with the aim to open mental health research to new dialogues, to which we contribute with the notion of the ‘pluriversal subject’

Continence technologies whitepaper: Informing new engineering science research

Advances in healthcare technology for continence have historically been limited compared to other areas of medicine, reflecting the complexities of the condition and social stigma which act as a barrier to participation. This whitepaper has been developed to inspire and direct the engineering science community towards research opportunities that exist for continence technologies that address unmet needs in diagnosis, treatment and long-term management. Our aim is to pinpoint key challenges and highlight related research opportunities for novel technological advances. To do so, we draw on experience and expertise from academics, clinicians, patients and patient groups linked to continence healthcare. This is presented in four areas of consideration: the clinical pathway, patient perspective, research challenges and effective innovation. In each we introduce seminal research, background information and demonstrative case-studies, before discussing their relevance to engineering science researchers who are interested in approaching this overlooked but vital area of healthcare