Marine Oil Snow Sedimentation and Flocculent Accumulation (MOSSFA) Workshop

The MOSSFA hypothesis is that the formation of marine snow/oil aggregates and its accumulation at the seafloor is related to events associated with the oil spill, various mitigation measures (e.g., the use of dispersants and in situ burning), and increased sediment-laden fresh water releases from Mississippi River impoundments. If this hypothesis is correct then this phenomenon takes on an added global significance as 85% of deep-water oil exploration occurs adjacent to deltaic systems. To better understand the sequence of events and the oceanographic processes involved, three of the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) funded Centers (C-IMAGE, DEEP-C and ECOGIG), all of which have Principal Investigators involved in the various aspects of the MOSSFA question, received funding to conduct two workshops related to Marine Oil Snow Sedimentation Flocculent Accumulation (MOSSFA). The intent of the first workshop was to bring together researchers working on MOSSFA to provide a synthesis of known facts, identify data gaps and propose follow-up research to help resolve key questions and uncertainties regarding the MOSSFA hypothesis

Voluntary waste industry protocol for the handling of early collected carbon charges in the landfill sector

The landfill industry, through the Australian Landfill Owners Association and the Australian Local Government Association, has developed this voluntary protocol to ensure that the early collected carbon charges are returned for consumer benefit. Individual landfill owners will have the option to accept to be bound by the protocol. Those who accept shall be identified on the Department of the Environment’s website. The protocol will not override contractual arrangements between landfill operators and their customers. The Minister for the Environment has issued a statement supporting the protocol and calling for wide participation by the landfill industry and other groups in the protocol. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has also encouraged landfill industry participants to work with the Government to negotiate an appropriate solution for the handling of early collected carbon charges

The evaluation of national accounting matrices with environmental accounts (NAMEA) as a methodology for carrying out a sustainability assessment of the Scottish food and drink sector

This report introduces environmental input-output (IO) accounts for Scotland as an example of a NAMEA framework. It provides an introduction to the use of basic IO multiplier methodology, which can be applied to examine pollution/waste generation and/or resource use under production and consumption accounting principles

Decimal growth scale of cereals

Accurate assessment of growth stage is important because the cereal plant\u27s response to herbicide, growth regulator or fertiliser application depends on its stage of development

Effect of frost on cereal grain crops

Loss of wheat production due to frost damage is not common in Victoria. However, while the total loss is rarely great, individual growers can suffer heavy losses in some years. The factors exposing crops to loss are discussed along with tips to minimise the potential for frost damage to occur

The implications of climate change for the water environment in England

This paper reviews the implications of climate change for the water environment and its management in England. There is a large literature, but most studies have looked at flow volumes or nutrients and none have considered explicitly the implications of climate change for the delivery of water management objectives. Studies have been undertaken in a small number of locations. Studies have used observations from the past to infer future changes, and have used numerical simulation models with climate change scenarios. The literature indicates that climate change poses risks to the delivery of water management objectives, but that these risks depend on local catchment and water body conditions. Climate change affects the status of water bodies, and it affects the effectiveness of measures to manage the water environment and meet policy objectives. The future impact of climate change on the water environment and its management is uncertain. Impacts are dependent on changes in the duration of dry spells and frequency of ‘flushing’ events, which are highly uncertain and not included in current climate scenarios. There is a good qualitative understanding of ways in which systems may change, but interactions between components of the water environment are poorly understood. Predictive models are only available for some components, and model parametric and structural uncertainty has not been evaluated. The impacts of climate change depend on other pressures on the water environment in a catchment, and also on the management interventions that are undertaken to achieve water management objectives. The paper has also developed a series of consistent conceptual models describing the implications of climate change for pressures on the water environment, based around the source-pathway-receptor concept. They provide a framework for a systematic assessment across catchments and pressures of the implications of climate change for the water environment and its management