Nature-based solutions forming urban intervention approaches to anthropogenic climate change:a quantitative literature review

Discussion around anthropogenic climate change has occurred for over 100 years. However, in recent decades, these discussions have intensified due to increased confidence in scientific research highlighting adverse effects, increased knowledge breadth in climate science, and heightened public and political awareness and engagement on the topic. Climate change is now acknowledged as one of the biggest challenges and threats to modern lifestyles. Nature-based solutions (NBS), as a mediator and mitigator to adverse climate change effects, is an emerging area of expanding research collateral and practitioner literacy. To highlight current NBS knowledge, existing knowledge gaps, and research trends, a Quantitative Systematic Literature Review (QSLR) was undertaken (n = 54). This QSLR reveals the short temporal span of articles relating to NBS as a response to climate change, with most articles being of a research style format. NBS research focus areas were found to be dominated by ecological and infrastructure approaches to climate change mitigation, and ecological and technical positions were found to be most topical across the current climate change literature. Multiple knowledge gaps were identified by the review, namely the lack of broader conceptual approaches and knowledge acquisition regarding climate change responses via NBS, as well as the psychological relationship humans share with NBS and climate change, adverse or otherwise. These knowledge gaps highlight where future research inquiry may be directed to increase the value and completion of this research area. It is hoped that this QSLR will assist in increasing the profile of NBS in the multidisciplinary and complex response to anthropogenic climate change, as well as contribute to the growth in investment and implementation of NBS assets for a rigid and resilient global future

Reflecting on the human dimensions of wild dolphin tourism in marine environments

Purpose – Many studies report on the potential ecological impacts of wild dolphin tourism, risks to people, and economic benefits to local communities. Fewer studies report the social aspects (human dimensions) of dolphin tourism, such as visitor satisfaction and attitudes of participants. This communication postulates that human dimensions are an important consideration in any strategy to keep wild dolphin tourism operations sustainable by balancing the welfare of the dolphins and the desires and expectations of tourists to interact with these charismatic, iconic creatures. Methodology – This communication synthesizes learning gained from a recent quantitative systematic literature review of marine wildlife tourism, a previously unreported review of wild dolphin tourism literature, and a recent study from the Dolphin Discovery Centre in Bunbury, Western Australia. Findings – Human attitudes towards marine mammals ultimately reflect how dolphin tourism is developed and managed. It is therefore important to understand how people experience and perceive dolphin tourism. Wild dolphin tourism is of great value to local economies, tour operators, and visitors who enjoy those experiences. The potential impacts that can arise from dolphin tourism need to be understood and minimised by actions under the control of tour operators and government authorities. This is important to make the satisfaction visitors gain from such experiences worthwhile and to ensure the long-term sustainability of wild dolphin tourism experiences. Originality of the research – Most wild dolphin tourism research has an ecological focus. This communication demonstrates that equally important social research, concerned with understanding visitor awareness, knowledge, expectations, and satisfaction, has a vital role to play in developing best practice management for wild dolphin tourism experiences

EXPLORING MOTIVATION, SATISFACTION AND REVISIT INTENTION OF ECOLODGE VISITORS

Purpose – This paper demonstrates that the recommendations regarding visitor satisfaction and revisit intention reported in the international literature apply to the management ofecolodges in Sri Lanka. Design/Methodology/Approach – Data from 362 self-report questionnaires completed by visitors between January 2014 and January 2015 were analysed by structural modelling using SPSS and AMOS to confirm the significance that reported direct and indirect relationships of the latent factors ecolodge attributes, tourist motives, visitor satisfaction, and revisit intention have for Sri Lankan ecolodges. Findings – Responses of visitors to Sri Lankan ecolodges were like those of ecolodge visitors in other countries. Ecolodge attributes had a strong direct influence on both international tourist motives to visit Sri Lanka and visitor satisfaction. Further, travel motives and satisfaction have a substantial direct influence on tourist intentions to revisit individual ecolodges and hence Sri Lanka more broadly. Originality of the research – Having confirmed that the factors which influence satisfaction and revisit intention of visitors to Sri Lankan ecolodges are consistent with the research findings from other countries, this is the first study to demonstrate that recommendations from the international ecolodge literature are applicable to and can inform the management and sustainability of ecolodges in Sri Lanka

Looking for evidence that place of residence influenced visitor attitudes to feeding wild dolphins

Purpose – To ascertain if place attachment or experiential norms influence visitor attitudes to the feeding of wild dolphins. Design/Methodology/Approach – A cross section of beach based visitors at a popular Australian marine tourism destination were opportunistically sampled using pen and paper questionnaires. Findings – Visitors expressed strong support for the strictly controlled minimalist reward feeding that accompanies beach based wild dolphin interactions at the Bunbury Dolphin Discovery Centre and visitors believe there are tourism benefits to be gained from the regulated feeding of wild dolphins. Results also suggest that neither place attachment nor experiential norms influence visitor attitudes to feeding of the Koombana Bay dolphin population. Originality of the research – This location specific, snapshot, case study suggests that contrary to published theory, place attachment and experiential norms do not influence tourist attitudes to wildlife feeding, especially for charismatic iconic wildlife such as dolphins

Do agri-environment schemes result in improved water quality?

Welsh Government. Grant Number: 183/2007/0

Compositional controls on oceanic plates : geophysical evidence from the MELT area

Author Posting. © The Authors, 2005. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Nature Publishing Group for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Nature 437 (2005): 249-252, doi:10.1038/nature04014.Magnetotelluric (MT) and seismic data, collected during the MELT experiment at the Southern East Pacific Rise (SEPR) constrain the distribution of melt beneath this mid-ocean-ridge spreading center and also the evolution of the oceanic lithosphere during its early cooling history. In this paper, we focus on structure imaged at distances ~100 to 350 km east of the ridge crest, corresponding to seafloor ages of ~1.3 to 4.5 Ma, where the seismic and electrical conductivity structure is nearly constant, independent of age. Beginning at a depth of about 60 km, there is a large increase in electrical conductivity and a change from isotropic to transversely anisotropic electrical structure with higher conductivity in the direction of fast propagation for seismic waves. Because conductive cooling models predict structure that increases in depth with age, extending to about 30 km at 4.5 Ma, we infer that the structure of young oceanic plates is instead controlled by a decrease in water content above 60 km induced by the melting process beneath the spreading center.US participation in the MELT experiment and subsequent analysis was funded by NSF grants through the Marine Geology and Geophysics Program, Ocean Sciences Division

Mantle dynamics beneath the East Pacific Rise at 17°S : insights from the Mantle Electromagnetic and Tomography (MELT) experiment

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2006. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 111 (2006): B02101, doi:10.1029/2004JB003598.The electromagnetic data from the Mantle Electromagnetic and Tomography (MELT) experiment are inverted for a two-dimensional transversely anisotropic conductivity structure that incorporates a correction for three-dimensional topographic effects on the magnetotelluric responses. The model space allows for different conductivity values in the along-strike, cross-strike, and vertical directions, along with imposed constraints of model smoothness and closeness among the three directions. Anisotropic models provide a slightly better fit to the data for a given level of model smoothness and are more consistent with other geophysical and laboratory data. The preferred anisotropic model displays a resistive uppermost 60-km-thick mantle independent of plate age, except in the vicinity of the ridge crest. In most inversions, a vertically aligned sheet-like conductor at the ridge crest is especially prominent in the vertical conductivity. Its presence suggests that the melt is more highly concentrated and connected in the vertical direction immediately beneath the rise axis. The melt zone is at least 100 km wide and is asymmetric, having a greater extent to the west. Off-axis, and to the east of the ridge, the mantle is more conductive in the direction of plate spreading at depths greater than 60 km. The flat resistive-conductive boundary at 60 km agrees well with the inferred depth of the dry solidus of peridotite, and the deeper conductive region is consistent with the preferred orientation of olivine inferred from seismic observations. This suggests that the uppermost 60 km represents the region of mantle that has undergone melting at the ridge and has been depleted of water (dissolved hydrogen). By contrast, the underlying mantle has retained a significant amount of water.This work was supported by NSF grant OCE0118254 and the Research Program on Mantle Core Dynamics, Institute for Research on Earth Evolution (IFREE), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)

Spontaneous twin anemia polycythemia sequence: diagnosis, management, and outcome in an international cohort of 249 cases.

BACKGROUND: Twin anemia polycythemia sequence is a chronic form of unbalanced fetofetal transfusion through minuscule placental anastomoses in monochorionic twins, leading to anemia in the donor and polycythemia in the recipient. Owing to the low incidence of twin anemia polycythemia sequence, data on diagnosis, management, and outcome are limited. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the diagnosis, management, and outcome in a large international cohort of spontaneous twin anemia polycythemia sequence. STUDY DESIGN: Data from the international twin anemia polycythemia sequence registry, retrospectively collected between 2014 and 2019, were used for this study. A total of 17 fetal therapy centers contributed to the data collection. The primary outcomes were perinatal mortality and severe neonatal morbidity. Secondary outcomes included a risk factor analysis for perinatal mortality and severe neonatal morbidity. RESULTS: A total of 249 cases of spontaneous twin anemia polycythemia sequence were included in this study, 219 (88%) of which were diagnosed antenatally and 30 (12%) postnatally. Twin anemia polycythemia sequence was diagnosed antenatally at a median gestational age of 23.7 weeks (interquartile range, 9.7-28.8; range, 15.1-35.3). Antenatal management included laser surgery in 39% (86 of 219), expectant management in 23% (51 of 219), delivery in 16% (34 of 219), intrauterine transfusion (with partial exchange transfusion) in 12% (26 of 219), selective feticide in 8% (18 of 219), and termination of pregnancy in 1% (3 of 219) of cases. Perinatal mortality rate was 15% (72 of 493) for the total group, 22% (54 of 243) for donors, and 7% (18 of 242) for recipients (P<.001). Severe neonatal morbidity occurred in 33% (141 of 432) of twins with twin anemia polycythemia sequence and was similar for donors (32%; 63 of 196) and recipients (33%; 75 of 228) (P=.628). Independent risk factors for spontaneous perinatal mortality were donor status (odds ratio, 3.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.9-7.5; P<.001), antenatal twin anemia polycythemia sequence stage (odds ratio, 6.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.4-27.8; P=.016 [stage 2]; odds ratio, 9.6; 95% confidence interval, 2.1-45.5; P=.005 [stage 3]; odds ratio, 20.9; 95% confidence interval, 3.0-146.4; P=.002 [stage 4]), and gestational age at birth (odds ratio, 0.8; 95% confidence interval, 0.7-0.9; P=.001). Independent risk factors for severe neonatal morbidity were antenatal twin anemia polycythemia sequence stage 4 (odds ratio, 7.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.4-43.3; P=.018) and gestational age at birth (odds ratio, 1.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.5-2.1, P<.001). CONCLUSION: Spontaneous twin anemia polycythemia sequence can develop at any time in pregnancy from the beginning of the second trimester to the end of the third trimester. Management for twin anemia polycythemia sequence varies considerably, with laser surgery being the most frequent intervention. Perinatal mortality and severe neonatal morbidity were high, the former especially so in the donor twins

Airborne formaldehyde and volatile organic compound measurements over the Daesan petrochemical complex on Korea’s northwest coast during the Korea-United States Air Quality study

The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration in partnership with Korea’s National Institute of Environmental Research embarked on the Korea-United States Air Quality (KORUS-AQ) study to address air quality issues over the Korean peninsula. Underestimation of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from various large facilities on South Korea’s northwest coast may contribute to this problem, and this study focuses on quantifying top-down emissions of formaldehyde (CH₂O) and VOCs from the largest of these facilities, the Daesan petrochemical complex, and comparisons with the latest emission inventories. To accomplish this and additional goals discussed herein, this study employed a number of measurements acquired during KORUS-AQ onboard the NASA DC-8 aircraft during three Daesan overflights on June 2, 3, and 5, 2016, in conjunction with a mass balance approach. The measurements included fast airborne measurements of CH₂O and ethane from an infrared spectrometer, additional fast measurements from other instruments, and a suite of 33 VOC measurements acquired by the whole air sampler. The mass balance approach resulted in consistent top-down yearly Daesan VOC emission flux estimates, which averaged (61 ± 14) × 10³ MT/year for the 33 VOC compounds, a factor of 2.9 ± 0.6 (±1.0) higher than the bottom-up inventory value. The top-down Daesan emission estimate for CH₂O and its four primary precursors averaged a factor of 4.3 ± 1.5 (± 1.9) times higher than the bottom-up inventory value. The uncertainty values in parentheses reflect upper limits for total uncertainty estimates. The resulting averaged top-down Daesan emission estimate for sulfur dioxide (SO₂) yielded a ratio of 0.81–1.0 times the bottom-up SO₂ inventory, and this provides an important cross-check on the accuracy of our mass balance analysis