De betere mens: een medisch-ethisch kader voor mensverbetering vanuit christelijk perspectief

Dit proefschrift draagt als titel De betere mens en heeft als ondertitel ‘Een medisch-ethisch kader voor mensverbetering vanuit christelijk perspectief’. Het thema van deze studie is mensverbetering, met een focus op functionele lichaamsverbetering. Op zoek naar geluk en een beter leven lijken een sterker lichaam, een beter gedrag, het bij voorbaat genetisch aanpassen van embryo’s, een beter geheugen en een onlineverbinding tussen ons brein en de computer heel wenselijk. Met behulp van technologie kan de medische wereld ons helpen ons lichaam op te waarderen en te perfectioneren. Deze dissertatie laat zien dat ons mensbeeld en lichaamsideaal in de loop van de tijd telkens verandert. De auteur beschrijft vanuit christelijk perspectief een beeld van de mens en ontwikkelt een antropologisch concept met het oog op de vraag in hoeverre toepassingen van verbetertechnologieën een aanvaardbare inbreuk betekenen op onze lichamelijkheid als normatief gegeven én of ze positief bijdragen aan ons leven. Vervolgens wordt op basis van de verworven inzichten een medisch-ethisch kader geschetst voor functionele lichaamsverbetering. Voor een goed zicht op het onderwerp en om verder te komen dan een procedurele ethiek zijn verschillende wetenschappelijke disciplines te hulp geroepen. Deze studie is geen cultuurhistorische vakstudie en ook geen zuiver theologische of filosofische vakstudie. De aard van dit onderzoek is interdisciplinair, gestuurd door de vraagstelling met inhoud vanuit diverse vakgebieden. De inbreng uit deze vakgebieden werd geïntegreerd om de onderzoeksvraag te beantwoorden. This dissertation is entitled ‘The Better Human’, and has the subtitle ‘A medical-ethical framework for human enhancement from a Christian perspective’. Its theme is human enhancement, with a focus on functional enhancement. In the search for happiness and a better life, a stronger body, better behavior, the genetic modification of embryos, a better memory and an interface between our brain and the computer seem highly desirable. With the help of technology, medical practice can upgrade and perfect our bodies. This dissertation shows that our image of man and body changes over time. The author describes an image of the human being from a Christian perspective and develops an anthropological concept with a view to the question: To what extent do applications of enhancement technologies constitute an acceptable encroachment on human corporeality as a normative given and to what extent do they contribute positively to human life? He then sketches a medical-ethical framework for functional body enhancement. To obtain a good view on the subject and to go beyond a mere procedural ethics, this study draws on several scientific disciplines. It is neither purely cultural-historical, nor purely theological or philosophical. The nature of the research is interdisciplinary, driven by the central research question and drawing on content from various disciplines. The insights from these fields have been integrated with a view to answering the research question

Observed Patterns of Surface Solar Irradiance under Cloudy and Clear-sky Conditions

Surface solar irradiance varies on scales down to seconds or meters mainly due to clouds, but also via moisture structures in the atmospheric boundary layer. The highly variable nature of irradiance is not resolved by most atmospheric models, yet heterogeneity in surface irradiance impacts the overlying cloud field through feedback with the land surface. Atmospheric model resolution and radiative transfer calculations are simplified, necessary due to high computational demands, but the development of fast models capable of accurately resolving irradiance variability is limited by our understanding of cloud-driven solar irradiance variability. Spatial and spectrally resolving observational datasets of solar irradiance at such high resolution are rare, but they are required for characterizing observed variability, understanding the mechanisms, and model validation. In 2021, we deployed a spatial network of low-cost radiometers at the FESSTVaL (Germany) and LIAISE (Spain) field campaigns, specifically to gather data on cloud-driven surface patterns of irradiance, including spectral effects, with the aim to address this gap in observations and understanding. This work discusses the measurement strategies at both campaigns, the performance and calibration of these radiometers, analysis techniques to construct spatial patterns despite limited network size, and our interpretation of these observations. We find that cumulus, altocumulus, and cirrus clouds generate large spatiotemporal variability in irradiance, but through different mechanisms, and with spatial scales of patterns ranging from 50 m to 30 km. Under clear-sky conditions, solar irradiance varies significantly in water vapour absorption bands at the minute scale, due to local and regional variability in atmospheric moisture.Comment: Submitted to Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Societ

Record high solar irradiance in Western Europe during first COVID-19 lockdown largely due to unusual weather

Spring 2020 broke sunshine duration records across western Europe. The Netherlands recorded the highest surface irradiance since 1928, exceeding the previous extreme of 2011 by 13 %, and the diffuse fraction of the irradiance measured a record low percentage (38 %). The coinciding irradiance extreme and a reduction in anthropogenic pollution due to COVID-19 measures triggered the hypothesis that cleaner-than-usual air contributed to the record. Based on analyses of ground-based and satellite observations and experiments with a radiative transfer model, we estimate a 1.3 % (2.3 W m$^{-2}$) increase in surface irradiance with respect to the 2010-2019 mean due to a low median aerosol optical depth, and a 17.6 % (30.7 W m$^{-2}$) increase due to several exceptionally dry days and a very low cloud fraction overall. Our analyses show that the reduced aerosols and contrails due to the COVID-19 measures are far less important in the irradiance record than the dry and particularly cloud-free weather.Comment: 21 pages, 12 figures, submitted to Communications Earth and Environmen

Harmonized gap-filled datasets from 20 urban flux tower sites

A total of 20 urban neighbourhood-scale eddy covariance flux tower datasets are made openly available after being harmonized to create a 50 site-year collection with broad diversity in climate and urban surface characteristics. Variables needed as inputs for land surface models (incoming radiation, temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind and precipitation) are quality controlled, gap-filled and prepended with 10 years of reanalysis-derived local data, enabling an extended spin up to equilibrate models with local climate conditions. For both gap filling and spin up, ERA5 reanalysis meteorological data are bias corrected using tower-based observations, accounting for diurnal, seasonal and local urban effects not modelled in ERA5. The bias correction methods developed perform well compared to methods used in other datasets (e.g. WFDE5 or FLUXNET2015). Other variables (turbulent and upwelling radiation fluxes) are harmonized and quality controlled without gap filling Site description metadata include local land cover fractions (buildings, roads, trees, grass etc.), building height and morphology, aerodynamic roughness estimates, population density and satellite imagery. This open collection can help extend our understanding of urban environmental processes through observational synthesis studies or in the evaluation of land surface environmental models in a wide range of urban settings. These data can be accessed from https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7104984 (Lipson et al., 2022).Peer reviewe

Direct observations of CO2 emission reductions due to COVID-19 lockdown across European urban districts

The measures taken to contain the spread of COVID-19 in 2020 included restrictions of people's mobility and reductions in economic activities. These drastic changes in daily life, enforced through national lockdowns, led to abrupt reductions of anthropogenic CO(2 )emissions in urbanized areas all over the world. To examine the effect of social restrictions on local emissions of CO2, we analysed district level CO(2 )fluxes measured by the eddy-covariance technique from 13 stations in 11 European cities. The data span several years before the pandemic until October 2020 (six months after the pandemic began in Europe). All sites showed a reduction in CO2 emissions during the national lockdowns. The magnitude of these reductions varies in time and space, from city to city as well as between different areas of the same city. We found that, during the first lockdowns, urban CO2 emissions were cut with respect to the same period in previous years by 5% to 87% across the analysed districts, mainly as a result of limitations on mobility. However, as the restrictions were lifted in the following months, emissions quickly rebounded to their pre-COVID levels in the majority of sites.Peer reviewe

Radiometer grid at Falkenberg and surroundings, downwelling shortwave radiation, FESSTVaL campaign

This dataset contains measurements of downwelling short wave irradiance, measured in a small scale grid setup at Falkenberg: 20 sensors in 4 by 5 grid with a 50 meter grid spacing. Another 4 sensors were placed in all direction about 5 km away from the main grid at Falkenberg. The sampling rate is 10 Hz, to catch all irradiance variability, and is calibrated against a high quality sun tracker. The strength of this dataset is not the absolute accuracy, but rather the spatial measurements and ability to catch variability. Quality: Accuracy is estimated to be within 5% of a conventional pyranometer. Quality varies depending on weather type, but is best for high solar elevation angles (solar noon +/- 4 hours). Data is manually quality controlled, with detailed quality flags included in the dataset. Some anomalous data is not caught, in particular noisy data due to many insects on the sensor or small dirt from birds that reduces the signal slightly. These effects are much smaller than the driving weather patterns. The data is unsuitable for calculating radiation balances, but it is particularly useful for studying variability and patterns of solar irradiance on small scales. Funding: Dutch Research Council (NWO), Shedding Light On Cloud Shadows: VI.Vidi.192.06

Radiometer grid at Falkenberg and surroundings, spectral solar irradiance and cloud imagery, FESSTVaL campaign

Abstract: This data set contains observations of the down-welling short wave irradiance spectrum from a network of custom-made multi-band radiometers at the Falkenberg site from June 14 to 30, 2021. The main variable is the global horizontal irradiance, which is calibrated against a high quality sun tracker at Falkenberg. Additional data includes raw measurements, pre-calibrated spectra (with limitations, see quality), and total column water vapor from spectra. Within the two weeks, we provide (with varying temporal coverage) cloud camera images at 5 seconds interval, which is helpful for interpreting the irradiance measurements (among other things). The strength of this data set is not the absolute accuracy, but rather the spatial measurements and ability to catch variability with high resolution. Note: This entry includes the level0 radiometer data, the level1 radiometer data / spectra and, as the main product for this the descriptions given here applies, the level2 product. TableOfContents: (for level2 only) Irradiance: solar irradiance; quality water vapor: atmosphere_mass_content_of_water_vapor; quality Technical Info: dimension: 864001 x N [10 Hz sampling] 86400 x N [1 second sampling] 1440 x N [1 minute sampling]; temporalExtent_startDate: 2021-06-14 00:00:00; temporalExtent_endDate: 2021-06-30 00:00:00; temporalResolution: 0.1 [10 Hz sampling] 1 [1 second sampling] 60 [1 minute sampling]; temporalResolutionUnit: seconds; spatialResolution: none; spatialResolutionUnit: none; horizontalResolutionXdirection: none; horizontalResolutionXdirectionUnit: none; horizontalResolutionYdirection: none; horizontalResolutionYdirectionUnit: none; verticalResolution: none; verticalResolutionUnit: meters; horizontalStart: 0; horizontalStartUnit: meters; horizontalEnd: 0; horizontalEndUnit: meters; instrumentNames: FROST version 1; instrumentType: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-726; instrumentLocation: Falkenberg; instrumentProvider: none Methods: Measurements were taken in a small scale grid setup at Falkenberg: 20 sensors in 4 by 5 grid with a 50 meter grid spacing. Another 4 sensors were placed in all direction about 5 km away from the main grid at Falkenberg. The sampling rate is 10 Hz, with accurate GPS clock synchronisation, to catch all cloud-induced irradiance variability. Measurements were taken for 2 weeks, from June 14 to 30, 2021. For more details on the sensor itself, please see the (accepted for publication) pre-print here: https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2022/egusphere-2022-726/. Quality: Data gathering, quality, calibration (The global horizontal irradiance is calibrated against a high quality sun tracker at Falkenberg.), and performance is covered in detail in the manuscript https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-726 and other to be publications specified later. Units: (for level2 only) Irradiance: W/m²; 1 water vapor: kg/m²; 1 geoLocations: BoundingBox: westBoundLongitude: 14.071 degrees East; eastBoundLongitude: 14.204 degrees East; southBoundLatidude: 52.1534 degrees North; northBoundLatitude: 52.1704 degrees North; geoLocationPlace: Germany, UTM zone 33U Location: 52.165 °N; 14.120 °E; between 0.4 m and 0.9 m above ground; between 53 m and 67 m above mean sea level Size: Level0: ~1.2 GB (zip archive) Level1: ~0.115 GB (zip archive, radgrid data); 23.843 GB zip-archives, cloudcam images) Level2: ~0.292 GB (4 zip-archives) Format: netCDF; cloudcam images: jpg DataSources: Single site ground-based measurements. Contact: Wouter Mol, email: wbmol (at) wur.nl Webpage: https://www.cen.uni-hamburg.de/en/icdc/data/atmosphere/samd-st-datasets/samd-st-fesstval/fval-wur-radgrid-l2-v1.html Funding: Dutch Research Council (NWO), Shedding Light On Cloud Shadows: VI.Vidi.192.068 Provenance & History: This new version 2 includes updated metadata for the existing data set, and additional level 0, 1, and 2 data + cloud camera images

Evaluating the simulation times and mass balance errors of component-based models: An application of OpenMI 2.0 to an urban stormwater system

In making the decision whether to use component-based modeling, its benefits must be balanced against computational costs. Studies evaluating these costs using the Open Modeling Interface (OpenMI) have largely used models with simplified formulations, small spatial and temporal domains, or a limited number of components. We evaluate these costs by applying OpenMI to a relatively complex Stormwater Management Model (SWMM) for the City of Logan, Utah, USA. Configurations of coupled OpenMI components resulting from decomposing the stormwater model by process (i.e., runoff coupled to routing) and then by space (i.e., groups of catchments coupled together) were compared to a reference model executed in the standard SWMM configuration. Simulation times increased linearly with the number of connections between components, and mass balance error was a function of the degree to which a component resolved time series data received. This study also examines and proposes some strategies to address these computational costs