Using in situ sensor-based monitoring to study impacts of climate change on river water quality and element fluxes

Prosjektleder: Øyvind KasteThe report contains an analysis of high-frequency sensor data from two rivers included in the Norwegian River Monitoring Programme; Storelva in southern Norway and Målselva in northern Norway. The main aim of the report is to combine in situ sensor-based monitoring data with climate, hydrology and water chemistry data to study impacts of climate change on river water quality and element fluxes. The report also highlights challenges, opportunities and the strong potential for sensor-based monitoring to yield new knowledge related to climate change impacts on river water quality.Norwegian Environment AgencypublishedVersio

Spatial and temporal trends of mercury in freshwater fish in Fennoscandia (1965-2015)

Source at http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2467116Mercury (Hg) emissions to the atmosphere cause elevated Hg levels in fish, even in many remote regions of the world. Here we present an extensive database of more than 50 000 measurements of Hg in fish, including 2 775 individual water bodies in Fennoscandia (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russian part of Kola Peninsula) sampled between 1965 and 2015. The data have been analysed for spatial patterns and temporal trends, on raw and weight-adjusted data. The database presents a useful reference for assessment of impacts of environmental policy on Hg in freshwater fish (i.e. Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution and The Minamata Convention on Mercury)

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Vurdering av risiko for drikkevannsforsyningen fra Glitrevann knyttet til skoggjødsling og hogst

Prosjektleder Øyvind KasteForest fertilization is planned in the Glitre catchment, an important drinking water source for the Drammen region. In this report, we explore whether fertilization is likely to put drinking water provision in the catchment at risk over the short term, as well as longer-term risk associated with fertilization and forest harvesting. Overall, we find there is little risk of forest fertilization reducing the water quality in Glitrevann, provided the forest management plans provided by Statskog are followed, together with fertilization and harvesting best management practices (as outlined in the Norwegian PEFC Forest Standard). We recommend routine stream monitoring be carried out during and for several years after harvesting to screen for potential effects.The Research Council of NorwaypublishedVersio

Assessment of risks to drinking water provision in Glitrevann from forest fertilization and harvesting

Forest fertilization is planned in the Glitre catchment, an important drinking water source for the Drammen region. In this report, we explore whether fertilization is likely to put drinking water provision in the catchment at risk over the short term, as well as longer-term risk associated with fertilization and forest harvesting. Overall, we find there is little risk of forest fertilization reducing the water quality in Glitrevann, provided the forest management plans provided by Statskog are followed, together with fertilization and harvesting best management practices (as outlined in the Norwegian PEFC Forest Standard). We recommend routine stream monitoring be carried out during and for several years after harvesting to screen for potential effects

Afforestation of a pasture in Norway did not result in higher soil carbon, 50 years after planting

Afforestation of marginal cultivated land is an internationally approved climate mitigation strategy, however, with uncertain implications for soil organic carbon (SOC) storage. We examined the effect of forest planting by measuring SOC at two adjacent sites: one with a Norway spruce forest planted in 1968 and one actively grazed pasture. Both sites had similar land-use history before forest planting, and they were as similar as possible in all other edaphic factors. There were no significant differences in SOC stocks down to 30 cm mineral soil, 7.15 and 8.51 kg C m−2 in the forest plantation and pasture respectively. Only a minimal build-up of an O horizon, less than 2 cm, was observed in the plantation. The SOC stocks of the plantation and pasture were not significantly different from that of a nearby old forest, 7.17 kg C m−2. When comparing these three land-uses we found that there were significant differences in the upper 10 cm of the soil with regard to other soil properties. Nitrogen (N) stock and pH were significantly lower in the old forest compared to the plantation, which again was significantly lower than that of the pasture. The opposite was the case for the C/N ratio. We conclude that there were no significant differences in SOC stocks in the upper 30 cm 50 years after afforestation with Norway spruce, but that there is still a legacy from the former cultivation that may influence both productivity and organic matter dynamics.publishedVersio

Predicting Lake Quality for the Next Generation: Impacts of Catchment Management and Climatic Factors in a Probabilistic Model Framework

Lake ecosystems across the world are under combined pressures of eutrophication and climate change, which increase the risk of harmful cyanobacteria blooms, reduced ecological status, and degraded ecosystem services. In Europe, the third cycle of river basin management plans (2021–2027) according to the Water Framework Directive must take into account the potential impacts of climate change on water quality, including effects on relevant biological indicators. Here, we applied a Bayesian network as a meta-model for linking future climate and land-use scenarios for the time horizon 2050–2070, via process-based catchment and lake models, to cyanobacteria abundance and ecological status of a eutrophic lake. Building upon previous applications of the model, a new version was developed to include relevant climatic variables such as wind speed. Explorative scenarios showed that the combination of low wind and high temperature gave the most synergistic effects on cyanobacteria under high levels of eutrophication (Chl-a concentration). Considering the management target of good ecological status, however, the climate-related promotion of cyanobacteria blooms contributed most to degrading the ecological status at intermediate levels of eutrophication. Future developments of this model will aim to strengthen the link between climate variables and ecological responses, to make the model also useful for seasonal forecasting.publishedVersio

Afforestation of a pasture in Norway did not result in higher soil carbon, 50 years after planting

Afforestation of marginal cultivated land is an internationally approved climate mitigation strategy, however, with uncertain implications for soil organic carbon (SOC) storage. We examined the effect of forest planting by measuring SOC at two adjacent sites: one with a Norway spruce forest planted in 1968 and one actively grazed pasture. Both sites had similar land-use history before forest planting, and they were as similar as possible in all other edaphic factors. There were no significant differences in SOC stocks down to 30 cm mineral soil, 7.15 and 8.51 kg C m−2 in the forest plantation and pasture respectively. Only a minimal build-up of an O horizon, less than 2 cm, was observed in the plantation. The SOC stocks of the plantation and pasture were not significantly different from that of a nearby old forest, 7.17 kg C m−2. When comparing these three land-uses we found that there were significant differences in the upper 10 cm of the soil with regard to other soil properties. Nitrogen (N) stock and pH were significantly lower in the old forest compared to the plantation, which again was significantly lower than that of the pasture. The opposite was the case for the C/N ratio. We conclude that there were no significant differences in SOC stocks in the upper 30 cm 50 years after afforestation with Norway spruce, but that there is still a legacy from the former cultivation that may influence both productivity and organic matter dynamics

Afforestation of a pasture in Norway did not result in higher soil carbon, 50 years after planting

Afforestation of marginal cultivated land is an internationally approved climate mitigation strategy, however, with uncertain implications for soil organic carbon (SOC) storage. We examined the effect of forest planting by measuring SOC at two adjacent sites: one with a Norway spruce forest planted in 1968 and one actively grazed pasture. Both sites had similar land-use history before forest planting, and they were as similar as possible in all other edaphic factors. There were no significant differences in SOC stocks down to 30 cm mineral soil, 7.15 and 8.51 kg C m−2 in the forest plantation and pasture respectively. Only a minimal build-up of an O horizon, less than 2 cm, was observed in the plantation. The SOC stocks of the plantation and pasture were not significantly different from that of a nearby old forest, 7.17 kg C m−2. When comparing these three land-uses we found that there were significant differences in the upper 10 cm of the soil with regard to other soil properties. Nitrogen (N) stock and pH were significantly lower in the old forest compared to the plantation, which again was significantly lower than that of the pasture. The opposite was the case for the C/N ratio. We conclude that there were no significant differences in SOC stocks in the upper 30 cm 50 years after afforestation with Norway spruce, but that there is still a legacy from the former cultivation that may influence both productivity and organic matter dynamics

Afforestation of a pasture in Norway did not result in higher soil carbon, 50 years after planting

Afforestation of marginal cultivated land is an internationally approved climate mitigation strategy, however, with uncertain implications for soil organic carbon (SOC) storage. We examined the effect of forest planting by measuring SOC at two adjacent sites: one with a Norway spruce forest planted in 1968 and one actively grazed pasture. Both sites had similar land-use history before forest planting, and they were as similar as possible in all other edaphic factors. There were no significant differences in SOC stocks down to 30 cm mineral soil, 7.15 and 8.51 kg C m−2 in the forest plantation and pasture respectively. Only a minimal build-up of an O horizon, less than 2 cm, was observed in the plantation. The SOC stocks of the plantation and pasture were not significantly different from that of a nearby old forest, 7.17 kg C m−2. When comparing these three land-uses we found that there were significant differences in the upper 10 cm of the soil with regard to other soil properties. Nitrogen (N) stock and pH were significantly lower in the old forest compared to the plantation, which again was significantly lower than that of the pasture. The opposite was the case for the C/N ratio. We conclude that there were no significant differences in SOC stocks in the upper 30 cm 50 years after afforestation with Norway spruce, but that there is still a legacy from the former cultivation that may influence both productivity and organic matter dynamics