Assessment of Policy Instruments Toward a Sustainable Traffic System -A backcasting approach for Stockhom 2030

Finding strategies for preventing the process of global warming is growing urgent. Our intention is to highlight the future requirements and expectations on transport related sustainability measures (e.g. mobility management services, road tolls, CO2-taxes and renewable fuel systems) assisting the reaching of a long-term sustainability target of greenhouse gas emissions at the year 2030. We will employ the transport demand model SAMPERS and the traffic assignment model EMME/2 in order to investigate the effect from specific changes to the traffic network of Stockholm 2030, e.g. the environmental and socioeconomic impact from reduced number of commute trips, reduced car ownership, and new price structures and restrictions on private vehicle travel. In connection to this, we also quantify negative side effects (so-called rebound effects) coupled to efficiencies in the traffic network. We use an appraisal framework, influenced by backcasting, in order to assess the impact from the specific policies in relation to the United Nation’s (IPCC) requirements for a sustainable level of CO2-emissions. The findings from this study point at the inevitable need for at least a 50% renewable fuel mix in the traffic system if reaching the target 2030. Single-handedly, travel demand measures are insufficient to accomplish the CO2-emission target for 2030. Nevertheless, reducing traffic volumes by just a few percent might contribute to savings in emission costs, accident costs and aggregate travel time costs in the traffic system. Such measures are needed in order to mitigate the transition from fossil- to renewable fuels.

Shipping in the World's Northernmost Ocean - Legal Disputes & Controversies in the Arctic Sea Routes & the Legal Impact of an Future Internationalization

Arktis utgör ett av de minst utvecklade internationella regioner i världen. Trots politiska initiativ som arktiska rådet och liknande existerar det inte idag något övergripande legalt ramverk för att adressera flertalet juridiska dispyter och kontroverser. Jordens klimatförändring, främst på grund av en ökning av koldioxid i atmosfären, har resulterat i ett Arktis som skiljer sig markant mot det vi tidigare uppfattade som Arktis. Den arktiska klimatkonsekvensbedömningen har konstaterat att is-täckningen i regionen för år 2010 motsvarar ungefär 50 procent av is-täckningen på 1950-talet. Denna minskning av havsis håller gradvis på att öppna upp nya möjligheter för kommersiell verksamhet i regionen, till exempel att nyttja den ”arktiska genvägen” kontra de traditionella sjövägarna genom Suez- eller Panamakanalen. Vidare har det konstaterats av ett flertal rapporter att den arktiska regionen kan innehålla så mycket som 25 procent av jorden oupptäckta olja- och gasresurser. Den första slutsatsen i detta examensarbete konkluderar att de juridiska rättstvister och kontroverser som begränsar arktisk marin transport i de arktiska sjövägarna är följande: • Kanadas räta baslinjer i enlighet med internationell sedvanerätt; • ”krypande jurisdiktion” i nordostpassagen; • Artikel 234 • Tvetydighet gällande flertalet tolkningar av transitpassage och definition kring ett internationellt sund Vidare konstateras att de rättstvister och kontroverser i de tre granskade arktiska sjövägarna bär flera gemensamheter, skillnader, och likheter. Sammantaget konstateras att den arktiska strategi- och rättsutveckling av Sovjet, dess efterföljare Ryssland och Kanada är formade främst genom utländska åtgärder, exempelvis den episka korsningen 1969 av S/S Manhattan i nordvästpassagen. Samtliga arktiska stater har varit ovilliga att ge kraft åt flertalet akademiska forskares långsökta rättsliga argument. I kombination med en påtaglig brist på officiella uttalanden och klargöranden står det klart att akademiker hos respektive stat har getts fri hand vid tolkning av Arktis legal status. Dessvärre har denna utveckling lett till att skapa en mångsidig och framförallt tvetydig doktrinär syn på Arktis legala ställning.The Arctic is one of the most severe and least developed international regions in the world. Despite arrangements such as the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy and its successor the Arctic Council, there is no existing viable multi-lateral Arctic body. Pari passu, earth’s climate change, primarily due to an increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, is rapidly re-forming the Arctic. The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment has concluded that the ice coverage in the region for 2010 is roughly equivalent of 50 percent of the coverage in the 1950’s. This decline of sea ice is progressively opening new opportunities for commercial activity in the region, such as Arctic marine transport traversing the “Arctic-shortcut” instead of the traditional sea-lanes through the Suez Canal. In addition, estimations by the United States Geological Survey states that the Arctic region could hold as much as 25 percent of the earth’s undiscovered oil and gas resources. Both the 2008 Illulissat Declaration and the 2010 Chelsea ministerial meeting reaffirmed the five Arctic coastal States’ firm commitments to the Law of the Sea. However, this thesis shows that the regulation of Arctic marine transport is comprised of an intricate multi-layered framework, which is not sufficiently tailored for the unique characteristics of the region. It is concluded that the Arctic sea routes are a highly complicated phenomena, since there are several complex legal disputes and controversies. The first conclusion is that the legal disputes and controversies in the Arctic sea routes, which materially constrain Arctic marine transport, are: • Internal waters in the NWP due to Canada’s straight baselines based under customary law; • “Creeping jurisdiction” in the NSR; • Increase of Arctic sovereignty through Article 234 and the provision’s ambiguity towards transit passage • Ambiguity regarding different interpretations of the transit passage regime and the international strait provision. Moreover, it is concluded that the legal disputes and controversies in the three examined Arctic sea routes bear several commonalities, differences and similarities. Overall it is concluded that the Arctic approach and legal development by Soviet, its successor Russia, and Canada are shaped mainly through foreign actions, such as the epic voyage of S/S Manhattan in 1969. Further, several legal scholars of respective Government or Duma have argued for expanding Arctic sovereignty, by, for example the sector theory, the “ice-is-land-theory” (mare liberum-res communis), historic title as a basis for internal waters, etc. However, contrariwise when analyzing State practice it becomes evident that both States have been reluctant to espouse such far-fetched legal arguments. In addition, it becomes evident that there is a lack of official statements and clarification from the Arctic coastal states. Unfortunately, this has given scholars free hand of interpretation - creating a diverse and ambiguous doctrinal view of the legal status of the Arctic. However, it is shown that both States has adopted a more functionalistic, step-by-step approach towards the Arctic. The reason seems to be, in general, that these legal disputes and controversies are largely irrelevant for the stakeholders of the Arctic, other than of those who have an academic interest since the Arctic sea routes are not yet commercially viable. This lack of clarification and State practice could be intentional, since the thesis shows that both States has succeeded in increasing their respective Arctic sovereignty and jurisdiction. Nevertheless, the thesis also concludes that without icebreaker and ice-forecasting support, both States effectively nationalized their respective sea routes many years ago. Furthermore, it is concluded that the Transpolar Sea Route in a legal perspective strongly differs from the Northern Sea Route and the Northwest Passage, since this sea route is out of reach for any Arctic state’s jurisdiction. The second purpose of the thesis analyzes the legal consequences of a possible internationalization of the sea routes. It is concluded that, given the commercial incentives and current downward trend in record lows of sea ice extent, it is not far-fetched to anticipate a future with drastically increased commercial Arctic marine transport - leading to internationalization. Given this, different straits in the Northern Sea Route and the Northwest Passage will become international straits in accordance with the interpretation of the Corfu Channel case due to a lack of definition in the 1958 Territorial Sea Convention and the 1982 UNCLOS. Lastly, it is concluded that there is a general ambiguity on how to address the international strait provision and the transit passage regime. The spatial scope of Article 234 and its relationship to the transit passage right is emphasized. In conjunction to this, several sub-questions are examined, such as the question of whether or not the transit passage regime “trumps” Article 234 or vice versa. In addition, it is also concluded that an internationalization of the Northern Sea Route and the Northwest Passage would lead to the applicability of the transit passage regime. The pattern of several legal disputes and controversies would then shift radically

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of an Alumina/Zirconia functionally Graded Material Prepared by Electrophoretic Deposition

Doble titulacióLa microestructura y propiedades mecánicas de una alúmina/circona con función gradiente preparado con deposición electroforética fueron estudiadas. La microestructura fue observada por microscopia electrónica para caracterizarla con respeto a las fases, a los tamaños de granos y a su distribución. El material tenía una microestructura fina de alta cualidad con muy poca porosidad y una distribución uniforme de ZrO2 dentro de las capas. Las propiedades mecánicas como dureza, tenacidad, pero principalmente tensiones residuales, formados como una consecuencia de las diferencias de coeficientes de expansión térmica, fueron estudiadas por métodos de indentaciones. El material exhibió una dureza excelente en las capas exteriores, comparable a la de alúmina pura. Las tensiones residuales fueron también calculadas utilizando el método de elementos finitos y estimados usando un modelo simétrico de un material compuesto de capas. Sus influencias sobre la resistencia de propagación de grietas debido a choques térmicos fueron medidas por un ensayo de indentación-temple. Una resistencia altamente mejorada a la propagación de grietas superficiales en las capas exteriores fue encontrada. Los resultados fueron también comparados a otros resultados obtenidos de un material de referencia, un compuesto sin capas, preparado con la misma técnica de fabricación

Indirect energy associated with Swedish road transport

Typically when transport systems are considered from an energy or environmental perspective it is primarily the energy use associated with the propulsion of vehicles that is addressed. There are however other significant energy categories associated with transport systems, labelled as indirect energy – construction, operation, maintenance and demolition of infrastructure; manufacturing, service and scrapping of vehicles; and fuel production. In this paper the indirect energy is calculated to slightly more than 45% of the total energy use in the Swedish road transport sector. In detail, infrastructural energy stands for approximately 22%, vehicular energy at least 14%, and fuel production about 9% of the total energy use. In conclusion, the insight into the significance of the indirect transport energy should have implications on transport policy, for example, the design of means of control to reduce energy use and environmental impact. Four scenarios involving energy-saving measures are tested, and even though direct energy use remains the single largest item, policy-makers concerned with reducing road sector CO2-emissions cannot focus exclusively on the consumption of petrol and diesel for propulsion, but should also give heed to the energy use associated with infrastructure and vehicles

Next generation sequencing discoveries of the nitrate-responsive oral microbiome and its effect on vascular responses

Cardiovascular disease is a worldwide human condition which has multiple underlying contributing factors: one of these is long-term increased blood pressure-hypertension. Nitric oxide (NO) is a small nitrogenous radical species that has a number of physiological functions including vasodilation. It can be produced enzymatically through host nitric oxide synthases and by an alternative nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway from ingested inorganic nitrate. It was discovered that this route relies on the ability of the oral microbiota to reduce nitrate to nitrite and NO. Next generation sequencing has been used over the past two decades to gain deeper insight into the microbes involved, their location and the effect of their removal from the oral cavity. This review article presents this research and comments briefly on future directions

Linking vegetation change, carbon sequestration and biodiversity

1. Despite recent interest in linkages between above- and belowground communities and their consequences for ecosystem processes, much remains unknown about their responses to long-term ecosystem change. We synthesize multiple lines of evidence from a long-term ‘natural experiment’ to illustrate how ecosystem retrogression (the decline in ecosystem processes due to long-term absence of major disturbance) drives vegetation change, and thus aboveground and belowground carbon (C) sequestration, and communities of consumer biota. 2. Our study system involves 30 islands in Swedish boreal forest that form a 5000 year fire-driven retrogressive chronosequence. Here, retrogression leads to lower plant productivity and slower decomposition, and a community shift from plants with traits associated with resource acquisition to those linked with resource conservation. 3. We present consistent evidence that aboveground ecosystem C sequestration declines, while belowground and total C storage increases linearly for at least 5000 years following fire absence. This increase is driven primarily by changes in vegetation characteristics, impairment of decomposer organisms and absence of humus combustion. 4. Data from contrasting trophic groups show that during retrogression, biomass or abundance of plants and decomposer biota decreases, while that of aboveground invertebrates and birds increases, due to different organisms accessing resources via distinct energy channels. Meanwhile, diversity measures of vascular plants and aboveground (but not belowground) consumers respond positively to retrogression. 5. We show that taxonomic richness of plants and aboveground consumers are positively correlated with total ecosystem C storage, suggesting that conserving old growth forests simultaneously maximizes biodiversity and C sequestration. However, we find little observational or experimental evidence that plant diversity is a major driver of ecosystem C storage on the islands relative to other biotic and abiotic factors. 6. Synthesis. Our study reveals that across contrasting islands differing in exposure to a key extrinsic driver (historical disturbance regime and resulting retrogression), there are coordinated responses of soil fertility, vegetation, consumer communities, and ecosystem C sequestration, which all feed back to one another. It also highlights the value of well replicated natural experiments for tackling questions about aboveground-belowground linkages over temporal and spatial scales that are otherwise unachievable

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of an Alumina/Zirconia functionally Graded Material Prepared by Electrophoretic Deposition

Doble titulacióLa microestructura y propiedades mecánicas de una alúmina/circona con función gradiente preparado con deposición electroforética fueron estudiadas. La microestructura fue observada por microscopia electrónica para caracterizarla con respeto a las fases, a los tamaños de granos y a su distribución. El material tenía una microestructura fina de alta cualidad con muy poca porosidad y una distribución uniforme de ZrO2 dentro de las capas. Las propiedades mecánicas como dureza, tenacidad, pero principalmente tensiones residuales, formados como una consecuencia de las diferencias de coeficientes de expansión térmica, fueron estudiadas por métodos de indentaciones. El material exhibió una dureza excelente en las capas exteriores, comparable a la de alúmina pura. Las tensiones residuales fueron también calculadas utilizando el método de elementos finitos y estimados usando un modelo simétrico de un material compuesto de capas. Sus influencias sobre la resistencia de propagación de grietas debido a choques térmicos fueron medidas por un ensayo de indentación-temple. Una resistencia altamente mejorada a la propagación de grietas superficiales en las capas exteriores fue encontrada. Los resultados fueron también comparados a otros resultados obtenidos de un material de referencia, un compuesto sin capas, preparado con la misma técnica de fabricación

Fundamental bounds on transmission through periodically perforated metal screens with experimental validation

This paper presents a study of transmission through arrays of periodic sub-wavelength apertures. Fundamental limitations for this phenomenon are formulated as a sum rule, relating the transmission coefficient over a bandwidth to the static polarizability. The sum rule is rigorously derived for arbitrary periodic apertures in thin screens. By this sum rule we establish a physical bound on the transmission bandwidth which is verified numerically for a number of aperture array designs. We utilize the sum rule to design and optimize sub-wavelength frequency selective surfaces with a bandwidth close to the physically attainable. Finally, we verify the sum rule and simulations by measurements of an array of horseshoe-shaped slots milled in aluminum foil.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures. Updated Introduction and Conclusion