Interaction of ENSO-driven Flood Variability and Anthropogenic Changes in Driving Channel Evolution: Corryong/ Nariel Creek, Australia

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Australian Geographer on 03/09/2015, available online: 10.1080/00049182.2015.1048595Understanding the relative contributions of climatic and anthropogenic drivers of channel change are important to inform river management, especially in the context of environmental change. This global debate is especially pertinent in Australia as catchments have been severely altered since recent European settlement, and there is also strong evidence of cyclical climate variability controlling environmental systems. Corryong/Nariel Creek is an ideal setting to further study the interaction between climate and anthropogenic changes on channel evolution as it has experienced both significant periods of flood and drought, controlled by the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and extensive anthropogenic changes. Since European settlement the floodplain has been completely cleared, the riparian zone almost entirely invaded by willows, and every reach of the channel has experienced some form of direct channel modification. Through the combined analysis of channel evolution, climate changes and anthropogenic history of the river it was found that both the ENSO-driven climate and anthropogenic drivers are significant, although at different scales of channel change. Significant straightening in response to land clearing in the early twentieth century occurred before any records of direct channel modifications. Following this, most river management works were in response to instabilities created in the clearing period, or to instabilities created by flooding triggering a new phase of instability in reaches which had already undergone stabilisation works. Overall, human activities triggered channel instability via land clearing, and management works since then generally exacerbated erosion during high flows that are driven by climate fluctuations. This research raises the interesting question of whether rivers in Australia have become more responsive to the ENSO cycle since the clearing of catchment and riparian vegetation, or whether the past response to climate variability was different

EM Task 12 -- Laser cleaning of contaminated painted surfaces. Semi-annual report, April 1--September 30, 1997

Surface decontamination of concrete and steel surfaces in nuclear facilities provides cost savings during decommissioning operations by allowing recycling or reuse of concrete and steel structures. Separation of radionuclides and other contamination from the concrete or steel substrates also allows reduction in volume of hazardous materials during the D and D (decontamination and decommissioning) process, resulting in further cost savings. Several techniques are available or under development for surface decontamination in nuclear facilities. Each technique has its merits; however, none of them is universally the best choice for all surface decontamination applications. Because of the multitude of factors which influence the environmental and economic aspects of selecting a surface decontamination technique, it is difficult to select the best method in a given situation; an objective basis for comparing techniques is needed. The objective of this project is to develop a software tool for use by personnel selecting a surface decontamination technique. The software will incorporate performance data for available surface decontamination techniques. The major activities in the project are broken down as follows: Task 1--Complete decision tree development; Task 2--Literature search for surface decontamination reports; Task 3--Compilation of database from literature data; Task 4--Sensitivity analysis and model design; Task 5--Design of model data structures; and Task 6--PC software design and coding. Work during this reporting period completed Tasks 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6. Task 4 activities resulted in a prototype of the model design; sensitivity analysis and model modifications are in progress at the time of this report. Task 4 will be complete prior to the end of December 1997. A working prototype of the software implementation of the surface decontamination model and technology database has been completed. The program developed at the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) called Surface Decontamination Assistant allows comparison of surface decontamination techniques for a user-defined application scenario

Influência de fatores ambientais na distribuição de famílias de insetos aquáticos em rios no sul do Brasil

Os rios neotropicais sofrem os efeitos das ações humanas. Medidas conservacionistas, pela escassez de estudos na região e do conhecimento límnico, baseiam-se em dados referentes a outras regiões, sendo muitas vezes ineficazes pela inobservância das diferenças nas respostas das comunidades aquáticas às variáveis ambientais em escalas distintas. Este estudo teve como objetivos: conhecer a riqueza de insetos aquáticos em uma bacia neotropical; verificar qual a influência das variáveis ambientais na distribuição das famílias de insetos aquáticos em quatro tributários dessa bacia e observar se o padrão de distribuição das famílias de insetos aquáticos varia entre as ordens dos rios ou entre microbacias, de acordo com a influência de variáveis ambientais e espaciais. Foi encontrado um total de 9.135 indivíduos distribuídos em 26 famílias de macroinvertebrados. A estrutura das comunidades foi distinta entre as microbacias. As famílias de insetos aquáticos foram influenciadas pelas variáveis ambientais e espaciais diferentes em cada microbacia

One Health contributions towards more effective and equitable approaches to health in low- and middle-income countries

This research was supported by the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/J010367/1) and the UK Zoonoses and Emerging Livestock Systems Initiative (BB/L017679/1, BB/L018926/1 and BB/L018845/1) (S.C., J.E.B.H., J.S., J.B., A.D., J.A.C., W.A.d.G., R.R.K., T.K., D.T.H., B.T.M., E.S.S., L.W.). The Wellcome Trust provided supported for K.H. and A.L. (095787/Z/11/Z) and K.J.A. (096400/Z/11/Z). The US National Institutes of Health provided support for J.A.C. (R01AI121378) and M.P.R. (R01AI121378, K23AI116869).Emerging zoonoses with pandemic potential are a stated priority for the global health security agenda, but endemic zoonoses also have a major societal impact in low-resource settings. Although many endemic zoonoses can be treated, timely diagnosis and appropriate clinical management of human cases is often challenging. Preventive ‘One Health’ interventions, e.g. interventions in animal populations that generate human health benefits, may provide a useful approach to overcoming some of these challenges. Effective strategies, such as animal vaccination, already exist for the prevention, control and elimination of many endemic zoonoses, including rabies, and several livestock zoonoses (e.g. brucellosis, leptospirosis, Q fever) that are important causes of human febrile illness and livestock productivity losses in low- and middle-income countries. We make the case that, for these diseases, One Health interventions have the potential to be more effective and generate more equitable benefits for human health and livelihoods, particularly in rural areas, than approaches that rely exclusively on treatment of human cases. We hypothesize that applying One Health interventions to tackle these health challenges will help to build trust, community engagement and cross-sectoral collaboration, which will in turn strengthen the capacity of fragile health systems to respond to the threat of emerging zoonoses and other future health challenges. One Health interventions thus have the potential to align the ongoing needs of disadvantaged communities with the concerns of the broader global community, providing a pragmatic and equitable approach to meeting the global goals for sustainable development and supporting the global health security agenda.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe