Vesi- ja ympäristötekniikan diplomi-insinöörien työelämä: tapaustutkimus urapoluista, keskeisimmistä työelämäkyvyistä ja kestävän kehityksen roolista

This Thesis study covers career development, core working life competencies, and the role of sustainable development in the early careers of water and environmental engineers. The study was conducted to support the implementation and development of the new Master’s Programme in Water and Environmental Engineering at Aalto University to meet the requirements of working life. Data was collected using an online questionnaire that was sent to engineers who have graduated during the past ten years (2007-2016), and complementary semi-structured theme interviews. According to this case study, water and environmental engineers in Finland have safe employment situation, and their expertise is required in several societal sectors and in various duties. Modern working life with complex tasks and new challenges demand for a wide array of skills and knowledge. In addition to traditional engineering skills such as problem solving, present work life requires also time-management and prioritization skills, as well as people skills. Furthermore, engineers need to be able to take initiative and be self-directional, be up-to-date by actively searching for information and learning, and be able to make decision and taking responsibility. The aim of the Aalto University is to integrate responsibility and sustainable development into all teaching, and to build a sustainable society driven by innovation. According to this study, several early-career engineers working in the field have deficient knowledge of sustainable development, which hampers their capability to connect their job with the sustainable development concept and to act according to the sustainability principles. Some are also presenting criticism towards sustainable development and see it as a separate theory with little application to engineering work. Majority nonetheless see it being built-in in the field and also an essential societal theme. Integrating sustainable development into engineering education requires understanding of wider concept and using systemic thinking. The same competencies are also central in the modern working life. The structure and the content of the new Master’s Programme is responding to this demand. At the moment, developing sustainable world is mentioned in strategies and visions of organizations, but it is not reflected fully in everyday tasks. Water and environmental engineers with their wide set of competencies and variety of roles in the society could be in the vanguard of progress in building a more sustainable society.Tämä opinnäytetyö käsittelee vesi- ja ympäristötekniikan diplomi-insinöörien alku-uran kehitystä, siinä tarvittavia keskeisimpiä taitoja ja kestävän kehityksen roolia alan opetuksessa ja työelämässä. Tutkimus toteutettiin Aalto yliopiston uuden Vesi- ja ympäristötekniikan maisteriohjelman kehittämiseksi ja etenkin sen ajankohtaisuuden ja työelämärelevanssin varmistamiseksi. Aineisto kerättiin Aallon vesi- ja ympäristötekniikan koulutusohjelmista vuosina 2007-2016 valmistuneille lähetetyllä verkkokyselyllä ja sitä täydentävillä teemahaastatteluilla. Tämän tapaustutkimuksen mukaan vesi- ja ympäristötekniikan diplomi-insinöörien työtilanne on Suomessa tasaisen varma, ja heidän osaamistaan tarvitaan usealla työelämäsektorilla ja monenlaisissa tehtävissä. Samaan aikaan työelämä monimutkaisine tehtävineen ja uusine haasteineen vaatii laaja-alaista osaamista. Perinteisten insinööritaitojen, kuten ongelmanratkaisun lisäksi, tarvitaan myös ajanhallinta- ja priorisointi-, sekä vuorovaikutustaitoja. Insinöörien pitää olla itseohjautuvia ja oma-aloitteisia, seurata oman alan kehitystä ja oppia uutta, sekä pystyä ottamaan vastuuta ja tehdä päätöksiä. Aalto yliopiston tavoitteena on integroida vastuullisuus ja kestävä kehitys kaikkeen opetukseen, ja olla sitä kautta rakentamassa kestävyydelle perustuvaa innovaatioyhteiskuntaa. Tutkimuksen mukaan useilla alku-urallaan olevilla vesi- ja ympäristötekniikan diplomi-insinööreillä on kuitenkin puutteelliset tiedot kestävästä kehityksestä, mikä vaikeuttaa heidän kykyään yhdistää kestävän kehityksen periaatteita omiin työtehtäviinsä ja toimia niiden mukaisesti. Jotkut myös suhtautuvat kestävään kehitykseen kriittisesti ja näkevät sen olevan alasta irrallaan oleva teoria, jolla ei ole juurikaan tekemistä käytännön kanssa. Suurin osa vastaajista kuitenkin ajattelee kestävän kehityksen olevan kiinteä osa alaa ja myös erittäin tärkeä yhteiskunnallinen teema. Kestävän kehityksen integroiminen insinöörikoulutukseen vaatii laajempien aihealueiden ymmärrystä ja systemaattisen ajattelun käyttöä; sama osaaminen on keskeisessä roolissa myös nykyajan työelämässä. Vesi- ja ympäristötekniikan uuden maisteriohjelman rakenne ja sisältö vastaa hyvin tähän vaatimukseen. Kestävä kehitys mainitaan tällä hetkellä organisaatioiden strategioissa ja arvoissa, mutta se ei aina heijastu jokapäiväiseen työhön. Vesi- ja ympäristötekniikan diplomi-insinöörit voisivat laajan osaamisensa ja moninaisten yhteiskunnallisten rooliensa avulla olla etulinjassa rakentamassa kestävämpää yhteiskuntaa

Growth, toxicity and oxidative stress of a cultured cyanobacterium (Dolichospermum sp.) under different CO2/pH and temperature conditions

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Ocean acidification challenges copepod phenotypic plasticity

Ocean acidification is challenging phenotypic plasticity of individuals and populations. Calanoid copepods (zooplankton) are shown to be fairly plastic against altered pH conditions, and laboratory studies indicate that transgenerational effects are one mechanism behind this plasticity. We studied phenotypic plasticity of the copepod Acartia sp. in the course of a pelagic, large-volume mesocosm study that was conducted to investigate ecosystem and biogeochemical responses to ocean acidification. We measured copepod egg production rate, egg-hatching success, adult female size and adult female antioxidant capacity (ORAC) as a function of acidification (fCO(2) similar to 365-1231 mu atm) and as a function of quantity and quality of their diet. We used an egg transplant experiment to reveal whether transgenerational effects can alleviate the possible negative effects of ocean acidification on offspring development. We found significant negative effects of ocean acidification on adult female size. In addition, we found signs of a possible threshold at high fCO(2), above which adaptive maternal effects cannot alleviate the negative effects of acidification on egg-hatching and nauplii development. We did not find support for the hypothesis that insufficient food quantity (total particulate carbonPeer reviewe

Dataset from a mesocosm experiment on brownification in the Baltic Sea

Refers to Brownification affects phytoplankton community composition but not primary productivity in eutrophic coastal waters: A mesocosm experiment in the Baltic Sea Science of The Total Environment, Volume 841, 1 October 2022, Pages 156510 Kristian Spilling, Eero Asmala, Noora Haavisto, Lumi Haraguchi, Kaisa Kraft, Anne-Mari Lehto, Aleksandra M. Lewandowska, Joanna Norkko, Jonna Piiparinen, Jukka Seppälä, Mari Vanharanta, Anu Vehmaa, Pasi Ylöstalo, Timo TamminenClimate change is projected to cause brownification of some coastal seas due to increased runoff of terrestrially derived organic matter. We carried out a mesocosm experiment over 15 days to test the effect of this on the planktonic ecosystem. The experiment was set up in 2.2 m3 plastic bags moored outside the Tvärminne Zoological Station at the SW coast of Finland. We used four treatments, each with three replicates: control (Contr) without any manipulation; addition of a commercially available organic carbon additive called HuminFeed (Hum; 2 mg L−1); addition of inorganic nutrients (Nutr; 5.7 µM NH4 and 0.65µM PO4); and a final treatment of combined Nutr and Hum (Nutr+Hum) additions. Water samples were taken daily, and measured variables included water transparency, organic and inorganic nutrient pools, chlorophyll a (Chla), primary and bacterial production and particle counts by flow cytometry.Peer reviewe

Bloom-Forming Cyanobacteria Support Copepod Reproduction and Development in the Baltic Sea

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Negligible effects of ocean acidification on Eurytemora affinis (Copepoda) offspring production

Ocean acidification is caused by increasing amounts of carbon dioxide dissolving in the oceans leading to lower seawater pH. We studied the effects of lowered pH on the calanoid copepod Eurytemora affinis during a mesocosm experiment conducted in a coastal area of the Baltic Sea. We measured copepod reproductive success as a function of pH, chlorophyll a concentration, diatom and dinoflagellate biomass, carbon to nitrogen (C : N) ratio of suspended particulate organic matter, as well as copepod fatty acid composition. The laboratory-based experiment was repeated four times during 4 consecutive weeks, with water and copepods sampled from pelagic mesocosms enriched with different CO2 concentrations. In addition, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) of animals from the mesocosms was measured weekly to test whether the copepod's defence against oxidative stress was affected by pH. We found no effect of pH on offspring production. Phytoplankton biomass, as indicated by chlorophyll a concentration and dinoflagellate biomass, had a positive effect. The concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the females was reflected in the eggs and had a positive effect on offspring production, whereas monounsaturated fatty acids of the females were reflected in their eggs but had no significant effect. ORAC was not affected by pH. From these experiments we conclude that E. affinis seems robust against direct exposure to ocean acidification on a physiological level, for the variables covered in the study. E. affinis may not have faced acute pH stress in the treatments as the species naturally face large pH fluctuations.Peer reviewe

Feeding, survival, and reproduction of two populations of Eurytemora (Copepoda) exposed to local toxic cyanobacteria

Studying the responses of crustacean zooplankton to harmful algal blooms is important for understanding changes in lower food webs following eutrophication in the Laurentian Great Lakes and other regions around the world. Here we examine responses to toxic cyanobacteria by crustacean copepods of the genus Eurytemora from eutrophic coastal regions of Lake Michigan (Green Bay) and the Baltic Sea (Gulf of Finland). We measured grazing, survivorship, reproduction, and juvenile (nauplius) size in short-term laboratory experiments. Females were incubated with representative non-toxic food and mixtures of non-toxic food with either cyanobacteria or cyanobacteria filtrate. Eurytemora from both locations were affected negatively by cyanobacteria filtrates, even with non-toxic food available. Eurytemora carolleeae from Green Bay exhibited reduced grazing rates when exposed to filtrates, but this effect was not observed when animals were fed the cyanobacteria and filtrate along with non-toxic food. Eurytemora sp. from the Baltic Sea given filtrates and non-toxic food also exhibited decreased grazing rates, as well as decreased adult survival and nauplius size. Similarly, when cyanobacterial cells were included along with filtrate and non-toxic food these effects were not observed. Our results also demonstrated a significant trade-off between offspring quantity and quality for both groups of animals, being more pronounced when food quality was manipulated by the presence of cyanobacterial cells. These findings further our knowledge of how a widely distributed group like Eurytemora may respond in the face of changing local selection pressures from natural and anthropogenic stressors. (C) 2017 International Association for Great Lakes Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Climate driven changes in temperature, pH and food quality : effects on copepod reproduction

Increased emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere are causing an anthropogenic climate change. The resulting global warming challenges the ability of organisms to adapt to the new temperature conditions. However, warming is not the only major threat. In marine environments, dissolution of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere causes a decrease in surface water pH, the so called ocean acidification. The temperature and acidification effects can interact, and create even larger problems for the marine flora and fauna than either of the effects would cause alone. I have used Baltic calanoid copepods (crustacean zooplankton) as my research object and studied their growth and stress responses using climate predictions projected for the next century. I have studied both direct temperature and pH effects on copepods, and indirect effects via their food: the changing phytoplankton spring bloom composition and toxic cyanobacterium. The main aims of my thesis were: 1) to find out how warming and acidification combined with a toxic cyanobacterium affect copepod reproductive success (egg production, egg viability, egg hatching success, offspring development) and oxidative balance (antioxidant capacity, oxidative damage), and 2) to reveal the possible food quality effects of spring phytoplankton bloom composition dominated by diatoms or dinoflagellates on reproducing copepods (egg production, egg hatching, RNA:DNA ratio). The two copepod genera used, Acartia sp. and Eurytemora affinis are the dominating mesozooplankton taxa (0.2 – 2 mm) in my study area the Gulf of Finland. The 20°C temperature seems to be within the tolerance limits of Acartia spp., because copepods can adapt to the temperature phenotypically by adjusting their body size. Copepods are also able to tolerate a pH decrease of 0.4 from present values, but the combination of warm water and decreased pH causes problems for them. In my studies, the copepod oxidative balance was negatively influenced by the interaction of these two environmental factors, and egg and nauplii production were lower at 20°C and lower pH, than at 20°C and ambient pH. However, presence of toxic cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena improved the copepod oxidative balance and helped to resist the environmental stress, in question. In addition, adaptive maternal effects seem to be an important adaptation mechanism in a changing environment, but it depends on the condition of the female copepod and her diet how much she can invest in her offspring. I did not find systematic food quality difference between diatoms and dinoflagellates. There are both good and bad diatom and dinoflagellate species. Instead, the dominating species in the phytoplankton bloom composition has a central role in determining the food quality, although copepods aim at obtaining as a balanced diet as possible by foraging on several species. If the dominating species is of poor quality it can cause stress when ingested, or lead to non-optimal foraging if rejected. My thesis demonstrates that climate change induced water temperature and pH changes can cause problems to Baltic Sea copepod communities. However, their resilience depends substantially on their diet, and therefore the response of phytoplankton to the environmental changes. As copepods are an important link in pelagic food webs, their future success can have far reaching consequences, for example on fish stocks

Building a more sustainable society? A case study on the role of sustainable development in the education and early career of water and environmental engineers

Engineering education is critical for sustainability, given the key role that engineers have in shaping the development of our society. Yet, engineering studies have traditionally not been driven by sustainability-related knowledge and skills, but focused more on general computational skills and technical problem-solving. This has also been the case in our case study, which focuses on recent water and environmental engineering graduates in Finland. We studied the role that sustainable development has had in their education and early career through an extensive questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The analysis was done in two ways: indirectly by comparing how well the key working life knowledge and skills recognized by the respondents correspond with sustainability-related skills, and directly by studying the graduates' views towards the sustainable development and their possibilities to advance it in their work. The results show that although sustainability was not at the core of respondents' studies, their key competencies correspond well with sustainability-related working life skills. The respondents also see that sustainable development has a central role in water and environmental engineering, although it is typically more visible at a strategic rather than a practical level. However, the results also indicate that several early-career engineers have deficient knowledge of sustainable development, and are therefore lacking the ability to fully connect the principles of sustainable development into their own expertise. Overall, the findings suggest that water and environmental engineers with their wide set of competencies have the potential to take on a larger role in building a more sustainable society. To ensure this, engineering education should emphasize the connection between the field and sustainable development and clearly link engineers' core competencies with the skills required to promote sustainability.Peer reviewe