Zelfsturing & Profit in de Noordelijke Friese Wouden : projectbeschrijving en overzicht van publicaties

De agrarische sector binnen het Nationaal Landschap De Noordelijke Friese Wouden bevindt zich in een transitieproces. De agrarische sector speelt in toenemende mate een leidende rol in het verbeteren van de milieukwaliteit en de natuur- en landschapswaarden in de Noordelijke Friese Wouden. Belangrijke aanjager van dit proces was en is de Vereniging Noardlike Fryske Wâlden, de koepelorganisatie van zes agrarische natuurverenigingen in het gebied. De aanwijzing van het gebied tot Nationaal Landschap bevestigt de prominente rol van de agrarische sector in dit proces. In de voorbereiding van dit project tekende zich de behoefte af bij de betrokken overheden en de Vereniging NFW om de tot dan toe overheersende agrarische invalshoek te verbreden

Twintig jaar onderzoeksevaluatie

Nederland heeft een lange traditie van kwaliteitszorg van het academische onderzoek. Deze Feiten en Cijfers geeft een overzicht van de ontwikkeling van het systeem van kwaliteitszorg en biedt inzicht in de resultaten van de onderzoeksevaluaties Wat heeft twintig jaar kwaliteitszorg van het academische onderzoek opgeleverd? Die vraag is aan de orde in deze Feiten en Cijfers. Het document geeft voor het eerst sinds 1993 zowel een overzicht van de ontwikkeling van het systeem als van de resultaten van de evaluaties. Het biedt inzicht in de manier waarop universiteiten en onderzoeksinstituten de kwaliteitszorg van het onderzoek uitvoeren

Waardevol - Indicatoren voor Valorisatie

Het rapport Waardevol – Indicatoren voor valorisatie biedt kennisinstellingen, wetenschapsfinanciers en kennisgebruikers een gemeenschappelijk kader voor valorisatie. De methode werkt met valorisatiekaarten waarmee betrokken organisaties systematisch kunnen monitoren hoe groot de valorisatie-inspanningen zijn, wat de opbrengsten zijn en welke mogelijkheden voor verbetering er zijn. Het gebruik van valorisatiekaarten zal helpen om het inzicht te vergroten in wat publieke kennisinstellingen, wetenschapsfinanciers en bedrijfsleven nu al doen aan valorisatie.

Source apportionment of submicron organic aerosol at an urban background and a road site in Barcelona (Spain) during SAPUSS

This study investigates the contribution of potential sources to the submicron (PM₁) organic aerosol (OA) simultaneously detected at an urban background (UB) and a road site (RS) in Barcelona during the 30 days of the intensive field campaign of SAPUSS (Solving Aerosol Problems by Using Synergistic Strategies, September–October 2010). A total of 103 filters at 12 h sampling time resolution were collected at both sites. Thirty-six neutral and polar organic compounds of known emission sources and photo-chemical transformation processes were analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The concentrations of the trace chemical compounds analyzed are herein presented and discussed. <br><br> Additionally, OA source apportionment was performed by multivariate curve resolution–alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) and six OA components were identified at both sites: two were of primary anthropogenic OA origin and three of secondary OA origin, while a sixth one was not clearly defined. Primary organics from emissions of local anthropogenic activities (urban primary organic aerosol, or POA Urban), mainly traffic emissions but also cigarette smoke, contributed 43% (1.5 μg OC m^&minus;3) and 18% (0.4 μg OC m^&minus;3) to OA at RS and UB, respectively. A secondary primary source – biomass burning (BBOA) – was found in all the samples (average values 7% RS; 12% UB; 0.3 μg OC m^&minus;3), but this component was substantially contributing to OA only when the sampling sites were under influence of regional air mass circulation (REG.). Three secondary organic aerosol (SOA) components (describing overall 60% of the variance) were observed in the urban ambient PM₁. Products of isoprene oxidation (SOA ISO) – i.e. 2-methylglyceric acid, C₅ alkene triols and 2-methyltetrols – showed the highest abundance at both sites when the city was under influence of inland air masses. The overall concentrations of SOA ISO were similar at both sites (0.4 and 0.3 μg m⁻³, or 16% and 7%, at UB and RS, respectively). By contrast, a SOA biogenic component attributed to &alpha;-pinene oxidation (SOA BIO PIN) presented average concentrations of 0.5 μg m⁻³ at UB (24% of OA) and 0.2 μg m^&minus;3 at RS (7%), respectively, suggesting that this SOA component did not impact the two monitoring sites at the same level. A clear anti-correlation was observed between SOA ISO and SOA PIN during nucleation days, surprisingly suggesting that some of the growth of urban freshly nucleating particles may be driven by biogenic α-pinene oxidation products but inhibited by isoprene organic compounds. A third SOA component was formed by a mixture of aged anthropogenic and biogenic secondary organic compounds (SOA Aged) that accumulated under stagnant atmospheric conditions, contributing for 12% to OA at RS (0.4 μg OC m^&minus;3) and for 18% at UB (0.4 μg OC m^&minus;3). <br><br> A sixth component, formed by C₇–C₉ dicarboxylic acids and detected especially during daytime, was called "urban oxygenated organic aerosol" (OOA Urban) due to its high abundance at urban RS (23%; 0.8 μg OCm^&minus;3) vs. UB (10%; 0.2 μg OCm^&minus;3), with a well-defined daytime maximum. This temporal trend and geographical differentiation suggests that local anthropogenic sources were determining this component. However, the changes of these organic molecules were also influenced by the air mass trajectories, indicating that atmospheric conditions have an influence on this component, although the specific origin on this component remains unclear. It points to a secondary organic component driven by primary urban sources including cooking and traffic (mainly gasoline) activities

Human exposure and risk assessment of PAHs bound to three PM fractions (10, 2.5 and 1) in an area influenced by a cement plant

In the present study, we evaluated the concentrations of PAHs in 3 PM fractions (10, 2.5 and 1) collected in the surroundings of a cement plant located in Barcelona. PAH content and speciation were developed for the three fractions to elucidate their distribution among different sizes. Complementarily, the human health risks associated to the PAH exposure were risks by considering the daily activity pattern of an average adult living in of Barcelona (Spain).Financial support was received by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO), through the project CTM2012-32778. F. Sánchez-Soberón received a doctoral scholarship as part of the project above mentioned. We also want to thank the European Union Seventh Framework Program for the funding received through the HEALS project (grant agreement No. 603946).Peer reviewe

A GIS model-based assessment of the environmental distribution of g-hexachlorocyclohexane in European soils and waters

The MAPPE GIS based multimedia model is used to produce a quantitative description of the behaviour of γ-hexachlorocyclohexane (γ-HCH) in Europe, with emphasis on continental surface waters. The model is found to reasonably reproduce γ-HCH distributions and variations along the years in atmosphere and soil; for continental surface waters, concentrations were reasonably well predicted for year 1995, when lindane was still used in agriculture, while for 2005, assuming severe restrictions in use, yields to substantial underestimation. Much better results were yielded when same mode of release as in 1995 was considered, supporting the conjecture that for γ-HCH, emission data rather that model structure and parameterization can be responsible for wrong estimation of concentrations. Future research should be directed to improve the quality of emission data. Joint interpretation of monitoring and modelling results, highlights that lindane emissions in Europe, despite the marked decreasing trend, persist beyond the provisions of existing legislation. An spatially-explicit multimedia modelling strategy was applied to describe the historical distribution of γ-HCH in European soils and surface waters