Ein neues Probenahmesystem für Bodengasproben bei gleichzeitiger in-situ Bestimmung des scheinbaren Gasdiffusionskoeffizienten im Boden

Die Bodenbelüftung ist eine zentrale Einflussgröße für wichtige physikochemische Bodeneigenschaften (Sauerstoffverfügbarkeit, Redoxpotential, pH) und damit auch für die biologische Aktivität im Boden. Oft wird angenommen, dass der Gasaustausch zwischen Boden und Atmosphäre durch reine Diffusion erfolgt und durch das Fick´sche Gesetz beschrieben werden kann. Der scheinbare Gasdiffusionskoeffizient des Bodens (Ds) beschreibt als Proportionalitätsfaktor die Relation zwischen diffusivem Gasfluss und Gaskonzentrationsgradienten in der porösen Struktur des Bodens. Damit beschreibt er, wie „gut“ ein Gas „passiv“ durch die Bodenstruktur transportiert wird (= diffundiert). Eine häufig verwendete Methode zur Bestimmung des Ds basiert auf Laboruntersuchungen von ungestörten Bodenproben. Allerdings ist diese Methode destruktiv, weshalb nachfolgende oder andauernde Messungen nicht möglich sind. Zudem kann die Labormethode nur Informationen mit räumlich begrenzter Auflösung geben. Daraus ergeben sich erhebliche Unsicherheiten über die wahre Belüftungssituation im Profil. Wir haben ein Gasprobenahmesystem entwickelt, das sich einfach und schnell installieren lässt und mit dem sich ein inertes Tracer-Gas kontinuierlich in den Boden injizieren lässt. Aus der resultierenden Gaskonzentrationsverteilung entlang des Entnahmesystems lässt sich das Ds Profil mittels inverser Modellierung ableiten. Das System wurde im Labor mit homogenen Sanden und während einer Feldkampagne getestet. Als Referenz wurden Proben im Labor gemessen. Die Ergebnisse von beiden Methoden stimmen gut überein. In Kombination mit Konzentrationsprofilen natürlich vorkommender Gase lässt sich hieraus das vertikale Profil der Gasumsatzes berechnen. Das neue System kann schnell installiert werden und kann über längere Zeit zum Monitoring des Ds und der Bodengaskonzentrationen am Ort verbleiben; somit kann man die Veränderung von Ds-Profils auch nach Regen oder bei Wind zeitlich und räumlich quantifizieren

Synergetic use of IASI and TROPOMI space borne sensors for generating a tropospheric methane profile product

The thermal infrared nadir spectra of IASI (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer) are successfully used for retrievals of different atmospheric trace gas profiles. However, these retrievals offer generally reduced information about the lowermost tropospheric layer due to the lack of thermal contrast close to the surface. Spectra of scattered solar radiation observed in the near and/or short wave infrared, for instance by TROPOMI (TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument) offer higher sensitivity near ground and are used for the retrieval of total column averaged mixing ratios of a variety of atmospheric trace gases. Here we present a method for the synergetic use of IASI profile and TROPOMI total column data. Our method uses the output of the individual retrievals and consists of linear algebra a posteriori calculations (i.e. calculation after the individual retrievals). We show that this approach is largely equivalent to applying the spectra of the different sensors together in a single retrieval procedure, but with the substantial advantage of being applicable to data generated with different individual retrieval processors, of being very time efficient, and of directly benefiting from the high quality and most recent improvements of the individual retrieval processors.This research has largely benefit from funds of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (provided for the two projects MOTIV and TEDDY with IDs/Geschäftszeichen 290612604/GZ:SCHN1126/2-1 and 416767181/GZ:SCHN1126/5-1, respectively) and from support by the European Space Agency in the context the "Sentinel-5p+Innovation (S5p+I) - Water Vapour Isotopologues (H2O-ISO)" activities. Furthermore, we acknowledge funds from the Ministerio de Economía y Competividad from Spain for the project INMENSE (CGL2016-80688-P)

Synergetic use of IASI profile and TROPOMI total-column level 2 methane retrieval products

The thermal infrared nadir spectra of IASI (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer) are successfully used for retrievals of different atmospheric trace gas profiles. However, these retrievals offer generally reduced information about the lowermost tropospheric layer due to the lack of thermal contrast close to the surface. Spectra of scattered solar radiation observed in the near-infrared and/or shortwave infrared, for instance by TROPOMI (TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument), offer higher sensitivity near the ground and are used for the retrieval of total-column-averaged mixing ratios of a variety of atmospheric trace gases. Here we present a method for the synergetic use of IASI profile and TROPOMI total-column level 2 retrieval products. Our method uses the output of the individual retrievals and consists of linear algebra a posteriori calculations (i.e. calculation after the individual retrievals). We show that this approach has strong theoretical similarities to applying the spectra of the different sensors together in a single retrieval procedure but with the substantial advantage of being applicable to data generated with different individual retrieval processors, of being very time efficient, and of directly benefiting from the high quality and most recent improvements of the individual retrieval processors. We demonstrate the method exemplarily for atmospheric methane (CH$_4$). We perform a theoretical evaluation and show that the a posteriori combination method yields a total-column-averaged CH$_4$ product (XCH$_4$) that conserves the good sensitivity of the corresponding TROPOMI product while merging it with the high-quality upper troposphere–lower stratosphere (UTLS) CH$_4$ partial-column information of the corresponding IASI product. As a consequence, the combined product offers additional sensitivity for the tropospheric CH$_4$ partial column, which is not provided by the individual TROPOMI nor the individual IASI product. The theoretically predicted synergetic effect is verified by comparisons to CH$_4$ reference data obtained from collocated XCH$_4$ measurements at 14 globally distributed TCCON (Total Carbon Column Observing Network) stations, CH$_4$ profile measurements made by 36 individual AirCore soundings, and tropospheric CH$_4$ data derived from continuous ground-based in situ observations made at two nearby Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) mountain stations. The comparisons clearly demonstrate that the combined product can reliably detect the actual variations of atmospheric XCH$_4$, CH$_4$ in the UTLS, and CH$_4$ in the troposphere. A similar good reliability for the latter is not achievable by the individual TROPOMI and IASI products

Platelet GPIIb supports initial pulmonary retention but inhibits subsequent proliferation of melanoma cells during hematogenic metastasis

Platelets modulate the process of cancer metastasis. However, current knowledge on the direct interaction of platelets and tumor cells is mostly based on findings obtained in vitro. We addressed the role of the platelet fibrinogen receptor glycoprotein IIb (integrin alpha IIb) for experimental melanoma metastasis in vivo. Highly metastatic B16-D5 melanoma cells were injected intravenously into GPIIb-deficient (GPIIb(-/-)) or wildtype (WT) mice. Acute accumulation of tumor cells in the pulmonary vasculature was assessed in real-time by confocal videofluorescence microscopy. Arrest of tumor cells was dramatically reduced in GPIIb(-/-) mice as compared to WT. Importantly, we found that mainly multicellular aggregates accumulated in the pulmonary circulation of WT, instead B16-D5 aggregates were significantly smaller in GPIIb(-/-) mice. While pulmonary arrest of melanoma was clearly dependent on GPIIb in this early phase of metastasis, we also addressed tumor progression 10 days after injection. Inversely, and unexpectedly, we found that melanoma metastasis was now increased in GPIIb(-/-) mice. In contrast, GPIIb did not regulate local melanoma proliferation in a subcutaneous tumor model. Our data suggest that the platelet fibrinogen receptor has a differential role in the modulation of hematogenic melanoma metastasis. While platelets clearly support early steps in pulmonary metastasis via GPIIb-dependent formation of platelet-tumor-aggregates, at a later stage its absence is associated with an accelerated development of melanoma metastases

Position paper: The potential role of optical biopsy in the study and diagnosis of environmental enteric dysfunction

Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) is a disease of the small intestine affecting children and adults in low and middle income countries. Arising as a consequence of repeated infections, gut inflammation results in impaired intestinal absorptive and barrier function, leading to poor nutrient uptake and ultimately to stunting and other developmental limitations. Progress towards new biomarkers and interventions for EED is hampered by the practical and ethical difficulties of cross-validation with the gold standard of biopsy and histology. Optical biopsy techniques — which can provide minimally invasive or noninvasive alternatives to biopsy — could offer other routes to validation and could potentially be used as point-of-care tests among the general population. This Consensus Statement identifies and reviews the most promising candidate optical biopsy technologies for applications in EED, critically assesses them against criteria identified for successful deployment in developing world settings, and proposes further lines of enquiry. Importantly, many of the techniques discussed could also be adapted to monitor the impaired intestinal barrier in other settings such as IBD, autoimmune enteropathies, coeliac disease, graft-versus-host disease, small intestinal transplantation or critical care

Analysis of Air Pressure Fluctuations and Topsoil Gas Concentrations within a Scots Pine Forest

High-precision differential air pressure measurements were conducted in the below-canopy space of a Scots pine forest and in the forest soil to investigate small air pressure fluctuations and their effect on soil gas flux. In addition to air pressure measurements, tracer gas concentration in the soil and airflow characteristics above and below the canopy were measured. Results suggest that air pressure fluctuations in the frequency range of 0.01 Hz–0.1 Hz are strongly dependent on above-canopy wind speed. While amplitudes of the observed air pressure fluctuations (<10 Pa) increase significantly with increasing above-canopy wind speed, the periods decrease significantly with increasing above-canopy wind speed. These air pressure fluctuations are associated with the pressure-pumping effect in the soil. A pressure-pumping coefficient was defined, which describes the strength of the pressure-pumping effect. During the measurement period, pressure-pumping coefficients up to 0.44 Pa·s−1 were found. The dependence of the pressure-pumping coefficient on mean above-canopy wind speed can be described well with a polynomial fit of second degree. The knowledge of this relation simplifies the quantification of the pressure-pumping effect in a Scots pine forest considerably, since only the mean above-canopy wind speed has to be measured. In addition, empirical modeling revealed that the pressure-pumping coefficient explains the largest fraction of the variance of tracer gas concentration in the topsoil

2D profiles of CO2, CH4, N2O and gas diffusivity in a well aerated soil: measurement and Finite Element Modeling

Soil gas fluxes depend on soil gas concentrations and physical properties of a soil. Taking soil samples for physical analysis into the laboratory strongly modifies soil gas concentrations and also cuts roots that sustain the activity in the rhizosphere. Since microbial processes interact with gas concentrations in soil, we need to study gas transport and production in situ.We developed a method to monitor the transport and production and consumption of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) in soils in situ in a two dimensional (2D) profile using tetra-fluoromethane (CF4) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) as tracer gases and Finite Element Modeling of soil gas transport. Continuous injection of the inert tracer gases and 2D gas sampling in a soil profile allowed for inverse modeling of the 2D profile of soil gas diffusivity. In a second step, the 2D profiles of the production and consumption of CO2, CH4, and N2O were inversely determined.Soil gas concentrations were monitored in a Scots pine stand in South-West Germany during a rain-free week in the fall. The 2D relative (so as to be independent of gas species) soil gas diffusivity profile showed large horizontal variability. Relative soil gas diffusivity was found to be anisotropic with the vertical direction greater by a factor of 1.26. Topsoil moisture decreased slowly over time resulting in an increase in relative soil gas diffusivity. The soil was found to be a source of CO2, and a net sink of CH4 and N2O, with the highest production (CO2) and consumption (CH4, N2O) occurring in the topsoil. The gas concentration and production profiles of CO2 were nearly horizontally homogenous, while those for CH4 showed larger horizontal differences. Net consumption of CH4 and net production of CO2 both increased as the soil dried. This occurred despite reverse trends for these variables in the topsoil (0-8 cm depth) which were more than offset by the underlying soil becoming more active. Sensitivity tests showed that the determination of 2D profiles of soil gas diffusivity and production and consumption of CO2 and CH4 were more reliable than the estimates for N2O because the magnitudes of these for N2O were very low. Our method represents a useful tool for the analyses of soil gas flux heterogeneities and associated microbial processes within soil profiles