Influence of alpine mountain climate of Bavaria on patients with atopic diseases: studies at the Environmental Research Station Schneefernerhaus (UFS - Zugspitze) – a pilot study

The socio-environmental challenges the world faces are ‘swamps’: situations that are messy, complex, and uncertain. The aim of this paper is to help disciplinary scientists navigate these swamps. To achieve this, the paper evaluates an integrative framework designed for researching complex real-world problems, the Integration and Implementation Science (i2S) framework. As a pilot study, we examine seven inter and transdisciplinary agri-environmental case studies against the concepts presented in the i2S framework, and we hypothesise that considering concepts in the i2S framework during the planning and delivery of agri-environmental research will increase the usefulness of the research for next users. We found that for the types of complex, real-world research done in the case studies, increasing attention to the i2S dimensions correlated with increased usefulness for the end users. We conclude that using the i2S framework could provide handrails for researchers, to help them navigate the swamps when engaging with the complexity of socio-environmental problems.

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Interactive effect of vegetation and climate warming on total microbial and fungal biomass in soil

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-8403 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Maria Udovenko ◽

Vusal Guliyev ◽

Evgenia Blagodatskaya

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Land Use ◽

Microbial Biomass ◽

Fungal Biomass ◽

Soil Microbial Biomass ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Interactive Effect ◽

Environmental Research ◽

Research Station ◽

Soil Microbial

Soil microbiota ensuring sustainable functioning of terrestrial ecosystems is strongly dependent on climatic conditions and vegetation type. Even within the same climatic zone, active land use alters the size, structure and functioning of the microbial community. We hypothesized that land use effect on soil microbial biomass will be more pronounced under impact of global warming. We also tested whether the biomass of specific microbial group (e.g., fungi) is more sensitive to environmental changes than total microbial biomass.We proved these hypotheses in the experiments based on Global Change Experimental Facility platform, located at the field research station of the Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research in Bad Lauchst&#228;dt near Halle, Saxon-Anhalt, Germany. Experimental setup included 50 plots, located in 10 blocks (5 plots per block). Five blocks are under ambient climate and the rest 5 blocks are subjected to a realistic climate change treatment (under conditions predicted by several models of climate change in Central Germany for 2050&#8211;2080 period). Five land use types were established in every block: conventional farming; organic farming; intensively used meadow, extensively used meadow and extensively used pasture. We determined soil microbial biomass and its fungal component by chloroform fumigation-extraction method and by ergosterol content, respectively. We found that fungal biomass was more sensitive to intensive land use for crop production than to climate change. The possible mechanisms of such a sensitivity will be discussed.

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Species checklist of Orthoptera (Insecta) from Sakaerat Environmental Research Station, Thailand (Southeast Asia)

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4306.3.1 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4306 (3) ◽

pp. 301 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

PATTARAWICH DAWWRUENG ◽

MING KAI TAN ◽

TAKSIN ARTCHAWAKOM ◽

SURACHIT WAENGSOTHORN

Keyword(s):

Biosphere Reserve ◽

Environmental Research ◽

Evergreen Forest ◽

Research Station ◽

Undescribed Species ◽

Biosphere Reserves ◽

Dipterocarp Forest ◽

Dry Evergreen Forest ◽

Species Checklist ◽

Dry Dipterocarp Forest

Sakaerat Biosphere Reserve is one of the four Biosphere Reserves in Thailand. It is situated at Khorat Plateau and comprises of mainly dry evergreen forest and dry dipterocarp forest. Despite studies that document its rich biodiversity, there was no concerted study on the orthopteran diversity. Recent sampling by the authors in Sakaerat led to the discovery of numerous undescribed species. A checklist, first for the place, is also reported here, each species represented with a habitus photograph. In total, 128 species of Orthoptera from 11 families were recorded. Caelifera (grasshoppers) were represented with five families and Ensifera (crickets and katydids) were represented with six families, making up 10 of the 16 lineages in the orthoptera phylogeny.

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Intra-annual variations of spectrally resolved gravity wave activity in the upper mesosphere/lower thermosphere (UMLT) region

Atmospheric Measurement Techniques ◽

10.5194/amt-13-5117-2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (9) ◽

pp. 5117-5128

Author(s):

René Sedlak ◽

Alexandra Zuhr ◽

Carsten Schmidt ◽

Sabine Wüst ◽

Michael Bittner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gravity Wave ◽

Annual Cycle ◽

Large Scale ◽

Middle Atmosphere ◽

Wave Spectrum ◽

Lower Thermosphere ◽

Wave Activity ◽

Environmental Research ◽

Research Station ◽

Period Range

Abstract. The period range between 6 and 480 min is known to represent the major part of the gravity wave spectrum driving mesospheric dynamics. We present a method using wavelet analysis to calculate gravity wave activity with a high period resolution and apply it to temperature data acquired with the OH* airglow spectrometers called GRIPS (GRound-based Infrared P-branch Spectrometer) within the framework of the NDMC (Network for the Detection of Mesospheric Change; https://ndmc.dlr.de, last access: 22 September 2020). We analyse data measured at the NDMC sites Abastumani in Georgia (ABA; 41.75∘ N, 42.82∘ E), ALOMAR (Arctic Lidar Observatory for Middle Atmosphere Research) in Norway (ALR; 69.28∘ N, 16.01∘ E), Neumayer Station III in the Antarctic (NEU; 70.67∘ S, 8.27∘ W), Observatoire de Haute-Provence in France (OHP; 43.93∘ N, 5.71∘ E), Oberpfaffenhofen in Germany (OPN; 48.09∘ N, 11.28∘ E), Sonnblick in Austria (SBO; 47.05∘ N, 12.95∘ E), Tel Aviv in Israel (TAV; 32.11∘ N, 34.80∘ E), and the Environmental Research Station Schneefernerhaus on top of Zugspitze mountain in Germany (UFS; 47.42∘ N, 10.98∘ E). All eight instruments are identical in construction and deliver consistent and comparable data sets. For periods shorter than 60 min, gravity wave activity is found to be relatively low and hardly shows any seasonal variability on the timescale of months. We find a semi-annual cycle with maxima during winter and summer for gravity waves with periods longer than 60 min, which gradually develops into an annual cycle with a winter maximum for longer periods. The transition from a semi-annual pattern to a primarily annual pattern starts around a gravity wave period of 200 min. Although there are indications of enhanced gravity wave sources above mountainous terrain, the overall pattern of gravity wave activity does not differ significantly for the abovementioned observation sites. Thus, large-scale mechanisms such as stratospheric wind filtering seem to dominate the evolution of mesospheric gravity wave activity.

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Fiabilidad y validez de la escala de actitudes hacia el medio ambiente natural para adolescentes (Aman-a)

Revista de Humanidades ◽

10.5944/rdh.39.2020.25471 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 247

Author(s):

Daniel Musitu-Ferrer ◽

Macarena Esteban Ibáñez ◽

Celeste León-Moreno ◽

Juan Evaristo Callejas Jerónimo ◽

Luis V. Amador-Muñoz

Keyword(s):

Gender Differences ◽

Factor Analysis ◽

Pilot Study ◽

Natural Environment ◽

School Adjustment ◽

Two Dimensions ◽

Environmental Research ◽

Reliability Indices ◽

Significant Relationships ◽

Confirmatory Analysis

Resumen: El objetivo de este trabajo fue construir y validar una escala de actitudes hacia el medio ambiente natural en adolescentes españoles. Se generaron 72 ítems a partir de los escritos de 264 adolescentes sobre actitudes hacia el medio ambiente. A través del juicio de expertos y de un estudio piloto se efectuó́ una depuración reduciendo la escala a 9 ítems que se administraron a una muestra de 833 adolescentes de ambos sexos. Mediante un análisis factorial exploratorio, se identificaron dos dimensiones, actitud proximal y actitud distal, que fueron replicadas a través de un análisis confirmatorio cuyos resultados mostraron un buen ajuste a los datos. Los índices de fiabilidad fueron adecuados y respecto de la validez se obtuvieron relaciones significativas con la empatía con el medio ambiente natural en sus dos dimensiones, cognitiva y emocional, y el ajuste escolar. También se obtuvieron diferencias significativas en función del género en la actitud distal, pero no en la actitud proximal. Se analizan los resultados obtenidos y se subraya la importancia de esta escala en la investigación ambiental en la adolescencia. Abstract: The aim of this study was to design and validate a scale of attitudes towards the natural environment among Spanish teenagers. 72 items were generated from the writings of 264 adolescents on attitudes towards the environment. Through expert judgement and a pilot study, a depuration was carried out, reducing the scale to 9 items that were administered to a sample of 833 adolescents of both sexes. By means of an exploratory Factor analysis, two dimensions were identified, proximal attitude and distal attitude, which were replicated through a confirmatory analysis whose results showed a good fit to the data. Reliability indices were adequate and with respect to validity significant relationships were obtained with empathy with the natural environment in its two dimensions, cognitive and emotional, and school adjustment. Significant gender differences were also found in distal, but not proximal, attitudes. Results obtained are analysed and the importance of this scale in environmental research in adolescence is also highlighted.

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Pollution Events at the High-Altitude Mountain Site Zugspitze-Schneefernerhaus (2670 m a.s.l.), Germany

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos10060330 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 330 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Homa Ghasemifard ◽

Felix R. Vogel ◽

Ye Yuan ◽

Marvin Luepke ◽

Jia Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Isotopic Signature ◽

Environmental Research ◽

The Arctic ◽

Research Station ◽

Mean Values ◽

Air Masses ◽

Mixing Ratios ◽

Clean Air ◽

Pollution Events ◽

Keeling Plots

Within the CO2 time series measured at the Environmental Research Station Schneefernerhaus (UFS), Germany, as part of the Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) program, pollution episodes are traced back to local and regional emissions, identified by δ13C(CO2) as well as ratios of CO and CH4 to CO2 mixing ratios. Seven episodes of sudden enhancements in the tropospheric CO2 mixing ratio are identified in the measurements of mixing/isotopic ratios during five winter months from October 2012 to February 2013. The short-term CO2 variations are closely correlated with changes in CO and CH4 mixing ratios, achieving mean values of 6.0 ± 0.2 ppb/ppm for CO/CO2 and 6.0 ± 0.1 ppb/ppm for CH4/CO2. The estimated isotopic signature of CO2 sources (δs) ranges between −35‰ and −24‰, with higher values indicating contributions from coal combustion or wood burning, and lower values being the result of natural gas or gasoline. Moving Keeling plots with site-specific data selection criteria are applied to detect these pollution events. Furthermore, the HYSPLIT trajectory model is utilized to identify the trajectories during periods with CO2 peak events. Short trajectories are found covering Western and Central Europe, while clean air masses flow from the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean.

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Communicating Climate Change to broad public through Educations - Project KlimaAlps

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-4690 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Cornelia Baumann ◽

Inga Beck

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Environmental Research ◽

Background Information ◽

High Mountain ◽

Research Station ◽

Human Beings ◽

Mountain Areas ◽

The Alps

Education is key in order to create a generation that thinks and acts sustainable and that considers nature as one of the most important good.Within the three years Interreg Project &#8216;KlimaAlps&#8217; (www.klimaalps.eu) &#8211; making climate change visible - one major task is the establishment of a training for educators, to become a certified &#8216;Climate-Pedagogue&#8217; for the alpine region. The &#8216;Climate-Pedagogue&#8217;-training contains background information of climate change in the Alps and a variety of innovative educational tools and methods. It covers aspects of the high mountain areas, rivers and lakes, human beings, agriculture as well as moors. &#160;The project is managed by the &#8216;Energiewende Oberland&#8217;; five additional partners from Austria and Bavaria are responsible for e. g. a high quality of the taught scientific information (Environmental Research Station Schneefernerhaus), the didactical input (University of Innsbruck, Department of Geography), the outreach activities and the implementation (Naturpark Karwendel, Klimab&#252;ndnis Ober&#246;sterreich, Landratsamt Garmisch-Partenkirchen).&#160;During the last one and half years, the concept for the &#8216;Climate-Pedagogue&#8217;- training was worked out in cooperation with other environmental facilities and in March 2021 the first lectures of a pilot run with over 30 selected participants were held. In total there will be two runs in 2021 in order to evaluate the recent version of the training as good as possible.&#160;The next and long-term steps will be the firm establishment of a chargeable &#8216;Climate-Pedagogue&#8217; &#8211; Training for every interested person for at least the coming ten years, as well as the strengthening and growing of the network.&#160;The presentation will give a short overview about the entire project as well as details about the &#8216;Climate-Pedagogue&#8217; &#8211; Training and some first impressions of the already hold lectures in 2021.

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Pilot Study of Contaminants near Station Nord, a Military Airbase and Research Station in NE Greenland

Sustainable Cities and Military Installations - NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security ◽

10.1007/978-94-007-7161-1_10 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 177-198 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

M. Goodsite ◽

H. Skov ◽

G. Asmund ◽

O. Bennike ◽

A. Feilberg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pilot Study ◽

Research Station

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The Environmental Research Station Schneefernerhaus

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-21235 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Inga Beck ◽

Markus Neumann

Keyword(s):

Data Transfer ◽

Regional Climate ◽

General Information ◽

Early Career ◽

Environmental Research ◽

International Exchange ◽

Research Station ◽

Research Activities ◽

Cloud Dynamics

The Environmental Research Station Schneefernerhaus (UFS) is Germany&#8217;s highest research station, located at an altitude of 2650 m. For over 20 years, many different institutions have been working here on a variety of permanent studies on an inter- and trans-disciplinary basis. Eight key scientific activities were assigned in 2007. These are:<ul><li>Satellite-based observations and early detection</li> <li>Regional climate and atmosphere</li> <li>Cosmic radiation and radioactivity</li> <li>Hydrology</li> <li>Environmental and high-altitude medicine</li> <li>Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW)</li> <li>Biosphere and Geosphere</li> <li>Cloud dynamics</li> </ul>Beyond these permanent research activities, around 80 temporary projects have been conducted with over 13 international partners. Over 30 projects are currently running at the UFS. The &#8216;size&#8217; of the projects varies from small research groups and very short-term studies, to large research consortiums and long-term projects. The UFS is, furthermore, a partner in a number of international networks of (mountain) observatories, such as the Global Atmosphere Watch program of the WMO. International exchange is therefore guaranteed.The operating company of the UFS makes the high quality of research possible. It takes care of the needs of the researchers, such as logistics, data transfer and exchange, and outreach. The UFS also serves as a meeting and educational center for research teams, operators of other stations and early- career scientists. The UFS is easily accessible all year round: a train line runs up the mountain, directly into the UFS building and allows the transportation of heavy material and devices. A well-equipped workshop allows the in-situ repair of instruments.Beside some general information about the UFS, the presentation will highlight some recent projects in which the UFS has been involved. It will also show how to use the UFS for your own research ideas.

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