scholarly journals COBRA: A Research Accelerator for the Crustal Ocean Biosphere

2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 130-131
Author(s):  
Julie A. Huber ◽  
Beth N. Orcutt
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Earth Science ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Private Institutions ◽  
Data Systems ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Science And Policy ◽  
Human Perturbation ◽  
Inform Decision Making

Abstract The deep seafloor covers two-thirds of Earth's surface area, but our understanding of the ecosystems and resources found in the deep ocean, as well as the ability of deep-sea ecosystems to withstand human perturbation, is limited. These deep-sea habitats demand urgent study as there are emergent human uses in the form of deep-sea mining and carbon sequestration that will fundamentally alter physical, chemical, and biological conditions that took millions of years to establish. We propose the international network COBRA, a research accelerator for the crustal ocean biosphere. COBRA will bring together diverse stakeholders and experts, including interdisciplinary academic and government scientists, private institutions, policy makers, data systems engineers, industry experts, and others to coordinate efforts that generate new knowledge and inform decision making about activities that could affect the deep ocean and, by extension, all of society. We will also train the next generation of leaders in ocean exploration, science, and policy through an innovative virtual program to carry this effort into future generations of ocean and earth science research. COBRA will inform policies relating to emergent industrial uses of the deep ocean, decrease the likelihood of serious harm to the environment, and maintain ecosystem services for the benefit of society.

scholarly journals Nudging transparent behavioural science and policy

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
OLIVIA M. MAYNARD ◽  
MARCUS R. MUNAFÒ
Keyword(s):  
Science Research ◽  
Incentive Structure ◽  
Behavioural Science ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Science And Policy ◽  
Behavioural Insights ◽  
Study Protocols ◽  
Research Transparency

AbstractThere are inherent differences in the priorities of academics and policy-makers. These pose unique challenges for teams such as the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), which has positioned itself as an organisation conducting academically rigorous behavioural science research in policy settings. Here we outline the threats to research transparency and reproducibility that stem from working with policy-makers and other non-academic stakeholders. These threats affect how we perform, communicate, verify and evaluate research. Solutions that increase research transparency include pre-registering study protocols, making data open and publishing summaries of results. We suggest an incentive structure (a simple ‘nudge’) that rewards BIT's non-academic partners for engaging in these practices.

scholarly journals The Fragmentation of Global Governance Architectures: A Framework for Analysis

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 14-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Biermann ◽  
Philipp Pattberg ◽  
Harro van Asselt ◽  
Fariborz Zelli
Keyword(s):  
Global Governance ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Private Institutions ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Governance Challenges ◽  
Alternative Hypotheses ◽  
Governance Architecture

Most research on global governance has focused either on theoretical accounts of the overall phenomenon or on empirical studies of distinct institutions that serve to solve particular governance challenges. In this article we analyze instead “governance architectures,” defined as the overarching system of public and private institutions, principles, norms, regulations, decision-making procedures and organizations that are valid or active in a given issue area of world politics. We focus on one aspect that is turning into a major source of concern for scholars and policy-makers alike: the “fragmentation” of governance architectures in important policy domains. The article offers a typology of different degrees of fragmentation, which we describe as synergistic, cooperative, and conflictive fragmentation. We then systematically assess alternative hypotheses over the relative advantages and disadvantages of different degrees of fragmentation. We argue that moderate degrees of fragmentation may entail both significant costs and benefits, while higher degrees of fragmentation are likely to decrease the overall performance of a governance architecture. The article concludes with policy options on how high degrees of fragmentation could be reduced. Fragmentation is prevalent in particular in the current governance of climate change, which we have hence chosen as illustration for our discussion.

scholarly journals Views of health care professionals and policy-makers on the use of surveillance data to combat antimicrobial resistance

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustafa Al-Haboubi ◽  
Andrew Trathen ◽  
Nick Black ◽  
Elizabeth Eastmure ◽  
Nicholas Mays
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Secondary Care ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Surveillance Data ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Electronic Prescribing ◽  
Data Systems ◽  
Policy Makers

Abstract Background Providing healthcare professionals with health surveillance data aims to support professional and organisational behaviour change. The UK Five Year Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Strategy 2013 to 2018 identified better access to and use of surveillance data as a key component. Our aim was to determine the extent to which data on antimicrobial use and resistance met the perceived needs of health care professionals and policy-makers at national, regional and local levels, and how provision could be improved. Methods We conducted 41 semi-structured interviews with national policy makers in the four Devolved Administrations and 71 interviews with health care professionals in six locations across the United Kingdom selected to achieve maximum variation in terms of population and health system characteristics. Transcripts were analysed thematically using a mix of a priori reasoning guided by the main topics in the interview guide together with themes emerging inductively from the data. Views were considered at three levels - primary care, secondary care and national - and in terms of availability of data, current uses, benefits, gaps and potential improvements. Results Respondents described a range of uses for prescribing and resistance data. The principal gaps identified were prescribing in private practice, internet prescribing and secondary care (where some hospitals did not have electronic prescribing systems). Some respondents under-estimated the range of data available. There was a perception that the responsibility for collecting and analysing data often rests with a few individuals who may lack sufficient time and appropriate skills. Conclusions There is a need to raise awareness of data availability and the potential value of these data, and to ensure that data systems are more accessible. Any skills gap at local level in how to process and use data needs to be addressed. This requires an identification of the best methods to improve support and education relating to AMR data systems.

scholarly journals Multifunctionality of agriculture, public policies and scientific evidences: Some critical issues of contemporary controversies

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 53-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Laurent ◽  
Marielle Berriet-Solliec ◽  
Marc Kirsch ◽  
Pierre Labarthe ◽  
AurélieT AurélieTrouvé
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Evidence Based Practices ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Science And Policy ◽  
Public Policy Analysis ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
The Status ◽  
New Situation

Various theoretical models of public policy analysis are used to treat situations of decision-making in which public deciders have to take into account the multifunctionality of agriculture. For some, science-society relations are not really problematical. Others acknowledge the current attempts of these policy-makers to find adequate scientific knowledge, and the difficulties they encounter. These difficulties stem partly from the very content of knowledge produced by research. Could other modes of production be more efficient? The status of the knowledge produced by these approaches is a subject of debate. Bridging the divide between science and policy more effectively is not only a question of knowledge brokerage.Accessibility and reliability of the existing evidences are also problems to be addressed. The debates around evidence-based practices may provide some landmarks in this new situation although they also emphasize the limits of the tools that can be built for this purpose.  

scholarly journals Stalagmite Layers Reveal Hidden Climate Stories

Eos ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy Baker ◽  
Gregoire Mariethoz ◽  
Laia Comas-Bru ◽  
Andreas Hartmann ◽  
Silvia Frisia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Earth Science ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Growth Properties

A global investigation discovers where annually laminated stalagmites are found, analyzes their growth properties, and explains how they can be best used in Earth science research.

scholarly journals Glacial – interglacial atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> change: a simple "hypsometric effect" on deep-ocean carbon sequestration?

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 711-743 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. C. Skinner
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Storage Capacity ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Carbon Reservoir ◽  
Ocean Carbon

Abstract. Given the magnitude and dynamism of the deep marine carbon reservoir, it is almost certain that past glacial – interglacial fluctuations in atmospheric CO2 have relied at least in part on changes in the carbon storage capacity of the deep sea. To date, physical ocean circulation mechanisms that have been proposed as viable explanations for glacial – interglacial CO2 change have focussed almost exclusively on dynamical or kinetic processes. Here, a simple mechanism is proposed for increasing the carbon storage capacity of the deep sea that operates via changes in the volume of southern-sourced deep-water filling the ocean basins, as dictated by the hypsometry of the ocean floor. It is proposed that a water-mass that occupies more than the bottom 3 km of the ocean will essentially determine the carbon content of the marine reservoir. Hence by filling this interval with southern-sourced deep-water (enriched in dissolved CO2 due to its particular mode of formation) the amount of carbon sequestered in the deep sea may be greatly increased. A simple box-model is used to test this hypothesis, and to investigate its implications. It is suggested that up to 70% of the observed glacial – interglacial CO2 change might be explained by the replacement of northern-sourced deep-water below 2.5 km water depth by its southern counterpart. Most importantly, it is found that an increase in the volume of southern-sourced deep-water allows glacial CO2 levels to be simulated easily with only modest changes in Southern Ocean biological export or overturning. If incorporated into the list of contributing factors to marine carbon sequestration, this mechanism may help to significantly reduce the "deficit" of explained glacial – interglacial CO2 change.

scholarly journals The Search for Supernova-Produced Radionuclides in Terrestrial Deep-Sea Archives

2012 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Feige ◽  
A. Wallner ◽  
S. R. Winkler ◽  
S. Merchel ◽  
L. K. Fifield ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Marine Sediment ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Transport Mechanisms ◽  
Supernova Shell ◽  
Process Element ◽  
Insight Into

AbstractAn enhanced concentration of 60Fe was found in a deep ocean crust in 2004 in a layer corresponding to an age of ∼2 Myr. The confirmation of this signal in terrestrial archives as supernova-induced and the detection of other supernova-produced radionuclides is of great interest. We have identified two suitable marine sediment cores from the South Australian Basin and estimated the intensity of a possible signal of the supernova-produced radionuclides 26Al, 53Mn, 60Fe, and the pure r-process element 244Pu in these cores. The finding of these radionuclides in a sediment core might allow us to improve the time resolution of the signal and thus to link the signal to a supernova event in the solar vicinity ∼2 Myr ago. Furthermore, it gives us an insight into nucleosynthesis scenarios in massive stars, condensation into dust grains and transport mechanisms from the supernova shell into the solar system.

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