Analyzation of marine snow and fecal pellets collected in sediment trap CBi-2 off Cape Blanc, Mauritania

We analyzed size-specific dry mass, sinking velocity, and apparent diffusivity in field-sampled marine snow, laboratory-made aggregates formed by diatoms or coccolithophorids, and small and large zooplankton fecal pellets with naturally varying content of ballast materials. Apparent diffusivity was measured directly inside aggregates and large (millimeter-long) fecal pellets using microsensors. Large fecal pellets, collected in the coastal upwelling off Cape Blanc, Mauritania, showed the highest volume-specific dry mass and sinking velocities because of a high content of opal, carbonate, and lithogenic material (mostly Saharan dust), which together comprised ~80% of the dry mass. The average solid matter density within these large fecal pellets was 1.7 g cm**-3, whereas their excess density was 0.25 ± 0.07 g cm**-3. Volume-specific dry mass of all sources of aggregates and fecal pellets ranged from 3.8 to 960 µg mm**-3, and average sinking velocities varied between 51 and 732 m d**-1. Porosity was >0.43 and >0.96 within fecal pellets and phytoplankton-derived aggregates, respectively. Averaged values of apparent diffusivity of gases within large fecal pellets and aggregates were 0.74 and 0.95 times that of the free diffusion coefficient in sea water, respectively. Ballast increases sinking velocity and, thus, also potential O2 fluxes to sedimenting aggregates and fecal pellets. Hence, ballast minerals limit the residence time of aggregates in the water column by increasing sinking velocity, but apparent diffusivity and potential oxygen supply within aggregates are high, whereby a large fraction of labile organic carbon can be respired during sedimentation.

Information processing relevant to military command: survey, recommendations and bibliography (final report)

Vol. 2: Bibliography appendix.

Computer programs for assessing required mission sizes and damage to ground targets in tactical air current operations planning.

"Prepared under Contract AF 19(628)-4805 by the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory, Inc., of Cornell University."

A flexible and practical framework for reporting on ecologically sustainable development for wild capture fisheries

The principles of sustainable development (or ecologically sustainable development as it is known in Australia) are now accepted as the foundation for natural resource management worldwide and there are increasing community expectations that they will be implemented explicitly. Previous attempts to assess sustainable development for fisheries have mostly failed because the methods have been too restrictive, often attempting to develop a single set of indicators. In 2000, all the fishery agencies and major stakeholder groups in Australia supported the development of a National ESD Framework. This initiative resulted in a practical system being generated through the results of a series of case studies and stakeholder workshops. The Australian National ESD Framework divides ESD into eight major components within the three main categories of ecological well-being, human well-being and ability to contribute: Four main steps are used to complete an ESD report for a fishery: (1) identify relevant issues, (2) prioritise these using risk assessment, (3) complete appropriately detailed reports on each issue and (4) compile the material into a report. The tools to assist this process are now available and have been used to generate reports for many Australian fisheries. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The role of community college faculty in teaching and learning for sustainable development

The purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes, beliefs, and practices of community college professors regarding education for sustainable development (ESD). In-depth interviews with 14 professors from different disciplines were conducted. The participants taught at Miami Dade College, Florida, a Talloires Declaration signatory since 2006, and all had attended Green Studies professional development workshops. Written documents such as assignments and samples of student work were used for triangulation. The annual report of the college’s Earth Ethics Institute and its Web site served as additional sources. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for common themes. The Talloires Declaration’s 10-point action plan and the key characteristics of ESD (UN DESD, 2006) served as the conceptual framework. The study found that the professors considered ESD an essential issue. The majority discussed the economic and social aspects of ESD; however, the environmental aspect was mentioned most frequently. The professors’ conceptualizations of ESD were influenced by their experiences and evidenced by the metaphors they used. Although their engagement with ESD differed, the professors expressed optimism toward ESD related teaching and learning. They regarded ESD as compatible with their subjects, and most had already been infusing sustainability into their courses or planned to do so. Additionally, the participants’ teaching practices reflected many of the characteristics of ESD. Even though the professors considered ESD challenging, they believed that they could make contributions to the college’s effort. The metaphor of “Planting a Seed” was frequently used to describe this holistic approach. The study also found that many professors regarded interpersonal relationships and communication significant factors for the advancement of ESD. The participants described several challenges to integrating ESD at their college. These related to time constraints, density of curriculum, institutional size and fragmentation, dearth of administrative support and incentives, students’ lack of academic preparation and sustainability awareness, students’ inability to focus on ESD because of personal, social, or economic circumstances, and professors’ frustration about a divisive atmosphere as a result of their engagement with sustainability. Despite these obstacles, the professors believed that ESD could be successfully woven into the community college experience.

Functionalized carbon micro/nanostructures for biomolecular detection

Advancements in the micro-and nano-scale fabrication techniques have opened up new avenues for the development of portable, scalable and easier-to-use biosensors. Over the last few years, electrodes made of carbon have been widely used as sensing units in biosensors due to their attractive physiochemical properties. The aim of this research is to investigate different strategies to develop functionalized high surface carbon micro/nano-structures for electrochemical and biosensing devices. High aspect ratio three-dimensional carbon microarrays were fabricated via carbon microelectromechanical systems (C-MEMS) technique, which is based on pyrolyzing pre-patterned organic photoresist polymers. To further increase the surface area of the carbon microstructures, surface porosity was introduced by two strategies, i.e. (i) using F127 as porogen and (ii) oxygen reactive ion etch (RIE) treatment. Electrochemical characterization showed that porous carbon thin film electrodes prepared by using F127 as porogen had an effective surface area (Aeff 185%) compared to the conventional carbon electrode. To achieve enhanced electrochemical sensitivity for C-MEMS based functional devices, graphene was conformally coated onto high aspect ratio three-dimensional (3D) carbon micropillar arrays using electrostatic spray deposition (ESD) technique. The amperometric response of graphene/carbon micropillar electrode arrays exhibited higher electrochemical activity, improved charge transfer and a linear response towards H2O2 detection between 250&mgr;M to 5.5mM. Furthermore, carbon structures with dimensions from 50 nano-to micrometer level have been fabricated by pyrolyzing photo-nanoimprint lithography patterned organic resist polymer. Microstructure, elemental composition and resistivity characterization of the carbon nanostructures produced by this process were very similar to conventional photoresist derived carbon. Surface functionalization of the carbon nanostructures was performed using direct amination technique. Considering the need for requisite functional groups to covalently attach bioreceptors on the carbon surface for biomolecule detection, different oxidation techniques were compared to study the types of carbon-oxygen groups formed on the surface and their percentages with respect to different oxidation pretreatment times. Finally, a label-free detection strategy using signaling aptamer/protein binding complex for platelet-derived growth factor oncoprotein detection on functionalized three-dimensional carbon microarrays platform was demonstrated. The sensor showed near linear relationship between the relative fluorescence difference and protein concentration even in the sub-nanomolar range with an excellent detection limit of 5 pmol.

The organic sea-surface microlayer in the upwelling region off the coast of Peru and potential implications for air-sea exchange processes

The sea-surface microlayer (SML) is at the upper- most surface of the ocean, linking the hydrosphere with the atmosphere. The presence and enrichment of organic compounds in the SML have been suggested to influence air- sea gas exchange processes as well as the emission of primary organic aerosols. Here, we report on organic matter components collected from an approximately 50µm thick SML and from the underlying water (ULW), ca. 20 cm below the SML, in December 2012 during the SOPRAN METEOR 91 cruise to the highly productive, coastal upwelling regime off the coast of Peru. Samples were collected at 37 stations including coastal upwelling sites and off-shore stations with less organic matter and were analyzed for total and dissolved high molecular weight (> 1 kDa) combined carbohydrates (TCCHO, DCCHO), free amino acids (FAA), total and dissolved hydrolyzable amino acids (THAA, DHAA), transparent exopolymer particles (TEP), Coomassie stainable particles (CSPs), total and dissolved organic carbon (TOC, DOC), total and dissolved nitrogen (TN, TDN), as well as bacterial and phytoplankton abundance. Our results showed a close coupling between organic matter concentrations in the water column and in the SML for almost all components except for FAA and DHAA that showed highest enrichment in the SML on average. Accumulation of gel particles (i.e., TEP and CSP) in the SML differed spatially. While CSP abundance in the SML was not related to wind speed, TEP abundance decreased with wind speed, leading to a depletion of TEP in the SML at about 5 m s-1 . Our study provides insight to the physical and biological control of organic matter enrichment in the SML, and discusses the potential role of organic matter in the SML for air-sea exchange processes.

The Role of ‘Edutainment’ in Education for Sustainable Development

The Sustainable Strategies Game (SSG) is being developed as ‘edutainment’ in response to the need to understand sustainable futures and advocate sustainability within workplaces in Higher Education. SSG seeks to both deliver experiential teaching and learning for business sustainability and enhance students’ learning experiences within Worcester Business School. This paper presents findings from action research undertaken to formally investigate two aspects of SSG within edutainment for ESD: firstly, it explores the value students obtain from game playing as an approach to sustainability learning. Secondly, it establishes students’ suggestions for evolutions to SSG, e.g. game design and additional features such as social media interventions or legal challenges, to increase its value as a tool for teaching and learning. Informal feedback following sessions playing SSG suggests games generally generate positive effects on students’ learning. Students highlighted SSG offered an enjoyable alternative approach to learning and could drive changes to sustainability thinking. Introducing such gameplay offers the potential to engage participants in collaborative behaviours and encourage consideration of profitability through strategies which carry less impact on the environment; vital to create a sustainable future. This paper presents qualitative evidence from game players that can enhance SSG as a tool to further improve students’ learning experience and its value as edutainment rather than entertainment within ESD.

A Imagética como estratégia de ensino da Técnica de Dança Clássica com alunos do 3º ano de Dança da Academia de Dança do Vale do Sousa

Relatório Final de Estágio apresentado à Escola Superior de Dança, com vista à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ensino de Dança.