Modeling of Surface UV Radiation Using Satellite Data

Solar UV radiation is harmful for life on planet Earth, but fortunately the atmospheric oxygen and ozone absorb almost entirely the most energetic UVC radiation photons. However, part of the UVB radiation and much of the UVA radiation reaches the surface of the Earth, and affect human health, environment, materials and drive atmospheric and aquatic photochemical processes. In order to quantify these effects and processes there is a need for ground-based UV measurements and radiative transfer modeling to estimate the amounts of UV radiation reaching the biosphere. Satellite measurements with their near-global spatial coverage and long-term data conti-nuity offer an attractive option for estimation of the surface UV radiation. This work focuses on radiative transfer theory based methods used for estimation of the UV radiation reaching the surface of the Earth. The objectives of the thesis were to implement the surface UV algorithm originally developed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for estimation of the surface UV irradiance from the meas-urements of the Dutch-Finnish built Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), to improve the original surface UV algorithm especially in relation with snow cover, to validate the OMI-derived daily surface UV doses against ground-based measurements, and to demonstrate how the satellite-derived surface UV data can be used to study the effects of the UV radiation. The thesis consists of seven original papers and a summary. The summary includes an introduction of the OMI instrument, a review of the methods used for modeling of the surface UV using satellite data as well as the con-clusions of the main results of the original papers. The first two papers describe the algorithm used for estimation of the surface UV amounts from the OMI measurements as well as the unique Very Fast Delivery processing system developed for processing of the OMI data received at the Sodankylä satellite data centre. The third and the fourth papers present algorithm improvements related to the surface UV albedo of the snow-covered land. Fifth paper presents the results of the comparison of the OMI-derived daily erythemal doses with those calculated from the ground-based measurement data. It gives an estimate of the expected accuracy of the OMI-derived sur-face UV doses for various atmospheric and other conditions, and discusses the causes of the differences between the satellite-derived and ground-based data. The last two papers demonstrate the use of the satellite-derived sur-face UV data. Sixth paper presents an assessment of the photochemical decomposition rates in aquatic environment. Seventh paper presents use of satellite-derived daily surface UV doses for planning of the outdoor material weathering tests.

Process of burnout: structure, antecedents, and consequences

The major changes that have been witnessed in today's workplaces are challenging the mental well-being of employed people. Stress and burnout are considered to be modern epidemics, and their importance to physical health and work ability has been acknowledged world-wide. The aim of the thesis was to study the concept of burnout as a process proceeding from its antecedents, through the development of the syndrome, and to its outcomes. Several work-related factors considered antecedents of burnout were studied in different occupational groups. The syndrome of burnout is seen as consisting of three dimensions - exhaustion, cynicism and lack of professional efficacy - and different alternatives for the sequential development of these dimensions were tested. Furthermore, several indicators of the severely detrimental health and work ability outcomes of burnout were investigated in a longitudinal study design. The research questions were as follows. 1) Is burnout, as measured with the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS), a three-dimensional construct and how invariant is the factorial structure across occupations (Finnish) and national samples (Finnish, Swedish and Dutch)? How persistent is exhaustion over time? 2) What is the sequential process of burnout? Is it similar across occupations? How do work stressors relate to the process? 3) How does burnout relate to severe health consequences as well as temporary and chronic work disability according to hospitalization periods, sick-leave episodes and receiving disability pensions? The data were collected between 1986 and 2005. The population of the study consisted of respondents to a company-wide questionnaire survey carried out in 1996-1997 (N=9705, response rate 63%). The participants comprised 6025 blue-collar workers and 3680 white-collar workers. The majority were men (N=7494) and the average age was 43.7 years. In addition, a sample from the population had responded to a questionnaire survey in 1988, which was combined with the 1996 data to form panel data on 713 respondents. The register-based data were collected between 1986 and 2005 from 1) the company's occupational health services' records for a sample of respondents from the 1996 questionnaire survey (sick-leave data), 2) hospitalization records from the Hospital discharge register, and 3) disability pension records from the Finnish Centre for Pensions. These data were combined person by person with the 1996 questionnaire survey data with the help of personal identification numbers which were saved with the study numbers by the researchers. The results showed that burnout consists of three separate but correlating symptoms: exhaustion, cynicism and lack of professional efficacy. As a syndrome, burnout was strongly related to job stressors at work, and seemed to develop from exhaustion through cynicism to lack of professional efficacy in a similar manner among white-collar and blue-collar employees. The results also showed that exhaustion persisted even after eight years of follow-up but did not predict cynicism or lack of professional efficacy after that amount of time. Nor were job stressors longitudinally related to burnout. Longitudinal results were obtained for the severe health-related consequences of burnout. The investigated outcomes represented different phases of health deterioration ranging from sick-leaves and hospitalization periods to receiving work disability pensions. The results showed that burnout syndrome, and its elements of exhaustion and cynicism, were related to future mental and cardiovascular disorders as indicated by hospitalization periods. Burnout was also related to future sick-leave periods due to mental, cardiovascular and musculoskeletal disorders. Of the separate elements, exhaustion was related to the same three categories of disorder, cynicism to mental, musculoskeletal and digestive disorders, and lack of professional efficacy to mental and musculoskeletal disorders. Burnout also predicted receiving disability pensions due to mental and musculoskeletal disorders among initially healthy subjects. Exhaustion was related to receiving disability pensions even when self-reported chronic illness was taken into account. The results suggest that burnout is a multidimensional, chronic, work-related syndrome, which may have serious consequences for health and work ability.

Valistus suomalaisessa kirjakulttuurissa 1700-luvulla

The dissertation discusses the history of the book and the Enlightenment in Finland by studying the reception and diffusion of eighteenth-century books and by approaching the discourse on the Enlightenment in Finnish source material. The methods used relate to historian Robert Darnton s studies on eighteenth-century print culture and his analyses of the relations between print culture and society. The study is based on diverse eighteenth-century sources: books, pamphlets and dissertations, bibliographies, book auction protocols, parliamentary documents, estate inventory deeds, newspapers, letters, lectures, memoirs and commonplace books. By the end of the eighteenth century, book production had increased and secular literature had begun to challenge the dominance of religious literature. The books of the Enlightenment belonged to the new literature that found its way into Finnish book collections previously dominated by religious literature. Enlightenment literature is not a set selection of books but rather diverse works from different genres. Thus the study introduces a variety of printed material, from philosophical tracts and textbooks to novels and pornography. In the case of books of the Enlightenment, the works of French Voltaire and German Christian Wolff were among the most widely read and circulated books in Finland. First and foremost, the Enlightenment was an era of intellectual debate. These debates carried strong criticism of the prevailing systems of thought. Enlightenment ideas challenged the Lutheran society of Sweden and especially its sense of conformity. Contemporaries saw many of the books of the Enlightenment as vessels of new ideas and criticism. Furthermore, this kind of print material was interpreted as being dangerous for uneducated readers. Belonging to a certain estate and social class had a major impact on individuals reading habits and their acquisition of books. One specific social group stands out in the Finnish source material: the officers at the Sveaborg naval fortress possessed and distributed Enlightenment books more than the members of any other social class. Other essential social groups were scholars, the nobility and the clergy, who took part in debates concerning the ideas and benefits of the Enlightenment. In the Finnish debates at the time, the concept of Enlightenment involved three primary notions. Firstly, it referred to the French philosophers, les philosophes, and to their works as well as to the social changes that took place during the French revolution. It also carried the idea of philosophical light or the light of reason, in a sense similar to Immanuel Kant s writings. Most importantly, it referred to a belief in progress and to a trust in true knowledge that would supercede ignorance and fanaticism. Hence, it is impossible to speak about the Enlightenment era in the Swedish realm without such concepts as reason, benefit or progress. These concepts likewise marked the books of the Enlightenment in eighteenth-century Finland.

The German Military Entrepreneur Ernst von Mansfeld and His Conduct of Asymmetrical Warfare in the Thirty Years War

The dissertation examines aspects of asymmetrical warfare in the war-making of the German military entrepreneur Ernst von Mansfeld during his involvement in the Thirty Years War. Due to the nature of the inquiry, which combines history with military-political theory, the methodological approach of the dissertation is interdisciplinary. The theoretical framework used is that of asymmetrical warfare. The primary sources used in the dissertation are mostly political pamphlets and newsletters. Other sources include letters, documents, and contemporaneous chronicles. The secondary sources are divided into two categories, literature on the history of the Thirty Years War and textbooks covering the theory of asymmetrical warfare. The first category includes biographical works on Ernst von Mansfeld, as well as general histories of the Thirty Years War and seventeenth-century warfare. The second category combines military theory and political science. The structure of the dissertation consists of eight lead chapters, including an introduction and conclusion. The introduction covers the theoretical approach and aims of the dissertation, and provides a brief overlook of the sources and previous research on Ernst von Mansfeld and asymmetrical warfare in the Thirty Years War. The second chapter covers aspects of Mansfeld s asymmetrical warfare from the perspective of operational art. The third chapter investigates the illegal and immoral aspects of Mansfeld s war-making. The fourth chapter compares the differing methods by which Mansfeld and his enemies raised and financed their armies. The fifth chapter investigates Mansfeld s involvement in indirect warfare. The sixth chapter presents Mansfeld as an object and an agent of image and information war. The seventh chapter looks into the counter-reactions, which Mansfeld s asymmetrical warfare provoked from his enemies. The eighth chapter offers a conclusion of the findings. The dissertation argues that asymmetrical warfare presented itself in all the aforementioned areas of Mansfeld s conduct during the Thirty Years War. The operational asymmetry arose from the freedom of movement that Mansfeld enjoyed, while his enemies were constrained by the limits of positional warfare. As a non-state operator Mansfeld was also free to flout the rules of seventeenth-century warfare, which his enemies could not do with equal ease. The raising and financing of military forces was another source of asymmetry, because the nature of early seventeenth-century warfare favoured private military entrepreneurs rather than embryonic fiscal-military states. The dissertation also argues that other powers fought their own asymmetrical and indirect wars against the Habsburgs through Mansfeld s agency. Image and information were asymmetrical weapons, which were both aimed against Mansfeld and utilized by him. Finally, Mansfeld s asymmetrical threat forced the Habsburgs to adapt to his methods, which ultimately lead to the formation of a subcontracted Imperial Army under the management and leadership of Albrecht von Wallenstein. Therefore Mansfeld s asymmetrical warfare ultimately paved way for the kind of state-monopolized, organised, and symmetrical warfare that has prevailed from 1648 onwards. The conclusion is that Mansfeld s conduct in the Thirty Years War matched the criteria for asymmetrical warfare. While traditional historiography treated Mansfeld as an anomaly in the age of European state formation, his asymmetrical warfare has begun to bear resemblance to the contemporary conflicts, where nation states no longer hold the monopoly of violence.

Sediment Quality in Puget Sound Year 3 - Southern Puget Sound

As a component of a three-year cooperative effort of the Washington State Department of Ecology and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, surficial sediment samples from 100 locations in southern Puget Sound were collected in 1999 to determine their relative quality based on measures of toxicity, chemical contamination, and benthic infaunal assemblage structure. The survey encompassed an area of approximately 858 km2, ranging from East and Colvos Passages south to Oakland Bay, and including Hood Canal. Toxic responses were most severe in some of the industrialized waterways of Tacoma’s Commencement Bay. Other industrialized harbors in which sediments induced toxic responses on smaller scales included the Port of Olympia, Oakland Bay at Shelton, Gig Harbor, Port Ludlow, and Port Gamble. Based on the methods selected for this survey, the spatial extent of toxicity for the southern Puget Sound survey area was 0% of the total survey area for amphipod survival, 5.7% for urchin fertilization, 0.2% for microbial bioluminescence, and 5- 38% with the cytochrome P450 HRGS assay. Measurements of trace metals, PAHs, PCBs, chlorinated pesticides, other organic chemicals, and other characteristics of the sediments, indicated that 20 of the 100 samples collected had one or more chemical concentrations that exceeded applicable, effects-based sediment guidelines and/or Washington State standards. Chemical contamination was highest in eight samples collected in or near the industrialized waterways of Commencement Bay. Samples from the Thea Foss and Middle Waterways were primarily contaminated with a mixture of PAHs and trace metals, whereas those from Hylebos Waterway were contaminated with chlorinated organic hydrocarbons. The remaining 12 samples with elevated chemical concentrations primarily had high levels of other chemicals, including bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, benzoic acid, benzyl alcohol, and phenol. The characteristics of benthic infaunal assemblages in south Puget Sound differed considerably among locations and habitat types throughout the study area. In general, many of the small embayments and inlets throughout the study area had infaunal assemblages with relatively low total abundance, taxa richness, evenness, and dominance values, although total abundance values were very high in some cases, typically due to high abundance of one organism such as the polychaete Aphelochaeta sp. N1. The majority of the samples collected from passages, outer embayments, and larger bodies of water tended to have infaunal assemblages with higher total abundance, taxa richness, evenness, and dominance values. Two samples collected in the Port of Olympia near a superfund cleanup site had no living organisms in them. A weight-of-evidence approach used to simultaneously examine all three “sediment quality triad” parameters, identified 11 stations (representing 4.4 km2, 0.5% of the total study area) with sediment toxicity, chemical contamination, and altered benthos (i.e., degraded sediment quality), 36 stations (493.5 km2, 57.5% total study area) with no toxicity or chemical contamination (i.e., high sediment quality), 35 stations (274.1 km2, 32.0% total study area) with one impaired sediment triad parameter (i.e., intermediate/high sediment quality), and 18 stations (85.7km2, 10.0% total study area) with two impaired sediment parameters (i.e., intermediate/degraded quality sediments). Generally, upon comparison, the number of stations with degraded sediments based upon the sediment quality triad of data was slightly greater in the central Puget Sound than in the northern and southern Puget Sound study areas, with the percent of the total study area degraded in each region decreasing from central to north to south (2.8, 1.3 and 0.5%, respectively). Overall, the sediments collected in Puget Sound during the combined 1997-1999 surveys were among the least contaminated relative to other marine bays and estuaries studied by NOAA using equivalent methods. (PDF contains 351 pages)

The History, Present Condition, and Future of the Molluscan Fisheries of North and Central American and Europe: Volume 1, Atlantic and Gulf Coasts

This three-volume monograph represents the first major attempt in over a century to provide, on regional bases, broad surveys of the history, present condition, and future of the important shellfisheries of North and Central America and Europe. It was about 100 years ago that Ernest Ingersoll wrote extensively about several molluscan fisheries of North America (1881, 1887) and about 100 years ago that Bashford Dean wrote comprehensively about methods of oyster culture in Europe (1893). Since those were published, several reports, books, and pamphlets have been written about the biology and management of individual species or groups ofclosely related mollusk species (Galtsoff, 1964; Korringa, 1976 a, b, c; Lutz, 1980; Manzi and Castagna, 1989; Shumway, 1991). However, nothing has been written during the past century that is comparable to the approach used by Ingersoll in describing the molluscan fisheries as they existed in his day in North America or, for that matter, in Europe. (PDF file contains 224 pages.)

Die Fangmengen an Nordseegarnelen und fischereilicher Aufwand im europäischen Vergleich - Langzeitserien und saisonale Übersicht

Among other tasks the “Working Group on Crangon Fisheries and Life Cycle” of the “International Council for the Exploration of the Sea” collects data on landings and effort in the North Sea brown shrimp fisheries by country. Landings per unit effort data are calculated and all are compared on basis of long-term series as well as on seasonal basis. The development for each country is described and compared for the year 2001 to the ten-year average from 1992 to 2001 were possible, as some data are missing especially for the Netherlands. While the Dutch and British fleets increased their landings substantially in 2001 compared to the previous years, Danish,German and Belgian fishermen had reduced landings. There are regional differences in fishing pattern between the countries, especially Denmark versus the rest of Europe. Effort measures remain incomparable between the countries, and fluctuations in landings per unit effort data seem to be in a normal biological range, giving no reason for concern at present for the situation of brown shrimp stocks in the North Sea. An improvement of the data basis is required and possibly achievable by the EU logbook system being in force for brown shrimp fisheries as well.

Winterfischerei auf Garnelen. Die Anteile der europäischen Garnelenflotten an den Anlandungen von Crangon crangon im Zeitraum Januar bis März der Jahre 1990 bis 1999

„Winter fishery“ on brown shrimp does not imply a special type of fishery. It merely means the continuation of the standard fishing procedure of parts of the fleet during wintertime, when the majority of the mostly smaller vessels stay in harbour due to generally unfavourable weather conditions for their activity. During 1990 to 1999 mean European wide landings in January and February summedup to 854 tonnes making up to only 4 % of the mean annual landings (21 805 t). While German vessels landed0.7 % (68.7 t) of their mean annual landings during that period, the other countries caught about 7 % of their individual, mean annual landings at the same time. The Netherlands and Denmark contributed highest tonnages of 580and 110 tonnes, respectively, to the total European landings, making up 81 % of them. As about 70 % of brown shrimp may carry eggs in January, the winter fishery took a mean total of about 2.15 x 1012brown shrimp eggs out of the stocks in that period annually. As there is no reliable assessment available concerning the brown shrimp stocks, it is despite of these high losses of eggs not possible to trace a negative effect of the winter fishery in scientific terms. However, precautional catch reductions in winter would be in favour of higher survival rates of eggs, which are the carrying source for the recruitment of brown shrimp stocks and catches in forthcoming summer and autumn seasons according to Dutch investigations.

Saisonale und regionale Unterschiede zwischen den 0-Gruppen-Schollen-Discards in der deutschen Garnelenfischerei

Shrimping in the waddensea is frequently considered to significantly reduce the numbers of juvenile plaice . This investigation aims to reveal the seasonal and regional differences regarding discards in the German waddensea and sets the results in relation to the bycatch projects with German participation. Furthermore, methodological aspects are evaluated to find possible effects on the estimation of the netted numbers. The bycatch problem exists predominantly throughout the summer season, but high catches of juvenile plaice can occur occasionally in autumn. The discard issue seems to be most important in the East Frisian region, while the Elbe and Schleswig-Holstein areas are of lesser importance. Considering the distribution of the fish in the environment is as indispensable as sampling of the shrimp fleet with optimum representativity. There are indices that the contribution of the Dutch shrimp fleet to the discard mortality of juvenile plaice was underestimated in the recent past. A combination of time and area closures as restrictions in combination with the extensive application of selective gears could possibly gain the best protection for the affected species.

Fangmengenbegrenzungen in der Garnelenfischerei - eine Chance fur weitere Biefangreduzierungen

Aiming for price stabilisation Danish, German and Dutch brown shrimp fisheries agreed on weekly catch limitations for the years 1998 and 1999. This resulted in fishing effort reduction of 18 % of the total number of fishing trips in 1998 and up to 24 % in summer. In that period highest abundance of young plaice occurs in the Wadden Sea which is the fishing area of the brown shrimp fleets of Germany and the Netherlands. Consequently as a side effect a reduction of the total annual by-catch especially of young plaice must have occurred. According to formerly conducted EU-studies and investigations the by-catch reduction due to the agreed catch limitations should have led to survival of millions of young plaice. They give a potential of some extra catch in coming years which is 2,5 % of the total TAC of plaice in the North Sea. Compared to the German TAC in year 2000 the gain equals 44 %. The catch limitations effect on by-catch reduction in 1998 was in the same order of magnitude of the one achievable by technical measures in net selection applied in that fishery and research. A combination of both could substantially reduce traditional by-catch levels in brown shrimp fisheries.Aiming for price stabilisation Danish, German and Dutch brown shrimp fisheries agreed on weekly catch limitations for the years 1998 and 1999. This resulted in fishing effort reduction of 18 % of the total number of fishing trips in 1998 and up to 24 % in summer. In that period highest abundance of young plaice occurs in the Wadden Sea which is the fishing area of the brown shrimp fleets of Germany and the Netherlands. Consequently as a side effect a reduction of the total annual by-catch especially of young plaice must have occurred. According to formerly conducted EU-studies and investigations the by-catch reduction due to the agreed catch limitations should have led to survival of millions of young plaice. They give a potential of some extra catch in coming years which is 2,5 % of the total TAC of plaice in the North Sea. Compared to the German TAC in year 2000 the gain equals 44 %. The catch limitations effect on by-catch reduction in 1998 was in the same order of magnitude of the one achievable by technical measures in net selection applied in that fishery and research. A combination of both could substantially reduce traditional by-catch levels in brown shrimp fisheries.

Entwicklung des Aufwandes in der deutschen Garnelenfischerei

The German brown shrimp fishery experienced considerable changes during the recent four decades. Contrarily to the decline in number of vessels the technical standard and size of the shrimping vessels improved and the fishing power as well as the effort of the single boats have strongly increased. As fishing effort by the whole fleet may be calculated different ways, trends in total effort may differ according to the relevant author´s approach. The present study tries to estimate the total trawled area by the fleet in the mid fifties as well as in 1996. The result is that there seems to be no change in the order of magnitude of the total trawled area for the German shrimping fleet itself, though shifts in geographical areas as within seasons were reported. However, the development of the Danish and Dutch shrimping fleets have contributed to an increase in terms of annually trawled area. Therefore pooled fishing effort must have increased considerably.

Bestandserfassung und -überwachung des atlanto-skandischen Herings. EU-Studie "Hydroacoustic Surveys of Atlanto-Scandian Herring in the Norwegian Sea, 1998-2000 (ASH-II)"

The atlanto-scandian herring consists of two major stocks, i.e. the Icelandic summer spawner and the Norwegian spring spawner. Both stocks have recovered well after complete collapse in the seventies and allow for a controlled fishery. The total allowable catch of the Norwegian spring spawner is currently 1.3 mill. t. The resumption of the fishery is accompanied by an annual and multi-national survey with Norwegian, Faeroe Islands, Icelandic and Russian contribution. In 1998 the EU will contribute to the survey with the Swedish vessel ”Argos” and in 1999 with the ”Walther Herwig III” under Dutch, Swedish and German participation. About half of the survey costs are covered by the EU by means of a funded study, the other half is contributed by the participating nations.

Reduzierung der Schädigung des Meeresbodens durch Baumkurren und Grundschleppnetze

An EU funded research project was started in 1998 by institutes from Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany to reduce the adverse environmental impact of demersal trawls. In the frame of this project the Institute for Fishery Technique of the Federal Research Centre for Fisheries, Hamburg, is developing a jet beamtrawl replacing the heavy tickler chains of a traditional flatfish beam trawl by water jet nozzles placed at the lower side of the beam with the jets directed towards the sea bottom. First trials on the dutch research vessel “Tridens” were performed in March 1998. Catch and bycatch of a jet beamtrawl and a traditional beamtrawl were compared. The efficiency of the jet beamtrawl was not satisfactory and will have to be improved.