Greenwashing the Trans-Pacific Partnership: Fossil fuels, the environment, and climate change

There has been much controversy over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – a plurilateral trade agreement involving a dozen nations from throughout the Pacific Rim – and its impact upon the environment, biodiversity, and climate change. The secretive treaty negotiations involve Australia and New Zealand; countries from South East Asia such as Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Japan; the South American nations of Peru and Chile; and the members of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Canada, Mexico and the United States. There was an agreement reached between the parties in October 2015. The participants asserted: ‘We expect this historic agreement to promote economic growth, support higher-paying jobs; enhance innovation, productivity and competitiveness; raise living standards; reduce poverty in our countries; and to promote transparency, good governance, and strong labor and environmental protections.’ The final texts of the agreement were published in November 2015. There has been discussion as to whether other countries – such as Indonesia, the Philippines, and South Korea – will join the deal. There has been much debate about the impact of this proposed treaty upon intellectual property, the environment, biodiversity and climate change. There have been similar concerns about the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) – a proposed trade agreement between the United States and the European Union. In 2011, the United States Trade Representative developed a Green Paper on trade, conservation, and the environment in the context of the TPP. In its rhetoric, the United States Trade Representative has maintained that it has been pushing for strong, enforceable environmental standards in the TPP. In a key statement in 2014, the United States Trade Representative Mike Froman insisted: ‘The United States’ position on the environment in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations is this: environmental stewardship is a core American value, and we will insist on a robust, fully enforceable environment chapter in the TPP or we will not come to agreement.’ The United States Trade Representative maintained: ‘Our proposals in the TPP are centered around the enforcement of environmental laws, including those implementing multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in TPP partner countries, and also around trailblazing, first-ever conservation proposals that will raise standards across the region’. Moreover, the United States Trade Representative asserted: ‘Furthermore, our proposals would enhance international cooperation and create new opportunities for public participation in environmental governance and enforcement.’ The United States Trade Representative has provided this public outline of the Environment Chapter of the TPP: A meaningful outcome on environment will ensure that the agreement appropriately addresses important trade and environment challenges and enhances the mutual supportiveness of trade and environment. The Trans-Pacific Partnership countries share the view that the environment text should include effective provisions on trade-related issues that would help to reinforce environmental protection and are discussing an effective institutional arrangement to oversee implementation and a specific cooperation framework for addressing capacity building needs. They also are discussing proposals on new issues, such as marine fisheries and other conservation issues, biodiversity, invasive alien species, climate change, and environmental goods and services. Mark Linscott, an assistant Trade Representative testified: ‘An environment chapter in the TPP should strengthen country commitments to enforce their environmental laws and regulations, including in areas related to ocean and fisheries governance, through the effective enforcement obligation subject to dispute settlement.’ Inside US Trade has commented: ‘While not initially expected to be among the most difficult areas, the environment chapter has emerged as a formidable challenge, partly due to disagreement over the United States proposal to make environmental obligations binding under the TPP dispute settlement mechanism’. Joshua Meltzer from the Brookings Institute contended that the trade agreement could be a boon for the protection of the environment in the Pacific Rim: Whether it is depleting fisheries, declining biodiversity or reduced space in the atmosphere for Greenhouse Gas emissions, the underlying issue is resource scarcity. And in a world where an additional 3 billion people are expected to enter the middle class over the next 15 years, countries need to find new and creative ways to cooperate in order to satisfy the legitimate needs of their population for growth and opportunity while using resources in a manner that is sustainable for current and future generations. The TPP parties already represent a diverse range of developed and developing countries. Should the TPP become a free trade agreement of the Asia-Pacific region, it will include the main developed and developing countries and will be a strong basis for building a global consensus on these trade and environmental issues. The TPP has been promoted by its proponents as a boon to the environment. The United States Trade Representative has maintained that the TPP will protect the environment: ‘The United States’ position on the environment in the TPP negotiations is this: environmental stewardship is a core American value, and we will insist on a robust, fully enforceable environment chapter in the TPP or we will not come to agreement.’ The United States Trade Representative discussed ‘Trade for a Greener World’ on World Environment Day. Andrew Robb, at the time the Australian Trade and Investment Minister, vowed that the TPP will contain safeguards for the protection of the environment. In November 2015, after the release of the TPP text, Rohan Patel, the Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, sought to defend the environmental credentials of the TPP. He contended that the deal had been supported by the Nature Conservancy, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative, the World Wildlife Fund, and World Animal Protection. The United States Congress, though, has been conflicted by the United States Trade Representative’s arguments about the TPP and the environment. In 2012, members of the United States Congress - including Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), and John Kerry (D-MA) – wrote a letter, arguing that the trade agreement needs to provide strong protection for the environment: ‘We believe that a '21st century agreement' must have an environment chapter that guarantees ongoing sustainable trade and creates jobs, and this is what American businesses and consumers want and expect also.’ The group stressed that ‘A binding and enforceable TPP environment chapter that stands up for American interests is critical to our support of the TPP’. The Congressional leaders maintained: ‘We believe the 2007 bipartisan congressional consensus on environmental provisions included in recent trade agreements should serve as the framework for the environment chapter of the TPP.’ In 2013, senior members of the Democratic leadership expressed their opposition to granting President Barack Obama a fast-track authority in respect of the TPP House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said: ‘No on fast-track – Camp-Baucus – out of the question.’ Senator Majority leader Harry Reid commented: ‘I’m against Fast-Track: Everyone would be well-advised to push this right now.’ Senator Elizabeth Warren has been particularly critical of the process and the substance of the negotiations in the TPP: From what I hear, Wall Street, pharmaceuticals, telecom, big polluters and outsourcers are all salivating at the chance to rig the deal in the upcoming trade talks. So the question is, Why are the trade talks secret? You’ll love this answer. Boy, the things you learn on Capitol Hill. I actually have had supporters of the deal say to me ‘They have to be secret, because if the American people knew what was actually in them, they would be opposed. Think about that. Real people, people whose jobs are at stake, small-business owners who don’t want to compete with overseas companies that dump their waste in rivers and hire workers for a dollar a day—those people, people without an army of lobbyists—they would be opposed. I believe if people across this country would be opposed to a particular trade agreement, then maybe that trade agreement should not happen. The Finance Committee in the United States Congress deliberated over the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations in 2014. The new chair Ron Wyden has argued that there needs to be greater transparency in trade. Nonetheless, he has mooted the possibility of a ‘smart-track’ to reconcile the competing demands of the Obama Administration, and United States Congress. Wyden insisted: ‘The new breed of trade challenges spawned over the last generation must be addressed in imaginative new policies and locked into enforceable, ambitious, job-generating trade agreements.’ He emphasized that such agreements ‘must reflect the need for a free and open Internet, strong labor rights and environmental protections.’ Elder Democrat Sander Levin warned that the TPP failed to provide proper protection for the environment: The TPP parties are considering a different structure to protect the environment than the one adopted in the May 10 Agreement, which directly incorporated seven multilateral environmental agreements into the text of past trade agreements. While the form is less important than the substance, the TPP must provide an overall level of environmental protection that upholds and builds upon the May 10 standard, including fully enforceable obligations. But many of our trading partners are actively seeking to weaken the text to the point of falling short of that standard, including on key issues like conservation. Nonetheless, 2015, President Barack Obama was able to secure the overall support of the United States Congress for his ‘fast-track’ authority. This was made possible by the Republicans and dissident Democrats. Notably, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden switched sides, and was transformed from a critic of the TPP to an apologist for the TPP. For their part, green political parties and civil society organisations have been concerned about the secretive nature of the negotiations; and the substantive implications of the treaty for the environment. Environmental groups and climate advocates have been sceptical of the environmental claims made by the White House for the TPP. The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, the Australian Greens and the Green Party of Canada have released a joint declaration on the TPP observing: ‘More than just another trade agreement, the TPP provisions could hinder access to safe, affordable medicines, weaken local content rules for media, stifle high-tech innovation, and even restrict the ability of future governments to legislate for the good of public health and the environment’. In the United States, civil society groups such as the Sierra Club, Public Citizen, WWF, the Friends of the Earth, the Rainforest Action Network and 350.org have raised concerns about the TPP and the environment. Allison Chin, President of the Sierra Club, complained about the lack of transparency, due process, and public participation in the TPP talks: ‘This is a stealth affront to the principles of our democracy.’ Maude Barlow’s The Council of Canadians has also been concerned about the TPP and environmental justice. New Zealand Sustainability Council executive director Simon Terry said the agreement showed ‘minimal real gains for nature’. A number of organisations have joined a grand coalition of civil society organisations, which are opposed to the grant of a fast-track. On the 15th January 2013, WikiLeaks released the draft Environment Chapter of the TPP - along with a report by the Chairs of the Environmental Working Group. Julian Assange, WikiLeaks' publisher, stated: ‘Today's WikiLeaks release shows that the public sweetener in the TPP is just media sugar water.’ He observed: ‘The fabled TPP environmental chapter turns out to be a toothless public relations exercise with no enforcement mechanism.’ This article provides a critical examination of the draft Environment Chapter of the TPP. The overall argument of the article is that the Environment Chapter of the TPP is an exercise in greenwashing – it is a public relations exercise by the United States Trade Representative, rather than a substantive regime for the protection of the environment in the Pacific Rim. Greenwashing has long been a problem in commerce, in which companies making misleading and deceptive claims about the environment. In his 2012 book, Greenwash: Big Brands and Carbon Scams, Guy Pearse considers the rise of green marketing and greenwashing. Government greenwashing is also a significant issue. In his book Storms of My Grandchildren, the climate scientist James Hansen raises his concerns about government greenwashing. Such a problem is apparent with the TPP – in which there was a gap between the assertions of the United States Government, and the reality of the agreement. This article contends that the TPP fails to meet the expectations created by President Barack Obama, the White House, and the United States Trade Representative about the environmental value of the agreement. First, this piece considers the relationship of the TPP to multilateral environmental treaties. Second, it explores whether the provisions in respect of the environment are enforceable. Third, this article examines the treatment of trade and biodiversity in the TPP. Fourth, this study considers the question of marine capture fisheries. Fifth, there is an evaluation of the cursory text in the TPP on conservation. Sixth, the article considers trade in environmental services under the TPP. Seventh, this article highlights the tensions between the TPP and substantive international climate action. It is submitted that the TPP undermines effective and meaningful government action and regulation in respect of climate change. The conclusion also highlights that a number of other chapters of the TPP will impact upon the protection of the environment – including the Investment Chapter, the Intellectual Property Chapter, the Technical Barriers to Trade Chapter, and the text on public procurement.

Pappi ja Raamattu : Suomen evankelis-luterilaisen kirkon pappien suhde Raamattuun

The Pastor and the Bible: Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Pastors Relationship with the Bible Since 1970s there has been extensive discussion in Finland about questions relating to the interpretation of the Bible. The themes of this discussion have focused on the trustworthiness and authority of the Bible, and the discussion has attracted participation not only from representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland but also from representatives of the academic community. The discussion has resulted in extensive publication on the relation of postmodern theology to the Bible. Despite this debate and the texts that have been produced, there is little empirical data on how Evangelical Lutheran pastors with theological education view the Bible. In the present study, 22 pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland were interviewed about how they defined their relationship with the Bible. The interview material was analyzed by means of data-based content analysis. The analysis showed, first, that the pastors viewed the Bible as a mirror of the spiritual growth that they had experienced in the past. Second, the Bible was viewed as a source in the interpretation of matters of faith. The third theme concerned the pastors key experiences in their relationship with the authority of the Bible. The time periods that were significant in defining pastors spiritual growth and past perspective on the Bible included childhood, youth, the period of theological education, and the time spent as a pastor. In childhood, the Bible was part of the spiritual atmosphere of the home, and parents and grandparents made a crucial contribution to the child s emerging view of the Bible. In childhood, the Bible was essentially the Old Testament and its exciting stories. In youth, reading the Bible became more personal, and the teachings of Jesus began to take on a more central role. In youth, most of the interviewees had strong experiences of faith and began to view the Bible as an absolute and divine source of dogma. The period of theological studies meant a change in their relationship with the Bible and particularly, revelation of the human aspects of the Bible. These changes were associated with a deepening of belief in the Bible and also a painful crisis in questions related to the trustworthiness of the Bible. For many of the interviewees, their relationship with the Bible changed also when they started their work as pastors. When faced with a call to work as a pastor, the interviewees created a synthesis of the secure faith that they had experienced in their childhood and the more critical views with which they had become acquainted during their theological education. Pastorhood meant the beginning of public teaching of the Bible. The interviewees felt that, in this new role, they discovered again - but now in a deeper sense - the trustworthiness in the bible that they had experienced during their childhood. Based on the interviewees experiences during the periods mentioned above, five different interpretations were formed regarding how the interviewed pastors viewed their past relationship with the Bible. These interpretations were detachment from literal interpretation of the Bible (1), changes in their relationship with the Bible arising from experiences of faith (2), a slow process during which their relationship with the Bible became more human (3), overcoming hardships (4), and no change in their relationship with the Bible (5). In interpretations 1-3, the past was described as a linear development and journey towards a more coherent relationship with the Bible. Interpretations 4-5, in turn, reflected a desire to detach oneself from the perspectives of linear development and change and, instead, emphasize the immutable and process-like nature of one s relationship with the Bible. Concerning the Bible as a source in matters of faith, a conspicuous aspect of the interviews was that all pastors wanted to disconnect themselves from a fundamentalistic view of the Bible, regarding this as an intellectually dishonest relationship with the Bible. On the other hand, none of the interviewees supported a totally relativist view of the Bible. Instead, all interviewees regarded the Bible as a vital source for both them and the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Between the two poles of extremely fundamental and extremely relativistic views, four different categories of viewing the Bible emerged from the interviews: absolute truth (a), a book about the message of salvation (b), a book about holiness and generous love (c), and a source of inspiration (d). The views in categories (a) and (b) emphasized the divine nature of the Bible. According to the pastors who expressed these views, the Bible contains a clear and trustworthy message of God. The views in categories (c) and (d), in turn, emphasized the human aspects of the Bible. The pastors who expressed these views regarded the Bible as a collection of books that was born in a specific historical and cultural context and includes material characteristic to this time. Due to the time-bound nature of the Bible, each generation has to update its view of the Bible. The views in categories (c) and (d) arose from human reality. Comparisons of the views in the different categories indicated that despite their obvious differences, they also shared some common features. The views in categories (a) and (d) shared the common feature of absoluteness, which was seen in category (a) as an emphasis on dogmatism and in category (d) as an emphasis on rationalism. The views in categories (b) and (c), in turn, shared the common feature of a flexible and dynamic relationship with the Bible. The key experiences that appeared to characterize pastors relationship with the authority of the Bible were a joy that arises from self-evidence, awakening to confusion, fear of openness, falling back upon paradoxes, and new confidence. These experiences reveal the circular nature of the process that was common to all interviewees interpretation of their relationship with the Bible. That is, the interviewees experiences of their relationship with the Bible seem to go through a circular process that is activated again and again in new life events. It is like a journey from self-evidence towards critical questions and again back to new confidence. The interview material showed, hence, that relationship with the Bible are characterized by a process that involves experiences of trust, questioning and new trust. The present study brings out the multifaceted reality of pastors relationship with the Bible. The study breaks down contradictions between conservative and liberal views of the Bible by showing how representatives of these opposing poles share commonalities in their attitudes. The study points to a close association between an individual s life history and his or her relationship with the Bible, and lays the groundwork for future studies to investigate the relation between personality and view of the Bible.

The problem of liquid droplet combustion-reexamination

The simple quasi-steady analysis of the combustion of a liquid fuel droplet in an oxidising atmosphere provides unsatisfactory explanations for several experimental observations. It's prediction of values for the burning constant (K), the flame-to-droplet diameter ratio ( ) and the flame temperature (Tf) have been found to be amgibuous if not completely inaccurate. A critical survey of the literature has led us to a detailed examination of the effects of unsteadiness and variable properties. The work published to date indicates that the gas-phase unsteadiness is relatively short and therefore quite insignificant.A new theoretical analysis based on heat transfer within the droplet is presented here. It shows that the condensed-phase unsteadiness lasts for about 20â??25% of the total burning time. It is concluded that the discrepancies between experimental observations and the predictions of the constant-property quasi-steady analysis cannot be attributed either to gas-phase or condensed-phase unsteadiness.An analytical model of quasi-steady droplet combustion with variable thermodynamic and transport properties and non-unity Lewis numbers will be examined. Further findings reveal a significant improvement in the prediction of combustion parameters, particularly of K, when consideration is given to variations of cp and λ with the temperature and concentrations of several species. Tf is accurately predicted when the required conditions of incomplete combustion or low ( ) at the flame are met. Further refinement through realistic Lewis numbers predicts ( ) meaningfully.

Thermal degradation of polystyrene

The importance of the study of thermal degradation of polymeric fuels arises from their role in the combustion of solid propellants. Estimation of the condensed-phase heat release during combustion can be facilitated by the knowledge of the enthalpy change associated with the polymer degradation process. Differential scanning calorimetry has been used to obtain enthalpy data. Kinetic studies on the polymeric degradation process have been carried out with the following objectives. The literature values of activation energies are quite diverse and differ from author to author. The present study has tried to locate possible reasons for the divergence in the reported activation energy values. A value of 30 kcal has been obtained and found to be independent of the technique employed. The present data on the kinetics support to chain-end initiation and unzipping process. The activation energies are further found to be independent of the atmosphere in which the degradation of polymer fuel is carried out. The degradation in air, N2, and O2 all yield a value of 30 kcal/mole for the activation energies.

Thermal decomposition of titanyl oxalates-I : Barium titanyl oxalate

Thermal decomposition of barium titanyl oxalate tetrahydrate (BTO) has been investigated employing TGA, DTG and DTA techniques and gas and chemical analysis. The decomposition proceeds through five steps and is not affected much by the surrounding gas atmosphere. The first step which is the dehydration of the tetrahydrate is followed by a low-temperature decomposition of the oxalate groups. In the temperature range 190–250°C half a mole of carbon monoxide is evolved with the formation of a transient intermediate containing both oxalate and carbonate groups. The oxalate groups are completely destroyed in the range 250–450°C, resulting in the formation of a carbonate which retains free carbon dioxide in the matrix. The trapped carbon dioxide is released in the temperature range of 460–600°C. The final decomposition of the carbonate takes place between 600–750°C and yields barium titanate. The i.r. spectra, surface area measurements and X-ray, powder diffraction data support entrapment of carbon dioxide in the matrix.

The role of triplet states in the emission mechanism of polymer light-emitting diodes

The blue emission of polyfluorene (PF)-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is known to degrade due to a low-energy green emission, which hitherto has been attributed to oxidative defects. By studying the electroluminescence (EL) from ethyl-hexyl substituted PF LEDs in the presence of oxygen and in an inert atmosphere, and by using trace quantities of paramagnetic impurities (PM) in the polymer, we show that the triplet states play a major role in the low-energy emission mechanism. Our time-dependent many-body studies show a large cross-section for the triplet formation in the EL process in the presence of PM, primarily due to electron-hole recombination processes.

Determination of optimal trajectory under design constraints for a satellite launch vehicle

An optimal pitch steering programme of a solid-fuel satellite launch vehicle to maximize either (1) the injection velocity at a given altitude, or (2) the size of circular orbit, for a given payload is presented. The two-dimensional model includes the rotation of atmosphere with the Earth, the vehicle's lift and drag, variation of thrust with time and altitude, inverse-square gravitational field, and the specified initial vertical take-off. The inequality constraints on the aerodynamic load, control force, and turning rates are also imposed. Using the properties of the central force motion the terminal constraint conditions at coast apogee are transferred to the penultimate stage burnout. Such a transformation converts a time-free problem into a time-fixed one, reduces the number of terminal constraints, improves accuracy, besides demanding less computer memory and time. The adjoint equations are developed in a compact matrix form. The problem is solved on an IBM 360/44 computer using a steepest ascent algorithm. An illustrative analysis of a typical launch vehicle establishes the speed of convergence, and accuracy and applicability of the algorithm.

Enzymes with radical tendencies: the PFL family

The first glycyl radical in an enzyme was described 20 years ago and since then the family of glycyl radical enzymes (GREs) has expanded to include enzymes catalysing five chemically distinct reactions. The type enzymes of the family, anaerobic ribonucleotide reductase (RNRIII) and pyruvate formate lyase (PFL) had been studied long before it was known that they are GREs. Spectroscopic measurements on the radical and an observation that exposure to oxygen irreversibly inactivates the enzymes by cleavage of the protein proved that the radical is located on a particular glycine residue, close to the C-terminus of the protein. Both anaerobic RNRIII and PFL, are important for many anaerobic and facultative anaerobic bacteria as RNRIII is responsible for the synthesis of DNA precursors and PFL catalyses a key metabolic reaction in glycolysis. The crystal structures of both were solved in 1999 and they revealed that, although the enzymes do not share significant sequence identity, they share a similar structure - the radical site and residues necessary for catalysis are buried inside a ten stranded $\ualpha $/$\ubeta $-barrel. GREs are synthesised in an inactive form and are post-translationally activated by an activating enzyme which uses S-adenosyl methionine and an iron-sulphur cluster to generate the radical. One of the goals of this thesis work was to crystallise the activating enzyme of PFL. This task is challenging as, like GREs, the activating component is inactivated by oxygen. The experiments were therefore carried out in an oxygen free atmosphere. This is the first report of a crystalline GRE activating enzyme. Recently several new GREs have been characterised, all sharing sequence similarity to PFL but not to RNRIII. Also, the genome sequencing projects have identified many PFL-like GREs of unknown function, usually annotated as PFLs. In the present thesis I describe the grouping of these PFL family enzymes based on the sequence similarity and analyse the conservation patterns when compared to the structure of E. coli PFL. Based on this information an activation route is proposed. I also report a crystal structure of one of the PFL-like enzymes with unknown function, PFL2 from Archaeoglobus fulgidus. As A. fulgidus is a hyperthermophilic organism, possible mechanisms stabilising the structure are discussed. The organisation of an active site of PFL2 suggests that the enzyme may be a dehydratase. Keywords: glycyl radical, enzyme, pyruvate formate lyase, x-ray crystallography, bioinformatics

Characterisation and source identification of pollution episodes caused by long-range transported aerosols

Aerosol particles can cause detrimental environmental and health effects. The particles and their precursor gases are emitted from various anthropogenic and natural sources. It is important to know the origin and properties of aerosols to efficiently reduce their harmful effects. The diameter of aerosol particles (Dp) varies between ~0.001 and ~100 μm. Fine particles (PM2.5: Dp < 2.5 μm) are especially interesting because they are the most harmful and can be transported over long distances. The aim of this thesis is to study the impact on air quality by pollution episodes of long-range transported aerosols affecting the composition of the boundary-layer atmosphere in remote and relatively unpolluted regions of the world. The sources and physicochemical properties of aerosols were investigated in detail, based on various measurements (1) in southern Finland during selected long-range transport (LRT) pollution episodes and unpolluted periods and (2) over the Atlantic Ocean between Europe and Antarctica during a voyage. Furthermore, the frequency of LRT pollution episodes of fine particles in southern Finland was investigated over a period of 8 years, using long-term air quality monitoring data. In southern Finland, the annual mean PM2.5 mass concentrations were low but LRT caused high peaks of daily mean concentrations every year. At an urban background site in Helsinki, the updated WHO guideline value (24-h PM2.5 mean 25 μg/m3) was exceeded during 1-7 LRT episodes each year during 1999-2006. The daily mean concentrations varied between 25 and 49 μg/m3 during the episodes, which was 3-6 times higher than the mean concentration in the long term. The in-depth studies of selected LRT episodes in southern Finland revealed that biomass burning in agricultural fields and wildfires, occurring mainly in Eastern Europe, deteriorated air quality on a continental scale. The strongest LRT episodes of fine particles resulted from open biomass-burning fires but the emissions from other anthropogenic sources in Eastern Europe also caused significant LRT episodes. Particle mass and number concentrations increased strongly in the accumulation mode (Dp ~ 0.09-1 μm) during the LRT episodes. However, the concentrations of smaller particles (Dp < 0.09 μm) remained low or even decreased due to the uptake of vapours and molecular clusters by LRT particles. The chemical analysis of individual particles showed that the proportions of several anthropogenic particle types increased (e.g. tar balls, metal oxides/hydroxides, spherical silicate fly ash particles and various calcium-rich particles) in southern Finland during an LRT episode, when aerosols originated from the polluted regions of Eastern Europe and some open biomass-burning smoke was also brought in by LRT. During unpolluted periods when air masses arrived from the north, the proportions of marine aerosols increased. In unpolluted rural regions of southern Finland, both accumulation mode particles and small-sized (Dp ~ 1-3 μm) coarse mode particles originated mostly from LRT. However, the composition of particles was totally different in these size fractions. In both size fractions, strong internal mixing of chemical components was typical for LRT particles. Thus, the aging of particles has significant impacts on their chemical, hygroscopic and optical properties, which can largely alter the environmental and health effects of LRT aerosols. Over the Atlantic Ocean, the individual particle composition of small-sized (Dp ~ 1-3 μm) coarse mode particles was affected by continental aerosol plumes to distances of at least 100-1000 km from the coast (e.g. pollutants from industrialized Europe, desert dust from the Sahara and biomass-burning aerosols near the Gulf of Guinea). The rate of chloride depletion from sea-salt particles was high near the coasts of Europe and Africa when air masses arrived from polluted continental regions. Thus, the LRT of continental aerosols had significant impacts on the composition of the marine boundary-layer atmosphere and seawater. In conclusion, integration of the results obtained using different measurement techniques captured the large spatial and temporal variability of aerosols as observed at terrestrial and marine sites, and assisted in establishing the causal link between land-bound emissions, LRT and air quality.

Some properties of indium-tin oxide-films

Thin films of indium-tin oxide have been deposited by DC diode sputtering from an indium-tin alloy target in an argon, hydrogen and oxygen atmosphere. Films with sheet resistance of 11 ohms/square and 80% light transmission have been obtained. The effect of cathode composition and gas mixture on sheet resistance and optical transmission properties of the films have been studied.

Archaea, Bacteria, and methane production along environmental gradients in fens and bogs

Metanogeenit ovat hapettomissa oloissa eläviä arkkien pääryhmään kuuluvia mikrobeja, joiden ainutlaatuisen aineenvaihdunnan seurauksena syntyy metaania. Ilmakehässä metaani on voimakas kasvihuonekaasu. Yksi suurimmista luonnon metaanilähteistä ovat kosteikot. Pohjoisten soiden metaanipäästöt vaihtelevat voimakkaasti eri soiden välillä ja yhden suon sisälläkin, riippuen muun muassa vuodenajasta, suotyypistä ja kasvillisuudesta. Väitöskirjatyössä tutkittiin metaanipäästöjen vaihtelun mikrobiologista taustaa. Tutkimuksessa selvitettiin suotyypin, vuodenajan, tuhkalannoituksen ja turvesyvyyden vaikutusta metanogeeniyhteisöihin sekä metaanintuottoon kolmella suomalaisella suolla. Lisäksi tutkittiin ei-metanogeenisia arkkeja ja bakteereita, koska ne muodostavat metaanin tuoton lähtöaineet osana hapetonta hajotusta. Mikrobiyhteisöt analysoitiin DNA- ja RNA-lähtöisillä, polymeraasiketjureaktioon (PCR) perustuvilla menetelmillä. Merkkigeeneinä käytettiin metaanin tuottoon liittyvää mcrA-geeniä sekä arkkien ja bakteerien ribosomaalista 16S RNA-geeniä. Metanogeeniyhteisöt ja metaanintuotto erosivat huomattavasti happaman ja vähäravinteisen rahkasuon sekä ravinteikkaampien sarasoiden välillä. Rahkasuolta löytyi lähes yksinomaan Methanomicrobiales-lahkon metanogeeneja, jotka tuottavat metaania vedystä ja hiilidioksidista. Sarasoiden metanogeeniyhteisöt olivat monimuotoisempia, ja niillä esiintyi myös asetaattia käyttäviä metanogeeneja. Vuodenaika vaikutti merkittävästi metaanintuottoon. Talvella havaittiin odottamattoman suuri metaanintuottopotentiaali sekä viitteitä aktiivisista metanogeeneista. Arkkiyhteisön koostumus sen sijaan vaihteli vain vähän. Tuhkalannoitus, jonka tarkoituksena on edistää puiden kasvua ojitetuilla soilla, ei merkittävästi vaikuttanut metaanintuottoon tai -tuottajiin. Ojitetun suon yhteisöt kuitenkin muuttuivat turvesyvyyden mukaan. Vertailtaessa erilaisia PCR-menetelmiä todettiin, että kolmella mcrA-geeniin kohdistuvalla alukeparilla havaittiin pääosin samat ojitetun suon metanogeenit, mutta lajien runsaussuhteet riippuvat käytetyistä alukkeista. Soilla havaitut bakteerit kuuluivat pääjaksoihin Deltaproteobacteria, Acidobacteria ja Verrucomicrobia. Lisäksi löydettiin Crenarchaeota-pääjakson ryhmiin 1.1c ja 1.3 kuuluvia ei-metanogeenisia arkkeja. Tulokset ryhmien esiintymisestä hapettomassa turpeessa antavat lähtökohdan selvittää niiden mahdollisia vuorovaikutuksia metanogeenien kanssa. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittivat, että metanogeeniyhteisön koostumus heijastaa metaanintuottoon vaikuttavia kemiallisia tai kasvillisuuden vaihteluita kuten suotyyppiä. Soiden metanogeenien ja niiden fysiologian parempi tuntemus voi auttaa ennustamaan ympäristömuutosten vaikutusta soiden metaanipäästöihin.

Studies on the reduction of hematite by carbon

Single pellet experiments have been carried out in a nitrogen atmosphere to study the reduction of hematite by graphite in the temperature range 925 to 1060°C. The effect of variables such as c/Fe2O3 molar ratio, pellet size, and so forth, has been investigated. Gas analysis data show a continuous decrease in CO2/CO ratio during reduction, the values being far away from Fe/FeO equilibrium for wustite reduction by CO. The activation energies associated with different degrees of reduction appear to be widely different suggesting a possible changeover in reaction mechanism during the progress of reduction. X-ray diffraction studies confirm the stepwise nature of hematite reduction.

Nitrous oxide emissions from selected natural and managed northern ecosystems

Microbial activity in soils is the main source of nitrous oxide (N2O) to the atmosphere. Nitrous oxide is a strong greenhouse gas in the troposphere and participates in ozone destructive reactions in the stratosphere. The constant increase in the atmospheric concentration, as well as uncertainties in the known sources and sinks of N2O underline the need to better understand the processes and pathways of N2O in terrestrial ecosystems. This study aimed at quantifying N2O emissions from soils in northern Europe and at investigating the processes and pathways of N2O from agricultural and forest ecosystems. Emissions were measured in forest ecosystems, agricultural soils and a landfill, using the soil gradient, chamber and eddy covariance methods. Processes responsible for N2O production, and the pathways of N2O from the soil to the atmosphere, were studied in the laboratory and in the field. These ecosystems were chosen for their potential importance to the national and global budget of N2O. Laboratory experiments with boreal agricultural soils revealed that N2O production increases drastically with soil moisture content, and that the contribution of the nitrification and denitrification processes to N2O emissions depends on soil type. Laboratory study with beech (Fagus sylvatica) seedlings demonstrated that trees can serve as conduits for N2O from the soil to the atmosphere. If this mechanism is important in forest ecosystems, the current emission estimates from forest soils may underestimate the total N2O emissions from forest ecosystems. Further field and laboratory studies are needed to evaluate the importance of this mechanism in forest ecosystems. The emissions of N2O from northern forest ecosystems and a municipal landfill were highly variable in time and space. The emissions of N2O from boreal upland forest soil were among the smallest reported in the world. Despite the low emission rates, the soil gradient method revealed a clear seasonal variation in N2O production. The organic topsoil was responsible for most of the N2O production and consumption in this forest soil. Emissions from the municipal landfill were one to two orders of magnitude higher than those from agricultural soils, which are the most important source of N2O to the atmosphere. Due to their small areal coverage, landfills only contribute minimally to national N2O emissions in Finland. The eddy covariance technique was demonstrated to be useful for measuring ecosystem-scale emissions of N2O in forest and landfill ecosystems. Overall, more measurements and integration between different measurement techniques are needed to capture the large variability in N2O emissions from natural and managed northern ecosystems.

Carbon balance and component CO2 fluxes in boreal Scots pine stands

The forest vegetation takes up atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) in photosynthesis. Part of the fixed carbon is released back into the atmosphere during plant respiration but a substantial part is stored as plant biomass, especially in the stems of trees. Carbon also accumulates in the soil as litter and via the roots. CO2 is released into the atmosphere from these carbon stocks in the decomposition of dead biomass. Carbon balance of a forest stand is the difference between the CO2 uptake and CO2 efflux. This study quantifies and analyses the dynamics of carbon balance and component CO2 fluxes in four Southern Finnish Scots pine stands that covered the typical economic rotation time of 80 years. The study was based on direct flux measurements with chambers and eddy covariance (EC), and modelling of component CO2 fluxes. The net CO2 exchange of the stand was partitioned into component fluxes: photosynthesis of trees and ground vegetation, respiration of tree foliage and stems, and CO2 efflux from the soil. The relationships between the component fluxes and the environmental factors (light, temperature, atmospheric CO2, air humidity and soil moisture) were studied with mathematical modelling. The annual CO2 balance varied from a source of about 400 g C/m2 at a recently clearcut site to net CO2 uptake of 200 300 g C/m2 in a middle-aged (40-year-old) and a mature (75-year-old) stand. A 12-year-old sapling site was at the turning point from source to a sink of CO2. In the middle-aged stand, photosynthetic production was dominated by trees. Under closed pine canopies, ground vegetation accounted for 10 20% of stand photosynthesis whereas at the open sites the proportion and also the absolute photosynthesis of ground vegetation was much higher. The aboveground respiration was dominated by tree foliage which accounted for one third of the ecosystem respiration. Rate of wood respiration was in the order of 10% of total ecosystem respiration. CO2 efflux from the soil dominated the ecosystem respiratory fluxes in all phases of stand development. Instantaneous and delayed responses to the environmental driving factors could predict well within-year variability in photosynthetic production: In the short term and during the growing season photosynthesis follows primarily light while the seasonal variation is more strongly connected to temperature. The temperature relationship of the annual cycle of photosynthesis was found to be almost equal in the southern boreal zone and at the timberline in the northern boreal zone. The respiratory fluxes showed instantaneous and seasonal temperature relationships but they could also be connected to photosynthesis at an annual timescale.

Selective growth of ZnO nanoneedles by thermal oxidation of Zn microstructures

Zinc film containing hexagonal plate stack and tower-like micro structures were grown on Si substrates at high temperature by thermal evaporation. Thermal oxidation studies on these micro structures have shown that ZnO nanoneedles selectively grow from the facets of the zinc microstructure at temperature above 300 degrees C in atmosphere TEM analysis showed that single crystalline and bicrystalline nanoneedles were formed in this oxidation process and the growth direction of these nanoneedles was identified along the [1 1 (2) overbar 0]. Based on the structural studies and morphological observation, we have proposed a possible mechanism for the selective growth of ZnO nanoneedles during thermal oxidation.