Climate driven changes in temperature, pH and food quality : effects on copepod reproduction

Increased emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere are causing an anthropogenic climate change. The resulting global warming challenges the ability of organisms to adapt to the new temperature conditions. However, warming is not the only major threat. In marine environments, dissolution of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere causes a decrease in surface water pH, the so called ocean acidification. The temperature and acidification effects can interact, and create even larger problems for the marine flora and fauna than either of the effects would cause alone. I have used Baltic calanoid copepods (crustacean zooplankton) as my research object and studied their growth and stress responses using climate predictions projected for the next century. I have studied both direct temperature and pH effects on copepods, and indirect effects via their food: the changing phytoplankton spring bloom composition and toxic cyanobacterium. The main aims of my thesis were: 1) to find out how warming and acidification combined with a toxic cyanobacterium affect copepod reproductive success (egg production, egg viability, egg hatching success, offspring development) and oxidative balance (antioxidant capacity, oxidative damage), and 2) to reveal the possible food quality effects of spring phytoplankton bloom composition dominated by diatoms or dinoflagellates on reproducing copepods (egg production, egg hatching, RNA:DNA ratio). The two copepod genera used, Acartia sp. and Eurytemora affinis are the dominating mesozooplankton taxa (0.2 – 2 mm) in my study area the Gulf of Finland. The 20°C temperature seems to be within the tolerance limits of Acartia spp., because copepods can adapt to the temperature phenotypically by adjusting their body size. Copepods are also able to tolerate a pH decrease of 0.4 from present values, but the combination of warm water and decreased pH causes problems for them. In my studies, the copepod oxidative balance was negatively influenced by the interaction of these two environmental factors, and egg and nauplii production were lower at 20°C and lower pH, than at 20°C and ambient pH. However, presence of toxic cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena improved the copepod oxidative balance and helped to resist the environmental stress, in question. In addition, adaptive maternal effects seem to be an important adaptation mechanism in a changing environment, but it depends on the condition of the female copepod and her diet how much she can invest in her offspring. I did not find systematic food quality difference between diatoms and dinoflagellates. There are both good and bad diatom and dinoflagellate species. Instead, the dominating species in the phytoplankton bloom composition has a central role in determining the food quality, although copepods aim at obtaining as a balanced diet as possible by foraging on several species. If the dominating species is of poor quality it can cause stress when ingested, or lead to non-optimal foraging if rejected. My thesis demonstrates that climate change induced water temperature and pH changes can cause problems to Baltic Sea copepod communities. However, their resilience depends substantially on their diet, and therefore the response of phytoplankton to the environmental changes. As copepods are an important link in pelagic food webs, their future success can have far reaching consequences, for example on fish stocks.

Impact of bariatric surgery on depression and anxiety symptons, bulimic behaviors and quality of life

OBJECTIVE: To assess psychiatric symptoms, substance use, quality of life and eating behavior of patients undergoing bariatric surgery before and after the procedure.METHODS: We conducted a prospective longitudinal study of 32 women undergoing bariatric surgery. To obtain data, the patients answered specific, self-administered questionnaires.RESULTS: We observed a reduction in depressive and anxious symptoms and also in bulimic behavior, as well as an improved quality of life in the physical, psychological and environmental domains. There was also a decrease in use of antidepressants and appetite suppressants, but the surgery was not a cessation factor in smoking and / or alcoholism.CONCLUSION: a decrease in psychiatric symptoms was observed after bariatric surgery, as well as the reduction in the use of psychoactive substances. In addition, there was an improvement in quality of life after surgical treatment of obesity.

Fatigue and quality of life in breast cancer survivors: a comparative study

PURPOSE: To assess fatigue and quality of life in disease-free breast cancer survivors in relation to a sample of age-matched women with no cancer history and to explore the relationship between fatigue and quality of life.METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 202 consecutive disease-free Brazilian breast cancer survivors, all of whom had completed treatment, treated at 2 large hospitals. The patients were compared to age-matched women with no cancer history attending a primary health care center. The Piper Fatigue Scale-Revised and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument (WHOQOL-BREF) were used to measure the fatigue and quality of life, respectively. Socio-demographic and clinical variables were also obtained. The χ2 test, generalized linear model, and Spearman correlation coefficient were used for statistical purposes. The adopted level of significance was 5%.RESULTS: Breast cancer survivors experienced significantly greater total and subscale fatigue scores than comparison group (all p-values<0.05). In addition, survivors reported a poorer quality of life in physical (p=0.002), psychological (p=0.03), and social relationships (p=0.03) domains than comparison group. No difference was found for the environmental domain (p=0.08) for both groups. For survivors of breast cancer and for comparison group, the total and subscale fatigue scores were related to lower quality of life (all p-values<0.01).CONCLUSION: The findings of this study highlight the importance of assessing fatigue and quality of life in breast cancer survivors.

Liquid transportation and distribution during (re)wetting : impact on coated papers in printing

In many industrial applications, such as the printing and coatings industry, wetting of porous materials by liquids includes not only imbibition and permeation into the bulk but also surface spreading and evaporation. By understanding these phenomena, valuable information can be obtained for improved process control, runnability and printability, in which liquid penetration and subsequent drying play important quality and economic roles. Knowledge of the position of the wetting front and the distribution/degree of pore filling within the structure is crucial in describing the transport phenomena involved. Although exemplifying paper as a porous medium in this work, the generalisation to dynamic liquid transfer onto a surface, including permeation and imbibition into porous media, is of importance to many industrial and naturally occurring environmental processes. This thesis explains the phenomena in the field of heatset web offset printing but the content and the analyses are applicable in many other printing methods and also other technologies where water/moisture monitoring is crucial in order to have a stable process and achieve high quality end products. The use of near-infrared technology to study the water and moisture response of porous pigmented structures is presented. The use of sensitive surface chemical and structural analysis, as well as the internal structure investigation of a porous structure, to inspect liquid wetting and distribution, complements the information obtained by spectroscopic techniques. Strong emphasis has been put on the scale of measurement, to filter irrelevant information and to understand the relationship between interactions involved. The near-infrared spectroscopic technique, presented here, samples directly the changes in signal absorbance and its variation in the process at multiple locations in a print production line. The in-line non-contact measurements are facilitated by using several diffuse reflectance probes, giving the absolute water/moisture content from a defined position in the dynamic process in real-time. The nearinfrared measurement data illustrate the changes in moisture content as the paper is passing through the printing nips and dryer, respectively, and the analysis of the mechanisms involved highlight the roles of the contacting surfaces and the relative liquid carrier properties of both non-image and printed image areas. The thesis includes laboratory studies on wetting of porous media in the form of coated paper and compressed pigment tablets by mono-, dual-, and multi-component liquids, and paper water/moisture content analysis in both offline and online conditions, thus also enabling direct sampling of temporal water/moisture profiles from multiple locations. One main focus in this thesis was to establish a measurement system which is able to monitor rapid changes in moisture content of paper. The study suggests that near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy can be used as a moisture sensitive system and to provide accurate online qualitative indicators, but, also, when accurately calibrated, can provide quantification of water/moisture levels, its distribution and dynamic liquid transfer. Due to the high sensitivity, samples can be measured with excellent reproducibility and good signal to noise ratio. Another focus of this thesis was on the evolution of the moisture content, i.e. changes in moisture content referred to (re)wetting, and liquid distribution during printing of coated paper. The study confirmed different wetting phases together with the factors affecting each phase both for a single droplet and a liquid film applied on a porous substrate. For a single droplet, initial capillary driven imbibition is followed by equilibrium pore filling and liquid retreat by evaporation. In the case of a liquid film applied on paper, the controlling factors defining the transportation were concluded to be the applied liquid volume in relation to surface roughness, capillarity and permeability of the coating giving the liquid uptake capacity. The printing trials confirmed moisture gradients in the printed sheet depending on process parameters such as speed, fountain solution dosage and drying conditions as well as the printed layout itself. Uneven moisture distribution in the printed sheet was identified to be one of the sources for waving appearance and the magnitude of waving was influenced by the drying conditions.

Research framework for the connection between environmental collaboration and firm performance

This thesis focuses on collaborative activities with regard to environmental issues both within the firm and outside the firm with the key suppliers and customers, i.e. internal and external environmental collaboration. Integrating environmental thinking into supply chain management has received increasing interest in recent years. The relational view and the natural resource-based-view together suggest that environmental capabilities can be built jointly with supply chain partners and used to gain sustained competitive advantage. Several studies have been undertaken to analyse the connection between environmental activities and firm performance but most studies have taken only economic performance into account. This study pays attention also to two other dimensions of firm performance, intra-firm supply chain performance and environmental performance, and aims at presenting the linkages between them and environmental collaboration. This thesis creates a research framework for the connections between environmental collaboration and firm performance and suggests approaches to analyse these. In order to find out the key concepts and their relationship, an extensive literature review is conducted. The research framework proposes a positive connection between internal and external environmental collaboration and all three dimensions of firm performance. In addition, environmental performance and intra-firm supply chain performance are expected to contribute positively to economic performance. Hence, firms are suggested to benefit from environmental collaboration both within the firm and outside the firm. Empirical testing of the developed research framework is out of the scope of this study. However, this thesis proposes using a mixed methods research approach, including survey research and multiple case studies. Finland State of Logistics 2012 survey commissioned by the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications and conducted by Turku School of Economics is used as an example of data for the quantitative phase. The applicability of these two methods is discussed at a general level and with regard to analysing the research framework developed in the thesis. Future research will aim at the development of the research framework and the methods in order to confirm the connection between environmental collaboration and firm performance.

Breed and season influence on milk quality parameters and in mastitis occurrence

The aims of the present study were to evaluate the performance of Jersey and Holstein cows under different rainfall conditions (dry and rainy seasons) by monitoring aspects related to subclinical mastitis (somatic cell count, microbiological isolation, type of isolated pathogen), milk quality (lactose, protein, fat, total solids) and production (mean milk production) of both breeds. The study was carried out in a dairy farm located in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Eight visitations were done to the farm, four in a period of high rainfall and four in a period of low rainfall. Milk samples were collected from 79 Holstein cows and 37 Jersey cows for electronic somatic cell count and determination of the main milk components (protein, fat, total solids, lactose). Milk fat, protein, total solids and production were influenced by breed and the season, with similar tendencies for both breeds in both seasons. Somatic cell count (SCC) showed similar results for both breeds. Holstein cows with intramammary infections (IMI) presented a higher increase in SCC when compared to Jersey cows (P<0.001). In the dry season, 53 animals had IMI in at least one month during the study, which 32 were Holstein and 21 were Jersey cows. In the rainy season, 65 animals had intramammary infection, being 43 Holstein and 22 Jersey cows. The frequency of IMI cases was larger in the rainy season than in the dry season. Jersey cows had a lower chance of showing IMI signs and symptoms than Holstein cows in the rainy season (odds ratio=0.52). The larger number of IMI cases in the rainy season may have led to a lower milk lactose rate for both breeds, thus milk lactose rate can be considered an indicator of IMI status. There was prevalence of contagious pathogens overall in the study. The applied model showed that environmental pathogens were more frequently isolated from the breed Jersey, regardless of the study season. There seems to be differences in the immune response of Jersey and Holstein breeds.

The Environmental Status of the Port of HaminaKotka

This study is a part of the Ecologically Friendly Port Ust-Luga (EFP) project. The purpose of this study is to examine the environmental status of the Finnish ports and, more specifically, the Port of HaminaKotka. An analysis of the environmental status is performed mainly as a literature review, because the Finnish ports must comply with Finnish and EU legislation and with the binding international regulations and conventions created by different organizations. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has done groundbreaking work in the field of maritime safety and maritime environmental protection. The MARPOL convention has a great impact on decreasing pollution from international shipping and it applies to 99% of the world’s merchant tonnage. Pollution prevention covers: Oil pollution, Chemical pollution, Air pollution and GHG Emissions, Dumping of Wasted and Other Matters, Garbage, Sewage, Port Reception Facilities, Special Areas under MARPOL and Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas. There is also Pollution Prevention for other treaties like anti-fouling systems used on ships, the transfer of alien species by ships’ ballast water and the environmentally sound recycling of ships. There are more than twenty different EU and international regulations that influence ports and port operations in Finland. In addition, there is also national legislation that has an effect on Finnish ports. For the most part, the legislation for ports is common in the EU area, but the biggest and most important difference between the legislation in Finland and other EU countries is due to the Act on Environmental Impact Assessment Procedure. The Act states that the environmental impact assessment procedure shall be applied to projects that may have significant adverse environmental impacts, due to the special features of Finland`s nature and environment. In this Act, the term environmental impact refers to the direct and indirect effects inside and outside Finnish territory of a project or operations on human health, living conditions and amenity; soil, water, air, climate, organisms, interaction between them and biodiversity; community structure, buildings, landscape, townscape and cultural heritage; utilization of natural resources. In Finland, the Environmental Permit requires that ports collect all necessary information concerning environmental effects and make required reports to the Finnish authorities, stakeholders and the public. Commonly, environmental reporting is public and environmental achievements are emphasized in reporting and in media. At the moment, the problem in environmental reporting is that it’s difficult to compare data from different ports. There is enough data concerning the environmental effects and performance, but the manner of reporting and the quality of the data varies between ports. There are differences in the units and codes used, in some cases the information is not sufficient and it can even be rather unreliable. There are also differences regarding the subjects that are emphasized in reporting.

Enabling Change in Universities: Enhancing Education for Sustainable Development with Tools for Quality Assurance

Enabling Change in Universities: Enhancing Education for Sustainable Development with Tools for Quality Assurance This thesis deals with enabling change in universities, more explicitly enhancing education for sustainable development with tools for quality assurance. Change management is a discipline within management that was developed in the 1980s because business changed from being predictable to unpredictable. The PEST mnemonic is a method to categorize factors enabling change; such as political, economic, socio-cultural and technological factors, which all affect higher education. A classification of a change, in either hard or soft, can help understanding the type of change that an organization is facing. Hard changes are more applied to problems that have clear objectives and indicators, with a known cause of the problem. Soft changes are applied to larger problems that affect the entire organization or beyond it. The basic definition for sustainable development is: the future generations should have similar opportunities as the previous. The UN has set as a global goal an integration of education for sustainable development (ESD) at all levels of education during 2005- 2014. The goal is set also in universities, the graduates of which are future leaders for all labor markets. The objective for ESD in higher education is that graduates obtain the competence to take economic, social and environmental costs and benefits into account when making decisions. Knowledge outcomes should aim for systematic and holistic thinking, which requires cross disciplinary education. So far, the development of ESD has not achieved its goals. The UN has identified a need for more transdisclipnary research in ESD. A joint global requirement for universities is quality assurance, the aim of which is to secure and improve teaching and learning. Quality, environmental and integrated management systems are used by some universities for filling the quality assurance requirements. The goal of this thesis is to open up new ways for enhancing ESD in universities, beyond the forerunners; by exploring how management systems could be used as tools for promoting ESD. The thesis is based on five studies. In the first study, I focus on if and how tools for quality assurance could be benefitted for promoting ESD. It is written from a new perspective, the memetic, for reaching a diversity of faculty. A meme is an idea that diffuses from brain to brain. It can be applied for cultural evolution. It is a theory that is based on the evolutionary theory by Darwin, applied for social sciences. In the second Paper, I present the results from the development of the pilot process model for enhancing ESD with management systems. The development of the model is based on a study that includes earlier studies, a survey in academia and an analysis of the practice in 11 universities in the Nordic countries. In the third study, I explore if the change depends on national culture or if it is global. It is a comparative study on both policy and implementation level, between the Nordic countries and China. The fourth study is a single case study based on change management. In this study, I identify what to consider in order to enable the change: enhancing ESD with tools for quality assurance in universities. In the fifth Paper, I present the results of the process model for enhancing ESD with management systems. The model was compared with identified drivers and barriers for enhancing ESD and for implementing management systems. Finally, the process model was piloted and applied for identifying sustainability aspects in curricula. Action research was chosen as methodology because there are not already implemented approaches using quality management for promoting ESD, why the only way to study this is to make it happen. Another reason for choosing action research is since it is essential to involve students and faculty for enhancing ESD. Action based research consists of the following phases: a) diagnosing, b) planning action, c) taking action and d) evaluating action. This research was made possible by a project called Education for Sustainable Development in Academia in the Nordic countries, ESDAN, in which activities were divided into these four phases. Each phase ended with an open seminar, where the results of the study were presented. The objective for the research project was to develop a process for including knowledge in sustainable development in curricula, which could be used in the quality assurance work. Eleven universities from the Nordic countries cooperated in the project. The aim was, by applying the process, to identify and publish examples of relevant sustainability aspects in different degree programs in universities in the Nordic countries. The project was partly financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers and partly by the participating pilot universities. Based on the results of my studies, I consider that quality, environmental and integrated management systems can be used for promoting ESD in universities. Relevant sustainability aspects have been identified in different fields of studies by applying the final process model. The final process model was compared with drivers and barriers for enhancing ESD and for implementing management systems in universities and with succeeding with management systems in industry. It corresponds with these, meaning that drivers are taken into account and barriers tackled. Both ESD and management systems in universities could be considered successful memes, which can reflect an effective way of communication among individuals. I have identified that management systems could be used as tools for hard changes and to support the soft change of enhancing ESD in universities with management system. Based on the change management study I have summarized recommendations on what to consider in order to enable the studied change. The main practical implications of the results are that the process model could be applied for assessment, benchmarking and communication of ESD, connected to quality assurance, when applied. This is possible because the information can be assembled in one picture, which facilitates comparison. The memetic approach can be applied for structuring. It is viable to make comparative studies between cultures, for getting insight in special characteristics of the own culture. Action based research is suitable for involving faculty. Change management can be applied for planning a change, which both enhancing ESD and developing management systems are identified to be.

Physical Attractiveness as a Signal of Biological Quality

It has been commonly thought that standards of beauty are arbitrary cultural conventions that vary between cultures and time. In my thesis I found that it is not so. Instead, I show that attractiveness and preferred traits serve as cues to phenotypic qualities that provide selective benefits for those who choose their mates based on these criteria. In the first study I show that attractive men have a stronger antibody response to the hepatitis b vaccine and higher levels of testosterone than their less attractive peers. Men with low levels of testosterone also tend to have high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, suggesting that their immune responses may have been inhibited by stress hormones. Thus, facial attractiveness may serve as an honest cue of the strength of immune defence in men. In the second study, I show that the attractiveness of the male body is also a cue of better immunity. In addition, I show that adiposity, both in men’s faces and bodies, is a better cue of the strength of immunity and attractiveness than of masculinity. In the third study, I test the preferences of women from 13 countries for facial cues of testosterone and cortisol. I show that there is cross-cultural variation in women’s preference for cues of testosterone and cortisol in male faces. I found a relationship between the health of a nation and women’s preferences for cues of testosterone in the male face and the interaction between preferences for cues of testosterone and cortisol. I show also a relationship between preferences for cues of testosterone and a societal-level measure of parasite stress. Thus, it seems that societal-level ecological factors influence the relative value of traits as revealed by combinations of testosterone and stress hormones. In the fourth study, I show that women’s immune responsiveness (amount of antibodies produced) does not predict facial attractiveness. Instead, plasma cortisol level is negatively associated with attractiveness, indicating that stressed women look less attractive. Fat percentage is curvilinearly associated with facial attractiveness, indicating that being too thin or too fat reduces attractiveness. This study suggests that in contrast to men, facial attractiveness in women does not indicate the strength of immune defence, but is associated with other aspects of long-term health and fertility: circulating levels of the stress hormone cortisol and the percentage of body fat. In the last study I show that the attractiveness of men’s body odor is positively correlated with stress hormone levels, suggesting also that the attractiveness of body odors may signal the phenotypic quality of males to females. However, the attractiveness of men’s body odor was not associated with testosterone levels. My thesis suggests that the standard of beauty is not in the eye of the beholder. Instead, our standard of beauty is hardwired in our brains by genes that are selected by natural selection and also influenced by current environmental conditions.

Targeted measures bring the greatest benefits for environmental protection in agriculture final report of the TEHO Plus project (2011–2014)

Targeted measures bring the greatest benefits for environmental protection in agriculture final report of the TEHO Plus project (2011–2014). Particular priority areas of the project activities included creating a training package for agri-environment advisers and testing it, farm-specific advisory services and exploitation of experiences of advice provision, putting together an information package of agri-environment issues, farm-level experiments, and development of water quality monitoring. The recommendations issued by advisers on targeting environmental measures were based on utilising geographical information material and nutrient balances. The project was implemented in cooperation by Southwest Finland Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, MTK-Satakunta and MTK-Varsinais-Suomi. The project received funding from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministry of the Environment. Participating farmers, with whom environmental advice was developed and experiments were carried out, were important partners for the project. The operating area of the project was Satakunta and Varsinais-Suomi in Southwest Finland, but its outcomes can be exploited nationally. A national perspective was ensured by close cooperation with actors in different provinces. This final report describes project experiences and outcomes including environmental advisory services, training of agri-environmental advisers, farm visits and the feedback received from farmers on agri-environmental advice, development of water quality monitoring, experiments and project work.

Design, implementation, and evaluation of an online water quality monitoring system in Lake Saimaa, Finland

Environmental threats are growing nowadays, they became global issues. People around the world try to face these issues by two means: solving the current affected environs and preventing non-affected environs. This thesis describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of online water quality monitoring system in Lake Saimaa, Finland. The water quality in Lake Saimaa needs to be monitored in order to provide responsible bodies with valuable information which allows them to act fast in order to prevent any negative impact on the lake's environment. The objectives were to design a suitable system, implement the system in Lake Saimaa, and then to evaluate the applicability and reliability of such systems for this environment. The needs for the system were first isolated, and then the design, needed modifications, and the construction of the system took place. After that was the testing of the system in Lake Saimaa in two locations nearby Mikkeli city. The last step was to evaluate the whole system. The main results were that the application of online water quality monitoring systems in Lake Saimaa can benefit of many advantages such as reducing the required manpower, time and running costs. However, the point of unreliability of the exact measured values of some parameters is still the drawback of such systems which can be developed by using more advanced equipments with more sophisticated features specifically for the purpose of monitoring in the predefined location.

Environmental color affects Nile tilapia reproduction

We investigated the effects of environmental color on the reproductive behavior of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. Two environmental colors were tested by covering the aquarium (60 x 60 x 40 cm) with white (12 groups) or blue (13 groups) cellophane and observing reproductive behavior in groups of 2 males (10.27 ± 0.45 cm) and 3 females (10.78 ± 0.45 cm) each. After assignment to the respective environmental color (similar luminosity = 100 to 120 Lux), the animals were observed until reproduction (identified by eggs in the female's mouth) or up to 10 days after the first nest building. Photoperiod was from 6:00 h to 18:00 h every day. Food was offered in excess once a day and water quality was similar among aquaria. Daily observations were made at 8:00, 11:00, 14:00 and 17:00 h regarding: a) latency to the first nest, b) number of nests, c) gravel weight removed (the male excavates the nest in the bottom of the aquarium), d) nest area, and e) mouthbrooding incubation (indication of reproduction). The proportion of reproducing fish was significantly higher (6 of 13) in the group exposed to the blue color compared the group exposed to the white color (1 of 12; Goodman's test of proportions). Moreover, males under blue light removed significantly larger masses of gravel (blue = 310.70 ± 343.50 g > white = 130.38 ± 102.70 g; P = 0.01) and constructed wider nests (blue = 207.93 ± 207.80 cm² > white = 97.68 ± 70.64 cm²; P = 0.03) than the control (white). The other parameters did not differ significantly between light conditions. We concluded that reproduction in the presence of blue light was more frequent and intense than in the presence of white light.

Foreign Direct Investment, Clean Development Mechanism, and Environmental Management: A case of Sub-Saharan Africa

This doctoral dissertation explores the contribution of environmental management practices, the so-called clean development mechanism (CDM) projects, and foreign direct investment (FDI) in achieving sustainable development in developing countries, particularly in Sub- Saharan Africa. Because the climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most serious global environmental challenges, the main focus is on the causal links between carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, energy consumption, and economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, the dissertation investigates the factors that have affected the distribution of CDM projects in developing countries and the relationships between FDI and other macroeconomic variables of interest. The main contribution of the dissertation is empirical. One of the publications uses crosssectional data and Tobit and Poisson regressions. Three of the studies use time-series data and vector autoregressive and vector error correction models, while two publications use panel data and panel data estimation methods. One of the publications uses thus both timeseries and panel data. The concept of Granger causality is utilized in four of the publications. The results indicate that there are significant differences in the Granger causality relationships between CO2 emissions, energy consumption, economic growth, and FDI in different countries. It appears also that the causality relationships change over time. Furthermore, the results support the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis but only for some of the countries. As to CDM activities, past emission levels, institutional quality, and the size of the host country appear to be among the significant determinants of the distribution of CDM projects. FDI and exports are also found to be significant determinants of economic growth.

Environmental Challenges in the Joint Border Area of Norway, Finland and Russia

This report examines the human impact on the subarctic environment of the joint border area of Norway, Finland and Russia. The aim is to present the current state and recent changes that have taken place in the region. The main threat to the environment is the Pechenganikel mining and metallurgical industrial combine in the towns of Nikel and Zapolyarny in the Kola Peninsula. Emissions from this complex include high levels of heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants and sulfur dioxide. Pollution, along with climate change, water level regulation and other anthropogenic effects, has affected the aquatic ecosystems in the joint border area. The main heavy metals in the area are copper and nickel, the highest concentrations of which are measured near the combine. Direct discharge of sewage into the river continues and airborne heavy metal particles are also deposited to areas farther away. Climate changeinduced increase in temperature and precipitation in the Kola Peninsula is evident. Water level regulation with seven hydropower plants in the Pasvik River have changed it into a series of lakes and lake-like reservoirs. This report discusses modelling, which was enabled to estimate the effect of climate change on Lake Inarijärvi and the Pasvik River hydrology, water level fluctuation and ecology and to follow the sulfur dioxide emissions emitted from the Pechenganikel. Effects of pollution on the nature and concentrations of the main pollutants were studied and climate change in the border area and its effects on the ecology were estimated. Also the effects of water level regulation on the ecological status of the aquatic ecosystems were addressed.

Geochemistry and water quality of Lake Qarun, Egypt

Water geochemistry is a very important tool for studying the water quality in a given area. Geology and climate are the major natural factors controlling the chemistry of most natural waters. Anthropogenic impacts are the secondary sources of contamination in natural waters. This study presents the first integrative approach to the geochemistry and water quality of surface waters and Lake Qarun in the Fayoum catchment, Egypt. Moreover, geochemical modeling of Lake Qarun was firstly presented. The Nile River is the main source of water to the Fayoum watershed. To investigate the quality and geochemistry of this water, water samples from irrigation canals, drains and Lake Qarun were collected during the period 2010‒2013 from the whole Fayoum drainage basin to address the major processes and factors governing the evolution of water chemistry in the investigation area. About 34 physicochemical quality parameters, including major ions, oxygen isotopes, trace elements, nutrients and microbiological parameters were investigated in the water samples. Multivariable statistical analysis was used to interpret the interrelationship between the different studied parameters. Geochemical modeling of Lake Qarun was carried out using Hardie and Eugster’s evolutionary model and a model simulated by PHREEQC software. The crystallization sequence during evaporation of Lake Qarun brine was also studied using a Jänecke phase diagram involving the system Na‒K‒Mg‒ Cl‒SO4‒H2O. The results show that the chemistry of surface water in the Fayoum catchment evolves from Ca- Mg-HCO3 at the head waters to Ca‒Mg‒Cl‒SO4 and eventually to Na‒Cl downstream and at Lake Qarun. The main processes behind the high levels of Na, SO4 and Cl in downstream waters and in Lake Qarun are dissolution of evaporites from Fayoum soils followed by evapoconcentration. This was confirmed by binary plots between the different ions, Piper plot, Gibb’s plot and δ18O results. The modeled data proved that Lake Qarun brine evolves from drainage waters via an evaporation‒crystallization process. Through the precipitation of calcite and gypsum, the solution should reach the final composition "Na–Mg–SO4–Cl". As simulated by PHREEQC, further evaporation of lake brine can drive halite to precipitate in the final stages of evaporation. Significantly, the crystallization sequence during evaporation of the lake brine at the concentration ponds of the Egyptian Salts and Minerals Company (EMISAL) reflected the findings from both Hardie and Eugster’s evolutionary model and the PHREEQC simulated model. After crystallization of halite at the EMISAL ponds, the crystallization sequence during evaporation of the residual brine (bittern) was investigated using a Jänecke phase diagram at 35 °C. This diagram was more useful than PHREEQC for predicting the evaporation path especially in the case of this highly concentrated brine (bittern). The predicted crystallization path using a Jänecke phase diagram at 35 °C showed that halite, hexahydrite, kainite and kieserite should appear during bittern evaporation. Yet the actual crystallized mineral salts were only halite and hexahydrite. The absence of kainite was due to its metastability while the absence of kieserite was due to opposed relative humidity. The presence of a specific MgSO4.nH2O phase in ancient evaporite deposits can be used as a paleoclimatic indicator. Evaluation of surface water quality for agricultural purposes shows that some irrigation waters and all drainage waters have high salinities and therefore cannot be used for irrigation. Waters from irrigation canals used as a drinking water supply show higher concentrations of Al and suffer from high levels of total coliform (TC), fecal coliform (FC) and fecal streptococcus (FS). These waters cannot be used for drinking or agricultural purposes without treatment, because of their high health risk. Therefore it is crucial that environmental protection agencies and the media increase public awareness of this issue, especially in rural areas.