Enhanced hydrologic monitoring and characterization of groundwater drainage features
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Projected runoff declines from plant physiological effects on precipitation
The impact of plants on runoff under high atmospheric CO2 is a major uncertainty for future water resources. Theory and Earth system models (ESMs) suggest that stricter plant stomatal regulation under high CO2 will reduce transpiration, potentially boosting runoff. Yet, across a 12-member ensemble of idealized ESM simulations that isolate plant responses to CO2, we show that lower transpiration robustly enhances runoff over only 5% of modelled global land area. Precipitation changes are five times more important than transpiration changes in driving runoff responses and are a significant signal of CO2 physiological forcing over 31–57% of land areas across models. Crucially, ESMs largely disagree on where physiologically forced precipitation changes occur but agree that plant responses in most locations are as likely to reduce runoff as increase it. These results imply that large model uncertainties in precipitation responses, rather than transpiration responses, explain why ESMs disagree on plant physiologically driven runoff changes.
Corrosion processes affecting copper-coated used fuel containers for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel: critical review of the state-of-knowledge
The uniqueness of the Canadian spent nuclear fuel disposal container design requires a detailed understanding of the copper corrosion processes that could occur in deep geological repositories. This review aimed to identify knowledge gaps surrounding impacts of changing conditions and the evolution of corrosion processes as conditions change from moist/cool, through warm/dry, to cool/fully saturated. This review indicates that early, unsaturated corrosion, and compounding influences of previous corrosion are understudied.
The challenge of monitoring policy mixes for reducing emissions from buildings
The building sector accounts for about 34% of global energy use and correspondingly 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Even leading regions and countries struggle to address these emissions. Well-crafted mixes of public policy initiatives are crucial to progress, but what systems are in place to track existing policy initiatives and their effectiveness? To address this question, we focus on the UN, the EU, Finland and Germany, where existing tracking systems have received little attention from a comparative perspective so far. Utilising desirable dimensions of monitoring and reporting of policy mixes from existing literature, we find that the monitoring systems in focus have become more streamlined and coordinated over time. But policy interactions have not yet been sufficiently considered and different baselines hamper comparability. Such factors hinder policy-makers to understand and adjust the complex policy mix in the buildings sector to deliver effective climate action. Core discipline: Political science/policy sciences.
Perfluoroalkyl substances concentration from groundwater via direct contact membrane distillation
A significant yet largely untapped reservoir of polluted water arises from groundwater, where the diffusion of PFAS has been shown to be alarmingly on the rise, driven by prolonged accumulation and restricted avenues for degradation. Direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) was used to concentrate and remove perfluorooctanoic acid compounds from contaminated groundwater for the first time using commercially available poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membranes. The temporal membrane fouling propensity over the DCMD test was assessed by analysing the morphological and chemical structural changes of the pristine and used membranes. Over 120 h of test using 10 mg/L PFOA-contaminated model groundwater as feed, the PVDF membrane exhibited a lower extent of flux decline of 15% compared to that 43% obtained by PTFE membrane using feed temperature of 60 oC. This study provides a practical route to pre-concentrate the amphiphilic PFAS contaminants from groundwater.
The role of rivers in the origin and future of Amazonian biodiversity
The rich biodiversity of Amazonia is shaped geographically and ecologically by its rivers and their cycles of seasonal flooding. Anthropogenic effects, such as deforestation, infrastructure development and extreme climatic events, threaten the ecological processes sustaining Amazonian ecosystems. In this Review, we explore the coupled evolution of Amazonian rivers and biodiversity associated with terrestrial and seasonally flooded environments, integrating geological, climatic, ecological and genetic evidence. Amazonia and its fluvial environments are highly heterogeneous, and the drainage system is historically dynamic and continually evolving; as a result, the discharge, sediment load and strength of rivers as barriers to biotic dispersal has changed through time. Ecological affinities of taxa, drainage rearrangements and variations in riverine landscape caused by past climate changes have mediated the evolution of the high diversity found in modern-day Amazonia. The connected history of the region’s biodiversity and landscape provides fundamental information for mitigating current and future impacts. However, incomplete knowledge about species taxonomy, distributions, habitat use, ecological interactions and occurrence patterns limits our understanding. Partnerships with Indigenous peoples and local communities, who have close ties to land and natural resources, are key to improving knowledge generation and dissemination, enabling better impact assessments, monitoring and management of the riverine systems at risk from evolving pressures.
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