Professional Documents
Culture Documents
: public.globalnet.hr/~gvlahovi/ekologija/ecolo...
: eusoils.jrc.ec.europa.eu/.../sect_h6.htm
Soil Erosion in the Alps (spatial analysis of
causes and risk assessment)
Meusburger, K. & Alewell, C.
In mountain environments, difficulties in accessibility and data acquisitation are paired with a
high degree in small-scale heterogeneity. Thus, successful approaches to assess susceptibility
to erosion at catchment scale are bound to regionalization of data with GIS based modeling
and remote sensing.
The aim of this work is to identify causes of soil erosion in form of shallow landslides as well
as the mapping of risk areas rather than an exact quantification of sediment rates. The first
aim will be achieved by field observation and multidimensional spatial evaluation of
influencing factors on soil erosion. This requires informative data layers such as surface
cover, geology, geomorphology, land use, soil and erosion. Erosion mapping is done by field
mapping and from aerial photographs. The aerial photographs are analyzed for different years
in order to implicate the progress of erosion with climate parameters and land use changes.
The gained knowledge will be incorporated into a GIS based soil erosion model that will
concentrate on the relative differences between source strength of degraded soils. The
methods to determine erosion risk are developed within a subcatchment and validated by of
by upscaling to the 30 km2.
Soil erosion maps derived from aerial photographs are spatially compared to
divers thematic maps.
The project is funded by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (BAFU).
: pages.unibas.ch/.../Soil_degr_AlpsCA_e_01.htm
Erosion modeling
Bänninger, D. & Alewell, C. & Konz Hohwieler, N. & Meusburger, K.
For erosion modeling an essential requirement is to be able to spatially describe hydrology.
From literature it was found that usual algorithms applied for this purpose do not route the
water flow correctly between adjacent cells. Thus, the first step to make progress in erosion
modeling is to get a spatially explicit hydrological model that calculates the water flow
correct. First we propose to use irregular instead of frequently used regular grids because the
complex topography of mountain areas can be described with a smaller number of grid nodes
and thus reduces computation time. Second, we developed an algorithm which is simple in its
implementation and efficient in computation (Bänninger, 2007).
From the results of our water routing algorithm we can qualitatively conclude that the water
routing over the irregular mesh runs correctly and the velocity of water flow routing is
independent of the mesh resolution. Qualitative comparison of these results with the results of
frequently used algorithms, for example the D8 algorithm, illustrates the advances in
hydrological modeling (Figure 9). To make advances in erosion modeling each process has to
be considered in a similar way.
Figure 9: Comparison of our algorithm (left) with the D8 algorithm (right). The blue color
assigns water saturation, red means saturation. At the boundary of the cones we did not allow
water outflow.
pages.unibas.ch/.../Soil_degr_AlpsCA_e_01.htm
FLASH FLOOD
library.thinkquest.org/.../flashfloods.html
library.thinkquest.org/.../flashfloods.html
1. Introduction
Heavy rain from localized thunderstorm activity between 3.30pm and 5.30pm caused flash floods
in downtown Johor Baru on 18 April 2006. Light variable winds near the earth’s surface and an
unstable atmosphere which are charateristics of the intermonsoon season favors strong convective
activity resulting in localized thundertorm and heavy rains in the late afternoon and early
eveining, mainly over the west coast states of Peninsular Malaysia. In this report, analyses of the
rainfall, satellite and radar imageries during the period of this heavy rain episode is presented.
www.kjc.gov.my/.../weather/Senai_e20060418.html
www.tutorgig.com/ed/2006_in_Malaysia
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SAO PAULO - Army soldiers used boats, trucks and helicopters Wednesday to tote food and water
to scores of cities and towns isolated by floods that have killed at least 30 people and left nearly
200,000 homeless. But in an ominous sign that worried civil defense officials, rain continued to fall
across a vast region stretching from the Amazon jungle to the northeastern Atlantic coast and
meteorologists predicted the bad weather could last for weeks. Isolated looting was reported in
communities...
article.wn.com/.../
LAND SLIDE
homepage.mac.com/.../landslide.slide2.jpg
www.redcrescent.org.my/selangor/uploads/extga...
KUALA LUMPUR, Sat.: The quiet in Taman Bukit Mewah and Taman Bukit Utama in Bukit Antarabangsa was
shattered by the sound of strong wind and an explosion just before the landslide hit the neighbourhood in the
wee hours of the morning, according to an eyewitness.
www.unm.edu/.../newmovieimages/politics.jpg
www.recyc-all.org/www.recyc-all.org/pictures/...
photo.ortho.free.fr/images/divers/pollution.JPG
GLOBAL WARMING
netmar.com/~maat/announce/ann_dryice.htm
web.rollins.edu/~jsiry/global_warming.jpg
iml.jou.ufl.edu/.../delucia/glaciermelt.jpg
ecosense9.files.wordpress.com/.../polar-bear.jpg
OZONE DEPLETION
HOW THE OZONE LAYER IS ATTACKED
The ozone depletion process begins when CFCs and other ozone-depleting substances (ODS) leak from
equipment (1). Winds efficiently mix the troposphere and evenly distribute the gases. CFCs are
extremely stable, and do not dissolve in rain. After a period of several years, ODS molecules reach the
stratosphere, about 10 kilometres above the Earth's surface (2).
Strong ultra-violet (UV) light breaks apart the ODS molecule. CFCs release chlorine atoms, and halons
release bromine atoms (3). It is these atoms that actually destroy ozone. It is estimated that one
chlorine atom can destroy over 100,000 ozone atoms before finally being removed from the
stratosphere (4).
Ozone is constantly being produced and destroyed in a natural cycle. However, the overall amount of
ozone is essentially stable. This balance can be thought of as a stream's depth at a particular location.
Although individual water molecules are moving past the observer, the total depth remains constant.
Similarly, while ozone production and destruction are balanced, ozone levels remain stable. The situation
began to change several decades ago.
Large increases in stratospheric chlorine and bromine, have upset that balance. In effect, they have
added a siphon downstream, removing ozone faster than natural ozone creation reactions can keep up.
Therefore, ozone levels fall.
Since ozone filters out harmful UVB radiation, less ozone means higher UVB levels at the surface. The
more depletion, the larger the increase in incoming UVB (5). UVB has been linked to skin cancer,
cataracts, damage to materials like plastics, and harm to certain crops and marine organisms. Although
some UVB reaches the surface even without ozone depletion, its harmful effects will increase as a result
of this problem (6).
Posted in Featured News Stories, Air pollution and air quality, Human health, Environmental health, Ozone
depletion |
Posted in Featured News Stories, Environmental Policy, International enviro issues, Agriculture and food,
Ozone depletion |
Developed nations such as the United States are being irresponsible in their
continued allowances of the use of an agricultural fumigant pesticide called methyl
bromide, which is 50 times more damaging to earth’s atmosphere than CFCs that
were blamed in the 1970s and 1980s for causing holes in the ozone, a United Nations
official and environmental experts said this week.
“There are several developing countries that are phasing out methyl bromide earlier
than [their] required phaseout date,” U.N. Ozone Secretariat Senior Scientific Affairs
Officer Megumi Seki said.
A U.N. conference in Canada this week is discussing global methyl bromide issues.
www.treehugger.com/2007/11/04-week/
gstaadblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/climat...
www.tacc.utexas.edu/.../climatechange.php
www.tacc.utexas.edu/.../climatechange.php
LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY
www.sundancechannel.com/UPLOADS/blog/treehugg...
Modern media shapes nearly everything in our culture. The TV set, the daily newspaper, the internet
and radio stations have become the central meeting point for curious minds. It is not hard to
understand why the messages that the media puts out into society can have a tremendous impact on
everything that society does.
Modern media can be a powerful tool for focusing people’s attention on their role in the green
movement. Your voice wields more influence than you might expect.
There is a wonderful event about modern media and its role in promoting the green movement. Read
below for more details on the discussion panel leaders.
Actress, author and green activist Annabelle Gurwitch [www.annabellegurwitch.com], host of
“Wa$ted” on Planet Green, moderates a robust discussion about the media’s role in the green
movement. The panel of experts includes Elizabeth Royte [www.bottlemania.net] (author of
Bottlemania and Garbageland), Graham Hill [www.treehugger.com] (founder of Treehugger.com and
co-author of Ready Set Green ), Lynne Kirby (Senior VP, Original Programming & Development,
Sundance Channel ) , Andrew C. Revkin (Chief Environment Reporter for the NY Times) and Ira
Flatow [www.npr.org]] (host of Science Friday on NPR).
Date & Time: Thu, Nov 13, 2008, 7:00pm
Location: 92YTribeca, 200 Hudson Street
Venue: 92YTribeca Lecture Hall
www.sundancechannel.com/.../tag/treehugger/
Considering biodiversity [www.sundancechannel.com] and natural habitat is another great study in the
interconnectedness of everything. One Planet says the challenge stems from, “Loss of biodiversity
and habitats due to development in natural areas and overexploitation of natural resources,” and it
certainly does, but as we encroach further into natural habitat, we cut down more trees (and trees
absorb carbon dioxide as they grow), which leads to less water retention in the soil (which leads to
less groundwater that we can access with wells) and less stable topsoil [www.sundancechannel.com]
(which leads to more mudslides). What to do? “Regenerate degraded environments and halt
biodiversity loss, and protect or regenerate existing natural environments and the habitats they
provide to fauna and flora; create new habitats,” says One Planet. This one is interesting because it
requires nothing but our due diligence; we don’t need any fancy technology for this (though it helps);
we just have to care enough to make a difference. Judging by the groundswell of interesting
environmental issues over the past year, we certainly do.
Culture and heritage might make less sense as a way for a greener future; in order to give this one
proper treatment, we have to look to the past. The problem, defined by One Planet as, “Local cultural
heritage lost throughout the world due to globalization, resulting in a loss of local identity and wisdom,”
is equally about what we’ve done in the past and what we do today. Think about it this way: in Italy,
there’s a cultural history surrounding food and wine (something like pasta and Chianti, very generally)
that dictates how things are done, and where they come from. Italians don’t prefer cheese from Parma
and tomatoes from Roma because it’s greener; they prefer them because they’re distinctly Italian, and
because it helps define their culture and heritage. In America, we have no such connection to a given
cultural history; as a melting pot, we have the benefit of deriving culture from many different sources,
but it leaves us without a specific tradition on which we can hang our hats. So, we tend to care less
about where our stuff comes from, and that goes for everything from food and water to materials and
even energy.
Though this sounds like a bit of a bummer, it’s a great opportunity for us to rebuild a culture of
sustainability, and it’s already happening: with farmer’s markets and local food; with green energy we
harvest ourselves; with water and resources we’re able to save through increased efficiency. Being
green is becoming cultural iconography of it’s own, and it’s only the tip of the iceberg. Don’t wait to get
on the bandwagon!
www.sundancechannel.com/.../tag/treehugger/
www.rwandagateway.org/images/wastage.jpg
www.undp.org/.../biodiversitycd/erosion.JPG
EUTROPHICATION
www.thirteen.org/.../Images/image44.gif
api ning.com./Eutrophication
www.play-with-water.ch/.../images/img_23.jpg
www.appropedia.org/images/7/78/Image.jpg