| 1. |
- Kritzberg, Emma S., et al.
(författare)
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Browning of freshwaters : Consequences to ecosystem services, underlying drivers, and potential mitigation measures
- 2020
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Ingår i: Ambio: a Journal of the Human Environment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209. ; 49:2, s. 375-390
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Browning of surface waters, as a result of increasing dissolved organic carbon and iron concentrations, is a widespread phenomenon with implications to the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems. In this article, we provide an overview of the consequences of browning in relation to ecosystem services, outline what the underlying drivers and mechanisms of browning are, and specifically focus on exploring potential mitigation measures to locally counteract browning. These topical concepts are discussed with a focus on Scandinavia, but are of relevance also to other regions. Browning is of environmental concern as it leads to, e.g., increasing costs and risks for drinking water production, and reduced fish production in lakes by limiting light penetration. While climate change, recovery from acidification, and land-use change are all likely factors contributing to the observed browning, managing the land use in the hydrologically connected parts of the landscape may be the most feasible way to counteract browning of natural waters.
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| 2. |
- Martin, Michael, et al.
(författare)
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Life cycle sustainability evaluations of bio-based value chains: Reviewing the indicators from a Swedish perspective
- 2018
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 10:2
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Policymakers worldwide are promoting the use of bio-based products as part of sustainable development. Nonetheless, there are concerns that the bio-based economy may undermine the sustainability of the transition, e.g., from the overexploitation of biomass resources and indirect impacts of land use. Adequate assessment methods with a broad systems perspective are thus required in order to ensure a transition to a sustainable, bio-based economy. We review the scientifically published life cycle studies of bio-based products in order to investigate the extent to which they include important sustainability indicators. To define which indicators are important, we refer to established frameworks for sustainability assessment, and include an Open Space workshop with academics and industrial experts. The results suggest that there is a discrepancy between the indicators that we found to be important, and the indicators that are frequently included in the studies. This indicates a need for the development and dissemination of improved methods in order to model several important environmental impacts, such as: water depletion, indirect land use change, and impacts on ecosystem quality and biological diversity. The small number of published social life cycle assessments (SLCAs) and life cycle sustainability assessments (LCSAs) indicate that these are still immature tools; as such, there is a need for improved methods and more case studies.
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| 3. |
- Carlsson, Pernilla, et al.
(författare)
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Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) as sentinels for the elucidation of Arctic environmental change processes : a comprehensive review combined with ArcRisk project results
- 2018
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Pollution Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0944-1344 .- 1614-7499. ; 25:23, s. 22499-22528
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can be used as chemical sentinels for the assessment of anthropogenic influences on Arctic environmental change. We present an overview of studies on PCBs in the Arctic and combine these with the findings from ArcRisk-a major European Union-funded project aimed at examining the effects of climate change on the transport of contaminants to and their behaviour of in the Arctic-to provide a case study on the behaviour and impact of PCBs over time in the Arctic. PCBs in the Arctic have shown declining trends in the environment over the last few decades. Atmospheric long-range transport from secondary and primary sources is the major input of PCBs to the Arctic region. Modelling of the atmospheric PCB composition and behaviour showed some increases in environmental concentrations in a warmer Arctic, but the general decline in PCB levels is still the most prominent feature. 'Within-Arctic' processing of PCBs will be affected by climate change-related processes such as changing wet deposition. These in turn will influence biological exposure and uptake of PCBs. The pan-Arctic rivers draining large Arctic/sub-Arctic catchments provide a significant source of PCBs to the Arctic Ocean, although changes in hydrology/sediment transport combined with a changing marine environment remain areas of uncertainty with regard to PCB fate. Indirect effects of climate change on human exposure, such as a changing diet will influence and possibly reduce PCB exposure for indigenous peoples. Body burdens of PCBs have declined since the 1980s and are predicted to decline further.
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| 4. |
- Grennfelt, Peringe, et al.
(författare)
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Acid rain and air pollution : 50 years of progress in environmental science and policy
- 2020
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Ingår i: Ambio. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209. ; 49:4, s. 849-864
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Because of its serious large-scale effects on ecosystems and its transboundary nature, acid rain received for a few decades at the end of the last century wide scientific and public interest, leading to coordinated policy actions in Europe and North America. Through these actions, in particular those under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, air emissions were substantially reduced, and ecosystem impacts decreased. Widespread scientific research, long-term monitoring, and integrated assessment modelling formed the basis for the policy agreements. In this paper, which is based on an international symposium organised to commemorate 50 years of successful integration of air pollution research and policy, we briefly describe the scientific findings that provided the foundation for the policy development. We also discuss important characteristics of the science-policy interactions, such as the critical loads concept and the large-scale ecosystem field studies. Finally, acid rain and air pollution are set in the context of future societal developments and needs, e.g. the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. We also highlight the need to maintain and develop supporting scientific infrastructures.
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| 5. |
- Jutfelt, Fredrik, et al.
(författare)
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Two-current choice flumes for testing avoidance and preference in aquatic animals
- 2017
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Ingår i: Methods in Ecology and Evolution. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2041-210X. ; 8:3, s. 379-390
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aquatic chemical ecology is an important and growing field of research that involves understanding how organisms perceive and respond to chemical cues in their environment. Research assessing the preference or avoidance of a water source containing specific chemical cues has increased in popularity in recent years, and a variety of methods have been described in the scientific literature. Two-current choice flumes have seen the greatest increase in popularity, perhaps because of their potential to address the broadest range of research questions.Here, we review the literature on two-current choice flumes and show that there is a clear absence of standardized methodologies that make comparisons across studies difficult. Some of the main issues include turbulent flows that cause mixing of cues, inappropriate size of choice arenas for the animals, short experiments with stressed animals, failure to report how experiment and researcher biases were eliminated, general underreporting of methodological details, underutilization of collected data and inappropriate data analyses.In this review, we present best practice guidelines on how to build, test and use two-current choice flumes to measure the behavioural responses of aquatic animals to chemical cues, and provide blueprints for flume construction. The guidelines include steps that can be taken to avoid problems commonly encountered when using two-current choice flumes and analysing the resulting data.This review provides a set of standards that should be followed to ensure data quality, transparency and replicability in future studies in this field.
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| 6. |
- Ahlgren, Erik, 1962, et al.
(författare)
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Transport biofuels in global energy–economy modelling – a review of comprehensive energy systems assessment approaches
- 2017
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Ingår i: GCB Bioenergy. - : Wiley. - 1757-1707 .- 1757-1693. ; 9, s. 1168–1180-
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The high oil dependence and the growth of energy use in the transport sector have increased the interest in alternative nonfossil fuels as a measure to mitigate climate change and improve energy security. More ambitious energy and environmental targets and larger use of nonfossil energy in the transport sector increase energy–transport interactions and system effects over sector boundaries. While the stationary energy sector (e.g., electricity and heat generation) and the transport sector earlier to large degree could be considered as separate systems with limited interaction, integrated analysis approaches and assessments of energy–transport interactions now grow in importance. In recent years, the scientific literature has presented an increasing number of global energy–economy future studies based on systems modelling treating the transport sector as an integral part of the overall energy system and/or economy. Many of these studies provide important insights regarding transport biofuels. To clarify similarities and differences in approaches and results, the present work reviews studies on transport biofuels in global energy–economy modelling and investigates what future role comprehensive global energy–economy modelling studies portray for transport biofuels in terms of their potential and competitiveness. The results vary widely between the studies, but the resulting transport biofuel market shares are mainly below 40% during the entire time periods analysed. Some of the reviewed studies show higher transport biofuel market shares in the medium (15–30 years) than in the long term (above 30 years), and, in the long-term models, at the end of the modelling horizon, transport biofuels are often substituted by electric and hydrogen cars.
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| 7. |
- Dahal, Karna, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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Techno-economic review of alternative fuels and propulsion systems for the aviation sector
- 2021
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Ingår i: Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 1879-0690 .- 1364-0321. ; 151
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Substitution of conventional jet fuel with low-to zero-carbon-emitting alternative aviation fuels is vital for meeting the climate targets for aviation. It is important to understand the technical, environmental, and economic performance of alternative aviation fuels and prospective engine and propulsion technologies for future aircraft. This study reviews alternative fuels and propulsion systems, focusing on costs and technical maturity, and presents conceptual aircraft designs for different aviation fuels. The cost review includes minimum jet fuel selling price (MJFSP) for alternative aviation fuels. Direct operating cost (DOC) is estimated based on the conceptual aircraft designs and the reviewed MJFSP. The DOCs for bio-jet fuel (5.0–9.2 US cent per passenger-kilometer (¢/PAX/km)), fossil and renewable liquefied hydrogen (5.9–10.1 and 8.1–23.9 ¢/PAX/km, respectively), and electro-methane and electro-jet fuel (5.6–16.7 and 9.2–23.7 ¢/PAX/km, respectively) are higher than for conventional jet fuel (3.9–4.8 ¢/PAX/km) and liquefied natural gas (4.2–5.2 ¢/PAX/km). Overall, DOC of renewable aviation fuels is 15–500 % higher than conventional jet fuels. Among the bio-jet fuels, hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (23–310 $/GJ) and alcohol-to-jet (4–215 $/GJ) pathways offer the lowest MJFSPs. The implementation of alternative fuels in existing aircraft engines and the design and development of appropriate propulsion systems and aircraft are challenging. The overall cost is a key factor for future implementation. Bio-jet fuel is most promising in the near term while hydrogen and electrofuels in the long term. The level of carbon tax on fossil jet fuels needed for the latter options to be competitive depend on the hydrogen production cost.
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| 8. |
- Mata, Erika, et al.
(författare)
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Contributions of Building Retrofitting in Five Member States to EU Targets for Energy Savings
- 2018
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Ingår i: Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 1879-0690 .- 1364-0321. ; 93, s. 759-774
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- To benchmark the contributions of building retrofits to the National Energy Efficiency Action Plans (NEEAPs) of the Member States (MS) of the European Union (EU) and to identify potential improvements to the general EU methodology, this paper presents homogenous mapping of the potential for energy savings and associated effects on CO2 emissions for the building stocks of five selected MS: France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The mapping is created using a verified building stock modeling methodology, and includes results related to technical and techno-economical improvements for ten energy conservation measures (ECMs) and six ECM packages. These results are compared to the corresponding estimates in the NEEAPs, as well as those in the literature. Although both our results and those in the literature show high variability for the cost-efficiency of the ECMs between the five national building stocks, the potential application of complete ECM packages generally appears to be more profitable than the application of individual ECMs. Certain challenges must be overcome before this potential can be realized. The energy savings for Year 2020 projected in the NEEAPs appear to be overly optimistic when one considers the efficiency trends, current regulatory framework, and techno-economical potential detailed in this study. Furthermore, the NEEAPs are not in full compliance with the requirements of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive. These requirements could be defined more specifically, so as to address the identified information gaps, thereby facilitating the implementation and monitoring of energy savings in existing buildings.
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