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Research to date has suggested that both individual marine species and ecological processes are expected to exhibit diverse responses to the environmental effects of climate change. Evolutionary responses can occur on rapid (ecological) timescales, and yet studies typically do not consider the role that adaptive evolution will play in modulating biological responses to climate change. Investigations into such responses have typically been focused at particular biological levels (e.g., cellular, population, community), often lacking interactions among levels. Since all levels of biological organisation are sensitive to global climate change, there is a need to elucidate how different processes and hierarchical interactions will influence species fitness. Therefore, predicting the responses of communities and populations to global change will require multidisciplinary efforts across multiple levels of hierarchy, from the genetic and cellular to communities and ecosystems. Eventually, this may allow us to establish the role that acclimatisation and adaptation will play in determining marine community structures in future scenarios.

Transport is an important source of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Although the applications of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for transport, also known as intelligent transport systems, are seen as having great potential to help reduce emissions from road transport, their exact impact on CO2 emissions are uncertain for decision makers from government to industry. This uncertainty hinders the deployment of such applications. Therefore there is a need for a common evaluation approach to assess the CO2 impact of ICT measures in a systemic and realistic way. In this study, a methodology framework to evaluate the impact of ICT measures on CO2 emissions is explained. The methodology was developed within the European Union FP7 project Amitran. In particular, this study focuses on the outline and the framework architecture of the methodology as well as the required interfaces between the required models. The use of the methodology is demonstrated by applying it to a use case of dynamic traffic light systems. Finally, the efforts made to validate the methodology and make it accessible to users are explained.

Abstract Cost-effectively decarbonising the power sector and household energy use using variable renewable energy will require that electricity consumption becomes much more flexible and responsive to constraints in supply and the distribution network. In recent years residential demand response (DR) has received increasing attention that has sought to answer, based on current evidence, questions about how much consumers will engage with DR. This paper critically reviews the evidence base for residential consumer engagement with DR and draws out several important limitations in it. We argue for a more action-oriented focus on developing practical strategies to enable and unlock greater loadshifting and consumer engagement with DR within a changing technology and regulatory context. A number of recommendations are put forward for accelerating UK consumer engagement with DR, presented under three broad strategies: (a) promote awareness of smart tariffs, smart meters and storage and automation behind-the-meter devices as mutually-supportive components within a common ‘DR technology cluster’; (b) deliver targeted support for adoption of electric vehicles and other storage and automation technologies; (c) enable and support informed adoption of DR-enabling products and services through ‘smarter’ digital comparison tools (DCTs), data portability, and faster, simpler switching. The interdependency between components within this DR technology cluster delivers efficiency but also poses a risk that one delayed component (e.g., smart metering) will hold-up policy and industry support for other components. The urgency of decarbonisation goals makes it necessary to push forward as many of these elements as possible rather than the pace being set by the slowest.

AbstractAccelerated warming and melting of Arctic sea-ice has been associated with significant increases in phytoplankton productivity in recent years. Here, utilizing a multiproxy approach, we reconstruct an annually resolved record of Labrador Sea productivity related to sea-ice variability in Labrador, Canada that extends well into the Little Ice Age (LIA; 1646 AD). Barium-to-calcium ratios (Ba/Ca) and carbon isotopes (δ13C) measured in long-lived coralline algae demonstrate significant correlations to both observational and proxy records of sea-ice variability, and show persistent patterns of co-variability broadly consistent with the timing and phasing of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). Results indicate reduced productivity in the Subarctic Northwest Atlantic associated with AMO cool phases during the LIA, followed by a step-wise increase from 1910 to present levels—unprecedented in the last 363 years. Increasing phytoplankton productivity is expected to fundamentally alter marine ecosystems as warming and freshening is projected to intensify over the coming century.

In recent years, a ban on short-haul flights for which alternative, more environmentally friendly transportation is available has been on European regulatory agendas, particularly in countries like Germany, with its well-developed high-speed rail (HSR) and a dense network of low-cost, point-to-point airline traffic. This study aims to quantify the potential impact on CO2 emissions of substituting short-haul flights with rail frequencies in 87 German air travel corridors. Using OAG data on passenger bookings and airline schedules for 2019, as well as current rail travel times, we determine the target flights by looking at the actual proportion of connecting passengers per frequency. We estimate a potential reduction in CO2 emissions of between 2.7% and 22%, depending on how strict the flight substitution is. However, the social benefits of those carbon emissions might fall short of the travel time losses experienced by the passengers. Increased investment to improve rail speeds and intermodal accessibility appears necessary before the substitution policies can be implemented.

Multiport power converters integrate three or more energy devices into a single (potentially highly controllable and efficient) hub. These characteristics suggest that multiport power converters may be valuable for the decarbonisation of distribution networks, where the increase of converter-interfaced devices has degraded system reliability and efficiency. This review analyses the suitability of a wide range of multiport power converter solutions for four example distribution network applications (where previous studies have focussed on a limited range of topologies or applications) and the research areas that can progress their maturity. A review of grid codes and standards overviews the base capability that multiport power converters are likely to require, some of which are carried forward as requirements for a novel comparison tool. The comparison tool is developed to qualify and score reviewed topologies in terms of a range of features that are weighted for the applications. Isolated and partially-isolated topologies perform well due to their flexibility to be configured for the specifications and their operational capabilities (including modularity and voltage decoupling). Further research should focus on the complex control interactions between ports and scaling of these topologies for medium voltages. In contrast, many direct current non-isolated topologies do not qualify due to their low flexibility to be configured for the applications. This suggests that future research could focus on the development of a more flexible non-isolated multiport power converter configuration to take advantage of the high efficiency and low footprint that these topologies might otherwise offer for low voltage applications. This project was funded by the Innovate UK Horizon Europe Guarantee application number 10039599. This work was also funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme in the framework of the project “iPLUG” with grant agreement 101069770. . Peer Reviewed