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Estuaries are among the most valuable aquatic systems by their services to human welfare. However, increasing human activities at the watershed along with the pressure of climate change are fostering the co-occurrence of multiple environmental drivers, and warn of potential negative impacts on estuaries resources. At present, no clear understanding of how coastal ecosystems will respond to the non-stationary effect of multiple drivers. Here we analysed the temporal interaction among multiple environmental drivers and their changing priority on shaping phytoplankton response in the Bahía Blanca Estuary, SW Atlantic Ocean. The interaction among environmental drivers and the number of significant direct and indirect effects on chlorophyll concentration increased over time in concurrence with enhanced anthropogenic stress, changing winter climate and wind patterns. Over the period 1978-1993, proximal variables such as nutrients, water temperature and salinity, showed a dominant effect on chlorophyll, whereas in more recent years (1993-2009) climate signals (SAM and ENSO) boosted indirect effects through its influence on precipitation, wind, water temperature and turbidity. Turbidity emerged as the dominant driver of chlorophyll while in recent years acted synergistically with the concentration of dissolved nitrogen. As a result, chlorophyll concentration showed a significant negative trend and a loss of seasonal peaks reflecting a pronounced reorganisation of the phytoplankton community. We stress the need to account for the changing priority of drivers to understand, and eventually forecast, biological responses under projected scenarios of global anthropogenic change.

Available methods for measuring the impact of ocean acidification (OA) and leakage from carbon capture and storage (CCS) on marine sedimentary pH profiles are unsuitable for replicated experimental setups. To overcome this issue, a novel optical sensor application is presented, using off-the-shelf optode technology (MOPP). The application is validated using microprofiling, during a CCS leakage experiment, where the impact and recovery from a high CO2 plume was investigated in two types of natural marine sediment. MOPP offered user-friendliness, speed of data acquisition, robustness to sediment type, and large sediment depth range. This ensemble of characteristics overcomes many of the challenges found with other pH measuring methods, in OA and CCS research. The impact varied greatly between sediment types, depending on baseline pH variability and sediment permeability. Sedimentary pH profile recovery was quick, with profiles close to control conditions 24 h after the cessation of the leak. However, variability of pH within the finer sediment was still apparent 4 days into the recovery phase. Habitat characteristics need therefore to be considered, to truly disentangle high CO2 perturbation impacts on benthic systems. Impacts on natural communities depend not only on the pH gradient caused by perturbation, but also on other processes that outlive the perturbation, adding complexity to recovery.

Elevated environmental carbon dioxide (pCO2) levels have been found to cause organ damage in the early life stages of different commercial fish species, including Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). To illuminate the underlying mechanisms causing pathologies in the intestines, the kidney, the pancreas and the liver in response to elevated pCO2, we examined related gene expression patterns in Atlantic cod reared for two months under three different pCO2 regimes: 380 μatm (control), 1800 μatm (medium) and 4200 μatm (high). We extracted RNA from whole fish sampled during the larval (32 dph) and early juvenile stage (46 dph) for relative expression analysis of 18 different genes related to essential metabolic pathways. At 32 dph, larvae subjected to the medium treatment displayed an up-regulation of genes mainly associated with fatty acid and glycogen synthesis (GYS2, 6PGL, ACoA, CPTA1, FAS and PPAR1b). Larvae exposed to the high pCO2 treatment upregulated fewer but similar genes (6PGL, ACoA and PPAR1b,). These data suggest stress-induced alterations in the lipid and fatty acid metabolism and a disrupted lipid homeostasis in larvae, providing a mechanistic link to the findings of lipid droplet overload in the liver and organ pathologies. At 46 dph, no significant differences in gene expression were detected, confirming a higher resilience of juveniles in comparison to larvae when exposed to elevated pCO2 up to 4200 μatm.

Abstract Monitoring operations at the seafloor above a storage complex area are required to demonstrate that offshore storage of CO2 in the deep subsurface is safe and effective. Within the framework of the STEMM-CCS project, the Goldeneye area was identified as an offshore experimental site for CO2 storage. In this work, the physico-chemical characteristics of the water column at the Goldeneye site were determined by an in-depth analysis of measurements collated from CTD casts, discrete water samples and seafloor landers. The results showed a clear tidal, seasonal and inter-annual variability in the measured parameters within the monitoring period (Oct 2017- May 2019). Variations in pH and pCO2 over a single tidal cycle were in the order of ±0.008 and ±1.5 μatm, respectively. The temporal variability of water column carbonate chemistry parameters was further defined with the aim to provide a solid background for the discrimination from natural changes of potential impacts of CO2 emissions at the potential storage site. Here, we demonstrated how the combination of new and existing methods and technologies could be used for an effective assessment of water column conditions at a potential offshore carbon storage site.

ABSTRACT Many studies consider substitution of aircraft services with high-speed train (HST) services on short-haul routes desirable for environmental reasons. This paper empirically examined this perception by evaluating local air pollution (LAP) and climate change impacts from a flight and an HST service between London and Paris. Comparing the emissions, the impact, and the cost of damage from the aircraft journey with the HST journey, it was found that substituting an aircraft seat with an HST seat is beneficial. These benefits are likely to occur on all routes on which aircraft and HST substitution is likely to take place. Despite the many limitations in the evaluation of environmental impact, the analysis suggests that such an evaluation is valuable and provides important information.

Carsharing is a mode of transportation that provides access to a set of vehicles in the form of organized short-term car rental, serving as a substitute for private car ownership with a number of transportation, environmental, and social benefits. Combining the mobility concept of carsharing with electric vehicles (EVs), referred to as e-carsharing, can contribute not only to more efficient use of the shared vehicles, but also to more sustainable urban mobility in smart cities. In this context, this paper advances the concept of university-based e-carsharing, to serve the mobility needs of an academic community in Bilbao, Spain, focusing on the technical design aspects to cover the energy requirements of the EV fleet of the proposed system through the installation of fast charging posts based on a battery-to-battery approach. In this regard, a MATLAB/Simulink model is implemented to simulate the fast charging infrastructure using the real-world data collected from the university parking lot in order to represent the potential utilization of the EVs. The simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed system design, ensuring that the energy demand of the EVs is successfully covered and concurrently the charging station batteries operate out of the low charge zone.

Abstract This paper seeks to better understand how one plausible development in a green energy economy transition of the transport sector can be governed: a breakthrough of battery-electric vehicles (BEV). Drawing on recent results and lessons from BEV studies at local, national and regional scales, the paper presents two alternative scenarios of BEV uptake until 2030 – one incremental growth scenario and one breakthrough scenario. It then draws on the multilevel perspective (MLP) on socio-technical systems as an approach to identify the governance implications of the breakthrough scenario. Based on a characterisation of barriers and drivers at landscape, regime and niche levels, it identifies governance interventions to enable a BEV breakthrough. The results point towards a multidimensional governance approach that includes conventional policy instruments such as durable incentive policies, with a predictable mechanism for adjustment and phase-out, and mechanisms for mobilising investment finance for fast and super-fast charging and home charging along public roads. In addition, more innovation-systems oriented governance is required, such as familiarisation and experience building to ease cognitive barriers and build knowledge for both consumers and businesses, and supporting structural and technological change within automotive industries.