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The versatile capacity of purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB) for producing valuable bioproducts has gathered renewed interest in the field of resource recovery and waste valorisation. However, greater knowledge regarding the viability of applying PPB technologies in outdoor, large-scale systems is required. This study assessed, for the first time, the upscaling of the phototrophic polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production technology in a pilot-scale system operated in outdoor conditions. An integrated system composed of two up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors (for fermentation of wastewater with molasses), and two high-rate algal ponds retrofitted into PPB ponds, was operated in a wastewater treatment plant under outdoor conditions. UASB's adaptation to the outdoor temperatures involved testing different operational settings, namely hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 48 and 72 h, and molasses fermentation in one or two UASBs. Results have shown that the fermentation of molasses in both UASBs with an increased HRT of 72 h was able to ensure a suitable operation during colder conditions, achieving 3.83 ± 0.63 g COD

The Hg research community needs methods to more accurately measure atmospheric Hg concentrations and chemistry. The Reactive Mercury Active System (RMAS) uses cation exchange, nylon, and PTFE membranes to determine reactive mercury (RM), gaseous oxidized mercury, and particulate-bound mercury (PBM) concentrations and chemistry, respectively. New data for Atlanta, Georgia (NRGT) demonstrated that particulate-bound Hg was dominant and the chemistry was primarily N and S HgII compounds. At Great Salt Lake, Utah (GSL), RM was predominately PBM, with NS > organics > halogen > O HgII compounds. At Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas (GUMO), halogenated compound concentrations were lowest when air interacting with the site was primarily derived from the Midwest, and highest when the air was sourced from Mexico. At Amsterdam Island, Southern Indian Ocean, compounds were primarily halogenated with some N, S, and organic HgII compounds potentially associated with biological activity. The GEOS-Chem model was applied to see if it predicted measurements at five field sites. Model values were higher than observations at GSL, slightly lower at NRGT, and observations were an order of magnitude higher than modeled values for GUMO and Reno, Nevada. In general, data collected from 13 locations indicated that N, S, and organic RM compounds were associated with city and forest locations, halogenated compounds were sourced from the marine boundary layer, and O compounds were associated with long-range transport. Data being developed currently, and in the past, suggest there are multiple forms of RM that modelers must consider, and PBM is an important component of RM.

This work contributes to the PO2020 PLASTDEEP (ACORES-01-0145-FEDER-000125) and MapGES (Acores-01-0145-FEDER-000056) research projects and to the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and innovation programme under grant agreements No 678760 (ATLAS) and No 818123 (iAtlantic). This output reflects only the authors' views and the European Union cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. We acknowledge all projects and programs that collected images by multiple ROV, submersible and towed video surveys, including those conducted within the MapGES, Estrutura de Missão para Extensão da Plataforma Continental (EMEPC; Cruzeiro Científico EMEPC/LUSO/Açores/2009), MEDWAVES (ATLAS No 678760, with logistic and technical assistance from the UTM –CSIC– and the financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitivity), Blue Azores 2018 (National Geographic Pristine Seas program, Oceano Azul Foundation, and Waitt Institute), NICO 12 Expedition, Pelagia Rainbow and Terceira 2019 (cruises 64PE441, 64PE454, and 64PE456; Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research NWO for funding and Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research NIOZ for organising the Netherlands Initiative Changing Oceans NICO expedition in 2018). The EXPLOSEA2 cruise was funded by the Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation as part of the project EXPLOSEA (grant CTM201675947-R). We deeply thank all PIs, crews and scientists that participated in all these surveys. CD-C was supported by the PO2020 projects MapGES and DeepWalls (Acores-01-0145-FEDER-000056 and Acores-01-0145-FEDER-000124) and by the FCT-IP Project UIDP/05634/2020. TM was supported by Program Investigador FCT (IF/01194/2013), and the IFCT Exploratory Project (IF/01194/2013/CP1199/CT0002) from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (POPH and QREN). TM and MCS were also supported by the FCT-IP Program Stimulus of Scientific Employment (CCCIND/03345/2020 and CCCIND/03346/2020, respectively) and the H2020 programme No 689518 (MERCES) and No 818123 (iAtlantic). LR was supported by the H2020 programme No 818123 (iAtlantic) and Horizon Europe No 101059407 (MarinePlan). J.M.P. was funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) Doctoral Grant 2021.04875.BD. CKP received support from the Operational Program Azores 2020, through the Fund 01-0145-FEDER-000140 “MarAZ Researchers: Consolidate a body of researchers in Marine Sciences in the Azores” of the European Union. We also acknowledge funds through the FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., under the project OKEANOS UIDB/05634/2020 and through the FCT Regional Government of the Azores under the project M1.1. A/REEQ.CIENTÍFICO UI&D/2021/010. Abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG), represents a significant percentage of the global plastic pollution, currently considered one of the major sources from sea-based activities. However, there is still limited understanding of the quantities of ALDFG present on the seafloor and their impacts. In this study, data on the presence of ALDFG was obtained from a large archive of seafloor video footage (351 dives) collected by different imaging platforms in the Azores region over 15 years (2006-2020). Most ALDFG items observed in the images relate to the local bottom longline fishery operating in the region, and include longlines but also anchors, weights, cables and buoys. A generalized additive mixed model (GAMM) was used to predict the distribution and abundance of ALDFG over the seafloor within the limits of the Azores Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) using a suite of environmental and anthropogenic variables. We estimated an average of 113 ± 310 items km-2 (597 ± 756 per km-2 above 1000 m depth), which could imply that over 20 million ALDFG items are present on the deep seafloor of the Azores EEZ. The resulting model identified potential hotspots of ALDFG along the seabed, some of them located over sensitive benthic habitats, such as specific seamounts. In addition, the interactions between ALDFG and benthic organisms were also analysed. Numerous entanglements were observed with several species of large anthozoans and sponges. The use of predictive distribution modelling for ALDFG should be regarded as a useful tool to support ecosystem-based management, which can provide indirect information about fishing pressure and allow the identification of potential high-risk areas. Additional knowledge about the sources, amounts, fates and impacts of ALDFG will be key to address the global issue of plastic pollution and the effects of fishing on marine ecosystems. Peer reviewed

Forest biodiversity studies conduct Visions help to understand common ground and tensions among citizens and stakeholders, supporting inclusive land management and conservation solutions to the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis. With careful design and sufficient resource, it is possible to bring together communities and other stakeholders to share perspectives and deliberate desired futures, identifying more acceptable alternatives and avoiding costly delays. We evaluated researcher and participant experiences of illustration-based interviews to understand land management visions using four studies in Scotland, The Netherlands and Spain. These studies used STREAMLINE, a visual mixed-method interview format using thematic illustrated canvases designed to provide an inclusive and creative framing for participants to contemplate their desired future. Participants enjoyed the informal visual format, which reduced pressure, increased comfort through the research process, and helped their thinking and reflection about complex topics. They also valued being listened to and having the opportunity to share their views. Researchers appreciated the ability to triangulate rich qualitative data with a variety of quantitative measure through the mixed-method format and the flexibility to adapt the canvases to suit their research aims. Positive participant experience made facilitation easier and was stimulating for the researchers. The credibility and legitimacy of illustration-based interviews will ultimately depend on specific research design-decisions and testing, which can make the approach more resource intensive than conventional interviews. While organisal barriers should be considered realistically, illustration-based interviews can have high saliency by providing useful and usable insights that strengthen land management policy and planning. Inclusive Conservation Participatory planning Governance Visions Visual methods Participatory methods d across Europe use a multitude of forestry terms, often inconsistently. This hinders the comparability across studies and makes the assessment of the impacts of forest management on biodiversity highly context-dependent. Recent attempts to standardize forestry and stand description terminology mostly used a top-down approach that did not account for the perspectives and approaches of forest biodiversity experts. This work aims to establish common standards for silvicultural and vegetation definitions, creating a shared conceptual framework for a consistent study on the effects of forest management on biodiversity. We have identified both strengths and weaknesses of the silvicultural and vegetation information provided in forest biodiversity studies. While quantitative data on forest biomass and dominant tree species are frequently included, information on silvicultural activities and vegetation composition is often lacking, shallow, or based on broad and heterogeneous classifications. We discuss the existing classifications and their use in European forest biodiversity studies through a novel bottom-up and top-driven review process, and ultimately propose a common framework. This will enhance the comparability of forest biodiversity studies in Europe, and puts the basis for effective implementation and monitoring of sustainable forest management policies. The standards here proposed are potentially adaptable and applicable to other geographical areas and could be extended to other forest interventions.

Anthropogenic and natural emissions contribute to enhanced concentrations of aerosols in the Arctic winter and early spring, with most attention being paid to anthropogenic aerosols that contribute to so-called Arctic haze. Less-well-studied wintertime sea-spray aerosols (SSAs) under Arctic haze conditions are the focus of this study, since they can make an important contribution to wintertime Arctic aerosol abundances. Analysis of field campaign data shows evidence for enhanced local sources of SSAs, including marine organics at Utqiaġvik (formerly known as Barrow) in northern Alaska, United States, during winter 2014. Models tend to underestimate sub-micron SSAs and overestimate super-micron SSAs in the Arctic during winter, including the base version of the Weather Research Forecast coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model used here, which includes a widely used SSA source function based on Gong et al. (1997). Quasi-hemispheric simulations for winter 2014 including updated wind speed and sea-surface temperature (SST) SSA emission dependencies and sources of marine sea-salt organics and sea-salt sulfate lead to significantly improved model performance compared to observations at remote Arctic sites, notably for coarse-mode sodium and chloride, which are reduced. The improved model also simulates more realistic contributions of SSAs to inorganic aerosols at different sites, ranging from 20 %–93 % in the observations. Two-thirds of the improved model performance is from the inclusion of the dependence on SSTs. The simulation of nitrate aerosols is also improved due to less heterogeneous uptake of nitric acid on SSAs in the coarse mode and related increases in fine-mode nitrate. This highlights the importance of interactions between natural SSAs and inorganic anthropogenic aerosols that contribute to Arctic haze. Simulation of organic aerosols and the fraction of sea-salt sulfate are also improved compared to observations. However, the model underestimates episodes with elevated observed concentrations of SSA components and sub-micron non-sea-salt sulfate at some Arctic sites, notably at Utqiaġvik. Possible reasons are explored in higher-resolution runs over northern Alaska for periods corresponding to the Utqiaġvik field campaign in January and February 2014. The addition of a local source of sea-salt marine organics, based on the campaign data, increases modelled organic aerosols over northern Alaska. However, comparison with previous available data suggests that local natural sources from open leads, as well as local anthropogenic sources, are underestimated in the model. Missing local anthropogenic sources may also explain the low modelled (sub-micron) non-sea-salt sulfate at Utqiaġvik. The introduction of a higher wind speed dependence for sub-micron SSA emissions, also based on Arctic data, reduces biases in modelled sub-micron SSAs, while sea-ice fractions, including open leads, are shown to be an important factor controlling modelled super-micron, rather than sub-micron, SSAs over the north coast of Alaska. The regional results presented here show that modelled SSAs are more sensitive to wind speed dependence but that realistic modelling of sea-ice distributions is needed for the simulation of local SSAs, including marine organics. This study supports findings from the Utqiaġvik field campaign that open leads are the primary source of fresh and aged SSAs, including marine organic aerosols, during wintertime at Utqiaġvik; these findings do not suggest an influence from blowing snow and frost flowers. To improve model simulations of Arctic wintertime aerosols, new field data on processes that influence wintertime SSA production, in particular for fine-mode aerosols, are needed as is improved understanding about possible local anthropogenic sources.

More than a decade has passed since the Lisbon Treaty explicated two channels of democratic representation in the European Union (EU): one directly through the European Parliament (EP) and one indirectly through national parliaments. This review article uses a wave of recent case studies to analyse how relations between national parliaments and the EP have evolved in practice in the post-Lisbon period. We develop a conceptual framework of the organisation of inter-parliamentary relations that sets them between patterns of intensive, coordinated action and areas of competition among the involved parliaments. We use the recent case studies to identify the dynamics in different EU policy fields and to assess some first expectations about the factors that drive the variation between them

Ecosystem accounting is a statistical framework that aims to track the state of ecosystems and ecosystem services, with periodic updates. This framework follows the statistical standard of the System of Environmental Economic Accounting Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA). SEEA EA is composed of physical ecosystem extent, condition and ecosystem service supply-use accounts and monetary ecosystem service and asset accounts. This paper focuses on the potential use of the “Value Transfer” (VT) valuation method to produce the monetary ecosystem service accounts, taking advantage of experience with rigorous benefit transfer methods that have been developed and tested over many years in environmental economics. Although benefit transfer methods have been developed primarily for welfare analysis, the underlying techniques and advantages are directly applicable to monetary exchange values required for ecosystem accounting. The compilation of regular accounts is about to become a key area of work for the National Statistical Offices worldwide as well as for the EU Member States in particular, due to the anticipated amendment to regulation on European environmental economic accounts introducing ecosystem accounts. On this basis, accounting practitioners have voiced their concerns in a global consultation during SEEA EA revision, about three issues in particular: the lack of resources, the need for guidelines and the challenge of periodically updating the accounts. We argue that VT can facilitate empirical applications that assess ecosystem services in monetary terms, especially at national scales and in situations with limited expertise and resources available. VT is a low-cost valuation approach in line with SEEA EA requirements able to provide periodic, rigorous and consistent estimates for use in accounts. While some methodological challenges remain, it is likely that VT can help to implement SEEA EA at scale and in time to respond to the pressing need to incorporate nature into mainstream decision-making processes.