Competence-based and game-based capacity development for sustainable water management in Germany

Sustainable water management is one of humanity’s most important challenges—today and in the future. Germany does not face a significant water shortage problem, but it has three main challenges: protection of water quality, ensuring public water supply and public wastewater disposal, and protecting the public and infrastructure from floods. Capacity development is a key issue to overcome the challenges of water resources in any country including Germany. Engineers, technicians, and mechanics need to upgrade their knowledge on a regular basis to deal with the complex management and rapid technological developments. In order to create efficient training schemes, the Vocational Training Working Group of Global Water Partnership (GWP), part of the GWP Capacity Development Task Force, has worked on the definition of fundamental job profiles for the Water and Sanitation Sector (WASS). To cover all technical functions of the industrial water cycle, it was necessary to identify around thirty occupations. Then, a competence-based training approach was adopted. Additionally, an assessment approach was also developed based on comparing the level of competence of the workers to a standard level of competence for each job. The RWTH Aachen University with its partners have developed another game-based approach (SeCom2.0) based on serious gaming technology to enable water professionals dealing with flood risk management to be trained on different flood situations in a virtual environment. SeCom2.0 has three main components that are connected by a database layer. In addition to the serious games component, there is a collaboration component and a learning management system. For nearly 100 members from the flood competence centre (HochwasserKompetenzCentrum) in Cologne, Germany gave input to simulate the real flooding scenarios, and the learners will have to deal with a flood scenario by protecting the city in a given time and using a given resources and tools. This work concluded that both competence-based and game-based approaches could be significantly improved by blending both approaches. This will improve the process of training; for example, the competence-based approach can be enriched by using game-based simulation by introducing the trainees to a simulation of different technologies in water utilities. This can save resources and money and enrich the training. More importantly is modifying the game-based approach using the approach of competence-based to focus on specific competencies and to make use of the competence standards in its assessment component. The first section of this introduces and categorizes water challenges in Germany. In the second and third section, the two approaches are introduced in details. The competence-based approach is introduced to the WASS while the games-based to the flood risk management. Finally, a conclusion and recommendations are illustrated.     

Cross dating (Th/U-C) of calcite covering prehistoric paintings in Borneo

We present the first application of cross-dating (Th/U measured by thermo-ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) and ¹⁴C measured by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS)) of calcite covering prehistoric paintings. Th/U age estimates of cave drapery range from 9800 to 27,300 yr B.P. while conventional ¹⁴C age is estimated between 9900 and 7610 yr B.P. depending on the dead carbon correction. The age discrepancy is attributed to a disturbance of Th/U and/or ¹⁴C geochemical systems, showing the limits of the geochronological approach applied to this kind of material. For the Th/U system, the poor consistency of U data (U content, ²³⁴U/²³⁸U activity ratios) and apparent ages argue for open system conditions. For ¹⁴C system, variation of the dead carbon fraction (dcf) and a possible mixing of successive generations of calcite could account for age discrepancy. Nevertheless, one sample shows concordant ages for the two methods. Compatible ages through corrections for open system conditions are assumed for other samples. Then, the cross-dating suggests 9900 yr as the minimum age of the piece of drapery; the underlying painting must be older. This study of rock art demonstrates the presence of a Pleistocene population before 9900 yr in the southeast of Borneo, whereas previously the only population in evidence in this area was of Austronesian type from ∼5000 to 6000 yrs ago.     

Response of large benthic foraminifera to climate and local changes: Implications for future carbonate production

Large benthic foraminifera are major carbonate components in tropical carbonate platforms, important carbonate producers, stratigraphic tools and powerful bioindicators (proxies) of environmental change. The application of large benthic foraminifera in tropical coral reef environments has gained considerable momentum in recent years. These modern ecological assessments are often carried out by micropalaeontologists or ecologists with expertise in the identification of foraminifera. However, large benthic foraminifera have been under-represented in favour of macro reef-builders, for example, corals and calcareous algae. Large benthic foraminifera contribute about 5% to modern reef-scale carbonate sediment production. Their substantial size and abundance are reflected by their symbiotic association with the living algae inside their tests. When the foraminiferal holobiont (the combination between the large benthic foraminifera host and the microalgal photosymbiont) dies, the remaining calcareous test renourishes sediment supply, which maintains and stabilizes shorelines and low-lying islands. Geological records reveal episodes (i.e. late Palaeocene and early Eocene epochs) of prolific carbonate production in warmer oceans than today, and in the absence of corals. This begs for deeper consideration of how large benthic foraminifera will respond under future climatic scenarios of higher atmospheric carbon dioxide (pCO₂) and to warmer oceans. In addition, studies highlighting the complex evolutionary associations between large benthic foraminifera hosts and their algal photosymbionts, as well as to associated habitats, suggest the potential for increased tolerance to a wide range of conditions. However, the full range of environments where large benthic foraminifera currently dwell is not well-understood in terms of present and future carbonate production, and impact of stressors. The evidence for acclimatization, at least by a few species of well-studied large benthic foraminifera, under intensifying climate change and within degrading reef ecosystems, is a prelude to future host–symbiont resilience under different climatic regimes and habitats than today. This review also highlights knowledge gaps in current understanding of large benthic foraminifera as prolific calcium carbonate producers across shallow carbonate shelf and slope environments under changing ocean conditions.     

Mineralogy and geochemistry of alluvium contaminated by metal mining in the Rio Tinto area, southwest Spain

The Rio Tinto in SW Spain drains Cu and pyrite mines which have been in operation since at least the Bronze Age. Extensive metal mining, especially from 1873 to 1954, has resulted in contamination of the Rio Tinto alluvium with As, Cu, Pb, Ag and Zn. X-ray diffraction (XRD), wavelength-dispersive X-ray mapping, scanning electron microscope petrography and X-ray energy-dispersive (EDX) analysis has revealed that 4 major groups of contaminant metal and As-bearing minerals, including sulphides, Fe-As oxides, Fe oxides/hydroxides/oxyhydroxides, and Fe oxyhydroxysulphates, occur in the alluvium. Sulphide minerals, including pyrite, chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite and sphalerite, occur in alluvium near the mining areas. Iron hydroxides and oxyhydroxides such as goethite and possibly ferrihydrite occur in cements in both the mining areas and alluvium downstream, and carry minor amounts of As, Cu and Zn. Iron oxyhydroxysulphates, including jarosite, plumbojarosite and possibly schwertmannite, are the most common minerals in alluvium downstream of the mining areas, and are major hosts of Cu, Pb, Zn and of As, next to the Fe-As minerals. This work, and other field observations, suggest that (1) the extreme acidity and elevated metal concentrations of the river water will probably be maintained for some time due to oxidation of pyrite and other sulphides in the alluvium and mine-waste tips, and from formation of secondary oxide and oxyhydroxysulphates; (2) soluble Fe oxyhydroxysulphates such as copiapite, which form on the alluvium, are a temporary store of contaminant metals, but are dissolved during periods of high rainfall or flooding, releasing contaminants to the aqueous system; (3) relatively insoluble Fe oxyhydroxysulphates and hydroxides such as jarosite and goethite may be the major long-term store of alluvial contaminant metals; and (4) raising river pH will probably cause precipitation of Fe oxyhydroxides and oxides/hydroxides/oxyhydroxides and thus have a positive effect on water quality, but this action may destabilise some of these contaminant metal-bearing minerals, releasing metals back to the aqueous system.     

Bathymetric patterns of megafaunal assemblages from the arctic deep-sea observatory HAUSGARTEN

Five photographic transects, covering some 830 m² of seafloor in total, were analyzed to characterize the megabenthic community along a bathymetric gradient covering water depths from 1200 to 5500 m in the eastern Fram Strait. Megafaunal densities ranged between 11 and 38 ind. m⁻². The highest densities were found at 1650 m and the lowest densities occurred at 3000 m depth. The number of taxa and morphotypes ranged between 4 at 5500 m and 27 at 1650 m water depth. Ophiocten gracilis, a small white unidentified amphipod, Kolga hyalina, and Bathycrinus carpenteri were the dominant and characteristic species on the slope and continental rise. Elpidia heckeri dominated in the Molloy Hole, the deepest depression known in the Arctic Ocean. Megafaunal zonation patterns appeared to be mainly controlled by food availability, as indicated by phytodetrital matter measured at the seafloor, and by benthic biomass in the sediments, as indicated by sediment-bound particulate proteins and phospholipids. By contrast, physical factors, including water depth and seabed properties such as sediment porosity and hard substrata (e.g., dropstones), appear to play a secondary role in determining megabenthic zonation patterns along the bathymetric HAUSGARTEN gradient.     

The Simulation of the Opposing Fluxes of Latent Heat and CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> over Various Land-Use Types: Coupling a Gas Exchange Model to a Mesoscale Atmospheric Model

A mesoscale meteorological model (FOOT3DK) is coupled with a gas exchange model to simulate surface fluxes of CO₂ and H₂O under field conditions. The gas exchange model consists of a C3 single leaf photosynthesis sub-model and an extended big leaf (sun/shade) sub-model that divides the canopy into sunlit and shaded fractions. Simulated CO₂ fluxes of the stand-alone version of the gas exchange model correspond well to eddy-covariance measurements at a test site in a rural area in the west of Germany. The coupled FOOT3DK/gas exchange model is validated for the diurnal cycle at singular grid points, and delivers realistic fluxes with respect to their order of magnitude and to the general daily course. Compared to the Jarvis-based big leaf scheme, simulations of latent heat fluxes with a photosynthesis-based scheme for stomatal conductance are more realistic. As expected, flux averages are strongly influenced by the underlying land cover. While the simulated net ecosystem exchange is highly correlated with leaf area index, this correlation is much weaker for the latent heat flux. Photosynthetic CO₂ uptake is associated with transpirational water loss via the stomata, and the resulting opposing surface fluxes of CO₂ and H₂O are reproduced with the model approach. Over vegetated surfaces it is shown that the coupling of a photosynthesis-based gas exchange model with the land-surface scheme of a mesoscale model results in more realistic simulated latent heat fluxes.     

Mapping biomass with remote sensing: a comparison of methods for the case study of Uganda

Background  

Assessing biomass is gaining increasing interest mainly for bioenergy, climate change research and mitigation activities, such as reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries (REDD+). In response to these needs, a number of biomass/carbon maps have been recently produced using different approaches but the lack of comparable reference data limits their proper validation. The objectives of this study are to compare the available maps for Uganda and to understand the sources of variability in the estimation. Uganda was chosen as a case-study because it presents a reliable national biomass reference dataset.     

Dynamical evolution of NEAs: Close encounters, secular perturbations and resonances

We discuss the main mechanisms affecting the dynamical evolution of Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) by analyzing the results of three numerical integrations over 1 Myr of the NEA (4179) Toutatis. In the first integration the only perturbing planet is the Earth. So the evolution is dominated by close encounters and looks like a random walk in semimajor axis and a correlated random walk in eccentricity, keeping almost constant the perihelion distance and the Tisserand invariant. In the second integration Jupiter and Saturn are present instead of the Earth, and the 3/1 (mean motion) and v ₆ (secular) resonances substantially change the eccentricity but not the semimajor axis. The third, most realistic, integration including all the three planets together shows a complex interplay of effects, with close encounters switching the orbit between different resonant states and no approximate conservation of the Tisserand invariant. This shows that simplified 3-body or 4-body models cannot be used to predict the typical evolution patterns and time scales of NEAs, and in particular that resonances provide some “fast-track” dynamical routes from low-eccentricity to very eccentric, planet-crossing orbits.