The aim of EKLIPSE is to develop a mechanism to inform European-scale policy on biodiversity and related environmental challenges. This paper considers two fundamental aspects of the decision-support mechanism being developed by EKLIPSE: 1) the engagement of relevant actors from science, policy and society to jointly identify evidence for decision making; and 2) the networking of scientists and other holders of knowledge on biodiversity and other relevant evidence. The mechanism being developed has the potential not only to build communities of knowledge holders but to build informal networks among those with similar interests in evidence, be they those that seek to use evidence or those who are building evidence, or both. EKLIPSE has been successful in linking these people and in contributing to building informal networks of requesters of evidence, and experts of evidence and its synthesis. We have yet to see, however, significant engagement of formal networks of knowledge holders. Future success, however, relies on the continued involvement with and engagement of networks, a high degree of transparency within the processes and a high flexibility of structures to adapt to different requirements that arise with the broad range of requests to and activities of EKLIPSE. key messages EKLIPSE develops a mechanism to inform policy on biodiversity and related environmental challenges. EKLIPSE operates at a European scale, bringing together policy-makers and knowledge holders from both science and society. EKLIPSE promotes the networking of scientists and other holders of knowledge on biodiversity and other relevant evidence.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2018
Iron, manganese, and trace elements play an important role in the marine carbon cycle as they are limiting nutrients for marine primary productivity. Water column concentrations of these bio-essential elements are controlled by the balance between input and removal, with burial in marine sediments being the main sink. The efficiency of this burial sink is dependent on the redox state of the water column, with sediments underlying a sulphidic (euxinic) water column being the most efficient sinks for Fe, but also Mn and trace elements (Co, Cd, Ni, Mo, As, W, V, and U). Transient changes in ocean redox state can hence affect trace element burial, and correspondingly, the ocean’s trace element inventory, but the impact of transient oxygenation events on trace element cycling is currently not well understood. Here, we investigate the impact of a natural oxygenation event on trace element release and burial in sediments of the Eastern Gotland Basin (EGB), a sub-basin of the Baltic Sea. After being anoxic (<0.5 mMO2) for ~10 years, the deep waters of the EGB experienced a natural oxygenation event (Major Baltic Inflow, MBI) in 2015. Following this oxygenation event, we deployed benthic chamber landers along a depth transect in the EGB in April 2016, 2017 and 2018. We complemented these in situ flux measurements with analyses of water column, solid phase and pore water chemistry. Overall, the event increased the benthic effluxes of dissolved trace elements, though particular responses were element-specific and were caused by different mechanisms. Enhanced fluxes of Cd and U were caused by oxidative remobilisation, while Ni showed little response to the inflow of oxygen. In contrast, enhanced release of Co, Mo, As, W, and V was caused by the enhanced transient input of Mn oxides into the sediment, whereas Fe oxides were of minor importance. Following the dissolution of the oxides in the sediment, Mn and W were nearly completely recycled back to the water column, while fractions of Fe, Co, Mo, As, and V were retained in the sediment. Our results suggest that transient oxygenation events in euxinic basins may decrease the water column inventory of certain trace elements (Fe, Co, Mo, As, and V), thus potentially affecting global marine primary productivity on longer timescales.
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Acceptance of wind energy development is challenged by stakeholders’ concerns about potential effects on the environment, specifically on wildlife, such as birds, bats, and (for offshore wind) marine animals, and the habitats that support them. Communities near wind energy developments are also concerned with social and economic impacts, as well as impacts on aesthetics, historical sites, and recreation and tourism. Lack of a systematic, widely accepted, and balanced approach for measuring the potential damage to wildlife, habitats, and communities continues to leave wind developers, regulators, and other stakeholders in an uncertain position. This paper explores ecological risk-based management (RBM) in wind energy development for land-based and offshore wind installations. This paper provides a framework for the adaptation of ecosystem-based management to wind energy development and examines that framework through a series of case studies and best management practices for applying risk-based principles to wind energy. Ten case studies indicate that wind farm monitoring is often driven by regulatory requirements that may not be underpinned by scientific questions. While each case applies principles of adaptive management, there is room for improvement in applying scientific principles to the data collection and analysis. Challenges and constraints for wind farm development to meet RBM framework criteria include collecting sufficient baseline and monitoring data year-round, engaging stakeholder facilitators, and bringing together large and diverse scientific teams. The RBM framework approach may provide insights for improved siting and consenting/permitting processes for regulators and their advisors, particularly in those nations where wind energy is still in the early development stages on land or at sea.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2020
