Key Environmental Indicators Research Articles

A model for the evaluation of environmental impact indicators for a sustainable maritime transportation systems

Maritime shipping is considered the most efficient, low-cost means for transporting large quantities of freight over significant distances. However, this process also causes negative environmental and societal impacts. Therefore, environmental sustainability is a pressing issue for maritime shipping management, given the interest in addressing important issues that affect the safety, security, and air and water quality as part of the efficient movement of freight throughout the coasts and waterways and associated port facilities worldwide. In-depth studies of maritime transportation systems (MTS) can be used to identify key environmental impact indicators within the transportation system. This paper develops a tool for decision making in complex environments; this tool will quantify and rank preferred environmental impact indicators within a MTS. Such a model will help decision-makers to achieve the goals of improved environmental sustainability. The model will also provide environmental policy-makers in the shipping industry with an analytical tool that can evaluate tradeoffs within the system and identify possible alternatives to mitigate detrimental effects on the environment.

Environmental public health risks in European metropolitan areas within the EURO-HEALTHY project

Urban areas in Europe are facing a range of environmental public health challenges, such as air pollution, traffic noise and road injuries. The identification and quantification of the public health risks associated with exposure to environmental conditions is important for prioritising policies and interventions that aim to diminish the risks and improve the health of the population. With this purpose in mind, the EURO-HEALTHY project used a consistent approach to assess the impact of key environmental risk factors and urban environmental determinants on public health in European metropolitan areas. A number of environmental public health indicators, which are closely tied to the physical and built environment, were identified through stakeholder consultation; data were collected from six European metropolitan areas (Athens, Barcelona, Lisbon, London, Stockholm and Turin) covering the period 2000–2014, and a health impact assessment framework enabled the quantification of health effects (attributable deaths) associated with these indicators. The key environmental public health indicators were related to air pollution and certain urban environmental conditions (urban green spaces, road safety). The air pollution was generally the highest environmental public health risk; the associated number of deaths in Athens, Barcelona and London ranged between 800 and 2300 attributable deaths per year. The number of victims of road traffic accidents and the associated deaths were lowest in the most recent year compared with previous years. We also examined the positive impacts on health associated with urban green spaces by calculating reduced mortality impacts for populations residing in areas with greater green space coverage; results in Athens showed reductions of all-cause mortality of 26 per 100,000 inhabitants for populations with benefits of local greenspace. Based on our analysis, we discuss recommendations of potential interventions that could be implemented to reduce the environmental public health risks in the European metropolitan areas covered by this study.

In situ Determination of Nitrate and Hydrogen Sulfide in the Baltic Sea Using an Ultraviolet Spectrophotometer

Evaluating the health status of marine ecosystems becomes ever increasingly important especially against the backdrop of rising pressures from human activities. This is true especially for coastal seas such as the Baltic Sea that is surrounded by highly industrialized countries. Nutrients and pollutants such as nitrate and hydrogen sulfide, which have a major impact on ecosystem functioning, are two of several key environmental indicators for assessing the status of natural waters, and therefore of considerable interest. The frequency and the spatial coverage of the nitrate and hydrogen sulfide measurements are currently limited by the cost of the laboratory analysis and personnel. Optical in situ sensors can help to overcome this challenge by allowing reagentless and fast detection of dissolved chemical species. A chemical-free optical sensor has been used for direct and simultaneous measurements of both key parameters, and the results were compared with traditional methods. The data were collected during an observational program conducted in the Baltic Sea in February 2018. We used the OPUS UV spectral sensor, which was deployed for the first time in coastal waters, in combination with a deep-sea telemetry system to enable near-real time measurements during CTD profiling. Data processing was carried out using a multiple linear regression procedure. Measurements from both OPUS and on-board analysis were in good agreement. The results showed, that in situ UV-VIS spectrophotometry provides the capability to determine the concentration distributions of nitrate and hydrogen sulfide in the brackish waters of the Baltic Sea.

Net primary productivity and its control of the Middle Jurassic peatlands: An example from the southern Junggar coalfield

The Jurassic is an important period of global coal formation, including the development of several large coalfields in central Asia and northern China. Individual seams within these peatlands represent sustained periods of terrestrial carbon accumulation and a key environmental indicator attributed to this record is the rate of carbon accumulation. Determining the rate of carbon accumulation requires a measure of time contained within the coal and this study aimed at determining the rate via the identification of Milankovitch orbital cycles using spectral analysis. Spectral analyses of geophysical data from two thick coal seams, No. 43 (35.9 m) and No. 3 (13.2 m), of the Middle Jurassic of the southern Junggar coalfield were conducted to identify significant signals of variations in ash content. The results showed that the variations in ash content of the coal showed spatial cycles at 0.2, 0.7 and 1.1 m−1, which were interpreted to represent 123 ka (eccentricity), 37.1 ka (obliquity), and 21.2 ka (precession) orbital periodicities, respectively. Using this timeframe, the depositional time of the No. 43 and No. 3 coal seams were calculated to be 876–970 and 322–357 ka, respectively. In combination with an understanding of carbon loss during coalification, the carbon accumulation rates of these Middle Jurassic peatlands were calculated to be 58.6–64.9 and 60.3–66.8 g C m−2 a−1 for the No. 43 and No. 3 coal seams, respectively. Given that the net primary productivity ( NPP ) was 4.3 times the value of the carbon accumulation in a mid-latitude region of 40°–45°N, an NPP of 251.8–279.1 and 259.1–287.1 g C m−2 a−1 was calculated for the No. 43 and No. 3 coal seams, respectively. In the context of the same paleolatitude (40°–45°N) and peat type, the NPP values of the Middle Jurassic strata in the study area were higher than those of the peatlands of the Holocene and Permian, and were similar to the NPP values of Early Cretaceous peatlands. Considering the NPP of a peatland is predominantly controlled by atmospheric CO2 and O2 levels and temperature, the lower content of CO2 and an excessive O2 level in the temporal atmosphere would lead to a decrease in peatland NPP . Therefore, it is inferred that the CO2 level during the Middle Jurassic was higher than that of the icehouse Permian and Holocene periods, and it was similar to the CO2 level of the greenhouse Cretaceous period. The results are consistent with the global CO2 variation curve of Berner. In conclusion, Milankovitch orbital cycles calculated from geophysical logs can be used to infer the NPP of temporal peatlands during different geological periods, based on which the deep-time paleoclimates can be analyzed.

Life cycle inventory data and metrics for high-temperature fuel cells: A streamlined decision-support tool and case study application

In recognition of the growing global importance of high-temperature fuel cells (HTFCs) as future energy systems, their commercial market take-off needs to be supported by life-cycle performance metrics. However, research and application of life cycle approaches and tools are not broadly reflected in fuel cell and hydrogen energy technologies due to technical barriers to data collection and analyzing instruments. In this work, an interactive Excel-based decision support system (DSS) for power-to-gas-to-power life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis is presented. The aim of the proposed model is two-fold. Firstly, promote the availability, exchange, and use of coherent and quality-assured life cycle data in a systematic and uniform way. Secondly, serves as guidance model for scale-up and enable non-expert users to improve the knowledge-base of FC life-cycle performance and set up product eco-profiles at the conceptual design stage of a project. The tool uses cutting-edge LCA methodology LCA-ReCiPe 2016 for key environmental performance indicators and a simple levelized cost of energy (electricity or fuel) for the economic attractiveness. The applicability of the model is tested through a case study on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) demonstrating the capability to acknowledge the trade-offs between possible impacts.

Progress towards sustainable intensification in China challenged by land-use change

China is experiencing rapid land-use change and shifts in farm management. However, the interactive effects of these drivers on cropping system sustainability are unclear. Here, we evaluate spatio-temporal trade-offs among crop production and five key environmental indicators, including land use, water consumption, excess nitrogen and phosphorous use, and greenhouse gas emissions in China. From 1987 to 2010, as crop kilocalorie production increased (+66%), so did the total environmental impact of all indicators (+1.3–161%) except greenhouse gas emissions (−18%). Concurrently, environmental intensity—impact per kilocalorie produced—decreased for all indicators (−51–−13%) except excess phosphorus (+57%). Despite substantial loss and displacement of cropland to urban expansion, counterfactual scenario analysis indicates that farm management explained >90% of changes in crop production and environmental impact. However, cropland is expanding in regions of relatively high land and irrigation intensity. Although efficiency gains partly compensated for increased environmental pressures, continued geographic shifts in cropland could challenge progress towards agricultural sustainability in China. China’s agricultural output is growing rapidly, but the environmental impacts are unclear. This study finds this impact has risen, but much more slowly than output due to improved farm management, though ongoing shifts in cropland location may challenge this development.

Perspectives of Geological CO2 Storage in South Korea to Cope with Climate Change

Rapid industrialization and urbanization in the 20th century have led to increasing volumes of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere[...]

Towards a comprehensive absolute sustainability assessment method for effective Earth system governance: Defining key environmental indicators using an enhanced-DPSIR framework

Reflecting the growing interest in the concept of absolute sustainability, this research defines an absolute sustainability assessment method (ASAM) with three key characteristics: (i) assessment of a comprehensive range of environmental impacts in absolute terms; (ii) evaluation of these impacts at an early stage in impact pathways; and (iii) the capacity to assess these impacts at multiple economic levels. To that end, using an enhanced Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (eDPSIR) framework, this study systematically classified the environmental indicators reported in the Planetary Boundaries (PBs), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by mapping them on to a network of cause-effect chains developed in previous work, and extended to include the areas of protection in LCA. It was found that twelve major environmental problems could be defined as key central nodes in this causal network, and that the PBs and LCA evaluated many of these environmental problems at an early stage in the causal network while the SDGs generally addressed similar problems at the latter end of the causal network. Six of these environmental problems were addressed in all three approaches (PBs, LCA and SDGs) and the others were addressed in one or two approaches. An associated (but incomplete) set of absolute environmental sustainability indicators were identified that are already available in one or more of the three approaches; some of these indicators require further methodological development in order to support the advancement of an ASAM for effective Earth system governance.

Spatial Heterogeneity of Russia in the Light of the Concept of a Green Economy: The Social Context

This paper presents the results of a comparative spatial analysis of the regions of the Russian Federation in the context of the concept of a green economy with the use of two quantitative factors that characterize the well-being of the population: the payroll fund and the total wage fund and own revenues of the regional budgets per capita. The key environmental and economic indicators used in this study are the indicators of eco-intensity for regional economic systems. They show the particular negative impact on the environment “produced” by the regional economy per unit of economic result. The following characteristics of the region’s socio-ecological system are considered: the volume of atmospheric pollutant emissions in terms of 1000 rubles of the regional payroll fund and in terms of 1000 rubles of own income to regional budgets. The study revealed a high degree of heterogeneity of Russia’s regions in socio-environmental characteristics. It is shown that not only does the population of many natural resource and industrial regions live in conditions of increased anthropogenic pressure (both total and specific), but it also is not provided with additional resources of “collective well-being” through its own budget income, in spite of the unfavorable ecological and natural conditions. It is concluded that carbon regulation aimed at developing a low-carbon economy should not focus on identical quantitative indicators for the whole country.

Sediment grain–size characteristics and relevant correlations to the aeolian environment in China's eastern desert region

To identify characteristics of aeolian activity and the aeolian environment in China's eastern desert region, this study collected surface sediment samples from the main desert and sandy lands in this region: the Hobq Desert and the Mu Us, Otindag, Horqin, and Hulunbuir sandy lands. We analyzed the grain–size characteristics and their relationships to three key environmental indicators: drift potential, the dune mobility index, and vegetation cover. The main sediment components are fine to medium sands, with poor (Hulunbuir) to moderate (all other areas) sorting, of unimodal to bimodal distribution. This suggests that improved sorting is accomplished by the loss of both relatively coarser and finer grains. Since 2000, China's eastern desert region has generally experienced low wind energy environmental conditions, resulting in decreased dune activity. In the Hobq Desert, however, the dry climate and sparse vegetation, in conjunction with the most widely distributed mobile dune area in the eastern desert region, have led to frequent and intense aeolian activity, including wind erosion, sand transport, and deposition, resulting in conditions for good sediment sorting. In the Mu Us, Otindag, and Horqin sandy lands, mosaic distribution has resulted from wind erosion–dominated and deposition–dominated aeolian environments. In the Hulunbuir Sandy Land, high precipitation, low temperatures, and steppe vegetation have resulted in well–developed soils; however, strong winds and flat terrain have created an aeolian environment dominated by wind erosion.

Integration & assessment of recycling into c-Si photovoltaic module’s life cycle

Photovoltaic (PV) energy generation devices have experienced a vigorous growth in production over the last decade in all major industrialised countries. In this research paper, the assessment of recycling and subsequent production of new crystalline silicon (c-Si) PV modules taking advantage of the recovered Si in terms of industrial symbiosis is being examined. With the aid of life cycle analysis method, the potential payback is thoroughly examined through a scenario application in the second useful phase of the PV module. Furthermore, key environmental performance indicators have been implemented in order to evaluate power and resource demands.

Modified Principal Component Analysis for Identifying Key Environmental Indicators and Application to a Large-Scale Tidal Flat Reclamation

Identification of the key environmental indicators (KEIs) from a large number of environmental variables is important for environmental management in tidal flat reclamation areas. In this study, a modified principal component analysis approach (MPCA) has been developed for determining the KEIs. The MPCA accounts for the two important attributes of the environmental variables: pollution status and temporal variation, in addition to the commonly considered numerical divergence attribute. It also incorporates the distance correlation (dCor) to replace the Pearson’s correlation to measure the nonlinear interrelationship between the variables. The proposed method was applied to the Tiaozini sand shoal, a large-scale tidal flat reclamation region in China. Five KEIs were identified as dissolved inorganic nitrogen, Cd, petroleum in the water column, Hg, and total organic carbon in the sediment. The identified KEIs were shown to respond well to the biodiversity of phytoplankton. This demonstrated that the identified KEIs adequately represent the environmental condition in the coastal marine system. Therefore, the MPCA is a practicable method for extracting effective indicators that have key roles in the coastal and marine environment.

Identification of Key Indicators for Sustainable Construction Materials

Studies on sustainable construction materials are on the rise with their environmental, social, and economic benefits. This study identifies the key indicators for measuring sustainable construction materials. The design used for the study was that of a survey which relied on a questionnaire with five‐point Likert scale to generate data for the analysis. For this purpose, 25 indicators from the three dimensions (environmental, social, and economic) identified from the literature were presented to the respondents in a structured questionnaire, and responses were collected and analysed using SPSS. The study identified three key environmental indicators for measuring sustainable construction materials, and these indicators are human toxicity, climate change, and solid waste. Furthermore, adaptability, thermal comfort, local resources, and housing for all were identified as the four key social indicators for sustainable construction materials. In addition, maintenance cost, operational cost, initial cost, long‐term savings, and life span were found to be the five key economic indicators for measuring sustainable construction materials. The study therefore suggests that these twelve indicators should be considered in future studies that seek to measure sustainable construction materials.

Comparison of remote sensing algorithms for retrieval of suspended particulate matter concentration from reflectance in coastal waters

Suspended particulate matter (SPM) is a key environmental indicator for rivers, estuaries, and coastal waters, which can be calculated from remote sensing reflectance obtained by an airborne or satellite imager. Here, algorithms from prior studies are applied to a dataset of in-situ at surface hyperspectral remote sensing reflectance, collected in three geographic regions representing different water types. These data show the optically inherent exponential nature of the relationship between reflectance and sediment concentration. However, linear models are also shown to provide a reasonable estimate of sediment concentration when utilized with care in similar conditions to those under which the algorithms were developed, particularly at lower SPM values (0 to 20 mg/L). Fifteen published SPM algorithms are tested, returning strong correlations of R2>0.7, and in most cases, R2>0.8. Very low SPM values show weaker correlation with algorithm calculated SPM that is not wavelength dependent. None of the tested algorithms performs well for high SPM values (>30 mg/L), with most algorithms underestimating SPM. A shift toward a smaller number of simple exponential or linear models relating satellite remote sensing reflectance to suspended sediment concentration with regional consideration will greatly aid larger spatiotemporal studies of suspended sediment trends.

The effect of mine aging on the evolution of environmental footprint indicators in the Chilean copper mining industry 2001–2015

Abundant evidence suggests that the massive global exploitation of copper mines over the last two decades led to mine aging expressed as ore grade reduction, deepening of open pits and underground operations, hardening of the rock, and increasing stripping ratios. These processes have affected the evolution and change of key environmental footprint indicators. Copper ore grade decline seems the most important of these factors and depends on variables including the rate of extraction, ore deposit geological features, introduction of new technologies, the copper price and its co-products, and the discovery and exploitation of new ore deposits. From 2001 to 2015 Chile increased its copper production by 22% and produced overall 80 million tons of copper, more than it produced in the entire 20th century. This paper explores the effects of mine aging on three key environmental footprint indicators: energy and water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. Electric energy consumption per ton of copper should grow in the coming decade at a significantly slower rate than in the last fifteen years because of the slowdown of the ore grade decline in mill concentrators. Additionally, a steeper decrease is expected for the emission of greenhouse gases per ton of copper.

Effects of increasing indigenous coal share in Turkey’s electricity generation mix on key economic and environmental indicators: An extended input–output analysis

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the economic and environmental effects of increasing indigenous coal share in electricity generation by using extended input–output analysis. The policy scenario is a $1 million increase in demand for investment in the coal mining sector. In order to analyze this policy option, we specifically developed an extended input–output analysis associated with disaggregating the electricity sector into electricity generation transmission and distribution and the mining sector into coal and oil–gas mining. Furthermore, we use a range of key economic and environmental indicators to evaluate the effects of increasing indigenous coal production on these indicators. The results indicate that the $1 million increase in final demand for indigenous coal produces an increase in economic output for all sectors of $1,389,241 and an increase in total greenhouse gases of 229,572 CO2-equivalents (kg CO2-e) as well.

Carbon capture and utilisation technologies applied to energy conversion systems and other energy-intensive industrial applications

Reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from heat and power sector as well as from other energy-intensive industrial applications is of paramount importance today. Various carbon capture technologies can be applied to reduce the CO2 emissions from the polluting process industries. This paper is presenting, through various illustrative coal-based examples, the carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies used to reduce the carbon footprint of the overall processes. The evaluations were focused on the conceptual design and the technical & environmental assessment of CCUS technologies with potential applications in power generation, iron & steel, cement and chemicals (including captured CO2 utilisation for production of various chemicals e.g. methanol, substitute natural gas, synthetic fuel).Two reactive gas-liquid and gas-solid methods were evaluated through illustrative examples. The first evaluated CO2 capture option is based on gas-liquid absorption using chemical solvents (alkanolamines). The second capture option is based on calcium looping system. The carbon capture rate is set to 90%. Various coal-based processes were considered as illustrative examples e.g. combustion, gasification, cement production, integrated steel mill, coal to chemicals etc. The proposed conceptual designs were simulated; the mass & energy balances as well as the thermal integration tools were used to quantify the key technical and environmental performance indicators. The assessments show that CCUS technologies have significant advantages in reducing the environmental impact of energy-intensive industrial applications and simultaneously to produce useful products.

Perancangan Integrated Environmental Performance Measurement System Di Rumah Sakit

Waste has a negative impact on the environment. Hospital medical waste is a hazardous waste for the environment. Environmental performance measurement systems are used to measure the performance of hospitals in handling waste. The measurement of its environmental performance in the hospital is expected to provide improved sewage treatment systems. AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) and OMAX (Objactive Matrix) methods are used to design environmental performance systems at hospitals. The data needed is medical and non medical treatment. Data were collected using pairwise comparison questionnaires. The questionnaire data shows the importance of key environmental performance indicators (KEPI). Results of questionnaires processed using Expert Choice. Expert Choice's output produces weight and consistency ratio. Weighted KEPI results are processed by OMAX method. The OMAX method is used to determine the value of environmental performance. There 41 KEPI aspects of the environment. Based on the results of the environmental performance assessment, liquid waste has the highest weight of 0.229.

Five years on: monitoring of Long Island Point’s Western Port wastewater discharge

The Esso Long Island Point facility is situated on the edge of Western Port, an important Ramsar designated wetland for migratory birds in Victoria, Australia. The gas fractionation and crude oil storage facility has operated for over 40 years and has discharged treated wastewater to Western Port for most of these years in accordance with its environmental regulatory licence. The 2003 State Environment Protection Policy for Waters of Western Port is the Victorian Environment Protection Authority’s regulatory framework for licensing wastewater discharges to the wetland, and among other items, requires that discharges must cause no ‘detrimental change in the environmental quality of the receiving waters’ or ‘chronic impacts outside any declared mixing zone’. A major upgrade to the water treatment facility in 2010 included a risk-based marine ecosystem program to monitor key environmental indicators including water quality, jetty pile invertebrate communities and seagrass condition. The program’s longer-term monitoring record has allowed assessment of potential chronic effects on invertebrates and seagrass by comparing temporal changes at monitoring sites over the period from pre-operations (2010) to present (2016) and spatial changes between near-field to far-field sites, kilometres from the discharge point. The program has shown that management of the discharge maintains beneficial uses and environmental objectives at the boundary of the mixing zone, and the marine ecosystem is protected from potentially slower and longer-term adverse effects in the far-field. The program demonstrates that the treated wastewater discharge has had no adverse impact on key environmental indicators in Western Port over the longer-term study period.

Spatial and temporal assessment of metal pollution in the sediments of the Qaraoun reservoir, Lebanon.

This study reports on metal (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) pollution in the sediments of the Qaraoun reservoir over a span period of 9years (2004, 2008, and 2013) along with key major environmental indicators. This time period corresponds with the onset of the rapid economic and industrial development of the reservoir region. For the first time, this study assessed the degree of environmental pollution by using indices such as enrichment factors (EF), contamination factors (CF), pollution load index (PLI), and geoaccumulation index (I geo). Moreover, sequential extraction was used to study the operationally determined chemical forms of the metals and their spatial and temporal distribution in the sediments. Correlation coefficients were also calculated to delineate the origin and association of the metals. Total metal concentrations and the environmental indices indicated increased pollution with time. Total organic carbon data showed a remarkable and significant increase in the organic fraction in 2013 relative to previous years. The increase in the organic fraction in the sediments was accompanied with a shift in cadmium [Cd] and lead [Pb] fractionation from the carbonate fraction to the organic fraction. The enrichment of the metal in the sediments along with the increased organic content is expected to exacerbate the metal bioavailability in the reservoir.