Environmental Sciences Europe最新文献

Background

Accelerated glacial retreat driven by climate change is rapidly reshaping alpine and polar environments, exposing deglaciated terrains that serve as critical sites for microbial colonization and early ecosystem development. These newly exposed substrates provide a unique setting for studying primary microbial succession, the onset of soil formation, and the initiation of biogeochemical cycles, particularly carbon cycling. Microbial communities, including bacteria, archaea, fungi, algae, and viruses, play pivotal roles in regulating elemental fluxes and establishing foundational ecosystem processes in these nascent landscapes.

Results

Recent studies highlight substantial shifts in microbial community structure and function across different glacial forefields and cryospheric habitats. Microbial assemblages display pronounced spatial heterogeneity shaped by physicochemical gradients and successional age. Functional analyses reveal diverse metabolic pathways involved in carbon fixation, organic matter transformation, and long-term carbon storage. Additionally, viral populations emerge as influential regulators of microbial metabolism and potential archives of past environmental conditions. The assembly of these communities is influenced by a combination of abiotic factors, dispersal mechanisms, and local adaptation, with cascading effects on carbon fluxes and nutrient dynamics.

Conclusions

Microbial processes in deglaciated environments are central to early biogeochemical transformations and represent key drivers of carbon sequestration in retreating glacial landscapes. Understanding the ecological roles, functional diversity, and climate sensitivity of these microbial communities is essential for projecting biogeochemical and climate system feedbacks in the context of ongoing glacial loss. Integrating microbial ecology into Earth system models will enhance predictions of carbon dynamics and inform conservation and climate mitigation strategies in polar and alpine regions.

The world’s median population is projected to reach 8.8 billion by 2050, making water management, especially groundwater, increasingly important. This research article seeks to address the pressing need for an effective method of evaluating and forecasting groundwater quality. Traditionally, water quality testing methods entail significant experimentation, a time-consuming procedure. To overcome this challenge in an alternative way, our proposed methodology involves parameterizing groundwater physicochemical parameters (Q-value) using machine learning algorithms. Focusing on groundwater samples collected from the Russell River of Australia between December 2016 and April 2020 (scaled to approximately 1300 datapoints on average), this research article uses the concept of Q value, a standardized measure facilitating comprehensive water quality assessment. This study significantly contributes to sustainable water resource management by providing a comprehensive examination of groundwater quality through the utilization of deep learning algorithms. The proposed models, namely Conv-LSTM with Attention, Conv-Bi-LSTM with Attention, LSTM with Attention, and Bi-LSTM with Attention, not only offer a distinctive framework for forecasting Q values but also serve as essential tools for timely decision making in water resource distribution. Among these, the Bidirectional LSTM with Attention model achieved the highest predictive accuracy, with a root mean square error of 0.0057, a mean absolute error of 0.0022, a symmetric mean absolute percentage error of 3.8875%, and a coefficient of determination of 0.9910. These results demonstrate its effectiveness in capturing variability and accurately explaining observed trends in groundwater quality. The proposed framework is a reliable, scalable, and timely decision-support tool for water resource management and policy making.

Background

Water contamination from pesticides is a significant environmental issue, affecting ecosystems and human health. Despite actions aimed at limiting pesticide levels in surface water, pollution persists. Pesticide contamination can stem from both non-point sources, such as agricultural runoff, and point sources, such as wastewater treatment plants. Accurate monitoring of these sources is challenging but crucial. Passive samplers have shown promising results in detecting pesticide levels over time but are not widely used for national monitoring. Effective monitoring of these sources is essential but remains challenging due to the limitations of conventional sampling techniques. This study shows how passive samplers can be used for identifying pesticide contamination from point sources of pollution linked to agricultural practices.

Results

Passive Samplers (POCIS) were placed in the studied water channel upstream and downstream of two potential point sources of pollution (a wastewater treatment plant and a water filling station) with an exposure time of 21 days. Furthermore, grab water samples were collected at the beginning and at the end of the POCIS exposure. The monitoring was performed continuously for several months, and the results obtained from both techniques were compared, using HPLC–MS/MS and GC–MS to measure pesticide concentrations. Passive samplers showed higher detection frequencies of pesticides compared to grab water samples in all sampling points, indicating its superior sensitivity and ability to provide valuable information. Significant differences in pesticide concentrations were observed downstream of the wastewater treatment plant, suggesting it as a relevant contamination source. Conversely, the water filling station had a minimal impact on pesticide concentration.

Conclusions

These findings highlight the potential of passive samplers as a powerful tool for high-resolution monitoring of pesticide pollution, offering a more effective approach for environmental assessments. Their ability to detect contamination trends over time makes them a valuable addition to monitoring programs, supporting more targeted mitigation strategies to improve water quality.

Environmental taxes have emerged as a key policy tool in the European Union's efforts to promote economic stability and environmental sustainability. In order to assess the viability of the double dividend hypothesis, this study looks at how environmental taxes affect economic growth, unemployment, and CO₂ emissions in 25 EU member states between 2000 and 2022. Significant relationships between fiscal environmental measures and macroeconomic performance are revealed by the analysis, which makes use of strong panel econometric techniques such as DOLS, PMG, AMG, System GMM, and DCCE estimators. The findings show that while transportation taxes encourage favorable economic outcomes, energy and pollution taxes have a negative impact on GDP. While energy and transportation taxes tend to raise unemployment, higher GDP is linked to lower unemployment. Furthermore, while unemployment greatly reduces CO₂ emissions, energy and pollution taxes, as well as GDP growth, all contribute to rising CO₂ emissions. The double dividend hypothesis is supported by these findings, which imply that funds collected from energy and pollution taxes (the second dividend) can be efficiently used to fund renewable energy, green infrastructure, and environmentally friendly transportation in order to reduce emissions (the first dividend). Overall, the study emphasizes that in order to achieve both economic and environmental benefits within the EU framework, proper revenue recycling and focused policy design are crucial.

Background

The widespread application of pesticides in modern agriculture has been recognized as a key driver of declines in honey bee populations. Butenolide insecticide flupyradifurone (FLU) and triazole-based plant growth regulator uniconazole (UNI) are frequently found together in agricultural ecosystems, raising serious concerns about their combined toxicological impacts on pollinators.

Results

FLU and UNL mixture elicited an acute synergistic toxic effect on A. mellifera, significantly enhancing physiological stress. Enzymatic activity assays revealed notable alterations in the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), and glutathione S-transferase (GST), indicative of intensified oxidative stress, impaired detoxification mechanisms, and compromised immune function. Furthermore, transcriptomic analyses showed that the expression of five key genes, abaecin, domeless, relish, vitellogenin (vtg), and CRBXase, was more profoundly affected under combined exposure compared to individual treatments, highlighting disruptions in immune regulation, longevity pathways, and detoxification processes at the molecular level.

Conclusion

These results provided compelling evidence that the co-occurrence of FLU and UNI posed a heightened biochemical and genetic threat to honey bees, likely due to synergistic interactions that amplified their individual toxicities. This study offered crucial insights into the ecological hazards of pesticide combinations. Such informed approaches are vital for minimizing pollinator risk and safeguarding ecosystem services essential to sustainable agriculture.

Background

The long-term impacts of climate change on human health have garnered growing attention, but little is known about the effect of climate change on cancer outcomes. This study aims to investigate the long-term effects of anomalous precipitation on all-cause mortality of cancer patients, based on national multicenter cohort data.

Methods

We conducted a multicenter cohort analysis based on mortality data of 92,638 patients diagnosed with cancer in UK Biobank. For each patient, we calculated the annual average precipitation as well as anomalous precipitation, defined as the deviation from the long-term local average. A multicenter Cox regression model was conducted to estimate the associations between all-cause mortality of cancer patients and average or anomalous precipitation. Based on a varying-coefficient model, we developed a two-dimensional exposure–response function (ERF) linking mortality to both long-term average and anomalous precipitation, to assess heterogeneity across precipitation zones.

Results

Each 0.1 mm/day increase in absolute values of precipitation anomalies was associated with a 5.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.1%, 6.2%) excess risk of mortality for anomalous wet (positive change in precipitation) or an 8.5% (95% CI 7.3%, 9.6%) excess risk for anomalously dry (negative change in precipitation). The two-dimensional ERF suggested considerably heterogeneous effects of anomalous precipitation on mortality across precipitation zones, reflecting differences in population adaptability to local climates. Anomalous wet conditions were associated with a significant hazard to patients living in both arid and humid zones, whereas anomalous dry conditions were mainly hazardous in arid zones, but protective in humid zones.

Conclusion

Anomaly in terms of either dry or wet precipitation was associated with an increased risk of mortality of cancer patients. The effect of anomalous precipitation varied across precipitation zone, reflecting capacity of human adaptation to local climate. In the context of global climate change, the potential of regionally adaptive strategies to reduce cancer mortality should be further explored.

This article provides a qualitative analysis of stakeholder perspectives on the European Commission’s revision of the REACH Regulation, highlighting how these perspectives reveal deeper epistemic and normative tensions in EU risk governance. Beyond summarising stakeholder positions, the paper offers an interpretive reading of how the precautionary principle is invoked to justify competing approaches to scientific uncertainty, risk assessment, and regulatory simplification. The analysis identifies three cross-cutting themes—knowledge and precaution, risk versus hazard, and simplification versus improved protection—and discusses how these reflect divergent legal and epistemological visions of chemical safety in EU. By contextualising stakeholder reasoning within EU regulatory traditions, the study contributes to understanding how precaution continues to shape, and be contested within, contemporary EU chemicals governance.

Background

Asbestos, a group of naturally occurring minerals once known as ‘magic minerals’, is widely regulated due to its carcinogenicity. However, its regulation remains a complex challenge for the European Union (EU). This study analyses how asbestos-related issues are addressed within the EU by studying parliamentary questions submitted to the European Commission over 30 years.

Results

The analysis of 378 parliamentary questions identified four context themes: asbestos presence, related activities, impact, and regulations. Italian Members of the EU Parliament raised 41% of the questions, other countries asked < 10% each. Most cases (69.2%) requested information rather than action, while answers provided additional information (76.7%). Action-based answers included legislative actions, official correspondence, and verification. Responsibility was attributed to Member States in 178 out of 186 answers. Waste management resulted a consistent compliance concern. Within asbestos presence context (19.9% of PQs), questions addressed asbestos containing material (14%), waste (4.6%) and naturally occurring asbestos (NOA) (1.3%). Before the 2005 asbestos ban, questions focused on responsibility and regulatory frameworks, answers highlighted legislative actions, awareness, and commitment. After the ban, questioning declined and shifted to plans, implementation, and compliance issues, while answers highlighted Member State responsibility and compliance.

Conclusions

Asbestos-related Parliamentary Questions expose regulatory, enforcement, and public health challenges across EU Member States but their impact is limited by weak follow-up mechanisms. Due to the nature of EU legislation, adoption, implementation and enforcement of asbestos -related measures depend primarily on national authorities. This can result in uneven application across Member States and many limit the EU’s capacity to ensure continuous protection from asbestos exposure, especially in higher-risk contexts and cross-border activities. Italy’s high number of PQs reflects complex national vulnerabilities, including the presence of NOA along with processed materials and waste. The exclusion of NOA from the current regulations represents a critical oversight. The authors encourage the European Commission to create a regulatory framework for NOA for safer environment for people in risky areas. Future legislation should strengthen and support EU-wide NOA mapping and coordination. This study recommends the use of PQs as a monitoring tool to identify national issues and drive more responsive and effective policy development across the EU, despite potential limitations.

Graphical Abstract

Background

Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent pollutants affecting wildlife and biodiversity. Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and one of its short-chain substitutes, perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS), are widely found in environmental components, especially in water. PFOS has been highlighted as causing deleterious effects on various organisms while PFBS adversity is suspected but requires further investigation. In this study, zebrafish embryos were exposed from 2 h post-fertilization to 28 days post-fertilization to two different concentrations (0.2 µg/L and 2 µg/L) of PFOS or PFBS. We then investigated the impacts of these early exposures later in life on adult fish fitness, growth, morphology, behaviour, and liver lipidomic profiles.

Results

PFOS exposure significantly reduced egg production, and both PFOS and PFBS altered growth patterns, organ development, and anxiety-like behaviour. Lipidomic analyses revealed persistent shifts in liver lipid composition that correspond to these phenotypic changes.

Conclusions

Taken together, our findings indicate that early-life exposure to low levels of PFOS and PFBS leads to long-term, sex-specific impairments in zebrafish physiology and behaviour, with disruptions in lipid metabolism emerging as a potential underlying mechanism.

Graphical Abstract