NWO Theme Sustainable Earth
Sustainable Earth Newsletter - December 2009
'Sustainable Earth' is one of NWO's themes in research. Subjects are human behaviour, use of natural resources and ecology, all for a sustainable planet Earth. This newsletter focuses on research and activities by NWO and occasionally also includes articles by other partners.
In the Spotlight
The Cocoon programme experiments with a new way of working |
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Water, energy and other natural resources are scarce. How can we prevent the outbreak of violent conflicts around the world – particularly when these resources are becoming even more limited due to climate change? This is one of the key questions of the new Cocoon programme. Professor of Human Geography Ton Dietz (University of Amsterdam) is chairman of the steering committee and enthusiastic about this programme which turns the ordinary NWO working method upside down. Dietz: 'Cocoon confronts the Netherlands Organisation of Scientific Research (NWO) with new partners and new ways of working.'
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Subsidy News
Call for Proposals for Vening Meinesz Prize 2010
The NWO is looking for candidates for the Vening Meinesz Prize. This prize is intended for earth scientists who received their doctorate within the last five years (since 2005) and who are employed as scientific researcher in The Netherlands.
This prize has been made possible thanks to the gift from Prof. dr. ir. Felix Vening Meinesz to the NWO in 1962. The prize amounts to EUR 10,000 and is intended to cover research related costs. The prize is presented during the tenth Dutch Earth Science Conference (Nederlands Aardwetenschappelijk Congres, NAC 10) in Veldhoven, The Netherlands on 22-23 April 2010. |
A New Study into the Alternative Use of Agricultural Crops |
| The selection procedure for the new research programme 'Agriculture beyond Food' has been completed by the Netherlands Organisation of Scientific Research (NWO) and the Royal Dutch Academy of Science (KNAW) together with their Indonesian partners. This five year scientific programme investigates the opportunities and limitations of bio-based products. Read more |
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Eight Research Projects on Climate System
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The Steering committee of Sustainable Earth decided to grant a subsidy to eight research proposals within the context of the Feedbacks in the Climate System programme. This amounts to a total of 2.5 million euros. The aim of this programme is to generate knowledge focused on quantifying uncertainties in the climate system, and in particular for the development of this system in the longer term until the year 2200. Read more |
Researchers are contributing to sustainable accessibility of the Randstad
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| How do we keep the Randstad accessible in a sustainable way? And what are the implications of climate change and energy transition for traffic and transport in this area? How will spatial developments be optimally combined with the development of traffic and transport? These are the questions that prominent Dutch scientists are striving to answer in the next few years. They will do so within the framework of the second round of the NWO programme Sustainable Accessibility of the Randstad (Duurzame Bereikbaarheid van de Randstad DBR). |
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Publications
Earth and Climate
Salomon Kroonenberg lectures on the geological history and future of our planet. He shows how the earth really works by presenting three examples of climate extremes that the earth has experienced in the last 250 million years. Published by Home-Academy Publishers. Duration 300 minutes. Available at NRC Handelsblad. |
Research Results
The Greenland Ice Sheet is disappearing at an increasingly rapid rate |
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Since 2000 the Greenland ice sheet has melted at an increasingly rapid rate. This was proven by research conducted by Utrecht University and the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute (KNMI), Delft University of Technology and the universities of Bristol and California (Irvine) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Satellite observations and regional atmosphere models confirm these findings independently from each other. These research results were published in the leading journal Science on 13 November 2009. |
Antarctic tourism main cause of pollution
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| The 40,000 'eco-tourists' who visit the South Pole every year are major polluters of the environment. By visiting this ice covered land mass they do not only put the Antarctic in danger but also the rest of the world. Machiel Lamers, whose research was funded by the NWO, investigated the effect of the increase in tourism on the Antarctic and how these effects can be lessened. |
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Temperatures of sea water fringing South Pole were also tropical 50 million years ago
At the time of the 'Greenhouse World' which was 60 to 50 million years ago, the temperature difference between equatorial and polar sea waters was minimal. This is the main conclusion drawn by a team of scientists from Utrecht University, the Netherlands, the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) and the University of California, Santa Cruz. It was concluded that apart from the sea water of the North Pole the water of the South Pole was also very warm at that time. The Antarctic sea water temperature exceeded 30șC. These results were published in the leading journal Nature in October 2009. |
More accurate prediction of water problems in developing countries using satellites |
| With the use of modern satellite data droughts, floods and availability of water can be predicted more accurately. This is particularly the case for catchments in the world where ‘soil information’ is scarce. Hessel Winsemius received his doctorate from Delft University of Technology on 30 September 2009. Many catchments in the world, particularly in developing countries, are not properly measured. The few measurements that are available in these regions are often uncertain, incomplete or intermittent. This jeopardises the construction of good hydrological models. However, these models are badly needed to be able to predict droughts, floods and availability of water. In the long term, these models will help to estimate the effects of changes in the land cover or of the climate. |  |
Green Sahara facilitated early migration out of Africa |
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A lush Sahara and Sahel with relatively large numbers of trees in stead of tropical grasses coincide with the periods in history when prehistoric man expanded his habitat from his place of birth in Eastern Africa to Northern Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe around 50,000 and 120,000 years ago. A team of scientists from the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) and the University of Bremen, Germany established this by analysing fossil plant leave waxes in a sediment core taken from a depth of 3 km in the Atlantic Ocean seafloor. These research findings were published on-line in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS). |
Climate change does not necessarily lead to conflict
The climate change that took place in Mesopotamia during the third millennium before Christ did not lead to war, but to a new shared identity. Even though increasing drought often leads to competition and conflict, this does not appear to have been the case in northern Mesopotamia. NWO-researcher Arne Wossink received his doctorate from the University of Leiden on 28 September 2009. He investigated how farmers and nomads in northern Mesopotamia – currently the area bordering Turkey, Syria and Iraq – responded to the climate change between 3000 and 1600 years before Christ. He expected to find a great deal of evidence suggesting competition: after all, if food and water are becoming increasingly scarce, this may well lead to conflict. He discovered, however, that the farmers developed closer bonds with the semi-nomadic cattle farmers. |
Sustainable gas can be obtained from waste |
| According to Dutch researcher Guus van Rossum energy can be obtained from biomass more quickly and efficiently than is currently the case. He has developed a new method for the low-temperature extraction of hydrogen from biomass, such as forestry and agricultural waste. Up until now only fuel gas could be extracted. The hydrogen produced by Van Rossum can be used in far more ways. Van Rossum received his doctorate at the University of Twente on 2 October 2009. |
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News Updates
Green Space from Different Perspectives |
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Open, green space in a crowded Randstad. How much is it worth to us? This space does not remain green and empty all by itself. Research shows that even with a government that leaves plenty of freedom to the market, a restrictive government policy works best. There are plenty of interests and forces at work here, with the economic perspective determining only part of the story. In order to deal with the issues surrounding the conservation of green space in the Dutch urban landscape, a multidisciplinary approach from different scientific disciplines has turned out to be fruitful. Researchers from Wageningen, Amsterdam and Delft are working together. Let's meet them to find out how this came about. Read more
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IODP-expedition to the Antarctic under Dutch supervision
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From January to March 2010 the ship Joides Resolution will take sample cores at Wilkes Land, the Antarctic. Prof. dr. Henk Brinkhuis is co-chief scientist of this expedition, which is a prestigious role in international research. This unique climate research is organized by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Programme (IODP), to which the NWO contributes annually on behalf of The Netherlands. During this expedition to Wilkes Land material is gathered by means of sample cores that were sedimented in a special period in the history of the earth: from 33 million years ago the earth changed from a warm 'greenhouse world' into a place where ice ages were experienced. The reason for this change seems to have been a reduction of CO2-concentration in the atmosphere. This expedition has to render data about the rate and the effects of rapid climate change in the past that may also be important for current climate models. |
Excellent public appearance / debate for DBR researchers |
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Amidst electric cars, bits of very clever tarmac, examples of sustainable services at Schiphol airport and serious games on laptops for better spatial planning, the NWO programme Sustainable Accessibilty of the Randstad (DBR) made its first appearance for a wider audience. This took place on 4 November 2009 at the Innovatie-Estafette Water, Transport and Mobility at the former aviation centre Valkenburg near Leiden, The Netherlands. Read more
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The North Sea Unlimited
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On 8 and 9 October 2009 the North Sea conference was held during the eleventh North Sea Days in Rotterdam. The theme was 'The North Sea Unlimited'. This time, the North Sea Days were combined with the IDON work conference (Interdepartmental Directors Meeting North Sea). In this way the link between knowledge, management, supervision and usage was created. The event was organised by Rijkswaterstaat in cooperation with Deltares, Imares and NWO. This event attracted 175 visitors. Read more
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Presenting the Pelagia
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Photo: NIOZ |
On 24 September 2009 the visitors' day of the oceanographic research ship the Pelagia was held in the port of Scheveningen, the Netherlands. The purpose of this day was to present this Dutch research ship to the public and show that the Pelagia is the Dutch portal to international ocean research. By offering the Pelagia in an international pool, the Netherlands is allowed sailing time on the other European research vessels. Read more
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Calendar
22 April 2010 – 23 April 2010
NAC 10
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NAC 10 is the tenth Dutch Earth Science Conference. It will take place in Veldhoven, The Netherlands and will be organized by the Darwin Center for Biogeosciences in cooperation with the Royal Geological and Mining Community of The Netherlands and the NWO. More information on http://www.nac9.nl
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Colophon
The Sustainable Earth Newsletter is issued by NWO. It informs readers on activities, research and other topics in the field of the NWO-theme Sustainable Earth. The content of this newsletter is coming from NWO-programs. Interviews and editing by Ymkje de Boer MSc, in cooperation with all involved NWO-employees, nieuwsbriefda@nwo.nl.
