SCOPE Report S.
11 primary works • 15 total works
Book 11
Book 20
Methods for Assessing the Effects of Chemicals on Reproductive Functions
by Velimir B. Vouk and Patrick J. Sheehan
Published 10 August 1983
Book 21
The Major Biogeochemical Cycles and Their Interactions
by Bert Bolin and Robert B. Cook
Published 7 September 1983
Book 22
Surveys current knowledge of the effects of man-made chemicals and other disturbances on the ecosystem, focusing on the effects on the structure and function of the system rather than on individual organisms or populations. Covers community structure, diversity, nutrient cycling, litter decomposition, and more. Examines the question of detectability of change and includes a number of case histories of aquatic, marine, and terrestrial systems.
Book 25
Appraisal of Tests to Predict the Environmental Behaviour of Chemicals
by Patrick J. Sheehan and etc.
Published 27 March 1985
Predicting the fate of toxic chemicals in the environment is an important scientific task. This book appraises tests to predict the environmental behaviour of chemicals, giving expert evaluation of testing protocol. Methods and evaluations included descriptions of important transfer and transformation processes in air, soil and water. The quantification of key processes and reactions is described and appraised for accuracy, precision and utility and the limitations of specific laboratory and field techniques are discussed. Promising new methods are presented with recommendations for further research.
Book 27
This book provides the first comprehensive account of climate impact assessment. The growing climate consciousness, both popular and scientific, which began in the 1970s was sparked by a series of extreme climate events and related disruptions, and by scientific speculation on increased climate variability and possible climate change. The pace and degree of change are under debate, but it is widely agreed that at least one change, a long-term global warming derived from the enrichment of the atmospheric content of the 'greenhouse' gases, is underway. There is also emerging scientific consensus that human-induced alterations in the chemical constituents of the atmosphere can lead to large regional, and even global, changes of the atmosphere in the form of more acidic rain and greater ultraviolet radiation. Within the time period of the projected global average warming, sustained variations of climate will occur in many places, and lesser periods of favourable or unfavourable climate will occur in most places.
Where these changes are very large - the extremes greater than usual - where people and places are vulnerable, or where human activity meshes poorly with natural opportunity, significant climate impacts are likely to occur. This book addresses the important issues of how to identify, study and respond to such impacts, ie adjusting to changing climate, coping with extremes and matching human needs to climate endowment.
Where these changes are very large - the extremes greater than usual - where people and places are vulnerable, or where human activity meshes poorly with natural opportunity, significant climate impacts are likely to occur. This book addresses the important issues of how to identify, study and respond to such impacts, ie adjusting to changing climate, coping with extremes and matching human needs to climate endowment.
Book 28
Environmental Consequences of Nuclear War
by A Barrie Pittock, etc., T.P. Ackerman, P.J. Crutzen, M.C. MacCracken, C.S. Shapiro, and R.P. Turco
Published 12 March 1986
SCOPE 28 is a comprehensive and interdisciplinary appraisal of current scientific knowledge of the possible environmental consequences of a nuclear war. Leading scientists present a consensus as to the effects on climate, ecosystems and food supply which might follow a major nuclear exchange. The authors assess the likely magnitude of changes in sunlight, temperature, precipitation, atmospheric chemistry, ionizing radiation, ultra-violet radiation, plant and animal growth and resultant agricultural productivity. The delicate ecological balance of the globe and the likely points of environmental disruption are considered purely in terms of their vulnerability to this particular threat. Volume One reviews the existing nuclear arsenals, and selected nuclear war scenarios. From the immediate effects - blast, heat, radiation and emp, the emphasis switches to smoke, dust and fallout. The changes and alterations to the current chemical balance of the atmosphere which may result allow assessment of meteorological and climate changes.
Book 29
The Greenhouse Effect, Climatic Change and Ecosystems
by Bert Bolin and etc.
Published 25 November 1986
This is the result of the first international scientific assessment of the consequences of the continuing increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which modify the radioactive balance of the atmosphere. It addresses a number of questions which have been of major concern in recent years. These include the projection of energy use and increased emission of carbon dioxide by fossil fuel burning; the natural sources and sinks of carbon dioxide and their modification by deforestation and changing land use; the expected increase in the level of other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere; possible climatic change and its detection; sea level change and its detection and the overall response of terrestrial ecosystems. The book summarizes our current knowledge of this important subject and presents the main uncertainties and controversies that remain. Scientists drawn from a number of disciplines contribute their own perspectives to the analysis of the problem, making the book of interest to meteorologists, climatologists, enviromental scientists and energy researchers.
Book 37
The problem of biological invasions in plants, animals and micro-organisms is examined in this book. Rather than concentrate on local patterns a complete global picture is reviewed, including divergent points of view from world renowned experts. The phenomena of biological invasions and the damage which often accompanies an invasion are discussed, with particular reference to the serious problem of the extinction of species and the replacement of entire ecosystems. The programme addressed three specific issues relating to the nature of invading plants and animals: the factors that determine whether a species will be an invader or not; the site properties that determine whether an ecological system will be prone to, or resistant to, an invasion; and the development of management systems using the knowledge gained. The primary focus of the programme was on those animals, plants and micro-organisms that have been successful invaders of non-agricultural regions, with an emphasis on those that have disrupted ecosystem function. This book is the result of a culminating workshop held at the East-West Center of Honolulu, Hawaii.
Book 45
Incorporates the results of the program on ecosystem experiments conducted by the Scientific Committee of Problems of the Environment. Features research papers submitted at Mitwitz, Germany and Washington, D.C. The objective of this compilation of papers is to explore the potential of ecosystem experimentation as a tool for understanding and predicting changes in the biosphere. Areas investigated include deforestation, desertification, El Nino phenomenon, acid rain, watersheds, wetlands, aquatic and climatic changes.
Book 56
Global Change
by A.I. Breymeyer, etc., D.O. Hall, J.M. Melillo, and G.I. Agren
Published 20 November 1996
The fundamental ecological processes of the planet are changing. Exactly how ecosystems will respond is not well known. This work is a study of two key ecosystems. How these systems will respond to global climate change and how they might ameliorate, or contribute to, climate change in the future was the subject of a project by SCOPE, the Scientific Committee on Problems in the Environment. The project had three objectives: firstly, a critical assessment of our understanding of the effects of climate on production and decomposition processes in coniferous forests and grasslands, temperate and tropical; secondly, a review of exact forest and grassland ecosystem models, and an evaluation of production decay processes; and thirdly, the development of a foundation for the design of diagnostic and predictive models to describe the effects of climate change on forests and grasslands.
Methods for Assessing the Effects of Mixtures of Chemicals
by Velimir B. Vouk and etc.
Published 15 April 1987
It has long been recognized that real exposures of people and non-human biota are generally two mixtures of chemicals, rather than two pure entities. In spite of this, evaluations in the field or laboratory have frequently only looked at single chemicals. Therefore, this book sets out to identify the limitations, practicalities and utility of dealing with chemicals in mixtures. It is the first systematic attempt to examine methods for evaluating mixtures of chemicals. This is a particularly difficult task and complete success cannot be claimed. However, suggestions for further study and research are made which may help to improve the approach to the subject. This book has been prepared by the Scientific Group on Methodologies for the Safety Evaluation of Chemicals (SGOMSEC).
No 44
Introduction of Genetically Modified Organisms into the Environment
by Harold A. Mooney and G. Bernardi
Published 24 October 1990
SCOPE is one of a number of committees established by the nongovernmental group of scientific organizations, the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU). The mandate of SCOPE is to assemble, review, and assess the information available on man-made environmental changes and the effects of these changes on man; to assess and evaluate the methodologies of measurement of environmental parameters; to provide an intelligence service on current research, and by the recruitment of the best available scientific information and constructive thinking to establish itself as a corpus of informed advice for the benefit of centres of fundamental research and of organizations and agencies operationally engaged in studies of the environment. SCOPE and the Committee on Genetic Experimentation (COGENE) co-sponsored a meeting of specialists in molecular biology, population genetics and ecology to consider the issues related to the introduction of genetically-modified organisms into the environment. The charge to this group was to provide the necessary scientific background in order to make a statement on the potential benefits and hazards of introductions of bio-engineered organisms.
This volume contains first the statement and then the background from which it is derived. The participants of the meeting included those that have been central in the revolution of thought and techniques that have characterized the development of molecular biology as well as ecologists that have actively participated in an analysis of the facts and environmental consequences of introduced organisms.
This volume contains first the statement and then the background from which it is derived. The participants of the meeting included those that have been central in the revolution of thought and techniques that have characterized the development of molecular biology as well as ecologists that have actively participated in an analysis of the facts and environmental consequences of introduced organisms.
This book tackles an issue of major importance in interdisciplinary research - how to overcome the disparities in spatial and temporal scales used in different scientific disciplines. This topic is of particular importance now as the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, which is being led by the editor of the book, Tom Rosswall, is looking for joint contributions from physical and biological scientists. The book contains papers by atmospheric scientists, biologists, geomorphologists and marine scientists, reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of the Geosphere-Biosphere programme.