År 2015 hade cirka 6 300 miljoner ton plastavfall genererats globalt, varav 79% ansamlades på deponier eller i den naturliga miljön. I dagsläget återfinns plastskräp i både terrestra och marina miljöer och större delen av plastavfallet är persistent. Då naturen inte kan bryta ned plasten sönderdelas den istället till mikroplast (<5 000 µm) och sedan till nanoplast (1–1 000 nm). I denna litteraturstudie undersöktes människors exponering för nanoplast, vilka marina livsmedel som kan innehålla nanoplast samt nanoplastens påverkan på mänskliga celler. Resultaten visar att människor riskerar att exponeras för nanoplast genom luften, huden samt vid konsumtion av marina livsmedel såsom fisk, musslor och ostron. I experimentella miljöer visar resultaten att mänskliga celler tar upp nanoplastpartiklar av polystyren i olika storlekar, varav mindre partiklar internaliseras snabbare och i större mängd. Även ytladdningen kan ha en påverkan på mänskliga celler där aminomodifierade (PS-NH2) samt karboxylmodifierade (PS-COOH) visade högre cytotoxicitet än polystyrenpartiklar utan modifierad yta (PS-NP). Vidare indikerar resultaten att höga doser av polystyrenpartiklar reducerar cellvibiliteten samt inducerar morfologiska förändringar och oxidativ stress i cellerna. I dagsläget är det oklart i vilken mängd nanoplast återfinns i miljön, därav är det svårt att beräkna den totala exponeringen som människor kan utsättas för. I experimentella miljöer utsätts cellerna för höga doser under kort tid, medan den verkliga mänskliga exponeringen troligtvis sker med små doser under lång tid.

Mangrove plants are a productive ecosystem that provide several benefits for marine organisms and industry. They are considered to be a food source and habitat for many organisms. However, mangrove growth is limited by nutrient availability. According to some recent studies, the dwarfism of the mangrove plants is due to the limitation of nitrogen in the environment. Biological nitrogen fixation is the process by which atmospheric nitrogen is fixed into ammonium. Then, this fixed nitrogen can be uptaken by plants. Hence, biological nitrogen fixation increases the input of nitrogen in the mangrove ecosystem. In this project, we focus on measuring the rates of nitrogen fixation on Red Sea mangrove (Avicennia marina) located at Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. The nitrogen fixation rates are calculated by the acetylene reduction assay. The experimental setup will allow us to analyze the effect of crab bioturbation on nitrogen fixing rates. This study will help to better understand the nitrogen dynamics in mangrove ecosystems in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, this study points out the importance of the sediment microbial community in mangrove trees development. Finally, the role of nitrogen fixing bacteria should be taken in account for future restoration activities.

The purpose of this thesis was to determine the criteria necessary for an analysis of site suitability for locating a marina at Bear Lake. Once criteria were defined and pertinent resource factors collected, a method to analyze the criteria was utilized to aid in the selection of the best site for locating this marina. Various methods to analyze site suitability were evaluated and the pros and cons of the chosen approach, a cluster analysis of existing resource transect data with hypothetical transect criteria, were discussed. Based on this study, no optimum sites were located at Bear Lake for a marina facility. However, it was concluded that transect number 3, near Garden City, is the most acceptable area for the development of a marina. It was also concluded that other areas of Bear Lake's shore zone are very sensitive and in order to protect the shore zone environment and water quality of Bear Lake, strict planning and development guidance needs to be generated and enforced for the Bear Lake shore zone.

Uppgiften var att gestalta en offentlig hybridbyggnad i Nynäshamn kommun. Mitt förslag "Båthuset" ligger i Stora Vika, ett vattennära samhälle tio kilometer nordväst om Nynäshamn. Där bor knappt 750 invånare men både Södertäljebor och Stockholmare är flitiga besökare tack vare områdets unika natur. Idag ser vi en trend där allt fler flyttar från innerstaden till naturnära tätorter. En av de främsta önskemålen vid en sådan flytt är just närhet till vatten och båtliv. Stora Vikas placering längs med Fållnässviken ger alla förutsättningar för att bli en attraktiv båtort. Idag är båtklubben en viktig samhällsaktör som arbetar för att främja gemenskapen i området. Mitt förslag "Båthuset" kombinerar ett hus för folket med båtlivet. Ambitionen är att det ska bli en samlingsplats för såväl lokalinvånare som sommargäster och båtturister. De som inte är de minsta intresserade av båtliv är självklart också välkomna då tanken är att den här byggnaden kan erbjuda en rad olika aktiviteter under ett och samma tak. Byggnadens placering längs med Fållnäsviken, precis i mötet mellan skog och hav, blir symbolisk för samhället Stora Vika som befinner sig i mötet mellan skog och hav. / The task was to design a public  hybrid building in Nynäshamn municipality, Sweden. My architecture proposal “The Boathouse” is located in Stora Vika, a community ten kilometers northwest of Nynäshamn. Stora Vika is a small community of 750 people but is a popular attraction for Stockholmers thanks to the unique nature in the area. Today we can see a trend where people move from the city to smaller towns close to nature. One of the main attractions when moving is the close proximity to water and boatlife. Stora Vika’s placement along the bay Fållnäsviken creates the perfect conditions for an attractive boating town. The current boat club already plays an important role in bringing the community together. My proposal combines a community center with boatlife. The ambition is that "The Boathouse" will become a meeting point for both locals, summer guests and boat tourists. Those who are not at all interested in boats are also welcomed as this building can offer a variety of activities under the same roof. The building's placement alongside the bay, between forest and sea, is representative for the whole community that prides itself in its closeness to both forest and sea.

This thesis is an examination of the trapped lives of Marina Carr's female protagonists and their relevance to contemporary Irish women. In her six plays from The Mai to Woman and Scarecrow, each of Carr's female protagonists is trapped either in a liminal state, defined by Victor Turner as a phase in a rites of passage process, or in a patriarchal addictive society, defined by Anne Wilson Schaef as a society in which the power is maintained and perpetuated by white males with the help of all members of society including women. Portia (Portia Coughlan), Hester (By the Bog of Cats), and Sorrel (On Raftery's Hill) are trapped in a liminal state. As liminal characters, each of these women has the ability to discern the destructive nature of the addictive society around them and must therefore decide either to integrate into that society or remain in a liminal state. Since neither option is appealing, Portia and Hester choose to commit suicide rather than to submit themselves either to continual liminality or to the addictive society. Sorrel, however, chooses liminality, and her life attests to the stagnation accompanying such a choice. The Mai (The Mai¬), Elaine (Ariel), Frances (Ariel), and Woman (Woman and Scarecrow) choose to integrate into the addictive society. In so doing, they surrender their personal power and submit to the typical feminine roles and addictions of their society. Ultimately their submission to the addictive society leads each of these characters to a destructive end: The Mai commits suicide, Frances dies by Elaine's hand, and Woman lives a stagnant life and dies unfulfilled. Although Carr's protagonists are fictional, the liminal and addictive states that Carr's women experience mirror the situations that Irish women have encountered and continue to encounter today. Like their fictional counterparts, Irish women are frequently faced with either a liminal position outside of society or traditional women's roles within an addictive society"”both of which are destructive options as Carr's protagonists demonstrate through their own lives and deaths. Although Carr's protagonists do not appear to offer any solutions to these problems, her plays do meaningfully illuminate and name these problems that Irish women face.

The small town of Kvicksund is beautifully located next to lake Mälaren with good communication by boat, train, and car. Today there are around 3,000 people who live here, most of them families with children living in villas. Kvicksund has been pointed out by Eskilstuna municipality as suitable for further exploitation and new dwellings is expected to be built in the immediate area in the future. At the same time, the area lacks a hub where people can gather and hang out, something that has become clear through the dialogue with the residents of Kvicksund that took place during the autumn project. Today's ICA store with associated parking is simply not enough. To that end, I have developed a proposal for a marina where the residents in the immediate area together with others in the region can gather. The site for my project is a beach plot next to the Kvicksund bridge which is currently used by the local boat club. The ground slopes slightly towards the shoreline in the north where a pier extends towards the fairway. The new marina is partly located on today's land and partly on new excavated mass and orients itself towards the afternoon sun and the view to the west. A large wooden deck is built around the house body, which together with the house facade creates a courtyard.

Ålgräs fungerar som ekosystemingenjörer som förser både människan och naturen med en mängd viktiga ekosystemtjänster och tillhandahåller olika ekosystemfunktioner. Ålgräsängens vegetation skapar en fysisk struktur till den annars kala, mjuka ler- eller sandbottnen och ökar den biologiska mångfalden. En annan viktig funktion som ålgräsängar skapar är habitat som fungerar som barnkammare för olika fiskarter, såsom torsk, flundror och sej. Det uppskattas att cirka 30% av de kända arealerna av ålgräsängar har försvunnit globalt och att 7% försvinner årligen. I Sverige kan liknande historiska förluster av ålgräs visas, bara i Bohuslän har 60% försvunnit sedan 1980-talet och ålgräsängarna fortsätter att minska till följd av fortsatt exploatering av kustområden. I detta projekt har vi undersökt ålgräsets förmåga till etablering samt dess tillväxt efter förflyttning och omplantering i ett nytt habitat vid Hallands kust. Plantering av ålgräs har inte tidigare gjorts i Halland och syftet med denna studie var att se om plantering var möjligt och hur stor tillväxt det sker på blad samt antal nya tillväxande vegetativa skott.Våra resultat visade att det fanns signifikanta skillnader för ålgräsets överlevnad mellan de tre olika metoder som vi utförde vid plantering. Vår metod singelskottsmetoden visade sig vara mest lyckad vid platsen, som låg på ett område med relativt hög våg- och vindexponering, vilket vi anser är typiskt för den Halländska kusten. De andra två metoderna, nätmetoden samt grillspettsmetoden, som användes inkluderade förankring av plantorna vilket resulterade i sämre överlevnad. Detta kan ha berott på att det fanns flera stressfaktorer vid platsen som vågor, vind och algpåväxt och att förankring störde ålgräsets etablering. / Eelgrass act as ecosystem engineers, providing both humans and nature with a variety of important ecosystem services and providing various ecosystem functions. The vegetation that eelgrass beds provide is a physical structure to the otherwise bare, soft clay or sand seabed and increases biodiversity. Another important function that eelgrass beds provide is that they create habitats that act as nurseries for various fish species, such as cod, flounder and pollock. It is estimated that around 30% of the known areas of eelgrass meadows have disappeared globally and that 7% is decreasing annually. In Sweden, similar historical losses of eelgrass can be seen, only in Bohuslän, 60% has disappeared since the 1980s and continues to decrease as a result of continued exploitation of coastal areas.  In this project, we have investigated the ability of eelgrass to establish as well as its growth after relocation and replanting in a new habitat on the coast of Halland. Planting of eelgrass has not previously been done in Halland, so the purpose of this study was to see if this was possible and how much growth occurs on leaves and the amount of new growing vegetative shoots. Our results showed that there were significant differences in the survival of the eelgrass between the three different methods we used when planting. Our method the single-shoot method proved to be most successful at the site, which was in an area with relatively high wave and wind exposure, which we believe is typical for the coast of Halland. The other two methods used, the netmethod and skewermethod, included anchoring the plants which resulted in poorer survival. This may have been because there were several stress factors at the site such as waves, wind and algae growth and that anchoring disturbed the establishment of the eelgrass.

Al igual que muchos ecosistemas costeros del mundo, diversos estudios realizados en el estuario de Bahía Blanca reflejan que este ambiente se encuentra impactado por el aporte de metales, originados por diversas actividades antropogénicas que se desarrollan en sus inmediaciones. Las planicies de marea estuarinas son ecosistemas costeros de gran importancia debido a su extensión, a los importantes servicios ecosistémicos que brindan y a que se encuentran dentro de los ecosistemas más productivos de la Tierra. La alta productividad biológica se basa principalmente en la actividad de las comunidades microfitobentónicas que, en las planicies de marea del estuario de Bahía Blanca, están representadas por biofilms y matas microbianas que colonizan su superficie. Varios autores han indicado la capacidad de estas comunidades para secuestrar potenciales contaminantes, entre ellos, los metales. El objetivo de esta tesis es evaluar la influencia de estas comunidades microbianas presentes en el área media (Puerto Rosales) e interna (Almirante Brown) del estuario de Bahía Blanca, en los procesos de captación y distribución vertical de estos contaminantes inorgánicos. Para ello, se analizó la distribución y dinámica de metales esenciales como Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni y Zn, y otros no esenciales como el Cd, Hg y Pb. Además, se analizaron variables secundarias como la influencia de las mareas, el contenido de materia orgánica, tamaño de grano y, en el caso de la mata microbiana, los parámetros fisicoquímicos temperatura, pH y potencial redox. El análisis de la información obtenida mostró que las matas microbianas fueron sensibles a la presencia de metales, dado que fueron capaces de concentrarlos aun cuando estuvieron en bajas concentraciones. Asimismo, las matas microbianas mostraron una mayor eficacia en el secuestro de metales respecto al biofilm que cubre los primeros milímetros de la misma. La influencia de las matas microbianas en la presencia de metales fue más notoria en la zona alta de Puerto Rosales, donde se registraron mayores concentraciones respecto a las capas ubicadas por debajo de la comunidad microbiana activa. Esto podría ser explicado por el mayor contenido de materia orgánica encontrado en las matas microbianas de esta zona, en conjunto con las características fisicoquímicas atribuibles a los períodos de exposición a las cuales se ven sometidas. La secreción de sustancias poliméricas extracelulares por parte de diatomeas y cianobacterias móviles como respuesta a un período de exposición mayor a 6 días registrado en ésta zona, sumado a la afinidad para unir metales que presenta la pared de las cianobacterias dominantes de estas matas microbianas epibentónicas, favorecería el secuestro de los mismos. La mayoría de los metales analizados presentaron mayores concentraciones en las capas subyacentes a la mata microbiana. viii Esto podría atribuirse a la influencia de los microorganismos presentes en esa profundidad (1 - 5 cm), así como a la presencia de sedimento de tamaño de grano fino. En cuanto al ambiente fisicoquímico de las matas microbianas, se encontraron diferencias entre los sitios evaluados, presentando Almirante Brown un pH alcalino, una mayor temperatura y un ambiente más reductor respecto a Puerto Rosales, lo cual podría implicar diferencias en la actividad microbiana de ambos sistemas. Por último, se encontró que Almirante Brown se encuentra bajo una mayor influencia por parte de los metales seleccionados para su evaluación en la presente tesis doctoral, dado que posee las mayores concentraciones promedio en seis de los nueve metales analizados (Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb y Zn). Ello podría estar relacionado a su proximidad a un ex basurero y la influencia de la descarga de efluentes cloacales con escaso tratamiento. / As in many coastal ecosystems in the world, diverse studies carried out in the Bahía Blanca estuary (referred to in this document as EBB, from its name in Spanish) reflect that this environment is impacted by the supply of metals originated in a variety of anthropogenic activities that are carried out in its surroundings. The tidal flats of estuarine tides are coastal ecosystems of great importance given their extension, the important ecosystemic services they provide, and because they are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth. The high biological productivity is mainly based in the activity of microphytobenthic communities that, in the tidal flats of the EBB, are represented by biofilms and microbial mats that colonize its surface. Various authors have indicated the capacity for these communities to sequester potential contaminants, such as metals. The goal of this thesis is to evaluate the influence of these microbial communities present in the middle (Puerto Rosales) and inner (Almirante Brown) areas of the EBB on the capture and vertical distribution processes of these inorganic contaminants. Towards this end, the distribution and dynamics was analyzed for essential metals like Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Zn, and other non-essential ones like Cd, Hg, and Pb. Furthermore, secondary variables were also analyzed, such as the influence of tides, the organic matter content, grain size and, in the case of the microbial mat, the physicochemical parameters of temperature, pH, and the redox potential. The analysis of the data showed that the microbial mats were sensitive to the presence of metals, given that they were capable of concentrating them even when they were present in low concentrations. Likewise, the microbial mats showed a greater efficacy in the sequestering of metals relative to the biofilm that covers its first millimeters. The influence of the microbial mats on the presence of metals was most significant in the high zone of Puerto Rosales, where greater concentrations were registered in relation to the layers situated below the active microbial community. This could be explained by the greater content of organic matter found in the microbial mats in this zone, in conjunction with the physicochemical features attributable to the exposure periods to which they are submitted. The secretion of extracellular polymeric substances by mobile diatoms and cyanobacteria as a response to a period of exposure greater than 6 days, recorded in this zone, as well as the affinity to bind metals exhibited by the wall in the cyanobacteria that dominate these epibenthic microbial mats, may favor their sequestering. The majority of the analyzed metals presented greater concentrations in the underlying layers in the microbial mat. This could be attributed to the influence of the microorganisms present at that depth (1 - 5 cm), as well as to the presence of sediment of fine grain size. As to the x physicochemical environment, differences were found between the evaluated sites, where Almirante Brown presents an alkaline pH, greater temperature, and a more reductive environment in relation to Puerto Rosales. That fact would imply differences in the microbial activity of both systems. Finally, Almirante Brown was found to be under a greater influence of the metals selected for evaluation. There is high mean concentrations in six of the nine analyzed metals (Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, and Zn). This may be related to its proximity to a former garbage dump and the influence of the discharge of sewer discharges with low treatment.

This thesis examines the relationships between rising water levels, vulnerable land, and sedimentation within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Climate induced sea level rise threatens low lying coastal land, especially in regions of continuing subsidence such as the Chesapeake Bay. Alterations to shorelines over time have impacted the ability of coastal landscapes to capture and build up sediment, exposing them to continual erosion. The low lying neighborhood of Belle View along the Potomac River is the focus of the investigation due to its vulnerability to flooding and its cultural and ecological connections to the adjacent landscapes of Dyke Marsh and the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Through careful placement of breakwater infrastructure, sediment will build over time as the water rises, mitigating the effects of coastal flooding in this region. Alterations to the landscapes of the marsh and parkway allow for their cultural and recreational values to be strengthened over time as the landscape adjusts to the rising sea level. / Master of Landscape Architecture / Climate change, or the belief that human activity is altering the earth's climate, is projected to increase the occurrence of flood events due to water levels rising over time from glaciers melting. Previously, shorelines have been hardened with levee or seawall infrastructure to creates a barrier between the water and developed land. Hardened shorelines may increase water velocity and reflect wave energy in riverine landscapes, consequentially disturbing natural shorelines. This disturbance leads to the gradual loss of sediment over time and therefore a loss of ground elevation. When landscapes lose elevation, they become more vulnerable to rising water levels and flooding. This relationships between shoreline types, sedimentation, rising water, and vulnerability inspired me to discover and design a threatened landscape that would capture sediment within the river's water column to build elevation over time and protect the adjacent development from rising water. The area encompassing the low lying neighborhood of Belle View, Dyke Marsh, and the George Washington Memorial Parkway along the Potomac River is the focus of the investigation due to its vulnerability to flooding. With a careful understanding of sediment capture infrastructure dynamics, the design introduces breakwaters on the site to allow sediment to build over time as the water rises. This research and design thesis demonstrates a strategy to create landscapes that will evolve over time to mitigate future flooding events and create more resilient landscapes.

Yes / While ‘charisma’ can be found in dramatic and theatrical parlance, the term enjoys only minimal critical attention in theatre and performance studies, with scholarly work on presence and actor training methods taking the lead in defining charisma’s supposed ‘undefinable’ quality. Within this context, the article examines the appearance of the term ‘charismatic space’ in relation to Marina Abramović’s retrospective The Artist is Present at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 2010. Here Abramović uses this term to describe the shared space in which performer and spectator connect bodily, psychically, and spiritually through a shared sense of presence and energy in the moment of performance. Yet this is a space arguably constituted through a number of dialectical tensions and contradictions which, in dialogue with existing theatre scholarship on charisma, can be further understood by drawing on insights into charismatic leaders and charismatic authority in leadership studies. By examining the performance and its documentary traces in terms of dialectics we consider the political and ethical implications for how we think about power relations between artist/spectator in a neoliberal, market-driven art context. Here an alternative approach to conceiving of and facilitating a charismatic space is proposed which instead foregrounds what Bracha L. Ettinger calls a ‘matrixial encounter-event’: A relation of coexistence and compassion rather than dominance of self over other; performer over spectator; leader over follower. By illustrating the dialectical tensions in The Artist is Present, we consider the potential of the charismatic space not as generated through the seductive power or charm of an individual whose authority is tied to his/her ‘presence’, but as something co-produced within an ethical and relational space of trans-subjectivity.