A giant human London Olympic logo was created by 2,012 school children today (24 April). The spectacle covered a whopping 1,800 square metres at Collingwood College in Camberley, Surrey.

Surrey County Council organised the event to celebrate the P&G Surrey School Games which encourages kids to take part in sport. The youngsters were joined by Olympic rower Debbie Flood, GB Olympic trampoline hopeful Amanda Parker, LOCOG deputy chairman Sir Keith Mills and 1948 Surrey Olympic torchbearer Austin Playfoot. Helyn Clack, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Services and the 2012 Games, said: “Thousands of children created a slice of Olympic history right here in Surrey.

The children were beaming with excitement as they took to the sports field to create the giant London 2012 logo. “It’s going to be the most exciting year of sport this country has ever seen and events like this encourage more young people to get active. It may even inspire the next generation of Olympic and Paralympic athletes.”

Spectators also enjoyed a demonstration from Camberley Judo Club, a gymnastics spectacular by Collingwood College students and a display of 50 flags created by children from Surrey and across the world. The 2012 P&G Surrey School Games was organised by Surrey County Council to get more young people involved in sport. It has already seen more than 3,000 children take part in dozens of county-wide sport and art competitions. Last year, 1,900 people, mostly children, broke the world record for the largest human Olympic rings (to download the photo visit www.flickr.com/surreynews). Surrey is hosting the men’s and women’s Olympic cycling road race events on the opening weekend of the Games (28 and 29 July) and the Olympic road cycling time trials on 1 August.

The Arctic region is home to many unique, diverse and vulnerable ecosystems. But the enigmatic and once pristine Arctic environment is being increasingly affected by human activities. This thematic issue presents the latest research into the impacts of climate change and resource extraction on Arctic biodiversity and indigenous communities.

The timing of this special issue reflects the EU's growing engagement in the Arctic following the 2008 Communication 'The EU and the Arctic Region', the Council Conclusions of 2009 and the European Parliament's 2011 report on the High North. The forthcoming Joint Communication of the High Representative and the Commission, due in May 2012, will review recent progress and the next steps towards developing an EU policy towards the Arctic regions. Across the globe, the effects of climate change are becoming increasingly apparent. But nowhere has the effect been felt more strongly than in the Arctic. During the 20th century, land temperatures rose by an average of 1-2°C across the entire Arctic1, which is twice as fast as the average global temperature rise. Perhaps the most emblematic impact of climate change is the rapid loss of sea ice.

At the current rate of decline, the Arctic is expected to be ice-free in summer by 2040, and some experts believe that it could be much sooner.

The first article entitled "Declining sea ice threatens Arctic marine mammals" explores the consequences for marine mammals, such as whales, polar bears and seals, which depend on sea ice for feeding, shelter and breeding. Collaborating with Arctic communities may be one way to increase the number of marine mammal population studies, which have so far been limited by financial and logistical difficulties.

Loss of sea ice will also affect far less visible elements of the Arctic ecosystem. "Arctic microbes: Good or bad for mitigating climate change" describes the shift in community dynamics that is occurring within microbial populations deep within the ice. The ecological impact of climate change is increasingly evident in alterations to species migration patterns.

"Arctic birds migrate earlier under climate change" describes how migrating birds are arriving in the Arctic nearly half a day earlier each year in response to rising spring temperatures, which has significant implications for annual breeding cycles.

The different Arctic subzones are home to many native plant species, including wild flowers, shrubs, grasses, mosses and lichen. Some studies predict the trend towards longer and warmer summers will result in an overall "greening" of the Arctic. However, as the article "Reindeer are important in shaping Arctic plant communities" describes, individual species distribution depends on many factors, including the grazing and trampling habits of native reindeer, with the implication that reindeer grazing management strategies could be important in biodiversity protection measures.

Scientists predict that short-lived periods of extreme winter warming will become more frequent under climate change, during which temperatures can rise up to 10°C in 24 hours.

These warming events can cause physiological changes in some dominant shrub species, decreasing their freeze-tolerance and reducing growth and survival over time. This is discussed in the article "Extreme winter warming harms Arctic plant growth". As the articles "Polar and Atlantic cod share habitat, but not diet" and "Climate warming may enhance survival of polar cod" explain, the impact of climate change on native polar cod is uncertain.

Polar cod do not appear to be in competition for prey with Atlantic cod species, which have shifted their distribution northwards in search of cooler waters.

However, this may change if the populations continue to converge. On the other hand, warmer conditions in winter favour the growth and survival of polar cod hatchlings in a phenomenon known as the thermal refuge hypothesis.

The Arctic is very closely linked to global climate. Frozen sediment, known as permafrost, is beginning to thaw in response to rising temperatures, releasing vast amounts of methane into the atmosphere. Since methane is a far more potent GHG than CO2, the release of even a fraction of the 2000 billion tonnes2 stored in the permafrost could trigger a 'positive feedback' mechanism, dramatically accelerating the pace of climate change.

This is explained in more depth in "Arctic methane leak could cause abrupt climate warming". From a different global climate perspective, the Arctic is estimated to contain 30% of the world's undiscovered gas reserves and 13% of undiscovered oil. Dwindling supplies elsewhere and the fact that declining sea ice is making remote parts of the Arctic increasingly accessible means that many Arctic countries are looking to exploit their vast Arctic resources, despite commitments to reduce GHG emissions under the Kyoto Protocol (excluding the United States).

"Arctic exploration: How far and how fast?" explores the costs and risks of Arctic development and how pressure from scientists and environmental groups for sustainable development is shaping the industry.

The final article, "Reindeer herding: adapting to climate change in the Arctic" examines the impact of climate change and the expansion of industrial activities on the indigenous Arctic population. In response to declining reindeer numbers, a unique international initiative is helping native communities adapt to local environmental changes using state-of-the-art satellite observation equipment and working to increase indigenous participation in policy decisions.

Arctic environmental issues will continue to attract wide interest in the EU and elsewhere during 2012-13. Of particular importance is the International Polar Year conference in Montreal in April 2012, where key policy areas covered by this special issue will be discussed, including biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation, sustainable development and resource management.

Many of the articles covered in this issue are part of on-going research under the EU Arctic Tipping Points project.

Other important EU-funded projects focus on the contribution of continental ice melt to sea level rise (Ice2Sea), the effects of climate change on stratospheric ozone depletion (RECONCILE) and the probability of a reduction in the strength of the Meridional Overturning Circulation, the global conveyor belt system that transports heat around the globe and provides northern Europe with its characteristically mild climate (THOR).

 Measures designed to reduce levels of methane and black carbon in the atmosphere could help bring climate change under control more quickly than CO2 targeting measures alone, according to a new study.

The researchers also predict wider benefits for human health and food security from methane-targeted measures. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has examined options for keeping the global temperature increase to 2°C above preindustrial levels, based on measures to stabilise CO2 equivalent concentrations at 450 parts per million1. As well as CO2 focused approaches, international organisations, including the G8 Nations, are interested in climate mitigation measures that target air pollutants.

Methane is a more potent greenhouse gas (GHG) than CO2, so strongly influences climate change. The researchers looked for measures that could mitigate both air pollution and global warming.

They modelled the effects of 400 air pollution control measures on GHG emissions for 2030. After leaving out those measures that only reduced air pollution, they ranked the remainder by their potential climate impact. The top 14 of these measures accounted for 90% of the total potential emissions reductions, with seven targeted at methane and another seven targeted at black carbon. Methane-related measures included those that affect the coal mining, oil and gas production, and waste sectors. Black carbon arises from incomplete combustion, and measures to curb emissions include bans on burning agricultural waste, eliminating high-emitting vehicles, and encouraging modern cooking and heating.

Through climate simulations, the researchers revealed that implementing all 14 measures could have a more immediate impact on warming than the CO2 targeted measures outlined in the IEA’s plans. CO2 stays in the atmosphere for a long time, and action to reduce emissions would not start to have an impact on temperatures until around 2040. However, measures designed to reduce methane and black carbon could start to slow the temperature rise 10-20 years earlier. The researchers assumed a scenario in which only presently agreed policies affecting emissions are implemented. Under this, global temperatures would rise by nearly 3°C by 2070, whereas CO2 limiting measures, or the 14 methane and black carbon limiting measures, are predicted to keep the increase below 2.3°C until that time.

By combining CO2 land 14 methane and black carbon limiting measures the researchers predict that in 2070 the temperature increase would be below the 2°C target. Without the CO2 measures, however, the effects of methane and black carbon reductions would not prevent temperatures from rising steeply in the future. The study also examined the benefits of improved air quality for human health, agriculture and the global economy.

Methane is directly involved in reactions that produce ozone, a GHG that is also a main component in smog. Thus, methane reductions in particular would play a role in reducing crop losses caused by ozone, while the black carbon focused measures would have the greatest impact on human health by reducing particulates.

According to the simulations, the 14 measures identified could avoid up to five million premature deaths a year related to air pollution, and increase crop yields by up to 135 million metric tons. The economic value of the benefits associated with methane reductions would be worth around €818.35 per metric ton of methane.

Europe could struggle to meet the target set by the renewable energy sector of 25% of electricity produced by solar energy by 2040 because the supply of materials, including rare metals, needed to produce photovoltaics (PV) is unlikely to meet demand. Production rates need to be drastically improved, according to a new study.

Calculations based on available appropriate land, global irradiance and conversions of solar energy to electricity demonstrate that technically, solar energy could provide 7.5 to 9 times the expected electricity demand in 2050. However, several PV technologies employ rare metals, which could limit the capacity for electricity generation. [photo cleantechnica.com]

The new study looked at whether current global production of rare metals could support the huge increase in solar panels generation required to meet ambitious energy targets for 2040 laid out by the Europe an Renewable Energy Council (EREC)1. The scientists looked at the four main PV technologies: (i.) crystalline silicon (c-Si), (ii.) amorphous silicon (a-Si), (iii.) cadmium tellurium (CdTe) and (iv.) copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS). The scientists assumed that by 2040, each technology would have an equal market share of 25%.

This reflects the fact that although c-Si currently has the largest share (81%), a shift is already taking place towards the other technologies, which require a thinner layer of PV material. They simulated a ‘neutral’ future scenario, where moderate technological developments gradually improve the efficiency of electricity generation, in line with current policy expectations.

The results showed that the maximum demand for gallium and indium in tonnes per year for use in CIGS technology surpasses current production (2008) by a factor of 7.3 and 2.8, respectively. Even under an ‘optimistic’ future scenario, in which more ambitious technological advances in cell efficiency require less PV material, demand still outstrips current supply by a factor of 3.9 and 1.5, respectively.

Neither cadmium nor copper were found to be seriously limiting, even when the scientists simulated a ‘pessimistic’ scenario in which technological advances do not meet current expectations. However, the predicted demand for tellurium was found to be 30-180 times higher than today’s production rate, depending on the scenario used.

Although silicon is the second most abundant element in the earth’s crust, only very high purity silicon is used in the solar industry and production will need to increase by 15 times to meet demand in the neutral scenario and by 10 times in the optimistic scenario.

Even bigger shortages may result from competition with the electronics industry, which also uses high-purity silicon. On the other hand, amorphous silicon technology represents the only realistic option for large-scale electricity production since the cumulative demand by 2040 would equal just 20% of production.

The research shows that reaching solar power targets for 2040 will not necessarily be limited by known global reserves of silicon and rare metals, but that current production rates will be the limiting factor. Better refining techniques, increased exploitation of deposits and strategic planning of technological shifts are needed to satisfy the demand for PV materials. [photorenewableenergycredit]

This poses a challenge as tellurium, indium, gallium, selenium and cadmium are by-products of other processes and are not currently mined separately. New production methods are also likely to take up to 10 years to develop and so research should be initiated soon to meet the anticipated demand.

As the growth rate of new installations decreases, recycling PV material could drastically reduce the need for new materials. While nanomaterial technologies that increase cell efficiency even further are currently in development, they are not expected to be widely used by 2040, so they are not included in these scenarios and projections.