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A global background monitoring network for making estimates of pollutant levels and estimates of compounds that have natural as well as man-made reference levels is being developed. This program is being developed through use of a multimedia systems approach. This paper will deal with the design of the project, a description of the current pilot project, and a discussion of the future implementation of the entire global project. Emphasis will be on the value of the use of a systems approach in designing and evaluating an environmental monitoring program on a global scale.

As early as 1968, WMO decided to start a programme on atmospheric pollution. Consequently, a Panel of Experts on Meteorological Aspects of Atmospheric Pollution was established. It was also decided to operate a network of background air pollution monitoring stations. With increasing public concern on environmental pollution impacts, a growing number of WMO Members joined the programme. The Environmental Pollution Monitoring and Research Programme, as well as the World Climate Programme launched in the late seventies, will provide information on a possible influence of pollution on climate. When the network of background ait pollution monitoring started, some Members had already proposed to carry out multimedia monitoring at suitable stations. Later on, it became obvious that more information is required on levels and trends of pollutants in media interacting with the atmosphere and a project on integrated monitoring was established, the purpose of which is to define the objectives and uses of integrated monitoring and to establish procedures for routine standardized integrated monitoring of the of the environment. Pilot projects presently being carried out in a few Member countries are meant to provide most of the information required for the implementation of global background integrated environmental monitorting.

Current platforms for in vitro drug development utilize confluent, unorganized monolayers of heart cells to study the effect on action potential propagation. However, standard cell cultures are of limited use in cardiac research, as they do not preserve important structural and functional properties of the myocardium. Here we present a method to integrate a scaffolding technology with multi-electrode arrays and deliver a compact, off-the-shelf monitoring platform for growing biomimetic cardiac tissue. Our approach produces anisotropic cultures with conduction velocity (CV) profiles that closer resemble native heart tissue; the fastest impulse propagation is along the long axis of the aligned cardiomyocytes (CVL) and the slowest propagation is perpendicular (CVT), in contrast to standard cultures where action potential propagates isotropically (CVL ≈ CVT). The corresponding anisotropy velocity ratios (CVL/CVT = 1.38 – 2.22) are comparable with values for healthy adult rat ventricles (1.98 – 3.63). The main advantages of this approach are that (i) it provides ultimate pattern control, (ii) it is compatible with automated manufacturing steps and (iii) it is utilized through standard cell culturing protocols. Our platform is compatible with existing read-out equipment and comprises a prompt method for more reliable CV studies.

Ecosystem greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (CO2, CH4, and N2O) represent a major driver of global environmental change (IPCC, 2014). While there exists an emerging understanding on the net exchange of CO2 across terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems due in part to the existence of large measurement and modeling networks (Baldocchi et al., 2001; Friend et al., 2007; Raymond et al., 2013; Tranvik et al., 2009), similar information on the biosphere–atmosphere exchange of non-CO2 greenhouse gases (i.e., CH4 and N2O) is sparsely available in comparison. To date, a strong focus has been given to so-called high-emission ecosystems, such as wetlands, rivers and lakes, rice cultivations and ruminants for CH4 (Nisbet et al., 2014) and agricultural ecosystems for N2O emissions (Butterbach-Bahl et al., 2013; Sutton et al., 2007). Even though CO2, CH4, and N2O emissions have been increasing during the last century, a combined quantification of the exchange of these three major greenhouse gases from a wide range of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems is still missing. Therefore, approaches to develop full greenhouse gas monitoring networks, as currently undertaken in larger environmental research infrastructures such as ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observation System) and NEON (National Ecological Observation Network), are highly valuable.

In high risk, coastal, urban areas, cliff stability monitoring is an essential task for human activities. This paper presents the implementation of an integrated monitoring system at the Coroglio tuff cliff, located in the highly urbanized coastal area of Naples (Italy) on the border of the active volcanic caldera of Campi Flegrei. The system consists of standard geotechnical monitoring instruments (crackmeters and clinometers) coupled with a modern deformation monitoring technique based on Brillouin Optical Time-Domain Analysis (BOTDA) optical fiber network, integrated by a velocimetry sensor and a weather station. Remote sensing equipment like UAV digital photogrammetry (UAV-DP) and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) have been also used for obtaining detailed multitemporal DTM of the cliff, as well as geostructural analysis and classification of the slope, supported by structural fieldwork. In the first phase of the study, we integrated the results of long-range TLS surveys with structural field mapping. The accurate and rapid detection of structural discontinuities of the rock played an important role for the understanding of the failure mechanism and the kinematic analysis of unstable blocks along the cliff. The preliminary results obtained during the first two year of monitoring activity (2014-2015) are presented. Micro-deformation of rocks measured by geotechnical sensors reveals a general sinusoidal trend, possibly linked to the bulk volume variation of the rocks, as a response to seasonal and daily temperature variations. This research provides a contribute to the understanding of the rates of geomorphic evolution of coastal tuff cliff and its relation with forcing factors (e.g. meteo-marine weathering, human actions, volcano-tectonic activity) in the perspective of early-warning actions and policies.

Since 1987 the Region of Tuscany has been actively monitoring crown status in its forests, in order to protect them from atmospheric pollution, biotic factors and environmental change. Over this period the Region has performed periodical inventories on crown condition in publicly-owned forests (Level I network) and established a network of permanent plots (MON.I.TO., Level II – III) to study long-term changes occurring in forest ecosystems. Some of these permanent plots were later included in the national programme CONECOFOR, managed by the Ministry for Policy in Agriculture and Forest. Currently a further development of MON.I.TO. is being implemented, called MONITO III – TOpModel, the aim of which is to broaden the information potential of the monitoring system to include carbon stocks and biodiversity evaluation. This paper provides an up-to-date report on the status of the various surveys and recommends a closer connection between MON.I.TO. and the other regional information systems, especially the Regional Forest Inventory, in order to produce information that may be useful in forest planning and in Sustainable Forest Management.

During surgical operations, the well being of the patient is the responsibility of the anaesthetist, while the surgeon performs the actual operation. The anaesthetist therefore monitors the patient's vital signs during the operation and hence deduces his state at any particular instant. The anaesthetist must also note these vital signs to include in a report on the operation used in post-operative care, and also possibly in court in case of mishap.