ICTA - Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals

The Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) is a multidisciplinary centre that promotes academic research and postgraduate education on environmental sciences. It aims to improve our understanding of global environmental change, and the nature and causes of environmental problems. In addition, it studies policies, strategies and technologies to foster a transition to a sustainable economic and societal model.

The ICTA-UAB addresses major global environmental and sustainability challenges related to anthropogenic climate and global change. Researchers at ICTA-UAB undertake advanced research in specific areas of environmental science, divided into three general areas, namely “Earth and life sciences”, “Social environmental sciences” and “Technology, environment and society”.

About the Unit of Excellence María de Maeztu ICTA-UAB is the only research centre in environmental sciences to be identified as a Unit of Excellence by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO), the highest institutional recognition of scientific research in Spain.

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2024-04-13
08:50
14 p, 1.6 MB A Simple, Low-Blank Batch Purification Method for High-Precision Boron Isotope Analysis / Trudgill, Molly (University of St. Andrews) ; Nuber, S. (National Taiwan University) ; Block, H. E. (University of St. Andrews) ; Crumpton-Banks, J. (University of St. Andrews) ; Jurikova, H. (University of St. Andrews) ; Littley, Eloise (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Shankle, Madison (University of St. Andrews) ; Xu, Chen (University of St. Andrews) ; Steele, R. C.J. (University of St. Andrews) ; Rae, James (University of St. Andrews)
Boron (B) isotopes are widely used in the Earth sciences to trace processes ranging from slab recycling in the mantle to changes in ocean pH and atmospheric CO2. Boron isotope analysis is increasingly achieved by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, which requires separation of B from the sample matrix. [...]
2024 - 10.1029/2023GC011350
Geochemistry, geophysics, geosystems, Vol. 25, Issue 3 (March 2024) , art. e2023GC011350  
2024-04-13
08:50
25 p, 1.5 MB The roles and dynamics of transition intermediaries in enabling sustainable public food procurement : insights from Spain / Gaitán-Cremaschi, Daniel (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Valbuena, Diego (Wageningen University) ; Klerkx, Laurens (Universidad de Talca. Departamento de Economía Agraria)
Sustainable Public Food Procurement (SPFP) is gaining recognition for its potential to improve the sustainability of food systems and promote healthier diets. However, SPFP faces various challenges, including coordination issues, actor dynamics, infrastructure limitations, unsustainable habits, and institutional resistance, among others. [...]
2024 - 10.1007/s10460-024-10562-7
Agriculture and Human Values, Vol. 41 (2024)  
2024-04-13
08:50
10 p, 1.2 MB The intersection of justice and urban greening : Future directions and opportunities for research and practice / Derickson, Kate (University of Minnesota. Department of Geography, Environment and Society) ; Walker, Rebecca (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Department of Urban and Regional Planning) ; Hamann, Maike (University of Exeter. Centre for Geography and Environmental Science) ; Anderson, Pippin (University of Cape Town. Department of Environmental and Geographical Science) ; Adegun, Olumuyiwa Bayode (Federal University of Technology. Department of Architecture (Nigeria)) ; Castillo-Castillo, Adriana (University of Minnesota) ; Guerry, Anne (University of Washington. School of Environmental and Forest Sciences) ; Keeler, Bonnie (University of Minnesota. Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs) ; Llewellyn, Liz (University of Cape Town. Department of Environmental and Geographical Science) ; Matheney, Austin (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Mogosetsi-Gabriel, Nontsikelelo (Stellenbosch University. Centre for Sustainability Transitions) ; Mundoli, Seema (Azim Premji University) ; Pahwa Gajjar, Sumetee (PlanAdapt (South Africa)) ; Sitas, Nadia (Stellenbosch University. Centre for Sustainability Transitions) ; Xie, Linjun (University of Nottingham Ningbo. Department of Architecture and Built Environment)
The global uptake of green infrastructure in urban settings holds considerable promise for fostering both social and ecological benefits. Recognizing the imperative to ensure equitable distribution of these advantages, this paper draws on the rich traditions of justice considerations within urban studies to inform research on urban greening. [...]
2024 - 10.1016/j.ufug.2024.128279
Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, Vol. 95 (May 2024) , art. 128279  
2024-04-13
08:50
Testing mechanisms through which China's ETS promotes a low-carbon transition / Liu, Feng (China University of Mining and Technology. School of Economics and Management) ; van den Bergh, Jeroen C. J. M. (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Wei, Yihang (China University of Mining and Technology. School of Economics and Management)
China regards an emission trading scheme (ETS) as the most promising approach for reducing its carbon dioxide emissions. However, there are still disagreements about the effectiveness of China's ETS (CETS). [...]
2024 - 10.1016/j.eneco.2024.107494
Energy Economics, Vol. 132 (April 2024) , art. 107494  
2024-04-11
05:49
Circular Economy Principles in Urban Agri-Food Systems : Potentials and Implications for Environmental Sustainability / Rufí Salís, Martí (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Toboso-Chavero, Susana (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Rieradevall, Joan (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Talens Peiró, Laura (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Petit Boix, Anna (University of Freiburg. Chair of Societal Transition and Circular Economy) ; Villalba, Gara (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Madrid, Cristina (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Gabarrell Durany, Xavier (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament d'Enginyeria Química, Biològica i Ambiental
Due to urban population growth during recent decades, the food supply chain has become one of the key material flows in the metabolism of cities. Urban agriculture (UA) can be an alternative for mitigating food supply impacts. [...]
Springer Cham, 2024 (Greening of Industry Networks Studies ; 12) - 10.1007/978-3-031-55036-2_10
A Systemic Transition to Circular Economy. Business and Technology Perspectives, 2024, p. 187-205  
2024-04-11
05:49
1.4 MB Undoing the lock-in of suburban sprawl : Towards an integrated modelling of materials and emissions in buildings and vehicles / Pérez-Sánchez, Laura (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Fishman, Tomer (Leiden University. Institute of Environmental Sciences) ; Behrens, Paul (Leiden University. Institute of Environmental Sciences)
Suburban sprawl emerged during the 20th century alongside the widespread ownership of cars. This type of low-density housing generates enduring car dependency due to the long lifetimes of buildings. [...]
2024 - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.141954
Journal of cleaner production, Vol. 451 (April 2024), art. 141954  
2024-04-06
09:32
22 p, 1.6 MB Causes, consequences and health impacts of gentrification in the Global North : a conceptual framework / Cole, Helen (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Vásquez-Vera, Hugo (Pan American Health Organization. Department of Social and Environmental Determinants for Health Equity) ; Triguero-Mas, Margarita (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Fernández Sánchez, Anna (Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona) ; Oliveras, Laura (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau) ; Carrere, Juli (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau) ; Jacques Aviñó, Constanza (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) ; Mehdipanah, Roshanak (University of Michigan. School of Public Health)
We aimed to create a theoretical framework to understand how neighborhood gentrification may impact urban health and health equity, taking into account perspectives and evidence from multiple disciplines. [...]
2024 - 10.1007/s10901-023-10086-2
Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, (March 2024)  
2024-03-21
05:30
13 p, 2.0 MB Pathways to 15-Minute City adoption : can our understanding of climate policies' acceptability explain the backlash towards x-minute city programs? / Marquet Sardà, Oriol (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Mojica, Laia (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Geografia) ; Fernández Núñez, Marta Beatriz (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Geografia) ; Maciejewska, Monika Wiktoria (Vrije Universiteit Brussels. Cosmopolis Centre for Urban Research)
In recent months, 15-min city policies have faced significant backlash across social media, in opinion pieces, and even through street demonstrations, casting doubt on the future of x-minute city policies as effective tools in the fight against climate change. [...]
2024 - 10.1016/j.cities.2024.104878
Cities, Vol. 148 (May 2024) , art. 104878  
2024-03-21
05:30
24 p, 16.2 MB Assimilating Sentinel-2 data in a modified vegetation photosynthesis and respiration model (VPRM) to improve the simulation of croplands CO2 fluxes in Europe / Bazzi, Hassan (Université Paris-Saclay) ; Ciais, Philippe (Université Paris-Saclay) ; Abbessi, Ezzeddine (Université Paris-Saclay) ; Makowski, David (Université Paris-Saclay) ; Santaren, Diego (Université Paris-Saclay) ; Ceschia, Eric (Université de Toulouse) ; Brut, Aurore (Université de Toulouse) ; Tallec, Tiphaine (Université de Toulouse) ; Buchmann, Nina (ETH Zurich) ; Maier, Regine (ETH Zurich) ; Acosta, Manuel (Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic) ; Loubet, Benjamin (Université Paris-Saclay) ; Buysse, Pauline (Université Paris-Saclay) ; Léonard, Joël (Université de Liège) ; Bornet, Frédéric (Université de Liège) ; Fayad, Ibrahim (Université Paris-Saclay) ; Lian, Jinghui (Université Paris-Saclay) ; Baghdadi, Nicolas (Université de Montpellier) ; Segura Barrero, Ricard (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals) ; Brümmer, Christian (Thünen Institute of Climate-Smart Agriculture) ; Schmidt, Marius (Jülich Research Centre) ; Heinesch, Bernard (BioDynE research axis) ; Mauder, Matthias (Technische Universität Dresden) ; Gruenwald, Thomas (Technische Universität Dresden)
In Europe, the heterogeneous features of crop systems with majority of small to medium sized agricultural holdings, and diversity of crop rotations, require high-resolution information to estimate cropland Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) and its two main components of Gross Ecosystem Exchange (GEE) and the Ecosystem Respiration (RECO). [...]
2024 - 10.1016/j.jag.2024.103666
International journal of applied earth observation and geoinformation, Vol. 127 (March 2024) , art. 103666  
2024-03-21
05:30
11 p, 2.5 MB The role of farming and fishing in the rise of social complexity in the Central Andes : a stable isotope perspective / Pezo-Lanfranco, Luis (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Prehistòria) ; Colonese, Andre Carlo (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
For many years, the rise of stratified societies along the Central Andean coast, known as the birthplace of Andean civilization, has been closely linked to a marine-oriented economy. This hypothesis has recently been challenged by increasing evidence of plant management and cultivation among Andean populations long before the emergence of complex societies and monumental architecture. [...]
2024 - 10.1038/s41598-024-55436-4
Scientific reports, Vol. 14 (February 2024) , art. 4582  
Focus on:
The Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability (39)
Environmental and Climate Economics (ECE) (74)
Integrated Assessment: Sociology, Technology and the Environment (IASTE) (63)
Integrated Earth System Dynamics Laboratory (IESD) (27)
Observatori de la Tordera (15)
Sustainability and Environmental Protection (Sostenipra) (117)