Mercury speciation in surface and deep waters of the Mediterranean Sea

Mercury speciation and its distribution in surface and deep waters of the Mediterranean Sea were studied during two oceanographic cruises on board the Italian research vessel URANIA in summer 2003 and spring 2004 as part of the Med Oceaneor and MERCYMS projects. The study included deep water profiles of dissolved gaseous Hg (DGM), reactive Hg (RHg), total Hg (THg), monomethyl Hg (MeHg) and dimethyl Hg (DMeHg) in open ocean waters. Average concentrations of measured Hg species were characterized by seasonal and spatial variations. Overall average THg concentrations ranged between 0.41 and 2.65 pM (1.32 ± 0.48 pM) and were comparable to those obtained in previous studies of the Mediterranean Sea. A significant fraction of Hg was present as “reactive” Hg (average 0.33 ± 0.32 pM). Dissolved gaseous Hg (DGM), which consists mainly of Hg⁰, represents a considerable proportion of THg (average 20%, 0.23 ± 0.11 pM). The portion of DGM typically increased towards the bottom, especially in areas with strong tectonic activity (Alboran Sea, Strait of Sicily, Tyrrhenian Sea), indicating its geotectonic origin. No dimethyl Hg was found in surface waters down to the depth of 40 m. Below this depth, its average concentration was 2.67 ± 2.9 fM. Dissolved fractions of total Hg and MeHg were measured in filtered water samples and were 0.68 ± 0.43 pM and 0.29 ± 0.17 pM for THg and MeHg respectively. The fraction of Hg as MeHg was in average 43%, which is relatively high compared to other ocean environments. The concentrations reported in this study are among the lowest found in marine environments and the quality of analytical methods are of key importance. Speciation of Hg in sea water is of crucial importance as THg concentrations alone do not give adequate data for understanding Hg sources and cycling in marine environments. For example, photoinduced transformations are important for the presence of reactive and elemental mercury in the surface layers, biologically mediated reactions are important for the production/degradation of MeHg and DGM in the photic zones of the water column, and the data for DGM in deep sea indicate the natural sources of Hg in geotectonicaly active areas of the Mediterranean Sea.     

Modeling Urban Land Use Changes Using Support Vector Machines

Support Vector Machines (SVM) is a machine learning (ML) algorithm commonly applied to the classification of remotely sensing data and more recently for modeling land use changes. However, in most geospatial applications the current literature does not elaborate on specifications of the SVM method with respect to data sampling, attribute selection and optimal parameters choices. Therefore the main objective of this study is to present and investigate the SVM technique for modeling urban land use change. The SVM model building procedure is presented together with the detailed evaluation of the output results with respect to the choice of datasets, attributes and the change of SVM parameters. Geospatial datasets containing nine land use classes and spatial attributes for the Municipality of Zemun, Republic of Serbia were used for years 2001, 2003, 2007 and 2011. The Correlation‐based Feature Subset method, kappa coefficient, Area Under Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUC) and kappa simulation were used to perform the model evaluation and compare the model outputs with the real land use datasets. The obtained results indicate that the SVM‐based models perform better when implementing balanced data sampling, reduced data sets to informative subsets of attributes and properly identify the optimal learning parameters.     

The Present, Past, and Future Contributions to Global Warming of CO2 Emissions from Fuels

The objective of this paper is to emphasize theresponsibility of developed countries to implement the Climate Convention, as well as the role ofdeveloping countries in CO₂ emissions controlwhile sustaining their rights to increase energyconsumption per capita during the development process. Itis shown that the growth in CO₂$ emissions fromfossil fuel consumption in North America, excludingMexico, from 1990 to 1996 was 3.7 times higherthan that of Latin America in absolute terms. Thecumulative contribution to global warming, expressedas the mass of the gas multiplied by time (GtCy), can becalculated as the integration of the atmosphericconcentration of the emitted gas along time, witha weight function in the integrand to simulate theclimate response. To simulate climate response,we used the superposition of exponential decay functions with different decay constants. Thehistorical contributions of the OECD countries,the Eastern European countries and theex-Soviet Union, and from all developingcountries are considered. The future contributionsare computed in three scenarios. All of them showthat emissions from Non-Annex I countrieswill become higher than those of Annex I countriessoon after 2010, while the curves of atmosphericconcentration will cross one another later, not muchbefore 2050, and the respective contributions toglobal temperature increase will cross about 2090.     

Projected changes in the physical climate of the Gulf Coast and Caribbean

As the global climate warms due to increasing greenhouse gases, the regional climate of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean region will also change. This study presents the latest estimates of the expected changes in temperature, precipitation, tropical cyclone activity, and sea level. Changes in temperature and precipitation are derived from climate model simulations produced for the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR4), by comparing projections for the mid- and late-21st century to the late 20th century and assuming a “middle-of-the-road” scenario for future greenhouse gas emissions. Regional simulations from the North America Regional Climate Change Program (NARCCAP) are used to corroborate the IPCC AR4 rainfall projections over the US portion of the domain. Changes in tropical cyclones and sea level are more uncertain, and our understanding of these variables has changed more since IPCC AR4 than in the case of temperature and precipitation. For these quantities, the current state of knowledge is described based on the recent peer-reviewed literature.     

Jacques Bertin’s legacy in information visualization and the reorderable matrix

ABSTRACT

Jacques Bertin’s legacy extends beyond the domain of cartography, and in particular to the field of information visualization where he continues to inspire researchers and practitioners. Although in the late twentieth century his books were out of print, their reedition around 2010 has steered a renewed interest and inspired new generations of researchers to reinterpret the principles of Semiology of Graphics and La Graphique in a time of interactive computers. In particular, the work of Jacques Bertin on the reorderable matrix has been very challenging in his time, and the quest to its automation has not been satisfactory to him. This article summarizes Bertin’s approach to the reorderable matrix, underlines the limitations of fully automated reordering methods, and introduces Bertifier, a hybrid system to reorder matrices using a combination of machine assistance and human control.     

Bayesian networks and agent-based modeling approach for urban land-use and population density change: a BNAS model

Land-use change models grounded in complexity theory such as agent-based models (ABMs) are increasingly being used to examine evolving urban systems. The objective of this study is to develop a spatial model that simulates land-use change under the influence of human land-use choice behavior. This is achieved by integrating the key physical and social drivers of land-use change using Bayesian networks (BNs) coupled with agent-based modeling. The BNAS model, integrated Bayesian network–based agent system, presented in this study uses geographic information systems, ABMs, BNs, and influence diagram principles to model population change on an irregular spatial structure. The model is parameterized with historical data and then used to simulate 20 years of future population and land-use change for the City of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. The simulation results identify feasible new urban areas for development around the main transportation corridors. The obtained new development areas and the projected population trajectories with the“what-if” scenario capabilities can provide insights into urban planners for better and more informed land-use policy or decision-making processes.     

Cognate clinopyroxene from Paleogene mantle xenolith-bearing basanite lavas (East Serbia, SE Europe): the role of dissolution of mantle orthopyroxene

The study focuses on clinopyroxene from mantle xenolith-bearing East Serbian basanites and suggests that dissolution of mantle orthopyroxene played an important role in at least some stages of the crystallization of these alkaline magmas. Five compositional types of clinopyroxene are distinguished, some of them having different textural forms: megacrysts (Type-A), green/colourless-cored phenocrysts (Type-B), overgrowths and sieve-textured cores (Type-C), rims and matrix clinopyroxene (Type-D), and clinopyroxene from the reaction rims around orthopyroxene xenocrysts (Type-E). Type-A is high-Al diopside that probably crystallized at near-liquidus conditions either directly from the host basanite or from compositionally similar magmas in previous magmatic episodes. Type-B cores show high ^VIAl/^IVAl≥1 and low Mg# of mostly <75 and are interpreted as typical xenocrysts. Type-C, D and E are interpreted as typical cognate clinopyroxene. Type-D has Mg#<78, Al₂O₃?=?6–13?wt.%, TiO₂?=?1.5–4.5?wt.%, and Na₂O?=?0.4–0.8?wt.% and compositionally similar clinopyroxene is calculated by MELTS as a phase in equilibrium with the last 30?% of melt starting from the average host lava composition. Type-C has Mg#?=?72–89, Al₂O₃?=?4.5–9.5?wt.%, TiO₂?=?1–2.5?wt.%, Na₂O?=?0.35–1?wt.% and Cr₂O₃?=?0.1–1.5?wt.%. This clinopyroxene has some compositional similarities to Type-E occurring exclusively around mantle orthopyroxene. Cr/Al vs Al/Ti and Cr/Al vs Na/Ti plots revealed that Type-C clinopyroxene can crystallize from a mixture of the host basanite magma and 2–20?wt.% mantle orthopyroxene. Sieve-textured Type-C crystals show characteristics of experimentally produced skeletal clinopyroxene formed by orthopyroxene dissolution suggesting that crystallization of Type-C was both texturally and compositionally controlled by orthopyroxene breakdown. According to FeO/MgO^cpx/melt modelling the first clinopyroxene precipitating from the host basanite was Type-A (T?~?1250?°C, p?~?1.5?GPa). Dissolution of orthopyroxene produced decreasing FeO/MgO^melt and crystallization of Type-E and sieve-textured Type-C clinopyroxene (0.3–0.8?GPa and 1200–1050?°C). The melt composition gradually shifted towards higher FeO/MgO^melt ratios precipitating more evolved Type-C and Type-D approaching near-solidus conditions (<0.3?GPa; ~950?°C).     

NEAT approach for testing and validation of geospatial network agent-based model processes: case study of influenza spread

ABSTRACT

Agent-based models (ABM) are used to represent a variety of complex systems by simulating the local interactions between system components from which observable spatial patterns at the system-level emerge. Thus, the degree to which these interactions are represented correctly must be evaluated. Networks can be used to discretely represent and quantify interactions between system components and the emergent system structure. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to develop and implement a novel validation approach called the NEtworks for ABM Testing (NEAT) that integrates geographic information science, ABM approaches, and spatial network representations to simulate complex systems as measurable and dynamic spatial networks. The simulated spatial network structures are measured using graph theory and compared with empirical regularities of observed real networks. The approach is implemented to validate a theoretical ABM representing the spread of influenza in the City of Vancouver, Canada. Results demonstrate that the NEAT approach can validate whether the internal model processes are represented realistically, thus better enabling the use of ABMs in decision-making processes.