The role of international environmental instruments in enhancing transboundary marine protected areas: An approach in East Africa

The increasing degradation of marine ecosystems has led to multiple calls for greater protection through the establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs). If created at the ecosystem or ecoregion level, MPAs will likely straddle maritime boundaries and therefore necessitate international cooperation. International environmental law and international law of the sea may facilitate cooperation between States in creating transboundary MPAs. The extent to which this body of law is actually or potentially useful for the establishment of transboundary MPAs is examined in the context of the East African Marine Ecoregion, focusing on Mozambique, South Africa, and Tanzania. A general survey and assessment of the applicable global, regional, and bilateral instruments in relation to the three States is conducted. Although some global instruments are relevant in the East African context, regional and bilateral instruments are more conducive to the establishment of transboundary MPAs. The article concludes that although a trilateral agreement between Mozambique, South Africa, and Tanzania would be an ideal vehicle for the establishment of a transboundary network of MPAs addressing both national and ecoregional conservation interests, a separate solution at each border will be the first step towards this goal.     

Carbon and nitrogen utilization in two species of Red Sea corals along a depth gradient: Insights from stable isotope analysis of total organic material and lipids

We examined the utilization of carbon and nitrogen in two common Red Sea coral species (Stylophora pistillata and Favia favus), differing in colony morphology and polyp size, along a depth gradient down to 60 m. We describe the changes in C/N ratios and in the stable isotope composition of carbon and nitrogen of coral’s tissue and algal symbionts. We also measured the carbon isotopic composition of the lipid fraction extracted from both coral tissue and algal symbionts in order to reveal the changes in the carbon source utilized by the host coral for lipid synthesis.The results show that for both species, δ¹³C decreases by 7–8‰ in animal tissue, algal symbionts and in the lipid fractions as depth increases. However, in contrast to previous reports, the difference between δ¹³C values of coral tissue and algal symbionts does not increase with depth. δ¹⁵N values of coral tissue and algal symbionts in both species do not correlate with depth suggesting that the heterotrophic capacity of these corals does not increase with depth. δ¹³C values of tissue lipids were depleted by an average of 3.5‰ compared to δ¹³C of the entire tissue at all depths. δ¹³C values of algal lipids were depleted by an average of 2‰ compared to δ¹³C of the entire zooxanthellae at all depths, indicating high efficiency of carbon recycling between the two symbiotic partners along the entire gradient. The depletion of lipids is attributed to the fractionation mechanism during lipid synthesis. In addition, for both species, δ¹³C values of algal lipids were enriched compared with δ¹³C of tissue lipids. In S. pistillata, the difference between δ¹³C values of tissue lipids and algal lipids increased linearly with depth, indicating a change in the sources of carbon utilized by the coral for lipid synthesis below 20 m from an autotrophic to a heterotrophic source. However, in F. favus, this average difference was 4 times larger compared to shallow S. pistillata and was constant along the entire depth gradient, suggesting that F. favus uses heterotrophically-acquired carbon for lipid synthesis regardless of depth. Overall, F. favus exhibited enriched δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values compared to S. pistillata along the entire gradient. We attribute these differences to both morphological differences (i.e. colony morphology, tissue thickness and polyp size) between the two species and to a higher heterotrophy/autotrophy ratio in F. favus at all depths. The C/N ratio in S. pistillata tissue decreased with increasing water depth whereas in F. favus it remained constant. This reflects a higher heterotrophic capacity in the large polyped F. favus, at all depths.     

Identification of heterogeneous aquifer transmissivity using an AE-based method

Determination of hydraulic head, H, as a function of spatial coordinates and time, in ground water flow is the basis for aquifer management and for prediction of contaminant transport. Several computer codes are available for this purpose. Spatial distribution of the transmissivity, T(x,y), is a required input to these codes. In most aquifers, T varies in an erratic manner, and it can be characterized statistically in terms of a few moments: the expected value, the variance, and the variogram. Knowledge of these moments, combined with a few measurements, permits one to estimate T at any point using geostatistical methods. In a review of transmissivity data from 19 unconsolidated aquifers, Hoeksema and Kitanidis (1985) identified two types of the logtransmissivity Y= ln(T) variations: correlated variations with variance sigma2Yc and correlation scale, I(Y), on the order of kilometers, and uncorrelated variations with variance sigma2Yn. Direct identification of the logtransmissivity variogram, Gamma(Y), from measurements is difficult because T data are generally scarce. However, many head measurements are commonly available. The aim of the paper is to introduce a methodology to identify the transmissivity variogram parameters (sigma2Yc, I(Y), and sigma2Yn) using head data in formations characterized by large logtransmissivity variance. The identification methodology uses a combination of precise numerical simulations (carried out using analytic element method) and a theoretical model. The main objective is to demonstrate the application of the methodology to a regional ground water flow in Eagle Valley basin in west-central Nevada for which abundant transmissivity and head measurements are available.     

State-of-the art and future of earthquake early warning in the European region

European researchers and seismic networks are active in developing new approaches to earthquake early warning (EEW), implementing and operating test EEW systems, and in some cases, offering operational EEW to end users. We present the key recent developments in EEW research in Europe, describe the networks and regions where EEW is currently in testing or development, and highlight the two systems in Turkey and Romania that currently provide operational systems to a limited set of end users.     

A biogenic-silica δO record of climatic change during the last glacial–interglacial transition in southwestern Alaska

Despite growing evidence for environmental oscillations during the last glacial–interglacial transition from high latitude, terrestrial sites of the North Pacific rim, oxygen-isotopic records of these oscillations remain sparse. The lack of data is due partially to the paucity of lakes that contain carbonate sediment suitable for oxygen-isotopic analysis. We report here the first record of oxygen-isotopic composition in diatom silica (δ¹⁸O_Si) from a lake in that region. δ¹⁸O_Si increases gradually from 19.0 to 23.5‰ between 12,340 and 11,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P., reflecting marked climatic warming at the end of the last glaciation. Around 11,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P., δ¹⁸O_Si decreases by 1.7‰, suggesting a temperature decrease of 3.5–8.9 °C at the onset of the Younger Dryas (YD) in southwestern Alaska. Climatic recovery began ca. 10,740 ¹⁴C yr B.P., as inferred from the increase of δ¹⁸O_Si to a maximum of 23.9‰ near the end of the YD. Our data reveal that a YD climatic reversal in southwestern coastal areas of Alaska occurred, but the YD climate did not return to full-glacial conditions.     

Geodynamic implications of deep mantle upwelling in the source of Tertiary volcanics from the Veneto region (South-Eastern Alps)

Major and trace element and Sr–Nd–Hf–Pb isotopic data for the most primitive Tertiary lavas from the Veneto region (South-Eastern Alps, Italy) show the typical features of HIMU hotspot volcanism, variably diluted by a depleted asthenospheric mantle component (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_i=0.70306–0.70378; _Ndi=+3.9 to +6.8; _Hfi=+6.4 to +8.1, ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb_i=18.786–19.574). P-wave seismic tomography of the mantle below the Veneto region shows the presence of low-velocity anomalies at depth, which is consistent with possible upwellings of plume material. Between the depths of 100–250 km the velocity anomalies are approximately 2–2.5% slower than average, implying a temperature excess of about 220–280 K, in agreement with estimates for other mantle plumes in the world. In this context, the Veneto volcanics may represent the shallow expression of a mantle upflow. The presence of a HIMU-DM component in a collision environment has significant geodynamic implications. Slab detachment and ensuing rise of deep mantle material into the lithospheric gap is proposed to be a viable mechanism of hotspot magmatism in a subduction zone setting.     

Ground viscosity and stiffness measurements for near surface seismic velocity

In land surveys, the weathering layer can often distort the seismic signal due to it passing through rapid velocity and density changes, dispersion, scattering and inelastic absorption. In a simple spring‐dashpot model for the earth response, an equivalent medium groups these complex phenomena into two parameters only; these are called ground viscosity and ground stiffness. The most recent controllers for vibrators can estimate both parameters. To validate these measurements, Saudi Aramco conducted an experiment measuring ground viscosity and stiffness from two different vibrator control systems over an area of varying terrain conditions, including unconsolidated sand and limestone outcrop. The two systems measured different values, but detected similar trends that correlated well with weathering conditions and surface geology, e.g. lower viscosity values on the outcrop than on the sand. The ratio of ground viscosity to ground stiffness can approximate the shallow S‐wave velocity, which we converted into P‐wave velocity through calibration with sparse uphole data. Static corrections incorporating this velocity information somewhat improved the focusing of seismic time sections. This new approach does not require additional acquisition efforts, and can model shallow complex formations in arid areas where classical static methods often fail.     

XMM-Newton observations of the isolated neutron star 1RXS J214303.7+065419/RBS1774

We report XMM-Newton observations of the isolated neutron star RBS1774 and confirm its membership as an XDINS. The X-ray spectrum is best fit with an absorbed blackbody with temperature kT=101 eV and absorption edge at 0.7 keV. No power law component is required. An absorption feature in the RGS data at 0.4 keV is not evident in the EPIC data, but it is not possible to resolve this inconsistency. The star is not seen in the UV OM data to m _AB ∼21. There is a sinusoidal variation in the X-ray flux at a period of 9.437 s with an amplitude of 4%. The age as determined from cooling and magnetic field decay arguments is 10⁵–10⁶ yr for a neutron star mass of 1.35–1.5 M_⊙.      

The role of constraints on joint hypocentre determination in seismotectonic studies

In this paper we show how the performance of the joint hypocentre determination (JHD) method can be improved, leading to reduced instability in cases close to singularity. The method has been extended by imposing a number of constraints introduced by other authors, and adding a new one. We tested the stability of the method and the relative advantages of the various constraints by simulating a geometrical space distribution of hypocentres recorded by a regional seismic network. We then applied this method to deep earthquakes that occurred in the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea subduction zone and to the seismicity of the Northern Apennines, which is moderately deeper than the typical shallow seismicity of the Apennines. The results obtained from the analysis of synthetic data and actual earthquakes confirm that the JHD method produces less scatter in the hypocentral determinations with respect to the standard locations. The main conclusion of our study is that we can significantly reduce the systematic mislocations that result from applying JHD to very clustered seismicity if we introduce the appropriate set of constraints.     

New chelid turtles of the lower section of the Cerro Barcino formation (Aptian-Albian?), Patagonia, Argentina

A new chelid species (Prochelidella cerrobarcinae nov. sp.) are described from the Aptian-Albian? Puesto La Paloma Member, Cerro Barcino Formation, northern of Chubut Province, Argentina. The basal section of this member, which bears the turtle remains, is composed of tuffaceous mudstones with plane parallel lamination, asymmetrical ripples and a chert intercalation suggesting sub-aqueous deposition in a relatively shallow lacustrine environment. Pr. cerrobarcinae nov. sp. is represented by post-cranial remains of several specimens that not only represents the oldest pleurodiran chelid record in the world but, together with the chelid remains of Albian Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia, indicates that chelid diversification began well before the final fragmentation of southern Gondwana.