Attribution of long-term changes in peak river flows in Great Britain

ABSTRACT

We investigate the evidence for changes in the magnitude of peak river flows in Great Britain. We focus on a set of 117 near-natural “benchmark” catchments to detect trends not driven by land use and other human impacts, and aim to attribute trends in peak river flows to some climate indices such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the East Atlantic (EA) index. We propose modelling all stations together in a Bayesian multilevel framework to be better able to detect any signal that is present in the data by pooling information across several stations. This approach leads to the detection of a clear countrywide time trend. Additionally, in a univariate approach, both the EA and NAO indices appear to have a considerable association with peak river flows. When a multivariate approach is taken to unmask the collinearity between climate indices and time, the association between NAO and peak flows disappears, while the association with EA remains clear. This demonstrates the usefulness of a multivariate and multilevel approach when it comes to accurately attributing trends in peak river flows.     

Database of geo-hydrological disasters for civil protection purposes

This paper presents the results of a research concerning available historical information about natural hazards (landslides and floods) and consequent disasters in the Consortium of Mountain Municipalities of Valtellina di Tirano, in Northern Italy. A geo-referenced database, collecting information till 2008, was designed with the aim of using available data of historical events for hazard estimation and the definition of risk scenarios as a basis for Civil Protection planning and emergency management purposes. This database and related statistics about landslides and floods are shown, and a brief overview of historical disasters caused by natural hazards in the study area is presented. A case study showing how useful the database can be to define a simple but realistic scenario is described. Information availability and reliability is discussed and possible uncertainties are underlined. The study shows that collecting and making use of historical information for the definition of hypothetical scenarios and the evaluation of territorial threats is a fundamental source of knowledge to deal with future emergencies.     

A single-crystal neutron and X-ray diffraction study of pezzottaite, Cs(Be2Li)Al2Si6O18

The chemical composition and the crystal structure of pezzottaite [ideal composition Cs(Be₂Li)Al₂Si₆O₁₈; space group: ${\it{R}} \overline{\text{3}} $ c, a?=?15.9615(6) ?, c?=?27.8568(9) ?] from the type locality in Ambatovita (central Madagascar) were investigated by electron microprobe analysis in wavelength dispersive mode, thermo-gravimetric analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray (at 298?K) and neutron (at 2.3?K) diffraction. The average chemical formula of the sample of pezzottaite resulted ^Cs1,Cs2(Cs_0.565Rb_0.027K_0.017)_Σ0.600 ^Na1,Na2(Na_0.101Ca_0.024)_Σ0.125Be_2.078Li_0.922 ^Al1,Al2(Mg_0.002Mn_0.002Fe_0.003Al_1.978)_Σ1.985 ^Si1,Si2,Si3(Al_0.056Si_5.944)_Σ6O₁₈·0.27H₂O. The (unpolarized) IR spectrum over the region 3,800–600?cm^?1 was collected and a comparison with the absorption bands found in beryl carried out. In particular, two-weak absorption bands ascribable to the fundamental H₂O stretching vibrations (i.e. 3,591 and 3,545?cm^?1) were observed, despite the mineral being nominally anhydrous. The X-ray and neutron structure refinements showed: (a) a non-significant presence of aluminium, beryllium or lithium at the Si1, Si2 and Si3 sites, (b) the absence (at a significant level) of lithium at the octahedral Al1, Al2 and Al3 sites and (c) a partial lithium/beryllium disordering between tetrahedral Be and Li sites.     

Influence of the Po River runoff on the bacterioplankton community along trophic and salinity gradients in the Northern Adriatic Sea

The Po River runoff strongly affects the oceanographic and ecological characteristics of the Northern Adriatic Sea. Catalysed reported deposition ‐ fluorescence in situ hybridization (CARD‐FISH) analysis was employed to assess how the composition of the coastal bacterioplankton community is influenced by the river runoff in two different seasons (spring and autumn). Samples were collected from the water column along a coastal–offshore transect in the Northern Adriatic Sea at different depths. Four clone libraries were then constructed from coastal (0 m) and offshore waters (?65 m). Higher abundances of bacteria were recorded in coastal waters as compared with the offshore samples. This result was mainly due to the trophic state of the water column, and it was related to salinity. Particularly, Actinobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria were affected by the riverine inputs, whereas Bacteroidetes and Alphaproteobacteria showed only minor responses. This was particularly clear in the autumn sample, in which a clear difference between the coastal and the offshore samples was found due to a strong influence of the less saline river water with high nutrient concentrations. Analysis of 205 partial length 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated a high diversity with the dominance of Alphaproteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Gammaproteobacteria mainly affiliated to coastal and marine bacterioplankton clades. Actinobacteria were also detected and, together with Gammaproteobacteria, strongly follow the freshwater intrusion. Overall, our results indicate that the seasonal difference in the Po River discharge greatly affects the bacterioplankton community. In spring we observed a smooth transition from coastal to open‐sea conditions owing to the more superficial freshwater plume. In autumn the deeper freshwater intrusion in the coastal site and thermal stratification offshore resulted in a marked difference between the coastal and offshore microbial communities.     

Long‐term presence and habitat use of Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) in the Central Tyrrhenian Sea

Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris, G. Cuvier 1823) is a poorly known species and many international agreements have asked for a better understanding of its biology for conservation purposes. In the present study, systematic cetacean surveys were carried out from ferries along a trans‐regional fixed transect in the Central Tyrrhenian Sea (Civitavecchia, Latium – Golfo Aranci, Sardinia), just outside the southeastern border of the Pelagos Sanctuary. This research provided long‐term, consistent data on Cuvier's beaked whale during two research periods (1990–1992 and 2007–2011). The objective of the research was to compare the presence, distribution and habitat use of Cuvier's beaked whale between the two investigated periods. Summer data (June–September) from the two periods were compared in terms of frequency of sightings, group size and spatial distribution related to the main ecogeographical features. A presence‐absence model (generalized additive modelling) was performed to predict habitat suitability in the two study periods. The results highlight long‐term site fidelity of Cuvier's beaked whale in the Central Tyrrhenian Sea with encounter rates comparable to the ones reported for other key areas. Separate suitability models based on 1990s and 2000s data appeared to work for each individual time period but differences were evident between the two periods, indicating changes in habitat selection over time. Our findings of the study appear to expand the definition of suitable beaked whale habitat and underline how the temporal scale of the analysis can affect the results in habitat studies. Moreover, this research highlights the importance of the Central Tyrrhenian Sea marine region for Cuvier's beaked whale and the ability of continuous monitoring to identify changes in cetacean frequency and distribution, necessary for adaptive conservation management approaches.