An upwelling filament off southwest Iberia: Effect on the chlorophyll a and nutrient export

The present paper describes the chemical and biological characteristics of an upwelling filament off southern Iberia in October 2004, based on a total of 42 CTD casts, along with ADCP velocity measurements distributed by an almost regular grid of 15 km mean spacing. Stations were sampled from the surface to a maximum depth of 400 dbar, for nutrients (nitrate, phosphate and silicate) and chlorophyll a determination. The effect of cross-shelf exchange of nutrients and chlorophyll a between the coastal and oceanic waters was also investigated. Data revealed that, during the cruise conducted under relaxed winds, a relatively small filament was formed down to 75 m. However, an amount of 180 t of chlorophyll a was estimated there accompanied by low nutrient concentrations. The observed water properties reveal that SW Iberia is similar to NW Iberia, showing the continuity of the Canary Upwelling System along the Iberian Peninsula, one of poorest upwelling systems of the oceanic eastern boundaries. Nevertheless, the amounts of chlorophyll and nutrients transported through the filament are significant, revealing that those play a key role in the seaward export of matter with an important impact on the regional oceanography of this region. Considering the periods of strong upwelling events and the extent of their duration along the year, the amounts of exported matter must be hugely increased and responsible for the high productivity of these waters.     

Social vulnerability and participation in disaster recovery decisions: public housing in Galveston after Hurricane Ike

Natural Hazards - In September 2008, Hurricane Ike caused massive damages to Galveston Island’s residential structures including four public housing developments. These developments were...     

Summer phytoplankton composition and nitrogen limitation of the deep, naturally-acidic (pH∼2.2) Lake Caviahue, Patagonia, Argentina

During the warm seasons of 1998-2004, the naturally-acidic (pH∼2.2) Lake Caviahue was sampled for conductivity, temperature, oxygen, light, nutrients, and phytoplankton (density, biomass and chlorophyll a) with a view to studying the summer phytoplankton population changes with relation to environmental factors, as well as the significance of nitrogen limitation on the phytoplankton yield. Lake Caviahue is characterized by its low transparency, CO₂, and N concentration; significant P values; a distinctive vertical distribution of phytoplankton biomass with high values along the water column; and sometimes maximum meta-hypolimnion values. Biodiversity is very low as a result of extreme environmental conditions, Chlorophyceae being the prevailing algae group. Two types of bioassays were carried out to assess nitrogen limitation. For the first bioassay, a solution of ammonium-nitrogen chloride and/or wastewater (rich in ammonium and phosphorus) was used, while one of the lake's sediments was the source of nutrients for the second bioassay. Contrary to the case of acidic mining lakes, N-ammonium proved to be a significant supportive capacity limiting factor as to phytoplankton yield. The present paper provides for the first time information on phytoplankton nitrogen limitation in a naturally-acidic lake.     

A new approach to pre-stack seismic processing

Pre-stack processing of seismic reflection data is significantly simplified if the data organization is the same as that in which the data were acquired in the field; that is, in time slices through common-source gathers. For an impulsive source, the entire processing stream reduces to two elements: velocity analysis and reverse-time pre-stack migration. Many of the steps that are applied as independent operations in standard processing (including demultiplexing, sorting into common-midpoint gathers, elevation corrections, near-surface velocity static corrections, first break muting, ground roll removal, and both normal and dip move-out corrections) either are eliminated, or are applied implicitly during migration. This approach is ideally suited to parallel processing, and can be implemented in machines with small processor memories.     

Waste rock dump investigation at Roşia Montană gold mine (Romania): a geostatistical approach

Ro?ia Montan?, the largest European gold mine, could be re-opened. Environmental problems led to severe pollution of the Ro?ia and Abrud Rivers. The two main potentially toxic element (PTE) sources in mine sites are, in general, the abandoned underground workings and the piles of waste rock. Since the composition of waste rocks is often heterogeneous, this study faces the problem of estimating their mineralogical and chemical features starting from a set of sampling point. Twenty-five samples were collected on the main waste dump of the Ro?ia Montan? mine following a virtual squared grid (knots distance about 25 m). Grain size, color, bulk chemistry, mineralogy, acid mine drainage potential and a set of selected PTE (Ag, As, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) concentrations were determined on each sample. In a first approximation two main waste rock groups were identified: WR1 bulk composition is dacite-dominated, while WR2 is andesite-dominated. In both of them the concentrations of PTEs are below the regulatory limits for soils, with the exception of As. In terms of acid mine drainage, WR1 has a net acid-producing potential, while WR2 has a net neutralizing potential. The anisotropy of WR properties were analysed by means of semi-variograms and displayed with contour maps. Application of positive matrix factorization for the analysis of all the data relative to waste rocks allowed defining, in a semi-quantitative way, the factors controlling pollution and their spatial distribution. The processing of score matrix G factor associated with the geostatistical elaboration promises to be a powerful tool to discern the composition of mine dumps and support the exploitation and remediation phases.     

Automatic identification of mesocyclones and significant wind structures in Doppler radar images

The main objective of this work is to present the first version of the automatic mesocyclone detection algorithm for the Spanish weather Doppler radar, which has been developed during the last year at the Spanish Meteorological Service (INM). Taking into account that mesocyclones and other significant wind structures can be readily detected by single Doppler radar, the algorithm is based on the NSSL-MDA (The National Severe Storms Laboratory Mesoscale Detection Algorithm) approximation. It is specifically designed to automatically detect and identify radial velocity patterns associated with small-scale vortices and others wind structures. The different steps in the algorithm will be discussed and the application to a real situation will be presented. During 2004, the algorithm has been tested in an experimental phase, trying to adjust the needed parameters and thresholds. The plan for the future is to implement it within the operational procedure to automatically identify, analyse, diagnose, track and extrapolate convective structures and cells in radar data, improving the ability of the forecasters to provide timely warning of hazardous convective events.     

Relationship between heavy metal accumulation and genetic variability decrease in the intertidal crab Pachygrapsus marmoratus (Decapoda; Grapsidae)

The “genetic erosion” hypothesis posits that heavy metal stress is related to a loss of genetic diversity at the population level. The genetic diversity of natural populations can, however, be affected by natural processes as well as by human impact. We studied the relationship between heavy metal bioaccumulation and genetic variability in the intertidal crab Pachygrapsus marmoratus. Tissue samples were collected from 40 individuals inhabiting four polluted and four unpolluted sites along the Tuscan coast (Mediterranean basin), and were examined for four heavy metals (arsenic, As, cadmium, Cd, lead, Pb, and copper, Cu). We also assessed the genetic variability of 235 crabs from the same localities using six microsatellite loci.Our results show that the bioaccumulation levels of these individuals accurately reflect the levels of pollution in their immediate environment, and that heavy metals accumulate more in the hepatopancreas than in the gills. Moreover, populations from polluted sites have significantly less genetic variability, measured as mean standardized d², and a significantly lower percentage of unrelated individuals, than populations from unpolluted sites. This evidence supports the “genetic erosion” hypothesis for metal heavy exposure in natural environments.