Redistribution of archaeological assemblages in plowzones

Archaeological surface surveys have located open‐air sites on cropland in the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain). To what degree agricultural disturbances have impacted archaeological site integrity is poorly defined and may greatly affect interpretations of prehistoric land use. This paper presents the results of three experiments concerned with the effects of tillage on artifact distribution, focusing specifically on lateral and vertical artifact displacement. We demonstrate highly variable horizontal displacement of artifacts by plowing and overall downward movement of lithic materials within the soil. This results in an expansion of site boundaries and reduction of surface artifact density, yielding a biased and unrepresentative picture of past human activity. More experimental studies are needed to better define agricultural disturbances to surface archaeological assemblages. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Late Quaternary vegetation and climate dynamics in central-eastern Brazil: insights from a ~35k cal a bp peat record in the Cerrado biome

The late Quaternary evolution of central-eastern Brazil has been under-researched. Questions remain as to the origin of the Cerrado, a highly endangered biome, and other types of vegetation, such as the Capões – small vegetation islands of semi-deciduous and mountain forests. We investigated the factors that influenced the expansion and contraction of the Cerrado and Capões during the late Quaternary (last ~35 ka), using a multi-proxy approach: stable isotopes (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N), geochemistry, pollen and multivariate statistics derived from a peat core (Pinheiro mire, Serra do Espinhaço Meridional). Five major shifts in precipitation, temperature, vegetation and landscape stability occurred at different timescales. Our study revealed that changes in the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ) seem to have been coeval with these shifts: from the Late Glacial Maximum to mid-Holocene the SACZ remained near (~29.6 to ~16.5k cal a bp ) and over (~16.5 to ~6.1 k cal a bp ) the study area, providing humidity to the region. This challenges previous research which suggested that climate was drier for this time period. At present, the Capões are likely to be a remnant of a more humid climate; meanwhile, the Cerrado biome seems to have stablished in the late Holocene, after ~3.1 k cal a bp .     

Monitoring and modelling of hydrological processes in the semiarid region of Brazil: The Cariri experimental basins

Catchments have highly variable yields of runoff and soil erosion. The size, land use and the surface cover play a significant role and influence the catchment response and parameter values of simulation models. Two experimental basins—the Cariri basins—were equipped in a semi-arid region of Brazil, for obtaining runoff and sediment yield at different catchment scales, as well as, to evaluate the influence of the land use and surface cover. In the first basin, located in the municipality of Sumé, the field studies were carried out at two different scales: four micro-catchments with an area of around 0.5 ha and nine standard Wischmeier-type erosion plots of 100 m². The experimental units had varied vegetation and management. They were subjected only to natural rainfall events, and were monitored from 1982 to 1991. The total runoff and total sediment yield were determined for each of the events. The installations in the second basin, in the municipality of São João do Cariri, from 1999, include two erosion plots, three micro-catchments, and two sub-catchments of a small basin. These basins are still being monitored for runoff and sediment production. Among the micro-catchments two are nested to detect any scale effect at the micro-catchment level. Nearly 600 events of precipitation, that produced runoff in at least one of the experimental units, have been registered. These data have been used to evaluate the influence of various factors, including cultivation practices and to calibrate hydrological models for plots and micro-catchments. Parameters have been tested by means of cross validations among micro-catchments and sub-catchments. The data sets are made available to all the catchment hydrology researchers and others at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4690886 .     

Climatic vs. tectonic signals in a continental extensional basin (Teruel,NE Spain) from stable isotope (δ18O) and sequence stratigraphical evolution

Alluvial fans and shallow carbonate lakes interfered in the Teruel half‐graben during the Late Miocene–Pliocene. Tectonic influence is recorded in alluvial and lacustrine–palustrine successions, with long‐term climate changes being recorded in detail in the isotopic signatures of carbonates. Episodes of tectonic activity induced alluvial fan progradation and lake retraction in the whole basin. Three lacustrine stages have been identified, which support the idea that climate also exerted an important control on sedimentation. The transition between stages 1 and 2 occurred during a tectonically calm episode due to an increase in aridity in the Early Turolian; small fans with source areas next to the lake margin prograded, inducing lake‐shore retraction. The transition from stage 2 to 3 was caused by the superimposition of increasing tectonic activity and aridity effects. Our study demonstrates that discrimination of allogenic factors controlling sedimentation in continental closed basins is possible using sequence stratigraphy in combination with other techniques such as geochemistry of carbonates.     

Tectonic inversion assessed by integration of geological and geophysical data: The intracontinental Rio do Peixe Basin,NE Brazil

Common basin models assume that the post‐rift tectonic evolution of most basins is usually associated with tectonic quiescence. However, tectonic inversion during the post‐rift phase has been proposed for several sedimentary basins worldwide, but how and why it happens is still a matter of debate, especially in intracontinental settings where the lithosphere is old and thick. Here, we use geological and geophysical data from the Rio do Peixe Basin in NE Brazil to show evidence that intracontinental sedimentary basins can be tectonically inverted by far‐field compressive stresses acting on pre‐existing weakness zones of lithospheric‐scale where stresses can concentrate and inversion can occur. Geomorphological and field data combined with seismic reflection, gravimetric and borehole data show that: (a) inversion occurred along two main Precambrian lithospheric‐scale shear zones, the Patos (E‐W trending) and Portalegre (NE‐SW trending), which had already been reactivated as basin‐bounding faults during the earlier rift stage; (b) post‐rift reactivation affected (mostly) the original master normal faults with the largest rift displacements, and locally produced new reverse faults; (c) during contraction, deformation was partitioned between fault reactivation and buckling of the incompetent sediment pushed against the hard basement; (d) all these signs of inversion have been observed in the field and can be demonstrated on seismic reflection profiles; and (e) combined gravimetric and seismic data show that the main structures of the basin were followed by an inversion. These data are consistent with the operation of WSW‐ENE horizontal maximum compressive stress as a result of combined pushes of the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge (towards the W) and the Andes (towards the E), responsible for the post‐rift oblique inversion of normal faults inherited from the rift phase and formed with vertical maximum compressive stress.     

System Reliability Analysis of an Offshore Jacket Platform

This study investigates strategies for solving the system reliability of large three-dimensional jacket structures.These structural systems normally fail as a result of a series of different components failures.The failure characteristics are investigated under various environmental conditions and direction combinations.Theβ-unzipping technique is adopted to determine critical failure components,and the entire system is simplified as a series-parallel system to approximately evaluate the structural system reliability.However,this approach needs excessive computational effort for searching failure components and failure paths.Based on a trained artificial neural network(ANN),which can be used to approximate the implicit limit-state function of a complicated structure,a new alternative procedure is proposed to improve the efficiency of the system reliability analysis method.The failure probability is calculated through Monte Carlo simulation(MCS)with Latin hypercube sampling(LHS).The features and applicability of the above procedure are discussed and compared using an example jacket platform located in Chengdao Oilfield,Bohai Sea,China.This study provides a reference for the evaluation of the system reliability of jacket structures.     

Adaptation and poverty reduction in Mozambique: an opportunity for developing countries to lead§

Climate change disproportionately impacts the world’s poorest countries. A recent World Bank report highlighted that over 100 million people are at risk of falling into extreme poverty as a result of climate change. There is currently a lack of information about how to simultaneously address climate change and poverty. Climate change challenges provide an opportunity for those impacted most to come up with new and innovative technologies and solutions. This article uses an example from Mozambique where local and international partners are working side-by-side, to show how developing countries can simultaneously address climate change and poverty reduction using an ecosystem-based adaptation approach. Using ecosystem-based adaptation, a technique that uses the natural environment to help societies adapt to climate change, developing countries can lead the way to improve climate adaptation globally. This paradigm shift would help developing countries become leaders in ecosystem-based adaptation and green infrastructure techniques and has implications for climate policy worldwide.

POLICY RELEVANCE

The Paris Agreement resulting from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 21st Conference of Parties (COP 21) in December 2015 was rightly lauded for its global commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions. However, COP 21 was also historic because of its call for non-party stakeholders to address climate change, inclusion of a global goal of ‘enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability’, and the United States’ commitment of $800 million to adaptation funding. The combination of recognizing the need for new stakeholders to commit to climate change adaptation, the large impact climate change will have on the developing world, and providing access to funds for climate change adaptation creates a unique opportunity for developing countries to pave the way in adaptation policies in practices. Currently, developing countries are creating National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) for the UNFCCC. Through including a strong component of ecosystem-based adaptation in NAPs, developing countries can shape their countries’ policies, improve local institutions and governments, and facilitate a new generation of innovative leaders. Lessons learned in places like Mozambique can help lead the way in other regions facing similar climatic risks.     

Climate change adaptation of coffee production in space and time

Savannas constitute the most fire-prone vegetation type on earth and are a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. Most savanna fires are lit by people for a variety of livelihood applications. ‘Savanna burning’ is an accountable activity under the Kyoto Protocol, but only Australia, as a developed economy, accounts for emissions from this source in its national accounts. Over the past decade considerable effort has been given to developing savanna burning projects in northern Australia, combining customary indigenous (Aboriginal) approaches to landscape-scale fire management with development of scientifically robust emissions accounting methodologies. Formal acceptance by the Australian Government of that methodology, and its inclusion in Australia’s developing emissions trading scheme, paves the way for Aboriginal people to commercially benefit from savanna burning projects. The paper first describes this Australian experience, and then explores options for implementing community-based savanna burning emissions reduction projects in other continental savanna settings, specifically in Namibia and Venezuela. These latter examples illustrate that savanna fire management approaches potentially have broader application for contributing to livelihood opportunities in other fire-prone savanna regions.     

Impact of data model and point density on aboveground forest biomass estimation from airborne LiDAR

Background

Accurate estimation of aboveground forest biomass (AGB) and its dynamics is of paramount importance in understanding the role of forest in the carbon cycle and the effective implementation of climate change mitigation policies. LiDAR is currently the most accurate technology for AGB estimation. LiDAR metrics can be derived from the 3D point cloud (echo-based) or from the canopy height model (CHM). Different sensors and survey configurations can affect the metrics derived from the LiDAR data. We evaluate the ability of the metrics derived from the echo-based and CHM data models to estimate AGB in three different biomes, as well as the impact of point density on the metrics derived from them.

Results

Our results show that differences among metrics derived at different point densities were significantly different from zero, with a larger impact on CHM-based than echo-based metrics, particularly when the point density was reduced to 1 point m^?2. Both data models-echo-based and CHM-performed similarly well in estimating AGB at the three study sites. For the temperate forest in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California, USA, R² ranged from 0.79 to 0.8 and RMSE (relRMSE) from 69.69 (35.59%) to 70.71 (36.12%) Mg ha^?1 for the echo-based model and from 0.76 to 0.78 and 73.84 (37.72%) to 128.20 (65.49%) Mg ha^?1 for the CHM-based model. For the moist tropical forest on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, the models gave R² ranging between 0.70 and 0.71 and RMSE between 30.08 (12.36%) and 30.32 (12.46) Mg ha^?1 [between 0.69–0.70 and 30.42 (12.50%) and 61.30 (25.19%) Mg ha^?1] for the echo-based [CHM-based] models. Finally, for the Atlantic forest in the Sierra do Mar, Brazil, R² was between 0.58–0.69 and RMSE between 37.73 (8.67%) and 39.77 (9.14%) Mg ha^?1 for the echo-based model, whereas for the CHM R² was between 0.37–0.45 and RMSE between 45.43 (10.44%) and 67.23 (15.45%) Mg ha^?1.

Conclusions

Metrics derived from the CHM show a higher dependence on point density than metrics derived from the echo-based data model. Despite the median of the differences between metrics derived at different point densities differing significantly from zero, the mean change was close to zero and smaller than the standard deviation except for very low point densities (1 point m^?2). The application of calibrated models to estimate AGB on metrics derived from thinned datasets resulted in less than 5% error when metrics were derived from the echo-based model. For CHM-based metrics, the same level of error was obtained for point densities higher than 5 points m^?2. The fact that reducing point density does not introduce significant errors in AGB estimates is important for biomass monitoring and for an effective implementation of climate change mitigation policies such as REDD + due to its implications for the costs of data acquisition. Both data models showed similar capability to estimate AGB when point density was greater than or equal to 5 point m^?2.