Quantity Does Not Always Mean Quality: The Importance of Qualitative Social Science in Conservation Research

Qualitative methods are important to gain a deep understanding of complex problems and poorly researched areas. They can be particularly useful to help explain underlying conservation problems. However, the significance in choosing and justifying appropriate methodological frameworks in conservation studies should be given more attention to ensure data are collected and analysed appropriately. We explain when, why, and how qualitative methods should be used and explain sampling strategies in qualitative studies. To improve familiarity with qualitative methods among natural scientists, we recommend expanding training in social sciences and increasing collaboration with social scientists. Given the scale of human impacts on the environment, this type of nuanced analytical skill is critical for progressing biodiversity conservation efforts.     

Tectono‐sedimentary evolution of the northern Iranian Plateau: insights from middle–late Miocene foreland‐basin deposits

Sedimentary basins in the interior of orogenic plateaus can provide unique insights into the early history of plateau evolution and related geodynamic processes. The northern sectors of the Iranian Plateau of the Arabia–Eurasia collision zone offer the unique possibility to study middle–late Miocene terrestrial clastic and volcaniclastic sediments that allow assessing the nascent stages of collisional plateau formation. In particular, these sedimentary archives allow investigating several debated and poorly understood issues associated with the long‐term evolution of the Iranian Plateau, including the regional spatio‐temporal characteristics of sedimentation and deformation and the mechanisms of plateau growth. We document that middle–late Miocene crustal shortening and thickening processes led to the growth of a basement‐cored range (Takab Range Complex) in the interior of the plateau. This triggered the development of a foreland‐basin (Great Pari Basin) to the east between 16.5 and 10.7 Ma. By 10.7 Ma, a fast progradation of conglomerates over the foreland strata occurred, most likely during a decrease in flexural subsidence triggered by rock uplift along an intraforeland basement‐cored range (Mahneshan Range Complex). This was in turn followed by the final incorporation of the foreland deposits into the orogenic system and ensuing compartmentalization of the formerly contiguous foreland into several intermontane basins. Overall, our data suggest that shortening and thickening processes led to the outward and vertical growth of the northern sectors of the Iranian Plateau starting from the middle Miocene. This implies that mantle‐flow processes may have had a limited contribution toward building the Iranian Plateau in NW Iran.     

The evolution of temperature extremes in the Gaspé Peninsula,Quebec, Canada (1974–2013)

The majority of natural hazards that affect Canadian territory are the result of extreme climate and weather conditions. Among these weather hazards, some can be calculated from the application of thresholds for minimum and maximum temperatures at a daily or monthly timescale. These thermal indices allowed the prediction of extreme conditions that may have an impact on the human population by affecting, for example, health, agriculture, and water resources. In this article, we discuss the methods used (RHtestsV4, SPLIDHOM, ClimPACT) then describe the steps followed to calculate the indices, including how we dealt with the problem of missing data and the necessity to identify a common methodology to analyze the time series. We also present possible solutions for ensuring the quality of meteorological data. We then present an overview of the results, namely the main trends and variability of extreme temperature for seven stations located in the Gaspé Peninsula from 1974 to 2013. Our results indicate some break points in time series and positive trends for most indices related to the rise of the temperatures but indicate a negative trend for the indices related to low temperatures for most stations during the study period.     

Review: Impact of underground structures on the flow of urban groundwater

Property economics favours the vertical development of cities but flow of groundwater can be affected by the use of underground space in them. This review article presents the state of the art regarding the impact of disturbances caused by underground structures (tunnels, basements of buildings, deep foundations, etc.) on the groundwater flow in urban aquifers. The structures built in the underground levels of urban areas are presented and organised in terms of their impact on flow: obstacle to the flow or disturbance of the groundwater budget of the flow system. These two types of disturbance are described in relation to the structure area and the urban area. The work reviewed shows, on one hand, the individual impacts of different urban underground structures, and on the other, their cumulative impacts on flow, using real case studies. Lastly, the works are placed in perspective regarding the integration of underground structures with the aim of operational management of an urban aquifer. The literature presents deterministic numerical modelling as a tool capable of contributing to this aim, in that it helps to quantify the effect of an underground infrastructure project on groundwater flow, which is crucial for decision-making processes. It can also be an operational decision-aid tool for choosing construction techniques or for formulating strategies to manage the water resource.     

Interannual-decadal variability of wintertime mixed layer depths in the North Pacific detected by an ensemble of ocean syntheses

Climate Dynamics - The interannual-decadal variability of the wintertime mixed layer depths (MLDs) over the North Pacific is investigated from an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of an...     

Accretion disc outbursts: a new version of an old model

We have developed 1D time-dependent numerical models of accretion discs, using an adaptive grid technique and an implicit numerical scheme, in which the disc size is allowed to vary with time. The code fully resolves the cooling and heating fronts propagating in the disc. We show that models in which the radius of the outer edge of the disc is fixed produce incorrect results, from which probably incorrect conclusions about the viscosity law have been inferred. In particular we show that outside-in outbursts are possible when a standard bimodal behaviour of the Shakura–Sunyaev viscosity parameter α is used. We also discuss to what extent insufficient grid resolution has limited the predictive power of previous models. We find that the global properties (magnitudes, etc.) of transient discs can be addressed by codes using a high, but reasonable, number of fixed grid points. However, the study of the detailed physical properties of the transition fronts generally requires resolutions which are out of reach of fixed grid codes. It appears that most time-dependent models of accretion discs published in the literature have been limited by resolution effects, improper outer boundary conditions, or both.     

VIRGO: Experiment for helioseismology and solar irradiance monitoring

The scientific objective of the VIRGO experiment (Variability of solar IRradiance and Gravity Oscillations) is to determine the characteristics of pressure and internal gravity oscillations by observing irradiance and radiance variations, to measure the solar total and spectral irradiance and to quantify their variability over periods of days to the duration of the mission. With these data helioseismological methods can be used to probe the solar interior. Certain characteristics of convection and its interaction with magnetic fields, related to, for example, activity, will be studied from the results of the irradiance monitoring and from the comparison of amplitudes and phases of the oscillations as manifest in brightness from VIRGO, in velocity from GOLF, and in both velocity and continuum intensity from SOI/MDI. The VIRGO experiment contains two different active-cavity radiometers for monitoring the solar constant, two three-channel sunphotometers (SPM) for the measurement of the spectral irradiance at 402, 500 and 862 nm, and a low-resolution imager (LOI) with 12 pixels, for the measurement of the radiance distribution over the solar disk at 500 um. In this paper the scientific objectives of VIRGO are presented, the instruments and the data acquisition and control system are described in detail, and their measured performance is given.died 13 October 1994