Social multi-criteria evaluation as a decision support tool for integrated coastal zone management

Traditional top-down and technocratic approaches seem to be insufficient to tackle the many conflicts related to the sustainable use of natural resources. At the same time, reductionist and mono-disciplinary approaches lack the capacity to capture the complex interactions within evolving socio-ecological systems. Coastal zone management is an area that provides a clear example of such difficulties. In this paper we explore the scope of a participatory integrated assessment process, known as Social Multi-Criteria Evaluation (SMCE), in the context of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM). Through a two-year collaborative research process, between an interdisciplinary group of researchers and a diverse group of stakeholders in the Urdaibai Estuary (a Biosphere Reserve in the Basque Country, Northern Spain), we show that improving the integration of diverse expertise and values can lead, through a mutual learning process, to the definition of relevant policy options and sound decisions in the face of complexity, value conflict and unavoidable uncertainty.     

Exploring possible connections between hydrological extreme events and climate change in central south Chile

Abstract

Motivated by recent extreme flow events in the Mataquito River located in the Mediterranean region of Chile, we performed a detailed trend analysis of critical hydroclimatic variables based on observed daily flow, precipitation and temperature within the basin. For the period 1976–2008, positive trends in temperature were observed, especially during spring and summer months. At the same time, we found negative trends in the frequency and intensity of precipitation, especially during spring months. We observed an increasing difference between average streamflow in the rainy season as compared to the snowmelt season. Part of this trend is caused by larger flows during autumn months, although no positive precipitation trends are observed for these months. Finally, significant reductions in minimum flow during spring/summer and a disproportionate concentration of high-flow events occurring in the last 10 years were also identified. These high-flow events tend to happen during autumn months, and are associated with high precipitation and high minimum temperatures. Based on a simple assessment of changes in irrigated agriculture and land use, we concluded that other non-climatic factors seem not to be as relevant to the detected flow trends. All these results are in accord with future climate change scenarios that show an increase in temperature, a reduction in average precipitation and a reduction in snow accumulation. Such future scenarios could seriously hamper the development of economic activities in this basin, exemplifying also a fate that may be shared by other similar basins in Chile and in other regions of the world.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz

Citation Vicuña, S., Gironás, J., Meza, F.J., Cruzat, M.L., Jelinek, M., Bustos, E., Poblete, D., and Bambach, N., 2013. Exploring possible connections between hydrological extreme events and climate change in central south Chile. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (8), 1598–1619.     

Eutrophication Assessment in Basque Estuaries: Comparing a North American and a European Method

Eutrophication in marine ecosystems is an important problem that requires an accurate assessment. Although Basque estuaries (northern Spain) have historically been under high anthropogenic pressure, no specific eutrophication assessment method had been applied in these waters. In this study, a method employed in the Basque Country (BC) to assess the ??risk of failing to achieve good ecological status?? under the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) was adapted to exclusively assess the risk of eutrophication. This method is based on the driver?Cpressure?Cstate?Cimpact?Cresponse approach. The results from this method (called WFD-BC method) were compared to the results from Assessment of Estuarine Trophic Status (ASSETS; a specific method developed in the US to assess estuarine trophic status in a pressure?Cstate?Cresponse approach). The nutrient pressure was better characterized with the WFD-BC method due to the local hydrographic conditions (i.e., small and river-influenced estuaries) that were not well accommodated by the ASSETS method. In contrast, the WFD-BC results for assessment of state generally reflected worse conditions than the results from the ASSETS method due to the different indicators employed and the way these are integrated in the WFD-BC method. Overall, the WFD-BC method showed a good potential to assess eutrophication. However, to improve it, a lower weight for the benthos and macroalgae is recommended for evaluating state.     

The ultraviolet survey of the Gould Belt: general properties of the Taurus star forming region

The Gould Belt is the local superassociation of star formation. The age of the Belt is some few 10⁷ yr, henceforth, its population is dominated by luminous young OB associations and low mass pre-main sequence stars. Attempts to unveil the low mass population have been run making use of the ROSAT all-sky survey. The all sky ultraviolet survey run by the GALaxy Evolution eXplorer (GALEX) maps several regions in the Belt. In this contribution, we present the preliminary analysis of the UV stellar population towards the Taurus region, one of the nearest and best studied regions of star formation.     

Paleoenvironmental and geoarchaeological reconstruction from late Holocene slope records (Lower Huerva Valley,Ebro Basin,NE Spain)

Slope deposits in semiarid regions are known to be very sensitive environments, especially those that occurred during the minor fluctuations of the late Holocene. In this paper we analyse Holocene colluvium genesis, composition, and paleoenvironmental meaning through the study of slope deposits in NE Spain. Two cumulative slope stages are described during this period. In the study area, both slope accumulations are superimposed and this has enabled an excellent preservation of the aggregative sequence and the paleosols corresponding to stabilisation stages. ¹⁴C and TL dating, as well as archaeological remains, provide considerable chronological precision for this sequence. The origin of the accumulation of the lower unit is placed around 4295–4083 cal yr BP/2346–2134 cal yr BC (late Chalcolithic) and it developed until the Iron Age in a cooler and wetter climate (Cold Iron Age). Under favourable conditions, a soil A-horizon was formed on top of this unit. A new slope accumulation was formed during the Little Ice Age. Within the slope two morphogenetic periods ending with A-horizons are distinguished and related with two main cold–wet climatic events. The study of these slopes provides a great amount of data for the paleoenvironmental and geoarchaeological reconstruction of the late Holocene in NE Spain.     

The Rhyacian E1 Cortijo suture zone： Aeromagnetic signature and insights for the geodynamic evolution of the southwestern Rio de la Plata craton,Argentina

The amalgamation of the southern Río de la Plata craton involves two possibly coeval Rhyacian sutures associated with the Transamazonian orogeny,rather than a single one as previously envisaged,i.e.the El Cortijo suture zone and the Salado suture.We circumscribe the Tandilia terrane to the region between these two sutures.The El Cortijo suture zone runs along a roughly WNW oriented magnetic low aligned along the southern boundary of the Tandilia terrane,i.e.boundary between the Tandilia and Balcarce terranes.This extensive magnetic low,ca.300 km long,and ca.90 km wide,would be caused by demagnetization associated with shearing.At a more local scale,the trend of the El Cortijo suture zone often turns toward the EeW.At this scale,WNW trending tholeiitic dykes of Statherian age are seen to cut the Rhyacian El Cortijo suture zone.Spatially associated with the El Cortijo suture zone,there are small magnetic highs interpreted to be related to unexposed basic bodies of ophiolitic nature related to those forming part of the El Cortijo Formation.We envisage the pre-Neoproterozoic evolution of the Tandilia belt to have been initiated by the extension of Neoarchean(w2650 Ma)crust occurred during Siderian times(2500e2300 Ma),causing the separation between the Balcarce,Tandilia and Buenos Aires terranes,and the development of narrow oceans at both north and south sides of the Tandilia terrane,accompanied by w2300e2200 Ma sedimentation over transitional econtinental to oceanice crust,and arc magmatism developed in the Tandilia terrane.The island arc represented by the El Cortijo Formation was also developed at this time.At late Rhyacian times,it occurred in both the closure of the narrow oceans developed previously,the entrapment of the El Cortijo island arc,as well as anatectic magmatism in the Balcarce terrane.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987113000571

The amalgamation of the southern Río de la Plata craton involves two possibly coeval Rhyacian sutures associated with the Transamazonian orogeny,rather than a single one as previously envisaged,i.e.the El Cortijo suture zone and the Salado suture.We circumscribe the Tandilia terrane to the region between these two sutures.The El Cortijo suture zone runs along a roughly WNW oriented magnetic low aligned along the southern boundary of the Tandilia terrane,i.e.boundary between the Tandilia and Balcarce terranes.This extensive magnetic low,ca.300 km long,and ca.90 km wide,would be caused by demagnetization associated with shearing.At a more local scale,the trend of the El Cortijo suture zone often turns toward the EeW.At this scale,WNW trending tholeiitic dykes of Statherian age are seen to cut the Rhyacian El Cortijo suture zone.Spatially associated with the El Cortijo suture zone,there are small magnetic highs interpreted to be related to unexposed basic bodies of ophiolitic nature related to those forming part of the El Cortijo Formation.We envisage the pre-Neoproterozoic evolution of the Tandilia belt to have been initiated by the extension of Neoarchean(w2650 Ma)crust occurred during Siderian times(2500e2300 Ma),causing the separation between the Balcarce,Tandilia and Buenos Aires terranes,and the development of narrow oceans at both north and south sides of the Tandilia terrane,accompanied by w2300e2200 Ma sedimentation over transitional econtinental to oceanice crust,and arc magmatism developed in the Tandilia terrane.The island arc represented by the El Cortijo Formation was also developed at this time.At late Rhyacian times,it occurred in both the closure of the narrow oceans developed previously,the entrapment of the El Cortijo island arc,as well as anatectic magmatism in the Balcarce terrane.     

The tropical storm Noel and its effects on the territory of the Dominican Republic

In the period between the end of October and the beginning of November 2007, the Dominican Republic was hit by the tropical storm Noel, then turned into hurricane in its movement toward the Californian coasts. The passage of Noel was accompanied by huge precipitation especially in the south-western part of the country. In some areas, the rainfall registered in 6 days exceeded 700 mm, i.e., more than two-thirds of the mean annual precipitation. The return periods calculated for this rainfall event vary greatly from region to region: while they locally reach 200 years, such as in San José de Ocoa (50 km west of Santo Domingo), in other areas, as for instance in the territory of the capital Santo Domingo, return periods do not exceed 20 years. The tropical storm caused huge damage both in terms of human victims and economic losses, related to diffused inundations and landslide phenomena, which may be attributed only partially to the exceptionality of the event. As a matter of fact, in many regions, the inadequate answer of the territory—widely characterized by serious problems of land degradation and an almost complete lack of territorial planning—appears to be the major responsible for the occurred negative effects. The impact assessment, based on the calculation of an Impact Index, confirms this statement.