Multi-platform model assessment in the Western Mediterranean Sea: impact of downscaling on the surface circulation and mesoscale activity

Ocean Dynamics - In numerical ocean modeling, dynamical downscaling is the approach consisting in generating high-resolution regional simulations exploiting the information from coarser resolution...     

Enrichment of rare earth elements as environmental tracers of contamination by acid mine drainage in salt marshes: A new perspective

Rare earth elements (REE) were analyzed in surface sediments from the Guadiana Estuary (SW Iberian Pyrite Belt). NASC (North American Shale Composite) normalized REE patterns show clearly convex curvatures in middle-REE (MREE) with respect to light- and heavy-REE, indicating acid-mixing processes between fluvial waters affected by acid mine drainage (AMD) and seawater. However, REE distributions in the mouth (closer to the coastal area) show slightly LREE-enriched and flat patterns, indicating saline-mixing processes typical of the coastal zone. NASC-normalized ratios (La/Gd and La/Yb) do not discriminate between both mixing processes in the estuary. Instead, a new parameter (E(MREE)) has been applied to measure the curvature in the MREE segment. The values of E(MREE)>0 are indicative of acid signatures and their spatial distribution reveal the existence of two decantation zones from flocculation processes related to drought periods and flood events. Studying REE fractionation through the E(MREE) may serve as a good proxy for AMD-pollution in estuarine environments in relation to the traditional methods.     

Removal of Carbamazepine,Naproxen, and Trimethoprim from Water by Amberlite XAD‐7: A Kinetic Study

The adsorption kinetics of carbamazepine, naproxen, and trimethoprim in aqueous solution by Amberlite? XAD‐7 has been studied. The influence of adsorbent dose (1–3 g/L), stirring rate (80–240 rpm), pH (2–9), temperature (20–60°C), and initial concentration (25–75 ppm) on the adsorption kinetics has been analyzed. The removal efficiency in the first 2 h reaches 85% for carbamazepine, 60% for naproxen, and 70% for trimethoprim. pH appears to be the most important factor conditioning the removal of these latter solutes, whereas carbamazepine adsorption seems to be independent of the pH of the adsorptive solution. Initial concentration and operation temperature moderately influence the adsorption process. Finally, stirring rate scarcely affects the process. The experimental data have been fitted to four kinetic models, namely pseudo‐first and pseudo‐second order, intra‐particle diffusion and Bangham's. The model providing the best fit is the pseudo‐second order one. Again, pH is the factor that affects the adsorption rate in a more remarkable manner although other parameters such as temperature and stirring rate also contribute to accelerate the removal of the solutes. Under the optimal operation conditions, Amberlite? XAD‐7 exhibits a promising ability for the removal of the pharmaceuticals under study.     

The Homo habitat niche: using the avian fossil record to depict ecological characteristics of Palaeolithic Eurasian hominins

Although hardly applied to human palaeoecology, bird fossils offer a unique opportunity for quantitative studies of the hominin habitat. Here we reconstruct the Homo habitat niche across a large area of the Palaearctic, based on a database of avian fauna for Pleistocene sites. Our results reveal a striking association between Homo and habitat mosaics. A mix of open savannah-type woodland, wetlands and rocky habitats emerges as the predominant combination occupied by Homo across a wide geographical area, from the earliest populations of the Lower Palaeolithic to the latest hunter-gatherer communities of the Upper Palaeolithic. This observation is in keeping with the view that such landscapes have had long standing selective value for hominins.     

How the Distribution of Anthropogenic Nitrogen Has Changed in Narragansett Bay (RI,USA) Following Major Reductions in Nutrient Loads

Over the past decade, nitrogen (N) loads to Narragansett Bay have decreased by more than 50%. These reductions were, in large part, the direct result of multiple wastewater treatment facility upgrades to tertiary treatment, a process which employs N removal. Here, we document ecosystem response to the N reductions and assess how the distribution of sewage N in Narragansett Bay has changed from before, during, and shortly after the upgrades. While others have observed clear responses when data were considered annually, our seasonal and regional comparisons of pre- and post-tertiary treatment dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentrations and Secchi depth data, from bay-wide surveys conducted periodically from the early 1970s through 2016, resulted in only a few subtle differences. Thus, we sought to use stable isotope data to assess how sewage N is incorporated into the ecology of the Bay and how its distribution may have changed after the upgrades. The nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) and carbon (δ¹³C) stable isotope measurements of particulate matter served as a proxy for phytoplankton, while macroalgae served as short-term integrators of water column bio-available N, and hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) as integrators of water column production. In contrast to other estuarine stable isotope studies that have observed an increased influence of isotopically lower marine N when sewage N is reduced, the opposite has occurred in Narragansett Bay. The tertiary treatment upgrades have increased the effluent δ¹⁵N values by at least 2‰. The plants and animals throughout Narragansett Bay have similarly increased by 1–2‰, on average. In contrast, the δ¹³C values measured in particulate matter and hard clams have declined by about the same amount. The δ¹⁵N results indicated that, even after the N reductions, sewage N still plays an important role in supporting primary and secondary production throughout the bay. However, the δ¹³C suggests that overall net production in Narragansett Bay has decreased. In the 5 years after the major wastewater treatment facilities came on-line for nutrient removal, oligotrophication has begun but sewage remains the dominant source of N to Narragansett Bay.