The role of gravitational supernovae in the Galactic evolution of the Li, Be and B isotopes

The observed Be and B relationships with metallicity clearly support the idea that both elements have a primary origin and that they are produced by the same class of objects. Spallation by particles accelerated during gravitational supernova events (SNII, SNIb/c) seems to be a likely origin. We show, in the context of a model of chemical evolution, that it is possible to solve the Li, Be and B abundance puzzle with the yields recently proposed by Ramaty et al., provided that SNII are unable to accelerate helium nuclei significantly and that different mechanisms are allowed to act simultaneously.     

A GIS-Based Multivariate Statistical Analysis for Shallow Landslide Susceptibility Mapping in La Pobla de Lillet Area (Eastern Pyrenees,Spain)

This paper presents a GIS-aided procedure for shallow landslide susceptibility mapping at a regional scale. Most of the input data for the susceptibility assessment have been captured automatically. A total of 13 parameters, related to the slope geometry, have been derived from the digital elevation model (DEM) while vegetation cover and thickness of superficial formations have been obtained from photointerpretation and field work. The susceptibility assessment is based on multivariate statistical techniques (discriminant analysis), which hasbeen tested in a pilot area in La Pobla de Lillet (Eastern Pyreenes, Spain). Theresults obtained using a random sample show that 82% of all the cells, and 90% of cells including slope failures, have been properly classified. A susceptibility map based on the discriminant function has given consistent results. The susceptibilityassessment is very sensitive to the parameters selected. Compared to thetraditional methods, the main advantage of the GIS-aided procedure is the rapidityprovided by the automatic capture of parameters. It also has the capability of coveringlarge areas, and the objectivity and reproducibility of the results. The main drawbackis that, at present, not all regions have DEM accurate enough to cope with small landslides.     

Climate variability and ecosystem dynamics of remote alpine and arctic lakes: the MOLAR project

This paper introduces the results of an integrated project designed to compare high resolution analysis of proxy records of climate change in the sediments of seven mountain lakes across Europe with reconstructed instrumental records of climate change over the last 200 years. Palaeolimnological methods used include radiometric dating (²¹⁰Pb, ¹³⁷Cs), mineral magnetics, dry weight, loss-on-ignition, carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, pigments, diatoms, chrysophyte cysts, cladocera and chironomids. Changes in fossil assemblages were summarised using principal components analysis. The stratigraphic data were compared with the instrumental record using linear regression techniques. The dated sediment records for each proxy from each site were treated as the response variables and the various attributes of the instrumental climate record as the predictor variables. The predictor variables were generated for each site for the period 1781 to 1997 using temperature reconstructions based on meteorological records. To harmonise the climatic predictors and the response variables, the climatic variables were smoothed along time with a LOESS regression. The results of the various analyses at the seven sites are presented in the following papers. A synthesis of the project and the relative performance of the different proxy methods are discussed in the final paper.     

Diatom species variation between lake habitats: implications for interpretation of paleolimnological records

A sample of a sediment record contains diatom species that have grown in disparate habitats and eventually accumulated in a deep part of the lake. The original habitats may differ in substrate, depth location, and availability of resources. Identifying the species characteristic of each habitat should improve our ecological and environmental interpretation of the sediment record by distinguishing habitat specific responses. With this aim, we studied the benthic diatom communities of a deep oligotrophic lake across several habitats. The main source of variation in the diatom composition was the substrate type; particularly, sediment biofilms. Depth was the second factor. The thermocline defined a shift in diatom communities that also included changes in the dominant lifeforms. A third factor was the mesoscale heterogeneity (i.e., rock sides). Although most species were present in many habitats, characteristic species were identified for all the main habitats and used for an improved interpretation of the deep sediment record. Appropriate standardization showed increasing species richness and diversity from epilimnetic epilithic samples to hypolimnetic sediment samples. We estimate that more than 5000 valve counts are required for appropriate comparisons. Consequently, in sediment records with lower counts per sample, one has to amalgamate samples—losing temporal resolution—to achieve reliable analyses of diversity changes over time. Deep sediment samples are representative of the gamma-diversity of the lake diatom metacommunity, which result from the local alpha diversity of the habitats and the beta-diversity of the variability in composition among them. This double source of diversity has to be taken into account when using the sediment record for estimating lake biodiversity changes. On the other hand, we show that an estimation of the spatial (habitat) heterogeneity of a reconstructed environmental variable can be achieved using subsets of species characteristic of each habitat. We demonstrate the procedure by reconstructing the pH fluctuations during the last 200 years in several habitats from a single sediment record. The results are coherent with the expected differences between predominantly trophogenic or tropholithic habitats.     

An operational forecasting system for physical processes in the Santos-Sao Vicente-Bertioga Estuarine System,Southeast Brazil

Ocean Dynamics - We describe the design, implementation, and performance of a fully automated Santos Operational Forecasting System (SOFS), built to monitor and predict short-term (< 3 days)...