West Antarctica's sensitivity to natural and human‐forced climate change over the Holocene

The location and intensity of the austral westerlies strongly influence southern hemisphere precipitation and heat transport with consequences for human society and ecosystems. With future warming, global climate models project increased aridity in southern mid‐latitudes related to continued poleward contraction of the austral westerlies. We utilize Antarctic ice cores to investigate past and to set the stage for the prediction of future behaviour of the westerlies. We show that Holocene West Antarctic ice core reconstructions of atmospheric circulation sensitively record naturally forced progressive as well as abrupt changes. We also show that recent poleward migration of the westerlies coincident with increased emission of greenhouse gases and the Antarctic ozone hole has led to unprecedented penetration, compared with >100,000 years ago, of air masses bringing warmth, extra‐Antarctic source dust and anthropogenic pollutants into West Antarctica. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Performance evaluation of AR5-CMIP5 models for the representation of seasonal and multi-annual variability of precipitation in Brazilian hydropower sector basins under RCP8.5 scenario

ABSTRACT

Representations of precipitation from CMIP5 models over the 1950–1999 period in hydrographic basins that are relevant to the Brazilian electricity sector are evaluated in this study. The majority of ensemble members adequately represented seasonal variability, although they differed about the patterns of high-frequency interannual variation. The models did not adequately represent seasonal-scale precipitation in the southern region of Brazil. Relative to other models, the CNRM_CM5 and HadGEM2-ES models demonstrated good seasonal and interannual representation over most basins, while the global CanESM2, GFDL-ESM2M and IPSL_CM5A-LR models demonstrated relatively poor performance. The models concur on the impact of the RCP8.5 scenario in the Southeast/Midwest and South sectors over the period 2015–2044, suggesting that precipitation will decrease up to 15% in the basin supplying the Furnas hydropower plant and by 12% in the basin supplying the Itaipú plant, which represents 25% of the hydroelectric production in Brazil.     

Runoff and sediment yield from a small watershed in southeastern Spain (Lanjarón): implications for water quality

Abstract

This study presents an analysis of three hydrological years (2007/08, 2008/09 and 2009/10) of precipitation, runoff and sediment yield collected from a small (669.7 ha) semi-arid watershed in southeastern Spain (Lanjarón). At the watershed outlet the runoff, suspended sediment concentration, total solute concentrations and dissolved nutrients (N-NO₃, N-NH₄, H₂PO₄ and K) in streamflow were continuously monitored. The runoff was highly variable, ranging between 53.4 and 154.7 mm year^?1, with an average of 97.6 mm year^?1. In contrast, sediment yields were more regular, averaging 1.8 Mg ha^?1 year^?1. The hydrological response of the watershed depended mainly on rainfall intensity. Formerly, 32% of the watershed was forested and runoff was more regular, despite the typical Mediterranean rainfall cycle; however, due to forest area reduction to 17% and the increase in abandoned farmland area (18%) in recent decades, the runoff variability has increased. Greater amounts of solutes (32.7 Mg ha^?1 year^?1) were exported, so that this water is considered as poor for irrigation use. The temporal nutrient export was related to seasonal discharge fluctuations as well as daily concentrations. In addition, the nutrient concentrations of the water discharged were lower than threshold limits cited in water-quality standards for agricultural use and for potable water, with the exception of K (65.9 mg L^?1), which may degrade surface waters as well as irrigated soils. Thus, hydrological and erosive processes depended on the watershed features, but also on prior conditions in combination with the characteristics of rainfall episodes.

Citation Durán, Z.V.H., Francia, M.J.R., Garcia, T.I., Rodríguez, P.C.R., Martínez, R.A., and Cuadros, T.S., 2012. Runoff and sediment yield from a small watershed in southeastern Spain (Lanjarón): implications for water quality. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 57 (8), 1610–1625.     

The Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in southern Iberia

New data and a review of historiographic information from Neolithic sites of the Malaga and Algarve coasts (southern Iberian Peninsula) and from the Maghreb (North Africa) reveal the existence of a Neolithic settlement at least from 7.5 cal ka BP. The agricultural and pastoralist food producing economy of that population rapidly replaced the coastal economies of the Mesolithic populations. The timing of this population and economic turnover coincided with major changes in the continental and marine ecosystems, including upwelling intensity, sea-level changes and increased aridity in the Sahara and along the Iberian coast. These changes likely impacted the subsistence strategies of the Mesolithic populations along the Iberian seascapes and resulted in abandonments manifested as sedimentary hiatuses in some areas during the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition. The rapid expansion and area of dispersal of the early Neolithic traits suggest the use of marine technology. Different evidences for a Maghrebian origin for the first colonists have been summarized. The recognition of an early North-African Neolithic influence in Southern Iberia and the Maghreb is vital for understanding the appearance and development of the Neolithic in Western Europe. Our review suggests links between climate change, resource allocation, and population turnover.     

Mercury in the Waters of the Jundiaí River, SP, Brazil: The Role of Dissolved Organic Matter

Many developing countries have regions of high demographic density, where untreated residuary waters from different sources are often discharged into rivers, streams and other water bodies. This paper discusses the reducing action of organic matter of anthropic origin on the mercury redox cycle in the Jundiaí River impacted by discharged wastes, and on the Piraí River, a non-impacted water body. The total mercury concentrations in these locations vary from 1.7 to 32?ng?L^?1 in the former and from 0.6 to 10.6?ng?L^?1 in the latter. Dissolved organic carbon concentrations of up to 68.3 and 6.5?mg?L^?1 were observed, confirming the higher impact on the Jundiaí River. It was found that an inverse correlation between the concentration of dissolved organic carbon and total mercury was stronger in the Jundiaí River, given that it receives higher organic loads, suggesting that organic matter exerts a reducing action on mercury, which is released as gas into the atmosphere. This correlation was not observed in the Piraí River, where the organic matter of natural origin is probably not sufficiently labile to act intensely upon the Hg redox cycle, favoring the metal transport.     

Integration of GIS and remote sensing for estimation of soil loss and prioritization of critical sub-catchments: a case study of Tapacurá catchment

Mapping of erosion risk areas is an important tool for the planning of natural resources management, allowing researchers to propose the modification of land use properly and implement more sustainable long-term management strategies. The objective of this study was to assess and identify critical sub-catchments for soil conservation management using the USLE, GIS, and remote sensing techniques. The Tapacurá catchment is one of the planning units for water resource management of the Recife Metropolitan Region. Maps of the erosivity (R), erodibility (K), slope (LS), cover-management (C), and support practice (P) factors were derived from the climate database, digital elevation model, and soil and land-use maps. In order to validate the simulation process, total sediment delivery ratio was estimated. The results showed a mean sediment delivery ratio (SDR) of around 11.5?% and a calculated mean sediment yield of 0.108?t?ha^?1?year^?1, which is close to the observed one, 0.169?t?ha^?1?year^?1. The obtained soil loss map could be considered as a useful tool for environmental monitoring and water resources management. The methodology applied showed acceptable precision and allowed the identification of the most susceptible areas to soil erosion by water, constituting an important predictive tool for soil and environmental management in this region, which is highly relevant for the prediction of varying development scenarios for Tapacurá catchment. This approach can be applied to other areas for simple and reliable identification of critical areas of soil erosion in catchments.     

Octahedral cation ordering of illite and smectite. Theoretical exchange potential determination and Monte Carlo simulations

The distributions of Al ³⁺/Mg ²⁺ and Al ³⁺/ Fe ³⁺ were studied in the octahedral sheet of illites and smectites. Cation exchange interaction parameters J _i, as first, second, third and fourth neighbours were calculated by means of empirical interatomic potentials. Several compositions with different interlayer cations and tetrahedral charge were studied in both Al/Mg and Al/Fe systems. The values of J _i parameters were similar in all Al/Mg samples. From these J _i values, a strong trend to form AlMg pairs was observed in the Al/Mg system. In the Al/Fe system, the values of J _i are very small, indicating no preference for Al/Fe mixing. From these J _i parameters, Monte Carlo simulations of octahedral cation ordering were performed. In the Al/Mg system, an order/disorder phase transition was observed obtaining a fully ordered distribution without presence of an MgMg pair, according to experimental data. Similar phase transitions were observed for the octahedral compositions Al/Mg 1/1 and 3/1. In the Al/Fe system an order/disorder phase transition was also detected but at very low temperature for illite and smectite. Complete Al/Fe mixing is observed in the most stable ordered distribution. This is consistent with experimental results for synthetic Fe/Al smectites.     

Dial Remote Sensed Ethylene and Ozone-Ethylene Correlation in Presence of Urban NOx

{E}thylene, representative of volatile organic compounds and high photochemical ozone creation potential precursor, has been monitored with a single-ended CO₂-TEA laser-based DIAL system using a topographic target. A correlation between ozone concentration and ethylene evolutions in Madrid's urban atmosphere was demonstrated and supported with a basic photochemical smog model. The present work brings additional evidence to the many models which state that ethylene, being a hydrocarbon, has a role to play in the generation of tropospheric ozone.