Land use change in a 200‐year period and its effect on blue and green water flow in two Slovenian Mediterranean catchments—lessons for the future

The overexploitation and impairment of our freshwater resources require land management strategies that support the preservation of green and blue water flow and various ecosystem services. Historical landscape analysis and the influential driving factors of landscape development provide an essential basis for tackling current environmental questions in land and water management. Hence, this article investigates the influence of historical land use pattern on the hydrological processes and provision of blue and green water flow and storage for man and ecosystems under current climate conditions. Moreover, we discuss in how far these findings could be used to predict or optimise future land management options or as a reference for future land and water management. We used digitalized historical land use maps from 1787, 1827, 1940 and 1984 and a digital land use map of present situation from 2009 for our study areas, which are two small scale Slovenian catchments (Reka and Dragonja). The integrated river basin model soil and water assessment tool was used to simulate the land use change effects on blue and green water flow. The results showed for both catchments that the influence of land use change on total and green water quantity would be statistically insignificant but would have considerable effects on the seasonal flows. In the Reka catchment, historical situations indicate effects on spring and summer blue and green water flow due to a decreased percentage of forest and an increased percentage of grassland and vineyards in the past. Results for the Dragonja catchment indicate past shift from arable land use to forest as decrease in summer green water flow and increase in blue water flow. Possible effects are also increased levels of blue water flow and decreased levels of green water flow during the growing period of the year. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Paleoclimate study of mountain ecosystems by multiple group biological analysis

Methodological problems of climatic reconstruction for different periods of Holocene are discussed on the basis of a multiple group biological analysis on peat-sapropel sediments.The possibility of biological analysis is exemplified by the paleoclimatic reconstruction for Carpathian and Altai Mountain ranges.For the "Skolevsky Beskidy" national park of Carpaty the paleoclimatic scenarios have been drown up aiming at the more precise definition of climatic conditions for the period of mass mountain slope terracing.The stability of terrace systems of various designs in the current climatic conditions has been assessed.It is shown that during periods of humid climate the terraces,whose designs have been focused on drainage,were built.In periods of dry and warm climate the terrace systems capable of accumulating water were built.Both these types of terrace systems are destroyed in nowadays.Only those terrace systems are stable which were adjusted by their builders to contrast variations of precipitation.For Western Altais the paleoclimatic scenario has been done to forecast the safety of the Bronze Age kurgans(burial earth mounds) with permafrost inside the construction.In the Altay region during the Holocene it has revealed two periods of sharp cooling,the peaks of which occurred in the intervals 4500-4300 and 2500-2300 years ago,and two periods of pronounced climatic drying 4900-4700 and 130-70 years ago.Depletion of the algae composition in the layer corresponding to the last period of drying climate indicates a very sharp change in the parameters of moisture and turning the lake into a dry swamp.Periods of cold weather may have contributed to the formation of special ritual traditions of the Sakan tribes that require the frozen ground to bury the dead.The later climate fluctuations identified have not affected the safety of permafrost in burial mounds constructed in the V-III cc BC.     

Flat-Slab Thermal Structure and Evolution Beneath Central Mexico

Recent seismic and magnetotelluric experiments, aimed at better characterizing the shape and state of the subducting slab and continental crust beneath Central Mexico, exposed significant differences with conclusions of previous studies. A new slab geometry is revealed in which the subducting Cocos slab is perfectly flat between 120 to 290?km from the trench, after which it plunges into the asthenosphere at a dip angle of ~65°, in sharp contrast with the previously proposed ~20° dip angle. Seismic tomography studies show negative P-wave velocity anomalies (?2 to ?4%) in the mantle wedge beneath the Mexican Volcanic Belt, and positive anomalies (+2 to +3%) for the subducted Cocos slab. Magnetotelluric experiments exposed a very low-resistivity area (1?C10? ??m) located within the continental crust just below the Mexican Volcanic Arc. Finally, several spots of non-volcanic tremors (NVTs) have been recorded inside the continental crust above the flat-slab segment. While all these experiments provide a better picture of the subduction system beneath Central Mexico, several key processes need further investigation. In this study, we take advantage of these new observations to better constrain the thermal structure beneath Central Mexico. Two different thermal models are computed for a mantle potential temperature (T _p) of 1,350 and 1,450°C, respectively. The new thermal structures are then converted into P-wave velocity anomalies and compared with the observed V _p anomalies. We found that a T _p of 1,450°C produced larger V _p anomalies that do not fit the observations. However, using a T _p of only 1,350°C, our predicted V _p anomalies are positive (+2 to +3%) for the cold slab and negative (?2 to ?4%) in the mantle wedge. These V _p estimates are consistent with the observed seismic tomography from P-wave arrivals, and therefore we conclude that a T _p of 1,350°C is a better estimate for the mantle potential temperature beneath Central Mexico. The new thermal model, in conjunction with phase diagrams for sediments, hydrated basalt and lithospheric mantle, have been used to estimate the amount and location of fluids released from the subducting Cocos slab. Several dehydration pulses have been identified along the slab interface where most of the fluids stored in sediments and oceanic crust are released into the overlying continental crust above the flat-slab. We found a good correlation between the pattern of these dehydration pulses and the location of NVTs, suggesting that slab dehydration is responsible for triggering the tremors. We suggest that NVT bursts localized above the flat slab segment represent the manifestation of ongoing continental crust hydration and weakening, a process that has been going on since 15?Ma ago when the Cocos slab entered into a flat-slab regime. Such continuous weakening would have reduced the suction forces that kept the slab in a flat regime in the last 15?Ma, allowing the slab to easily roll back. The continuous low-resistivity region recorded beneath the volcanic front in Central Mexico might represent the evidence of slab dehydration and crust weakening over time.     

Role of dynamics in the advection of aerosols over the Arabian Sea along the west coast of peninsular India during pre-monsoon season: A case study based on satellite data and regional climate model

The circulation dynamics of an event marked by the formation of an aerosol cluster off the coast of Maharashtra on April 22, 2006, its southward migration along the Indian west coast with a mean speed of ~200 km/day and its final dissipation after reaching the end of the peninsula by April 28, 2006 as revealed by MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) against the pre-monsoon conditions of April 2006 are examined in this study. The maximum aerosol concentration in the cluster was found getting confined to lower and lower altitudes during its southward movement. The NCEP/NCAR (National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research) reanalysis wind field indicates that the atmospheric circulation, especially the horizontal wind convergence is the major factor that guides the formation and the dynamics of the cluster. Fine mode fraction from MODIS suggests that the cluster mainly consists of coarse dust particles. The regional climate model, RegCM3 with an efficient dust generation module simulates the formation and movement of the cluster appreciably well. The simulations which also exhibit the altitudinally descending nature of the cluster during its southward movement confirm the mechanism which governs the cluster dynamics suggested based on MODIS and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data.     

Genetic aspects of the oil and gas potential of the sedimentary cover in the northeastern part of the Black Sea (within the Russian Economic Zone)

The oil and gas potential of the region under study is assessed using the historical-genetic method developed at the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The predicted distribution of the main oil and gas source formations in the sedimentary cover section is presented; the modern temperature conditions of their occurrence are calculated. Based on these data and the analyses of the distribution of the oil and gas deposits discovered in the adjacent land territories, the possible oil and oil-and-gasbearing prospectives are determined, and specific recommendations for exploration are given.     

Wave height statistics for seakeeping assessment of ships in the Adriatic Sea

The paper presents methodology and results of the development of sea states statistics for the Adriatic Sea. Such statistics is still lacking despite a need of the shipping industry. The presented study is based on the Atlas of Climatology containing statistics of sea states observations in the Adriatic Sea made by merchant ships during the period of 15 years. The results, presented in the Atlas in the form of “wave roses”, are digitalized and empirical frequencies of sea state occurrences are obtained. The 3-parametric Weibull distribution is then fitted through empirical data points enabling the “smoothening” of the histogram. The resulting histogram is compared with other studies for the long-term prediction of the sea states in the Adriatic Sea. The paper concludes with the discussion on the accuracy and applicability of the results.     

Sources of unique rhenium enrichment in fumaroles and sulphides at Kudryavy volcano

Rhenium (Re) is one of the least abundant elements in Earth, averaging 0.28 ppb in the primitive mantle. The unique occurrence of rheniite ReS₂ (74.5 wt% of Re) in Kudryavy volcano precipitates raises questions about recycling of Re-rich reservoirs within the Kurile-Kamchatka volcanic Island arc setting. The sources of this unique Re enrichment have been inferred from studies of Re-Os isotope systematic and trace elements in volcanic gases, sulphide precipitates and host volcanic rocks. The fumarolic gas condensates are enriched in hydrophile trace elements relative to fluid-immobile elements and exhibit high Ba/Nb (133-204), Rb/Y (16-406) and Th/Zr (0.01-0.25) ratios. They are characterised by high Re (7-210 ppb) and Os abundances (0.4-0.9 ppb), with ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratios in a range 0.122-0.152. This Os isotopic compositional range is similar to that of the peridotite xenoliths from the metasomatised mantle wedge above the subducted Pacific plate, the radiogenic isotopic signature of which is probably due to radiogenic addition from a slab-derived fluid.Re- and Os-rich sulphide and oxide minerals precipitate from volcanic gases within fumarolic fields. Molybdenite (MoS₂), powellite (CaMoO₄) and cannizzarite (Pb₄Bi₆S₁₃) contain 1.5-1.7 wt%, 10 ppm, and 65-252 ppb of Re, respectively. Both molybdenite and rheniite contain normal Os concentrations, with total Os abundances in a range from 0.6 to 3.1 ppm for molybdenite, and 2.3-24.3 ppb for the rheniite samples. Repeated analyses of osmium isotope ratios for two rheniite samples form a best-fit line with an initial ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratio of 0.32 ± 0.15 and an age of 79 ± 11 yr, which is the youngest age ever measured in natural samples. The high Re contents in molybdenite and rheniite led to high radiogenic ¹⁸⁷Os values, even in the limited period of time, with ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratios up to 3.3 for molybdenite and up to 4.4 for rheniite.The Os isotopic compositions of andesite-basaltic rocks from the Kudryavy volcano (¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os up to 0.326) are more radiogenic than those of residual peridotites and fumarolic gas condensates that are mainly constituted from magmatic vapor. Such radiogenic values can be attributed either to the addition of a radiogenic Os-rich subduction component to the depleted mantle, or to the assimilation of older dacitic caldera walls (¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os = 0.6) during arc magma ascent and emplacement. The latter hypothesis is supported by the correlation between ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratio and indicators of fractionation such as MgO or Ni, and by low contents of potentially hydrophile trace elements such as Ba, Rb and Th relative to fluid-immobile elements such as Nb, Zr and Y. The high Re flux in the Kudryavy volcano (estimated at ∼46 kg/yr) can be explained by remobilisation of Re by Cl-rich water from an underplated mantle wedge and subducted organic-rich sediments of the Pacific plate.     

The green–blue swing: plasticity of plankton food‐webs in response to coastal oceanographic dynamics

The internal organization of plankton communities plays a key role in biogeochemical cycles and in the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. In this study, the structure of a marine plankton community (including both unicellular and multicellular organisms) was inferred by applying an ecological network approach to species abundances observed weekly at the long‐term ecological research station MareChiara (LTER‐MC) in the Gulf of Naples (Tyrrhenian Sea, Mediterranean Sea) in the summers of 2002–2009. Two distinct conditions, characterized by different combination of salinity and chlorophyll values, alternated at the site: one influenced by coastal waters, herein named ‘green’, and the other reflecting more offshore conditions, named ‘blue’. The green and blue ‘phases’ showed different keystone biological elements: namely, large diatoms and small‐sized flagellates, respectively. Several correlations amongst species belonging to different trophic groups were found in both phases (connectance ~0.30). In the green phase, several links between phytoplankton and mesozooplankton and within the latter were detected, suggesting matter flow from microbes up to carnivorous zooplankton. A microbial‐loop‐like sub‐web, including mixo‐ and heterotrophic dinoflagellates and ciliates, was present in the green phase, but it was relatively more important in the blue phase. The latter observation suggests a more intense cycling of matter at the microbial trophic level in the blue phase. These results show that different modes of ecological organization can emerge from relatively small changes in the composition of aquatic communities coping with environmental variability. This highlights a significant plasticity in the internal structure of plankton webs, which should be taken into account in predictions of the potential effects of climatic oscillations on aquatic ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles therein.     

Magnetite in the unequilibrated CK chondrites: Implications for metamorphism and new insights into the relationship between the CV and CK chondrites

Bulk isotopic and elemental compositions of CV and CK chondrites have led to the suggestion that both originate from the same asteroid. It has been argued that magnetite compositions also support this model; however, magnetite has been studied almost exclusively in the equilibrated (type 4‐6) CKs. Magnetite in seven unequilibrated CKs analyzed here is enriched in MgO, TiO₂, and Al₂O₃ relative to the equilibrated CKs, suggesting that magnetite compositions are affected by metamorphism. Magnetite in CKs is compositionally distinct from CVs, particularly in abundances of Cr₂O₃, NiO, and TiO₂. Although there are minor similarities between CV and equilibrated CK chondrite magnetite, this is contrary to what we would expect if the CVs and CKs represent a single metamorphic sequence. CV magnetite should resemble CK3 magnetite, as both were metamorphosed to type 3 conditions. Oxygen fugacities and temperatures of CV_ox and CK chondrites are also difficult to reconcile using existing CV‐CK parent body models. Mineral chemistries, which eliminate issues of bulk sample heterogeneity, provide a reliable alternative to techniques that involve a small amount of sample material. CV and CK chondrite magnetite has distinct compositional differences that cannot be explained by metamorphism.