Biogeomorphology of the Mediterranean Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows

Here we review the multiple interactions between the endemic Mediterranean seagrass, Posidonia oceanica, and coastal geomorphologic processes as an outstanding example of biogeomorphology, taking into account recent advances in the field. Seagrass meadows are among the most important elements for the functioning of marine coastal ecosystems, and represent a major focus for research and conservation. Being considered a priority habitat, P. oceanica meadows are protected by several European Union directives and national laws. In this paper we examine: the role of sedimentary features in controlling the development of the meadows; the interplay between P. oceanica leaf litter (i.e. beached necromass) cast ashore and erosional‐depositional processes on the beaches; the interactions between meadows and nearshore hydrodynamics, and; possible linkages between geomorphological features of the seafloor and the architecture of meadows. Finally, we provide perspectives for future research on P. oceanica and other Mediterranean seagrass meadows in a biogeomorphological context with specific reference to climate change. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The dynamics of mountain erosion: Cirque growth slows as landscapes age

Glacial cirques are widely used palaeoenvironmental indicators, and are key to understanding the role of glaciers in shaping mountain topography. However, notable uncertainty persists regarding the rate and timing of cirque erosion. In order to address this uncertainty, we analyse the dimensions of 2208 cirques in Britain and Ireland and model ice accumulation to investigate the degree of coupling between glacier occupation times and cirque growth. Results indicate that during the last ~120 ka, cirques were glacier-free for an average of 52.0 ± 21.2 ka (43 ± 18%); occupied by small (largely cirque-confined) glaciers for 16.2 ± 9.9 ka (14 ± 8%); and occupied by large glaciers, including ice sheets, for 51.8 ± 18.6 ka (43 ± 16%). Over the entire Quaternary (i.e. 2.6 Ma), we estimate that cirques were glacier-free for 1.1 ± 0.5 Ma; occupied by small glaciers for 0.3 ± 0.2 Ma; and occupied by large glaciers for 1.1 ± 0.4 Ma. Comparing occupation times to cirque depths, and calculating required erosion rates, reveals that continuous cirque growth during glacier occupation is unlikely. Instead, we propose that cirques attained much of their size during the first occupation of a non-glacially sculpted landscape (perhaps during the timeframe of a single glacial cycle). During subsequent glacier occupations, cirque growth may have slowed considerably, with the highest rates of subglacial erosion focused during periods of marginal (small glacier) glaciation. We propose comparatively slow rates of growth following initial cirque development because a ‘least resistance’ shape is formed, and as cirques deepen, sediment becomes trapped subglacially, partly protecting the bedrock from subsequent erosion. In support of the idea of rapid cirque growth, we present evidence from northern British Columbia, where cirques of comparable size to those in Britain and Ireland developed in less than 140 ka. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fast Earth–Moon transfers with ballistic capture

This contribution deals with fast Earth–Moon transfers with ballistic capture in the patched three-body model. We compute ensembles of preliminary solutions using a model that takes into account the relative inclination of the orbital planes of the primaries. The ballistic capture orbits around the Moon are obtained relying on the hyperbolic invariant structures associated to the collinear Lagrangian points of the Earth–Moon system, and the Sun–Earth system portion of the transfers are quasi-periodic orbits obtained by a genetic algorithm. The trajectories are designed to be good initial guesses to search optimal cost-efficient short-time Earth–Moon transfers with ballistic capture in more realistic models.     

Numerical modeling of bed deposition in rapid flow-like landslides: a case study of the Gaolou landslide in Shaanxi Province,China

Some flow-like landslides tend to lose materials while moving on a relatively dry sliding surface.This phenomenon is called bed deposition.In contrast to the bed entrainment phenomenon,bed deposition is relatively poorly understood.Therefore,an improved depth-averaged model is proposed to quantify this phenomenon.The deposition depth is calculated according to the momentum conservation of the deposited mass,and the rheological property of the sliding mass on the bottom is modified considering an abrupt increase in the depth of the sliding surface after deposition.Utilizing the proposed model,the Gaolou landslide,a typical flowlike landside occurring on October 6 th,2006 with an obvious bed deposition phenomenon in Shaanxi Province of China,is simulated to investigate the influence of bed deposition on its propagation process.The results indicate that the proposed model can effectively depict the bed deposition phenomenon in the Gaolou landslide.Bed deposition dissipates part of the kinetic energy of this landslide;thus,the simulated debris inundation area would likely be overestimated when this effect is neglected.On the other hand,the thin liquefied layer formed by the bed deposition process reduces the friction energy dissipation,contributing to the high mobility of this landslide.     

Hard X-ray emission from elliptical galaxies

We report the detection of hard X-ray emission components in the spectra of six nearby, giant elliptical galaxies observed with the ASCA satellite. The systems studied, which exhibit strong dynamical evidence for supermassive black holes in their nuclei, are M87, NGC 1399 and NGC 4696 (the dominant galaxies of the Virgo, Fornax and Centaurus clusters, respectively) and NGC 4472, 4636 and 4649 (three further giant ellipticals in the Virgo cluster). The ASCA data for all six sources provide clear evidence for hard emission components, which can be parametrized by power-law models with photon indices in the range Γ=0.6–1.5 (mean value 1.2) and intrinsic 1–10 keV luminosities of 2×10⁴⁰–2×10⁴² erg s⁻¹. Our results imply the identification of a new class of accreting X-ray source, with X-ray spectra significantly harder than those of binary X-ray sources, Seyfert nuclei or low-luminosity active galactic nuclei, and bolometric luminosities relatively dominated by their X-ray emission. We discuss various possible origins for the hard X-ray emission and argue that it is most likely to be due to accretion on to the central supermassive black holes, via low radiative efficiency accretion flows coupled with strong outflows. In the case of M87, our detected power-law flux is in good agreement with a previously reported measurement from ROSAT High Resolution Imager observations, which were able to resolve the jet from the nuclear X-ray emission components. We confirm previous results showing that the use of multiphase models in the analysis of the ASCA data leads to determinations of approximately solar emission-weighted metallicities for the X-ray gas in the galaxies. We also present results on the individual element abundances in NGC 4636.     

Time-scale and state dependence of the carbon-cycle feedback to climate

Climate and atmospheric CO₂ concentration are intimately coupled in the Earth system: CO₂ influences climate through the greenhouse effect, but climate also affects CO₂ through its impact on the amount of carbon stored on land and in the ocean. The change in atmospheric CO₂ as a response to a change in temperature ( $\varDelta CO_{2}/\varDelta T$ ) is a useful measure to quantify the feedback between the carbon cycle and climate. Using an ensemble of experiments with an Earth system model of intermediate complexity we show a pronounced time-scale dependence of $\varDelta CO_{2}/\varDelta T$ . A maximum is found on centennial scales with $\varDelta CO_{2}/\varDelta T$ values for the model ensemble in the range 5–12 ppm °C^?1, while lower values are found on shorter and longer time scales. These results are consistent with estimates derived from past observations. Up to centennial scales, the land carbon response to climate dominates the CO₂ signal in the atmosphere, while on longer time scales the ocean becomes important and eventually dominates on multi-millennial scales. In addition to the time-scale dependence, modeled $\varDelta CO_{2}/\varDelta T$ show a distinct dependence on the initial state of the system. In particular, on centennial time-scales, high $\varDelta CO_{2}/\varDelta T$ values are correlated with high initial land carbon content. A similar relation holds also for the CMIP5 models, although for $\varDelta CO_{2}/\varDelta T$ computed from a very different experimental setup. The emergence of common patterns like this could prove to usefully constrain the climate–carbon cycle feedback.     

Decline of traditional landscape in a protected area of the southwestern Alps: The fate of enclosed pasture patches in the land mosaic shift

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Traditional landscape elements such as pasture patches enclosed in a forest matrix are progressively disappearing throughout the European Alps. We assessed the land mosaic shift of a protected area located in the western Italian Alps. In particular, the dynamics of pasture patches were studied at both landscape and stand level. Land-cover mapping through object-oriented analysis of historical aerial photographs was used to assess land-cover changes between 1954 and 2000. Spatial statistics were used to quantify landscape patterns, and field samplings within pasture patches were used to explore tree regeneration structure and composition. Our results showed a significant increase in the number of pasture patches caused by their fragmentation following forest expansion. The total surface area of pasture patches decreased by 43% and their core area decreased by 94%. The encroachment of trees on less accessible areas of the pasture patches caused a reduction of patch shape at landscape scale. The gap filling process started 40-50 years ago and began with an early invasion of light demanding species like sycamore maple （Acer pseudoplatanus L.） and common ash （Fraxinus excelsior L.）, followed by European beech （Fagus sylvatica L.） and secondarily silver fir （Abies alba Mill.）. Traditional land-use and population decline in the Pesio Valley led to a reduction in ecotone areas. A transition to a more homogeneous landscape is expected in the next decades. Given the cultural and productive nature of these mountain meadow-pasture communities, extensive livestock grazing systems could be used to manage their future conservation.