The Canary Islands fishing policy

In the last 20 years the Canary Islands fishing fleet has gone from the privileged position of enjoying abundant catches in the old “Canary Islands-Saharan” fishing grounds to the precarious situation in which it currently finds itself. This paper aims to determine what the future holds for The Canaries fishing sector. Hence, fishing rights and policies are analysed and the special aids received from the EC are compared with those applied in other similar ultraperipheric regions. The adoption of a more interventionist role by the Canary Islands administration may solve at least part of the problem faced by this sector.     

Motion of rigid bodies in a set of redundant variables

In this article we study the conditions for obtaining canonical transformationsy=f(x) of the phase space, wherey(y ₁,y ₂,...,y _2n ) andx(x ₁,x ₂,...,x _2m ) in such a way that the number of variables is increased. In particular, this study is applied to the rotational motion in functions of the Eulerian parameters (q ₀,q ₁,q ₂,q ₃) and their conjugate momenta (Q ₀,Q ₁,Q ₂,Q ₃) or in functions of complex variables (z ₁,z ₂,z ₃,z ₄) and their conjugate momenta (Z ₁,Z ₂,Z ₃,Z ₄) defined by means of the previous variables. Finally, our article include some properties on the rotational motion of a rigid body moving about a fixed point.     

Human impacts on Laguna de Bay, Philippines and management strategies for their mitigation

Laguna de Bay is the largest lake in the Philippines bordering metropolitan Manila, the nation's capital and the industrial hub of the country. As a multiple-use resource the lake is of prime importance for its fisheries, as a transport route and as a water source for the cooling of industrial plants and for irrigation. The lake is also envisaged to supply the domestic water needs of the basin in the year 2000. With rapid urbanization, industrial development and deforestation of its watershed, Laguna de Bay has been stressed with sedimentation, overexploitation of its fisheries and pollution. Various management strategies have been adopted by government to address such human impacts. Among the major programs are the installation of a hydraulic control structure, implementation of a zoning and management plan and the formulation of a master plan. There is need for an integrated approach for the management of the Laguna de Bay basin for its sustainable development.     

Analysis and interpretation of the seismic response of RC buildings in Concepción during the February 27, 2010, Chile earthquake

Observed trends in the seismic performance of eight severely damaged reinforced concrete (RC) structures after the February 27, 2010, Chile earthquake are presented in this article. After a reconnaissance and surveying process conducted immediately after the earthquake, several aspects not conventionally considered in building design were observed in the field. Most of the considered structures showed extensive localized damage in walls of lower stories and first basements. Several factors indicate that damage was brittle, and occurred mainly in recent RC structures supported on soft soils with some degree of vertical and/or horizontal irregularity. Non-ductile behavior has been inferred due to the lack of evidence of spread damage in the structure, and the fact that very similar structural configurations existed nearby without apparent damage. Some key aspects in understanding the observed damage are: geographical orientation of the building, presence of vertical and horizontal irregularities, wall thickness and reinforcement detailing, and lack of sources for energy dissipation. Additionally, results of a building-code type analysis are presented for the 4 most critical buildings, and Demand/Capacity ratios are calculated and compared with the observed behavior. It is concluded that the design codes must be revised relative to wall design provisions.     

Bivalves and oncoids as palaeoenvironmental indicators at Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous dinosaur sites from Spain

Bivalves from the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous stratigraphic section at Las Zabacheras (Galve Sub-basin Teruel, northern Spain), are reviewed from both systematic and palaeoautoecological perspectives. For this study the Villar del Arzobispo Formation, well known for important dinosaur occurrences, was sampled from the boundary with the underlying Higueruelas Formation (Late Jurassic), to the first levels of the overlying El Castellar Formation (Early Cretaceous). The bivalve taxa have Late Jurassic affinity, pointing to a possible Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary towards the top of the Villar del Arzobispo Formation. We have sampled oncoids, whose nuclei are bivalves, through the section to study environment change in this lithostratigraphical formation. Geochemical trace elements and δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O stable isotope analysis of the oncoids enable us to determine the conditions in which the microbialites were formed and provide further palaeoenvironmental data from the deposits containing the bivalves. Bivalve taxa change from the lower part of the Villar del Arzobispo Formation, where Ceratomya excentrica and Unicardium cf. subregulare are characteristic of marine conditions, becoming more continental towards the top of the formation with the presence of Unionoidean bivalves, and in the “Wealden” facies of the El Castellar Formation, where Teruella gautieri, has been found. Bivalves and oncoids allow us to recognize continental conditions where the first dinosaur of Spain, the sauropod Aragosaurus ischiatus was found, in an open water system, where there was limited evaporation, and with enough energy to produce well oxygenated water.     

Biodegradation of Herbicide Propanil and Its Subproduct 3,4‐Dichloroaniline in Water

The rational use of pesticides generates an impact which is normally reversed and eliminated by the environment itself. However, the indiscriminate use of pesticides makes its natural degradation rhythm difficult, prolonging their presence in the soil for a great deal of time. Aiming towards a decrease in the environmental impact of pesticides, soil microorganisms capable of degrading pesticides, such as propanil, were investigated. An Enterobacter cloacae strain, isolated from rice field soil, was exposed to the herbicide propanil alone and in a mixture containing also bentazone, clomazone, quinclorac, and 2,4‐D. This bacterium was able to eliminate 100% of the applied propanil in 28 days. Propanil degradation in the 5‐herbicide mixture was much lower than that of individual pesticide degradation. The aeration of the system helped to degrade propanil and its subproduct 3,4‐dichloroaniline much faster. LC with UV detection was used to determine the remaining concentrations of the herbicides and their subproducts.     

Identifying oceanographic conditions conducive to coastal impacts on temperate open coastal beaches

Natural Hazards - Warnings issued by meteorological or oceanographic agencies are a common means of allowing people to prepare for likely impactful events. Quantifying the relationships between...