Assessing coastal benthic macrofauna community condition using best professional judgement - Developing consensus across North America and Europe

Benthic indices are typically developed independently by habitat, making their incorporation into large geographic scale assessments potentially problematic because of scaling inequities. A potential solution is to establish common scaling using expert best professional judgment (BPJ). To test if experts from different geographies agree on condition assessment, sixteen experts from four regions in USA and Europe were provided species-abundance data for twelve sites per region. They ranked samples from best to worst condition and classified samples into four condition (quality) categories. Site rankings were highly correlated among experts, regardless of whether they were assessing samples from their home region. There was also good agreement on condition category, though agreement was better for samples at extremes of the disturbance gradient. The absence of regional bias suggests that expert judgment is a viable means for establishing a uniform scale to calibrate indices consistently across geographic regions.     

Use of subfossil <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chaoborus</Emphasis> mandibles in models for inferring past hypolimnetic oxygen

Assemblages of subfossil Chaoboridae mandibles from 80 thermally-stratified shield lakes in southern central Canada were examined to explore the influence of subfossil Chaoborus on subfossil Chironomidae-based paleolimnological inference models of deepwater oxygen, as volume-weighted hypolimnetic oxygen (VWHO). Inclusion of subfossil Chaoborus in subfossil Chironomidae-based VWHO models only improved model performance modestly, however it produced substantively better inferences of hypolimnetic oxygen in anoxic lakes, because Chaoborus had a much stronger positive relationship with low VWHO compared to chironomid taxa indicative of anoxic conditions, such as Chironomus. A Chaoborus mandible:Chironomidae head capsule ratio (chaob:chir) may be a useful index in paleolimnological studies, as chaob:chir in a surface sediment training set was significantly related to VWHO, and displayed little co-variation with other limnological variables such as trophic status (e.g. TP, TN) or lake depth (e.g. Z _max). Chaob:chir values in a stratigraphic analysis tracked chironomid-inferred VWHO, however the use of chaob:chir in regional ‘top–bottom’ paleolimnological studies must be used with caution.     

Effect of streamflow stochasticity on bedform-driven hyporheic exchange

The interactions between the stream and the geomorphologic units that compose the stream channel result in an exchange of water, heat, and chemicals that is an important component of the flows of energy and nutrients in the river ecosystem. This exchange is characterized by complex spatial and temporal dynamics that depend on the characteristics of the stream flow and morphology. At present, many studies have addressed the development of spatial patterns of hyporheic exchange that are induced by many geomorphological factors at different scales. However, much less is known about the temporal evolution of the surface–subsurface exchange in response to the dynamics of the stream discharge. In order to investigate this problem, the present work analyzes the influence of streamflow variability on the hyporheic exchange induced by fluvial bedforms. A stochastic approach is employed to generate streamflow series whose statistical properties are representative of streams with different hydrological regimes. The resulting exchange fluxes and travel times are then computed, and the relationships between the streamflow regime and the dynamics of the exchange flux and travel times are investigated. The results show that the mean stream discharge can be used to estimate the average features of the temporal dynamics of hyporheic exchange. Moreover, exchange fluxes and residence times distributions exhibit significant fluctuations, which are tightly related to the coefficient of variation of the streamflow hydrograph.     

Regional assessment of long-term hypolimnetic oxygen changes in Ontario (Canada) shield lakes using subfossil chironomids

Subfossil chironomid assemblages were used to infer long-term water quality changes in south-central Ontario shield lakes, which are currently being impacted by anthropogenic eutrophication, acid rain, and recent climate change. Using a transfer function developed to infer average end-of-summer volume-weighted hypolimnetic oxygen (avg VWHO), a top-bottom paleolimnological approach was used to reconstruct pre-industrial (pre-1850) deepwater oxygen conditions. Comparison with present-day (top surface sediments) chironomid-based inferences of avgVWHO results suggest that hypolimnetic oxygen levels are presently similar to natural, pre-industrial (bottom sediments) levels in most lakes. Approximately half of the study lakes recorded an increase in hypolimnetic oxygen since the 19th century. Inferred changes in avgVWHO correlate well with our results from another chironomid-based oxygen model which reconstructs the Anoxic Factor (AF). When study lakes are separated according to their hydrological status (i.e., natural versus managed), lakes with a dam at their outlet and seasonally managed lake levels had significantly different changes in avgVWHO compared to lakes with natural hydrology. Lakes with a dam at their outlet generally recorded increases in avgVWHO, while natural hydrology lakes mostly recorded declines. There was no relationship between inferred changes in avgVWHO and the density of cottage and resort development along the shorelines of lakes. Changes in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) possibly related to recent climate changes may also be affecting deepwater oxygen, however patterns of change are very subtle.     

Discovering the stone heritage of southern Italy: technical properties of the Mondragone marble from Campania region

The results of the geological characterization of an old stone building in southern Italy, are presented here. The Mondragone marble is a slightly metamorphosed carbonate rock, which was widely employed as monumental stone in the 18th century Royal Palaces of Naples and Caserta. In this paper, for the first time, this rock has been investigated with a thorough laboratory testing program, aimed at defining its mineralogical, physical and mechanical parameters. The two most important varieties of Mondragone marble were separately tested: the yellow and grey marbles (hereafter, YM and GM, respectively). The results obtained from physical tests (open porosity, dry density, specific gravity, water absorption coefficients, ultrasonic velocity) did not show marked differences between the two materials; in contrast, the mechanical strength tests (uniaxial compressive strength, point load strength, flexural strength) showed better behaviour of YM than for GM. After a tentative comparison with other well known carbonate rocks from Italy, some considerations on the response of Mondragone marble to local weathering were conducted. In particular, the weathering typologies were related to the particular texture of the brecciated marble and the different strength resistances displayed by the various constituents of the rock.     

Automatic Solar Flare Detection Using Neural Network Techniques

We present a new method for automatic detection of flare events from images in the optical range. The method uses neural networks for pattern recognition and is conceived to be applied to full-disk Himages. Images are analyzed in real time, which allows for the design of automatic patrol processes able to detect and record flare events with the best time resolution available without human assistance. We use a neural network consisting of two layers, a hidden layer of nonlinear neurodes and an output layer of one linear neurode. The network was trained using a back-propagation algorithm and a set of full-disk solar images obtained by HASTA (HSolar Telescope for Argentina), which is located at the Estación de Altura Ulrico Cesco of OAFA (Observatorio Astronómico Félix Aguilar), El Leoncito, San Juan, Argentina. This method is appropriate for the detection of solar flares in the complete optical classification, being portable to any Hinstrument and providing unique criteria for flare detection independent of the observer.     

A geomathematic investigation of syntexis in a Gabbroic formation

Mathematical methods were employed in an investigation of syntexis in the Gabbro di Sondalo, a mafic igneous formation in the Central Alps (Italy). A set of 100 specimens was selected according to sampling criteria and analyzed by X-ray fluorescence for eight elements; Q-mode and R-mode factor analysis then was applied to these data. Results of the computations indicate that the general trend of differentiation is related to the syntexis of gneissic wall rocks (Gneiss del Monte Tonale) in the mafic melt. Ca and Mg are abundant in the gabbro, and Si and K in the gneiss; the independent variation trend of Fe and Ti may be related to a differentiation episode due to a magmatic phase. Spatial representation of multivariate data on differentiation also was performed on the main elements and a picture of the trend of syntexis was mapped.     

The North Tyrrhenian–Northern Apennines post-collisional system: constraints for a geodynamic model

The North Tyrrhenian–Northern Apennines post-collisional system (NTAS) has been analysed on the basis of marine reflection profiles and bibliographic sources with the aim of providing an up-to-date geotectonic and evolutive framework consistent with structural data. The continental rifting began to affect the most internal (western) side of the system in the middle (?)-upper Miocene, while the most external (eastern) zones were touched by rifting only in Pleistocene times. The birth and development of extensive, asymmetric basins took place with a progressive speeding up of rifting towards the external sectors. A diachronous, regionally extended and eastward rejuvenating unconformity, recognizable within the Neogene–Quaternary basins, marks the passage from the syn-rift to the post-rift tectonic regime. While the first is everywhere dominated by extension, the second one produces vertical movements. Reflection terminations related to this unconformity are interpreted in terms of vertical tectonic component. Three zones that experienced different post-rift vertical movements are thus recognized in the NTAS: subsidence in the North Tyrrhenian deep water region; tectonic stability or alternation of moderate subsidence and uplift in the continental shelf and western Tuscany, strong uplift in eastern Tuscany. The updated structural data demonstrate that the NTAS upper crust is crosscut by both Tyrrhenian-dipping and Apennine-dipping low-angle detachment planes, above which the upper crustal blocks rotated and experienced extensional transport along two opposite directions: to the west and to the east, respectively. The coexistence of opposite-dipping crustal surfaces bears two fundamental implications for the NTAS geodynamics. First it stresses the importance of the anti-Apennine transfer faults, since they separate crustal blocks of opposite extension polarity. Secondly, it testifies that the extension tectonics not only re-utilized former crustal thrust planes, but also gave origin to new significant E- and NE-dipping detachment planes. Plan and crossview geometries of faults, together with considerations on the role of the metamorphic core complexes, point to an interpretation of the NTAS structure that is more consistent with the ‘anastomosing shear’ model rather than the 'simple shear' or the ‘delamination’ ones.