Evidence for Holocene Aeolian Activity at the Close of the Middle Bronze Age in the Eastern Carpathian Basin: Geoarchaeological Results from the Mureş River Valley,Romania

While extensive Pleistocene loess deposits have been identified across Eurasia, Holocene age loess (typically nonglaciogenic) is rarely recognized. We explore possible loess deposits in the Mureş River Valley of western Romania, providing a regional signal of increased aridity during the mid‐late Holocene. This proposed aridity may be responsible for the abandonment of Middle Bronze Age tell settlements along the major drainages of the eastern Carpathian Basin (Pannonian plain). This hypothesis centers on a proposed aeolian deposit (the “Pecica deposit”), a ca. 50–80 cm thick, relatively homogeneous, gray layer blanketing the top of the Bronze Age tell of Pecica—Şanţul Mare. Comparing the morphological, geochemical, and physical characteristics of this specific tell deposit with two representative profiles near the site containing glaciogenic calcareous loess and potential Holocene loess deposits developed in Chernozems, we find significant similarities to support this hypothesis. We then review various forms of proxy data published from elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe suggesting a warming trend during this period. The temporal placement of the Pecica deposit is bracketed using diagnostic artifacts, radiocarbon dates, and the degree of soil development, suggesting a period of increased aridity likely occurring soon after the 17th century B.C.     

River Classification as a Geographic Tool in the Age of Big Data and Global Change

Spatial classification is a well‐defined analysis method in geography, which involves defining regions of the Earth based on shared characteristics. An analogy can be made between classification in geography and taxonomy in biology, because both are used to reduce complexity. Just as modern evolutionary theory and genetics technologies have transformed biological taxonomy from the sometimes arbitrary classification of living things based on superficial similarities and differences into a system that reflects the history of life and relationships among organisms, modern advances in conceptual understanding and development of technology have similarly revolutionized classification in geography as a powerful method for describing and quantifying processes. Here, I describe the history and current trends of geographic classifications relevant to river systems. Overall, there is significant emerging potential in classification as a tool for understanding river processes     

Movement patterns and trajectories of ovigerous blue crabs Callinectes sapidus during the spawning migration

Female blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus Rathbun) migrate from low salinity estuarine regions to high salinity regions near the ocean to release larvae. During this migration, ovigerous females use ebb-tide transport, a vertical migratory behavior in which they ascend into the water column during ebb tides, to move seaward to larval release areas. In order to determine the relationship of ebb-tide vertical migrations to local currents and the influence of these vertical migrations on the horizontal transport of blue crabs in the estuary, ovigerous females with mature embryos (1–3 days from hatching) were tracked near Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina (USA), in July and August 2001 and 2002. Crabs were tagged and tracked using ultrasonic telemetry, and currents near the crabs were measured simultaneously with a shipboard acoustic Doppler current profiler.During the two seasons, eight crabs were successfully tracked for periods ranging from 3.9–37.0 h and for distances ranging from 1.9–10.6 km. All crabs migrated seaward during the tracking periods. Crabs moved episodically during all tidal phases with periods of movement on the order of minutes to an hour. They moved with local currents in terms of both speed and direction during ebb tides, consistent with ebb-tide transport, and moved down-estuary (seaward) in opposition to local currents during flood tides. The percentage of time that crabs were active was higher during night ebb tides than during day ebb tides or flood tides and increased with increasing ebb-tide current speed. Mean migratory speeds were 0.11, 0.04, 0.08 and 0.02 m s⁻¹ during night ebb, night flood, day ebb and day flood tides, respectively, and net migratory speeds were on the order of 5 km day⁻¹. Due to the episodic nature of the crabs' movements, the total distances that crabs traveled during ebb tides ranged from 10–40% of the distances that passive particles could have traveled under the same conditions.     

An experimental study of focused magma transport and basalt–peridotite interactions beneath mid-ocean ridges: implications for the generation of primitive MORB compositions

We performed experiments in a piston-cylinder apparatus to determine the effects of focused magma transport into highly permeable channels beneath mid-ocean ridges on: (1) the chemical composition of the ascending basalt; and (2) the proportions and compositions of solid phases in the surrounding mantle. In our experiments, magma focusing was supposed to occur instantaneously at a pressure of 1.25 GPa. We first determined the equilibrium melt composition of a fertile mantle (FM) at 1.25 GPa-1,310°C; this composition was then synthesised as a gel and added in various proportions to peridotite FM to simulate focusing factors Ω equal to 3 and 6 (Ω = 3 means that the total mass of liquid in the system increased by a factor of 3 due to focusing). Peridotite FM and the two basalt-enriched compositions were equilibrated at 1 GPa-1,290°C; 0.75 GPa-1,270°C; 0.5 GPa-1,250°C, to monitor the evolution of phase proportions and compositions during adiabatic decompression melting. Our main results may be summarised as follows: (1) magma focusing induces major changes of the coefficients of the decompression melting reaction, in particular, a major increase of the rate of opx consumption, which lead to complete exhaustion of orthopyroxene (and clinopyroxene) and the formation of a dunitic residue. A focusing factor of ≈4—that is, a magma/rock ratios equal to ≈0.26—is sufficient to produce a dunite at 0.5 GPa. (2) Liquids in equilibrium with olivine (±spinel) at low pressure (0.5 GPa) have lower SiO₂ concentrations, and higher concentrations in MgO, FeO, and incompatible elements (Na₂O, K₂O, TiO₂) than liquids produced by decompression melting of the fertile mantle, and plot in the primitive MORB field in the olivine–silica–diopside–plagioclase tetrahedron. Our study confirms that there is a genetic relationship between focused magma transport, dunite bodies in the upper mantle, and the generation of primitive MORBs.     

Comparative phylogeography and population genetic structure of three widespread mollusc species in the Mediterranean and near Atlantic

Although several studies have evaluated the genetic structure and phylogeographic patterns in many species of marine invertebrates, a general model that applies to all of them remains elusive. For example, some species present an admixture of populations with high gene flow, whereas others exhibit more complex patterns characterized by small‐scale unstructured genetic heterogeneity, even at a local scale. These differences are thought to be due to clear biological aspects such as direct versus indirect development, or the presence of lecithotrophic versus planktotrophic larvae, but few studies compare animals with similar distributions and life modes. Here, we explore the phylogeographic and genetic structure patterns in two chiton (Chiton olivaceus and Lepidopleurus cajetanus) and one abalone (Haliotis tuberculata) species co‐occurring in the same habitat. Samples were obtained from shallow rocky bottoms along the Iberian Peninsula (Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts), Italy, Croatia and Greece, and the mitochondrial markers COI and 16S rRNA gene were sequenced. Our data show evidence of admixture and population expansion in C. olivaceus and H. tuberculata, whereas L. cajetanus exhibited a ‘chaotic patchiness’ pattern defined by a high genetic variability with locality‐exclusive haplotypes, high genetic divergence, and a lack of geographic structure. Shared haplotypes were sampled in both coasts of Iberia (for H. tuberculata) and in the Western and Eastern Mediterranean (for C. olivaceus), potentially indicating high dispersal ability and a recent expansion. The processes underlying the fine‐scale structuring in L. cajetanus remain a mystery. These results are especially interesting because the reproductive mode of the two chitons is similar but differs from that of the abalone, with a veliger larva, while instead the genetic structure of C. olivaceus and H. tuberculata are similar, thus contrasting with predictions based on the life history of the three molluscs and showing that the genetic patterns of marine species may be shaped by many factors, including historical ones.     

Transforming barriers into enablers of action on climate change: Insights from three municipal case studies in British Columbia,Canada

Despite a wealth of financial, technical, and human capacity in Canadian cities, it remains a challenging task to transform this capacity into effective climate change adaptation and mitigation. Indeed, mitigative and adaptive capacities only represent the potential to achieve the ultimate goals of greenhouse gas and vulnerability reduction. This paper builds on previous explorations of barriers to identify powerful levers by which action can be triggered and sustained at the local level through the study of three municipalities in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. The necessity of an explicitly articulated high-level directive, leadership that stimulates an organizational culture of innovation and collaboration, and the ‘institutionalization’ of climate change response measures within standard operating procedures emerged as crucial enablers of action. Addressing a lack of technical, financial, or human resources is less a matter of creating more capacity than of facilitating the effective use of existing resources. This facilitation depends most fundamentally on re-working the path dependent institutional structures, organizational culture and policy-making procedures that have characterized the unsuccessful patterns of climate change policy development in the past. The ultimate goal is to contribute to the ongoing efforts to adapt institutions to the complex and uncertain futures associated with a changing climate, while simultaneously embedding broader sustainability goals in long-range strategic planning.     

Late-Quaternary biogeographic scenarios for the brown bear (Ursus arctos), a wild mammal model species

This review provides an up-to-date synthesis of the matrilineal phylogeography of a uniquely well-studied Holarctic mammal, the brown bear. We extend current knowledge by presenting a DNA sequence derived from one of the earliest known fossils of a polar bear (dated to 115 000 years before present), a species that shares a paraphyletic mitochondrial association with brown bears. A molecular clock analysis of 140 mitochondrial DNA sequences, including our new polar bear sequence, provides novel insights into the times of origin for different brown bear clades. We propose a number of regional biogeographic scenarios based on genetic data, divergence time estimates and paleontological records. The case of the brown bear provides an example for researchers working with less well-studied taxa: it shows clearly that phylogeographic models based on patterns of modern genetic variation alone can be substantially improved by including data on historical patterns of genetic diversity in the form of ancient DNA sequences derived from accurately dated samples and by using an approach to divergence-time estimation that suits the data under analysis. Using such approaches it has been possible to (i) establish that the processes shaping modern genetic diversity in brown bears acted recently, within the last three glacial cycles; (ii) distinguish among hypotheses concerning species’ responses to climatic oscillations in accordance with the lack of phylogeographic structure that existed in brown bears prior to the last glacial maximum (LGM); (iii) reassess theories linking monophyletic brown bear populations to particular LGM refuge areas; and (iv) identify vicariance events and track analogous patterns of migration by brown bears out of Eurasia to North America and Japan.     

Full numerical simulations of catastrophic small body collisions

The outcome of collisions between small icy bodies, such as Kuiper belt objects, is poorly understood and yet a critical component of the evolution of the trans-neptunian region. The expected physical properties of outer Solar System materials (high porosity, mixed ice-rock composition, and low material strength) pose significant computational challenges. We present results from catastrophic small body collisions using a new hybrid hydrocode to N-body code computational technique. This method allows detailed modeling of shock propagation and material modification as well as gravitational reaccumulation. Here, we consider a wide range of material strengths to span the possible range of Kuiper belt objects. We find that the shear strength of the target is important in determining the collision outcome for 2 to 50-km radius bodies, which are traditionally thought to be in a pure gravity regime. The catastrophic disruption and dispersal criteria, , can vary by up to a factor of three between strong crystalline and weak aggregate materials. The material within the largest reaccumulated remnants experiences a wide range of shock pressures. The dispersal and reaccumulation process results in the material on the surfaces of the largest remnants having experienced a wider range of shock pressures compared to material in the interior. Hence, depending on the initial structure and composition, the surface materials on large, reaccumulated bodies in the outer Solar System may exhibit complex spectral and albedo variations. Finally, we present revised catastrophic disruption criteria for a range of impact velocities and material strengths for outer Solar System bodies.     

Sequential Separation of Uranium,Hafnium and Neodymium from Natural Waters Concentrated by Iron Coprecipitation

A new ion exchange chromatography method is presented for the isolation of high field‐strength elements (HFSE) from freshwater and seawater samples that have undergone iron coprecipitation. Large volumes of water can be condensed through the application of iron coprecipitation, but clean separation of elements from the precipitate proves difficult. The technique described is a five‐column process designed to separate the HFSE, including rare earth elements such as neodymium and hafnium, before removing the iron and isolating uranium. Subsequent isolation of Nd and Hf was achieved using established ion exchange chromatography methods. The efficacy of our chemistry was verified by measurements of analytical reference materials – both reference solutions and seawater samples – subjected to the chemical separation methods described. Elution results indicate high yields (> 90%) determined by concentration measurements of a known reference material added to each column. Measurement results for isotopic compositions of seawater (U, Nd) and reference solutions (NIST SRM 960, U) were identical within uncertainty to previously published values. Compositions were identical between solutions (Spex CLMS3, Spex PLND2) that underwent different iron coprecipitation procedures. Isotopic determinations for reference materials JNdi‐1 and NIST SRM 960 measured with the mass spectrometers used in this study were in agreement with universally accepted values for these materials, and indicate high precision.