A Place to Howl: A GIS Instructional Module on the Mexican Gray Wolf

Abstract

This paper covers the development of a GIS instructional module centered on the reintroduction of the Mexican Gray Wolf in the Southwest, United States. This module is used in an undergraduate geography course on the United States. The paper also reports on how forty‐one students applied the module in trying to find an appropriate location to reintroduce the wolf.     

Tsunami 2004: the villages of Birek and Seungko Mulat,Indonesia

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of imaging spectroscopy for the discrimination between eucalyptus species. High spectral reflectance signatures of 11 eucalyptus species were measured in the laboratory and significant differences at a number of wavelength positions were detected. There were differences in terms of absolute reflectance, depths of absorption features and the relative position of change in terms of the wavelength. The differences between species were more noticeable in the first derivative spectra when compared with the raw spectra. This was attributed to the ability of derivatives to remove the noise from raw reflectance spectra. The results also indicate the possibility of utilizing the common vegetation indices and ratios used in remote sensing for discriminating species and highlight the need to select spectral channels at pertinent positions where the differences are the greatest. This study has identified many of these positions in relation to some eucalyptus species. However, the study also shows that there is no single wavelength which will discriminate between all species and it also shows that even with hyperspectral data, issues with detailed level of mapping will still exist.     

Geochemical evidence of the 8.2 ka event and other Holocene environmental changes recorded in paleolagoon sediments,southeastern Brazil

The paleoclimatic record of Juréia Paleolagoon, coastal southeastern Brazil, includes cyclic and gradual changes with different intensities and frequencies through geological time, and it is controlled by astronomical, geophysical, and geological phenomena. These variations are not due to one single cause, but they result from the interaction of several factors, which act at different temporal and spatial scales. Here, we describe paleoenvironmental evidence regarding climatic and sea level changes from the last 9400 cal yr BP at the Juréia Paleolagoon — one of the main groups of protected South Atlantic ecosystems. Geochemical evidences were used to identify anomalies from multi-proxy analyses of a paleolagoon sediment core. The anomalies of centennial scale were correlated to climate and transgression–regression cycles from the Holocene period. Decadal scale anomalous oscillations in the Quaternary paleolagoon sediments occur between 9400 and 7500 cal yr BP, correlated with long- and short-term natural events, which generated high sedimentation rates, mainly between 8385 and 8375 cal yr BP (10 cm/yr). Our results suggest that a modern-day short-duration North Atlantic climatic event, such as the 8.2 ka event, could affect the environmental equilibrium in South America and intensify the South American Summer Monsoon.     

Numerical analysis of thermal effects during carbon dioxide injection with enhanced gas recovery: a theoretical case study for the Altmark gas field

Prediction about reservoir temperature change during carbon dioxide injection requires consideration of all, often subtle, thermal effects. In particular, Joule?CThomson cooling (JTC) and the viscous heat dissipation (VHD) effect are factors that cause flowing fluid temperature to differ from the static formation temperature. In this work, warm-back behavior (thermal recovery after injection completed), as well as JTC and VHD effects, at a multi-layered depleted gas reservoir are demonstrated numerically. OpenGeoSys (OGS) is able to solve coupled partial differential equations for pressure, temperature and mole-fraction of each component of the mixture with a combination of monolithic and staggered approaches. The Galerkin finite element approach is adapted for space discretization of governing equations, whereas for temporal discretization, a generalized implicit single-step scheme is used. For numerical modeling of warm-back behavior, we chose a simplified test case of carbon dioxide injection. This test case is numerically solved by using OGS and FeFlow simulators independently. OGS differs from FeFlow in the capability of representing multi-componential effects on warm-back behavior. We verify both code results by showing the close comparison of shut-in temperature profiles along the injection well. As the JTC cooling rate is inversely proportional to the volumetric heat capacity of the solid matrix, the injection layers are cooled faster as compared to the non-injection layers. The shut-in temperature profiles are showing a significant change in reservoir temperature; hence it is important to account for thermal effects in injection monitoring.     

Exploring the orientations which characterise the likely public acceptance of low emission energy technologies

There is a large body of research and development into the low emission energy technologies that has the potential to assist developed and developing countries transition to more sustainable energy systems. It has long been recognised that public perceptions can have a fundamental effect on the market for technology and this issue raises questions about the role society will play in developing a low emissions energy future. Understanding how the public will respond to the range of low emission energy technologies as part of a climate change mitigation package is therefore critical for researchers, policy makers and industry stakeholders. In the current research, we investigated the Australian public’s likely acceptance of a range of low emission energy technologies by assessing the diverse ‘orientations’ that have emerged in response to low emission energy technologies. In a survey of two Australian states we measured the support for, and knowledge of, a range of low emission energy technologies. Using self-organising maps, a relatively new approach for segmenting response profiles, we identified that at least four distinct ‘orientations’ have emerged toward the issue and are characterising the likely acceptance of these technologies: ‘Disengaged’, ‘Nuclear Oriented’, ‘Renewables Oriented’, and ‘Engaged’. The implications of these multiple public viewpoints are described for climate change mitigation policy and for future research into the social acceptance of alternative energy technologies.     

Five years of thermal intra-urban monitoring in Florence (Italy) and application of climatological indices

This paper presents 5?years of detailed intra-urban thermal measurements carried out in Florence (Italy) by a network of 25 air temperature stations. Daily, hourly, and degree-day indices were applied to hourly data to evaluate the difference within the complex urban environment of Florence. Stations were grouped in four clusters with similar thermal regimes in each season. Our results evidence a mean difference of almost 2°C between the hottest and the coolest cluster in all seasons. Furthermore, the coolest cluster had on average more than ten frost days in winter and the hottest cluster more than 12 summer days in summer. The intra-urban difference of tropical nights was even more evident, with values of 42 versus 10?days between the hottest and the coolest cluster during the summer period. The results of this study contribute to quantify the thermal intra-urban differences in the city of Florence, suggesting important applications in plant phenology, aerobiology, human health, urban planning, and biometeorology.     

Multiplatform observation of the surface circulation in the Gulf of Naples (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea)

The Gulf of Naples (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea) is a highly urbanised area, where human activities and natural factors (e.g. river runoff, exchanges with adjacent basins) can strongly affect the water quality. In this work we show how surface transport can influence the distribution of passively drifting surface matter, and more in general if and how the circulation in the basin can promote the renovation of the surface layer. To this aim, we carried out a multiplatform analysis by putting together HF radar current fields, satellite images and modelling tools. Surface current fields and satellite images of turbidity patterns were used to initialise and run model simulations of particle transport and diffusion. Model results were then examined in relation to the corresponding satellite distributions. This integrated approach permits to investigate the concurrent effects of surface dynamics and wind forcing in determining the distribution of passive tracers over the basin of interest, identifying key mechanisms supporting or preventing the renewal of surface waters as well as possible areas of aggregation and retention.     

Identification of the uranium speciation in an underground acid mine drainage environment

The subsurface acid mine drainage (AMD) environment of an abandoned underground uranium mine in Königstein/Saxony/Germany, currently in the process of remediation, is characterized by low pH, high sulfate concentrations and elevated concentrations of heavy metals, in particular uranium. Acid streamers thrive in the mine drainage channels and are heavily coated with iron precipitates. These precipitates are biologically mediated iron precipitates and related to the presence of Fe-oxidizing microorganisms forming copious biofilms in and on the Fe-precipitates. Similar biomineralisations were also observed in stalactite-like dripstones, called snottites, growing on the gallery ceilings.The uranium speciation in these solutions of underground AMD waters flowing in mine galleries as well as dripping from the ceiling and forming stalactite-like dripstones were studied by time resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS). The fluorescence lifetime of uranium species in both AMD water environments were best described with a mono-exponential decay, indicating the presence of one major species. The detected positions of the emission bands and by comparing it in a fingerprinting procedure with spectra obtained for acid sulfate reference solutions, in particular Fe(III) - SO₄²⁻ - UO₂²⁺ reference solutions, indicated that the uranium speciation in the AMD environment of Königstein is dominated in the pH range of 2.5-3.0 by the highly mobile aquatic uranium sulfate species UO₂SO_4(aq) and formation of uranium precipitates is rather unlikely as is retardation by sorption processes. The presence of iron in the AMD reduces the fluorescence lifetime of the UO₂SO_4(aq) species from 4.3 μs, found in iron-free uranium sulfate reference solutions, to 0.7 μs observed in both AMD waters of Königstein and also in the iron containing uranium sulfate reference solutions.Colloids were not observed in both drainage water and dripping snottite water as photon correlation spectroscopy analyses and centrifugation experiments at different centrifugal accelerations between 500g and 46000g revealed. Thus transport and uranium speciation at the investigated AMD sites is neither influenced by U(IV) or U(VI) eigencolloids nor by uranium adsorbed on colloidal particles.This study shows that TRLFS is a suitable spectroscopic technique to identify the uranium speciation in bulk solutions of AMD environments.     

Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes from the Radicofani Volcano, Central Italy: constraints on heterogeneities in a veined mantle responsible for the shift from ultrapotassic shoshonite to basaltic andesite magmas in a post-collisional setting

The Radicofani Volcano is characterised by few lava flows, a cinder cone and a denudated neck, and is part of the Tuscan Magmatic Province, the northernmost volcanic region of the Italian peninsula. In spite of the short time span of activity, a large time-dependant chemical and isotopic variability is observed. Most of the rocks of the Radicofani volcano are ultrapotassic shoshonites associated to younger basaltic andesites, found at the bottom of the neck. K₂O contents are positively correlated with trace element and isotopic variations. Shoshonitic and high-K calc-alkaline rocks of the Radicofani volcano are significantly different from shoshonites occurring in association with leucite-bearing ultrapotassic rocks in the southernmost portion of the Roman Magmatic Province. The studied rocks are characterised by high, but variable, levels of incompatible trace elements with a subduction-related signature, with troughs at Ba, Ta, Nb, and Ti, and peaks at Cs, K, Th, U, and Pb. Initial values of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr range from 0.71333 to 0.71588, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ranges from 0.512050 to 0.512183, while the lead isotope ratios vary between 18.672 and 18.716 for ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, 15.665 to 15.696 for ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, and 39.981 to 39.081 for ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb. Ultrapotassic shoshonites show the highest incompatible trace element contents coupled with the highest ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and the lowest ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd. On the basis of geochemical and isotopic signatures it is argued that magmas were generated in a modified lithospheric peridotitic source containing metasomatic veins generated by K-rich melts from recycled sediments within the mantle via subduction. A further metasomatic event generated by slab-derived fluids pervasively enriched the peridotitic source. Partial melting of the veins produced leucite-free ultrapotassic magmas (i.e. lamproite), and was triggered by rising of the isotherms after the orogenic front migrated eastward in the Italian Peninsula. Further rise of the isotherms induced larger degrees of partial melting inducing melting of the surrounding wall peridotite. The variation of the degree of partial melting of such a heterogeneous peridotitic source produced a wide spectrum of magma compositions, which mimic a mixing line between two components: ultrapotassic magma from partial melting of the metasomatic vein and a basaltic andesitic magma from partial melting of the surrounding peridotite.