Are Taxonomic Distinctness measures compliant to other ecological indicators in assessing ecological status?

Assessing the ecological status, a concept implemented in the European Water Framework Directive [EC, 2000. Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council 2000/60/EC establishing a framework for community action in the field of water policy PE-CONS 3639/1/00, p. 72], requires the application of methods capable of distinguishing different levels of ecological quality. The Average Taxonomic Distinctness has been used as tool in this context, and we tested the robustness of Taxonomic Distinctness measures applying it in different scenarios (estuarine eutrophication, organic pollution, and re-colonisation after physical disturbance), analysing simultaneously its compliance to other types of ecological indicators. Results show that, in most of the case studies, only Total Taxonomic Distinctness was relatively satisfactory in discriminating between disturbed situations. Other Taxonomic Distinctness measures have not proved to be more sensitive than other ecological indicators (Shannon-Wiener, Margalef, and Eco-Exergy indices). Therefore, this approach does not seem to be particularly helpful in assessing systems' ecological status with regard to the WFD implementation.     

A Parameterization of Third-order Moments for the Dry Convective Boundary Layer

We describe one-dimensional (1D) simulations of the countergradient zone of mean potential temperature observed in the convective boundary layer (CBL). The method takes into account the third-order moments (TOMs) in a turbulent scheme of relatively low order, using the turbulent kinetic energy equation but without prognostic equations for other second-order moments. The countergradient term is formally linked to the third-order moments and , and a simple parameterization of these TOMs is proposed. It is validated for several cases of a dry CBL, using large-eddy simulations that have been realized from the MESO-NH model. The analysis of the simulations shows that TOMs are responsible for the inversion of the sign of in the higher part of the CBL, and budget analysis shows that the main terms responsible for turbulent fluxes and variances are now well reproduced.     

Spatial distribution and ecotoxicity of petroleum hydrocarbons in sediments from the Galicia continental shelf (NW Spain) after the Prestige oil spill

The distribution of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons was determined in surface sediments collected at 36 stations along the Galicia continental shelf (NW Spain), following the Prestige oil spill. Sampling was performed in December 2002, just after the accident, and in February and September 2003. Concentrations of PAHs (summation operator 13 parent components) were in the range of 0.9-422 microg/kgdw, the highest values being close to coastal urban areas (e.g. Pontevedra and A Coru?a), whereas in the stations of the area most heavily impacted by the spill (off Costa da Morte) concentrations were in the range of 14.8-89.6 microg/kgdw, with a certain predominance of alkylated compounds, which may suggest a mixture of petrogenic and pyrolytic sources. The detailed study of petrogenic molecular markers (e.g. steranes and triterpanes) showed the occurrence of an old (weathered) petrogenic chronic pollution in the shelf sediments but not of the Prestige oil, with the possible exception of few stations in the area of Costa da Morte. This was attributed to the heavy nature of the spilled oil that was barely dispersed in the water column and mainly stranded on the coast or sedimented in the form of oil patches. The addition of increasing amounts of fuel oil to a representative sediment sample showed that the molecular indices were indicative of the presence of the Prestige oil when the amount was above 1g/kg of sediment. The toxicity of selected samples (showing the higher PAH concentrations) was tested using the bivalve embryogenesis bioassay. Embryogenesis success reached high values in all cases (80-88%, with 86% in the control), indicating a lack of toxicity in the sediments and supporting the conclusion that the patchiness of the fuel eventually reaching the seafloor reduced its impact on the benthic communities of the Galician shelf.     

Improvement of pollutant drift forecast system applied to the Prestige oil spills in Galicia Coast (NW of Spain): development of an operational system

An integrated system named METEOMOHID, developed by MeteoGalicia in the first stage of the Prestige accident in November 2002 was used successfully in an operational form to support decision making and assist in recovering tasks. Afterwards, METEOMOHID has been enhanced with the aim of developing an operational oceanography system to be used in the NW of the Iberian Peninsula. The METEOMOHID system includes local area hydrodynamic coastal ocean modelling (MOHID), real time atmospheric forcing from a local meteorological model (ARPS). Using the available data from the Prestige crisis, a set of simulations were designed in order to reproduce the oil spill drift. The implementation of a detailed vertical resolution in the model has allowed obtaining a detailed surface dynamic, improving our knowledge of the behaviour of tarballs into the water column. Thus, the wind-driven Eckman drift, the direct dragging of the wind were detached, and the possible existence of subsurface oil was assessed. In addition, the present work evaluates the effects of introducing climatologic large scale currents in the METEOMOHID system.     

Conduit-vent structures and related proximal deposits in the Las Cañadas caldera, Tenerife, Canary Islands

The Las Cañadas caldera wall and the outer slopes of the caldera provide three-dimensional exposures of numerous proximal-welded fallout deposits and have been mapped in detail. As a result, some parts of the Ucanca and Guajara Formations of the stratigraphy of Martí et al. (1994) have been divided into members that correspond to individual eruptions. Mapping has also revealed the occurrence of conduit-vent structures associated with proximal-welded fallout deposits. Conduit-vent structures consist of an upper flaring area and a lower narrow conduit. Conduit-vent geometry and dimensions include cylindrical plugs and eruptive fissures steeply dipping towards the caldera depression and elongated vents. The flaring area can be rather asymmetric and is usually filled by down-vent rheomorphic flow of the proximal fallout deposit. The lower conduits are filled by lava plug, agglutination of juveniles onto conduit walls and dyke intrusion with eventual dome extrusion. The eruption dynamics of welded fallout deposits and magma fragmentation within the conduit are consistent with an evolution from explosive to effusive. In this context conduit flow regimes evolve from turbulent to annular flow in which the conduit is progressively choked, and laminar flow leading to the final conduit closure.     

Rhinocerotid tooth enamel 18O/16O variability between 23 and 12 Ma in southwestern France

The relationship between the oxygen isotope ratio of mammal tooth enamel and that of drinking water was used to reconstruct changes in the Miocene oxygen isotope ratio of rainfall (meteoric water ${\delta }^{18}$O_MW). These, in turn, are related to climatic parameters (temperature, precipitation and evaporation rate). ${\delta }^{18}$O values of rhinocerotid teeth from the Aquitaine Basin (southwestern France) suggest a significant climatic change between 17 and 12 Ma, characterized by cooling together with precipitation increase, in agreement with other terrestrial and oceanic records. To cite this article: I. Bentaleb et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

An exotic Cretaceous kimberlite linked to metasomatized lithospheric mantle beneath the southwestern margin of the Francisco Craton,Brazil

We present major and trace element compositions of mineral concentrates comprising garnet xenocrysts,ilmenite,phlogopite,spinel,zircon,and uncommon minerals (ti...     

Coherent integration time limit of a mobile receiver for indoor GNSS applications

There is an emerging requirement for processing global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals indoor where the signal is very weak and subjected to spatial fading. Typically, longer coherent integration intervals provide the additional processing gain required for the detection and processing of such weak signals. However, the arbitrary physical motion of the handset imputed by the user limits the effectiveness of longer coherent integration intervals due to the spatial decorrelation of the multipath-faded GNSS signal. In this paper, limits of coherent integration due to spatial decorrelation are derived and corroborated with experimental verification. A general result is that the processing gain resulting from direct coherent integration saturates after the antenna has moved through a certain distance, which for typical indoor propagation, is about half a carrier wavelength. However, a refined Doppler search coupled with a prolonged coherent integration interval extends this limit, which is effectively a manifestation of selective diversity.     

利用遥感技术建立墨西哥热带地上生物量模型(英文)

Spatially-explicit estimation of aboveground biomass(AGB) plays an important role to generate action policies focused in climate change mitigation,since carbon(C) retained in the biomass is vital for regulating Earth’s temperature.This work estimates AGB using both chlorophyll(red,near infrared) and moisture(middle infrared) based normalized vegetation indices constructed with MCD43A4 MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) and MOD44B vegetation continuous fields(VCF) data.The study area is located in San Luis Potosí,Mexico,a region that comprises a part of the upper limit of the intertropical zone.AGB estimations were made using both individual tree data from the National Forest Inventory of Mexico and allometric equations reported in scientific literature.Linear and nonlinear(expo-nential) models were fitted to find their predictive potential when using satellite spectral data as explanatory variables.Highly-significant correlations(p = 0.01) were found between all the explaining variables tested.NDVI62,linked to chlorophyll content and moisture stress,showed the highest correlation.The best model(nonlinear) showed an index of fit(Pseudo-r2) equal to 0.77 and a root mean square error equal to 26.00 Mg/ha using NDVI62 and VCF as explanatory variables.Validation correlation coefficients were similar for both models:lin-ear(r = 0.87**) and nonlinear(r = 0.86**).