Biomarker responses in flounder (Platichthys flesus) and mussel (Mytilus edulis) in the Klaipeda-Būtinge area (Baltic Sea)

During the EU project BEEP a battery of biomarkers was applied in flounder (Platichthys flesus) and the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) collected at three locations off the Lithuanian coast (Baltic Sea) in June and September 2001 and 2002. The elevated biomarker responses in specimens sampled in September 2001 were apparently related to the extensive dredging activities in the Klaipeda port area and subsequent dumping of contaminated sediments. High concentrations of organic pollutants (organochlorines and PBDEs) were also measured in the tissues of both indicator species. In addition, response levels of genotoxicity, cytotoxicity, immunotoxicity as well as concentrations of PAH metabolites in the bile of flounder showed elevations in 2002 after an oil spill in the Būtinge oil terminal in November 2001. In flounder, biomarker measurements 10 months after the spill indicated recovery processes but in mussels a high level of genotoxicity could still be observed 22 months later. The present study illustrates the usefulness of the multi-biomarker approach in the detection of biological effects of pollution in this region of the Baltic Sea.     

The BEEP project in the Baltic Sea: overview of results and outline for a regional biological effects monitoring strategy

Field studies in the framework of the EU funded BEEP project (Biological Effects of Environmental Pollution in Marine Coastal Ecosystems, 2001-2004) aimed at validating and intercalibrating a battery of biomarkers of contaminant exposure and effects in selected indicator species in the Mediterranean, the North Atlantic and the Baltic Seas. Major strategic goals of the BEEP project were the development of a sensitive and cost-efficient biological effects monitoring approach, delivery of information and advice to end-user groups, and the implementation of a network of biomarker researchers around Europe. Based on the main results obtained in the Baltic Sea component of the BEEP the present paper summarises and assesses the applicability of biomarkers for different regions and species in this sea area. Moreover, a general strategy and some practical considerations for the monitoring of biological effects in the Baltic Sea are outlined.     

Trade, transport, and sinks extend the carbon dioxide responsibility of countries: An editorial essay

Sea-level rise (SLR) due to climate change is a serious global threat: The scientific evidence is now overwhelming. Continued growth of greenhouse gas emissions and associated global warming could well promote SLR of 1 m in this century, and unexpectedly rapid breakup of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets might produce a 3–5 m SLR. In this paper, we assess the consequences of continued SLR for 84 coastal developing countries. Geographic Information System (GIS) software has been used to overlay the best available, spatially disaggregated global data on critical impact elements (land, population, agriculture, urban extent, wetlands, and GDP), with the inundation zones projected for 1–5 m SLR. Our results reveal that tens of millions of people in the developing world are likely to be displaced by SLR within this century; and accompanying economic and ecological damage will be severe for many. At the country level results are extremely skewed, with severe impacts limited to a relatively small number of countries.     

Sensitivity of boreal forests to possible climatic warming

General circulation models indicate substantial CO₂ warming in high latitudes. In these regions, which include the boreal coniferous forests, the activity of ecosystems is largely controlled by temperature. The effective temperature sum (degree-days) is used in this study for describing the regional variability in the productivity of boreal ecosystems. Although the concept is simple, it takes into account two basic factors: the length of the growing season and the day-to-day level of activity of the ecosystem. This study examines which areas in the boreal coniferous forests would be most sensitive to a possible climatic warming. The data used in the study are for Finland.A regression is estimated between regional forest growth rate and effective temperature sum. A climatic warming is assumed and the corresponding growth response is calculated, using the regression, for northern and southern areas, and for maritime and continental areas. The response is expressed in terms of (i) absolute increase in growth (grams per m² per year) and (ii) relative increase in growth. The results indicate that a given climatic warming would yield the greatest absolute increase in growth in warm (i.e. southern) and maritime parts of the biome. In terms of the relative growth response the sensitivity would increase northward and toward maritime areas.     

The Rautuvaara section,western Finnish Lapland,revisited – new age constraints indicate a complex Scandinavian Ice Sheet history in northern Fennoscandia during the Weichselian Stage

The Rautuvaara section in northern Finnish Lapland has been widely considered as the stratotype for the northern Fennoscandian late Middle and Late Pleistocene. It exposes four till units interbedded with sorted sediments resting on Precambrian bedrock. In order to shed light on the Scandinavian Ice Sheet (SIS) history and palaeoenvironmental evolution in northern Fennoscandia through time, a chronostratigraphical study was carried out at the Rautuvaara site. The succession was studied using sedimentological methods and different sand‐rich units between till units were dated using the Optical Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) method. The results obtained indicate that the whole sediment succession at Rautuvaara was deposited during the Weichselian Stage and there is no indication of older deposits. The SIS advanced across Finnish Lapland to adjacent areas to the east at least once during the Early Weichselian, twice during the Middle Weichselian (～MIS 4 and MIS 3) and once during the Late Weichselian substages. Glaciolacustrine sediments interbedded between the till units indicate that a glacial lake repeatedly existed after each deglacial phase. The results also suggest that there were two ice‐free intervals in northern Fennoscandia during the Middle Weichselian close to the SIS glaciation centre.     

Records of land use and medieval settlement history in Vuonninen,Dvina Karelia,Northwest Russia

Although the documented history of Dvina Karelia (northern Russian Karelia) does not begin until the second half of the 16th century, individual finds of prehistoric artifacts point to earlier human occupation. The present paleoecological study of the Vuonninen area is the first of its kind concerning prehistoric land use in Dvina Karelia, a large region extending from Finland to the White Sea. It is based on the pollen analysis of sediments from Lake Ylä‐Kuittijärvi near the old Karelian village of Vuonninen. In its general features, the picture of the early stages of cultivation and human activity in the village of Vuonninen is comparable to results from East Finland, the Karelian Isthmus, and the northern shores of Lake Ladoga. The first, minor indications of human influence appear in the sediments of the 4th–6th centuries A.D. in Lake Kuittijärvi. Distinct and unambiguous signs of human activity appear in the pollen record in the 12th century. This is particularly evident in the decreasing proportion of Picea, caused by the clearance of spruce forest. The beginning of cultivation is dated according to Secale pollen to the beginning of the 15th century. Intensive arable farming emerges in the early 19th century in the form of regular occurrences of Secale and Hordeum pollen. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Seismic refraction traveltime inversion for static corrections in a glaciated shield rock environment: a case study

A traveltime inversion technique is applied to model the upper ∼40 m of the subsurface of a glaciated shield rock area in order to calculate static corrections for a multi-azimuth multi-depth walk-away vertical seismic profile and a surface seismic reflection profile. First break information from a seismic refraction survey is used in conjunction with a ray-tracing program and an iterative damped least-squares inversion algorithm to create a two-dimensional model of the subsurface. The layout of the seismic survey required crooked seismic lines and substantial gaps in the source and receiver coverage to be accounted for. Additionally, there is substantial topographical variation and a complex geology consisting of glaciofluvial sediment and glacial till overlying a crystalline bedrock. The resolution and reliability of the models is measured through a parameter perturbation technique, normalized χ² values, root means square traveltime residuals and comparison to known geology.     

Chaos in three-body dynamics: Kolmogorov–Sinai entropy

An ensemble of Newtonian three-body models with close initial separations is investigated by following the evolution of a 'drop' in the homology map. The onset of chaos is revealed by the motion and the complex temporal deformation of the drop. In the state of advanced chaos, the drop spreads over almost the whole homology map, quite independently of its initial position on the map. A general quantitative measure of this process is the mean exponential rate of spreading, which bears resemblance to Kolmogorov–Sinai entropy; this is introduced and estimated in terms of the homology mapping. In a similar manner we also estimate the mean exponential rate of divergence of initially close-by trajectories. This is a close analogue to the Lyapunov exponent. These parameters measure two complementary aspects of dynamical instability, which is the basic mechanism of the onset of chaos.