An integrated approach to environmental quality assessment in a coastal setting in Campania (Southern Italy)

The coastal region of Southern Italy’s Caserta province, known as the Litorale Domitio (Domitia coast) has been subjected to increasing pressure from unsustainably fast economic and urban growth in the last century, that resulted in a induced serious land degradation. To obtain a comprehensive picture of the ecological status of the Domitia coastal zone (Campania, Southern Italy), a holistic methodology has been applied. Sedimentological, geochemical, and biological analyses of the surface sediments and water samples were performed along the submerged beach. The data were integrated using a geographical information system, together with information on past and present land use and human activities along the coast and in inland regions. Heavy metal concentrations in sediments plus As and Se (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, V, Zn) and their enrichment factors, which are important for identifying polluted areas in countries like Italy (where environmental legislation has not yet established intervention limits), indicate excesses Cd, Cr, Pb, and V of probable anthropogenic origin. A microbiological contamination of marine waters has been detected by the Regional Environmental Protection Agency of Campania. The Bacteriological Quality Index map shows that bathing areas must be classified as “contaminated” and “highly contaminated”. High levels of chemical and biological contamination are particularly common in both bathing seawater and sediments along the coastal zone south of the Volturno River, where the existing wastewater treatment plant is not properly working, to date. Factory farming, which is widespread in the area, is likely to be an additional important source of contamination. In accordance with these conclusions, analyses of the benthic diatom community revealed dominance of eutrophic species.     

Seafloor glacial features reveal the extent and decay of the last British Ice Sheet,east of Scotland

Three‐dimensional (3D) seismic datasets, 2D seismic reflection profiles and shallow cores provide insights into the geometry and composition of glacial features on the continental shelf, offshore eastern Scotland (58° N, 1–2° W). The relic features are related to the activity of the last British Ice Sheet (BIS) in the Outer Moray Firth. A landsystem assemblage consisting of four types of subglacial and ice marginal morphology is mapped at the seafloor. The assemblage comprises: (i) large seabed banks (interpreted as end moraines), coeval with the Bosies Bank moraine; (ii) morainic ridges (hummocky, push and end moraine) formed beneath, and at the margins of the ice sheet; (iii) an incised valley (a subglacial meltwater channel), recording meltwater drainage beneath former ice sheets; and (iv) elongate ridges and grooves (subglacial bedforms) overprinted by transverse ridges (grounding line moraines). The bedforms suggest that fast‐flowing grounded ice advanced eastward of the previously proposed terminus of the offshore Late Weichselian BIS, increasing the size and extent of the ice sheet beyond traditional limits. Complex moraine formation at the margins of less active ice characterised subsequent retreat, with periodic stillstands and readvances. Observations are consistent with interpretations of a dynamic and oscillating ice margin during BIS deglaciation, and with an extensive ice sheet in the North Sea basin at the Last Glacial Maximum. Final ice margin retreat was rapid, manifested in stagnant ice topography, which aided preservation of the landsystem record. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Amazonian magnetostratigraphy: Dating the first pulse of the Great American Faunal Interchange

The chronostratigraphy of the youngest Neogene deposits of the Amazon Basin, which comprise the Madre de Dios Formation in eastern Peru, remains unresolved. Although ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dates on two volcanic ashes from this formation in Peru provide critical baseline data points, stratigraphic correlations among scattered riverine outcrops in adjacent drainage basins remain problematic. To refine the chronostratigraphy of the Madre de Dios Formation, we report here the magnetostratigraphy of an outcrop on the Madre de Dios River in southeastern Peru. A total of 18 polarity zones was obtained in the ～65-m-thick Cerro Colorado section, which we correlate to magnetozones Chrons C4Ar to C2An (9.5–3.0 Ma) based on the prior ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dates. These results confirm the late Miocene age of a gomphothere recovered from the Ipururo Formation, which underlies the late Miocene Ucayali Unconformity at the base of the Cerro Colorado outcrop. The results also support earlier interpretations of a late Miocene age for other fossils of North American mammals recovered from basal conglomeratic deposits of the Madre de Dios Formation immediately above the Ucayali Unconformity. These mammals include other gomphotheres, peccaries, and tapirs, and their presence in South America in the late Miocene is recognized as part of the first pulse of the Great American Faunal Interchange.     

Effects of rainy season on mobilization of contaminants from tsunami deposits left in a coastal zone of Thailand by the 26 December 2004 tsunami

Study on contamination of tsunami sediments deposited on 26 December 2004 conducted shortly after the tsunami in coastal zone of Thailand revealed elevated contents of salts in water-soluble and some heavy metals and arsenic in bioavailable fractions (Szczuciński et al. in Env Geol 49:321–331, 2005). Few months later rainy season started and effected in total rainfall of over 3,300 mm. This paper presents results of survey repeated 1 year after the tsunami. To assess the effects of rainy season on mobilization of previously determined potential contaminants, the same locations were sampled again and analysed with the same methods. The tsunami deposit layer was well preserved but in many locations the sediments were coarser than just after tsunami due to washing out of finer fractions. The water-soluble salts contents were strongly reduced after the rainy season. However, the concentrations of acid leachable heavy metals and metalloids were still elevated in comparison to reference sample from an area not impacted by tsunami. It is possible that the metals and metalloids are successively moved to more bioavailable fraction from forms which were more resistant to mobilization.     

Estimating near-shore wave statistics from regional hindcasts using downscaling techniques

Several downscaling techniques, comprising fully dynamical and statistical–dynamical methods applied to near-shore local wave climate, are tested and assessed in terms of wave statistics with respect to the added value that can be achieved compared to larger scale data. The techniques are applied for the example of Helgoland, a small island in the German Bight. It was found that an improved representation could generally be obtained from all downscaling techniques by comparing the near-shore wave climate. Based on a balance between the required computer resources and the improvements achieved, it is suggested, to this end, that a dynamical–statistical approach based on high-resolution coastal wave modeling and linear regression provides the optimal choice.     

Flare forecasting based on sunspot-groups characteristics

Our comprehension of solar flares is still lacking in many aspects and the possibility of observing active regions during the first phases of flare occurrence is limited by our capability of doing accurate flare forecasting. In order to give a contribution to this aspect, we focused our attention on the characteristics that must be fulfilled by sunspot-groups in order to be flare-productive. We addressed this problem using a statistical approach: first, we analyzed sunspot-groups parameters (i.e., Zürich class, magnetic configuration, area, morphology of the penumbra) and evolution; then, we performed a flare forecasting campaign, based on the results obtained in the first phase and on real-time observations. The results obtained by comparing the flare forecasting probability with the number of flares that have actually occurred are quite encouraging; we plan to improve this procedure by including a bigger statistical sampling.     

Spatiotemporal distribution of copepod populations in the Gulf of Gdansk (southern Baltic Sea)

In the present study, we used a 3D Coupled Ecosystem Model of Baltic Sea version 1 (3D CEMBSv1) coupled with a copepod model to examine the spatiotemporal distribution of two representative copepod populations in the Gulf of Gdansk (southern Baltic Sea) including Acartia spp. and Pseudocalanus minutus elongatus. The annual cycles simulated for 2000 under realistic weather and hydrographic conditions were studied with the three-dimensional version of the coupled ecosystem-copepod model in the south-eastern Baltic Sea. The paper presents the comparison of simulated and observed copepod development at two stations in the Gulf of Gdansk. A validation of influential state variables gives confidence that the model is able to calculate reliably the stage development of dominant species in the southern Baltic Sea. The number of generations was one for P. m. elongatus and 3?C5 for Acartia spp.. A mean of five generations for the latter species per year were estimated in the coastal region and ca. three generations at the Gdansk Deep (in the open sea). Food concentration and temperature as the main factors controlling the development of the investigated copepods as well as salinity as a masking factor (i.e. salinity modifies the rate of their development) in the case of Pseudocalanus minutus elongatus are included in the present study.     

The Mw 7.4 Colima, Mexico, Earthquake of 21 January 2003: The Observed Damage Matrix in Colima City and its Comparison with the Damage Probability Matrix

The Mw 7.4 earthquake of 21 January 2003 occurred within the Mexican subduction zone and produced many damages of masonry constructions in the towns of Colima state, México. The macroseismic investigation of damages produced by the earthquake in Colima city was realized for 3,332 constructions within the area of study representing about 20% of the total city area and covered with the different type of constructions. The 7-grade scale of damage was used to describe the damage distribution. The damage matrix, constructed for the area, showed that the damage distribution varied from 63% of constructions with relatively slight damages (grades 1–3) to 29% of constructions that had significative damages (grades 4–5) and 8% of completely destructed or demolished masonry. The damage matrices, constructed for 12 subzones of the area of study, reflected two tendencies in the damage distributions: the predominance of slight damages of the recent constructions situated in the northern and eastern parts of the area and the predominance of significant damages of the older constructions in the southern and western parts of the area. It was observed a significant dependence of damage index upon the age of constructions and the type of masonry. The comparison of the observed damage matrix with the damage probability matrix calculated for Colima masonry in 1999 gives MM intensity VII in Colima.