Presence of plastic debris in loggerhead turtle stranded along the Tuscany coasts of the Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean Marine Mammals (Italy)

This work evaluated the presence and the frequency of occurrence of marine litter in the gastrointestinal tract of 31 Caretta caretta found stranded or accidentally bycaught in the North Tyrrhenian Sea. Marine debris were present in 71% of specimens and were subdivided in different categories according to Fulmar Protocol (OSPAR 2008). The main type of marine debris found was user plastic, with the main occurrence of sheetlike user plastic. The small juveniles showed a mean ± SD of marine debris items of 19.00 ± 23.84, while the adult specimens showed higher values of marine litter if compared with the juveniles (26.87 ± 35.85). The occurrence of marine debris observed in this work confirms the high impact of marine debris in the Mediterranean Sea in respect to other seas and oceans, and highlights the importance of Caretta caretta as good indicator for marine litter in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) of European Union.     

On the instability region around the 5 : 3 Jovian resonance

Variations in the dynamic parameters of Phobos have been determined after reaching critical value of the semi-major axis = 7247 km at which zero-gravity on the surface of Phobos near the equator will take place. The rate of the variations will increase significantly, e.g., in the tidal energy dissipation by one order in magnitude. The total dissipated mechanical energy during the whole tidal history of the system has been estimated as -5.5 × 10²¹ kg m² s^-2, the total decrease in the second zonal Stokes parameter of Phobos as -6.6 × 10^-2.     

The Planktonic foraminifera <Emphasis Type="Italic">Globigerinoides eoconglobatus</Emphasis> n. sp. in a glacial–interglacial context: IODP359 Sites U1467 and U1468

Here we define a new morphospecies of planktonic foraminifera Globigerinoides eoconglobatus n. sp., identified from International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) expedition 359 samples from drift deposits of the Maldives, Inner Sea. Through biostratigraphic analysis, we infer it may be the direct ancestor of Globigerinoides conglobatus evolving from Globigerinoides obliquus in the Late Miocene (Subzone M13a). Globigerinoides eoconglobatus n. sp. can be distinguished from G. conglobatus through both its morphological traits and stable isotopic signature (δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C) in pre-adult and adult specimens. The most defining characteristic being its aperture height (AH). A variance in adult stable isotopic signals shows a possible difference in life strategies, possibly related to symbionts (presence/absence or concentration) and/or depth habitat. This work also tentatively shows G. eoconglobatus n. sp. and G. conglobatus abundances are linked to glacial–interglacial stages. Its low abundances and similarities to its descendent Globigerinoides conglobatus has likely accounted for it being unreported, until present, in both modern and fossil studies.     

Tectono-stratigraphic evolution of an inverted extensional basin: the Cameros Basin (north of Spain)

The Cameros Basin is a part of the Mesozoic Iberian Rift. It is an extensional basin formed during the late Jurassic and early Cretaceous, in the Mesozoic Iberian Rift context, and it was inverted in the Cenozoic as a result of the Alpine contraction. This work aims to reconstruct the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the basin during the Mesozoic, using new and revised field, geophysical and subsurface data. The construction of a basin-wide balanced section with partial restorations herein offers new insights into the geometry of the syn-rift deposits. Field data, seismic lines and oil well data were used to identify the main structures of the basin and the basin-forming mechanisms. Mapping and cross-sectional data indicate the marked thickness variation of the depositional sequences across the basin, suggesting that the extension of the depositional area varied during the syn-rift stage and that the depocentres migrated towards the north. From field observation and seismic line interpretation, an onlap of the depositional sequences to the north, over the marine Jurassic substratum, can be deduced. In the last few decades, the structure and geometry of the basin have been strongly debated. The structure and geometry of the basin infill reconstructed herein strongly support the interpretation of the Cameros Basin as an extensional-ramp synclinal basin formed on a blind south-dipping extensional ramp. The gradual hanging-wall displacement to the south shifted the depocentres to the north over time, thus increasing the basin in size northwards, with onlap geometry on the pre-rift substratum. The basin was inverted by means of a main thrust located in a detachment located in the Upper Triassic beds (Keuper), which branched in depth with the Mesozoic extensional fault flat. The reconstruction of the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the Cameros Basin proposed herein represents a synthesis and an integration of previous studies of the structure and geometry of the basin. This study can be used as the basis for future basin-scale research and for modelling the ancient petroleum system of the basin.     

Enhanced Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation supports the Last Glacial Inception

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a key feature of the climate system. However, its role during climate change is still poorly constrained particularly during an Interglacial to Glacial climate transition and the associated global cooling. We present here the first reconstruction of the evolution of the vertical structure of the rate of the AMOC from the Last Interglaciation to the subsequent glaciation (128,000–60,000 years ago) based on sedimentary (²³¹Pa/²³⁰Th) records. We show a deep AMOC during the interglacial warmth Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5.5 and a shallower glacial one during glacial MIS 4. The change between these two patterns occurred mostly during the glacial inception, i.e. the transition from MIS 5.5 to MIS 5.4. Our data show that AMOC was enhanced during this latter transition as a consequence of a large increase of the overturning rate of the Intermediate Waters, above 2500 m. We suggest that this AMOC pattern required a reinforced Gulf Stream-North Atlantic Current system that ultimately supported ice-sheet growth by providing heat and moisture to the Northern high latitudes. From MIS 5.4 to MIS 5.1, the AMOC was broadly continuous below 2000 m and supported periods of ice-sheet growth. As a result, a glacial AMOC is triggered at the beginning of MIS 4 due to the extension of ice-sheet and the subsequent reorganization of deep-water formation. This study highlights the role of intermediate waters as a major player during climate change.     

Use of Remote Imagery to Analyse Changes in Morphology and Longitudinal Large Wood Distribution in the Blanco River After the 2008 Chaitén Volcanic Eruption,Southern Chile

The 2008 Chaitén volcanic eruption generated significant changes in the channel morphology and large wood (LW) abundance along the fluvial corridor of the Blanco River, southern Chile. Comparisons of remote sensing images from the pre‐eruption (year 2005) and post‐eruption (years 2009 and 2012) conditions showed that in a 10.2 km long study segment the Blanco River widened 3.5 times from 2005 to 2009, and that the maximum enlargement was nine times the original width. Changes in channel width were lower between the years 2012 and 2009. The sinuosity and braiding indexes also changed between 2005 and 2009. After the eruption the channel sinuosity was higher and specific river reaches developed a braided pattern, but by 2012 the channel was recovering pre‐eruption characteristics. Huge quantities of LW were introduced to the study segment; individual LW per km of channel length were 1.6 and 74.3 in 2005 and 2009, respectively, and more than 30 log jams km^?1 were observed in the year 2009. Between 2009 and 2012 the quantity of LW was very similar. Statistically significant relationships were found between the number of log jams and channel sinuosity and between the number of pieces of large wood with sinuosity and channel width. Wood was highly dynamic between 2009 and 2012: 78% of individual pieces and 48% of log jams identified in the 2009 image had moved by 2012. Finally the supervised classification of imagery associated with ArcMap tools was tested to identify large wood.     

Robust vulnerability analysis of nuclear facilities subject to external hazards

Natural hazards have the potential to trigger complex chains of events in technological installations leading to disastrous effects for the surrounding population and environment. The threat of climate change of worsening extreme weather events exacerbates the need for new models and novel methodologies able to capture the complexity of the natural-technological interaction in intuitive frameworks suitable for an interdisciplinary field such as that of risk analysis. This study proposes a novel approach for the quantification of risk exposure of nuclear facilities subject to extreme natural events. A Bayesian Network model, initially developed for the quantification of the risk of exposure from spent nuclear material stored in facilities subject to flooding hazards, is adapted and enhanced to include in the analysis the quantification of the uncertainty affecting the output due to the imprecision of data available and the aleatory nature of the variables involved. The model is applied to the analysis of the nuclear power station of Sizewell B in East Anglia (UK), through the use of a novel computational tool. The network proposed models the direct effect of extreme weather conditions on the facility along several time scenarios considering climate change predictions as well as the indirect effects of external hazards on the internal subsystems and the occurrence of human error. The main novelty of the study consists of the fully computational integration of Bayesian Networks with advanced Structural Reliability Methods, which allows to adequately represent both aleatory and epistemic aspects of the uncertainty affecting the input through the use of probabilistic models, intervals, imprecise random variables as well as probability bounds. The uncertainty affecting the output is quantified in order to attest the significance of the results and provide a complete and effective tool for risk-informed decision making.     

Traffic-related immissions and their impact on historic buildings: implications from a pilot study at two German cities

Besides the enormous improvement of air quality in Germany due to the reduction of sulphur dioxide emissions in the last decades, high immissions of nitrogen oxides and fine particulate matter are frequently observed at traffic-rich urban sites. The changed chemical composition of air pollution requires a new investigation of its impact on historic buildings constructed of natural stone. In a pilot study a multi-disciplinary approach was chosen to obtain information on the actual pollution situation of historic buildings and monuments at traffic hotspots in Germany. The study concentrated on the two German cities of Munich and Mainz of different size, traffic volume and stone inventory. Dose–response functions were calculated to demonstrate the change of impact of different pollutants over the last three decades, and for comparison of traffic hotspots and housing areas of both cities. Numeric modelling on a city-scale was used to identify the historic buildings and monuments affected by elevated traffic immissions. Because a relevant part of these pollutants is dominated by short-range transport, the differences of wind speed and deposition rates were calculated using a street-scale 3D flow and dispersion model regarding traffic volume, wind regime and adjacent buildings. Finally, particulate matter was sampled at different positions of two buildings heavily exposed to traffic emissions. Individual particles were investigated by environmental scanning electron microscopy. After classification of the particles into different chemical groups, the fraction of traffic-induced particulate matter was quantified. Summarizing the results, it must be stated that soiling by traffic-related particulate matter, deposition of nitrates deriving from exhaust emission and other diffusely emitted components bear a severe damage potential for natural building stone at least locally at traffic-rich urban sites.     

Demography and biomass of the seagrass Zostera marina in a Mexican Coastal Lagoon

From January 1987 to February 1988 the annual biomass cycle and demography of the seagrass Zostera marina were assessed in San Quintin Bay, a shallow coastal lagoon on the Pacific coast of Baja California, Mexico. Shoot density and aboveground biomass were sampled monthly along two intertidal transects parallel to the shore. Belowground biomass was sampled every 2 mo. Shoot density differed between transects, ranging from 929±71 (SE) in July to 279 ±80 shoots m⁻² in December, at the deeper transect (I). At the shallow transect (II) there was not a significant difference through time, and a mean of 737 shoots m⁻² was calculated. Lateral shoots were present year round and represented between 1% and 30% of total density at transect I and between 3% and 25% at transect II. Reproductive shoots were present from March to September at both transects, with a density range of 77±28 shoots m⁻² (March) to 9±3 shoots m⁻² (September), and represented 5% of total shoot density. Neither aboveground biomass nor LAI (Leaf Area Index) differed between transects, with values ranging between 77±14.5 g dry wt m⁻² (October 1987) and 13±2.4 g dry wt m⁻² (February 1988) for aboveground biomass, and between 0.6±0.2 m² leves m⁻² substrate (January) and 2.7±0.3 m² leaves m⁻² substrate (September) for LAI. Neither root biomass nor rhizome biomass differed between transects, or as a function of time; the mean value for roots was 17 g dry wt m⁻² and for rhizomes 29 g dry wt m⁻². Belowground biomass represented 54% of total biomass. We found a significant correlation between aboveground biomass and LAI (r=0.949 for transect I, and 0.926 for transect II) as well as between total biomass (aboveground and belowground) and LAI (r=0.814), which allows us to consider using LAI as a predictor of these variables. Biomass changes were related to changes in shoot weight (r=0.676 at transect I; 0.582 at transect II), more than to changes in shoot number. Water temperature was found to be the driver of biomass changes in the aboveground compartment.     

Indigenous perception of changes in climate variability and its relationship with agriculture in a Zoque community of Chiapas, Mexico

This study analyses the perceptions of Zoque indigenous men and women of changes in climate variability, indicated by rainfall and temperature records from the region. Peasant farmers perceive decreases in rainfall and increases in temperature as these factors are related to modifications in the corn planting season and the introduction of crops which were usually only found in hot regions. The climate changes in the zone are attributed to vegetation loss and the eruption of the Chichón volcano in 1982. The Zoque perception is structured according to cultural and individual experience, tied to agriculture and the annual weather calendar. The volcanic eruption offers a significant chronological reference point in order to explain different environmental transformations, such as climate, within Zoque territory. Perception is the mental picture of local climate variability changes and the responses in seasonal agriculture modifications, utilizing individual and cultural experiences which are vulnerable to economic and environmental change.