Biogeographical drivers of ragweed pollen concentrations in Europe

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - The drivers of spatial variation in ragweed pollen concentrations, contributing to severe allergic rhinitis and asthma, are poorly quantified. We analysed the...     

Sampling effects in the emission-line spectra of Hii regions

We show that sampling effects in the initial mass function are very important in the low-mass cluster case. To this aim, we compute photoionization models ionized by realistic clusters made up of various combinations of individual stars and clusters built with a synthesis model. We discuss the differences in the position on diagnostic diagrams, their implications, and future and ongoing applications of the present work.     

气候变化背景下欧洲中部水资源供给的不稳定性评估——以易北河流域为例

 欧洲中部的易北河流域是典型的湿润半湿润地区。夏季的水资源供给是限制农业生产的因素之一,特别是在具有较高农业生产力水平,而年降水量只有500 mm的黄土地区。通过总结气候变化与水文循环（GLOWA-Elbe）项目第一阶段的成果,根据气候和土地利用变化的各种情景并考虑其不确定性,对未来50 a德国易北河流域水资源供给稳定性作出综合评估。研究表明,欧洲中部必须从自然和社会角度应对未来气候变化情景下产生水资源供给短缺的可能情况。     

Using tracer tests and hydrological observations to evaluate effects of tunnel drainage on groundwater and surface waters in the Northern Apennines (Italy)

The impact of a railway tunnel on groundwater and surface waters in the Northern Apennines (Italy) was demonstrated and characterised by multi-tracer tests and hydrological observations. The 15-km-long Firenzuola tunnel crosses turbidite marls and sandstones previously not considered as aquifers. During the drilling, water inrushes occurred at fracture zones, and the tunnel still continues to drain the aquifer. The water table dropped below the level of the valleys, and gaining streams transformed into losing streams or ran completely dry, as did many springs, causing severe damage to the aquatic fauna and other elements of the ecosystem. Two multi-tracer tests, each using uranine and sulforhodamine G, were carried out in two impacted catchments in order to confirm and quantify the stream–aquifer–tunnel interrelations. The results proved connection between losing streams and numerous water inlets in the tunnel, with maximum linear distances of 1.4 km and velocities up to 135 m/d. Several of the demonstrated flowpaths pass under previous groundwater divides (mountain ridges), proving that the tunnel has completely modified the regional flow system. Water balance estimations demonstrate that the observed water losses cannot be explained by climate change but can largely be attributed to the tunnel drainage.     

Magnetic indicator of global paleoclimate cycles in Siberian loess–paleosol sequences

The loess–paleosol sequences of China, Siberia, Alaska and many other regions, along with lake sediments and glaciers, provide the only accurate paleoclimatic terrestrial records for intervals of thousands to hundreds of thousand years. The frequency dependence (FD) of magnetic susceptibility (MS) in such sequences has become the leading parameter for analyzing climatic change and Milankovitch (astronomical) periodicity in Siberian sequences; it is always higher in soil horizons than in loess. The enhanced FD parameter in soils is associated with ferromagnetic minerals, mostly magnetite, produced during pedogenesis. The MS and FD parameters of 670 samples from five sections in Siberia are reported here. Inter-section correlation is used to produce a combined FD time series for the studied sections. Chronological control is established by absolute dating and stratigraphic correlation. Spectral analysis of the FD time series reveals the presence of Milankovitch signals at ～100 kyr (eccentricity), ～40 kyr (obliquity) and ～23 kyr (precession) and demonstrates that Siberian loess–paleosol sequences are excellent continental recorders of long-term paleoclimatic changes. This suggests that the FD parameter can potentially be used more widely for evaluation of climate periodicity in loess/paleosol sequences in other parts of the world.     

Spatial patterning of water quality in Biscayne Bay, Florida as a function of land use and water management

An objective classification analysis was performed on a water quality data set from 25 sites collected monthly during 1994-2003. The water quality parameters measured included: TN, TON, DIN, NH4+, NO3-, NO2-, TP, SRP, TN:TP ratio, TOC, DO, CHL A, turbidity, salinity and temperature. Based on this spatial analysis, Biscayne Bay was divided into five zones having similar water quality characteristics. A robust nutrient gradient, driven mostly by dissolved inorganic nitrogen, from alongshore to offshore in the main Bay, was a large determinant in the spatial clustering. Two of these zones (Alongshore and Inshore) were heavily influenced by freshwater input from four canals which drain the South Dade agricultural area, Black Point Landfill, and sewage treatment plant. The North Bay zone, with high turbidity, phytoplankton biomass, total phosphorus, and low DO, was affected by runoff from five canals, the Munisport Landfill, and the urban landscape. The South Bay zone, an embayment surrounded by mangrove wetlands with little urban development, was high in dissolved organic constituents but low in inorganic nutrients. The Main Bay was the area most influenced by water exchange with the Atlantic Ocean and showed the lowest nutrient concentrations. The water quality in Biscayne Bay is therefore highly dependent of the land use and influence from the watershed.     

Modeling of climate tendencies in Arctic seas based on atmospheric forcing EOF decomposition

Ocean Dynamics - The article analyzes the results of the EOF decomposition of climatic data and assesses the role of its components in the formation of climatic ice tendencies of recent decades....     

Winter distribution of euphausiids (Euphausiacea) in the Barents Sea (2000–2005)

The purpose of the study is to analyze the state of the Barents Sea euphausiids populations in the warm period (2000–2005) based on the study of their structure dynamics and distribution under the influence of abiotic and biotic factors. For estimation of their aggregations in the bottom layer, the traditional method was used with the help of the modified egg net (0.2 m² opening area, 564 μm mesh size). The net is used for collecting euphausiids in the autumn–winter period when their activity is reduced, which results in high-catch efficiency. The findings confirmed the major formation patterns of the euphausiids species composition associated with climate change in the Arctic basin. As before, in the warm years, one can see a clear-cut differentiation of space distribution of the dominant euphausiids Thysanoessa genus with localization of the more thermophilic Thysanoessa inermis in the north-west Barents Sea and Thysanoessa raschii in the east. The major euphausiids aggregations are formed of these species. In 2004, the first data of euphausiids distribution in the northern Barents Sea (77–79°N) were obtained, and demonstrated extremely high concentrations of T. inermis in this area, with the biomass as high as 1.7–2.4 g m⁻² in terms of dry weight. These data have improved our knowledge of the distribution and euphausiids abundance during periods of elevated sea-water temperatures in the Barents Sea. The oceanic Atlantic species were found to increase in abundance due to elevated advection to the Barents Sea during the study period. Thus, after nearly a 30-year-long absence of the moderate subtropical Nematoscelis megalops in the Barents Sea, they were found again in 2003–2005. However in comparison with 1960, the north-east border of its distribution considerably shifted to 73°50′N 50°22′E. The portion of Meganyctiphanes norvegica also varied considerably—from 10% to 20% of the total euphausiids population in the warm 1950s–1960s almost to complete disappearing in 1970–1990s. The peak of this species’ occurrence (18–26%) took place in the beginning of warm period (1999–2000) after a succession of cold years. The subsequent reduction of the relative abundance of M. norvegica to 7% might have been mostly caused by fish predation during a period of low population densities of capelin. This high predation pressure may therefore have been mediated both by other pelagic fishes (i.e. herring, blue whiting, polar cod) but also by demersal fishes such as cod and haddock. Similar sharp fluctuations in the capelin stock (the major consumer of euphausiids) created marked perturbations in the food web in the Barents Sea in the middle 1980s and the early 1990s.