Five-year bio-monitoring of aquatic ecosystems near Artigas Antarctic Scientific Base,King George Island

Fildes Peninsula, in King George Island, Antarctica, has a great concentration of international facilities, and it has clearly been affected by human activities. The objective of this 5-year study was ...     

Adaptive capacity in Tanzanian Maasailand: Changing strategies to cope with drought in fragmented landscapes

This study examines the ways in which the adaptive capacity of households to climatic events varies within communities and is mediated by institutional and landscape changes. We present qualitative and quantitative data from two Maasai communities differentially exposed to the devastating drought of 2009 in Northern Tanzania. We show how rangeland fragmentation combined with the decoupling of institutions and landscapes are affecting pastoralists’ ability to cope with drought. Our data highlight that mobility remains a key coping mechanism for pastoralists to avoid cattle loss during a drought. However, mobility is now happening in new ways that require not only large amounts of money but new forms of knowledge and connections outside of customary reciprocity networks. Those least affected by the drought, in terms of cattle lost, were those with large herds who were able to sell some of their cattle and to pay for private access to pastures outside of Maasai areas. Drawing on an entitlements framework, we argue that the new coping mechanisms are not available to all, could be making some households more vulnerable to climate change, and reduce the adaptive capacity of the overall system as reciprocity networks and customary institutions are weakened. As such, we posit that adaptive capacity to climate change is uneven within and across communities, is scale-dependent, and is intimately tied to institutional and landscape changes.     

Climatic control on the growth of gigantic gypsum crystals within hypogenic caves (Naica mine,Mexico)?

Three hypogenic caves within the Naica mine of Mexico (Cueva de los Cristales — CLC, Ojo de la Reina — OR, and Cueva de las Velas — CLV) host spectacular gypsum crystals up to 11 m in length. These caves are close to another shallow cave of the area (Cueva de las Espadas — CLE), with which they cover a 160 m-deep vertical section of the local drainage basin. Similar to other hypogenic caves, all these caves lack a direct connection with the land surface and should be unrelated with climate.A record of multi-technique fluid inclusion data and pollen spectra from cave and mine gypsum indicates surprisingly that climatic changes occurring at Naica could have controlled fluid composition in these caves, and hence crystal growth. Microthermometry and LA-ICP-Mass Spectrometry of fluid inclusions indicate that the shallow, chemically peculiar, saline fluid (up to 7.7 eq. wt.%NaCl) of CLE could have formed from evaporation, during a dry and hot climatic period. The fluid of the deep caves was instead of low salinity (～ 3.5 eq. wt.% NaCl) and chemically homogeneous, and was poorly affected by evaporation. We propose that mixing of these two fluids, generated at different depths of the Naica drainage basin, determined the stable supersaturation conditions for the gigantic gypsum crystals to grow. Fluid mixing was controlled by the hydraulic communication between CLE and the other deep caves, and must have taken place during cycles of warm-dry and fresh-wet climatic periods, which are known to have occurred in the region. Pollen grains from a 35 ka-old gypsum crystal of CLC corresponds to a fairly homogenous catchment basin made of a mixed broadleaf wet forest, which suggests precipitation during a fresh-wet climatic period and confirms our interpretation of the fluid inclusion data.The unusual combination of geological and geochemical factors of Naica suggests that other hypogenic caves found elsewhere may not host similar crystals. However, this work shows that fluid inclusions and pollen spectra represent a useful tool for cave studies in general, and if used in future studies might be essential to unravel the mechanisms of hypogenic deposition.     

Unfolding relations between land cover and farm management: high nature value assessment in complex silvo-pastoral systems

The high nature value (HNV) concept, proposed by the European Environment Agency, recognizes that specific farming systems support high biodiversity levels, mainly as a result of extensive management practices. The Portuguese montado is one of the most significant HNV systems in southern Europe. However, considering the great complexity characterizing these systems both in land management and in landscape structure, a specific context-oriented methodology to assess which montado areas are likely to be classified as HNV farmland is needed. In this sense, the aim of this study is to explore a methodological approach which makes it possible to assess land management pressures through land cover information on these complex silvo-pastoral systems. The proposed methodology was tested through a local case study in a montado area in southern Portugal, assessing the relation between management practices and a vegetation cover index. Results show that in similar montado areas different land management strategies varying in stocking density, but also in type of grazing animals and shrub control practices, configure different vegetation cycles. These results indicate there is a way to develop a straightforward methodology to assess the HNV value of Mediterranean silvo-pastoral systems based on land cover indicators. These would make it possible to assess the HNV of montado areas with direct and objective information and independent of farmer’s surveys or other farm-based data.     

Tunable diode laser measurements of trace gases during the 1988 Polarstern cruise and intercomparisons with other methods

Measurements of NO₂, HCHO, and H₂O₂ were made by the highly specific method of mid infra-red absorption spectroscopy using tunable diode lasers (TDLAS) during the 1988 Polarstern expedition. The TDLAS data are compared to those obtained during the cruise using less direct methods. Southern Hemisphere NO₂ levels suggest nett photochemical destruction of O₃ in the boundary layer. Northern Hemisphere HCHO averaged 0.47±0.2 ppbv; the HCHO measurements are used in a simple calculation to estimate OH noontime maxima of 3–6×10⁶ cm^-3.     

A local landscape in transition between production and consumption goals: can new management arrangements preserve the local landscape character?

Around towns in the Alentejo region, the landscape is dominated by a characteristic agricultural small-scale mosaic. These areas are central in the region landscape character – even if the large-scale latifundia landscape of the extensive silvo-pastoral systems is most commonly associated with the region. In the last two decades, these parcels became extremely attractive for new comers, who settle in the rural context as residents, week-end visitors, being often also lifestyle farmers. The paper presents a case study landscape, in Montemor-o-Novo, a small town 100 km from Lisbon, highly subject to the pressure for consumption uses, by urban users. The study shows that the new owners, even if they have settled in the area due to the tranquility and social bindings of the rural, end up doing farming, with new or reshaped production objectives, markets and models, but at the same time maintaining the traditional farm systems. Thus, the landscape character is maintained, so far. Nevertheless, the role of these neo-rurals and lifestyle farmers is still an unseen role, both by the agriculture and the planning sectors. And thus the question is, whether the combination of actors and land management drivers will continue maintaining the landscape in the future.     

Simultaneous measurements of peroxy and nitrate radicals at Schauinsland

We present simultaneous field measurements of NO₃ and peroxy radicals made at night in a forested area (Schauinsland, Black Forest, 48° N, 8° N, 1150 ASL), together with measurements of CO, O₃, NO _x , NO _y , and hydrocarbons, as well as meteorological parameters. NO₂, NO₃, HO₂, and (RO₂) radicals are detected with matrix isolation/electron spin resonance (MIESR). NO₃ and HO₂ were found to be present in the range of 0–10 ppt, whilst organic peroxy radicals reached concentrations of 40 ppt. NO₃, RO₂, and HO₂ exhibited strong variations, in contrast to the almost constant values of the longer lived trace gases. The data suggest anticorrelation between NO₃ and RO₂ radical concentrations at night.The measured trace gas set allows the calculation of NO₃ and peroxy radical concentrations, using a chemical box model. From these simulations, it is concluded that the observed anthropogenic hydrocarbons are not sufficient to explain the observed RO₂ concentrations. The chemical budget of both NO₃ and RO₂ radicals can be understood if emissions of monoterpenes are included. The measured HO₂ can only be explained by the model, when NO concentrations at night of around 5 ppt are assumed to be present. The presence of HO₂ radicals implies the presence of hydroxyl radicals at night in concentrations of up to 10⁵ cm^–3.     

A reverse KAM method to estimate unknown mutual inclinations in exoplanetary systems

The inclinations of exoplanets detected via radial velocity method are essentially unknown. We aim to provide estimations of the ranges of mutual inclinations that are compatible with the long-term stability of the system. Focusing on the skeleton of an extrasolar system, i.e. considering only the two most massive planets, we study the Hamiltonian of the three-body problem after the reduction of the angular momentum. Such a Hamiltonian is expanded both in Poincaré canonical variables and in the small parameter \(D_2\), which represents the normalised angular momentum deficit. The value of the mutual inclination is deduced from \(D_2\) and, thanks to the use of interval arithmetic, we are able to consider open sets of initial conditions instead of single values. Looking at the convergence radius of the Kolmogorov normal form, we develop a reverse KAM approach in order to estimate the ranges of mutual inclinations that are compatible with the long-term stability in a KAM sense. Our method is successfully applied to the extrasolar systems HD 141399, HD 143761 and HD 40307.     

Distribution of whitemouth croaker (Micropogonias furnieri, Desmarest 1823) larvae in the Río de la Plata estuarine front

Whitemouth croaker (Micropogonias furnieri) larvae obtained and hydrographic data collected in the Rio de la Plata estuary (35°S–56°W) between 1987 and 2000 were used to explore the early life stages spatial and temporal distribution patterns and their relation to oceanographic features. The spatial distribution, restricted to a band in the inner part of the estuary, coincided with the bottom salinity front and the maximum turbidity zone (MTZ, turbidity front). Larvae were present during the warmest months (October through May) within a range of 14–24.5 °C temperature and 0.9–33 salinity. A vertically stratified sampling performed in the region where the largest abundance was found (December 2005 and March 2006) was used to test the hypothesis that larvae retention occurs in the bottom salinity front.The vertically stratified sampling showed larvae throughout the water column with high predominance in the river–estuary transition zone. A positive correlation between abundance and the bottom salinity horizontal gradient was found. The size analysis showed that the largest individuals (>10 mm SL), probably undergoing the settlement process, inhabited near the bottom and that the smallest (<10 mm SL) were present in the whole water column. Length distribution along the front showed no trend.Results support the estuarine retention hypothesis of previous studies on whitemouth croaker gravid females, eggs distribution and outcomes from a numerical simulation model. Retention in the salinity front/MTZ would allow larvae to benefit from food accumulation in the region, the high turbidity level provide shelter against predators and retention in the estuary secure closeness to the main nursery ground.     

RF Design of a Wideband CMOS Integrated Receiver for Phased Array Applications

New silicon CMOS processes developed primarily for the burgeoning wireless networking market offer significant promise as a vehicle for the implementation of highly integrated receivers, especially at the lower end of the frequency range proposed for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). An RF-CMOS ‘Receiver-on-a-Chip’ is being developed as part of an Australia Telescope program looking at technologies associated with the SKA. The receiver covers the frequency range 500–1700 MHz, with instantaneous IF bandwidth of 500 MHz and, on simulation, yields an input noise temperature of < 50 K at mid-band. The receiver will contain all active circuitry (LNA, bandpass filter, quadrature mixer, anti-aliasing filter, digitiser and serialiser) on one 0.18 μm RF-CMOS integrated circuit. This paper outlines receiver front-end development work undertaken to date, including design and simulation of an LNA using noise cancelling techniques to achieve a wideband input-power-match with little noise penalty.