Current state and trends in Canadian Arctic marine ecosystems: II. Heterotrophic food web, pelagic-benthic coupling, and biodiversity

As part of the Canadian contribution to the International Polar Year (IPY), several major international research programs have focused on offshore arctic marine ecosystems. The general goal of these projects was to improve our understanding of how the response of arctic marine ecosystems to climate warming will alter food web structure and ecosystem services provided to Northerners. At least four key findings from these projects relating to arctic heterotrophic food web, pelagic-benthic coupling and biodiversity have emerged: (1) Contrary to a long-standing paradigm of dormant ecosystems during the long arctic winter, major food web components showed relatively high level of winter activity, well before the spring release of ice algae and subsequent phytoplankton bloom. Such phenological plasticity among key secondary producers like zooplankton may thus narrow the risks of extreme mismatch between primary production and secondary production in an increasingly variable arctic environment. (2) Tight pelagic-benthic coupling and consequent recycling of nutrients at the seafloor characterize specific regions of the Canadian Arctic, such as the North Water polynya and Lancaster Sound. The latter constitute hot spots of benthic ecosystem functioning compared to regions where zooplankton-mediated processes weaken the pelagic-benthic coupling. (3) In contrast with another widely shared assumption of lower biodiversity, arctic marine biodiversity is comparable to that reported off Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Canada, albeit threatened by the potential colonization of subarctic species. (4) The rapid decrease of summer sea-ice cover allows increasing numbers of killer whales to use the Canadian High Arctic as a hunting ground. The stronger presence of this species, bound to become a new apex predator of arctic seas, will likely affect populations of endemic arctic marine mammals such as the narwhal, bowhead, and beluga whales.     

Can a 25-year trend in Soudano-Sahelian vegetation dynamics be interpreted in terms of land use change? A remote sensing approach

This study is based on the premise that, in the Sahel/Sudanian belt of Africa, the main determinants of interannual variation in vegetation dynamics are rainfall and land cover type. We analyzed the spatio-temporal sensitivity of the NOAA-AVHRR 8 km-resolution vegetation index (NDVI) to (i) annual rainfall variability (0.5° × 0.5° resolution) acquired over a 25-year period (1982-2006); and (ii) land use changes in the different eco-climatic regions of the Bani catchment in Mali (130 000 km²). During the period 1982-2006, there was no clear trend in rainfall over the catchment, whereas there was a strong positive trend in the NDVI, both when the NDVI values were corrected using annual rainfall variability and when they were not. We divided the catchment into three eco-climatic regions based on the relationship between the annual NDVI and rainfall. In each region, we analyzed the observed greening in relation to changes in land use after correcting for the effect of annual rainfall on the NDVI. Results show that there is a mixed level of agreement between the land cover changes at the grid cell scale and the spatial pattern of the NDVI trend. Increased cropping does not explain the increase in the annual NDVI, except in the Sahelian part of the catchment. We hypothesize that the natural vegetation dynamics related to the non-linear rainfall patterns during the 25-year study period were responsible for these results.     

Streamflow elasticity,in a context of climate change,in arid Andean watersheds of north-central Chile

ABSTRACT

Based on a future temperature increase of 0.5°C and precipitation decrease of 25%, the climate elasticity of streamflow to precipitation and temperature changes in 12 Andean watersheds of the Coquimbo Region, north-central Chile, was assessed. Also, the possible relationships between this elasticity and specific physiographic characteristics of the watersheds (area, average elevation, slope distribution, terrain roughness, slope orientation, vegetation cover) were studied. Climate elasticity of streamflow ranged between 0 and 2.8. Watersheds presenting higher elevations, with a fairly well-balanced distribution of slope exposure tend to exhibit lower elasticity, which could be explained by the contribution of snowfall to the hydrological regime, more significant in those watersheds. Results should be considered when downscaling climate model projections at the basin scale in mountain settings. Finally, uncertainties in the approach, given by factors such as streamflow seasonality, data availability and representativeness and watershed characteristics, and therefore the scope of the results, are discussed.     

Computer-aided design of bus route maps

The bus route map is a diagram that aims to convey necessary information for map readers to find an appropriate way of moving from an origin to a destination. Design of bus route map is a complicated and time-consuming task that requires careful consideration of readability and aesthetics. This paper proposes a new computational method for designing bus route maps. The method helps us to reduce six types of undesirable elements in bus route maps, i.e., gap, shift, crossing, overlap, misalignment, and acute bend. The method consists of two phases: line layout phase determines the relative order of bus routes on each road segment and map layout phase calculates the actual position of bus routes drawn on a map. This paper applies the method to the design of bus route maps of Chiba City, Japan. The result supports the effectiveness of the method as well as reveals open topics for future research.     

Lake Neor reveals how mountain vegetation responded to 7000 years of hydroclimate variability in northwestern Iran

Palynological and geochemical analyses provide valuable information about modern and past climatic regimes and vegetation. The impact of climate and humans on past vegetation in the semi-arid areas of northwestern Iran has received increased interest in the wake of warming temperatures in the Middle East. Palynological and down-core XRF elemental abundances from a peat core from Lake Neor enabled a reconstruction of vegetational changes of the past 7000 years over the highlands of northwestern Iran. Periods of increased arboreal pollen (AP) types and high (Artemisia + Poaceae)/Chenopodiaceae ratios along with low titanium abundances, high percentages of total organic carbon, more negative δD values, and higher carbon accumulation rates suggest a relatively wet climate. These conditions have persisted during the periods 6700–6200, 5200–4450 and 3200–2200 cal a bp. The overall low AP values, substantial rise of Chenopodiaceae, high Ti abundances and low values of palaeo-redox proxies, are all evidences of a drier climate, as has been reconstructed for the periods 6200–5200 and 4030–3150 cal a bp and the last 2200 years. An important feature of the last centuries is the increase of anthropogenic and pastoral indicator pollen types. Our results may provide basic data to predict future trends in vegetation dynamics under future climate change in western Asia.     

Simulating Stable Isotope Ratios in Plumes of Groundwater Pollutants with BIOSCREEN‐AT‐ISO

BIOSCREEN is a well‐known simple tool for evaluating the transport of dissolved contaminants in groundwater, ideal for rapid screening and teaching. This work extends the BIOSCREEN model for the calculation of stable isotope ratios in contaminants. A three‐dimensional exact solution of the reactive transport from a patch source, accounting for fractionation by first‐order decay and/or sorption, is used. The results match those from a previously published isotope model but are much simpler to obtain. Two different isotopes may be computed, and dual isotope plots can be viewed. The dual isotope assessment is a rapidly emerging new approach for identifying process mechanisms in aquifers. Furthermore, deviations of isotope ratios at specific reactive positions with respect to “bulk” ratios in the whole compound can be simulated. This model is named BIOSCREEN‐AT‐ISO and will be downloadable from the journal homepage.     

A diverse Pleistocene marsupial trackway assemblage from the Victorian Volcanic Plains,Australia

A diverse assemblage of late Pleistocene marsupial trackways on a lake bed in south-western Victoria provides the first information relating to the gaits and morphology of several megafaunal species, and represents the most speciose and best preserved megafaunal footprint site in Australia. The 60–110 ka volcaniclastic lacustrine sedimentary rocks preserve trackways of the diprotodontid Diprotodon optatum, a macropodid (probably Protemnodon sp.) and a large vombatid (perhaps Ramsayia magna or ‘Phascolomys’ medius) and possible prints of the marsupial lion, Thylacoleo carnifex. The footprints were imprinted within a short time period, demonstrating the association of the taxa present, rather than the time-averaged accumulations usually observed in skeletal fossil deposits. Individual manus and pes prints are distinguishable in some trackways, and in many cases some digital pad morphology is also present. Several parameters traditionally used to differentiate ichnotaxa, including trackway gauge and the degree of print in-turning relative to the midline, are shown to be subject to significant intraspecific variation in marsupials. Sexual dimorphism in the trackway proportions of Diprotodon, and its potential for occurrence in all large bodied, quadrupedal marsupials, is identified here for the first time.     

Contribution à la surveillance de l'activité de l'Etna à partir de l'étude des zones fumerolliennes

Resume La convection de la vapeur d'eau formée en profondeur dans une zone fumerollienne crée en surface une anomalie hydrique, thermique et électrique, cette dernière pouvant être la plus sensible à une variation de l'activité thermique profonde. L'amplitude des anomalies dépend de la position du site par rapport à la configuration de l'activité magmatique, mais aussi des conditions hydrogéologiques locales. La surveillance spatiale et temporelle des éruptions à partir du phénomène convectif hydrique doit tenir compte de ces conditions.

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The water steam convection existing below a fumarolic area creates hydraulic, thermal and electric anomalies, the electric anomaly being probably the most correlated to a change of the deep thermal activity. The anomaly range depends on the position of the site connected with the configuration of the magmatic activity, but also on the local hydrogeologic conditions. The spatial and temporal surveillance of the eruptions based on these convective data should take into consideration these conditions.